Fall TV Shows

Despite the title of this blog, I've decided to make a post about current TV shows. It appears, at least to me, that fall is to TV as summer is to movies. So I decided to write a few quick reviews about shows I'm into nowadays. I'll try to get some season reviews in when the seasons are in fact over.

Returning Shows:

How I Met Your Mother

I'll never forget when I first discovered this show under TV Entertainment in On Demand. On top of being a hilarious show based around an original idea, I fell in love with these characters. Season 5 opens with Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segal) forcing Barney (Emmy nominated Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) to have "The Talk" and define their highly complicated relationship. Meanwhile, protagonist Ted (Josh Radnor) gets a job teaching architecture at Columbia, where he comes closer to meeting the mother. The first episode was quite funny with some truly quotable moments. The second follows suit (if you get the pun). There's no doubt that I'm going to stick with one of my favorite comedies on TV now.

The Office

Speaking of favorite comedies on TV now, here's another one! Of course I was going to keep up with my viewing of "The Office" after its fantastic finale last season (SPOILERS Pam's pregnant). The first episode, though not widely enjoyed by many of my friends, was very funny to me. Not at all the funniest we've seen, though I think we can all agree that the cold opening was one of the best since the stress relief episode. The second one is more devoted to characters than laughs, but I'm fine with that since they are expanding on the relationship between Jim (John Krasinski) and Michael (Emmy nominated Steve Carrell).

Lie To Me

I'm not usually one for mystery shows, however this was one that truly fascinated  me with its first season. It was a show who's second season I eagerly awaited. The premiere of season 2 involves a murder witness with split personalities. Not as mind blowing as many of the episodes from the first season, but still a good way to jump start the season. Tim Roth is still great as deception specialist Cal Lightman and I'm still intrigued by his mentor-protege relationship with Monica Raymund's character.

New Shows:

Glee

Quite honestly, I think this show has provided the most "fuss" surrounding a TV show ever. At least from my point of view. I remember watching the pilot of "Glee" weeks before the first season was underway. I found it highly enjoyable, but was unsure of how long it would last. Four episodes later, despite some characters who still annoy the hell out of me, the show hasn't wavered much. It's still provides plenty of laughs and was some solid performances. Most notable are Jane Lynch as gym teacher Sue Sylvester, Jayma Mays as guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, and newcomer Chris Colfer as student Kurt Hammel.

 

Community

Almost everything about this show is just plain funny. Most of its thanks to an incredibly skilled comedic cast: The Soup's Joel McHale as the lead, the legendary Chevy Chase, and Danny Pudi all provide more than satisfactory laughs. The show follows the journey of former lawyer Jeff Winger (McHale) as he tries to receive the college degree he never earned (well from America at least). Along the way, he creates a Spanish study group to try an impress fellow student Britta (Gillian Jacobs). All in all, I expect great things from this show.

Flashforward

Recently, I've been looking for a sci-fi drama to pick up Lost's mantle as the ABC drama will have its last season this year. It's not that easy considering "Lost" is my favorite TV show of all time. "Flashforward" managed to catch my interest through commercials, so I decided to check it out. It was very Lost-like (disaster scene to open, an strange unexplained occurrence). While I wasn't completely blown away by the pilot, there were some moments worth mentioning and I like the direction it seems to be going in. Is it the predecessor to "Lost"? There's really no way to tell, but I'm sure it will do well as a TV show. As long as they explain the kangaroo...

"This Is It" Trailer

Here is the trailer for the documentary "This Is It". The movie contains never-before-seen rehearsal footage from Michael Jackson's comeback tour. The internationally famous pop-star died earlier this year. I'm interested in the movie, but unfortunately its only playing for two weeks. Pardon the pun, but this is it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKUSa2G1MeA 

"Pirates 4" Title and Release Date!

Johnny Depp and Walt Disney Studio chairman Dick Cook announced that the 4th "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie is titled "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides". The movie will hit theaters in the summer of 2011. Personally, I think the title sucks, but I have reason to believe this movie will be very good. Firstly, even though Gore Verbinski has left the franchise, Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine) has agreed to direct this fourth movie and think he's the right choice for the job. Secondly, last time I checked, both Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly have both dropped out of the series, so we don't have to worry about any more annoying love triangles. All I can do now is hope that this one is better than the 3rd (which i quite honestly loathed) and they somehow fit in a Geoffry Rush cameo in somewhere.

"Inglorious Basterds" Review

Quentin Tarantino has been called many things during his successful career as a writer and director. A film master, a lover of cinema, a video geek, the list goes on. He's given us films like "Reservoir Dogs", "Pulp Fiction" (Oscar winner for best screenplay), "Jackie Brown", and the "Kill Bill" movies (and "Death Proof, but word on the street is that one isn't worth mentioning). Now, here we have the film that Tarantino has worked on for over a decade. A film which he put on hold for the "Kill Bill" series, a film he has referred to as his ultimate masterpiece: "Inglorious Basterds".

The movie takes place in Nazi-occupied France during the 40s. The Basterds are a group of Jewish American soldiers who are in France to do "one THANG and one THANG only!!!... killin' Nazis." Member of the crew include leader Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), Donny Donowitz or "The Bear Jew" (Eli Roth), Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), a former Nazi who killed 13 SS Gestapo majors, and others. The film also follows the story of Shosanna Dreyfuss (Melanie Laurent), a Jewish French-woman whose family was murdered by Nazis by order of Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), aka "The Jew Hunter". The Nazi's plan to use her theater for a film premiere, and she plans to burn it to the ground with them inside.

The thing people probably won't be expecting about Basterds is that its very dialogue heavy. They dialogue was fantastic, but sometimes it drags on for longer than you would think it needed to. However, in the end, you realize it drags out for just the right amount of time. I'll use my favorite scene in the movie as an example, the bar scene. There is extensive talk and a lot of it won't seem very relevant, until of course you find out practically every character has there gun pointed at someone. That's the beauty of Tarantino's script, the long conversations are a tool he uses to brilliantly build up tension. However the audience doesn't quite really notice until the big bang at the end of the scene. I'll admit, some people may find themselves a tad bored by the talking at times, but by the end of the movie I was more than able to appreciate it.

Still, i would consider Basterds to be just as impressive as a directional feat. He uses Tarantino film techniques that I can't get enough of: extreme closeups, moving "birds-eye-view" shots, his classic chapter format, and a sick sense of humor. Some aspects of his direction will confuse some people who aren't used to his style. Blaxploitation font to introduce a character and Samuel L. Jackson briefly narrating are both things that even I found a bit random though it didn't take anything away from the film. Another thing about this film that people should know, there are a lot of subtitles for French, German, and even Italian. I respect Tarantino's decision to make his film this way, however I did find it hard to follow at times (especially when when one character is translating German into French). Once again, it doesn't take anything away from the overall quality of the film, its just something that didn't help it either.

Earlier I mentioned the fact that this script is heavily worded. Besides the fact that the lines are written well, it helps that great actors are delivering them. Diane Kruger (National Treasure, Troy) was actress who surprisingly impressed me in this movie. I haven't seen many of her films besides the National Treasure movies, so I didn't know what to expect. Some people weren't crazy about Eli Roth, director by trade, as "The Bear Jew". I actually thought he did a fair job with the small amount of screen time he was given. However the true stars of this movie were Pitt and Christoph Waltz. Brad Pitt is a far better actor than people give him credit for, in fact he's one of my favorites. "Fight Club", "Burn After Reading", and now this all prove that he can surrender himself completely to a character, no matter how ridiculous, and play it memorable. Waltz, an actor whom I had never heard of, finds a great and intense villain in his "Jew Hunter". I wonder how easily he'll get more acting jobs with a nickname like that.

It's crucial, I think, that people walk into this expecting a Tarantino film as appose to a war film. It really is a spaghetti western set in a World War II setting. The movie isn't for everyone, Tarantino movies rarely are, but for me it was great. For those wondering, this lands as my second favorite Tarantino film, below "Reservoir Dogs" and above "Kill Bill". Great storytelling and acting, graphically violent, and still seriously funny (watch out for the Italian scenes). 

FINAL RATING: 4.5/5

 

"Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps"

It's been a while since my last post, but I thought I'd make a comeback by posting this article about Oliver Stone's "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps", a film I'm particularly looking forward to. I got the following from spill.com who got it from The New York Times:

The New York Times interviewed Oliver Stone about his newest film, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, where a little more information on the film was revealed, including a release date:

"When Gekko comes out of prison in the beginning of this movie, he essentially has to redefine himself, redefine his character," Mr. Stone said. "He's looking for that second chance."

The rest of the cast includes Shia LaBeouf as Jake Moore, a young trader who is the fiancé of Gekko's daughter, played byCarey Mulligan; Josh Brolin as the head of an investment bank; Frank Langella as Jake's mentor; and Susan Sarandon as Jake's mother. Charlie Sheen, who played the central role of Bud Fox, a young trader, in the original, will make a cameo in the sequel. Shooting for the film, which will be released by 20th Century Fox next April, begins this week in New York.