Author: Jason Zingale (Page 71 of 154)

The Shield 7.4 – Genocide

September 23, 2008 /

The Armenian/Mexican gang war really heated up this week as the Strike Team (perhaps unsurprisingly) found themselves once again stuck in the middle. Vic had to know that his plan was bound to go sideways at some point, and when Rezian demands a sitdown following a Mexican barbeque of two of his lieutenants, Vic tries to convince him otherwise. Unfortunately, Rezian is insistent on explaining to the Mexicans that he has nothing to do with their missing property, and so Vic (as his second favor to him) heads to Cruz Pezuela to set up the meet. Pezuela, in turn, offers up his right-hand man, Armando Rios, as the voice of the Mexican side, but he doesn’t see any point in talking with the Armenians if they don’t plan on returning the blackmail box.

When Vic relays the message to Rezian, he’s both surprised and confused to discover that the Armenian boss is willing to admit he’s in possession of the box. This is all Pezuela needs to hear, and the meeting is goes on as planned. What Vic doesn’t understand, however, is how Rezian is going to explain the missing box, so when Rezian sandbags him at the meeting by explaining to Rios that he never had anything to do with its disappearance, Vic is understandably pissed off. Rezian simply wants to form a true with the Mexicans, and he’s even willing to ignore the recent murders and help them track down the real owners of the box in trade for leaving him and his guys alone. Vic attempts to convince Pezuela that Rezian is only lying, but when that isn’t enough, he heads to Aceveda for help.

Micheal Chiklis in The Shield

For as much as Aceveda has to lose by refusing to work with Vic, he sure treats him like an unwanted mouth sore. Nevertheless, when he’s brought up to speed on the day’s events, he agrees to let Vic dive into the blackmail box for a little help convincing Pezuela that Rezian was lying. What he gets is a tip about a city planner (the same one that screwed Vic out of his favor last season) who has repeatedly refused to sign off on a memorial in Little Armenia. When Vic and Ronnie threaten to release info about his insider trading if he doesn’t greenlight the latest request, however, the Armenians get their memorial, and Pezuela is led to believe that it was Rezian who set it up. Instead of gunning for the Armenians, however, Pezuela has the city planner assassinated, which upsets Aceveda greatly. Vic tries to calm him down by informing him that Agent Murray is using her federal connections to help bring down Pezuela and the drug cartel, but then Aceveda drops a bombshell. Agent Olivia Murray – the woman we know so little about, but Vic seems to trust immensely – is also in the blackmail box. In the words of Scooby-Doo: “Ruh-Roh.”

It’s nice to see Murray getting involved in the story, but the setup was so subtle that I’m really curious to see what kind of dirt Pezuela has on her. Obviously, it has something to do with why she’s trying to regain favor with her boss, but if it was anything really bad, how in the world could she still retain her status within the FBI? It’ll be interesting to see where Shawn Ryan goes with this one, but for the time being, you can hardly criticize the guy for continuing to progress the main story. Every episode has had at least one major revelation so far, and it really feels like this season has been well planned out.

Still, with as much that’s going on, I still found myself gravitating more towards Dutch’s (possibly) standalone story this week. His interactions with the kid (who he believes is a serial killer in the making) were some of the episode’s best moments, and though he got away this time, it would be really fun to watch Dutch continue to chase him down for the rest of the season. His character is clearly never going to get involved with Vic and Aceveda, and between solving cases like this and keeping tabs on Claudette, he should have more than enough to keep him busy in the short term. The whole Cassidy subplot, on the other hand, is dead weight that never should have been introduced, and if she somehow plays a role in Vic’s death/incarceration/whatever before the end of the season, it won’t be so much shocking as it will be a total disappointment.

External TV, The Shield, TV, TV Dramas

Entourage 5.3 – The All Out Fall Out

September 21, 2008 /

A year ago, I might have had a few words to say about how tonight’s episode did very little to progress the main storyline, but the whole subplot involving Ari and Adam Davies was so damn entertaining that I’m willing to give the “Entourage” writers a break this time around. Sure, a filler episode isn’t exactly the best idea when you’re trying to win back your fanbase, but it was also so enjoyable that it was well worth the risk.

Though it certainly wasn’t the main focus of the night, the Ari/Davies prank war was some of the best comedic material of the show’s five-year run. You just knew that Ari would do something as stupid as get into an illegal street race with Davies on his first day driving his new Ferrari, but I definitely didn’t expect him to crash it into a school bus. Well, “crash” is probably the wrong word – it was more of a subtle bump. Nevertheless, Ari lost the friendly wager, and being the upright guy that he is, he tells Lloyd to send Davies the $100 in a brown paper bag… filled with human shit. When a pair of police officers breaks up his meeting with T.I. hours later, Ari thinks he’s being arrested for the juvenile prank, only to discover that they’re strippers sent by Davies as retaliation.

Entourage 5.3

Not one to quit when he’s down, Ari pulls up some nude photos of Davies’ girlfriend that she gave him when she worked at the agency, and sends them to him with the hope that he’ll be crushed by the idea that she always wanted to have sex with Ari. Instead, Davies is quick to inform Ari that they broke up six months ago, and when he announces that he’s just posted a nude photo of Mrs. Ari on the internet, Ari goes apeshit. Determined to beat an apology out of Davies if it comes to it, Ari heads to the old agency to confront him, even going so far as to bitch slap him to accentuate how much of a bitch move that was on his part. Davies refuses to apologize, but when Ari threatens to “knock [him] the fuck out” if he doesn’t, Davies cowardly admits defeat.

The rest of the episode wasn’t quite as memorable. Eric heard back from Amanda about the script, but despite her acknowledgement that she liked it (and that Edward Norton is interested in some capacity, probably as a producer), we’ll have to wait until next week to find out more. Drama, meanwhile, is recovering from his break-up with Jacqueline, and when Vince gets an offer for some easy cash to serenade a girl at her Sweet 16 party, Drama ruins the night by throwing up on the cake. Perhaps more upsetting, however, was the complete waste of both Kevin Pollack and Fran Drescher as the girl’s parents. Seriously, was that the best they could come up with? Hell, I could have played the girl’s father and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Be smart, guys, and stop wasting talent on roles like this before you have to settle for much worse.

Entourage, External TV, TV, TV Comedies

Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might / Lord Slug

September 18, 2008 /

It’s a shame that the Dragon Ball Z movies aren’t as good as the series itself, but I guess that’s the price you pay when you’re only given 60 minutes to tell a story. You’d also think that with the sixth season hitting stores on the same day, we’d be a little further along in the DBZ timeline, but “Tree of Might” and “Lord Slug” take place pre-Namek – when Gohan was still an annoying little kid and Goku had yet to become a total badass. “Tree of Might” is definitely the worst of the two, and it might even be the worst of all the Dragon Ball Z movies. By now, we’ve already seen Goku go toe-to-toe against his brother Radditz, as well as his father Bardock (albeit in a strange dream sequence), so the idea of pitting Goku against another Saiyan that looks just like him is, well, kind of lame. Additionally, the battles are boring and the movie ends so abruptly that it isn’t even worth your time. It’s a good thing that “Lord Slug” is included in the set, because “Tree of Might” probably wouldn’t be worth owning on its own. Though it does have its share of similarities to the series, (the villain hearkens back to the days of Lord Piccolo, while his lackeys are reminiscent of the Ginyu Force), “Lord Slug” is still one of the better movies to be released thanks to some entertaining fight sequences. Not even Gohan and his stupid dinosaur friend can ruin that.

Click to buy “Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might / Lord Slug”

External TV, TV, TV Anime, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

The Shield 7.3 – Money Shot

September 16, 2008 /

Poor Ronnie. I mean, the guy just can’t catch a break, can he? First, his face gets a little oven burner action courtesy of Armadillo, and then, his arm becomes a giant chew toy for a fierce pit bull. If anyone deserves to walk away from this current situation involving the Armenians, it’s definitely him. In the meantime, however, he’s busy leading the Strike Team while Vic and Shane take care of their other problem. Axl, the porn shop owner from last season (you know, the “Dick in Grannies” guy), has come to Ronnie with information on a producer who pays his actresses in drugs. They bust the guy for offering blow to an undercover Julian and Tina, and convince him to give up his dealer, Demetris Harms, but when the Strike Team heads to Harms’ house to arrest him, they find it completely empty – that is, except for his guard dog. Ronnie suspects that it was Axl who warned Harms of their impending takedown, and, well, he’s right. Apparently, Axl is deathly afraid of Harms, and though this little excursion certainly gave Ronnie something to do on tonight’s episode, I’m still not sure how it fits into the big picture.

If I know Shawn Ryan as well as I think I do, we won’t hear anything about it for weeks, only to have him revisit the subplot later down the road. Whether or not we get any sort of conclusion from that case doesn’t really matter, though, because Ryan and Co. are really grooving with their main story. With Rezian out of jail, the Armenian mob boss is beginning to cash in his favors from Shane, and his first request is to recover a shipment of processed guns from the police station. Vic doesn’t like the idea of putting untraceable weapons in the hands of killers, but when he discovers that Aceveda has destroyed any leverage he might have access to by moving the blackmail box, he agrees under one condition – that Rezian only get three favors, and when they’re all cashed in, Vic, Shane and both of their families are left alone for good.

With all that sorted out, Vic and Shane plot a way to sneak into the police compound where the guns are being held. They mentioned that there was only one guard on watch, so I figured they would just sneak in without him noticing, but Vic’s eventual plan is much smarter. He pulls over a former CI named Burnout and takes him back to the Barn, leaving his brand new Escalade to be temporarily seized and taken to the very same police compound holding the guns… only Shane is hiding in the back. With the lone security guard left to fend for himself, Shane loads up the SUV with the guns and hightails it out of there. When he meets up with Rezian and Vic at the drop-off point, he’s unaware that Vic has an ace up his sleeve. In order to prevent the guns from landing in the hands of the Armenians, he’s informed Agent Murray about the takedown, allowing just enough time for him, Shane and Rezian to get away before the feds come in to break up the brouhaha. In doing so, Vic also comes off looking like he just saved Rezian’s ass, and to solidify that feeling, the trio heads back to Rezian’s office where Vic plants a bug to make it look like it was the Armenian’s number two who sold him out.

Meanwhile, in what may just be his most interesting case in quite some time, Dutch teams up with Danny to work a missing persons case involving an Asian girl whose mother refuses to admit she’s actually missing. When he goes back to check in on her a day later, he discovers that the girl is indeed at home, but she looks the worse for wear. When he takes her back to the Barn to investigate, Danny suggests she should talk to her instead, and after opening up about her recent encounter, the girl tells Danny that she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. As it happens, that’s not exactly the case. When the family discovered that the girl was engaged in a lesbian relationship, her brother hired a man who got some boys to literally “rape the homosexual” out of her. Um, yeah. This is the kind of stuff you can only find on “The Shield,” and while it sucks that Dutch is still in the background, at least they’re finding more interesting things for him to do.

Nevertheless, the real revelation of the night was when Ronnie told Vic that he was sick of ignoring the fact that Shane had killed Lem. Not only that, but he admitted to Vic that he’s not going to drown for either them. I’m not sure what this actually means for Ronnie (would he really turn them in to save his own skin?), but Vic and Shane do seem like they’re on the road to forgiveness. Shane even gives Vic his only copy of his back-up plan, while Vic tells Shane that he’s beginning to understand why he had to do what he did. Are either of them telling the truth? Probably not, but with more than half of the season left, can you really expect any less?

External TV, The Shield, TV, TV Dramas

Entourage 5.2 – Unlike a Virgin

September 14, 2008 /

Turtle: You wanna go to the Villa tonight, E?
Eric: What, just you and me?
Turtle: Yeah, you’re right.

If there’s one thing I learned from tonight’s episode, it’s that the writers have no reservations about taking things slow. That’s actually good news, since it means they’re serious about the show’s future, despite the fact that some fans were probably hoping the new season would start off with a little more of a bang. All I can say is, be patient, because although the first two episodes have been relatively tame, they’ve also shown real promise for the things to come.

Even Vince is taking things more seriously since being courted back to Hollywood. He’s busy reading scripts, and though the films he’s interested in already have actors attached, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get back into the game. Unfortunately, no one is listening, and while Eric would love for him to do an indie film called “Nine Brave Souls” from a duo of up-and-coming screenwriters, he agrees with Ari that Vince’s next project should be a studio film. He’s also probably not willing to gamble away what little left there is of Vince’s career, but that doesn’t stop him from tracking down the writers to discuss the possibility of signing with him.

Entourage 5.2

What he doesn’t expect is for LB (Lukas Haas) and Nick (Giovanni Ribisi) to be so demanding. A little too demanding for a pair of unknowns, perhaps, but they also have a point. After all, if Eric is Vincent Chase’s manager, then why can’t he convince him to star in their movie? Eric explains that Vince is only interested in doing a studio movie right now, but Nick doesn’t want to hear it. Instead, he suggests that Eric sell their script first before they begin worrying about any kind of contract.

When Eric goes to Ari for help selling the script and is immediately blown off, however, Eric takes it to the one person who I honestly thought we’d never see again: Amanda (Carla Gugino), Ari’s temporary replacement from season three. Depending on whether or not she likes the script (and why wouldn’t she, if they’ve gone through the trouble of bringing her back into the fold?), it’ll be interesting to see how her involvement will affect Vince’s relationship with Ari. The fact that Vince wants to do the film, combined with Ari’s recent confession that Vince isn’t a good actor, will likely play a major role in the weeks to come.

For the time being, Vince is sticking with Ari, but how much longer is Ari willing to stick with Vince? Sure, he’s movie star quality, but if he can’t get the guy a job, what exactly is the point of keeping him on the client list? It looks like he’s willing to commit to Vince’s career for now (“This town loves a comeback, and since Britney fucked hers up, it’s all you!”), but wouldn’t it be fun if Vince had to completely rebuild his career from the ground up without the help of a super agent? It would certainly be different, and it might help the show regain its identity without feeling like it’s selling out.

Entourage, External TV, TV, TV Comedies

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