Kimputer's Weblog

The original Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs (and to some extend, the two pre/sequels) garnered critical acclaims when it was released (praised as that years best movie), and it was bound to spread around the world. However, before the import DVD arrived here, Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B already snatched the right for a remake, and hence, I waited for the Hollywood version (saves you a lot of time, just like I do with written literature).
Was it worth the wait ? Yeah, it’s a good movie. But not the gem everyone was talking about when referring to the original. For starters, the beginning is chaotic, and filled with light-hearted banter. The original and remade title made me think it was a darker drama. But as time goes by (and clocking in at two and a half hour, there’s enough of that), the focus is indeed dark drama (with Leonardo DiCaprio getting the meaty role, the only one with real issures). As the tension grows, the cat and mouse game is far ahead of the cliches we’ve seen so many times already. The dichotomy built inside the story creates an intriguing atmosphere, but as I had my reservations for the sloppy start, the end is even worse. This way, I can’t call it a gem like I would call Michael Mann’s Heat, but it’s definitely one of the better movies of this year, and the star-powered ensemble cast is nifty (but not totally necessary).8-.

Apparently, Borat is up for a Pulitzer Prize soon, as the Kazak journalist blasts to the box office top spot this week with his documentary Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Opening at just 837 locations, it still earned a whopping $26.5 million. Where $10.000+ per screen is more an exception than a rule for the number one, Borat manages $31.607 per screen. Jagshemash to that.
A bit too early for my taste, but The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause manages a runner-up spot with $19.5 million. Close behind is a Dreamworks/Aardman Animation collaboration, Flushed Away, with $18.8 million.
With three new entries, it means a big drop for Saw III, now at 4 with $14.8 million. Rounding out the top 5 is The Departed, with $7.7 million in its fifth week, with a total of $102 million. This is just an inch away from Martin Scorcese’s current highest grossing movie, The Aviator ($102.6 million).

And here we have another multi-threaded time-shifting inter-locking story, which is quite becoming a commodity these days. This one focuses on some personal tragedy divided over a few storylines and locations, and it wouldn’t be a tragedy if all of it happens to all the people in a short period of time. From a drama perspective, this only works half. Mostly since this whole thing is event-driven and dragged out and stretched thin. And I mean, it’s really really loooooong, filled with the director trying to capture sequences that might jog your visual and auditory senses a bit, but certainly doesn’t stimulate any particular feeling in the brains. Best comparison I can come up with is, you’ll kinda have to see this as shallow Magnolia rip-off, that while is shorter, feels longer.6-.

Another new NBC entry, with a title to match the intricate workings of a late night sketch show. Basically the whole West Wing team are behind the scenes, and you’ll get what you’ve paid for. It’s mostly indepth storytelling in a subtle dramatic way. woven into a overly smart script (sometimes too smart for my taste). This means you won’t get your bite size lowest common denominator easy laughs, nor will you get the cliches you’ve seen too often during primetime. However, you most certainly will get more satisfaction and appreciation for the extra dedication to create something special, and that’s what really counts. And hey, even Matthew Perry impresses me in this drama role (after being very not funny during the last few seasons on Friends), and that says a lot.

On to NBC, which last year only had My Name is Earl as a hit (while I watched the halfway canceled E-Ring just to fill time), now has 2 new strong entries for this fall.
I’ll start with Heroes, basically a toned down version of The X-Men (less obvious, more subtle, but they did copy Xavier’s opening narrative a bit), combined with bits that made The 4400 special (intrigue slow story telling, with indepth character development). A bit of stealing, but better a good steal than a bad own creation. I guess it’s the story telling that really does it, while writing with a tentative doom looming around keeps the adrenaline pumping. Besides personal drama, there’s mystery and humor. As a whole, it’s an intriguing experience, and a hit is born (ratings are well in the top 10 range, and a full season order has been confirmed).

You’ve gotta hand it to Sacha Baron Cohen, he’s a genius when it comes to crude unexpected humor. You’ll pretty much know how it works, if you’ve seen the bits on his Channel One or HBO shows, but this time, it’s glued together by a full script. Plus, he takes it a step further, this is truly extreme cinema you’ll be seeing. The mix of scripted (himself with actors) and unscripted (sections with unknowing participants) are contrasting, but it’s still a solid mix of different laughs. Granted, it’s not high-tech storytelling, there’s nothing new about the Borat character. But it’s such a laughing cannon, you can’t get around it.
If you fancy yourself to have even have the slightest sense of humor, I will eat my leather shoes (without condiment or sauce) if you can keep your laughter down to mere chuckles. Hell, I’ll eat my whole if you keep your eyes dry. Trust me, you’ll wanna wipe the floor before watching this, if you want to keep your clothes clean.8+.

Twelve years ago, Kevin Smith made a mark with Clerks, showing his own style and off-beat humor. And now he’s back, his ego a bit bruised (Jersey Girl flopped, even though it wasn’t really bad at all), and back to low budget. Like most of his movies, it’s starts off slow, seemingly about nothing. Silly dialogue about nothing etc. Then a story starts taking off, and hilarity ensues. Inbetween the atrocities and vulgarities, you can see a real movie being born, even as far as the main subject being everything about life itself. Definitely one of those rare funny feel-good movie without being too pretentious.7½.

By now a Halloween tradition, Saw III reigns the box office, with a healthy $34.3 million, topping both Saw and Saw II, each a year apart. While still low budget and highly profitable, it’s nowhere near the $1.2 million budget of the original.
Not departing just yet, The Departed stayed strong at number two with $9.8 million. The Prestige loses a bit of magic, now at three with $9.6 million.
Flags of our Fathers doesn’t seem to catch on, dropping to number 4 with $6.4 million. With the current cume at $19.9 million, it will be a tough road to break even ($90 million budget). Rounding out the top 5 is left-over Open Season with $6.1 million.

While getting a YouTube account, and during the subsequent upload of a movie for a friend (why waste bandwidth at home when it’s free elsewhere), I started browsing through some videos. Then I came across this one, and it made my day. If you can change a horrendous song like Justin Timberlake’s Sexyback to something this hilarious (mainly the lyrics will floor you), you’re a genius in my book. Hell, you didn’t even have to pay (for say, a Weird Al album) to get this laugh. And the key is, you can watch this video over and over again, and still not get enough of it.

The last new show coming from ABC that I’ll review. As the title might suggest, it’s (like more ABC series) a bit geared towards the female audience.
People who’s seen this years breakout hit movie, The Devil Wears Prada, and liked it, will probably like this show too. Though the first few episodes will have a lot in common with the movie, story wise. People will mistake this as a movie rip-off, but this show is a remake from a Mexican series (which precedes both the Prada book and subsequent movie).
So, anything special besides that familiar story (strange duck struggling at work, in and ex-company rivalry) ? Not really. There’s a light drama to be found next to the self-deprecating wit, and there’s a strong female lead character that’s doesn’t fit your everyday heroine mold. Also, there’s a mystery unfolding as a dark B-story. But all in all, it’s not enough to make it must-see TV.

I started with it, so let’s finish the new line-up from ABC. The Nine is much like the earlier reviewed show, Six Degrees, but in a reconfingured and inverted way. With nine people experiencing the same tragic event, and the aftermath that ensues, certainly makes for a more intense drama. How the characters bump into each other later on, is also less contrived. But the synopsis makes you wonder how long you can stretch it, but so far, the flashbacks combined with current day events, work out pretty well. In what seems like a strategy to keep the pace going, minor gaps are visible here and there, much like how E.R. introduced the hectic atmosphere (and mindfully forgets to pick up story lines now and then), but at least it means you won’t fast forward that easily (or in Six Degrees’ case, axe it totally). Short of the flashbacks becoming overbearing (rehashing, instead of delevering new information), I’m definitely looking forward to this as a whole season.

One of the few bigger British productions (besides their James Bond series), and most of the budget is probably in the post-apocalyptic building scenes. About 80% though, it’s pretty low budget cinema, like the odd abandoned train station or the hidden house in the woods.
Does it mean you’re not getting your worth of money seeing this movie ? Actually, that’s exactly what I mean, even though the first half was a bit promising. Story setup went well, and direction was acceptable. It goes down the drain during the second half, as it doesn’t add anything new or significant to the story. And the end, will leave you pretty much disappointed.6½.

Typical indie drama, with a family road trip touch. Only scratches the characters’ surface, and the story has its quirks here and there, but in the end, it’s all feel-good sweetness. And it’s nice to see Steve Carell in a mostly non-comedic role, finally breaking away from the more or less psychotic characters he’s been playing all along.7+.

Two years ago, his new album in quite while wasn’t really memorable. Between the countless Best of… compilations, 2 years later, he finishes another fully new album. But again, I’m not really impressed. Hell, the first single makes you think he has been listening to this year’s hit for Ne-Yo (So Sick) too much. After research, I found out it’s just that I Call it Love is written by the very same team. The rest of the bunch are more collaborations with a handful of other producers that are currently hot (Jerry Duplessis, Sean Garrett, Jermaine Dupri, etc.), milking out the same R&B, swing beat and soul style we hear too often already. By now, you can say it’s just the Lionel Richie way to work like this, but I don’t really like it at all.5.

Yupz, I’ve finally almost figured it out. Let’s start with some more axe swinging first though. It’s goodbye to:

20 Good Years (I’m in no need for another comedy with John Lithgow hypering around)
30 Rock (bad non-funny half hour version of strong NBC debut Studio 60 on Sunset Strip)
Runaway (Mild Prison Break rip-off, geared towards the CW teen demo target)
Smith (can’t say I haven’t seen it all before, even this year, like NBC’s Heist and FX’s Thief).

So on to my list:

Old Toppppperrrs:
CSI
South Park
Battlestar Galactica
Weeds
Prison Break
Lost
Boston Legal
Grey’s Anatomy
My Name Is Earl

New Topppperrs:
Brothers & Sisters
The Nine
Heroes
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Good:
Jericho
Everybody Hates Chris
Criminal Minds
Smallville

Backup list:
Shark
Justice
Standoff
Ugly Betty
The Class

So, still a solid 18 hours of TV. But I’ll manage, don’t worry.