With a 25 hour backlog, it’s that time again. Chopping off chunks of my TV schedule. And I guess this new Fox comedy is along for that cancelation ride. Trying to set it apart by doing a bit of improv, the main story lines aren’t interesting enough to keep it on my busy schedule, and hence, the free ride is over.
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It’s the last leg already for TV land, but shows keep rolling out. Jerry Bruckheimer’s second try at the WB, this time with a sitcom. But why oh why a sitcom, the most funny comedies currently on air are just comedies, not sitcoms. I think there actually hasn’t been a solid sitcom since Friends, and this like MANY new ones this year on all networks, is a failure from the start.
It’s three guys with continuous women problem are in therapy with a life-coach (Jane Seymour), and all the predictable weekly “adventures”. Luckily, with the WB and UPN cutting half their shows to form the CW, I’m pretty sure this one is heading to the recycle bin.
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If you see the list of award nomination and wins for this movie, you’ll be amazed. If you see the movie itself, not so much. Quite frankly, it’s long stretched and pretty boring.
Furthermore, as a drama, it doesn’t affect me that much, as I can hardly identify with a super gay writer, nor with cold blooded killers. The only thing that translates well, is the long waiting period Capote had to go through. Then again, the movie theatre isn’t exactly the place to experience waiting.
Being a non-reader, I had no idea Capote was the so-called greatest American writer, and after seeing this movie, I still don’t understand. Way to go.4.
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Manganese atoms. What does it mean ? I have no idea. Google it with IBM engineers as added keywords, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find out.
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Winter’s just over, but the movie audience already miss it enough to propel Ice Age: The Meltdown to the top spot. Selling $70.5 million worth of tickets, it’s currently this year’s best opening. That’s probably at least till the big guns open in May.
Inside Man tumbles down some 50%, selling just enough to hang on to the runner-up spot, with $15.7 million.
Also a new entry at 3, ATL (whatever that acronym means) earns $12.5 million. Left overs round out the top 5, with Failure to Launch at 4 with $6.62 and V for Vendetta at 5 with $6.46 million.
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A few months ago, I had a wonderful experience. It was a chair. It was THE PERFECT chair. It was during a tag-along IKEA shopping spree when I sat down on the Poäng lazy chair. The height was perfect, aligning my head at the exact correct TV watching viewing angel. The tactile feedback was perfect, just a touch of a subtle bounce-back. And the head support was perfect. Beating any couch, since a normal couch doesn’t even support the head, annulling all lazy activity by default. I could never sleep on the couch (with or without watching TV while I’m at it), but I could already imagine this possibility.
But since I didn’t have a car, I forgot all about it. Till today, that is, I had another unannounced tag-along, and it was deja-vu all over. And here it is:
And here it is exactly 12 minutes and 42 second later (names of IRC witnesses only at request):
I doesn’t fit my interior design (what actually does ?), and I have to puzzle around how to fit it, but trust me when I say, Poäng and me are going to have some excellent lazy time together.
Since I’m so highly recommending it, I’m sure you will try it out yourself, and eventually buy it. Don’t forget to time your own construction time (from closed box to the finished product as pictured here), and let me know if you can beat me.
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Brrr. For some people, seeing a unique movie is the highlight of the day. For others, it’s winning the night’s “gooseboard” game (I think that’s the correct translation. No, I’m actually pretty sure). What a genius who invented the rules. I was stuck in prison from the start, and had to eat from my nose for the rest of the thirty minutes.
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More like, Well-done for the Wachowski Brothers. This being their first project after The Matrix trilogy, they even took a break from behind the cameras. Does that matter ? Most probably not. They wrote a thightly packed screenplay, and from there, nothing seems to be able to go wrong.
It’s safe to say there’s no real need for a unique filming style or extremely innovative special effects (even though it’s there if the script calls for it), because the screenplay is like a sturdy foundation. The multi-layered textures (both on personal and social levels) work its way through fleshy dialogue, sucking you in from the very beginning. By creating a gritty world mostly with the use of words, they’ve successfully created a saga without resorting to a sky-rocketing budget invasive methods.
And last but no least, the acting is superb. Extra kudos for Hugo Weaving for giving another complex character form in the way he only can, with just his voice and timing.
So, maybe the comic book was already good from the beginning. Maybe I’m not paying attention to the director or the music composer. But what I’m definitely sure of is that I can’t wait for the next project from Wachowski Brothers.8½.
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The only basic instinct here, really is the drive to make bad sequels. To say the least, it’s a very unexciting thriller. It’s pretty superficial, with all the main characters designed to have motive for the following murders. Throw in some circular logic, forget all about the plot holes. And there you have it. Boring garbage. Some points go the the flesh revealing scenes, but that’s about it.3.
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As expected, the powerhouse line-up (going for the names alone) of Inside Man made it the top picture this week. With ease, worth $29 million in ticket sales, it leaves the competition behind. V for Vendetta will have to settle for a runner-up spot this week, with $12.3 (a steep 52% drop).
New comer, Stay Alive, with the teen gamers as target demo, earns $11.2 million, good for a number 3 spot. Left-overs round out the top 5, resp. Failure to Launch with $10.8 million and The Shaggy Dog $9.1 million.
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The boring world, Terrence Malick must’ve meant. Never in my life have I seen such a boring Pocahontas rendition as this one. Everything pointed to a sweeping love story. What you actually get is Terence thinking wide shots of the woods filled with weird moving Indians, flying birds and the supposedly romantic tumble in the long grass will keep us interested. While most movies use dialogue as glue, here it’s more like bio-waste from a liposuction. With narrative coming from 3 principle characters, it falls between bad poetry and musings from a crazy person. While I have nothing against Colin Farrell, I was actually waiting for a great character play by Christian Bale. Not only is he not named (plus he only gets to play in the last twenty minutes from those two looooong hours, but he made me wonder why he would choose such a simple role, after many critically acclaimed movies).
The only thing less boring was watching the audience between my muscle spams, and laughing when someone would get up and leave. At the end, during a slowdown in the musical queue (one of the most horrible score I’ve heard from James Horner), the whole audience (including me) was getting up. It was either that, or cut that damn finger off that was holding the 1/4 speed button.2.
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Wow, my car proved pretty unuseful today. 10 minutes to downtown, 45 minutes stop-wait-2 steps forward to the parking garage, 10 minutes to the second basement level to find an empty spot, just in time for the movie. And here I was, expecting to do some shopping beforehand.
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Pretty big day yesterday. When I heard the news last Monday, I couldn’t sleep the whole week.
Like the previous key I got handed (after signing for my house), this time it was for my brand new Toyota Aygo Sport.
Now I’m the proud owner of one of the few charcoal black Aygo’s in the country (though Toyota’s 300.000 European unit estimate has already been crushed, and it’s expected to be one of the best sold cars for this continent this year. That’s probably why the factory worked overtime and I didn’t have to wait till June as I reported earlier).
So here’s a picture, too bad there wasn’t a bright sunlight to amplify my metallic lacquer though:
And guess what, during the night, barely a day old, I already caught the first carjacker:
Naah, on a more serious note, I decided (after a quick poll, nobody branded me insane. Well not directly in my face, that is), I need a tough kickass nickname for my new car. Something like Black Devil or something. Help me find one ?
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A new series on the CBS network, focusing on an elite military unit, working top secret missions. Nothing special there. But they reside on the base, with their families. And that creates enough atmosphere for a continuing B story arch. Still, the attempt to create depth must be applauded, but in the end, somehow, probably due to the writing team, it still feels a bit flat and bland. It’s definitely not must-see material right now, and maybe it never will be. Only time will tell, so only a couple more of these till my final judgement.
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What do you get if you mix a renowned director (who’s forte is making movies involving racial issues) with a stellar cast (Denzel, Jody and Clive), and a pretty well-written script ? The answer is obvious. A pretty good movie.
You might say it’s the first time Spike Lee is actually aiming the camera to shoot for the box office (I bet you didn’t see his two last movies All the Invisible Children and Jesus Children of America). Heck, mine was 4 years back (25th Hour). But not to worry, even with a big budget under his belt, he delivers. After all, with those three screen mammoths, you get what you paid for.
The story is nicely stretched to a two full hours, filled with sharp dialogue. And without those actors, the psychological power play probably wouldn’t have been delivered that well. Only one thing on the minus side, with the movie ending winding down a bit too early, making the end feel like an anti-climax.7½.
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