Chuck: Series Review

It was 5 years ago when NBC took a chance on a new action comedy from the creator of “the O.C.” called “Chuck.” The show was a hit when it first came out, but like almost everything that was released that year it fell victim to the writer’s strike. Shows that were building an audience ended suddenly and didn’t come back for a long time. Since the series weren’t built to handle a short run when they came back for their second season the audience just wasn’t there, such was the case with “Chuck.” Every season from then on it was always a last minute decision on if the show would come back. Sometimes the show would only get a half season order just to get additional episodes added half way through. Thanks to NBC go through a nose dive ratings wise over the past 5 years we have been lucky to get “Chuck” for as long as we did.

“Chuck” became a show that if you were a nerd growing up in the 90’s then the show was made for you. Callbacks to great pop culture events from the 90’s was common place and was more than appreciated. Throwing in guest actors like Scott Bakula, Chevy Chase, Linda Hamilton and Timothy Dalton made the show feel special, like they were casting the show for people like me. After reading interviews with the creators I have realized that this is exactly what they were doing, but not to necessarily entertain me, but to entertain them. Add this to the great homage episodes to movies like “Die Hard” and “Star Wars” and the show was nerd heaven.

But the real heart of “Chuck” was in the story. I can’t really recall a couple that I loved more than Sarah and Chuck. The two of them together was what I wanted from day one and unlike other shows, once they were together it just worked. I never got bored with them as a couple and I was happy that the two of them got a happy ending. The journey they went through demanded it. But besides them we also got great side characters. John Casey grew so much over the series that I was disappointed to see him leave at the end. I wanted him to stay and keep guarding his picture of Reagan. Morgan, a character I thought I would hate for the run of the show turned into a great character. Not to mention all of the side characters throughout like Big Mike and Captain Awesome.

Overall I really enjoyed my time with Chuck. The show moved forward and adapted to the network requirements that made them craft 4 or 5 different series finales. Chuck ended when it should have and remained good throughout. It’s one of those shows that I always enjoyed watching, but probably won’t watch again anytime soon. Maybe in a few years on reruns, but for now my time with Chuck is finished. I give the series a very nerdy 4 out of 5 stars.

Lawrence of Arabia - The Oscar Project Part XXXV

“Lawrence of Arabia” is one of the few movies so far were this viewing was my second viewing. As I move further down the list this will happen more, but I watched “Lawrence of Arabia” originally because I thought of it as an important movie. The first time through I found the movie boring. A person just walking in the desert or huge shots of the desert while music is playing is what I took away from the movie. After watching this movie for the second time I realized how much watching these movies has already influenced my appreciation for movies and has allowed me to view this movie in a new light.

The film begins with the death of the main character, T. E. Lawrence. The death shown is just him crashing on his motorcycle. We then flashback to the beginning of Lawrence’s adventures in Arabia. We follow Lawrence as he travels across the desert and inspires the Arab people to form their own nation. He leads attacks on important cities and on the railway system of the Turkish empire. By the end of the movie he is driven close to insane by the fighting in the desert. At the end of the film both the British Army and the Arab King send Lawrence back to his home as they no longer have a need for him.

From a cinematography aspect the film is a masterpiece. The shots of Lawrence and the Arab army traveling through the desert and of Lawrence trying on his Arab clothes are brilliant and remain iconic to this day. Then there is the music, Maurice Jarre puts forth a terrific effort. The score from the movie is iconic and is instantly recognizable, for good reason. The scripting of the movie is one area that could have used some work. The plot could be a little bit tighter and the shift from the point of view of the movie shifting from Lawrence to other characters after the intermission doesn’t flow correctly. The jump between point of view characters is jarring at times, it would have been better if the viewpoint stayed with Lawrence or if they want to change characters pick one character and stick with them. And of course the movie had great acting. Peter O’Toole was amazing as Lawrence and he was supported by strong performances from Alec Guiness and Omar Shariff. It is a crime that neither O’Toole or Shariff won acting awards for this movie, but O’Toole did have to go up against Gregory Peck for “To Kill A Mockingbird” so I understand why he lost as that is one of the best performances of all time.

Overall I really enjoyed my second watch of “Lawrence of Arabia” and I can’t wait to see what has changed with the other films I have already seen as I watch them. This movie though gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Oscar Nominations - 2012

The Oscar nominations were announced today, and unfortunately I haven't been able to get to the theatre at all this year. At least not during Oscar season. So I can't really comment on any of these. Though for those that don't know the new rules. For Best Picture anywhere between 5 - 10 movies can be nominated, but the movies must receive 5 percent of the first place votes. This year we got 9 nominations based on this. Next year could be completely different, and no, I don't think the final Harry Potter film was snubbed. The Harry Potter films are good, but they're Independance Day good not Oscar good.

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Oscars 2012: Get the latest news, photos, and more

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Animated Film
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)

Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
War Horse

Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Documentary Short
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Film Editing
The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Kevin Tent
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen

Makeup
Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston, and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, and Yolanda Toussieng
The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, and Siedah Garrett

Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Short Film (Live Action)
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Monyeball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Alcatraz - Premiere Review

If there is one creator that is currently making television series where I will give at least the pilot a try it would by J.J. Abrams. Okay I would also give Joss Whedon a chance, but he’s busy making “Avengers” and isn’t a mega producer like Abrams. So I was looking forward to “Alcatraz.” It involves a mystery full of flashbacks and focused on an island while starring a hilarious giant Hispanic guy. However it’s on Fox, the one channel that will kill something quickly, and it wasn’t going to premiere until January. Not a great way to start, so I was a little worried that the show wouldn’t start out strong enough.

The premise of “Alcatraz” sounds promising. It is about a team of investigators that track down criminals that disappeared from Alcatraz 50 years ago and are now popping back up as if they had never aged a day. Over the first two episodes we met the lead cop lady, who of course has a connection to Alcatraz. The Alcatraz expert that is also a nerd for comic relief and the mysterious person that won’t give out all of the details. It set up a nice mystery and a showed how they will able to do a weekly standalone story. It will be interesting to see how long this pattern lasts, they did this with both “Fringe” and “Lost” and they both quickly changed into a more serialized show.

Overall I liked the pilot and the second episode that was shown last week. The lead actress needs a few acting lessons, but she will eventually catch up. Jorge Garcia delivered a couple of funny lines but the tone of the show was a little too overwhelming and they fell a little flat. Sam Neil was a little too ominous as well. But the story and the action sequences were fun and I am pretty close to being sucked into the overarching story.

The 2 hour premiere gets a total of 3.5 out of 5 stars from me. But there is a lot of potential here. It definitely gets a season pass on my TiVo.

Take 5 - 01/20/12

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. Resident Evil 6 Announced – I’ve played every Resident Evil Game up to this point, so why stop now? Actually I’m a little disappointed with the direction the last game took. But this series has turned into something where I am more interested in the story than the actual gameplay. But, if reports come out that the game is solid I will definitely give it a play through.

2. SOPA and PIPA Slowed – With the internet stepping up and taking a political stance it was no surprise that these two acts would be stalled. Both of these acts could create a bad situation and lock up the internet so that it would resemble the Chinese internet. Over there you can’t even look up stuff about “Back to the Future.” Would you want to live in a country where you can’t look up the name of Marty McFly’s Band? (The Pinheads.)

3. Benedict Cumberbatch cast in Star Trek 2 – Many people may not know him, he plays Sherlock in the BBC series “Sherlock”, but this is very exciting. The guy has clearly demonstrated he can act and being cast as a villain could make for a brilliant movie. It’s been a long time since the first movie so the excitement for this one has been building. Good to see it is finally on track.

4. Work It Cancelled – Yeah, this show was bad, and it was cancelled after 2 episodes. 2 episodes that probably never should have aired.

5. Apple Announces Textbook Plan – Boy I wish this was available when I was in college. I’m sure I have back problems due to lugging around 100lb of text books all across the campus at Wayne State. It’s cool that Apple is taking a lead in education. They’ve revolutionized cell phones and music, let’s give them education and see what they can do with that.

West Side Story - The Oscar Project Part XXXIV

When I started this project I knew that the 60’s would be a difficult decade. See it features four musicals. Four musicals, and I’ve only seen one movie version of the four of them. Now I actually like musical theatre. But I am picky. I’m a fan of modern musicals and find the older musicals to be boring and lacking any true characters. They were written based on songs and not about plot or character development. The first of these movies was released in 1961 and is the one I have seen before. It is of course “West Side Story.”

“West Side Story” takes the basic concept of “Romeo and Juliet” and sets it in Manhattan. There are two separate plots that run through the movie. The first is the street war between the white American Jets and the Puerto Rican gang the Sharks. The movie depects the angst between the two gangs through spectacular dance sequences. While this is going on the story of Tony and Maria is told. Tony is a Jet and Maria is a Puerto Rican. The two of them fall in love with each other and are torn apart due to the outside pressure thrust upon them by the gangs. Soon a couple of gang members lose their lives and eventually Tony loses his as well when he thinks that Maria is dead and is shot. The movie ends with both Jets and Sharks carrying his body away.

The movie has a mixture of things that it does well and things that don’t work as well anymore. The story is great. After all it is based off of the work of Shakespeare, so it had a strong background. The songs are actually pretty good and except for “Pretty” all of them are still really good songs. “Pretty” is the most old-fashioned of the songs but it isn’t too terrible. Still it could benefit from an update. From an acting standpoint there isn’t too much to write home about. They all put in okay performances but several people are either too old to be playing teenagers, these are the better actors. And if everyone had been older that would be great, but half of the actors are young kids that can’t act. It makes for an uneven mess. Then there is the dancing. While it is iconic and the moves are great, it just feels silly. The dancing is in severe need of an update. I don’t mean throw it all out and have all the gang members start crumping, but maybe make the dancing a little more dirty.

Overall, “West Side Story” is a classic for a reason. It could use with a bit of updating but it definitely earned its Oscar and from me it has earned 4 out of 5 stars.

The 69th Golden Globes Awards Review

The 69th annual Golden Globes held by the Hollywood Foreign Press were held recently. Unfortunately for them the movie race this year is fairly dull. No one is really rooting for one movie over the other and most people agree that “The Artist” and “The Decedents” are the two big movies of the year that will fight over the Oscar prize. From a TV perspective, it has always been difficult to really care about the Golden Globe awards because they are so reactionary to what is hot right now and since they come in the middle of the season we don’t always know what they are judging the results on. As this year they didn’t nominate “Breaking Bad” and went with the very popular “Homeland.” instead. For comedy I actually expected them to go with “New Girl,” but I think the break in episodes due to baseball killed its momentum and that is why they went with the dependable “Modern Family.”

But let’s take a look at the ceremony itself. The Globes have always been stripped down, with no musical numbers and until recently they have not even had a host. The entire ceremony this year centered around, “What would Ricky Gervais do?” Honestly, last year I didn’t think he was that bad, just funny. But then again he wasn’t making fun of me. People say he was kinder this year but that’s because he was fighting an uphill battle. People knew what was coming and were prepared with jokes about him. I was so tired of everyone having a quick shot at Ricky I was happy when Portman just ignored him. It’s funny once, but not every time.

Of course the stars were glamorous, but the big star of the evening was George Clooney. He is true Hollywood Royalty. He is what I imagine the stars of the 30’s and 40’s were like. They knew how big they were and they did what they want when they want and that is how the Cloon-meister rolls. He proved that last night and if you don’t believe me check out his acceptance speech online. They should get him to host the Oscars when he gets tired of making movies.

Overall I found this year’s Golden Globes a little boring. But this is just a warmup to the Oscars and it gets 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Apartment - The Oscar Project Part XXXIII

After the last Oscar winning movie, “Ben-Hur,” it was no surprise to see that the next Oscar winning picture was something a little smaller and lighter. The 1960 movie “The Apartment” fits that bill perfectly. I had never really heard much about this movie and to be honest my main exposure to Jack Lemmon is the Grumpy Old Men movies. However I knew that he had been an actor well before those movies so I was interested in seeing what he was like as a younger guy. The only other reference point for me was the famous closing line “Shut up and deal.” I knew it came from this movie but it is always fun to see those classic lines in context.

“The Apartment” tells the story of C.C. Baxter, a bachelor living in New York City who lives in an apartment. Being the 1960’s all of his bosses have mistresses and they all use his apartment to conduct their affairs. He uses this to try and secure a promotion at work. However the big boss at the company catches on to this and wants to use the apartment to conduct an affair with the elevator girl that Baxter has a crush on. At first Baxter is okay with the apartment use, but after a bad situation on Christmas, he changes his mind and quits his job so that his apartment can’t be used anymore. In the end this act helps him to get the girl, whom after he tells her that he loves her tells him to simply “Shut up and deal.”

The movie relies on the charms of Jack Lemmon as a leading man. A little too much to hold the movie together though. While Lemmon is charming and funny in the role, no one else really lends him much support. He seems to just be a goofy guy in a serious situation. I am a big fan of “Mad Men” and this movie almost felt like “Mad Men” from the point of view of the office clown. The movie needed something more to better define what it is. Right now it doesn’t feel like a comedy or a drama or really anything in between. Right now it just feels like it is lost. However the film does have some merit. Besides the performance from Lemmon, Shirley Maclaine and Fred MacMurray also put in a very good performance. The directing was also well done, it was a tricky film to shoot since more than half of it is set in the small apartment that Baxter owns. Everything about the film was solid, it just didn’t gel together.

This film would probably flop if released today with no changes. Unfortunately this would probably be changed into a romantic comedy that may make money or may not but would probably not get any Oscar love. Still it’s a fun but incomplete film and I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

The Legend of Zelda: A Look Back Part IV

Finally, after a long holiday break, I am drawing my retrospective to a close. I remember during the buildup to the Gamecube seeing the infamous Spaceworld trailer for the next Legend of Zelda. It was realistic and featured Link and Gannondorf fighting each other with swords. It was awesome. So I, along with the rest of the world, was very surprised when “The Wind Waker” was shown off at E3. A toon version of Link? This is not what I wanted. Still, it was Zelda and I figured it would at least have some fun puzzles. I was pleasantly surprised when I played the game though and learned how beautiful it was. The cell shaded graphics were some of the best I had seen. And even with the younger more cartoonish look of the characters it still has two great moments that I still remember to this day. I can’t forget when I dove into the ocean only to discover Hyrule castle was hidden deep within the water and the final boss fight where the master sword is planted in the forehead of Gannondorf as he turns to stone. The game remains my favorite Gamecube game to this day.

However, many didn’t like Toon Link and Nintendo gave the Gamecube one last blaze of glory with “Twilight Princess.” The game featured an adult Link with mature graphics. It also featured a new mechanic that forced Link to change into a wolf similar to the dark realm from “Link to the Past” when Link would change into a pig. It was a different Zelda game that after playing it felt old. I do remember the pit of 100 trials though. When I finished that I felt that I had really accomplished something. However, I didn’t play this game on the Gamecube. Because Nintendo also released the Wii at the same time and released the game full of waggle control for that system as well. At first it was pretty cool to swing Link’s sword, but eventually it became very clear that this wasn’t true control. The movement of the remote was just like the press of another button. The game was still fun though, just not as fun as some of its predecessors.

Six years later we finally got the next installment in the series, “Skyward Sword.” I’ve finally made it through the entire game and it’s a good game. It finally fulfills the promise of motion control. There are a lot of criticisms out there about it being fetch quests and constantly returning to the same areas. But the areas are different every time and what game isn’t a fetch quest. The story is fantastic and I can’t imagine ever forgetting the moments when I first entered the battle with the final boss, when Fi said goodbye, or the final parting shots of the Skyward Sword. The game is a masterpiece. It definitely deserves the title of “The Legend of Zelda” and from me gets a 5 out of 5. Now to go and try out Hero Mode.

Ben-Hur - The Oscar Project Part XXXII

The 1950’s closed out with one of the biggest movies ever. “Ben-Hur.” I’ve known about this movie for quite some time but I’ve never seen it. I knew that it had a chariot race and that was about it. But it was a big movie and is still tied for the most Oscar wins with “Titanic” and “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.” One of these two movies I love and the other I loathe. If you want to find out which, well stay tuned to this blog, I’ll get there eventually.

“Ben-Hur” tells the story of Judah Ben-Hur during the time period of the birth and rise of Jesus. Throughout the film the lives of Judah and Jesus intersect. The film also shows the oppression of the Jewish people from Rome, but does not tell it as one sided as most stories do. Judah interacts with nice Romans and is able to earn a place of high stature in Rome before he returns to his home. The story begins with Judah being sentenced to enslavement while his family is imprisoned. Over time, Judah earns the respect of his master and rises in the ranks of Rome. When he returns home he is told his family has died when they have actually been afflicted with leprosy. He challenges the person responsible to a chariot race and eventually reunites with his family before witnessing the death of Jesus. The story is grand and does not fail to live up to its description as an epic.

Acting in this film is carried by Charlton Heston. He is in almost every scene and as the titular character he should be. So liking this movie comes down to the question, do you like Charlton Heston? I like to think of him as a true classical actor. He has the strong jaw and the fierce stare that you want from a hero figure. He definitely has a presence on screen. But from an acting standpoint I never feel like he brings a lot of emotion and depth to the part. He is fantastic but compared to the complex acting of today he falls a little short. From a directing standpoint the movie shines. William Wyler was able to shoot a film that would fit in with the epics of today. The chariot race itself is a fantastic scene to watch and feels gritty and realistic. The film definitely captures the feeling of being away in another time.

Overall the film could be made again today, but I think Heston as the lead would bring the film down. We would need someone with a little more depth. Still the movie is a good watch and deserves its reputation. It gets 4 out of 5 stars.

2012 - A Look Forward

The New Year means it’s time to reset the calendar and take a look at what is ahead. This year looks to be very exciting when it comes to pop culture with a huge list of movies, games and television to look forward to. Here is a quick look at what I am looking forward to this year.

Movies:

The Hunger Games – I loved this book trilogy and have loved everything I have seen so far for this movie. Here’s hoping that it is good enough and does well enough to warrant the two sequels.

The Avengers – Joss Whedon directing a comic book movie that has been setup over the course of 5 other movies? Of course I’m excited. This movie could either elevate the Marvel films to a new level or will bring to an end a great age of comic book movie making. Either way I can’t wait to see this.

The Dark Knight Rises – Nolan has yet to do wrong in his Batman trilogy and with this one he looks to be taking the Dark Knight to new places. I don’t know if he can possibly put up a movie of the same caliber as The Dark Knight, but I am excited to see him try.

The Hobbit – I loved the Lord of the Rings and I am so glad that we will get the story completed when The Hobbit comes out in December. The trailer promised more journeys in the world Peter Jackson has crafted, which is just what I wanted.

Television:

Mad Men Season 5 – It has been over a year since we have been able to check in with Don Draper and the crew at the agency. Mad Men has been the best show on tv for four years and I can’t wait to further learn more about these characters.

Breaking Bad Season 5 – The last season ended with Walt really embracing the dark side. This final season should follow him as he continues his fall and possibly give him a redemption, if it’s possible.

Sherlock Series 2 – This is from the BBC. It’s a view on Sherlock that is modern and reminds me of Doctor Who mixed with Torchwood. The show is great and I wish that we could get more of it. But I will savor every bit that we can get.

Awake – This is a new show hopefully coming soon. The premise of it just sounds cool. A man lost his child in a car accident but his wife survives, except when he goes to sleep, where the same accident killed his wife but his kid survived. Which is real is a mystery to him and the audience. It’s a high concept show that has a lot of potential.

Video Games:

Mass Effect 3 – This will end a trilogy of games were I have been making decisions the entire time that actually effect the story and game play. To learn how these decisions will play out is to exciting for me not to be excited about.

Assassin’s Creed 3 – This game will end the Desmond storyline that has been going on since the games beginning. The past 3 have been great but I am ready for a change. Here is hoping that Ubisoft brings it with this next installment.

All of this is coming this year and who knows what other surprises we have to look forward to. 2012 is looking to be a pretty good year.