Check It Out: Music Edition 5

Check Out:

Two Door Cinema Club ~ Tourist History (album)
William Fitzsimmons ~ Goodnight (album)
Rosi Golan ~ Hazy (song)
Josh Ritter ~ Change of Time (song)
She & Him ~ Volume Two (album)

*If you like these, you might also like
William Fitzsimmons ~ Derivatives (album)
Once Soundtrack

Check It Out: Music Edition 4

Check Out:
Grizzly Bear ~ Veckatemist
Regina Spektor ~ Far
Roar and the Wolf ~ Motor Boatown, Mountain Goatown

*If you like these, you might also like
Bon Iver
Jeff Buckley

Check It Out: Music Edition 3

Check Out:
Flight of the Conchords ~ I Told You I Was Freaky
Weezer ~ Raditude
Phoenix ~ Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Matt and Kim ~ Grand
Mika ~ The Boy Who Knew Too Much


*If you like these, you might also like
Phoenix ~ It's Never Been Like That

Vacancy

director: Nimród Antal
writer: Mark L. Smith

American horror flicks these days have degraded into torture flicks with gratuitous nudity and inbred freaks. What happened to the threat of danger being more frightening than actually seeing it?

In comes Vacancy, a horror film reminiscent of classic horror movies, like Psycho. Although more visceral than a psychological thriller, the obligatory gore and screaming takes place ironically, mainly on a small screen.

The killers of the film don't need a convoluted backstory to reveal their motives. And in truth, Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale's characters didn't really need a sob story to garner further sympathy. One doesn't need to think too deeply at all to enjoy this horror movie, or most others. For example, the audience shouldn't think too deeply about how the attackers have been allowed to carry on so long. But all that aside, Vacancy is stylish enough in an old-fashioned way, right down to the credits, to deserve a view.

rating: ***/***** (a stylish horror)

recommendations: Identity, Dawn of the Dead

Check It Out: Music Edition 2

Check Out:
Paolo Nutini ~ Last Request (song)
Rooney ~ When Did Your Heart Go Missing, All In Your Head (songs)
Earlimart ~ Mentor Tormentor (album)

*If you like these, you might also like
Mika
Feist

The Bourne Ultimatum (Short)

director: Paul Greengrass
writer: Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi

My name is Jason Bourne.
Or not.
Who needs a name when you can kick ass and look hot doing it?

rating: ****/***** (a fun flick)

recommendations: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Casino Royale (2006)

Check It Out: Music Edition 1

Introducing a new section - I will occasionally list things (artists, songs, shows, sites, etc.) I think are worth checking out.

And in this entry - music.
Now, I'm no music reviewer (in truth, I'm not all that qualified to be a movie reviewer besides the fact that I watch movies, so in that respect, I listen to music) but I like to think I have some taste in it. So...

Check Out:
The Perishers ~ Let There Be Morning (album)
Shout Out Louds ~ Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (album)
Oppenheimer ~ Oppenheimer (album)

*If you like these, you might also like
Kings of Convenience
Ok Go
The Blow
The Submarines

Hot Rod

director: Akiva Schaffer
writer: Pam Brady

Remember when Nacho Libre was supposed to be the next Napoleon Dynamite, but really it turned out to be a Wes Anderson film-wannabe?
Well, here's the next candidate - Hot Rod (which contains a scene that's Wes Andersonian, in contrast to the whole film).
Hot Rod is like Napoleon Dynamite meets an SNL Digital Short, or should I say SNL Digital Long?
Popular SNL Digital Shorts include Lazy Sunday (about Chronic-What?-cles of Narnia and Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes) and Justin Timberlake's Dick in a Box. And if you still have no idea what these are, then you obviously don't have too much time on your hands.
The SNL Digital Short comparison is inevitable since the movie features several SNL cast/crewmates (current Andy Samberg and Bill Hader, former Chris Parnell, writer Jorma Taccone, writer Akiva Schaffer as director, and even Lorne Michaels as producer).

Whereas Napoleon Dynamite was a comedy about serious characters, Team Hot Rod makes you suspect that deep down they know how uncool they are but are proud nonetheless - which makes them kinda cool.

rating: ***1/2/***** (a fun flick)

recommendations: Napoleon Dynamite, Bottle Rocket, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Wet Hot American Summer

1 Show, 5 Days/Nights, 43+ Hours, 130+ Episodes... My stint as Naruto's Bitch

Ah, Naruto, my tenacious, nine-tailed friend.
I took you on, got beaten down, but ultimately survived. And so goes most of the fights on the show.

Naruto, a popular anime (Japanese animation), started in 2002 and was originally a manga (Japanese comic book). Currently there are 10 seasons of 220 episodes. A continuation or Naruto: Shippūden starts a couple years after the story leaves off when the characters are a bit more mature.

Ninjas are the way of life. And we follow young Naruto and his friends as they become more accomplished ninjas through various, episode-intensive fights.

Do not underestimate the addictability of this show because it is a cartoon. There's a reason for its popularity - amongst children and nerds, yes, but many, many people nonetheless.
Warming: Do not attempt unless willing to sacrifice part of your social life/image.

recommendations: Bleach, One Piece, Dragonball

Conversations with Other Women DVD (Short)

director: Hans Camosa
writer: Gabrielle Zevin

A work in split screen makes for unique view of a couple with more to them than it first seems.

Special features include audio commentary, interviews, and technical featurettes.

rating: ***1/2/***** (interesting indie)

recommendations: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Sliding Doors

Sherrybaby DVD (Short)

director: Laurie Collyer
writer: Laurie Collyer

Happy endings are good for films (or at least for box offices).
But sometimes people need to know that things just don't end with people becoming better - sometimes the best we can do is to hope to change because sometimes we can't change at all. Those are just circumstances, that's just life.
People are very flawed - don't expect them to be unflawed by the end.

There are no special features.

rating: ***1/2/***** (an indie find)

recommendations: Secretary, Thirteen, Mysterious Skin, The Station Agent

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (Short)

director: Guillermo del Toro
writer: Guillermo del Toro

Touted as an "adult fairytale," this dark and violent Spanish film lives up to its description.

rating: ****/***** (a definite-see)

recommendations: Finding Neverland, The Devil's Backbone, MirrorMask, Grave of the Fireflies

Children of Men

director: Alfonso Cuarón
writer: Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton

What would the world be without the sound of children? Quiet, perhaps, at first. But people would not go down without a fight. And fight they do.

Twenty years in the future, women are infertile from no discernible cause. Whatever the reason, mankind has lost hope. The world looks bleak and apocalyptic.

And it's all up to Clive Owen to save humanity. I can believe that, and I say this without a smidge of sarcasm. It is up to him to deliver a miraculously pregnant woman to the Human Project. Although the specifics of this clandestine and perhaps mythological organization is never revealed, it and the girl are the last vestige of a continuing future.

This surprisingly action filled film rightly never dwells too long on the implications of a childless world. Instead, it shows the chaotic remains of mass hopelessness, and the incredible human spirit and will to survive.

rating: ****1/2/***** (a must-see)

recommendations: Black Hawk Down, Gattaca, Saving Private Ryan, Code 46

Lies & Alibis DVD

director: Matt Checkowski, Kurt Mattila
writer: Noah Hawley

Steve Coogan is not your typical leading man. He's what you might call the thinking woman's sex symbol. He's got the accent, the voice, the attitude. And he employs them well for Lies and Alibis.

Coogan plays a former grifter turned "honest" businessman who runs an alibi service for adulterers. As he informs us in voice-over, one in four men cheat while a more respectable one in ten women do; it would be foolish to judge and even more so not to take advantage of this untapped market.

It's an interesting concept. Why risk using your bad liar friends, when you can hire professionals? But lies build on lies and soon our man is dodging cops, Mormon hitmen, and indiscreet philanderers. It's a big ensemble con game with twists and turns that converge at the end. And the cast reads like a guest list at a comic book convention: Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Selma Blair, Sam Elliott, Jaime King, John Leguizamo, Debi Mazar, among others.
But then again,what actor these days isn't associated some way with a comic book?

The story turns predictable, as do many movies of the like. And I would liked to have seen more of the inner and outer workings of the company. The story and characters are not as intricate and charming, as say in Ocean's 11, or dark and serious as in Confidence, but it's still worth a watch for the filmmakers' style and the charms of Steve Coogan.

For some noteworthy Steve Coogan performances, check out Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, 24 Hour Party People, Coffee and Cigarettes, Happy Endings, Around the World in 80 Days.

No special features included.

rating: ***/***** (frilly fun)

recommendations: Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens), Criminal (the American remake of Nine Queens), Confidence, The Usual Suspects, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Sting, Ocean's 11, Catch Me If You Can

TiVo for the Poor

Television online was the next natural step in the evolution of entertainment.

Plus, it's super cool for those of us who cannot afford or commit to TiVo.

TiVo is basically a digital VCR, but with a "brain." No more setting up your VCR timer, no more woes of recording the wrong program at the wrong time, and no more chunky video cassettes to store.

But it does mean buying the TiVo box, which comes in set number of Gigabytes, and subscribing to the service. With your TiVo set up, however, you can just let your TiVo know what programs you want and it'll automatically record and store your shows till you are ready to watch. And it'll even keep track of shows that match your interests.

But now that the major networks are making certain shows available to watch in its entirety and with limited commercials (TiVo allows you to fast forward through them) the day after they air, folks like me can cheaply enjoy programming that would otherwise conflict with our schedules.

If you're a television fanatic/freak like me, you can work out a schedule to watch missed shows at your leisure on your computer.
Not all networks and shows do it though, especially some of the more popular or less popular programs. And of course, if a show gets canceled or put on hiatus, the site will eventually remove the videos. Some canceled shows do get a bid farewell with the remainder episodes exclusively online, such as Kidnapped, Smith, and Vanished.

To make things easier, here is a brief list of the major networks and the shows currently available for viewing.

ABC (dynamic.abc.go.com)
Showlist:
Brothers & Sisters
Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
The Knights of Prosperity
Lost
Ugly Betty
What About Brian

CBS (Innertube)
Showlist:
The Class
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
How I Met Your Mother
Jericho
NCIS
Numb3rs
Shark
Survivor
The Unit

Fox (myspace.com/fox)
Showlist:
American Dad
Bones
The Loop
Prison Break
Standoff
Talk Show with Mike Feresten
'Til Death
Vanished

NBC (NBC Rewind)
Showlist:
Friday Night Lights
Heroes
Las Vegas
Passions

Note: The availability of these shows and its episodes is subject to change. For example, NBC has only the episode of the week available, while most other sites offer several past episodes. If you're a fan of a particular program and are not sure, check. And remember, these are streaming videos so you will need a high connection.
Enjoy.

24 Things I Love About 24

The following takes place between 1 thing and 24 things. Events do not occur in real time.

1:00 Jack Bauer. A dangerous man to know.

2:00 President David Palmer.

3:00 Watching it on DVD - How do people stand waiting a whole week for each episode? I can barely wait a couple of days for each DVD.

4:00 Absolute absurd situations that make me say, "Come on!" It's fantastic.

5:00 Character elimination.

6:00 Jack's courage and ability to get things accomplished.

7:00 True allies' faith in and loyalty to Jack.

8:00 How quickly the tables turn - Plot twists that don't take seasons to resolve (ahem, Lost).

9:00 Torture (and not just interrogation) - It's nice to see on TV.

10:00 Kim Bauer's ability to get into trouble.

11:00 The rotating cast, including familiar faces now on Lost, Prison Break, and most recently Heroes and Ugly Betty.

12:00 Traitors and traders - We all want something for something.

13:00 Kim Bauer's boyfriends/love interests get treated like crap.

14:00 Information retrieval time at CTU is inversely related to urgency. The more important the information, the longer it takes.

15:00 Nina Meyers and George Mason are married. (Okay, so Sarah Clarke and Xander Berkeley are married.)

16:00 Wicked women. They can be more badass than the guys.

17:00 Framing boxes - Let's see what everyone's up to.

18:00 Cell phones.

19:00 The jam-packed day - You can get a lot done when you don't eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom.

20:00 Real time. Not really (time added during commercials). Fake real time.

21:00 Nearly every episode ends in a cliffhanger - Apparently, extreme things happen on the hour, every hour.

22:00 The ticking clock - beep Beep beep Beep beep Beep.

23:00 The man behind the man behind the man behind the man - It's a conspiracy theorist's wet dream.

24:00 Kiefer Sutherland.

Farewell Kidnapped

Where do television shows go when they die?

Television heaven? Is there a television set for every person in television heaven? Are these people glued to their TVs gripped with suspense or bawling with laughter?
Do bad shows go to television hell? Is television hell full of people with better things to do, with more intellectual and physical pursuits?

Was Kidnapped the victim of bad advertising, a bad time slot, bad lead-ins?
It could not have been due to bad writing, bad production, or a bad cast. Jeremy Sisto hailed as a man-for-hire, a retriever of kidnappees. One season of this gritty show would have revolved intricately around one case. This prematurely cut season dealt with the abduction of a rich and powerful New York couple(Timothy Hutton and Dana Delany)'s son.

Networks nowadays are quick on the draw. It feels as though every time a viewer doesn't watch, another show gets axed, and leaves the rest of us hanging. Some shows don't even stand a chance and get cancelled after only about 3 episodes. In most cases, this is not enough time to gather an audience. Shows need time to settle and develop its niche.
Nevertheless, low ratings equal television death. NBC's Kidnapped may have found a more sympathetic home on a cable network and would have at least acquired a cult status, but unfortunately, television is largely a hit-or-miss business and shows rarely get a second chance.

On the semi-bright side, the creators thoughtfully anticipated Plan B, a storyline that finishes the show in 13 episodes in case the series didn't get picked up for an entire 22 episode season. Catch these remaining episodes online on NBC or YouTube.
As I hopefully await the DVD set, I imagine the excellent show it could have been and mourn the loss.

R.I.P. Good, Promising Shows
(Cue sad music...)
American Embassy
Arrested Development
Carnivàle
Committed
Dead Like Me
Emily's Reasons Why Not
Eyes
Firefly
Freaks and Geeks
Heist
Huff
John Doe
Kidnapped
Kitchen Confidential
Love Monkey
Smith
Sons and Daughters
Threshold
Undeclared
Wonderfalls

Thanksgiving DVDs

The holidays are coming up, and we all know what that means. That means quality time with the family. And here are some movie suggestions that encapsulate those precious moments.

Thanksgiving
Home for the Holidays - My personal Thanksgiving favorite, this Jodie Foster directed Holly Hunter film is underrated and sentimental without being saccharine.
Pieces of April - An indie film starring Katie "Mrs. Cruise" Holmes and Patricia Clarkson.

Christmas
The Family Stone - Some uncomfortable scenarios, but what family doesn't have those?
Elf - Will Ferrell as an elf. Enough said.
About A Boy - No man is an island.
Love Actually - Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. What more could a girl want?
Bridget Jones's Diary - What more could a girl want? Another movie with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant.
Bad Santa - Well, "Santa" is an anagram for "Satan."

Family Dysfunction
Flirting with Disaster - This 1996 David O. Russell vehicle represents everything that could go wrong with finding out where you came from in a hilarious way.
Meet the Parents - What family comedies should aspire to.
The Royal Tenenbaums - Wes Anderson's characters live in a world of their own.

Saturday Night Live 10.28.06

SNLove (My Two Hours of Heaven)

host: Hugh Laurie
musical guest: Beck

I looked into Mr. Laurie's blue blue eyes and they swallowed me whole.

Waking up at 4:30 AM was worth it. Standing outside in the rain was worth it. Having to blow-dry my Uggs because they were soaked was worth it. Having my heart sink in my chest in fear of possibly missing those eyes was all worth it in the end.

Sketches included "Most Haunted," "Advance Man," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "Weekend Update" with Tim Calhoun and two gay guys from Jersey, a job interview, Frankenstein, and a hospital scene with Hugh Laurie in drag, with special appearances by Lorne Michaels and Borat (with Azamat).

Cut sketches that didn't make it to the live show include a "Lost" parody, "Evil Speed Reader," "Vincent Price's Halloween Special," and an annoying drunk guy.

Beck sang two songs, "Nausea" and "Clap Hands," both with marionette versions of the band playing right alongside in a small replica of the stage. The second song included dinnerware as instruments. Very awesome. And Mr. Laurie also had a musical treat for us with a protest song.

Overall, a great experience to watch the workings of a live show.

The Prestige (Short)

director: Christopher Nolan
writer: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan

This magical mystery is more sophisticated and complex than the recent The Illusionist. The comparison is inevitable due to the proximity of release dates and themes.
While I found The Illusionist completely predictable, The Prestige had me wrapped around the tale, guessing and curious. This film is filled with hints and foreshadowing, along with ambiguous characters and real acting, especially from the reliable Christian Bale. The film draws in the audience not just with a twist ending, which it does contain, but with a depth in storytelling worthy of not just a simple magic trick, but a magical illusion.

rating: ****/***** (a definite-see)

recommendations: Memento, One Hour Photo, Insomnia