Kimputer's Weblog

For Paul Haggis, the future looks bright. With this one, he definitely has another Oscar contender after writing Million Dollar Baby (technically, Million Dollar Baby got off the ground after Crash was already finished filming). Going behind the camera also, he has total control over this special pet project. There’s a certain unique story telling that makes quite a few things happen. First of all, we have actors flocking in, happily doing it without pay (pretty much keeping production costs at a measly $6.5 million). Not only that, it also brings the best out of them. When you think some of them slumbered into mediocrity because fame got to their heads (for instance Sandra Bullock, Ryan Phillipe), their performances here validates their job as actor/actress for another few years. Then there’s the character writing. With so many characters around, Haggis is still capable of bringing psychologic twists to it with a minimum of screen time. The story itself is very racially charged, but he is still able to infuse other certain elements in it, so it functions as a breeding ground for other social issues. And while the drama keeps pressuring your mood, after this grim outlook on things, he keeps a few rays of light shining through, subtly suggesting there’s still a bit of hope and faith left.
All this combined, makes this crash resonate far beyond the movie theatre, making you ponder over it for some time to come.8½.

Or rather, half an hour, as the new comedies I’m reviewing here are. They will be ordered according to quality (first one is the highest).

My Name is Earl (NBC): The freshest comedy of the new bunch. Starring Jason Lee as a recent karma believer, trying to do good with the rest of his life (with a $100.000 lottery winning backing him up). Following a (long) list he made of all the wrongs he wants to undo, it’s fast paced, with usually one mission per episode. This of course provides a fresh new episode every week, and that makes it a keeper for now.

Everybody Hates Chris (UPN): Superb opening on the somewhat limited UPN network, and the pilot deserved it (including record numbers for the network). Starring Tyler Williams as young Chris Rock, we get to see what his life was about during his high school years. Narrated by Chris Rock himself, the first episode was witty and sometimes sharp. Following episodes were a bit milder though (and a bit more predictable). The setting (usually at home or at school) offers little variation, so the future looks a bit grim. We’ll have to wait and see how they’ll keep the stories interesting and funny.

Kitchen Confidential (Fox): As the title suggests, mostly kitchen stuff. Headed by Bradley Cooper, who has a convincing track record in drama (Alias and Jack & Bobby). Comedy isn’t a feat he can’t handle convincingly either, having proven to be able to play characters convincingly and differently without breaking a sweat. There might be a slight chance the restaurant business might be a limiting factor, but for now, the acting and character development is enough to keep it served warm.

And now it goes downhill. Here we have the typical sit-coms with studio filming and live audience with a laugh track as added bonus.

Freddie (ABC): Geared towards the youngsters, it’s about Freddie (Prinze Jr.) and his friend (Brian Austin Green) living pretty much an easy life (with money pouring in from the shower or something, considering it looks like they don’t work), and being single, the main subject will be hunting women. Not very original, but since it just started, I’ll give it a few more tries.

Out of Practice (CBS): Family oriented sit-com, with divorced parents (Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing) and their 3 grown up children all following in their medical footsteps (we won’t see any hospital scenes or something though). Usually at home or in the restaurant, they miraculously keep meeting each other (even though they all live on their own), all the way up to abnormality. It’s not that original (cliche story lines), and it’s pretty inconsistent (personality changes when the scripts warrants it). Delivering non-funny lines after which a roaring laugh track takes over is pretty annoying too. Stockard Channing’s facelifts make her look like a clown, and since it’s her sole expression, it looks like she’s always laughing at her own jokes (and think of how the “drama” scenes play out with that concrete smile on her face).

The War at Home (Fox): This one, I’d wouldn’t even have greenlit for production, on such a poor pilot script. Using the audience talk technique, it’s another family-based sitcom, that looks like sketches stitched together. Poor unhilarious dialogue (and again, the always present laugh track) makes your toes curl. Really makes me feel sorry for Michael Rapaport (pretty good drama actor, but funny according to a sloppy script he’s not).

And the third sci-fi invasion type series to premiere this season on ABC (along with NBC’s Surface and CBS’s Threshold), and it’s clear CBS is the winner of this round. This one is slow, slow and oh wait, very slow. Pretty much nothing happens, so you might think there’s enough time for character development or deepening the story. No such luck. Maybe the message is, when THEY finally come, they will bore us to death. Now, that’s a scary thought.

With NBC’s The West Wing in ratings crisis, ABC saw an opportunity for another to hit back with a female version of it. Starring Geena Davis as the President (also co-exec producer) it has all the elements you’d expect. Expectations created by her being the first female President, the dubious rising to the spot as an independent and family matters for extra complications. Nicely dividing familial drama with tough political warfare between the various factions (Democrats, Republicans, press, backstabbing Senators and Governors) while the internal workings of the White House are trying to settle to the new situation (school, security, chief of staff, press secretary). It’s definitely a crowded show, but with a keen sense of focus, it delivers fine drama and suspense.

A dip in the box office this week, with the number one only taking in $12.2 million. The Fog stars Tom Welling and Maggie Grace (the first to cash in on Lost’s tv fame) in a remake of master scarer John Carpenter.
Second was Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, dropping one spot with $11.7 million. Third up is Elizabethtown, romantic comedy starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, with $11 million.
At four, Flightplan continues at a declining trajectory, with $6.47 (and a respectable cume of $70.8 million). Rounding out the top 5 is In Her Shoes, with $6.1 million.

CBS is still THE network to plant a new crime series, and this year, there’s another bunch coming in. Criminal Minds is a series focused on the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, so pretty much another Profiler like show. Compared to Fox’s offerings of lately (The Inside, Killer Instinct), this one definitely has the upper hand. Decent actors and decent storylines combined with decent psych profiles (though sometimes it’s still a bit predictable). It’s not really must-see (they’d have to improve the character design and interaction for that) and , but it’s not a bad time killer either.

It seems John Singleton’s carreer has been going downhill ever since his critically acclaimed debut (Boyz’n the Hood). Shaft was pretty mediocre, and 2 Fast 2 Furious is just too dumb to even criticise it. Four Brothers falls, again, in the popcorn categorie, and hence, all logic goes out the window. Instead, we get testosterone. Spoon-fed. Lots of it. As the title and film poster suggests, it’s about four brothers, on a revenge quest. Lotsa of brotherlike homey talk, lots of goofing around. Lots of hit first, ask questions later. And even though they try to make a deeper story out of it, the low bar has been set, and there’s just no way to up the ante when you go down that road.7-.

Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 771 out of 239 votes > Average is: 3.226

It’s been done several times in the past years. First was Haunted on the UPN (axed after only a few episodes) and Tru Calling (canceled after one season) on Fox. Ghosts of dead people, whom only the star of the show. Then comes the crime solving part, followed by a confrontation of the non-believer. Then all ends well, including the proving part (telling something only the dead person would know) where the unbeliever becomes a believer.
So too does this one follow the same steps. It makes it a pretty mildly entertaining show, mostly due to the inevitable predictability. While the show doesn’t focus on crime, but more on closure, it hence has more opportunity for mushy tear jerking scenes. But with no special twists (like Tru Calling had with the time jump) and no real character development (save for some flashbacks) to be seen, it’s a whisper that might well be lost in a crowded schedule. For now, I’ll hang on (at least Jennifer Love Hewitt isn’t a pain to the eyes), since a few shows got canceled already, but come mid-season replacements, who knows.

Clay wins over flesh this week at the box office, as Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit takes the top-spot with $16.1 million. Second is Flightplan, diving to a lower altitude after spending two week at number one. With $10.8 million this week, it has cumed $60.9 million since its release.
At three we have Cameron Diaz in In Her Shoes, with $10.0 million, those shoes are probably not the running kind. At four is another new release, Two for the Money. Starring Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey in a sports/gambling drama, it appears they don’t do high stake bets, as it only books $8.4 million.
Rounding out the top 5 is The Gospel. Low budget drama has a choir worth $8.0 million.

Not to worry that Jerry Bruckheimer has a failed series over at the WB, as there’s another new one at NBC. One half is fast paced action, and the other half is top army decision making. Starring Dennis Hopper and Benjamin Bratt as a colonel and major in the Pentagon, it’s a mission based series, with only a very tiny bit of character development involved. For now, it seems there’s enough story material to keep the steam running for a few more episodes, but I already see a future danger looming where story and dialogue will repeat itself.

And another one goes down. Airing on the WB, this Jerry Bruckheimer production got the axe with one episode more under its belt than the similarly canceled Head Cases over at Fox. Also similar as in a strange pairing of two lawyers of different character. Pairing an aging (and expanding down under) Don Johnson with the geeky Jay Baruchel (Million Dollar Baby) is a risky choice, considering this falls out of the WB’s youngster target. Story-wise, it was an okay choice. Decent acting, decent stories, and a tiny bit of character development. You’d think that with the competition out of the way (only in a figuratively way, as it aired on another night), they’d give this lowly watched series a little bit more time to settle. Combine it with the fact the slot will be taken over by unregular scheduled programming, and you wonder what’s going on.

As the title suggest, this could be an outrageously funny movie, with lotsa opportunity for racy jokes and the likes. That, however, is not the case. It’s a very soft comedy with nothing really inventive going around. While Steve Carell is very fit for the starring role, the movie itself feels a bit flaccid. It’s not all that bad, but the 110+ minute running time is definitely too long. A 90 or even a 75 minute cut would’ve worked better.6½.

Another few years have passed again for a new studio album, and I couldn’t even tell you her previous hits. While she does have her own sound, it is an uninteresting sound nonetheless. This album too has the same problem. The mostly lightly digestive rock lullabies makes it a bit boring. On some songs (Good is Good) her conviction comes clearly through her technically weak voice (most apparent on live performances), but it’s still not enough. For a multiple platinum artist, she has always comes across as pretty mediocre.5+.

After Fox yanked The Inside from their summer schedule (which underperformed due to their own lack of pushing), they quickly replaced it with another procedural series, with almost the same outline.
This time the fancy name in question is Deviant Crime Unit, which basically uses the same CSI methods combined with basic profiling.
Cast has shrunk in size, with only 3 principal characters, but the depth seems to have shrunk with it. The lead star is one of the most stiff and unconvincing character currently on air, so that fact alone makes it unnecessary to have a killer instinct to kill off this show.