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Thursday, September 02, 2010
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Friday Night Lights: The Fourth Season
iFriday Night Lightsi is one of the most relevant and relatable shows on television. Its not filled with sexy crimes, car chases, villains, or action heroes. Its a simple show about high school, told from the perspectives of the students, alumni, and faculty. Its safe to say we can all relate to one or more of those experiences, whereas most of us arent too familiar with all that other stuff. This season, with the addition of East Dillon, theres a backdrop of exploring the differences between affluent schools and those on the brink of poverty and despair.
The Joneses
The Joneses always want you to keep up with them, and its never accidental. This dark satire isnt worth the price of the products that cover the screen, but its definitely worth the price of a DVD.
Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection
This is a band, and the highlights are the two or three songs they perform in each episode. Sugar Lumps, Carol Brown, The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room, If You Wanted To my favorite comedy song of all time, and many, many others are brought to glorious life. Typically commenting and interacting with whatever is going on in the generally lightly plotted story, the songs are funny and presented in clever and at-times surreal ways. The duo has a real gift for running the gamut of musical styles and videos but maintaining their low-key approach to any type of song.
Lost: The Complete Collection [Blu-Ray]
Even though the ILost: Complete CollectionI box set is packaged in a ridiculously elaborate stone box and is packed to the brim with special features, it gives us our first chance to look at the show on its own terms, simply as a story told over six years, not a phenomenon or that thing you wanted to get your friends hooked on. Having the entire story in your hands is like getting back to square one, sitting down with the whole giant saga and seeing what it still has to offer. So with the mysteries resolved and the Smoke Monster vanquished at last, whats worth returning to in ILostI?
Cemetery Junction
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant take a detour into a more dramatic type of film. And though all the cards are there, it doesnt feel like a full deck. Take a train into 1970s Britain in ICemetery JunctionI.
Stargate Universe: Season 1.5
After a slow start, the second 10 episodes of the first season of iStargate Universei show the cast and creators gradually becoming more comfortable with their creation. As a result, the episodes are tighter, more dramatic, offer more character development, and ratchet up the tension considerably. In other words, all the potential of the concept is finally realized.
The Good, the Bad, the Weird
Wow! This film was a total blast from start to finish. Its more than IGoodi, has little that is IBadi, and is filled with the iWeirdi. A completely stylized movie, its a madmans Western made by and starring South Koreans who have as much claim to the American West as the Italians did in the 60s. The title is a hint to the Sergio Leone-esque approach, but Leones operatic style is only one of many that director Kim Ji-Woon iA Tale of Two Sistersi splashes across the screen. In truth, the Leone homage conceals the films actual forebears, directors Steven Spielberg and George Miller, whose rough-and-tumble yet balletic action choreography and sweeping camerawork in films such as iRaiders of the Lost Arki and iThe Road Warriori are pushed to the limit in this film.
Date Night
When you watch a movie like iDate Nighti, its easy to see why Steve Carell has decided to say farewell to Dunder-Mifflin and iThe Officei. While not as funny as in iThe 40 Year Old Virgini, perhaps, Carell is nevertheless perfectly cast as a rather ordinary middle-aged father. The on-screen chemistry he shares with movie wife Tina Fey throughout this madcap romp of a movie carries us through the absurdities.
James and the Giant Peach [Combo Pack]
I remember IJames and the Giant PeachI. Not because of its 1996 film release, but because I loved the Roald Dahl book as a kid. When the opportunity to review the films re-release came up, I immediately jumped on board -- not because of nostalgia, but because most of the film was made with stop-motion animation, and I wanted to check it out on Blu-ray. General Consensus: turns out the animations fairly cool. The rest of the film, however, is another monster.
The Ghost Writer
Roman Polanski nails something thats made for 13 year olds, not just a 13 year old. Seriously though, this is a film worth seeing. Watch, and watch again to catch what you missed.
Clash of the Titans [Blu-Ray]
The quest itself, in its attempts to be epic and grand, take on more than just cursory similarities to the ILord of the Ringsi film trilogy. The sweeping vistas and the formation and subsequent breaking of the fellowship that form around Perseus seem a little too familiar. I kept waiting for Ozal and Kucuk Persian monster hunters who provide some comic relief to start complaining about missing second breakfast.
Kick-Ass (Combo Pack)
Kick-Ass pretty much does what its name implies. Good thing it wasnt called Warm-Heart. Violence and little girls make dimples happen here.
Operation: Endgame
iOperation: Endgamei is one of those movies that by the end of the day youll forget that you even watched. Not because its particularly bad, but because its so astoundingly mediocre that it can hardly be considered a movie.
Jersey Shore: Season One Uncensored
G.T.L. Ganja, a television, and lagers. Thats what it took for me to get into Jersey Shore. My standards used to have a limit, but that done. Join the legion of neato Guidos.
The Art of the Steal
Philadelphia doesnt like it when art gets all arty and hangs out in the suburbs. Watch this to find out how true thieves wear the best suits.
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