“Why are we wasting our time with this guy? Let's just go.”
It’s been a little while. I’ve been occupied with exams and essays for the last month or so, and have not really had the chance or the energy to write an article. I haven’t even really watched many movies lately so this week will be mostly brief looks at what I have managed to view.
The movies...
Dragonball Evolution (2009)
And I thought Spiderman 3 was bad. I won’t claim to be a Dragonball fan boy by any means, though I have seen most of the DB and DBZ episodes. They always say start with something nice so I’ll start by saying this movie has one really good fight scene. Our main character Goku goes to a party and is hounded by bullies from his school. He proceeds to beat the crap out of them without actually touching them at all by using a swift series of evasive techniques. It looks great and provides a nice bit of comedic relief. There are also a decent number of hot women, so if sneaky shots that just so happen to reveal cleavage over a characters shoulder (just one example) are your thing then this is a movie for you.
Everything else is awful though. The acting is so subpar it’s not even funny. Be it Justin Chatwin being horribly miss-cast as Goku or Emmy Rossum’s melodramatic turn as Bulma it’s all bad. I’ll make slight allowances for Chow Yun-Fat’s Master Roshi as he’s earned his keep. I’m actually quite a big James Marsters fan, dude was awesome in Buffy, but I can’t for the life of me think why he took this role. Considering his character Lord Piccolo is meant to be the main antagonist he get’s barely any screen time and the final fight at the end is really not as good as the one I mentioned earlier. James Wong, who by all accounts isn’t a bad director (He directed Final Destination 1 & 3), is very hit and miss here. The film looks fine, there’s a nice colour palate and the world seems bright and appealing, but I really felt like he completely overlooked the acting in this piece. A few of the performances could have been dealt with quite easily if he had spent more time working with say Rossum or the character of Yamcha, who I felt was badly overplayed by Joon Park. The storyline itself is nothing special; Goku needs to find the mystical Dragonballs before Piccolo does to avoid destruction of the earth. Sounds more like a Twitter entry than a storyline really.
Unless you love yourself some Akira Toriyama inspired action then I would stay well clear from this. I hear Chow Yun-Fat is starring in a biopic on the philosopher Confucius, so perhaps this film is just a hitch in what has otherwise been a very enjoyable run of films (minus Bulletproof Monk).
“What's the Klingon for "I'm going to die a virgin"?”
Fanboys (2008)
Unfortunately this is another film where I found more good than bad. Again, I am not a Star Wars fanboy. I’ve seen the three originals and all the re-releases a hundred times but I found myself severely disappointed with Episode I, II and III. The acting became wooden, the lightsaber fights lost a lot of intensity by transforming into ballet-like dances and all of the emotional character moments felt forced.
The story for Fanboys is set in 1998 and focuses on four characters named Eric, Linus, Hutch and Windows. Linus has an incurable illness so the gang, all hardcore Star War’s fans, decide to break into George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch to steal the rough cut of Star War’s Episode I, all so Linus may see it before he passes. Now that’s an idea for a movie. It’s just a shame about the horrible execution.
Sam Huntington, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Chris Marquette are all very funny guys, and have impressed me in the roles I’ve seen them in. Though mostly supporting, Marquette in particular made The Girl Next Door (2004) as enjoyable as it is with his porn obsessed, wannabe director Eli. Yet somehow, I found all of these characters to be nearly unbearable. They are all so involved with themselves that the journey they go on is more for their own gain than to achieve the dream of their dying friend. Even Kristen Bell who I usually appreciate is wasted in this film, both as an actress and as eye-candy.
The journey itself is full of good and bad cameos. Seth Rogen is the bad, playing like four of five characters, most of whom are Star Trek obsessed. Danny McBride is the good, coming right at the end with a final lone funny moment in the final 20 minutes. There are also a few look-ins from Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Ray Park and a pretty funny one from William Shatner. I’ll also make allowances for Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes. They show up in a pretty funny moment about ¾ in.
I guess I wasn’t enough of a hardcore fanboy to get all the Star Wars/George Lucas jokes. My main problem was that even though this film is only an hour and a half long it feels like a lifetime. It really, really drags, especially near the middle. And these characters just aren’t developed enough to care about, they are just walking talking jokes about Star Wars. It’s a shame, I felt like this could have been something, especially with its talented actors and interesting idea. It just failed to get me involved and I have this strange feeling that this will only appeal to the hardcore. It’s not worth it for anyone else really.
“I often wondered if you and my son bonded because neither of you was fond of speaking.”
The Village (2004)
I’m very late with this one but I only saw it last night. I’m not a Shyamalan hater, both Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were good, but this film is really a step or two below what he’s capable of. The direction in particular is very poor. He’s not especially creative with the camera at the best of times but this film is overly standard with its framing and composition. The thing that annoyed me the most and kind of set the tone for the rest of the duration was the fact that for the first 5 (possibly longer) minutes there is not one close up of a characters face. You don’t really get a chance to establish main characters if you do that, and it made it difficult for me to know who I was meant to be empathetic towards.
It features an isolated and self sufficient town hidden away amongst a vast forest. The townsfolk are a host of famous names including Joaquim Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien Brody and William Hurt. These folk spend their days living out a normal life un-reliant on technology. They know of towns outside of their own but cannot visit as they will be killed and eaten by a “monster” running around in the forest. It sounds intriguing, I agree, but it all is rather boring when played out on screen. The acting is surprisingly poor considering its strong cast, and Bryce Dallas Howard as the main (?) character, blind/semi-blind (I just wasn’t sure, even after the credits rolled) Ivy Walker should be noted for her awfully bland portrayal. Shyamalan films always have a twist in them that completely changes the way you look at them and The Village is no different. I won’t ruin it for you. In fact I’m a little suspect that the fact I didn’t enjoy this was down to the fact that I already knew the twist. What I will say for those of you who have seen it is that the plot in general is very similar to Tim Burtons Sleepy Hollow, minus the magic. And I would much rather you watch that than this. It’s made me want to watch The Happening even less and I know the twist for that one as well. Doesn’t sound too good really does it?
“Do you ever have flashbacks from Lebanon?”
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
This was a very interesting watch. An Israeli animated documentary that I’m sure you’ve all heard tons about; this really is a great achievement for its director and writer Ari Folman. It basically follows him around as he tries to uncover his repressed memories of the Lebanon war in 1982 by visiting other veterans who served alongside him.
This is a beautiful, stunning film. It has a very comic book feel which is always a plus for me, and there is some intense striking imagery littered throughout. Visually representing these memories and interviews in this style makes the film feel a lot more deep and meaningful than it perhaps would have done as a live action documentary.
It deals with some pretty gritty topics here, in particular one massacre that brings us the only live action footage in the film, right at the end. This was a nice touch, and made what had sort of felt like a horrible fantasy world all that more real. This is a very honest film and I was captivated throughout. I’d recommend it in a big way, though you have to get past subtitles and the scattered storyline that is to be expected from a film about memory. Good times.
And on the telly...
Fringe (Season 1)
I just spent the last few days watching all 20 episodes of the first series of this. It’s from J.J Abram’s, the same dude who bought us Lost, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It’s like the X-files (when it was in it “Monster of the Week” format) but with more science. There’s actually quite a lot to love about Fringe.
The actors feel like they were born for these roles. Joshua Jackson finally found a character he can play that isn’t from Dawson’s Creek and he really works it here as the character of Peter Bishop, a jack-of-all-trades type hustler. Even better is John Noble as his father Dr. Walter Bishop. Noble really does well here, giving us the stereotypical mad scientist (and make no mistake, he is INSANE) but with a very compelling human edge. The most praise is saved for the fantastic Anna Torv as main character FBI agent Olivia Dunham. She is so beyond kick-ass in this programme it’s unbelievable. I can’t remember the last time I was so enamoured with a female character. She’s not particularly beautiful when compared to some of the eye candy they throw out there these days, but she’s a really good actress and keeps this programme running at a very high level.
I’ve read a lot of reviews claiming it’s an up and down first season. I’ve read even more complaining about how it’s a rip-off of the X-Files or the storylines are too slow etc. To be fair it has it similarities, but it’s more like what the X-Files would have been like had Scully been the only character. Fringe prides itself on its basis in science and no matter how silly or crazy the ideas may be, they always at least to attempt to bring some logic to it. The X-Files just didn’t do that consistently. Not to say this is better, but they are different.
And as to it being an up and down season I’d have to completely disagree. The initial three episodes are quite slow, but this is the case with most new series. You’re learning names, faces, places, corporations etc. The first episode is a major culprit. Being an hour and twenty minutes it drags quite a bit despite two quite large twists. It’s intriguing and makes you want to see more but just isn’t as strong as some of the season premiers I’ve seen. If you make it to episode 4 I guarantee you will be hooked. By episode 7 you will be obsessed. From there to episode 20 is a hell of a fun ride full of big reveals and interesting journeys. It’s a little slow at first, but it’s always trying to improve and build.
I’ve also heard a lot of people complain the finale is disappointing. Again, I disagree. It answered questions, raised a million more new ones and finally revealed a major character that had till then remained unseen (with a fantastic cameo thrown in). The problem I have with a lot of programmes is that they don’t feel like they are building towards anything. There is nothing worse than watching something that is just riding the waves until it gets cancelled. It’s why so many programmes lose their way only to find it and finish with a fantastic season (Buffy the Vampire Slayer comes to mind). Fringe just doesn’t make me feel like that. There are subplots that are still un-answered. There’s a war coming that (very similar to Lost) we know very little about. The finale raised major questions about the characters of Olivia and Peter, and I’m left wondering if Walter will ever fully recover his memory.
Fringe is similar to Lost in that they are both quite vast and ask you to believe in worlds, not just situations. That is exciting because not too many shows are that brave. And I don’t mean brave as in “Oh my god they showed the twin towers still standing in the finale”. I mean brave as in this is a programme that is willing to develop its characters slowly and build on an interesting back story that deserves a slow simmer as opposed to just throwing it in the microwave and serving it all up in one episode. Very exciting stuff and I look forward to Season 2.
How I Met Your Mother (Season 4)
This has been my favourite sitcom for a while now. As I keep saying it’s just got that old school feel good factor about it while catering to a more adult audience in the process. It’s just something I can get down with. After just watching the finale the other day I was left with a smile and a lot of hope for what looks to be another great series at the end of the year.
The cast is a big reason I like this show. Josh Radnor, love him or hate him, is perfect as the main character Ted. Everyone has a friend like him, someone who rushes into love hastily but is also very picky (heck, I might even be that guy). He’s also, as a character, someone you can really feel for. He’s an old school romantic. He wishes he could be a famous philosopher. He’s incredibly grounded when he’s around his friends. And that’s what is so great about this show, the friends. Both Lilly (Alyson Hannigan) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) are great as the lead females. Smulders in particular is a fine comedic actress, her timing and presence is very rare from a female comedian.
It is Jason Segler and Neil Patrick Harris as Marshal and Barney respectively that are the number one reason you should be watching How I Met Your Mother. I tell you no lie. Marshal is literally a huge beast of a man with the softest heart ever. The comedic contrast between him and his wife Lilly is brilliant, and they have great chemistry together. Barney is just indescribable. He is by far one of the greatest character creations on modern TV. In a way he is similar to Dexter, a morally grey man who does completely unspeakable things and treats people in a very distasteful manner but yet still remains easily the most likeable thing in the series. He’s just brilliant, brilliant and more brilliant. Every time he’s on screen I laugh. When you mix Marshall and Barney together it’s just about the best time on TV. Even Barney and Ted are good times, like when they took over McClarens Bar for an evening earlier in the series.
Season 4 has easily been its best season. There have been so many great episodes and moments. The finale was also quite strong, giving a strong hint at the end that we are moving towards finding out who the mother from the title really is. I’m glad for that, but it also makes me wonder about something. As the premise of the entire show is Ted as an old man telling his teenage children how he met their mother makes me ponder whether or not the show will finish when he does finally meet her, or if they will continue it by showing how the relationship blossoms up until their children’s birth. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but the fact I’m asking questions is usually a good thing.
It’s a feel good programme with some great characters that deals with love and relationships in a surprisingly adult way that also boasts some classic lines/moments. Start from the beginning to really build a connection with the characters to enhance the experiences of the later series.
Heroes (Season 3) – I was originally going to do quite a big piece on Heroes including mini reviews episode by episode until one final large review for the finale from a few weeks back. I did try, honest. I just couldn’t watch more than 2 episodes before I started flicking through and stopped paying attention. We were just treated to do awful volumes, with the final 6 episodes managing to be both entertaining and appalling at the same time. I’ve already voiced my displeasure a number of times so I won’t harp on too much suffice to say that finale didn’t impress me at all.
I was happy when Ali Larter’s character Tracey died. Then I remembered that they still had another Nikki (Larter’s original character) clone lying around and that I figured the writers would be lazy and just bring in her. They managed to out lazy me though, and it turned out Tracey hadn’t died at all, her powers had just changed from Ice to Water. She might even be able to control both, who knows, and I wouldn’t put it past the writers to make her completely broken. If she is as the rumours say the next big bad guy in series 4 then your all in store for a lot more Heroes bitching.
I hated the fact they killed Nathan but didn’t kill him (watch it, you’ll see), which was a complete cop out. I hated the fact that the battle between Nathan, Peter and Sylar happened behind closed doors. Don’t tell me seeing Claire’s scared eye as she looks throw the crack in the door is as good as seeing a fight we have wanted to see for a while now. It isn’t, and if that was down to budget then it’s their own fault for wasting money on needlessly making up endless new characters that all have powers simply to show off. I bet they could have saved a few quid if they hadn’t done the whole plane crash followed by missile attack at the start of volume 4. Lots of explosions, lots of wasted money. There is more, but I know any real Heroes fan can figure out the rest on the own.
They spent the series short changing us at every turn. They killed characters for no reason and then bought them back for fun. The stories became too long and convoluted, so they broke the characters down and turned it into a quick paced action drama series that was light on the drama. Character moments began feeling forced and it seemed that people were always running away from, instead of facing, their problems. The finale didn’t really raise any questions or even hint at where the next season will really go when it concerns the whole cast of Heroes. It’s very upsetting as this was one of my first real loves on TV. Just take my advice and watch Season 1 over and over.
The Big Bang Theory (Season 2)
This is one of those series I was talking about earlier that doesn’t have any direction. The finale is a perfect example of this. Sheldon was funny, as were Raj and Walowitz. Leonard was his usually whiny self, Penny was barely there and their relationship didn’t take a step either way, good or bad. Instead the group found themselves at the North Pole while Penny was moping at home.
That’s pretty much the general gist of this programme. That’s what has been happening since episode 1. They finished Penny and Leonards relationship far too fast, and now they are pussyfooting about how to get them back together without ruining the format of the show. Well I have a newsflash for them, no-one gives a hoot about Penny and Leonard and their so called feelings. All anyone wants to see if Raj and Walowitz around women, and Sheldon around anyone. That’s where the comedy comes from, but it’s like the makers don’t know it. It’s a shame because Penny is pretty funny/hot, but I feel like her and Leonard are wasting precious laughter time when they are on screen.
This season was slightly better than the last, but I can’t say I was gripped. It’s worth it if you’re bored or lacking a new series to watch.
And to finish...
I bet you’re thinking but he hasn’t said anything about Lost. That’s because with that I really do want to do an episode by episode review because this season was beyond wow. Alongside that should also be a review of season 2 of Reaper which has, so far, been excellent. Apparently the creators of the show left to sign a deal elsewhere and the actor who plays Sock has another role lined up so the future of Reaper is uncertain. I for one will be very upset if it get’s cancelled.
So like I said, Lost and Reaper next time, alongside a few movies hopefully. Until then, enjoy the good weather we’ve been having while I enjoy the start of my holiday.
CGJ
Note from CGM
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It’s been a little while. I’ve been occupied with exams and essays for the last month or so, and have not really had the chance or the energy to write an article. I haven’t even really watched many movies lately so this week will be mostly brief looks at what I have managed to view.
The movies...
Dragonball Evolution (2009)
And I thought Spiderman 3 was bad. I won’t claim to be a Dragonball fan boy by any means, though I have seen most of the DB and DBZ episodes. They always say start with something nice so I’ll start by saying this movie has one really good fight scene. Our main character Goku goes to a party and is hounded by bullies from his school. He proceeds to beat the crap out of them without actually touching them at all by using a swift series of evasive techniques. It looks great and provides a nice bit of comedic relief. There are also a decent number of hot women, so if sneaky shots that just so happen to reveal cleavage over a characters shoulder (just one example) are your thing then this is a movie for you.
Everything else is awful though. The acting is so subpar it’s not even funny. Be it Justin Chatwin being horribly miss-cast as Goku or Emmy Rossum’s melodramatic turn as Bulma it’s all bad. I’ll make slight allowances for Chow Yun-Fat’s Master Roshi as he’s earned his keep. I’m actually quite a big James Marsters fan, dude was awesome in Buffy, but I can’t for the life of me think why he took this role. Considering his character Lord Piccolo is meant to be the main antagonist he get’s barely any screen time and the final fight at the end is really not as good as the one I mentioned earlier. James Wong, who by all accounts isn’t a bad director (He directed Final Destination 1 & 3), is very hit and miss here. The film looks fine, there’s a nice colour palate and the world seems bright and appealing, but I really felt like he completely overlooked the acting in this piece. A few of the performances could have been dealt with quite easily if he had spent more time working with say Rossum or the character of Yamcha, who I felt was badly overplayed by Joon Park. The storyline itself is nothing special; Goku needs to find the mystical Dragonballs before Piccolo does to avoid destruction of the earth. Sounds more like a Twitter entry than a storyline really.
Unless you love yourself some Akira Toriyama inspired action then I would stay well clear from this. I hear Chow Yun-Fat is starring in a biopic on the philosopher Confucius, so perhaps this film is just a hitch in what has otherwise been a very enjoyable run of films (minus Bulletproof Monk).
“What's the Klingon for "I'm going to die a virgin"?”
Fanboys (2008)
Unfortunately this is another film where I found more good than bad. Again, I am not a Star Wars fanboy. I’ve seen the three originals and all the re-releases a hundred times but I found myself severely disappointed with Episode I, II and III. The acting became wooden, the lightsaber fights lost a lot of intensity by transforming into ballet-like dances and all of the emotional character moments felt forced.
The story for Fanboys is set in 1998 and focuses on four characters named Eric, Linus, Hutch and Windows. Linus has an incurable illness so the gang, all hardcore Star War’s fans, decide to break into George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch to steal the rough cut of Star War’s Episode I, all so Linus may see it before he passes. Now that’s an idea for a movie. It’s just a shame about the horrible execution.
Sam Huntington, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Chris Marquette are all very funny guys, and have impressed me in the roles I’ve seen them in. Though mostly supporting, Marquette in particular made The Girl Next Door (2004) as enjoyable as it is with his porn obsessed, wannabe director Eli. Yet somehow, I found all of these characters to be nearly unbearable. They are all so involved with themselves that the journey they go on is more for their own gain than to achieve the dream of their dying friend. Even Kristen Bell who I usually appreciate is wasted in this film, both as an actress and as eye-candy.
The journey itself is full of good and bad cameos. Seth Rogen is the bad, playing like four of five characters, most of whom are Star Trek obsessed. Danny McBride is the good, coming right at the end with a final lone funny moment in the final 20 minutes. There are also a few look-ins from Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Ray Park and a pretty funny one from William Shatner. I’ll also make allowances for Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes. They show up in a pretty funny moment about ¾ in.
I guess I wasn’t enough of a hardcore fanboy to get all the Star Wars/George Lucas jokes. My main problem was that even though this film is only an hour and a half long it feels like a lifetime. It really, really drags, especially near the middle. And these characters just aren’t developed enough to care about, they are just walking talking jokes about Star Wars. It’s a shame, I felt like this could have been something, especially with its talented actors and interesting idea. It just failed to get me involved and I have this strange feeling that this will only appeal to the hardcore. It’s not worth it for anyone else really.
“I often wondered if you and my son bonded because neither of you was fond of speaking.”
The Village (2004)
I’m very late with this one but I only saw it last night. I’m not a Shyamalan hater, both Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were good, but this film is really a step or two below what he’s capable of. The direction in particular is very poor. He’s not especially creative with the camera at the best of times but this film is overly standard with its framing and composition. The thing that annoyed me the most and kind of set the tone for the rest of the duration was the fact that for the first 5 (possibly longer) minutes there is not one close up of a characters face. You don’t really get a chance to establish main characters if you do that, and it made it difficult for me to know who I was meant to be empathetic towards.
It features an isolated and self sufficient town hidden away amongst a vast forest. The townsfolk are a host of famous names including Joaquim Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien Brody and William Hurt. These folk spend their days living out a normal life un-reliant on technology. They know of towns outside of their own but cannot visit as they will be killed and eaten by a “monster” running around in the forest. It sounds intriguing, I agree, but it all is rather boring when played out on screen. The acting is surprisingly poor considering its strong cast, and Bryce Dallas Howard as the main (?) character, blind/semi-blind (I just wasn’t sure, even after the credits rolled) Ivy Walker should be noted for her awfully bland portrayal. Shyamalan films always have a twist in them that completely changes the way you look at them and The Village is no different. I won’t ruin it for you. In fact I’m a little suspect that the fact I didn’t enjoy this was down to the fact that I already knew the twist. What I will say for those of you who have seen it is that the plot in general is very similar to Tim Burtons Sleepy Hollow, minus the magic. And I would much rather you watch that than this. It’s made me want to watch The Happening even less and I know the twist for that one as well. Doesn’t sound too good really does it?
“Do you ever have flashbacks from Lebanon?”
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
This was a very interesting watch. An Israeli animated documentary that I’m sure you’ve all heard tons about; this really is a great achievement for its director and writer Ari Folman. It basically follows him around as he tries to uncover his repressed memories of the Lebanon war in 1982 by visiting other veterans who served alongside him.
This is a beautiful, stunning film. It has a very comic book feel which is always a plus for me, and there is some intense striking imagery littered throughout. Visually representing these memories and interviews in this style makes the film feel a lot more deep and meaningful than it perhaps would have done as a live action documentary.
It deals with some pretty gritty topics here, in particular one massacre that brings us the only live action footage in the film, right at the end. This was a nice touch, and made what had sort of felt like a horrible fantasy world all that more real. This is a very honest film and I was captivated throughout. I’d recommend it in a big way, though you have to get past subtitles and the scattered storyline that is to be expected from a film about memory. Good times.
And on the telly...
Fringe (Season 1)
I just spent the last few days watching all 20 episodes of the first series of this. It’s from J.J Abram’s, the same dude who bought us Lost, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It’s like the X-files (when it was in it “Monster of the Week” format) but with more science. There’s actually quite a lot to love about Fringe.
The actors feel like they were born for these roles. Joshua Jackson finally found a character he can play that isn’t from Dawson’s Creek and he really works it here as the character of Peter Bishop, a jack-of-all-trades type hustler. Even better is John Noble as his father Dr. Walter Bishop. Noble really does well here, giving us the stereotypical mad scientist (and make no mistake, he is INSANE) but with a very compelling human edge. The most praise is saved for the fantastic Anna Torv as main character FBI agent Olivia Dunham. She is so beyond kick-ass in this programme it’s unbelievable. I can’t remember the last time I was so enamoured with a female character. She’s not particularly beautiful when compared to some of the eye candy they throw out there these days, but she’s a really good actress and keeps this programme running at a very high level.
I’ve read a lot of reviews claiming it’s an up and down first season. I’ve read even more complaining about how it’s a rip-off of the X-Files or the storylines are too slow etc. To be fair it has it similarities, but it’s more like what the X-Files would have been like had Scully been the only character. Fringe prides itself on its basis in science and no matter how silly or crazy the ideas may be, they always at least to attempt to bring some logic to it. The X-Files just didn’t do that consistently. Not to say this is better, but they are different.
And as to it being an up and down season I’d have to completely disagree. The initial three episodes are quite slow, but this is the case with most new series. You’re learning names, faces, places, corporations etc. The first episode is a major culprit. Being an hour and twenty minutes it drags quite a bit despite two quite large twists. It’s intriguing and makes you want to see more but just isn’t as strong as some of the season premiers I’ve seen. If you make it to episode 4 I guarantee you will be hooked. By episode 7 you will be obsessed. From there to episode 20 is a hell of a fun ride full of big reveals and interesting journeys. It’s a little slow at first, but it’s always trying to improve and build.
I’ve also heard a lot of people complain the finale is disappointing. Again, I disagree. It answered questions, raised a million more new ones and finally revealed a major character that had till then remained unseen (with a fantastic cameo thrown in). The problem I have with a lot of programmes is that they don’t feel like they are building towards anything. There is nothing worse than watching something that is just riding the waves until it gets cancelled. It’s why so many programmes lose their way only to find it and finish with a fantastic season (Buffy the Vampire Slayer comes to mind). Fringe just doesn’t make me feel like that. There are subplots that are still un-answered. There’s a war coming that (very similar to Lost) we know very little about. The finale raised major questions about the characters of Olivia and Peter, and I’m left wondering if Walter will ever fully recover his memory.
Fringe is similar to Lost in that they are both quite vast and ask you to believe in worlds, not just situations. That is exciting because not too many shows are that brave. And I don’t mean brave as in “Oh my god they showed the twin towers still standing in the finale”. I mean brave as in this is a programme that is willing to develop its characters slowly and build on an interesting back story that deserves a slow simmer as opposed to just throwing it in the microwave and serving it all up in one episode. Very exciting stuff and I look forward to Season 2.
How I Met Your Mother (Season 4)
This has been my favourite sitcom for a while now. As I keep saying it’s just got that old school feel good factor about it while catering to a more adult audience in the process. It’s just something I can get down with. After just watching the finale the other day I was left with a smile and a lot of hope for what looks to be another great series at the end of the year.
The cast is a big reason I like this show. Josh Radnor, love him or hate him, is perfect as the main character Ted. Everyone has a friend like him, someone who rushes into love hastily but is also very picky (heck, I might even be that guy). He’s also, as a character, someone you can really feel for. He’s an old school romantic. He wishes he could be a famous philosopher. He’s incredibly grounded when he’s around his friends. And that’s what is so great about this show, the friends. Both Lilly (Alyson Hannigan) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) are great as the lead females. Smulders in particular is a fine comedic actress, her timing and presence is very rare from a female comedian.
It is Jason Segler and Neil Patrick Harris as Marshal and Barney respectively that are the number one reason you should be watching How I Met Your Mother. I tell you no lie. Marshal is literally a huge beast of a man with the softest heart ever. The comedic contrast between him and his wife Lilly is brilliant, and they have great chemistry together. Barney is just indescribable. He is by far one of the greatest character creations on modern TV. In a way he is similar to Dexter, a morally grey man who does completely unspeakable things and treats people in a very distasteful manner but yet still remains easily the most likeable thing in the series. He’s just brilliant, brilliant and more brilliant. Every time he’s on screen I laugh. When you mix Marshall and Barney together it’s just about the best time on TV. Even Barney and Ted are good times, like when they took over McClarens Bar for an evening earlier in the series.
Season 4 has easily been its best season. There have been so many great episodes and moments. The finale was also quite strong, giving a strong hint at the end that we are moving towards finding out who the mother from the title really is. I’m glad for that, but it also makes me wonder about something. As the premise of the entire show is Ted as an old man telling his teenage children how he met their mother makes me ponder whether or not the show will finish when he does finally meet her, or if they will continue it by showing how the relationship blossoms up until their children’s birth. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but the fact I’m asking questions is usually a good thing.
It’s a feel good programme with some great characters that deals with love and relationships in a surprisingly adult way that also boasts some classic lines/moments. Start from the beginning to really build a connection with the characters to enhance the experiences of the later series.
Heroes (Season 3) – I was originally going to do quite a big piece on Heroes including mini reviews episode by episode until one final large review for the finale from a few weeks back. I did try, honest. I just couldn’t watch more than 2 episodes before I started flicking through and stopped paying attention. We were just treated to do awful volumes, with the final 6 episodes managing to be both entertaining and appalling at the same time. I’ve already voiced my displeasure a number of times so I won’t harp on too much suffice to say that finale didn’t impress me at all.
I was happy when Ali Larter’s character Tracey died. Then I remembered that they still had another Nikki (Larter’s original character) clone lying around and that I figured the writers would be lazy and just bring in her. They managed to out lazy me though, and it turned out Tracey hadn’t died at all, her powers had just changed from Ice to Water. She might even be able to control both, who knows, and I wouldn’t put it past the writers to make her completely broken. If she is as the rumours say the next big bad guy in series 4 then your all in store for a lot more Heroes bitching.
I hated the fact they killed Nathan but didn’t kill him (watch it, you’ll see), which was a complete cop out. I hated the fact that the battle between Nathan, Peter and Sylar happened behind closed doors. Don’t tell me seeing Claire’s scared eye as she looks throw the crack in the door is as good as seeing a fight we have wanted to see for a while now. It isn’t, and if that was down to budget then it’s their own fault for wasting money on needlessly making up endless new characters that all have powers simply to show off. I bet they could have saved a few quid if they hadn’t done the whole plane crash followed by missile attack at the start of volume 4. Lots of explosions, lots of wasted money. There is more, but I know any real Heroes fan can figure out the rest on the own.
They spent the series short changing us at every turn. They killed characters for no reason and then bought them back for fun. The stories became too long and convoluted, so they broke the characters down and turned it into a quick paced action drama series that was light on the drama. Character moments began feeling forced and it seemed that people were always running away from, instead of facing, their problems. The finale didn’t really raise any questions or even hint at where the next season will really go when it concerns the whole cast of Heroes. It’s very upsetting as this was one of my first real loves on TV. Just take my advice and watch Season 1 over and over.
The Big Bang Theory (Season 2)
This is one of those series I was talking about earlier that doesn’t have any direction. The finale is a perfect example of this. Sheldon was funny, as were Raj and Walowitz. Leonard was his usually whiny self, Penny was barely there and their relationship didn’t take a step either way, good or bad. Instead the group found themselves at the North Pole while Penny was moping at home.
That’s pretty much the general gist of this programme. That’s what has been happening since episode 1. They finished Penny and Leonards relationship far too fast, and now they are pussyfooting about how to get them back together without ruining the format of the show. Well I have a newsflash for them, no-one gives a hoot about Penny and Leonard and their so called feelings. All anyone wants to see if Raj and Walowitz around women, and Sheldon around anyone. That’s where the comedy comes from, but it’s like the makers don’t know it. It’s a shame because Penny is pretty funny/hot, but I feel like her and Leonard are wasting precious laughter time when they are on screen.
This season was slightly better than the last, but I can’t say I was gripped. It’s worth it if you’re bored or lacking a new series to watch.
And to finish...
I bet you’re thinking but he hasn’t said anything about Lost. That’s because with that I really do want to do an episode by episode review because this season was beyond wow. Alongside that should also be a review of season 2 of Reaper which has, so far, been excellent. Apparently the creators of the show left to sign a deal elsewhere and the actor who plays Sock has another role lined up so the future of Reaper is uncertain. I for one will be very upset if it get’s cancelled.
So like I said, Lost and Reaper next time, alongside a few movies hopefully. Until then, enjoy the good weather we’ve been having while I enjoy the start of my holiday.
CGJ
Note from CGM
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1 comments:
The score composer for Waltz With Bashir is a guy called Max Richter who is absolutely incredible. Sigur Ros meets Chopin in the Moloko Milk Bar, I would say. He's also just finished composing for the Royal Ballet and their resident choreographer, Wayne MacGregor. He does a lot of work with film, Harry Potter being the most famous. I definitely recommend checking out some of Richter's other work though, especially if you like post-rock.
:P
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