Daily Archives: September 5, 2013

My Review Film Quick Hits

Movies

I’ve back logged a few movies, so let’s tee em up and knock em down.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation- Everything a sequel should be. Really well done, fixes the problems of the first and pays a lot of homage to the franchise. Dwayne Johnson keeps cementing his action hero career, he really is one of the best in the buisness today. He carries this movie on his gigantic shoulders. Let’s be real here: G.I. Joe is dumb. It always has been and always will be. It’s a popcorn movie, so if you go into it looking for that, you’ll like it. It’s got guns, marines, tanks, ninjas, choppers, a doomsday device and over the top action scenes and villains. The ninja cliff fight is a real stand out. I don’t think it’s ever been done before and is really well visualized. Complaints are for the terrible soundtrack, Bruce Willis just rolls through his screen time, I have no idea why they cut him a big check to be in this. Easily replaced. And RZA. I’d like to know who invited him. His terrible make up matched his role.

Snow White and The Huntsman- Everything is really dark these days, isn’t it? I think this is the first time I’ve ever scene Kristen Stewart look like she didn’t want to drop dead on the spot. The visuals are really striking, but nothing really stuck with me afterwards. Except Charlize Theron, she’s awesome in everything she does. This flick is pretty paint by the numbers, it follows the fairytale closely, adds it’s own unique visual elements and makes Snow White the leader of an army at the end. Oh and she’s put to sleep for like an hour, much like I was.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox- Warner Brothers rules. The animation partnership they have with DC is just the best. Every single movie they put out is awesome, I look forward to every release no matter who is the star. Paradox is all about The Flash and this is such a great story that it made me a fan of The Flash. Before watching this I was pretty luke warm on him as a character. Now, it does help that Batman was a big part of this, but it’s a testament to how cool The Flash can be (Geoff Johns is one of the best comic writers working today). This tale goes into some wild revisionist time traveling that is brilliant in its ideas and execution. WB gives the DC guys the resources to make their best stories come to life and should be commended for it. Check this out!

Four Lions- Wow does this comedy go to some dark places! This is a daring movie in it’s concept and is a tremendous achievement in that it works. Four Lions is a British movie about a young group of Islamic Brits who are going for the full jihad. Yes, this movie focuses on suicide bombers. This is such a taboo subject, but the wit and irony in the writing is really something to behold. The cast really sells it, so kudos to them especially. This flick pulls no punches, it makes you feel uncomfortable and it makes you think and there are some truly hilarious moments from start to finish. This came out in 2010 and I don’t think that many people know about it.

Television and the ponderous FXX

TV

The summer shows are winding down, with a few leaving the airwaves for good. So as the regular season starts to gear up, I’ll give some takes on what I’ve been watching.

I’ve been on a big BBC kick. I’m all caught up on Sherlock which is a terrific show. Each episode is just under an hour and a half so it’s really more of a movie than an episode. Really fun show, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are so well cast as Sherlock and Watson. Neat cases, weird villans, excellent writing. Luther is like the guy who works on the other side of London, he takes on the psychos that Sherlock doesn’t get to because he’s already busy. Luther is super smart, damaged but not so eccentric and social awkward as Sherlock. Luther has a bit more of a horror/serial killer vibe to it. He skirts around the rules all the time and gets under the skin of a lot of people, but he’s a great cop. I thought he was super obnoxious to begin with, but he grew on me and I found myself sympathizing with him. I finished the first two seasons on Netflix just in time to catch season 3 air on BBC America. They’re playing all 4 episodes in one week which is a weird way to do it, but I’m not complaining. Top Gear did it’s full series as well. Some good stuff as usual, but one episode had a ton a filler and the finale was also average at best. It was at a live Top Gear show in Australia that was a cheap and convient way to squeeze out an episode. Some good content, but not very entertaining. It was probably the weakest series I can remember.

Futurama is done! The last episode aired last night and was a beautiful finale. I’ve liked the seasons that Comedy Central has soley aired, they’ve done some edgeier stuff and have come up with some inventive and fun ideas while keeping the laughs coming. The staight to DVD stuff can be skipped, but the last two seasons are worth a watch. I can’t see any other network to step in to foot the bill for more, so I think it’s really the time this show was laid to rest. It was a fun journey with the Planet Express crew.

Network shows seem to be starting next week, with the bulk of them starting the last week of September. Cable shows a bit sooner (like Boardwalk Empire and Sons of Anarchy). I’ll have more when those get going. Dexter is almost done, 2 episodes left I think. It’s been an okay season, I was expecting more intensity in the last season, but maybe they’ll crank it up for the end. Can only hope for a satisfying end for Dexter, but with those writers who knows. Breaking Bad has continued to deliver at least. I could blather on (which I will when the show ends) but I’ll just say it’s the best show on TV and leave it at that.

I’ve been watching Under the Dome for some reason. It’s alright. I mean, it fits CBS quality. Acting that’s all over the place, some terrible dialog that either over explains things for the dummies or tries to sound dramatic and comes off corny. And the keyboard soundtrack is never far behind those dramatic turns! Dean Norris is one of the main characters and it’s really weird seeing him on another show while Breaking Bad is still stewing up juicy bits of insanity.

Now FX started it’s new channel, FXX this week and I can’t figure out why. They’ve spent 12 years or so building FX and have had some amazing success. It’s to the point where they have enough great programming to run new primetime shows year round. But with FXX, they’ve basically made another TBS. It’s all syndicated shows and FX bought movies that run all the time because they’ve moved over like 4 shows from FX for now. Why dilute your channel by moving the stuff people want to watch already? FX and FXX are like 20 channels apart on Fios and not every carrier is carrying the channel so they’re screwing fans. There must be some inside stuff I’m missing because I can’t figure it out. So Always Sunny started with The League and Kamal Bell. It was a strong start for Sunny, but I still scratch my head at this FXX idea.