In any great film franchise, there are iconic moments, scenes that will remain fresh in a young movie goers mind for the rest of his life. For me and Star Wars, one of those key moments was when Han is lowered into the Carbonite Freezing Chamber, and Leia tells him she loves him. His response was perfect – “I know”. Talk about cool.
The whole concept of freezing him in such a way was perfect for the character, and not just because it gave Lucas a way to easily resurrect him. George was smart enough not to put a blaster shot in the head of his cash cow. More importantly though, having him frozen in a big black block allowed Jabba to not just beat him, but to put him on display as a trophy. Han Solo was such a galactic bad ass that Jabba didn’t just want him dead, he wanted him mounted on the wall. And yes, I know, Jabba didn’t specifically ask for him in the carbonite, but once he had him that way, he clearly thought it was a pretty damn good idea.
Over the years, we’ve been treated to Han in his carbonite prison in various collectibles, from small action figures to full size replicas. Sideshow has already produced a terrific sixth scale Jabba with throne, along with several figures to go with it. Now they’ve released their version of Han in Carbonite as a diorama addition to the Jabba Throne.
If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com, or check out lots more reviews just like this one at Michael’s Review of the Week – Captain Toy. Now let’s see how Han looks…
Han Solo in Carbonite – Sixth Scale Diorama
As I said, this guy is really designed to go along with Jabba’s Throne, although it does work as a stand alone piece. It runs about $200, depending on the retailer, and as always, I have some suggestions at the end of the review. Han is limited to 2000 pieces worldwide.
Packaging – ***
The box is quite large, considering Han and his block are only in sixth scale (12″). Ah, but he comes with a hefty chunk of the wall and floor too, making the box quite a bit bigger than you’d first anticipate.
It does its job of course, keeping everything safe and sound. Han is packed on the side of the large Styrofoam insert, so if you put him back in the box later, remember that…pulling him out a second time with the tape already cut could result in a nasty fall to the floor if you were to forget his precarious location.
Sideshow doesn’t do Certificate of Authenticities, so there’s no surprise that there isn’t one this time.
Sculpting – ***1/2
This diorama has a similar level of quality and detail in the sculpt to the Jabba’s Throne. If you already have that, then this one is going to fit right in.
The block itself is seems a little small at first, and I had a hard time seeing a full sized sixth scale figure fitting inside there. I compared it against other sixth scale figures though, and yes, it is about the right size. The block itself meaures 13 inches tall by 5 1/2 inches wide by 2 inches deep. The detailing on the surface is good, with an excellent Han likeness coming through, but if you do an extremely close comparison to actual stills of the prop you will notice a few minor issues. I’m good with it, but the purists might take exception.
The small details on the block, like the side control panels, look good, at least in terms of the sculpt. It’s possible for the block to stand on its own on one end too, although I’d be very nervous if I displayed it that way.
The bigger issue for most folks will be the overall size of the display diorama, but for me it’s also fine. Sideshow took some liberties with the size of the wall that the block was attached to in the film, reducing it in size both in height and width. If you’re looking for it to be exactly screen accurate, this is going to be a problem for you, but it appears that Sideshow did this to allow it to fit in better with Jabba’s throne. It’s about the same width, side to side, as the throne is deep, giving you some excellent diorama potential. Had they gone with a screen accurate size, it would have dwarfed the throne. As it is, it stands 18 1/2″ tall, 10″ deep, and 10″ wide.
Important sculpting details are here, such as the control box to the right and several air grates. As I said, the sculpting of the lighter stone matches the work on the earlier throne, so that these two work extremely well together.
Paint – ***
The majority of the smaller details are on the control panels. Unfortunately, these are a tad sloppier than I expected, especially at this price point. They put the details on with a heavy hand, and much of the paint is thin and inconsistent. They went with a rough appearance, which I can whole heartedly agree with, but I think the detail work on the panels should have been a bit sharper, even in a pit like Jabba’s place.
The shading and shadowing done on the diorama are the highlight for this category, and it adds to the realistic stone appearance and fits in perfectly with the throne.
In photos, it might appear that the block is too dark of a gray, but in person it seems about right. How dark it looks will also depend on the amount of light and the other colors around it – throw some very bright light at it in a white room, and you’ll get a much lighter gray look.
Design/Quality – ***
There are a number of nice design features, and the overall quality is apparent in the construction.
The back of both the diorama and the block is covered in a soft velvet material, to avoid damaging other pieces or your display.
To simulate the ‘floating’ appearance of the block against the indented wall, the diorama has a long metal post at the top that is inserted into the back of the block. This is a very tight fit, but it does hold the block extremely secure. It appears that there’s a magnet here as well, adding in one more level of assurance. On mine, the block hangs unevenly though, and I think it’s the fault of the magnet. I ended up shoving a folded piece of paper in back to force the block to hang even. At this price point, that’s something I don’t think I should have to do.
You will want to be careful putting the block on and taking it off however. The metal post shouldn’t be forced against the softer polyresin of the block or the base, and applying force at any sort of angle is highly discouraged.
What’s missing here is a light up feature. You’ll have to supply your own moody LED light when you display this guy, and considering the price point, that’s probably going to be a deal breaker for some folks.
Value – **
Even at $180, this is a pretty expensive display item. The Jabba’s Throne set was about this same price range, with more size, sculpt detail and paint ops. Yea, things haven’t gotten cheaper in the last two years, but this piece still seems like it should be no more than $150, considering the current market. Now, if they had included the light up feature everyone was hoping for, the extra cost would have been easily justified.
Things to Watch Out For –
Putting the block on and taking it off of the display base is a tricky business and I really recommend that you don’t do it too many times. Get it the way you want it, and leave it be…wise advice with just about everything in life.
Overall – ***
One of the best things about sixth scale collectibles is how great they look together, preferably set up in dioramas on the shelf. Sideshow has given us an excellent reproduction of a key scene from the film that fits in nicely with a number of other figures AND another diorama piece. If you don’t own the earlier Jabba’s Throne Environment, I can see where this rather expensive statue is a pretty easy pass. But if you’ve got the rest of the environment, this bad boy does a nice job of expanding on it.
Related Links –
As I mentioned, I reviewed both Jabba and his Throne back when they were released a couple years ago. To add to the display, you can include Bib Fortuna, or Jedi Luke.
Welcome to TV or Not TV where I’m actually not lametning the beginning of summer.
As an avid TV watcher I’ve never been overly pleased with the oncoming of the warm season. There are many people that enjoy the heat, the sun, the extra hours of sun, and the extra hours of heat that come with this time of year. Because of people’s abnormal fascination with this time of year (give me an air conditioned room and a television any day) the television networks have traditionally reserved the summer season for their re-runs of things that we’ve already seen because they think we just aren’t watching. Thankfully that thinking has been replaced.
The pay-cable crowd I’m sure is getting geared up for the return of True Blood on HBO. I have to admit that this show had me leary after the first episode but I was completely sucked in after that (pun intended). Those of us just in cable land are probably looking forward to the summer return of Burn Notice on USA along with Psych. You’ve also got Mad Men returning to AMC and The Closer on TNT. So many interesting choices.
Every year, however, I look forward to the return of Big Brother on CBS. For some reason I just can’t get enough of the social dynamic that arises when you stick a bunch of people in a house, give them no contact with the outside world, and make them compete in stupid contest for things like food. The paranoia that sets in when these people get locked into the soundstage house is ever compelling and the producers purposely put in people that they know at almost a genetic level are in no way meant to get along. Grante the show is nothing like it was during the wonder that were seasons two and three, but it’s still the one thing I look forward to.
Enough about this summer show drivel, let’s get on to the picks for the week.
MONDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: After it failed on ABC the Peacock has decided to give I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! a second lease on US airwaves life. Â Reality show staple Stephen Baldwin joins Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Torrie Wilson, John Salley, Sanjaya Malakar, Lou Diamond Phillips, semi-crazy Janice Dickinson and the wife of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. I really hope they come through with the bees being released on Sanjaya.
ABC FAMILY – 9:00 PM: The simplicity and wonder of The Princess Bridge never ceases to entertain me. Besides, I had to break up what looks like an NBC love fest as we move on to…
NBC – 10:oo PM: It’s the series finale (on NBC) for Medium. See you next year on CBS Ms. Dubois.
NBC – 11:35 PM: Tonight is the premiere of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. I’ll definitely DVR it.
TUESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: Night two of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
CW – 8:00 PM: Two hours of Hitched or Ditched is such a sad epitath to the now gone Reaper (which fights for survival through syndication).
ABC – 8:30 PM: It’s the series finale for According to Jim. Don’t let the door hit you…
G4 – 10:00 PM: One of the movies that just screams “I was made during the 80’s!” is the teen angst to the extreme film that is The Lost Boys.
WEDNESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: Night three of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! If they are both still on I’m sure Janice Dickenson has eaten Sanjaya by now out of desperation.
G4 – 9:00 PM: Fans of Joss Whedon may want to take in Alien Resurrection as it was written by him. After the pain of Alien 3 this was a very nice return of some pride to the franchise.
NBC – 9:00 PM: Brian Williams brings us an NBC News Special titled Inside the Obama White House. With how much Obama has been in the public eye is this really needed?
HIST – 10:00 PM: A new season of Ice Road Truckers comes at us to cover 400 miles of some of the scariest road you’ll ever see someone drive.
THURSDAY
G4 – 9:00 PM: I’m starting to think that I might be programming the night time movies for G4 in my sleep. Tonight is another 80’s classic, Revenge of the Nerds. I’ll never forget when my brother took a 13 year old me to see this classic. Please don’t judge him.
NBC – 9:00 PM: If you actually stuck through another episode of I’m a Celebrityblah blah blah there’s two hours of the Canadian import show The Listener. Faster than you can say Matt Parkman we meet Toby Logan, a paramedic who discovers he can also read minds. Whackiness ensues.
TVLAND – 9:00 PM: Another classic from the 80’s features the late great Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School.
FRIDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: Get ready for the man from downunder as former Men At Work frontman Colin Hay drops in to help out on Don’t Forget the Lyrics.
FOOD – 8:00 PM: Break out the antacid and take in Ultimate Burger Bash With Food Network All-Stars.
SATURDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: If you missed Wednesday’s edition of Wipeout than you can take it in tonight instead. I never tire of seeing these people get the snot smacked out of ’em!
GSN – 8:00 PM: Just when you thought they couldn’t come up with any more award shows the Game Show Network whips out The Game Show Awards. Howie Mandel hosts and I can’t wait for the red carpet coverage.
ABC – 10:00 PM: Here it is, the next to last episode of Pushing Daisies.
SUNDAY
CBS – 8:00 PM: OK, I konw you may have thought you were watching The Tony Awards back in March, but no, those were The Academy Awards. I’ve got five words for you to actually watch the Tony‘s this year: NEIL PATRICK MOTHER TRUCKIN’ HARRIS!
NBC – 9:00 PM: Um, the second part of The Last Templar is on again tonight. With Angels & Demons coming out I can’t blame them for dragging this out again after just having aired it in January.
A&E – 9:00 PM: Once again I have to snicker to myself as I say that we can once again enjoy Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
FOOD – 9:00 PM: 10 hopefuls once again vie to be The Next Food Network Star. Considering how nervous I get just making a turkey for Thanksgiving I can’t imagine having to make a meal for Alton, Giada, Duff and Morimoto.
– Will Wilkins was taped in front of a live studio audience.
And now, you can follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp
LAND OF THE LOST – SCREENING
Who here is from Arizona?
Who has some time next Tuesday to see a screening of LAND OF THE LOST, starring Will Ferrell and Danny McBride? I have passes galore for some lucky Quick Stop Entertainment readers so if you’re going to be around please shoot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@Yahoo.com and I’ll make sure you get in.
For those of you who are still in the dark about the film, here’s a breakdown:
Space-time vortexes suck.
Will Ferrell stars as has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, sucked into one and spat back through time. Way back. Now, Marshall has no weapons, few skills and questionable smarts to survive in an alternate universe full of marauding dinosaurs and fantastic creatures from beyond our world – a place of spectacular sights and super-scaled comedy known as the Land of the Lost.
Sucked alongside him for the adventure are crack-smart research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and a redneck survivalist (Danny McBride) named Will. Chased by T. rex and stalked by painfully slow reptiles known as Sleestaks, Marshall, Will and Holly must rely on their only ally – a primate called Chaka (Jorma Taccone) – to navigate out of the hybrid dimension. Escape from this routine expedition gone awry and they’re heroes. Get stuck, and they’ll be permanent refugees in the Land of the Lost.
Based on the classic television series created by Sid & Marty Krofft, Land of the Lost is directed by Brad Silberling and produced by Jimmy Miller and Sid & Marty Krofft.
DR. WHO?
People love their Dr. Who.
While I could never get into it in the way a lot of you do I just received this in my in-box and thought I would share with the fellow geek community if you didn’t already know.
I remember being in 8th grade and having a friend who was REALLY into it. Even then I could see it was a really important series to some people so I figure this is my way of helping out a contingent of people who have a deep reverence for this program. I am equally a fan of BBC America and think that the programming on that channel whips the tar out of 90% of our own domestic network offerings (Check out Skins, people…Seriously…) so I like to help when I can. Without any ado here is the release…
U.S. PREMIERE OF DOCTOR WHO SPECIALS ON BBC AMERICA
– BBC AMERICA premieres five specials from TV’s longest running sci-fi series –
New York, NY ““ May 28, 2009 ““ BBC AMERICA today announced the acquisition of five new specials from Doctor Who, television’s longest running science fiction series and a global phenomenon. The deal gives the cable channel the exclusive first window to the Doctor Who 2009 Specials (4 x 60), the final four adventures of the tenth Time Lord played by David Tennant. As part of the same deal, BBC AMERICA acquired the 2008 Christmas Special, The Next Doctor featuring David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwan. It will air Saturday, June 27, 2009.
The first of the 2009 specials, Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, premieres in July. As a London red bus takes a detour to an alien world it forces the Doctor (Tennant) to work with the extraordinary Lady Christina (Michelle Ryan, Bionic Woman). But the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets hidden in the sand and time is running out as the deadly Swarm gets closer.
“The outstanding quality of the Doctor Who scripts from Russell T Davies and the on-screen dynamic that David Tennant brings to the role are a magic combination for our viewers. Russell’s spin-off series Torchwood is already our highest rated show on the channel and I know the fans will follow these new specials with equal passion and support. We’re thrilled to bring this iconic show to BBC AMERICA, home of the best British sci-fi programming on television,” says President, BBC Worldwide America Garth Ancier.
Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars is the second special and along with the two additional untitled specials will premiere later in 2009 and early 2010.
Building off the successful Supernatural Saturdays programming block, Doctor Who will be leveraged across multiple platforms including Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first Doctor Who DVD to be released on Blu-ray, shortly after the U.S. broadcast premiere.
The writers are Russell T Davies and Gareth Roberts (The Sarah Jane Adventures) with Executive Producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner (Torchwood, Life on Mars). It is a BBC production and distributed by BBC Worldwide.
DRAG ME TO HELL – REVIEW
David: Have you seen the movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre?
Anna-Maria: No. It is good?
David: Oh, I’ve got to tell you, I love this film. It had passion and a plucky spirit. And, the characters had integrity, like when Leatherface went on that strict diet of human flesh, he had to cut out chicken and fish completely.
Francis “Chainsaw” Grimp: Dave, I agree with you. I’ll go a step further, sure Leatherface, he wore a mask made out of human skin, and he hung people on meat-hooks, but hey, we’ve all got quirks, I got ’em, you’ve got ’em Dave, that’s what makes this character so, so compelling. Thumbs up for me.
David: Same here.
Francis “Chainsaw” Grimp: To sum it up, I’m Chainsaw . . .
David: I’m Dave. Francis “Chainsaw” Grimp and David: Will see you . . . At the Movies.
– SUMMER SCHOOL, 1987
It was a tenuous peace at first but, Lord, did I almost have to look away by the end.
When first we meet Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a beautiful heroine if ever there was one, not strikingly gorgeous nor feeble and weak as so many other films would have made her, she’s introduced as a bland loan officer who works for a one-dimensional boss by the name of Mr. Jacks (played pitch perfectly by David Paymer). Christine and her weasel of a co-worker are vying for a promotion within the small bank where they work.
The movie has such a basic and forced beginning, you almost start wondering what the hype is all about, that when things start getting fantastical it thrusts the film’s hum-drum reality into a sphere . Much of believing in this character’s universe, obviously, goes to director/writer Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi for establishing such a compelling premise. What’s more is that the two of them seem to be operating at a level that is not meant to be demeaning or insulting and, point of fact, are playing around in a sandbox of fundamentals. Fundamentals with regard to getting at what makes a good scare, to not having one jump out of your skin moment but to pummel you continuously with them at any one time, creating one-note characters (read here: Justin Long’s parents, Lohman’s boss, co-worker) who only help to serve the spooky vibe of the film and not take away from it, wrapping absurdist comedy up within moments that shouldn’t have it and, finally, how to keep you locked in and keyed up to what’s happening.
All of these elements come in to play continuously throughout the film but when Lohman is thrust into the cursed world of the Lamia through a quite disconcerting battle between her and Mrs. Ganush there couldn’t be a more precise distillation of all these elements into one prickly scene that, if you are fully on-board with the movie, properly punches your ticket into one of the best reasons to be in the theater this summer. From the fight to the eventual curse that is put upon her this is beats out any battle you’ll get in the month of May from any other blockbuster playing at the multiplex.
As the film progresses you can’t help but feel a strong connection to the story. Sam and Ivan deserve the kind of credit that you would give to an author like Stephen King but the ruse is that they’re not like Stephen, and this isn’t meant as a slap, they’re more on par with Richard Matheson or authors like him. The story feels small, intimate, powerful. Some of the best horror fiction, for me anyway, always centers on the personal and individual circumstance. There is no room for sprawling narratives in these stories and this movie should be applauded for keeping things tight. As it weaves its reality, Lohman employing the help of soothsayer and psychic Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to deconstruct what she needs to do in order to unsaddle herself from the eventual demise that is coming for her. Rao is given a bit part, for sure, but his presence in this film is quite entertaining as he provides the push needed for the events to unravel as they do.
Justin Long, for his part, plays his role better than anyone in his position has a right to as it is just a role that you see in countless other horror films where you have to have the sensitive significant other who has to sympathize, but not necessarily do anything about, the present condition of the protagonist. It’s a throwaway role, almost, but Long is delightful as the concerned boyfriend who can’t do anything about his lady’s impending doom and, almost like Rao, only serves the plot when needed. In terms of leanness and scales of economy, taking a page from writers who are good at not adding anything that doesn’t serve the plot, there isn’t a wasted character or needless inclusion of a hot best friend, a little kid or any number of other insignificant elements that drag some horror films, and their pacing along with it, down.
It’s about here where talking any more about the film’s cracks, crags and nuances would only serve to spoil what should be experienced as cold as possible. The thrill of this film is not knowing too much about what is to follow, expecting and knowing where a scare is coming from only defeats the great triumph of the Raimis. Sam has managed, SPIDER-MAN 3 be damned, to actually go back to what made him such an endearing element to independent horror fans. I will however make note of the scene where Lohman needs to visit a graveyard where she expects to rid herself of the foul curse that saddles her soul.
Lohman’s moments in the comedically stereotype that is a Raimi graveyard is played with the kind of ferocity, brutality, excitement and sexiness (the delicately brushed away mud splash on her porcelain white skin was a nice touch) that I came to love and fear in a similar moment in POLTERGEIST during a pool scene many here should know all too well. The gross-out factor is compounded by a few things but, again, the moment is tinged with both abject horror and farcical humor in a blend that deserves not to be spoiled by anyone much less me.
And, it should be mentioned, you may not notice the work Sam does with sound and music throughout but he deserves kudos here as well. He pays attention to the way sounds move within the speaker field and Christopher Young’s excellent and chilling score only helps to accentuate the action on the screen.
DRAG ME TO HELL is a wondrous film going experience that not only reminds you why horror can be so much more than just updating it to satisfy the torture porn sensibilities of young moviegoers who demand their horror to be brutal. The Raimis give the kind of scares that are worth so much more than the quick cuts, slick production values and ostentatiousness of films in its genre. The movie reads like a delicious short story that you want to read again just so you can see if it hits the same high points.
If ever there was a reason to get out and enjoy a movie with dozens of others, if only to hear the squeals and screams of others in attendence, DRAG ME TO HELL is it.
Hollywood hates children. Well, nowadays, for the most part. The past decade has seen a decline in the realm of family films so drastic it’s almost embarrassing to behold. A constant barrage of sub-par, placating, dreck that insults the intelligence of the child and the adult they will one day grow to be. Substance and craft are no longer the main concerns for children and families, simply be garish, be happy, and NEVER be realistic in tone (DEATH DOESN’T EXIST, ONLY iPods DO!!!) The youth of today have virtually nothing to grow up with and rediscover as surprisingly well-made entertainment, all they have is films equivalent to my generation’s Masters Of The Universe (great for nostalgia, not so great for adult criticism.) They need, and deserve, more fare like Beetlejuice, Return to Oz, Gremlins, or The Neverending Story (yes, I’m bias)… films where they grow up, re-watch and think “Holy hell! This was for kids?” They are feeding them messy piles of sugary air such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, or Night At The Museum (1 or 2, take your pick), which are so hackneyed and sloppy that the slightest hint of adolescent logic or understanding of story structure forces them to collapse under their own faulty welds and lashings. However, in a world of film that treats kids like permanently-imbecilic-spider-monkeys, there is still Pixar.
And Pixar has balls. SEXY. PLUMP. BALLS.
Not even going to bother jumping on the Pixar worship-wagon here. You know, as well as I do, about their reputation and their increasingly growing catalogue of well-crafted films that are arguably genre masterpieces (Wall-E, TheIncredibles) or great against all odds (Cars: completely entertaining in spite of stilted-premise and Larry The Cable Guy.) Up continues this trend, possibly in the animation house’s greatest triumph of supremely original ideas and adult-story-telling-for-kids.
The film opens by following the life, from pre-adolescence to golden years, of Carl Fredricksen (voiced by the great Ed Asner.) He is an old man with an unfulfilled dream of adventuring in the South American wilderness and a home that is being strangled by industrial development. In short, he ties thousands upon thousands of balloons to his house and floats away, toward South America, on what is to be the last adventure of his life, one that he is forced to share with a young boy who inadvertently is on his porch during take off. Simple right? Odd right? Confusing right? Right, but it’s the approach that matters.
Amongst the fantastical elements in the film, the ones that can be seen in the trailer, like a house being floated by mere balloons, talking dogs, or elderly men being WAY too physically active for their own good, Up has a grounded heart and realism in place that metaphorically punches the adult-mind in the gut, and righteously, yet not viciously, sprays pepper-sauce in children’s faces (the kid next to me in the theater cried A LOT.) The movie deals with death, abandonment, and the loss of heroes at the fore front of its surface.
This blunt realism kicks right off, as the beginning of the film introduces us to the epitomes of pure cuteness and naivete that are young Carl and Ellie (his future wife.) They both seek adventure and have the same hero, Charles Muntz (voiced by the legendary Christopher Plummer), and we are treated to a montage of their life together. We witness their marriage, their home life, their romance, their laughter, and eventually, their inability to conceive children (yup,) and ultimately their parting. THAT’S RIGHT. Ellie dies. Not just dies, but dies in a montage around 20 minutes or so into the film… Pixar sets you up, and knocks you down… all to the loving tunes of a soothing and sad score. All that went through my mind was “Holy hell! This is for kids?” Which, trust me, is a huge compliment.
Pixar’s balls, by this point in the movie are already huge and pulsating, but they still get even bigger. The reason Carl even floats his home in the first place is because the government is taking it away and forcing him into a retirement-home due to him attacking a construction worker with his cane (drawing blood!) Through the course of the film we also see Carl discover that his (and Ellie’s) childhood hero is a deranged, psychopathic, MULTI-murderer and that the kid, Russell, has a deadbeat dad who basically wouldn’t care if he lives or dies… we even see dogs getting hurt and possibly killed (due to their own actions, its not Pixar’s Hostel.) Topping off the dark tones found here is a joke played on the audience that is so genius, cruel and hilarious that scriptwriter Bob Peterson must have been laughing since the day he put it on paper. I won’t spoil it for you. Heh.
******************END SPOILERS*******************
Up‘s realism, risks, and complimentary attitude toward the audience is not the only positive however. In no way am I trying to sell it on the merits of making children cry alone… ok, maybe a little. It is also quite successful on all other standard fronts, and it’s got plenty of well-executed laughs and a grand vibrant color scheme. The script is extremely original, not to mention the cast of characters which includes a huge bird, Dug the Dog, and his fellow army of talking K-9 brethren. Dug is the comedic stand out of the movie, as his dialogue perfectly plays out the awkward nature of how dogs would actually sound if they could miraculously speak English. All the main players in the movie get their own small, but useful, character-arcs… even the bird (oddly the only character not able to speak.)
The fantastical elements are handled in a way that doesn’t grate the logic. Unlike sloppy piles of confusion like the continuity, rules, or consistency of the magic tablet in Night At The Museum 2, the material here is given mystery and logic where it needs it, and glazes over where it doesn’t… which is why you wont be questioning how Muntz (Christopher Plummer) invented a collar that translates dog speak to English, or how those balloons wouldn’t remotely lift that house, let alone tear it from it’s foundation (I believe Mythbusters tested a similar idea, and it was only picking up the weight of a single child)
The triumph of the animation here is that Pixar does make art, but they don’t try to re-invent the wheel when the wheel is working just fine. The movie is absolutely beautiful, not as visually breath taking as Wall-E, but still it looks fantastic. The blocking of some of the scenes is incredible, the little house mushroom-topped with a cloud of balloons floating across a vast blue sky in an ultra-wide shot is iconic and slightly haunting, especially considering the “rainbow” visual of the balloons. Up, much like most of Pixar’s flicks, excels in its craft (from all angles, writing, direction, choreography) and not merely in the technology of the craft. The digital 3D print is especially gorgeous, and is highly recommended.
It’s not often that a bitter old grump like me sees a film and can’t find too much negative to say about it. If I had to really rack my brain, I guess I could say the only problem was that maybe the movie makes Carl too much of a physical action hero at times, considering his age, but it’s handled with such care in the narrative of the movie, so its not a big deal, and certainly not out-weighing the good. This is probably Pixar’s least marketable film yet, being so morbid an odd. The less broad they get, the better they get…which is kind of a mind boggler when concerning Pixar… how do they continue to get better? How? In this case most of the praise should be directed toward director Pete Doctor, who some how improved on his wonderful Monsters Inc. with this new offering.
Also, just to put things into perspective, this review was written by someone who doesn’t even honestly like computer-generated animation at all, and who has really never publicly “sucked off” Pixar. Up was just class-A entertainment, and perhaps an arguable masterpiece in the family film genre. It’s good to know that this generation has at least a few movies, like Up, to grow older with and re-watch and see the adult themes, the quality craftsmanship and exclaim “This was for kids?”
QUICK THOUGHTS AND RANDOM BITS
Star Trek: a few weeks later…
J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek was great fun. As a die hard Original-Cast-film fan, still have no debilitating complaints… except, upon further reflection… it was great, but it really just isn’t Star Trek. Long Live Shatner.
Annoyed at “revisiting” reviews
Something that grates on the nerves is when an old franchise is resurrected (Terminator) or announced to be resurrected (Ghostbusters) and we have to sit through a plethora of reviews, rants, and ravings by young-ins saying how the originals (T1, T2, Ghostbusters) are overrated in the first place. Just want to say: SHUT UP JUNIOR! Your ill-informed meandering is not making your CGI-raped re-imagining any less horrendous.
What’s in a name?
If you hate McG, director of Terminator Salvation, simply because of his name then your opinion is invalid. First, his real name is McGinty, “McG” is the nickname given to him by his family… it’s not a self-chosen moniker due to douchebaggery. Second, hate him because his movies are sub-par… even though to hear the guy talk it really seems like he is actually trying, just failing miserably.
Exterminators exterminate… so Terminators should… ?
If you are going to make Terminator 4, if you just can’t help but do it, and you have to make it a heaping pile of poorly constructed blandness… could you at least follow the one rule that even the hokey Terminator 3 didn’t break? If a Terminator, no matter what make or model, gets its hands on a human, don’t let the machine give a dramatic pause, don’t let the machine just “play around” with them, let them INSTANTLY kill. Terminator 1-3 never let the villains even touch the targets… why? Because they are terminators, they would terminate at all costs. Why couldn’t you at least follow this logic? Why sir?
It works in Reno, but not at the multiplex.
Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, You were great writers on The State, and are hilarious writers on Reno 911!, so how come every time you make the leap to film its completely dreadful? Taxi (the Queen Latifah movie), Balls of Fury, The Pacifier, Let’s Go To Prison, Herbie Fully Loaded, Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum 2: Battle for the Smithsonian… Your film work reads like the listings for a multiplex in the deepest circles of hell… what is going on there guys?
There is always room for Jell-O… and more Bitterness!
Got into an argument with a young “film buff” who was saying that The Dark Knight and Iron Man are better films then The Outlaw Josey Wales, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, and Apocalypse Now. Is there any hope for the future?
Last week FOX did something very unusual by giving us a full episode preview of their fall show Glee. Originally I wasn’t going to watch this show because to me it seemed to be a show created to try to tap into to the High School Musical craze. I then remembered how I originally wrote off The Secret Life of the American Teenager due to pre-conceived notions without seeing a single moment of the show. Seeing as how I’m trying to at least be perceived as an actual TV critic I realized it was my duty to watch this show and actually make an educated decision.
First and foremost I would like to emphatically state that I thoroughly enjoyed Glee and think that the only major problem I had with the show after watching it was the fact that I was going to have to wait until the fall to see more of it.The show is about a former glee club member turned teacher Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison) who takes over the completely underfunded and underappreciated glee club for William McKinley High School (the same school name from Judd Apatow’s critically acclaimed and short lived Freaks & Geeks). From there the show begins to present to us the typical players of a high school drama with the popular quarterback Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) who hides his real passion in fear of ridicule, the over-achieving girl Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) who wants to be a star to the degree that it alienates her from the rest of the student body, the affeminite and fashionably conscious male Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), the shy asian girl Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), the powerful african-american singer Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), and the nerd (not just nerdy but also in a wheelchair… nice touch). We are also introduced to the pain that Schuester has to deal with competing for the rights of his glee club at a school where the cheerleading squad is a national competitor that gets the majority of the school funding. His pain also extends to the home with a very over-controlling and dependant wife (who clealry doesn’t appreciate him). The dynamic with is wife is further complicated by the clear adoration and support that he receives from germaphobe co-worker Emma Pillsbury (played by Jayma Mays).
This pilot episode had a lot to set up so I can’t fault them for going deeper into the background of Kurt, Tina and Mercedes. The fact that these characters still exist to be fleshed out helps give us more to look forward to as well. There is plenty to still be explored in the other characters that we’ve only seen briefly like Finn‘s chearleader girlfriend Quinn (Dianna Agron) and fellow football player Puck (Mark Salling). I’m also very interested to see more of the backstory to Emma Pillsbury and look forward to the guest stars that this show could undoubtedly pull in.
Of course the show couldn’t be a hit if the musical numbers aren’t good. The performance of Rehab by the competing high school’s glee club definitely was both entertaining as well as conflicting in the words vs. the clean cut presentation. When we see our main characters finally perform at the end of the show Journey will be stuck in your head for a few hours as you are left longing for more.
Now that I’ve expressed all of my glee about Gleelet’s move on to what we can watch in the next 7.
MONDAY
Memorial Day is all about celebrating those that serve the U.S. military with their service and sacrifice. Nothing says that more than the tradition of the television marathon.
HIST: The history channel offers up an all-day marathon of MonsterQuest.
TLC: Just as they’ve done the entire weekend, Jon & Kate Plus 8 marathon’s up to the 9 PM premiere of the new season.
A&E: There’s nothing more uplifting than watching an entire day of Intervention.
TUESDAY
THECW – 8:00 PM: Sadly tonight is the final episode (probably ever) of Reaper. When the show was given the 13 episode pick-up last year the show’s producers said that this finale would give a certain level of satisfaction, so will Sam actually win his way out of his deal with the Devil? Either way I’m really going to miss Ray Wise as the Devil.
NBC – 8:00 PM: You have to ask if they NBC is really starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel with TV’s 50 Funniest Phrases. Yes, two hours of prime time dedicated to D’oh!, Where’s the Beef?, and Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout Willis?
FOX – 9:00 PM: I don’t know much about Mental, but it’s a new show so I’ll at least be checking it out. Is it the House of psychiatry? I’ll let you know.
WEDNESDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: The painful smackfest that is Wipeout returns. It’s self-inflicted suffering at it’s finest.
CBS – 8:00 PM: George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert has Jamie Foxx (and a whole lot of others that make for more sense) some how paying tribute to George Strait. Can’t wait to see how this plays out.
ABC – 9:00 PM: ABC once again hopes to come up with an animation hit with The Goode Family. It’s by Mike Judge so I’m also trying to hold out hope, but sadly I don’t have much.
THURSDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: Strap in for a night of thrills and excitement as Tom Bergeron hosts the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
DISCOVERY HEALTH – 8:00 PM: Oprah‘s personal trainer Bob Greene tries to break the yo-yo dieting cycle of three individuals in I’m Fat Again: A Best of Life Special. I’m sure he can help, it’s not like Oprah has that yo-yo dieting problem. Speaking of Oprah…
CNBC – 9:00 PM: CNBC takes a look at what happens when Oprah pimps a product for you. I wonder if Bob Greene will be on this too?
FRIDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: Mark McGrath tries to help out Gary Dell’Abate win money for the charity LIFEBeat. Here’s hoping he does a lot better than that first pitch for the Mets! (Bababooey!)
ABC – 9:00 PM: Financial advisor Mellody Hobson talks to a bunch of rich people, including Will Smith and Samuel Jackson, about the basics of financial knowledge and management. Glad to see she’s taking a real Main Street perspective on this one.
SATURDAY
HIST – 2:00 PM: A 10 hour marathon of the first season of Ice Road Truckers might just get me to not leave the house today.
TBS – 7:00 PM: Apparently it’s bad Will Ferrell movie night on TBS with Kicking & Screaming followed by ANight at The Roxbury.
ABC – 10:00 PM: There are only 6 episodes left to the amazing yet cancelled show Pushing Daisies and it looks like the alphabet net is finally going to let us see them with tonight’s return of the show. Enjoy the Pie Maker with me as we kick off one last run will you?
SUNDAY
MTV – 8:00 PM: What will The Hills be after Laura Conrad leaves? I have no idea, I don’t watch.
TBS – 8:00 PM: As a fan of Clive Cussler novels I was excited to see Sahara. When it turned out it was another movie to feature Mathew McConaughey‘s chest? Not so muh.
MTV – 9:00 PM: This year Andy Samberg hosts the MTV Movie Awards. I might actually tune in for once.
– Will Wilkins now returns to his regularly scheduled broadcast.
And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
A lot of talk this week about Quentin Tarantino’s newest film screening at Cannes. Consensus? It’s talky, light on action and seems like a WWII DEATH PROOF.
TERMINATOR SALVATION – REVIEW
There absolutely shouldn’t have been any blessing given from James Cameron with regard to TERMINATOR SALVATION. The only religious intonations given over this movie should have been its last rites.
Now, I can’t stop you from seeing this movie. You will see it irrespective of anything I have to say on this. I realize this.
You’ve been sold on it, I was sold on it, director McG’s P.T. Barnum huckster antics during preview showcases to fanboys teased and titillated audiences everywhere (“I really fought hard for those mammaries to be in there, fellas!”) but there is no escaping the fact that behind the tell-tale daa-daa-daa-daa-daa drum beat we all know as the sonic opening calling card for this franchise is nothing but a lot of smoke and a weak film. A film, mind you, which McG himself said should speak for itself. If it did it would say: Don’t spend $10 on me. Wait for Netflix.
There are a few things that make this a truly remarkable misstep in a franchise that should have ended 2 films ago but one of them comes early on as we meet John Connor (Christian Bale) who absolutely owns the first few minutes of the film in the way he carries his heavy burden as the leader for the resistance and the Batman-like voice with which he wants reality to conform to his own. He’s badass, he chews nails for fun and he’s not going to let crashing in a helicopter, which is a great special effects moment in this film, stop him from thrashing a terminator that deserves leaded violence.
The problems begin with the moments following when Bale is flying over an ocean, wanting to get back to resistance headquarters. He’s been beat up, almost killed and is denied entry to the underwater base of operations. But that’s not going to stop him from getting in! Much like another summer movie hero from over two decades ago, Jack Ryan in HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, he’s going to get on that damn sub. The fundamental issue which is wholly representative of what ails this movie is that in OCTOBER there was some emotional weight, genuine drama as he unhooked himself from that line to get in that submarine; there was tension, mood, atmosphere, a real sense of danger. Bale’s bullheaded bravado, masked by the tired trope of cinematic bullheaded machismo as he flippantly tosses himself out of the low flying aircraft into the ocean, is nothing more than a cheap way to try and make this guy seem like a real tough guy.
When next we see Bale, he’s sitting in a chair looking all kinds of torqued, moody, getting chewed out by Michael Ironside, playing a character I am not unsure of whether is any different than we saw from any number of 80’s movies where his role is to try and be an even tougher character than those he’s acting opposite of, all the while it begs the question of how much suspension of disbelief is going to be required of me in this film?
It’s a trick question, of course, as the film has moments like this peppered throughout the entire film. For example, the people who have been living without real homes since Judgment Day. They’re fantastically dirty and dusty but the glare coming off their teeth as their lips and faces are sullied with the detritus of a cataclysmic event reminds you that at least they have their Colgate. Another: When Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington, and you’ve got to appreciate the grade school irony in a script that names a man Wright) meets up with young Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) in one of the best sequences of the film as we have our first look at a terminator who is at once zombie-looking and completely sinister. Hours later, after escaping death, Marcus fiddles with a radio. He just happens to fix it at just the time when, speak of the devil, Connor is broadcasting his fireside chat with those out in the field regarding their next moves. Never mind the timing, the way they catch the signal at just the right frequency or the acknowledgment that it’s Connor speaking to them. It’s just all very convenient.
Later, Reese is part of an escape from a very bad situation from a slew of terminating machines. He and Marcus are departing the explosive moment in a tow truck when moments later he has to pull a single lever at just the right time to make the scene work; forget logic, it begs us, as not only does Reese pull the right one at the right time from a literal array of choices it does nothing to help the dramatic thrust of the film. There is no danger here, no threat of imminent danger, because these guys have an exponential amount of luck on their side and this is the problem with the film.
Further, in the film’s first hour, we find out early that the resistance has found a way to stop the machines, a poorly explained software program that is embedded on a jump drive that needs a clunky boombox to use. About this time, Connor sends his team to fetch an aqua terminator, a lot like the squids from the MATRIX sequels, to which they find one, bring it aboard, all the while being able to keep it from informing other aqua terminators that its been captured or of its current location. This sonic disruptor is one of the weakest McGuffins as it leads exactly nowhere. It’s a ruse, a poorly devised plot device whose sole purpose is used to an awful and regrettable convenience when finally employed to its strongest effect. The film is riddled with lapses in logic, and honestly if an action movie were on point doing what it has to, we shouldn’t care but from rain that just seems to stop on cue to a fiery explosion that singes nary a hair on the person who is caught in a fireball there is more than enough to puzzle at.
Moon Bloodgood, for all that McG has made about her, is actually one of the more redeemable things about this film. Along with Sam Worthington and Anton Yelchin as the reluctant hero you have the three best reasons to see the film. I would even posit that their story, by itself, could have been a more entertaining diversion than what we build up to here. Marcus’ second lease on life is slightly introspective and rather interesting. Kyle’s progression from hesitant killer to lethal hero is wonderfully laid out. But that’s the most frustrating thing about this film. It has fits and starts of potential and has excellent action set pieces only to dumb itself down to appease the lowest common denominator as moments just happen to break positively for those we are supposed to care the most about in the movie. When the “big reveal” in the 3rd act happens near the end try and convince me otherwise that it doesn’t make you feel cheated. The shadows, the calculated angles, the careful placement of bodies, it feels more like a math assignment than it does a celebration of all that’s great in excellent action movies. The effects at this point felt on par with THE CROW. The penultimate battle between man and machine, in the bowls of Skynet headquarters, however, tries to win you back with a glorious display of physicality and menace but by then it’s too late. The film cannot elevate itself above a 2nd tier auctioneer when compared to more thought out films in its genre; leave it to Nolan to raise the bar for everyone else who comes behind him. I commend McG for not bowing to the pressure of actually integrating more of the terminators in the film, Lord knows that would’ve made it far more intriguing and add to the summer spectacle this should have been, but he demurs to telling a bullet ridden story with nowhere to end but with a whimper.
For all his ruminations about how Bale said he flatly turned down this role until he was given a script that you would have thought came with gilded light pouring down from every page if it got Bruce Wayne to say “Yes” to it after turning it down what you have is a story that is full of logical missteps, plots that go nowhere, effect work that at times has you wondering whether it was worth the cameo and the questionable taste for an actor that proved with DARK KNIGHT you could have a great summer film that was designed, and whose sole purpose was, to make money for its cash master while being reasonably intelligent. TERMINATOR SALVATION is a wonder as it doesn’t want to be intelligent, it doesn’t even want to be smart, it just wants to be a throwback to the films you could enjoy on basic cable and be done with once you’ve seen it. It’s an embarrassment of spectacle that leaves a lot of money on the table.
From a pure franchise standpoint, a solely economic exercise, McG may win the weekend but he will lose the summer war.
Howdy Interwebbers. I’m Matt Cohen, and I’m semi- consistent this week.
I hope you all got a chance to check out part one of this column (which can be found here) and are ready to jump right into the thinny and come out on the other side. So if you’ll kindly allow me to skip formalities, let’s get right into part 2 of the DARK TOWER fantasy casting session, this time taking a look at the characters from Roland’s past, featured in the fourth book in the series, THE WIZARD AND THE GLASS”…
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YOUNG ROLAND DESCHAIN = UNKNOWN (or with a time machine, River Phoenix)
I can’t do it. I’m sorry gang, I tried. I really did. But I can’t… Just can’t. I cannot think of a young actor to fill in the “early” shoes of Roland Deschain. Outside of the elder Roland casting, I really think this is one of the more important roles in the books (and thereby and adaptation of them). I am ashamed and sorry to say I have failed you all. But rather fail purposely then fail by mistake (or hubris). If River Phoenix was alive and 18 years old, I’d say lock it down now. But really, this is a great opportunity to find that next star, that next career that COULD be where River’s was undoubtedly heading. General casting, nationwide/worldwide search, kidnapping. Whatever. Young Roland is out there somewhere. Now we just gotta find him.
SUSANNAH DELGADO = AMBER HEARD
The woman who would steal Roland’s heart, and unintentionally set him on his true quest. I think any male fan can cop to being a little bit in love with the tragic Ms. Delgado, so in casting the role you would need, in my opinion, a young lady who possesses both the looks and charm to make so many men fall in love with her. And I, am hardcore in love with Amber Heard. You may have seen her as Seth Rogen’s high school aged girlfriend in PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, but if you want a real indication of her chops, which she does very much possess, check out the soon to be re-released ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE. There is a sadness to her performance in that film that makes me think she’d be able to carry Susanna, and not just looks wise. Also, I want to marry her and make like 14 babies.
CORTLAND “CORT” ANDRUS = TERRY O’QUINN
Roland’s teacher and first “enemy” Cort should be as wise as he is intimidating. Described as a bald man with a scar… Hmmm. I wonder. JOHN, M’FING LOCKE, that’s who. I’ve been a huge fan of Terry O’Quinn for years, going back to his work on MILLENNIUM, but he certainly put his stamp on the world with his portrayal of everyone favorite crazy old man on ABC’S (and J.J’s… hint hint) LOST. Though not the most physically impressive man in the world, one would only need to see a few minutes of John Locke to know that his eyes can at the same time be soul piercingly frightening, and yet as warm and friendly (and wise) as could be. Also, I want to see him kick some mini gunslinger ass, if you will Sai’.
Why these three actors for these three characters, you may be asking yourself. Well, yourself, here’s my answer. I am cheating. To tell truths, Bert, Alain and Jamie get sort of muddled in my memory, making it hard to really differentiate the personalities of the respective young men. I always remember the important stuff, though. Brave, strong, and would die for Roland. For this reason I chose these three young men, who I think are at the top of their games. Though drastically different in style (less so in look), I think casting these guys would create a fantastic onscreen support system for whoever gets ultimately cast as young Roland. A star in each of their own rights, who would lend untold depth and, in terms of box office appeal, tremendous draw to the series – more specifically to the part of the series that may seem “slow” or “boring” when compared to the tales of Roland’s current Ka-Tet.
RHEA OF THE COOS = HELENA BONHAM CARTER
Imagine the most disgusting, decrepit hag of a witch that you’ve seen in movies, and then multiply that by 10. You have Rhea of the Coos. Impossible to age, impossible to resist (for some), Rhea is King’s most stereotypical “baddie” and yet one of his most effective. Basically, you need to cast the witch to end all witches. And I really can’t think of a woman who can play scary as well as Carter can. Yes, she’s played similar roles before, but never anything THIS outwardly dark and evil. For a woman who seems to pride herself on her range and ability to be more then a pretty face, this role would certainly appeal to her sensibilities. As long as she can promise her husband won’t get involved, I say this is damn near perfect casting (If i do say so myself… which I just did).
ROY DEPAPE = BRAD DOURIF
Eldred Jonas’ right hand man and quite arguably the most “unhinged” of the Big Coffin Hunters. Roy, unlike his handsome friend Clay, is all about two things… Following Jonas’s every order, and causing massive amounts of pain along the way. Now, this character can be read as a young man, as I read Clay, but I also think that an older casting choice would add a dynamic to the strange, almost bully-bullied relationship of Roy and Eldred that, though glossed over in the book, would flesh out these men’s respective backstories very nicely. On that trend, I’d go with old faithful, Brad Dourif. One of the creepiest and yet fantastic character actors I can think of. Imagine the role as a cross between his “baddie” work and his gig on DEADWOOD as a lovable country doctor (STAR TREK, what up!). For my money there’s not many who can play “crazy” like Mr. Dourif can.
CLAY REYNOLDS = BEN FOSTER
The ladykiller of the Big Coffin Hunters (mankiller, too… believe me Sai’). Smarter, better looking then Roy, but with ambitions that make him less trustworthy an associate. I’d go with a younger actor, to widen the gap between Roy and Clay even more. This has to be a man who appears smart, friendly, even downright likable – but when one’s back is turned will gladly stick the knife in. Foster, in his burgeoning career, has played a nice range of roles, showing that he can handle drastically different material. The movie to watch for a sample of what I see in this young man is 3:10 TO YUMA, in which he pretty much plays a sociopathic version of Clay.
SHEEMIE RUIZ = UNKNOWN
Sheemie is an extremely difficult casting choice, possibly the toughest in the series. How can you portray a mentally handicapped individual without appearing offensive or “jokey”. It often doesn’t work in films and, personally, an over the top mentally handicapped portrayal immediately takes me out of the film. So a character as important and loved as Sheemie deserves to be shown with the full grace and truth that King intended. I really think the only way to go with this is to do a open casting call for mentally challenged actors. It would also give a young man a chance to perform at a level they most likely never thought possible due to limitations. I think this is the way to do it.
CORAL THORIN = PATRICIA CLARKSON
Ah, the Thorins. There aren’t many families in fiction that I loathe more then these two out of Mejis. And though the Mayor is repugnant to the max, his sister can be said to be the true evil sibling. Manipulative, cunning, heartless, Coral Thorin is very much the Flagg character during the prequel portion of the series, and though this woman doesn’t strike me as anything as warm and genuine in real life, I really can see her “baddy’ing” out.  Anyone unfamiliar with Ms. Clarkson’s work only need see a few films she is in, in particular her performance in THE STATION AGENT. Also, lady can ROCK a southern accent, which in my head is the only way I have ever heard Coral. She may not be as old or ugly as written, but hey, we live in the age of BENJAMIN BUTTON. I think she’ll be fine.
HART THORIN = DENNIS HOPPER
Creepy, old, and perverted.  And he was in SPEED. I jest, but honestly, this to me is a no-brainer. Though he’s fallen into TV commercial territory lately, there are not many actors who just ooze the vibe that Hopper does, and has been doing for years. If I saw this man on the street, I’d cross the other way. A tad campy, but that would work for the visciously over the top Hart, who only want’s to “Get to know” the alluring Ms. Delgado a bit better. Now he wouldn’t need to go to Frank in BLUE VELVET levels, but if handled (read: directed) right, I think ole’ Dennis could legitimize himself yet again.
STEVEN DESCHAIN = JAMES BROLIN
Who could play the father of Roland? How ’bout… the father of the actor who plays Roland? History is full of father-son acting teams, but rarely are we given the chance to see two generations of the same “theater” family work together. How about we seize the opportunity, and at the same time throw some work to a dude who has fallen out of the game as of late, but still very much exudes “Badass movie star” with every ounce of his being? A bit older, a bit grayer then he may have been years ago, but looking now more then ever like a man who really could control a kingdom. I don’t extensively know the senior Brolin’s work, but just looking at a recent picture convinces me that this guy could really bring something, at least physically, to his role.
GABRIELLE DESCHAIN = MARY McDONNELL
Laura M’Fing Roslin yo. While Gabrielle is beautiful, there is an intangible sadness about her, almost as if she already knew the dastardly deeds Marten would coerce her into committing. In casting this role, I would go for someone who can carry that sense of grace and power, and yet an overwhelming sense of despair. Mary McDonnell has been doing it for years, in both forms. Pride/power (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and a crazy level of low (DONNIE DARKO). McDonnell would be visually stunning, but also age appropriate and a good match, I feel, for the choices of Brolin and Henricksen as Steven and Marten, respectively. And at the end of the day… It’s Roslin. So say we all. At least I do.
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Tis’ all for this week, my friends and neigbors, but you know what? I’m digging this Tower talk so much, let’s stretch this bad boy out to one more column. Cover ALL the characters (and anyone I forgot) in the saga (or at least as many as I think are “important”). So please, check back next week for the conclusion (I promise this time) of “The Road To Gilead”.
Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I’m getting all caught up.
Two weeks ago was the season finale of Dollhouse. This freshman show on FOX had a rocky start, but the potential was there. The finale, titled Omega, paid off that potential in spades.
As the series has progressed we had a lot of questions about the active gone psycho named Alpha who seemed to go on a killing spree in the Dollhouse but for some reason sparing Echo. We wondered what made him snap, why did he spare Echo and who the heck was he? All of these questions are answered as the story unfolds.
The one stand out from both this episode and the one prior is the amazing performance by Alan Tudyk. Tudyk played the character of Wash in the other WhedonFOX project Firefly with such amazing charm and wit to such a great extreme that he was probably my favorite character from that show. His eco-environmentalist personality reflected some of this, but his real range popped when he changed before our eyes to Alpha.It turns out that Alpha had several cards stacked against him before the series started, one of these being the accidental implantation of all of his prior imprints, making him one body with several people melded together inside his head. This was played out wonderfully with both the acting and editing as we see Alpha deal with and argue with his many personalities.
The other issues this tricky show dealt with was with the question of what really makes a person a person?FBI Agent Ballard brings up the notion of “What about his soul?” when it is revealed that Alpha had destroyed the carts with his original persona. This is, of course, a question that the show has sort of been making us ask all along. Are people made up of just the memories and experiences that we have or is there something in the very fiber of our being that helps to move that along. The season finale addresses this and even gives us a very solid take on it when we discover that Alpha is doing what it was that he seemed to be moving towards prior to his becoming a doll. Even though the person was stripped out of the mind he still seemed to follow the path he was made for, where his soul lead him.
I think they wrapped up this first season very well and I’m excited to learn that FOX has in fact given Dollhouse a second chance with the pick-up for a new season. I hope that the network will also trust Joss Whedon to do what it is that he does well so that we can see where the vision behind this show can actually take us.
Now that I’m all caught up let’s take a look at what the rest of the week holds for us. Not a wealth of choices this week as most of the remaining shows are having their finales.
MONDAY
FOX ““ 8:00 PM: The clock finally runs out on another day of 24. Will Kim Bauer survive being used as a tool to manipulate Jack? Will Tony Almeda get away? Will Jack finally get treated with that experimental cure? Based on the renewal for next season we at least know the answer to one of those questions!
CBS ““ 8:30 PM:How I Met Your Mother‘s season finale promises to have the goat alluded to last season during Ted’s 31st surprise party. Tune in with me and watch all the awkward ways they block Robin and Lily‘s stomachs with stuff.
ABC ““ 9:00 PM: Once again the alphabet network turns failure into feature as Jillian Harris tries to find her perfect man (again) on The Bachelorette.
TUESDAY
ABC ““ 9:00 PM: I never watch it but by the ratings a whole ton of people will be tuning in for the finale of Dancing with the Stars. I still don’t get it.
CBS ““ 9:00 PM: It’s the season finale of The Mentalist so you just know it has to be an episode with a Red John story line (still sounds more like a drinking game than a serial killer).
FOX ““ 9:00 PM: You may think that Glee is nothing but a High School Musical rip-off. Let me tell you, the language and story lines would never play on Disney Channel.
WEDNESDAY
FOX ““ 8:00 PM: Prepare for two hours hosted by the automaton Ryan Seacrest only to find out in the last two minutes who walks away as this year’s American Idol.
CBS ““ 8:00 PM: It’s season finale night on CBS with The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, and Criminal Minds.
STYLE- 10:00 PM: Get ready to feel good about where you live when you watch Clean House: Search for the Messiest Home in the Country.
THURSDAY
ABC ““ 8:00 PM:Ugly Betty follows suit with the rest of the shows on the network by having her two hours season finale.
NBC ““ 10:00 PM: Freshman show Southland has it’s season finale as well. Didn’t this show just start?
FOX ““ 8:00 PM: Another season of So You Think You Can Dance? kicks off, once again guaranteeing I won’t watch FOX for at least one time slot during the summer.
FRIDAY
TLC ““ 5:00 PM: You can tell that TLC is gearing up for the final cha”¦ ahem”¦ new season of Jon & Kate Plus 8 with an entire weekend marathon that kicks off with the original specials about this couple and their kids that lead to the series.
FOX ““ 8:00 PM: Prison Break and Dollhouse are gone, so what do you do FOX? You roll out new episodes of Don’t Forget the Lyrics. Tonight have meatloaf while watching Meat Loaf.
STARZ ““ 10:00 PM:Dr. Goode sits down with Jerry Seinfeld for the season finale of Head Case. If you haven’t watched it and have Starz OnDemand I’d recommend you take it all in.
SATURDAY
AMC ““ 10:30 AM:A Fistful of Dollars immediately followed by A Few Dollars More? Wow, I may not be leaving the house until the afternoon.
DISCOVERY ““ 1:00 PM: Oh man, a marathon of Deadliest Catch? It’s like they don’t want me to leave the house today at all!
ABC Family ““ 8:00 PM: Enjoy the Lohan about two years pre-implosion in Mean Girls. Yes, I like this movie. Don’t judge me!
SUNDAY
G4 ““ 7:00 PM: For some reason I’m always fascinated by Hollywood film making drama. The Onion Movie is one of those films, but only if you know the back story. I’m not saying you should watch it, just sharing some info.
NBC ““ 9:00 PM: Did you miss The Last Templar the first time it aired? You get a second chance to catch it if you want.
ABC ““ 9:00 PM:ABC may not be known for their mini-series any more, but Diamonds takes a look at the diamond trade from beginning to end as it weaves the stories of people affected. Think of it as the diamond version of Traffic or New Jack City.
– Will Wilkins may have had some portions cut that did not affect the outcome of the game.
And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
This week saw Alex Billington take flight to Cannes and the raves that Pixar’s UP has been getting is far too much for me to bear as I slowly wade my way to the day when the screening happens. As well, I’m getting things together in order to bring you an interview with *the* Ari Gold from ADVENTURES OF POWER.
LAND OF THE LOST
Couple of bits of information for you kids this week as we head in closer to the premiere of LAND OF THE LOST on June 5th. I got sent a link to an online game set up for the film and, while it doesn’t have the same panache as the online game for DAWN OF THE DEAD, it is at least worth you checking out as I will have tickets to the advance screening in Phoenix:
CHAKKER GAME:
Will, Holly, and Rick are in trouble, and Chaka is the only one who can save them! Help Chaka maneuver across the treacherous terrain, avoid contact with all kinds of Land of the Lost critters, and finally rescue his friends! Try your hand at the rescue mission at www.landofthelost.net/game and challenge your friends to join in!
GIGANTOR
Have any of you ever sat in wonderment at a cartoon?
I have heard in hushed whispers about the glory that is this black and white beauty of a cartoon, Gigantor and I recently had the opportunity to check out the DVD that has collected this series in one slick package and should be on anyone’s list of DVDs worth spending your money on. I think, apart from the fact that when this series came out in 1966 it was envisioning a world set in the year 2000 the show has an exuberance that is lost on most of the caffeine injected action cartoons that have been produced in the last few decades.
Forget your G.I. Joe, your Tranzor Z, this series made me reflect on what was quite possibly the wet dream of every young boy who watched this program. Yes, some of the footage obviously overlaps from one episode to the next but, please, we’ve already established that even Walt Disney reused animation from his films to be used in other films. What makes this series so nerd cool is the embrace of modern technology which, if you again realize this was made in 1966 was quite impressive. The press release follows and I couldn’t have enjoyed this trip down a memory lane I never was down before…
Never fear, the great GIGANTOR returns this spring to save the world from evil criminals, enemy robots and hostile aliens. The influential cartoon series> about a giant heroic robot and the young boy that controls him blazed a new trail for Japanese animation in America. Long unavailable on home video, E1 Entertainment presents the classic cartoon in a newly packaged 4-DVD collection of 26 uncut episodes in their original air-date order, with bonus interviews and commentary, six complete Gigantor comics on DVD-ROM, and a brand new collectible 16-page booklet. GIGANTOR: THE COLLECTION ““VOLUME 1 arrives in stores May 5, for $39.98 from E1 Entertainment.
In the “future” year of 2000, young Jimmy Sparks has control of a virtually indestructible flying robot built by his father. Gigantor was originally designed as a weapon, but has been reprogrammed as the ultimate guardian of peace. With the help of Dr. Bob Brilliant, secret agent Dick Strong, and Inspector Blooper, Jimmy and Gigantor must battle to save the world from a never-ending as sault by ruthless villains.
Gigantor began as the brainchild of Japanese cartoonist Mitsuteru Yokoyama (Giant Robo, Sally the Witch) who released 92 anime episodes in Japan in the mid “˜60s as “Tetsujin 28-go.” The series was soon acquired for broadcast in the United States, adapted for U.S. audiences by producer Fred Ladd (creator of Pinocchio in Outer Space, “The Big World of Little Adam”), and aired for two seasons (52 episodes) starting in 1966. GIGANTOR: THE COLLECTION ““ VOLUME 1 features the first 26 of these uncut, black and white episodes, digitally transferred from the original 16mm film. Enlightening extras include an in-depth interview and audio commentary on select episodes with director/producer/writer Ladd, and an interview with anime historian Fred Patten from Animation World magazine. In addition, this deluxe set features special DVD-ROM content ““ issues 1-6 of the Gigantor comic book series from Ben Dunn and Antarctic Press, published in 2000. The 4-disc set also includes a 16-page collectible booklet with a brief history of the series, episode summaries as well as rare archival press materials/photos.
MODERN TOSS – INTERVIEW
One of the most strange and wonderfully enrapturing series to air this year has to be Modern Toss. The best way to explain this show to someone who has never before come near its beauty is imagine a live action and animated program that uses foul language in ways that are not only creative but wicked, toss in a British sensibility, some strange series regulars, weird premises and wrap it all in laughter. What you come up with is Modern Toss, a program, to quote Wikipedia, that stars some of the following animated harbingers of anger:
Mr Tourette: a French sign-writer who produces offensive signs bearing no relation to his customers’ instructions. This usually culminates in his customer being totally unhappy with the work and Mr Tourette calling them “some kind of cunt”.
Alan: a sociopathic, scribble-like creature who plays extreme practical jokes on his middle-class brother-in-law, usually involving Alan turning up uninvited to a social event, causing a large amount of destruction to the tune of “I Like To Move It” by Reel 2 Real before running away, leaving his brother-in-law to shout “Come back, Alan, you wanker!”
Prince Edward, Royal Entrepreneur: the prince tries to make money out of anything associated with the Royal family, no matter how tasteless.
Citizens Advice: irate and often illogical complaints from members of the public about goods, services and employers, usually concluding with the question “where do I stand legally?”
Created by Mick Bunnage and Jon Link ,Modern Toss started as a comic book that starred some of the series’ regulars. The comic made its way a couple of years later to a late-night television in 1996 on Channel 4 and finally, 3 years later, made its way to IFC. The program makes you scratch your head, wonder at its idiosyncrasy and marvel at its ability to be entertaining even though you may not have a firm grasp on what’s happening. It’s worth seeking out and I recently had a chance to catch up with Mick and Jon to talk about their series.
CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Gentlemen. How are you doing?
MODERN TOSS: We’re doing well.
CS: Great. I have watched the first three episodes and I am absolutely blown away by what I thought British humor, traditionally being more reserved, sly, what have you, was supposed to be. I shouldn’t say shocked but I was surprised by the level of sort of in-your-face comedy.
TOSS: Was it the bad language?
CS: Well, it was quite a change of pace from what I’ve come to expect from what British comedy has to offer.
TOSS: It was an experiment. I normally don’t let people like us near the telly but things are going well so far.
CS: Where did this begin? Where did the real genesis for Modern Toss come from?
TOSS: Well, we both used to work for a magazine in the 90’s. And we drew funny little cartoons to pass the time really and started sticking them in the magazine. One of them was about a cockney villain who just went around punching people in the face and that worked out very well and that’s how we got started. Then we did another cartoon after that which was about violence in the workplace that worked out well.
CS: And can I ask about the genesis of some of these characters? Obviously you have lots of different things going on here but I’m really interested to learn how Drive By Abuser began.
TOSS: Oh, that’s a tricky one. He’s not sophisticated but he does make us laugh….a sort of poet on a motorbike.
CS: He seems to just take pleasure from such mundane things and his whole persona is predicated on overreaction to the most simplistic things.
TOSS: Yeah. He’s trying to make friends as well. Trying to make conversation, really. Not that anyone understands what he’s trying to do but he’s doing his best.
CS: And then from there, one of my favorites is Alan, who doesn’t say hardly anything but where did he come from?
TOSS: Yeah, Alan. He’s a bit like a force of nature really. He’s everyone’s kind of troubled friend. Not a lot of family support around Alan. If you are having weddings or christenings, for heaven’s sake, don’t invite Alan.
(Laughs)
CS: This is my first entry into the series so this is all new to me but for you gentlemen, this is going on three years. You have obviously lived with it for a few years, so how has it progressed? When you first started you must have had an idea of where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do with it, so how has it grown for you?
TOSS: I don’t think we had a plan really. It’s all a big adventure for us. We kind of make it up as we go along. We started off with a comic and we had to learn how to do that and we didn’t really have a plan. We had a vision but no plan. Didn’t know where we were going. It’s developing all the time.
CS: And how did it go from being just a comic until someone said, “You know what, I’d like to see this on TV.” There are so many comics out there. Who took a shine to it and said, “I really want to turn this into something?”
TOSS: We’re a bit old fashioned in a way. It’s not a very normal thing in England. Everyone does narrative stores now. I think maybe that’s what made us unusual. We put in as few words as possible. We bring it right down to the basics and don’t worry about the drawings. We usually take the first take and that’s something we stick with. There’s no polishing.
CS: And now you just released the newest comic, Volume 5?
TOSS: Yeah. Complete with plastic bag.
CS: I saw that bag ““ I want that issue just for that bag.
TOSS: We’re going to take America by storm and apparently somebody has put it up on a website.
CS: I am going to buy it and went through all 3 episodes last night and really enjoyed it .
TOSS: We’re going to send one of those bags to Obama as well.
(Laughs)
We think he’d really get on board with the message.
(Laughs)
CS: That brings up a good point. This kind of show wouldn’t fly on our network stations here. What do you think about the way we consume our content here in America? We don’t like our bad words or nudity ““ we reserve that for our really far off channels, whereas every other part of the world doesn’t have a problem with it.
TOSS: British TV is still pretty conventional ““ there are a few channels that show our stuff but not many. It’s mainly about celebrity, comedians, and such like that. And our stuff is pretty much out there, even for England. How it’s going to go down in America is unknown.
CS: Mr. Tourette, if I had a favorite, he would be mine. He is so bizarre with the nonsensical words that he comes up with but I find myself just endeared to the character. Where did this guy come from?
TOSS: France.
(Laughs)
I think people like him is because he does what he wants. He’s got a good attitude for work. It would take like an English plumber to get some of the jokes.
CS: The show, and I think you should be commended for it, which I like, it never goes for the cheap gag, it’s pretty minimalist but it’s straight forward. I look around me and I see a lot of shows where you try to dumb everything down and this show doesn’t compromise in that fashion.
TOSS: Yeah, we’re dumb enough.
(Laughs)
The company that commissioned it in England just pretty much left us alone and we just did what was right. It just worked. The best kind of comedy programs are the ones that take few chances anyway.
CS: Ah, but that’s where some people can get into trouble where they see that they can make a quick buck or make a name for myself if I just do what everyone expects or wants.
Was there ever anyone trying to speak in your other ear saying maybe you should make this more consumer friendly? You said you were left alone but was there anyone trying to get their way?
TOSS: No. They just left us alone.
CS: What are you gentlemen doing now? Volume 5 of the comic book series just came out, are you producing more episodes of the show?
TOSS: At the moment, we are going to do a live version of it but it’s pretty sketchy beyond that, especially in England. Doing PR for an animation type series at the moment but not part of the sketch show. There are different things we are developing.
CS: Regarding that, when I look at what you’ve done with this show, is this something you think you can keep doing? I know there are some leanings to at least the way I perceive things is when you have a really successful show in England, you do a few seasons and then you are done with it basically, whereas here, we just keep cracking them out year after year and people just never leave. Is there a time when you will say, “I’ve said everything I want to say?”
TOSS: No. We started with a comic, then TV stuff, and live TV stuff and back to comic. We’ve never run out of stuff.
CS: Well I think if you were to compare I think this is something very real to the two of you and there has been no compromises with what gets on the screen.
TOSS: That’s right. We just go for it.
CS: Thanks gentlemen, so much, for talking to me. I really enjoyed the show.
TOSS: Thank you, Chris.
PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL – BY RAY SCHILLACI
PFF Highlights: And the winner is…
Let me queue you in, I have never been a documentary fan, although I have been more open-minded to them of late. I think I was originally turned off to any educational media at an early age with a combination of far too many viewings of “Mr. Wizard” (a kid’s science show in the late 50s and 60s) and Disney’s “Jiminy Cricket” children’s educational show, “I’m No Fool” ““ the 16mm reel still endlessly rattles in the back of my head. Much later in life I was to discover that documentaries could be as powerful and more effective than the average cinematic experience with my first viewing of 1978’s “Scared Straight!” a group of cocky juvenile delinquents (Are there any other kind?) spend a no holds barred day with actual convicts ““ “Oh Bubba, I’m too young to be somebody’s bitch.” Fast forward to this year’s crop of fine documentaries at PFF. What a pleasant surprise had by all. It was no easy feat picking “Best Documentary”. It eventually came down to a couple of emotionally powerful one-two punches, “The Way We Get By” and “Shooting Beauty”.
I’ll cut to the chase; “The Way We Get By” won Best Documentary by a nose, and I will challenge that on a technicality, of course this is just my opinion and I’ll explain later. That is not to take anything away from the winner. “The Way We Get By” is a valiant achievement by director Aron Gaudet, capturing the lives of the senior citizens who’ve found a higher calling by greeting our military men and women who come and go to the Iraq war. This older set shows their resilience and support of our troops (and not necessarily the war) with handshakes and hugs, and the power that accompanies these small but grand gestures.
Over 800,000 soldiers and Marines have been met with warm and heartfelt enthusiasm at the Bangor International Airport 365 days a year. This is a far cry from what are men and women experienced after Vietnam and it is a point beautifully driven home. The story focuses on three of the seniors, Bill Knight, Joan Gaudet and Jerry Mundy who let us get more than a glimpse into their world and views. They struggle with the conflicts that many Americans are facing today and couple it with the wisdom of their years while doing battle with loneliness, and for some poor health. This is in no way maudlin or manipulating. This story could have gone the easy route and just tugged at our heartstrings, instead it approaches the subject matter with an insightful wallop that makes us think rather than cry. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are teary moments, but they are not relied on to move this informative piece along and it makes us appreciate director Gaudet and his players all the much more.
Especially thought provoking is WWII veteran, Bill Knight. An eccentric lost soul after the death of his wife, Bill grapples with bouts of uncomfortable solitude and the inevitable short time he has left on this world. Gaudet’s close-ups on this tired old trooper capture more meaning than anything said. It is Knight’s thoughts and recollections of years gone by that set the mood for the entire piece. Yet the movie refrains from being a downer with the reaction of our troops to the seniors and their well-placed intentions. It is in these moments that the movie really shines capturing warmth and a crossover appeal between generations. This is truly a captivating experience for all. With that being said, on to something really special…
As mentioned before, I am not taking anything away from the winner, but the later film, “Shooting Beauty” goes beyond the call of duty as a documentary and as a film in general. There are few times in cinema history that one is swept away with a wave of emotions and taken on a journey that is so unique, the experience sets it apart from the rest. The films that come to mind; “Elephant Man” “Cinema Paradiso” “Life is Beautiful” and dare I say, “E.T.” (Set aside the crass commercialism that accompanied it) These are films that are to be experienced and not just seen with a bag of popcorn and soda. They put us through a meaningful emotional journey and that is exactly what “Shooting Beauty” does with one exception ““ it is not scripted. Director George Kachadorian and his partner/wife, Courtney Bent beautifully captures the human drama (and comedy) of their tale of triumph of the human spirit, unconquerable by adversity.
Aspiring fashion photographer, Courtney Bent, has an enjoyable refreshing visit with a small group of people with severe cerebral palsy and other disabilities. Her attempt to capture the experience with her camera becomes hindered when she inadvertently discovers that her own deep-rooted prejudices blurred her vision, developing pictures that are depressing and dark. Taking a step back, Ms. Bent comes upon a revelation; why not have the group take the pictures themselves and capture a unique journey that can be shared by all. This is no easy task having to create makeshift apparatus to enable the group the freedom to shoot how they see themselves. Thus we are taken on a remarkable odyssey bringing us into a world rarely seen that is as informative as it is poetic.
Kachadorian and Bent had to be guided by the hand of God to encapsulate the remarkable lives of these people. Bent’s unusual assignment turns into a fascinating look into some very genuine people. Mary Joe, EJ, Ernie, Cheryl, and Kerri are just some of the amazing personalities that end up making us laugh out loud at their veracity and crush our hearts with the love and affection that we (in our world) can barely imagine. Especially standing out amongst the group is Tony Knight who provides wonderful motivation with his view on a world that attempts to treat him different, and Tom Herrick, the loner, whose life is not only heart wrenching, but ultimately born again by the camera experiment. Watching him come out of his shell is like witnessing the birth of a butterfly for the first time.
What transpires from all of this will leave you cheering for everyone involved. This documentary is an eye opener, and I am hard-pressed to even describe the wave of emotions this film evokes. This is probably why it won the Audience Award at PFF. Perhaps now is the time to let you in on the reason it may not have won Best Documentary. Both documentaries are very powerful and focus on worthwhile subjects, but “The Way We Get By” was a far better film technically. The problem with that thought is, people with disabilities photograph much of “Shooting Beauty” and they are not professionals. This is the charm and power of this ingenious documentary, which for my book puts it as the very Best Documentary I’ve seen in years. Kudos goes out to George, Courtney and the wonderful people at UCP Day Experience Program in Watertown, Massachusetts.
I had the pleasure of chatting with George and I was surprised to discover that he was still seeking distribution at the time and representatives of PBS had turned him down. I could not fathom how this was possible nor could so many others at the festival. Last I heard, a prominent documentary filmmaker had caught a screening and made a quick call to HBO. HBO contacted him right away. No word yet if they have picked it up. Currently they are running in the festival circuit with great and well deserved word-of-mouth.
Next highlights from PFF will include air drumming, a social dysfunctional gamer generation, and “Clerks” meets “The Breakfast Club” (may not sound appetizing, but it is appealing). None of which are documentaries. Till then, stay Swine free and happy!
Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I am, in fact, thoroughlyLOST.
I sit here writing this column just 38 minutes after having watched the season finale ofLOST. I’m still in my pre-column Internet blackout to ensure that I give you my clean perspective on what I thought happened or what I think is going on without reading what others are having to say. Usually I don’t write the column this soon, giving myself the night to ruminate on what I had seen. Tonight there is no need. Please remember, as always, I will be discussing things that did transpire in the show so if you haven’t seen it yet you might want to drop back in later.
Being such a rabid fan I have been taking in all of the interviews prior to the airing of the season finale. I also subscribe to the Official LOST Podcast from ABC.com. Given everything that was said I had a pretty clear idea of what would be the very end of tonight’s episode.Carlton CuseandDamon Lindeloff kept referring in interviews and the podcast as this season having quite a few parallels to the first season where it all ended with the hatch being opened, but we saw nothing inside. This set me up, I knew we were going to seeThe Incident (especially since this was the two-hour finale’s name) and I also knew that when it happened it would be the final frame of the episode tonight, giving us no clear answer on what has happened to those wonderful cast members who were stuck in 1977. This came as no shock to me at all. I even had a pretty good idea that if someone was going to die during tonight’s finale it would be in getting the bomb to go off, and again I was right.
So now that we have dispensed with the things that I did have a pretty good hunch on what was coming to pass, let’s move on to the things that just plain baffle me. First and foremost I have to address the issue ofJacob. Tonight we finally were able to seeJacob, even though we have very little insight into anything about him. In the opening sequence of this season finale we seeJacob making string and putting together a tapestry (a nice little touch since it comes to pass thatJacob seems to also be weaving a tapestry of destiny for the show’s characters), we see him catch and prepare a fish, and we see him eating this fish leisurely on the beach. While he is on the beach another man joins him, they have a discussion about the boat that is out on the horizon (more than likely theBlack Rock perhaps having one Richard Alpert aboard?), and the man joiningJacob mentions how much he would like to killJacob. One day he will find a loop hole and Jacob tells him he will be waiting. This entire conversation happens next to the complete statue, seemingly anAnubis (or Sobek) holding anankh in each hand.
From that sequence I took a few things, whether they prove true or not only 2010 will tell. I found it very interesting thatJacob was wearing a white/light shirt, where as this other fellow was wearing dark/black colors. A classic representation of the struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, light and dark (and it wasJohn Locke himself who told us in the first season how backgammon was a similar representation). Further evidence comes from the dark fellow when he says, “Still trying to prove me wrong” after it is revealed that these two draw people to the Island, seemingly to play out a game to prove that the nature of man is either good or bad. Once this exchange happened, once we could see that these men were in a time long ago in what we would call the past, I began to guess that perhaps this dark stranger is theSmoke Monster (especially after you know what is in the box and you ponder the rammifications and signsoif manipulation it has for Ben and the events in the episode Dead is Dead), and maybe ol’ Smokey Joe has been in a power struggle this whole time withJacob. If this is the case andJacob really is the “good” side then I know a few people that will be vindicated when this line of thinking will justify their position that in the long runBenjamin Linus will be shown to actually have been the good guy who had to do bad things.
After this initial scene unfolded I started to realize what was in the box that the people who have asked “What lies in the shadow of the statue”had and I began to realize the loophole was being played out. Having this realization in the first 15 minutes of the show was no great thrill, especially since it had the gears in my mind turning as it made no sense. Finding out in the last 15 minutes of the show that these same people were actually on the side ofJacob made a big ol’ red flag go off in my head as things continued to not make sense to me. When we finally see what actually is in the box and my suspicions were confirmed I remembered that inDead is Dead these people know thatJohn Locke is walking around and they seem to try to do nothing to stop him from going anywhere and doing anything regardless of what they have in the box. What kind of sense does that make? Clearly there is something very suspect aboutJohn Locke, so much so that these people carry the box with the intent to showJacob what is in it so he knows who he is up against. Somewhere down the line we better be shown thatJacob has a strict “non-interference” policy that he handed down saying not to engageJohn Locke because that’s about the only way their actions will make sense to me. He certainly seemed to have a “everyone has free will” approach with everyone, so maybe that is the case.
Seeing what was inside the box also made me feel even more sorry for John Locke since it pretty much made him a tragic character who never was actually able to attain or gain anything. He came to this Island, we granted the use of his legs again, seemed to worship the Island and his only real reward was being choked to death by Ben. Will the character of John Locke continue next season after what we saw in the finale?
One wonderful payoff that we did get was the return ofRose, Bernard,andVincent. They’ve all settled in a hut near the ocean and inRose’s own words, “We’ve retired.” They will be having no part of any of this gallivanting around to try to battle strange people, change fates, or avert nuclear disaster. After their last encounter followingSawyer ended in fleeing the beach under a hail of flaming arrows can you really blame them?
With this season finale I have to give credit where credit is due. The writers, director, and producers of the show put out two hours of television that I was glued to my seat watching. I was captivated from beginning to end, hanging on every word, completely immersed in the viewing experience. Reflecting upon it, however, what I really find is that not a whole lot happened during that time (especially since we were being told three stories at once) and sadly we were once again handed more questions to balance out all of answers we were given.
Here are some of the dangling questions that still need answering (that I can actually think of):
Who are Jacob and the dark fellow (having just re-read The Stand I want to also call him the dark man, the Walkin’ Dude, a real hard case)?
Where did Richard Alpert come from?
Why did Jacob have to touch each of the Losties and does the fact that he touched Hurly AFTER Flight 815 hold any importance?
Is Jacob‘s fate as we saw final?
When and who will be shooting at Sawyer and crew when they are paddling around as seen in the episode The Little Prince?
What happens after The Incident?
Why was Sun left in the present?
Where is Claire and if the Christian Shepard we’ve seen on the Island is part of the same “thing” as the revived John Locke on the Island is she safe?
I’m sure there are a ton more but these are the ones that just hang out in my brain. ‘Till 2010 when we’ll do it all again!
Before Batman, before Superman, there was The Ghost That Walks…The Phantom. Created by Lee Falk in 1936, the Phantom is one of the best known and most successful newspaper strip characters, spawning radio shows, comics, movies, and television shows over the years.
In the 1970’s, a litte company called Mego hit it big with their 8″ clothed action figures based on properties like Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, and Superheros. They didn’t make it through the turbulent early 80’s, but this series of action figures has become one of the most beloved for toy collectors today.
Now meet Cast-A-Way Toys, who have brought Mego’s back in their own way. They are producing a range of characters in the same format, done in a similar simplistic style, to complement your Mego collection. They’ve added a new character to your Mego shelf with the release of the Phantom, and his arch enemy Achmed.
But this review isn’t about the Phantom or Achmed (although you can see a review of the Gray Ghost variant of the Phantom at my other site), but rather a diorama they’ve produced as a complimentary piece to the figure: the Skull Throne, which he sat on out in the Skull Cave.
As I mentioned, the Phantom figures are in an 8″ scale, and the throne is designed to work best with that scale. I’ve included some photos with other figures as well, so you can get an idea of how it might work, but I’m using the Cast-A-Way Toys Phantom figure (both purple and gray) in most of the photos.
This throne was originally available at the FX Show in Florida, but it’s still available through their collector’s club. More on that in the Where to Buy section.
Packaging – Bupkis
I actually got two of the thrones, one for the purple suit Phantom, and one for the gray suit Phantom, so they could be on display at the same time. Both of them came wrapped in bubble wrap inside a larger box, but with no packaging of their own. Not sure if that was the case at the FX Show, but I will say that it resulted in both of them having some minor damage to the resin part of the base. A couple of the small ‘coals’ were chipped on one of them, and the other had a crack along the edge. Both of these problems were fixed with some simple Crazy Glue, but something a bit more sturdy for shipping would have been nice. That’s particularly true considering how crazy cool the packages are for the 8″ figures themselves.
Sculpting – ***1/2
You won’t be able to tell at first from the photos (or in person), but the throne itself and the base with urns (or ‘braziers’) are made from two very different materials.
The ground base with the two braziers is made from a poly resin, much like the usual mini-bust or statue. You’ll want to handle it with care, since damage is possible. The underside of this base is coated with a thin felt material to help avoid damage to it, or to whatever surface it may sit upon.
This material holds a very sharp, detailed sculpt. The rocky cave ground looks great, and the roughly hewn braziers with their skulls around the base are extremely realistic. The coals and embers on the top of the braziers look good too, even with a haphazard paint job. In fact, it’s that rather haphazard work that gives the overall piece it’s feeling of realism, as if it were truly carved by native tools right out of the cave floor.
The throne itself is made from a soft polyurethane, that you can throw against the wall and it will bounce right off! Unless you let your dog chew on it, it’s pretty much impossible to damage easily, and that means you won’t have to worry about paint rubs, or chipping the seat when you’re moving the figure around on it.
The seat can also be removed from the rock floor and used on it’s own, which might be a viable option if you’re looking to use it with a larger figure, say 12″ tall. I’ve included a couple shots with other characters to show the scale. First up is the Masters of the Universe Classics Skeletor:
And here’s a 12″ Sideshow figure for comparison:
The detail work on the overall diorama is quite amazing, especially considering the different materials. I’m quite impressed by how rock-like the throne is, and how much detail the soft, squishy foam can hold.
The throne clearly belongs to the Phantom, since at his right side is the skull symbol (the same as the skull symbol on his right ring), and at his left side are the four sabers (also the same as his left ring). The symbols can work with other characters too, as long as nobody is paying too much attention.
Paint – ***1/2
The key feature of the paint work is to make the stone sculpt all the more stone like, and in this it succeeds quite well. The trick is the heavy wash, which highlights the details, adds shadowing and depth, and gives it an overall dirty appearance.
The coals are painted as well, but with a very rough, slapdash style, which gives them a chaotic look. Again, you might think this would look sloppy, but instead adds to the realistic appearance. Fire and coal are not neatly colored but ever changing, and the sloppy look works great in conveying the feel of glowing embers.
Design/Quality – ***1/2
Considering the size of the company, I’m very impressed with the quality of this diorama. I really wasn’t expecting the soft foam for the chair, and yet I think it was an excellent idea. It certainly looks as good as actual polystone or polyresin, yet is practically imprevious to damage and a whole lot lighter weight. I’d love to see this used for other diorama pieces from other companies in the future, particularly in sixth scale.
Value – **1/2
This diorama ran $75 at the show, or through the Cast-A-Way Club. It’s fairly large, and with the more limited exclusivity, the price/value is about average.
Things to Watch Out For –
Be careful handling the embers and coals. I noticed that breaking them off is fairly easy to do if you’re not careful. Other than that, you should be good to go!
Overall – ***1/2
While this throne/base is designed specifically for the Phantom, it does have other potential uses. I think that it fits in pretty well with the MOTUC line (although they don’t sit quite as well as the Phantom does due to their slightly more limited hips), and certain Medicom lines might be able to use it as well. Hmmm…maybe even the Mezco Hellboy line…I’ll have to give that a try too.
If you have picked up one of the Cast-A-Way Phantom figures, or even are a regular collector of other Mego lines, this throne will fit in perfectly. Dioramas this nice don’t come along very often, but when they do, it’s always appreciated!
Where to Buy –
This was an exclusive at the FX show where it was $75, but you can also purchase one by becoming a member of the Cast-A-Way Club. The $25 fee will get you access to all their exclusives during the year.
Related Links –
I reviewed the Captain Action and Dr. Evil, as well as the Phantom (gray ghost exclusive version) pictured with the throne in this review.
And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp. This week saw all sorts of conversations about the horribleness of Wolverine and the promise that Star Trek would easily dethrone the big cat with claws at the box office this weekend.
***CONTEST – THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALD PERRIN***
What was just a fleeting opportunity to promote another DVD turned into something of a curiosity to me.
I had never heard of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, for the most obvious reason that it was on the BBC in the late 70’s, but after watching a few clips I have to admit I am more curious to watch this and am wanting to give you rascals the chance to see what could be just the thing to get me going as all my other shows on television are dipping below the surface, not to return until the fall.
I have a few copies of the series on DVD. If you’d like a chance to win one just shoot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and let me know your favorite BBC program. It’s as easy as that.
More about the show: Michael Scott of “The Office” didn’t write the book on career disillusionment. Back in the “˜70s, Reginald Perrin was fighting his own demons at Sunshine Desserts. The BBC’s “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin” starred brilliant actor Leonard Rossiter (Barry Lyndon, 2001: A Space Odyssey) and aired from 1976-1979 to great critical and popular acclaim. The darkly-comedic series featured an outstanding cast of Britain’s best ““ Pauline Yates (Darling, “Peacekeepers”), Sue Nichols (“Coronation Street”, “Crossroads”), and Geoffrey Palmer (A Fish Called Wanda, Tomorrow Never Dies). This spring, E1 Entertainment brings all 21 episodes, plus “The Reginald Perrin Christmas Special” to DVD for the first time. THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALD PERRIN: THE COMPLETE SERIES arrives in-stores as a 4-DVD set on May 12 for $59.98 SRP.
The DVD release of “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin” is sure to excite classic British comedy fans, as will the revival of the series by the BBC this fall. BBC One has announced that Martin Clunes (“Doc Martin,” Shakespeare in Love) will play the title character in “Perrin,” which will be written by the original series writer and creator David Nobbs with “Men Behaving Badly” writer Simon Nye.
Eccentric sales executive Reginald Perrin is disillusioned with his life and unrewarding job at Sunshine Desserts. As the stresses of his mundane life surface, he pushes the boundaries of acceptable behavior at work. Finally, Reggie reaches a breaking-point, his mid-life crisis leading him to an extreme attempt at escape. He leaves his clothes on a bench at the beach, and fakes his own suicide. Instead of starting a new life somewhere else, Reggie tours the countryside assuming a variety of disguises ““ from buck-toothed pig farmer to pompous explorer. In his attempt at finding fulfillment, he discovers he truly misses his wife, and he returns home to start a brand new life. But, will he fall back into the same old routine again and again?
STAR TREK – REVIEWED
“How often people speak of art and science as though they were two entirely different things, with no interconnection. An artist is emotional, they think, and uses only his intuition; he sees all at once and has no need of reason. A scientist is cold, they think, and uses only his reason; he argues carefully step by step, and needs no imagination. That is all wrong. The true artist is quite rational as well as imaginative and knows what he is doing; if he does not, his art suffers. The true scientist is quite imaginative as well as rational, and sometimes leaps to solutions where reason can follow only slowly; if he does not, his science suffers.” – Isaac Asimov
After thinking about the highest compliment I can confer on this film it would be this: I want to see this movie again.
Something I didn’t realize I’ve missed after all the films I’ve seen in the last year is the innate sensation after the credits roll when you know you could sit through another viewing. That moment when you honestly could sit back down in the theater and watch the movie all over again with the same pleasure as you did before it started the first time. What JJ Abrams has managed to create is a summer film that bridges the chasm between those who have simmered in the Star Trek universe broth for decades, and explains to some degree why the franchise was in such dire straits as the latter films sputtered towards extinction, and those of us who just want to be entertained by a thin story and giant explosions.
JJ delivers on all the elements necessary to crafting a great mass market summer film starting with an opening reminiscent of BAMBI, FINDING NEMO and any other Disney film when a child needs to learn the tragedy of life from the get-go. What the first 10 minutes feel like is JJ finding his groove and to lay the foundation of what’s to come; the sequence establishes the tenor and mood of the entire film. So many times you have an opening sequence that seems so well-crafted that the next hour and 50 minutes couldn’t possibly live up to the great first chapter when you realize there was never enough in the tank to go more than a mile. JJ seems ballasted by not only knowing what is needed for every moment to feel weighty, in that every moment feels like it belongs and adds something extra to the overall whole, but his world as he’s creating it feels real.
Now, reality as I’ve come to define it after seeing STAR TREK is one that has rules but has to convince others to believe the reality. Keeping in mind we’re talking about warping star ships, phasers, drills that are miles long that can burrow into the center of a planet, interdimensional time warps and scads of other nuanced things that simply are not real. However, JJ and Co. manage those observations in a delicate balance of delivering superb special effects but not leaning on them like a crutch, an awful disease that many directors have succumbed to as of late. It’s the actors, deigned with the opportunity to bring a fantastical script to an even more apparent reality, that deserve some notice and praise.
Chris Pine (James Kirk), who up until this point charmed me in his turn as a twisted and demonic hillbilly in SMOKIN’ ACES, does a superb job playing the would be/will be Shatner. He carries himself with a hint, a whiff, of obnoxiousness that makes his role one that exudes a swagger rolled up with the classic underdog trope of a boy who needs to become a man. His boyhood mischief, his bar room brawls are nothing more than flimsy set-ups to show the depths of which he’s lost in his own PR and male bravado as a Lothario that never can seal the deal with Uhura (Zoe Saldana). But, and this is key, it’s the moment when Kirk meets Bones (Karl Urban) when you can feel the velocity of this film taking hold and never relenting. It’s also the time when we meet up with a young Spock (Zachary Quinto) who lives on planet Vulcan. What’s silly, of course, is to suppose this is all happening on a real planet removed from the safety of Earth’s natural berms and landscape but Abrams wills and makes Vulcan seem like a planet; the effects here are slight but rich in impact. He gives his situations, and all situations from start to finish, a polish, a thin veneer, of reality. Yes, Vulcan exists. Yes, cops of the future do ride motorcycles that fly. Yes, it is possible to beam from a ship to a planet’s surface; all the while, mind you, of never compromising the intentions of the actors in the scenes they’re in.
Kirk’s eventual rise to power as the ship’s captain is an intriguing one if not completely predictable, and there is a lot of goofiness to be had in the moments leading up to the logical blocks that are put in front of him from even being allowed ON the Enterprise, but these are all quibbles with the film’s focus on creating a summer movie. You could find yourself straining at wondering at the logical issues concerning the film’s villain Nero (a one-noted and camouflaged performance by Eric Bana) and his actions, however, this would take away from the sheer delight in wondering at the sight of John Cho (Sulu) kicking in some Romulan head during the film’s first real hand-to-hand combat scene, witnessing the fate of the first red shirt to go into battle and feeling the physics involved to make me believe that this all seems plausible as a viewer. Suspension of disbelief is not enough in this film as JJ takes the effects to a level that should cement this movie’s place as one of the more intensely enjoyable movies of the summer movie season.
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As well, when you consider all the personalities that need to be juggled, from introducing an entire ship’s worth of STAR TREK regulars to the plot that can get a touch convoluted if not completely unbelievable, Abrams manages to make you care about each one of them. Now, the depths to which we care can be debated but for the core cast of regulars there isn’t one throw-away moment for any of them especially when you consider the handful of characters that seemed to be much for lesser directors of recent summer films. It is important to give everyone the chance to be meaningful to the film’s progression, for if they weren’t why even be included in a script and, at that point, if they were I could guarantee a troubled film, and JJ does that. From Chekov’s minor miracles to Simon Pegg’s (Scotty) delightful and atmospheric comedic relief at a moment when the film delivers one of the more emotionally charged scenes STAR TREK is a record that knows what speed to play at without ever speeding up or slowing down unnecessarily. The movie is filled with enough crags and crevices which bring us to the penultimate moment but to explain them would spoil the fun of witnessing the birth of a franchise that finally is able to appeal to those like me who are familiar with the characters but aren’t beholden to the rigid back history of the iconic series. This isn’t to say, though, the film doesn’t have some issues.
The musical cues seem a little too ostentatious at times and threatens to take over the production and, unless you’re Ray Charles, there is no way not to notice the copious use the many lens flares that JJ seems to use as if he were a little kid just shown how to fire a gun; he loves using both almost to the detriment to the picture. The writing, as well, could be picked apart and dissected like a splayed open frog in biology class but, really, if you’re going to take issue with a summer film which is specifically designed to generate income and to be one of the few movies to help a studio make its annual nut you need to understand a few theories of basic economics. Which isn’t to say JJ has to make an inferior product, and he absolutely does not, but it’s important in understanding that the movie is not some artistic vision that can stand up to scrutiny if you were to compare it to a film like MILK. These kinds of films, these summer films, are made to entertain and to hopefully coming back for more. I already know this film is a special one in that I am already thinking about when I can see it again.
Forget WOLVERINE, STAR TREK is the real beginning of your summer.
ERIC LANGE of LOST
There’s this great Night Court episode that has always stayed with me ever since I saw it air decades ago. Harry, played by Harry Anderson, has to convince a very deranged woman who is brandishing a grenade in his court that what she sees on television is not reality. The blend of humor and the very not funny threat of someone dying was emblematic of a series that blurred the line of what a sitcom was. So, too, is my love affair of Lost.
A program that has dared me to leave it more than once and a program that keeps finding ways to bring me back, Lost provides audiences with the kind of drama that looks to challenge traditional methods of storytelling on television. So, it was with great anticipation that I was able to talk to Eric Lange, who you all know by the name Stuart Radzinsky and rocks a beard like no other on that show, wherein I was able to find out more about the man who has become synonymous with supreme jerkitude on the series. The “others” may be mysterious and wanton in their violence and malevolence towards others but Lange is just plain mean.
It was a pleasure, then, to talk to the actor playing Radzinsky. What I found was an actor just excited to be playing a role like this, in a series like this. His passion for the craft was something refreshing when you consider how far gone other performers can get when they stop seeing the ephemeral winning lotto ticket in their hand. Eschewing any question that even tiptoes the line of “What can be expect from the season finale…” I instead wanted to know more about him as an actor, a working actor, and what this opportunity means to his career.
From ditching the series as a viewer to realizing the importance of bug spray there couldn’t be a better jerk on television who I hope finds success after he finds his way off the island. The series finale airs this upcoming Wednesday, May 13th on ABC.
CHRISTOPHER STIPP: I’ve been reading a little bit about you as an actor and what led you here to Lost. I’m really just curious to find out, at least to start off things with what happened from 1998 and 2001 where there doesn’t seem to be much from you?
ERIC LANGE: ’98 and 2001? Well, to be honest, when I first moved to LA I couldn’t get an agent or get anyone to represent me theatrically so I was doing a lot of theatre which is sort of my roots ““ theatre and commercials ““ and every now and then I got friends to come to a play I was in and toss me a job here and there. That’s what the Bold and the Beautiful is and my early, early jobs. But really they were just from people that knew me at the time.
So it’s really all I was doing.
Then after that it just of moved into commercials. I was doing commercials for about 7 years here and making a living that way and saying I was a working actor but I obviously wanted to be making movies and scripted television. So then I ended up doing another play years later and a friend of mine brought her manager to the play and he picked me up. After that things moved relatively quickly because I had all that time here doing commercials and theatre to just sort of marinate and get ready for the day I was going to be able to get into rooms and I would be able to work relatively quickly. So that’s sort of the reason for that gap.
CS: Certainly after that it looks like Lost is the longest time you’ve spent on scripted television.
LANGE: Yes. I had smaller recurring things on other shows earlier. LAX, the Heather Locklear/Blair Underwood show I was on for just a little bit and just prior to Lost I did a show called 26 Miles which was like a 6 episode pilot basically. It was made to be sold as a half season and then a network or studio would pick up the other half of the season. So, that was 6 episodes and that was my longest stint and now Lost is a little past that, so you are correct.
CS: So how did this come into your life? Was it one of those things where you were just out on auditions or were you asked to audition for it?
LANGE: Yes, my manager called and said you need to audition for this or that and I was particularly excited about this because I wanted to do something on that show for so long I just had the highest respect for it and wanted to be on there. The show I had done previously, the 26 Miles pilot, I had about 6 months before that started and I was going to do it and I had to change rather drastically. My hair was always rather short so I spent all this time growing my hair out and this beard and so I thought if I’m ever going to be on Lost, now is the time to do it. I got the beard, the long hair, I can pop out of the jungle. I could say I was on the plane, or I was an accountant, or something.
(Laughs)
So, I just went in to audition. It’s not a typical audition with them. Usually you go to meet the producers in an audition ““ and the writer ““ but with Lost because everybody is in Hawaii you’re really just reading for the casting director and somebody films you and they mail the tape off and you either get it or you don’t. So it felt like such a simple process for what became such a great job. You know?
CS: Yes, and an interesting character too. We all know how he ends up but it’s really interesting to see how he gets to where that finite end is. Could you speak a little bit about how… I read in a previous interview where there really wasn’t so much direction given to you regarding these origins of the character but you were allowed to make him up – as it were?
LANGE: The original audition ““ I know I’ve spoken about this before ““ but they didn’t even have the name Radzinski on the audition side it was this Marty Jankowski guy. So that’s who I was auditioning for initially. So, when I got the job they called and said you are playing Radzinski and the name sort of rang a bell. I wasn’t sure why it was so secretive but that’s how a lot of things are on that show. I ended up googling him and found all these web pages about him and immediately got very nervous about the shoes I had to fill.
It was evident that there were a lot of fans that were curious about him and what he knows and why he offs himself and all these different things and I though, boy, I have a lot of people to please. So I ended up calling my manager and said is there something they want me to know? Now, knowing where we are going to take him eventually, or if they will, knowing where he ends up in the bible of Lost, is there something they want me to know now that I could put in play and the answer was a pretty definitive no. They said, “No, if we want him to know something we’ll tell him.” It was good in a sense because I had the information about where the guy’s going to eventually go and I had the scripts and the words they give me are rather strong clues to what kind of person he is. But I did get to work a fair amount on my little back story and sort of create this guy from scratch. The guy we’ve heard about but never seen.
CS: And you mentioned something about Lost having something close to a bible. The pantheon of fans out there…that there’s no detail that goes unnoticed with the people who really dig this show. How was that knowing that every tick, every peculiarity is poured over? I don’t know if you ever now gone back to see what people are talking about and see if people are really on the mark or off the mark with about what’s to come later on in the season?
LANGE: You mean in terms of what they were picking up about him before him even being seen or since I started on the show?
CS: That’s interesting. I would be interested in hearing both. First of all, we caught glimpses of him and now that you are fully realized ““ what people are saying now about the character.
LANGE: Well, you know. Let me think. I just want to make sure about what you are asking. You are asking how I feel about what people are saying about the guy now that he’s out there?
CS: Correct. Now that people have had the chance to see you, what are they saying about you?
LANGE: Well, I don’t have a lot of fans. Let’s put it that way.
(Laughs)
I’m hoping people are enjoying it but obviously he’s a thorn in the side of our heroes at this point and it is interesting that he’s so hot blooded. That does contribute to someone who could put a shotgun in his mouth. He’s a wildly passionate individual and it was sort of assumed early on that the guy had some wild knowledge about a lot of things and now we find out that he was the architect of the Swan so he’s been credited with being a genius or scientist. But, no, the few things I’ve been sent from friends and from what I’ve seen on the internet is pretty hard to read sometimes.
(Laughs)
I’ve been called all sorts of names. He’s a problem child but in terms of my fears about living up to the expectations of the fans. I just said I’m going to make what I make and hopefully they can get behind it. The thing to me about playing people like that is as long as there’s justification for the way they act, people can get behind it. And with him, we are sort of catching him in the middle of a period for him. In the middle of building the Swan and his work with Darma and so I just created this thing in my head that he was sort of told a story that he was going to be this big deal there and when he got there there were all these other people running around and touching his stuff and running projects and he sort of wanted to run the show so that’s the place I’m taking it from now but there’s got to be ways to justify the way he’s such a complete pompous ass he is and certainly leaving people curious enough without just hating the guy and writing him off, which is a danger.
CS: Correct. And this is one of the, and I don’t want to say tightest written series on television for sounding too hyperbolic, but looking at the scripts you are being given week after week, how do you respond to something when you are used to going on some of these shows, doing an episode and then leaving. Looking at a script where you are not allowed to know some things but know others… how does that all work in a cohesive sense when there are so many things going on at once?
LANGE: It’s tricky because you don’t know anything really. You know that at the end of some episodes that if there’s a story line left untold you assume that they will come back to it. So you do see some sort of arch but don’t know exactly where it’s going to go but it’s actually kind of exciting. I remember being in Hawaii at the hotel and the day that the scripts would come out running down from the Lobby wondering what the heck am I going to be doing this week. It’s been exciting. When you do one spot on one show you are gone. You don’t get that kind of thrill.
Every now and then it’s a little jarring, oh my goodness the things they have me saying and doing, the character they are forming as I find it in the script week to week and sometimes I find it a bit jarring and I have to go into my justification pile as say why is this important to him. And the bigger picture that this is sort of like war to him. He’s sort of like a general in an army and there are possible enemies lurking around and gaining information and that’s life and death. A lot of things on Lost aren’t life and death. But it’s a pretty curious thing. I sort of see him as a policeman who is jus trying to protect what they built and what they are working on and he just happens to get quite agitated when things don’t go his way, if any of that makes any sense.
CS: It does. You are now the 4th person I’ve talked to from the cast in the many years it’s been on. You hit a central theme when you say it’s all a matter of life and death and everyone who I’ve talked to says life off the set and in the set while you are working on it couldn’t been a more congenial and open and warm place to be.
LANGE: Absolutely.
CS: How have you responded to that sort of climate as an actor?
LANGE: Coming from doing one show at a time, mainly a guest star here and there, you sort of get thrown into this family that you don’t know but they have been working together for years and you are trying to look like a seamless part of this giant machine they have created. Sometimes the families are friendly and sometimes because they know you are leaving that week there is really no attempt to make any conversation or environment where you might feel more comfortable. Going into Lost when I first got the job I only knew I was doing two episodes. That was the deal. So I thought, well two episodes but I was a little intimidated because of the size of the show and the scope of that show and I thought, “My God, what if these people are monsters? What if their ego’s have gone to their head because they are on this giant train that is Lost?” And I could not have found anything farther from the truth.
I mean, from day one they were the most down to earth, friendly, there was no ego involved, just acceptance and I felt like I was part of the crew right away. They were really wonderful in that way. And when you are comfortable like that you are just able to do better work. You feel better about yourself, you can trust in what you are doing better and it’s just nice to have that support. But throughout my entire stint there I just grew closer and closer to those people and have a huge amount of respect for them on their behavior on the set and their generosity really. And, the crew is the same way. The crew is a lot of Hawaii based people, very down to earth, very kind and really it is funny how sort of light hearted the set is. It’s not that anyone’s careless about their work but it really is like a very friendly place to be. I had an absolute blast there.
CS: And one of the interesting things about the show itself too, for how many years it’s been on, you don’t hear anything about any petty sort of in-fighting or anything associated with some programs that are on a very long time that most succumb to. Any ideas of how they’ve managed to avoid needless drama?
LANGE: I don’t know. I’m always amazed when I hear about the drama on these things. It’s like you think when you get a job on that level you would just be happy to do you job and go home. I think part of it has to be because they are so removed. Being there in Hawaii is like you own little camp. Like you go to Lost camp. And they are not right there in Hollywood hearing about the bickering that goes on or seeing the power plays that get pulled. I think to some degree everyone just really likes being on the show and happy with their jobs and happy to be a part of something that has such an impact on culture in television. But, I think the distance is a big thing because when you get there it’s not like Hollywood. It’s Hawaii ““ a much different environment and relatively laid-back, peaceful place to be. I think it engenders that on the set as well.
CS: One of the things that I think makes you a perfect representation of Lost is that I read that you bailed on the series for a little while and then came back to it as you boned up on your part. I would think that any Lost fan agrees that this season just outshines ““ the writing is better, it’s tighter…How do you think they found their groove back? What’s your take on why it’s so good this season?
LANGE: Well, my take is that ““ I did. I hate to say it but somewhere at the end of season 3 I thought, boy, they did such a good job the first two seasons at peaking interest and creating mysteries and things I was just so curious about and wanted answers to, and they kept stretching them out.
And now my belief about why they did that is because they didn’t know how long they were going to be on the air. They didn’t know how long they were going to have to keep these things a mystery.
So I think for a while there it sort of felt like they were treading water. I don’t know if this is the fact or not but I got the sense of having to keep these story lines afloat because what if we are doing this for 10 years. And now that they have given themselves an end point, now they see a finish line and they are saying, what do we need to get in before the finish line? And it’s much easier to plot and plan and really build things on a more detailed level I would guess, episode to episode knowing they only have this many to go. So I think they are really sinking their teeth in and challenging audiences and giving everyone a great run for their money and a great piece of television.
CS: One of the other things that you brought up was that largely, the production is very picturesque. It’s done outside in Hawaii. What kind of challenges does filming on a beach, in jungles, in that kind of humidity present from day to day?
LANGE: That’s where I give props to their crew. I see these guys in season 5 and a lot of these guys are Hawaii based so they are used to working in that and used to working some adverse conditions and they are incredibly adapt at it. It’s amazing to watch how quickly and with such economy they can get these major shots set up and pulled off. And people running around the jungle with a steady cam. They are not running on boards. It’s dirt and mud. We had a couple days where it was very rainy and there was just mud everywhere. It’s so humid. I was there at relatively decent conditions given the time of the year. But it was 85 ““ 90 degrees and very humid and you got the bugs in the jungle. There were days I came off the set with many mosquito bites and I learned very quickly to take the bug spray when they offer it to you.
(Laughs)
But it was kind of fun. It feels very genuine as an actor. You are out in that. It’s not a sound stage with a bunch of plastic trees. You are in the jungle. It’s really exciting that way. But, it’s not a show for the faint of heart. There’s not always a trailer right next to where you are shooting but it makes it kind of fun. I always felt bad about complaining about anything because I’ve watched the show and know the things they have been through and this is nothing.
CS: I am amazed when I read an interview when someone from Lost says they are always trying to ply them for information about what’s coming next ““ to the extent that everyone dodges the question. It makes me feel uncomfortable, must make you feel uncomfortable. But, as the series now trends toward the end, do you feel, now that there is an end in sight, that we can expect more of the same of what we’ve been given this season?
LANGE: Oh yeah. My sense of it as it gets from this the new episode forward would be the variable forward the last episode Some Like it Hot was relatively, some themes in there, but it was relatively lighthearted for an episode of Lost. I think it’s partly because from here on out it ups the ante all the time. It becomes a great roller coaster ride. I think that the rest of the episodes to come and the finale should be some stupendous television. It really is quite an action packed end of season from this point forward.
CS: Having already taped the finale, when you reflect on it, how do you see your time on the program itself and what it’s done for you professionally and as an actor?
LANGE: My time on the program? I can’t say anything other than it was a dream job. It really was. To be on a show that you are already a big fan of and to have it go as well as it did for me ““ great challenge as an actor and befriend the people that work on that set ““ it was just nothing short of spectacular for me. And professionally, it really is amazing the difference between working on one level of show (and I won’t name names) and then working on Lost.
When my third episode aired, and I hadn’t really heard anything on the street and I went out over the weekend there must have been 10 different people that came up to me and said, “Are you Radzinsky? Lost is a great show.” So out of the blue people are starting to come up to me and things like that. It’s just a testament to the audience and kind of impact that show has.
You never know where your career is going to go or what opportunities are going to come to you or not but it certainly in terms of it’s stature I think it’s the biggest thing I’ve been a part of. I hope it does great things for my career, obviously but I’m already getting a sense that it is a bit bigger than you in some ways.
CS: I have to imagine ““ I know everyone talks about acting ““ “It’s just a job…It’s just something I do” – do you get some sort of thrill when you get recognized for being on the show?
LANGE: Yeah. I went to some art fair this guy walked by me and just yelled, “Radzinsky!” Like that’s my name, you know? And I turned around and said “Yeah?” and he said “I’m such a fan of the show” and he was with a friend and they introduced themselves and just the nicest people. Coming from theatre you do a role, you do a show and you get instant audience feedback. You get applause, you get laughter, you get validation that what you did meant something to somebody. But on television you never really get that. It just airs and who knows what anyone really thought of it. So it’s always nice to have people come up to you and say, “Hey, I dig the show” or “Dig what you’re doing.”
It’s just confirmation that you are on the right path in some way. It feels good that whatever it is you do makes somebody a little happier than they were before, I guess to put it simply. So yes, it’s a great feeling.
Howdy Inter-Webbers, I’m Matt Cohen and I’m gonna pretend that I haven’t been away for a while. Or, I’ll lie about it.
Yeah, the second one.
Let’s try that again…
Howdy Inter-Webbers, I’m Matt Cohen and I’m finally back from the Arctic. It was cold, kinda boring, but surprisingly good bagels.
Let’s skip through all the pleasantries and get to a subject near and dear to my heart – Stephen King’s THE DARK TOWER series. Since around the age of 11 I have been obsessed with these books, the characters, and the worlds they inhabit.  Like every other good Tower geek, I have dreamed about the day when the books would be adapted to a more visual format. Well, in Peter David’s comic series for Marvel, we got just that. A new, fresh blast of life has been pumped into an honored but very (and purposefully so) dead series. I assumed once I finished the final book, that Roland and his Ka-Tet would no longer grace the world in new mediums. Thankfully, I was wrong. Along with the comic book which is now in it’s second series, writer, director, producer and Hollywood “It” guy J.J Abrams has announced the acquiring of the rights to adapt the book to film (or television… only time will tell). With this sudden and, quite frankly, awesome news I thought it would be fun to pretend I had the job of casting the films, bringing my cherished childhood  (and beyond) memories to life.
So, without further ado (or adont), I present my dream cast choices for the DARK TOWER films (or television series… Again, J.J’s all about the vagueness).
Also, if you haven’t read the books, do it… Now. Turn off your computer, go to a bookstore or library, and do it.
SPOILER ZONE BELOW, Thankee Sai.
———————-
ROLAND DESCHAIN = JOSH BROLIN
The main man. The last son of Gilead. The last of the Gunslingers. One of the single most iconic and, quite frankly, fantastic characters in the realm of fiction. This is the big one. Cast this wrong, and the whole project falls apart. Roland has been one of the hottest “characters” that actors like to attach themselves to for years, and I’m sure a war is ensuing right now in the talent agencies of Hollywood. I’ve heard Bale, I’ve heard Jackman, and while they both and many others would LOOK like Roland, I think Josh Brolin would bring the sense of solemn pride and years and years worth of pain that Roland carries with every step of his weary feet. Look at his work in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN as a sort of model for how Roland’s tone and demeanor should be. Lots of thoughts going on, but you can’t read it in his face. And maybe that’s what it comes down to. That blank, reading your soul type poker face that Brolin can rock so perfectly. Also, I tend to think Roland is closer in age to 50 then 40, so Brolin would work perfectly in that respect, as well. And, on a nitpicking note, though Bale and Wolvie can do a convincing American accent, there’s no substitute for the real thing. Anyone who doesn’t see this should just wait for JONAH HEX which is almost a Roland audition in my mind.
Runner Up: Viggo Mortensen – Would make a fine Roland if not a little to pretty, but I do think our collective memories of Aragorn cloud our judgement a bit.
EDDIE DEAN = JOSEPH GORDON LEVITT
The second member of the Palaver and our first link as readers to our own world, worthless, weak, addicted Eddie – in the course of 6 books – goes from helpless junkie to a hero only rivaled by Roland himself. Eddie is 23, a NYC native, and badly addicted to heroin when we meet him, so casting wise I think I would go for a guy who can play both “junkie” and “heartthrob” to carry the entire arc believably. If you haven’t caught this young man’s work since 3’RD ROCK FROM THE SUN, you may be a bit puzzled right now. If you caught flicks such as the phenomenal BRICK, then you would know that Levitt is obviously one of the finest young actors working today, and could easily pull off the pathos needed for Eddie. And I know we’ve never really seen what Eddie is supposed to look like, but in my mind, this is pretty much it.
Runner Up: Shia Lebouf – I do genuinely see the appeal in Shia and think he will have a long and great career, but this may be a bit too “hard” for his current sensibilities.
ODETTA HOLMES/DETTA WALKER = GINA TORRES
The trickiest bit of casting in my opinion. This actress would have to portray three distinct characters, different ages, and DRASTICALLY divergent personalities. My one exposure to Torres was her work on FIREFLY and SERENITY, but anyone who’s seen her act know that she plays a strong female character, to say the least. You would need to capture the fire of Detta, the wisdom of Odetta, and the beauty and love of Susannah. I think Ms. Torres is definitely able to meet the challenge. Also, we know for sure that she can handle a weapon.
Runner Up: Zoe Saldana – I haven’t seen STAR TREK yet so my only experience with her is her bit parts in the PIRATES movies, but man, is she gorgeous… Yeah, that’s all I got.
JAKE CHAMBERS = DAEG FAERCH
A cry of “who? rings out across the internet. If anyone saw Rob Zombie’s mediocre HALLOWEEN reboot, they may remember the one entertaining aspect of the film – the kid who played young Michael Myers. I really dig this kid’s look, which is far from your conventional “pretty boy” child actors. Rather, Daeg looks like an actual kid, something I think would tremendously boost our attachment to the tragic and tragically wonderful character of Roland’s “adopted” son, Jake Chambers. Now, we don’t know if this kid quite has the chops, but the look works and he’s age appropriate. I say give him a shot. Also, because I refuse to cast Freddy Highmore in literally every single role meant for a male between the ages of 9 and 15.
Runner Up: Unknown general casting call…
MARTEN/WALTER/RANDALL FLAGG = LANCE HENRIKSEN
The baddie to end all baddies. Stephen King’s version of the devil, or if not the devil himself, certainly his main trickster demon. Randall Flagg, or some derivation of him, has appeared in too many Stephen King books to count. Most notably THE STAND, but certainly at the forefront of the Tower series as well. I mean, it all started when the man in black fled across the desert… so we would need an actor who can give off a sense of pure evil while at the same time a strange charm. Someone who could be ageless and just “reborn” all at once. Basically, a badass mo’fo. And if you know me, theres only one man who that could be – Lance…. Henriksen. Yes, that Lance Henriksen. The man who gave us Bishop, Frank Black, and Ed Harley. One of the coolest, most iconic, but sadly underused and overlooked actors alive today. THIS would be the role to define his career. A chance to channel all that swagger and mystery into a character finally worthy of his talents, rather then whatever sci-fi channel movie of the week he’s done recently. Look at those eyes – shark eyes… doll’s eyes…
Flagg’s eyes.
Runner Up: None needed. This is the role he was born to play.
PERE CALLAHAN = BRENDAN GLEESON
One of the fan’s favorite characters, the priest we knew and loved in SALEM’S LOT returns from apparent death to save and join Roland’s Ka-Tet and to play a bigger role in the sage than anyone could have foreseen. Lovable, noble, trustworthy. A stand up guy. And for as long as I’ve been a fan of the man’s work, I get that exact vibe off of the fantastic Brendan Gleeson. Though he may not look like the traditional image of Callhan, this man’s range is so wide and varied that he’d have no problem stepping into the vamp hunting priest’s shoes. His casting would add an air of “esteem” to the project as well, because it’s only a matter of time that critics and award voters recognize him as one of the greatest actors of his generation.
Runner Up: James Cromwell – Because I like crappy Stephen King TV miniseries. If it wasn’t TOO broke, I guess don’t fix it.
CRIMSON KING = DOUG JONES
The Pale Man. The Fawn. The Angel of Death. Abe Sapien. Silver Surfer. ______ Hobbit Role. The modern king of creature performances. And the Crimson King is about as far from a human as you can get. This, my friends, is what they call a no-brainer (cue PLANET TERROR reference)
Runner Up: Zach Efron – He creeps me out. In the sense that I think he wants to murder me and do terrible things to my soul. A la the Crimson King
———————————————
Now, the remainder of the characters, though “secondary”, are extremely important and cherished to Tower fans like myself, and I’ll be back next week for part 2 of this column, with a look at who I would cast to fill out the rest of the DARK TOWER universe. So please, if you enjoyed this little venture, check back next week for the conclusion. All of your friends are doing it… PEER PRESSURE!!!!
My son popped in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the other day, and I thought I’d give it a second try. Perhaps on second viewing I’d be able to let go of my extreme dislike…sadly, this was not the case.
But it did remind me how much I love the original films, especially Raiders of the Lost Ark. Just a couple days later, my new Ark of the Covenant business card holder showed up from Gentle Giant, making me warm and fuzzy all over.
Business card holder? Yep, Gentle Giant has produced not one but three different desk accessories based on the relics of the films: this business card holder, a pen/pencil holder shaped like the Fertility Idol, and a paper clip holder that doubles as the Holy Grail.
I only ordered the card holder, as it was the only one I could see myself using (do I even own any paper clips?), so I’ll be covering that one all by its little lonesome. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com, or hit my site at Michael’s Review of the Week – Captain Toy. You can also follow me on Twitter, the only legal form of stalking. Actually, I’m having a giveaway right now to one person following me on Twitter – a completely free MOTUC Mer-Man! So sign up and follow me, and you might be the lucky winner…
Ark of the Covenant Business Card Holder
The business card holder is designed to hold regular sized cards, either in a horizontal or vertical fashion. If you’re a closet nerd afraid to let your geek flag fly full mast, this card holder (and the paper clip Grail or pencil Idol) allow you to test the work waters. If no one points and laughs, you can tell them about your Iron Man bed sheets! Or maybe not.
Packaging – ***
The big plus here is the Certificate of Authenticity, which is nicely done in a trading card size just like a Gentle Giant bust or statue. However, it lacks any sort of edition number or size.
The box itself carries on the rather dull graphics forced on all the licensors by Lucas, but deals with them about as best as can be expected. The interior foam is very sturdy, and protects the Ark almost as well as a big wooden crate. And yes, how cool of a package would that have been?
Sculpting – ***
For the scale (remember, this is only about 3″ tall without the birds), the sculpt is fairly detailed and clean. The etchings on the side are a little soft, but some of the more intricate detail work on the edges and cornice are nicely done.
The birds are sculpted as a separate piece, on a long base that fits across the interior top. This gives you plenty of display options, with it in or out, and with the cards in front or back.
As I mentioned, it’s only about 3″ tall without the birds, just a hair over 4″ with them. It’s too small to work as a display item with the sixth scale figures, and too big to go with any 4″ figures, but if you have the 7″ Indy from the Disney parks, it would fit in pretty well. The final photo shows a 6″ He-man with the Ark to give you some idea.
Paint – ***
There’s not a lot of paint detail here – it’s all that brass/bronze color that you’d expect, with no real wash or highlighting. It’s clean though, with a nice consistent, even coverage, and no obvious marks, bubbles, or imperfections.
Design – ***1/2
Obviously they had to skip the lid, as I mentioned in the Sculpt section. That’s no real issue, considering the end purpose, and my favorite aspect of the design is that they took into consideration not just the most common card orientation – horizontal – but also the less common vertically printed cards. The interior of the Ark is sculpted to hold either properly, which is a big plus.
The holder also manages a good number of cards at once. I didn’t try fully filling it up, but I’d bet you could get 50 to maybe even 75 cards in there, with the birds in place. And since the birds are movable (and removable), you can put the cards in front or in back of them as you wish.
Value – **
This guy is only about 3″ tall, not counting the birds on top. That’s a pretty small ‘statue’ for almost $40, and something around $25 – $30 would have been more appropriate considering the desk accessory market. And yes, there is one.
Things to Watch Out For –
Don’t drop it. While it feels more poly than resin, it’s still breakable.
Overall – ***
It’s not exactly a must have, but if you’re looking for something that shows off your fondness for Indiana Jones at the office, without being too geeky, then this card holder might just be perfect. It can also work as an accessory to the 7″ Indy, but it’s pretty expensive as an extra to an already mediocre figure.
Something that would really have made this stand out – and made the price all that much more palatable without adding a lot of cost – would have been the inclusion of the Professor Jones business card that we see in the promo photos. It’s a pity that Gentle Giant didn’t realize the potential for something like that to increase interest and sales.
Where to Buy –
You have several great online options:
Related Links –
For many years, there was a drought when it came to Indy merchandise, but they’ve made up for that plus some over the last couple years. Some other collectible reviews include:
– one of my favorite new Indy collectibles is the Mighty Muggs from Hasbro, and I’ve reviewed waves 1, and 2. Of course, they’ve already been canceled.
Welcome to TV or Not TV where I am humbled by mother nature.
This week I was able to get caught up on the new History Channel original series Life After People. This series, crafted after last year’s startling special, takes a unique look at what would happen if we people of the planet Earth just suddenly vanished. What would become of our cars, our buildings, our legacy? The results are very humbling.
In the discussion of “saving our planet” I have long been a student of the philosophy that we are not needing to save our planet but instead we need to save ourselves. Yes, we need to treat mother Earth a lot better so that her environment will still be suitable for us. We, however, do not need to save the planet because as this show outlines pretty harshly the planet will in face go on without us.
It is one thing, when watching this show, to see the computer generated scenarios of a Statue of Liberty crumbling, or the Houston Astrodome becoming a richly vegetated rain forest climate, but it is another thing to see the real evidence in today’s society where we see how the planet will reclaim that which we leave behind. A coal mining island in Japan, after only 35 years, is already falling apart and appears on the precipice of complete collapse. Mother Nature will quickly reclaim that which we turn our backs on proving that her creations are the only ones that can stand the test of time.
If you haven’t seen this show IÂ strongly suggest you tune in to Life After People every Tuesday night at 10 PM to see this eye opening look at what the future may hold for that which we leave behind.
Now let’s see what television transmissions we can choose from this week that will just be static two light years from now.
MONDAY
LIFETIME – 5:00 PM: It’s not every week that I make a recommendation for Lifetime, but a show called Cook Yourself Thin can’t go without mentioning in this day and age of the obese American.
FX – 9:00 PM: Now that 24 is in the 21st of it’s 24 hours Jack has got to be getting a miracle cure any minute now, right?
NBC – 9:00 PM:Allison is bailing on the DA’s office to work for a big corporate job on Medium. Do I sense a new Ms. Cleo?
TUESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: With only four contestants left standing on The Biggest Loser: Couples you’d think by now they’ve been through enough. Nope. They have to run a full marathon.
FOX – 9:00 PM:Olivia starts having visions, Walter confesses his connection to the Z.F.T. manifesto and we finally get to learn what Peter’s secret side project is this week on Fringe? Whoah! It must be sweeps!
HISTORY – 10:00 PM: As mentioned above, a new episode of Life After People premieres as it takes a look at what happens to Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles over the test of time.
WEDNESDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM:JD says farewell to Sacred Heart as the shows tries to wrap up what was envisioned as Scrubs final season. Will that actually be the case?
FOX – 9:00 PM: I really don’t care who gets booted on American Idol tonight, I’m just interested in seeing Daughtry perform.
ABC – 9:00 PM: This time next week I’ll be half-way into the season finale of LOST, so I’m eagerly anticipating what happens in this episode as the prelude to that.
THURSDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM:Tonight on Bones FBI agent Boothe gets a visit from Stewie from Family Guy. No, really… it happens.
NBC – 9:30 PM:Jack learns something shocking about his parentage and Alan Alda guest stars on 30 Rock. Coincidence?
ABC – 10:00 PM: It’s been over a decade since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and tonight we get to see just how far it has taken him in Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.
FRIDAY
CW – 8:00 PM: Will this be the season or series finale for Everybody Hates Chris? Chris Rock himself has been quoted as saying it would be a good end point in the storytelling based on his life. It’s looking like the CW might agree.
FOX – 9:00 PM: The same question as asked above can be asked for Dollhouse as well. Last week we finally learned who Alpha is, we learned why he kept Echo alive and now they’re both on the run. Will this be the show’s swan song or only the ending of this chapter (not counting the un-aired thirteenth episode)?
SATURDAY
HISTORY – 8:00 PM: Cashing in on the release of Star Trek the History Channel rolls out Ancient Aliens followed by Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier.
FOOD – 9:00 PM:Duff and company get to go to Hawaii to create a special cake for the show LOST on Ace of Cakes. This hour special is nestled between two other hours of some of their other great entertainment themed cakes. I’ll be watching (and snacking) for the duration.
SUNDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: Jodie Foster guests as a voice of Maggie (kind of) in tonight’s episode of The Simpsons.
NBC – 8:00 PM:It’s the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice with Annie Duke vs. Joan Rivers. After the venom that was spewed when Melissa got the boot this should be a good one.
CBS – 8:00 PM:The Amazing Race has actually had an interesting season and this one comes to a close as the remaining teams are making the small jaunt from Beijing to Maui to cross the finale finish line.
– Will Wilkins loved the new Star Trek movie, but since it’s not TV I can’t talk about it.
And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp. Some weeks you get lucky with the kind of information that people are talking about.
ADVENTURES OF POWER – REVIEW
The moment that solidifies THE ADVENTURES OF POWER as a film that is far more than just a movie about a guy, Power, who has dreams of being a great air drummer is when Michael McKean, who plays his father, stands up to a pack of riot police. His father heads a pro-union force looking to hold the line for union workers who toil at a local copper mine; they walk off the job, force its obnoxious, caricature of a boss hoss to shut the normal mining operations down as McKean tries to elevate the working lives of those who live in a tough and shattered city that almost could be classified under Ghost Town categorization by New Mexico standards.
It’s hard to believe that this movie actually is an amusing farce of a film but it is.
Led by the air drumming talents of actor, writer and director Ari Gold as Power himself the movie has two things on its mind: 1) Tell a story about a man who dreams of being so much more than the incompetent miner that everyone else pegs him to be. 2) Take a shot at films where events cumulate in any kind of great event where our hero needs to become the winner of it all.
Knowing these two things, the film is free to spread its thoughts across a wide palette of events that take Power from the destitute city where many dreams have no doubt died. But not Powers’. The film’s opening with Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie” sets the tone for the rest of the film in that we’re exposed to a lot of classic music where the focus is on songs with rich drum sound. What’s funny, or duly noted, about this is that not only does this movie bring together sounds from the past which let drummers express their presence in a band but the story is shaped by the music that I remember meant something more than some of what’s being made today. Power is that man, trapped in the years far in the past, trying to bring together his passion for being his own individual and trying to make those around him respect his abilities as a superior air drummer.
The premise is absolutely ludicrous, it should be said, but Powers’ walkabout that finds him first in an underground air drum contest far away from his home and then under the tutelage of a former master of funk, Carlos, played by Steven Williams. What transpires in the hollows of Newark, New Jersey is a fantastical tale of a man who is taught how to become an even greater air drummer within a cast of absolutely bizarre band mates who air drum themselves. The mere transcribing of their efforts baffles even me why it’s funny to watch and take in but a lot of that credit should go to writer/director Ari Gold. His talent for writing a story that’s funny is one thing but you could virtually watch this film without the sound on and soak in the deliciousness of his direction. The cinematography only adds another layer to what makes this film special; it’s far too beautiful for how simple the story is but it couches the events of this film in a place that feels absolutely real. It’s not like an over lit comedic showpiece that is made specifically to accent the performances of the talent on the screen, this movie makes the places inform its action.
Dallas Houston, played by Entourage’s Adrian Grenier, is also a wild card into this mix of craziness. Playing a overly hackneyed version of a superstar that is, himself, a walking caricature of arrogance we see that Houston also has dreams of being a great air drummer, a sinister behavior that he must keep hidden from his copper mine owning father (how coincidental!) but that’s the idea. The movie sends up films where these tropes exist but ADVENTURES OF POWER gets it right. It knows where to put the musical interlude during our hero’s training and it even knows every hero needs a lady to fight for. Segue to Power falling in love and wooing a deaf girl (played by the adorable Shoshannah Stern) and you have yourself the other piece to this cinematic puzzle.
Even though the events that lead up to ending and resolution of the film is as predictable as the movies it lampoons the real treat is experiencing the potential in Ari Gold’s filmmaking. His previous effort in the short, short CULTURE have proven him to be sharp, thoughtful and quick to understand the patterns that exist in modern cinema and this film is no different. The satire here is sure to be lost on those who don’t see through the superficiality of what makes this movie such a small gem in the land of independent film which seems cluttered with films looking to spread heady and heavy messages. Ari Gold’s vision is fully realized in a movie that blends place and theme, and a wicked ass soundtrack, wonderfully.
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE – PREMIERE IN TEMPE, AZ
There isn’t a whole helluva lot that follows which is mine.
An Internet contest that was vying for the World Premiere of X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE got underway weeks ago. Hugh Jackman had a pre-recorded video message that asked fans from all over America to try and get the star studded event, he mentioned bringing a whole cadre of his actor buddies with him to help celebrate, in their town.
I, being of sound mind and not giving in to such ploys to generate market interest in the movies, didn’t vote. Of all the places, who would want to bring a movie premiere to my backyard, to Arizona?
All of mo-fo’s did, apparently.
The masses spoke and thanks to this being a lead story in broadcast and online news (yeah, not much was happening that day) on the last day of voting Tempe, Arizona pulled out a win. Hugh again delievered a taped message a week ago last Monday to regale people with the good news. Again it was reported on as if Jesus Christ himself was about to appear at the local Dairy Queen.
Days leading up to the event only meant more hoopla, more mentions of the fact that the last premiere to come to Arizona was BEN HUR, decades ago, and even the day of, this Monday, lines stretched around the theater the night before to try and get tickets or to at least jockey for a good position to see Hugh Jackman and company up close and personal. Hugh did the crowd a solid and sent muffins and coffee for the die hards in the wee hours on Monday morning, spending $4,300 on breakfast items for the crowd.
Me? I was giving alms to my press pass and just making sure I had my batteries charged.
What was to follow later that day, that night was pretty neat even from all the years I’ve spent covering events at places like the Comic-Con. The level of intensity from the crowd who were simply happy to be there, to see Jackman working the event like the emcee he’s so good at being, was inspiring simply because these were people who don’t work in the movie field and are just happy to indulge in a little superficality for an evening. It was good to reinvigorate myself to see how much people dig these sorts of things. Even though there’s no way in hell there will ever be another premiere in Arizona for quite some time it was still nice to talk to Wil i Am, Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Liev Schreiber and Hugh Jackman. I even got to have a very pleasant talk with Wolf from American Gladiators which was a surprisingly interesting and warm exchange.
Not all the questions below I was able to ask personally. I take minimal responsibility for some of the more innane inquiries, especially the ones asked to Hugh, so I hope you enjoy the rapid fire pace of what follows.
WOLVERINE Interview Questions and Answers
LIEV SCHREIBER
LIEV: That’s me.The bad guy from Scream. And I am Naomi Watt’s baby daddy.
QUESTION:How are the kiddies?
LIEV: They’re good. They’re good. They’re at home.
QUESTION [Christ, I don’t know what I did to get saddled with these people]:What do you look for in a woman?If Namoi would say have at it.
LIEV:I don’t believe I could answer that question in good conscience.
QUESTION:Here’s an easy question.When you watch a movie are you a popcorn or candy kind of guy?
LIEV:It depends on what they got. But, generally, I’m a popcorn kind of guy. If the movie is good, you never make it past one handful.
[Want to know why some actors hate junkets? Wait for what comes next.] QUESTION: Is Hugh Jackman everything we think he is?
LIEV: He’s awesome. Hugh’s pretty good. Ryan Reynolds said it best. He said Hugh is so nice he makes ice cream look like Hitler.
(Laughs)
STIPP: You have a strong theater background.What kind of movie does this represent to you when you look at the jobs you’re going to take? Do you make a difference between theatre and big budget action pictures?
LIEV: The plain simple fact is that I don’t think men mature past the age of 22. Physically we can become 90, 100, 120 but mentally most men don’t go past 22 so when they say to you do you want to come to the movie and be the giant mutant cat that flys around the buildings and whips Hugh’s ass, I said yes.
STIPP: There’s no hesitation?
LIEV: No, there’s no hesitation. I don’t think there’s any hesitate for any man in that situation. Wouldn’t you do it?
STIPP:Of course.
LYNN COLLINS
QUESTION: What’s something interesting that our fans would want to know about? [Journalists, asking the hard hitting questions!]
COLLINS: What’s interesting to me is that one day Hugh came to me and said that the producers had gotten together and said that I needed to be wearing an outfit that may be more skimpy. So I walk into my trailer and there is the tiniest little silver dress I had ever seen in my life. So I put it on and went outside and they all said April Fool’s. It was a big joke. So I was standing there in front of the producers and Hugh Jackman in the tiniest dress that didn’t fit me.
QUESTION:Sounds like fun. [Sounds like mental retardation…]
COLLINS: That was fun. Humility. Humility baby.
STIPP: As a theatre actress, and I’ve read about how you and Liev already have worked before in that capacity, this is obviously something bigger than you have ever experienced before.
COLLINS: Right.
STIPP:How was it going from theatre to big budget action movie?How does that translate for your performance?
COLLINS: You know, I found it very interesting when I was working on this process that I was really able to utilize all my experience and training at Juliard because we are dealing with such sweeping emotions because we are working on stages with a green screen.
QUESTION: How was it working with Hugh?
COLLINS:He was the charismatic leader on this film. Everyone worked so hard and he was really the catalyst and shared that energy with all of us.
TAYLOR KITSCH
TAYLOR KITSCH: Hey, how are ya?
QUESTION:Welcome to Tempe.
KITSCH:Thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure to be a part of it all.
QUESTION:Is this your first visit to Tempe?
KITSCH: It is. I have driven through but actually my first time to take it in.
QUESTION:Where’s home for you?
KITSCH:Austin, Texas.
STIPP:What’s it like to take a comic book character to screen.You have those internet geeks who love to rip apart everyone saying, “He’s not right, he’s not good, he’s not…whatever.” How did you approach this character?
KITSCH: The only way is you have to dive into it man. It’s all or nothing. You have to just commit to it 150%. So from learning the tools he has to the cars, to his accent, to his posture, to his cadence, to everything else, that’s how you do it.
STIPP:Did you get to the point where you just say, “What the hell?This is a comic book.What am I doing?”
KITSCH: No. Because the more I dived into him the more passionate I became, the more I understood the fans. I want to go another round with him at least. To go darker.
STIPP:Really?
KITSCH: Absolutely.
STIPP:You said you wanted to introduce him.Where is the Gambit we get in this movie?
KITSCH: You get a few pieces of him. He loves to fight and play around. You have to remember who he is against. Who Wolverine is to him at the time is a lot different than if you had Gambit earlier on which is something I would love to explore. How did he get to the point where he’s at his own poker table and he has that smirk. What made him have that, you know? I think a lot of that would be fun to explore.
WILL I AM
QUESTION: How are you doing?
i AM:I’m 21 and older.
QUESTION:Hey, for all the brothers and sisters out there, what should they know about this film?
i AM: It’s a brother super hero, you know… You know what I’m saying? Obama’s in the White House, first Black super hero…
(Laughs)
Nah. It’s a great film.
QUESTION: What’s the biggest challenge you had doing this film?
i AM: It’s my first movie ever so that’s a challenge. Dealing with professionals. Look at that poster. Check that shit out!
STIPP: Are you thinking of hanging one in your house?
i AM: No. That looks weird to me. I can deal with Black Eyed Peas”¦that’s normal but this is not normal.
STIPP:Does this represent something to you now, like this is where you always wanted to be, a multi-talented artist?
i AM: It makes me say, WOW. What I can do and what anybody is capable of doing. It’s not what you want because a lot of times you don’t dream it. You’re afraid of getting your world crushed. So that represents dreaming because you can be it. To any youth out there, to any kid, it’s like look at me. You can do it. Three years ago I never thought that was possible. To me, it’s a little kid in the projects or a girl that’s going through a lot, you can make it happen. Just dream big. Anything is possible. White, brothers, Chinese, Korean”¦anybody. You can do it man. I am freaking out looking at that poster.
QUESTION:What’s going to be next for you? Any more movies?
i AM: No. Next I’m going to release the Alicia Keys album and get back to what I am a pro at “¦. And I’m not a pro even at that because Herbie Hancock is a pro.
STIPP: If you’re not a pro then what are you?
i AM: I’m a fan that has equipment. At the end of the day, really that’s what it is. I’m a fan, I’m bored and I entertain myself. And people like it.
HUGH JACKMAN
Hugh started off things by talking about his most generous gift of caffeine and pastries that morning to those waiting to get in to see the premiere.
HUGH JACKMAN: Were you here this morning?
QUESTION:No, but the fans were.
JACKMAN: Oh yeah. My pleasure.
Boy, when I rang Arianna at the bakery. I didn’t even know what the bakery’s called, but I think there was a 10 second pause when I said, “This is Hugh Jackman and I need 800 muffins and 800 cups of coffee.”
It went quiet.
“Is this a joke?”
(Laughs)
QUESTION:How are you liking Tempe?
JACKMAN: I’m loving it. What a way to come here too. The time of year and the fans are insane. I love that. That’s how these fans are. I’m telling you, I’ve been living with this character and these fans for maybe 9 years and that’s why I wanted to show it to them first.
QUESTION: And Hugh, everyone wants to know how did you get your arms in this kind of shape?
JACKMAN: As a producer I should have gotten a little more money from the visual effects budget but I didn’t. I just went to the gym and did it the old fashioned way.
And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp. Some weeks you get lucky with the kind of information that people are talking about.
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE – REVIEWED
I don’t need to see this film again, nor do I have the need to ever own it.
When I was 13 I had a friend by the name of Brandon Murphy. He was the only one who I knew was into comics and is responsible for sending sparks into the tinder that would flame into a full-on passion for The X-Men, Spider-Man and other titles that would create the base for my love of this medium.
One month, while casually flipping through a copy of the most recent Comics Journal at my local comic book store they had a section in the back that was dedicated to talking about the cinematic developments of comic properties. Seemingly, a lot of what has finally made it to the big screen (SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR) had its genesis in a paper publication back in 1989. It would be ridiculous to think that these films were trapped in development for damn near two decades but the facts are both SPIDER-MAN and X-MEN went on to become box office juggernauts which laid waste to anyone thinking these films would only appeal to children. The early iteration of these films were a little rough as the filmmakers felt in the dark about how to translate comics to screen in a way that would be faithful to the source but be marketable enough to wide audiences so there were creative liberties taken; Rogue skewed younger, the Green Goblin was physically different and The Hulk had to contend with Hulk Dogs.
Profits swelled, studios took notice and now we’re having to contend with a litany of comic book to film adaptations, reboots and spin-offs. Thanks to the success of the movies that had to believe that taking the material seriously would actually work we now have X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. Based on the character who was the most obvious choice to get his own film WOLVERINE takes place long before he finds himself with the X-MEN and introduces a rogues gallery of fan favorites: Deadpool, Blob, Sabertooth and Gambit. The film wants to establish Wolverine as a character, wants to delve into how he received his adamantium and tries desperately to entertain while doing it. If this was Gambit’s game he would say 2 out 3 ain’t bad but here, for this film, it’s a losing hand.
The issues that hobble this production are apparent from the beginning when we’re introduced to young Logan and his bone claws. In what has to be one of the most rushed “twist” story details, and there are enough of them here to think that M. Night Shyamalan, not David Benioff and Skip Woods, should get story credit, we have the worst use of “I’m your dad” in an awkward moment that sets the shoddy tone for what is to come. From the shoehorning of Logan’s classic comic book refrain of “I’m the best there is at what I do, and what I do isn’t very nice” into a conversation that feels awkward when uttered out loud the movie stumbles as the script feels like disparate moments strung together by a thin thread of relevance which, ultimately, prove not to be the case. The events that transpire could have all happened without the aid of the excuses that heretofore are called co-stars. If you could keep a tally on the ways in which any number of the co-stars, excluding Sabertooth, help the movie you would only need to use one hand. This is frustrating as any writer actually pushing pen to paper should recognize that you have to have a reason to include someone in a story but what seems to be the case in WOLVERINE is that these characters act as excuses to divulge wildly far-fetched bits of information.
Further, an examination of what comes next illustrates the other contentious point that could go either way for someone watching the film: the flimsiness of the movie’s production.
We go from boyhood to modern time with Logan all grown up and sharing a plane with the host of characters that will come and go like stage props for the rest of the movie. Ryan Reynolds absolutely shines as the merc with a mouth, Deadpool, and if there’s anyone who you wish they had more of in this movie it’s him. Liev Schreiber starts his run as the wickedly casted Sabertooth, and who deserves a lot of credit for elevating the tension, suspense and mood of this film, and doesn’t disappoint for the duration of the movie. The team’s leader William Stryker, played by Danny Huston, also is delightfully cast as the one man who no one should trust in a foxhole. The rest of the characters are forgettable, disposable and are completely irrelevant to the movie’s forward movement and act as convenient placeholders, like an opportune coaster to place a wet drink upon, to simply use and discard when not needed. The opening battle sequence has everyone showing off their talent, one by one, in an overly orchestrated battle that looks like it was taking place on a poorly disguised, and photographed, set; it’s plasticine flimsiness here just sets the tone for the other sets that look like sets. From the fight that takes place after our heroes board an elevator, to the jungle scene prior to Logan jettisoning from this merry band of mutants, to the fight that takes place between Gambit, Logan and Sabertooth, to a host of other special effect moments that simply look false there is a surprising lack of quality control. Never minding the accoutrements to the action on the screen the lack of character development for those on the periphery adds to the disappointment.
The script for the film seemed to be at odds with wanting to tell an origin story, hence the title, but also having a fun movie to watch. I don’t think these things are mutually exclusive but the movie covers so much ground you don’t ever have a chance to breathe and that’s not a good thing. We barely get to know Logan’s lady Silver Fox, we have an even less chance to understand Dominic Monaghan’s Bolt, John Wraith barely has an opportunity to flex his muscle, don’t get me started on the stopwatch lifespan of the husband and wife who hurriedly nurse Logan back to health after he gets his metal, we get The Blob for one token scene and Gambit is all but ignored. There are literally a cast of characters interfering with a movie that should have been about Wolverine but instead we have X-MEN 4, a new team with a different leader. Even though this film is a vast improvement over X-MEN 3 it only does so because of the strength of Hugh Jackman and Schreiber.
Jackman is the bright light in all of this as he pours himself into this role. He believes he is Logan, that he is Wolverine. And he’s damn right for thinking so. The mannerisms of what this human animal is supposed to be like are all evident in his rage when he escapes his captors as Weapon X, when he’s fighting for his life in the denouement of this film. Jackman has the charisma to pull this whole character off without a hitch but, the problem is, there isn’t anything else for him to do with what he’s given.
With a gimpy script, wretched effects, questionable photography and a host of other distracting elements it’s not hard to make a case as to why this should be the only entry in this series, that any more films will turn a once hardcore outlaw of comics into a parody of himself, better suited inside the Sunday funnies. One time will be more than enough to take in what’s presented but I do hope the resulting avalanche of money that will no doubt be in this movie’s future will help begin discussions about how to focus on what was right about this film and excise everything else that did not.
Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I wish there were more constant to The Variable.
When I first learned the title of this week’s episode I was excited since it seemed to be one that would be paired directly with last season’s stellar episode The Constant. When it comes to season 4 of LOST I think many would agree that The Constant delivered on so many levels and packed such an emotional wallop that it is by far one of the stand-outs not only from that season but perhaps the entire series. If The Variable from it’s name alone seems to be a sister episode to The Constant so I was just plain giddy.
This week’s episode of LOST was very similar to the previous episode Some Like It Hoth because it was another bridge episode. The episode exists solely to move the story from point A to point C while having to traverse that awkward point B. They slip in some interesting revelations but really the episode exists just to nudge the characters in the direction our story tellers need them to go. There was no wallop, there wasn’t much emotion, just a brief step taken in certain directions with a shocker once again thrown in to the ending to make us go oooh and aaaah (which I just didn’t do).
In the way of the underlining thread that ties everything together we finally received confirmation (I hope) from Charles Widmore that he is in the fact the one who purchased a plane, filled it with corpses and sunk it to the bottom of the ocean to be the fake Oceanice Flight 815. This may or may not be an important item for a lot of people, but in my dicussion groups where we are trying to determine if Widmore or Ben are the more evil of these two apparently bad men (with one friend still holding hope for the fact that Ben will be proven in the long run to actually be the good guy) it is nice to see that something that Ben Linus told us seems to actually be true.
Even though the flashbacks in this episode related to Daniel Faraday we didn’t really learn a whole heck of a lot. There wasn’t really much revealed, and it all really just kind of came across as a part of the story I just didn’t care too much about. Some elements of the flashbacks even kind of confused me when I look at the overall scope of the show and the things that have occured. One of them would be when Charles Widmore comes to a now mentally hindered Daniel Faraday to offer him the job of going to the Island on the freighter. One item used to entice Faraday is the knowledge that the Island might heal his mind. In this season’s episode Jughead we find out that Daniel loves fellow freighter scientist Charlotte. This makes me wonder just how long they were on that frieghter and just how charming is the mentally hindered Faraday that he was able to some how hook up with Charlotte and have time to really fall in love with her? The timing just doesn’t add up in my head.
Another item of frustration for me with this episode is the former man of science Jack finally decided to take some action since getting the Island, only to take that action in following Faraday with his seemingly crazy plan to undo the Incident that will soon happen at the Swan station that initiates the chain of events that brings our Flight 815 people to the Island to begin with. The fact that the entire plan screams paradox doesn’t seem to concern Jack in the least, even when Kate tries to tell him that the whole thing sounds crazy. Jack is also not taking in to account that when everyone last saw Faraday he had mentally come unglued and to be honest I think his idea that people are the variables that can actually cause change comes from that same mental breakdown, a delusion he is creating to try to justify his actions. Faraday himself could have proven his very own concept of variables by not talking to Charlotte as a child in 1977 as she told him he previously had done in the episode This Place is Death. If he hadn’t done that prior to what we saw happen at the end of the episode we would know that his theory was sound. Instead I would think that his actually still telling her exactly what she said he toldher proves more than anything else that “whatever happened, happened” and there is no chance to make any changes if you are playing around in a time that can be considered your past.
This episode of LOST also suffered from a convention that the writers of this show often use to a frustrating degree. Many times characters will ensist on taking certain actions or try to talk other characters out of certain actions, however they never give a compelling reason. They will use dialogue to dance around the reason but they’ll never say why. One great example is from the season finale of Season 3 when Ben is trying to tell Jack that if he calls the freighter everyone on the Island will be killed. He never gives more of a detailed reason so Jack has no reason to comply at all. Faraday did this a bit last night and it is like nails dragging on a chalkboard for me whenever it occurs.
My last gripe with The Variable is in the ham fisted dialogue handed to us from Faraday in reminding Jack that any of them could die here in 1977. The writers were clearly trying to not only telegraph to use the ending of this episode, they were also setting us up for something that is clearly to come in the next three hours of the show. I would lay good money on the fact that one of our original Flight 815-ers is going to be shuffling this mortal coil, and that’s too bad since I like just about every one of them.
I will admit that even with all of these complaints I still really enjoyed the episode. If anything I’m probably just frustrated by the fact that I still have to wait two weeks to see how the rest of this season plays out and that is coming out in my perception of this episode.
– Will Wilkins still recited “the numbers” in his head at night.
Welcome to another special Morning After edition of TV or Not TV, where I have been bowled over by Chuck and under whelmed by Heroes. As always I will remind you that I talk about anything and everything with the shows being discussed so if you haven’t yet watched them you might want to come back to this a little later.
CHUCK vs. THE RING
Many of you may be thrilled at the fact that the season finale of Chuck happened last night as you won’t have to deal with me whining about the
potential demise of the show. My feelings aren’t lifted any bit after the NBC.com official Chuck page had the following listed for their streaming copy of the show.
The description has since been corrected to remove the Series Finale description, so who knows?
What I do know is that last nights episode of Chuck was pure entertainment. One of the things that I love about this show is the subtle pop-culture references that are quietly slipped in. One that stands out was when Jeffster took to the altar at Ellie and Awesome’s wedding and Jeff turned to the string orchestra and told them “watch me for the changes“ just as my good friend Marty McFly did in Back to the Future. The Jeffster performance of Mr. Roboto combined with the shoot-out in the reception hall was also well played out both from a soundtrack stand-point as well as a plausible reason that the guests never heard one shot fired.
Another thing that I enjoyed about last night was the performance of Chevy Chase as Ted Roark. I can’t think of another role where I’ve seen Chevy Chase play the heavy and I think that this may have been a missed calling since he really seemed to hone in on the part. I don’t know what this says about him playing such a believable bad guy, but it’s something I would have enjoyed seeing more of in the future.
There are still two moments that stood out for me with last night’s show as well. When Sarah gave the confirming nod of no to Bryce that she wasn’t coming with him and was instead staying with Chuck it gave all of us sappy romantics a nice confirmation that there really is a future for these two.
The other moment, of course, was the “game-changing” ending that the producers of the show have been alluding to for weeks. In many ways it does change the game, taking the potential of the show up to the next level. On a more important note, however, it was a defining moment for the character Chuck as he was actually faced with a choice in the role that he’s been playing in Operation Bartowski for the past two seasons. It wasn’t a decision forced on him as it was before and this is another important element that would benefit the character in his growth within this show.
Was this really the finale that, if not renewed, Executive Producer Chris Fedak described the fan reaction as one wanting to have them, “burn their living rooms?” In retrospect, not really. There is the frustration that the show ended with the words TO BE CONTINUED”¦ but the story itself could serve as an ending that simply let’s us know the story continues for these characters even though we don’t get to see it.
Now we wait patiently for the NBC up-fronts to find out what the fate of this very family friendly and entertaining show is. How do I know it is
family friendly? My five year old daughter had me rewind the DVR three times so she could jump up and do kung fu along side of Chuck as he took down the bad guys. Chuck me indeed.
HEROES: AN INVISIBLE THREAD
My love-hate relationship with Heroes truly culminated with the season finale. A whole lot happened and we got somewhere, even though I’m not really sure where. They tied up loose ends but created a big ol’ plot hole for me that I just can’t seem to step around.
There were two things at play with this episode: the bringing down of the ability hunting group in Building 26 and the stopping of Sylar meeting the President and taking control of the country by becoming him. The former story line was apparently necessary in aiding the release of Noah Bennett and confusing us with the fact that Hiro’s body is now rejecting the very time-stopping ability that used to naturally be his own.
The bringing down of Sylar was the story that took up the majority of air time, and it was a compelling and interesting one. It is also, however, the most flawed story line due to a major plot hole that the writers I’m sure are really hoping that we overlook. Last night we saw the rather gruesome death of Nathan Patrelli at the hands of Sylar. After Sylar is eventually captured Noah and Angella come up with what they feel is the only plan to neuter Sylar and stop the government sanctioned capture of people with abilities: Use Matt Parkman to erase Sylar’s memory of himself and make him think that he is Nathan Patrelli and as such forcing his shape-shifting to make him Nathan Patrelli. A win-win for the writers but a major plot hole since we all know that Claire’s blood can revive the dead just as it did with her dad and, by proxy of Peter, healed Nathan’s blast wounds from the season 1 finale. This wasn’t in fact the only way to resolve this issue and is probably the most dangerous way to solve it.
I can’t blame the writers for going this route. A bad guy like Sylar is darn near impossible to stop and there’s no single hero that can bring him
down. He’s also too good of a bad guy to let go of incase you need to have a fallback. This means that you can’t kill him off but you also don’t want to allow him to still be in play since he’s really too big of a bad. I understand the reason they went the direction that they did, I just don’t agree with it.
Unlike Chuck the show Heroes already has a pick-up for next season, so they teased us with a glimpse at the next volume titled Redemption. Here’s hoping there is more to the name than just a title because this show really needs some serious redemption in more ways than one.
– Will Wilkins is recorded from a previous live broadcast.
Welcome to TV or Not TV where I fear the Mantracker.
When it comes to the reality show Mantracker I’m actually about three years and an entire network too late, but this past Saturday I stumbled upon a marathon and was instantly hooked. Now shown every Wednesday night at 10 PM on the Science Channel (note: not SciFi, just Science) this show features Terry Grant, an old fashioned cowboy of 25 years who is an expert at tracking people through rugged terrain of the open wild, up against two Prey who must try to get to a designated target (typically 40 killometers/25 miles away) before the Mantracker can find them.
I know the concept doesn’t sound like much but to watch the show you find yourself instantly drawn in to this cat and mouse game of the Prey vs. the Mantracker. The editing is crisp and the soundtrack amplifies the drama or suspense of the moment. It’s also amazing to see how the simple things that we do when we walk or move around leave evidence in it’s wake.
The contest itself isn’t exactly fair since the Mantracker does his thing on horseback where as the Prey are on foot. This does give some benefit to the Prey as they are, at times, able to out manuever the Mantracker but when push comes to shove in a flat out foot race the horse will win every time.
Being the overthinker that I am I also have to wonder just how much evidence the camera crew that follow the Prey leave behind on this excursion and does the Mantracker use this to his advantage? Keen watchers of the show will also notice that if the Prey are caught up to sooner than the hour long show needs they will always get away (hey, you have to fill that time, right?).
Even with all of this I still have to say that the show Mantracker is the perfect type of show to watch when you don’t want your mind to have to do any work and you’re just ready to sit and decompress. Now that OLN has bit the dust I don’t know when the fourth season of Mantracker will see the light of day, but hopefully when it does it will be on the Science Channel as well.
Now that we’ve talked about Mantracker let’s see what else there is to track down to see this week.
MONDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: It’s season finale night on NBC for Chuck and Heroes. Please, I’m begging you…. get everyone you know to watch Chuck tonight since this second season was phenomenal and the show really does deserve a third season.
CBS – 8:30 PM: Another one of my favorites is back tonight with How I Met Your Mother finding Barney and Marshall messing with Ted after he doesn’t adhere to The Three Day Rule.
NBC – 10:00 PM:Joe tries to use his daughter’s new found ability to save his failing company with her stock picks on Medium. Wasn’t this the plot of that Gary Coleman movie?
TUESDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: Nothing says hip and modern like seeing the contestants of American Idol perform hits by the Rat Pack.
CW – 8:00 PM: What’s the bad side of dating a demon? Dealing with what happens after you break up with her. Ben and Sock find out the hard way on Reaper.
FOX – 9:00 PM: Tonight on Fringe we finally may find out more information on the Z.F.T. bio-terrorists. Nothing like them mythology connections to keep us sucked in.
ABC – 10:00 PM: OK, can anyone out there tell me how long Cupid has been on the air and did ABC do anything to promote it?
WEDNESDAY
HIST – 8:00 PM: Go ape for two hours of MonsterQuest tonight as they re-air the 2005 episode of The Real King Kong and follow it up with a brand new episode titled Mysterious Ape Island.
ABC – 9:00 PM: Our stuck in the 70’s LOSTies may find out how to get back to the future (snicker) with tonight’s return of Daniel Faraday. Turns out the physicist also finally spills the beans on everything he actually knows about the Island. I’m really hoping this one knocks our socks off as it’s titled The Variable and it is supposed to be the sister story to last seasons incredible episode The Constant.
DISCOVERY – 9:00 PM: The MythBusters go after some YouTube myths. Wait, what do they do after the cellphone/popcorn debunking?
THURSDAY
CW – 8:00 PM:Things heat up on Smallville tonight when Clark finds out that Davis is still alive. We’re on the home stretch folks.
ABC – 8:30 PM:Samantha Who? wraps up it’s second season tonight with a guest stint by Angie Harmon.
NBC – 9:00 PM: Now that Pam has returned to Dunder Mifflin on The Office as a salesperson I see the competitive sparks flying between her and fiance Jim. Probably not tonight, but it’s coming.
FRIDAY
Nickelodeon – 8:00 PM: How could I be the father of a five year old without mentioning the kick off of the Fairly Odd Parents: Wishology three parter tonight?
FOX – 9:00 PM: If you’ve been watching Dollhouse from the beginning and you want to know who Alpha is, you might want to tune in tonight.
CARTOON NETWORK – 9:00 PM: If you didn’t catch Star Wars: The Clone Wars the first time around it starts to repeat its run tonight, now with informative pop ups!
SATURDAY
Nickelodeon – 8:00 PM: Part two of the Fairly Odd Parents three parter airs tonight and I’m sure my daughter will be on the edge of her seat.
ABC – 8:00 PM: The Harry Potter franchise starts to take a considerable turn for the better with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
FOOD – 8:00 PM: Anyone on a diet should already avoid The Food Network but tonight you should REALLY avoid it as Guy Fieri looks back at his favorite stops in The Best of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This one will have you at your local greasy spoon in 10 seconds flat.
A&E – 8:00 PM: 15 years ago Arnold was still cool and Jamie Lee could dance and still look good in True Lies.
DISCOVERY – 8:00 PM: Three hours of Pitchmen might be tough if you are an impulsive buyer, if not it’s just fun to watch.
SUNDAY
Nickelodeon – 8:00 PM: Seriously, I’ve watched Nickelodeon’s Fairly Odd Parents three nights in a row now? Wow, I sure hope Timmy can defeat the Darkness.
ABC – 9:00 PM: Now that Susan has been single and loving it Jackson returns tonight on Desperate Housewives to throw a hitch in her plan. Who am I kidding? I’ll probably be reeling from Fairly Odd Parents and won’t be able to concentrate.
AMC – 8:00 PM: In all seriousness I’m going to have a tough time choosing between watching Happy Gilmore or…
CMT – 8:00 PM:The Coen Brothers re-imaging of Homer’s The Odyssey is brilliantly done in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
– Will Wilkins was taped in front of a live studio audience.
And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp. Some weeks you get lucky with the kind of information that people are talking about. This week there were clones galore, a conversation about Obama’s politics between webmasters broke out and the Twitterverse continues to write in agony at Alex Billington’s existence.
CAPRICA DVD GIVEAWAY
Who here loves Battlestar Galactica? Now, who wants something to take the edge off the series’ abscence from television?
Here then is CAPRICA.
Taken from Wikipedia:
Caprica is a television series set in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe. Beginning 58 years before the events seen in Battlestar Galactica, Caprica tells the story of how Colonial humanity first created the robotic Cybernetic Lifeform Nodes or Cylons, who would later plot to destroy human civilization in retaliation for their enslavement.
An extended version of the pilot premiered exclusively on DVD and digital download on April 21, 2009. In early 2010, the first season, composed of the two-hour pilot and 18 hour-long episodes, is expected to begin airing on Sci Fi Channel in the United States. The rights to broadcast the series have also been picked up by Sky1 in the UK and Ireland.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has graciously given me, well, lots of copies of this fascinating and pretty wicked program. Part film, part pilot this is actually a piece of Sci-Fi that was at once engrossing and entertaining.
If you’d lke to take the next step in Battlestar’s evolution just drop me a line at Christopher_Stipp@Yahoo.com and let me know if you want one. Knowing how ravenous some of you viewers are about BSG I have a feeling they may go pretty quick…
SAVE FERRIS CHUCK
Zach Levi and Josh Gomez are friends of this site.
I’ve talked to Zach more times than anyone else I’ve met since working here and I’m glad to be able and say that he’s, by far and away, one of the most deserving men working in showbusiness today.
Chuck has shown him to be a quick comedic actor who is able to blend goofiness with an action bent without any problems at all. He’s funny and it shows in this program. Teamed up with Gomez the two of them have a chemistry that the writers of this program have blended well together.
The cast is top shelf, the shows have always been solid entries into television’s prime time offerings insofar that they show you can be mainstream without yielding to blandness but they have had heart. You haven’t heard any kind of needless drama or people not getting along and, in fact, last year I was invited by Zach to hang at the Hard Rock with the cast after their presentation at Comic-Con. Unless they wanted to put on a show to someone who has zero pull in spreading any kind of rumor whatsoever, you would’ve thought this was a Sunday night dinner with family.
That’s why I wanted to post a little something to help the program out. Called Finale and Footlong Campaign it is an effort to help stave off any effort to cancel the show. I would hate to think this is an exercise in futility but since Check out this site here on Zach’s personal website to find out more information about how you can help possibly, maybe save the program from an early, and unfortunate, demise.
500 DAYS OF SUMMER – EARLY REVIEW
Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.
This post modern love story is never what we expect it to be — it’s thorny yet exhilarating, funny and sad, a twisted journey of highs and lows that doesn’t quite go where we think it will. When Tom, a hapless greeting card copywriter and hopeless romantic, is blindsided after his girlfriend Summer dumps him, he shifts back and forth through various periods of their 500 days “together” to try to figure out where things went wrong. His reflections ultimately lead him to finally rediscover his true passions in life.
I know it’s little more than hyperbole on my part but this is going to be a film you’re going to be talking about in effusive praise as the film breaks wide.
What separates this film from a lot of other less interesting takes on the nature of relationships that men and women find themselves falling into and out of is its originality. It’s difficult to mine a topic that has been done so many ways since time immemorial but what makes 500 DAYS OF SUMMER so precious is that they’ve found a way to do it again and do it in a pastiche of pleasure and pain.
In wanting to tell a story that doesn’t drip with the falsities of what happens between two people who come together this film goes beyond the tropes and trappings of less than fulfilling romantic narratives which usually end in perfectly predictable ways. Writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber have written a story that doesn’t try to be too dour, too deep or emotive. Rather, what they do manage to craft, and why this movie sticks to the ribs of your heart long after you realize what the narrator said in the beginning is true, is a story that tells what it’s like to really fall in love and have it fall apart. Such a simple premise, and I realize that in other hands this could have been yet another film in a long string of sub-par romance tales, but it’s the non sequential storytelling that at least primes the pump for an engaging movie experience.
After we’ve established that the story is not going to flow in normal order, some of the thrill is not knowing which in the 500 days you’re going to get next, almost like a visual Choose Your Own Adventure novella, we are beautifully ballasted by the school boy charms of Joseph Gordon-Levitt who simply plays a man named Tom and the girl-you-always-wished-lived-next-door in Zooey Deschanel as Summer. These two are matched up in a way that at once feels right and exciting; you can actually buy into the idea that this budding hipster could actually woo a woman of Zooey’s pedigree. She’s not portrayed as a woman who’s playing hard to get but, and this is absolutely where you have to praise the talents of the writers, she’s a woman who is independent and played as such throughout the movie. There is no abandoning the sense of who Summer is as a woman simply because she gets with a man like Tom. You want to think that everyone is able to cast aside their childish things once love walks into their lives, and certainly Tom does, but Summer stays constant and, I would posit, only heightens the searing pain of what happens when Tom’s devotion, dedication and dreams aren’t enough to make a whole.
Gordon-Levitt hasn’t been this arresting since his turn in THE LOOKOUT, his portrayal as Tom is alarmingly resonant to anyone who has loved so hard but ends up having nothing to show for it. Tom’s eventual meltdown in a staff meeting is particularly poignant as even though it’s played for dramatic effect and is obviously going for the overtly overwrought, despondent aspects of a man in a slight depression it’s psychologically telling as something that any human being who can’t make sense of their own emotional lives could relate to. As well, Gordon-Levitt, once he does get back on his emotional feet and has brushed off his shoulders a bit delivers a subtle, yet stinging, turn as Summer comes back into his life in a wedding sequence that kicks any man in the spiritual nut sack when you realize he’s still hanging on to “What if” instead of realizing it’s “What already was.”
Deschanel, for her part, mystifies. She’s a tough mistress in that she never gives us what we all want from her and that’s for Summer to realize that Tom loves her, that it should be enough for her to believe in but that there is more going on than any of us realize. Like it was mentioned, she’s her own woman but that only increases her attractiveness. She doesn’t fall into the usual trappings of young lovers or infatuation or any of the feelings that always befall her cinematic equals. We love her in this film because she is still herself, is gorgeously depicted as a woman who has a bedroom smile that you wish you could awake to, a demeanor that won’t allow stupidity but who ultimately will make you work for her affection.
The truly arresting moments come in the film’s quieter times. When Tom picks a fight with a guy who is obnoxiously coming on to Summer, and it’s a time when you can see the writers at work crafting a moment for a specific reason, that it doesn’t feel organic, the ultimate resolution of the fight between Summer and Tom is gorgeously shot and is bathed in the kind of silence that apologies without recriminations sometimes have.
On the opposite end of the heady and heavy you have Paul, McKenzie and Rachel. Played by Matthew Gray Gubler, Geoffrey Arend and Chloe Moretz, respectively, they represent Tom’s two closest friends in the film and Tom’s very young sister to whom he tells everything. These three represent the comedic relief in the film and while they do feel like they’re serving the story’s purpose of lightening the mood they are by no means wasted. Gubler is absolutely charming as Tom’s confidant, Arend is positively hilarious and wish I had followed that man’s love trajectory and Moretz is the film’s other female element and she plays it well, her youth is in stark contrast to the maturity the writers have imbued her with but it’s positively welcomed. Along these comedic lines there is a song and dance number by Hall and Oats that should absolutely become your go-to mental representation should you ever hear the ditty outside of the theater.
And that’s the other thing.
Kudos to the film’s director, Marc Webb, for choosing a soundtrack that isn’t a bunch of shoegazing emo idiots slapped together for the sake of molding a hipster mix tape. A song by the aforementioned Hall and Oats, a karaoke version of “Here Comes Your Man” by the Pixies from a wicked Gordon-Levitt who knows how to rock a mic and scads of other musical nuances round out an ephemeral environment that feels very real to those in this film. Webb deftly allows these two to become more than just prototypical constructs and those who want to take issue with the idea that we’ve been here, we’ve done that so many times miss the point that if you were to look at what people have been given as a cinematic representation of love in all its trappings and pitfalls we have not been given a movie that makes you understand why we’re all willing to do it all over again. And again.
This is a film that deserves the slow resonating buzz its been getting and without question deserves your support when it comes out on July 17th.
RAY SCHILLACI GOES TO THE MOVIES
Highlights from the 9th Annual PFF
For those of you not in the know, PFF stands for Phoenix Film Festival, the largest film festival in the state of Arizona. It might very well be one of the friendliest in the nation for true independent filmmakers. This is the buzz that was going around the eight-day event amongst auteur young and old. A professional and friendly (from both staff and film folk) atmosphere abounded. There was more of a sense of camaraderie than of competition. Encouragement and goodwill spilled over into the audiences as well.
Not that every entry was a gem. There were a few diamonds-in-the-rough along with some coal, one just wanted to toss away (depending on your taste). There was the occasional offbeat and oft putting, but for the most part the festival offered a great escape from the pabulum served up by the major studios, and the pseudo-independents that are actually backdoor funded by the same perpetrators.
This brings me to a filmmaker favorite that graced the festival and was greeted with roaring acceptance and applause, Paul Osborne’s, “Official Rejection”. This documentary plays out as entertaining as the best of Michael Moore and then some. Osborne takes us on the treacherous and comical journey of several true independent filmmakers who enter the real world of the film festival circuit. The disappointments, the funds wasted, the lack of professionalism and the festivals that are mere “poser” independents for major studios is met with dismay.
Independent filmmaker, Scott Storm, is the center of all this and it’s amazing that the man does not end up punching somebody’s lights out. Osborne’s camera does justice for the new mavericks of media, making us want to cry foul. They pour their heart and soul into something only to have it discarded by money-grubbing schemers who have no intention on lending a friendly hand to help distribute the good word on an indie film. Storm knows from previous audience viewings that he has something worthy (later acclaimed indie thriller, “Ten “˜Til Noon”) and as the rejection letters mount one can’t help wonder if it is all for naught. Tales of payola abound as do festival shenanigans that have staff not only get accepted but win awards as well!
Storm plays the common man/filmmaker well. His story gets under our skin and makes us want to cheer for him. He’s our Mr. Smith, but instead of going to Washington, he’s traveling around the country with a micro budget siding with other frustrated filmmakers. After an exhaustive and heartbreaking trek, the man finally runs into some luck with our very own Phoenix Film Festival. It actually becomes a breath of fresh air. But what ensues between other festivals suddenly vying for the same film with the same schedule is an eye-opener. It’s amazing the moral fortitude Storm provides us with his journey.
Although director, Storm is the main focus, there are other noteworthy players; a real stand out is director, Johnny Montana. His off-the-cuff comments and blazon over-the-top personality elicits big laughs and one ends up wanting to see more of him. Another funny turn is director Osborne’s blatant pull for celebrities to pepper the documentary just for the purpose of getting them in the credits to draw box office attention no matter how short the interview is. Some of the more entertaining interviews are, Kevin Smith (would we expect anything less), Lloyd Kaufman (founder of Troma) and Andy Dick. A host of other notables are available and they round out the procession with an in-depth look into what has gone wrong with the system. Even Traci Lords (former pornstar and B-movie queen) puts in a few words; just cause she’s Traci Lords.
In the end Osborne and company have developed a unique double-edged sword piece of filmmaking that is rather ballsy. It’s beautifully executed and begging never to see the light of day, because it’s not only biting the hand that feeds it ““ it’s chomping down and devouring the appendage while shitting it out and laughing. As good as it is, it did not get accepted into Sundance, Slamdance or Tribeca. They were not even given the benefit of a rejection letter. Instead, phone calls were issued out and some had taken offense. Does the truth hurt that much? Obviously, yes! One only wishes that Osborne had gone a step further and pulled a Michael Moore by visiting Redford regarding his precious Sundance. But even without that, Osborne has accomplished a clear vindication to anyone who has spent their soul trying to get recognized for their passion. Personally, I would like to send kudos to Paul Osborne and company for a triumph of the will that has true independents rejoicing over their frustrated voices being discovered.
There is much more to come. The documentaries really shined this year and a few left field surprises had people talking for days. Also, I have to mention the wonderful creative opening sequence for the festival. A wink and a nod to Frank Miller’s “The Spirit” with Camerahead leaping the rooftops to get to the festival while featuring the sponsors in comic book frames. The presentation was a sheer delight. I will return with reviews on two highly noteworthy documentaries, “The Way We Get By” and “Shooting Beauty”. Also a peek at the surprise hit at PFF among others.
Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I’m once again blown away by my good buddy Chuck.
Last night’s episode of Chuck was by far one of the best of the entire run of the series and a great near-payoff for this season. After last night I find it hard to believe that there is still one more episode left to see with the season finale (Monday, 4/27 @ 8 PM) since there were so many things that were finally handed to the viewers.
The first payoff happened as this episode started with Chuck and Sarah hiding from the government in trying to rescue Chuck‘s dad (guest star Scott Bakula) from the clutches of FULCRUM and evil software guru Ted Roark (guest star Chevy Chase). After finding nothing but an abandoned drive-in at the location Chuck flashed on, the pair retire to a motel to collect their thoughts. Yes, a motel room. One bed. Yes folks, that’s right. Sarah and Chuck finally give in to all that sexual tension that has been building up. Too bad Morgan slipped an IOU for a condomn in the place of Chuck‘s wallet protection (as well as Casey tracking the two down) and put the breaks on the mood.
The second great payoff comes when someone else finally gets to learn that Chuckis an operative for the CIA. Who is this lucky person? Turns out it’s Captain Awesome himself, giving us one of the best lines ever on the show (“I need you to be awesome. Can you do that for me? Can you be… awesome?”). It was really nice to have someone else finally learn that Chuck has been doing a lot to save his country and understand all of the conflict this surely brings him internally. It’s bad that it was Ellie’s fiance, since really they shouldn’t be keeping any secrets from one another as husband and wife, and I have to wonder if this will lead to conflict in the season finale. However it turns out Awesome was awesome in settling his fiance’s nerves as it seemed that neither her dad nor her brother would be ther for the rehearsel dinner.
The third payoff comes in the eventual rescue of Chuck‘s dad. When Casey learns that an air strike team has been assembled to dispatch the FULCRUM drive-in instead of being able to keep his promise to rescue Steve Bartowski, Casey rushes to help his two fugitive team mates. The rescue doesn’t go as planned and all are captured in the same room the newly built Intersect is being run. Chuck‘s dad tells Chuck too watch the screen since he “made it for him” and POW! Chuckis now Intersect free! The air strike force shows up just in time to give them cover for an escape and everyone gets away.
The last payoff we were given was the culmination of the Buy More power struggle saga. Emmett is now the manager of the store and he applies pressure to Morgan to become his assistant manager (which he refers to as Ass Man). Morgan originally caves in and does his evil bidding, but girlfriend Anna finally gets him to realize what is important and in a shocking move Morgan gets up his nerve, quits the Buy More and whisks Anna away to fulfill his dream of moving to Hawaii to become a chef at Benihana. Everyone even gives him a slow clap build up sendoff.
Of course it wasn’t all champagne and roses at the end as we learn that Roark has survived the air strike and is now on his way to crash the wedding.
NEXT WEEK AND THE FUTURE OF CHUCK
As mentioned above, the season finale of Chuck is next week. Roark is going to try to crash the party and an Intersect free Chuck has to face off against him. I have no idea what else will happen next week. I’m dying to see what will happen next week, especially since SOMETHING has to happen next week to perpetuate the premise of the show. Chuck was pivotal to the operation because he was the Intersect with all kinds of info trapped in his head. How can the show continue without this? What diabolical plan do they have to move things forward?
The other real question is will they actually move forward? The Hollywood Reporter set the Internet ablaze on Monday with a Save Chuck fire after they described the show as “on the bubble” which means that even though it’s fate isn’t decided it hasnt’ been saved yet from cancellation. Bloggers, journalists and fan sites are all sending out their appeals this week to make sure that we all do our part in saving the show. There’s good reason to save the show as well since, according to television producer Josh Schwartz in a New York Times Article, “If…. that is the last episode of the show to ever air, it will be one of the least satisfying finales of all time. Chris Fedak, the guy who created the show, said people will set their living rooms on fire.” We can’t have a ton of domestic arson, can we?
If you want to know how to try to do your part to save the show Chuck than the best strategy is the one outlined on the fan site ChuckTV.net with their watch/buy/share campaign. Watch the show live, get you and everyone you know to watch everthing Chuckrelated on NBC.com (the show, mashup videos, everything). If you really want to flex your power and have your voice heard in the digital age then traffic and hits are probably the sure fire way to tip the scales folks.
I can’t wait to see the season finale of Chuck and I’ll hope you’ll be there with me.
–Will Wilkins is neither an Asset nor the Intersect.
You’d have to be living under a rock, and it would have to be a pretty big rock at that, to not realize that May is the movie month for 2009. There’s some potentially great films coming out later this summer, including G.I. Joe, Harry Potter and Transformers 2, but May has four big ones hitting us that are all required viewing.
One of the four is Terminator: Salvation, the fourth film in the story of Skynet and the destruction of the human race. Opening on the 21st (a Thursday), this film takes us back…uh, forward…in time to the early days of the war, before the T-800 was developed, when the first T-600 and T-700 Terminators were terrorizing the Resistance.
The current brouhaha over the movie has to do with the MPAA rating. Most assumed it would be R, just like the first three films in the franchise. The trailer certainly appears to have R-like tendencies. But recent rumors have it at a PG-13, and this has caused quite the stir. Some have said that the Terminator:Salvation toy line is part of the reasoning for Warner Brothers to push for the lighter rating, in an attempt to get at least some kids indoctrinated in the film franchise. But plenty of R rated movies have had toy lines in the past, and if you swing by your local Toys R Us right now you can find Watchmen action figures, clearly a movie not intended for kids. The mere existence of a toy line does not indicate the rating, but it does tend to indicate the amount of whining some parents may do.
Playmates Toys, probably best known for there long running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek and World of Springfield action figure lines, picked up the license for the Terminator: Salvation toys. They are producing action figures in three scales – 3 3/4″, 6″ and 10″. I’ve already covered several of the 6″ figures over at my site, and I’ll be hitting up at least one of the 10″ versions as well. This week here at QSE I’m looking at four of the 3 3/4″ figures, including the T-600, T-700, T-R.I.P. and Marcus.
Just to keep things straight in the review, the T-600 is the huge endo with the skin and clothes, Marcus is the much smaller endo with skin and clothes, the T-700 is the dark endo, and the T-R.I.P. is the brighter silver endo pictured below. Although I can’t be sure, I’m assuming the T-R.I.P. is a T-800 prototype of some sort.
These figures are about 1/18th scale, also often called 3 3/4″ although most figures in this scale (like Star Wars or Indiana Jones) are generally closer to 4″ tall.
Packaging – ***
The packaging matches the larger scale 6″ line, with good golor and bright graphics, but it comes across a tad cartoonish. I like the inclusion of a little personalization on the front bubble (there’s a very small bio of each character), and showing the whole series on the cardback is good. The big downside is the ridiculous number of twist ties for this scale figure, with arms, legs and even torsos often strapped in place.
Sculpting – T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; T-600, Marcus **1/2
I was pretty hard on the non Endoskeleton 6″ figures in this series, and with good reason. Even the Endos were pretty mediocre, but in this smaller scale, I’m liking the whole bunch a lot better.
One of my major grips with the 6″ T-600 was the extremely cartoon-like styling of the skin covered head. Some folks ragged me, saying of course it was cartoonish, because it was supposed to look fake. The 3 3/4″ figure makes my point for me though – it DOES look fake here, just like it should, but doesn’t look like it could double as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bad guy. Both this version and the 10″ version have the proper look to the skin, while the 6″ fails completely. Considering how much smaller this figure is, that’s no small feat.
However, he still has one issue in common with his larger brother – he’s huge. He stands just over 5″ tall, making him about 8 feet tall in true 1/18th scale. Both Marcus and the Endos are almost 4″ tall though, so it isn’t *quite* that bad, but he’s still gargantuan compared to them. I don’t think the fake skin, no matter how realistic, would fool anyone into thinking a T-600 was a person.
The work on the clothing is better than on the larger scale figure too, another plus in his favor. He has less clothing (the pants are ripped up a bit more) which helps quite a bit. There’s a few weird, unrealistic rips (did someone take a bit out of the hood?), but it’s still an improvement.
The T-700 and T-R.I.P. look to have the same sculpt as the larger versions, but as you might expect, when you shrink down a sculpt the detailing improves. There’s still soft areas, particularly with the T-700. Because the paint is so dark, and because there’s no wash to bring out the detail, much of it is lost visually.
Both of the Endos are about 4″ tall, making them fit in much better with other modern lines in this scale (like Star Wars) than the other Playmates 1/18th line on the shelf right now, Star Trek. That’s good news, since one of the biggest attractions to this smaller scale is putting figures from different licenses together. They’re still a smidge shrimpy, but it’s not a major issue.
My biggest issue with both Endos in this category is the forearms. They are long to begin with, and because of the lack of a wrist joint, the hand and forearm become one piece visually, making them appear even longer. It throws off the proportions somewhat on an otherwise solid job.
It’s worth pointing out that both are sculpted with open mouths, a complaint I know lots of folks have had with the Endos in all the scales. I don’t mind, but you might not be as forgiving.
Of the various scale Marcus figures I’ve seen so far, this one is my favorite. That doesn’t mean he’s great, but he’s an improvement over the other versions out there.
The likeness isn’t great, but half the face is damaged, showing off the underlying endo parts. The detailing on these robotic sections is quite good, although they look nothing like a T-700, which is what I assume (perhaps incorrectly) he is.
I did have a couple sculpt issues, however. The biggest one is a weird warp to the lower half of the left leg. I don’t think it’s just from the insert tray (although it could be due to a bad package design), because there’s no gapping at the joint on either side. The leg looks like it is actually designed to bend slightly off to the side, and it makes it tough to get him to stand properly.
They cheaped out a bit on his hands too. The left and right hand are both sculpted as though they are exposed endoskeleton, but the right hand is painted flesh colored with a painted glove. It stands out, even at this scale.
Finally, the boots are a bit wonky. The idea is that one has the pant leg tucked in, while the other has the pant leg hanging down over half the boot. Unfortunately, the sculpt doesn’t really translate. Because of the way the edge between the pant leg and boot is sculpted on both sides, they both look like the leg is tucked in, making it look like he’s wearing two different boots.
Paint – Marcus **1/2; the others ***
Again, keep in mind the scale here. The detailing is quite good, especially for a mass market line.
The T-R.I.P. is the basic silver, but has a nice wash to bring out the sculpting. He also has very cool eyes, painted with some sort of reflective paint. Notice how on both he and the T-700, the eyes look lit up in the photos, but they aren’t. Unlike the larger versions, there’s no plastic tubes to bring light down to the eyes, but the bright paint appears to glow even in normal room light.
As I mentioned in the Sculpt section, much of the detail work on the T-700 is lost since the paint is so dark. However, that dark contrast makes his glowing eyes stand out even more.
The paint work on the T-600 is a little less cartoonish than the larger scale figure, and there’s a wash used on the pants to make them a little less goofy looking. Thankfully, the pelvis is actually painted the right color too! The same wash on the endo parts brings out the finer details there, making this version a huge improvement over the 6″ figure.
Marcus also has a solid paint job, although he has fewer details. The overall figure (both clothing and endo sections) lacks any wash, making him look a bit cheaper than the other three. The cut lines and general quality of the paint work is decent, but he lacks some of the visual pop of the others. He’s reasonable considering the price point, but nothing special.
Articulation – T-700, T-R.I.P., T-600 ***; Marcus **1/2
These are fairly well articulated for this scale, with just a few issues holding them back.
Marcus had the most potential, but the wonky legs end up hurting him. He is the only one to have a ball jointed neck, and it works quite well. He also has ball jointed shoulders (pin/post style), pin/post elbows, and cut wrists, making his arms quite poseable. He adds in a cut waist, single pin knees, and T hips.
With just the T hips and single pin knees, there’s not much you can do with the legs, and because of the warping of the right one, he has trouble standing. This ends up pulling him down slightly over the other three.
The T-600 has a cut neck, which is fine since he’d be a pretty stiff guy in person. He has the same style shoulders as Marcus, with single pin elbows and cut wrists. That means his forearms can’t move inward and outward from the body, making his arms a little less poseable. He finishes off with the same cut waist, single pin knees, and T hips. He really needs some sort of cut joint on the legs to improve his overall posability, but he stands great on his own in basic stances.
The T-700 and T-R.I.P. have identical articulation. Neither has any neck joint, but like their skin covered cousins, they have pin/post swivel shoulders. They also have pin/post elbows, which allow for the arms to move inward, very useful with these figures. Unfortunately, they lack cut wrists, making it tough for them to hold the large gun properly.
They have simple pin hips, much like the T hips on the other figures, and single pin knees. Perhaps it’s surprising because of the tiny feet, but they stand great on their own in a number of poses.
Accessories – ***
Most figures in this scale come with one accessory, maybe two if you’re really lucky. Three of the four here have two plastic accessories, plus one paper accessory.
The T-700 comes with a large scale rifle, which can be held in either hand, although straddling it across is hands is the best way to keep him standing. Unfortunately, due to the lack of wrist articulation mentioned earlier, he can’t really hold it properly in both hands, but he can approximate the look.
He also has a beat up and bent steel girder that he can use to pound on various resistance fighters, or Stormtroopers, your choice. Like the gun, this can fit in either or both hands. It’s a pretty small girder, but it’s a nice change of pace from the steel pipe that was in the 6″ series.
The T-R.I.P. comes with two guns, but both are pistols, one much smaller than the other. While I’m betting we see these actual guns at some point in the film, I really would have rather gotten a larger cannon style weapon. He can hold both guns at once for some rip roarin’, shootin’ tootin’ poses.
The T-600 has the same large Gatling style cannon that his 6″ cousin carries. The ammo back pack is removable, as is the ammo clip. The gun fits tightly to his arm, and looks great in most poses.
Also like the 6″ scale, each comes with a Topps movie trading card. They are high quality, high gloss cards, but they are identical to the ones you get with the same characters in the larger scale. On top of that, you know my general disdain for paper extras. This kind of stuff almost always ends up in a junk box.
Fun Factor – Marcus ***; the rest ***1/2
Figures in this scale are always one thing if nothing else – fun. Because these are more in line in both style and size with other current 1/18th lines, these can easily be added to any display or play scenario with the likes of Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Narnia. Kid’s would probably end up frustrated with Marcus’ weird legs, but the other three would make for terrific bad guys, and are sturdy enough to stand up to normal sandbox play.
Value – ***
These guys will run you around $7 at most stores, about a buck cheaper than many other well known licenses in this scale. On top of that, you’re getting a reasonably good set of accessories, adding to the value. Slightly better articulation, and these would have gotten another half star here.
Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. You’ll want to check those paint ops carefully when picking them off the peg of course, but once you have them in hand, you should be issue free.
Overall – T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; T-600, Marcus **1/2
These are quite a bit better than the 3 3/4″ Star Trek line from Playmates, also on pegs right now, and they’re a bit better than I’ve seen most folks giving them credit for. They aren’t amazing by any means, and the work from someone like Mezco in this scale (who did the Hellboy in the photo) blows them away, but the two clean Endoskeletons will fit in pretty well with most other modern 1/18th lines. Marcus doesn’t do much for me, especially with the wonky legs, and the huge, towering T-600 looks like he belongs in another line. But if you’re looking for a basic Endo to go with your Star Wars figures, you should grab the T-R.I.P. or the T-700.
Scoring Recap –
Packaging – ***
Sculpting – T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; T-600, Marcus **1/2
Paint – Marcus **1/2; the others ***
Articulation – T-600, T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; Marcus **1/2
Accessories – ***
Fun Factor – Marcus ***; the rest ***1/2
Value – ***
Overall – T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; T-600, Marcus **1/2
Where to Buy –
Plenty of local retailers should have these, including Toys R Us and Target. Expect to pay around $7 each. online options include:
– Entertainment Earth has them by the case of 12 for $91, or about $7.60 each.
– For the UK folks, Forbidden Planet has them individually for about 6 GBP each.
Welcome to TV or Not TV where I’m finally ready to weigh in on Parks and Recreation.
If you haven’t been made aware of it yet, Parks and Recreation is a new show set in a nondescript part of the country that takes a look at the day to day drudgery of the city political arena. If this sounds more like The Office it should be no surprise as the show is made by the same people.
The importance of Parks and Recreation stems from it is being front run by former SNL cast member Amy Poehler. This is a very major step for her and the entire ensemble cast depends on her performance. They should all be thankful that she is pulling off a pretty decent job as a not-quite-as-clueless Michael Scott and she has even more of an endearing quality than her male Office counterpart. Just like Steve Carell she makes the character believable, even in her ignorance.
The rest of the show is very similar in the feeling of the first season of NBC’s The Office as well. The pacing and comedy is uneven right now. This isn’t to say that the performances by the supporting cast are bad, nor that the writing is bad either. The show right now is young, it’s finding itself, it’s purpose and it’s chemistry. We have a new ensemble cast to deal with, their idiosyncrisies need to be worked out, and how they all work together still needs come together. The show isn’t yet stellar, but it is still entertaining and I’d be willing to wager that if it is given time it can also become a Thursday night staple.
With that little bit said let’s take a look at what this week holds for us.
MONDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM:Chuck and Sarah are on the run to save Chuck’s dad. With no one watching they really want us to think these two get their naughty on. Tune in to find out.
FOX – 9:00 PM: Oh no they didn’t! Last week’s reveal that Tony may not have been the double operative we thought he was and Jack‘s worsening condition let’s us know (along with the show’s early renewal) that Jack‘s got to bounce back and go after Tony. This week or next week?
NBC – 10:00 PM: OK, so on Medium it turns out that Allison has a stalker. What’s good with being a psychic if you can’t stop this kind of thing before it starts?
G4 – 10:00 PM: Comic Doug Bensonabstains from smoking marijuana for 30 days, than smokes it for 30 days straight in Super High Me. I can’t imagine a better day to watch it on.
TUESDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: Last week on American Idol the judges finally used their “save” on Matt Giraud so will he perform well enough to change the public’s mind? I hope so because tomorrow night two people get cut, not just one.
ABC – 8:00 PM: Wow, a full hour of According to Jim? I don’t think I hate myself that much, thanks though.
NBC – 8:00 PM: Contestants on The Biggest Loser have a competition to shop healthy on a budget. In other words, they have to shop like the rest of us.
CW – 8:00 PM: Now that Sam has found successfully escaped soul Alan he strikes a deal for the secret to getting out of a contract with the Devil. Wouldn’t it just be easier to hire an entertainment lawyer?
FOX – 9:00 PM: On Fringe, bad dreams come true. Someone must have dreamed about a full hour of According to Jim.
WEDNESDAY
ABC – 9:00 PM: Hoping to get newer viewers caught up, and stretch things out for sweeps, we are given Lost: The Story of the Oceanic 6in place of our regular show.
FOX – 9:00 PM: With the fact that two people are getting eliminated tonight I wonder if you won’t have to sit through an entire hour for the three minute true elmination on American Idol. Maybe they’ll cut someone half way through too? Naw, who am I kidding?
HIST – 10:00 PM: I always enjoy UFO Hunters but if you’ve never watched I’ve got two words that may tweak your interest: Nazi UFOs.
THURSDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: What’s harder than trying to make up for that bad thing you did to a minister? Getting him to keep forgiving you time and again and again and again as you keep remembering other things on My Name is Earl.
CW – 8:00 PM:Loisstarts faking being a super-hero named Stiletto on Smallville. Sounds more like a dominatrix to me but I’ll watch.
A&E – 10:00 PM: It’s the season finale of The Beast tonight.
FRIDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: Another great pairing on Wife Swap as a rodeo loving cattle rancher trades places with a new age vegan.
FOX – 9:00 PM: It’s the creepiest imprinting yet on Dollhouse when Echo becomes a murdered woman in order to solve her own untimely death.
COMEDY – 9:30 PM: How can you go wrong with 3-and-a-half hours of Southpark? This show culminates with the classic Cartoon Wars episodes, so I’ll probably be watching.
SATURDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: If you want to get ready for this summer’s release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince you can get caught up by watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets tonight. It’s better than reading, right?
FX – 8:00 PM: Witness the movie that proved Internet hype isn’t all it’s cracked up to be with Snakes on a Plane.
HBO – 8:00 PM: Was it any good at all? I’ll find out tonight when I watch Journey to the Center of the Earth.
SUNDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM:Homer decides to closely monitor Bart and Lisa to make sure they succeed in life. What’s next, have them study economics with Bernie Madoff?
ABC – 9:00 PM: Someone should tell Susan on Desperate Housewives that if you are going to reveal your dark secret, you might not want to do it to the local nut job Dave. Too bad for her that he’s probably going to find it ties is with his own past.
VH1 – 9:00 PM: Another second stringer gets a shot at fame as Daisy De La Hoya from Rock of Love 2 tries to find her one true fame seeking man in Daisy of Love, and my faith in mankind dies a little more.
– Will Wilkins had his named changed to protect the innocent.
And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp. Some weeks you get lucky with the kind of information that people are talking about. This week a debate about whether video games are art and the new trailer for MOON created some waves.
Hey kids, before we get to the interview with Neko Case, and it absolutely is the highlight of my year, I had to mention my appearance on the latest ScreenGeeks podcast wherein I talk about Fox’s issues with piracy. I absolutely love those guys over there so please run, don’t walk, to hear me blather on. If that doesn’t convince you then knowing I am only on for a little bit and then leave should convince you to check it out. Enjoy.
[display_podcast]
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The music industry is dying a slow and protracted death. Note well that I am obviously not indicting the artists who are scraping by as their corporate overlords are wondering what ingenious scheme can wrest away more money from an audience that seems to be under the delusion that the $9.99 they’ve just spent at Best Buy for the latest Young Jeezy album is making its way back to young Jeez. What’s more is that their death is being expedited like a nurse smothering a patient looking to die by suffocation by the digital realm; one that has been relentless with its Wild West set of rules and laws. From free downloads, illegal downloads, RIAA lawsuits, digital distribution, FTP sharing services and an array of boneheaded moves by those in power to keep its power it’s a wonder this hasn’t happened faster.
From music industry promises to lower CD costs, to broken buisness models that simply do not work in the 21st century I welcome its demise.
Artists have proven that you don’t necessarily need big time distributors to help get their music out there, simply look at the new paths being blazed by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor or Radiohead where a pay-what-you-want model seems to be taking root, but it’s the lazy and corpulent management of these labels that continue to try and play the game as it has always been played.
A musician who has consistently proven herself as a versatile artist in crafting a sound with her 7 releases that you can’t label as anything but her own, Neko plays well with others; her stints in the band The New Pornographers has more than established her prowess as an individual who can either demonstratively make her presence known in a track like “Mood To Burn Bridges” from her 2000 release Furnace Room Lullaby or richly blended in a catchier than catchy song like “Spanish Techo” from The New Pornographers’ release Twin Cinema. Neko’s latest album Middle Cyclone is everything that her previous efforts have proven her so adept at doing: mixing emotion, steady hooks and grabbing you the very first moment you play a song like “This Tornado Loves You” or the title track “People Got A Lot of Nerve.” It’s the latter’s ability to make you want to see her play this song live that, in part, makes her a dynamic songstress. She makes you believe in the restorative power of music and strengthens my resolve that great music shouldn’t have to be this obsequious, opaque experience where you have to play a record more than a few times to “get it.” There isn’t anything wrong with that, just play Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot to someone for their first time and dare them not say something about its density, but Neko makes me want to elevate so many other of her peers who just don’t get it. This is absolutely one of the best albums released this year, she is now on tour throughout the US and I thought that having her answer a few questions in support of the album would be a nice way to expose all of you to all of her.
At about this time the convergence of record company and artist drove a wedge between getting this done.
I pride myself, at the very least, as someone who will go after a story when I think there’s something there. I’ll call, e-mail, voice mail, anything I can to get a response of “yay” or “nay.” Lots of times, loads of times, it’s a “nay.” Just this week I was given the Heisman when I tried to angle some time with the members of Spinal Tap who are now out in support of their acoustic Unwigged and Unplugged tour. I can respect that, however flimsy a response like “Right now their sched won’t permit” is. What made this request so unique is that it perfectly crystallizes the issue with dealing with PR flunkies who are above such niceties as returning an e-mail inquiry or phone call. Over at ANTI-Records, the label putting out Middle Cyclone, the situation was just inflamed by the shitheads over at ANTI where “real artists creating great records on their own terms” is a mantra who either feel a) that I am insignificant enough not to respond to, which I completely can understand b) above returning a call or e-mail in which case I hope this makes a woman like Hilary Villa, part of ANTI’s crack publicity team, feel special/mighty c) like they can be a pack of rude twats out of perceived entitlement. All valid reasons I tell you! I’ll be the first to admit that I am not very big, not very influential at all and not very invested in the music business. However, what I am, though, is a fan of music who has a small outlet with a small voice where once a week I can choose to help get the word out about something I think people should take a minute to digest. I have the e-mails and logged calls to back my story, I can map it out on an Etch-A-Sketch and prove my work if needed, but when you flat out can’t be bothered to communicate back with another human being it still gets under my skin all these years later doing this job.
So, rather than just forgetting the story I thought I would post the 10 questions I was going to ask Neko had her PR representatives not been a pack of troublesome assholes needing a little public flogging; those you choose to align yourself with are sometimes a reflection of you no matter how much you want to make the argument that one doesn’t have anything to do with another.
Again, though, buy Middle Cyclone and support one of the better talents working out there in music today. Better yet, knowing how much ANTI is skimming from the top of every CD sale I think it would be just as well to instruct to you to go out, get a ticket, see her live and buy some of her merch. At least that way the bastards at ANTI “real artists creating great records on their own terms” can go suck it…You pack of chuckleheads.
CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Neko, thanks for making the time to talk to me. You’re obviously busy so I hope to keep this brief. You good for time?
NEKO CASE:
CS: Good…So, I was wondering as I saw you during some of your recording sessions why you look to record some of your music in unconventional locales? I am speaking here of the barn you spent some time in.
CASE:
CS: I am not very up with the trappings of Tucson. Mostly, living here in Phoenix, I see it as an even more dusty backwater than its larger cousin. What do you find Arizona does to the creative juices? Mostly I find it just drains mine…
CASE:
CS: In this age of digital distribution I have to think that there is some lure to ditching conventional channels in favor of one that you could directly benefit from. Do you see yourself being tied to a label in 3 years, 5 years? Or, are they a necessary evil, with an emphasis on evil, in order for you to do best?
CASE:
CS: Some boys get into rock and roll so they can get laid. There doesn’t seem to be a function for it other than that with some of the kids out there trying to rock a mic. What made you think, or inspired you, to pick up a gee-tar and try to move some people?
CASE:
CS: This album isn’t a departure for you. I am thoroughly sick of hearing interviews with artists who feel the need to have a soundbite somewhere in the promotion process to say why their new album is unlike anything I’ve heard from them. You are content, and are excellent at, simply refining your sound and not changing much. Do you agree that you aren’t out to rediscover yourself, sonically, with every album?
CASE:
CS: With a track like “This Tornado Loves You” there is a lot swirling around in the harmony and in the lyrics. Do you find a song comes to you lyrically first and then a melody presents itself or does there seem to be a pattern with your writing?
CASE:
CS: Performing live. One of the things I enjoy when going to a show is how unique the artist can get with their songs. It doesn’t always happen but, for instance, Wilco will give you a little bit of a jam within a song that normally only lasts 3-4 minutes long. Do you like this sort of noodling, as it were, when you’re playing the same set again and again?
CASE:
CS: The track selection process. When you record your album the way you think you want it done is there a batting order of some kind that you come up with so that even though you have these songs that are quite unique there is some flow?
CASE:
CS: As you look towards where you’re going as an artist is it really just as easy to say “I just want to have fun” or is there some definitive point you want to reach in your career that might represent the ultimate moment which crystallizes why you got started with music in the first place?
DR. WHO? 
DRAG ME TO HELL – REVIEW
And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: 
There absolutely shouldn’t have been any blessing given from James Cameron with regard to TERMINATOR SALVATION. The only religious intonations given over this movie should have been its last rites.
Have any of you ever sat in wonderment at a cartoon?
One of the most strange and wonderfully enrapturing series to air this year has to be Modern Toss. The best way to explain this show to someone who has never before come near its beauty is imagine a live action and animated program that uses foul language in ways that are not only creative but wicked, toss in a British sensibility, some strange series regulars, weird premises and wrap it all in laughter. What you come up with is Modern Toss, a program, 
CS: Where did this begin? Where did the real genesis for Modern Toss come from?
CS: And then from there, one of my favorites is Alan, who doesn’t say hardly anything but where did he come from?
CS: And now you just released the newest comic, Volume 5?
I think people like him is because he does what he wants. He’s got a good attitude for work. It would take like an English plumber to get some of the jokes.
Let me queue you in, I have never been a documentary fan, although I have been more open-minded to them of late. I think I was originally turned off to any educational media at an early age with a combination of far too many viewings of “Mr. Wizard” (a kid’s science show in the late 50s and 60s) and Disney’s “Jiminy Cricket” children’s educational show, “I’m No Fool” ““ the 16mm reel still endlessly rattles in the back of my head. Much later in life I was to discover that documentaries could be as powerful and more effective than the average cinematic experience with my first viewing of 1978’s “Scared Straight!” a group of cocky juvenile delinquents (Are there any other kind?) spend a no holds barred day with actual convicts ““ “Oh Bubba, I’m too young to be somebody’s bitch.” Fast forward to this year’s crop of fine documentaries at PFF. What a pleasant surprise had by all. It was no easy feat picking “Best Documentary”. It eventually came down to a couple of emotionally powerful one-two punches, “The Way We Get By” and “Shooting Beauty”.
As mentioned before, I am not taking anything away from the winner, but the later film, “Shooting Beauty” goes beyond the call of duty as a documentary and as a film in general. There are few times in cinema history that one is swept away with a wave of emotions and taken on a journey that is so unique, the experience sets it apart from the rest. The films that come to mind; “Elephant Man” “Cinema Paradiso” “Life is Beautiful” and dare I say, “E.T.” (Set aside the crass commercialism that accompanied it) These are films that are to be experienced and not just seen with a bag of popcorn and soda. They put us through a meaningful emotional journey and that is exactly what “Shooting Beauty” does with one exception ““ it is not scripted. Director George Kachadorian and his partner/wife, Courtney Bent beautifully captures the human drama (and comedy) of their tale of triumph of the human spirit, unconquerable by adversity.
What was just a fleeting opportunity to promote another DVD turned into something of a curiosity to me.
After thinking about the highest compliment I can confer on this film it would be this: I want to see this movie again.
There’s this great Night Court episode that has always stayed with me ever since I saw it air decades ago. Harry, played by Harry Anderson, has to convince a very deranged woman who is brandishing a grenade in his court that what she sees on television is not reality. The blend of humor and the very not funny threat of someone dying was emblematic of a series that blurred the line of what a sitcom was. So, too, is my love affair of Lost.
CS: And you mentioned something about Lost having something close to a bible. The pantheon of fans out there…that there’s no detail that goes unnoticed with the people who really dig this show. How was that knowing that every tick, every peculiarity is poured over? I don’t know if you ever now gone back to see what people are talking about and see if people are really on the mark or off the mark with about what’s to come later on in the season?
CS: And one of the interesting things about the show itself too, for how many years it’s been on, you don’t hear anything about any petty sort of in-fighting or anything associated with some programs that are on a very long time that most succumb to. Any ideas of how they’ve managed to avoid needless drama? 
The moment that solidifies THE ADVENTURES OF POWER as a film that is far more than just a movie about a guy, Power, who has dreams of being a great air drummer is when Michael McKean, who plays his father, stands up to a pack of riot police. His father heads a pro-union force looking to hold the line for union workers who toil at a local copper mine; they walk off the job, force its obnoxious, caricature of a boss hoss to shut the normal mining operations down as McKean tries to elevate the working lives of those who live in a tough and shattered city that almost could be classified under Ghost Town categorization by New Mexico standards.
There isn’t a whole helluva lot that follows which is mine.
All of mo-fo’s did, apparently.
Me? I was giving alms to my press pass and just making sure I had my batteries charged.
QUESTION: What’s something interesting that our fans would want to know about? [Journalists, asking the hard hitting questions!]
TAYLOR KITSCH: Hey, how are ya?
QUESTION: How are you doing?
I don’t need to see this film again, nor do I have the need to ever own it.
Who here loves Battlestar Galactica? Now, who wants something to take the edge off the series’ abscence from television?
Zach Levi and Josh Gomez are friends of this site.
Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.
For those of you not in the know, PFF stands for Phoenix Film Festival, the largest film festival in the state of Arizona. It might very well be one of the friendliest in the nation for true independent filmmakers. This is the buzz that was going around the eight-day event amongst auteur young and old. A professional and friendly (from both staff and film folk) atmosphere abounded. There was more of a sense of camaraderie than of competition. Encouragement and goodwill spilled over into the audiences as well.
The music industry is dying a slow and protracted death. Note well that I am obviously not indicting the artists who are scraping by as their corporate overlords are wondering what ingenious scheme can wrest away more money from an audience that seems to be under the delusion that the $9.99 they’ve just spent at Best Buy for the latest Young Jeezy album is making its way back to young Jeez. What’s more is that their death is being expedited like a nurse smothering a patient looking to die by suffocation by 
