2010: Is it midseason already?

While the movie box office is still suffering from after-effects of the Hollywood writers’ strike, those unhappy times are a distant memory to the TV networks who are rushing to fill our DVRs with new content. Most of our favourite series made a quick return after the holidays, bringing with them some new (Caprica) and returning (24 and Lost) series as the TV midseason officially begins.

24

By now we’ve already watch 5 tension-filled hours of Jack Bauer trying to survive another day of assassination attempts, insider plots, nuclear threats, hi-tech spy-tech, and not having to deal with food, water, or restrooms. While this season sees Bauer and CTU relocated to the Big Apple, things have started kind of in the same way they always do. Fans will be happy to know that we’ve even got our requisite severed appendage (a thumb) out of the way. Katee Sackhoff and Freddie Prinze Jr. have joined the cast as CTU’s “it” couple. I’m hoping they will rise to the Tony and Michele legacy, but so far they’ve just been playing CTU Ken and CTU Barbie (I’m especially disappointed with the formidable Sackhoff in such a wimpy role). Nevertheless, once the plot started kicking into high-gear (assassination attempt #1), we got a taste of some of that ole 24 magic. Let’s hope the remaining hours will prove this to be an exciting “day” for us all.

Burn Notice

As much as I love Michael Westen (aka the new MacGyver) I’m starting to lose track of his overall story arc (do we know who burned him or not?). The midseason premiere brings a welcome guest in Tyne Daly, for a wonderful Cagney & Lacey reunion (I didn’t watch that show, but these two actresses have great chemistry) and some dynamite acting from Sharon Gless. Unfortunately, the A-plot also brought back Michael’s southern-hick-thug cover identity. I hope this season will take the burn-notice story to a new, more interesting place, and that Michael will get some shiny new cover personae.

Human Target

Mark Valley (remember him as Agent Dunham’s villainous partner from Fringe) stars as a mystery man, action figure, bodyguard who goes from week to week secretly righting wrongs and doing his own missions. It’s too early to tell what the overall premise of the series is, but for a viewer there’s no shortage of adrenaline and action. Chi McBride (fondly missed as the dour Emerson Cod from Pushing Daisies) and Jackie Earl Haley (recently not-seen as the masked vigilante Rorschach from the Watchmen film) team up as the side-kicks/ backup/ helpers. Though this show is fun, I think it still needs some time to find its tone: sometimes funny, sometimes cynical, sometimes explosive is all OK as long as it’s carried out right. So far I’m not still not buying it, though, but I’m giving this show a chance (no pun intended — ‘cos Chance is the name of Valley’s character).

Life Unexpected

We’ve seen the gradual extinction of the down-to-earth situation dramas with the overly-clever dialogue (think Dawson’s Creek or the Gilmore Girls). This show puts together a couple of radio personalities (played by Shiri Appleby and Kerr Smith), a slacker bar owner (played by Kristoffer Polaha), and the biological daughter that comes back into their lives. I quite enjoy the zingy dialogue, the occasional cultural references, and the likable cast. To enjoy this show I’ll even endure the parents-as-adolescents/ adolescents-as-grownups theme that has been done to death.

The Deep End

I love lawyer shows, so I’m going to give this one a chance, even though the life-antics of a bunch of bed-hopping pretty boys and girls is not my kind of show. Add to that the overly-intense Billy Zane as their unscrupulous and domineering overlord and this show is going to get tiresome quickly. Unless it can show some evidence of quality, I think this one will get quickly dismissed (…. like what I did there … with the legal puns?)

Caprica

So far they’ve only aired the pilot double-episode of this BSG prequel (which was already released on DVD a while back). The tone is dark, having dealt with terrorism, the urban underbelly, and questionable social and scientific ethics. Supposedly the series will be more soap than sci-fi, and they’ve already played the “inventing the Cylons” card, but I love how fleshed-out the futuristic world seems to be (and I love the greeter/security robot at the Graysons’), so I’m hoping that there will still be a lot of sci-fi elements to make this show more than just a new millennium’s Falcon Crest (Oops! I did it again!) Kidding aside, if Ron Moore can bring the same kind of high-calibre drama that he brought to BSG, this is going to be another amazing series.

Archer

I’m still not sure what to think of this animated spy satire for adults. I am really enjoying some of the characters, including the petty, self-absorbed title character, Sterling Archer, but the episodes have not really grabbed me so far. They seem kind of thinly-scripted and too much focus is placed on the comparison of the ISIS agency to a normal office.

If these shows aren’t enough, (as the promos keep reming us) Lost’s final season is just around the corner, and if that’s not enough, there’s only a few more months until Glee returns (Yay!).

2009 Hits and Misses: Movies

I probably say the same thing every year. Despite the fact that I see 30+ movies in the theatre (which is only 2.5 movies per month, so not really that much), they continue to disappoint me. Many of the ones I intended to see got such mediocre reviews that I decided not to go (I’m not a movie critic who gets free screenings, after all). Each trip to the cinema costs me a bit of hard-earned money, and a few hard-earned hours of free time. Sad to say, this year no movies really “wow’d” me. Sure, I really enjoyed the spectacles of Avatar and Star Trek, and Pixar’s Up was wonderful, but I didn’t feel amazed when the lights came up (maybe I’m becoming too jaded). Nevertheless, here are my picks for movies that hit the mark (and a few that completely missed — so disappointing!).

Hits

Up

Pixar continues its track record of making unlovable things (e.g. rats, monsters, fish) quite lovable. Sure, who doesn’t find a warm-hearted little boy scout endearing, but an old curmudgeon? That’s a bit of a stretch. Applause to them for really moving me with this fresh and well-animated tale of Mr. Fredricksen’s crazy quest to fulfill a lifelong dream. At once fun, cute, and great to look at, tied together with a soft “carpe diem”-themed ribbon. Pixar definitely knows how to put warmth, depth and heart into its characters and story so that you forget that it’s computer animation.

Star Trek

With all the rebooting going on, I was a bit worried about JJ Abrams taking on such a beloved franchise as Star Trek. He was even going to use the characters from the original series — which are far from my favourite. However, I should not have doubted Mr. Abrams (especially since I’ve enjoyed almost everything that he’s been involved with, from Felicity to Fringe). This new Star Trek movie was fun and young-hearted in a way that hasn’t been a part of the Trek franchise in a very long time. A lot of the credit goes to Chris Pine as Kirk. I am also not a fan of the old Kirk, but Pine’s portrayal of him as a capable, charming risk-taker (I realize that’s also how Shatner had portrayed him) really won me over. Add some other good performances as well as a slick style and we have an excellent reboot on our hands. (Now if only we could get another Trek TV series out of this.)

Avatar

Is there much truth to all the hype about James Cameron’s latest magnum opus? You bet. Visually beautiful, stunning, and incredibly life-like. I was especially impressed by the facial expressions on the computer-generated characters. Cameron’s team has been able to use computer animation to depict strong emotions to the point that we respond with genuine emotions as well — that’s an achievement! Also, the world of Pandora has breath-taking scenery, fascinating creatures . The only thing missing was a truly inventive story. That side of things was pretty predictable. However, with all that was going on before my eyes, I barely had the time to notice.

Sherlock Holmes

Surprisingly more of an action-adventure than a mystery movie, it was good that Robert Downey Jr. (playing Holmes) and director Guy Ritchie were both able to tone down their typically excessive styles to produce a fun and engaging movie. Even though her role was not as juicy as it could be, I always love to see Rachel McAdams in a movie (she plays Holmes’s ex-lover and rival/antagonist).

Watchmen

Glossy and big, the film version of a supposedly unfilmable comic book series lived up to my expectations and (IMHO) even improved on the original ending from the comic. Because the tone was dark and heavy, it wasn’t your typical movie. That made the film better in some ways, since it explored the darker threads of selfishness, pride, and power, but at the expense of the kind of joyride that a typical superhero movie can be.

The Princess and the Frog

Though set in the less-than-lavish environs of the Mississippi bayou, this movie successfully revives the dormant “musical princess” movie that was a staple for Disney’s animated movies for so many years. (I really miss the singing animals.) After this, I’m very much looking forward to Rapunzel (due later this year).

District 9

While I can’t give it as much credit for originality as it’s received, this story of a South African bureaucrat whose life gets unbelievably messy after getting involved with residents of the alien ghetto known as District 9, was the best science fiction of the year. I’ll never look at crustaceans or hear the word “prawns” the same way again.

9

In a year of odd overuse of the number/word “9″ in movie titles, this movie held so much expectation for me that even though it disappointed me, it still kept itself in the upper ranks. An animated post-apocalyptic fantasy with a whole new kind of creature (living burlap puppets) as the main characters. This had “fresh and imaginative” stamped all over it. Unfortunately the concept was underdeveloped and the movie just didn’t live up to its potential. Nevertheless, the movie was great to look at and I really enjoyed all the characters. I just wish there were more of everything.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Another one of these disappointment with high expectations movies. I am still a huge Potter fan, but I really don’t think this installment lived up to the rest of the franchise. Even the original book is a bit scattered. Much of the story centres around Dumbledore and Harry’s quest to understand the nature of Lord Voldemort’s evil.

Duplicity

I have always been a fan of twisty plots and cat-and-mouse chases. This movie about two corporate spies who also happen to be lovers and their schemes against and with each other was clever and enjoyable. While I wouldn’t say that the two leads (Julia Roberts and Clive Owen) have the most chemistry ever, but they were both pretty believable — plus I enjoyed the way the ending played out.

Misses

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

I was hoping that introducing the werewolf element to the vampire/teen romance mix would have livened things up, but it really didn’t. Unfortunately, this movie was just dull. As I mentioned before, I enjoyed the scene in Italy, but it seems like part of a different movie.

The International

With so much going for it, this movie squandered its capable leads (Clive Owen and Naomi Watts) and made international intrigue a snoozer.

Bruno

As expected, Sacha Baron Cohen once again took up his pop-cultural spade and dug up America’s narrow-mindedness and political incorrectness, all the while pushing the squirm-inducing boundaries to the limit. Compared to Borat, this movie (and the Bruno character) seemed even more clueless and outrageous, but that seemed to be its only objective. Still not that funny.

Where the Wild Things Are

Well-realised “wild things” made this movie a visual treat, but the indie-film pacing and the introspective script made it heavy and ponderous. Hardly the poignant kids story that it was based upon. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine any kids enjoying this film (I know the kids in my theatre didn’t like it — some even left early).

Knowing

Nic Cage plus ridiculously illogical plot equals the dumbest movie I watched in 2009. One mystery compounds another and not only are the explanations a bit irrelevant, the ending went so far beyond where you’d reasonably expect a movie like this to go. It seemed like it was going to have a relatively grounded plot. So much for that!

2009 Love and Hate: TV Characters

One of the things that have made this TV season so enjoyable is the many memorable characters that have cropped up. I’ve listed those that I’ve loved this year, who I can’t wait to see and who really add a unique and refreshing element to the moments when they appear on screen. Of course, not all characters can be so likable, and sometimes even characters who were once the best just languish and become tired. I made a list of those as well.

My Most Loved TV Characters

Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory) is still a laugh-riot. Loved his growing friendship with Penny, and also his rivalries with fellow scientist Kripke and Wil Wheaton.

Manny Delgado (Modern Family) – The little latin cherub who thinks that he’s older, wiser, more mature than he really is … his interactions with his jaded step-dad (played by Ed O’Neil) are hilarious and tender. Honourable mention to Manny’s step-son’s life partner Cameron Tucker, who takes the swishy gay stereotype and works it in a completely endearing way.

Abed (Community) is very odd yet everyone likes him and wants to take care of him. You never know what he’s going to say next (but it’s probably a movie quote). Honourable mention to Shirley, the mother hen of their study group: a timid but sassy black woman brimming with warmth.

Walter Bishop (Fringe) is no less of a mad scientist than last season, but we’ve seen a lot of his vulnerabilities and regrets. He’s more than a series of inappropriately humourous moments, but a fleshed-out (albeit still very eccentric) character.

Rick Castle (Castle) oozes so much charisma and charm that that’s what he should be selling instead of crime novels. He sense of humour make every grisly murder case seem like a day at Disneyland. Honourable mention to his daughter Alexis, who is the smartest and sweetest teenager on TV (and there are many!) who keeps her arrested-development father grounded and accountable while still being true to her own age.

Jane Bingham (Drop Dead Diva) is another likable, warm-hearted character that just lights up an episode. Equal parts perky (which comes from the blond aspiring model in her) and savvy (which is her normal legal-eagle persona), how can you not root for her to win every case?

Miles Straume (Lost) really stepped out of his shell this season. Sure, everyone loves the roguish Sawyer, or the teddy-bear Hurley, but Miles was originally just the grumpy and sarcastic member of the expedition that came to the island. Now he and Hurley are volleying quips (and bonding over their shared ability to speak to the dead), and he’s even gotten to enjoy a little temporal paradox by meeting his own father and younger self in the past. How can you top that?

Sue Sylvester (Glee) is everyone’s favourite love-hate relationship, with heartless putdowns and off-the-wall warnings aimed at her many enemies. Though tempered a bit by a heart-melting scene with her mentally-challenged sister, the otherwise hard-as-nails gym teacher is the most “delicious” (to use Sue’s own vernacular) villain on TV.

Topher Brink (Dollhouse) is like a smart alec gone awry. He’s smarter than everyone else, and he knows it. Nevertheless, without his humourously obnoxious cleverness to lighten the mood, the Dollhouse would have collapsed under the weight of its own dourness.

Angie Bolen (Desperate Housewives) brings some much needed fresh air to Wisteria Lane (even if it’s the air of suspicion). Her no-holding-back Italian attitude really plays well against the other wives in the neighbourhood (especially now that Gabrielle is as white-washed as all the others). Let’s hope the writers don’t deflate her — if she’s still around after her mysteries are revealed (see “Katherine Mayfair” below.)

My Most Hated TV Characters

Terri Schuester (Glee) should be loathed not just for her shrillness and general annoyance, but also for how reprehensible her whole baby-switching plot was. If only we had seen something redeeming about her, but instead we only feel entirely relieved when Will got away from her. Dishonourable mention goes to Terri’s sister Kendra who is the worst wife, mother, and woman I have ever seen. Now we see where younger sis gets it all from!

Vicki Donovan (The Vampire Diaries) was so pathetically self-destructive that I’m glad she got attacked, bitten, turned, then staked (yay!). Anything to free her two (Yes, two!) boyfriends and devoted brother (not to mention the audience) from the mess that was Vicki is OK by me.

Katherine Mayfair (Desperate Housewives) was so great two seasons ago when she had a mysterious secret and also the passive-aggressive gumption to go toe-to-toe with the other housewives. Since she fell in love with Mike Delfino (and he left her for Susan), she’s been sliding straight down the slope to the nuthouse. She was a former favourite of mine and deserved so much better. Dishonourable mention to fellow great-character-turned-lame, Lafayette Reynolds (True Blood) who was sensational, sassy, and strong until he was kept as a slave to murderous vampires after which his post-traumatic stress left him a frightened, spent husk.

Matt Parkman (Heroes) was only one of any number of characters I could have chosen from Heroes (the series with the meteoric plummet). The whole “Sylar’s in my head” story could have been an incredibly interesting dramatic duel. Instead, Matt became a drunk and (as Sylar kept reminding us) a bore. When he sacrificed himself to stop Sylar, I was delighted for his demise. Of course, I felt similar schadenfreude when Claire’s wimpy roommate couldn’t take the adventurous lifestyle and fled. Gretchen was such a limp character, so if she didn’t have any powers, I didn’t know why they should bother with her at all.

Sgt. Ronald Greer (Stargate: Universe) is the kind of person I hate in real life: bad attitude, trouble-maker, constantly threatening others and pushing people around. I get that SG:U is meant to be gritty and full of conflict, but they should have left Greer stranded on a planet long ago.

Tyler Evans (V) is the exact opposite of the smartest and sweetest teenager on TV. He’s stupidly naive, falling head over heels for the alien ruler’s daughter (though she is incredibly cute). He’s a terrible son: defying and lying to his freedom-fighting FBI mom. He seems like a surly teen stereotype. Hopefully his special destiny is to become a snack to the Vs.

Olivia Taylor (24) was an implausible character from the get-go. Her mother (the president) was a wonderful example of strength and grace in time of crisis, but she was blind to the ridiculously selfish, manipulative, unethical, devious, and all round terrible woman her daughter was. I was so happy when she eventually learned the truth.

Stuart Radzinsky, Roger Linus & Phil (Lost) — I can’t watch scenes of that self-righteous, pompous uber-nerd Radzinsky without the hatred boiling up like a smoke monster. Roger Linus was such a terrible father and all round wretched person, that it’s no wonder little Ben turned out how he did. And Phil was just such a thick-eyebrowed loser that even the island (or at least the magnetism) wanted to see him dead.  Why did the Dharma Initiative recruit the most detestable people?

Senor Chang (Community) is the kind of teacher everyone always fearx: capricious, whacko, and kind of a jerk. Plus he likes to yell! I am even more sad that he’s one of the few Chinese characters on prime time TV and yet I wish he would get fired already.

Sorry to be such a hater on all these characters, but it sure was cathartic to get it out there. Don’t worry. They’re all fictional; they don’t have any feelings. Let’s wish them all gone by next year’s list. Hopefully you agree with some of my list of loves and hates, but if you don’t that’s fine — bring on the comments!

Sherlock Holmes – Movie Review

I have to admit that I’m a bit Downey’d out. When I found out that the role of the latest incarnation of the British super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, was going to Robert Downey Jr., I was less than excited. It’s not that he’s not an excellent actor, or that his movies are not enjoyable, but the kind of smug, decadent, mischievous persona that seems to be his new standard (on screen and off) is not the kind of person I like to spend time with. I had always thought of Holmes the character (not that I’ve read any of Conan Doyle’s literary work) as a more disciplined, refined person. Like your average viewer watching a new interpretation, my first question was, How does this rendition measure up to my mental image? At first, it seemed that the brawling, bad-influence-type character was really wrong for Holmes, but kudos to Downey (and director Guy Ritchie) for not only making me forget the incongruity, but also making the whole movie plausibly enjoyable. If you overlook who this character is “supposed” to be, then you’ll have a lot more fun with this movie.

Part of the success of this film is owed to the odd-couple relationship between Holmes and Watson. Dr. Watson (played by Jude Law) is no longer the sidekick who nods admiringly from Holmes’s shadow. Instead,they bicker like room-mates, or an old married couple. Though Watson can play detective in his own right, Holmes doesn’t act like his mentor or teacher. Plus, Downey and Law have pretty good on-screen chemistry and it really boosts the film. It’s less Plato and Socrates, more Bert and Ernie between these two. Interestingly added to the mix is Irene Adler (played by Rachel McAdams with her usual spark), an ex-lover of Holmes’s who has bested him on several occasions (she’s Catwoman to his Batman). While she may have been a questionable ally, I was disappointed with her being used as a damsel in distress several times. Someone so resourceful should probably have been able to look after herself.

The plot is relatively convoluted, involving Victorian politics, black magic, and murder. There are lots of twists in the end, but I wish that the audience’s point of view was less ignorant. We are rarely given the benefit of noticing any of the clues that Holmes sees. Instead, we watch in slow motion as Holmes describes his plan for taking out his opponent, then watch it play out in real time. When he solves a mystery, he basically tells us the answer as we rewatch all the things that we “missed”. It takes a little bit of the fun out if we are just waiting for the answers. Good thing there are so many thrilling action scenes in this movie to keep our interest. This Holmes and Watson are more than mere Victorian gentlemen politely solving crimes. The Victorian England that Ritchie has recreated is grungy and a bit dangerous, and if you want to solve crimes you must be able to hold your own in a fight.

When you look more closely at it, this movie is less of a Victorian tale than a contemporary action thriller in 19th century disguise (they even find some steampunk way of trying to introduce technology that’s ahead of its time). I guess that’s why some have drawn parallels to The Batman character (and especially between this movie and last year’s mega-hit, The Dark Knight). Let’s hope that audiences feel that it lives up to the comparison.(4 out of 5)

Nine – Movie Review

Nine, the new movie-musical from director Rob Marshall obviously faced the same challenge as its Oscar-winning predecessor, Chicago: How do you integrate musical numbers with serious drama? In the case of Chicago, the songs were figments of the character Roxie Hart’s imagination. In Nine, it’s not clear what the songs are there for. In fact, though each number is very well produced, it was difficult to find the emotional connection between them and the actual scene that they came out of. Marshall’s attempts at cutting back and forth between the two only made things worse. The original stage musical, Nine, was inspired by the Fellini movie 8 1/2. I haven’t seen either, but the movie-musical is about Italian director, Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) hitting rock bottom. Unable to find inspiration (or write a script) for his latest movie, his mind wanders to visions of various women in his life: Marion Cotillard plays his wife Luisa, Penelope Cruz is his mistress Carla, Sophia Loren plays his mother, Kate Hudson is a Vogue magazine reporter, Judi Dench his costume designer and confidante, Nicole Kidman plays his star and muse Claudia Jenssen, and finally Black Eyed Pea Fergie is Saraghina (a woman from Contini’s childhood). As the pressure mounts on all sides, Contini tries to run away from all the damage he’s done to his own life and the people around him.

The star power of this movie is a bit off-the-hook. Of the main cast, all but Fergie and Kate Hudson are Oscar winners (and Hudson was at least nominated)! Unfortunately, the wattage of the casting may have overloaded the film. Each woman gets one song and essentially one scene with Day-Lewis. With the exception of Cotillard and Cruz, we never really get the time to care about any of the characters. In a stage musical, we bridge that gap through connecting to the music and the passion of the performances. Here the numbers come off like distractions from the main story, unrelated to the characters in it. Nevertheless, the actresses do the best they can with limited parts, especially Cruz and Cotillard. Day-Lewis is in almost every scene; and while he is clearly an excellent actor with multiple Oscars to prove it, all he seems to do in this movie is wallow in self-pity (but he’s surprisingly not bad in the musical performance department — who knew?). In the end, it just wasn’t conveyed (through music or drama) what exactly these women each meant to Contini.

Despite the weaknesses of its dramatic side, the musical side of Nine is pretty good. The staging is stylish and fun, and everyone handles the dancing and singing quite well. Occasionally the music sounds a little dated, but this is a film set in the 60s. The best numbers were Judi Dench’s surprising cabaret number and Kate Hudson’s runway number. I never even knew Cotillard could sing, but she gave a very heartfelt and tragic performance about how her husband had taken every piece of her. Kidman’s number paled in comparison to her star-turn in Moulin Rouge.

It’s unfortunate that Nine does not live up to past movie-musicals. It never really resolves the tension between musical and drama, and it seems to contradict its own theme of substance over style. The last thing a movie-musical should be is boring and unfortunately Nine crossed over into into that territory several times. 3 out of 5.

Avatar – Movie Review

For a film with revolutionary CGI effects, such as Avatar, all eyes are definitely on the visuals. Director James Cameron (remember him from Titanic and Terminator 2?) has taken his time to produce this amazing new movie. Using the kind of computer techniques that brought to life Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series, Cameron and his team have now created an entire world full of spectacular vistas, fantastic creatures, and some very tall, blue aliens, all within the virtual world of the computer.

Cameron claims that he wanted to tell this particular story 10 years ago but has been waiting for the tech to catch up. Frankly, the story’s been told many times over (not the least of which was 20 years ago when it took home the best picture Oscar as Dances with Wolves). Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington, last seen in Terminator:Salvation; next to be seen in Clash of the Titans) is a wheelchair-bound ex-marine who gets to participate in a program where his mind is transferred into the cloned body of one of the locals on an alien planet. He’s tasked to get to know the alien tribal culture and find a way to negotiate with them, convincing them to abandon their jungle home so that human corporate weasels can mine it for “unobtanium” (maybe naming it “greedicite” would have been too on-the-nose, eh?). Once Jake goes native, he’s tutored in the ways of the Na’vi by their lovely princess Neytiri. I think you can easily predict the rest of the story, but what you may not be able to imagine is how impressive Cameron’s cinematic achievement really is.

When I first started getting used to the blend of live action (the humans were played by real actors, not CGI) with animation (obviously the Na’vi were a lot more than men in blue makeup), it felt a little jarring. I thought I could tell when we were making the switch. However, the lines of distinction quickly blurred. The details of the Na’vi planet, Pandora, were vivid and beautiful. All the natural elements of plants, rocks and trees were more than photo-real. If anything, the scenes “outdoors” were brighter than scenes inside the human buildings (some of which I assume were not CGI). The creatures on the planet were light-years more realistic even than those ground-breaking Jurassic Park dinosaurs in their textures, movements, and other details. Granted, these are imaginary creatures from an imaginary world (so we don’t really have the context), but they felt like they really could exist. The pinnacle of achievement, however, is the Na’vi themselves. Their physical movements (and there is a whole lot of not-standing-around in this movie) were perfectly realised, but the facial expressions were the truly amazing work. Not only did the lips sync up perfectly with the dialogue, the expressions on their faces were incredibly lifelike — definitely enough to stir an occasionally tearful response in me (hey, don’t laugh, it’s not easy to wipe moist eyes behind IMAX 3D glasses on top of my own glasses). What this means for drama is that actors can actually “act” even if they are going to be represented by artificial characters. In a way, the metaphor of the avatar (the virtual representation of someone remote) is apt for what this movie achieves as well because the computer-generated “avatars” are able to more accurately represent the physical performance of the actors playing those roles.

The other components of the visual experience were the virtual camera work (which was stunning for the most part), and the IMAX 3D experience. As mentioned, the scenery on Pandora is breathtaking. My friend who saw the movie with me kept thinking of it as a real place and feeling sad that it wasn’t. The clarity and depth provided by the IMAX 3D treatment definitely helped us feel like we were actually there. Plus, it’s a beautiful, natural environment. What’s not to love? The funny thing is that normally when you travel to jungles via the magic of film, you are spared the annoyance of bugs, but thanks to the wonders of 3D technology, a few times the virtual bugs made me long for a CGI swatter. Even more than that, during one scene with billowing smoke and embers, I almost reached out my hand to brush away flecks of falling ash before I reminded myself that it was a movie trick. While Cameron used the freedom of the computer-generated camera to take our eyes soaring all around (which was awesome in some of the aerial scenes in particular), one area where the camera was a bit exhausting was in the training sequences where Jake and Neytiri ran and jumped throughout the jungle. The characters are already moving all over the place, did we really need the shaky-cam style at that point?

This movie is definitely worth seeing on the big screen. If you can see it on IMAX and in 3D, the bigger the better. The story is nothing special, but the acting is pretty good, and the visuals are jaw-dropping. (4.5 out of 5)

2009 Tops and Bottoms: TV Shows

2009 has been a really fun year for TV. Lots of good shows returned or debuted. There’s so much exciting stuff to write about, that I’m going to split my year-end post into 3 parts: TV shows, TV characters, and Movies. (I’m saving Movies to the end because there are a whole slew of intriguing movies premiering on Christmas Day, and I gonna be playing catch-up until year-end.) Without further ado, here are my top 10 shows of 2009.

It was tough for me to narrow down to 10 top shows. My top 10 were shows for which I couldn’t wait to see new episodes each week, sometimes I wouldn’t even let my Tivo finish recording them — I’d just watch them live (commercials and all) — now that’s love! Unfortunately, there were also some new stinkers this year and others which are just growing stale. Keep in mind that I don’t watch every show out there, so there is plenty of other bad TV, but I’m just discussing shows that I did follow at one time (or had high hopes for) which did not live up. But first, the good stuff …

My Top 10 TV Shows

Glee

On seeing the Spring pilot episode, the combination of satirical high-school melodrama, tongue-in-cheek comedy, and full-fledged musical numbers was so refreshing and fun-to-watch, that I was hooked. When more episodes finally arrived in the fall, Glee was not only my top must-watch show, but I also fell in love with the songs (now in constant rotation on my iPhone). There’s a lot of hype about this show, but in my opinion it’s well-deserved.

Modern Family

Another hot new show fully deserving of praise: a family sitcom with top-notch writing and acting — humourous and heart-felt, this show never misses a beat. The multi-generational aspect is clever and the family angle actually freshens up the “mockumentary” format. One of the best sitcoms ever. I hope it keeps getting better.

Big Bang Theory

Nerdvana to the max — This show is paradise to a geek like myself. I have loved it since day one and this year it has continued to get better, most notably by bringing hot neighbour Penny deeper into the mix as Leonard’s girlfriend, allowing her to interact more with Sheldon (a match made in sitcom heaven). I have not gone a single episode (in three seasons) without serious laugh-out-loud moments.

Medium

I guess this show’s caught on as much as it’s going to, but now that it’s paired with the surprisingly successful Ghost Whisperer on CBS, I hope Medium will continue to live on. Each week I am dying not only to see what crimes Allison’s psychic dreams uncover, but also what wonderful situations her family has to deal with. All clairvoyance aside, this is still one of the well-portrayed families on TV.

True Blood

Season one of HBO’s southern vampire drama was pretty good, but season two was off-the-hook. Not only did it jump deeper into the mythology (based on a book series), but it went off the deep end in terms of wildness and craziness. Where else would you find shape-shifters, human slaves, anti-vampire cults, a pagan demi-goddess, all culminating in a town-wide bacchanal?

Drop Dead Diva

This show was a surprise. Aspiring model Deb has a car accident and her spirit is accidentally sent into the body of lawyer Jane. The premise is not the best, but it made for some interesting, yet light-hearted, drama. Not only did this show reincarnate one of my favourite series, Ally McBeal, with its quirky-yet-sentimental court cases; it also really came into its own (thanks in no small part to its charming lead, played by newcomer Brooke Elliot).

Lost

What more can be said about this sci-fi crossover mega-hit? This year it really embraced the time-travel and sent the Oceanic gang back to the 70s, as well as starting to unravelling some of the story-knots that had been tied over the seasons. Each week I eagerly followed where each episode would take me. Despite the “answers” that were revealed, there was still a super-deep well of character and mystery that remained. This show has really become a class all its own (hence the many attempts to copy its success).

Supernatural

Other shows dabble with apocalypses, but no other show tackles the original, Biblical one, with angels and demons and all. But it’s not all the fire and brimstone that make this show fun to watch (let’s face it, the end times is no barrel of monkeys!) but the relationship between the two Winchester brothers, and the clever (often funny) nature of this show that makes it enjoyable to experience the end of the world.

Torchwood: Children of Earth

OMG, the five episodes of this mini-series were epic, thrilling, scary, tearful, and awesome (not necessarily in that order). No one has ever done an alien invasion story like this one. Even the chilling scenes of children speaking in unison were eerie and captivating at the same time. If you are not a sci-fi fan, you still have to watch this series.

Fringe

While the series has stayed close to the conspiracy-tinged themes of The X-Files, its sci-fi predecessor, where alien abductions and experimentation were the staple for that show, Fringe’s coming war between two alternate realities is really taking things up a notch. The weirdness only continues to bloom and I can’t wait to see how things play out.

Honourable mentions go to five more shows that I look forward to each week: Chuck (the little spy comedy that could); Dollhouse (which only got crazy-good after it was cancelled, shoot!); FlashForward (which may be stumbling over its concept, but I still really enjoy); Better Off Ted (hilarious and well-written corporate sitcom), and Castle (the funnest crime procedural on TV).

My Bottom 5 TV Shows

Heroes

Lo, how the mighty have fallen! There is not a single story line in this multi-arc series that I continue to care about. Also, they got rid of some of my favourite characters, neutered some others, and brought in some new ones that are just ridiculous (yes, I’m talking about the carnival freaks — what is the tattoo lady’s power anyway? human plot device?)

Stargate: Universe

The interwebs are aflutter with geek controversy over this show. Some say that it’s a new, grittier flavour of Stargate that requires an acquired taste. Others (myself included) just think it’s sadly boring and unpleasant to watch. I can’t believe I actually miss the hideous, life-sucking (and fun-sucking) Wraith!

Smallville

I know, I know, this season is supposedly good, but I just can’t bear to watch this show, which is way too long-in-the-tooth for my taste. Maybe it’s the Kryptonian DNA that makes Smallville impossible to kill.

Scrubs: Med School

I didn’t have high hopes for this money-grab continuation of the Scrubs series, but they could have at least made it funny. They are trying too hard to match the old formula and losing the humour in the process. After the neatly-tied season finale, they should have just tagged Scrubs as ”Do not resuscitate”.

Leverage

Season one was great fun, full of clever heists and scams, but then they went and retooled! No recasting or anything (and the change may appear subtle), but the show’s once light humour is now too broad. I liked the way the first season took itself seriously. Now it’s more like a cartoon and every time the characters get into disguises I feel like I’m watching an SNL sketch or something. Why’d they go and mess things up?

The Princess and the Frog – Movie Review

I might have felt slighted that Disney’s first 2D animated movie in a while was so derivative if it did not successfully remind me of the things I’d been missing from Disney animation for so long. Unlike the recent hit Enchanted, which up-ended the conventions of the Disney fairy tale movie and squeezed it into the shell of a romantic comedy, Princess and the Frog is pretty much your typical classic Disney tale, or rather, it’s a bit of a hodge-podge (or shall I say “gumbo” to suit this movie’s New Orleans locale) of stories past. To begin, main character Tiana is not a real princess, but poses as one (see also Cinderella or Aladdin). Despite her low station in life, she has dreams (see also Belle from Beauty and the Beast) of owning her own restaurant. Unfortunately, some magical evil-doings get in her way and she needs some help to break the spell (see also Little Mermaid). Along the way, she meets many talking creatures who help her out with a whole lot of gumption and a bunch of songs (see virtually any Disney animated movie). It’s all been done before (with the exceptional addition of the first Disney on-screen funeral that I can recall), but it works because not only has it been a long time coming (last 2D animated was Home on the Range, featuring Roseanne as the head cow trying to save their farm, for Jiminy’s sake!), it’s also a time-tested and crowd-pleasing formula.

On top of the warm-hearted story and cast of likeable characters (even a gap-toothed, backwater firefly will bring a tear to your eye, I promise), the animation is excellent. I see a bit more of the Japanese anime influence now (with some mighty big doe eyes), and also some bleed-over from the Warner Brothers camp: the frog prince looks like a dead ringer for Michigan J. Frog (the WB mascot) and there are some bayou yokels who should be huntin’ themselves a wascally wabbit to fricassee. The songs are pretty good (written by Disney/Pixar mainstay, Randy Newman) but they were not the most memorable — definitely nothing like the Menken/Shore masterpieces of Disney’s past. All in all, Princess and the Frog was a nice Disney movie and hopefully a full-fledged return to the 2D business. 4 out of 5

New Moon – Movie Review

It’s difficult to be disappointed with a movie that gives you exactly what you expect. Going into New Moon (the second in the highly successful book, now movie, franchise known as The Twilight Saga) it was not surprising that half the movie would be spent on looks between attractive teens prone to longing and melodrama. Not being a 13-year-old girl, I was not interested in how awkward duckling Bella Swan hit some rough patches in her romance with her immortal beloved, Edward Cullen (the vampire) and ended up finding warm-blooded solace in the arms of best friend and teen wolf Jacob Black. Unfortunately, also having already read the book, I had to mentally gloss over the boring romance stuff, waiting for the supernatural fang-y stuff (not to mention the completely ill-fitting trip to Italy). Maybe I’m just jaded, but I doubt that even tween girls heaved their chests over this rather bland portrayal of a supposedly star-cross’d romance (in case you don’t immediately pick it up, there are some heavy-handed mentions of that other classic teen couple to clue you in to the comparison). All in all, this movie shows obvious signs of being “that middle movie” in a series, where we’re just waiting for all the characters to hit their marks, propel the story, and get on with things.

If you’re familiar with the books or the movies, you know that there are some obviously ill-fitting elements to the story. In the first movie, the lame CGI effect of the vampires’ sparkling skin was probably the most-ridiculed. This time (while the sparkling is still there) the imaginary “ghost” of Edward, who appears to Bella whenever she puts herself into physical danger (like a dreamy superego) deserves the brunt of the fun-making. To be fair to director Chris Weitz, Edward’s spectre was conjured by author Stephanie Meyer, but it’s Weitz who’s responsible for his floating around and dissolving in a swirl of dust. The odd element that I do like is the idea that we get to travel to Italy and encounter all sorts of “civilized” vampires. As a fan of fantasy stories, I’ve always enjoyed the idea of a vampire society, with history, rules, and political hierarchy. In this case, Meyer created a kind of triumvirate of ancient vampires whose apparently singular purpose is to execute vampires who break the vampire law. Whatever. The cool part is that we get a little glimpse into another sub-world of stories that don’t involve teenage love triangles or adolescent angst. Alas, that’s not the movie we came to see, so it’s back to Forks, Washington we go.

As I mentioned, I don’t feel strongly enough about New Moon to hate it, or even really dislike it. Unfortunately, while it led the pack after the first movie, the Twilight Saga now seems to be trailing other popular vampire tales such as HBO’s True Blood and CW’s Vampire Diaries. It’s got the bigger budget and the larger following, but the scripting, acting, and everything else just don’t measure up. 3 out of 5

Sci-Fi TV – Fall 2009

While the fall tv season started strong, it was not really because of new science fiction shows. Several of the new series that fit that bill delayed their starts until October and November, so as an addendum to my Fall TV reviews, I want to talk about them here. Sadly I don’t have much good to say.

Stargate: Universe

There’s already been heated discussion on the internet regarding this third series in the Stargate franchise. The premise is that a mixed group of people become stranded on an ancient starship flying through space with no way of getting home to Earth. Producers of the show are pushing it as the gritty, dark, open-ended kind of more-”fi”-than-”sci” kind of show that fans of the other two Stargate series need to give a chance to before judging. Fans and viewers have been saying that they gave the show a chance, but it’s just too slow, and un-fun (among other qualities) for their liking. I definitely fell into the latter camp. I can see how they tried to fill the void left by Battlestar Galactica in the sci-fi realm (not to mention SyFy channel’s programming schedule), but SGU is no BSG. I found the episodes glacially slow and none of the characters were enjoyable (with the noted exception of David Blue’s whimsical Eli). Endless tension on a dimly-lit set are not my idea of great TV. Plus, each episode’s drama seemed to centre around a relatively mundane problem (something like low water or energy supplies, that would genuinely be of great concern to any crew trapped on an ancient spaceship, I’ll grant that, but still not really thrilling to watch). I’m going to stick with the show for a while longer because it seems to be picking up (the most recent episode actually featured a time loop — yay!), and because I need my fix of “people on a spaceship”, but like the Destiny crew’s resources, my patience is in short supply.

V

The latest 80s sci-fi reimagining has not only the legacy of its successful forebear to contend with but also the need to escape the black hole of failure that has drawn others in (R.I.P. Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). V was the most anticipated sci-fi show on my viewing plate this fall, but sadly it has not lived up. The simple premise of aliens coming to Earth disguising their nefarious plans (and lizard bodies) behind attractive, friendly human-like faces seemed easy enough to pull off. However, the new series seems to want to do too many things at once. Taking a cue from successful genre-crossing shows like Lost (and the new series Flash Forward), V seems more interested in creating some kind of ensemble drama of intersecting story arcs than a single coherent tale of insidious domination and human resistance. Can you believe that even after two episodes, the resistence has not really formed yet? (Well, technically it formed before the ships even arrived, but the main characters have not yet formed/joined the resistence yet.) I seem to recall that being central to the original series. On the other hand, the lizards’ true nature, their presence on Earth before their ships arrived, and their darker plans for humanity have already become well known. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Mitchell (once so great as the sexy-smart Juliet on Lost)is not in a constant state of frowning as an FBI agent trying to figure out who to trust and how to fight after her partner is revealed as a V (which brings me to another fan-boy complaint about how they should never have called the aliens “Vs”. They wanted to be friendly and known as the “visitors” why would they want to be called “Vs”? That’s just ridiculous!) Joel Gretsch is good at playing the sci-fi hero (remember him from The 4400?), but his character being a priest seems ill-suited and heavy-handed (we get it, some people would question faith in God if aliens arrived). Anyway, the plot seems very scattered and I don’t really find that I have anyone to root for among the humans. I actually would prefer if Anna (the always-luminous Morena Baccarin) as the alien leader, would just unleash her endgame already and get rid of so many of the human characters.

Sanctuary

In its premiere season last year, this show surprised me by starting out as just a creature of the week show that started to develop an elaborate and intriguing mythology and world behind it. Unfortunately after the finale and this season’s premiere, most of that has been destroyed and they are now back to being a bunch of creature-catchers. Even so, they could have done that well, but the show splits focus by trying to bring more attention to the human drama surrounding the main characters. Frankly, the characters are not that interesting and the additional emotional ups and downs just seem like soapy elements that don’t fit. This series needs to find its identity and really develop it. There’s potential for Sanctuary to be a unique classic if they can achieve that. (Plus, Amanda Tapping’s accent is still annoying.)

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

True, this was not on TV (straight to DVD instead) but I was salivating with anticipation for this addendum to the BSG series. It was going to be recounting events of the series from the Cylon point of view and I have always been a sucker for “the other side of the story”. Sadly, I guess I should have re-watched the entire series (which I plan to do) before watching The Plan, because it was incredibly hard to follow without recalling all the context of the time. Ostensibly we’re following the #1s (a.k.a. Cavill) as they secretly orchestrate the cleanup on humanity’s destruction. Without its own separate story arc, this movie was so disjointed that it really felt more like two hours worth of deleted scenes. There were many scenes of people talking and not much action or suspense. Sadly, I don’t even feel like very much of the Cylon’s true plans were revealed.

Other shows

Just a quick rundown on the rest of sci-fi and fantasy TV on my Tivo: Fringe – still good, but hasn’t paid off season one’s jaw-dropping finale yet; Supernatural – episodes are more fun and whimsical in this potentially final season, and haven’t coalesced around the ultimate apocalyptic showdown just yet; Heroes – stories and characters are worse than bad, I can barely stomach this once-top-ten show anymore; Smallville – despite the positive buzz this season is getting, I dropped this show from my list and I’m not picking it back up (Fool me once, etc. etc.); Vampire Diaries – dropped this one, but picked it up again after much buzz, I’m enjoying it a lot now that they have turned down the soap and turned up the supernatural; Medium – I still love this show very much, they keep coming up with fresh angles and the family drama is still wonderful; Flash Forward – pace is uneven, but I look forward to those morsels that advance the overall mystery, and the characters are alright; Dollhouse was great last season, but just seems really depressing and inconsistent this season, I hope the rest of the now-cancelled series will make its way to air; same goes for the equally cancelled Eastwick, which I was kind of enjoying as the reincarnation of Charmed.

So that’s where things stand with sci-fi. Not the most positive picture, but I’m glad that TV has not given up on sci-fi altogether. I’m looking forward to the return of Lost and also the new Doctor Who telemovie to give us all an additional boost.