Movie and Television Round-Up
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Movies:
All the King's Men:
I, of course, have yet to see this movie, but the trailer makes the movie look pretty damn good. What worries me is that the trailer and movie have one of those give-us-the-Oscar vibes to it. It looks beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and exquisitely written. But therein lies my cause for concern, because there have been plenty of movies starring "Academy Award nominated" Greatest Actor of his Generation, and written by the screenwriter who wrote "The Greatest Movie of the Past 25 Years," only to have the movie turn out to be a pretentious load of celluloid crap. It looks like it could be one of those movies where the people behind the scenes WAY overthought what they were doing, and added extra layers of depth and symbolism when a straightforward telling would have done just fine. But that's just the cynic in me...
Even if they do go the pretentious route, that'd be alright with me. Sean Penn rockin' a Suthan' accent should be fun. "Your wee-ill is my streungth."
Man of the Year:
"The Daily Show" meets"Good Morning, Vietnam" meets "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." I'm not sure if any of you have seen this trailer, but it looks to be a movie where a Jon Stewart-like character runs a successful presidential campaign. It looks to be a lot of Robin Williams running around doing a bunch of Robin Williams type stuff in the way that only Robin Williams can do it, only with a hefty supply of political ranting.
A lot of the clips from the trailer are clips of Robin Williams improv'ing about all things politicial, including our current political climate. The unasked question is, how bad does the political climate have to be for Mr. "RV" and "Mrs. Doubtfire 2" to take a break from making family movies that nobody wants to see in order to tell the world his feelings on the nature of politics in America? You know things are bad when even Robin Williams, who rarely brings his politics into his act despite his left leaning ways, is criticizing the political climate in a feature lenght movie.
The Departed:
Scorsese. Jack Nicholson. The Rolling Stones" on soundtrack. Gangster movie...Need I say more?
About that Leonardo DiCaprio/Martin Scorsese team-up. First came "Gangs of New York." Then came "The Aviator." Now comes "The Departed" and more Scorsese movies in the works. When did Leonardo DiCaprio become the 21st Century version of Robert DeNiro? Probably when Robert DeNiro of 70's and 80's cinematic acclaim became the 21st Century "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and "Meet the Fockers" Robert De Niro. *sigh*
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Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
I watched the pilot last night. This is my first foray into the world of Aaron Sorkin, and overall, I'm pretty impressed. It looks to be a very solid show. But I'm a bit concerned about how far a show like this can go. I mean, on the "West Wing," there really is no limit to how far you can take the inner workings of a presidency. And even with "Sports Night" (or whatever it was called), there is always going to be a near limitless supply of sports like happenings to bring into the fold. But how far can you really take a show based on "Saturday Night Live?"
a) It's going to pale in comparison to the highs and lows "SNL" has already gone through.
b) the talent playing "the talent" are going to be nowhere near as talented as the talent that's gone through SNL's doors. Nate Corrdry and D.L. Hughley are funny, but are they the type of people that I'd really want to watch in an hour long comedy/drama hybrid?
c) Matthew Perry is a damn good actor, but it's literally impossible to see him and not instantly think of Chandler. But yeah, I think he was really good in the pilot.
d) As I mentioned, there is only so far you can take a show like "Studio 60." Their SNL show is already in the dumps, so it has nowhere to go but up. That should take a good season or two. But then what? Once the show is a hit, what to do then? Watching a hit show about a hit show can only go on for so long. I'm guessing that's why drugs featured so heavily into the pilot. Cocaine, pot, alcohol, and pain killers. That'll add another half a season (or more) of story arc capabilities.
I'm not sure if all of Sorkin's shows are like this, but it sure does seem like "Studio 60" already has, and will have, a lot of preaching in it. Just in the pilot alone, we had rants against NBC, shitty television (which come to think of it, is synonymous with NBC), SNL (which is an NBC and shitty television combo like no other), the religious right, and corporate censorship. Whew. I'm not really complaining, but shows better have more going for them than the aptly placed "I'm mad as hell" type rants.
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The Office
A Quick Message to the folks at "The Office." Do NOT turn "The Office" into the second coming of "Friends." Keep the show more fun and quirky, and less soap operatic.
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LOST
Is it October 4th yet? Anya and I (mostly I) are re-watching season 1 and 2. I really can't stress this enough, but not only is "LOST" my favorite television show of all time, I have to rank it right alongside the "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars" trilogies in terms of quality. It's one of those shows that if someone were to strand me on an island (*sigh*), and were to give me only five pieces of entertainment, the "LOST" seasons would take their place right next to the Holy SWaga, the White Album, the LOTR movies, and Odelay. <---- not one book, aren't you proud?
But yeah, I friggin' LOVE that show. We haven't gotten to Season 2 yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays on the second go 'round. As Luke and I talked about last weekend, the first season of LOST is perfect in nearly every single way. I think season 2 is *almost* as good. I rate the first season at about 98%, while season 2 is about a 94%.
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Project Runway
Final three
Michael <---- I'd say he's a sure thing
Uli <------ though her stuff is starting to get repetitive
going out on a limb here...
Laura <------- I think she's going to squeeze into the final three after Jackass Neck Tattoo Man makes yet another monstrosity.
that's all...I made it work.
matt out
All the King's Men:
I, of course, have yet to see this movie, but the trailer makes the movie look pretty damn good. What worries me is that the trailer and movie have one of those give-us-the-Oscar vibes to it. It looks beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and exquisitely written. But therein lies my cause for concern, because there have been plenty of movies starring "Academy Award nominated" Greatest Actor of his Generation, and written by the screenwriter who wrote "The Greatest Movie of the Past 25 Years," only to have the movie turn out to be a pretentious load of celluloid crap. It looks like it could be one of those movies where the people behind the scenes WAY overthought what they were doing, and added extra layers of depth and symbolism when a straightforward telling would have done just fine. But that's just the cynic in me...
Even if they do go the pretentious route, that'd be alright with me. Sean Penn rockin' a Suthan' accent should be fun. "Your wee-ill is my streungth."
Man of the Year:
"The Daily Show" meets"Good Morning, Vietnam" meets "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." I'm not sure if any of you have seen this trailer, but it looks to be a movie where a Jon Stewart-like character runs a successful presidential campaign. It looks to be a lot of Robin Williams running around doing a bunch of Robin Williams type stuff in the way that only Robin Williams can do it, only with a hefty supply of political ranting.
A lot of the clips from the trailer are clips of Robin Williams improv'ing about all things politicial, including our current political climate. The unasked question is, how bad does the political climate have to be for Mr. "RV" and "Mrs. Doubtfire 2" to take a break from making family movies that nobody wants to see in order to tell the world his feelings on the nature of politics in America? You know things are bad when even Robin Williams, who rarely brings his politics into his act despite his left leaning ways, is criticizing the political climate in a feature lenght movie.
The Departed:
Scorsese. Jack Nicholson. The Rolling Stones" on soundtrack. Gangster movie...Need I say more?
About that Leonardo DiCaprio/Martin Scorsese team-up. First came "Gangs of New York." Then came "The Aviator." Now comes "The Departed" and more Scorsese movies in the works. When did Leonardo DiCaprio become the 21st Century version of Robert DeNiro? Probably when Robert DeNiro of 70's and 80's cinematic acclaim became the 21st Century "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and "Meet the Fockers" Robert De Niro. *sigh*
---------------------
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
I watched the pilot last night. This is my first foray into the world of Aaron Sorkin, and overall, I'm pretty impressed. It looks to be a very solid show. But I'm a bit concerned about how far a show like this can go. I mean, on the "West Wing," there really is no limit to how far you can take the inner workings of a presidency. And even with "Sports Night" (or whatever it was called), there is always going to be a near limitless supply of sports like happenings to bring into the fold. But how far can you really take a show based on "Saturday Night Live?"
a) It's going to pale in comparison to the highs and lows "SNL" has already gone through.
b) the talent playing "the talent" are going to be nowhere near as talented as the talent that's gone through SNL's doors. Nate Corrdry and D.L. Hughley are funny, but are they the type of people that I'd really want to watch in an hour long comedy/drama hybrid?
c) Matthew Perry is a damn good actor, but it's literally impossible to see him and not instantly think of Chandler. But yeah, I think he was really good in the pilot.
d) As I mentioned, there is only so far you can take a show like "Studio 60." Their SNL show is already in the dumps, so it has nowhere to go but up. That should take a good season or two. But then what? Once the show is a hit, what to do then? Watching a hit show about a hit show can only go on for so long. I'm guessing that's why drugs featured so heavily into the pilot. Cocaine, pot, alcohol, and pain killers. That'll add another half a season (or more) of story arc capabilities.
I'm not sure if all of Sorkin's shows are like this, but it sure does seem like "Studio 60" already has, and will have, a lot of preaching in it. Just in the pilot alone, we had rants against NBC, shitty television (which come to think of it, is synonymous with NBC), SNL (which is an NBC and shitty television combo like no other), the religious right, and corporate censorship. Whew. I'm not really complaining, but shows better have more going for them than the aptly placed "I'm mad as hell" type rants.
------------------------
The Office
A Quick Message to the folks at "The Office." Do NOT turn "The Office" into the second coming of "Friends." Keep the show more fun and quirky, and less soap operatic.
-------------------------
LOST
Is it October 4th yet? Anya and I (mostly I) are re-watching season 1 and 2. I really can't stress this enough, but not only is "LOST" my favorite television show of all time, I have to rank it right alongside the "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars" trilogies in terms of quality. It's one of those shows that if someone were to strand me on an island (*sigh*), and were to give me only five pieces of entertainment, the "LOST" seasons would take their place right next to the Holy SWaga, the White Album, the LOTR movies, and Odelay. <---- not one book, aren't you proud?
But yeah, I friggin' LOVE that show. We haven't gotten to Season 2 yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays on the second go 'round. As Luke and I talked about last weekend, the first season of LOST is perfect in nearly every single way. I think season 2 is *almost* as good. I rate the first season at about 98%, while season 2 is about a 94%.
---------------------------
Project Runway
Final three
Michael <---- I'd say he's a sure thing
Uli <------ though her stuff is starting to get repetitive
going out on a limb here...
Laura <------- I think she's going to squeeze into the final three after Jackass Neck Tattoo Man makes yet another monstrosity.
that's all...I made it work.
matt out
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