Category: TV Dramas (Page 73 of 235)

A lull, of sorts

July 28, 2009 /

You can feel it. After more than a week of Hollywood flacks being in overdrive announcing every comic book-derived, science fiction, fantasy, and horror project they’ve got, things have suddenly gone a little languid as we enter something like the late summer doldrums. That’s highly relative in a business where ADHD sufferers are seriously over-represented, but even Nikki Finke is mostly ignoring movies and has turned her megablog into a detailed celebration of every aspect of the parting of her bete noir TV executive, Ben Silverman.

But that leaves room for a couple of items relating to two filmmakers who are always worthy of attention.

* AICN’s Capone has a chock-full-of-good-stuff interview with Peter Jackson, whose been busier than you might even think considering the number of projects he’s got going, including some really cool sounding short pieces alongside his upcoming return to his “Heavenly Creatures” “small-movie” mode with “The Lovely Bones.” (Capone also raves about the upcoming Jackson-produced feature debut for South African-born director Neill Blomkamp, “District 9” — already notable because of its semi-unavoidable viral marketing campaign.)

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Action Movies, Actresses, Comic-Con, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Blu Tuesday: Battlestar Galactica, Fast & Furious and Green Lantern

July 28, 2009 /

After last week’s fantastic selection of Blu-ray titles, you’d think that we’d have to wait another month or two before getting anything even remotely as good, but for fans of sci-fi, you really can’t do much better than today’s offering. There are no less than six geek-worthy Blu-rays this week, as well as a few other major titles definitely worthy of a spot in your collection.

“Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series” (Universal)

Okay, so I may have never actually watched “Battlestar Galactica” (save for the pilot/miniseries), but it’s one of those shows that I’ve been meaning to check out for quite awhile. And with the release of the complete series box set, what better time than now? This is the first time the show has been available on Blu-ray, and thanks to the fact that it’s actually shot in HD (though not broadcast that way, curiously enough) old and new fans alike can finally enjoy the show as it was meant to be seen. The included extras are mostly a retread of previously released bonus material, but Blu-ray owners do get a few exclusives, like picture-in-picture video and a pop-up encyclopedia. The series is housed in a sweet metallic cube that expands to reveal all four seasons and includes your very own frakkin’ toaster figurine. Even if you’re not a fan of the series, that’s pretty hard to resist.

“Fast & Furious” (Universal)

I don’t care how you may feel about the fourth installment of the popular car porn franchise, or even the series as a whole, because Universal has delivered yet another fine Blu-ray packed with just about everything you could hope for. Personally, I thought the movie was good mindless fund, but I know that a lot of people found it silly and contrived. Fair enough, but for those of you who did enjoy it, the double-disc effort includes a director commentary, stunt featurettes and even a cool Vin Diesel-directed short film that acts as a prequel to the movie. Of course, the real highlight is the Take Control feature, which offers an in-depth look at the film hosted by Justin Lin and Paul Walker. Though it’s only activated for the bigger sequences, it enables the filmmakers to go into further detail than the typical commentary track. Lin pauses, rewinds and fast-forwards his way through key moments, highlighting things with the help of storyboards and behind-the-scenes footage. Zack Snyder may have technically beaten everyone to the punch with a similar feature on the “Watchmen” Blu-ray, but it’s just good to see that Warner Bros. isn’t the only studio looking ahead. This is the future of the HD format.

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Action Movies, Actors, Battlestar Galactica, External Movie DVDs, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

True Blood 2.6 – Tease ’em, Thrill ’em, Torture and Kill ’em

July 26, 2009 /

All right, kids, I’m back to blogging, though given the amount of responses Jamey got from his stint as my substitute, maybe he should be the one doing this on a regular basis. Or not. (I’d be quite glad to let him do it, but I know that – like myself – there are never enough hours in the day for him to accomplish the tasks he already has on his plate, so adding one more would just be cruel.) Fortunately, I’ve had time to play catch-up, so I know what I missed last week…which, as it turned out, was quite a lot.

We didn’t see much of Eric this week, but his scene with Lorena at the beginning of the episode was certainly a crucial one, setting up a lengthy flashback to Chicago in 1926, where Bill…oh, sorry, make that Guillaume…is tickling the ivories as Lorena tries to pick up a beautiful blonde who’s hanging on the arm of a complete boor. Fast-forward a bit, and things have gone horribly wrong for the two non-vampires in the equation. Isn’t that always the way? God damn, Bill was a nasty son of a bitch back in the ’20s. I have to say, though, that I’m still not a fan of those blood-laden sex scenes, so I just focused on the importance of the necklace. It’s clear that there’s still a bond between Lorena and Bill, and despite her actions toward him later in the episode, I still think that her feelings for him are going to come back into play and hose up Eric’s plans.

Jason seemed scared to death that maybe his relationship with Sarah might have been discerned by Rev. Steve, but when the Rev copped a ‘tude toward his wife, you could sense that Jason suddenly wasn’t nearly as upset about the previous night’s actions as he might’ve been…and when Steve started talking about the whole “Meet the Sun” procedure, Jason’s disgust at the concept was evident. So there you go: a perfect excuse for him to hook up with Sarah in the church. Not that she didn’t need some sympathy, after what she’d just witnessed…

The dynamic between Sookie and Hugo was pretty funny, and his discussion about his experiences as a human dating a vampire certainly provided Sookie with a few new things to think about. I laughed when she said that, in person, Sarah looks like vanilla pudding, but there was a lot of tension in the scenes with Sookie and Hugo in Steve’s office, with the constant sensation that Jason could bust in at any time and ruin things for them. He didn’t, of course, but then the tension only got ratcheted up further when it became evident that Sookie and Hugo were on a collision course with oblivion, particularly when talk of the lock-in started. I really didn’t think they’d end up being taken down to the basement. That’s what I get for thinking, I guess.

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External Entertainment, External TV, True Blood, TV, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Comic-Con treats and tricks

July 24, 2009 /

I’ll be writing a little bit more about the unwisely dropped direct-to-DVD festival hit, “Trick ‘r Treat,” after I return from the con. That particularly includes what I gleaned from a trio of round robin interview things with writer-director Michael Dougherty and co-stars Lauren Lee Smith (“CSI”) and Brian Cox, definitely one of the toppermost of the poppermost, acting wise. Including Mr. Cox, all very personable folks, which never hurts in show bidness.

My reaction to the film was muted by my own tiredness, but I do think there is something there. Dougherty, a co-writer on the last couple of Bryan Singer superhero projects, has an outstanding eye for creepy beauty and he certainly brings human values and humor to his horror. However, the muddy acoustics of the hall drowned out much of the dialogue for me, and the impossibility of obtaining coffee at the convention center  in the evening dulled out much of my brain. (Why, oh why, Mrs. Fields, have you abandoned me this year?) The audience reaction was, as far as I could tell, divided between wild enthusiasm and muted nitpicking. More to come.

And now, a few other more high-profile movie related con related matters live from my horrifyingly small shoe box hotel room. Also, I wonder how long I can hold out without ever setting foot in the dreaded Hall H.

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Comic-Con, External Entertainment, External Movies, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Blu Tuesday: Watchmen, Coraline and 300

July 21, 2009 /

Due to the lack of options that Blu-ray enthusiasts were presented with over the last few weeks, it’s been a while since I’ve written a proper column. Though I had originally planned to combine two weeks’ worth of HD titles into one write-up, I ultimately decided against it because, well, even that selection wasn’t very inspiring. It’s a different story today, however, with three must-buy titles and several more worth checking out.

“Watchmen” (Warner Bros.)

The Blu-ray release of “Watchmen” has been the subject of attention since before the movie even arrived in theaters, but that’s what happens when you adapt something as popular as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ groundbreaking graphic novel. The good news is that after all the legal issues with 20th Century Fox and the film’s less-than-stellar box office performance, Warner Bros. has still come through with one of the coolest Blu-rays of the year. Not only does it feature a director’s cut with over 20 minutes of additional footage, but the three-disc set also introduces the much-publicized Maximum Movie Mode, which is kind of like Universal’s U-Control feature on steroids. Quite simply, this is the future of Blu-ray, with Zack Snyder hosting an in-depth look at key sequences (often pausing the movie to discuss certain details), while other extras — like a timeline comparing historical events from Our World to Their World, picture-in-picture interviews with the cast and crew, and storyboards and comic book comparisons — supplement the experience. Also included are a series of video diaries that you can hop over to while watching the film, as well as a second disc packed with featurettes on the graphic novel, the psychology of vigilantes, and the science of “Watchmen.” If there’s one release that should help convince consumers why Blu-ray is better than DVD, this is it.

“Coraline” (Universal)

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” might have the bigger fanbase, but Henry Selick’s latest stop-motion adventure, “Coraline,” is by far the better of the two films. Then again, when you consider that the source material was written by Neil Gaiman, it isn’t at all surprising that the movie would turn out as good as it did. Though it’s debatable whether or not “Coraline” will scare the younger crowds, the film is unequivocally a must-see for any fan of Selick’s past work. The Blu-ray release makes the experience even better, too, with the option to watch the film in 2-D or 3-D (glasses included), as well as a host of awesome extras ranging from a director commentary to an in-depth making-of featurette that might as well have been called Stop-Motion 101. The two-disc set also includes Universal’s standard U-Control feature with a picture-in-picture video track filled with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, and the ability to watch the full-length animatic alongside the movie. Were it not for the fact that Warner Bros. was releasing “Watchmen” on the same day, this easily would have been the best release of the week, and possibly the month.

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Action Movies, External Movie DVDs, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies, Prison Break, TV, TV Dramas, TV DVDs

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