Hey folks,
Trying to get back on track with that "posting on Wednesdays" schedule I threatened a while ago...
Today we start out with the hope that the minds behind South Park kill off beloved character Chef in the most heinous and disgusting way possible. With Issac Hayes, the voice behind Chef, hypocritically blasting the show for making fun of Scientology (where was he the previous 8 seasons when the show made fun of...well...everyone else), these guys should exact "revenge" in the best way they know...make it a part of the show and point out the hypocracy for all to see (though I'm sure Hayes won't anyway...but we can hope).
Universal Home Video also gets a big "wag of the finger" (to steal from Stephen Colbert) with their announcement of a new series of DVDs called "Brilliant But Cancelled". The idea is a great one. Short lived TV shows with much acclaim get DVD releases. The execution is completely assinine. The first two release are entitled "Crime Dramas" and EZ Streets. This latter release is of a TV series that had NINE episode produced, but Universal is only releasing THREE...and it's not even the first three...it's the two hour pilot, plus two others. The "Crime Dramas" disc contains an episode each from Touching Evil, Johnny Staccatto, Gideon Oliver, and Delvecchio. These shows had, respectively, 13, 27, 4 and 7 or 9 (not sure) episodes produced. Obviously Johnny Staccatto must have been better than "brilliant" to get 27 episodes made. The other shows are all made for DVD at this point. A one or two disc set for each would put all the episodes for their respective fans out without going the assinine "Best Of" route that Universal seems to take. I'm not entirely surprised by this as Universal is easily one of the worst studios when it comes to DVD releases in general (massive failure rates on DVD-18s, screwing up episode orders, etc.). Not that I have any interest in any of these shows, but there are fans of each and they're getting screwed for no real reason.
Meanwhile, on the other side of this coin, Disney gets a "Tip of the hat" (again stealing from Colbert) for releasing the entire run of the defunct Night Stalker "reimagining" from this season in May. ABC cancelled the show, which was growing on me, in the middle of a two parter. Luckily, their parent company is rectifying the problem and adding extras.
Big reminder for all of you out there to turn your TVs this Friday night to the Sci-Fi Channel from 9pm to 11pm. They start airing the new Doctor Who and if you like sci-fi at all, you should be watching this fun and well crafted show. It runs for 13 weeks and with any luck will do well enough for Sci-Fi to run all 14 season two episodes (which will start airing in Britain sometime in April) during the 14 week gap between the end of season one and the scheduled start of Battlestar Galactica for season three (which had an amazing second season I might add).
Lastly, just want to respond to the comments about my Top 25 list. First, I'm just gonna agree to disagree with Glenn on Crash. It's not the first time (probably won't be the last). Second, as for Brokeback Mountain, I should have mentioned not seeing the film under optimum circumstances...having a baby either crawling around the room or crying around the room while trying to focus attention on a film that requires attention (although less so than the baby) is not the best way to watch any movie...but quite honestly, with my priorities changing I was lucky to watch the film at all before the Oscars (and for the record, I didn't actually care what won anything this year...I was about excited to watch the Oscars, even with Jon Stewart as host -- who did a decent job, as I am about clipping my fingernails). So admittedly, Brokeback Mountain is a film that needs a second viewing from me...it's just not going to happen anytime soon if I'm going to try and "fit in" other films (in a similar manner) that I also want to see.
And that's enough of that...in the meantime, we'll see what next week brings as I continue rehearsals for Sly Fox, Natasha continues rehearsals for The Pirates of Penzance (for which I'm doing sound design) and Malcolm continues to go through the horrendously painful process (for everyone) known as "Ferberization". More on that when I have the energy.
Be seeing you.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Top 25/Worst 5 of 2005
Hey folks,
I usually publish a Top 25/Worst 5 Films of each year within a month of the year ending (if not sooner). But this has been a pretty wacky year (what with the birth of my first child and all)...so movie watching in the theaters was scarce at best. While I've been trying to catch up in time for the Oscars and fill out this list, I've barely made it. I don't think I actually saw 25 films worth labelling "best" (even in the loosest sense of the word). There's plenty I didn't see yet...but in the meantime...here's what I've got to go with (even if it's just to say I've written up a list like this since 1992 or so).
Let's start with the bottom of the barrel.
5) Must Love Dogs -- This film epitomizes everything wrong with the romantic comedy genre. We need something fresh and not more dog poop like this. Yes...I did see a lot of "worse" films than this, but I'm trying to make a point I couldn't have made with Monster-In-Law or Bewitched.
4) Pride & Prejudice -- I actually enjoyed this, but it makes this list simply to please my wife (she's a big fan of the novel and the mini-series version with Colin Firth)...so it was terrible simply because I had to not only hear how terrible it was, but also sit through several other versions for proof.
3) The Dukes of Hazzard -- Could I have picked other examples of this genre? Sure... and Bewitched and The Honeymooners were also terrible...but this one is probably the worst of all "Big Screen Remakes of Classic TV Shows". Which says a lot if you sat through Car 54, Where Are You?
2) John Carpenter Remakes (Assault on Precinct 13/The Fog) -- Remakes are bad enough...but here we're taking B-level films (which normally deserve to be remade if only to push a good idea to a greater level), and turning them to predictable, boring, formulaic shit (which neither was originally). The less said about these, the better...but check out the originals...
1) American Pie Presents Band Camp -- Okay...so it didn't have a theatrical release...but this direct to DVD piece of shit epitomizes everything that's wrong with the thinking when it comes to direct to DVD movies that only continue a "franchise".
And now...here's the Top 20 films of 2005 (sorry...couldn't get to 25 no matter how hard I tired...and you'll see by my number 20 entry how hard I'm trying to just fill the space).
20) Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith -- It's here simply because it's now all over and we no longer have to look forward to how George Lucas will continue to betray his fans and rape our collective childhoods...until the TV series starts at least.
19) Brothers Grimm -- Terry Gilliam always seems to get a bad rap...but this film was a good hybrid of the Gilliam artistic sense and Hollywood formula. A fun film that could have gone a few steps further.
18) Fantastic Four -- The changes to Doctor Doom notwithstanding, this film was a lot of fun and the perfect way to launch what will hopefully be a franchise that grows nicely (and hopefully corrects the Doctor Doom problems in the process).
17) Constantine -- A great comic book adaptation given the "circumstances" (Keanu Reeves as a magic man who was modelled after Sting??). Lots of fun and just the shot in the arm that the "smaller" heroes need to get to the big screen.
16) Madagascar -- It's funny. Isn't that enough?
15) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- After years of being on-again/off-again, the Douglas Adams classic sci-fi novel finally makes it to the big screen. Will it satisfy every fan of the books? No. Will it bring new fans to the books? No. But is it good in its own right? You bet your ass.
14) Tim Burton's Corpse Bride -- This wonderful little fairy tale is nice and dark...just how they should be.
13) Wallace & Grommit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit -- The claymated duo get a big adventure that has laughs for the whole family. Easily one of the best animated films in a very long time.
12) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- Part Four gets to the meat of what would have been a long-ass film if made exactly like the book. This is the way to make a good adaptation.
11) Inside Deep Throat -- This documentary is not just about porn (and a specific porn film) but about censorship in our society. It should be seen by anyone who thinks free speech is over-rated.
10) Sin City -- A neat "experiment" that blends modern independent filmmaking with classic graphic novel artistry (and all the while being the product of a Hollywood machine). Can't wait for a sequel.
9) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room -- Another must see documentary...this is what happens when you live Gordon Gekko's motto of "Greed is good"...this is a lesson for all of us.
8) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- Tim Burton returns the dark humor to this more faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book and creates a classic to match the original movie.
7) Layer Cake -- Want to see how Daniel Craig will be as James Bond? Catch this wonderful piece about a drug dealer trying to get out.
6) The Constant Gardener -- This wonderful slow boil showcases Ralph Fiennes in a role that he should have gotten an Oscar nomination for.
5) The Artistocrats -- The dumbest joke in the world gets told and retold in every hysterical manner. This is a wonderful look at the deconstruction of humor and how it works.
4) A History of Violence -- This dark and offbeat film noir should have gotten more recognition at the Oscars than it did.
3) Batman Begins -- The BEST comic book adaptation since 1978's Superman...hands down (and there have been a few good ones).
2) Crash -- I love films that move you to think. This is a rare one and there isn't a flase note.
1) Serenity -- Pound for pound this is an amazing bit of storrytelling from a master. In making that tough leap from TV to Big Screen, Joss Whedon faced the impossible of catering to fans of the show and bringing in new people without losing them in all the baggage. He conquored the impossible and made a film that can be enjoyed by so many on so many different levels. It has everything required to keep a viewers interest...and yet, barely anyone saw it. It's never too late to still catch this great film as it's now on DVD...until the next format makes it obsolete.
Well...that's my list for 2005...I wish it had been a better list (or a better year for films), but I had such a great year that movies don't matter too much anymore...yes...I just blasphemed...I'll regain my senses eventually...until then...
Be seeing you.
I usually publish a Top 25/Worst 5 Films of each year within a month of the year ending (if not sooner). But this has been a pretty wacky year (what with the birth of my first child and all)...so movie watching in the theaters was scarce at best. While I've been trying to catch up in time for the Oscars and fill out this list, I've barely made it. I don't think I actually saw 25 films worth labelling "best" (even in the loosest sense of the word). There's plenty I didn't see yet...but in the meantime...here's what I've got to go with (even if it's just to say I've written up a list like this since 1992 or so).
Let's start with the bottom of the barrel.
5) Must Love Dogs -- This film epitomizes everything wrong with the romantic comedy genre. We need something fresh and not more dog poop like this. Yes...I did see a lot of "worse" films than this, but I'm trying to make a point I couldn't have made with Monster-In-Law or Bewitched.
4) Pride & Prejudice -- I actually enjoyed this, but it makes this list simply to please my wife (she's a big fan of the novel and the mini-series version with Colin Firth)...so it was terrible simply because I had to not only hear how terrible it was, but also sit through several other versions for proof.
3) The Dukes of Hazzard -- Could I have picked other examples of this genre? Sure... and Bewitched and The Honeymooners were also terrible...but this one is probably the worst of all "Big Screen Remakes of Classic TV Shows". Which says a lot if you sat through Car 54, Where Are You?
2) John Carpenter Remakes (Assault on Precinct 13/The Fog) -- Remakes are bad enough...but here we're taking B-level films (which normally deserve to be remade if only to push a good idea to a greater level), and turning them to predictable, boring, formulaic shit (which neither was originally). The less said about these, the better...but check out the originals...
1) American Pie Presents Band Camp -- Okay...so it didn't have a theatrical release...but this direct to DVD piece of shit epitomizes everything that's wrong with the thinking when it comes to direct to DVD movies that only continue a "franchise".
And now...here's the Top 20 films of 2005 (sorry...couldn't get to 25 no matter how hard I tired...and you'll see by my number 20 entry how hard I'm trying to just fill the space).
20) Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith -- It's here simply because it's now all over and we no longer have to look forward to how George Lucas will continue to betray his fans and rape our collective childhoods...until the TV series starts at least.
19) Brothers Grimm -- Terry Gilliam always seems to get a bad rap...but this film was a good hybrid of the Gilliam artistic sense and Hollywood formula. A fun film that could have gone a few steps further.
18) Fantastic Four -- The changes to Doctor Doom notwithstanding, this film was a lot of fun and the perfect way to launch what will hopefully be a franchise that grows nicely (and hopefully corrects the Doctor Doom problems in the process).
17) Constantine -- A great comic book adaptation given the "circumstances" (Keanu Reeves as a magic man who was modelled after Sting??). Lots of fun and just the shot in the arm that the "smaller" heroes need to get to the big screen.
16) Madagascar -- It's funny. Isn't that enough?
15) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- After years of being on-again/off-again, the Douglas Adams classic sci-fi novel finally makes it to the big screen. Will it satisfy every fan of the books? No. Will it bring new fans to the books? No. But is it good in its own right? You bet your ass.
14) Tim Burton's Corpse Bride -- This wonderful little fairy tale is nice and dark...just how they should be.
13) Wallace & Grommit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit -- The claymated duo get a big adventure that has laughs for the whole family. Easily one of the best animated films in a very long time.
12) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- Part Four gets to the meat of what would have been a long-ass film if made exactly like the book. This is the way to make a good adaptation.
11) Inside Deep Throat -- This documentary is not just about porn (and a specific porn film) but about censorship in our society. It should be seen by anyone who thinks free speech is over-rated.
10) Sin City -- A neat "experiment" that blends modern independent filmmaking with classic graphic novel artistry (and all the while being the product of a Hollywood machine). Can't wait for a sequel.
9) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room -- Another must see documentary...this is what happens when you live Gordon Gekko's motto of "Greed is good"...this is a lesson for all of us.
8) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- Tim Burton returns the dark humor to this more faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book and creates a classic to match the original movie.
7) Layer Cake -- Want to see how Daniel Craig will be as James Bond? Catch this wonderful piece about a drug dealer trying to get out.
6) The Constant Gardener -- This wonderful slow boil showcases Ralph Fiennes in a role that he should have gotten an Oscar nomination for.
5) The Artistocrats -- The dumbest joke in the world gets told and retold in every hysterical manner. This is a wonderful look at the deconstruction of humor and how it works.
4) A History of Violence -- This dark and offbeat film noir should have gotten more recognition at the Oscars than it did.
3) Batman Begins -- The BEST comic book adaptation since 1978's Superman...hands down (and there have been a few good ones).
2) Crash -- I love films that move you to think. This is a rare one and there isn't a flase note.
1) Serenity -- Pound for pound this is an amazing bit of storrytelling from a master. In making that tough leap from TV to Big Screen, Joss Whedon faced the impossible of catering to fans of the show and bringing in new people without losing them in all the baggage. He conquored the impossible and made a film that can be enjoyed by so many on so many different levels. It has everything required to keep a viewers interest...and yet, barely anyone saw it. It's never too late to still catch this great film as it's now on DVD...until the next format makes it obsolete.
Well...that's my list for 2005...I wish it had been a better list (or a better year for films), but I had such a great year that movies don't matter too much anymore...yes...I just blasphemed...I'll regain my senses eventually...until then...
Be seeing you.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Playing Catch Up Again
Hey folks,
I'm still trying to catch up on films from 2005 so I can publish my Top 25 (I've got seven open slots right now...and I don't feel like adding mediocre films to the list, but I will if I have to as I want to get it out of my hands by the time the Oscars roll around this weekend). I've been a bit bust between producing Room Service in Darien (which is going to be very funny...it opens March 10...call 655-5414 for tickets) and doing last minute sound effects for A Few Good Men in Stamford (which opens March 3...don't have the phone number on my mind, but curtaincallinc.com is the web site) and finalizing a cast for Sly Fox which I'm directing, it's been a bit crazy...
And let's add in all the Malcolm related stuff as well...
Anyway...today we've got a few catch up reviews...
The Dukes of Hazzard is a pretty crappy movie based on a popular, but dated TV series. I watched the original show when it was on. I wouldn't call myself a "fan" in the sense that I watched it religiously...but I did watch it often enough to enjoy it. The original show was about a couple of "good ole boys, never meanin' no harm". The Duke Boys were good guys, likeable guys, well meaning guys. They were Tom Wopat and John Schneider...and we loved them for being such gosh darn swell guys while they were evading Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and foiling the machinations of Boss Hogg.
The movie is pretty much the porn version of the TV series. The minute you heard that Johhny Knoxville and Seann Scott Williams had been cast as the Dukes, you knew the film was gonna be a problem. These guys tend to play jackasses...and not quite likeable jackasses at that. So that's pretty much what we get here. And that attitude seems to have been absorbed by every other character. Even Uncle Jesse as played by Willie Nelson is a dirty joke telling, marajuana smoking, bad ass. The "plot" involves the Dukes trying to stop Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds...oh how the mighty have fallen yet again) from strip mining all of Hazzard County. How they get there is so silly and pointless I won't even bother to tell you.
While every TV series turned big screen movie needs to find its "hook" to make it work, turning The Dukes of Hazzard into this was the worst possible way to go about this one.
Sometimes a movie comes out that gets so much praise and I sit there watching and go "huh?" So it was with Brokeback Mountain. The film is amazing acted, beautifully shot and well written. But the pacing is slow as hell. The film takes its time telling its story and not in the good way. After about 40 minutes I was ready for the film to end. So while I can appreciate some of the praise that has been heaped upon the film, I don't understand all of it. Not the first time.
Crash is more my kind of film. It asks questions, it challenges and it moves. I don't want to say much more about this film because I was so enthralled by it...but if a film can have both a cameo by Tony Danza in which he probably does his best acting ever and have a performance by the normally vapid Ryan Phillippe that is Oscar worthy then you know its a great film.
With the musical genre still trying to will itself back to life, we're getting a couple of oddities this year. While The Producers may have blown up all the flaws of the stage version while remaining relatively faithful, Rent arrives about ten years too late for any purpose. The timeliness of the show ended around the turn of the century and the decision to use the original Broadway cast (or most of it) who are all too old to be playing twentysomethings was probably one of the worst casting decisions in film history. Everyone gets an "A" for effort except director Chris Colombus who still has a bland hand when it comes to visual style. He gets a "B-". The film as a whole gets about the same.
That's all for today. I'll be back before the end of the weekend with my long awaited Top 25 of 2005 list...come hell or high water.
Be seeing you.
I'm still trying to catch up on films from 2005 so I can publish my Top 25 (I've got seven open slots right now...and I don't feel like adding mediocre films to the list, but I will if I have to as I want to get it out of my hands by the time the Oscars roll around this weekend). I've been a bit bust between producing Room Service in Darien (which is going to be very funny...it opens March 10...call 655-5414 for tickets) and doing last minute sound effects for A Few Good Men in Stamford (which opens March 3...don't have the phone number on my mind, but curtaincallinc.com is the web site) and finalizing a cast for Sly Fox which I'm directing, it's been a bit crazy...
And let's add in all the Malcolm related stuff as well...
Anyway...today we've got a few catch up reviews...
The Dukes of Hazzard is a pretty crappy movie based on a popular, but dated TV series. I watched the original show when it was on. I wouldn't call myself a "fan" in the sense that I watched it religiously...but I did watch it often enough to enjoy it. The original show was about a couple of "good ole boys, never meanin' no harm". The Duke Boys were good guys, likeable guys, well meaning guys. They were Tom Wopat and John Schneider...and we loved them for being such gosh darn swell guys while they were evading Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and foiling the machinations of Boss Hogg.
The movie is pretty much the porn version of the TV series. The minute you heard that Johhny Knoxville and Seann Scott Williams had been cast as the Dukes, you knew the film was gonna be a problem. These guys tend to play jackasses...and not quite likeable jackasses at that. So that's pretty much what we get here. And that attitude seems to have been absorbed by every other character. Even Uncle Jesse as played by Willie Nelson is a dirty joke telling, marajuana smoking, bad ass. The "plot" involves the Dukes trying to stop Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds...oh how the mighty have fallen yet again) from strip mining all of Hazzard County. How they get there is so silly and pointless I won't even bother to tell you.
While every TV series turned big screen movie needs to find its "hook" to make it work, turning The Dukes of Hazzard into this was the worst possible way to go about this one.
Sometimes a movie comes out that gets so much praise and I sit there watching and go "huh?" So it was with Brokeback Mountain. The film is amazing acted, beautifully shot and well written. But the pacing is slow as hell. The film takes its time telling its story and not in the good way. After about 40 minutes I was ready for the film to end. So while I can appreciate some of the praise that has been heaped upon the film, I don't understand all of it. Not the first time.
Crash is more my kind of film. It asks questions, it challenges and it moves. I don't want to say much more about this film because I was so enthralled by it...but if a film can have both a cameo by Tony Danza in which he probably does his best acting ever and have a performance by the normally vapid Ryan Phillippe that is Oscar worthy then you know its a great film.
With the musical genre still trying to will itself back to life, we're getting a couple of oddities this year. While The Producers may have blown up all the flaws of the stage version while remaining relatively faithful, Rent arrives about ten years too late for any purpose. The timeliness of the show ended around the turn of the century and the decision to use the original Broadway cast (or most of it) who are all too old to be playing twentysomethings was probably one of the worst casting decisions in film history. Everyone gets an "A" for effort except director Chris Colombus who still has a bland hand when it comes to visual style. He gets a "B-". The film as a whole gets about the same.
That's all for today. I'll be back before the end of the weekend with my long awaited Top 25 of 2005 list...come hell or high water.
Be seeing you.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Look Up In The Sky...
The biggest movie news of the last week, in my humble opinion, is that Warner Home Video will be releasing a 14 disc box set of the original Superman series that will include a "reconstituted" cut of Superman II. For those that don't know, the first two films were originally being shot back-to-back by Richard Donner, but as shooting fell behind schedule he was forced to put aside any stuff for the second film and finish the first. Once the first film was done and released he was fired by the Salkinds and replaced with Richard Lester. Supposedly Donner had shot about 70% of the sequel but only 40% of the footage he shot was used (Brando shot scenes that are being used in the upcoming Superman Returns).
Now, Donner supposedly isn't yet involved in the project and it most likely won't be out until Superman Returns hits DVD around Christmas (which would explain 14 discs...Superman, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Supergirl and Superman Returns is the only way to get that many in one box with plenty of extras for each film), but this is very exciting new. This is one instance where the terms "Director's Cut" and "Special Edition" will actually have meaning.
Meanwhile, the Oscar nominations have left me rather "blah". Most likely because life has turned me in different directions this past year and I haven't seen most of what got nominated and won't have the opportunity until they hit video anyway.
Now...on to this week's reviews:
The problem with a film like Flightplan is that it really has only two options to follow once the plot is in motion. Jodie Foster stars as a woman who boards one of those currently non-existant super airplanes that seats 500 with her daughter. Both fall asleep and three hours into the flight her daughter goes missing and she starts to panic and throw out all these theories as she gets everyone on the plane into a panic as well. So we're left with the only two options. Let's call option A The Twilight Zone Option in which we find out she never had a kid on the plane to begin with because the child died or was never born or some other reason. Let's call option B The Die Hard on a Plane Option in which it turns out someone's really taken her child and now she's got to turn into an action hero to get the daughter back.
So you see...there's very little suspense and by the time both options have played themselves out you realize you could have spent an hour and 40 minutes doing almost anything else.
Speaking of wastes of time...The Man is one of those films that was probably thought up by studio executives during a late night pot party soon after they graduated from business school and wrongly got promoted to run the damn place. It's one of those "wouldn't it be funny if we made a buddy cop film with Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy?" type of comments you make at 3am when stoned. But when the buzz wears off you realize it wouldn't be funny. My question is why didn't the actors know better? Heck...why didn't I? To give the film some credit, it does have a rather funny recurring fart joke for what that's worth.
Lastly we come to My Big Fat Independent Movie. This film is a spoof on the order of Scary Movie or Not Another Teen Movie or even the upcoming Date Movie. Heck...just having the word Movie in the title makes it funny, right?
The film starts off very promising with a very funny parody of Memento and then quickly throws in a bizarre mish-mosh of plot pieces from Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Amelie, The Good Girl, Swingers and Pi for what makes a very funny first 30 minutes. Then it slows down as it pretty much tries to move this plot forward while still tossing around even more references to Sex, Lies and Videotape, Mulholland Drive and Run, Lola, Run before ending with the funniest (and largest) Mexican standoff ever put to film.
It's funnier than most films in this "genre", but at the end of the day it doesn't add up to much beyond 80 minutes of diversion and an "updated" version of the just as funny Plump Fiction released in 1997.
Be seeing you.
Now, Donner supposedly isn't yet involved in the project and it most likely won't be out until Superman Returns hits DVD around Christmas (which would explain 14 discs...Superman, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Supergirl and Superman Returns is the only way to get that many in one box with plenty of extras for each film), but this is very exciting new. This is one instance where the terms "Director's Cut" and "Special Edition" will actually have meaning.
Meanwhile, the Oscar nominations have left me rather "blah". Most likely because life has turned me in different directions this past year and I haven't seen most of what got nominated and won't have the opportunity until they hit video anyway.
Now...on to this week's reviews:
The problem with a film like Flightplan is that it really has only two options to follow once the plot is in motion. Jodie Foster stars as a woman who boards one of those currently non-existant super airplanes that seats 500 with her daughter. Both fall asleep and three hours into the flight her daughter goes missing and she starts to panic and throw out all these theories as she gets everyone on the plane into a panic as well. So we're left with the only two options. Let's call option A The Twilight Zone Option in which we find out she never had a kid on the plane to begin with because the child died or was never born or some other reason. Let's call option B The Die Hard on a Plane Option in which it turns out someone's really taken her child and now she's got to turn into an action hero to get the daughter back.
So you see...there's very little suspense and by the time both options have played themselves out you realize you could have spent an hour and 40 minutes doing almost anything else.
Speaking of wastes of time...The Man is one of those films that was probably thought up by studio executives during a late night pot party soon after they graduated from business school and wrongly got promoted to run the damn place. It's one of those "wouldn't it be funny if we made a buddy cop film with Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy?" type of comments you make at 3am when stoned. But when the buzz wears off you realize it wouldn't be funny. My question is why didn't the actors know better? Heck...why didn't I? To give the film some credit, it does have a rather funny recurring fart joke for what that's worth.
Lastly we come to My Big Fat Independent Movie. This film is a spoof on the order of Scary Movie or Not Another Teen Movie or even the upcoming Date Movie. Heck...just having the word Movie in the title makes it funny, right?
The film starts off very promising with a very funny parody of Memento and then quickly throws in a bizarre mish-mosh of plot pieces from Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Amelie, The Good Girl, Swingers and Pi for what makes a very funny first 30 minutes. Then it slows down as it pretty much tries to move this plot forward while still tossing around even more references to Sex, Lies and Videotape, Mulholland Drive and Run, Lola, Run before ending with the funniest (and largest) Mexican standoff ever put to film.
It's funnier than most films in this "genre", but at the end of the day it doesn't add up to much beyond 80 minutes of diversion and an "updated" version of the just as funny Plump Fiction released in 1997.
Be seeing you.
Friday, January 27, 2006
And Then There Were Five (And Other Stuff)
So by now you've probably heard about the new network being formed between CBS and Warner Brothers that will essentially replace both UPN and The WB. This is a good thing...as long as all the good shows from both networks get folded in for the fall. Read the latest Entertainment Weekly for the perfect lineup (which does include all of my favorite shows on the two networks plus the high profile Aquaman series in development for The WB).
Let's face it, while The WB has had some good shows over the years (Buffy, Angel, Smallville, Everwood to name a few), UPN has had exactly two since the network began in 1995 (Nowhere Man and Veronica Mars...and since Buffy moved there we're not going to count her...and Star Trek has been crap since Voyager started). So hopefully a good combination can be made and this new network can start beating the hell out of the old guys just as FOX has of late.
Meanwhile...it's mid-season time...so here's a look at what we've checked out so far...
Emily's Reasons Why Not was crap and was justly cancelled after one episode.
Jake In Progress was an interesting show last season that was brought back with too many oddball changes (all of a sudden Jake and Patrick were childhood friends when they had just met last season??). Also cancelled after airing one episode.
24 returned with an amazing 2 night 4 hour run that saw the demise of two MAJOR characters and threw the entire show into a tizzy. Sure the logic tends to defy logic (Tony being shot in the neck and then he's running around 3 episodes later), but it is pure fun and keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. This season's plot is a doozy.
Love Monkey isn't bad, but having Tom Cavanaugh as the star reminds me way too much of Ed which I still miss (and that show needs to be on DVD).
Scrubs has also returned and hasn't missed a stride yet. 100 episodes and still going strong.
Four Kings is the same kind of crap that NBC has always used to glue their big "Must See TV" shows together. It should be gone before next season starts.
Crumbs is inetersting and humorous...but I'm going to give it a few more episodes before really reviewing it.
There are two reasons I decided to watch The Book of Daniel. 1) The Cast. The big names are good actors and I knew a few people who were background actors (so it was nice trying to spot them). 2) The controversy. Nothing gets me watching like people raising a ruckuss that we shouldn't be allowed to see something instead of just turning their damn TV off. The show itself was okay at best. I kept waiting to see if it got any better. I knew it didn't have long life left when the ads during the third episode were all for NBC programs and nothing else. It got cancelled the following week. Score 1 for the bad guys in spite of it being just "eh".
For those curious, the folks behind the interesting, but cancelled experiment Reunion revealed the potential killer in an interview but did state they may have taken it in another direction. It would have been the daughter who was given up for adpotion in the second episode (remember, the mystery was present day but each episode flashbacked to a different year starting 20 years ago in the pilot so we'd eventually reach present day and a solution to the mystery). Oh well.
Sci-Fi will begin broadcasting the new Doctor Who when Battlestar Galactica finishes it's second season at the end of March. If you like science fiction YOU MUST WATCH THIS SHOW (that also goes for Battlestar Galactica). I want to see the second season ASAP and don't want to have to jump thru hoops to do so.
Speaking of jumping thru hoops...Cartoon Network apparently took notice of all the activity on bittorrent sites concerning the new episodes of Justice League Unlimited that they were originally planning on airing this summer. The new episodes will now start in February (there are only 9 left before the season ends).
Well...I think that's all I've got today...
Be seeing you.
Let's face it, while The WB has had some good shows over the years (Buffy, Angel, Smallville, Everwood to name a few), UPN has had exactly two since the network began in 1995 (Nowhere Man and Veronica Mars...and since Buffy moved there we're not going to count her...and Star Trek has been crap since Voyager started). So hopefully a good combination can be made and this new network can start beating the hell out of the old guys just as FOX has of late.
Meanwhile...it's mid-season time...so here's a look at what we've checked out so far...
Emily's Reasons Why Not was crap and was justly cancelled after one episode.
Jake In Progress was an interesting show last season that was brought back with too many oddball changes (all of a sudden Jake and Patrick were childhood friends when they had just met last season??). Also cancelled after airing one episode.
24 returned with an amazing 2 night 4 hour run that saw the demise of two MAJOR characters and threw the entire show into a tizzy. Sure the logic tends to defy logic (Tony being shot in the neck and then he's running around 3 episodes later), but it is pure fun and keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. This season's plot is a doozy.
Love Monkey isn't bad, but having Tom Cavanaugh as the star reminds me way too much of Ed which I still miss (and that show needs to be on DVD).
Scrubs has also returned and hasn't missed a stride yet. 100 episodes and still going strong.
Four Kings is the same kind of crap that NBC has always used to glue their big "Must See TV" shows together. It should be gone before next season starts.
Crumbs is inetersting and humorous...but I'm going to give it a few more episodes before really reviewing it.
There are two reasons I decided to watch The Book of Daniel. 1) The Cast. The big names are good actors and I knew a few people who were background actors (so it was nice trying to spot them). 2) The controversy. Nothing gets me watching like people raising a ruckuss that we shouldn't be allowed to see something instead of just turning their damn TV off. The show itself was okay at best. I kept waiting to see if it got any better. I knew it didn't have long life left when the ads during the third episode were all for NBC programs and nothing else. It got cancelled the following week. Score 1 for the bad guys in spite of it being just "eh".
For those curious, the folks behind the interesting, but cancelled experiment Reunion revealed the potential killer in an interview but did state they may have taken it in another direction. It would have been the daughter who was given up for adpotion in the second episode (remember, the mystery was present day but each episode flashbacked to a different year starting 20 years ago in the pilot so we'd eventually reach present day and a solution to the mystery). Oh well.
Sci-Fi will begin broadcasting the new Doctor Who when Battlestar Galactica finishes it's second season at the end of March. If you like science fiction YOU MUST WATCH THIS SHOW (that also goes for Battlestar Galactica). I want to see the second season ASAP and don't want to have to jump thru hoops to do so.
Speaking of jumping thru hoops...Cartoon Network apparently took notice of all the activity on bittorrent sites concerning the new episodes of Justice League Unlimited that they were originally planning on airing this summer. The new episodes will now start in February (there are only 9 left before the season ends).
Well...I think that's all I've got today...
Be seeing you.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
2005 Catch Up
So today we spend some time taking some quick looks at recent releases that we missed in theaters but have caught on DVD...so let's just get right to it...
Must Love Dogs is a typical romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Diane Lane. It was such a typical romantic comedy that I believe this film should force a moritorium on the genre for at leats 5 years (like that'll happen). The movie is so bland that it didn't even get a real "Special Edition DVD" release (and every piece of crap does these days) as it contains some deleted scenes, a gag reel and a trailer. Yawn.
The Bad News Bears is one of those remakes that begs the question "why did this need to be remade?" With Billy Bob Thornton stepping in for Walter Matthau we essentially get a cross between Bad Santa and The Bad News Bears. It's pointlessly raunchy...actually it's just pointless. See the original. Heck, see the sequels to the original.
The Constant Gardner is one of those films you're not sure about when you see the trailer. Is it a drama? Is it a mystery? Is it a dramery? Well...after having seen it, it is a political thriller...and a really good one at that. Ralph Fiennes plays a British diplomat who gets tangled in a web of deception after his journalist wife (Rachel Weisz) dies in a car accident. These days I normally don't like films that push a political agenda, but this one's a noble nose tweaking of the pharmacutical industry so I didn't mind much. Amazingly shot, this is one beautiful film to look at. This will easily make my best list for 2005.
Red Eye is another film that was marketed strangely. Trailers suggested a horror film on an airplane since it's directed by Wes Craven...but it is mostly suspense...and then about 45 minutes later the story moves off of the airplane and completely falls apart (not that it was so great to begin with). Rachel McAdams plays a hotel manager on her way home when she is forced by a strange man (Cillian Murphy) to do something against her will (to tell you what that is would ruin what little plot there is). Not worth cathcing this one (pun intended).
Layer Cake is a must see movie...especially fi you want to see why Daniel Craig was picked to be the new James Bond. This story of a drug dealer planning to retire is simply engaging from start to finish. One of the best films of the year.
Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y is an odd surreal piece of the kind I was forced to watch in film classes during college. Don't even remember what attracted me to this, but I gave up after 15 minutes (and the film runs just over an hour). It's mostly a long montage of images and sound bites of terrorist attacks from the 60s, 70s and 80s and its attempting to make some sort of point about the media's role in reporting these, but I'll be damned if I could figure it out in 15 minutes and didn't feel like wasting an hour to get there. For the record, the film was made in 1998.
The Aristocrats is the funniest film of 2005. Hands down. This documentary is essentially about the construction and deconstruction of a joke that many comedians tell amongst themselves and few people have actually heard. The joke starts "A guy walks into a talent agent's office and says "I've got this great act for you.'" And it ends with "The agent asks 'What's the act called?' and the guy replies 'The Aristocrats.'" Of course, this simple version isn't funny...it's the in between that I've left out where all the mayhem begins. You see every comedian puts their own spin on what this act does and it seems like each one is trying to top the other. They throw in every possible sex act, scatalogical act and taboo subject matter possible for this "family act" to go through. Some of the jokes last about 30 seconds (like Emo Phillips), some people claim to have streched it to a two hour story (Dana Gould), there's an animated version using the boys from South Park and even a version by a mime. And the film isn't just a string of comedians telling the joke. We get its history, how it gets reinterpreted by females, by African-Americans, how it can make a political statement and other permutations. This is not for the faint at heart as some of the descriptions defy repeating...but I was so on the floor with this film that I'm working on several versions myself.
Two animated films that got me a big angry about the use of stars instead of vocal actors are Madagascar and Robots. The former is a very funny film about animals wanting to escape from the Central Park Zoo and the latter is about a young robot with a dream that gets crushed by the system. The former utilizes Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith and the characters sound and act just like Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and some lady whose voice you won't really recognize. It's distracting and annoying, but the film is very funny (especially the penguins).
Robots on the other hand isn't as funny and it uses many more recognizable actors, but the only ones that are truly obnoxious are Robin Williams and Mel Brooks since they have the most recognizable voices and play characters similar to themselves. Everyone else, Ewan MacGregor, Halle Berry, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Giamatti, Jim Broadbent and Drew Carey aren't as vocally recognizable and their characters don't seem like the actors' public personas anyway. So while this film wasn't as funny and didn't make me as angry (since it had more people "acting" than being themselves) it's still a good representation of what's wrong with most big screen animation these days.
Another film that got me angry, in a completely different way is Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. This documentary takes a look at the rise and fall of Enron and essentially exposes what is the biggest flaw in a capitalist system. Once greed overtakes one part of it it's very easy for it to infiltrate others. This is a film everyone should see if only to understand that this WILL happen again on perhaps an even bigger scale. This is a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions and a wealth of characters who all deserve punishments as harsh as any in the Bard's plays.
The Chumscrubber is an odd little film with a strange cast. Glenn Close, Ralhp Fiennes, Rita Wilson, Lauren Holly, William Fitchner, Carrie-Ann Moss, Allison Janney, Jason Isaacs, John Heard and Jamie Bell star in this darkly comic look at suburbia. When a teenager finds his best friend has hung himself everyone seems to continue acting as if its business as usual. He quickly realizes that he may not have really known his friend and winds up involved with drug dealers who think they've kidnapped his brother but have actually taken the sherrif's son by mistake. It's not a great film by any means and its not an original film either (let's face it, David Lynch cornered the market on the dark side of suburbia years ago), but it is an interesting film with some great acting.
Well...that's all for today (isn't that enough). We'll play catch up on TV shows next time...
Be seeing you.
Must Love Dogs is a typical romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Diane Lane. It was such a typical romantic comedy that I believe this film should force a moritorium on the genre for at leats 5 years (like that'll happen). The movie is so bland that it didn't even get a real "Special Edition DVD" release (and every piece of crap does these days) as it contains some deleted scenes, a gag reel and a trailer. Yawn.
The Bad News Bears is one of those remakes that begs the question "why did this need to be remade?" With Billy Bob Thornton stepping in for Walter Matthau we essentially get a cross between Bad Santa and The Bad News Bears. It's pointlessly raunchy...actually it's just pointless. See the original. Heck, see the sequels to the original.
The Constant Gardner is one of those films you're not sure about when you see the trailer. Is it a drama? Is it a mystery? Is it a dramery? Well...after having seen it, it is a political thriller...and a really good one at that. Ralph Fiennes plays a British diplomat who gets tangled in a web of deception after his journalist wife (Rachel Weisz) dies in a car accident. These days I normally don't like films that push a political agenda, but this one's a noble nose tweaking of the pharmacutical industry so I didn't mind much. Amazingly shot, this is one beautiful film to look at. This will easily make my best list for 2005.
Red Eye is another film that was marketed strangely. Trailers suggested a horror film on an airplane since it's directed by Wes Craven...but it is mostly suspense...and then about 45 minutes later the story moves off of the airplane and completely falls apart (not that it was so great to begin with). Rachel McAdams plays a hotel manager on her way home when she is forced by a strange man (Cillian Murphy) to do something against her will (to tell you what that is would ruin what little plot there is). Not worth cathcing this one (pun intended).
Layer Cake is a must see movie...especially fi you want to see why Daniel Craig was picked to be the new James Bond. This story of a drug dealer planning to retire is simply engaging from start to finish. One of the best films of the year.
Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y is an odd surreal piece of the kind I was forced to watch in film classes during college. Don't even remember what attracted me to this, but I gave up after 15 minutes (and the film runs just over an hour). It's mostly a long montage of images and sound bites of terrorist attacks from the 60s, 70s and 80s and its attempting to make some sort of point about the media's role in reporting these, but I'll be damned if I could figure it out in 15 minutes and didn't feel like wasting an hour to get there. For the record, the film was made in 1998.
The Aristocrats is the funniest film of 2005. Hands down. This documentary is essentially about the construction and deconstruction of a joke that many comedians tell amongst themselves and few people have actually heard. The joke starts "A guy walks into a talent agent's office and says "I've got this great act for you.'" And it ends with "The agent asks 'What's the act called?' and the guy replies 'The Aristocrats.'" Of course, this simple version isn't funny...it's the in between that I've left out where all the mayhem begins. You see every comedian puts their own spin on what this act does and it seems like each one is trying to top the other. They throw in every possible sex act, scatalogical act and taboo subject matter possible for this "family act" to go through. Some of the jokes last about 30 seconds (like Emo Phillips), some people claim to have streched it to a two hour story (Dana Gould), there's an animated version using the boys from South Park and even a version by a mime. And the film isn't just a string of comedians telling the joke. We get its history, how it gets reinterpreted by females, by African-Americans, how it can make a political statement and other permutations. This is not for the faint at heart as some of the descriptions defy repeating...but I was so on the floor with this film that I'm working on several versions myself.
Two animated films that got me a big angry about the use of stars instead of vocal actors are Madagascar and Robots. The former is a very funny film about animals wanting to escape from the Central Park Zoo and the latter is about a young robot with a dream that gets crushed by the system. The former utilizes Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith and the characters sound and act just like Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and some lady whose voice you won't really recognize. It's distracting and annoying, but the film is very funny (especially the penguins).
Robots on the other hand isn't as funny and it uses many more recognizable actors, but the only ones that are truly obnoxious are Robin Williams and Mel Brooks since they have the most recognizable voices and play characters similar to themselves. Everyone else, Ewan MacGregor, Halle Berry, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Giamatti, Jim Broadbent and Drew Carey aren't as vocally recognizable and their characters don't seem like the actors' public personas anyway. So while this film wasn't as funny and didn't make me as angry (since it had more people "acting" than being themselves) it's still a good representation of what's wrong with most big screen animation these days.
Another film that got me angry, in a completely different way is Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. This documentary takes a look at the rise and fall of Enron and essentially exposes what is the biggest flaw in a capitalist system. Once greed overtakes one part of it it's very easy for it to infiltrate others. This is a film everyone should see if only to understand that this WILL happen again on perhaps an even bigger scale. This is a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions and a wealth of characters who all deserve punishments as harsh as any in the Bard's plays.
The Chumscrubber is an odd little film with a strange cast. Glenn Close, Ralhp Fiennes, Rita Wilson, Lauren Holly, William Fitchner, Carrie-Ann Moss, Allison Janney, Jason Isaacs, John Heard and Jamie Bell star in this darkly comic look at suburbia. When a teenager finds his best friend has hung himself everyone seems to continue acting as if its business as usual. He quickly realizes that he may not have really known his friend and winds up involved with drug dealers who think they've kidnapped his brother but have actually taken the sherrif's son by mistake. It's not a great film by any means and its not an original film either (let's face it, David Lynch cornered the market on the dark side of suburbia years ago), but it is an interesting film with some great acting.
Well...that's all for today (isn't that enough). We'll play catch up on TV shows next time...
Be seeing you.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Questions & Answers & Other Silly Explainations
Hey folks,
A few of your have e-mailed recently asking why you'd been taken off my list or why you hadn't gotten a new Fugue in some time. Well...I've stopped sending them. I thought that perhaps setting up the blog page would be easier than me mass e-mailing. And it has been...for me...so I'm sending this one on to remind everyone where they can catch all my latest ramblings:
http://toccataandfugue.blogspot.com/
And for those even fewer who wrote asking why I hadn't posted anything on the blog in a while, well...things have been a bit crazy, but I'm trying to get back onto a regular schedule. Check back on Wednesdays and you'll see what I mean.
In the meantime, why have I been busy?
Well...for one, I've got a 7 month old son now in addition to a wife. So that keeps me pretty busy, especially since I'm playing Mister Mom most of the time.
It's truly amazing watching Malcolm grow and change so fast. He recently started pulling himself up onto things, so that's been making things really fun. If you're interested in photos check out the following link:
http://www.seemegrow.net/gallery/fenster
That site will get updated once a month, but we'll let you know when.
In the meantime, Natasha has been performing in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in Darien for the last two weekends. The show ends this coming weekend (and it's sold out I believe, but you can always call 655-5414 for tickets). It'll be nice to have her back...at least until the next show. She just auditioned for The Pirates of Penzance (which opens in April if she gets a part) and I'm producing Room Service, which opens in March, and then directing Sly Fox, which opens in May. Malcolm sometimes spends way too much time at the theater so he better like it when he gets old enough to appreciate it.
It's been interesting trying to make this work and we'll have to change tactics (meaning hire a babysiter aside from my parents) if we've got three shows between the two of us coming up.
The house is almost done on the inside. We've been finished with the first contractor since October and the second contractor is finishing up some minor work inside this week. Everything else we want to get done is all outside (and quick work)....so yay to that!
While Tash & I have been trying to get to the movies to see a variety of things, it just hasn't worked out. We'll keep trying...but in the meantime we're catching up on DVDs. The next post will be a series of reviews of everything we've caught recently. My annual Best/Worst of the Year will not appear until closer to the end of february as I realized I hadn't seen enough films to properly fill out either list (and some major ones will be missing at the end of the day anyway).
As to why I haven't commented on Daniel Craig being picked as the new James Bond...well...I'm waiting for the whole enchilada (so to speak) of who else is in the film before commenting.
There'll be some good TV show reviews coming up shortly as well...along with a long in the works look at what's currently going on in DC Comics (yes...Earth 2 has returned for now)...
There are a few other things I've been working on, but they'll remain under wraps for a bit longer.
So...remember...if you don't get another one of these e-mails, it doesn't mean you've fallen off my list...it just means you need to check the link above as I will be updating it regularly...
Hope everyone is well and enjoying 2006 so far.
Be seeing you.
A few of your have e-mailed recently asking why you'd been taken off my list or why you hadn't gotten a new Fugue in some time. Well...I've stopped sending them. I thought that perhaps setting up the blog page would be easier than me mass e-mailing. And it has been...for me...so I'm sending this one on to remind everyone where they can catch all my latest ramblings:
http://toccataandfugue.blogspot.com/
And for those even fewer who wrote asking why I hadn't posted anything on the blog in a while, well...things have been a bit crazy, but I'm trying to get back onto a regular schedule. Check back on Wednesdays and you'll see what I mean.
In the meantime, why have I been busy?
Well...for one, I've got a 7 month old son now in addition to a wife. So that keeps me pretty busy, especially since I'm playing Mister Mom most of the time.
It's truly amazing watching Malcolm grow and change so fast. He recently started pulling himself up onto things, so that's been making things really fun. If you're interested in photos check out the following link:
http://www.seemegrow.net/gallery/fenster
That site will get updated once a month, but we'll let you know when.
In the meantime, Natasha has been performing in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in Darien for the last two weekends. The show ends this coming weekend (and it's sold out I believe, but you can always call 655-5414 for tickets). It'll be nice to have her back...at least until the next show. She just auditioned for The Pirates of Penzance (which opens in April if she gets a part) and I'm producing Room Service, which opens in March, and then directing Sly Fox, which opens in May. Malcolm sometimes spends way too much time at the theater so he better like it when he gets old enough to appreciate it.
It's been interesting trying to make this work and we'll have to change tactics (meaning hire a babysiter aside from my parents) if we've got three shows between the two of us coming up.
The house is almost done on the inside. We've been finished with the first contractor since October and the second contractor is finishing up some minor work inside this week. Everything else we want to get done is all outside (and quick work)....so yay to that!
While Tash & I have been trying to get to the movies to see a variety of things, it just hasn't worked out. We'll keep trying...but in the meantime we're catching up on DVDs. The next post will be a series of reviews of everything we've caught recently. My annual Best/Worst of the Year will not appear until closer to the end of february as I realized I hadn't seen enough films to properly fill out either list (and some major ones will be missing at the end of the day anyway).
As to why I haven't commented on Daniel Craig being picked as the new James Bond...well...I'm waiting for the whole enchilada (so to speak) of who else is in the film before commenting.
There'll be some good TV show reviews coming up shortly as well...along with a long in the works look at what's currently going on in DC Comics (yes...Earth 2 has returned for now)...
There are a few other things I've been working on, but they'll remain under wraps for a bit longer.
So...remember...if you don't get another one of these e-mails, it doesn't mean you've fallen off my list...it just means you need to check the link above as I will be updating it regularly...
Hope everyone is well and enjoying 2006 so far.
Be seeing you.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Starting the New Year with a BANG!
Before we get started today, I want to complain about a trend in movie releases that HAS to stop. All three films reviewed today suffer from it and it has gotten to be too much. I'm talking about the marketing concept known as the "Unrated Version" which has essentially become little more than an end run around the MPAA and rarely actually adds anything to the film. The true "Director's Cut" is a rarity these days with video releases and most of the time we're just getting a bland enticement to purchase something "special" that was cut for legitimate reasons and has now been reinserted (don't want to stay restored because it's not like we're talking about an instance of studio interference like David Lynch's Dune or Terry Gilliam's Brazil) essentially making good films blah and bad films even longer. I wish the studios would stop and leave well enough alone.
I haven't seen the theatrical versions of any of the films reviewed today, so you're getting my impressions on the "Unrated" DVD releases.
The concept behind The 40 Year Old Virgin is pretty much explained in the title. Andy Stsitzer (Steve Carrell) has had bad luck with women all his life and remains a virgin at age 40. When his work buddies find out about this, they make it their mission to "correct this problem". Of course, Andy finds true love in the process with a divorced mother (Catherine Keener).
Taking in over $100 million at the box office, this film was one of the more successful comedies of the year (perhaps surpassed only by the next film reviewed today). From the creator of the cult TV series Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared, this film is very funny, very sweet and yet somewhat disjointed. The funniest scenes all involve the co-workers, whether it's their attempts at getting Andy laid or advice on things to do that will lead to that or their own personal subplots (and each of the three main ones does have their own) which kind of makes for something of a let down everytime Andy and Trish's story comes on. It almost gets in the way.
The theatrical version ran 116 minutes. The "Unrated" DVD version runs 133 minutes. I'm not sure what exactly was added where, but the movie feels padded and long in spots (enough so that the theatrical version was probably ten minutes too long...the best comedies tend to run no more than 105 minutes...any "pro" will tell you the shorter the better). But it is funny and very sweet (and not the raunchy sex comedy the title might suggest).
The "Unrated" DVD contains a commentary, some deleted scenes and alternate takes (these are what was probably used by the MPAA to threaten an NC-17, but they are not incorporated back into the film here), a gag reel and actor Seth Rogan having dinner with a porn star. All funny stuff, but begs the usual question of "Is this film truly special enough to deserve all these extras?" I'm not sure...but it is worth seeing. The theatrical version has also been released on DVD. There are no extras AND it is "Full Screen" only. Go figure.
Wedding Crashers has a concept that could potentially make the lead characters unlikable. Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson star as two guys who, for fun, crash weddings and mingle with the real guests. At one wedding, John (Wilson) falls for a bridesmaid and Jeremy (Vaughn) hooks up with her sister. It turns out the girls are the daughters of the U.S. Treasury Secretary (Christopher Walken) and they wind up spending the weekend with the family as they get deeper and deeper into the lie they created.
The theatrical version runs 119 minutes and this "Uncorked" DVD runs 128. Unlike the previous film reviewed, I'm pretty sure most of what was added was nudity as there's a lot of it. The film is very funny and the usually annoying Luke Wilson is less so here (don't get me wrong, he is still annoying). Vince Vaughn remains an amazing and engaging actor and runs circles around his costar. The "rude" factor of what these guys do doesn't actually hurt anyone in the film (at least in the beginning when we see them going from a Jewish wedding to a Irish wedding to an Italian one etc.) and the "ick" factor is touched upon nicely later in the film with a cameo by Will Ferrell as a former buddy of Vaughn's who has "graduated" from weddings to funerals.
The DVD of this high grossing comedy (over $200 million) contains two commentaries, some deleted scenes and some behind the scenes footage as well as both the extended and theatrical versions. The theatrical version is also available on its own (with the same extras) for those stores (cough Wal-Mart cough) who like to keep "perverted" material out of children's hands.
Universal Pictures has had amazing success with their American Pie franchise. With three entries each grossing more than $100 million you'd expect more life out of the series. Universal has decided to take a slightly different route for a fourth entry. They've had plenty of success with direct-to-video sequels (Darkman, Tremors, The Land Before Time, The Skulls and Bring It On all come to mind) and most of these haven't been complete wastes of time and money. So now we have American Pie Presents Band Camp and I'm pretty sure this will be the franchise killer.
Stifler's younger brother Matt is trying to follow in his big brother's footsteps. He's a jock jerk who is constantly playing tricks on the band geeks. When one of these backfires, his guidance counselor (Chuck Sherman, played by Chris Owen again) sentences him to Band Camp in order to learn to get along with the geeks. Once there he decides to secretly make videos of the hot band geeks and one up his brother (who is apparently doing girls gone wild videos of his own). Of course, by film's end he falls in love with one of the "geeks" and learns the errors of his ways. Eugene Levy also appears as Jim's dad in a contrived bit of plotting that makes him the camp's guidance counselor.
It's very hard to enjoy a film that is focused on an obnoxious and detestable character. At least in the three previous films Stifler was not the main character, so you could easily laugh at him and not take him seriously. Here, we're stuck...and it's not pretty. On top of this, the writer (Brad Riddell...first job) and director (Steve Rash...Under the Rainbow and Can't Buy Me Love) seem to have emphasized the gross in "gross out humor". None of it is funny and it all reeks of being "realistic" which is bad for humor (they should have watched either Family Guy or Stand By Me to learn how to make vomitting hysterical...and the scene of Stifler jerking off in an out of order bathroom stall is probably the grossest I've ever seen...and I own Passolini's Salo on DVD so that's gotta be saying something).
The "Unrated" DVD (there had to be 2 versions?? the film didn't get a theatrical release??!) runs 95 minutes and the R Rated version runs 87. My guess is that we're treated to many more boob and butt shots (which don't help this crap fest). The "Unrated" version has loads of "special features" it doesn't deserve. The R Rated version is fullscreen only. This may be the first time I'd recommend a "cut version" of a film...because the less we have of this the better. I'm pretty sure Eugene Levy lost a bet or is being blackmailed based on his appearance here.
That's all for today.
Be seeing you.
I haven't seen the theatrical versions of any of the films reviewed today, so you're getting my impressions on the "Unrated" DVD releases.
The concept behind The 40 Year Old Virgin is pretty much explained in the title. Andy Stsitzer (Steve Carrell) has had bad luck with women all his life and remains a virgin at age 40. When his work buddies find out about this, they make it their mission to "correct this problem". Of course, Andy finds true love in the process with a divorced mother (Catherine Keener).
Taking in over $100 million at the box office, this film was one of the more successful comedies of the year (perhaps surpassed only by the next film reviewed today). From the creator of the cult TV series Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared, this film is very funny, very sweet and yet somewhat disjointed. The funniest scenes all involve the co-workers, whether it's their attempts at getting Andy laid or advice on things to do that will lead to that or their own personal subplots (and each of the three main ones does have their own) which kind of makes for something of a let down everytime Andy and Trish's story comes on. It almost gets in the way.
The theatrical version ran 116 minutes. The "Unrated" DVD version runs 133 minutes. I'm not sure what exactly was added where, but the movie feels padded and long in spots (enough so that the theatrical version was probably ten minutes too long...the best comedies tend to run no more than 105 minutes...any "pro" will tell you the shorter the better). But it is funny and very sweet (and not the raunchy sex comedy the title might suggest).
The "Unrated" DVD contains a commentary, some deleted scenes and alternate takes (these are what was probably used by the MPAA to threaten an NC-17, but they are not incorporated back into the film here), a gag reel and actor Seth Rogan having dinner with a porn star. All funny stuff, but begs the usual question of "Is this film truly special enough to deserve all these extras?" I'm not sure...but it is worth seeing. The theatrical version has also been released on DVD. There are no extras AND it is "Full Screen" only. Go figure.
Wedding Crashers has a concept that could potentially make the lead characters unlikable. Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson star as two guys who, for fun, crash weddings and mingle with the real guests. At one wedding, John (Wilson) falls for a bridesmaid and Jeremy (Vaughn) hooks up with her sister. It turns out the girls are the daughters of the U.S. Treasury Secretary (Christopher Walken) and they wind up spending the weekend with the family as they get deeper and deeper into the lie they created.
The theatrical version runs 119 minutes and this "Uncorked" DVD runs 128. Unlike the previous film reviewed, I'm pretty sure most of what was added was nudity as there's a lot of it. The film is very funny and the usually annoying Luke Wilson is less so here (don't get me wrong, he is still annoying). Vince Vaughn remains an amazing and engaging actor and runs circles around his costar. The "rude" factor of what these guys do doesn't actually hurt anyone in the film (at least in the beginning when we see them going from a Jewish wedding to a Irish wedding to an Italian one etc.) and the "ick" factor is touched upon nicely later in the film with a cameo by Will Ferrell as a former buddy of Vaughn's who has "graduated" from weddings to funerals.
The DVD of this high grossing comedy (over $200 million) contains two commentaries, some deleted scenes and some behind the scenes footage as well as both the extended and theatrical versions. The theatrical version is also available on its own (with the same extras) for those stores (cough Wal-Mart cough) who like to keep "perverted" material out of children's hands.
Universal Pictures has had amazing success with their American Pie franchise. With three entries each grossing more than $100 million you'd expect more life out of the series. Universal has decided to take a slightly different route for a fourth entry. They've had plenty of success with direct-to-video sequels (Darkman, Tremors, The Land Before Time, The Skulls and Bring It On all come to mind) and most of these haven't been complete wastes of time and money. So now we have American Pie Presents Band Camp and I'm pretty sure this will be the franchise killer.
Stifler's younger brother Matt is trying to follow in his big brother's footsteps. He's a jock jerk who is constantly playing tricks on the band geeks. When one of these backfires, his guidance counselor (Chuck Sherman, played by Chris Owen again) sentences him to Band Camp in order to learn to get along with the geeks. Once there he decides to secretly make videos of the hot band geeks and one up his brother (who is apparently doing girls gone wild videos of his own). Of course, by film's end he falls in love with one of the "geeks" and learns the errors of his ways. Eugene Levy also appears as Jim's dad in a contrived bit of plotting that makes him the camp's guidance counselor.
It's very hard to enjoy a film that is focused on an obnoxious and detestable character. At least in the three previous films Stifler was not the main character, so you could easily laugh at him and not take him seriously. Here, we're stuck...and it's not pretty. On top of this, the writer (Brad Riddell...first job) and director (Steve Rash...Under the Rainbow and Can't Buy Me Love) seem to have emphasized the gross in "gross out humor". None of it is funny and it all reeks of being "realistic" which is bad for humor (they should have watched either Family Guy or Stand By Me to learn how to make vomitting hysterical...and the scene of Stifler jerking off in an out of order bathroom stall is probably the grossest I've ever seen...and I own Passolini's Salo on DVD so that's gotta be saying something).
The "Unrated" DVD (there had to be 2 versions?? the film didn't get a theatrical release??!) runs 95 minutes and the R Rated version runs 87. My guess is that we're treated to many more boob and butt shots (which don't help this crap fest). The "Unrated" version has loads of "special features" it doesn't deserve. The R Rated version is fullscreen only. This may be the first time I'd recommend a "cut version" of a film...because the less we have of this the better. I'm pretty sure Eugene Levy lost a bet or is being blackmailed based on his appearance here.
That's all for today.
Be seeing you.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
A Pale Reflection
I think I now know why Matthew Broderick used a very obnoxious, distracting and nasally voice when playing Leo Bloom in the original Broadway run of The Producers. It was to keep you from hating all the obnoxious facial ticks, mugging and overacting...which has all been blown up on the big screen, minus the voice, in the movie based on the musical based on the movie The Producers.
If I had to list my favorite film comedies of all time, The Producers would be on it. Mel Brooks' 1968 film is a classic that always makes me laugh...no matter how many times I've seen it. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder are perfect in every way and they're supported by a wonderful cast of character actors. The Broadway musical version is a good adaptation of the movie to a different medium, but I think most of its charm is based on two things...it's sweet feel of sendup towards classic musicals and the charm and talents of the original Broadway cast...or at least the hype of the charm and talents of the original Broadway cast.
The new movie version of the musical is essentially a record of what that original cast was like (with a few changes). There are two actors who have been replaced, three musical numbers that have been removed, one that's been truncated and the obligatory shot at an Oscar for Best Original Song has been added to the end credits (there's also the addition of a excerpt from song cut from the Broadway show that Mel Brooks is on record as calling stupid).
Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick spend the 2 plus hours on screen continuing to act like they need to be seen in the balcony of the St. James Theater. They also seem to spend most of their time sleepwalking through roles they've played many times before. Will Ferrell does a decent job at bringing Nazi playwright Franz Liebkin to life, but Brad Oscar (who makes a very brief cameo as a cab driver) was a thousand times better (especially singing "Have You Ever Heard The Grman Band?"). Uma Thurman is very good as Ulla, but you'll still ask why they didn't use Tony winning actress Cady Huffman. Gary Beach and Roger Bart are still amazingly hysterical as Roger De Bris and Carmen Ghia.
As directed by Susan Strohman what the film is missing most is pacing and flow. A lot of things that work on stage come off as hackneyed and cliched on film (like the couch gags during "That Face"). There also seems to be very little artistry to the film itself. Sure the sets and costumes look great, but it's really just in service of having a record of the show. Take for example Leo's big number "I Want To Be A Producer". It looks amazing on film (one of the few successful moments of the film version) with many more chorus girls to bolster it, but at the same time a few things have been taken away from it (the "racist" dialog of the African-American accountant and the recurring joke of the ugly chorus girl is cut way back). The number that comes off the best is obviously "Springtime For Hitler" which is hysterical no matter which version of this story you're watching...here we get a nice mix of the Broadway version (the "extended cut") and the original movie (we get to see audience reactions again in close up which you don't get on Broadway).
Of the missing numbers, I missed all three of them. While it was decided to cut "The King of Broadway" just to get to the "story" faster, it is too funny a song and too great a setup of Max's character to just toss away. The same goes with "Where Did We Go Right" towards the end (and that one's a short song). And "In Old Bavaria" is a great setup for Franz and his birds that also doesn't run very long. If they needed to cut songs, they should have started with "That Face" which I've always found kind of blah at best. At least on Broadway it opened Act Two...here it's just a slow spot in the middle of the film. Also, the nature of the medium has necessitated the dropping of two very funny jokes on stage (both stemming from there being an intermission).
There are a few interesting cameos worth noting...just for fun...Andrea Martin and Debra Monk are two of the little old ladies, John Barrowman plays the lead tenor in the film's biggest number, Michael McKean puts in an appearance as a prisoner at the end and Jon Lovitz does a great bit as Leo's boss.
The Producers isn't a bad movie simply because its original source material is so classic. It just could have been a lot better. Its a bittersweet disappointment at best.
Two quick shot reviews:
Monster-in-Law is a formulaic comedy that underuses the talented Jane Fonda and overuses the underwhelming J-Lo (who was really good in Out of Sight and little else). Don't bother yourself.
Bewitched is a remake of the old TV series that complicates itself too much by adding an extra layer (it's not just about a man who marries a witch, it's about a man cast as Darrin in a remake of the TV series who casts an unknown actress as Samantha who is actually a witch). Why not just remake the TV series and be done with it? And if you're going to go that extra mile why not just have Shirley MacLaine play Endora instead of her playing an actress playing Endora (said actress playing Endora could have been Shirley MacLaine). Again...don't bother.
That's it for 2005. Have a Happy New Year. We'll be back with more reviews and other crap in 2006. My list of the year's best will appear closer to February as I'm still trying to watch 25 films from the year to make up a list like I always do. Having a kid seems to have changed our movie viewing habits somewhat.
Be seeing you.
If I had to list my favorite film comedies of all time, The Producers would be on it. Mel Brooks' 1968 film is a classic that always makes me laugh...no matter how many times I've seen it. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder are perfect in every way and they're supported by a wonderful cast of character actors. The Broadway musical version is a good adaptation of the movie to a different medium, but I think most of its charm is based on two things...it's sweet feel of sendup towards classic musicals and the charm and talents of the original Broadway cast...or at least the hype of the charm and talents of the original Broadway cast.
The new movie version of the musical is essentially a record of what that original cast was like (with a few changes). There are two actors who have been replaced, three musical numbers that have been removed, one that's been truncated and the obligatory shot at an Oscar for Best Original Song has been added to the end credits (there's also the addition of a excerpt from song cut from the Broadway show that Mel Brooks is on record as calling stupid).
Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick spend the 2 plus hours on screen continuing to act like they need to be seen in the balcony of the St. James Theater. They also seem to spend most of their time sleepwalking through roles they've played many times before. Will Ferrell does a decent job at bringing Nazi playwright Franz Liebkin to life, but Brad Oscar (who makes a very brief cameo as a cab driver) was a thousand times better (especially singing "Have You Ever Heard The Grman Band?"). Uma Thurman is very good as Ulla, but you'll still ask why they didn't use Tony winning actress Cady Huffman. Gary Beach and Roger Bart are still amazingly hysterical as Roger De Bris and Carmen Ghia.
As directed by Susan Strohman what the film is missing most is pacing and flow. A lot of things that work on stage come off as hackneyed and cliched on film (like the couch gags during "That Face"). There also seems to be very little artistry to the film itself. Sure the sets and costumes look great, but it's really just in service of having a record of the show. Take for example Leo's big number "I Want To Be A Producer". It looks amazing on film (one of the few successful moments of the film version) with many more chorus girls to bolster it, but at the same time a few things have been taken away from it (the "racist" dialog of the African-American accountant and the recurring joke of the ugly chorus girl is cut way back). The number that comes off the best is obviously "Springtime For Hitler" which is hysterical no matter which version of this story you're watching...here we get a nice mix of the Broadway version (the "extended cut") and the original movie (we get to see audience reactions again in close up which you don't get on Broadway).
Of the missing numbers, I missed all three of them. While it was decided to cut "The King of Broadway" just to get to the "story" faster, it is too funny a song and too great a setup of Max's character to just toss away. The same goes with "Where Did We Go Right" towards the end (and that one's a short song). And "In Old Bavaria" is a great setup for Franz and his birds that also doesn't run very long. If they needed to cut songs, they should have started with "That Face" which I've always found kind of blah at best. At least on Broadway it opened Act Two...here it's just a slow spot in the middle of the film. Also, the nature of the medium has necessitated the dropping of two very funny jokes on stage (both stemming from there being an intermission).
There are a few interesting cameos worth noting...just for fun...Andrea Martin and Debra Monk are two of the little old ladies, John Barrowman plays the lead tenor in the film's biggest number, Michael McKean puts in an appearance as a prisoner at the end and Jon Lovitz does a great bit as Leo's boss.
The Producers isn't a bad movie simply because its original source material is so classic. It just could have been a lot better. Its a bittersweet disappointment at best.
Two quick shot reviews:
Monster-in-Law is a formulaic comedy that underuses the talented Jane Fonda and overuses the underwhelming J-Lo (who was really good in Out of Sight and little else). Don't bother yourself.
Bewitched is a remake of the old TV series that complicates itself too much by adding an extra layer (it's not just about a man who marries a witch, it's about a man cast as Darrin in a remake of the TV series who casts an unknown actress as Samantha who is actually a witch). Why not just remake the TV series and be done with it? And if you're going to go that extra mile why not just have Shirley MacLaine play Endora instead of her playing an actress playing Endora (said actress playing Endora could have been Shirley MacLaine). Again...don't bother.
That's it for 2005. Have a Happy New Year. We'll be back with more reviews and other crap in 2006. My list of the year's best will appear closer to February as I'm still trying to watch 25 films from the year to make up a list like I always do. Having a kid seems to have changed our movie viewing habits somewhat.
Be seeing you.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
A Christmas Change
It amazes me how through the use of the internet one can get almost anything instantly...
And so it was that I was able to watch the newest episode of Doctor Who just hours after it aired on the BBC in Britain.
I've always been a fan of this show and was excited to hear there'd be new episodes. Of course, we here in the United States are unable to watch the new episodes as no cable network has picked it up. Luckily, we'll be getting aboxed set of all 13 episodes (plus extras) of the 2005 series on Valentine's Day 2006.
Of course, this means that all the 2006 episodes won't show up on our shores until 2007. But I have every intention of purchasing the series on DVD as it arrives...but I don't have the patience to wait a year...so I'm supplementing...
Anyway...
The special Christmas episode, entitled The Christmas Invasion, is the first story to fully feature David Tennant as the Doctor (if you've seen the recent Harry Potter movie he played Barty Crouch Jr.). If Christopher Eccleston's portrayal of the Doctor was a 9 from the first episode he appeared in, Tennant's is an 11 (and he spends a good chunk of the episode unconscious).
The concept of a Christmas episode of Doctor Who is weird at best, but not unprecedented (William Hartnell, the first Doctor, had one, but it is sadly part of the missing and lost episodes). Luckily, it's not a Christmas episode in the sense of what we here get in the United States (on a special Joey blah blah blah). There are a few Christmas related decorations, but the story is mostly about change for the Doctor, Rose and the entire planet Earth as an alien race attempts an invasion.
Tennant, like Eccleston before him, is a great combination of all the previous incarnations of the character while still carving his own place. The episode is as engaging as everything from last season, sets up both the new Doctor's character and touches on a spin-off series (Torchwood), brings back other beloved supporting characters and gives them a new twist and even manages to connect the entire Doctor Who mythos to that of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in one mindboggling throwaway line that will have people trying to figure out how those two mythos fit together in any possible way.
The new season starts in March on the BBC and I am very excited.
Be seeing you.
And so it was that I was able to watch the newest episode of Doctor Who just hours after it aired on the BBC in Britain.
I've always been a fan of this show and was excited to hear there'd be new episodes. Of course, we here in the United States are unable to watch the new episodes as no cable network has picked it up. Luckily, we'll be getting aboxed set of all 13 episodes (plus extras) of the 2005 series on Valentine's Day 2006.
Of course, this means that all the 2006 episodes won't show up on our shores until 2007. But I have every intention of purchasing the series on DVD as it arrives...but I don't have the patience to wait a year...so I'm supplementing...
Anyway...
The special Christmas episode, entitled The Christmas Invasion, is the first story to fully feature David Tennant as the Doctor (if you've seen the recent Harry Potter movie he played Barty Crouch Jr.). If Christopher Eccleston's portrayal of the Doctor was a 9 from the first episode he appeared in, Tennant's is an 11 (and he spends a good chunk of the episode unconscious).
The concept of a Christmas episode of Doctor Who is weird at best, but not unprecedented (William Hartnell, the first Doctor, had one, but it is sadly part of the missing and lost episodes). Luckily, it's not a Christmas episode in the sense of what we here get in the United States (on a special Joey blah blah blah). There are a few Christmas related decorations, but the story is mostly about change for the Doctor, Rose and the entire planet Earth as an alien race attempts an invasion.
Tennant, like Eccleston before him, is a great combination of all the previous incarnations of the character while still carving his own place. The episode is as engaging as everything from last season, sets up both the new Doctor's character and touches on a spin-off series (Torchwood), brings back other beloved supporting characters and gives them a new twist and even manages to connect the entire Doctor Who mythos to that of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in one mindboggling throwaway line that will have people trying to figure out how those two mythos fit together in any possible way.
The new season starts in March on the BBC and I am very excited.
Be seeing you.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
What We're Watching...
So...now that November Sweeps are over, let's take a look at the viewing habits going on in this house...
Desperate Housewives -- Still enjoying this show, but it seems to have lost some steam. Perhaps it's because all the stories with Susan (Teri Hatcher) have become rather silly? Maybe it's because there's too much of Bree (whom I dislike immensely as a character)? Maybe it's that the Alfre Woodard story is unfolding slower than Lost? Just wish it was as fresh as it was last season.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent -- The show has been somewhat reenergized by the addition of Chris Noth...not that it needed it. Anabella Sciorra's presence is relatively negligible. Maybe they should team Noth and D'Onfrio more often?
King of the Hill -- The show's in its final season. It's been pre-empted by more sports than it deserves so far this season, but the few episodes that have aired have been just as good as always. Let's hope the Hill family and their friends get the send off they deserve.
The Simpsons -- It's funny...I can still quote old episodes and I love them dearly, but the newer episodes confuse me as I can barely remember what each one's about on second viewings. Maybe a billion years on TV is too long? Yes...I just blasphemed.
Family Guy -- Let's face it, the show's really just an endless stream of pop culture jokes and bathroom shtick...but I'm glad it's back and still find it hysterically funny.
American Dad -- This show has gotten much better since it started and seems to have found a nice stride in balancing the ridiculous and the sublime. We just need more stories involving Roger and Klaus.
Arrested Development -- As funny as it's ever been...and if you haven't heard it's pretty much coming to an end soon as FOX cut the full season order down to 13 episodes. It will be missed.
Kitchen Confidential -- While we've enjoyed this show (all 4 episodes that aired), it really wasn't given a chance. Bad FOX!
Prison Break -- We have to wait until March to get new episodes?? Can't FOX cancel some other crap that's still on (like the piece of shit wedged between The Simpsons and Family Guy) to find the right spot so we can find out what happens next? Great show that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Medium -- We regularly Tivo this show and do enjoy it when we watch it, but we tend to let episodes pile up for a week (or three) before catching up. It's good, but it's not "I have to watch it now"...and the episode that wound up essentially being a commercial for Memoirs of a Geisha was just annoying.
Bones -- While it's not original (I think we need to take off shoes and grab a friend or two to actually count the number of procedural shows on TV right now), it's a lot of fun due to the cast of characters. If it wasn't for the chemistry between David Boreanaz and Emily Deschannel (as well as the rest of the cast that includes Eric Millegan, TJ Thyne, Michaela Conlin and Jonathan Adams), it wouldn't be worth watching. I hope it survives being separated from it's perfect partner in January. That perfect partner is...
House -- It's nice to have something of a break from all the "arc" shows that seem to fill our days. Hugh Laurie still drives this vehicle as the wonderfully crochety Dr. House and the two hour block of this show and Bones works so well.
My Name is Earl -- Easily the best new sitcom in quite some time. Smart move in taking it to Thursdays to re-energize "Must See TV". Now if they'd only pair it with Scrubs instead of the dreck called The Office.
Commander in Chief -- I'm still not 100% sure what it is I like about this show beyond such an engaging cast. Maybe it's the possibility that the "political" aspects of this show are about as removed from reality as a "President" can get (insert your own jokes about the current administration here). If I want real politics, I'll turn on the ever depressing and comedic news...here's where I go for the fantasy.
Boston Legal -- What started off as a great concept on The Practice and then became its own fun series has quickly become tiresome, repetative and silly...and yet I still watch...it's just not a "gotta watch it now" show...
That 70s Show -- With Eric & Kelso gone, it's just feeling old and tired...although the bit with killing off the guy everyone assumed would become Eric's replacement was pure genius...unfortunately, his replacement is blah...thankfully the show's ending in May.
Stacked -- Not sure why I'm still watching this as FOX has cancelled so many other better sitcoms...
Lost -- I'm just glad that a show takes risks with the status quo...anyone can be "offed" at any moment...sure it's mind-numbing in it's advancement of "what's going on" (one step forward, four back), but I'm hooked for the duration.
Invasion -- Imagine a show going any slower than Lost and you're pretty much up to speed on this. It's Invasion of the Body Snatchers if it needed 24 hours to tell the entire story...and yet they manage to keep this slow boil show intriguing every step of the way (and when they give you info, they give you info).
Veronica Mars -- Hands down the BEST mystery show on TV. If you're not watching this, insert your own insult here...
Criminal Minds -- Look...CBS is airing a procedural drama...what is this number 27? Luckily, my boycott of the network kept me away from all of them...and it took Mandy Patinkin to break that...hopefully someday they'll move away from the procedure and get into the characters a bit more (is Elle really Jason's daughter??).
Law & Order -- It's not "Must See TV" anymore by any means, but I like Dennis Farina and Jesse L. Martin enough to keep watching...Sam Waterston's become too boring and predictable...we need some new "Order" here.
Joey -- It's mildly amusing at best...but being taken off the air for January and February can't be a good sign. If it goes at the end of the season, it won't be missed...
Will & Grace -- And neither will this...thankfully, it's all over in May...until the guest star studded reunion.
The Apprentice -- The latest version actually has a few contestants you could see winning...unlike the last two...I'm never sure if I'll watch the next version until it airs and then I get hooked anyway.
Night Stalker -- would probably be a better show if it had no connection whatsoever to the series it is based on; Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Just released on DVD). The one season cult hit from the 1970s was an inspiriation for The X-Files and this remake is being helmed by one of the forces behind that show (Frank Spotznitz). But quite honestly, the concept is so far removed from the original (Middle Aged, frumpy, cynical and sardonic reporter Carl Kolchak investigates things that go bump in the night) it may as well be something else. Here we have young, hot, mysterious reporter Carl Kolchak invetsigating things that go bump in the night in an effort to find who (or what) really killed his wife (a crime he was accused of). It's warmed over mush from several other and far more successful shows (none of which were Kolchak). Is anyone surprised it lasted as long as it did? (Although ABC gets a big finger for cancelling it after airing the first part of a two parter -- the one episode I didn't see -- because the three people still watching deserved better, Sci-Fi gets kudos for picking up all ten episodes for airing next summer).
Reunion -- OK...so it's gonna end at 13 episodes and we're never gonna know who killed...you know...I've seen every episode to date and I can't remember the name of the character killed...so is it really any good? It is an interesting concept (a big flashback story where each episode is one year closer to the present), but the acting's cheesy and the actual storylines are cliched and hackneyed (and we won't get into the fact that the young actors look silly playing their older selves in the present day scenes).
Smallville -- Best Season Ever.
Everwood -- Best Season Ever. Now give us more seasons on DVD Warner!!!
The Bernie Mac Show -- I still watch, but the charm and orginality has gone...as have the ratings since it's now on Firdya nights.
Malcolm in the Middle -- FOX has done wrong by this show. As funny as it has ever been (though I do miss Francis at the dude ranch stories), it probably won't last longer than this season because of the Friday time slot...very unfortunate. I hope they go out on the same high note they came in on.
Threshold -- This is the faster paced and more stand alone episode alien invasion series than Invasion. It's is also the one that's been cancelled.
Justice League Unlimited -- Waiting for Cartoon Network to air the last 8 episodes of Season 3 (or season 5 if you count the two seasons of the "limited" version of the show) is like waiting for turtles to mate. There had better be another season after this one, because they've passed on a 6th season of
Teen Titans -- which is going to end next month. The show started as an odd show and grew into a GREAT adaptation of a comic book. It will be missed.
The Batman -- Living in the shadow of the amazing animated series of the 1990s, this show is a pale imitation...but it's still Batman...so it's not completely worthless.
Battlestar Galactica -- Left us hanging in the middle of season 2 with a potential Civil War within the fleet...can't wait to see where it's going. A thousand times better than the original...if you're not watching, catch up before the rest of the season starts as everything up to that point is on DVD.
The Sopranos -- Can you believe we've got another season and a half of this show. How long has it been?? Did Family Guy have this long a wait between seasons? I'm gonna have to rewatch the whole series to date just to remember who is who.
Entourage -- A fun HBO show that makes great use of Jeremy Piven.
The Dead Zone -- While USA seems to have taken on the BBCs concept of making Christmas episodes, this show wasn't ruined by theirs. Can't wait to see how the overall story arc both mimics and diverges from Stephen King's novel...
Monk -- While I still enjoy watching it's gotten a bit monotonous and while the chance from Sharona to what's-her-face was rather seamless, the show has lost something.
24 -- Can't wait for Season 5 and all the fun logic loops we'll have to take.
Scrubs -- The best comedy on TV gets no respect, but does get new episodes (and another DVD release). Hooray.
Jake in Progress -- It'll be interesting to see how this show changes as I was surprised by it last year...I'm sure things will get mucked up entirely.
Deadwood -- I loved the first season and fell out of touch with season 2. Kind of like another HBO show. Maybe I'll try and catch up before season 3 starts...and maybe I won't.
Well...that's all for now...I'll be back, hopefully, on Christmas Day with a surprise about one more show I didn't mention.
Be seeing you.
Desperate Housewives -- Still enjoying this show, but it seems to have lost some steam. Perhaps it's because all the stories with Susan (Teri Hatcher) have become rather silly? Maybe it's because there's too much of Bree (whom I dislike immensely as a character)? Maybe it's that the Alfre Woodard story is unfolding slower than Lost? Just wish it was as fresh as it was last season.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent -- The show has been somewhat reenergized by the addition of Chris Noth...not that it needed it. Anabella Sciorra's presence is relatively negligible. Maybe they should team Noth and D'Onfrio more often?
King of the Hill -- The show's in its final season. It's been pre-empted by more sports than it deserves so far this season, but the few episodes that have aired have been just as good as always. Let's hope the Hill family and their friends get the send off they deserve.
The Simpsons -- It's funny...I can still quote old episodes and I love them dearly, but the newer episodes confuse me as I can barely remember what each one's about on second viewings. Maybe a billion years on TV is too long? Yes...I just blasphemed.
Family Guy -- Let's face it, the show's really just an endless stream of pop culture jokes and bathroom shtick...but I'm glad it's back and still find it hysterically funny.
American Dad -- This show has gotten much better since it started and seems to have found a nice stride in balancing the ridiculous and the sublime. We just need more stories involving Roger and Klaus.
Arrested Development -- As funny as it's ever been...and if you haven't heard it's pretty much coming to an end soon as FOX cut the full season order down to 13 episodes. It will be missed.
Kitchen Confidential -- While we've enjoyed this show (all 4 episodes that aired), it really wasn't given a chance. Bad FOX!
Prison Break -- We have to wait until March to get new episodes?? Can't FOX cancel some other crap that's still on (like the piece of shit wedged between The Simpsons and Family Guy) to find the right spot so we can find out what happens next? Great show that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Medium -- We regularly Tivo this show and do enjoy it when we watch it, but we tend to let episodes pile up for a week (or three) before catching up. It's good, but it's not "I have to watch it now"...and the episode that wound up essentially being a commercial for Memoirs of a Geisha was just annoying.
Bones -- While it's not original (I think we need to take off shoes and grab a friend or two to actually count the number of procedural shows on TV right now), it's a lot of fun due to the cast of characters. If it wasn't for the chemistry between David Boreanaz and Emily Deschannel (as well as the rest of the cast that includes Eric Millegan, TJ Thyne, Michaela Conlin and Jonathan Adams), it wouldn't be worth watching. I hope it survives being separated from it's perfect partner in January. That perfect partner is...
House -- It's nice to have something of a break from all the "arc" shows that seem to fill our days. Hugh Laurie still drives this vehicle as the wonderfully crochety Dr. House and the two hour block of this show and Bones works so well.
My Name is Earl -- Easily the best new sitcom in quite some time. Smart move in taking it to Thursdays to re-energize "Must See TV". Now if they'd only pair it with Scrubs instead of the dreck called The Office.
Commander in Chief -- I'm still not 100% sure what it is I like about this show beyond such an engaging cast. Maybe it's the possibility that the "political" aspects of this show are about as removed from reality as a "President" can get (insert your own jokes about the current administration here). If I want real politics, I'll turn on the ever depressing and comedic news...here's where I go for the fantasy.
Boston Legal -- What started off as a great concept on The Practice and then became its own fun series has quickly become tiresome, repetative and silly...and yet I still watch...it's just not a "gotta watch it now" show...
That 70s Show -- With Eric & Kelso gone, it's just feeling old and tired...although the bit with killing off the guy everyone assumed would become Eric's replacement was pure genius...unfortunately, his replacement is blah...thankfully the show's ending in May.
Stacked -- Not sure why I'm still watching this as FOX has cancelled so many other better sitcoms...
Lost -- I'm just glad that a show takes risks with the status quo...anyone can be "offed" at any moment...sure it's mind-numbing in it's advancement of "what's going on" (one step forward, four back), but I'm hooked for the duration.
Invasion -- Imagine a show going any slower than Lost and you're pretty much up to speed on this. It's Invasion of the Body Snatchers if it needed 24 hours to tell the entire story...and yet they manage to keep this slow boil show intriguing every step of the way (and when they give you info, they give you info).
Veronica Mars -- Hands down the BEST mystery show on TV. If you're not watching this, insert your own insult here...
Criminal Minds -- Look...CBS is airing a procedural drama...what is this number 27? Luckily, my boycott of the network kept me away from all of them...and it took Mandy Patinkin to break that...hopefully someday they'll move away from the procedure and get into the characters a bit more (is Elle really Jason's daughter??).
Law & Order -- It's not "Must See TV" anymore by any means, but I like Dennis Farina and Jesse L. Martin enough to keep watching...Sam Waterston's become too boring and predictable...we need some new "Order" here.
Joey -- It's mildly amusing at best...but being taken off the air for January and February can't be a good sign. If it goes at the end of the season, it won't be missed...
Will & Grace -- And neither will this...thankfully, it's all over in May...until the guest star studded reunion.
The Apprentice -- The latest version actually has a few contestants you could see winning...unlike the last two...I'm never sure if I'll watch the next version until it airs and then I get hooked anyway.
Night Stalker -- would probably be a better show if it had no connection whatsoever to the series it is based on; Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Just released on DVD). The one season cult hit from the 1970s was an inspiriation for The X-Files and this remake is being helmed by one of the forces behind that show (Frank Spotznitz). But quite honestly, the concept is so far removed from the original (Middle Aged, frumpy, cynical and sardonic reporter Carl Kolchak investigates things that go bump in the night) it may as well be something else. Here we have young, hot, mysterious reporter Carl Kolchak invetsigating things that go bump in the night in an effort to find who (or what) really killed his wife (a crime he was accused of). It's warmed over mush from several other and far more successful shows (none of which were Kolchak). Is anyone surprised it lasted as long as it did? (Although ABC gets a big finger for cancelling it after airing the first part of a two parter -- the one episode I didn't see -- because the three people still watching deserved better, Sci-Fi gets kudos for picking up all ten episodes for airing next summer).
Reunion -- OK...so it's gonna end at 13 episodes and we're never gonna know who killed...you know...I've seen every episode to date and I can't remember the name of the character killed...so is it really any good? It is an interesting concept (a big flashback story where each episode is one year closer to the present), but the acting's cheesy and the actual storylines are cliched and hackneyed (and we won't get into the fact that the young actors look silly playing their older selves in the present day scenes).
Smallville -- Best Season Ever.
Everwood -- Best Season Ever. Now give us more seasons on DVD Warner!!!
The Bernie Mac Show -- I still watch, but the charm and orginality has gone...as have the ratings since it's now on Firdya nights.
Malcolm in the Middle -- FOX has done wrong by this show. As funny as it has ever been (though I do miss Francis at the dude ranch stories), it probably won't last longer than this season because of the Friday time slot...very unfortunate. I hope they go out on the same high note they came in on.
Threshold -- This is the faster paced and more stand alone episode alien invasion series than Invasion. It's is also the one that's been cancelled.
Justice League Unlimited -- Waiting for Cartoon Network to air the last 8 episodes of Season 3 (or season 5 if you count the two seasons of the "limited" version of the show) is like waiting for turtles to mate. There had better be another season after this one, because they've passed on a 6th season of
Teen Titans -- which is going to end next month. The show started as an odd show and grew into a GREAT adaptation of a comic book. It will be missed.
The Batman -- Living in the shadow of the amazing animated series of the 1990s, this show is a pale imitation...but it's still Batman...so it's not completely worthless.
Battlestar Galactica -- Left us hanging in the middle of season 2 with a potential Civil War within the fleet...can't wait to see where it's going. A thousand times better than the original...if you're not watching, catch up before the rest of the season starts as everything up to that point is on DVD.
The Sopranos -- Can you believe we've got another season and a half of this show. How long has it been?? Did Family Guy have this long a wait between seasons? I'm gonna have to rewatch the whole series to date just to remember who is who.
Entourage -- A fun HBO show that makes great use of Jeremy Piven.
The Dead Zone -- While USA seems to have taken on the BBCs concept of making Christmas episodes, this show wasn't ruined by theirs. Can't wait to see how the overall story arc both mimics and diverges from Stephen King's novel...
Monk -- While I still enjoy watching it's gotten a bit monotonous and while the chance from Sharona to what's-her-face was rather seamless, the show has lost something.
24 -- Can't wait for Season 5 and all the fun logic loops we'll have to take.
Scrubs -- The best comedy on TV gets no respect, but does get new episodes (and another DVD release). Hooray.
Jake in Progress -- It'll be interesting to see how this show changes as I was surprised by it last year...I'm sure things will get mucked up entirely.
Deadwood -- I loved the first season and fell out of touch with season 2. Kind of like another HBO show. Maybe I'll try and catch up before season 3 starts...and maybe I won't.
Well...that's all for now...I'll be back, hopefully, on Christmas Day with a surprise about one more show I didn't mention.
Be seeing you.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Playing Catch Up Before Vacation
Hey folks,
I was hoping to review Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in tandem with a review of the latest book. Unfortunately, I need to go back and read book 5 before reading book 6 and our copy is still in
In the meantime, the 4th film, Goblet of Fire, raises the stakes in the series to a nice level. While I still think the third film is the best in the series so far (as I still think the third book is the best in the series so far), this film does a good job at adapting all the necessary bits of this very weighty tome.
Streamlined, the story focuses on the Tri-Wizard Tornament in which Harry unwittingly becomes a contestant. He must brave three potentially deadly tasks alongside four other students (two of which come from other Wizarding schools). Meanwhile, brewing in the background is the potential return of Lord Voldemort.
The story zips along at a good pace now that all the fluff that movie goers won't care about has been excised (like Hermione and the freeing of the house elves) and the tension of the tornament helps move it all along with a sense of ugency. The acting remains top notch on all levels and the emotional depth of the outcome of the tournament hits home like a dagger because of it. The look of the film remains as amazing as the last one (which was better than the first two as it seems they were still working out the kinks in the CGI).
While I've forgotten a lot of what happens in book 5, movie 4 has gotten me in the mood to read it all again...
Over in potential Oscar country...David Cronenberg's A History of Violence may be the director's best effort yet...Well...not really...but it's definitely his best shot at winning accolades he's been looked over for before.
Based on a graphic novel, Viggo Mortensen stars as a small town family man who winds up on the evening news after he defends himself and some patrons at his diner from a couple of murderous thugs. The news coverage brings some shady mob goons to town as they are convinced that Tom (Mortensen) is actually a long lost "friend" they need to bring back into the fold. As the mystery of who these goons are unfolds, so does the mystery of Tom's past. To tell you whether Tom is hiding a secret or these men are mistaken would ruin a great film.
Cronenberg knows how to keep an audience on the edge of its seat and this film, while more of a slow boil than some of his other films, doesn't disappoint. Perfectly cast in every way (look for potential Oscar nominations for Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris and William Hurt) and expertly directed A History of Violence does not disappoint.
I never had to read any Jane Austin in any classes I ever took...but aparently it's a prerequisit if you have a vagina (am I gonna get a lot of flack for that comment or what??)...my wife is a BIG fan of hers...specifically Pride & Prejudice. She's also a BIG fan of Colin Firth (she'd pick him over me if given the chance), so naturally she's a HUGE fan of the BBC version of Pride. It was on her enthusiasm for the story that I somewhat reluctantly went to see the new big screen version not starring Colin Firth.
I was pleasantly surprised by the film. This humorous and tender love story about a woman with a crazy family who slowly (and almost reluctantly) falls in love with a handsome but cold man actually kept me interested for it's full length...at least until it was over and my wife pointed out all the film's faults when compared to both the original novel and the BBC miniseries...which we had to promptly start watching as soon as we got home...
So, while I've now become enamoured of the BBC version (well made, well acted), I've discovered that the film I thought I liked I actually hated immensely.
So...that's all for today in movie reviews...I'll be back once more before we leave with a TV roundup...my massive comic book catch up issue will wait until we're back and my annual Top 25/Worst 5 list will probably not see publication until February at the earliest (as I don't know I've seen enough films to fill out either list just yet)...
Monday, November 21, 2005
Waterlogged
Hey folks,
I know it's been a while since the last Fugue, but things have been a bit crazy. Dealing with a four and a half month old kind of takes all priority and when I do have a moment to sit and write, I tend to get distracted and move on. I've got a few Fugues pending since the beginning of October and I'm sure at some point I'll sit down and start to bang them all out and finish them...but for now you get this one...hope it suffices...
I've always been a big fan of disaster films. While the more recent ones tend to get bogged down in the special effects rather than develop character, I still enjoy them...but the repeatability factor is pretty low (unless you feel the need to have a "poke fun at Volcano or The Day After Tomorrow party). So, it was only a matter of time that the better films of the 1970s got looked at again for a modern day interpretation.
So...we're not just getting a new big screen remake of my favorite, we've also gotten a new small screen remake of The Poseidon Adventure (which also has been made into one of the funniest musicals you will probably never see...but you can buy the cast album...and all of these are derived from a novel that I've actually never read...maybe I need to correct that oversight)...
Anyway, NBC just aired last night what should have been titled Tom Clancy's Op Center: The Poseidon Adventure as this "modern" remake added some unnecessary scenes of the "rescue team", an entire subplot featuring terrorists (as they are now the cause of the ship flipping over due to an explosion and some vaguely dubious physics) and some inane reality show references (Bryan Brown essentially plays Simon Cowell). They've also changed around enough of the characters from the original to make them seem less human and more cardboard. In fact, Gene Hackman is so memorable in the original that it takes almost every male lead at various points in the film to replace him (and yes, that includes philandering father Steve Guttenberg).
In the midst of all the TV CGI (hey...they're never as good as Movie CGI), there are surprisingly a couple of well done moments that actually improve on the original. The most memorable is Belle Rosen's death (Sylvia Syms barely coming close to Shelley Winters) in which a dying widow (yeah...no Manny to make it out this time) asks Bishop Schmidt (Rutger Hauer substituting for Gene Hackman in this scene) whom she thinks is her husband to describe the park across from their apartment. It's very touching and reminds one that Hauer can actually be a great actor when he's not starring in schlock (heck...he's a great actor when he is starring in schlock).
Unfortunately, all of this adds up to a lackluster effort. So many things are gone from the original (Stella Stevens in her underwear to name one...heck...Linda Rogo doesn't even exist as a character as Mike Rogo -- Adam Bladwin -- is a Homeland Security agent now) that made it so memorable that you miss every one of them and the few lame in-jokes (C. Thomas Howell playing Doctor Ballard and Peter Weller as Captain Gallico -- the name of the original novel's author), the few bright spots and the somewhat surprising and inspired twist at the end (the unexploded bomb has to be used to blow open the other side of the hull to get out) don't make up for it.
So now we just have to wait for the big screen remake to see if justice can be done to a story that probably doesn't need it. Simply entitled Poseidon it opens May 12, 2006 and stars Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Josh Lucas, Andre Braugher, Emmy Rossum and Kevin Dillon...and according to the IMDB none of the cahacter names are the same...so in my book it's already got a strike or two against it. But going for it is director Wolfgang Peterson who so masterfully knows how to get claustrophobia of ships on the big screen (something the TV movie is lacking).
Well...that's all for now. I hope to be back sooner rather than later with reviews of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (seen it already just wanted to incorporate it with a review of the 6th novel but I haven't even started that yet), the special edition DVDs of all the recent Batman movies, the current TV season so far and DC Comics Infinite Crisis miniseries (it's a direct sequel to their 20 year old miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths and two issues in seems like it's going to undo everything that was done then...but I'm betting in the end it won't...but so far it's a great read).
I will leave you with a quick update on Malcolm... he's almost 5 months old and he's got two little teeth sprouting through his gums. We just started him on solids three weeks ago...so far he's had rice cereal, bananas and carrots (this week's intro food as we're doing a new food every Monday). So far the most interesting aspect to this dietary change is the "output"...bananas + cereal + breast milk = greenish cement once every 24 hours...ick...
Anyway...until next time...
Be seeing you.
I know it's been a while since the last Fugue, but things have been a bit crazy. Dealing with a four and a half month old kind of takes all priority and when I do have a moment to sit and write, I tend to get distracted and move on. I've got a few Fugues pending since the beginning of October and I'm sure at some point I'll sit down and start to bang them all out and finish them...but for now you get this one...hope it suffices...
I've always been a big fan of disaster films. While the more recent ones tend to get bogged down in the special effects rather than develop character, I still enjoy them...but the repeatability factor is pretty low (unless you feel the need to have a "poke fun at Volcano or The Day After Tomorrow party). So, it was only a matter of time that the better films of the 1970s got looked at again for a modern day interpretation.
So...we're not just getting a new big screen remake of my favorite, we've also gotten a new small screen remake of The Poseidon Adventure (which also has been made into one of the funniest musicals you will probably never see...but you can buy the cast album...and all of these are derived from a novel that I've actually never read...maybe I need to correct that oversight)...
Anyway, NBC just aired last night what should have been titled Tom Clancy's Op Center: The Poseidon Adventure as this "modern" remake added some unnecessary scenes of the "rescue team", an entire subplot featuring terrorists (as they are now the cause of the ship flipping over due to an explosion and some vaguely dubious physics) and some inane reality show references (Bryan Brown essentially plays Simon Cowell). They've also changed around enough of the characters from the original to make them seem less human and more cardboard. In fact, Gene Hackman is so memorable in the original that it takes almost every male lead at various points in the film to replace him (and yes, that includes philandering father Steve Guttenberg).
In the midst of all the TV CGI (hey...they're never as good as Movie CGI), there are surprisingly a couple of well done moments that actually improve on the original. The most memorable is Belle Rosen's death (Sylvia Syms barely coming close to Shelley Winters) in which a dying widow (yeah...no Manny to make it out this time) asks Bishop Schmidt (Rutger Hauer substituting for Gene Hackman in this scene) whom she thinks is her husband to describe the park across from their apartment. It's very touching and reminds one that Hauer can actually be a great actor when he's not starring in schlock (heck...he's a great actor when he is starring in schlock).
Unfortunately, all of this adds up to a lackluster effort. So many things are gone from the original (Stella Stevens in her underwear to name one...heck...Linda Rogo doesn't even exist as a character as Mike Rogo -- Adam Bladwin -- is a Homeland Security agent now) that made it so memorable that you miss every one of them and the few lame in-jokes (C. Thomas Howell playing Doctor Ballard and Peter Weller as Captain Gallico -- the name of the original novel's author), the few bright spots and the somewhat surprising and inspired twist at the end (the unexploded bomb has to be used to blow open the other side of the hull to get out) don't make up for it.
So now we just have to wait for the big screen remake to see if justice can be done to a story that probably doesn't need it. Simply entitled Poseidon it opens May 12, 2006 and stars Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Josh Lucas, Andre Braugher, Emmy Rossum and Kevin Dillon...and according to the IMDB none of the cahacter names are the same...so in my book it's already got a strike or two against it. But going for it is director Wolfgang Peterson who so masterfully knows how to get claustrophobia of ships on the big screen (something the TV movie is lacking).
Well...that's all for now. I hope to be back sooner rather than later with reviews of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (seen it already just wanted to incorporate it with a review of the 6th novel but I haven't even started that yet), the special edition DVDs of all the recent Batman movies, the current TV season so far and DC Comics Infinite Crisis miniseries (it's a direct sequel to their 20 year old miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths and two issues in seems like it's going to undo everything that was done then...but I'm betting in the end it won't...but so far it's a great read).
I will leave you with a quick update on Malcolm... he's almost 5 months old and he's got two little teeth sprouting through his gums. We just started him on solids three weeks ago...so far he's had rice cereal, bananas and carrots (this week's intro food as we're doing a new food every Monday). So far the most interesting aspect to this dietary change is the "output"...bananas + cereal + breast milk = greenish cement once every 24 hours...ick...
Anyway...until next time...
Be seeing you.
Monday, October 24, 2005
A Quick Update...
hey folks,
While I've got some larger writings in the works (a variety of reviews), it'll be about another week before they're all finished and posted...
But for now I just wanted to give you an update on a few things in our lives.
First, Natasha is ina show that just opened in New Canaan. She's playing Edith the maid in Noel Coward's comedy Blithe Spirit. It runs through November 5 and is a wonderfully funny show with a really good cast (and some top notch production values as well). Call 966-7371 for tickets.
This coming Friday night I have a bit part in a staged reading at Westport Community Theater. Habeus Corpus is being directed by Dan Friedman (and includes a number of people much more talented than myself). Call 226-1983 for more info.
Also starting this Friday and running through November 12 is The Darien Players production of Agatha Christie's Black Coffee. It the only play she wrote that features Hercule Poirot as a character. It should be a wonderfully entertaining evening. Call 655-5414 for more info or tickets.
While it doesn't open until January 13, the Players next production is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directed by Frank Gaffney. I've signed on to produce the show. Natasha has been cast as Sister Woman and there's a small possibility that Malcolm will be making his stage debut as well as one of the "no neck monsters" that Maggie constantly refers to (we're still discussing the pros and cons of torturing our son who would turn 7 months old during the show's run...but it would make rehearsals easier as we could just schlep him along every night).
There will be two more shows (possibly three) that I'll mention after New Year's as they get closer to opening.
Meanwhile, here at the house...
Our first contractor owes us one gutter for the back of the house and a certificate of occupancy and then we are done with them forever. Hooray!!
Our second one just had a baby boy with his wife and while it's slowed things down a little bit we're happy as can be with the results. Our kitchen is completely finished now that the backsplash has been installed...and the best part is we got what we wanted (something we wouldn't have gotten with the first guy).
Our powder room is almost finished. It just needs to be painted (which we're trying to figure out a color scheme for as there's a mish mosh of colors in the tiles and fixtures).
The office & mudroom that we carved out of the old storage space between the garage and the finished part of the basement is almost finished. There's some minor electrical work that needs to be done, some HVAC issues that need addressing (I'm convinced the guys attached the vents to the upstairs thermostat instead of the downstairs one), some patching and painting of a few walls (due to a major problem with California Closets...DON'T use them if you're ever thinking about it) and that's about it aside from moving things into the rooms and using them.
After that, there are one or two minor things we're doing that should be done before the end of the year and then we're done with any construction workers for a while (unless we decide to redo the back deck in the spring).
On the Malcolm front, he's got his 4 month checkup next week and I'm trying to keep using the infant carrier at least until then...but quite honestly he's pretty much outgrown it (at least his shoulders seem to be a bit wider than it is but he's not complaining yet). Last night I went to transport him to the car and I had to strain to lift it. They grow so fast. Awww.
Anyway...I'm still trying to get our website up and running but I've been too busy to finish my redesigns, so it will be a bit longer.
Next week, catch up reviews and such.
Be seeing you.
While I've got some larger writings in the works (a variety of reviews), it'll be about another week before they're all finished and posted...
But for now I just wanted to give you an update on a few things in our lives.
First, Natasha is ina show that just opened in New Canaan. She's playing Edith the maid in Noel Coward's comedy Blithe Spirit. It runs through November 5 and is a wonderfully funny show with a really good cast (and some top notch production values as well). Call 966-7371 for tickets.
This coming Friday night I have a bit part in a staged reading at Westport Community Theater. Habeus Corpus is being directed by Dan Friedman (and includes a number of people much more talented than myself). Call 226-1983 for more info.
Also starting this Friday and running through November 12 is The Darien Players production of Agatha Christie's Black Coffee. It the only play she wrote that features Hercule Poirot as a character. It should be a wonderfully entertaining evening. Call 655-5414 for more info or tickets.
While it doesn't open until January 13, the Players next production is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directed by Frank Gaffney. I've signed on to produce the show. Natasha has been cast as Sister Woman and there's a small possibility that Malcolm will be making his stage debut as well as one of the "no neck monsters" that Maggie constantly refers to (we're still discussing the pros and cons of torturing our son who would turn 7 months old during the show's run...but it would make rehearsals easier as we could just schlep him along every night).
There will be two more shows (possibly three) that I'll mention after New Year's as they get closer to opening.
Meanwhile, here at the house...
Our first contractor owes us one gutter for the back of the house and a certificate of occupancy and then we are done with them forever. Hooray!!
Our second one just had a baby boy with his wife and while it's slowed things down a little bit we're happy as can be with the results. Our kitchen is completely finished now that the backsplash has been installed...and the best part is we got what we wanted (something we wouldn't have gotten with the first guy).
Our powder room is almost finished. It just needs to be painted (which we're trying to figure out a color scheme for as there's a mish mosh of colors in the tiles and fixtures).
The office & mudroom that we carved out of the old storage space between the garage and the finished part of the basement is almost finished. There's some minor electrical work that needs to be done, some HVAC issues that need addressing (I'm convinced the guys attached the vents to the upstairs thermostat instead of the downstairs one), some patching and painting of a few walls (due to a major problem with California Closets...DON'T use them if you're ever thinking about it) and that's about it aside from moving things into the rooms and using them.
After that, there are one or two minor things we're doing that should be done before the end of the year and then we're done with any construction workers for a while (unless we decide to redo the back deck in the spring).
On the Malcolm front, he's got his 4 month checkup next week and I'm trying to keep using the infant carrier at least until then...but quite honestly he's pretty much outgrown it (at least his shoulders seem to be a bit wider than it is but he's not complaining yet). Last night I went to transport him to the car and I had to strain to lift it. They grow so fast. Awww.
Anyway...I'm still trying to get our website up and running but I've been too busy to finish my redesigns, so it will be a bit longer.
Next week, catch up reviews and such.
Be seeing you.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Bonding News
So....Daniel Craig is OFFICIALLY the new James Bond ending months of silliness.
Eon and Sony are using Craig and Casino Royale to essentially "reboot" Bond (again). I'm not sure how I feel about all of this being the Bond fan that I am. On the one hand I've enjoyed the film universe of Bond (even in it's silly moments), but on the other hand it is time for some real change to bring the screen Bond even closer to the book Bond (who we haven't quite seen on the big screen yet).
I don't really know Craig as an actor, but he looks fine (even looks a bit like Hoagy Carmichael whom Fleming had described Bond as kind of looking like). The real test will be in the script. If it's anything like the book, it should be a tight and taut little thriller (although we already know for a fact that the big card game has been changed from Baccarat to Texas Hold 'Em Poker...not sure how I feel about that). And then we'll need to see where they take the entire series after Casino Royale. Will they start "from the beginning" and remake books they've already done (and make them closer to the novels only with an updated slant....which would be very interesting for the second book, Live and Let Die, as it's got some very antiquated racial stereotypes tied into a rather dated plot) or will they start adapting the Bond novels of John Gardner or Raymond Benson (which are ripe for adaptation and don't really need any moderning) or will they go back to what they had been doing of late, original stories with things stolen from Fleming's novels.
I'm very interested to see where all this goes. I think it's an exciting time to be a Bond fan.
I'll be back over the weekend with some catch up movie and TV reviews as well as a piece on what's going on in comic books these days.
Be seeing you.
Eon and Sony are using Craig and Casino Royale to essentially "reboot" Bond (again). I'm not sure how I feel about all of this being the Bond fan that I am. On the one hand I've enjoyed the film universe of Bond (even in it's silly moments), but on the other hand it is time for some real change to bring the screen Bond even closer to the book Bond (who we haven't quite seen on the big screen yet).
I don't really know Craig as an actor, but he looks fine (even looks a bit like Hoagy Carmichael whom Fleming had described Bond as kind of looking like). The real test will be in the script. If it's anything like the book, it should be a tight and taut little thriller (although we already know for a fact that the big card game has been changed from Baccarat to Texas Hold 'Em Poker...not sure how I feel about that). And then we'll need to see where they take the entire series after Casino Royale. Will they start "from the beginning" and remake books they've already done (and make them closer to the novels only with an updated slant....which would be very interesting for the second book, Live and Let Die, as it's got some very antiquated racial stereotypes tied into a rather dated plot) or will they start adapting the Bond novels of John Gardner or Raymond Benson (which are ripe for adaptation and don't really need any moderning) or will they go back to what they had been doing of late, original stories with things stolen from Fleming's novels.
I'm very interested to see where all this goes. I think it's an exciting time to be a Bond fan.
I'll be back over the weekend with some catch up movie and TV reviews as well as a piece on what's going on in comic books these days.
Be seeing you.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Various TV & Movie Reviews
Okay...it only raked in about $10 million dollars this weekend, so here goes the call for all of you who like good movies, good stories and good Sci-Fi to get off your butts and RUN to the local theater where Serenity is playing. I know I haven't seen much in theaters this year, but this was a film both my wife and I were looking forward to and were not disappointed in any way, shape or form.
Anyone who has caught any of writer-director Joss Whedon's previous work knows that this man knows how to treat his audience. Unlike larger Sci-Fi franchises that play things straight (Star Trek) or don't even bother to play at all (Star Wars), this continuation of the barely watched TV series Firefly is an amazing ride from start to finish. Maybe it's because Whedon sets up the "backstory" without any prior knowlegde of the TV series or because the series was cancelled and he had nothing left to lose, but there isn't a moment in this film that feels cliched or like warmed-over sludge. There are plenty of great character moments amid an amazing Sci-Fi epic with twists, turns and surprises galore. If only George Lucas could do stuff like this in the Star Wars universe then no one would complain.
Again...see this film even if you haven't seen the TV series (you'll want to go back and watch it after this anyway). Best one I've seen in theaters so far this year.
Meanwhile, another TV series that got a second chance (and one that's starting to look very successful) adds a new chapter with the direct to DVD "feature" Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. While this is essentially a stringing together of three episodes, they are pretty funny (why wouldn't they be?) and the raunchy, racy framing footage (a Hollywood premiere party) help boost the show out of the realm of toned down TV and into the realm of "fuck yeah" movies (well...almost, as I said it is three episodes strung together...and they will air on Tv sometime next year as three separate episodes before appearing on DVD again in Volume 4 of this show). Fart jokes, obscure pop culture references and for the first time uncensored swearing abound.
I've been a big Geena Davis fan for quite some time, so there was no doubt in my mind about at least catching the first episode of Commander-in-Chief. I just wasn't expecting to like it as I'm kind of tired of politics at this point (the "I'm right, you're wong" attitude of every politician and TV pundit finally got the best of me...they should all burn in hell). But I actually enjoyed the pilot immensely. Not really sure why yet...I'll let you know after the first three episodes have aired and I have a better feel for it.
Another movie everyone should see is Inside Deep Throat. This documentary is about more than just the making of one of the most famous (or infamous) porn films. It's about our right to free speech, to choose our what we find "entertaining" and ultimately how the film industry (specifically the porn film industry) changed because of it all.
I'm not sure if I ever reviewed Terry Gilliam's latest film The Brothers Grimm, but it was fun. Was it great? No. But even bad Terry Gilliam (which this wasn't) is better than almost anything else in the theaters. This is an intersting film, both in story and in look, and is worth seeing if you like fantasy films that will indulge your imagination.
I also finally caught The Forgotten on cable. Surprisingly, with a cast that includes Julianne Moore and Gary Sinise and starts off as an interesting psychological drama quickly devolves into a script that was most likely rejected from the recent TV remake of The Outer Limits and then stretched to 90 minutes. It is best forgotten.
Next time, more TV reviews and other stuff.
Be seeing you.
Anyone who has caught any of writer-director Joss Whedon's previous work knows that this man knows how to treat his audience. Unlike larger Sci-Fi franchises that play things straight (Star Trek) or don't even bother to play at all (Star Wars), this continuation of the barely watched TV series Firefly is an amazing ride from start to finish. Maybe it's because Whedon sets up the "backstory" without any prior knowlegde of the TV series or because the series was cancelled and he had nothing left to lose, but there isn't a moment in this film that feels cliched or like warmed-over sludge. There are plenty of great character moments amid an amazing Sci-Fi epic with twists, turns and surprises galore. If only George Lucas could do stuff like this in the Star Wars universe then no one would complain.
Again...see this film even if you haven't seen the TV series (you'll want to go back and watch it after this anyway). Best one I've seen in theaters so far this year.
Meanwhile, another TV series that got a second chance (and one that's starting to look very successful) adds a new chapter with the direct to DVD "feature" Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. While this is essentially a stringing together of three episodes, they are pretty funny (why wouldn't they be?) and the raunchy, racy framing footage (a Hollywood premiere party) help boost the show out of the realm of toned down TV and into the realm of "fuck yeah" movies (well...almost, as I said it is three episodes strung together...and they will air on Tv sometime next year as three separate episodes before appearing on DVD again in Volume 4 of this show). Fart jokes, obscure pop culture references and for the first time uncensored swearing abound.
I've been a big Geena Davis fan for quite some time, so there was no doubt in my mind about at least catching the first episode of Commander-in-Chief. I just wasn't expecting to like it as I'm kind of tired of politics at this point (the "I'm right, you're wong" attitude of every politician and TV pundit finally got the best of me...they should all burn in hell). But I actually enjoyed the pilot immensely. Not really sure why yet...I'll let you know after the first three episodes have aired and I have a better feel for it.
Another movie everyone should see is Inside Deep Throat. This documentary is about more than just the making of one of the most famous (or infamous) porn films. It's about our right to free speech, to choose our what we find "entertaining" and ultimately how the film industry (specifically the porn film industry) changed because of it all.
I'm not sure if I ever reviewed Terry Gilliam's latest film The Brothers Grimm, but it was fun. Was it great? No. But even bad Terry Gilliam (which this wasn't) is better than almost anything else in the theaters. This is an intersting film, both in story and in look, and is worth seeing if you like fantasy films that will indulge your imagination.
I also finally caught The Forgotten on cable. Surprisingly, with a cast that includes Julianne Moore and Gary Sinise and starts off as an interesting psychological drama quickly devolves into a script that was most likely rejected from the recent TV remake of The Outer Limits and then stretched to 90 minutes. It is best forgotten.
Next time, more TV reviews and other stuff.
Be seeing you.
Friday, September 23, 2005
The New Fall Season Week One Recap
Having already talked about FOX's Sunday night lineup, FOX's Tuesday night lineup, Prison Break, Reunion, Threshold and Head Cases, it's time to move on to stuff from this past week.
Arrested Development returns for a third season and right out of the gate reminds us why it is one of the best (if not THE best) comedies currently on TV (epsecially since no one is watching). I'm glad we got one last glimpse of Henry Winkler's character lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn before the actor moves on to his own show on CBS (only to be replaced here by Scott Baio as the new family lawyer).
Kitchen Confidential is a very good pairing for Arrested Development. Loosely based on the biographical book by chef Anthony Bourdain, this show stars Bradley Cooper (of Alias and Jack & Bobby) as a once famous chef who has hit rock bottom but is given another chance at an upscale restaurant. He puts together his crack team that includes Nicholas Brendan, John F. Daley, John Cho and Owain Yoeman. He also gets a foil in the boss' daughter (Bonnie Sommerville) who wants to run the restuarant her way (the boss is played by Frank Langella and hopefully we'll see more of him). The pilot sets everything up nicely (Daley's character is just off the boat from some mid-Western state and is the butt of everyone's jokes) and has some funny moments (scrambling to find someone's finger that got cut off). We'll see where the show goes but it's got a full season from me based on this episode alone.
My Name Is Earl is hands down the best new comedy of the season. Unfortunately it is paired with the wrong show as I find The Office to have lost any momentum it had. THis show would work perfectly with Scrubs as they both have a similar feel. Earl is Jason Lee (of Kvin Smith movies among other things) and he's a down on his luck redneck who wins $100,000 in a lottery and is immediately hit by a car. While in the hospital he discovers the concept of karma (courtesy of Carson Daly) and realizes that if he wants good things to happen to him he's going to have to do good things. He makes a list of all the bad he's done over the years and sets out to right the wrongs, starting with doing something good for a kid he picked on in school as a youngster. The show is stocked with a bunch of bizarre supporting characters including Earl's lazy brother Randy (Ethan Suplee), Randy's new girlfriend and their motel maid Catalina (Nadine Velazquez) and Earl's ex-wife and her new husband (Jamie Pressly & Eddie Steeples). If the rest of the show is as funny and, yes, touching as the pilot, we're in for a great run...as long as NBC doesn't treat the show like Scrubs.
Lost returns for a second season and picks up exactly where last season left off...the opening of the hatch. This will be a very important season for this show because the slow and maddening pace of the "mystery" of the show may start to turn off viewers very quickly (anyone remember who killed Laura Palmer?). At least we finally find out what's in the hatch (not that it makes any sense as to what is down there and why). One question answered, fourty new ones posed. But I'm still enjoying it and look forward to seeing where it goes.
Invasion may actually turn out to be a great companion piece for Lost. First, kudos to ABC for not pulling the show altogether in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This show about an alien invasion of a small Florida town in the wake of a hurricane really seems to be just a retelling of Invasion of the Body Snatchers as a TV series, but the strength is in the writing and the acting and there's just enough different from that classic tale for this to be something else entirely. Hopefully this show will unfold at a bit of a faster pace than others (the pilot had a very slow pace that worked in its favor, but I can't see that working for a whole season).
Head Cases becomes an entirely different show with its second episode. They've added Richard Kind to the cast as a former civil liberties lawyer who has spent time in jail for bank robbery and is now Adam Goldberg's law clerk. Chris O'Donnell also hires his own assistant and it's his former one from the big firm. With these two new characters in place the show gets a much better "wacky lawyer show" vibe than the pilot did. The problem is that there may not be enough room on TV for two "wacky lawyer shows" (Boston Legal) being the other. And the timeslot which pits this show against Lost, E-Ring, Vernoica Mars, Criminal Minds and whatever's now on The WB (thankfully not Smallville) pretty much assures this an early death (and the quickly diminishing ratings probably won't help). I'm trying to figure out how to give this one more episode without having to get a second Tivo. I may have to break out a VCR...heaven forfend.
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart -- Dear Martha...While many think you deserved to go to jail for what you did, many more think you don't deserve to have a reality show like this one. I'm not sure what you are like in real life, but the fact that you write letters after "firing" someone because they "don't fit in" is just lame and doesn't fit the concept of what should be a cut throat reality show. It was morbid curiosity that got me to watch one time. You don't have enough balls to keep me around any further. Sorry. Yours truly.
Law & Order is back for its 16th Season and I'm finding it very hard to care at this point. Don't get me wrong...I like the cast (big Dennis Farina fan), but the season premiere gave me a big case of "eh". Maybe it's because if you combine all the parts of this franchise you realize that there can't be that many "ripped from the headlines" stories we haven't already seen. I'm banishing this show from the bedroom (I'll explain that later).
Joey returns with what has to be the wackiest concept ever. If the time difference between last season's finale and this season's premiere was overnight, I want to know who the contractor who redid his entire kitchen was (did the producers think no one would notice a missing island?). This is akin to the Scheffields on The Nanny who apparently reversed their entire house's layout between the pilot and the first episode (at least they had an excuse cause pilot's are shot months before a series). Beyond that we get a new wacky friend and Gina goes to work for Bobbi...at least we'll get more Bobbi...but I don't see this show getting any better.
The Apprentice is back and I'm not sure why we're still watching. If I figure it out or stop, I'll let you know.
Criminal Minds is essentially Red Dragon: The TV Series with Mandy Patinkin in the role of Will Graham. While there's nothing new in this show about FBI profilers (even the look of the show feels like every other procedural program), the real thrust is watching Patinkin stare into the camera and quote Nietzsche while he gets into the mind of the criminals (hence the title). There are really only two reasons to keep wtahcing. The first is Patinkin as he's always worth watching. The seond is to find out how the hell they get from the end of episode one where Patinkin has a gun trained on his back by a gas station attendant (who may be a serial killer) to episode two (which from the previews seems to be about an arsonist). It gets three episodes from us for now.
So...with the advent of the DVR...my wife and I have decided that the shows we want to watch ASAP while relaxing in bed at night get priority...so when I say I've banished Law & Order from the bedroom it means it's been relegated to the Cablevision DVR in the den for viewing at some later date (for example, I've got a few episodes of Rome waiting to be watched or erased because I just don't care anymore). Late next week as almost everything will have premiered, I'll let you know what shows are where and why and you'll get a complete look at our insane viewing habits.
Be seeing you.
Arrested Development returns for a third season and right out of the gate reminds us why it is one of the best (if not THE best) comedies currently on TV (epsecially since no one is watching). I'm glad we got one last glimpse of Henry Winkler's character lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn before the actor moves on to his own show on CBS (only to be replaced here by Scott Baio as the new family lawyer).
Kitchen Confidential is a very good pairing for Arrested Development. Loosely based on the biographical book by chef Anthony Bourdain, this show stars Bradley Cooper (of Alias and Jack & Bobby) as a once famous chef who has hit rock bottom but is given another chance at an upscale restaurant. He puts together his crack team that includes Nicholas Brendan, John F. Daley, John Cho and Owain Yoeman. He also gets a foil in the boss' daughter (Bonnie Sommerville) who wants to run the restuarant her way (the boss is played by Frank Langella and hopefully we'll see more of him). The pilot sets everything up nicely (Daley's character is just off the boat from some mid-Western state and is the butt of everyone's jokes) and has some funny moments (scrambling to find someone's finger that got cut off). We'll see where the show goes but it's got a full season from me based on this episode alone.
My Name Is Earl is hands down the best new comedy of the season. Unfortunately it is paired with the wrong show as I find The Office to have lost any momentum it had. THis show would work perfectly with Scrubs as they both have a similar feel. Earl is Jason Lee (of Kvin Smith movies among other things) and he's a down on his luck redneck who wins $100,000 in a lottery and is immediately hit by a car. While in the hospital he discovers the concept of karma (courtesy of Carson Daly) and realizes that if he wants good things to happen to him he's going to have to do good things. He makes a list of all the bad he's done over the years and sets out to right the wrongs, starting with doing something good for a kid he picked on in school as a youngster. The show is stocked with a bunch of bizarre supporting characters including Earl's lazy brother Randy (Ethan Suplee), Randy's new girlfriend and their motel maid Catalina (Nadine Velazquez) and Earl's ex-wife and her new husband (Jamie Pressly & Eddie Steeples). If the rest of the show is as funny and, yes, touching as the pilot, we're in for a great run...as long as NBC doesn't treat the show like Scrubs.
Lost returns for a second season and picks up exactly where last season left off...the opening of the hatch. This will be a very important season for this show because the slow and maddening pace of the "mystery" of the show may start to turn off viewers very quickly (anyone remember who killed Laura Palmer?). At least we finally find out what's in the hatch (not that it makes any sense as to what is down there and why). One question answered, fourty new ones posed. But I'm still enjoying it and look forward to seeing where it goes.
Invasion may actually turn out to be a great companion piece for Lost. First, kudos to ABC for not pulling the show altogether in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This show about an alien invasion of a small Florida town in the wake of a hurricane really seems to be just a retelling of Invasion of the Body Snatchers as a TV series, but the strength is in the writing and the acting and there's just enough different from that classic tale for this to be something else entirely. Hopefully this show will unfold at a bit of a faster pace than others (the pilot had a very slow pace that worked in its favor, but I can't see that working for a whole season).
Head Cases becomes an entirely different show with its second episode. They've added Richard Kind to the cast as a former civil liberties lawyer who has spent time in jail for bank robbery and is now Adam Goldberg's law clerk. Chris O'Donnell also hires his own assistant and it's his former one from the big firm. With these two new characters in place the show gets a much better "wacky lawyer show" vibe than the pilot did. The problem is that there may not be enough room on TV for two "wacky lawyer shows" (Boston Legal) being the other. And the timeslot which pits this show against Lost, E-Ring, Vernoica Mars, Criminal Minds and whatever's now on The WB (thankfully not Smallville) pretty much assures this an early death (and the quickly diminishing ratings probably won't help). I'm trying to figure out how to give this one more episode without having to get a second Tivo. I may have to break out a VCR...heaven forfend.
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart -- Dear Martha...While many think you deserved to go to jail for what you did, many more think you don't deserve to have a reality show like this one. I'm not sure what you are like in real life, but the fact that you write letters after "firing" someone because they "don't fit in" is just lame and doesn't fit the concept of what should be a cut throat reality show. It was morbid curiosity that got me to watch one time. You don't have enough balls to keep me around any further. Sorry. Yours truly.
Law & Order is back for its 16th Season and I'm finding it very hard to care at this point. Don't get me wrong...I like the cast (big Dennis Farina fan), but the season premiere gave me a big case of "eh". Maybe it's because if you combine all the parts of this franchise you realize that there can't be that many "ripped from the headlines" stories we haven't already seen. I'm banishing this show from the bedroom (I'll explain that later).
Joey returns with what has to be the wackiest concept ever. If the time difference between last season's finale and this season's premiere was overnight, I want to know who the contractor who redid his entire kitchen was (did the producers think no one would notice a missing island?). This is akin to the Scheffields on The Nanny who apparently reversed their entire house's layout between the pilot and the first episode (at least they had an excuse cause pilot's are shot months before a series). Beyond that we get a new wacky friend and Gina goes to work for Bobbi...at least we'll get more Bobbi...but I don't see this show getting any better.
The Apprentice is back and I'm not sure why we're still watching. If I figure it out or stop, I'll let you know.
Criminal Minds is essentially Red Dragon: The TV Series with Mandy Patinkin in the role of Will Graham. While there's nothing new in this show about FBI profilers (even the look of the show feels like every other procedural program), the real thrust is watching Patinkin stare into the camera and quote Nietzsche while he gets into the mind of the criminals (hence the title). There are really only two reasons to keep wtahcing. The first is Patinkin as he's always worth watching. The seond is to find out how the hell they get from the end of episode one where Patinkin has a gun trained on his back by a gas station attendant (who may be a serial killer) to episode two (which from the previews seems to be about an arsonist). It gets three episodes from us for now.
So...with the advent of the DVR...my wife and I have decided that the shows we want to watch ASAP while relaxing in bed at night get priority...so when I say I've banished Law & Order from the bedroom it means it's been relegated to the Cablevision DVR in the den for viewing at some later date (for example, I've got a few episodes of Rome waiting to be watched or erased because I just don't care anymore). Late next week as almost everything will have premiered, I'll let you know what shows are where and why and you'll get a complete look at our insane viewing habits.
Be seeing you.
Monday, September 19, 2005
The Season So Far
Okay...let's get the admission out of the way first.
I have officially ended my boycott of CBS. I'm slowly adding new shows into my viewing patterns (so don't expect me to pick up on watching anything other than stuff entering it's 1st season...and even there it's going to be very few shows that I even have an interest in). But you'll have to wait until later in this piece to read the actual review...
So...after the premiere of Prison Break, a week later we got Reunion. This show's novelty is that each episode over the course of the season represents one year in the lives of a group of friends. We get to know them through flashbacks as a present day mystery involving the death of one of them is being looked into (and no we don't know who's dead after the first episode). It's interesting, but a bit on the bland side. The concept is what gets a three episode tryout before re-evaluation.
FOX's Sunday night lineup has been infilitrated by a live sitcom entitled The War At Home. This show stars Michael Rapaport and is at best a low rent and unfunny version of Married With Children. It doesn't deserve the slot and ruins what could have been a perfect lineup (Malcolm In The Middle being moved back to Sundays would fix this). The old shows are back and both The Simpsons and American Dad seem to be showing improvement (the former seems to have found itself again and the latter seems to have found itself after a wobbly start).
FOX's Tuesday night lineup may be the perfect pairing of shows. New show Bones stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschannel in what is essentially something of a mix between CSI and The X-Files minus the supernatural. While that may sound derivative, it is the chemistry between the leads that keeps the energy flowing...which makes it a natural pairing with House M.D. which returns for a second season. This is a wonderfully witty show that crackles mostly because of Hugh Laurie's performance, but his interaction with his co-stars helps amp things up.
Then we come to Head Cases. I'm not sure what to make of this show. It was kind of blah. The only thing right now that gives it a second episode is the appearance of Richard Kind in episode two (plus the premiere of Criminal Minds is actually on a Thursday and Vernoica Mars has an extra week before season two starts). So right now this bizarre show starring Chris O'Donnell and Adam Goldberg as crazy lawyers is getting watched on an episode by episode basis.
Which finally brings us to CBS and Threshold. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this show until the day it aired, but the cast (Carla Gugino, Peter Dinklage, Charles S. Dutton and Brent Spiner), creators (David Goyer and Brannon Braga) and concept (special team investigating possible first contact with aliens on massive scale) intrigued me. The two hour premiere had a more interesting alien conspiracy arc than all nine seasons of The X-Files combined and I can't wait to see where this goes.
So as it stands right now on new shows:
I'm officially in for all of Prison Break and Threshold.
Reunion and Bones are on a three episode tryout.
Head Cases is hanging in for one more episode, but I don't expect anything beyond that.
The War At Home is over for me.
This week is essentially the official premiere week, so expect more reviews of new shows throughout the week. By month's end I should know exactly what I'm watching for the season.
Meanwhile, off network...
HBO's Rome bored me until the last 5 minutes of episode one and then it got really interesting...but I expect my interest to die off as it seems to have on almost every other HBO series except The Sopranos (and even that has been gone so long I don't know what I'll do when it starts up again).
The Sci-Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica remains the best show on that channel hands down and there's only one more episode before it retires until early next year. The cool thing is that they keep imagining storylines from the classic series that just rock (the Kobol story and it seems like the next episode involves the return of the Pegasus).
And Cartoon Network has just started it's 3rd season of Justice League Unlimited (or 5th season of Justice League depending on how you want to look at it). With the last two seasons seeing major numbers of heroes joining the League, it was only a matter of time before the villains formed their own group to protect themselves. The premiere (which saw a now schizophrenic Lex Luthor being busted out of jail by Gorilla Grodd and forced to join the Legion of Doom against his will) showed promise but ultimately didn't quite deliver (Luthor being sent with Doctor Polaris and The Key to retrieve the Spear of Destiny from Blackhawk Island just didn't feel epic enough...and the hero team of Flash, Hawkgirl, Fire and the last surviving Blackhawk didn't help). The second episode (since they're airing two episodes back to back) was much better as we finally got an animated version of Hawkman (with a coherent background that makes perfect sense...unlike any of his comic counterparts right now). Hopefully we'll see him again. Two more episodes air before the show disappears until 2006. Luckily, Teen Titans kicks off it's 5th Season next week with a two parter featuring The Doom Patrol and will continue to run new episodes for at least a month.
I'll be back in a day or two with more TV reviews and maybe a movie review or two.
Be seeing you.
I have officially ended my boycott of CBS. I'm slowly adding new shows into my viewing patterns (so don't expect me to pick up on watching anything other than stuff entering it's 1st season...and even there it's going to be very few shows that I even have an interest in). But you'll have to wait until later in this piece to read the actual review...
So...after the premiere of Prison Break, a week later we got Reunion. This show's novelty is that each episode over the course of the season represents one year in the lives of a group of friends. We get to know them through flashbacks as a present day mystery involving the death of one of them is being looked into (and no we don't know who's dead after the first episode). It's interesting, but a bit on the bland side. The concept is what gets a three episode tryout before re-evaluation.
FOX's Sunday night lineup has been infilitrated by a live sitcom entitled The War At Home. This show stars Michael Rapaport and is at best a low rent and unfunny version of Married With Children. It doesn't deserve the slot and ruins what could have been a perfect lineup (Malcolm In The Middle being moved back to Sundays would fix this). The old shows are back and both The Simpsons and American Dad seem to be showing improvement (the former seems to have found itself again and the latter seems to have found itself after a wobbly start).
FOX's Tuesday night lineup may be the perfect pairing of shows. New show Bones stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschannel in what is essentially something of a mix between CSI and The X-Files minus the supernatural. While that may sound derivative, it is the chemistry between the leads that keeps the energy flowing...which makes it a natural pairing with House M.D. which returns for a second season. This is a wonderfully witty show that crackles mostly because of Hugh Laurie's performance, but his interaction with his co-stars helps amp things up.
Then we come to Head Cases. I'm not sure what to make of this show. It was kind of blah. The only thing right now that gives it a second episode is the appearance of Richard Kind in episode two (plus the premiere of Criminal Minds is actually on a Thursday and Vernoica Mars has an extra week before season two starts). So right now this bizarre show starring Chris O'Donnell and Adam Goldberg as crazy lawyers is getting watched on an episode by episode basis.
Which finally brings us to CBS and Threshold. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this show until the day it aired, but the cast (Carla Gugino, Peter Dinklage, Charles S. Dutton and Brent Spiner), creators (David Goyer and Brannon Braga) and concept (special team investigating possible first contact with aliens on massive scale) intrigued me. The two hour premiere had a more interesting alien conspiracy arc than all nine seasons of The X-Files combined and I can't wait to see where this goes.
So as it stands right now on new shows:
I'm officially in for all of Prison Break and Threshold.
Reunion and Bones are on a three episode tryout.
Head Cases is hanging in for one more episode, but I don't expect anything beyond that.
The War At Home is over for me.
This week is essentially the official premiere week, so expect more reviews of new shows throughout the week. By month's end I should know exactly what I'm watching for the season.
Meanwhile, off network...
HBO's Rome bored me until the last 5 minutes of episode one and then it got really interesting...but I expect my interest to die off as it seems to have on almost every other HBO series except The Sopranos (and even that has been gone so long I don't know what I'll do when it starts up again).
The Sci-Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica remains the best show on that channel hands down and there's only one more episode before it retires until early next year. The cool thing is that they keep imagining storylines from the classic series that just rock (the Kobol story and it seems like the next episode involves the return of the Pegasus).
And Cartoon Network has just started it's 3rd season of Justice League Unlimited (or 5th season of Justice League depending on how you want to look at it). With the last two seasons seeing major numbers of heroes joining the League, it was only a matter of time before the villains formed their own group to protect themselves. The premiere (which saw a now schizophrenic Lex Luthor being busted out of jail by Gorilla Grodd and forced to join the Legion of Doom against his will) showed promise but ultimately didn't quite deliver (Luthor being sent with Doctor Polaris and The Key to retrieve the Spear of Destiny from Blackhawk Island just didn't feel epic enough...and the hero team of Flash, Hawkgirl, Fire and the last surviving Blackhawk didn't help). The second episode (since they're airing two episodes back to back) was much better as we finally got an animated version of Hawkman (with a coherent background that makes perfect sense...unlike any of his comic counterparts right now). Hopefully we'll see him again. Two more episodes air before the show disappears until 2006. Luckily, Teen Titans kicks off it's 5th Season next week with a two parter featuring The Doom Patrol and will continue to run new episodes for at least a month.
I'll be back in a day or two with more TV reviews and maybe a movie review or two.
Be seeing you.
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