What Flipped My Channels...9/23-29/07

This week my pop-culture explorations mostly kept me glued to the tube, but between the various cliff-hanger resolutions and clunky character introductions of the Fall TV season, I was able to stumble on a few items of interest:

Hotel Chevalier (Film/web)
This short film/prequel to the upcoming The Darjeeling Limited is teeming with writer/director Wes Anderson’s unique visual style, musical tastes, and humor. Giving us a brief peek into the life of Jason Schwartzman’s Darjeeling character as he is paid a surprise visit in the title hotel by his estranged girlfriend (Natalie Portman), this twelve-minute appendix has got me more excited for TDL than any of the trailers or pre-release press has been able to do. Hotel Chevalier is available as a free download on iTunes.

Southland Tales Trailer (Film/web)
The follow-up film from Donnie Darko writer/director Richard Kelley looks like such a train wreck, it will be impossible for me to not go see it if it, in fact, gets any form of wide release. If not, it’s a definite Netflix rental. From the look of this trailer, this post-apocalyptic musical starring The Rock, Justin Timberlake, Bai Ling, and Seann William Scott could be the next Tank Girl. OK, that’s not really a good thing---but sometimes the promise of a flat-out fiasco can be more interesting than a mild success.

Eastern Promises (Film)
Director David Cronenberg must have been aware that the advertising for his last film, the excellent A History of Violence, gave away all of that film’s surprises. The trailer and ads for his follow-up offered up little of the plot and for this I am very grateful. Promises offers many surprises in it’s tale of the Russian mafia in modern day London. Along with Cronenberg’s signature sins and desecrations of the flesh, we’re treating with the best performance of Viggo Mortenson’s career. Working his way up the criminal ladder and getting involved with an in-over-her-head nurse played by Naomi Watts, Mortenson disappears in the body language and speech-patterns of his character-never letting us out of his power for a moment.

TV Series Premieres
Below are the series I decided to check out in order of my preference/eagerness to check out a second episode:

Reaper
Watching this pilot, I was thinking to myself “Damn. I’ve been telling everyone for weeks to watch Chuck and now this show is twice as good and I’m going to be the only one watching it.” Sharing a somewhat similar premise (working class young slacker is imbued with new abilities), Reaper is the funnier and therefore more entertaining of the two shows. A young man discovers that his parents sold his soul to the devil (Ray Wise) and now has to send rogue demons back to Hell (“That’s cool, huh?”) CW currently does not have the Kevin Smith directed pilot for view online, but if that changes—I will post an update. I seriously recommend it. 9/10

Journeyman
I was totally won over by this time-travel series starring Dylan McKidd as a man forced to relive parts of his own life and also solve other people’s problems. Everybody is comparing the series to Quantum Leap and yeah, he travels in time without a machine, but the personal ramifications of this man being unstuck in time are going to be what makes this show ultimately unique. My only hope is that they keep doling out the hints as to the cause of his condition. 8/10

Chuck
The last few television seasons have featured shows (The Nine, Kidnapped) that felt like they were better suited to a mini-series format than an ongoing television program. Thankfully, this season’s premieres more-or-less feel like they have the gas to go on for multiple seasons right out of the gate. Chuck’s slacker-with-a-computer-brain spy-comedy hybrid has the potential to entertain for years. Given that they stop trying so hard---watching the pilot for a second time the jokes felt more strained than I had remembered. Still, I’ll be checking this out for a few weeks at least. 7/10

Bionic Woman
This re-imagining of the 1970s series from Battlestar Galactica producer David Eick shows a lot of promise, even with if the pilot moved too fast-- trying to introduce too much in the first hour. Lead Michelle Ryan seems capable of filling Lindsay Wagner’s shoes and the more Katee Sachoff (as prototype bionic woman Sara Corvis) the series can provide, the better. 7/10

Cane
Well-produced and filled with a great cast, this rich drama about a family-owned rum empire and their long-lasting feud with a rival sugar business will keep me tuned in to see if the show can keep forward story momentum. In America first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women. 7/10

Dirty Sexy Money
This soapy dramedy is not really my cup of tea—the cast is great and the premise (a sort of more-seriousish Arrested Development with Peter Krause’s family lawyer playing the Michael Bluth role) holds promise and lives up to the title—but ABCs brand of nighttime tongue-and-cheek soap operas seem to fail to hold my interest for more than a couple of episodes. I might tune in again and test that theory. 6/10

Moonlight
This vampire drama felt like any other CBS mystery show, just that the protagonist has fangs. It reminded me of SciFi’s recently canceled The Dresden Files in that it had a lot of elements that should have held my interest, but a palpable lack of urgency left me wanting. On the plus side, Alex O’Laughlin is a fine leading man while Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars) and Sophia Myles (Doctor Who’s Girl in the Fireplace) are a fine supporting cast. If the series decides to take some chances, it could be worth watching---but if it continues to be a by-the-book private eye drama (with vampire powers to help solve the mysteries—an element that actually makes the detective work less interesting) it’ll be just another show on the Tiffany Network that I don’t watch. 5/10

Big Shots
Dear God, this show sucked. I decided to watch the pilot, despite bad buzz, because of affection I have toward Alias’ Micheal Vartan and Sport Night’s Joshua Malina and the knowledge that Veronica Mars creator/show runner Rob Thomas was coming on board in a few episodes time. The show’s basic premise is ‘aren’t men cads?’ The characters are unlikable chauvinists (as opposed to the Entourage likeable kind, I guess) and instead of ‘aren’t these guys pathetic?’ we get the feeling that the show is glorifying them, a form or writer’s dream-fulfillment. Maybe it got better after the first ten minutes, but I doubt it. 0/10

Bummer of the week (Well, besides Big Shots):
Grey’s Anatomy (Season 4 Premiere)
Cloying narration. Whine Whine Whine. Speech. Whine. Medical cases that coincidentally mirror the life-struggles of our whiny doctors. Whine. Cloying narration.
I’m bored now and done with the show (though I said that after the season 3 finale).

Did you catch any of the new Fall shows? What did you think? Post in the Comments section.

What Tripped My Trigger…9/16-22/07

I’m going to attempt something new with my contributions to The Film Lounge. Each week I’ll present a number of film/geek-related items that I enjoyed over the course of the week. It’s a way for me to share whatever I’m getting my kicks from while still being too lazy to write full reviews.

Russell Crowe and Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma (Film)
While 3:10 to Yuma is a good film, it wouldn’t be half of what it is without the star presence of Crowe (in full bad-assery mode) and Foster. Crowe exudes the charisma that made his roles in Gladiator and LA Confidential so memorable and propelled him to the A-list, pre-phone bashing. However, Foster still manages to upstage Crowe whenever he’s on the screen proving that he’s a young actor to keep an eye on. To label him something as obvious as ‘The Next Sean Penn’ seems natural, given his similarities in the looks and scenery-chewing ability departments, but it would do Foster a disservice---he’s a true original.

Doctor Who Series 3 (Television)
I feel like I slip more and more into inescapable geekdom everytime I even think the words ‘Doctor Who’, but I can’t deny that the last few episodes aired on the Sci-Fi Channel have been some of the most well-crafted science fiction tales I’ve seen on television. David Tennant continues to cement his place as the best actor to take the role. Note: My Doctor experience consists solely of Tennant, Chris Eccleston, and Paul McGann’s one TV-movie stint, so my opinion in that matter probably isn’t weighted all that much. Nevertheless, he’s fantastic. Let’s hope he and companion Freema Agyemon stick around for a while.

Shoot Em Up (Film)
The movie is stupid, stupid, stupid. And awesome. As well as hilarious, dirty-minded, exploitive, and over-the-top. If you’re a fan of slapstick and violence (the closest comparison I can come to is Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle) it’s a must-see. If any of these things are a turn-off: bad physics, Paul Giamatti making his Planet of the Apes performance look subtle, using vegetables as weapons, breasts, and using guns for things guns shouldn’t be used for---it’s an avoid-at-all-costs picture. Did I mention how stupid it was? Or how awesome?

New Beowulf Trailer (Film/web)
The new trailer for the upcoming motion-capture animated fantasy film loads up on the action, rock music, and screaming. Watching it in high def may cause your eyes to pop out of their sockets. See it here—It’s #2.

X-Men: First Class Mini-Series (Comic)
Taking place in established Marvel continuity and following Professor Xavier’s original five X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman), First Class is a fun read that forms fully-developed characters out of the X-Men that were later overshadowed by the likes of the more brooding and dynamic Wolverine and the lot. It’s an X-book that forgoes the existential angst and whining that often weighs down the other titles. Hopefully, the ongoing series will be able to introduce more of Stan Lee’s original social commentary while maintaining the level of amusement.

Annie Hall (DVD)
There’s not much I can say about this classic film that hasn’t been said better by hundreds of people. While re-watching it again on DVD, I was reminded by how touching the journey is---one feel like they’ve been through the entire relationship themselves by the time the credits roll. By addressing the camera at the beginning of the film, Allen lets the audience know how it’s going to turn out---but we watch with the same optimism mixed with affection and dread that the characters experience. It’s a masterpiece.

Superman-Doomsday (DVD)
A direct-to-DVD animated film that re-tells the famous Death of Superman story, Superman-Doomsday puts Marvel’s attempts at DVD movies to shame. The writing staff of the Batman/Superman/Justice League series created a stand-alone universe for the PG-13 story and that meant an all new voice-cast and character designs. Most of the design work is good, but Superman has unnecessary lines added to the face to prevent him from looking like his previous animated incarnation. He looks craggily and, frankly, less than super. It’s with Superman’s voice casting that the film missteps as well, while Anne Heche does a more than adequate job as Lois Lane and Smallville’s Braniac James Marsters is a great Lex Luthor, Adam Baldwin (an actor I normally love) just doesn’t have the vocal presence to do Superman justice. The story, while not perfect, still manages to make up for these problems and the deviations from the comic are necessary improvements. Fans of Superman should definitely check it out.

Amazon Unbox (Web/Television)
Amazon’s new television download service allows you to get some of the hottest shows sent straight to your TiVo in DVD quality. Since I don’t have a TiVo, my laptop will have to suffice as I watch the available free downloads of Chuck, Journeyman (both really good), Bionic Woman, and Life (yet to watch).

What tripped YOUR trigger this week? Sound off in the comments section.

H-DoGG's Surprise of 2007: Breach

It's not often that I go into a movie or buy a film completely blind. Most of the time I've gotten a bit of background, watched the trailer and probably read some press. So it is extremely rare that a blind film really knocks my socks off.

Such is the case with Breach. I bought it knowing little more than the name and solely on the indirect recommendation of the The Film Lounge's very own Jacob Rosdail, who very rarely makes a recommendation that doesn't pan out. He spoke. I bought. It impressed!

Breach is a spy movie. However, it isn't Bourne and it certainly isn't Bond. In fact, it isn't even Spy Game. It's based on a true story of very recent history involving the single-most damaging domestic spy ever to infiltrate the United States intelligence community - ex-FBI and Russian spy Robert Hansson.

To tell the details of the story would be to basically teach a history lesson so I forgo that route and tell you why this film impressed me so much. Two things: the performances and the style of the film. First, in my opinion Chris Cooper gave an award-worthy performance in his turn as Robert Hansson. Hansson is a riddle inside of a puzzle and somewhere buried behind his stone-faced exterior and very vocal opinion of the FBI he is a truly strange, lonely and egotistical man whose motives in life were perhaps ultimately unknown. Even though he was caught in the act of espionage, it would be an error to call him stupid and unintelligent; he knew how to play the game, manipulate the system and play both sides without either side knowing the truth. Cooper embodied this all in his portrayal, so well in fact that I found myself both despising him and pitying him (Hansson) at the same time. In short, it was simply one of the most engaging and entertaining performances I have seen in awhile, and I watched The Good Shepherd.

The same was true for Ryan Phillipe who portrayed FBI specialist Eric O'Neill. O'Neill was the man hand-picked to spy on Hansson and the one who ultimately facilitated his capture. An aspiring agent-in-waiting, O'Neill was thrown into the operation not fully understanding what it was he was doing or what the FBI was trying to accomplish. His confusion, conflicted feelings and personal stress were brought to life by Phillipe and made real and believable. His performance matched up well with Cooper's. Ultimately, when it mattered most, Phillipe delivered a solid dramatic turn.

Finally, in what was a strong support role, Laura Linney played O'Neill's superior to whom he directly reported. Her character was a no-nonsense, veteran but tested agent. Her inner struggle was the realization that everything she had spent her career working to accomplish had been systematically undone by Hansson, leaving her and her colleagues to wonder what their work had even been for. If Hansson wasn't caught, the answer would be a disheartening and depressing "nothing". Linney brought a sense of strength to her character but with enough emotion to let you know that she was a real person, not just a another suit. That latter element was crucially important to the story because her ability to help O'Neill stay the course is what allowed him to complete his job in a situation that seemed to him to be far beyond his grasp.

Breach was directed by Billy Ray, the writer and director of 2003's Shattered Glass, also based on a true story. I didn't realize Breach was done by the same director until after the film was over, but I kept thinking of Shattered Glass while watching it. The reason is Ray's distinct style to approaching his films. It boarders on documentary while keeping one foot firmly planted in the realm of dramatic cinema. His ability to capture the most pedestrian details as they actually are in the real world as opposed to a fictional rendition creates an absorbing sense of authenticity. That, coupled with his excellent ability to get the most out of his actors, creates film experiences that are totally unique and completely engrossing. (In Shattered Glass, Peter Sarsgaard gave an amazing supporting performance which garnered him much critical acclaim.)

Ray has only directed two films. I own them both. His work is most definitely quality and too overlooked. So I'll give him the plug here - check out these two films, especially Breach. It was a very pleasant surprise and a happy addition to my library. 9/10

10ish Films I’m Psyched for in 2007

Reading about the Toronto Film Festival this past week got me psyched to go to the movies. Unfortunately, the Cedar Falls/Waterloo IA isn’t really the best place to catch limited release films (at least for the first month or so) so I ended up going to a couple of films that I wasn’t DYING to see instead.

Yeah, it’s that post-Summer, pre-prestige time of the B-Grade and Middlebrow Film. The stars don’t shine quite as bright, the cuts don’t cut quite as deep, and the CGI isn’t half as expensive.
It’s the time where I begin to look forward to the coming months for films that I am actually PSYCHED (!!!) for:

Juno:
Trailer
If you can watch this trailer and NOT want to see this movie, I pity you.
An indie comedy regarding an unplanned teen pregnancy and the couple who wish to adopt the child, this film features a cast full of 27%ers (actors who make a movie 27% better just by their presence). Counting Jason Bateman, Michael Cera (The 27% rule applies to any of the principal cast of Arrested Development), JK Simmons, Allison Janney, and Ellen Page make this film 135% better than it would be otherwise.

This looks like the film I’ve been wishing Wes Anderson would’ve made his last couple times at bat.

Across The Universe:
Trailer
Looks to be the bastard child of the Fab Four and Moulin Rouge,which may only make the film sound appealing to me. But hell, they used I’ve Just Seen a Face in their marketing, so I’m already a fan sight unseen. I imagine plot is very much a secondary thought when it comes to this, but the visuals will most assuredly make this popular among those who, let’s say, don’t prefer their movie experiences sober.

30 Days of Night:
Trailer
This film could very well suck (pun not intended), but the premise---a group of vampires take over an Alaskan town where a month goes by without sunlight, is a great twist on a genre that seems to have had all the life drained out of it (sorry). And it’s based on a comic book (excuse me, graphic novel), so I’m obligated by geek-cred to go.

No Country For Old Men:
Trailer
The Coen Brothers are back in Fargo/Blood Simple territory for this crime drama that Roger Ebert describes as a perfect film. I haven’t loved a Coen Brothers movie since The Man Who Wasn’t There, so I’m hoping this as much of a slam dunk as it looks to be. The trailer shows Javier Bardem using compressed air as a weapon. I don’t know if that’s from the book it’s based on or a Coen idea, but either way, it’s genius.

There Will Be Blood:
Trailer
Based loosely on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, TWBB casts Daniel Day-Lewis as a turn-of-the-centuty oil prospector at the turn-of-the-century. I don’t really know much more than that other than that it’s directed by the talented Paul Thomas Anderson and…did I mention Daniel Day-Lewis is in it? Daniel Day-Lewis is awesome.

Bee Movie:
Trailer
I’m a Seinfeld fan and the last half of the latest trailer has me cracking up. Hopefully this film, about a bee who sues mankind over honey rights, strikes the right balance of family-friendly and Seinfeld’s observational (darkish) humor.

Sweeney Todd:
Official Site
Tim Burton. Johnny Depp. Musical.

Beowulf:
Trailer
We’re in serious uncanny valley territory in this motion-captured production of the oldest story known to man, but it has the potential to be absolutely groundbreaking. The talent behind the…uh, can it still be called a camera, is encouraging: the experimental director Robert Zemeckis and famed (graphic) novelist turned scriptwriter Neil Gaiman.

American Gangster:
Official Site/Trailer
I saw this trailer in the theater and thought to myself “Now that’s a movie…”

Alien Vs Predator 2: Requiem
Trailer
OK, the first one was kind of awful, but color me optimistic for this R-rated clash of the franchises that maybe…mayyyyybbeeee…might take place, in part, somewhere that’s not Earth (rhymes with Creditor Comb Granite?).

Other Films I’m Looking Forward to: The Mist, I Am Legend, Eastern Promises, Rendition, The Assassination of Jesse James…, Into the Wild, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Darjeeling Limited, Michael Clayton, Sleuth, I’m Not There, Lions for Lambs, Margot at the Wedding, Charlie Wilson’s War, Youth Without Youth

Any of these films have you psyched? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the COMMENTS section…

1408 is Lackluster Fare

1408 turned out to nothing like what I expected. All the promotions played it up to be a real spooky film and coming from the work of Stephen King, why would you doubt it? I saw no reason going into the theater. By the end, when I awoke, I could think of no good reason why I ever went into the theater! What a borefest!

Starring John Cusak, 1408 focuses on one supposedly haunted room in the upscale Dolphin Hotel, managed by none other than Samuel L. Jackson. Cusak's character Michael Enslin is an author of paranormal phenomenon and man of lost faith, obsessed with debunking the paranormal ever since the death of his young daughter. He travels the country visiting haunted locations in order to rate them, but mostly discredit them. Next on his list is the Dolphin's 1408, a room filled with mystery and naturally off limits to guests.

The hotel manager (Jackson) is aware that Enslin is coming and greets him upon his arrival. After exchanging pleasantries, he does his best to persuade Enslin to stay out of 1408, but ultimately to no avail. We come to find out that a crap ton of people have ended up dead in the room and no one has lasted more than one hour behind its door. Enslin, unconvinced and certainly not spooked manages to get the key and find himself quickly within the walls of the room. Soon enough odd things begin to happen but Enslin remains skeptical, dutifully recording notes into his tape recorder. Eventually things get really crazy and he is genuinely freaked (apparently trapped in the room). His ordeal culminated with an encounter with his dead daughter before he escapes the room. No shock there.

Unlike most horror and suspense films coming out these days, 1408 is an introspective work that attempts to scare the audience by letting their own imaginations do the work. For that I do give it credit, its a commendable effort in an era of flashy movie making. While the movie does its best to create an uneasy ambiance in order to create its spooky moments, I'll be honest and tell you that it came across as nothing more than a bore to me. In fact, I faded in and out of consciousness. Yes, I fell asleep. It simply couldn't hold my interest and it was anything but scary, mostly just a slow paced psychological piece. Even so, at the few points where it tried for the cheap scare, I didn't even flinch. I was able to slumber in relative peace.

When the credits finally rolled I thought that perhaps I was the only one who found it be a complete waste of time, but nearly everyone in the theater complained as they walked out. No sir, I was not alone in my assessment - 1408 pretty much sucked.

Cusak did fine in his role; I had no problems with his performance. However, it was Samual L. Jackson with his limited screen time that was the most fun to watch. You could tell that he enjoyed his supporting role and, wouldn't you know, he delivered the best line of the film. So I guess if you're a huge John Cusak fan or for some reason absolutely must watch every film in Jackson's filmography, then see 1408. Otherwise don't bother. 3/10