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18 articles
[TV] Fraggle Rock: The Complete Final Season
20 November 2009 8:00 AM, PST
Fraggle Rock was the very first show on HBO and, in a lot of ways, the ultimate palate cleanser for all the episodic storytelling and creativity yet to come. After all, almost every day in Fraggle Rock included a clean moral, a pitch perfect song, a pure act of friendship, and a nice, pared-down script. But being a Jim Henson product, and his wide vision of a world symbiosis guiding it lightspeed ahead of any other kids show, inasmuch as it was a “kids show,” it's hard to describe Fraggle Rock as simply a first foray into entertainment. In fact, in this last season, it actually feels more like a final word.
At some point or another here, the fun-loving and usually independent Fraggle friends each get their own special interactions with the mysterious Gorgs, Doozers, and Silly Creatures (humans) they share the planet with, and each results in a transcendent amount of warmth, »
- Michael Narkunski
[TV] Heartland: Season 1, Part 2
20 November 2009 4:00 AM, PST
Heartland is the kind of family show you might scoff at, watch by accident, and then find yourself coming back to again and again to slurp up all the family comfort and light drama you never got in real life...or maybe did, but not against the backdrop of Canadian horse ranches, so it's totally paled in comparison and you're angry.
Now be warned, if it's a TV mother-figure you're after, you won't find her in this case, because she's dead; however; if you're willing to settle for a loving grandfather, a stylish sister, an excitable 12-year-old neighbor, and a hair-in-the-eyes stable boy who lusts after you, then you will happily plant your vicarious roots down in the world of teenage horse whisperer Amy Fleming.
Played plainly by Amber Marshall, Amy will not be the most interesting thing you'll ever watch, to put it nicely. Her “problems” are a slightly awkward relationship with her father, »
- Michael Narkunski
[DVD Review] The Official Major League Baseball World Series Film Collection
19 November 2009 8:53 PM, PST
Cinephiles step aside, The Official Major League Baseball World Series Film Collection, along with being a mouthful, is decidedly not for you. While it wouldn’t be hard to put together a 64-film anthology about America’s favorite pastime using the efforts of Hollywood, it’s not what you’ll find here. Instead you get to sink your teeth into 64 years of sports history presented in a way that makes it an excellent choice for either a solid shelf-piece or a coffee table mainstay; it’s pretty clear from the set’s sleek black box appearance and beautiful photography that it was intended for either destination. The films may snag the interest of baseball fanatics but its expert design makes the set an item to behold.
The thick book doubles as the cases for the 20 discs as they slip comfortably into the tops. It’s certainly a convenient way to »
- Lex Walker
Interview: Joe Swanberg Talks "Young American Bodies" and Online Distribution
19 November 2009 4:40 AM, PST
Now in the middle of its fourth season, Young American Bodies is a web show following the romantic and sexual relationships between modern twenty-somethings in Chicago whose lives—and limbs—intertwine with one another. Created, written, starring and run by the husband-and-wife team of Joe and Kris Swanberg; it revolves around a theme that the two curiously investigates: sex.
How is it that something so prevalent in mainstream modern culture is still largely treated as an exotic taboo? How does it figure into people’s lives? For Joe Swanberg, it’s something that he brings up again and again in feature films like Hannah Takes the Stairs and Nights and Weekends , in a stubbornly realistic and often explicit way. I spoke with Joe last week to discuss not only the show, but also sexuality in today’s youth, his appreciation for Kieslowski, and what he thinks about the new model of online film distribution. »
- Arya Ponto
[TV] Would Be Kings
18 November 2009 1:00 PM, PST
When I heard that Would Be Kings was originally a Canadian miniseries, I was a little bit hesitant. Don’t get me wrong, I love Canada as much as the next person, but the word miniseries always makes me a little nauseous. I’m sure there are decent ones out there, but most of the miniseries I have seen are ridiculously bad.
Surprisingly, Would Be Kings is pretty good. The premise is that Patrick Lehane, a cop determined to play by the rules, wants two things in life: to put away a meth-selling mob boss and to get a promotion. The cost is high though and Patrick suddenly finds himself pushing his family away and losing his by-the-book attitude. He enlists the help of another mob boss, Frank Patero, to get his target off the streets. It works, and the drug ring is busted, but Patrick loses a cop in the aftermath of the raid. »
- Jessica Guerrasio
[TV] Keeping Up With The Kardashians: Season Two
18 November 2009 10:00 AM, PST
Watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Season Two is a little bit like walking in on your parents having sex. You know it happens, but seeing it makes you want to gouge out your eyes. But then, with Ryan Seacrest as the executive producer, did you really expect anything else?
For anyone not familiar with the show, it centers around sisters Kourtney, Khloe, and Kim Kardashian, who are famous for absolutely nothing. Wait, that’s not true. Kim leapt to fame when her sex tape with Ray J leaked…now that is something to be proud of. Other recurring “characters” include: Kris Jenner, the girls’ mom and Kim’s manager; Bruce Jenner, Kris’ second husband and former Olympian; Robert Kardashian, Jr., the girls’ younger brother; and Bruce and Kris’ two daughters together, Kendall and Kylie.
Most of the plot points of this show are laughable. For example, in one episode, »
- Jessica Guerrasio
Today's Short: "Tarboy"
18 November 2009 6:15 AM, PST
From their original YouTube video description: "Tarboy is an animated short film about fighting robots, explosions and more fighting robots." Sold! Well, okay, so there's more to the short than that, but fighting robots are in, right? Actually, Tarboy is the name of a creature out for vengeance, a product of hundreds of robots dumped into a tar pit. This is Flash animation done right, with great use of silhouettes and suitable voice acting. The snappy score helps a lot, too.
{youtube}ACHVwA1D8fE{/youtube}
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- Arya Ponto
[TV] SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square
18 November 2009 5:00 AM, PST
SpongeBob has another DVD out. Hurray…not. Let me make this abundantly clear up front: I hate SpongeBob. I know, travesty, you say. But it’s true. Not only do I hate SpongeBob, I would go as far as to say I wish I could use his face to wash out the inside of the litter box my two cats use, or something else equally disgusting. Or perhaps I would give him to a hermit crab to use as a water fountain. Either way, he would not be in my living room, on my television, for my viewing displeasure.
That said, the episodes on SpongeBob SquarePants : Truth or Square are actually not that bad. There were five episodes on the disc. “Truth or Square” (the extended director’s cut) is the main episode on the disc and focuses on the Krusty Krab’s Eleventy Seventh anniversary. When SpongeBob and »
- Jessica Guerrasio
[DVD Review] Monsters, Inc.
17 November 2009 3:02 PM, PST
Monsters, Inc. has everything a Pixar movie should: an interesting take on a common story, fantastic animation, top-shelf acting and a sense of child-like wonder. Oh, and John Ratzenberger. Flipping the monster in the closet paradigm on its head, Monsters, Inc. takes the traditional idea and asks a question few consider “Why do they scare?” Many horror films waste countless frames of celluloid attempting to give a brief background or origin story to their ghoulies, but Monsters, Inc. upped the ante. Instead of a mere glimpse, they completely dive into the world of monsters and tell us a story about avarice and business ethics while still providing a film most kids will go ga-ga for.
James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) holds the record in Monstropolis for the most energy generated by scaring children. Contrary to the really simple conceptualization of monster-lives-in-closet, the monsters of Monstropolis have a genuinely genius method for reaching their targets. »
- Lex Walker
[TV] Drawn Together: The Complete Series - Party In Your Box
17 November 2009 1:07 PM, PST
Drawn Together represents a microcosm of Family Guy’s career from start to its current agonizing continuation. Family Guy started out with smart, fresh and unexpectedly sharp commentary that rocked people expecting just another weekly animated comedy like The Simpsons; Drawn Together’s first season sparked interest in much the same way and seemed to be the continuation of the Family Guy legacy which had come to an unexpected and unfortunate end in 2003. Thus, the 2004 debut of a crudely hilarious show like Drawn Together, which takes pop-culture icons of the last 80 years and forces them to interact in ridiculous 22-minute-long episodes, seemed like the next logical step of animated television.
And it was. The characters worked in a dual-commentary fashion. Not only did they lampoon the original characters which inspired them but they also took on personalities unique to the show’s story and made new comedy from that. Drawn Together »
- Lex Walker
[DVD Review] Heat
17 November 2009 1:00 PM, PST
Near the beginning of Adaptation, Charlie Kaufman, while advising his fictional brother Donald in the fine art of screenwriting, he suggests sarcastically that he “explore the notion that cop and criminal are really two aspects of the same person. See every cop movie ever made for other examples of this.” Really, he could save the time and just watch Heat. Of all the police/cop/heist crime movies of the 80s and 90s, probably none quite so completely embodies that “we’re not so different, you and I” dynamic that has been the last resort of screenwriters since the dawn of Hollywood. Nearly fifteen years on, this is both Heat’s greatest success and its greatest liability, because while nothing following in its footsteps has equaled it in scope or clarity, some of its drama has been rendered inert by the sheer number of well-funded directors who have tried, as »
- Anders Nelson
[TV] Expedition Africa
17 November 2009 11:21 AM, PST
As if attempting to undo the carnal sins perpetrated against the sanctity of television by I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, Expedition Africa captures some glimpse of the truly savage visage of the outdoors while still giving reality tv junkies the “human drama” they so crave. Face it: I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! hasn’t a single redeeming factor. It wasn’t original as the basic blueprint comes from either Big Brother or Survivor. Nor was it daring or edgy as it took the basic premise of Fear Factor and put it in the middle of a jungle. The contestants never really had to worry about a force of nature endangering their lives as they may as well have been on a big set in a studio considering how many safeguards were in place. If you have to ask, yes, I would much »
- Lex Walker
[DVD Review] Gone with the Wind - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition
17 November 2009 10:00 AM, PST
For those of you who have been living under a rock (or were born in the last 15 years or so), here is a very abridged summary of Gone with the Wind: it enters on the lives of Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), and their friends and families, and how they're affected by the Civil War.
I don't really know what else to say about it. I mean...it's Gone with the Wind. It was re-released about a million times, and, as far as I know, faces no real threat of a remake. It's a classic — a wonderful, untouchable classic. I didn't read the book, so I don't know personally how faithful the movie is. A friend recently told me, though, that one of our high school English teachers told him it was the best film adaptation of a book she had ever seen. And trust me — this woman's word is law. »
- Jess Goodwin
[DVD Review] Up
17 November 2009 8:00 AM, PST
When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a famous rock star. I pictured myself in front of a crowd, while I was in the crowd. In elementary school, me and two of my girlfriends made a music video to a Spice Girls song. The five Brits were all the rage and then some, and we wished we were them so badly, we created our own dance moves and made a movie in a bedroom.
Little girls do silly things, right? Well in middle school, I wrote a few songs with another hopeful, we called ourselves The Pink Flames. Probably not the best group name, looking back. In fact it’s a bit embarrassing to divulge now. Next, when the Flames burnt out, I learned guitar and started another band. We were about 14 years old and had a garage sale over the summer in order to buy ourselves a Pa »
- Erin Burris
[DVD Review] Brüno
17 November 2009 4:00 AM, PST
With Borat the world took notice of Sacha Baron Cohen. He’d won over a niche with Da Ali G Show but Borat propelled him into the spotlight using the foolish prejudices of average people in the United States to create a road trip exposing the underlying racism and xenophobia in the country. The film became a sensation unto itself and generated the controversy necessary to make Cohen a recognizable face. If Bruno shows us anything, it’s that Cohen can still disguise himself despite all the fame he garnered in a cheap suit and bushy moustache. Bruno follows a flagrantly homosexual, Austrian pop-star as he attempts to win fame in the United States after being disgraced in Europe. For every well-worn point he rehashes about the ridiculous nature of celebrity and how it’s revered in this media-crazed country, Cohen attempts to ratchet up the shock value achieved in his previous endeavor, »
- Lex Walker
[Movie Review] Pirate Radio
16 November 2009 11:21 PM, PST
The end credits for Pirate Radio is a collage of all the rock albums released between the time period the movie takes place in (1966) and present day. It starts off well, with the likes of Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, then comes the headscratchers like Eminem and Kylie Minogue. What bothered me about it is not the incorrect genre identification, but the not-so-subtle implication that they all belong in the same category, and that is a new generation of music that supplants the old dogs establishment of classical music.
This is no more evident than in the film’s villain, a checklist caricature of a bureaucrat played by Kenneth Branagh, who’s so unbelievably square that he keeps his Christmas dinner a silent affair, doesn’t understand how jokes work, and says desperately uncool things like, “That’s the point of being the government. If you don’t like something, »
- Arya Ponto
Today's Short: "Turbo"
16 November 2009 5:56 AM, PST
A self-proclaimed hybrid of The Karate Kid and Tron, Turbo has the feel of a movie made for the 80's generation, but with an apparent love for 90's gaming world—particularly how it has shades of Tekken and Street Fighter in its blood, as well as the arcade setting. Starring Justin Chon (Twilight) and Jocko Sims (Crash series), it's a fun little sci-fi fighting movie that boasts some pretty impressive production value.
{vimeo}6932347{/vimeo}
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- Arya Ponto
[DVD Review] Kevin Smith 3-Movie Collection
16 November 2009 4:00 AM, PST
This isn’t the first time a set titled the “[insert name] collection” has debuted with a less than stellar compilation of films attempting to represent a filmmaker or actor’s career. What Miramax did right here was calling it a “3-Movie Collection” thus letting themselves off the hook for not having some of Kevin Smith’s better films. The set includes Clerks, Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Strike Back which means the collection might not all be the crème de la crème de Smith, but it certainly lets you see a wide range of the man’s talents as a director. However, I think the best way to think of this set is as a sign of his career financially and not necessarily professionally.
With Clerks, Kevin Smith operated on a shoestring budget and cast his friends in the leads after deciding he didn’t have the chops to handle »
- Lex Walker
18 articles
