Recent Movies

I've been pretty negligent in discussing movies and i don't want this to become solely a TV blog. Therefore, here are some brief thoughts on some recent movies I've seen:

Serenity

One of the most frustrating and disappointing things that happened in movies this year was the failure of Serenity at the box office. In a year when unimaginative fluff (say, Longest Yard or Mr. and Mrs. Smith) has made a ton of money, Joss Whedon's smart, funny, and exciting space opera has floundered at the box office just like it floundered on TV. The movie contains everything that made Joss Whedon great: humor that punctuates serious scenes, brooding anti-heroes, messages cleverly woven into the subtext of the plot, creative action scenes, and a fascinating overriding mythology. The movie logically picks up from where the TV show left off, but definitely makes use of it's expanded budget. There are several stunning action set pieces that thankfully don't resort to the Tony Scott/Michael Bay method of Attention Deficit Disorder filmmaking. Joss should be commended for taking a failed TV series and making it into a terrific motion picture. The general moviegoing public should be reviled for not making this into a hit.

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

So what do we have here? An arranged marriage. Another woman, from a very different world, comes into the mix. What is the groom to do? That's about the extent of it. Apparently Burton and co. thought we would not notice the lack of a plot with the gimmick that the other woman is an undead woman. While there are some creative moments in this film, particularly involving the undead world (I particularly liked the return of the hero's dog.) It didn't work. I sat in stunned slence for most of this movie, waiting for something, anything to happen with the story. Even Danny Elfman was off his game as there wasn't one single memorable song. This is the 2nd animated film this year that was extremely disappointing. If this is better than Howl's Moving Castle, it's only because it's 45 minutes shorter.

Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Finally! An animated movie that worked. I never did see the legendary short films about these two characters, and I think that may have hampered my enjoyment of things at the beginning. It all seemed rather cute but nothing mindblowing. Things definitely picked up once the plot kicked into gear.The film centers around a rabbit experiment gone awry, resulting in a gigantic rabbit terrorizing the town. The film works in some extremely clever horror movie references and it's ability to mine humor that relates to both adults and children is at times as skillful as the Toy Story films. What sets this apart from other animated movies this year is an interesting story that never loses focus, and fascinating characters. It's not quite as successful as Chicken Run, which came from the same creators, but it's still a blast.

Fall TV 2005: Commander in Chief

The most successful of the new fall shows (as if ABC needed anoither hit) has been Commander in Chief. The show comes from creator Rod Lurie, who was responsible for the 2000 film The Contender, which revolved around the political battle over the confirmation of the first female vice president. It was a pretty good movie, with a resilient performance from Joan Allen and a great villain in Gary Oldman. Commander in Chief is not quite as good, but after a train wreck of a pilot episode, it has become very watchable.

The show stars Geena Davis as Independent PResident MacKenzie Allen, the former Vice President who ignored calls for resignation and assumed the Presidency when her predecessor died. Davis does a competentjob in the lead role, but her range is somewhat limited and some scenes where she's supposed to act tough come off rather laughable. Donald Sutherland clearly loves his scenery chewing role as Allen's biggest nemesis, Speaker of the House Nathan Templeton. Sutherland will probably get the most attention come Emmy time, but the show's best asset is Harry J. Lennix, as Allen's chief of staff. He plays the most interesting character; a man clearly not in line with the president's ideology but incredibly loyal to her. My other favorite is Ever Carradine as Allen's inexperienced, but determined press secretary.

The pilot to Commander in Chief stunk up the joint. The episode focused mostly on the show's weakest aspect - the family. The scenes with the children are particularly bad and border on 7th Heaven level of dramatic writing. The big confrontation scene at the end, probably trying to emulate Martin Sheen's kickass speech at the end of the West Wing pilot, didn't pay off well at all. The show has improved in the following weeks, particularly when focusing on the staff and the poilitical battle between Allen and Templeton. Series creator Rod Lurie has recently been replaced with Steven Bochco. I'm not sure what that means for this show, but I hope Bochco sees the same problems I do.

Fall TV 2005: Kitchen Confidential

The show with the most promise of the 2005-06 Fall season is Kitchen Confidential. The quirky restaurant comedy has a great cast and a quirky, feel good style that reminds me of Judd Apatow. Unfortunately, the show has not yet been able to deliver on that promise. The pilot was a bit disappointing, trying to cram too much into 22 minutes. Still, it had plenty of style, enough laughs, and a fantastic cast.

Bradley Cooper leads the ensemble and after being underutilized on Alias, it's great to see him perform so well in a lead role. Other standouts in the group are Nicholas Brendan and John Francis Daley. The cast works so well together that it's disappointing the show doesn't slow down enough for us to enjoy that. I don't mind a fast pace, but Kitchen Confidential often zips from scene to scene so fast that the comic rhythm gets lost.

The last episode was the most interesting. A guest appearance by John Larroquette livened things up and added a touch of sentiment. A nice character arc is being built for both Cooper and Daley. If they can fix a few kinks, this could be a great show. However, I doubt FOX will keep it around long enough for that to happen.

Fall TV 2005: Out of Practice

The fact that Out of Practice is one of the best new shows of the fall season says more about the weak fall lineup and less about the actual quality of the show. That's not to say Out of Practice is a bad show. It's actually pretty good for a generic sitcom set in the tired four camera format.

The show revolves around a dysfunctional family of doctors, including Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler as the bitterly divorced parents, Ty Burrell as the ladies man, Christopher Gorham as the poor luck underdog, and Paula Marshall as a lesbian (rumors that I created this show are completely unfounded.). Also on hand is Jennifer Tilly as Winkler's ditzy new girlfriend.

The strength of the show is the interaction between the cast members. They have a very easy chemistry with each other and the sharp timing provides most of the laughs. The show comes from the creators of Frasier, and the classy production values are apparent. Still, the storylines are all recycled from previous sitcoms. I think this is just a format that has too many limitations. However, it compares favorable to the numerous generic sitcoms still on the air (Two and a Half Men, Will & Grace, Hope and Faith, etc.), and therefore I hope it succeeds.

Fall TV 2005: Threshold

After the success of Lost, the networks scrambled to find new fantasy/sci-fi themed shows to offer to the public. The most promising of the bunch seemed to be Threshold, about a team of scientists and government operatives investigating a possible contact with alien life. A bizaare alien pattern has infected people (possibly turning them into aliens?), and the team's job is to discover these threats and prevent an outbreak.

The premise of Threshold would not have even caused me to flinch had it not been for the cast. The wonderful Carla Gugino, an actress who deserves a hit, plays a contingency analyst whose own plan to deal with alien contact is activated. Also on board is the ever reliable Charles S. Dutton as the main government official running the operation, and the perfectly cast Peter Dinklage, Robert Patrick Benedict, and Brent Spiner as the quirky scientist trio. The one weak spot is the dull Brian Van Holt, who seems to have been found wandering the streets looking for a role after JAG was cancelled.

With a cast that strong, Threshold will be able to hold my interest for a few weeks. What worries me is the format of the show. I generally do not enjoy episodic, self-contained shows. So far Threshold seems to be playing as an alien threat-of-the-week format. If they don't make a concerted effort to develop the characters and start some interesting story arcs, it could get old very fast.