2006 - Worst 5/Best 25 Films

Well...the best intentions blah blah blah...

I had hoped to get this posted before the Oscars as we were trying to catch up on movies both to fill out this list and properly be able to appreciate the Oscars. Alas, neither of those things happened. While it was great to see Martin Scorsese finally win Best Director (and a film of his win Best Picture), in the greater scheme of things (meaning his total body of work), this was not the film to win it for. Looking back both Raging Bull and Goodfellas were robbed (by Ordinary People and Dances With Wolves respectively, neither of which holds up as well as either of Scorsese's earlier films). Although how cool was it to see him accept the award from Spielberg, Coppola and Lucas (almost as if they knew Scorsese was gonna win beforehand when they assigned the presenters). But oh well...my passion for certain things has started to wane a bit (things are prioritized a bit differently with Malcolm around). The ceremony itself was long with many fun, yet ultimately pointless things (one too many montages...although the funniest bit was the screenwriter who used the "word "funnest...gotta love an award winning writer who can mangle grammar so well).

Anyway...the Oscars are over and now here is my lists for the Best and Worst of 2006. I've been forced to truncate my Best list by 5 because there was just no way for me to justify putting certain films on a Best list (heck...getting to 20 was a bit of a stretch as it was).

Before anyone starts complaining about films not on the list, its simply because I haven't had a chance to see them (to give you an idea of how things work around here An Inconvenient Truth has been in our house from Netflix since it came out on video...when we do have time to watch a movie, we tend to go for less "serious" things)...so...without further ado...

The Worst Five Films of 2006

5) Just My Luck -- It stars Lindsey Lohan. Sure, there are more reasons than that, but these days her presence is reason enough (in a starring role at least...ensemble films are able to rise above her).

4) RV -- There was a time when comedians in "family films" wasn't a bad thing. I'm not sure when that changed, but this film has a great cast (Robin Williams, Jeff Daniels, Kristin Chenowith) trapped in a bad story.

3) Scary Movie 4 -- Why did we need this? Why did I watch this? You know you're in trouble when a movie can get in pop culture references faster than Saturday Night Live can (although not as funny of course).

2) The Pink Panther -- This had disaster written all over it. Steve Martin has gone from great comedian to great actor to washed out failure in this film. Let's hope he can get back on track.

1) Date Movie -- This was not only the worst movie of 2006, but I'm pretty sure I've decided its now the worst movie of all time (replacing Being Human). The less said, the better. I hope no one else over 12 has seen this (and that those under 12 who have get a lesson in real movies from responsible adults).

The Best 20 of 2006

20) When Do We Eat -- I'm Jewish. Its about Passover. Its funny. And it kind of hit home a bit for me. Plus, I've always felt that Leslie Ann Warren could play my mom in whatever film version of my life. Here she pretty much proves it (in spite of the character being different from my mom).

19) Jesus Camp -- A very scary, yet a bit over rated, documentary. When a woman claims she's doing what she's doing to try and fight the radical Islamacists with their own methods, we're all doomed. A warning to us all that everyone should heed.

18) Running With Scissors -- This film felt like a John Irving retread and then I remembered it was based on an autobiographical book. Very strange, but very interesting. And I've never seen Annette Benning look so horrible. Definitely an overlooked performance.

17) Hacking Democracy -- Another documentary everyone should see. If this is where are elections are all headed, we may as well just turn our government over to selfish narcissists and evil corporations. Oh wait...we've already done that.

16) Rocky Balboa -- A nice film that comes about a decade too late. It would have had a bit more power and relevancy had it come out around the same time as other sequels to great 1970s films (like the early 90s when we got Texasville, The Two Jakes and The Godfather III). But it did prove that Stallone does still have it in him to do good work.

15) Brick -- I love "film noir" and this "high school film" is definitely more "noirish" than "high schoolish" (see...I can make up words just like award winning writers). A very overlooked film from last year that should be seen if you like this genre.

14) Clerks II -- Did we this? No...of course not. Was it funny? You bet your ass (which is a bit of a pun if you've seen the film). Kevin Smith returns to form (being funny, yet poignant) without all the added crap of pointless cameos and over wrought storylines (like his last two films...even though I thought Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was hysterical and Jersey Girl wasn't terrible).

13) The Devil Wears Prada -- This film would have made it higher on my list if not for Ugly Betty. That TV series felt a bit like a retread of this movie until the soap opera elements elevated it above this film. This was easily the funniest film of the year and Meryl Streep deserved her Oscar nomination. But where was Stanley Tucci's??

12) Inside Man -- There's never been any denying that Spike Lee is a masterful filmmaker. Even when he's just telling a story (and not trying to pass along a message), he gets it right. This exciting caper film will keep you on the edge.

11) Cars -- Pixar knows how to make kids films that are entertaining for the whole family. And this one is no exception. Maybe they'll finally start Disney Animation back on the right track.

10) Superman Returns -- Bryan Singer finally brought the Man of Steel back to the sliver screen where he belongs. Was it perfect? No. But its a great start to righting a wrong in the annals of film history. Let's hope next time we get more of an "original" film and less a retread of everything that's come before.

9) This Film Is Not Yet Rated -- This fascinating documentary finally exposes the MPAAs ratings system for what it truly is...a censorship board made up of people with agendas that run counter to making good films. Supposedly, there will be some changes in the way films are rated because of this film, but I'll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, you must see this film.

8) Dreamgirls -- The movie musical has another "upbeat" note on the big screen after a few "downers" last year. With some amazing performances and some energetic musical numbers (most of which aren't the usual "stop and sing your feelings" variety you find in musicals...for those of you who hate those kind of musicals), this film was worth the two decade wait to hit the silver screen.

7) The Prestige -- The darker of the two films about magicians at the turn of the century, this film is a tour de force of obsessions. An amazing cast and a tight script will keep you on edge until the twists at the end which will have you talking for days on end.

6) The Illusionist -- The other magician film is a bit lighter, but just as strong. Honestly, you could flip these films in position on my list. One isn't really much better than the other. Both are great.

5) Casino Royale -- Bond is back in such a way that it was like he had never been here before. Daniel Craig IS James Bond in this faithful modernizing of Fleming's first novel. And its a great movie in its own right. Let's hope the next one is just as good.

4) The Departed -- While its not Scorsese's best, anything from this amazing director is better than most directors great stuff.

3) Little Miss Sunshine -- This quirky independent film actually lives up to its hype nicely. Sweet, touching and funny is always tough to pull off, but here its done to perfection.

2) United 93 -- Why this film wasn't nominated for Best Picture is beyond me. Tense, hard to watch and yet you can't look away. One of the most brilliant films of the last ten years. Also proves its not too soon to have a film about a recent tragedy.

1) Children of Men -- Science Fiction is always best when it shows us a potential future that we can believe in. This one scares the crap out of me...horrifying and touching all at the same time with some amazing powerhouse performances.

Well...that's all...sorry it took a lot longer to publish than I wanted...but shit happens...

Be seeing you.

Catching Up on TV Viewing

Well...we're back today with some TV reviews...

If you missed Sci Fi's airing of season two of Doctor Who, you can now catch it on DVD. Unfortunately, the "cliffhanger" ending will have to wait until Sci Fi airs season two this summer, but there are ways of catching the Christmas episode entitled "The Runaway Bride" and I highly recommend it. One of the funnier episodes that David Tennant has been in so far, this episode has all the good qualities of the new series while still embodying the stuff that made the classic series so classic.

And speaking of the good Doctor, the spin-off known as Torchwood recently completed its first season. While I have no idea when or if or where it will air in the United States, this is a great companion series without having to know anything about Doctor Who to follow along. This is essentially a British version of The X-Files as Captain Jack Harkness leads a team of four others who investigate strange occurances. It's not a perfect "spin-off", but it is a lot of fun. With all the sex and language in it, I'd be shocked to see it air on any of the US channels that have carried Doctor Who.

24 has returned with a vengeance. We're six hours into this season and we've seen a nuclear explosion in Valencia, CA and discovered that the mysterious bad guy running things last season is Jack's brother. Yikes. Its hard to judge this show without seeing the entire season first. Last year was probably the best story-wise, with the least amount of logic gaps. This time, we're six hours in and Jack's only been off a plane from China for about 5 and a half of those. I know I'd have been spending that time sleeping.

Kidnapped finished its run online at NBC.com. Only 5 of 13 episodes aired onbroadcast TV and thankfully NBC gave the team enough notice to wrap it all up by the end. While they did wrap up the main story and told a pretty well told tale in the process, they did leave things open for future adventures of Jeremy Sisto's character (which will never come anyway). Here's hoping for a DVD release of this engaging story.

Big Day is a lot like 24 in that an entire season is the course of events of one day. here, that one day is leading towards a wedding. This funny show barely got the chance to do anything as ABC burned it off in rapid time during November & December. While I thought they aired all the episodes shot and the last episode aired had a nice "resolution" to the chaos, it turns out there are still two episodes unaired (they were scheduled to air last night, but instead ABC went with Meet The Fockers) hopefully we'll get to see just how the show ended (probably in mid-story...so maybe its best it ended where it did).

Help Me Help You marked Ted Danson's return to TV yet again. While I found this sitcom about a shrink and his group therapy patients rather funny, apparently no one else did and ABC cancelled it before it was halfway done airing the episodes they did shoot. Oh well.

That's all for today. I'm plugging away at holes in my list for the Best & Worst of 2006 in movies and hope to have it posted before the Oscars.

I'll be back soon.

Be seeing you.

Catching Up on More 2006 Movie Releases

Just trying to quickly catch up on reviews of TV shows and Movies I don't think I've covered yet. It's been a crazy couple of months (holidays, shows, Malcolm, etc)...so I've been a bit lax. Trying to get back on a schedule desperately.

Anyway...

American Pie Presents The Naked Mile -- After three hit movies, Universal decided to take this "franchise" the direct-to-video route. This second DTV Movie (making it part 5 in the series) is a marked improvement over the last one (which made my Worst 5 list last year if I remember correctly). Focusing on yet another Stifler, this one being the black sheep of the family (he's an innocent virgin), this film still has some tasteless silliness in it, an out of place appearance by Eugene Levy in some bizarre attempt to keep continuity and a sub plot involving a fraternity of midgets...but it also has some really funny bits (like the over-the-top raunchy opening involving Matt Stifler's accidentally killing his grandmother...won't tell you how, just see the film...it almost rivals Eugene Levy walking in on his son and the pie in the first film). Worth a rental if you've got some time and want to chuckle a bit (and like boobs as there's lots) and no prior knowledge is really necessary of the series.

Dreamgirls -- This year's Broadway musical turned movie is a huge step up from what we got last year. Engaging and energetic, this film is getting a lot of praise and its all deserved. Jennifer Hudson's standout performance as Effie White will have you in awe (especially during her big number "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"). The only "weak" bit is the insertion of a new song for Beyonce's Deena Jones that reeks of a diva needing a song because the best song in the show is going to the "secondary" character (see my above comment about Jennifer Hudson's Effie White). Eddie Murphy also reminds us he has talent beyond dressing in fat suits and latex boobs before Norbit opens. If you like musicals, you need to see this. One of the best films of the year.

Snakes on a Plane -- The title says it all. You get about 30 minutes or so of set up (Samuel L. Jackson is an FBI agent escorting a murder witness to a safe place away from gangsters trying to kill him) and then all hell brakes loose (the gangsters try to kill the witness by putting snakes on the plane). The last 20 minutes (just as Jackson utters his most famous line from the trailer) the film turns into one of the funniest films ever (watching Jackson and Keenan Thompson trying to land the plane was one of the funniest things this year). Worth a rental, but know what you're getting (remember its called Snakes on a Plane, not Schindler's List).

Children of Men -- This dystopian sci-fi thriller is not only one of the best depictions of a possible future to come along in a very long time, its (as of now) the best film I've seen from 2006. Clive Owen does an amazing job as a government clerk who gets involved in transporting a woman who may hold the key to humankind's survival (the movie's premise is that by the year 2027 all women will have been infertile for 18 years...meaning the human race is just waiting to die out). Moving and uplifting, this is a film that will make you think. Everyone should see it (especially since it does have parallels to what's going on in our world today...which may anger some who lean to the right on certain subjects).

The Prestige/The Illusionist -- Two films about magicians at the turn of the century (the previous ones) that have a lot in common and yet are vastly different. Both are amazingly well written and well acted and I can't wait to see them again. While we could have done without the "Usual Suspects" recap at the end of The Illusionist (the one that stars Edward Norton) since you should have seen the "surprise" ending coming a mile (or ten) away, we needed the one at the end of The Prestige (the one that pits Batman Christian Bale against Wolverine Hugh Jackman) if only to hammer home the "twist" (and its ramifications) even more.

Cars -- Pixar's streak continues with this funny film for all ages. Though there's some irony in a film that seems nostalgic for a time when small business was the way of the world being made by Disney & Pixar.

Beer Fest -- The guys at Broken Lizard bring us another really funny film (this one about a secret beer drinking competition) that has some odd bits that don't work (like one of the characters waking up like the main character in An American Werewolf in London or another where they kill off one of the characters in an odd way and then replace him with a twin brother). Worth a look if you like to laugh.

Beer League -- I gotta admit...I don't have time for movies that don't engage me after a while. This one took me ten minutes to give up on. It seemed like it was basically The Bad News Bears with drunken grownups.

Scoop -- Woody Allen brings us his annual film. This one, about a dead journalist who returns to impart a big murder story on a journalist student who then becomes romantically linked to the suspect, is better than most, but not as good as others (in the Woody Allen genre...let's face it...the man does deserve his own genre at this point).

You, Me and Dupree -- Having grown rather tired of Owen Wilson, I was very surprised at how cute & charming this film was. Don't expect more out of this story about a guy still holding onto his youth while essentially living with his newly married best friend. I do have one complaint...Wilson & Matt Dillon are no longer young enough to seem like they're just out of college...or grad school...or even a doctorate program. Younger actors might have made this more believable.

Nacho Libre -- My wife is a big Jack Black fan and even she was bored after 10 minutes. So back in the Netflix envelope it went.

Well, that's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow (or soon there after) with a catch up on TV shows.

Be seeing you.

A Very Mini New Year

Hey folks,

Some of you have heard me express my fascination with a toy known as the MiniMate. This block figure has 14 points of artculation in a compact 2 inch size. They're cute and don't take up a lot of room. And they're like the plastic equivalent of crack. Once you get started, you can't stop.

Now in their 5th year of existance, they are apparently gunning for that retro "Mego" feel for people who grew up in the 1970s with the action figures from that company.

You see, Mego had licenses for DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes and a number of other things and the best part is everyone was in the same scale. You could team up Batman & Spider-Man and have them fight Kirk & Doctor Zaius if you wanted to and it wouldn't look funny (well...beyond it looking funny).

Art Asylum & Diamond Select Toys started the year off with a cool concept to launch their Battlestar Galactica MiniMates. Limited editions of Cylons (both classic and modern) in single packs to build armies (a case would get you 12 Cylons, at least one each of 5 different kinds). This spring we get the first 7 MiniMates from the new TV series and they will be showing off the next 14 (Waves 2 & 3) at Toy Fair next month.

Meanwhile, the Marvel MiniMates line is about to enjoy its 14th Wave. Seven figures based on X-Men: The Last Stand will make their debut in a month or two. They will be followed by 7 figures from the Ghost Rider movie in Wave 15. The Marvel line has been at a bit of a stand still of late. Last year we only saw waves 12 & 13 and those were full of retreads and repaints (yet another version of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America and a few others). Thankfully, once these two new waves are done (since the movie lines seem to be bringing us people we've seen before in comic book versions or people with coats & shovels) they're finally giving the fans what they've been craving...Avengers! In 16 waves and with dozens of MAJOR characters in the Marvel Universe to play with, it is inexcuseable that it has taken them this long to bring us Thor. Now if only they can get me a Doctor Strange, I'll be very happy.

Hopefully, there'll be more announcements for Marvel MiniMates at Toy Fair (or later in the year at San Diego Comic Con). The rest of Wave 16 consists of Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, She-Hulk and Wonder Man with a variant Bearded Thor.

Meanwhile, Art Asylum & DC Comics have announced 5 waves of DC MiniMates (and there'll probably be a 6th as they seem to be coming every other month) with the first about to hit at the end of February. In just 5 waves, DC has already put the lack of variety in the Marvel line to shame (Compare Marvel's first 5 waves which consisted of 35 figures that broke down into 9 villains, 4 women, 4 Daredevils and 6 Spider-Mans to DCs which consists of 40 figures of which 13 are villains, 8 are women and the only repeats are Batman & Superman who get 2 figures each). They've got a Ma Hunkle MiniMate coming out for goodness sake (she was the comical Golden Age Red Tornado). If that doesn't show that DC's got a great continuing lineup in store for us in the future I don't know what does.

Meanwhile, back at licenses that Diamond Select has...they've revived the Star Trek MiniMates that Art Asylum originally made back in 2003 when they were in the 3 inch scale. The first wave does feature some repeat characters (Kirk, Spock & McCoy) but gives us some new ones as well (Pike, Vina & Scotty) as well as continuing DST's "chase figure" theme in a smart way (Dress Uniform McCoy comes with Scotty...swap out Scotty's head for an extra one from one of the other lines and you've got your own unnamed Red Shirted Ensign to be killed by...well...Vina I suppose or the 3 inch tall versions of the Gorn, the Mugatu or Khan...at least until some real bad guys appear in this line). Hopefully we'll see more than just "Classic" Trek in this line. Heck, hopefully we'll see more than just one wave.

Lastly, DST has announced MiniMates for both Rocky & 24 (there's an odd combo) and they supposedly hold the mini figure licenses for Serenity, Stargate & Buffy (particularly now that Palisades Toys and their wonderful Palz line have died and gone away).

MiniMates are very cool and while its unfortunate that certain licenses didn't work out (we only got two waves for Lord of the Rings), 2007 is shaping up to be a great year for the small guys. Can't wait to see what comes out of Toy Fair in February.

For more info or pictures check out www.minimatescentral.com or www.minimateheadquarters.com or www.artasylum.com

Meanwhile, I'll be back in a few days with a MASSIVE catch up on movie reviews (Dreamgirls, Children of Men, The Prestige, The Illusionist, Snakes on a Plane, Beer Fest, Beer League, Cars and a few others).

Be seeing you.

So We're Back...

The back half of our vacation was about as "fun" as the first half...My father-in-law caught the stomach virus since we apparently brought it with us. My nasal passages went crazy from the dry weather because I forgot to bring the humidifier for my CPAP with me. And Malcolm got a bronchial infection. Add to that a 3 hour delay in our return trip red eye (for a dog without a seat and a mechanical problem) and this seems like the vacation from hell. Luckily, we have enough fun with the family when we visit to keep things from being as bad as I make them sound.

A quick kudos to Jet Blue for the way they handled the delay in our taking off. When we had to switch planes, the pilot helped Natasha & I gather Malcolm and all our stuff and carried the car seat off the plane.

Of course, now that we're back (and surprisingly with all the crap we ate, both Tash & I lost weight...me 8 pounds, her 10 pounds...now just gotta keep that rolling into the new year), we're trying to get Malcolm back on East Coast time...which has been HELL...

The first night back he slept at his grandparents house so we could sleep. He didn't get to bed until 10:30 and he slept in their bed. The next night we let him run his course and put him in his crib with loads of screaming and crying (something we haven't done in a few months). Tash went to bed and I was up doing some reading when all of a sudden it sounded like the screaming got louder...but not louder in volume, louder in proximity...and then I heard his doorknob turning...

The little bugger, who has spent months climbing EVERYTHING he can, finally climbed out of his CRIB!!! And he knows how to open the door as well...

Our lives as we knew them are over...but of course, they were over far before this event anyway...and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Of course, he also seems to have picked up on the fact that we had planned to wean him off the bottle upon returning from California as he now yells "Bottle" very loudly and can reach the rack on the counter where we keep them (we're trying to find a new place for them).

Anyway...it's the end of 2006 and I'm glad to see it go. While it wasn't a horrible year (meaning nothing truly horrible happened to us thankfully), it was a stressful and crazy year. We're hoping 2007 will be less so.

My annual list of the Best 25/Worst 5 films of the year is currently being put together, but like last year, you probably won't see it for about a month as I'm trying to fill in gaps where I can (Tash & I have a few date nights to go out and see things and we're working on catching up on important films via Netflix & PPV).

As of today I have seen 29 films that came out in 2006. Putting together my bottom 5 was pretty easy. Putting together a Top 10, let alone a Top 25 was really tough. We missed a lot...but we'll do our best to catch up.

Anyway...hope everyone has had a Happy Holiday season so far.

Have a Happy New Year.

Be seeing you in 2007.

Sick on Vacation

I hate being sick. I hate being sick on vacation even more. I tend to get colds and such more often than I'd like, but they rarely get in my way of doing things. A bit rarer is getting something nastier...like a stomach bug. And so it is that we're on vacation for the holidays visiting my brother-in-law and his family when a few of us have been stricken with a stomach flu over the course of a few days. It started with Malcolm and then spread to my wife, my brother-in-law and myself. Not fun at all (although it was funny watching Malcolm in the midts of recovery come running into the kitchen, puke, slip on it, get up and keep running...all in one hysterical motion...of course, we had to stop him and wipe him down less he get puke all over the place).

While Natasha & Malcolm are doing much better, Ken & I are still in the tail end of this thing. I figure we should both be close to 100% by this evening as the vomitting and diahrreah have stopped (well...in my case the dry heaves and constipation). And the Fensters should be moving on to the second half of their trip up in Napa visiting Natasha's parents.

Anyway...up until the nastiness of the last two days, this has been a fun trip. Malcolm was very good on the airplane. Sure there was some fussiness here and there, but for the most part he handled the six hour flight well. It also helped that we were able to spread out across the entire back row as the plane was half empty.

The big thing we had planned on doing while here in Burbank was taking the kids to Disneyland. We had gone last year at this time, but Malcolm was only six months old and not displaying much interest in anything. This time was very different.

His favorite TV show right now is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a show designed for little kids as they learn problem solving. Most episodes feature Mickey and his friends (Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy and Pluto) as they try to solve some sort of problem (throwing a surprise party for Minnie, helping Daisy find her sheep). Unlike other shows Malcolm watches, this one he will drop everything for and come running if we put it on. He could be in another room and the minute he hears Mickey say "Hi everybody" he comes speeding to the TV. It rather funny as he tends to move faster than his body lets him at times.

So...anyway...imagine the look on his face when he gets to see these folks up close and personal. Unfortunately, while I was watching him through the camera lens trying to get a shot of him as he saw Minnie for the first time, there were too many things blocking the camera's view. But I got to see his mouth open in surprise and delight even if the camera didn't.

He had a lot of fun that day in the park, even if he got quite shy and a bit afraid when he finally met Mickey (we got a picture of him, Tash & Mickey). He even got to go on his first ride and didn't really freak out about it (it was the Monsters Inc. ride and though he's never seen the film, he seemed to enjoy the scenery until the rooms with all the doors in them...that freaked him out).

Anyway...that's all for today. Back to resting for tomorrow's drive to Napa.

Be seeing you.

Catch Up Reviews Again

It's been a bit crazy of late and now that we're on vacation in California for the holidays, I thought I'd do some quick catch-up on movies we've had a chance to see but have not had a chance to review (yet again)

The DaVinci Code -- I don't get the appeal. Maybe the book is much better, but this was long and predictable...two things I hate when it comes to movies. While I do admit to having some fun watching it (mostly making fun of it), it really wasn't worth seeing in the theaters and I'm glad I didn't.

Lucky Number Slevin -- This film falls into the same category as films like and The Usual Suspects and Pulp Fiction. Unlike those films, however, this one plays itself like one big joke that you're in on from the beginning. While a bit more fun than it should have been, mainly because of the amazing cast, its just a piece of fluff that doesn't tread any new ground. At least it keeps moving along in spite of the obviousness of where it is headed.

The Break Up -- Now that Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston have actually broken up, does this movie matter any more? It's cute, but not by much. If you like romantic comedies that don't really wind up being romantic comedies in the end, you won't be too offended by this film. The DVD extras do present some deleted scenes and an alternate ending that would have made the film have a bit more bite to both the romance and the comedy. Why they were dropped is anyone's guess.

American Dreamz -- I may have already reviewed this one (can't remember), but this odd satire of politics and media was probably a great idea on paper (the U.S. President becomes a judge on an American Idol-like show and becomes the target of assassins) but the actual film is a big mess that is barely held together by a strong cast.

Stranger Than Fiction -- Reeks of being an independant film that somehow attracted a big name cast. This odd little film is about a man who hears a voice narrating his life and then discovers he's a character in a book where the author is going to kill him off. But it is wonderfully done. From the script to the acting, this film is not as comical as the commercials may lead you to believe, but it is wonderfully quirky and one of the best films of 2006.

Vanished -- Finishing off with a TV review today...this show started airing on FOX this fall when the new season began. Seven episodes aired in a Monday night timeslot before the show got removed for the Baseball playoffs and then another two aired for November sweeps before FOX pulled the plug entirely. The four remaining episodes of the ordered 13 were streamed online over a four week period. While watching the final episodes was a bit of a pain at times (small screen, frozen streams, glitches and other such crap), it was nice of FOX to at least give "fans" a glimpse of episodes that would have remained unseen in previous seasons. So...did the show get the chance to wrap up the storyline of the kidnapped wife of a prominent Senator? Sort of. While the show did have the balls to kill off the lead character after 7 episodes, they didn't have the time to put together a plausible end that wrapped up everything. We got to see the Sentor's wife escape and rejoin a prior love with whom she had a child. But why she was kidnapped and exactly by whom will forever remain a mystery. It made me long for the days when a network cancelled a show and you never heard from it again. I'll let you know how a few other shows that wrapped up their short seasons via online streaming fared once I get around to them.

Well...I'll post again in a few days with a blog about our trip to California and how we've discovered that Malcolm may be allergic to holidays (since he's thrown up on at least three of them...Halloween, Thanksgiving and Chanukah).

Be seeing you.

Ultimately Definitively Complete, Completely Ultimately Definite

One of the things I'm a bit tired of are multiple versions of movies being released on video formats. While there's nothing wrong with getting a true "Director's Cut" of a film where the director didn't have final cut and what was released is so drastically altered from what the director intended or is missing important sub plots and such, but the idea of "Extended Editions" and such has gotten out of hand. We are being innundated and overwhelmed by terms that no longer have any true meaning (is every Disney full length animated feature really a "classic"?).

While movies like Brazil, Dune, Blade Runner & Legend are all legitimate examples of warranting second or third versions of the film to exist, did we really need to be subjected to Extended versions of every Peter Jackson film of the last ten years? The Lord of the Rings films are perfectly legitimate in either their theatrical releases or their extended editions and the latter makes one wonder why the former had to exist in the first place, regardless of the fact that they work just as well. And did King Kong need to be even longer for a new version?

There is a new "cut" of a film now on DVD that deserves our attention for a variety of reasons. It is available as part of a box set as well as on its own...but lets talk about the box set first and my problem with the labelling.

Superman: The Ultimate Collector's Edition is a box set consisting of the four films starring Christopher Reeve and this year's Superman Returns in addition to a myriad of extras. Now, use of the word "Ultimate" to me implies that this will be the last word on the subject, but there is so much missing that it can't be (even if it actually is).

To explain this, we need to examine the history of these films and their creation. The first two films originally were made at the same time by director Richard Donner. When the producers were facing a deadline of getting part one into the theaters, the made Donner stop shooting things that weren't part of that film. By the time Superman reached theaters, Donner had reportedly shot about 70% of Superman II. He was subsequently replaced by Richard Lester who had to reshoot parts of two for a variety of reasons. All of this backstory is detailed in various forms (commentaries and documentaries) within this box set as well as several websites.

Superman was released to theaters with a running time of 143 minutes. Its an amazing film that set the standard for comic book adaptations (in spite of some people disliking the campier aspects of the villains) and still holds up very well today. (For the record, the original VHS release ran 127 minutes due to time compression and removal of the end credits...so while it's a "shorter" version of the film, its a technical anomoly). This version was released on VHS and Laser Disc, but didn't arrive on DVD until this box set (more on that later).

In 1981 producer Alexander Salkind created a cut for international release as well as syndicated TV sales that ran 188 minutes. There were lots of added bits that while making the film longer, didn't really disrupt the proceedings. Were they necessary? Probably not. Were they fun to see? Yes. (This version ran on ABC over two nights with 7 minutes missing).

In 2001, Warner Home Video wanted to release this longer cut on DVD and get Richard Donner's stamp of approval. He refused to do so with a 3 hour cut, so Warner felt it was more important to have Donner's participation and he added back 8 minutes out of the 45 "missing" minutes known to exist and seen in the International version. This 151 minute version arrived on DVD with a couple of other "deleted" scenes from the longer verion as extras on the disc (instead of being incorporated into the film ittself).

The new Ultimate DVD Box Set contains the original theatrical release at 143 minutes with commentary by producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler on Disc 1 (although a mistake in the authoring of the DVDs has left of the original soundtrack and we are left with a recreation from the 2001 DVD release which had remixed sound...there is a way to get a corrected disc via Warner directly if you have bought one of the uncorrected sets). Disc 2 contains Donner's 2001 cut and extras (there's a commentary by Donner and "Creative Consultant" Tom Mankiewicz). While Discs 3 & 4 are also devoted to the first Superman film, none of the still missing footage from the longer cut appears. It is still missing.

Now, if you're going to refer to something as being "Ultimate", to not include this footage in some form is a big mistake. Personally, it would have been better to have the 188 minute cut and not have either the 143 or 151 minute versions (I'm sure those could have been combined on one disc with seamless branching if they tried). The differences between the two "official" versions is negligible, while the differences between those and the longer cut are much more diverse (obviously since we're still missing almost 30 minutes of footage).

Superman II presents a more interesting case. For years, people have wondered what Richard Donner's version of Superman II would have been like. Richard Lester reshot enough of the footage already in the can so he could get his director's credit (by guild rules he would have had to shoot at least 50% of the film and Donner had already shot 70% of it). Lester changed the beginning and ending of the film, ditched all the footage of Marlon Brando and replaced him with Susannah York, reshot most of the Lois & Clark scenes and added some more comedy.

The theatrical cut of Superman II appears on Disc 5 of this set with commentary by Ilya Slakind and Pierre Spengler. It runs 127 minutes and holds up rather well. Lester's film got mixed reactions from fans (and still does to this day). There's a bit more comedy in the film (Lois' attempts to get Clark to reveal himself come to mind as does Luthor's demeanor which is even campier than before) and one instance of giving Superman a new stupid power he's never had before (the cellophane S he throws at Non during the final battle). In spite of this stuff, it's still a fun film.

Disc 6 of this set contains the newly compiled "Richard Donner Cut". Doing their best to create something that was 70% done had to have been a challenge, but Donner & editor Michael Thau have done an admirable job. The film is by no means perfect. In order to include one scene never officially shot, they needed to use the screen test version since Donner had used the scene to test Kidder and Reeve before they were even hired. Its a bit odd seeing both of them looking a bit different than they do in the finished footage, but it does work.

This version of the film is a bit darker than Lester's version. The villains seem more evil (watch as General Zod smiles as he uses a machine gun to kill people in the White House) and Superman's "sacrifice" seems more heartfelt as it is now his father who he talks to instead of his mother (they brought back the footage of Brando Donner shot for part Two that Lester reshot with Susannah York). The ending of Lester's version got some flack with Superman giving Lois a kiss to make her forget he's Clark Kent. This version includes Donner's original ending before he was forced to finish the first film. The ending is the same as the first film now since Superman turns back the world to make Lois forget (had Donner been allowed to finish the second film, he and Mankiewicz would have come up with a new ending for part two). That little stunt of turning back time works much better here than it does in the first film and would have left things in a nice place for a third film.

Donner's cut runs 116 minutes and moves very quickly (a bit too quickly in some spots as it feels rushed at times). And some of Lester's footage had to be included as well to complete this version. While it's easy to spot (its funny), its not too distracting. The worst I can say is that one of the best lines from the theatrical cut (General, would you care to step outside?) has been replaced by something bland and boring (Superman shows up to fight the threesome in Metropolis and says something about freedom of the press that's groan inducing).

Now...here's a potential problem. The Salkinds had also prepared a longer international cut of Superman II than ran 151 minutes. It's been a while since I've seen this version (and its not included in the set), but I believe that most, if not all, of the footage appears either as deleted scenes or parts of the new Donner cut between the two discs. Some of these scenes (like Luthor's arrest at the end of the film) should never have been cut in the first place (and why Donner didn't include them in his cut is beyond me), but at least they are here.

Disc 7 of the set contains extras devoted to Superman II as well as finishing off the Fleischer cartoons that appeared on disc 4.

While I would have liked to have seen DVD releases of the longer Salkind International cuts of the first two films, I am pleased with the amount of work Warner has put into this ultimately flawed, yet spectacular set.

I'll write up something on the rest of the set at a later date as Disc 8 which is supposed to contain Superman III with a number of extras actually contains the pervious bare bones DVD release. A replacement is on its way, so until it arrives, I'm forced to stop here.

But wasn't that enough?

Be seeing you.

Bond Is Back For The First Time Again

My first encounter with James Bond is a rather fuzzy memory of seeing The Spy Who Loved Me at some distant cousin's house in the Boston area when we were visiting back in the late 1970s (I wanna say 1978 for a variety of reasons). It was soon after this that my father gave me his collection of Signet paperbacks to read (I remember reading On Her Majesty's Secret Service for a book report in the 4th grade...a bit advanced for someone that age, but I loved the book...still have the collection...it's a bit dog-eared as I've read them a number of times each, but I plan on giving them to my son at some point when he's old enough). Moonraker was the only Bond film I got to see in theaters with my dad before he died (which is why I have this love/hate relationship with the film...its one of the worst Bond films, but I have a personal affection for it).

Regardless of where the films have gone or done, I've always been enamoured of Ian Fleming's original novels which have barely been adapted for the big screen...until now.

Casino Royale has had a long convoluted history in making its way to the big screen and I'll leave that story for others to retell (you can look it up on line)...what I will tell you is that this is not just a great Bond film, its also a great movie. Taking their lead from Batman Begins and being challenged to make Bond relevant for the 21st Century by The Bourne Identity, the producers have taken the character back to his rough roots as Fleming conceived him and as he's almost never been portrayed on screen (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball and On Her Majesty's Secret Service were all either spot on or close enough).

The plot is rather simple to follow...after being awarded his license to kill, Bond is on a mission tracking terrorist funding. This leads him to several locations and he's eventually inserted into a high stakes poker game to force the money man into losing all the money he's holding for various terrorists and then having to turn to M.I. 6 for protection (where he will, in turn, give up info he has). Bond succeeds in his mission, but not without a high cost to himself.

This film starts differently than the other Bond films. There is no gun barrel logo and we're into the monchromatic pre-titles sequence showing Bond's kills that earn him his "00" status (in what may be the shortest pre-titles sequence yet). The opening titles contain no silhouetted naked women or the smashing Cold War symbols. This is all about Bond and violence and the look has more of a Saul Bass retro sixties feel than a Maurice Binder look. The title sequence also helps enhance the theme song that made for a very "meh" radio song. As an added note, David Arnold's instrumental arrangement of "You Know My Name" is peppered throughout the film and helps prop up Chris Cornell's bland lyrics that they remind you of (in a good way).

Once the "film proper" starts, we hit the ground running as Bond chases a target into a construction site in an amazing and exciting sequence that is made up of realistic physical stunts. This sequence has to be seen to be believed as Sebastien Foucan climbs and jumps his way up beams and walls that has only been accomplished using CGI before. This scene is followed by a few other action sequences over the course of the film. All of them feel "realistic" and "down to Earth" and keep the film moving along at a nice clip (you may have heard complaints that at two and one half hours the film feels long, but I felt it moved along perfectly and didn't feel long...unlike another film I just saw that ran the same length and felt twice as long...but more on The DaVinci Code next time).

The acting is all spot on and well done. Craig's Bond has a lot of depth to him...more so than Dalton's hard edged portrayal back in the 1980s. This is a rookie who will do what he has to in order to get the job done, but he also makes plenty of rookie mistakes.
Eva Green's Vesper Lynd is also a great, well realized character. And Mads Mikkelsen brings the perfect amount of menace to Le Chiffre, the villain who is unlike any Bond villain we've seen (finally breaking the Dr. Evil parody we had grown so used to seeing). He's all about business and in the gruesome torture scene (lifted directly from Fleming...even down to some of the dialog), he gets right down to business.

Three other brief mentions of Fleming characters are in order...Mathis makes his first screen appearance played by Giancarlo Gianinni. He's played a bit differently here than in Fleming's novels, but it serves the film's purposes well and I hope we get to see him again. Jeffrey Wright steps into the role of Felix Leiter, Bond's C.I.A. counterpart. It's not a big role by any means, but Wright puts more of a mark on it than most other actors who played him before. I also hope he returns in the next film with a bigger role (Leiter is supposed to become one of Bond's closest friends).

Lastly, in what could have been an oddity, Judi Dench returns as M. I'm not sure how I feel about this bit of casting. A true reboot should have jettisoned her from the role simply to keep confusion out of the equation...but its simple enough to say that this is not the same Bond as the previous 20 films (which did have some sort of odd-ballish continuity) and that there's no reason why this M can't be a different M. She is a bit different than before, while remaining somewhat similar in personality. What I'm saying is she works perfectly for the role in spite of having that "leftover" feel.

One thing I'm glad they didn't do in "modernizing" the franchise is go for that edgy look to the film. A few years ago, Quentin Tarantino had met with the producers suggesting that they finally do this novel as a period piece. Thankfully they ignored him. The camera would have been all over the place and the film would have had that "independant" look it doesn't deserve. The filmmakers have kept the film looking as beautiful and sumptuous as all the others.

This isn't just a great Bond film, it's a great film (my dad would have loved this film) and it's going to be a long two years before we get another one. I can't wait and while my personal hope would be to see a remake of Live and Let Die that's closer to Fleming's novel (modernized and without the blatant racism of course), I'm looking forward to wherever they take Craig's interpretation next.

Next time, The Prestige and The DaVinci Code.

Be seeing you.

Short Reviews Round Up

Just playing catch up today with some long awaited (by whom we don't know) reviews:

Easily the best new show of the season, Heroes takes the serialized drama and moves it in the direction of the comic book (one could argue that Smallville had already done that, but that's had more standalone episodes and really isn't as serialized as this show). Interesting characters in interesting situations is what drives this. It's way too early to tell whether all the mysteries and subplots will come together nicely like Babylon 5 or become a tangled muck like Lost. I'm betting on the former.

Veronica Mars makes the jump to The CW from the now defunct UPN and has some small changes in the process. Gone is high school, but like any show that makes the transition to the next level of education all the important characters now seem to be at the same college (since most friends go to the same college anyway, right). The season-long mysteries have been shortened to wrap up in 7 or 8 episodes (in case the show gets cancelled). And the theme song has been slowed down to become more haunting or mature. Thankfully, its till a great show even if its a bit off.

Jericho is also a well written serialized show about the aftermath of a Nuclear attack on U.S. soil. So far it hasn't wandered into Lost territory, but I can easily see it getting there quicker than other shows. Unfortunately, CBS has decided to remove it from the air for a while with a fall finale (just like Lost) so it can return in the spring with a run of no-repeats. I hope this works, but I have my doubts. I will keep watching, however.

30 Rock is the sitcom version of what goes on behind the scenes at a late nite netowrk variety show. This is the one with TIna Fey, Tracey Morgan and Alec Baldwin. It is Baldwin that keeps you coming back for more. I smell Emmy. NBC is moving the show to Thursdays at 9:30 and trying to recreate a 2 hour block of comedy on Thursdays along with My Name Is Earl, The Office and Scrubs. It may just work (with the exception of The Office as I just don't like it).

Twenty Good Years is the perfect example of what happens when two very talented actors get stuck with material that is so far beneath them. John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor star in a show that NBC is taking off the air and probably will cancel outright soon enough.

Ugly Betty is an Americanized adaptation of a foreign show, but tends to feel more like the small screen version of The Devil Wears Prada (which is apparently getting its own TV series anyway). Lucky for this show its well written and funny. The subplot about the dead former editor who may have faked her own death and is manipulating things behind the scenes is a bit out there, but it doesn't interfere with anything.

The Illusionist plays to my fascination with magic very nicely. This story of a magician and a childhood love is a bit on the predictable side, but the story is so well told and the acting is so well done that any minor flaws can be overlooked...with one exception. The end of the film features a "revelation catch-up" along the lines of The Usual Suspects. In that film, we get to see all the clues leading to the big reveal as the character in question realizes what's going on and it works because we're barely a step ahead of him in realizing it. Here, if you hadn't figured things out as they were happening 9which wasn't the point of the story in my opinion), you should just stop going to movies, watching TV or reading fiction in general. The "revelation catch-up" here is just there to call the audience out for being stupid. Luckily, it doesn't ruin the whole film

The Departed reminds us of how wonderful a director Martin Scorsese really is. This remake of a Hong Kong film about dualling moles within a police force and the mob they're investigating is an amazing work of art with outstanding acting particularly from Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. Easily one of the best films of 2006

It took quite some time, but we finally saw Syriana. It's a good film, but a bit reminiscent of Traffic (except substituting oil for drugs). Definitely worth the wait (but not so great that I would add it to the collection).

I usually have no problems with romance films (or chick flicks if you prefer). You can't like movies in general and dismiss an entire genre because you feel it may offend your manliness. But I do have a problem with lazy storytelling. Up until the very end I was enthralled with The Lake House, but then things went a bit wrong. Maybe its because I like explanations, maybe its because I don't like predictability. Maybe its because time travel stories have their own internal logic that can't be messed with. My wife tells me to get over it and leave it at the magic of the Lake House. Maybe someday I will, but for now...the end ruins what could have been a great movie.

At one point I was working on a whole piece examining the movies that we've been getting just in time for the 5th anniversary of 9/11. But I got really cranky and depressing to be around at the time and neede dto put some space between me and viewing the films before reviewing them. Of the things I saw the standout is United 93. This intense film follows two tracks...what was going on behind the scenes with all of the Air Traffic Controllers as the events of that day occurred and what was going on inside United 93 (if you want to "experience" the on the ground stories of the loved ones who were called from the plane before its crash, check out the made-for-TV Flight 93). This film is intense and brilliantly made. The decision to use familiar, but not well known actors to portray the victims of the flight is a stroke of brilliance. It makes these people, whom we already feel a connection to since we all lived through the events not too long ago, even more familiar to us. We get that "I know that person" feeling when we may have no personal connection to anyone who was affected by these events. Its tough to sit through and one of those films that would be even tougher a second time around but it is not to be missed.

Well that's all for today. Next week should bring a review of The Prestige and Casino Royale then before we tackle a couple of hotly anticipated DVD releases before the end of the month...well..they're anticipated by me...all 5 seasons of Get Smart in one box with LOADS of extras and The Ultimate Superman Collection which packages together all 4 Christopher Reeve films, plus two documentaries, the newly "re-edited" Richard Donner cut of Superman II and this year's franchise relaunch Superman Returns. I can't wait.

Be seeing you.

I Call Shenanigans!

So am I the only one who's starting to believe that Lost doesn't refer to a bunch of people stranded on an island and is more a refernce to millions of viewers who have been yawning and scratching their heads for the last six weeks as the show became more confusing and pointless? Are we all hoping that the ghosts of ABC executives past who forced David Lynch to wrap up the Laura Palmer murder return with a vengeance and do the same in triplicate to those behind this Gilligan's Island on ecstasy?

There's a huge difference between good storytelling in a serialized show and lazy-ass storytelling in a serialized show. Babylon 5 had a direction and a goal for the 5 years it was on. Even with changes forced upon the creator by various circumstances, he had enough of the story plotted out to be able to shift things around to still have a great story. Here, it just seems as if everything's running on past ratings glories.

The show started off well enough. It set up a good mystery and had an interesting set of characters that we could get involved with (and the flashbacks to life before the crash helped a lot). Season Two expanded things nicely, but as it wore on instead of getting answers, we just kept getting more questions. And some of the off-stage antics didn't mess well with on screen stuff. Characters getting killed off because the actors were difficult behind the scenes is lazy. It ended several storylines that had barely gotten started (Libby & Ana Lucia) regardless of what the creators said. And now with the pointless and silly death of Mr. Eko at the "hands" of the clanking smoke monster, we lose the most interesting (and pretty much last) of the characters who survived in the tail section.

While I haven't decided what I'm doing when the show returns in February (my wife has...I'm pretty sure she's finished), we'll see if I actually remember that its on. I'm hoping that when the show does end it gives us a St. Elsewhere kind of ending cause that's the only thing that's gonna make any sense at this point.

Meanwhile...I find myself changing my viewing habits due to technology and its not always for the better. Take Tivo and other DVRs for example. I can now store a bunch of episodes and then spend a few hours on a weekend watching them back to back. Or I can search out torrent files for things that aren't aired in this country (fully intending to pay for them when they are available over here). And finally, I can watch things in what I consider to be the 21st Century equivalent of bad VHS bootlegs...on my laptop.

NBC had a pretty good show in Kidnapped. First rate cast, well told story. But the ratings weren't there after 3 episodes...luckily, instead of cancelling it entirely, they told the producers to wrap it up in 13 episodes. The show came back in a dead time slot (on Saturdays...anyone else remember when Love Boat & Fantasy Island killed in the ratings on Saturdays) with 2 more episodes. Now it has been banished from network TV altogether and can only be watched streaming on the internet.

I've enjoyed this show enough to want to see how it ends, but the freezing and glitching and small screen video annoys the hell out of me.

And now CBS is giving me the unaired episodes of Smith in the same way.

If this keeps up I may long for that time when a show got cancelled and you never heard from it again EVER! (Anyone know where those unaired second season episodes of What About Joan are?)


That's all for today. I hope to be back in the next few days with some catch up reviews (now that one play is ending and another's beginning I'll have some free time to write). And I will be back next Friday November 17th with a big Bond review...we've already got a babysitter lined up to catch a matinee.

Be seeing you.

Election Day Quandries & Cynicism

While I usually don't get into political issues, I figured it's Election Day and its on my mind...so deal with it...if you don't like my opinions on things of this nature, stop reading now...I have no intention of getting into a debate about any of what I'm about to write.

Our system is broken and we (as a collective) don't seem to give a flying fuck.

When half of the eligible voters don't bother to vote, that's a problem.

When the half that does vote is split almost down the middle by the completely ridiculous concept of parties, that's a problem.

When we turn over our voting to corporations that are attempting to eliminate paper trails and use equipment that is faulty at best (and completely tampered with at worst), that's a problem.

When politicians are career politicians who are not interested in anything but their own power, that's a problem.

When every issue is boiled down to black or white, right or wrong, red or blue, Democrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative, that's a problem.

We are living in a time where our voting options are not only limited by the quality of the candidate, but by the way they are marketed to us. It's akin to Ford rolling out a new car called the Pinto and using the tag-line "Exploding on the scene!" and no one getting the real message.

I disengaged myself from any political party affiliation after the 2000 election. I consider myself fiscally conservative, but socially liberal. But don't mistake that as an attempt to actually label myself. I refuse to be labelled.

This year, as always, I do my research to find the candidates that I feel comfortable voting FOR. I hate the idea of voting for someone because they're not someone else...but apparently that's the way our system is now inclined and I find myself being forced to do that.

It was pretty easy for me to find candidates here in CT to vote for, with one exception...Senator.

The candidate I wanted to vote for never made it on the ballot because of lies, manipulation and miscommunications on the part of our current Secretary of State (guess who's not getting my vote this year now)...so that leaves me with what?? While I'd prefer that the Senate get turned back over to the Democrats right now, I don't like either Lieberman or Lamont for various reasons. That leaves me with candidates from the Republicans (they're not even backing their candidate, which should say something), the Concerned Citizens Party (as a Jew it's like voting for Nazis), and the Green Party (where I'm currently leaning even though I don't believe in the "we need to bring our troops home now" attitude...regardless of why we're there, we are there, we've made a mess, it's our job to clean it up or set it straight...completely pulling out would make things worse).

I hate that CT election laws prohibit write-in candidates except from an approved list (this year its two Libertarians...which I don't understand as being write-ins if the Libertarian Party is on the ballot in other races...and while I don't have problems voting Libertarian, I only do so if I can find our specific info about the candidate and not just see the same old party line regurgitated). If I want to vote for Lex Luthor for State Senator this year, I should be able to...if only to send a message...but I can't.

I have no idea what I'm gonna do in this category when I step into the booth later today. Maybe I'll decide that it's more important for the Democrats to win than for me to stick to my principals. That would be unfortunate.

Meanwhile, anyone (Republican or Democrat) who hasn't caught the HBO documentary Hacking Democracy should do so. It is rather scary that this seems to be the direction we're heading in. The more technologically advanced we get, the easier we're gonna make it to have elections stolen and never find out about them (there's still no answer from Diebold as to how Al Gore got a negative vote count in one Florida county). Maybe the answer is less technology (paper and pencil can't go wrong...I for one may be going the absentee route once we switch over to the Diebold machines like the one used for the hacking demonstration in the movie).

Well...regardless...it's Election Day. Make sure you vote, whether you think it counts or not...because someday it will count again.

Be seeing you.

The New Fall Season So Far

What follows is a rundown of what we're watching these days (or plan to watch) as well as some reviews of new shows (both those that we will continue to watch and those that have been scratched off)

Sundays
The Simpsons/American Dad/Family Guy -- The FOX "Animation Domination" needs a fourth show to make it a real two hour block (cause The War At Home just plain sucks and I don't know how it made it to a second season). The rest of the lineup remains as funny as ever (even if The Simpsons are a bit long in the teeth and American Dad is still finding its feet). They're unfortunately off until the end of the World Series, but we at least got a good taste of them.

Desperate Housewives -- Starts its third season with a nice mystery Now let's hope things stay good instead of devolving into the mess that the end of last season tended towards. I already miss Alfre Woodard who was underused and then arrested by season's end.

Mondays
Prison Break -- Remains a well written and fun show (even if it pushes the logic boundary on occassion -- T-Bag's severed hand comes to mind).

Vanished -- I didn't want to like this show because we're trying to cut back and I figured this would be crap. It isn't quite crap, but it is fun. Its a bad Robert Ludlum novel (imagine if he'd written The DaVinci Code) with decent TV actors running things. It also gets kudos for possibly offing the lead before the halfway point. That takes balls. It returns after baseball on Friday nights (when we'll learn the fate of Agent Kelton)

Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip -- So far, hands down in a tie as the best new show of the season. One minor "stumble" was the end of episode two with the big musical number opening the first live show of Danny & Matt's reign. It wasn't as funny as I wanted it to be (more cute than anything else) based on the descriptions and development leading up to it. But I'll forgive it because everything else about this behind the scenes look at a Saturday Night Live-type show is pitch perfect. Plus episode 3 showed us the actual show in a much better light.

Heroes -- This is the other best new show of the season. While there isn't much new here (a bit too much borrowed from J. Michael Straczynski's wonderful comic book Rising Stars), it's told in a great way and I'm along for the ride wherever its heading. This is one worth investing the time in.

Tuesdays
House M.D. -- Nothing's changed here. It remains a great show.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent -- Anabella Sciorra, Jamey Sheriden and Courtney B. Vance are all gone and have been replaced by Eric Bogosian and Teressa Randle. They don't really add anything to what has become the Logan, Goran & Eames show...but thanfully all of that still works.

Boston Legal -- Okay...this is becoming the strangest show on TV as Denny Crane's dementia seems to be breakingh the fourth wall more and more with comments like "I haven't see you all episode" and "You can't be the new guys, you would have been in the season premiere". I hope all of this is heading somewhere or it's all kind of pointless.

Smith -- Ray Liotta starred in what looks to be the first casualty of the season. He's a normal husband by day and an expert thief with a team by night. Well done, but couldn't CBS have found a different timeslot to try it in. Maybe it would have done better. Oh well.

Eureka -- The Sci Fi Channel's version of Peyton Place has been renewed for a second season to start next summer. Hopefully, we'll have finished watching the first season by then. We enjoy the show a lot, but with everything else right now we've got 7 episodes parked on our Tivo.

Standoff -- Recorded the first three episodes, decided I didn't care, found out my parents really like the show and erased them all. In the end, I just didn't have anything saying "You gotta see this" to me.

Help Me Help You -- Ted Danson returns to TV in this funny sitcom about a therapist with his own problems. Well...the first episode was funny...haven't gotten to episode 2 yet because Tuesday nights are the busiest for shows and it gets recorded in the basement.

Veronica Mars -- Not sure I like what they've done to the theme song...or that they offed Charisma Carpenter in the season premiere (she was not just eye candy)...and it'll be interesting to see how they work Weevil back into the show...but so far, it's a good as it has been and the new mystery (or should that be mysteries) is captivating.

Wednesdays
Criminal Minds -- Let's face it, it's the top notch cast led by Mandy Patinkin that keeps this procedural show even watchable because without them, it'd be just like every other crime drama on TV.

Bones -- While I think the addition of a former flame for Boothe is essentially a shark-jumping tactic, we're still watching -- for now.

Justice -- Still watching this law drama because it's not bad and Lost hadn't started yet. But now that its moving to Mondays after Prison Break, I'll keep watching.

Kidnapped -- Another show I didn't want to like, but found myself engrossed in. It's a better version of Vanished for two reasons. A) We know who's behind it from the start (even if we don't really know who he is or why he's doing it) and B) The A List cast that includes Timothy Hutton, Dana Delany, Jeremy Sisto and Delroy Lindo (whose addition made this feel like Ransom: The TV Series at first, but thankfully it quickly moves away from that). Unfortunately, it is also the first casualty of the season as NBC told the producers to wrap everything up by episode 13, which may work out better for them in the end (unlike Smith which got their notice after this show, but was just cancelled outright). A tighter show for a brief season is better than a long meandering one that will need a new hook to continue further seasons. Moves to Saturdays to die the slow death it doesn't quite deserve.

Lost -- I think The Soup's Joel McHale put it best when saying the new season started and it remains stuck between "Wha??" and "What the hell??" Asking more questions than it has answered, the third season premiere, while cool, is not getting things off to a good start. Let's hope further episodes start answering a few questions.

South Park -- Starts a new run of episodes with a yawn inducing look at online gaming...after episodes skewering more worthy topics, this seemed like a lame start.

Thursdays
Til Death -- Didn't like the pilot much, but stuck around for two more episodes before banishing it forever.

Happy Hour -- see the review for Til Death and subtract an episode. I expect this'll be gone soon after its return from the Baseball hiatus.

My Name Is Earl -- Takes the title of best sitcom on TV with all the other well done ones (like Malcolm in the Middle) having ended.

Shark -- While I like James Woods, this show went the same way as Standoff (see my review of that above).

Six Degrees -- See my review of Shark.

Smallville -- While the quick resolution to last year's cliffhanger was satisfying, I still wanted more. Luckily, that more has come in the form of adding Oliver Queen to an already bursting cast of CD Comics characters. Look for the billionaire to put on his Green Arrow togs and bring back guest heroes from past seasons.

Fridays
Law & Order -- Old and long in the tooth...but still watching.

Doctor Who -- Thankfully, the Sci Fi Channel picked up and aired the 2nd season a lot quicker than the first. This wonderful show should be watched by all and hopefully we'll get the 3rd Season (which airs in the UK in March or April 2007) even sooner (like March or April 2007).

Battlestar Galactica -- While the 3rd Season has just started, I can't say much yet because I'm watching this show in mini marathons...but I expect it to be as good as it has been.

Saturdays
Legion of Super Heroes -- While I miss Justice League Unlimited and was never a big fan of this team in comic books, I have to admit I'm enjoying the show and getting to know heroes I'm not too familiar with.

The Batman -- This show has always been hit or miss with me. Didn't care much for the first season and some of the reinterpreted characters, but I got used to them and enjoyed the second season more. The third season was a huge step back. Now it seems as if the fourth season is recovering from that stumble with the addition of Robin.

Fantastic Four -- It's not a bad show, but there's nothing great about this cartoon based on "The World's Greatest Super Hero Comic" (as the good is self titled). Don't quite agree with the bitchy characterization of Susan Storm.

That's all for now. Look for upcoming reviews of The Nine, 30 Rock, 20 Good Years and The Knights of Prosperity as well as returns of 24, Scrubs, Medium, The Loop, Monk, Psych, The Dead Zone, Rome, Entourage, and The Sopranos.

Until then...be seeing you.

That Is Most Definitely Not Cheese!!!

So Malcolm has really started to talk. And by talk I mean say certain words and know exactly what he means. In the midst of his babbling (or one of his bizarre tirades we've taken to calling Hitler Speeches as he's extremely animated and insistant on what he's saying as he uses his arms to punctuate sentences, yet you have no idea what he's saying since he's a 15 month old), we'll get words that he knows...

Mommy (or Mama) and Daddy (or Dada) we've had for a while. And while "fan" was his favorite (and only) word beyond those for a while, we've now replaced it with "apple", "car", "hi", "bye" and "cheese".

He'll also try and repeat things if you ask him to, but he doesn't use any of those words on his own...which has prompted things like "Florida" or "chair"...but today our story is about the word cheese...

Mostly Malcolm eats string cheese and knows that this long cigar shaped item is cheese. And while he's a bit of a cheese snob, as he eats slices of other cheeses we give him as well and knows that they are cheese, it is this long cigar shaped item wrapped in plastic that he mostly identifies with cheese.

So imagine our hilarity when Malcolm was rummaging through one of the bathroom cabinets he can get into (where there's nothing dangerous I might add) and he comes out with a Tampax tampon and proclaims "Cheese" with a big smile on his face as if he's discovered the mother-load of hidden cheese we keep away from him. He then grabbed a second one and proceeded to run around with two tampons, one in each hand, proclaiming "Cheese", "Cheese", "Cheese".

We just had to share.

And while we're sharing, here's a video of Mac doing a Mozart impression.

Be seeing you

The Rantings of a Very Tired Man

Hey folks,

So...Malcolm has officially learned to climb EVERYTHING in the house...chairs, tables, his high chair...if he can reach it and pull himself up onto it, he will. It's just a matter of weeks (probably days) before we hear that "THUD" in the middle of the night as he plays Steve McQueen in his crib and tries to figure out how to turn the doorknob (he can lock the door from the inside).

So while he's running amuck in the three rooms he's currently penned into, I figured I'd sit down and write before he turns on the most annoying toy in the world (note to self...remove batteries...of course, I've been saying this for the better part of a week now and don't have the energy to find the screw driver to do the job).

Anyway, with the new James Bond film, Casino Royale, opening November 17, I figured it was time to sit through the entire series from start to finish before the new one opens. So starting in the next few days, you should be getting a piece every week looking back at two films at a time. That is if Malcolm hasn't figured out how to shimmy up the drain pipes yet.

Speaking of spies...Time Life Home Video has the exclusive rights to one of my favorite TV comedies, Get Smart, on DVD for one year...and they're going about releasing it the correct way. Unlike most series these days where it seems like we get one season at a time with minimal extras over the course of many months (or years) only to be served up with a "Complete Series" box set in weird packaging with even more extras, Get Smart is being released in mid-November on 25 DVDs with over 9 hours of extras in phone booth packaging. Cool...and if you search around on their site you can find coupons to take some money off the deal. Even at the retail price of $199.99 for all 5 seasons (138 episodes) it's a pretty good bargain.

And my last complaint for the day (as Malcolm starts climbing me and tries to remove another key from my laptop in addition to the "ESC" key), Warner Home Video has created what I'm voting as the WORST package art EVER for their upcoming new special edition DVDs of the Christopher Reeve Superman films. With wonderful poster art that was used on previous releases, they bad photo collage crap things are just plain embarassing. Shame on Warner. Shame shame shame. Hopefully someone will post better alternate covers on line for printing and replacement.

Well...that's all the time we have for today. If you're interested in new pictures of Mac, check out:

http://www.seemegrow.net/gallery/fenster

And click on the latest album where you can see him attempt to escape down our driveway only to split his lip open.

Be seeing you.

And They're Off...

So it's now September and the new Fall TV Season is just getting under way...

Here's a look at a few shows that have premiered so far:

Prison Break returns for a second season with the addition of William Fitchner as an FBI agent in charge of the manhunt for the "Fox River Eight". The show remains fun, wild and a bit off in its logic at times. But this is definitely a must see.

The show is followed by Vanished on Monday nights on Fox. I'm not sure about this show. Its about the disappearance of a Senator's wife. So far it seems like a bizarre cross between 24, Lost and quite possibly The Da Vinci Code. I don't want to like it (because I watch too many shows as it is), but there are many things I am liking about it (it's got that Robert Ludlum convoluted political plot I used to love). We'll see how this continues for the next few weeks and if anything airs opposite it that garners more attention from me (like NBC's Heroes...but that doesn't premiere until the end of the month...so this show will have had about 8 or 9 episodes before I make a final decision and by then it may be too late).

Tuesdays bring us the return of House which remains an amazing show. We also get Standoff which I have recorded but have yet to watch...which may be saying something. If I get around to it, I'll review it.

Wednesdays brings back Bones with a strange cast addition that has made me realize that the show was better when it was just Angel, Bones and her team. The new "boss/old flame" isn't holding me to the show as much (I found myself reading the paper while it was on in the background). Oh well.

This is now followed by Justice...which may as well just be called CSI: L&O as it's just the bastard love child of the CSI franchise and the Law & Order franchise. Coming from Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Victor Garber, this procedural law drama is interesting, but nothing new. I'll watch when I've got nothing else to watch or do. Of course, having it up against Criminal Minds and Lost means I won't be watching it much after the next two episodes...and that's fine by me.

For those of you needing a movie review, here a quick one...if you feel the need to see bad things happen to Lindsey Lohan for about 45 minutes or so, you may get a kick out of Just My Luck. Of course, I should probably get a kick just for having seen this (forgot it was on our Netflix list and somehow I wasn't paying attention when it made it to the top).

Lastly, I find myself watching a lot more news these days to counter the effects of watching too much children's TV. For most of the summer we were watching the same dozen or so episodes of Sesame Street over and over and over and over. You'd think that with 37 years of episodes that PBS could rag something older than 2 years ago out of the vaults. Thankfully, a few weeks ago they started airing new episodes and while we're seeing some repeated segments, the main "street stories" are new...and very funny...the best of these so far has been an amazing "parody" of the Elmo's World segment starring Cookie Monster (right down to the pet cookie in the fish bowl). In spite of easy repetition and unwarranted idiocy from people complaining the show is too liberal (if a six year old comments that there aren't enough white people on this show, then we can complain the show's too liberal...until then, you adults go back to destroying the world and stop complaining about things you have no real knowledge of), the show remains as fresh and as educational as it has ever been.

That's all for today.

Back soon with other things...well...soonish...

Be seeing you.

Will Joel Ever Learn?

Sometimes one has to wonder why certain actors make the movie they do.

Take for example Robin Williams. He's both a talented actor and comedian, so one would expect the films he does to have a higher quality to the material. Up until recently he was the star of what I considered to be the worst film EVER made by a Hollywood Studio...Being Human. But I could understand the potential appeal to him taking on a film that tried to tackle the concept of man's existance.

With RV, I have no clue and assume he was either paying the rent or on dealing with substance abuse (yes...this film does explain why he recently checked into rehab).

Just released on DVD, RV is not the worst comedy ever made (that distinction belongs to Date Movie), but it is a pretty pointless waste of time. The film reeks of starting its life as another installment in the popular Vacation series that even Chevy Chase was unwilling to touch. Williams stars as a husband/father who is trying to balance work and family life. When the two come into conflict over a potential vacation, he combines them by renting an RV for the family trip and travelling to a business meeting (without telling his family the real reasons they're doing this). Much hilarity and resentment ensues and in the end everyone realizes the error of their ways...except the viewer who may have just wasted a bit more than an hour and a half of his life.

The only saving grace this film does have is the appearance of Jeff Daniels and Kristen Chenowith as a couple who live in their RV with their family (think hick versions of The Partridge Family). Whenever these two are involved in the story, the film does pick up a bit...but not enough to save the entire endeavor. I expect better from Williams and director Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family and Men in Black). Heck, I expect better from myself....

But I never learn as Scary Movie 4 is almost as bad, but at least here I didn't expect much. There was a time, which seems like long ago, when this type of comedy was not only funny, but well done. Look back at Top Secret, Airplane!, any Mel Brooks film before Robin Hood: Men In Tights and even Airplane II: The Sequel and you'll find well crafted films that are funny and have plots that work. Even the first Scary Movie had what makes this kind of film successful.

This type of film works best when a well-worn plot has been grafted to comedic situations and pop culture gags that naturally come from both the film being parodied and the time the film is being made. Maybe the adverse effects of MTV which has shortened everyone's attention spans beyond believeability has caused this type of comedy to evolve (or devolve) into little more than a string of topical jokes wrapped around some other film. Its like watching a Saturday Night Live sketch that was extended well past the expiration date. And is probably best avoided by everyone (and yet this was still funnier than Date Movie which was made by two of the six writers of this film)...at least until Scary Movie 5 arrives. It's coming...so be afraid, be very afraid.

Lastly, to end on something of a high note...Spike Lee's Inside Man is a well crafted caper film that pits cops versus robbers during a hostage stand-off at a bank. Denzel Washington & Clive Owen play opposing forces in this wonderful film that shouldn't be missed.

Be seeing you.

Let's Go To The Movies

With peace finally coming to the Middle East (I mean it must be peaceful if all the 24 hour news networks can focus every waking moment on a decade old murder case), Tash & I decided to take some time off from child reaering (and work) to go on a date. So we dropped Malcolm off with his grandparents and trekked out to the theater.

When we didn't have a child, we'd go to the movies often. We'd trade off seeing things the other really wanted to see and mix it with things we both wanted to see. Now that we don't go as often, we're a bit more selective about what we do see on the big screen (well...the big screen is a bit of a misnomer as we saw Clerks II on a theater screen that is a bit smaller than the drop down we have at home). Here's a peak at our process:

Here is a list of what was playing on Friday August 18 in our theater-going area (not including things playing at local IMAX Theaters):

Zoom
Scoop
The Devil Wears Prada
World Trade Center
Little Miss Sunshine
Accepted
Material Girls
Snakes on a Plane
Pulse
Barnyard
The Decent
Miami Vice
You, Me and Dupree
Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Step Up
John Tucker Must Die
The Boyton Beach Club
An Inconvenient Truth
Wordplay
Monster House
The Night Listener
Little Man
The Ant Bully
Clerks II


So...let's look at how we came to decide what we saw. We eliminated things we had already seen (Clerks II, The Devil Wears Prada). We then eliminated kids films as we'll catch those on video where Malcolm may get some brief use out of them (so long to The Ant Bully, Monster House and Barnyard). Neither of us felt like seeing comedies from the current "hot" group of "young" comedians (so there'd be no You, Me and Dupree or Talladega Nights or Little Man). Since it was a date night, documentaries were out (Wordplay, An Inconvenient Truth) and Tash doesn't like horror films (Snakes on a Plane, Pulse, The Decent). We both agreed that while we wanted a fun film, we'd catch Pirates of the Caribbean on video like we did with the first one. Wanting a fun film also ruled out World Trade Center (which we both want to see) as well as Miami Vice and The Night Listener.

Now we're left with choices of:

Zoom
Scoop
Little Miss Sunshine
Accepted
Material Girls
Step Up
John Tucker Must Die
The Boyton Beach Club

Neither of us had any interest in Zoom, Material Girls, Step Up (in spite of Kevin Smith's thumbs up when substituting for Roger Ebert) or John Tucker Must Die.

Scoop has gotten mediocre reviews, so it's not "special" enough to warrant a potential theater-going experience.

We had no idea what The Boyton Beach Club was about.

So now we've got it narrowed down to Little Miss Sunshine and Accepted.

We both have an interest in seeing both films at some point. Little Miss Sunshine has that indie appeal we both like and has gotten loads of acclaim. Accepted looks like it could either be funnier than it has any right to be (like Eurotrip) or just terrible (like any other comedy we had already eliminated).

And the winner was...

Accepted (pretty much because Tash wanted to stop off at a store near a particular theater and Little Miss Sunshine wasn't playing at this theater -- even though it has 14 screens).

So...how was Accepted?

It was just what we needed. Sure, the plot is preposterous, but it was very funny (although not as funny as Eurotrip to give an example of another teen comedy of the last few years that looked like it could have been a stupid waste of time and thankfully wasn't).

Justin Long stars as Bartleby Gaines, a loser of a high school senior who has been rejected by all the colleges he applied to. To ward off the inevitable criticism from his parents, he fakes an acceptance letter from a fictional college (South Harmon Institute of Technology) and with the help of some friends (who have also been rejected from everywhere they applied) get another friend to fabricate a website to make it seem legit.

But then things get a bit out of control. Mom & Dad want to see the campus, so he uses the tuition money to rent a building (an abandoned mental institution that they renovate). Then his parents want to meet the dean, so they hire his friend's uncle. And then as a final complication, Bartleby and his friends discover that the website was made to look too legit as hundreds of students who have also been accepted (since acceptance is just a click away) show up for the first day of school

Can Bartleby keep the sham going without getting into real trouble? Will his friend Sherman join them in this endeavour or continue trying to fit in with the frats of a real college? Will the other college's dean get his way and but up the land that S.H.I.T. sits on to build the new entrance for the real school? Will Bartleby get the girl? (No, Yes, No, Of Course)

Sure the film was predictable, but it was fun in its own way. The cast is exteremly likable and very believable as kids who have no real direction (let's face it, Justin Long is almost 30 and he's still playing high school kids...if that isn't an example of not having a direction, I don't know what is). Lewis Black appears as Sherman's Uncle Ben who gets hired to be the Dean of S.H.I.T. and whenever he's on screen, the film becomes something else. What spends most of its time being something of a "lite" version of Animal House surprisingly becomes a biting commentary on the current state of the American educational system.

Fun and a message? What more could anyone ask for?

Maybe you don't need to rush out and catch this in theaters, but don't miss it on video.

So...what will catch in theaters next time? Since we don't know when that will be (aside from November 17 when Casino Royale opens cause there's no fucking way I'm not seeing a new James Bond film opening day in theaters), who knows what we'll choose that will cause people to look at us funny and think we've gone off the deep end (We had a chance to go to the movies and you saw ACCEPTED??)

I'll be back in a few days with some more reviews of DVDs.

Be seeing you.