My Watch List

SurrealEstate

2021-09-18T08:14:00.001-07:00

Title: SurrealEstate
Starring: Tim Rozon, Sarah Levy, Adam Korson ,Maurice Dean Wint , Savannah Basley , Tennille Read
Category: Horror

TV Horror series used to be cheesy. This was because the budget was low. While low budget horror often drew their own fans, TV horror series usually didn't have such following. Low budget horror movies relied on shock and lots of fake blood and gore which appealed to horror fans or movie goes looking for a cheap thrill. TV horror series on the other hand were hampered by TV rules, which frowned on blood and gore. With that gone, all that was left was either comedic horror or cross-genre efforts like those with sci-fi to become something like certain X-Files episodes. Or pre-teen horror which focused on scare but never posed too much peril of the characters involved.

But TV horror series have seen a resurgence, most notably by focusing on interesting stories and takes. None is a better example than American Horror story with each season changing the entire story. Streaming services looking for unique content were willing to invest in series, bringing up their quality. They saw the success of Premium Cable channels like HBO who invested in quality TV. Basic Cable channels, are more cost conscious because they have costs to local cable carriers. Try being a cable carrier without HBO and see how difficult it is to get customers.

Basic cable channels are now wising up. They now see the investment in quality shows as they compete against streaming channels that don't have to pay local cable companies. We are now seeing rising quality in the TV series from these channels.

SyFy has always been a reliable source ridicule for their cheesiness factor in their movies and content. But their recent offering of Resident Alien has seen the quality rise. Good acting and actors. Coherent storyline and interesting characters. Character development.

SurrealEstate continues this trend. The only way the writers could think of this concepts was perhaps to tap into our obsessions with home remodeling and real estate reality shows. Put a horror spin on it by dealing with 'troubled' properties and you have a show where real-estate agents that work to sell haunted properties.

The concept shouldn't really work. Having a haunted house of the week to sell does seem like a trap to become episodic, where the house is sold at the end of the episode, wrapping up each episode nicely. But this series does two things right. First, have a story arc that continues from episode to episode and second, have interesting characters that while at first seem to be caricatures, are fleshed out bit by bit in each episode.

The audience's surrogate is the new real estate agent to the agency, Susan. She gets introduced to the team by the Roman, the owner of the agency and is brought up to speed on the type of clients they deal with. Often, other agencies hire them to take care and sell the haunted properties. As the series progresses, each team member's past and secrets are exposed. None more interesting though than Roman and Susan who both have abilities which make them most suited for their jobs. The supporting team don't disappoint but the joy in the series is in the discovery, so no spoilers here.

It's not too heavy nor is it to gory but the horror beats are real and can be unnerving if you have kids.

Watch SurrealEstate

NCIS New Orleans stuck in the swamp?

2014-09-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

Title: NCIS New Orleans Movie or TV
Starring: Scott Bakula, Zoe McLellan, Lucas Black,
Category: TV Drama

How do you process a Scott Bakula TV role? Easy, think of it as an extended Quantum Leap episode. Dr Sam Beckett doing what he can to trigger another leap. Try it. Chuck's Dad. Paranoid with a scientific knowledge beyond his peers. Sounds like Sam Beckett. Captain Archer of the Enterprise. Leader who is able to face uncertain situations with a strong sense of direction and convictions. Sam Beckett falling back on his principles in unfamiliar situations. Mr. Smith from Mr and Mrs Smith. Suave and debonair star in a corporate spy agency (aka defense contractor). Sam Beckett turning on the charisma while thinking fast on his feet. And so and so forth.
I have never been a big fan of NCIS. Too much Mark Harmon almost-smirks.Tried NCIS Los Angeles, which was closer to any other cop show. So much so, it didn't fit into the NCIS mould. There is so much running in that show. I get that they want it action-packed and to show off the leads athleticism (and hunky bodies) but when you compare that with NICS, NCIS looks like they are strolling around and taking their time getting anywhere. Finally, I lost interest in NCIS:LA because it was so similar to other cops shows.

Maybe the deal is that with each NCIS show, they break the "NCIS" mould further. They saw how the CSI spin-offs fell. CSI:NY and CSI:Miami was different in tone from CSI Las Vegas but were very much similar in mould. Strong leader? Check. Quirky, goofy technicians? Check. Strong female character with a history but now acting as the anchor to the team.Check. Sexual tension between secondary characters, Check.
Well, with NCIS New Orleans they seem intent on further breaking the "NCIS" mould, making less like the other shows. But they do so in a strange way. NCIS:NO changes the trademark NCIS segment still shots, those black and white still shots at the start and end of each segment. Those are supposed to be dramatic images and capture a pivotal scene or expression. With NCIS New Orleans, those still shots are in color. An arty-filter color shot but still color. And those stills weren't even dramatic, they seem to be only of Scott Bakula. Or Scot Bakula trying to express something. Was it in his contract that every still shot had to have him in it? This trademark characteristic also looks like it's going to be given the boot. By the time the episode is over, they didn't bother to freeze the scene, they just changed the color.

Is Emily Owens MD the new Greys Anatomy?

2013-01-17T04:15:00.000-08:00

Starring: Mammie Gummer, Michael Rady, Justin Hartley, Aja Naomi King
Category: Drama, Comedy
Like a friend that is doing too much to make other people like them, Emily Owens M.D., tries to charms us with her vulnerability just a wee bit too much. Whether that succeeds or not is yet to be seen. (Unfortunately not, as it has been cancelled).
Covering the grounds well-tread by Greys Anatomy, Emily Owens, M.D. (EOMD) follows the life of several medical students as they begin their internship at Denver Memorial Hospital. EOMD centers around Emily Owens, a young doctor not quite outgrown her vulnerabilities and still finding her footing in life. She thinks she is ready to take the next step with Will Collins, a fellow medical student whom she has had a crush on for years. Now both of them are about to do their residence under the famed Dr. Bandari at Denver Memorial.
The series re-imagines the teaching hospital as high school for grown-ups. Which is bad for Emily as she didn't have an enjoyable high school experience. To make things worse, her high school nemesis, Cassandra Kopelson, is also joining the group of new medical students. Suddenly, all the things in high school she thought she had out-ran come back to haunt her again one by one. Things also doesn't go well with Will when he doesn't respond to her advances and instead starts dating Cassandra. Cassandra also makes no qualms about reasserting her role as Emily's tormentor, especially when they are both competing for the attention of Dr. Bandari. She even introduces her high school nickname/taunt to the hospital.

The cast of Emily Owens

Rounding up the people in Emily's life are Tyra, whose father is also the Chief Resident and Micah Barnes, the resident in charge of the interns who is also facing his own inner challenges. Their stories, usually involving Emily in some way, make up the background stories of EOMD. While they are interesting in themselves, the story never strays far from Emily.
It's still too early to see whether the series tip closer to drama than comedy or vice versa. Both elements are there in equal and it never dips too far in either way. I can't say that the comedy breaks up the drama like some shows because the comedy would be both sweet and slightly sitcom-ish. It actually moves the show along. Because of that, the medicine sometimes takes a back seat. It's there in the drama but definitely not in the same way as E.R. nor House. Clearly, for now, the medical scenes are much more sterile and the blood is kept to a minimum.

Sherlock vs Elementary: Two TV shows take on the modern Sherlock Holmes

2012-10-08T08:40:00.001-07:00

Sherlock
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman

Elementary
Starring: Johnny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu, Adian Quinn

Category: Mystery, Drama

When Sherlock came out, I was blown away. I had no expectation whatsoever. First, the movies studios have expanded and shaped the Sherlock Holmes stories to suit their own mold and the result is that many people who are aware of Sherlock Holmes have the movie images and stories in their minds. This sometimes is not true to the books. Second, there have also been too many interpretations of the Sherlock Holmes series that have tried to be different but end up no where near and often incomprehensible. I'm looking at you The Return of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes Returns.
You have to go back to the original stories to appreciate Holmes entirely. His character was often less pleasant and manners more rough than the movies often show. This was acknowledged by Dr, Watson who serves as the narrator in almost all of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Most of the movies characters come across as polite but slightly eccentric Englishman. Did you know that the hat that is famously associates with Sherlock Holmes, the deerstalker hat, was never mentioned in any of the stories directly? He also never wore them often or in the city. It is his unique character in the stories, alongside his brilliant powers of deduction, that made him so appealing. In fact, Dr. House from the TV series House was noted for his similarities with the Sherlock Holmes in that they both use methods of deduction and logic, apply the knowledge of science and being sort of out of the mainstream social behavior. I consider Dr. House a worthy successor to Holmes but with the medical knowledge (and responsibilities) of Dr. Watson.

After watching Sherlock, the BBC version, I felt like giving it a standing ovation. The BBC series captures both of the characters wonderfully. The series not only captures the essence of Holmes, especially his idiosyncrasies, but manages to transport the character and intellect intact into the modern world. He is not easy to get along with as he is a driven, logical and focused individual. Like other geniuses, he worldview is different than most and that makes it harder for others to understand. What they see as something surprising and unexpected, Holmes sees as mundane and predictable.
And this is not just any modern world but modern-day London with it's character and personality intact. If this were an American production, you would have gotten cliches by the truckload. But since this is the BBC, London itself is a character, the more dank and dark one that Holmes inhabits.
The deep character links to the original books extend to Dr. Watson. While Dr. Watson severs as the narrator in many of the Sherlock Holmes books, there are some details as to who he was before he met Holmes. I found it especially delightful that they managed to incorporate and update his experience in Afghanistan. The original Dr. Watson was in the Anglo-Afghan war while the modern Dr. Watson also served in the modern day war on terror in Afghanistan. Both left the war with scars.
The storylines bear some resemblance to the original but appropriately updated and expanded. The pace is unsettling as it speeds up and slows down on a dime yet looses none of the drama that it tries to invoke. I thought I would be offended with the expansion of several of the minor characters but I wasn't. They were done with a purpose and properly fleshed out to add to the mystery but not enough to distract or bore.

Elementary, on the other hand is a mixed bag. I first wanted to write this off as another American TV series literally stealing from their British counterparts (you would be surprised how many popular shows are just copycats). But again I was surprised. I would like to say that Johnny Lee Miller was taking cues from Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Holmes but he could have easily been sourcing from the source material. It's easy enough to point to other TV characters and draw parallels. But you have to remember that almost every cop show where some thinking is required to solve crime owes something to the Sherlock Holmes stories (sorry, Walker Texas Ranger and Fall Guy). And every anti-hero, anti-social detective character has their roots to Sherlock Holmes. So the question of who is copy whom should never arise. Finally, Adian Quinn, playing the Lestrade role, makes a good bridge between Holmes's existence and the law. I hope he has more to do and his character further expands.

The Dark Knight Rises above all other comic book movies

2012-08-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway,

Category: Action
How much are we willing to pay for peace? In many places in the world, peace is often at the cost of freedom. Because freedom, while desirable, can be an agent for instability. And peace, while appreciated, can really mask instability. Those are two of the many themes of the final installment of Chistopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises.
The movie begins a number of years after the events of The Dark Knight. Although Gotham is peaceful and prosperous, Commissioner Gordon carries the weight of guilt on his shoulders. Guilty in perpetrating the lie of Harvey Dent's death and in the vilification of it's true hero, Batman. Moreover, the result of this lie is a tough law called the Dent Act which reduces Gotham's criminal elements to a bare minimum. It makes his job easier but Gordon is driven by the ghosts of the lie, never letting down his guard and going about with a sense that he will pay for his sins. For everybody else, prosperity reigns most and people go about their lives blissfully unaware.
Bruce Wayne also carries a heavy burden. He feels guilty for the death of childhood love Rachel and his choice of putting what was right before his personal feelings. He feels that his chance for happiness is gone, having not only lost a friend but someone whom he could have shared both of his lives with. He is also a broken man, the scars of his battle with the Joker taking it's toll on his body and spirit.
From seemingly out of nowhere comes the villain Bane. He has an agenda for Gotham, an agenda that seems to have no source or background. Although it appears to be that he is some sort of mercenary, it's quite clear that he is his own boss. Bane is ruthless and without mercy.
Bruce Wayne's shuttered existence is interrupted when his safe if broken into and his mother's pearl necklace is stolen by Selina Kyle, a master thief. He finds himself impressed by her skills and intrigued by her motivations. Selina's actions inadvertently leads to Gordon being taken by Bane. He is saved by Officer John Blake, who goes against his superior's orders to save him. This and Bane's actions, forces Wayne to bring Batman back.

Blane's trail leads Batman/Wayne back to Selina. He sees a kindred spirit in her, someone who also wishes to leave everything behind, as he had done when he left Gotham. He tries to reach out to her but she is too jaded with the world. Nonetheless, she helps him and Batman with their efforts to thwart Bane.
In the meantime, Wayne faces problems at Wayne Enterprises. A business rival, John Dagget, is trying to gain control over Wayne Enterprises. Helping him to defend his empire is fellow board member Miranda Tate. Alfred, in despair over what he sees is the return of the self-destructive drive of Wayne behind Batman, reveals a dark secret he has been keeping from Wayne which leads to a confrontation between them.
All that and the movie is barely a third of the way through! This three hour long movie provides a huge amount of entertainment value. It makes time pass quickly whether you are a Batman fan or not. Even if you haven't seen the first two movies (and I know there are four of you out there), you can come in an enjoy the movie as just an out-and-out action movie.

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Sucker Punch Explained

2012-07-29T03:44:00.002-07:00

This was a single article which got split into two. This is the spoilers section. The review of the movie Sucker Punch is here.
.
SPOILER ALERT
By the truck loads. There is no way to explain how to see the movie Sucker Punch without giving it away entirely. Which makes it hard for word of mouth promotion or any promotion at all. So you end up with the focus on the action and the girls.
The best way to understand the movie is to accept that what you have seen most through the movie was the imagination of Baby Doll on two levels. This is like the Kaiser Sozey myth of the Usual Suspects. Whatever you watched, you saw, never really happened. Or happened in a different way.
In the beginning of the movie, as Baby-Doll was being brought into the asylum, she saw the elements she needed to escape. She knew she only 5 days to escape and went about getting those items quickly. She was also befriended other girls who were with her on the scheme. The asylum was run on the inside by the orderlies led by the orderly called Blue in the movie. The escape plan went wrong and the girls were hurt badly but in the end, Baby-Doll realized she had to sacrifice herself so that Sweet Pea could manage to escape. As she was about to be lobotomized, she imagines a dream world. In this world, she replaced the asylum with a brothel. Baby-Doll probably had been able to build dream worlds to replace reality during the times she was molested by her father. This is what she did and what we saw during the brothel sections of the movie was a mix of her reality in the asylum and her imagining it as a brothel. This was her final escape before being lobotomized. You could see the world of the asylum crept in her dream world like the visions of the kitchen, the dorm and the grimy hallways. Whatever was replaced by the brothel imagery (of lights and stages and costumes) were probably pushed out by Baby-Doll from her mind. When she began dancing and entering her dream sequences, she was basically replacing her experience of stealing the items with her fantastic imaginary worlds, only keeping the memory of the excitement and the rush of adrenalin pumping through her. So like a Russian doll, the movie begins with the real-world (asylum), goes into the dream world (brothel) with the imaginary worlds (action scenes) at the center. The movie re-enters the dream brothel world and ends in the real world.

The title of the movie is spot on. Even at the most basic level, the ending will leave you wondering whose story is the movie really about. Despite of what the movie narration alludes to, it is still Baby-Doll's story. Since Baby-Doll goes catatonic, she never really sees Sweet Pea get on a bus. That probably is part of her dream world, too. The return of the wise man, is probably an indication that the vision we see is hers, justifying her sacrifice in exchange for Sweet Pea's escape.
Although the structure of the story seems unique, it has been done before but better. In comparison, the sucker punch was truly delivered by the Sixth Sense.

Game of Thrones. This seasons MOST guilty pleasure

2012-06-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

We have a guest contributor today, AR3.

Starring: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Lena Headly, Peter Dinklage

Spoiler Alerts for anyone who hasn't watched Season 2.

Last night I attended a dinner party. Almost everybody has a rich friend; and these were my richest friends, I'm talking Rolls Royce not Bently in the driveway. Anyway we were chatting and somehow I mentioned Mad Men and how obsessed I'd become by the series... and then it happened...

The dinner was a party of 8 plus a baby; as soon as I geeked out on Mad Men, that's when one of the boyfriends confessed that his girlfriend is obsessed by Game of Thrones (GOT). This admission was followed by another, then another, until pretty much the infant was the only one not raving about GOT.

I hitched a ride home and surprisingly the conversation continued. We talked about how the different plots were so solid, how Prince Joffrey, now King, was a jerk. How he was lucky to have Tyrion to kick Stannis Baratheons ass (we are on episode 9 (S2) at the time of writing this).

My friend said it's really funny because no one is really talking about this Show, yet so many people are addicted to it like it was crack. Girlfriends, boyfriends, affluent, normal, so many were junkies of this show. (probably because of the abundance of risque materials -Ed.)

Fantasy isn't really cool (how many Frodo jokes have you heard?). As a former D&D gamemaster, I embrace my geekiness, but for the uninitiated, this sensation of pleasure that comes with watching Dragons come to life is something new.

I say get over yourself! Enjoy the ride and tell as many people you can about the awesomeness of Game of Thrones.

Moneyball and the Answers to Life's Problems

2012-03-23T12:21:00.001-07:00

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Category: Drama
A friend of mine was so upset at the ending of this movie, his advice to me was to turn off the audio at the end of the movie. I'm glad I didn't. I'd miss out on the most important part of the movie. It's the part that changes the movie from what it appears to be into something better, something bigger than the sum of the parts of movie. The M.Night ending, if you must. The Sixth Sense kind.
You've probably have read that some movies are referred to as 'rides'. This means that they are like rides at an amusement park. You get on it with great anticipation. It feels great while riding it. You walk away from the ride excited. But in 5 minutes, you'd forget about it and probably moved on to the next ride.
Moneyball can be enjoyed as 'ride' movie. You can take it as the story of the underdog baseball team, going against all odds to achieve greatness. Only problem is, that wasn't the whole movie. The odds were stacked up against them. But they were largely internal or of their own making. And they didn't win at the end. Yes, they wrote themselves into the history books. But they didn't win their last game. They didn't win the game that would have ended the movie on a high note.

It can be argued that the movie is about the enduring hardships of a small team and ends on the romance of baseball, the principles of one man and the spirit of resilience and steadfastness. If you take it like that, the movie is easier to understand than The Natural.
I think that the movie can also be seen as the struggle of one man, Billy Bean, the General Manager of the Oakland A's baseball team, to build a winning team using whatever little resource he has. He has to find players that would give him any advantage against the opposing team. He uses individual player's strength in the areas he needed them rather than view their strength as a whole. He breaks down the game itself to the basic factors that will make wins and find the players that will do just those. Along his way, he finds that he is up against those who do not share his vision but he remains steadfast. Billy learns to stand up against the baseball establishment's ideas of what win ballgames in pursuit of his own vision.

Keith: Things are not often what they seem... but sometimes they are

2012-02-25T08:58:00.003-08:00

Starring: Elisabeth Harnois,Jesse McCartney
Category: Teen Drama / Romance

Keith (Jesse McCartney) is what some people call trouble. He views his world with contempt and he knows that the adults around him are powerless to change him. He mocks them openly. He knows they are uncomfortable around him. So he uses their discomfort to make them do what he wants and get what he wants.
Keith decides to bring down school goody-two-shoes Natalie (Elisabeth Harnois). First, he makes their science teacher pair them together. He creates this elaborate persona, mysterious and challenging. He never bends to her basic requests and answers few questions as possible. He knows he can take advantage of her inquisitive personality this way. He makes her work even for the simplest things.
Keith wants to humiliate her. He starts by making her do things she wouldn't normally do. He thinks that it would bring her out of her comfort zone, making her more vulnerable. But he discovers instead someone who is closer to himself than he thought. When it comes to understanding their world around them, her view isn't too far off than his.
While Natalie does great in school, is involved in school activities and has an active social life, she understands that high school doesn't last. She puts the right amount of attention and importance to them. She avoids teen drama as much as she can. She knows about the pecking order and realizes she is at the top. She just doesn't care that much about it. She has a better grip on life and her reality than most of her friends.
She is popular and socializes in the right circles but has no qualms when it comes to making friends outside these circle. She knows exactly where all of these things stand in the big picture.
Natalie is really running in automatic most of the time anyway as her parents has planned her life in detail. However, they do leave space for her own activities. They don't try to stop her from being a teenager. Since she is good at school, she apparently has relaxed house rules. That and because she follows their plan.
She knows there is a world beyond hers but doesn't venture further than what she's used to. Not to say that she would feel uncomfortable with it, there was no reason to venture out further. She is not afraid of it. She simply has no reason to push her boundaries.
Until she meets Keith. Keith lures her further and further away from her comfort zone. He points out things in her life that makes her question her life and direction. But as he draws her away from her 'comfort zone', she finds she is not too uncomfortable with it all. She deals with it as she would anything else. It doesn't cause the damage he expects. She in turn, tries to be part of his life. This catches him by surprise. Instead he becomes uncomfortable. She want their relationship to grow but he doesn't.
The movie starts out promising and is romantic and touching. But it isn't great. The world of the movie is fairly realistic, though. High school cliches are avoided but it seems the producers and director were casting actors who looked older. If they were trying to make up for Elisabeth Harnois, they really didn't have to. She is much older than Jesse McCartney but looks no older than he is. What they ended up with is this weird group of teens in the popular group who look out of place from the rest of the school.
Keith starts the movie being arrogant. Being young comes with a sense of arrogance. A sense of rebellion. It comes with the absence of experience. It may even be a mechanism for dealing with a new-found realization of a world larger than what was known and comfortable with.
Either way, Hollywood has been tapping into this sense for a long time. Just look at the image of James Dean and Rebel Without A Cause. That, I think, is what the people behind this movie were aiming for. A rebel that could be looked up to, that continues in that great tradition of movie rebels. That was what they were aiming for in the character of Keith.
What they ended up with was an irredeemable jerk called Keith. Seriously, not a moment goes through the movie when you don't want to slap that smirk off his face. Which is just about the range of Jesse McCartney's acting in this movie. Be mysterious expression? Smirk. I don't care attitude? Smirk. Surprised expression? Smirk. CSI: Las Vegas did a stunt casting by having him on. Elisabeth Harnois is a regular on the series. He was mostly in the hospital bed barely making sense with a few lines at the end. That was I guess how much they trusted his acting.
Some people had problems with how Natalie fell for Keith. Really, there is no reason. But when is love reasonable? She felt an attraction, a kinship with his views on life. She felt challenged in the relationship and she liked it. They communicated at a different level. Both were wearing masks. Masks that worked in their social world around them but not to each other. They had to remove it to honestly communicate and within that they found something special. They found a form of comfort that one can only find in truth and dealing with it. Which is a rare thing for a teenager. This part of the movie worked but I think that it was because it was told from Natalie's point of view.

Don't Fade Away: A Son's Journey

2011-12-13T10:37:00.000-08:00

Starring: Mischa Barton, Ryan Kwanten, Beau Bridges, Ja Rule
Category: Drama, Romance
This is a beautiful, powerful drama on life, love, friendship and the business of living. Jackson is a music executive losing his star client, survives a mugging and finds out that his father is dying. Already having lost his mother, Jackson realizes what is important in life and decides to do the right thing. He drops everything and goes home to Asheville, North Carolina (which according to IMDB has seen quite a number of movies made there). But Asheville is in the sticks and far removed from LA, where Jackson is calling home now.
He is at a crossroads in his life but decides that taking care of his father is more important than taking a fork in that road. He puts off his life and decides to face some of the history he has left behind. His father's mortality has him re-evaluating his life up to that point. Whatever doubts he expresses, his father has great faith in him and is proud of him nonetheless.
Jackson reluctantly reconnects with old friends and old wounds are re-opened. Jackson meets Kat, a girl who worked at his father's office and is drawn to her as she is to him. He can't understand why she would be interested in him other than having a common love for his father. But time ultimately draws them inevitably closer and soon he has to make a decision, to take one of the forks in the road of his life journey. I won't spoil the ending because for some people, they wished the movie would have just ended there. The director/writer has all right to end it any way he wishes. But the way he chooses to end it shows what the movie is or who it's for.
Acting was great all around. But Ryan Kwanten and Mischa Barton's really stood out. Ryan's acting signals clearly that he is leading-man material. His character showed genuine remorse and concern for his father. Always underneath whatever he was doing, was his concern about his job and his career. It surfaces and clashes with Kat's carefree but meaningful outlook on life and that is how they first connect. Kat, while seemingly carefree, carries her own burden. She realizes who she has become and feels powerless to stop it. Yet with Jackson, she finds a kindred spirit, someone who is also dealing with his demons that threaten to derail his life. Together they find solace and strength.
Supporting cast also didn't let the story down, living their characters as if they had been so all their lives.
The movie has two things going for it other than lead actors. First, it had an interesting story structure. It is a story of coming home to find oneself. But also is also a reflection of sorts into the past. There are flashbacks that seem strange and dream-like. As the movie progresses, it seems like the story is breaking apart at the seams and at the end it looks like it's taking a different turn. But the twist in the end ties it all up together. It's just not what the audience expects and hopes. Second, it features great music. Sometimes it would "bleed" into the story. You would think that the music is background music and suddenly the character would point it out or make a comment on it. It happens quite a few times that you become more aware of the music and songs.
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9 : Hard Movie to Dislike But Must

2011-11-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Starring (Voice): Elijah Wood, John C. Reily, Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau
Category: Sci-Fi, Drama
9 is a post-apocolyptic movie with a twist. It's unlike most movies of the genre, where a group of people survives a global holocaust (usually nuclear) and tries to survive and rebuild. In this movie, nobody survives. At least, no humans.
It is a world where humans fought machines and the humans lost. However, the devastation was so complete that the machines themselves were nearly wiped out. What survived are small mechanical dolls that are as much alive as they are machines. They have name/numbers given to them by their Creator who is also apparently a Scientist. He made them unique in a way and obviously had plans for them although they rarely acknowledge his existence.
It is a hauntingly beautiful world. There is beauty in the stillness of post destruction, amongst the debris and carnage left behind. It is this world that the mechanical doll with the number 9 wakes up to. And it is in this world he is thrown into a quest he does not fully understand but knows he must take. 9 is driven by his sense of what is right but he is not at all righteously pretentious. That mantle is 1's. 9 is brought to 1 and discovers other dolls like him. This is after he survives an attack by a cat-like machine. In that attack, 9 is saved by 2, the first doll he encounters. The cat-machine takes 2 instead and 9 knows he must rescue 2. It is his first quest of many that becomes the thrust of the movie.
The world of 9 is very atmospheric yet keeps a unique look to it. It still looks at times like a beautiful painting. A beautiful painting of a devastated world. The action sequences in the movie are frantic and is shot with the best of them, with vista shots and pulls to show the scale and speed of the fight. I can go on and on about the visual aspects of the movie. Unfortunately, I can't do the same to the story.
Where do I begin? The stereotypical characters were uncalled for. Not for the depth of the actors involved in providing the voices. Christopher Plummer is unmistakable as 1 and Elijah is yet on another quest as 9. But beyond them, there is not much depth. Although the other dolls have their own interesting, unique characters, they need a wee bit more character development for the movie to work on a higher level. I wish the director focused less on the scenery and put more work on the characters.

The movies also hints at a potentially deep back story. The world before the apocalypse could be understood from the perspective of 9 who is constantly adapting to it as he is learning his way around.. However, the background and the way it is explained away too thoroughly leaves little to the imagination. The mystery of the world is lost to us as all questions are answered through explanations and vignettes. It deprives the story of it's mystery and scale. What could have been rich with possibilities is exposed a flat and predictable.

The strange and ambiguous ending also didn't help it's cause. I understood the role of pseudo-science and alchemy in the story to explain the existence of the dolls. But the ending and it's use to explain the survival of the world seems out of place and a bit jarring. I understood the "physical-renewal-through-spiritual renewal" angle the story was trying to push. But that need to push it instead of making it come naturally, makes the ending feels forced. In the end, the viewer is neither gifted with an uplifting ending nor does it make it clear that a renewal is happening to the audience. I may have understood it but the fact I had to explain it to the people watching it with me is the reason why the movie didn't take off as it deserved.

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The Good Guy: Definitely Not

2011-10-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

Starring: Alexis Bledel, Scott Porter, Bryan Greenburg
Category: Drama
How would you market a movie about something that everybody hates? Find that redeeming quality and shine a light on it, darkening everything else? Focus on an angle that would make it appeal to the widest audience to get the most number of people through the door on opening day?
This movie is hard to like because it is about stockbrokers and the lives that they lead. It is harder to like because it came out after the crash of the market. What made it almost impossible to like is that it is about the type of people who would give themselves bonuses after being bailed out by the government because of a problem they created. Even if the movie was partly true, it would have made people upset. Problem is, it probably just scratched the surface because it focused on the traders lives, which are extravagant themselves, rather than their bosses.
Beth (Alexis Bledel) is in a relationship with Tommy, an experienced stockbroker. She is introduced to Daniel, an up and coming broker who Tommy has decided to take under his wing. Tommy wants Daniel to be one of the guys. Why? Maybe he saw a part of himself in Daniel. And wants to beat that part of out him.
Needless to say that the movie is really about Tommy. It begins with a seemingly heartfelt moment when he goes and begs for Beth. We then get to see the events leading to that moment. Needless to say, it is not what it seems to be. Tommy begins the movie as the Good Guy. He seems like it. He is nice to Beth. He vouches for Daniel. But he has an agenda. To understand what Daniel wants to be, you have to look at Cash, Tommy's boss and idol. He is on his way to becoming Cash.
The other characters were largely supporting and stereotypical. I will admit I watched this because of Alexis Bledel. Anna Chlumsky of My Girl is in it too. The movie tries hard to be one of those selling New York as a great place to live and work. What made the movie worst is that it literally shows us that New York is a great place to live and work if you got the cash. Which was Tommy's problem at the beginning/end of the movie.
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Charlie Valentine. Mob movie unfinished

2011-10-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

Starring: Raymond J. Barry, Michael Weatherly
Category: Action
It is a story of an aging mob enforcer who has no qualms as to who he is nor what he does. He knows he is just a thug in nice clothes. There is no pretense of glamour. He likes the life though. The money, the girls. He understands that his skill for violence is a tool and does not let it consume him. He appreciates that his style and the image of the mobster is attractive to some but shrugs them off knowing well that the image is not real. He knows that he is a survivor and that the most important thing to him is to keep living, to keep surviving. Deep inside, he knows he is a coward.
He decides to hit his boss for that last score to go off and retire. He gives specific instructions to not carry guns which everyone in his team ignores. Although an odd request, he knows that if they get caught without guns, they may be in for a beating but will probably live to see another day. It goes wrong and everyone but him is killed. He makes a run for it with his 'retirement plan': His boss's prize Cobra sportscar. With no place to go, he reconnects with Danny, his son. Danny is a former convict who idolizes his father. He works for Ferucci a low level mobster running a strip club. Finding a new lease on life and being in the odd position of being looked up to, he begins to groom his son into his image.
But is he redeeming himself? He may be reconnecting with his son but he is bringing him deeper into the underworld. Charlie teaches him reluctantly at first but is energized by his enthusiasm. He knows he has made all the wrong choices but will he let his son see them as the right ones?
This low budget mob movie is gritty and focuses on the reality of a mobster. It strips away the glamour and polish, leaving the violence and broken lives of the people living by crime. The violence is graphic and obviously where most of the budget went. I never though I'd ever say this but they should have spent a bit more on the set. The locations were great. There warehouse where Rocco makes his office is a telling reality of his life. The cash he deals with maybe a lot but it doesn't buy him the luxury you would expect a mobster at his level would have. But that is reality. In a crime organization, only the top tier live anything close to the mobsters in Scorsese movies. Rocco may collect a lot of cash, but he has to hand it up to his bosses as well as to pay for the people around him (who pay others below them). I guess that is why respect, another form of currency, is so valued.

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TV: Gilmore Girls - Bonds, bonding and a lot of talking

2011-02-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

Starring: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel
Category: Drama

Every show tries to offer something truly unique at the beginning of the series. Even if it is another CSI rip-off or worse, a Kojak rip-off. The main thoughts of some TV executive watching a top rated show is probably "How do we do that but better?". In the end, most shows offer the same but in a slightly different way. Gilmore Girls on the other hand, offered something different, original. Two non-crime fighting female leads who are mother-daughter but act more like sisters. It also offered something interactive, a show where a mother can watch with her daughter and find things to talk about afterwards. It was not catered for either but for both. It wouldn't have seen the light at the other networks but the WB was probably desperate and were willing to try something really different to attract viewers.
Basically, the series is about the story of Lorelai Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham and her daughter Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore, played by Alexis Bledel, whom she had when she was 16. She leaves her family to raise Rory on her own, the way she wants to raise her. Their close relationship swings between Mother-Daughter and Best Friends territory. It is central to the series and grows as they both grow and tackle issues together and separately.
The series begin with Rory succeeding in getting a place at a prestigious prep school only to realize that the school fees are too high. Desperate, Lorelai goes to her estranged parents for help. They agree with the condition that both of the girls attend regular family dinners. This leads to too many uncomfortable dinner sessions. Imagine Thanksgiving every week. Ouch. The girls' relationship with the parents/grandparents is one of the key focus of the series.
The series also tells the story between the Gilmore Girls and their relationships with the interesting people of their town, Stars Hollow. This is one of the strengths of the series. It has a large cast of interesting characters that have unique personalities and hints of past history. It adds a whole new dimension to the story telling. It is not about the same 5 people every week with guests coming in and out. There are townsfolk that feature more prominently but the girls interact with almost everybody so everybody is involved in the story at some point. Even if you look at the number of townspeople who are central, it's more than a few. There is Luke with his Hardware-themed diner (because it was his father's hardware store before), Lorelai's accident-prone best friend and chef, Sookie; Rory's best friend and closet (literally) rocker Kim, Kim's strict mother, ever-glum Michel, their hippy neighbors Babette and Morey, glamorous dance teacher Patty, overzealous town mayor Taylor and multi-employed Kirk. It is so big, I am positively sure I missed someone.
The series is smart and made no apologies about it. There is a huge amount of dialogue. In the interviews, almost all of the actors point out how thick the scripts were. It's witty, smart and sophisticated but it felt real at the same time. It was not out of place for the characters that said them and you could feel that even for the small parts, the actors put their hearts into it. As for smarts, nothing matches the exchanges between Lorelai and Rory. It is filled with inside and obscure references, a reflection of their love of reading. Some of the early DVDs even have a separate subtitle track that explains the references. It was rapid fire, blink-and-you'd-miss-it fast. It hints of strong emotions and an intimacy thats deep.
Tying the great dialogue, interesting characters and picturesque small-town setting are the stories that drives the series. They are often unique but yet we can relate to them. Relationship problems, family issues, work challenges, life happening in general. Very few things that happen seemed force or "situational". Some story lines develop over many episodes in short scenes. Kim's search for a boyfriend, for example.
The truth is I was trying to watch Parenthood but I was totally distracted by Lauren Graham. She still is to me Lorelai. I half expect here to break out into a 3 minutes monologue comparing the challenges of bringing up teenagers to winning the Crimean War. It was too much that I am going through the old DVDs just to get it out of my system. But rather than being a chore, it turns out like visiting an old friend and wondering, why haven't I been back more often. Then I think, why aren't are shows like this anymore?

TV: A tale of two Cupids

2011-02-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

Starring: Jeremy Piven, Paula Marshall, Jeffery D. Sams
Category: Romance, Drama

What do you do if you were a TV network and you just cancelled a good show for poor ratings. Not just a good show. Those get cancelled all the time. But a show voted one of the top 10 shows that was cancelled before its time. Deny its existence? Bury it with a remake so bad that it was shown about the same time as another bad reality show with the same name?

What a fate for Cupid, a smart, beautifully-shot series with a slightly unconventional but challenging premise. It starred Jeremy Piven as Trevor, a recent resident of a mental asylum who thinks he is Cupid and Paula Marshall, as Dr. Claire Allen, the shrink assigned to monitor him. Trevor claims to be the banished Cupid, who can only return to Mt Olympus after he unites 100 couples. Dr. Claire Allen is a popular author who is looking for her next best-seller and runs a relationship-therapy session. Trevor thinks this is fertile grounds for him to find candidates for his quest. Most weeks there are basically two intertwining stories, Trevor working on uniting a couple, whether they want to or not and Claire and Trevor's relationship as a bickering patient-therapist to close friends to possibly something more. It sounds corny and with finding love a weekly theme, it always threatens to be so. But the series is filled with witty banter and intelligent dialogue. And you get to catch a pre-Entourage Piven doing what he does best.

The series had a lot going against it. First, it was up against Friends when they were at their best. They were also vying for the same group of audience which made it even harder. Second, it was an expensive series to produce because a lot of it was beautifully shot on location rather than on set (try to think of how little Friends was shot outside. Even street scenes were in a studio or a backlot). The cast was also larger than most. There were a few recurring guest characters but the story lines usually center around guest stars.
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TV: Bones - Science with Heart

2011-01-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

Starring: David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Michaela Conlin, Eric Millegan
Category: Mystery, Drama

I was really late coming to Bones. It also came with a few false starts. I caught a couple of episodes in Season 3 and wasn't impressed. There were too many CSIs and me-too series. I was also cheesed off at the whole NCIS vs Criminal Minds thing. Really? 2 teams with exactly the same make up. Father figure leader with tortured past? Check. Tough as nails, street-wise former cop. Check. All-knowing / All seeing Lab dweller. Check. Learned, technical, academic figure. Hot, burnette, smart, butt-kicking female. Check. At a glance, it didn't strike me how Bones was different from the others. Also it is shot in really bright lights. In comparison to the CSI series, being schooled in the X-File school of near-zero lighting and illumination-by-flashlight, it was like it was sponsored by the power companies.
I was intrigued by a few episodes in Season 3. Enough to make it a point to catch the premier of Season 4. What a mess that was. Agent Booth came off as the ugly american and it felt like a travelogue rather than a crime-drama series. So I stopped watching.
Then I caught an episode involving Ryan O'Neal as Dr. Brennan's father and another one featuring Steven Fry as Booth's psychologist. I was hooked.

It was a good time to catch the series. While the series is about the cases centering around Booth and Dr. Brennan, the series does not skimp on character development for the other characters; Anglea, Hodgins and Dr. Saroyan, Dr Sweets. It is nice to see a series that has it's characters go in very different directions. The different personalities are distinct and yet they can interact both professionally and personally. This helps to make the series relate to it's viewers.

The Natural

2007-05-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

Starring: Robert Redford
Category: Drama, Feel-Good

I caught this as it was starting on TV. Now, I knew what it was about to start of with. I had read reviews about (or rather tributes to) this movie. So part of me came to see what the big deal was about. At the end of it, I wasn't that impressed.
Don't get me wrong. I fully understand watching it some years after it was release puts it in a different context. It is a more cynical time so watching it with new eyes is a different experience. So what does that mean? This movie doesn't stand the test of time?
Robert Redford, on his part was very effective. The Roy Hobbs character was older in years and has more under his belt so I get that his acting creating someone more subtle, more things to hide. His ability to convey that is truly a gift. Contrast Redford in this movie with another one further down the road, like Sneakers, where he was less subtle in actions even though this character had also something to hide.

I guess the main reason I wasn't swept away by this movie was that it involved baseball. I think it was me rather than the movie's fault. I'm more of a football and basketball guy. I understand the concepts in general and able to figure out what is good and bad in the game. But there is something about baseball that makes it less dramatic, less interesting. Maybe the fact that the players spend most of the time standing or sitting around doing nothing. Or how detached the back office can be from the actual game. It turned me off to the movie because as a sports movie, there was actually too much about the sport rather than the people playing them. Towards the end, I thought the characters actually become shallower. It's just my fault I didn't quite understood the story of the movie. It felt like a ride. Other than Hobbs, everybody else seems to be one-dimensional despite their grand-standing. Maybe not appreciating baseball is why I don't 'get' this movie.
Strange thing is, I totally get Field of Dreams and For the Love of the Game.

Commentary: Movie Trailers and their evil existence

2005-08-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

Trailers are supposed to entice the public to see the movie. Have you ever noticed that trailers are always uncredited? Often, it's not the moviemaker who creates the trailers. Sometimes they don't even have a say as to what goes in it. Yet the success, financially at least, of a movie rests in part on trailers and the buzz they generate. So the reason for a trailer's existence is to make people want to see the movie, regardless of anything else. Even if it means including scenes that never make it into the movie. Even it it means showing scene from the ending. Whatever it takes to make moviegoers want to see the move and go to see the movie. Given this nature of which trailers are born and the controversy it stirs up with the moviemakers, the trailer-makers would probably prefer to remain anonymous.

From the various DVD commentaries and interviews I've heard, what usually happens is that after principal shooting is over and the editing process begins, the marketing people look over all the raw footage and choose what "works" or what might interest people. Damn story or any sense. That's why in trailers you'd see things that either do not make it into the final cut (nor in some cases even the extended cuts) and things that are right at the end of the movie, giving it away.

Not all trailers are like that. There are teasers. These just give glimpses of what the movie will be. It may not even contain any actual part of the move. Just look at the Harry Potter movie teasers or the Terminator 3's teaser's. The best of these are Pixar's. Their teasers tell something about the movie but doesn't contain any scenes from the movies. In fact, it is accepted fact that Pixar's teaser scenes will not make it into the movie. Yet, it does what it's supposed to do: make people want to watch the movie.

I think that there is a hidden code in trailers put in by trailer-makers that goes something like this, "If the movie is bad or I don't like it, the trailer will include a scene from the end of the movie or close to it or include something that'll give the movie away." Maybe it's a way of telling other trailer makers what they think about the movie without breaking confidentiality agreements. Perhaps some trailer-makers think they are doing a public service by doing so. That way, when you get close to the ending, you go, "Hey, I've seen this already. He'll do this and she'll do this. What the..? The ending is given away in the trailers". Those who understand this will pass it along... and the result is the movie not liked and watched by few.

But this has become a trend in trailers that even good movies suffer. I have watched movies and liked it while watching it only to be disappointed to see that the ending was shown already in the trailers. I understand it if the movie was a 'ride' movie, something that you get on and know what the end of the ride is going to be. However, this 'format' of trailer making is the norm now. It has come to a point that I don't even watch trailers anymore, fearing it might spoil my movie-going experience.

So the thing that was created to garner interest has done exactly the opposite. What a shame. I used to really enjoy trailers. The movie might be months away but by the time it comes, I really want to watch it, having watched the trailer for the upteenth time. Now, I don't bother. And I am not alone. If those marketing types have detected this trend, they are not flinching. They keep on following the same format. Doing otherwise would be an admission of guilt.

If Only: Lost Opportunity

2005-07-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paul Nicholls
Category: Drama, Romance

Another movie about second chances? Do you think you've seen this before in movies like 'Groundhog Day'? Ready to dismiss this as a failed Jennifer Love Hewitt vehicle? If so, don't read on because if there is one thing I can't do, I can't convert the jaded.
First off, this is not a easy movie to find. Not the opposite of "an easy movie to watch". I mean this literally. If you've seen it, most likely it's on DVD. A Korean DVD. But true fans will find it and it's worth the hunt.
Like it says above, this movie is about romance. Ian, a corporate ladder-climbing Englishman is living with his American girlfriend. She studying music in London, finds him attractive and falls in love. He, however, is past the love-dovey stage too quickly and is settling into a routine, putting her in a special place in his life but not necessarily the center. She loves him regardless because she simply does. He plods on with life, taking her for granted. Until, of course, he finds himself without her. Then a magical second chance is offered. He decides to take it and try to fix his relationship with her. But is it really the relationship that needs fixing?

Rather than focusing on the second chance as a gimmick, the 'previous day' is quickly dismissed as a dream. Then the movie shows it's true colors. There are surprises and nothing goes along as expected because the events in the 'dream' don't happen the same way in real life. It confuses Ian, but he has already come to the realization of how much she really loves him. He find that although he wants to love her back the same way, he first has change, to go to a different place, a place where he can love her back in the same way, the same intensity. Because only then he will be ready to make the decision to stay or to go on and realize how that decision will mean for her.

A Walk to Remember: Not Your Average Teen Romance

2005-06-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Starring: Mandy Moore, Shane West
Category: Romance For the movie and book comparison, click here.

For some reason or the other, this is one of those movies that I have been putting off seeing for some reason or the other. Maybe because I thought it was just a shallow vehicle for pop star Mandy Moore. Maybe because I didn't like Shane West's acting, having sufferred through his performance in Get Over It. Maybe because I thought it was just another teen movie.
Apparently, I was wrong (again). A Walk To Remember is a heartfelt, emotional movie about growing up, finding yourself and finding that special someone. And dealing with the notion that time here on Earth is limited and that time should be used wisely.
Jamie Sullivan and Landon Carter are like in most teen movies, worlds apart. While serving his sentence for getting into trouble, he crosses paths with her. In two ways, while teaching under privelidged kids and in the school play. I think what struck him about her was that she didn't care who he was. She was determined to treat him the same as everyone else. Which means that she will be kind and compassiontate with him regardless of how he treats her.

Jamie does have a slight mean streak when it came to dealing with Landon and his friends as evident in her comebacks / retorts and when she taught Landon about how to ask help from her. On second thought, it may have been her self-defense mechanism, to keep everyone or just boys, at bay. She seemed to be friendly to everyone but has no circle of friends of her own.
Suffice to say, the school play draws them together. Landons is struck by how beautiful she is at the play and impromptu kiss from him awakens something in her. She hides it at first but a series of events brings them closer and leads to a full-blown romance. An adult romance, where it is not about infatuation but accepting the reality of one another. And reality soon hits home hard. I don't want to spoil things just in case you are like me and have put off seeing this. But it is pretty safe to say, as in any Nicholas Sparks books/movies, someone dies in the end.

".. an adult romance.. accepting the reality of one another."

The movie tends to drift into a mellowdrama at times but I guess only when necessary. I mean you can't face death without being mellowdramatic. Watching it a couple times, I found the plot holes quite gaping and that some dialogue didn't make sense. Some of it is explained in the commentary with the director, Adam Sullivan and the two leads and most are legitimate due to cutting and time restrictions.
But some are quite serious. Like we know that the flyer incident brought Landon and Jamie closer, especially when he stood up for her. But before that when he approaches her at school after the play and says that he misses being with her, I went 'Huh?'. All we see is Landon going to her house once to read their lines. And then all the rehersal scenes are with someone else or those that he has little direct contact. We don't see them connect. We don't see them share moments together. We don't see them communicate. There were several things that alluded to it, like Landon listening to songs given by Jamie and the other kids referencing to how close they were getting. But we never see it. It was all sorta left out or glossed over. A scene showing them reading lines together could have done the trick.
Alright. When he said that he missed being with her, it could have been just a line. After all it was Landon that went after her. And he totally called on her about her attitude of keeping people at a distance. I'm just saying that I didn't see what made Landon had feelings for Jamie to begin with. Maybe he was stunned by how good she looked at the play, thus the kiss. But that was it.