Author: Will Harris (Page 46 of 261)

Will is a member of the Television Critics Association and has written for Decider.com, the Onion A.V. Club, The Dissolve, Indiewire, Rhino.com, TV Week Magazine, The Virginian-Pilot, Popdose.com, and EW.com along with writing for Bullz-Eye.com and Premium Hollywood.

This Tuesday in TV-DVD – Oct. 27, 2009

October 27, 2009 / Will Harris

You’re familiar with Jason’s “Blu Tuesday” column? Well, given how many TV-DVD sets continue to hit the market on a weekly basis, it occurred to me that it might not be such a bad idea to do a regular round-up of the highlights of what the TV geeks out there…and, obviously, I count myself among their number…can look forward to finding on store shelves on a given week. And, thus, I bring you…

This Tuesday in TV-DVD!

Yeah, I know: it’s not a great title. But at least you can’t claim there’s any false advertising.

Let’s get started, shall we?

* Battlestar Galactica: The Plan: I was able to talk with Dean Stockwell on Friday about this new flick, but at the time, I hadn’t seen it yet…and, y’know, you can’t bluff when you’re talking to Cavil, so it was a little embarrassing when I had to admit my ignorance. Fortunately for you, John Paulsen has since reviewed it for us, giving it four stars and providing this warning: “Newbies who are considering jumping into the series should not — I repeat SHOULD NOT — start with ‘The Plan,’ for three major reasons: 1) this was meant as an epilogue, not a prologue, 2) it could be extremely confusing, and 3) there are way too many secrets that would be revealed in one fell swoop. Don’t do it.” Listen to the man, I beg you.

* Monty Python: Almost the Truth – The Lawyer’s Cut: If saw my posting about my trip to NYC to attend the Python reunion on behalf of this film, then you already know I’m partial to this set. As such, you don’t really need to see my proper review of the full-length documentary on Bullz-Eye, but if it helps, I’ll just offer up the last line, in which I state, “If you’re looking for the no-holds-barred story of the group (but not their subsequent solo projects, which – aside from what they’re doing currently – are ignored), then this is definitely the place to go.” It’s also worth noting that there are a couple of other Python DVDs which have in no way coincidentally emerged this week, but while I’m sure “Monty Python: The Other British Invasion” and “The Best of Monty Python” have their merits (and, indeed, I believe the former will soon be reviewed by our own David Medsker), there’s no question that “Almost the Truth” is the absolute must-own of the bunch.

Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External TV, News, Reality TV, TV, TV Action, TV Cartoons, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV DVDs, TV Reality, TV Sci-Fi

Adult Swim Adult Swim in a Box Battlestar Galactica Battlestar Galactica: The Plan Dogfight Dogtown Dr. G: Medical Examiner Headlines Life After People Mannix Monty Python Monty Python: Almost the Truth Monty Python: The Other British Invasion National Geographic On the Road with Charles Kuralt Patton 360 Saturday Morning Cartoons Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Tales from the Darkside The Barbara Stanwyck Show The Best of Monty Python The Diary of Anne Frank The Fugitive The Guardian The Prisoner The Secret Saturdays The Wild West Trial and Retribution World War II: 360

Well, it’s about time: “Boondock Saints II” hits screens on Oct. 30th

October 27, 2009 / Will Harris

When I talked to Sean Patrick Flanery in 2008 in conjunction with the release of “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” on DVD, I made a point of asking him about the long-rumored sequel to his classic cult film, “Boondock Saints.” This was his teasing response:

“Well, the rumor is…well, I’m not officially supposed to say anything, because Sony doesn’t…they want to make their own announcement, so I’ll let them. But, uh, I think just me saying that they’re going to be making an announcement kinda gives you your answer!”

So it did. And now, a year and a half after that conversation, we’re finally going to see “Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” hit theaters in limited release on October 30th.

But, hey, why wait? Here are the first five minutes of the film to whet your appetite:

More The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day News & Previews

Actors, External Entertainment, External Movies, News, Trailers

Boondock Saints Boondock Saints II Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Sean Patrick Flanery

Have a Happy Halloween with “Hammer Glamour”

October 27, 2009 / Will Harris

Are you one of those film buffs who believes that Hammer equals Horror? I’m almost a little embarrassed to admit it, but for the longest time, I didn’t know the first thing about Hammer Films, let alone their reputation amongst horror film aficionados. I was one of those kids who lived and died by the classic six-pack of Universal monster movies – “Dracula” (1931), “Frankenstein” (1931), “The Mummy” (1932), “The Invisible Man” (1933), “The Wolf Man” (1941), and “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) – and any and all of the sequels they inspired. In fact, it wasn’t until 2005 that I really got an education into the world of Hammer, courtesy of a set released, ironically, by Universal: “The Hammer Horror Series.” It’s part of Universal’s so-called “Franchise Collection,” and although it’s certainly not a comprehensive set, it does include several films which give you a feel for the Hammer style of horror, including “Brides of Dracula,” “Curse of the Werewolf,” their 1962 version of “Phantom of the Opera,” “Paranoiac,” “Kiss of the Vampire,” “Nightmare,” “Night Creatures,” and “Evil of Frankenstein.”

There’s something about Hammer, though, that would’ve brought me to their back catalog of films long ago if only I’d been aware of it: they were really, really good at combining their horror with incredibly hot women. And if you doubt this to be true, then may I assure you that there is ample evidence of this fact…emphasis on the ample…in “Hammer Glamour: Classic Images from the Archive of Hammer Films.” Given that scary movies were the studio’s stock and trade in their glory days, it’s probably not coincidental that Titan Books decided to wait until right around Halloween to release this glossy tome, but rest assured that the photos contained within – and on the cover, as you can see below – are the sort which can be appreciated all year round.

Author Marcus Hearn was given the opportunity to delve deep into the Hammer vaults, and, boy, did he make the most of it. “The deeper we dug in Hammer’s archive, and the other picture libraries we visited, the more hidden gems we uncovered,” he said, in an interview with Titan. “Glamour photography was one of the most important elements of any Hammer publicity campaign, so there was no shortage of pictures to choose from. Unfortunately, they hadn’t always been stored with the greatest care, so the extensive restoration was by far the most time-consuming part of assembling the book.”

The team of restorers did good work, to be certain, but so did Hearn, who interviewed as many of the Hammer actresses as possible and, beyond that, has compiled solid biographies for each. And even those of you who aren’t familiar with Hammer’s history will likely still recognize several of the names within the book, including Ursula Andress (“Dr. No”), Nastassja Kinski (“Tess,” “Cat People”), Joanna Lumley (“Absolutely Fabulous”), and Raquel Welch (“Fantastic Voyage,” “One Million Years B.C.,” and, of course, “Myra Breckinridge”).

Not only is “Hammer Glamour” great to look at, but odds are that it’ll leave you wanting to head to Netflix and check out the body of work that these women accumulated for the studio. And if part of the reason for doing so is because you want to check out their actual bodies in the process…well, I think they’d probably understand. After all, you don’t think they were wearing those bodices because they were comfortable, do you?

In closing, to whet your appetite and tempt you further into picking up the book (which you can do by clicking here), here’s an extremely well-done collection of clips of some of the studio’s stable of actresses…and set to Kate Bush’s “Hammer Horror,” no less:

Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Horror Movies, News, Video

Hammer Films Hammer Glamour Hammer horror Hammer Studios Headlines Joanna Lumley Marcus Hearn Nastassja Kinski Raquel Welch The Hammer Horror Series Ursula Andress

Mad Men 3.11 – And Who Are YOU Supposed To Be?

October 25, 2009 / Will Harris

First things first: my thanks to Bob Westal for ably filling my shoes last week while I was in the UK. Alas, I was so busy covering the press junket for “Pirate Radio” that I wasn’t able to hunt down the home office of Putnam, Powell, and Lowe. Oh, well, maybe next time…

Betty is packing her bags when the episode begins. Will it prove to be prophetic…? We’ll see, but it certainly doesn’t seem to bode well that A) she and the kids are heading off for a week at her dad’s old place, and B) her last moments with Don involve him…well, not so much lying to her face about his stash o’ cash as unabashedly avoiding giving an answer when she asks if he has any money lying around. But, even so, you can tell she’s still damned well pissed at him, and given all of the confusing information that she’s found out about him through the contents of the drawer, you can’t blame her.

We meet Annabelle Mathis, heiress to a fortune in dog food as a result of her husband’s unfortunately demise at the age of 51…and, boy, the look Roger cut to Don when he was lighting up just as Annabelle was revealing that her husband had died of lung cancer was priceless. Don’s given the opportunity to take a shot at the campaign (apparently, Sterling-Cooper used to have their business, but, per Bert Cooper, “Her father was a son of a bitch”), just so long as he follows two cardinal rules: don’t change the recipe and don’t change the name. What’s the connection between Roger and Annabelle? Well, there was clearly a relationship of some sort back in the day. At first, it sounded like an extra-martial affair, since she asked him if he’s still married, but it’s later revealed that their coupling was quite some time in the past…not that either one of them has forgotten it. It’s to Roger’s credit that, despite the amount of alcohol in his system, he still doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity for post-dinner entertainment that Annabelle offers him.

Speaking of Roger’s extra-marital affairs, Joan is trying to help her husband prepare for job interviews, and in the process, she learns that his father had a nervous breakdown. Somehow, that stands to reason. The next day, she decides to call Roger and, although she won’t ask him for her old job back, she’s not above asking him for assistance in finding a new gig. The two of them have a nice, flirtatious conversation that harks back to earlier seasons, making for one of the most pleasant scenes of the episode, and although it doesn’t entirely pay off for Joan yet, Roger does indeed start making calls on her behalf. Things don’t go nearly as well for Dr. Greg, however, who promptly does an emotional bellyflop during his interview, then comes home and takes his annoyance out on his wife. She, however, responds in turn, clocking him over the head with a vase and leaving him to pick up the resulting broken glass by his damned self. “Oh, shit,” indeed. You go, Joan. But by episode’s end, we’re left wondering if maybe she gave him a concussion, as he returns home to tell her that he’s joined the Army. Just the mention of Vietnam and the throwaway line when he references it, saying, “If that’s still going on…” is a sure sign that he’ll be going over there and probably never coming back.

The dog food test for Calcott Farms goes so horribly bad, with the participants immediately recognizing the name, that Don orders Peggy to turn it off, leading to one of the funniest lines in the episode: “I can’t turn it off. It’s actually happening!” And then…

Oh, but you don’t want to hear any more about this stuff, do you? Let’s get to the real meat and potatoes of the episode: Don and Betty.

External Entertainment, External TV, Mad Men, Reviews, TV, TV Dramas

Betty Draper Christina Hendricks Don Draper Elisabeth Moss January Jones Joan Harris Joan Holloway John Slattery Jon Hamm Mad Men Mad Men blog Mad Men Season 3 Men Men recap Peggy Olson Roger Sterling Sterling Cooper

A Chat with Krysten Ritter (“Woke Up Dead”)

October 24, 2009 / Will Harris

Krysten Ritter first started making a proper go at an acting career in the early part of the decade, but it’s fair to say that the first real turning point came in 2005, when Rob Thomas decided that she’d make the perfect Gia Goodman on “Veronica Mars.” From there, the good gigs have been plentiful, including stints on “Gilmore Girls” and “Breaking Bad” and in such films as “27 Dresses,” “What Happens in Vegas,” and arguably the most high profile, “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” Currently, Ritter can be seen in the Crackle.com web series “Woke Up Dead,” a zom-com – that’s a legitimate term for a zombie comedy, right? – co-starring Jon Heder and Josh Gad. Premium Hollywood had the chance with Ritter about the challenges of doing an online series, but we also quizzed her about several of her past projects, too.

Stay tuned for…