My Favorite Things - 2011 Edition

As 2011 closes and we look towards a shiny new 2012 I want to take a look back at the previous year. Which means it’s time for my favorite things of 2011. Please remember that this is only my opinion and I’m only one guy that has a full time job, so I can’t watch everything.

Movies

I didn’t get to see as many movies as I normally do this year. In fact I haven’t seen any of the “Oscar” bait films that usually come out this time of year. But there are two movies I saw this year that really stuck in my mind.

The first is “X-Men: First Class” this has instantly become the best of the X-Men films. Both James McAvoy and Michael Fastbender put in great performances as Xavier and Magneto. The film captured the spirit of the 60’s while at the same time giving us a great action/superhero movie.

The second is “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.” Now as a movie I have found the past 4 Harry Potter movies to be badly made movies. They do their job of portraying Harry Potter on screen well, but I think as a movie by themselves are not that good. But for getting all 10 of these movies out and having the same vision throughout the film makers should be commended. It was truly an astonishing feat.

Television

TV this year has continued the trend of the past several years where the cable channels are producing bigger hits than the network shows. But there has been a lot of good television this year, it seems to me that television is on the rise while movie quality is starting to dip down.

“Parks and Recreation” remains the best comedy of the year. With the addition of a love interest for Leslie in the form of Ben Wyatt the show has reached a new level. Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson is the funniest character on TV. The show has created a living town in Pawnee that is beginning to rival Springfield on the Simpsons. Unfortunately no one is watching it.

Speaking of TV no one is watching, “Community” has also fully embraced their status as a TV show that is about TV. This has elevated the laughs on the show, but has probably alienated a lot of their audience. Glover and Pudi as Troy and Abed is the best duo on television. The two of them are the best duo since Turk and J.D.

Finally the best new comedy this year was “New Girl.” Zooey Deschanel is truly adorkable. But the funniest stuff from this show comes from Schmidt. They could fire everyone else and just have The Schmidt Show and I would tune in to watch it. Hopefully they can keep the funny up for the rest of the season.

From a drama perspective there are only two that I get really excited for. The first is “Fringe” this show has a lot of ups and downs. Last year ended on such a great note, but this year has started out really slow. But, I’m invested in the show until the end.

Since “Mad Men” wasn’t on this year it leaves a spot open for my favorite show of the year. It still goes to another AMC show though, “Breaking Bad.” The whole season was focused on the confrontation between Gus and Walt and the final resolution was spectacular. The acting, the tone and the story were all just perfect for this season. AMC has some of the best television available right now.

Music

This year belonged to Adele. With the release of her album “21” we got great songs such as “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You.” Both of these are great songs. Kelly Clarkson put out a great new album and we got some solid work from the Foo Fighters. But we also got some great new artists like Hot Chelle Rae, LMFAO and Fitz and the Tantrums. It was a great year for music and I am looking forward to what comes out next year.

Comic Books

Before September, comic books sucked this year. Well, not completely we got the end of Snyders “The Black Mirror” saga in Detective Comics. This was one of the creepiest tales I have ever read. The build up of Jim Gordon Jr. as a villain was so well done that he is instantly a classic Batman rouge now. In addition to this “The Dark Angel Saga” in Uncanny X-Force was also brilliant that was able to use X-Men history very effectively. But the big moment was the New 52 from DC. The relaunch was great and injected a lot of new energy into comics with some great new titles launched like Animal Man and Swamp Thing. It made me more excited for comics than I had been in a long time.

Books

I usually don’t read many new books, but this year I started “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R. R. Martin which is what the “Game of Thrones” television show is based on. The books are dense and require you to pay attention and remember a lot of details. But the read is fun and the books are really good. If you love The Lord of the Rings trilogy and feel like you can take something a little denser, I would try these out.

Video Games

I don’t have the time to play all of the new games as soon as they come out. I currently have a stack of “Skyrim”, “Arkham City” and “Assassin’s Creed: Revelations” sitting at home waiting for me to play. I mostly played “Fallout: New Vegas” and “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.” Both of these are great games. Fallout gives you a new wasteland to explore, if you liked “Fallout 3” you’ll love this. Zelda is just more Zelda. If you want to play more from that great series this is the game for you.

Gigi - The Oscar Project Part XXXI

As we get closer to the 1960’s we get closer to entering the decade of the musicals. This begins early with the 1958 film “Gigi.” I am a fan of modern musical theater, I find the older stuff to be boring and lacking. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching a musical on stage, but I think that transferring from the stage to the screen takes some talent. “Gigi” was a movie first and then a musical so it doesn’t have this stigma. As always I entered it with an open mind.

“Gigi” is about a young girl (Gigi) who is being trained to be a courtesan in Paris that isn’t doing very well in her lessons. During her training she spends most of her free time with Gaston, a bachelor who doesn’t believe in marriage. Over the course of the movie, Gaston relizes he loves Gigi and after he visits and leaves her house several times eventually decides to marry her and they live happily ever after. It was also narrated by an old French guy. The whole plot reminded me of “My Fair Lady” but set in France, after doing some research I found out that the same person wrote both. “My Fair Lady” is a classic and I have never wanted to see “My Fair Lady” in Paris. Unfortunately I now have.

There isn’t much to say about the acting and directing. I found the leads to be boring and a chore to watch. The only decent bit of fun acting comes from Maurice Chevalier who works as a framing device and sings the most memorable song of the film, “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.” The directing had nothing wrong with it. It was perfectly watchable I just didn’t feel as though this was really a movie that I wanted to watch.

Overall this film wouldn’t really make it in today’s world. A movie that starts with an old guy singing about how much he likes little girls wouldn’t work today. The film even tried for a Broadway run in the 70’s and failed. If you want to watch a movie like this I would recommend “My Fair Lady,” a similar story and superior music and acting. Gigi gets 1 out of 5 stars.

Holiday Trailer Wrap-Up

The holiday season is typically the movie season for the Oscar films, but every year Hollywood saves a few blockbusters to be released. This year movies like “Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows” and “The Adventures of TinTin” are keeping us entertained over the holidays. With these big movies being released it is the perfect time for trailers to be released for the big movies of next summer. Last week was a big week for trailer releases and I wanted to take a quick look at them.

“Prometheus” – Here Ridley Scott is returning to the Sci-Fi genre with may or may not be a prequel to “Alien.” The movie looks like “Alien,” but for some reason they won’t admit that it is. The trailer looked like some people doing a few crazy things on a ship and then on an alien planet. The whole thing looks cool but I have no clue on what the movie will really be about. It was just a series of quick images and no substance. This did nothing to peak my interest in this movie.

“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” – The first G.I. Joe movie wasn’t that good. But it did set up a killer sequel and it is nice to see that this movie is not going to completely ignore that ending is exciting. This movie looks to be embracing the campiness that the Joe cartoon was famous for. While it hasn’t excited me enough to go see it in the theater yet, it has planted the movie on my radar.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” – I love “The Lord of the Rings” movies and the books so I don’t really need a trailer to sell me on this. I’m going to be there in my costume on opening night seeing this movie. But, it’s nice to see that this will be more of the Tolkien realm that I expect from Jackson. I’m excited for this movie.

“The Dark Knight Rises” – I’m conflicted about this movie. Not that it will be bad, I trust Nolan, but whether or not to watch and dissect all of these trailers. This is the last Nolan Batman movie. Part of me wants to know as much as possible as soon as possible, but another part of me wants to go in blind. This trailer showed that the stakes will be ratcheted up quite a bit and will feature plenty of callbacks to the first movie. I could not be more excited for this movie.

The Bridge on the River Kwai - The Oscar Project Part XXX

Growing up as a “Star Wars” kid I always enjoyed Sir Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi. But that was all that I knew him from. I knew that one his big movies from earlier in his career was “The Bridge On the River Kwai.” The movie was released in 1957 and is probably most remembered for two things, the whistling performed by the British army at the beginning of the movie and the doctor running away while screaming “Madness!” at the end of the movie. After seeing it, there are many more things to remember than that.

The film tells the story of British soldiers at a Japanese prison camp during the Second World War. According to the Geneva Convention officers cannot be forced to perform manual labor as a prisoner. The Japanese commander Saito doesn’t care about the convention and wants everyone to finish a bridge. From this point the movie diverts into two films. One involves an American that is impersonating an officer escaping from the camp and the second involves the construction of the bridge. Colonel Nicholson refuses to have his officers help on the bridge; this makes Saito torture Nicholson and his officers by sticking them in hot boxes. Eventually, after Saito determines they will not break and no progress is being made on the bridge, he lets the officers out to have them supervise their men as they work on the bridge. The officers bring the men together and focus them on building the bridge out of pride. While all of this happens the escapee, Shears, is enlisted by the British to destroy the bridge. Eventually on the day the bridge opens confrontation between the two sides occur and the bridge is destroyed.

When I say that this feels like two films that is because the bridge building half of the film is far superior to the mission to destroy the bridge. Both Alec Guinness as Nicholson and Sessue Hayakawa as Saito put in master classes in acting. By the end they had both created such realistic and relatable characters that I wanted the British to fail in blowing up the bridge. They made me want the Japanese to win, which is a tremendous feat. From a directing standpoint the film was great, the establishing shot of the British marching and whistling allowed me to instantly understand the soldiers and their unity. The movie was shot beautifully and the climax could have easily been bogged down in complication, since there is so much going on, but it was easy to follow. Director David Lean did a great job with this film.

Overall “The Bridge On the River Kwai” is a great movie that reminds me of movies like “The Hurt Locker” today. This movie definitely deserves 5 out of 5 stars.

The Legend of Zelda: A Look Back Part III

The Nintendo 64 was sold on the marvelous world that was Super Mario 64. Nintendo had perfected the 3D platformer so expectations were high for the next biggest horse in their stable, Zelda. Could Zelda work in 3D? The answer was an easy yes. With The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Nintendo put out one of the finest games of all time. The game drew on the past games while expanding the Zelda world and creating a truly beautiful and cinematic game. Looking back the plot mirrors “A Link to the Past” pretty closely with just enough changes that really perfect the game. The dungeon design was amazing with the two forest temples being my favorites. And who could forget the feeling of riding your horse, Epona, across Hyrule field. While trying to run away from that giant jellyfish looking thing that would come out at night. The game also really introduced the use of music in Zelda, except of course for the transport flute. I’ve played the game many times over the years and it remains one of my favorites.

We waited so long for “Ocarina of Time” that I was afraid that only one Zelda game would be released this generation like on the SNES. Fortunately I was wrong and “Majora’s Mask” was released. I was reluctant to it the first time I played it. No Gannon, No Zelda, I mean come on, how can this game be good. Well it wasn’t good, it was great. With a three day time travel scenario, a few crazy characters and a fun mask system the game took the Zelda franchise and got experimental. I eventually dove into the game, found every mask and loved every minute of it. A great game that usually gets forgotten because of how great “Ocarina of Time” is but is really just as good as it.

I’m now about 28 hours into “Skyward Sword” and the whole experience keeps getting better and better. I’m through the first 5 dungeons and every time I start to feel like I’m getting board with the sword play, the game gives me something new to do with it. The items feel fresh and unique with new ways to use them. The only thing I’m starting to get bored with are some of the non playable characters. I wish that it had more Groose, but it is still a great game so far.

2011 Golden Globe Nominations

Here is the list of Golden Globe nominees (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly) with my thoughts on each category (where I have thoughts).

Best Drama
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

I haven’t had the chance to see any of these movies, but all have been on my radar at some point or another, though I didn’t think that The Help and Moneyball were comedies. The biggest surprise here is Hugo. For an animated picture to be nominated for Best Drama is strange indeed.

Best Comedy/Musical
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Carnage
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn

Another list where I haven’t seen any of these films but they have been on my radar. In either category I can’t think of any big snubs. Some will say Harry Potter, but really those people need to take off their blinders and realize that while the whole saga is definitely an achievement, the last films were not award worthy.

Best Animated Film
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Rango
Puss in Boots
The Adventures of Tintin

This has been a sorry year for animation, but whenever Pixar puts out a Cars movie I’m going to be disappointed.

Best Foreign Language Film
The Flowers of War
In the Land of Blood and Honey
The Kid With a Bike
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

Best Actor in a Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar

Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

Best Supporting Actor
 in a Motion Picture
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

Again people will be upset that there was no Alan Rickman love for Snape. But really watch his performance, in my opinion he didn’t really do much to earn one. Sorry.

Best Actress in a Drama
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Kate Winslet, Carnage

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help

Best Director

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Screenplay for a Motion Picture
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, Kaui Hart Hemmings, The Descendants
Steve Zallian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin, Michael Lewis, Moneyball
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, The Ides of March

Best Original Score in a Motion Picture
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Abel Korzeniowski, W.E.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse

Best Original Song in a Motion Picture
“Hello Hello,” Gnomeo & Juliet
“The Keeper,” Machine Gun Preacher
“Lay Your Head Down,” Albert Nobbs
“The Living Proof,” The Help
“Masterpiece,” W.E.

The movie Gnomeo & Juliet is nominated for a Golden Globe, ugh.
Best TV Drama
American Horror Story
Boardwalk Empire
Boss
Game of Thrones
Homeland

4 of the 5 nominees are new this year and this is only the second season for Boardwalk Empire. I have issues that Breaking Bad was not nominated, as in my opinion it had a great season and was some of the best TV available. If I had to take one away though I would find it difficult as both American Horror Story and Boss belong on there, but from what I’ve heard so does everything else. Couldn’t they have made a little more space?

Best TV Comedy or Musical
Enlightened
Episodes
Glee
Modern Family
New Girl

Probably the most infuriating nomination is the one for Glee. It’s only on there because it is the only musical available! To nominate that over Parks and Recreation and Community should be a TV crime. The voters should be locked in a room and forced to watch reality shows from the E! network for the next year, maybe then they will appreciate good television.

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey
The Hour
Mildred Pierce
Too Big To Fail

Best Actor in a TV Drama
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Damian Lewis, Homeland
Jeremy Irons, The Borgias
Kelsey Grammer, Boss

For the first time in a while nothing to complain about here.

Best Actor in a TV Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
David Duchovny, Californication
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Not true here thought, Californication is barely a comedy and Alec Baldwin has been phoning in his performance on 30 Rock for a couple of years now. There are a lot of other people that deserve to be on that list before these two.

Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Made-for-TV Movie
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Idris Elba, Luther
William Hurt, Too Big To Fail
Bill Nighy, Page Eight
Dominic West, The Hour

Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti, Too Big To Fail
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins, Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

I really wish they would split up Drama and Comedy here. Giancarlo Esposito (Gus) from Breaking Bad portrayed one of the best villains on television ever and to have him not nominated is a crime. Aaron Paul (Jesse) also deserved to be nominated. These two did some of the finest television acting I have ever seen this year.

Best Actress in a TV Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Madeleine Stowe, Revenge
Callie Thorne, Necessary Roughness

Best Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy
Laura Dern, Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Does Tina Fey have something on the HFPA? Her time has passed; it’s time to get some different blood in there. Plenty of other funny ladies on TV to choose from.

Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Made-for-TV Movie
Romola Garai, The Hour
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Best Supporting Actress in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce

Around the World in 80 Days - The Oscar Project Part XXIX

After “The Greatest Show on Earth” I was nervous about going into watching “Around the World in 80 Days” as I was expecting something similar. A bunch of boring entertainment held together by a thin story. Released in 1956, the film was a giant risk at the time. It was expensive and cast nearly every big actor in Hollywood at the time in various cameo roles. The film is based on the Jules Verne novel but included added scenes so that the Latin comedian Cantinflas would have a larger role. At the time he was the largest Latin star in the world and the movie was made to appeal to a global audience instead of just the American domestic audience.

The plot from the film is fairly simple. A wager is made at the England Reform Club that Phileas Fobb cannot go around the world in 80 days. Set in 1872 this is a very difficult task as most of the fast infrastructure in place today was not available. Fobb must travel with his man servant Passepartout via hot air balloon, boat and train. Throughout the course of the journey the pair encounters a large number of obstacles, several of which allow for a showcase of different cultures in the world. Unlike “The Greatest Show on Earth”, “Around the World in 80 Days” has a plot that kept my attention because I was constantly rooting for Fogg to win the wager and up until the end it seems that he may not succeed. Also the cultural displays in this film are far more enjoyable to watch since they don’t have the same “fake” feeling that existed in “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

From a production standpoint all of the actors put in a solid performance. Nothing really special about the performances but that isn’t what this movie was really about. In a film like this though the actors job is to put in a solid performance so that nothing distracts from the experience of the movie. Director Michael Anderson helps create that experience with great shots of far off lands and by using real objects and not models, and when he had to use models he used large scale ones, not small. The movie felt real like the crew actually travelled around the world in 80 days, which even though at the time the film was released would have been relatively easy, the film flows in such a way that it really feels like they are doing the impossible.

A film like this wouldn’t be made today unfortunately. The budget for something like this would be to large and unfortunately most of the population wouldn’t be interested in it. This type of movie is relegated to the documentary crowd now. I enjoyed it though and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2

As a continuation of my exploration of the Star Trek universe, I recently finished watching the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series. The first series ended on a high note with “City on the Edge of Forever” among other great late season 1 episodes. I was happy to jump back in expecting a great second season.

The season opens strong with the classic “Amok Time” which features the famous Kirk vs. Spock battle with the curved blades. This episode revealed a ton of information about Spock and Vulcan culture and was a great episode. The episode “Who Mourns for Adonis” was also fun since it played on the idea that the ancient Greek Gods were aliens. This was followed up by the classic “Mirror, Mirror” which featured evil goateed Spock. It was fun at this point to have a different view of the cast and to see the characters in a different light. We also get the return of Mudd from the first season and an appearance from Zephran Cochran, who would be familiar to anyone that saw “First Contact.”

Eventually I got to the episode “The Trouble with Tribbles” which I was looking forward to, but I ultimately found disappointing. I’m not sure what I was expecting, the Tribbles were cute and all but it was mostly boring. This marked a downward turn for the rest of this season with further episodes seeming to focus more and more with putting the crew into costumes and situations that dealt with Earth’s past. This was fun when they only did it during the first season, but here it felt overdone with half of the last episodes following this pattern.

Overall the season was almost the opposite of the first with great episodes at the beginning with bland episodes near the end. I’m interested in seeing what season 3 brings.

Take 5 12/09/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. Adele rules the Grammys! – Yeah I know that she didn’t get the most nominations, that was Kanye, but she got the most where it counts. Bruno Mars made a strong showing too with his freshman album. The Grammys are always really confusing when it comes to nominations because the eligibility period is very weird. For example Bruno Mars wasn’t up for best new artist either last year or this year, yet Nikki Minaj, who has been around for a couple of years was nominated this year. Anyways, I don’t really care too much about who wins. I just like to see the musical acts during the awards show.

2. Miyamoto Steps Down? – So first it is announced that Miyamoto (the creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda etc.) was retiring. That was immediately withdrawn and he is apparently just taking on less responsibilities. To me that is just fine. The guy was a genius, but I almost feel as though the past couple of years he has been holding Nintendo back and it is time to let go some of his control. The guy will always be remembered as one of the best designers ever, he doesn’t need to add more to his legacy.

3. Bernicio Del Toro Leaves Star Trek 2 – Probably a big mistake on his part. If it was his decision. The Star Trek sequel is hugely anticipated and the villain will get a lot of focus. Del Toro is a good actor and could make for an interesting villain. Hopefully they will be able to take this opportunity to get someone even better.

4. Alec Baldwin Upsets the Friendly Skies – So apparently Alec decided that playing Words with Friends was really important. He was recently kicked off American Airlines for refusing to put his phone away. He complained about it on Twitter, and then quit Twitter. Now first I applaud the airline for kicking him off, he broke the rules and that is what happens. But why quit Twitter. It’s America and the Internet. If you aren’t complaining about something on the internet and you live in America you might be Canadian.

5. Community Put on Hiatus – I really enjoy most of the NBC Thursday night comedy block. But it seems I am in the minority. I find Community to be fantastic, it is this fun little quirky show that reminds me a little of Arrested Development. Not as funny, but still really good. Unfortunately, due to ratings the show was put on hiatus. Hopefully it won’t last too long and it will be back and continue working its way to six seasons and a movie.

Marty - The Oscar Project Part XXVIII

The 1955 film “Marty” is best known to me as Ernest Borgnine’s best performance and is what gave him real credibility as an actor. This was curious to me as I have always viewed Borgnine as just a silly old man, so I was interested to see where he got his Oscar from. Similar to “On the Waterfront”, which won the previous year, “Marty” is really about the performance of one guy. But the question is does can a movie based on the performance of a guy who’s career didn’t take the same path as Brando hold up today.

“Marty” is about a butcher named Marty. He is a bachelor in his 30’s that lives with his mother and is socially awkward. One night he goes out to the clubs with his friends and ends up spending the evening with a lady who is almost as socially awkward as he is. They hit it off and the next day when he plans on calling her, he gets advice from everyone around him that he shouldn’t because of a variety of reasons. Eventually at the end he brushes everyone off and makes the call. And that is where the movie ends. This plot is okay but it is fairly simple. For the movie going audience of today not enough is really going on here. While “On the Waterfront” focused heavily on Brando’s character, there were others there, the entire plot of the movie didn’t hinge on his performance and he was able to make a good film a great one. Here, without Borgnine’s performance, the movie would have nothing else.

From an acting standpoint I find that Ernest put in a solid effort, but I didn’t find it to be anything spectacular. Except for the last speech, which was pretty good, his character lacked a lot of emotion. I realize that this is the way the character is meant to be portrayed and that it is really more of a script problem than anything Borgnine had control over. But a solid performance can’t carry a movie full of one note characters that you’re not supposed to like because the film is designed to make you root for Marty. It leaves very little to write about.

In the end I don’t think that this movie could have been made the same way today. Audiences now need more going on in a movie, and a more charismatic lead character. A character like Marty would most likely we relegated to a supporting character and a subplot which may sound unfortunate, but that is the way the world is. “Marty” gets 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Legend of Zelda: A Look Back Part II

As much as I enjoyed the first and second Zelda games it wasn’t until the Super Nintendo game “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past” that I became officially obsessed with a game. I don’t think I could count how many times I played that game. I did speed runs, I did runs where I didn’t save and I did several runs where I did not die. I played that game more than any other game of that generation. It also set up a lot of the mythology and game mechanics that are still in Zelda today.

It setup the concept of a twist after the first three dungeons, something that has carried over to almost every other Zelda game as well. It also introduced the proper mythology of the three separate pieces of the triforce, sages, and the dark world. It was a game I just threw myself into and remains my favorite 2D game of all time. Having such a huge world to explore and then halfway through the world size doubles by having a light side and a dark side.

Around this time we also got the Zelda cartoon series. This was part of the Super Mario show and they always showed the Zelda cartoon on Friday. Looking back I realize that it was not a very well produced cartoon, but I was always excited for Friday. Because that was Zelda day. The animation was bad and the stories weren’t interesting enough to remember at all, but seeing those Zelda characters in action made up for everything that was bad about it.

I’m currently 21 hours into “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” and I am really enjoying it now. I’ve adapted to the controls more and can now take on enemies a lot easier. Which is good because they have started to get harder. I’m near the beginning of the 4th dungeon and the separation between Skyloft and the world below makes me feel like I’m playing two different games. One I am exploring and adventuring and in the other I am just a citizen of Skyloft. It’s awesome. I can’t wait to see what comes up next.

On the Waterfront - The Oscar Project Part XXVII

Another year another classic movie. Released in 1954 “On the Waterfront” is another one of those movies that is best known for lines delivered by Marlon Brando. Going into it I was interested to finally see Brando playing someone that isn’t an old guy. This is the movie that really kicked off his acting career and helped make him a legend. The funny thing is that I knew nothing else about this movie, I just knew that I was about to see some Brando action.

“On the Waterfront” is about a dock that is run by the mob. Specifically it follows Brando’s character of Terry Malloy, a former boxer that has a good place in the mob thanks to his brother. However, he eventually begins to doubt his role when he helps the mob murder an informant. While this is going on Father Berry tries to bring order to the dock and get rid of the mob, but no one will talk against the mob leader, Friendly. As Terry falls in love with Father Berry’s sister Edie, the two work to convince him to turn on the mob. Eventually Terry’s brother, Charlie, tries to persuade him not to become an informant and when he fails Charlie is murdered. This all culminates in a fight on the dock between Friendly and Terry. Terry is winning until Friendly calls on help and has Terry beaten to near death. This all happens in front of the dock workers who finally unite and stand up to the mob.

While watching this movie I couldn’t help but notice some of the similarities to another great movie, “Rocky.” To me it seems that “Rocky” is simply what would have happened if Terry hadn’t thrown that fight that he was forced to throw. While the movie is very good most of that is because of the performance Brando puts in. Watching this movie it is easy to understand why he is a legend. This is the role of a lifetime and he nails it. The movie belongs to him as it is he that I remember throughout the movie. Everything else was perfectly fine, the rest of the actors are good and the direction from Elia Kazan is great, but it is Brando that really delivers in this movie.

Overall this is just a great movie thanks to the performance by Brando. If it were released today with the same level of acting the movie would be a definite nominee for an Academy Award. And whoever played the part of Terry would be nominated as well. It’s certainly one of the best characters created for the American cinema. It gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Legend of Zelda: A Look Back Part I

Most video games these days have become annualized. That means that we get a new one every year. For some of the larger games there is a two year break in between each one. There is one franchise though that has yet to follow this pattern. The Legend of Zelda. I’ve played each major home console installment of the series, starting with the 1986 original. I haven’t had the chance to play the portable ones, but that is just because I’m not really a portable gaming guy. It’s been 5 years since the last installment “Twilight Princess” was released and now I am 10 hours into “Skyward Sword.” Being the 25th anniversary I thought it would be best to put down some of my memories over the next few weeks about this great series.

I don’t remember the exact year that I played “The Legend of Zelda” (TLOZ) for the first time. What I remember most was the gold cartridge and just getting completely lost in the world. From a story standpoint the game was simple. Save the princess, beat the bad guy. But the world itself was full of puzzles. I remember burning a bush to find a dungeon entrance and wondering why I just stabbed a guy after he gave me his sword. It was a game that I kept going back to and beating over and over again. It even had a second quest that I didn’t enjoy as much as the first quest but I played through it multiple times just the same.

I was really excited for “The Legend of Zelda II” when it came out a few years later. But I was disappointed. Instead of the top down action I loved. I got a side scrolling adventure RPG. I was turned off by it and barely played it at all until a few years later when I returned to the game and got lost in what Nintendo was trying to do. Here was a new take on Zelda, full of the puzzles and action that I loved but presented in a new format that while different was still fun. After much hard work I eventually got through the game and beat the shadow version of Link. It still remains the most difficult Zelda game to be released.

Next week I’ll cover the Super Nintendo game and the cartoon. But first at the end of each of these I’ll describe my thoughts on Twilight Princess so far. I’m 10 hours in and I’ve beaten the 2nd dungeon. I’m loving the uses for the wii-mote when it comes to accessories. The golden beetle, bombs and slingshot all work great. The sword fighting is still a little waggle to win for most basic enemies, but for larger ones it takes quite a bit of patience and some skill. I’m enjoying the story so far, there are a lot of interesting characters being set up and I can’t wait for the pay off.

From Here to Eternity - The Oscar Project Part XXVI

After the last film “The Greatest Show on Earth” Oscar returned to honoring films that were actually good with “From Here to Eternity.” Released in 1953, the film returns to what is still one of the most popular subjects for Oscar films to this very day, World War II. No war is more represented by movies that have won the best picture Oscar. The reason is simple, the majority of stories about World War II end up being about good vs. evil. It’s a black and white depiction that allows for little controversy over why were fighting or why people had to die. Removing that, people can focus on the characters and stories that are being told.

The story focuses on several soldiers that are stationed in Hawaii during late December 1941. Obviously there is a high level of alert going on, but that stays in the background while we deal with the problems that the soldiers are having. The main plot focuses on Private Prewitt who has transferred to the company and refuses to fight in an upcoming boxing match. The company leader continuously tries to punish him until he agrees to box. Eventually this drives Prewitt to go AWOL, he eventually returns on December 7th where he is killed in battle. The attack also cancels the upcoming boxing match. During this story two love stories take place, including one that gives us the infamous love making scene on the beach with the waves crashing around them. The plot is much deeper than what I’ve described here and is full of layers that can keep anyone interested.

From a production standpoint the movie doesn’t miss a beat. Director Fred Zinnermann filled the movie with some great shots. Cuts were clean and he brought out a lot in his actors. Of course he also helped create one of the most memorable and mocked shots ever put on the silver screen, the beach love making scene. The acting is full of people that really know how to act featuring Burt Lancaster, Donna Reed, Deborah Kerr and Ernest Borgnine. Also featured was Frank Sinatra, he did a fine job in the film, but it is rumored that the way he got this role is what inspired the horse head in the bed scene of “The Godfather.” This is only a rumor and Sinatra puts in a fine performance.

This is the classic movie that you expect to win Oscars from back in the 50’s. It has classic Hollywood leading men and ladies. With an epic story and beautiful cinematography this could easily go toe to toe with many movies released today. It gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Review

I do not like “Twilight.” To be fair I haven’t read any of it. But, nothing there appeals to me. I know it’s about vampires and werewolves , but it is also about brooding and a chick that can’t make up her mind. I’m a Buffy guy. Like many people my exposure to vampires comes from a blond cheerleader who can kick butt and crack a few jokes while doing it. Buffy is my vampire universe, a place with less brooding and where vampires don’t bloody sparkle. That being said, I haven’t jumped into any of this latest vampire crazes offerings. Lately though I have heard good things about the CW show “The Vampire Diaries.” So, I sat down and worked my way through season 1.

“The Vampire Diaries” isn’t Buffy, but from what I understand it isn’t “Twilight” either. It is somewhere in between. It focuses on the tale of two vampire brothers and a girl. There is lots of brooding and pining, but were the show really succeeds is in two areas. The first is that stuff happens. Main characters die, people change allegiances and people get turned into vampires. The plot of each episode moves along the general arc of the story giving people a fun ride. Second the plot relies on the history of the vampires. These guys have been around for 150 years, it’s nice to see that the stuff that they did before matters.

The biggest thing the show is missing is humor. Buffy captured so many people because it made you laugh in addition to telling a great story. There isn’t a lot of humor in “The Vampire Diaries” but the shows dark nature makes it so that comedy wouldn’t fit. Then there is the brooding. The main vampire brother, Stefen, broods too much. Even when on human blood, he was brooding. I understand that the ladies like them a good brood, but get over yourself.

For those who have been looking to get another dose of Buffy goodness “The Vampire Diaries” is a solid option. The first season gets 4 out of 5 stars.

New Fall Season - The Conclusion

It’s been a while since my initial Fall TV reaction but a few more shows have debuted that are worth noting. After this we will examine new shows as part of the Winter television season. So, on we go with the New Fall Season Part IV.

Terra Nova – This show has really grown on me. It has the type of adventures that I would expect from a television version of Jurassic Park. It’s surprising how quickly I have started to care about the family members so that the mystery isn’t what is driving the show. It’s the characters and that always makes for good television. It’s a little unfortunate that we only get half a season this year, but hopefully the ratings stay good enough to warrant a return in the future.

American Horror Story – I hated the premiere episode and was prepared not to watch it again. But, then I heard that the episodes were getting progressively better. So I checked them out. And they were better, much better. In fact this has become one of my favorite new shows. It is so creepy and campy and that makes it fun. True, it makes no sense for these people to be in this house and to stay there, but there is enough fun going on that I almost don’t care.

Chuck – Back for the final season. Chuck is just silly fun spy stuff. And that is all I want from it. The show has been near cancellation so many times and so much has had to happen that it feels right for this to be the end. Obviously it is a little late to jump on now. But give this show a chance on DVD or in syndication. You won’t regret it.

Fringe – Back again in the Friday night slot of doom. The season has created a new world for us, and while it has been fun getting to know this world, much like when Olivia was kidnapped last year, I’m ready to move on and get something going. The problem with focusing on the disappearing Peter is that we know he will eventually come back. Removing a lot of tension from the storyline. So him coming back isn’t satisfying we need something else to really move the story along.

Once Upon a Time – From some people connected to Lost comes an okay television show. The show is interesting. It’s fun to see a twist on fairy tales, but the plot seems to be to stagnant at the moment. We have a town full of these characters and we want to see them be these characters not regular people. Move it along Once Upon a Time or you will start losing viewers.

The Greatest Show on Earth - The Oscar Project Part XXV

“The Greatest Show on Earth” is often referred to as one of the worst winners of the Best Picture Oscar, so it wasn’t something I was really looking forward to watching. Released in 1952 the movie was the 25th picture to win the big award. Half of the movie is a thrown together story and the other half is an exhibition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It makes for a very different movie than what people today are used to.

The movie focuses on Brad Braden as he tries to keep the circus in the black by hiring a big name star, Sebastian to take the center ring over Holly. A love triangle develops between Brad, Sebastian and Holly that also involves both Sebastian and Holly adding more dangerous elements to their routine until Sebastian is hurt. Also going on is a story about crooked carnival games and a doctor that mercy killed his wife and is now on the run as a clown. All of these stories come to a head when the circus trains crash into each other. The movie ends with a big show out in the open. Overall the movie just isn’t good. The plot that is there is just used to move us from circus act to circus act with little motivation to move the actual plot forward. The circus acts were interesting to watch, but don’t compare to the circus acts that we see today.

From a production standpoint this is also the tale of two movies. The circus acts were well presented but just outdated and the plot part of the movie was just filmed as a lazy side note. Each scene was just point a camera and have them act. Then there are the special effects, I realize it was the 1950’s, but they could have done some better cuts to make them more effective. I found Sebastian’s fall where we see the ground give way like a net would to be pathetic and the train crash looked so much like a toy train crashing that I couldn’t take it seriously. With a cast featuring Charlton Heston and James Stewart I would expect the acting to be above par but there was so little for them to work with that you could have thrown the all of the world’s best actors in there and it wouldn’t be special.

This movie just does not work in today’s world. If a similar movie were made it would not be an Oscar picture. It would be either a summer blockbuster if they went over the top or it would be made into one of those 3D concert type films. Don’t waste your time watching this go to the real circus instead. It gets 1 out of 5 stars.

Take 5 - 11/11/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. Brett Ratner Quits as Oscar Producer – Yay! Due to the disparaging remarks that mister Ratner made last week he has stepped down as the producer for the 2012 Oscars. All I can say is, thank you. The man is not a good fit with Oscar, in fact this was probably as close as he was ever going to get to getting one. I mean the man is responsible for X-Men 3: The Last Stand.

2. Eddie Murphy Quits as Host of the Oscars – This one I have mixed feelings on. It really depended on which Eddie we were going to get. The funny comedian of the 80’s or the family comedy man of the past 20 years. I was hoping that the Oscars would bring back the comedian side, but with him gone I don’t have to worry about him showing up in a fat suit.

3. Billy Crystal Returns as the Host for the Oscars – Yay! Billy was the Oscar host I grew up with and I have never felt that anyone has been near his level of greatness since he stopped hosting. This will be good for Oscar and I am sure ratings will improve because of it.

4. Groups Don’t Work on X-Factor – So apparently people don’t like groups. Both weeks only groups have occupied the bottom two on this show. Why? Because people like stories and with groups you don’t get to connect with one person and learn their story. A two person group might work but that is probably the limit.

5. Howard Stern to Replace Piers Morgon on America’s Got Talent – Had a hard time typing that, my fingers didn’t believe me.

An American in Paris - The Oscar Project Part XXIV

After a long run of serious dramas examining political intrigue, the aftermath of World War II and human emotion the Oscar movies return to the song and dance genre with “An American in Paris.” With Gene Kelly dancing and George Gershwin music the movie was a lot lighter than I have gotten used to with previous films and was much more about spectacle than plot.

The plot of the movie focuses on an American living in Paris after the war trying to make it as a painter. He also happens to be a fantastic dancer. He is friends with a great concert pianist and a great singer. How convenient. Eventually he becomes involved with a rich American woman but falls in love with the fiancé of his singer friend. He tells the fiancé of his singer friend, who the singer friend then takes away. After he just dances it out. The woman he loves returns and the movie ends. What a lame boring plot. Pretty disappointing.

From a production standpoint, the acting was nothing to write home about, but the actors didn’t get much to work with. The dancing scenes were well choreographed and the film was shot well. Nothing to really complain about, but nothing to really celebrate either. The big take home from this movie is the song writing from Gershwin with such classics as “I Got Rhythm” and “Our Love is here to Stay.”

After a bunch of great movies, this was a letdown. I love musicals, but you’ve got to have a decent plot to tie it all together. This just sat there. It gets 2 out of 5 stars.

Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1

As an admitted geek there has always been one badge missing from my nerd uniform. The Star Trek badge. I’ve seen the movies, a few episodes of The Next Generation and most of Voyager. But I’ve never seen The Original Series. The episodes never aired on a regular basis for me to catch on television and the DVD sets were always too expensive. But thanks to Netflix I can stream the entire series, and except for Enterprise the entire Star Trek television group can be viewed. I recently finished watching the first season and wanted to post my thoughts here.

Netflix has the original unaired pilot available for viewing. After watching it, all I could think of was how the hell did NBC greenlight this for a series. It had little action focused on a captain that was not played by William Shatner and was a very cerebral episode. The only cast member to be brought over from the pilot was Spock. Everyone else was replaced creating a very multi-ethnic group. The first several episodes followed a similar pattern to the pilot episodes. They focused on more cerebral adventures. Everything involved people manipulating the mind and not on physical danger of the ship. The first half also featured a two part episode that incorporated the pilot to display it as an adventure of the previous captain of the Enterprise.

The second half of the season really picked up the action and the story telling. I found three episodes from this half to be really good. The first is “Space Seed,” which is the prequel to Star Trek II. It introduced Kahn and now knowing the history of that character has upped my appreciation for the movie, the episode was also fun to watch. The next is “Balance of Terror” which featured the crew going up against a Romulan ship. It reminded me of the cat and mouse chase at the end of Star Trek II. The episode was great and I loved watching the crews of the two ships go head to head against each other. Finally “The City on the Edge of Forever” told a story that is very similar to Star Trek IV. Time travel is always fun when done in moderation and this story was fantastic.

Overall the season lives up to the myth that it had built upon itself. It really helps you understand the friendship that exists between Bones, Spock and Kirk. The season is 30 episodes but it was well worth watching and if you have ever been interested in the Star Trek series it is defiantly worth checking out. The first season gets 4 out of 5 stars

Take 5 - 11/04/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. Do a Barrel Roll – If you use Firefox or Chrome, do yourself a favor type in “Do a Barrel Roll” into Google for a sweet reward. You can also type in “Z or R twice.” For those video game players that remember both of these phrases it is an awesome little Easter Egg that Google put in. Go try now.

2. Joss Whedon does Much Ado About Nothing – So instead of taking a well earned vacation after filming Avengers, Joss Whedon’s wife convinces him to film in 12 days a modern black and white version of Much Ado About Nothing featuring a cast from all of his cult TV shows. Umm. . . Awesome!!! Whedon is about to go super big with the Avengers, its nice to know that he will still do the little stuff. Even more awesome though is the fact that he gets his actor friends together to read Shakespeare at his house. Must break in.

3. James Bond in Skyfall – Finally the next James Bond film is announced. Helmed by Sam Mendes and with Javier Bardem as the villain this could make up for the disappointment that was Quantum of Solace. I enjoy Daniel Craig as Bond and I am a little sad that this may be his last time out due to the licensing of the franchise postponing this movie for so long.

4. Grand Theft Auto V Unveiled – Rockstar Games have built themselves on this franchise and each one of the games in the series has been fun. This installment returns to San Andreas and will feature another former criminal trying to turn a new leaf. I’m sure the game will be massive and have a lot of fun elements, but I would like something new. Maybe set it in the future or in a new city that they haven’t covered yet. It will be interesting to see what they do to make this game fresh.

5. Kim Kardashian Gets Divorced – Don’t care. I just don’t care and neither should you.

All About Eve - The Oscar Project Part XXIII

“All About Eve” is another one of those movies that is always in the discussion of classic movies. Released in 1950 the movie takes an interesting look at a young actress trying to replace an older actress and what she will do to get the older actress out of the way. The real power in this movie comes from the acting of its two leading ladies. Both of whom give a master class in acting, not only through their lines but through the emotion that they wear on their face.

The plot of the movie focuses on an older actress currently in a play on Broadway. She meets a younger woman claiming to be her biggest fan and invites her to work for her. Eventually the young woman becomes an understudy and arranges it so that she gets to perform while many reviewers are in the audience. From here we learn that the young actress has been lying the whole time and this has all been a scheme to become a famous actress. At the end of the movie she has achieved fame but is hated by all those who helped her get there. The end of the movie also suggests that a young actress is already in line to replace her. The plot of the movie has a lot of potential, but the confrontation is missing. There is no big dramatic moment between the two stars; these moments are instead had with their lesser male counterparts. The entire film builds up to a confrontation that never happens.

This movie was all about acting. Both Bette Davis and Anne Baxter put in monster performances. This was an epic battle between two heavyweights. In the end I think age beat out youth and Bette Davis put in the stronger performance. But it is great watching these two dive so deeply into their characters. Baxter’s Eve made you very sympathetic for her before turning on her and then feeling sorry for her by the end of the film. But Davis just owned the screen with every scene she was in. I can’t say enough about the acting job that these two did. It is unfortunate that the script didn’t give them a final confrontation scene. Having these two fully go at each other would have been something to watch. The rest of the production efforts were good but nothing to really marvel at. The director, Mankiewicz, last shot of the young actress in the room of mirrors was terrific, but the rest of the film was fairly standard from a directing standpoint.

This movie could work today but it would need more closure between the two female leads than what we got in the film. Otherwise it was solid. 4 out of 5 stars.

Take 5 - 10/28/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. World Series Goes to Game 7 – I don’t really have a horse in this race but any game 7 in a championship series is exciting. Both lineups are full of power and both have had impressive bullpens throughout the regular season. I’m hoping that Texas is able to overtake St. Louis, they haven’t won a series yet. I am disappointed that this means no new Fringe this week and that the new NBC show Grimm won’t get a fair chance tonight as many people will turn for a World Series Game 7. Chuck will also get hurt by this, but it’s the final season anyways.

2. Harry Potter DVD’s to disappear after this year – So Warner Bros. is playing the Disney Vault card. Probably a smart move that will mean huge sales this holiday. The only question is, when they get released from the vault will DVD’s still be relevant or will electronic media be the king? They will have to do something pretty special to get big sales from them again.

3. Nintendo Reports Record Losses – Ever since I was born Nintendo has been a profit making company until this year when it will report losses of over 100 Billion. This is mainly due to the possible failure of the 3DS. I won’t claim that it is a failure until after Christmas however. Nintendo has made a lot of mistakes since they released the Wii. I honestly don’t think that they thought it would work and now just don’t know what to do. Hopefully the house that Mario built will be able to right itself.

4. New Charlie Sheen Series to air on FX – It’s called Anger Management and I couldn’t care less. Odds are this show will be a joke, people are so over Charlie Sheen that I see this as being a show that gets boycotted by everyone. Then again people still watch The Jersey Shore.

5. Thor Dies . . . Again – Last week was the conclusion to the Marvel summer series Fear Itself. It centered around Thor and some bad guys getting hammers and nazi robots. It was not very good. At the end of it Thor died. An ending that everyone saw coming a million miles away. However its finally happened and no one cares about death anymore. They killed off both Thor and Bucky Barnes in this series and no one cares. Because we have finally seen behind the curtain and everyone now realizes how pointless the revolving door of death is. DC has reinvigorated interest in their comics thanks to the new 52. Maybe Marvel should try something as well.

All the King's Men - The Oscar Project Part XXII

“All the King’s Men” was a movie I had often heard as being a meaningful movie when it comes to politics. So it was one of the movies on the Oscar winning list that I was looking forward to. Released in 1949 the movie is based off of a book of the same name and apparently is a thinly veiled telling of the life and assassination of real-life Louisiana Governor, Huey Long.

The movie plot follows a journalist as he begins to cover the campaign of Willie Stark. Due to corruption in the government, Stark loses his first bid. He puts himself through law school and then runs for governor. This time he starts making some of the shady deals that he refused to make the first time. As the movie continues Willie does big things for the state, but at the same time makes a lot of shady deals that profit himself and his family. We see this through the same reporter who is brought into Willie’s group as a close advisor who would get dirt on everyone. Eventually Willie’s antics catch up to him and he has to keep doing more and more illegal activities to try and keep himself looking clean. However by the end of the movie, after beating a possible impeachment, Willie is shot and killed.

The plot itself is decent and resembles some of the political dramas that are so prevalent today. However, there is a big step missing. The transition from Willie being a clean candidate to a dirty politician is glossed over. He goes from being a nice straight forward candidate to being someone who is willing to lie and cheat to get what he wants over night. Apart from this transition however the rest of the story is interesting and can match up with the plots of today.

From an acting perspective the movie belongs to Broderick Crawford and his portrayal of Willie Stark. Apart from the transition problem I mentioned above, Crawford puts in a master class of growing a character. By the time the movie is over he is hardly recognizable as the same character that started the movie and it is very convincing. Most of that is due to the script which is full of fun speeches and lines for him to say. The supporting cast is decent, but the movie would be nothing without Crawford. While the script is also pretty good, the directing is nothing to really celebrate. It’s a standard piece of work, but nothing really special is happening here.

With a few small tweaks “All the King’s Men” could work very well in today’s world. The topics would still fit, the meta-commentary on our current political strife would be present, and it would be an actor’s dream role. The movie gets 4 out of 5 stars.

"Hamlet" - The Oscar Project Part XXI

I have a long history with the theatre. Most of my teen years and my early twenties were spent either behind a curtain or on center stage. It even inspired me to take multiple theatre classes while in college. One of my favorite of these classes was my Shakespeare class. I had been introduced to Shakespeare in high school. It was there that I discovered my favorite play in “Hamlet.” Prior to watching the 1948 Oscar film I had seen three different versions of the play, twice on stage and the Kenneth Branagh 1996 film. I was excited to see a “Hamlet” that had won the Oscar for Best Picture and I knew that Laurence Olivier was a legend of the silver screen. Unfortunately I was let down.

For the most part the script follows what Shakespeare had originally penned. Cuts are made however to shorten the running length. The usual characters of Fortinbras, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were removed completely, that is a typical cut made and I can be okay with that. However they also cut all of the lines from the play within the play, this would be fine but they also have to cut the scene before then were Hamlet is giving the actors notes on how to read their lines. If they are not going to read any lines then why is he giving those notes? The biggest change that upsets me though is the opening lines read by Olivier where he equates Hamlet to simply being a movie about a man that can’t make up his mind. I’ve studied “Hamlet” and let me assure you that the script has a lot more to it than just someone that can’t make up his mind.

The set is what is considered standard now for “Hamlet” with the hallways and stair cases twisting to show the craziness that is present in his mind. The actual film work could use some work as the whole film feels to light without much use of contrast. On a whole the film feels very old. Not old due to the age of the script though. Just old as a movie, something I haven’t felt as much with some of the other films that I have watched.

If your going to take on Shakespeare and put it on film, it needs to have energy and this movie just didn’t have it. However, it’s still Shakespeare, but I can’t recommend that you watch this. If you want to see “Hamlet” go watch the Branagh movie. It’s complete and well done. I give “Hamlet” 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Take 5 - 10/21/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. Sherlock Holmes 2 Trailer – There are currently two Sherlock Holmes franchises going on. One is a British television series and the other is the American Robert Downey Jr. movies. Fortunately both are so different in their take that there is room for both of them. I prefer the television series but the addition of Moriarty to the movie should make for an epic battle on the big screen. The trailer promised more of what I liked about the first movie, which is all I really want.

2. The Walking Dead Premieres Huge – Who doesn’t love a zombie? Apparently no one since the second season premiere had a record breaking debut. The first season was good but not great television. It will be interesting to see where the series goes from here. I am pretty familiar with the comic but the show has already left that in the dust.

3. NBA Lockout Continues – While I am not really a basketball fan, and could care less about whether the season is saved or not, it is a shame that so many people will be out of work for the next 6 months. And not the players but the people that work at the stadiums or in bars close to stadiums. They will get hit by this the hardest since they don’t make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

4. Tigers Lose the ALCS – Yeah, maybe this isn’t a big news story for a lot of people but I am a Tigers fan. In the end the toll of the 162 game season was just too much for them. They came into the playoffs tired and injured. It caught up with all of them. Looking forward to next season and how they’re going to fill in their holes during the off season. Go Tigers!

5. Ice Cream Sandwich Unveiled – This is the next Android operating system and will but any android tablets and phone on the same operating system. I like the idea of Android. Open sourced software that is developer and user friendly, nothing wrong with that. The problem lies in how it is rolled out. Google leaves it up to the device makers to conform it to their system and get it out. With so many different devices several people get left behind. Still ICS looks pretty sweet, and delicious.

Gentleman's Agreement - The Oscar Project Part XX

In 1947, the movie “Gentleman’s Agreement” was released and would go on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The War was over and the clean up was still occurring. A big portion of this was the exposure of the Holocaust to the general public and the discussion of the creation of the Jewish state of Israel. The movie takes advantage of what is currently going on to make a statement about Judaism. The film more than any I have watched, other than “Mrs. Miniver”, was a movie with a message.

The movie focuses on journalist Phillip Green, who is a widowed single father, as he attempts to write a story that exposes prejudice against those who are Jewish. He takes the approach of pretending that he is Jewish and writing about his experiences. Over the course of the movie he is refused service and treated differently. He even begins having problems with his personal life as the ruse he is putting up is beginning to effect a new relationship that he has started up. The movie makes a big point that there was a lot of prejudice going on. This makes the movie very political for the time period and I can see this as being part of the beginning of the view as Hollywood trying to be very political with how it gives out its awards. Something that doesn’t seem to be as present today.

Directed by Elia Kazan, the movie doesn’t really break any new movie making ground. It felt standard from that perspective. The real draw to the movie was due to the script and to the acting. Gregory Peck carries the movie and he is one of the few actors that don’t have a problem doing that. He has so much gravitas when he is performing it is almost impossible to look away. He is also able to portray a lot of emotion without trying. The script was also solid and had a natural progression that stuck with me long after the movie was finished.

“Gentleman’s Agreement” was a solid movie that surprised me in how good it was. The only problem is that I don’t view the problem that it is stating as being a problem anymore. It makes the movie less relevant and since it presses its message so hard it loses a lot of its punch. Still a good movie is a good movie and it gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Breaking Bad - Season 4 Review

I have always been a big fan of Quentin Tarantino. His films have some problems but he has such a unique and distinct style that when I see a movie of his I am always overwhelmed by how fresh it feels. During this season of Breaking Bad I realized that this is what a Tarantino television series would feel like and is probably one of the reasons that I love the show so much. I didn’t watch the show when it first came out. I thought it was going to be light hearted or just completely devoted to action sequences. Boy was I wrong. This season of Breaking Bad had more plot, characterization and development than almost anything else on television.

Season 4 focuses on Walt and Jesse’s labor dispute with their employer Gus Fring. Over the course of the season this dispute brought on several changes for our characters. Walt essentially went crazy and by the end of the season truly broke bad, Jesse completely submitted to his old lifestyle before being brought out of it by Gus and grew into a better person and Skylar immersed herself further into the “family” business and learned that she would go far to protect her family. But in reality the season focused on two things the relationship between Jesse and Walt, and the character of Gustavo Fring.

Throughout the series the relationship between Walter and Jesse has grown as the two have worked together. In many instances Walt has referred to Jesse as a son. During this season there was a change. In one of the bigger moments of the series the two of them finally went at each other. After this confrontation the status quo changed. Jesse was the one on the high ground with Walter being the more criminal. I’m not saying that Jesse is a saint now, but he demonstrated loyalty to Gus and even more loyalty to Walt after the fight. He also became more involved in the life of his girlfriend and child. Walt went freaking nuts. He became overly paranoid to the point that he took a risk and poisoned a child to get at Gus. By the end of the season Walt had turned into a character that we almost cannot sympathize with. It will be interesting to see where this goes next season, with Gus out of the way, will Walt take his place? Will he go back to cooking meth or is his criminal past behind him?

The rest of the season focused on Gus. We learned pieces of his past and how he works with his employees. In developing the character the show writers have created one of the most complete villains to ever be on a television series. The actor playing Gus was able to convey an entire conversation without ever speaking. Everything about him said something. The color suit he wore, the look in his eyes. He was a complete character. Due to the fact the show is about Walt, we knew that by the end of the season that Gus had to die. Which is what is great about this series, any other show would have kept him alive, but the writers on Breaking Bad want to keep the narrative moving, the only way it could move any further is if Gus was dead. Their several instances throughout the season though that I think were purposely done just to get a specific reaction out of the final shot of Gus. He walked into the line of fire of a sniper, poisoned himself and somehow knew about a car bomb. When he stepped out of the room after the explosion there was half a second where I thought he might actually be invincible. If it weren’t for what happened the rest of the season I wouldn’t have had that great reaction to his death.

Breaking Bad had its best season this year. The previous season contained great acting and so did this one, but this year it just had something a little extra. The only show on television right now that I watch that can compete with this is Mad Men. I am interested to see if that show can still keep up with Breaking Bad when it comes back in 2012. And of course this season of Breaking Bad gets 5 out of 5 stars. If you’re not watching it, do yourself a favor and start.

Take 5 - 10/14/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. Netflix Puts a Halt to Qwikster – Thank you. I hated this decision from the beginning. I use Netflix pretty heavily and the thought of having to go to two different websites to manage my movie watching experience bugged me. I have my movies all laid out and I love the way it is right now. Fortunately I was not the only one who thought this was a terrible idea. So long Qwikster, we hated you before we met you.

2. iOS 5 is Released – I am a PC guy and it will be very hard for me to ever change over to a Mac. That being said I am very impressed with Apple and their new iOS update gives me everything that I love about my Android phone on a more reliable and more supported handset. I have one more month before I upgrade. Before now I was planning on returning to Android, but I am now almost certain to be getting the new iPhone.

3. The Avengers Trailer – If you would have told me 5 years ago that an Avengers movie would be made and that it would be written and directed by Joss Whedon I would have slapped you in the face and called you Shirley. But it is coming and we got the first real trailer this week. The big question that is still left unanswered is who are the aliens that are being used. We know Loki has an alien army, but what army? The rest of the trailer does demonstrate that this will be a very big threat and features classic Whedon dialog spoken from Downey. I can’t wait to see how this movie comes together.

4. The New 52 Sells 5 Million Comics – Wow! Thanks to the speculator bust of the 90’s comics have been slowly dying. The industry is on the verge of collapse but it appears that DC has managed to inject some life into it by relaunching their line-up. I think that they’ve done a pretty decent job so far. My only wish is that the comics would truly embrace digital and give me a Netflix type option for reading. I know they don’t want to kill brick and mortar stores but they also need to do this to save themselves.

5. The CW on Netflix – I know, two Netflix stories this week. But this one is just as important. I have a hard time giving CW shows a chance because a lot of what they show is crap at first. Then I hear that they start to get better. So now I can watch a couple of these shows that people panned at first and are now raving about. I love technology.

The Best Years of Our Lives - The Oscar Project Part XIX

By November of 1946, World War II had been over for about a year. In high school I was told about how this was some of the best times that America ever had. Little is ever mentioned about the toll that the war took on the soldiers returning from home. That conversation is left for the Vietnam War and now the Gulf Wars. “The Best Years of Our Lives” is an in depth study of how problems associated with war affected people after World War II and really shows a darker side to that time period that is glossed over in most history books.

The film focuses on the lives of three different characters. Each of them is suffering from effects brought on by their time served in the war. Al, an older gentleman, becomes an alcoholic, Fred, who cannot find a decent job and suffers from flashbacks, and Homer, who has lost both of his hands. Over the course of the film each of the characters are brought to their lowest point before being raised back up again. The film also takes the time to show the audience how family members react to their problems. The three stories intermingle throughout the movie before we are treated to a happy ending were everyone has either gotten over their problems or have accepted them as part of who they are. The ending is a little bit too happy and probably wouldn’t fit in with the cinema of today, but the journey to the happy ending felt earned, so it doesn’t take away too much from the film.

From an acting standpoint the film is solid. Dana Andrews carries the meat of the dramatic portion of the film and he does a very good job of portraying someone who has been deeply affected by the war. Fredric March puts in a solid performance as the alcoholic but it is not to remarkable. The most impressive performance came from Harold Russell, who actually has no hands in real life, since this was his first try at acting. He was able to convey a lot of emotion using his expressions that many actors can never get to. It is a complement to director William Wyler that he gambled here and won. Wyler also created some very intimate settings with the set. I really felt thrust into the lives of these characters when compared to some of the more open sets that previous movies have had.

It was great to see the negative effects of World War II depicted on screen, yet also sad to see that the problems that exist after a war have been around for so long and it seems as if a true support system just can’t be found to avoid these issues. There are several better pictures available that show the after effects of war, but if you want something a little lighter than today’s fare, this would be a good choice. It gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Doctor Who Season 6 Review

“Doctor Who” is fun science fiction, pure and simple. This past season of “Doctor Who” has taken a different approach than previous seasons have. It became apparent that Steven Moffat, the show runner, is telling a multi-season spanning epic instead of focusing on one season at a time like the previous seasons under Russel Davies. For me this makes the overall story feel more awesome but also frustrating as I am use to getting the answers for the season at the end of the season. If the story wasn’t interesting this would be a hindrance to the show. Fortunately, by focusing on perhaps the longest running mystery in television the storyline has me on the edge of my seat week in and week out. That mystery is of course the name of the Doctor. It’s something I thought would never be revealed, but with all the focus on it over the past few seasons, they will have to reveal it or we will feel cheated.

The season itself was full of fun and lots of head scratching moments. It introduced a new villain in the Silence. It was a little confusing distinguishing between the alien species and the religion, but it worked out. The Impossible Astronaut was a great way to start the season and really showed how ferocious the Doctor had become by turning the entire human race into murderers. The standalone episodes worked well, particularly the pirate adventure and the future Amy story. The episode featuring the flesh was suitably trippy and kept some fun with having two doctors. But the season had its biggest moments in the midseason finale and opener and then the season finale. These episodes not only answered a ton of questions but also had a lot of fun moments. Centurion Rory confronting the Cybermen, stuffing Hitler in a closet and Amy realizing that she is the Doctor’s Mother in Law.

The season wasn’t without a few flaws however. The River timeline has become a little confusing. I believe and hope that the River backward in time thing is over or won’t be used to often. It’s hard to follow now with seeing multiple versions of River. The episode featuring the dollhouse was a bit of a let down as well. Small kids being scared usually deliver a great payoff, but this just felt meh. Also, it felt like everyone was separated a bit too often. I love seeing the Doctor and Amy together and it felt like they separated them a lot this year. Still all of this doesn’t matter because this season gave us Stormbringer – Bringer of Doom. Such a brilliant name.

Another great season and next year should bring something really special. It is the 50th anniversary of “Doctor Who” and it looks like Moffat is getting ready to bring his grand epic to a close. As long as we have some more bow tie wearing fun I’m sure I’ll be happy. This season gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Take 5 10/07/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. Netflix vs. Amazon for Streaming Rights – Both Netflix and Amazon announced new streaming agreements today. Netflix with Dreamworks and Amazon with Fox Television. Both deals will add more content to the streaming arena. Being able to access both of these is great for me as it is more stuff I can stream whenever I want. The competition between these two companies is fierce and I love it. It is great for the consumer and helps to push the digital medium along further. I love my little DVD boxes, but I would much rather watch anything I want at the click of a button.

2. Arrested Development Returns . . . Maybe – It was announced this week that deals are in the works to bring back Arrested Development as a 10 episode series with a movie. While this feels closer than any other time, I’ll believe it when I see production actually starting. I loved Arrested Development, but I’ve gotten my hopes up to many times to get excited for this. Not to mention after 5 years will the show still be as funny as it was back when it first aired?

3. iPhone 4S Announced – It’s strange that the announcement of a new phone will dominate the news cycle for a whole day. The announcement of the phone came at the disappointment of many who were expecting something different. But I think if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The iPhone 4 has been tremendously popular, why mess with a good formula.

4. NBC cancels The Playboy Club and Free Agents – Well that didn’t take long. I never bothered to check out Free Agents and The Playboy Club probably belonged on cable, it would be a perfect fit for USA I think or maybe Starz. Either way both of these shows are not going to be missed, hopefully Hank Azaria will find a job one day that isn’t just a voice on the Simpsons.

5. The Death of Steve Jobs – I’m not really a huge Apple fan. I doubt I will ever buy an Apple laptop or desktop, I have PC rules built into me too deeply to give up that control. I do however have an iPad and iPods and I manage my music through iTunes. And with those, the iPhone and Pixar, Jobs was able to change the way people view things. He was a visionary and showman. He certainly left his mark on the world and he will be missed.

The Lost Weekend - The Oscar Project Part XVIII

The year 1945 brought an end to World War II. During this year the Oscar winning film “The Lost Weekend” was released. Unlike the last several films, this movie didn’t have anything that really displayed what I currently perceive as the social consciousness of America at the time. The war was coming to an end so people were happy, America was about to experience a baby boom and the depression was over. However, between this movie and the movie released the following year, I am beginning to wonder if alcoholism was already a problem for America during the 1940’s.

“The Lost Weekend” focuses on writer Don Birnam and his troubles with alcohol, particularly over the course of one weekend. The movie follows Don as he goes through several different levels of being an alcoholic. He hides liquor, steals money, gets thrown out of bars, hospitalized, institutionalized, experiences hallucinations and even contemplates suicide. Fortunately, the love of a woman is able to turn his life around and the story has a happy ending. The plot is predictable by today’s standards but it really manages to display the disease of alcohol effectively. It could go head to head with the more modern examinations of drinking that are part of the films of today. Even the ending isn’t overly sappy and really gives the character closure without making him completely forget the journey that he has been on.

From an acting standpoint the film relies almost entirely on Ray Milland. As the main character it is his job to make the audience believe in the experiences that Don is going through. He does a marvelous job portraying the fall that Don goes through in the movie. The differences that are invoked over each step of the process are subtle yet very effective. Jane Wyman does a decent job opposite him, but isn’t given to much to work with. Billy Wilder hits the mark from a direction standpoint, it is a good solid effort nothing to remarkable but the audience can tell that he knows his craft.

Overall the movie is good, nothing to special since the modern movie watcher has seen this story told time and time again, but this was still a good movie. It gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The New Fall Season - Part III

The new fall season is under way and every year there seem to be more and more shows vying for our attention. Here is the second part of my fall TV round up from what I’ve seen so far (both old and new) and thank you TiVo for making this possible. Check out my earlier blogs for my thoughts on other shows.

Terra Nova – Dinosaurs! Time Travel! Steven Spielberg! After having been hyped for more than a year I was worried that this show would turn out to be garbage since it had been delayed over and over again. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this is a pretty good episode. It won’t live in the land of great pilots but it was enough for me to check out a few more episodes. I like the premise and the characters have potential. Better than the stuff over on SyFy, that’s for sure.

The Playboy Club – I’m not sure what this show is trying to be. It’s a mix between a murder mystery and a Victoria’s Secret fashion show that is trying to evoke the same feeling as Mad Men. Well, it definitely isn’t Mad Men and it has a lot of flaws. The plot doesn’t make much sense and there isn’t a real solid actor among the group. This is a guilty pleasure show and its best chance for survival, which doesn’t seem likely, is to just go over the top in soapiness and crazy story lines. Just make it a fun show.

Fringe – The best Sci-Fi on TV returns with two solid episodes that could teach Ringer a thing or two about split screen filming. I’m still reacting to the slight nods that the show is giving to the old universe and to Peter. However, this can only last for a little while longer before I will get frustrated with Peter Bishop still being absent. Right now I am still having fun figuring out what is different and what is the same.

Fox Sunday Animation Domination – All the shows from last year return again. Not much to say here as each of them have been following the status quo. Each show has its own voice now and all appeal to the same type of person. Odds are if you don’t like one of these shows you won’t like any of them.

Pan-Am – The other show set in the 1960’s that premiered this season. And the better of the two shows. The acting is good and the interactions between the main characters are interesting and there is a lot of potential in the future. The only weak point is with the spy angle that is present. It feels out of place and I would rather follow the fun times that these girls have exploring the world and flying through the sky.

That’s it for now. A few more shows have yet to air, but I will cover them when they do.

New Fall Season - Part II

The new fall season is under way and every year there seem to be more and more shows vying for our attention. Here is the second part of my fall TV round up from what I’ve seen so far (both old and new) and thank you TiVo for making this possible. Oscar movie reviews will return once I get through all the new shows. Check out my earlier blogs for my thoughts on other shows.

Glee – Talk about a show that is on the bubble for me. I am back this year because there is a writer’s room this time around. Previous seasons were only written by two people. Hopefully this larger group will inject fresh ideas and bring consistency to the characters. The first season was great and last season was a big old mess. The first episode featured a mixture of the good things from the first season and the mess of season two. So far it remains on the bubble, but it got a little closer to popping it this week.

Modern Family – The show won a ton of Emmy’s a few nights before the premiere, so it had a lot to prove. And it proved that it deserved every single one of those awards. It was funny, touching and great. The process of following Cam and Mitchell as they adopt a son looks to be hilarious. There isn’t much for me to say about this show because it just continues to be great.

Community – The most under-watched show on network television. The series came back with a strong opener. Setting up some great conflict while at the same time setting up some great comedy for the rest of the season. Can’t wait for more.

Parks and Recreation – The second most under-watched show on network television and the best comedy on television, period. This episode did not disappoint. The season long arch of Leslie running for council is established and more hilarity from Ron Swanson is had. The show is so full of fun that a lot of people just don’t get it, but I am laughing every week.

The Office – With a new boss and a new CEO the Office returned to try and prove that it still belongs on television. Did it work? A little. Robert California and Andy Bernard being co-bosses allows the writers to keep both the crazy ideas and child like stupidity that was Michael Scott. The California character was exciting and fresh, while Bernard got on my nerves. Being in its eighth season the characters on the show are now simply caricatures of their former selves. Either you like the goofiness or you don’t. Right now, I still like the goofiness.

Person of Interest – I am not a big procedural fan, but the names attached to Person of Interest were to big for me to ignore. Unfortunately the show could just not capture my interest. Acting was solid and there wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with the story. It just didn’t hook me. I wasn’t engaged with anyone. If you like a crime a week type of story, this is probably right up your alley. Me, I need something meatier.

More to come!

New Fall Season - Part I

The new fall season is under way and every year there seem to be more and more shows vying for our attention. Here’s what I’ve seen so far (both old and new) in the first week and thank you TiVo for making this possible. I’ve already written about Ringer and The X-Factor previously so check out my older blogs for my thoughts on those.

How I Met Your Mother – A nice start to a show that is starting to feel a little old. During the first few years of the show, the mystery of the mother and plot movement were never part of my motivation to watch the show. I was more interested in the antics of this great ensemble. Now I watch mainly for the plot, meaning it’s not nearly as fun as it used to be, but I am still enjoying it. The return of Veronica at the end of the episode could bring a lot of fun back as I loved those episodes during the first season.

2 and a ½ Men – I had never watched a single episode of this show until this year and I don’t plan on returning now. As I was interested in how they would get rid of Charlie and the wife had already gone to bed, what would it hurt to check it out. Well it turns out the answer was my mind. The beginning scene was dumb meta commentary on Sheen. The only scene with the ½ man involved a bunch of fart jokes. And Ashton Kutcher acted like a robot. This is for the audience that doesn’t like to think, and that isn’t me.

2 Broke Girls – This show was full of characters that fit into a very clichéd role. However, it is just the pilot so it needed to go after the easy comedy. However, beyond the racist and sexist jokes were a lot of smart funny ones. I can see this show having a kind of funny first season, but then being awesome once it ages a little. My first like of the new season.

Up All Night – I was really looking forward to this comedy as it starred several people that I love and the commercials looked pretty funny. Overall I found the pilot to be okay. It was at least enough for me to check out a few more episodes and see where the show goes. It does hurt a little that I knew that originally Mya Rudolph was not a talk show host and all of the scenes referring to herself as one were shoe horned in. It made her character inconsistent. Hopefully future episodes will be able to feel more complete.

The New Girl – Probably the show I was looking forward to the most. It stars Zoey Deschanel in a great quirky role. The ensemble cast works well together and the addition of the Douche Bag jar was brilliant. It’s too bad that one of the members has to be replaced already, but I’m sure the writers will be able to make this show work. So far this is the best new show of the season.

More to come next week!

Take 5 Week of 09/19/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. Netflix splits apart – For me this is big news, for others maybe not so much. Netflix is splitting the DVD mailing and Instant Streaming businesses apart. Streaming will still be Netflix, while the DVD mail will be Qwikster. They will be completely separate, meaning no queue sharing. Before when I looked up a movie it was either streaming or not, now I’ll have to look through two different sites. That is really annoying. The only bright spot on this is that Qwikster will have a provision to allow for video game rentals which would hopefully save me some money when I cancel my Gamefly account.

2. 28 Million People Watch 2 and a ½ Men Season Premiere – I’ll be honest I checked in for the first 5 minutes to see how they got rid of Charlie Sheen. After his contrition tour that he has been on the past few weeks. I found this to be a little bitter. Killing him off is fine but to spend 5 minutes ripping him apart seemed a bit too much. I couldn’t bring myself to watch the rest of the episode. It was pretty bad before I turned it off. The next scene looked to fart jokes for comedy. This just reassured me that I made the right decision to not watch the show in the first place.

3. Avatar Lands Announced at Walt Disney – The Disney theme parks will soon be home to new lands based on the movie Avatar. I saw Avatar and thought it was a pretty good movie. Not great, but good. And while maybe having one ride or simulator for it may be cool, I don’t think that they will be able to capture the Harry Potter magic with this. Particularly since the sequel won’t come out until 2014. We have no idea what that movie will have or even if it will be good. I feel like there are other franchises to be mined instead of taking a gamble here.

4. The X Factor Premiers on FOX – No other show in history has ever had Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and a black guy with glasses judge singers while a guy with an AUSTRALIAN accent introduces people. That’s right Australian. So it was American Idol with a different host and a live audience. And was it just me or did it sound like some of the noise from the live audience was piped in. It sounded very fake and there was way too much cheering. In reality, I don’t really care about these early rounds. I didn’t watch them on Idol and if I watch it next year I won’t watch them on X-Factor. I’m more interested in where the competition goes next and how will that differ from Idol.

5. Katie Holmes to guest star on How I Met Your Mother – Okay, in reality I don’t really care that much about Katie Holmes she started out a decent actress who could have been something, but now she seems to have been abducted by a cult. Still, it doesn’t upset me that she will be on one of my favorite shows. I am more excited about who she will be playing. Quick spoiler for those that don’t want to know, look away now and come back next week. She is playing the slutty pumpkin. Which shows what this season will be about. Ted going back over his obsessions. He saw Victoria this week and will obviously meet up with the pumpkin again soon. Maybe he’ll get to meet the girl from his date match as well.

Going My Way - The Oscar Project Part XVII

Released in 1944, “Going My Way” was a return to the feel good movie for Oscar. The film features little in the way of dramatic tension or romantic subplots and instead focuses on music and letting Bing Crosby be Bing Crosby.

The plot for the film revolves around Bing Crosby’s character coming to a parish as a new priest that will be looking over the affairs of the church to begin the replacement of the older pastor that the church currently has. The film focuses on the differences between the two of them and on the actions that Crosby’s character takes to unite the local youth. Eventually the church faces hard times and is saved through singing. This feel good plot marked a departure from the more serious films that had won the previous few years. In my opinion this is due to the want in America to be able to feel better and not worry as much about the war that was being fought.

From a production standpoint there wasn’t anything that was wrong, it was a solid movie. But nothing really stood out as memorable either. The movie was a Bing Crosby film. He showed up, acted like Bing Crosby, sang a few songs and that was it. It helps that Bing is cool and I don’t mind watching him act or sing, but the movie could really have used something more than this.

The film just doesn’t hold up to today’s standards. It would most likely not be nominated for an Oscar and at best would be a plot in an episode of Glee. It gets 2 out of 5 stars.