Archive for: December, 2009

The top TV shows of the ’00s

Dec 31 2009 Published by under TV

There have been some great TV shows aired over the last 10 years and just like my film list I thought I’d try and highlight my favourite 15 shows of the decade.

The only prerequisite to consideration is that the show must have aired an episode in its first season some time in the year 2000.  That essentially means that any show which premiered from the 99-00 season onwards is eligible.  It also means that The Sopranos is ineligible because the first season aired entirely in 1999.

Also worth noting is that I’m only now just starting to work my way through the first season of The Wire, and I’ve never seen an episode of The West Wing, Six Feet Under, Battlestar Galactica, Big Love, Breaking Bad or Mad Men so none of them appear on the list.


Honourable Mention.  The O.C. (Aug ’03-Feb ’07)

I know The O.C. isn’t the best show show ever but it was probably my #1 guilty pleasure show for the decade.  A late 20s/early 30s guy shouldn’t really be watching something geared towards teenage girls, but the combination of hot girls, soapy drama and endless love triangles was irresistible.  I was hooked on this show from the minute I saw the pilot right to the very end.  The show had its ups and downs (1st season good, 2nd season average, 3rd season very poor, 4th season good), but it was pretty much always a fun show to indulge in.  And even if you hate this show any guy has to appreciate it just a little because it’s responsible for giving us the blazing hot Rachel Bilson and Autumn Reeser.

15.  Firefly (Sept-Dec ’02)
To be honest, I haven’t watched Firefly since it first aired, but I know that I really enjoyed it and that my love of Joss Whedon is unlimited.  Hell, I suffered through the first half of a very mediocre Dollhouse because of my faith in him.  It’s a shame he never learnt his lesson about partnering with Fox.  Maybe Dollhouse would of lasted longer if he’d wised up after Firefly was cancelled.

14.  Andy Barker P.I. (Mar-Apr ’07)
A second cancelled show, this time from the great comedic duo of Andy Richter and Conan O’Brien.  Richter plays the title character, an accountant who’s just opened his business in a strip mall and is mistaken for a private investigator, and Tony Hale from Arrested Development play a video store clerk who works in the same mall and helps him.  It doesn’t sound like much but with these two and some great cases, it was a very short-lived (only six episodes aired) but thoroughly entertaining show.

13.  John from Cincinnati (Jun-Aug ’07)
David Milch effectively shut down Deadwood to make this show and for that I hate him just a little bit.  The show deals with the appearance of a strange young man of mysterious origin (who may or may not be a Jesus like figure) and the effect he has on a dysfunctional family of professional surfers and their community.  Even though for the most part I have no idea what was going on in the show, something about it just mesmerized me and I was hooked from the beginning.  I don’t have to know everything that’s intended to be conveyed in a show to like it.  I like ambiguity.  Maybe that’s why I’m also a fan of Lost and Twin Peaks.

12.  Weeds (Aug ’05-Current)
I’ve only seen the first three seasons of the show but Mary Louise Parker’s supremely sexy Nancy Botwin and her pot smoking friends sure do make for great TV.  It was fun to watch her try and grow her empire whilst dealing with rival dealers, ATF agents, a bitch of a best friend, a caring but immature brother in law, and whining self-centered kids.

11.  Eastbound & Down (Feb ’09-Current)
Danny McBride on an HBO show exec produced by Will Ferrell is just about the best thing you could ask for in a comedy and Eastbound & Down doesn’t disappoint.  McBride plays Kenny “Fucking” Powers, a washed up pro baseball pitcher who returns to his hometown to take a job as a gym teacher, whilst all the time trying to get back to the majors and win the affection of his old high school flame.  A milder comedy of awkwardness as made popular by The Office, it succeeds mostly because of the delusional bravado of McBride’s Kenny Powers.

10.  Pushing Daisies (Oct ’07-Jun ’09)
Yet another show cancelled too soon.  The show centered on the pie-maker Ned (Lee Pace) who could bring dead things back to life with a touch, but if he touched them a second time they went back to being dead for good.  Ned helps P.I. Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) solve crimes in quick fashion by bringing the victim back to life, asking them what happened, and then touching them again.  Along for the ride is his childhood sweetheart Charlotte Charles (Anna Friel) who he brought back to life but refused to touch again.  Their romance is made all the sweeter because they can never touch each other.  The show has a fantasy visual unlike anything else on TV with hyper-real colours saturating every episode.

9.  How I Met Your Mother (Sept ’05-Current)
It’s currently the best “standard” sitcom on TV (meaning of the 3 camera + laugh track sitcoms it’s #1) thanks to the appeal of all five cast members and some truly fantastic storylines.  The standout is clearly Neil Patrick Harris as the womanizing Barney, but everyone is given a pretty equal opportunity to shine.  The only real negative to the show is that the gimmick of Ted describing to his kids how he met their mother somewhat hinders the enjoyment of the show because “the mother” is almost constantly hinted at or teased but hasn’t ever appeared.  Couple this with the fact that we know every time Ted gets into a relationship and it’s not revealed that the girl is “the mother” then we know that the relationship is not going to last.

8.  Undeclared (Sept ’01-Mar ’02)
The second of Judd Apatow’s “failed” attempts at TV, this time focusing on a group of five freshmen at college, is just as good as Freaks and Geeks and serves as a great introduction to Jay Baruchel and Carla Gallo, plus also featuring the likes of Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Kyle Gass, and David Krumholtz.  Add to these some great guests/cameos from Adam Sandler, Allen Covert, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Fred Willard, Ben Stiller, Martin Starr, Jenna Fischer and Ted Nugent.  That’s one hell of a list.  Just like Freaks and Geeks it’s disappointing to be left with barely one seasons worth of episodes (17 in this case), but the episodes are so good it almost makes up for the tiny sample size.  Almost.  I’d love Judd Apatow to return to TV but I think he’s moved well beyond it now and so have just about all the the actors and actresses he cast in both Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks.

7.  The Office (US) (Mar ’05-Current)
I’ve never seen the original UK version so I can’t comment on which is better, but it started off pretty slow in the 1st season with people saying it stuck too closely to the UK blueprint.  There was definitely a shift during the second season to much better stories and dynamics within the office.  The Pam and Jim romance has always been great with standout episodes being “The Dundies”, “Casino Night”, “The Job, Part 2″ and “Fun Run”.  Michael Scott can at times be a total and complete prick, like in early season 6 when he screws with Jim, but this is often tempered by other things.  I like the awkward humour but when the writers have Michael go out of his way to seem vindictive I can get turned off the show pretty quickly.

6.  Freaks and Geeks (Sept ’99-Jul ’00)
Great because of the examination of the social divide in high school, the early 80′s setting and the fantastic young cast featuring James Franco, Linda Cardellini, Busy Philips, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, John Francis Daley, Martin Starr and Samm Levine.  Plus it featured Tom Wilson (Biff from the Back to the Future trilogy) in a recurring role as the gym teacher.

5.  30 Rock (Oct ’06-Current)
To think that before this show aired I was only mildly interested in Tina Fey and thought that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip would butcher 30 Rock.  What the hell did I know huh.  The show catapulted Fey into stardom and made her an object of nerd lust everywhere, and despite somewhat average ratings the show has garnered a shit-ton of awards every season it’s been on the air.  All the success of the show is well and truly deserved.

4.  Deadwood (Mar ’04-Aug ’06)
A show more about how times change, people progress and communities build than a traditional white hat vs. black hat western.  It features extremely rich dialogue which is sometimes poetic, often profane and nearly always confusing, and has a look and feel that you’d expect more from a Hollywood production than a TV show.  Absolutely everyone in the cast is fantastic but the standout it clearly Ian McShane as Al Swearengen.  I’m kinda bummed that creator David Milch hasn’t followed up on his promise of a couple of TV movies to finish the story now that John from Cincinnati is over but three seasons of a show as great as Deadwood shouldn’t be sneezed at.

3.  Veronica Mars (Sept ’04-May ’07)
Season 1 was damn near perfect as a season long murder mystery about the death of Veronica Mars’ (Kristen Bell) best friend Lily, her sheriff father’s pursuit of one of the most powerful men in the country, his firing from the sheriff’s department and her subsequent ostracism in high school.  As a girl who’s able to straddle both sides of the social divide she helps her classmates solve problems whilst all the time trying to find the real killer of her friend.  Season 2 upped the ante by having two consecutively running season long mysteries, both of which were very dark, with the season culminating with one of the best season finales ever which rewarded viewers of the first season in a way that pretty much no-one expected.  Season 3 was still great but Fox decided that they didn’t want season long mysteries as this may deter new viewers from jumping in and decided that a couple of mysteries broken up in the season would be better.  It wasn’t.  Add to that the introduction of some pretty shitty characters and the change from the high school setting to the college setting and the third season was a letdown.  There were still flashes of greatness and Kristen Bell continued to shine as the cute but clever Veronica Mars, but it simply wasn’t up to the same quality as the first two seasons.  There have been continued rumours of a movie which would extend the story but I think too much time has passed since the show went off the air for that to happen now.

2.  Arrested Development (Nov ’03-Feb ’06)
The absolute best comedy of the decade and along with Seinfeld it could arguably be the best comedy ever.  The cast is top to bottom excellent and the guest stars and cameos that the show brought in over three short seasons is equally impressive.  There’s layer upon layer upon layer of jokes that demands repeat viewing and doesn’t aim for the laugh track crowd like lowest common denominator shows such as The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Frasier or any other high rating but shit sitcom.  Add to this the fact that the show rewards fans by including constant in-jokes and references and it becomes clear why it’s regarded so highly by anyone who takes the time to watch it.  A damn dirty shame that it was cancelled by those fucking asshole executives at Fox.  One small consolation is that because of the diehard love for the show a movie is set to start filming during the first half of 2010.  Hopefully this means a release sometime in late 2010 will be possible.

1.  Lost (Sept ’04-Current)
Felicity was good, Alias was better, but Lost made J.J. Abrams into a fucking God.  And with good reason.  The dense mythology and piecemeal way in which the details are sometimes fed may turn off viewers but there’s simply no denying how compelling the show has been on an episode to episode and season to season basis.  Starting off with an already huge cast, the show has added more and more as the seasons have progressed with all but two of them (Nikki and Paulo) being near perfect.  The addition of Ben Linus would have been enough by itself but there’s also been Richard Alpert, Horace Goodspeed, Mikhael, Radzinsky, Desmond, Penny, Mr Eko, Miles, Charlotte, Daniel, Frank Lapidus and probably a ton more I’m forgetting.  Aside from just a few stumbles (like the overly long time spent with Kate and Sawyer locked in cages at the beginning of season 3) the show has been an example of near perfect television.  Add to that the fact that it was able to reinvent its entire story structure thanks to the brilliance of the season 3 finale and you’re looking at not just the #1 show of the decade but arguably the #1 show of all time.  It still makes me laugh when I think that people were saying Heroes was a better show.

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Red band trailer for REPO MEN

Dec 24 2009 Published by under Film

I’m really not a fan of Jude Law at all but even his presence isn’t enough to stop my interest in the cool, bloody, action sci-fi flick Repo Men.

In the futuristic action-thriller Repo Men, humans have extended and improved our lives through highly sophisticated and expensive mechanical organs created by a company called The Union.  The dark side of these medical breakthroughs is that if you don’t pay your bill, The Union sends its highly skilled repo men to take back its property…with no concern for your comfort or survival.

I’ve liked Liev Schreiber ever since he played Cotton Weary in the Scream trilogy and I loved Carice van Houten in Zwartboek (one of my absolute favourite films of all time), so their inclusion significantly raises my interest.  Hopefully the final product won’t suck.

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My top 15 favourite films of 2009

Dec 24 2009 Published by under Film

OK, I finally got a chance to see Public Enemies and Where The Wild Things Are, two films that I really wanted to have seen before I attempted any kind of list.

This list is intended to show what my favourite films of the year are and not what the best films are.  That said, my #1 is both my favourite and the best of the year.  I also went with 15 films because I saw 48 movies this year and 10 is just too few.

Drag Me To Hell

15.  Drag Me To Hell – What starts out as a fairly standard looking horror flick clearly becomes a “Sam Raimi” horror flick with the first fight between Christine and the gypsy lady.  That combination of horror and slapstick is what made Raimi’s Evil Dead series so good and it shines through in Drag Me To Hell.  I loved that after everything Christine went through she still didn’t escape her fate.  Any other horror movie would have the hot chick survive and that’s why I love Drag Me To Hell so much.

District 9

14.  District 9 – In my mind this is obviously a racial drama somewhat disguised as a sci-fi film.  I don’t think that was done to trick people into seeing it, but rather to expand the range of people who would see it.  There are some truly disturbing scenes in the film, most notably when they test the alien technology with Wikkus’ new arm and he’s forced to kill the aliens.  I certainly wasn’t expecting something as unsettling as that.  Then again, there’s also a great payoff when the action kicks in in the third act.  It’s a movie that I really enjoyed but strangely for me one that I’m extremely unlikely to watch again (I’ll watch movies again and again and again).  Plus I hope and pray they don’t make a sequel/prequel.

Extract

13.  Extract – As a big fan of Office Space, Idiocracy, Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis and Jason Bateman there was no doubt that I’d really enjoy this film.  It’s hard to boil it down to why I like it so much, but it just has that “feel” that certain movies have.  Everything works and connects and you’re left with a fun experience.  David Koechner as Nathan is the annoying suburban version of Gary Cole’s Bill Lumbergh from Office Space.  I was laughing my ass of when Kristen Wiig finally let him have it.  Kudos should also go to Ben Affleck for his great supporting role.

Bad Lieutenant

12.  Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – Finally a film where Nic Cage’s manic performance actually fits with what’s happening.  I guess the film is a crime drama but the solving of the crime never seems to be the main thrust of the film.  Rather it’s the increasingly complex situations that Terence (Cage) gets himself into either to score drugs or pay off gangsters he’s crossed.  If anything, the film should be watched for the awesome scene where Terence pulls a MASSIVE gun on an old lady in a nursing home and her nurse.

(500) Days of Summer

11.  (500) Days of Summer – I’ll watch anything with Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Zooey Deschanel in it so when you put them in the same film it’s almost a given that I’ll love it.  And boy did I love this film.  The film looks at the 500 day relationship between Tom (Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Deschanel) in a non-chronological order in Tom’s attempt to find out what went wrong and to win Summer back.  However, make no mistake, as the narrator says at the beginning, this is not a love story.  A love story involves love coming from both sides and whilst Tom obviously loves Summer it’s questionable whether Summer ever loved Tom.

Zombieland

10.  Zombieland – Action comedy carnage of the best kind featuring the always awesome Woody Harrelson and the emerging Emma Stone and Jessie Eisenberg.  There’s a real nice story of human connection buried under all the bloody corpses so don’t think it’s just a simple zombie flick.  The much talked about cameo is beyond amazing but I’ll refrain from mentioning who it is in case anyone’s reading this who hasn’t seen the film yet.

Up

9.  Up – Pixar always do outstanding work but in my opinion this falls well short of Wall-E.  There are undoubtedly bits to love in Up but for me it just didn’t have that hook right at the beginning like Pixar’s best work does (Wall-E, Monsters Inc and Toy Story).  What was truly impressive about the film was the brief history of Karl and Ellie relationship and how this was able to bring about such an emotional response from me if such a short period of time.  Pixar really are legends in film-making if they can turn a grumpy senior citizen into an action hero movie star.

Moon

8.  Moon – A real slow burn sci-fi flick that’s best to know as little about as possible before viewing.  If you haven’t seen it check it out.  Sam Rockwell is great as essentially the only actor in the film.

star trek

7.  Star Trek – I’m not a huge fan of the Star Trek franchise.  That’s not to say I don’t like it but rather that I haven’t seen much of the content based on the franchise.  Essentially the only reason I caught this in the cinema was because it’s directed by J.J. Abrams who can do no wrong at the moment.  From my limited exposure to the franchise it would appear that the young actors cast in the iconic roles fit perfectly with what how they used to be.  It’s hard to see Spock played by Sylar if only because Heroes is such a terrible show.  If I had no knowledge of Zachary Quinto before seeing him in Star Trek I think I’d have liked his performance more.  The plot of the film wasn’t too special but as a means to reboot the franchise without completely destroying everything that had come before I think Abrams did a magnificent job.  Hopefully the next one in the series will live up to this new start.

Observe and Report

6.  Observe and Report – Seth Rogen as a manic depressive mall cop is not something I would of expected from him.  The anger that shines through his character is kinda scary considering this is supposed to be a comedy.  It’s a very dark awkward humour which I think is an acquired taste.  You either like that style of comedy or you don’t, and I don’t think you can grow to like it over time.  The two standout scenes are when Ronnie (Rogen) gets back from his date with Brandi (Anna Faris) and she’s pretty much comatose and when Ronnie finally gets to confront the flasher in the mall.  Something tells me that the tone of the film may put a lot of people off, preferring instead the almost certainly shit Paul Blart: Mall Cop.  Save your time and watch this.  There’s no doubt it’s the best mall cop comedy of all time.

The Hangover

5.  The Hangover – The film comes across as a kind of detective story crossed with a guys-gone-wild comedy featuring the comedically flawless Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms.  Far and away the best pure comedy of the year and featuring a great cameo to boot.

Inglourious Basterds

4.  Inglourious Basterds – The script reads like it was written by a 10 year old with severe spelling problems but the final product is a work of almost perfect revisionist historical fiction.  I never doubted that I’d love this film, hell I love everything that Tarantino has done, but the level of tension that Tarantino turns almost every scene up to is amazing.  Brad Pitt seems to be having a lot of fun as Aldo, but the star of the film is Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa who is at times funny, charming, disarming and terrifying.  The ferocity in the scene where he confronts Bridget von Hammersmark is quite jarring.  I also loved the use of David Bowie’s “Cat People”.

Funny People

3.  Funny People – Judd Apatow does it again with both comedy and heart.  Adam Sandler gives the best performance of his career with his longtime friend as director and other members of the Apatow gang (Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann) continue to shine.  There’s literally nothing I disliked about this film and I’m sorely disappointed with the lack of love it got at the box office.

Adventureland

2.  Adventureland – I was completely caught off guard by what this film was actually like compared to what the trailers made it seem like.  A great film and a great counter to the perceived awfulness of Kristen Stewart thanks to the terrible Twilight.  You can read my review here.

Avatar

1.  Avatar – I’ve seen it twice in 3D now and I’m still at a loss for words for how amazing it is.  It’s without a doubt the greatest cinematic experience that anyone can have.  The 3D isn’t used as a gimmick but rather as a means to suck you into the world of Pandora so that you can experience it for yourself.  Neytiri is the clear star of the film and I continue to be amazed at how emotive the character can be through the use of Cameron’s new performance capture technology.  Zoe Saldana is amazing as Neytiri and it’s a crying shame that she’s unlikely to be nominated for best actress.  I dare say that anyone who doesn’t tear up at least a little when Neytiri learns of Jake’s betrayal doesn’t have a heart.  How could you not feel for her.  If I had the money and they were on the market, Avatar alone would be enough to convince me to invest in a home 3D setup.  I can’t imagine being limited to seeing it in 2D only.

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Brittany Murphy dead at 32

Dec 21 2009 Published by under Celebrities

Brittany Murphy

Wow.  This was a real surprise.  No-one expects a 32 year old to die of a heart attack.  Although she hasn’t been in anything noteworthy for a while now, she’ll be one of my favourite actresses because of her roles in Clueless and Sin City.

I have a sneaking suspicion that drugs will be the cause of her death as there have been rumours for a few years now about her alleged addiction to heroin.  And of course, the tabloids will be able to print anything they like about her now that she’s dead as defamation laws don’t apply to the deceased.

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Best of the Week: 13th-19th Dec

Dec 20 2009 Published by under TV

A weekly post with the purpose of highlighting the shows I watched during the week and how I ranked them.  It’s not intended as a list of all shows on the air, only those that I actually watched during the week.  Watching something on Monday that aired on Friday won’t make the cut.

Like everything on this site it’s for my own enjoyment but feel free to comment.

best of the week 13-19dec

Not much on TV this week as everything winds down for Christmas but I did get to finally see Where The Wild Things Are and the stupendously great Avatar.  On a shitty note my PS3 died so I was forced to buy a new one because Sony Australia won’t fix a US PS3.  Plus Uncharted 2 was in the drive when the machine died so I can’t get it out.

1.  Dollhouse “The Attic” (2×10) – It’s hard to stomach the fact that Dollhouse has been so good this season yet it suffered the ignominious fate of being cancelled by the retards that run Fox.  This episode inside the framework of The Attic was very Matrix in style but it had some outstanding moments that hint to the possible future depicted in “Epitaph One” and also provide the very real possibility of a satisfying conclusion to the series.  I’m beyond ecstatic that Adelle has now been shown to be with the good guys in their attempt to bring down Rossum.  I really like the group that’s been assembled with Adelle, Boyd, Ballard, Ivy, Topher, Echo, Victor and Sierra.  With only three episodes left in the series I’m very hopeful that the show will go out with a bang.  And that Topher and Adelle will come together to cure Miss Lonely Hearts deep sadness.  Plus no-one understands and cares for Topher like Adelle.  8.5/10

2.  Dollhouse “Stop-Loss” (2×09) – No too bad of an episode but I wasn’t too fond of the central plot of Victor’s release and subsequent induction into the military unit.  There was a definite Borg connection with that collective which was fairly cool but the best stuff in this episode was the scheming by the various people within the Dollhouse.  If anything, this episode acted more as a setup to “The Attic” than as its own standalone story.  7/10

3.  How I Met Your Mother “Last Cigarette Ever” (5×11) – I really liked the gang all having smoking in common, and their unified attempt to break the habit.  I also enjoyed the new guy playing Robin’s co-anchor, but I just wish they’d get around to introducing the now mythical mother.  7/10

4.  Survivor “Two Brains Are Better Than One” (19×14) – Russell continues to go along unchallenged which continues to surprise me because it seems like everyone has commented about how he can’t be trusted.  I particularly loved when he decided to keep the immunity necklace as a souvenir rather than play it at the last time he was allowed.  That’s how confident and cocky he is.  I just have a hard time believing he’s gonna win it all because of how much I really want him to.  6.5/10

5.  Dexter “The Getaway” (4×12) – Another average episode that has some people buzzing about the “shocking” ending.  I think that whinging Rita had it coming and I’m just upset that it wasn’t Dexter who did the deed himself.  I also find it a little convenient that Trinity found Rita seen as how the address he got for Dexter was his old apartment and it’s entirely questionable whether there would be anything at the apartment which let him know of Dexter’s new address.  Seems like the show needed Rita to die and they went about it in a contrived fashion.  It would have been vastly better if Dexter had lost control with Rita like he did with Quinn, the cops and the hit and run guy.  The end result would have been the same but there would also be the added element of his potential remorse and the mounting suspicion of the disappearance of Rita.  Now we’ll just have him be sad and saddled with three kids he probably doesn’t want next season.  5/10

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The worst films of 2009

Dec 19 2009 Published by under Film

wolverine

So far I’ve seen 44 movies which came out in 2009, but before I post my list of favourite films from 2009 I thought I’d highlight the five worst films I saw this year.  It’s worth noting that Twilight Saga: New Moon is not on the list because I haven’t seen it.  I succumbed to the pressure and watched Twilight last year and it was absolutely terrible and I’m not putting myself through another 90-120 minutes of shit when I know it’s gonna be bad.  Anyway, onto the five worst in reverse order.

5.  G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – I had no desire to watch this flick and did so only because I had a movie day and invited my mother round to my place to watch a bunch of films.  In order to get her to watch something that she may not typically watch or like I need to bribe her with some mindless piece of shit that she’d enjoy.  Enter this mindless piece of shit.  The thing that surprises me most about G.I. Joe is that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in it.  How can a guy as cool and talented as Gordon-Levitt even entertain being in such a terrible film?  That said, (500) Days of Summer is so good it easily makes up for his poor choice in starring in this turd.  As an aside, my dumb-ass friend Nathan actually likes this flick.  Enough to buy it on Blu-ray.  I’m surprised the guy at the store where he bought it didn’t laugh at him when he brought it to the counter.

4.  Duplicity – Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti, three actors I really like, star in a comedy caper flick where every scene is about how they don’t trust each other, and then Roberts and Owen get screwed over in their payoff at the end of the film.  It’s no wonder I hated this film.  Combine that with the fact I watched it on a 14 hour flight from Sydney to New York and bad gets worse.  It may be I wasn’t expecting what I got, but unlike Zoolander or The Cable Guy, I’m not going back and giving Duplicity a second chance.

3.  Inkheart – Another instance of bribing my mother on a movie day.  I can’t believe how far Brendan Fraser has fallen since his iconic performance as Link in Encino Man.  That comment is only partly tongue in cheek because I actually really enjoy Encino Man and some of Fraser’s earlier comedies like Airheads.  Goofy screwball comedies can be great fun but Inkheart plain sucks.

2.  Spring Breakdown – I’m not sure if this should be on the list because I only made it about 15 minutes into the film but considering I hated it enough after 15 minutes to stop watching I think goes to show how bad it is.  I wasn’t expecting much but I’m a fan of Amy Poehler and Parker Posey so I was at expecting at least a few chuckles.  Sadly they didn’t come.  Poehler should stick to Parks & Recreation for the time being.

1.  X-Men Origins: Wolverine – Congratulations to Hugh Jackman and 20th Century Fox for the worst film of 2009 by a great margin.  I wasn’t expecting anything from this film.  I thought it would be bad and it was, but it actually surprised me with the level of suckage that a film could delve to.  I can’t think of one thing in this film which was memorable, let alone good, so not only did it have a shitty story which ruins the Wolverine developed in X-Men and X-Men 2 but it failed in creating even one cool moment which even the shittest movie is able to do (witness 2012).  What bugs me even more than how bad Wolverine is is the fact that it made $179 million at the US box office.  Granted this is only about $30 million over the production budget but it places the film 9th for the year so far and just demolishes the box office of vastly superior films like Inglourious Basterds ($120 million), District 9 ($115 million), Zombieland ($75 million), Coraline ($75 million), Funny People ($51 million) and (500) Days of Summer ($32 million).  It’s like the general movie going public have no idea what choices they’re making.  Because of that $179 million box office we’re now gonna be subjected to a Wolverine 2.  Thanks dumb-asses.

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AVATAR review

Dec 18 2009 Published by under Film

Avatar

Written by: James Cameron
Directed by: James Cameron
Genre: Sci-fi, action, romance

Oh my fucking god.

RATING: 10/10

CONCLUSION
I’m trying to right this review 20 minutes after leaving the cinema and that’s all my brain continues to come up with.  But then I figured why waste the time trying to deconstruct the film when four little words convey everything you need to know about it.  Believe the hype, Avatar is brilliant, and it’s the best film of the year.  Plus I dare you not to fall in love with Neytiri.  It’s impossible.

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My favourite trilogy of all time

Dec 13 2009 Published by under Film

bttf trilogy

I was talking with a friend the other day and we managed to get onto the topic of trilogies and he mentioned that his favourite trilogy is the Godfather films.  This got me to thinking about what my favourite trilogies might be.  I decided that for a trilogy to be worth a damn all three movies had to be at least decent.  This line of reasoning leads to the exclusion of the Godfather trilogy because the third film is so poor.  The greatness of the first two films is obviously tarnished by the third one and this obviously affects the perception of the trilogy as a whole.  Sofia Coppola may have written and directed a couple of my favourite films of all time (Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides) but she can’t act for shit.

Likewise, the Matrix trilogy falls down the rankings because the second and third films are so poor.  The first two Terminator films are sci-fi/action heaven but the third one ruins everything.  The same applies to Spider-man.

So what are the trilogies where all three films hold up.  It’s a short list.

Indiana Jones
Star Wars (the original trilogy)
Lord of the Rings
Scream (ooh, controversial)
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Jason Bourne trilogy

But #1 on my trilogies list is by far the Back to the Future trilogy.  All three films are good enough and different enough to be valued, none of them were a step too far down in quality that would result in the other films being tarnished, and all three are classic adventure films.  I really wouldn’t have a problem with someone picking any of the other six trilogies I listed as the best ever because it all comes down to personal taste, but I would seriously doubt anyone who picked a trilogy which has an obviously flawed film in the three.

Of course, with the talk this week of James Cameron wanting to do a second and third Avatar film it just may be that Avatar becomes my favourite trilogy of all time.  I’ll know how I feel about the potential franchise in about 5 days after I get done seeing Avatar.  And I shouldn’t forget that Toy Story 3 is coming in June and there’s almost certainly gonna be another Christopher Nolan Batman somewhere down the line.  If all of these projects pan out there could be three new trilogies added to that best ever list.

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Best of the Week: 6th-12th Dec

Dec 13 2009 Published by under TV

A weekly post with the purpose of highlighting the shows I watched during the week and how I ranked them.  It’s not intended as a list of all shows on the air, only those that I actually watched during the week.  Watching something on Monday that aired on Friday won’t make the cut.

Like everything on this site it’s for my own enjoyment but feel free to comment.

Best of the Week: 6th-12th Dec

After a few weeks of almost no TV this week was pretty decent for content.  The Christmas holidays will mean that just about all the shows worth a damn will be on break for a while which is kinda disappointing but at least I’ll be able to get some movies watched.  I’m off to see Avatar on Friday and I may even go see Where The Wild Things Are on Tuesday.

1.  Survivor “Damage Control” (19×13) – Russell is a fucking legend, but I’m still positive he won’t win it all because of how much I really want him to.  8/10

2.  Dollhouse “A Love Supreme” (2×08) – The presence of Alpha alone makes this the better episode of Dollhouse in this weeks double-shot, but it was also a great episode in its own right.  Although Ballard isn’t strictly dead (and I’m sure Topher will be working on bringing him back) I still love it when Whedon kills one of the main characters.  Too often on other shows there are characters constantly placed in danger but nothing ever happens to them.  How is the audience supposed to be worried for their safety if they always get out OK?  It’s such a shame Dollhouse has been cancelled because these latest episodes are really building towards what was hinted at in Epitaph One.  I would love to have seen how it all developed over the course of another two or so seasons.  7.5/10

3.  Parks and Recreation “Christmas Scandal” (2×12) – I guess Louis C.K. is gone for good now and that makes me wonder how long it’s gonna be until Justin Theroux shows up.  It’s nice to see more of April (Aubrey Plaza) and I like the idea of her and Andy hooking up.  7/10

4.  30 Rock “Secret Santa” (4×08) – I’m a huge fan of Boogie Nights and Children of Men so my love of Julianne Moore should be obvious.  As such, even though I thought the secret santa stuff with the writers and Kenneth was pretty dull I think that the increased screen time for Cerie, the creation of YouFace and the presence of Moore all made this a pretty decent episode.  It was also a pleasant surprise to see the new guy actually on TGS.  I thought his appearances were gonna be few and far between but he’s had a good amount of screen time since he was added.  7/10

5.  Dollhouse “Meet Jane Doe” (2×07) – I really didn’t like the story for Echo in this episode.  The only good thing about it was the fact that she was using breaking the girl out of prison as training for freeing the dolls in the Dollhouse.  I loved Topher telling Adelle about his remote imprint technology (a great link to Epitaph One) and Adelle’s betrayal of Topher’s trust.  It’s nice to see Olivia Williams playing Adelle as a woman who is now concerned about her own position within the corporate structure.  This makes Adelle’s relationship with Topher in Epitaph One even more moving.  There were some great elements to this episode but it wasn’t very impressive as a whole.  6.5/10

6. Dexter “Hello, Dexter Morgan” (4×11) – Hurry up and dump Rita and those damn kids already Dexter.  And while you’re at it why don’t you kill Trinity.  Jesus, enough with dragging it out.  6/10

7.  How I Met Your Mother “The Window” (5×10) – If Dexter should hurry up and dump his wife and annoying kids, Ted should hurry up and find his wife so he can have his annoying kids.  Bring on the mother and Rachel Bilson (one and the same maybe?)  5.5/10

8.  Fringe “Grey Matters” (2×10) – Some more mythology at last but not nearly enough William Bell.  So far this season I’ve been pretty disappointed with Fringe.  It’s just lacked something compared to last season.  And what the hell happened to Olivia being special and turning out those light bulbs with her mind.  Maybe I’m missing something but that didn’t seem to go anywhere at all.  5.5/10

9.  Community “Comparative Religion” (1×12) – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Jeff should forget about that dull bitch Britta and set his sights on Annie, Troy and Abed should have more stuff to do because they’re the comedy gold on this show, and Shirley should be shot because she’s so fucking annoying.  I can see this show becoming stale like My Name Is Earl did in no time which is a shame because I had such high hopes for it.  5/10

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Countdown to AVATAR

Dec 10 2009 Published by under Film

Oh hell yes.  One week to go until Avatar opens worldwide.  I’m not seeing it opening day because I’m going with a friend the day after so he can fit it around work.  I’m so excited to see it, primarily because it’s a James Cameron flick but also because it’ll be my first experience with any new kind of 3D.  The last 3D films I remember seeing were a space documentary I saw at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida back in 2005 and Captain Eo at one of the Disney parks in Orlando back in about 1989.  Needless to say, I expect to have my mind blown by this flick.

Below is the new IMAX poster for Avatar.

Avatar (IMAX)

(image source = IMP Awards)

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