Friday, October 29, 2010

RED: GERIATIC FUN

Most action movies nowadays have young pretty people in exotic locations performing outlandish stunts and huge explosions. This is not one of those movies. At least not the age quotient or exotic locals anyways. The rest is a loud, brash, huge amount of fun that most movies this year have a suspicious lack of. Bruce Willis' last movie Cop Out wasn't half as good as this and it shows in the actor's performance. You can tell he's having a blast with the part, one of his best since John McClane.
Willis plays Frank Moses, a retired, lonely spook who tears up his social security checks so he can talk to a pretty customer service rep, Sarah, the electric Mary Louise Parker. With these early scenes, we get all sorts of important background on these two, destined to fall for each other. After hanging up with her, Frank's house is turned into Swiss cheese by a hit squad. He expertly dispatches the bad guys and heads to Kansas City, knowing that they will soon be after his beloved Sarah. Once there, she of course thinks he's a raving loon and is forced to kidnap here to protect her. As she soon finds out that there really are people out to kill her, she helps Frank track down his old team who are also in danger. Morgan Freeman is Joe, dying of stage four liver cancer. John Malkovich is Martin, an agent driven batty by years of secret LSD test done on him. Rounding them out is Dame Helen Mirren, a spitfire of dangerous weapons. They team up, along with Brian Cox's Russian Ivan, to foil the CIA's assassins after them for unknown reasons which I won't spoil here. The movie is nonstop action, comedy and a sprinkle of drama to give us one of the years best pictures. Karl Urban, best known as Dr. McCoy in the Star Trek reboot, gives a real gravitas to the role of William Cooper, the CIA agent given the task of "retiring" the old crew. His scenes opposite Willis are incredible with a fight scene in Langley destined to be on MTV's movie awards for just such a thing. Ernest Borgnine at 93 is still a spry thing and its really good to see him in a movie again. The locales are widespread but hardly exotic, which is part of the film's charm of going to places like Mobile, Alabama and Kansas City. Hardly typical but much needed in a day of local overkill (Day and Night I'm looking at you). Easily the best spy thriller/comedy of the year, easily beating the far inferior Killers or Day and Knight. The oddest surprise comes form director Robert Schwentke whose previous films have been the terrible Flightplan and the Time Traveler's Wife. I don't know what he did right this time but keep it up. These are the kinds of films you should be doing. A must see for action lovers. You won't be sorry

4 and 1/2 stars out of 5

Thursday, October 28, 2010

GRIM REAPER MAKES SURPRISE VISIT: CAPRICA AND THE WHOLE TRUTH MEET THEIR MAKER

In a "told you so" moment, both Caprica and The Whole Truth have been axed this week. The Whole Truth was on my worst of the year list, which has now joined Outlaw on the scrap heap of really bad boring legal drama. Somehow, The Defenders has stuck around and Dana Delaney's show Body Of Proof is nowhere to be seen, but at least this sinking ship has finally touched bottom. Truth was one of the lowest rated show on all of regular TV and the pit of ABC's shows in total so it's demise was a forgone conclusion. Oddly, many a show that are getting dismal ratings have stuck around, most likely because the networks don't have anything to replace them with yet. Caprica was also axed this week, with the final episodes to be burned off at a later date. Not a big surprise as they took their superior flagship show of Battlestar Galactica and turned it into a dull prequel soap opera. The producers said that they wanted a show that would appeal to a mostly female audience. In Science Fiction. What were they smoking? That is not to say that their aren't female science fiction fans out there. There are. However, the number is staggeringly small compared to the male fan base of which Galactica was comprised of. It would be the equivalent of the Playboy channel deciding that in order to raise ratings, they would show more male nudity across the board. The next sound they would hear is millions of people turning to a different station, which is exactly what happened with low rated Caprica, low even by SYFY channel's standard. A prequel is a hard sell to begin with. Don't hamstring yourself by making a show for a very small demographic. There is a reason why networks don't do shows like this. They fail overwhelmingly. Good bye Caprica and the Whole Truth. You won't be missed.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

GRIM REAPER SIGHTED: IS MEDIUM NEXT?

CBS recently announced that the low rated show Medium will have it's episode count reduced to 13. This is too bad because the show is actually quite good still. But ratings have placed it at the bottom of CBS's scedule and they will have to make room for new series coming out next year. It appears the writing is on the wall for this low rated thriler, much the same way Numbers died last year under similioar circumstances. Flowers can be sent to CBS for the immenent wake. RIP Medium.

Sherlock Holmes Returns in A Study In Pink

Sherlock Holmes is one of the best detectives to ever grace the printed page. With such greats as Basil Rathbone, Robert Downey Jr and even Bill Pullman playing the titular sleuth to perfection you have to wonder why even try to do it again, let alone an updated version that takes place in modern times. Leave it Masterpiece Theater to live up to their namesake once again because this version is one of the best ever.
Martin Freeman, a British actor best known for comedies like Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy and the BBC sitcom Hardware, nails Dr. John Watson as an injured ex-soldier sent home to a life he no longer wants. After running into a colleague from his college days, he is introduced to Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) who comes across like a deranged madman with moments of pure brilliance. The fact the police think of him as a budding psychopath only infuriates Holmes to respond that he is indeed a "high functioning sociopath," and that they should get their facts straight. Needing a flatmate, Holmes and Watson move into together, leading to several instances of others and themselves questioning their sexuality. It is very funny each time someone mistakes them as a gay couple. Holmes sexuality is never explained, here or in the stories, but it has always been assumed that Holmes is more like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory as being asexual, possibly from some earlier trauma with a woman. His drug use is hinted at as well as police search his home for illegal substances, a fact Watson is stunned by.
The plot is pure Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the pair searching for a serial killer who makes his victims kill themselves. Along the way as the pair gets to know each other better, they encounter enemies from Holmes past including the mysterious Moriarty who is Holmes archenemy, a character sure to play a bigger role in the future series episodes. The series is fun, smart and engaging. Catch it if you can Sundays on PBS. You won't be sorry.

5 out of 5 stars.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Boogens (1981): Great Muppet Horror

PLOT- This campy horror flick from the early eighties is a forgotten gem for those of us who like our horror movies where the monster is better off sight unseen. And in this film, it's a blessing. When an abandoned mine in Utah is reopened, the miners unwittingly unleash The Boogens upon the Earth. Filled with every modern day movie cliche such as the "It's got a death curse" guy to "That's a strange noise. I better go investigate in my towel.", it still comes off far better than it should due to very good directing and a very creepy atmosphere. Two recent college grads, Mark (Fred McCarren) and Roger(Jeff Harlan), with their two cute girlfriends, Trish(Rebecca Balding) and Jessica(Anne Marie Martin) rent a cabin in the woods. The two male leads are just starting work at the newly opened mine, unaware of the danger to come. Also with them is Jessica's dog Tiger, a Bichon Friese who has more personality than a lot of modern day actors (Robert Patinson I'm looking at you). The movie actually makes the dog a major character in the film, with several scenes totally dog oriented. I really liked that and wish more films would do the same. Once unleashed, the Boogens begin to terrorize the town, pulling people under cars, eating a neighbor or two. The usual in this kind of movie. Because of the ultra low budget rumored to be in the 600,000$ range, the monsters are wisely kept off screen until the end. Up until that point, the Evil Dead monster point of view cam is used to great effect, which is basically a camera placed on a board and then run toward whoever is screaming at the time. When the monsters finally do show up at the end, they look more adorable than threatening. Resembling a cross between a turtle and a squid, they pretty much look like a Muppet on a wild acid trip. Thankfully, the Boogens are only seen in the last five minutes because watching Fozzie Bear on a meth binge isn't that frightening. Still, the movie is a classic of the time period and highly recommended.
NUDITY- Rebecca Balding who plays Trish is the only girl to give us a brief shot of her butt after getting out of the shower and a quick peek of her breasts during a tame sex scene. While Anne Marie Martin who plays Jessica does take a shower and runs around in a towel for what seems like an eternity, no nudity for her. In the scene where she is struggling against an unseen Boogens, you can clearly see she is wearing towel colored underwear. Lame.
GORE- Not much until the end. One character gets his face ripped open, another has a Boogens eating his face. The blood is that typical "WOW that's red" blood seen quite a bit back in the 70's and 80's. You'll see far worse on CSI on any given week.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW- Rebecca Balding has had a spotty career since this movie with mostly guest parts on shows like Matt Houston, Melrose Place, and ER. Her last role was a multi episode arc on Charmed. She has not worked since 2006 but is doing an audio commentary for the DVD release of her 1980 movie Silent Scream, which came out in 2009. While watching this movie, I couldn't help think that I had seen her before on something else around the same time period. Find out she was a recurring character on the great 70's spoof Soap as Carol David.
Fred McCarren followed a similar route with guest spots Hill Street Blues, Gimme a Break, Too Close For Comfort and The Golden Girls, which was his last televised spot way back in 1991. He married and had six children. Unfortunately, he died of colon cancer at the relatively young age of 55 in the same town he was born in of Butler Pennsylvania.
Anne Marie Martin had the best career path, albeit not in the movie industry. After a run of guest spots on shows like The Young Ones, St Elsewhere and Sledge Hammer, she then married Michael Crighton, one of the top authors of the time and a writer of such classics as Jurassic Park and the Adromedia Strain. Ka-ching. She then retired from acting to help raise their child Taylor Anne. They divorced in 2002 after five years of marriage to a settlement of 31 million dollars tax free and several works of art such as Lichtenstein's sculpture "Day and Night", Rene Magritte's "L'usage De la Parole," and a Jasper Johns lithograph. She also got 17 horses spread across the globe. All in all, a pretty good pay day for five years of marriage.
Jeff Harlan is the only actor from this film still working today. He has appeared in such shows as Wings, Doogie Houser, Judging Amy, and the films Fat Albert and Auto Focus. His latest role was a part on Castle in 2009.
Jon Lormer went on to be best known as the "I want my cake Bedelia," guy from Creepshow. He died of natural causes in 1986.
DIRECTOR-JAMES L CONWAY was the most successful with a career in TV that still continues on shows like Supernatural and 90210 as of 2010. A busy career, he also directed episodes of all four Star Trek series, Psyche, Matt Houston, and Smallville.
WRITER- JIM KOUF(under pen name Bob Hunt)- Another highly successful writer/producer that went on to pen Con Air, Stakeout, National Treasure 1 and 2, and the Hidden.
AVAILABILITY ON DVD- Not at this time.