Month: July 2009 (Page 19 of 26)

Entourage 6.1 – Drive

July 12, 2009 / Jason Zingale

Fans of “Entourage” know that season premieres have never been one of the show’s strong suits (they tend to act more like a prologue than an actual part of the story), but while tonight’s episode wasn’t particularly memorable, it did set up quite a few interesting arcs for the coming season. The most obvious of the bunch is Vince’s return to the big time after the colossal failure of “Medellin” nearly ruined him for good. Granted, working with Scorsese will usually do that for you, but it’s just nice to see Vince back in his old digs worrying about things like getting his driver’s license instead of how he’s going to climb his way out of debt.

It’s a shame we didn’t actually get to see any of the footage from the film (maybe next time), but he did talk with Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” about his new gig: a biopic about Enzo Ferrari, hence the reason why he needs to learn how to drive. The actual exam didn’t go over quite as well as Vince’s confidence would have implied (he practically ran over the entire course of traffic cones), but he was still able to earn a passing grade after bribing the instructor with premiere tickets for his new film. Not exactly a sign that Vince has matured, but with everyone else in his life doing just as good as he is, it’s probably about time he starts.

After all, with Drama constantly working and Turtle always hanging out with Jamie-Lynn, the one person Vince has always been able to rely on is Eric. That’s all about to change, however, now that Eric has agreed to sublet a house from one of Sloan’s friends. Why he’d want to live in that house for only a year is beyond me, but Eric clearly understands that if he ever hopes to get a second chance with Sloan, he’s going to have to be a little more independent. Vince doesn’t seem to have a problem with it at the time, but now that he sees just how lonely life could be without anyone there to keep him company, it might just force him to reassess his bachelor lifestyle.

Meanwhile, with Vince back in the industry’s good graces, Ari is having the time of his life alongside his new partner-in-crime, Andrew, who’s settled into the agency quite well with a string of new clients. (Of course, if the writers knew that “My Name Is Earl” would be cancelled mere months after the episode was filmed, they probably would have chosen a different client for him to sign.) Okay, so maybe business isn’t exactly booming, but that doesn’t stop Lloyd from demanding his long-awaited promotion. Ari finally gives in to Lloyd’s constant bickering and offers him a deal: do whatever he says for 100 days and he’ll make him an agent. I’m really hoping Ari doesn’t follow through, though, because while Lloyd certainly deserves the promotion, the show would be better off maintaining that dynamic. It’s worked this long, so why mess with a good thing?

Entourage, External TV, TV, TV Comedies

Ari Gold Drama Drive Entourage blog Entourage season 6 Entourage season six Enzo Ferrari episode 1 Jamie-Lynn Sigler Jay Leno Martin Scorsese My Name Is Earl Sloan Turtle Vincent Chase

True Blood 2.4 – Put On Your Wig, Woman!

July 12, 2009 / Will Harris

I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumours, but those guys from the Fellowship of the Sun have a sick sense of humor, don’t they? Criminey, talk about playing on poor Jason’s worst nightmares! Of course, he recovered pretty quickly, offering up that militaristic monologue (its effectiveness aided in no small part by the score) behind him. Come the next morning, he’s smirking like nobody’s business, offering up great lines about how maybe Jesus was the first vampire, what with all the blood drinking going on. It’s a pretty heavy debate for breakfast, with the discussion about the first evil – was it Cain, or was it Eve? – but it all comes to an abrupt end when Jason gets called off to see the Rev. It’s nothing ominous, though: he just wants to take Jason on a vampire target-practice run. Afterwards, it’s back to the Rev’s homestead for Ribs a la Sexy Sarah. Whew, was there any better song than Sammy Kershaw’s “Louisiana Hot Sauce” to serve as the soundtrack for that display of culinary excellence? I don’t know what kind of career Anna Camp has in store for her as an actress, but I think we can count on a couple of good Maxim layouts in her immediate future, don’t you? Obviously, the other guys in the Fellowship are jealous that Jason appears to be on the verge of sliding into Sarah’s good graces…and, yes, that is a double entendre…and when she turns up in his bedroom in her nightie, there’s every reason to believe that something is going to happen between them.

Sam and Daphne are still skinny-dipping when we pop back in on them, but Sam’s also laying bare his feelings a bit as well. Everything looks like it’s sittin’ pretty between the two of them until she climbs out of the water and Sam spies those nasty claw marks on her back. Still, it’s been the kind of evening that’s made him rethink his plans to depart…or, at least, it’s served to delay them slightly. Sookie’s ego forces her to presume that it’s because of her that he’s decided to leave, resulting in a angry conversation between them. Unsurprisingly, things at the bar remain a little tense for the rest of the night, though it’s also in no small part because of the total lack of customers (the exception being a highly drunk Detective Andy), and the evening takes a surprising turn when Tara’s apparently-still-sober mama turns up to deliver a birthday present for her absent daughter. When he gets over to Sookie’s place, he has brief words with Maryann before Daphne turns up, and he and Madame Clawback start to smooch. They stop briefly, but before Sam can reveal his secret to Daphne, she claims she already knows what he is. Why do I have this feeling that they might not be on the same wavelength?

Actors, External Entertainment, External TV, Movies, Reviews, True Blood, TV, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Anna Paquin HBO Michelle Forbes Sookie Stackhouse True Blood True Blood blog True Blood Season 2

Brüno earns his umlaut

July 12, 2009 / Bob Westal

On Friday I wrote the following:

There’s obviously general agreement about the numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this one proved the prognosticators wrong either by making a lot less or a lot more money than expected.

Well, the only person proved wrongish was me. The only surprise was that that there appear to be absolutely no surprises as Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles’s “Brüno” is projected to have made $30.4 million to top the weekend — just slightly exceeding the pre-opening estimates. The slightly bad news for Universal is that the film had a rather large drop off in its second day at the box office. Variety calculates it at 39%, Nikki Finke says 37%. (I can’t check who is right because Variety isn’t giving a complete breakdown of the daily performance, and may be working with slightly different numbers than Ms. Finke. I also suck at math.) In any case, it does show an increase over the “Borat” numbers. Also, this kind of film is a bit cheaper to make than some others, possible lawsuits notwithstanding.

Christian Bale, Public Enemies No big surprises further down the rankings either, with “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” breaking the $100 million mark with $28.5 million in its second “frame.” That’s an ice-cool $120.6 million so far for the family flick. If I may copy the Variety house style, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” made an automatic $24 million for a Gigantor-sized $339 domestic total, with THR/Reuters proclaiming it “easily the biggest movie of the year.” (Well, I’m still hoping for a surprise.) and “Public Enemies” knocked over the public to the tune of $14.1 million. Nikki Finke is reporting that competing studios are talking down the star-driven gangster movie’s chances of hitting the $100 million mark.

Critics and the public were, for a change, speaking with one voice and gave a box office D-grade to the week’s second wide release, the high school comedy, “I Love You, Beth Cooper.” The adaptation of a novel by original author Larry Doyle and director Chris Columbus matched its dismal critical performance with a seventh place showing, netting a paltry $5 million despite being in 1,858 theaters.

Action Movies, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies

Bruno Chris Columbus I Love You Beth Cooper Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Larry Charles Larry Doyle Public Enemies Sacha Baron Cohen Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen

A little Sunday morning ultraviolence, with a side of religious imagery

July 12, 2009 / Bob Westal

Continuing on a theme from last night…Chow Yun Fat is a paid assassin with a heart of gold in John Woo’s 1989 “The Killer,” a classic badass variation on the twice-filmed weepy, “The Magnificent Obsession.”