Odd Thomas has one really good thing going for it, and that’s Anton Yelchin. After that, there’s not much there. Maybe I’m being a little harsh, but the film wasted such great source material (Dean Koontz’s novel of the same name).
The film tells the story of Odd Thomas (yes his name is actually Odd, whether it was intentional or a misspelling on his birth certificate is and will forever be unknown), a 20 year-old short-order cook who has the ability to see ghosts. The world that the film takes place in is a familiar one (where ghosts pop up to ask for help with revenge or demons feeding on death and evil), but the mood and style of the film made up for it.
There was a quirkiness to the quick jump cuts, transitions to flashbacks, even the dialogue. The characters were written as if they were floating on a cloud and it felt like the town was on another plane, but eventually it all got really old and frankly I don’t know if it was done on purpose.
As the film went on Odd uncovers an apocalypse brewing in his small town. His girlfriend Stormy, who is supposedly supposed to be madly in love with Odd, but I think is actually just kind of creepy, helps him as he tries to uncover the truth. The film falters when it felt like they were simply taking expositional dialogue from the book and putting it into characters’ mouths.
It’s clunky, sometimes cringeworthy, it’s a straight forward film that is meant to entertain, but somehow produces the opposite result. While I really wanted to like this movie, and based on the first ten minutes it could have been another Fright Night, it just didn’t take full advantage of what it had to work with.
It’s finally here. The much anticipated (at least by me) film adaptation of Jonathan Tropper’s best selling book “This is Where I Leave You” is here and it’s underwhelming.
The book (check out our review here) tells the story of the Foxman family who must sit shiva following the death of their father. The four children are portrayed by Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, and Adam Driver. Their mother is played by Jane Fonda. Throughout the book, the siblings deal with their own issues in the place where all problems begin: home.
Let me just say that I love this book. It’s so masterfully written and its darkly comic tone is so refreshing and painfully funny. However, that is my main problem with this trailer. It portrays the film too much as a lighter comedy with a moral family tale tacked on, when in reality it’s a story about growth and decay in the wake of broken dreams and missed opportunities. My worry is that the movie is too focused on the comedy aspect of that. The trailer focused a lot on one-liners, which is not what makes the book so hilarious. What makes the book hilarious is it all happens in such a dark fashion. There’s no room for fluff. Tropper is so unflinching and it looks like when it came to penning the movie’s script he flinched.
Although from the short scenes that I saw, I can tell that almost every actor was cast perfectly with the exception of Dax Shepard as Judd’s (Jason Bateman) boss, who slept with his wife to begin the book, and Adam Driver as the youngest Foxman child, Phillip.
I’m still excited for this. It’s an adaptation that I saw coming from a mile away. The book is so perfectly set up for a wonderful dramedy about the inevitable crisis we all face, but I can’t help but dread it. I know, most of the time film adaptations are disappointing, but this had so much going for it. Hopefully there is something more there.
Million Dollar Arm tells the story of the Million Dollar Arm contest, started by sports agent J.B. Bernstein in order to fund his failing athlete management company. The premise of the contest is to go to India, and find the MLB’s first Indian player out of a crop of cricket players. Instead, he finds two boys who know barely anything about either sport, and has a few months to turn them into pitching superstars. Let the hilarity and feels ensue.
But the laughs never come, and there are no feels. There are a lot of one liner jokes dealing with the “privileged American thrown into India” trope, but they’ve already been done (more successfully) a few years ago on the NBC show Outsourced. Frankly, all of the jokes in the film seemed forced, and are designed to just get laughter out of the audience with as little effort as possible.
I won’t spoil the ending, but since it’s a Disney movie, there is an extremely clear moral to the story that causes the characters to change. However, just like the jokes, the changes the characters go through feel just as forced as the jokes. Think of any great sports movie, and imagine the emotions it makes you feel, how they encourage you to follow your dreams. There is none of that here.
Anybody who knows the real life story of the Million Dollar Arm contest knows from the get go what’s going to happen later on in the film. And even if you don’t, you can figure it out within five minutes. While the source material isn’t the most surprising story in the world, the film makes no attempt to surprise you. If you’ve seen a few movies before, you could probably just watch the first ten minutes and then summarize the whole film.
While the film intends to be a good flick for the entire family to watch, it just turns out to be a mediocre one at that. It’s ironic that this is a story about a contest designed to make money off of two boys who came from nothing, because the movie itself is designed to make money off of the story about two boys who came from nothing. It lacks substance, feeling, and does the least amount possible to get the dollars from your wallet.
21 & Over, directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, is an American comedy 2013 film that is recently being featured as a popular comedy on Netflix.
The movie is about two friends Casey and Miller who are high school pals and are now over 21 and want to take their friend Jeff Chang out for his 21st birthday. Jeff does not want to go out because he has an important medical school interview. However, with some convincing, Jeff accepts the offer.
Unsurprisingly, Jeff drinks too much at the bar and becomes incoherent. Casey and Miller need to take him home, but they can’t remember where he lives. Ridiculous mayhem unfolds in the midst of trying to find Jeff’s address. Throughout the comedic scenes, Jeff becomes conscious and the trio find their way back to Jeff’s house.
By the end of the film, Jeff reveals to his father that he no longer wants to attend med school. His father does not take it well, but Casey and Miller admire Jeff for standing up to his father. The film fastowards three months and the three amigos are at a music festival.
Prior to the festival, we learn that Miller has come out of his laziness and is applying to colleges while Casey is now dating Nicole, a girl he met at a bar the night Jeff got obliterated. As for Jeff, he has no plan to attend med school but is still in college. Jeff has yet another wild night at the music festival and stumbles in late to his college class the next day. Jeff discovers that his professor is a red headed man they saw repeatedly dancing in the street the previous night. The film cuts to black and the credits roll.
The movie received 28 percent on rotten tomatoes, and rightly so. The movie, while has its comedic moments, is forgettable and bland. It touches upon the meaning of friendship, but that is really the only thing that can be taken away from this film. There is really no depth to this film and there is not much that can be taken away from it.
This film is comparable to the movie Project X, with the only difference being that a plot exists in 21 & Over. I think some 21 and unders would be the only ones to find this movie enjoyable. All in all, this movie is not worth watching and does not deserve to be one of the popular comedic films of the week on Netflix.
The film currently has 3.8 out of 5 stars on Netflix.
This episode brings Veep to… well, Detroit, where Selina is giving a speech at a jobs summit. Let’s just say it doesn’t go terribly well. We find Dan having his first test, or should I say tests, as campaign manager, Amy having to step aside as lead of Selina’s team, and an attack from the Statue of Liberty.
The episode also saw the return of Sally Phillips as Minna Häkkinen, the now former Prime Minister of Finland, who is hilariously able to match Selina’s painfully awkward interactions with a deadpan expression that make her absurd dialogue and ridiculous accent even more amusing. The Former Prime Minister inadvertently caused what could only be called a disaster for the Veep’s campaign.
While walking into her speech Selina is attacked by a man dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Catherine hilariously punches the man square in the face, which propels her into “America’s Next Top Redneck.”
While in Detroit Selina must deal with the issue of gun control, much like she had to deal with the issue of abortion earlier in the season. After a shooting across town that resulted in the death of a respected (in the eyes of the public, not so much Selina) reporter, Selina talks to the Former Prime Minister about gun control. Selina essentially pissed off the entire NRA when she said that “the second amendment is a problem.”
The statement gets leaked when Jonah, pretending to be part of the Veep’s team, gets the Former Prime Minister to tell him what Selina said. To remedy the issue, the team goes to a Women’s Gun Show, where Catherine has turned into quite the celebrity complete with t-shirts, selfies, and chants.
On top of all these problems we have the issue of Ray, Selina’s new personal trainer and campaign “stress reliever”. Christopher Meloni as Ray is a delight to watch. Although he’s playing the stereotypical dumb muscle head (“I know IMF stands for International Money Fund”), he has perfected the art of the one-liner. Every single time he opened his mouth I was cracking up. Everything from his expression, to his delivery was pitch perfect. Who would have though that Elliott Stabler from Law & Order: SVU could be this funny?
I am confident when I say that this was probably the best episode of the season. I am constantly shocked at how much the writers are able to pack into one episode and still make every storyline feel complete (take a note Modern Family). Every single moment was smart, sharp, and hilarious and packed with hilarious one-liners like: “I wish we were still on abortion, that was easy.” I don’t think I have ever laughed out loud that much during any episode of television, if Veep maintains this quality to the end of the season, then I think we have contender for one of the best seasons of comedy in recent memory.
The film Serenity is the movie sequel to Joss Wehdon’s popular, but short-lived TV series Firefly. Firefly was a sci-fi series with many western elements thrown in. Though the film does a good job of explaining things to those unfamiliar with the series, here’s a quick synopsis. In the future, our Earth that we know has been dried up of all its resources, causing the people to travel to other parts of the galaxy. There we’re able to terra-form new planets and the central planets became under control of the Alliance (the galaxy’s form of government). The series follows Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), a former soldier of the rebellion that fought and lost against the Alliance, and his “lovable” crew of the starship Serenity as they travel around the outer planets, looking for any work they can get and avoiding the Alliance, as they hide two fugitives, a doctor named Simon, and his psychic sister River.
One thing that made the series so great was the relationships between the crewmembers of Serenity. The film carries the great chemistry that the actors had in the TV series onto the big screen. Each of the different crewmembers has his or her own distinct personality. From Zoë (Gina Torres) being the tough-nosed second in command, to Wash (Alan Tudyk) as the snarky, comical pilot, to Simon (Sean Maher) as the smart but caring doctor, each character gets enough time to really shine. The writing is really top-notch for a sci-fi film and the acting is spot on most of the time. Nathan Fillon, who plays the captain, brings his A-game to this film, going from a wise-ass to a cold, stern leader flawlessly. Chiwetel Ejiofor is also great as the villain. As for the story itself, it’s pretty straightforward and easy to follow. The pace is great and like I said, it does a good job of explain things to newcomers.
The main problem that I saw with the film was that while it does explain things for newcomers, it definitely helps to have watched the TV series in advance. As some things, mostly character relationships, make better sense if you watch the series. You’re also more attached to the cast going in and it hurts more when certain characters die (no spoilers). The effects in the film are also kind of hit and miss, ranging from video-game like to actually pretty impressive for the time.
Overall: While it helps to watch Firefly in advance. Serenity stands by-itself as a really solid sci-fi film. The acting and writing is what really makes this movie shine. For those who are familiar with Firefly, its everything you’ve come to expect from the series. Those unfamiliar, its still a very fun and unique film that will leave you satisfied. However, I still advise you check out the series, it’s one of my favorites of all time.
The film currently holds a 4.1 out of 5 stars on Netflix.
The series finale of one of the oddest, quirkiest, and lovable sitcoms has finally come. It of course starts off with pure nostalgia of the gang sitting in MacLaren’s listening to Lily telling them the only way one of them hooks up with Robin is if they marry her…. and Barney does.
Barney tries to get Ted to play “Have you met Ted” with the bass player/the mother, then all of a sudden, Ted reveals that he had to leave right away, which led to emotional goodbyes and one of the most epic high-fives to hit television, but of course it ends in both Ted and Barney hurting themselves, but knowing it was all “worth it.”
Then at the Farhampton train station the old woman that was introduced in the season premiere points out to Ted that the mother is standing at the same station. She pushes him to talk to her, but he refuses.
Then we cut to 24 hours later where Marshall and Lily see Ted in MacLaren’s much to their content and discontent, Ted reveals that it’s because he met the mother, yet again we don’t know how.
Then, we cut to the mother revealing she’s pregnant, Marshall revealing he’s now in corporate law, and that Robin and Barney were divorced.
Pause. Most of this episode was probably one of the best paced “where are they now” episodes of any sitcom or drama. It moved at such a great pace, but still had the dramatic and comedic impact.
Play. Then the episode slowed to where Barney and Robin are dealing with the falling out of their divorce and the Lily attempts to keep the gang together and ensure that they are all there for “the big moments.” Which includes Lily revealing she is pregnant with their third child and realizing that they are quickly outgrowing the apartment, so they decided to move.
In a goodbye to the apartment, they threw a halloween party, but the group dynamic wasn’t the same anymore as pointed out by Robin. And in yet another emotional twist, Robin knew it was over. We are left with Lily alone in the empty apartment.
The episode was so well paced and balanced and to be honest one of the best episodes that the series put out in a while. It reminds us why we fell in love with the series in the first place, because these characters are impossible to not like, but now on to part 2.
MVP: Ensemble
PART II
The half saw the fast paced timeline continuing. Barney came to the realization that he will never change in one of the character’s more human moments. It also revealed that Marshall finally got his judgeship.
In 2019, we saw the return of the playbook, but a now 40’s Barney found out the final girl in his perfect month was pregnant.
Moving right along, Ted and a much older Penny are touring the city when he ran into Robin, who hasn’t seen most of the group for years. Also at the same time Barney’s love child is born, and well he falls in love with her. Neil Patrick Harris proves again what an incredible actor he is, not only comedically, but all around.
Pause. This incredible pair of fast forward episodes were so well written and impeccably paced, but it also didn’t feel like a real “How I Met Your Mother” episode. It has the incredible characters that we love, but the ridiculousness and gut busting moments weren’t there. It’s like a more matured version of the show.
Play. Ted reproposed to the mother and planned a wedding for later in that week. It led to our introduction to the new Barney and a the group being reunited for one of the biggest moments. Then, the mother took a picture of the gang in the bar and my emotions were tickled.
Then Marshall said to a group of “kids” that “a lot” happened in that bar. Then the wedding finagled happened all the way in 2019.
Then an incredible montage of pictures featuring Ted and the mother, that led to what some of us were dreading, but also expecting. It is revealed that the mother did become sick, but also finally showed how he met their mother.
There they pieced together their entire of close calls through the iconic yellow umbrella and realized that it was destiny. Oh yeah, also we find out her name was Tracey.
However, my entire perception of the series was ruined when it was revealed that Ted told that entire story to his kids because he was still in love with their aunt Robin and wanted to get their approval.
To be honest it was a terrible reveal, but I have to admit that it was very well executed, especially bringing back the blue horn. These final two episodes were incredible well-written and directed, but I still can’t believe that they took this entire time just to put Robin and Ted together.
I can see a lot of people loving this ending, but for me I can’t help but feel jilted by the creators. You spend nine years trying to get your audience to care for a nameless and faceless character. They spent episode after episode making us root for their success, to just throw it all away in the end.
I will admit though, they knew their end game and they got themselves there in an overly long, but still fun manner. Goodbye How I Met Your Mother, I will never watch you ever again.
Not often do series that are suddenly cancelled have a chance to wrap up in such a perfect way, but for “Raising Hope” they got that chance.
The series finale of this amazingly underrated show saw the return of Jeffrey Tambor as Virginia’s father. He came back to Natesville to try and make amends and marry his partner, Oliver. The family is tepid until he offers to pay for Hope’s college.
With three days to plan and Arnold’s credit card, Virginia took the rains to plan the wedding of HER dreams.
Meanwhile, Maw Maw, with the hunch that Arnold is up to no good, recruits Frank who is a professional “stocker” to spy on him.
On the wedding planning front, Virginia and Arnold hold auditions for a Kenny Loggins impersonator, while Burt prepares Hope for her college experience, beer pong, fake ID, and all.
The best part of this montage is that it combines the ridiculousness of the writing with the quirkiness of the characters we have learned to love. Everything from dancing Dan trying to be Kenny Loggins to the “Footloose” background music was pitch perfect. Of course, there were the well timed Hope reaction shots.
Virginia is ready to smooth things over with her father after he admits that he has enjoyed his time planning the wedding, until Frank and Maw Maw discover that Arnold does not have a partner nor is getting married.
However, in a twist, it is revealed that Arnold was using the fake wedding to allow Virginia to plan the wedding of her dreams, since she didn’t get it because she was pregnant with Jimmy. Virginia doesn’t buy it until Arnold gives Virginia the Princess Diana dress she dreamt of. Spoiler Alert: it’s as ugly as you think.
At the “royal wedding” ceremony, Burt promises Virginia that he would punch anyone that hurts her. Then, the pope, I mean, pastor, I mean lawyer, pronounced them still man and wife.
Then, in typical “Hope” fashion, Kenny Loggins appeared to perform “Danny’s Song”, which was performed by Virginia and Burt in the pilot to put Hope to sleep. Jimmy admits that this song gave him his first lesson as a parent, that’s where the emotional part starts.
It’s all good until Arnold reveals that he sold his condo in Sedona, which was used as collateral for the college tuition. However, he sold it to pay for the wedding. Burt punches Arnold in the face per his promise.
Jimmy offers Arnold his old room since he had no place to stay and tells his mother, “if you really want him to be a better father, you’re going to have to give him a chance at being a father.”
Kenny Loggins finished his song as the family dances and sings along.
At the end of the series the entire family is seated around the table for breakfast the next morning. Jimmy’s voiceover brings the series’ arc to close. “Not everyone becomes a parent at the perfect time. Some of us do it way too early. Some of us do it way too late. The important thing is when you get the chance you make the most of it.”
Then, Maw Maw walks in to try to stab Arnold, then make out with Jimmy. The ridiculous end to the perfectly ridiculous series, which ensures us that for the Chance family, life goes on.
SPOILER! If you haven’t watched this week’s episode of The Good Wife stop now! Seriously.
MVP: Josh Charles
Television has hit an odd age. It’s not the Golden Age of television that we hear so often, but the “Dark Ages” (I came up with that one). This year alone we have experienced countless shocking events and deaths that leave us screaming at our televisions and cursing the world, however we may have found the most shocking death of the year.
Will Gardner has made his way to the big courtroom in the sky. Yes, the male lead on “The Good Wife” was killed off in last Sunday’s episode appropriately titles “Dramatics, Your Honor”. Although I, and many others, were expecting the actor Josh Charles to leave the show at the end of the season.
Now, I have to try to be objective in my review of the episode. Yes, it may have contained one of the most ballsy moments of the year, but there was still an episode the surrounded that moment.
So, let’s start from the beginning. The first shot of the episode is of Jeffrey Grant (Hunter Parrish), a college student we are introduced to earlier in the season, who is accused of murdering a fellow student. A strong rock instrumental is playing in the background while Jeffrey is looking around the courtroom during the prosecutor, Finn Polmar (Matthew Goode), is delivering his opening statement.
Now, when “The Good Wife” first started out I never looked at it as an achievement in directing, however across the last couple seasons they have actually refined the look and feel of the show. Each episode is impeccably shot and scored. David Buckley doesn’t underscore the each episode, he drives the mood and matches the feelings of the characters.
Let me just say that it was a genius way to set up Jeffrey’s slow mental deterioration. Most of the episode revolved around Will’s attempts to prove his defense of touch DNA, which would explain why Grant’s DNA was under the victim’s finger nails.
This brings him across several theories from exchanging the DNA on a book, coffee shop, and gurney. However, what is more wonderful is the dynamic between Will and Kalinda and actors Josh Charles and Archie Panjabi. The actors portray the characters’ relationship and trust so well on the screen.
Another story point was Kalinda’s decision to leave the private investigator business and this is where the writing because absolutely wonderful. It was such a well placed red herring for fans who were aware of the gravity of the episode to chase. It also allowed for Archie Panjabi to have some material in an otherwise weak season for the character.
The storyline also allowed for one last drink for Kalinda and Will, where Will offers the parting words to convince Kalinda to stay in the business: “That feeling you get when you figure something out? You live for that. Anyway, I’ll miss you. There aren’t many people I like left there. Is that a better pep talk?”
This episode is also the third installment in a group of episodes that involved Peter’s voter fraud case. In this episode Alicia gives a voluntary deposition to determine what the investigator (Eric Bogosian) would ask Will if he decides to question him. And it was essentially Alicia at her absolute best. Julianna Margulies has grown so much with the character that even when she is being sarcastic, it feels in character.
This finally brings us to THE scene. Will calls for a sidebar with the judge to ask for time to pursue a new lead. The entire court begins to lose interest, the jury ignores Jeffrey, the witness on the stand pulls out his phone, the lawyers and the judge look like they’re having a conversation rather than discussing the case.
The music that played in the opening scene returns, Jeffrey begins to lose it. Hunter Parrish proves that again what a wonderful actor he is. There is so much pain in his face that you can’t help but feel for him. He notices that the courtroom officer’s gun is unholstered.
The genius of the scene comes when we cut to Diane in a different court in the same building as the first shot is fired. Then, the second. Without hesitation Diane finds Kalinda and tells her to check on Will. When she gets to the courtroom Jeffrey is still firing (exactly 6 shots, which was appreciated). The shooting ends and all Kalinda can focus on is a lone shoe and a pair of feet. This is my one gripe with the sequence. There was a few too many shots of the lone shoe and the pair of feet.
Jeffrey is behind the judges bench with the gun pointed at his throat pulling the trigger of the empty gun, which was probably one of the most heartbreaking images of the episode, then we see Finn grasping an unconscious Will as Kalinda screams for paramedics. I was a little tepid toward Panjabi’s Emmy win for the first season, but with this episode she proves she deserves to be back in the Emmy pool.
The final sequence happens in the Emergency room where Diane and Kalinda wait for news on Will and decide to call Alicia, not before finding his body on a gurney. There was no goodbye, no deathbed confessions, just the real world of death.
Kalinda calls Alicia, but before we can hear what she says it cuts to black.
What started off as a great “Good Wife” episode quickly turned into an inspired goodbye to a beloved character and an incredible episode of drama. (A)
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t watched this week’s episode of “The Good Wife” stop reading now!
MVP: Julianna Margulies
Emmys! Emmys for everyone. No, but seriously. Usually after a major death on a television show there is an episode where the characters grieve. Sometimes it’s the funeral, the hospital, or even six months later (a la “Downton Abbey”). However, the writers of “The Good Wife” had the episode surround the events immediately following Will Gardner’s death.
I don’t know if this is my place to say this, but this episodes is one of the greatest “grief” episode to ever be aired on television (although “All Alone” from “Six Feet Under” and “The Son” from “Friday Night Lights” still surpass it). The writers of the show have captured such an honest reaction to death and also in turn created such a beautiful episode for the character of Alicia.
Much of the episode surrounded the different ways each of the main characters dealt with the death of Will Gardner. For the sake of organization I’m going to split this review up into each of the characters’ story lines.
Cary was in an interesting position regarding Will at this point in the series. He had a respect for Will that couldn’t be taken away, but he also had a drive to take him down. That is what made his reaction to Will’s demise so surprising. With the absence of Alicia, Cary had to handle a deposition involving a wrongful termination suit that was introduced to us in the episode “Hitting the Fan”. During the deposition, which the opposite attorney threatened to delay if they didn’t do it that day, Cary went on a rant saying that he wanted to “get out his anger and aggression by destroying [the defendant].” First of all, Matt Czuchry was never one of the standouts from the series, but here he absolutely proves he can play in the big leagues. He also was fortunate to get the single greatest line of the episode.
Diane was also in an interesting position. Although she had just lost her best friend, she still had an entire firm to run. She had the uneasy task of notifying the partners of Will’s death, then also dealing with clients that were looking to jump ship. Diane made all her decisions by asking herself what would Will do, which led to some tension between her and David Lee (Zack Grenier also did a wonderful job here). When one client demanded that he has a meeting with Diane regarding his future with Lockhart Gardner, she allowed him to come in. However, it wasn’t an easy welcome. Not only did Diane fire him as a client, she also called other firms to ensure that they would not pick him up, and told him that no one likes him. Christine Baranski has always been an incredible presence on the series, but she was merely that, a presence. This episode gave her the material she needed to break out and hopefully finally win her deserved Emmy for this series.
Kalinda spent most of the episode doing what she does best and that’s investigating, however this time her investigation hit way too close to home. She tasks herself with discovering whether Will was killed by Jeffrey Grant (Hunter Parrish), or was hit in the crossfire. After listening to testimony from the courtroom officer (who is equally guilty in my eyes) and Grant and his new attorney, her investigation leads her to the conclusion that Jeffrey Grant indeed killed Will. With the help of Detective Jenn Villette Kalinda gets to the cell where Grant is being held, where in Kalinda fashion shows him his belt and tells him to kill himself, but just as he reaches for the belt she pulls it away telling him that he should feel the guilt everyday of his life. Not only does Archie Panjabi do excellent work here, Hunter Parrish is absolutely incredible. I really hope Emmy voters don’t forget about him come Emmy season.
However, Alicia was of course one of the most affected by the death. Her storyline was what set this episode and series apart from any to ever air. Most of her storyline focused on her attempts to find out what happened in the courtroom and why Will left a mysterious voicemail for her. However, before all this happens Margulies is allowed to give such a great amount of emotion and grief. Throughout the episodes she pictures why Will said in the voicemail, ranging from anger to a truce. Throughout she also has memories of Will. Nothing specific. No flashbacks, but simply images. The writers were so genius is keeping everything so real and emotional. There is one scene, when she goes to the hospital and she pictures Will coming up to her saying that they misidentified the body because it was shot in the face, but again it faded away. The writers were able to show so much of what people go through when they grieve that it feels so familiar.
The best scene of the episode was between Alicia and Grace who talk about heaven and hell and whether they exist. Such a realistic and beautifully executed piece of writing that anyone would think about following a death.
After a lengthy scene with Finn Polmar (newly minted series regular Matthew Goode), she comes to her own conclusion that Will was calling to profess his love for her. Bad news for her, she comes to this realization as she is embracing Peter. Bad news for us, that is where the episode ends.
It was truly an incredible piece of work. I don’t think any network drama attempted anything close to what “The Good Wife” just did. They showed what true grief is like and they showed it so intimately through these characters. The rest of this season is shaping up to be an incredible piece of television. (A)
There was something odd about this week’s episode of The Good Wife. It wasn’t anything to do with the quality, although it was a significant improvement over last week, but with its forward momentum. In the grand scheme of the season it felt like a stagnant episode that didn’t have any clear lead up to the next week’s season finale.
This episode’s case of the week concerned a Florrick/Agos billionaire client who makes insensitive comments about holocaust survivors, Italians, Greeks, and the poor, while in the middle of a wrongful termination lawsuit involving a gay employee. Yeah, the guys seems like a bundle of fun. It seemed appropriate considering the recent influx of discussion about the line between freedom of speech and discrimination.
It becomes shockingly familiar when we consider Donald Sterling’s recent comments that were released after the wrap of shooting on The Good Wife. The Kings have always had a knack for providing their own commentary on current issues and this episode is no exception. However, the case never made the full impact that was written into the potential of the storyline, possibly because if focused so much on Alicia and Cary’s struggle to win the case in voir dire.
The one part of the episode that I found completely refreshing was Alicia taking pictures with Zach in his graduation gown. In fact, I think it was the best scene of the episode. Why? Because it humanized Alicia, something that I think the writers attempted in the last episode yet forgot what character they were writing for. Alicia is a lot of things, a lawyer, a mother, but what she isn’t is a woman who is lost. This episode brought her back from the sloppiness the previous episode pushed her in to.
The episode also bring us to an anti-climactic end to Finn’s struggle with the Jeffrey Grant case. Although he was found to be uninvolved with the cause of the shooting, the blame ended up going to State’s Attorney Castro, he is instantly pulled into some mud involving his campaign. Shortly before Peter was to announce his endorsement of Finn, Castro brought him a picture of Finn leaving Alicia’s apartment. Scandal. Somebody call Olivia Pope.
The issue was quickly extinguished when it was explained that Finn was simply meeting Alicia to discuss their strategy for the Jeffrey Grant scapegoat case, but what came of it was much worse for the characters of the series. First of all, Eli learns of the arrangement between Alicia and Peter. Second of all, Peter’s attention is drawn to a new redhead working in his office.
This is the one piece of forward momentum that I found in the episode. Well this and Canning’s crusade against Diane at Lockhart Gardner & Canning. With such an event heavy season I was expecting to have a shocking finale, but I have a feeling that we may be let down. The one “big event” that I can see coming is Diane possibly being pushed out of the firm. Maybe even joining up with Florrick/Agos. Either way, I think it would be impossible for the Kings to completely fail us at the end of what is making to be a terrific season of television.
I’m not going to speak to the manner of Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s death. I find that unnecessary. I am going to speak about his accomplishments in his 46 years of life that ended too early today.
He is one of the greatest actors of this century. He brought us such memorable roles as Truman Capote, Father Brendan Flynn, and Lancaster Dodd. What makes him one of the greatest actors of this generation is his dedication to his roles. He immerses himself.
He doesn’t have to changes his voice, or his appearance, there is something underneath that makes its way to the surface and takes over his body. He becomes a different person.
He may not have been a household name in every house, but in my house he was a cherished part of American cinema and theatre. He rarely took roles in blockbusters, although his most recent turn in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire could qualify him as such. Even then, he opted for films like Doubt, The Master, and Synecdoche, New York. These are films that I watch and make me believe in the magic of movies again.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a man that truly embraced his art. This year, the world of cinema lost a giant.
TWO-SENTENCE REVIEW: Although Darren Aronofsky’s biblical epic has been shrouded with controversy, the visionary director was able to walk a very thin line to please both the religious and the regular movie goer. Bolstered by strong performances by the entire cast, strong visuals, and a filled out script, “Noah” may be one of the better biblical adaptations.
THE GOOD: The visuals. Aronofsky is always careful to capture a film in the best way possible, but “Noah” may take the cake. From the beautiful cinematography to the stunning effects, he was able to capture the beauty of the landscape, while also showing its danger.
The performances. Every single actor is at the top of their game, particularly Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, and Anthony Hopkins. Each actor was able to deal with material that may not have been as deep as it needed to be and added so many layers. Watson is heartbreaking as Noah’s adopted daughter who must deal with the ramifications of the needs of the mission and shows that she is an actress that can past a decade long role. Connelly is wonderful as always, but Hopkins returns in a role meant more for comic relief, but does so well with it.
However, the biggest feat for the film must be its careful screenplay, which allowed room to please those who are spiritual, religious, or simply looking for an entertaining film. There is a blanketing theme of doing what is right even thought it hurts, but also makes it’s way into the territory of sin and forgiveness. Aronofsky was able to include something for everyone.
THE BAD: The dialogue. There is some questionable dialogue. Not too many cringeworthy lines, but there is enough for one to take notice.
There are small directorial mistakes. One of the more prominent is that the family uses incense to put the animals on the ark to sleep, however it doesn’t affect any humans even it was able to put a full grown elephant to sleep.
THE UGLY: Unnecessary violence. This was one of the points of controversy and it shows up more than I would have liked. In an early scene Noah has a lengthy and highly choreographed fight sequence with a group of thieves who he eventually kills. He kills the men because they killed an animal. Noah then uses this to explain justice to his children, which is fine, but the fight was out of place.
SHOULD YOU SEE IT?: Yes. It’s a great night at the movies and it also makes you think and feel, which is lacking in today’s movies.
Every summer, tucked between the blockbusters, romantic comedies, and 500th Transformers movie, are hidden gems that satisfy our thirst for quality movies until Oscar season rears its ugly head. So, I compiled a list of ten movies that I personally can’t wait to see this summer.
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4. Guardians of the Galaxy (Directed by James Gunn | Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper | August 1, 2014)
In so many words, this is basically the ballsier version of The Avengers. The anti-Avengers if you will. There is so much potential to be tapped out of the characters, the humor, the story, the list goes on and on. It is the Marvel film that a lot of us have been waiting for. And just like they’re tagline says: “You’re welcome.”
3. A Million Ways to Die in the West (Directed by Seth MacFarlane | Starring Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried | May 30, 2014)
I don’t care if it’s mindless, absurd, offensive comedy. As long as it’s Seth MacFarlane’s mindless, absurd, offensive comedy, I am on completely on board. It also has Liam Neeson playing a badass cowboy out for revenge, literally the role he was born to play.
2. The Fault in Our Stars (Directed by Josh Boone | Starring Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff | June 6, 2014)
I don’t think John Green can do any wrong. Exhibit A: “The Fault in Our Stars”. It is probably perfection of a young adult novel, so naturally the film version is going to be on some kind of list. I can already hear some of you saying, “but the movie is always worse than the book!” and I agree (that’s why The Giver isn’t on this list), but with John Green involved and a writing style that is specific and sharp, I can’t see how they get this wrong. Plus, as far as I’m concerned Shailene Woodley is the future of hollywood.
1. Godzilla (Directed by Gareth Edwards | Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston | May 16, 2014)
The monster that started the monster film. Check. A director that can balance character and action. Check. Bryan Cranston. Check. Enough said. In all seriousness, this darker version of the monster that terrified us all as kids is finally here after that disastrous 1998 version that you tried to forget about until I just brought it up. Just watching the trailer you can pretty much tell they got it right. Can it be a disaster? Of course. Will it? I’m thinking no.
After working in Toys R’ Us for a year and channel flipping during slow summer mornings I have realized that the Power Rangers franchise is still rocking and rolling, which make me extremely happy. The series started in 1993 and the fact that it is still relevant for kids to day is outstanding, so my question is why do we need a reboot movie?
I know it’s probably a money decision that is capitalizing on our generation’s love of nostalgia and the potential in tapping an entirely new market of kids, but I think that the film is going to taint the reputation of the series even if Haim Saban (the head of the production company that produced the series) is involved. Here is his statement:
“Lionsgate is the perfect home for elevating our Power Rangers brand to the next level. They have the vision, marketing prowess and incredible track record in launching breakthrough hits from ‘The Hunger Games’ to ‘Twilight’ and ‘Divergent.’ In partnership with the Lionsgate team, we’re confident that we will capture the world of the Power Rangers and translate it into a unique and memorable motion picture phenomenon with a legacy all its own.”
Part of the charm of the series was its over-the-top campiness and its ridiculous obviously low budget production. It’s what made me love the series as a kid. Watching six adults being shot at by some ridiculous monster that actually hits behind them, but somehow affects them like they were shot in the chest was one of my favorite things to do.
The heavily choreographed fighting sequences, the poses, even the little cut scenes when the rangers morphed were all engrained in my memory, but I can’t help but think that that’s going to all go away with a movie.
While Lionsgate has done well with The Hunger Games and Divergent I can’t see them putting out a purposefully campy, low production value film. That’s why I’m tepid toward the reboot. Saban only cares about money and I don’t think Lionsgate is going to understand that I don’t need a new series, I will always have the old one.
I understand that kids of this generation are probably going to love it and that’s fine, but I just wish they could experience the magic that I felt when I first watched Power Rangers. #blessed
