Category: Reviews (Page 105 of 120)

Will the reign of “King of Cars” continue…?

March 6, 2007 /

“King of Cars,” A&E’s latest reality-show phenomenon, is now back for its second season, and, wow, this is just further proof that a reality show can make just about any job look interesting. If you’re not familiar with it already, the series centers around the Towbin Dodge car dealership in Las Vegas, Nevada, run by Josh “Chop” Towbin; the dealership earned some fame via its infomercials, where its salesmen dress up as various characters (like Versace Mariachi and the Blue Genie), but that’s nothing compared to how things have been since the premiere of this show last year on A&E.

We scored screeners of two episode from the new season – the first about the dealership’s “Ugly Truckling” contest (where customers are told to bring in their ugly trucks, and the ugliest in the bunch will win $1,000), the second about a competition for a promotion within the dealership (it begins as a simple matter of who sells the most before descending into a one-on-one basketball match where the winner gets the gig) – and, yes, even the world of car sales makes for fascinating viewing when it’s made into a half-hour show with lots of quick cuts and one-liners. The “Ugly Truckling” episode is especially enjoyable, with the laughably rotten vehicles that roll onto the lot in an attempt to win a grand.

Ultimately, however, my biggest problem with the show – and I think it’s one that a lot of others probably share – is that, while they might make for an interesting reality series, I generally avoid car dealers like the frickin’ plague, so as I’m watching the show, I’m often taken out of it when I realize that, geez, what that guy’s doing or what that other guy is saying are two big reasons why I tend to drive my cars until they literally fall apart. I hate dealing with car salesmen…and even though there’s definitely an entertaining reality show premise to be found within “King of Cars,” I’m hard pressed to actually like any of the characters in the series, especially the ones who open their mouth on a regular basis, since they invariably say something boastful and annoying. In particular, Chop reminds me a lot…a whole lot…of a guy I used to work for, and while he’s got the kind of personality that helps when you’re trying to make a buck – meaning that he’s an obnoxious loudmouth who loves his bling, lives for the almighty dollar, and will change his personality in the blink of an eye if he thinks it’ll help score a sale – he’s not the kind of guy you can readily root for…and the same goes for the majority of his staff. In that second episode, two of the salesmen are battling for a top slot at the dealership, and they immediately descend into back-stabbing in order to try and win the new, higher-paying position…and Chop is cackling all the way. He’s also the kind of guy who talks about people being “team players,” which never fails to rub me the wrong way, personally.

But, hey, if you also happen to be an obnoxious loudmouth who loves his bling and lives for the almighty dollar, you’ll probably want to tune in every single week. (Somehow, I’m guessing that’s the demographic where this show scores its biggest ratings.) Otherwise, however, it might be wise to enter the proceedings with trepedation; one trip to the lot might be quite enough for you.

External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV

Bullz-Eye for the Kiddies, Vol. 2

February 27, 2007 /

It’s been awhile, but we’re back with a new volume of Bullz-Eye for the Kiddies. These children- and family-oriented discs don’t come in at a rapid pace, so we sometimes have to wait a little while to stockpile enough for another column. Sorry, we know how much you’ve been waiting for this – we’ve gotten all of your E-mails – but, at least, your patience has paid off!

Jakers! – Sheep on the Loose: It’s gotten to the point where I actually look forward to this show when my daughter’s watching PBS Sprout on cable. And, really, what’s not to like? Computer-animated Farm animals talking in Irish accents…? C’mon, people, get behind me on this! Seriously, though, it’s a show that’s full of lessons and morals, but the writing is fantastic, particularly in the way it tackles serious subjects without getting too morose about it. “Waking Thor” finds Ferny the cow dealing with the death of his goldfish, Thor, and it’s handled in an exemplary manner, indicating that loss is loss if you love the person who dies, whether it’s a goldfish or a parent. There’s a particularly great line when Piggley’s dad asks the kids if they’ve considered a wake for Thor, and Piggley responds, “Oh, there’s no wakin’ him, Da. We’ve seen him; he’s done.” This episode also has a running subplot where Wiley the sheep – voiced by Mel Brooks – is bored out of his mind; another sheep suggests a rousing game of cricket, to which Wiley responds, “What, are you kidding? That’s the same as being bored!” Definitely one of the best animated shows that PBS has to offer.

The Fox and the Hound 2: You know, if we all team up and go over to the Disney studios en masse, at least one of us ought to be able to make it through security, into the corporate offices, and punch somebody – preferably an executive – in the face for greenlighting all of these fucking straight-to-video sequels, prequels, and “mid-quels” to classic films. What’s a “mid-quel”? It’s where they invent a new story and claim that it occurred off-camera at some point during the original flick…and that’s what this story is. Tod the fox and Copper the bloodhound are still in their youth when Copper, who feels as though he can’t do anything right, discovers that he can howl pretty darned well, which leads him to join a traveling band of singing dogs who are performing at the county fair. Tod gets jealous, of course, and by the end of the film, Copper returns home and the status quo is reinstated…but not before we’ve heard a few tunes from Reba McEntire, who voices one of the singing dogs. If you remember the sweet story of the original “Fox and the Hound,” stay away from this completely unnecessary flick that does nothing but try to scrape a few more bucks into the Magic Kingdom’s bank vault.

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A belated discussion about “An American Haunting” on DVD

February 23, 2007 /

My wife’s a bigger horror film fan than I am, so when I get in a flick from that particular genre in to review, she’s been known to go watch the DVD before I get around to it. In the case of “An American Haunting,” she started watching it…but she said that it started to get so scary that she decided she wanted to stop watching it until I could watch it with her.

Fair enough…except that I kept setting it aside, we both got busy, and, basically, we forgot about it…until this week.

So we finally watched it, and, yes, the film does have some scary moments. It doesn’t necessary scale the heights of horror greatness throughout its 90 minutes – when your film’s about a relatively young girl who’s haunted by a mysterious spirit, it’s hard to get past the inevitable similarities to “The Exorcist” – but it’s an enjoyable enough, good-looking horror flick, made more interesting by the fact that it’s a period piece (it takes place during the 1800s) and aided immeasurably by a solid cast that’s top-lined by Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek. Unfortunately, what’s painted as a ghost story throughout the majority of its run time suddenly changes gears dramatically at the end…and while I’m not looking to give it away, I’m guessing the conclusion will have you reacting in the same way my wife and I did: by asking, “Are you kidding me…?”

But, then, as a critic, my opinion doesn’t count for much, apparently (even though, mind you, it’s precisely the same as my wife, who isn’t a critic), based on a rant by the film’s writer / director, Courtney Solomon, on the DVD.

Solomon opts out of doing a proper commentary; he starts off doing an in-screen video commentary, but he quickly gets bored and, instead, decides to hop in his car and drive around to the various places involved in the film’s creation. After talking about all the online promotion done for the film and how it helped its box office peformance immeasurably, he starts talking about critics; he understands why they have to exist but that he doesn’t have to read what they have to say, that a director needs to know when he himself is happy with his work and not change it based on the opinions of others. Fair enough…but, then, he starts into an attack on the entire profession of film criticism that’s like a snowball rolling down a hill, growing in vicious intensity with each passing moment.

Dare you read the transcription?

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Introducing…”Halfway Home”

February 21, 2007 /

Comedy Central’s original series have a tendency to be wildly uneven. With “The Sarah Silverman Program,” however, it looked like the network’s fortunes had changed…but, now, we have “Halfway Home,” and we’re somewhere between the two poles.

It seems like a great idea: an improvised show about five ex-cons living in a residential rehab facility. (Y’get it? A halfway house…?) Improvised comedy generally tends to result in big laughs, but if you’re expecting something akin to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” or one of Christopher Guest’s flicks, you’re expecting a little too much; in this case, the cast tends to fall back on lowbrow comedy way too often. Example: the second episode revolves almost entirely around the guys in the house attempting to get erections…and it ends with them all taking horse viagra by mistake. Of the three episodes made available for preview, however, two of them contain quite a lot of laughs…and, okay, there’s at least one hilarious line in that erection episode, when Jordan Black, in his quest to rise to the occasion, says, “I’m gonna handle my junk like Fred Sanford.”

Undoubtedly, the big selling point among comedy fans will prove to be the inclusion of this man in the cast:

Oscar Nunez

Given that Oscar Nunez produced the pilot for “Halfway Home” and sold it to Comedy Central, you can’t accuse him of accidentally falling into typecasting, but is it really all that wise to follow up his role as Oscar the gay accountant on “The Office” with this role as a gay male prostitute? Sure, it’s nice to have that funny-gay-guy niche locked up, but, really, Oscar, how about some variety in your resume? It’s not like you’re actually gay. (At least, he says he isn’t in this interview.)

Anyway, it looks like “Halfway Home” is two-thirds of the way to being consistently funny…but let’s see how the rest of the season goes.

External TV, News, Reviews, The Office, TV, TV Comedies

TV DVD QT, Vol. 6

February 9, 2007 /

All in the Family: The Complete Sixth Season – Ah, geez: this is the season when “All in the Family” jumped the shark. Or was it? My perception has always been that things started to go downhill this year, when Mike and Gloria moved out of the Bunker’s house, and Gloria gave birth to baby Joey; the majority of the votes on JumpTheShark.com, however, don’t have it occurring until the end of the eighth season, when Mike, Gloria, and Joey moved away. All I know is that after this season, “All in the Family” dropped to #12 in the ratings after spending five years at #1. That can’t be a coincidence.

The Big Valley: Season Two, Volume One – After watching seasons of “The Time Tunnel” and “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” you sometimes forget that the ‘60s actually produced some dramas that provide entertainment on more levels than just kitschy fun. “The Big Valley” is probably best remembered by kids raised in the ‘70s and ‘80s as the show Lee Majors did before “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Fall Guy,” but it’s a solid Western drama that provides a twist on the “Bonanza” formula by having several strapping young brothers living on a ranch with their ma (played by Barbara Stanwyck) rather than their pa. It’s loaded with guest stars, but surely the most interesting performance here is the surprisingly effective dramatic turn by Buddy Hackett, who sports a beard and an Irish accent for his role.

Dallas: The Complete Sixth Season – If you didn’t watch the show, there are probably only two questions you have about this set, so let me answer them for you quickly. 1) No, it’s not the season where J.R. got shot; that happened at the end of the third season. 2) No, it’s not the season where Bobby shows up the shower and it turns out that the previous season was an entire dream; that happened at the end of the ninth season. So if you’re only a casual fan, you’ll probably be able to take a pass. If you’re a diehard…well, of course, you’ll buy it, anyway, but you’ll be excited to check out the new featurette, “Power and Influence: The Dallas Legacy.” It’s only 12 minutes long, but at least it’s a special feature; you get so few of those on ‘70s shows sets.

The Golden Girls: The Complete Seventh and Final Season – Criminey, another season already? Man, I am so freaking tired of writing about this show. Thank God it’s the last time I’ll have to do so. What else is there to say about it, really, that I haven’t already said before? It’s four old ladies living in a house together, it’s a funny show, and it shouldn’t be the guilty pleasure for guys that it is, because the writing is often downright hilarious. Plus, it was a great venue for older stars to get work…and, unlike “Murder, She Wrote” or “Diagnosis: Murder,” the odds were pretty decent that you’d get out of the episode alive! There’s also a nice retrospective on here, entitled – what else? – “Thank You For Being A Friend: A Look Back with the Golden Girls.”

La Femme Nikita: The Complete Fifth Season – Peta Wilson is hot. I think that’s pretty well inarguable. But having not watched this show at any point prior to receiving this set, it’s hard to do a review of it justice…which is why I’ve been sitting on it for so long. I tried to watch it, but, frankly, it bored me very quickly and I bailed out. I’m willing to presume that’s because I was coming in blind, though, so I’ll at least praise the fact that it includes a few special features, including deleted scenes, a teaser for the season that was previously only viewable online, and a featurette called “Season Five: Declassified.”

Penn & Teller: Bullshit! – The Complete Fourth Season – Hard to say how long Penn Gillette’s NBC game show, “Identity,” will stick around, but, frankly, who cares? Sure, it’s nice that he’s getting a paycheck for doing not very much at all, but if it vanishes tomorrow, he’s still got “Bullshit!” – already renewed for a fifth season – to fall back on. You might occasionally find yourself flinching at Penn’s explosive obscenity-filled responses to various on-screen contributors (my personal favorite: “Fuck you in the neck, motherfucker!”), but whether you agree with the show’s spin on their subjects – which, rest assured, are always well-documented – or not, every episode “Bullshit!” is invariably illuminating. And, guys, you know you want to watch the one on prostitution…

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