Author: Jason Zingale (Page 92 of 154)

I’m back in the New York Groove

August 19, 2007 /

It’s official: the “Entourage” we all know and love is back. What, you don’t believe me? Well, how about Ace Frehley, whose “New York Groove” was proudly playing behind the end credits? Yeah, that’s what I thought. After weeks of going nowhere and silly subplots involving Drama and Turtle, “Entourage” is back on track with a two-episode trip to Cannes and Vinnie’s next big project.

Let’s not get ahead ourselves, though, as Vinnie’s prospects looked dim as usual after Walsh turned in his script for “Lost in the Clouds” into the studios. Of course, the script wasn’t quite the adaptation that everyone was expecting, but rather a completely original idea that Ari describes as “a sci-fi thriller set on a farm in 2075.” If it sounds crazy, it’s probably because it is. Then again, that’s Walsh, and after Ari makes a surprise visit at his house to discuss the consequences of breaching contract, it’s made quite clear that Walsh couldn’t care less. Neither can Ari after Walsh fires him because, well, they guy’s not going to work another day anyways, so what’s the big deal, right?

Wrong. Vince likes the script so much that he gives Ari the difficult task of selling Dana Gordon and her new boss on the new idea. Since “Lost in the Clouds” is temporarily screwed without a writer, director and star, they agree to the other Walsh/Chase collaboration, which Dana so eloquently describes as “Blade Runner” meets “Field of Dreams.” Not bad for someone who hasn’t even read the script.

Eric, meanwhile, is left completely out of the loop for the entire episode because he’s off catering to Anna Faris in a far off part of town that doesn’t seem to have any cell service. Actually, it’s Anna’s obsessive boyfriend who’s the real problem. Not only does he have incredibly bad taste (he wants Anna to pose in different animal positions for her new photo shoot), but he also thinks Eric is looking for more than a professional relationship. Okay, so what if he is? The guy’s a douche and that’s that. It’s just too bad that Vince thinks Eric is ignoring him because he’s too involved in Anna’s relationship. I’m sure it won’t cause any bad blood between the two (does anything?), so it’s nice to see Eric’s new business finally taking off. The question now is: will it last?

Entourage, External TV, TV

DVD Spotlight: Long live the King

August 18, 2007 /

…and greedy movie studios? That seems to be the theme of this month with the re-release of Elvis Presely’s entire film catalog. But while Paramount’s lackluster “Lights! Camera! Elvis!” set failed in offering anything new for fans of the musician-turned-actor, Warner Bros. – who just so happened to produce a majority of his films – has digitally remastered Elvis’ most popular movies just in time for the 30th anniversary celebration.

While every film is available individually in stores, Warner Bros. has packaged some of the King’s less impressive roles in “The Hollywood Collection,” a six-disc box set designed to save purists a few bucks. Let’s face it: Elvis may have made a lot of movies in his short time on this Earth, but a lot of them were really bad. Movies like “Charro,” “Kissin’ Cousins,” “Tickle Me” and “Stay Away, Joe” don’t have a very big built-in audience outside of the diehard fanbase, so it makes sense that WB would try to move a few more units by forcing the consumer to by all six. The lone classic of the bunch – “Girl Happy” – also happens to be the only film that has received a new digital transfer and a previously cut musical number added to the DVD.

Not crappy enough to make the box set, the rest of Elvis’ Warner Bros. catalog has been released, including “Harum Scarum,” “It Happened at the World’s Fair,” “Spinout,” “Speedway,” and “Double Trouble,” as well as deluxe editions of “Jailhouse Rock” and “Viva Las Vegas.” I really don’t know what the difference is between the regular releases and the deluxe editions, but the “Viva Las Vegas” disc does include an audio commentary, a never-before-seen new documentary (“Kingdom: Elvis in Vegas”), and a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, and I can only imagine that “Jailhouse Rock” (the other major Elvis picture from Warner Bros.) features much of the same.

Rounding out the August cash grab is “This Is Elvis” and “That’s the Way It Is,” two more special edition DVDs that include multiple versions of the film, featurettes on the restoration process, and never-before-seen footage. If I had to choose between one or the other, though, I’d have to go with “That’s the Way It Is,” the King’s sold-out 1970 performance at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. We’ve all seen The Story of Elvis before, but you’re not an Elvis fan until you own this seminal concert film.

External Movie DVDs, Movie DVDs, Movies

Down time

August 12, 2007 /

Okay, so maybe I blew things a bit out of proportion last week when I suggested “Entourage” might be building to a big season finale, but while the pieces haven’t quite fallen into place yet, I am confident that the final two episodes (which I accidentally read about while researching the new season) will leave fans wanting more. Let’s just say that it’s probably going to be very reminiscent of season two’s Sundance episode.

Getting back to this week’s show, however, it’s become crystal clear that the extended third season (which aired the second half of its episodes only weeks before) has greatly hurt the quality of season four. Stretching out the “Medellin” storyline has left the writers with little to talk about until the movie premieres at Cannes, and while the subplot involving Eric’s decision to take on other clients (more on that later) has definitely helped his arc as of late, the rest of the characters have been left scratching their asses.

Nevertheless, it looks like Eric will finally land his first client (besides Vince) in rising star Anna Faris, whom he met on his way to Vince’s new house. After running into him (literally) on the road (and in only a towel, no less), Anna accidentally gives Eric a fake number to call her at in order to exchange insurance info. Mildly pissed off that she would do such a thing, Eric heads over to her house to confront her, only to discover that it truly was an honest mistake. Personally, I’m not so sure it really was a mistake, but after witnessing Eric’s determination (and his good manners), Anna invites Eric out for dinner. Of course, Eric thinks it’s much more than dinner, but after Anna receives a call from her boyfriend mid-meal, it becomes quite apparent that she’s interested in a different kind of relationship. By the looks of next week’s previews, though, it doesn’t look like the new business venture will be a match made in heaven. Anna is obviously a very needy girl, and that’s simply not going to cut it with Vince around.

As for the rest of the gang, well, not a whole lot happened. Ari threw a jealous fit when his wife was invited back for an episode of “The Young & the Restless,” and Vince, Drama and Turtle just sat around all day smoking weed. Not exactly the kind of story development I was hoping for, but it was still a very nice treat to see Mrs. Ari skimp down to her skivvies. I don’t care how old she is – Perrey Reeves is smokin’ hot – and I could definitely live with seeing more of her in the very near future.

Entourage, External TV, TV

Movin’ right along

August 5, 2007 /

I’m rarely ever successful when trying to predict the future of my favorite television shows, but I sure am glad I was right about this week’s episode of “Entourage.” Dumping the Eric-Walsh feud for something a little more interesting earned both my respect and my attention, and it looks like the series is building to something before the end of the season. Plus, everyone likes celebrity cameos, and tonight’s show had three pretty big names, including Mary J. Blige, Peter Jackson and the return of Gary Busey.

With the decision to act solely as Vince’s manager, Eric has decided to expand his horizons by renting an office, putting out an advertisement in Variety magazine, and going after some deals of his own. The new digs aren’t meant exclusively for landing more jobs for Vince, but his first order of business is finding his best pal a way to make some quick cash. For those who don’t keep track of the video game industry, Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson (along with a few other bigwigs like Steven Spielberg) is making the best of his talents by working on a new video game based on the popular “Halo” franchise.

In the world of “Entourage,” however, he’s simply working on a new video game, but Eric wants to get Vinnie involved. Unfortunately, no one has a clue who the fuck Eric Murphy is, but he gets some much needed help from Shauna (yeah, you remember her?) when she directs him to a friend at Variety who will do a profile of him for free. The article doesn’t end up quite how Eric had expected – she basically calls him out for using Vince as a launching pad for his own career – but it lands him an interview with Jackson nonetheless. Could this be an exciting new time for Eric, or is this just another Saigon detour that will be eventually left in the dust?

Meanwhile, Ari is prepping for one of the biggest days of the year – Mary J. Blige’s annual visit to the agency – when he’s forced to deal with feuding co-workers at the office. Actually, they’re twin brothers, which makes the situation that much stranger when Ari hears all the details. Jeff has just discovered that his brother Jim slept with his wife, and wants Ari to fire him. Unfortunately, Jim just so happens to bring in six times as much money as brother, and so Jeff is the one that’s let go. Not exactly how Ari would have handled things had the tables been turned (despite constantly making comments about cheating on his wife, Ari is one faithful dude), but when it comes to business, numbers are numbers. It’s unlucky for him, then, that Mary J. Blige just so happens to like the guy he fired, and as a result of her leaving the agency, Ari promptly fires Jim as well. Not exactly gripping material, but still one of the better subplots that have been shoved his way since the beginning of the fourth season.

Hopefully that’s all about to change, because if I have to watch Johnny Drama make an ass of himself one more week, I may just go crazy. First, it was getting high in his trailer. Then, it was having sex in a pink bunny suit. And now? How about letting Gary Busey paint on his body in trade for an office desk? Sure, it was meant as a gift for Eric, and yeah, it’s cool that it once belonged to Robert DeNiro, but who in there right mind spends $42,000 on a freaking office desk, antique or not?

Busey has cameoed before, but this was certainly his weakest appearance. I do love the fact that he intimidates Turtle so much (“It’s the reflection in the mirror that scares you”), but the subplot seemed much too forced for his personality. Plus, we’ve already seen the whole crazy artist persona before. It’s not that I don’t like the guy, but when you’ve got Gary Busey at your disposal, and the dude is so batshit crazy that you could practically ask him to do anything, well, you ask him to do anything. Maybe he can guest star on an episode of “Five Towns,” or maybe get stranded somewhere with Turtle. I’m having thoughts of a “Brokeback Mountain” parody as we speak, but that’s for the writers to figure out and for us to enjoy.

Entourage, External TV, TV

Comic-Con: Day Three – Marvel Studios

July 30, 2007 /

The Marvel Studios panel wasn’t only one of the weekend’s final movie-related panels, but it was also perhaps the most anticipated panel of all of Comic-Con. After word spread on Thursday afternoon about the killer footage that director Jon Favreau showed during the presentation, fanboys were so adamant about seeing it again (or for the first time), that many sat through six hours of panels just to guarantee that they’d see it again. It also helps when you have the best star-to-minute ratio of all the panels thus far, because though the presentation only lasted for one hour, attendees were treated to appearances by Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard. Not exactly the kind of cast you’d expect would be involved in two comic book movies, but then again, that’s what makes these movies so amazing.

“The Incredible Hulk” (guests: Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, Louis Leterrier, Avi Arad and Kevin Feige)

Since there wasn’t any footage to show (production began only two weeks), the panel jumped right into taking questions from the audience, and the first question was a little too obvious – “Why another big screen Hulk?” – to which producer Kevin Feige replied, “Because it’s the Hulk.” The panel when on to expose a few things people may not know about the new film:

* First things first: this is not a sequel to the Ang Lee “Hulk” from a few years ago. This is part one in what they hope to be a trilogy and the big green machine will remain one size throughout the course of the movie.

* Ed Norton is writing the script. That may come as a bit of a surprise to many, but it definitely shows that Marvel means business. Not only is Norton a great actor/director, but he’s a massive fan (referring to playing the Hulk both “an honor” and “hilarious”), and so I’m sure his rewrite of the Zak Penn script will be great.

* Norton was also adamant that the only reason he signed on board to play Bruce Banner is because new technology will allow him to contribute to the acting performance of the CG Hulk; much like Andy Serkis did with King Kong.

* Everyone involved is a big fan of the Bixby/Feringo television series, but they won’t be drawing influence from just one source. This is a brand new take on the Marvel superhero that is different from all other entities – whether it be the TV series or past story arcs in the comics.

* The filmmakers showed off concept art for what they envision the Hulk to look like. I didn’t photograph the image because I didn’t want to get in trouble at my first Comic-Con, but anyone who’s interested can check it out here. For fans of the character, he looks closest to the Hulk from the Ultimate series, but with a much better haircut.

“Iron Man” (guests: Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Avi Arad and Kevin Feige)

After Jon Favreau came on to stage to announce his cast (sadly, no Jeff Bridges), they jumped quickly into a screening of the exclusive Comic-Con trailer that some of us already saw on Thursday. Those looking for a detailed description of the footage can read about it here, but I wouldn’t recommend watching it on YouTube, because, well it’s really dark and just doesn’t look as good. I enjoyed the trailer just as much the second time around (as well as the third, when they showed it again at the end of the panel), but what was more entertaining were the faces of Downey Jr., Paltrow and Howard as the trailer ended and the lights came up. Their eyes were wide open, their jaws dropped, like they were kids in a candy story. I don’t think they realized just how good this movie is going to look, and it’s a testament to Favreau’s skills as a filmmaker when you realize that nothing in the trailer has been CG-enhanced. It’s all practical.

Aside from that, the rest of cast seem really excited to be participating in the film. Robert Downey Jr. was so jazzed about wearing the suit that he told Jon Favreau to put him in it as much as possible, Gwyneth Paltrow was just happy to be working with Robert (who she calls “one of her favorite actors”), and Terrence Howard couldn’t stop talking about how cool it was to go up in an F-16 and vomit… seven or eight times.

The Q&A session didn’t reveal much more about the project (except for how the cast worked together on set), and I’m kinda glad I didn’t, because less then an hour after the panel had finished, I took my place at a series of roundtable discussions with Favreau, Downey Jr., Paltrow, Howard and Feige. Full transcriptions of all five interviews are in the works and should hit Bullz-Eye or Premium Hollywood within the next few days.

Comic-Con, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movies

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