ROTH VAN HALEN MOVES FORWARD WITH TOKYO DOME LIVE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ugzu-8vdy-0/VRs0dxaPeSI/AAAAAAAAnMw/cA4FbWajjiU/s1600/v1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ugzu-8vdy-0/VRs0dxaPeSI/AAAAAAAAnMw/cA4FbWajjiU/s200/v1.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Release: 3/31/15 Grade: A–</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Upon a progressively heated argument accidentally instigated by yours truly after comparing Sammy Hagar’s Van Halen songs to a beer commercial, the defender stated how much money those "commercials" made the band in their award winning second incarnation… while the David Lee Roth era, according to this same person, seemed written by a 6th grader… <br /> <br /> Well anyone that age who runs with the Devil and knows all about the little kids taking care of the music biz, taking whiskey home and pushing and shoving on the mean streets while dirty movies that you hear about later light up the sky where beautiful girls have drop dead legs, well hell, that's a kid to either hang out with or put in permanent detention… <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a0NSeevtdoo/VRs0oGuEJrI/AAAAAAAAnM4/f0NX-Wurnbs/s1600/v2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a0NSeevtdoo/VRs0oGuEJrI/AAAAAAAAnM4/f0NX-Wurnbs/s200/v2.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back of First LP</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> But whatever you feel about the old or new Van Halen, since 2007 the old became new again when groundbreaking guitarist Edward Van Halen, his drumming brother Alex and Ed’s son Wolfgang, replacing the bearded harmonizer Michael Anthony, brought Roth back into the fray – their 2013 album A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH took bits and pieces of former riffs written either before the first 1978 self titled LP or added themes to movie soundtrack instrumentals from THE WILD LIFE… And while not original in that respect, TRUTH is mighty fine… <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9mHuPnduBBk/VRs0xO42tsI/AAAAAAAAnNA/zkioGYxN8h8/s1600/v3.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9mHuPnduBBk/VRs0xO42tsI/AAAAAAAAnNA/zkioGYxN8h8/s200/v3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Album Cover</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> So now there’s the first live Van Halen with David Lee Roth on vocals, and already it’s getting bashed for his voice being not the same as before – reaching for the notes that were so easy and breezy way back when… Not like the lounge-laden Roth was ever incredibly ranged like Freddie Mercury to begin with; so there's not much to lose, really… <br /> <br /> He always has been more of a talker with words than a singer, and his gin-soaked poetry still flows neatly as Edward Van Halen thunders through the lightning… In fact the entire album, TOKYO DOME LIVE IN CONCERT, sounds more like a perfect gritty import than a rough version of a glossy, digitalized modern effort... <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lETXzOahCyg/VRs05tMS5FI/AAAAAAAAnNI/wSBAlEmwZ54/s1600/v4.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lETXzOahCyg/VRs05tMS5FI/AAAAAAAAnNI/wSBAlEmwZ54/s200/v4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fifth Album Cover</td></tr> </tbody></table> Ironically, Van Halen didn't write the best track herein – Roy Orbison’s PRETTY WOMAN is the tightest, proving that when Roth sings a structured tune he keeps the vocals in check…<br /> <br /> His downfall lies on the rambling stack of words he wrote in the first place; that much harder to take on now… Certain times his voice sounds like he's just beginning to lose breath before finishing a run-on sentence, and, rushing words out before doing so has become the new norm... His lyrics, though, still shine: An existential surge of party life and eccentric womanizing brings the listener straight into the mainline while Sammy’s more “deep and meaningful” insight feels more learned than actually experienced.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pn6MygWgPv0/VRs1B5SzS-I/AAAAAAAAnNQ/Vqo4P3WSI_0/s1600/v9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pn6MygWgPv0/VRs1B5SzS-I/AAAAAAAAnNQ/Vqo4P3WSI_0/s320/v9.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OVER THE EDGE Poster</td></tr> </tbody></table> Other TOKYO highlights include new tracks CHINA TOWN and TATTOO and classics like WOMEN IN LOVE, I’M THE ONE, HOT FOR TEACHER, ROMEO DELIGHT and especially the Roth acoustic guitar turned into Eddie’s electrifying electric in ICE CREAM MAN while JUMP squeaks by like the encore it was born to be; DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY lacks the glistening boogie of the original track; and on SOMEBODY GET ME A DOCTOR, Dave needs a throat lasagne more than ever. Eddie’s signature top hat ERUPTION is, alas, merely good but not great and sounds even better once his mesmerizing CATHEDRAL creeps in. And the album’s low-point is Alex’s drum solo, seeming like a Jamaican street musician who forgot to smoke a blunt... of the good stuff.<br /> <br /> So why did they record a live album in Tokyo instead of combining various shows from all over the globe? Well how else would Diamond Dave prove he knows so much Japanese otherwise? His Master of Ceremony power is in top form speaking a foreign tongue. And if you’re wondering what a music review’s doing on a movie website, well, while the pulsating Kink’s revision of YOU REALLY GOT ME (showing Eddie's bluesy side on the live album) pumped life into the classic 1979 teen angst melodrama OVER THE EDGE... as Vincent Spano made out with the new girl in town with a jealous cigarette-smoking Michael Kramer looking on while Matt Dillon drank beer in the midst of the suburban bash... it can and will be noted that the classic original VH is to cinema what EDGE was (and still is) to youth – blending an eternal surge of nostalgic glory that’s as alive, kicking, boisterous and timelessly bombastic as ever. For what the voice lacks, the soul still carries.

2015, david lee roth, edward van halen, music

ROTH VAN HALEN MOVES FORWARD WITH TOKYO DOME LIVE

Release: 3/31/15 Grade: A– Upon a progressively heated argument accidentally instigated by yours truly after comparing Sammy Hagar’s V...

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 109 PIMENTO

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-093f60DMNOA/VRrchm6HRJI/AAAAAAAAnMA/2jzlCGje9kg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-093f60DMNOA/VRrchm6HRJI/AAAAAAAAnMA/2jzlCGje9kg/s1600/1.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E9 Grade: A–</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Michael McKean is sort of a Working Icon. He never fell off the map, and always continued to find jobs after his airhead Lenny from LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY made him a star. And the moody rhythm guitarist David St. Hubbins from SPINAL TAP killed the stereotype of merely being Squiggy’s tall friend. But in BETTER CALL SAUL, his character… Jimmy McGill’s older, more responsible and legitimate lawyer brother Chuck… is a little too unique for his own good. Suffering a self-imposed allergy to electricity is downright vapid. He should have shaken that by now because it’s getting just too distracting to make him a worthy character... Like at the end of this one where he more than proves his worth as a dramatic actor...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nLEPHE6PBDg/VRrcl32aGpI/AAAAAAAAnMI/WgrQOZ3K6xQ/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nLEPHE6PBDg/VRrcl32aGpI/AAAAAAAAnMI/WgrQOZ3K6xQ/s1600/2.jpg" width="103" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MM's 2nd icon</td></tr> </tbody></table> Not that Chuck's problems hinder Mike and his… let’s call it a <i>skit</i> as most of the show's scenarios play out with a beginning, middle and end. Herein Mike and two other hired bodyguards display their individual worth, and it’s obvious to any BREAKING BAD fan who will come out on top. Leading to the birth of the unbreakable Mike we all know, love and equally fear – and thus bringing Michael Mando's drug cartel thug back into the mix, fulfilling his opening credit status he’s been mostly absent from throughout the first season, which is nearly at an end.<br /> <br /> Overall, PIMENTO, describing a particular cheese Mike has in his lunch bag, is not a bridge episode, which is leading to next week’s finale... The main purpose, along with Mike progressing into thug/bodyguard status, occurs during the pivotal “Et Tu Brute” moment between Jimmy and Chuck, thus establishing our hero's existence mirroring his brother’s embroidered logo on a jacket decades earlier… LONE WOLF.

2015, bob odenkirk, cable, jonathan banks, michael mckean

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 109 PIMENTO

E9 Grade: A– Michael McKean is sort of a Working Icon. He never fell off the map, and always continued to find jobs after his airhead ...

WALKING DEAD DIARIES: SEASON 5 FINALE CONQUER

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LEU9jxJI4I/VRjkkUL-iDI/AAAAAAAAnKQ/xdufOJfgubs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LEU9jxJI4I/VRjkkUL-iDI/AAAAAAAAnKQ/xdufOJfgubs/s1600/2.jpg" width="135" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: Conquer</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> “We need this place,” Michonne tells a recovering Rick. “We had to stop being out there.” <br /> <br /> Truer words have never been spoken. The show was hitting a wall when the gang didn’t have any to protect them. Wandering around in a zombie apocalypse is a good thing, usually, in other projects, but THE WALKING DEAD had proven that trend wrong. Redundant plots and corny dialogue was making Jack a very dull boy. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-exCOe2TaEdE/VRjkojC48YI/AAAAAAAAnKY/2TqZTOBVm3Y/s1600/3.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-exCOe2TaEdE/VRjkojC48YI/AAAAAAAAnKY/2TqZTOBVm3Y/s1600/3.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grade: D</td></tr> </tbody></table> Thank God for the suburban town of Alexandria, but last week Rick not only spoke too soon, he spoke way too much. And speaking of speaking… In the beginning of the series, Rick found out everything from a guy named Morgan Jones, who also shared to the audience that the world had gone to pot… And in the prologue, Mr. Exposition is back, unveiling the reason behind the forehead-W, and heading closer to the prime destination… Kind of like Bob Dylan catching up to the Beatles.<br /> <br /> As for the fear of someone important or beloved dying… nothing to worry about, folks. Only two extremely lame ducks buy the farm (a poor man's Hershel and Governor moment). And the turnout of CONQUER is anything but. Most of the episode cuts back and forth from a bland meeting, where an absent Rick might be banished from the town, to a few things: Daryl and Aaron holed up inside a car with a hundred surrounding walkers (think Dee Wallace and Danny Pintauro in CUJO); Father Gabriel having a hard time with the concept of self defense; a Glenn vs Nicolas QUIET MAN style fight in the great outdoors; and we're introduced to future villains, seeming like the bogus Hatfields to Daryl Dixon’s real McCoy.   <br /> <br /> Not that this finale lacked action, but it felt like 30-minutes stretched into 90. A Super Bowl game with two touchdowns – by the same team. 

2015, cable, walking dead, zombie

WALKING DEAD DIARIES: SEASON 5 FINALE CONQUER

Title: Conquer “We need this place,” Michonne tells a recovering Rick. “We had to stop being out there.” Truer words have never been...

SHOW GLOAT 3/15: SUPERMAN TO TERMINATOR CIRCA MONSTERPOLOOZA

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2pN5eg2vTsI/VRgmsWsX--I/AAAAAAAAnJI/EIPnjC3h5NQ/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2pN5eg2vTsI/VRgmsWsX--I/AAAAAAAAnJI/EIPnjC3h5NQ/s1600/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signed by all living cast except Gene Hackman, Terrence Stamp & Ned Beatty</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BskTXrgxJYA/VRgmsUy4vWI/AAAAAAAAnJE/lEPXVFsp34c/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BskTXrgxJYA/VRgmsUy4vWI/AAAAAAAAnJE/lEPXVFsp34c/s1600/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DEAD KIDS aka STRANGE BEHAVIOR signed by Marc McClure... Severen Blu Ray Combo</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hdmneFL7C9k/VRgmsey7J8I/AAAAAAAAnJ8/gYL6xXVKxf8/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hdmneFL7C9k/VRgmsey7J8I/AAAAAAAAnJ8/gYL6xXVKxf8/s1600/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now out of print DVD of THE FAN signed by title character Michael Biehn</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-naJRZPVbDnA/VRgmszhW82I/AAAAAAAAnJM/rvkogeFftVM/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-naJRZPVbDnA/VRgmszhW82I/AAAAAAAAnJM/rvkogeFftVM/s1600/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"On your feet, soldier!" TERMINATOR Blu Ray signed by Michael Biehn</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0yWeAC_zCeg/VRgmtL3qtLI/AAAAAAAAnJU/jnr3XfzAHFQ/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0yWeAC_zCeg/VRgmtL3qtLI/AAAAAAAAnJU/jnr3XfzAHFQ/s1600/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">God Bless Yaphet Kotto... Signed by The Man, who remembered our Interview years ago</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u__2LZYwSn8/VRgmteyKP7I/AAAAAAAAnJY/L4EP9aCYKVY/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u__2LZYwSn8/VRgmteyKP7I/AAAAAAAAnJY/L4EP9aCYKVY/s1600/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">92 IN THE SHADE obscure neo-noir lobby card signed by Margot Kidder</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FIP8NitU-rc/VRgmtzPGq6I/AAAAAAAAnJg/rjS2HWAiXPk/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FIP8NitU-rc/VRgmtzPGq6I/AAAAAAAAnJg/rjS2HWAiXPk/s1600/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first Criterion purchased by yours truly... SISTERS signed by Margot Kidder</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SUvJfU0emQg/VRgmuPsPMhI/AAAAAAAAnJk/5aOX6mcsJkk/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SUvJfU0emQg/VRgmuPsPMhI/AAAAAAAAnJk/5aOX6mcsJkk/s1600/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Master of Zombies, George A. Romero signed in gold</td></tr> </tbody></table>

2015, autographs

SHOW GLOAT 3/15: SUPERMAN TO TERMINATOR CIRCA MONSTERPOLOOZA

Signed by all living cast except Gene Hackman, Terrence Stamp & Ned Beatty DEAD KIDS aka STRANGE BEHAVIOR signed by Marc McClure.....

WILL FERRELL & KEVIN HART IN GET HARD

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivytI8KyLME/VRTjla3rb3I/AAAAAAAAnIk/mjiskt8cygI/s1600/get-hard.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivytI8KyLME/VRTjla3rb3I/AAAAAAAAnIk/mjiskt8cygI/s1600/get-hard.png" width="135" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> The second pseudo remake for Kevin Hart this year. THE WEDDING RINGER has an extremely similar plot to I LOVE YOU MAN and 2007’s BIG STAN had Rob Schneider hiring David Carradine to teach him to fight before being sent to prison. Also, it’s the second time Hart provides a nerdy white dude his personal service: in this case it’s Will Ferrell’s millionaire James King, who needs to GET HARD for an upcoming stint behind bars.  <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UyjGowOWfkU/VRTkFgFaWZI/AAAAAAAAnIs/znkGotHdW1k/s1600/big-stan.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UyjGowOWfkU/VRTkFgFaWZI/AAAAAAAAnIs/znkGotHdW1k/s1600/big-stan.jpg" width="162" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Original GET HARD</td></tr> </tbody></table> After a TRADING PLACES style juxtaposed opening credit sequence showing the haves and have-nots of society, we learn that King's even more exaggerated than how rich people are usually portrayed: shallow, greedy and extremely vapid. Which doesn’t mean Kevin Hart’s car-washing Darnell is a genius, or even halfway cool or streetwise. His wife can read him like a book and smack him like a bitch. So when the ruse begins, and King, after being sentenced to ten years for corporate fraud, hires Darnell to teach him the ropes of prison survival, the truly funny stuff is supposed to begin...<br /> <br /> Yet when the training ensues, HARD has already plunged into so many ponderous clichés and flat jokes… wasting Kevin's frantic motormouth delivery and Will's staple naïveté… the hopeful arc, of King going from wimp to badass, really doesn’t matter. Especially after the plot veers into an attempt to find the real culprits: both characters trying desperately to seal an envelope that had nothing inside to begin with.

2015, comedy, kevin hart, team-up, will ferrell

WILL FERRELL & KEVIN HART IN GET HARD

2015 rating: *1/2 The second pseudo remake for Kevin Hart this year. THE WEDDING RINGER has an extremely similar plot to I LOVE YOU M...

CHRISTOPHER REEVE IN SUPERMAN III

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nn1p3Hq0pKc/VJCNuL66t7I/AAAAAAAAllM/79oc_Ly3Vuo/s1600/8632685_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="70" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nn1p3Hq0pKc/VJCNuL66t7I/AAAAAAAAllM/79oc_Ly3Vuo/s1600/8632685_5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reeve Vs Reeve in SUPERMAN III</td></tr> </tbody></table> Even at the time, when Richard Pryor was at the height of his cinematic glory, it seemed strange the comedic actor – who had turned in a few good serious roles along the way – would be part of the SUPERMAN franchise...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GvdDsTRy5Mk/VJCPOslJ7nI/AAAAAAAAllY/lUYz2LLMpfI/s1600/Superman_III_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GvdDsTRy5Mk/VJCPOslJ7nI/AAAAAAAAllY/lUYz2LLMpfI/s1600/Superman_III_poster.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1983 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Before “Jump the Shark” was an iconic pop culture reference describing when a thing goes downhill, it seemed the Caped Crusader franchise had surely crossed the line... The main poster, with a flying Superman holding a befuddled Pryor, as a clumsy computer programmer named Gus, looked very odd indeed...<br /> <br /> And yet, despite a few extremely far fetched (and impossible) situations: like Gus going from jobless drifter to computer genius without any formal training… or when he falls from a skyscraper and lands on the street, more than fifty stories below, completely unharmed… SUPERMAN III is, like someone from OFFICE SPACE pointed out, quite underrated. <br /> <br /> After a rushed and pointless cameo, Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane is sent off somewhere, probably because the troubled actress wasn’t in the right condition to play the super hero's ingénue (she did co-star with Pryor in SOME KIND OF HERO the year earlier). That doesn’t matter because Annette O'Toole’s Lana Lang, who was Clark’s crush in high school, makes for a lovely love interest. A side-plot where Clark returns to Smallville for a class reunion holds the most involving scenes, giving Christopher Reeve ample opportunities to show Kent's sweet and clumsy side. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bo3P01PZLqI/Ub9ktW0MyvI/AAAAAAAAZIs/RiQzQJuFeW4/s1600/lana-lang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bo3P01PZLqI/Ub9ktW0MyvI/AAAAAAAAZIs/RiQzQJuFeW4/s1600/lana-lang.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O'Toole's Lana Lang</td></tr> </tbody></table> Popular high school jock turned afternoon boozer Brad, played by HAPPY DAYS first Chuck Cunningham, Gavan O'Herlihy, is a great addition to the cast...<br /> <br /> He's the person responsible for allowing Gus, who, after embezzling from a giant computer corporation using a half-cent scam and then turning into a useful idiot, is sent to Smallville to literally change the weather, allowing main baddie Robert Vaughn to try… that’s right… taking over the world. But in this case the villain's more of a capitalist gentleman than maniacal lunatic: Although he and Gus aren’t the antagonists who really matter… <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4BTWOpQNd2w/Uw_S1rSlizI/AAAAAAAAdQU/FrNHHj1Yy98/s1600/superman-3.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4BTWOpQNd2w/Uw_S1rSlizI/AAAAAAAAdQU/FrNHHj1Yy98/s1600/superman-3.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alternate Artwork</td></tr> </tbody></table> The first half plays out like the kind of comedy adventure director Richard Lester, finally getting the chance to complete an entire SUPERMAN film on his own (having taking over from a fired Richard Donner in part II), is suited for: The opening hijinx involving rogue penguin toys causing havoc in a busy street is as slapstick as you get, pushing the limit even for a comic adaptation.<br /> <br /> But the best scenes have Clark Kent, after touching a rock of partial Kryptonite, turning into a cunning, spiteful, boozing, manipulatively troublesome instigator (i.e. a human being) and eventually morphing into Superman's double.<br /> <br /> The junkyard battle between good Clark and bad Superman is quite a spectacle, allowing Christopher Reeve a chance to show his talents in double-time (and this is the first movie he actually headlines in the opening credits). And as Pryor’s Gus seeps into the background it’s all about the Man of Steel battling his own replica/demon – an initially silly film turning downright menacing before our very eyes.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5SbO2-fJQlw/Ub9YKw-vpiI/AAAAAAAAZHk/epDzZTuKJkE/s1600/superman3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" cya="true" height="332" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5SbO2-fJQlw/Ub9YKw-vpiI/AAAAAAAAZHk/epDzZTuKJkE/s640/superman3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Gimme a shot of whiskey, hold the kryptonite."</td></tr> </tbody></table>

annette o'toole, christopher reeve, eighties, franchise, gavan o'herlily, margot kidder, richard pryor, sequel, superhero

CHRISTOPHER REEVE IN SUPERMAN III

Reeve Vs Reeve in SUPERMAN III Even at the time, when Richard Pryor was at the height of his cinematic glory, it seemed strange the come...

A WEEK-OLD TV SERIES PILOT REVIEW OF iZOMBIE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zatAsDdcY_8/VREUgTb1W-I/AAAAAAAAnIA/Ql_JAx6dag0/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zatAsDdcY_8/VREUgTb1W-I/AAAAAAAAnIA/Ql_JAx6dag0/s1600/1.jpg" width="168" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: iZOMBIE</td></tr> </tbody></table> Rose McIver plays Liv Moore, with a name as ironic as ironical names get… She does Live More… After death, the ex-doctor, now a zombie, works in a morgue, feeding on brains after hours with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD playing on a loop; although WARM BODIES would really fit since the same concept of the brain giving insight into the former owner is the basis of the plotline... Only now, insights are clues and crimes are solved... Think of iZOMBIE as NIGHT OF THE WARM QUINCY.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b85w0GIVBAg/VREUvWIlrtI/AAAAAAAAnII/H_-DGjTdnIE/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b85w0GIVBAg/VREUvWIlrtI/AAAAAAAAnII/H_-DGjTdnIE/s1600/2.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year: 2015 Grade: B+</td></tr> </tbody></table> So it's not such an original concept in that particular regard... The rushed fashion they skip past the how, when and why felt a bit awkward… And Liv’s workmate, who figures her secret within the first fifteen minutes, is annoying… But when unlucky vice turned homicide detective Clive Babineaux and Liv partner up – he thinks she's a psychic, not a braineater – everything clicks. <br /> <br /> Rose McIver is extremely cute even with a powdery white face: a narcissistic Goth chick with an excuse. And in the cop role, Malcolm Goodwin is vulnerable enough to need a partner; tough enough to seem legit; and insecure enough as a cop that needs help at a job he’s mediocre at in the first place.  <br /> <br /> Constructed by expository squares liken to a comic book, befitting the graphic novel origin, and moving in a brisk, modern pace through narration, one particular standout visual has Liv peaking into her ex fiancé's house while he plays a video game with his new girlfriend involving, of all things, killing zombies: A creatively heartbreaking moment for our revived starlet, whose death is only the beginning of her problems… Let’s just hope the show keeps as fresh as the pilot, and doesn’t start rotting from within. So far so good. And while catered to youngsters, there's a old soul lurking beneath its millennial flesh. 

2015, cable, rose mciver

A WEEK-OLD TV SERIES PILOT REVIEW OF iZOMBIE

Title: iZOMBIE Rose McIver plays Liv Moore, with a name as ironic as ironical names get… She does Live More… After death, the ex-doctor,...

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 108 RICO

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hf0BvV2db_A/VREIS2eZvzI/AAAAAAAAnHc/GW5hNhif9AE/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hf0BvV2db_A/VREIS2eZvzI/AAAAAAAAnHc/GW5hNhif9AE/s1600/1.jpg" width="129" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Episode 108 RICO</td></tr> </tbody></table> Now we really get to see Jimmy McGill being a lawyer aka defender of the people, and, it seems, without any angles... <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BoYlDXCYkto/VREIfPCrvnI/AAAAAAAAnHk/EXYR3IeZYWc/s1600/better-call-saul-episode-108-main-chuck-mckean-jimmy-odenkirk-590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BoYlDXCYkto/VREIfPCrvnI/AAAAAAAAnHk/EXYR3IeZYWc/s1600/better-call-saul-episode-108-main-chuck-mckean-jimmy-odenkirk-590.jpg" width="114" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grade C+</td></tr> </tbody></table> But an important connection occurs as his older, once successful lawyer brother Chuck, still ill but getting slightly better, teams for a case against a franchised old folks home overcharging their residents, who are Jimmy’s Elder Law clients… <br /> <br /> Suspend disbelief as Jimmy starts piecing together piles of shredded documents… And yet it’s more realistic when Chuck actually pulls off the impossible jigsaw – being such an enigma, this extraordinary accomplishment seems more legitimate: Speaking of which, as Jimmy straightens out, Mike morphs into the crooked gun we knew in BREAKING BAD and, as a whole, like Sunday's WALKING DEAD, this BETTER CALL SAUL Episode 108: RICO is more of a bridge than a worthwhile crossing… Hinting at a possible cure for Chuck – but with such a vapid “disease” to begin with, who gives a flying...

2015, bob odenkirk, cable, michael mckean

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 108 RICO

Episode 108 RICO Now we really get to see Jimmy McGill being a lawyer aka defender of the people, and, it seems, without any angles... ...

WALKING DEAD DIARIES: EPISODE TRY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6R970HN3kJc/VQ-uQiv-1tI/AAAAAAAAnG0/Np1k6lYEu2k/s1600/Credit-Gene-PageAMC-Photo-Enid-in-The-Walking-Dead-Season-5-Episode-15-%E2%80%9CTry%E2%80%9D-460x307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6R970HN3kJc/VQ-uQiv-1tI/AAAAAAAAnG0/Np1k6lYEu2k/s1600/Credit-Gene-PageAMC-Photo-Enid-in-The-Walking-Dead-Season-5-Episode-15-%E2%80%9CTry%E2%80%9D-460x307.jpg" width="126" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TRY Grade: B–</td></tr> </tbody></table> The perfect woman’s husband Pete is a lot like Mr. Delbert Grady from THE SHINING. An extremely typical, oafish fellow until he showed his true self through piercing eyes and a demonic countenance, and he sure gave Rick one helluva fight. "I bet you thought it was gonna be easy?"  <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B8J1s2juGVY/VQ-udiU-v_I/AAAAAAAAnG8/k5eGSNxbBjo/s1600/804de263-062c-2c89-4904-8dc2e34134e3_twd_514_gp_1023_0055.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B8J1s2juGVY/VQ-udiU-v_I/AAAAAAAAnG8/k5eGSNxbBjo/s1600/804de263-062c-2c89-4904-8dc2e34134e3_twd_514_gp_1023_0055.jpg" width="144" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dull to Deadly</td></tr> </tbody></table> Kind of a disappointment, actually, this wife and child abuse storyline, taking away Rick’s moral ambiguity. Having a legit reason to kill Pete blunted a cool sinister edge Rick had going there. It was a good fight though, seemed real and intense, surpassing the mega zombie slaughter Michonne and Sasha (and the other woman who means nothing), playing out like a video game. But if TRY belonged to any one character in particular it’s Carl with his new gal. Two little love birds sitting… or rather, standing in a tree. Z-O-M-B-I-E… (This deliberately bad joke's premise was written before the TALKING DEAD host quipped it to Chandler Riggs). It’s nice the kid can finally grow up in a somewhat normal fashion with a "crush" that doesn't involve a squishy skull, and his acting has improved since the awkward stage, when he morphed from a spooked little tyke into a young Clint Eastwood; sorry but the badass dialogue just didn’t wash during that transition.<br /> <br /> The entire episode was decent, merely existing to bridge the season finale next week where Rick, of all people, may be banished from the town of Alexandria. Well in history, they fired Winston Churchill after the immanent threat was gone... And previously on this show, Carol survived her own time-out... So, we'll see...

2015, cable, walking dead, zombie

WALKING DEAD DIARIES: EPISODE TRY

TRY Grade: B– The perfect woman’s husband Pete is a lot like Mr. Delbert Grady from THE SHINING. An extremely typical, oafish fellow unt...

INSURGENT: THE DIVERGENT SERIES

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-INSsLDuhIao/VQ73UyfUofI/AAAAAAAAnGY/EVLRCJATvvk/s1600/Picture%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-INSsLDuhIao/VQ73UyfUofI/AAAAAAAAnGY/EVLRCJATvvk/s200/Picture%2B1.png" width="146" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MATRIX STYLE</td></tr> </tbody></table> REVIEWS OF ALL THE <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/03/DIV-SERIES.html">DIVERGENT FILMS HAVE MOVED HERE</a>

2015, franchise, miles teller, science-fiction, sequel, shailene woodley

INSURGENT: THE DIVERGENT SERIES

MATRIX STYLE REVIEWS OF ALL THE DIVERGENT FILMS HAVE MOVED HERE

SEAN PENN STARRING IN THE GUNMAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Btk7ZP1ihfw/VQu9jdqe3iI/AAAAAAAAnGA/eaThjSmisyQ/s1600/The-Gunman-Poster-Sean-Penn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Btk7ZP1ihfw/VQu9jdqe3iI/AAAAAAAAnGA/eaThjSmisyQ/s400/The-Gunman-Poster-Sean-Penn.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Seems odd Sean Penn would want to go high-octane mainstream on us. Or that the TAKEN director would gamble this particularly risky leading man in a weekend action thriller. But the opening credits may shed some light on the matter since Penn co-scripted (based on a novel) and produced THE GUNMAN… Could it be that Pierre Morel was Sean's personal choice to direct a familiar story about a resilient American professional, working overseas, turned straight and (most likely) hunted by the people he worked for? <br /> <br /> To fit within Penn’s personal niche, there’s a backdrop of politics having to do with aiding an impoverished nation; idealist by day, killing machine by night. And yet Penn’s Terrier (not his dog, that’s his name) is only half into the job. One quick scene shows the titular assassin taking out a prime figurehead in the Congo, where his otherwise vicious heart genuinely bleeds for the cause and, most important, he has a beautiful local girlfriend, which makes it harder to vanish after the job's done – leading to an attempt on his life followed by several action sequences highlighting our man’s ability to get out of any painted corner: Meanwhile, Steamy bedroom sequences exploit Penn’s muscular build, contrasting to a thoroughly aged, map-lined face with enough visible mileage for the gritty occupation to seem believable, and his former cohorts... lovably tough Ray Winstone aside... are so Capitalist-crooked and predictably double-crossing, it’s no wonder he wanted out in the first place. But the big problem is: we never venture far enough into that much-discussed sordid past for the desperation of the present time to mean anything.

2015, action, javier bardem, sean penn

SEAN PENN STARRING IN THE GUNMAN

year: 2015 rating: ** Seems odd Sean Penn would want to go high-octane mainstream on us. Or that the TAKEN director would gamble this pa...

DISNEY PRESENTS LILY JAMES & CATE BLANCHETT IN CINDERELLA

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4V3BrhiNfIM/VQgIkbn03KI/AAAAAAAAnFA/D5WSnoiq_uQ/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4V3BrhiNfIM/VQgIkbn03KI/AAAAAAAAnFA/D5WSnoiq_uQ/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" width="166" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year: 2015 Grade: B–</td></tr> </tbody></table> By the time one of Cinderella’s stepsisters comes up with her nickname… Ella combined with the cinder dust from the attic where she resides… our pretty little heroine hadn’t gone through the mill; she <i>never </i>really does. And this entire live-action adaptation of CINDERELLA plays it sweet and gentle for the famously abused title character.<br /> <br /> While not given MALEFICENT treatment wherein the antagonist is turned sympathetic, the wicked Stepmother, played by Cate Blanchett, doesn't completely sink her venomous teeth into the matter. A negative description of an actor or actress going overboard is referred to as “chewing the scenery." But in this case, the scenery needed chewing.  <br /> <br /> Bathed in an opulent period-piece glow with lush countrysides and dreamy visuals, director Kenneth Branagh sums up the handsome prince falling for a "commoner" within one quick scene: the opposites bonding on horseback. And while both leads, Lily James and Richard Badden, share a kindhearted chemistry, and the attraction is completely believable, there’s never very much to lose for anyone, at any time.<br /> <br /> A last-minute political deal struck between Stepmother and a conniving (tacked-on) middleman, aimed to see the Prince marry right, is ditched before Blanchett can play her cards. Meanwhile, the stepsisters are more bratty than vicious and formidable. Yet the family's interaction, including her real mom and dad, feels very genuine. In fact, during the superior first half, director Branagh establishes such earthy realism that the fantastical elements, like mice morphing into horses and a Fairy Godmother, don't fit like they should in a CINDERELLA adaptation.  

2015, cate blanchett, disney, fantasy, lily taylor

DISNEY PRESENTS LILY JAMES & CATE BLANCHETT IN CINDERELLA

Year: 2015 Grade: B– By the time one of Cinderella’s stepsisters comes up with her nickname… Ella combined with the cinder dust from the...

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 107 BINGO AKA TEAM KETTLEMAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d_vPcTKaOQU/VQfM55wWF5I/AAAAAAAAnEQ/-nWPTEy0L7E/s1600/saul1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d_vPcTKaOQU/VQfM55wWF5I/AAAAAAAAnEQ/-nWPTEy0L7E/s1600/saul1.PNG" width="193" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Episode 107: BINGO Grade: B</td></tr> </tbody></table> In Episode 10<u>7</u> titled BINGO, Jimmy McGill goes up against who is arguably his most complicated foe: The Kettlemans, an upper class suburban couple who provided the first ouch moment when that bigger better law firm stole 'em away…<br /> <br /> After which Jimmy nabbed the pair with a bag of loot in the woods... A piece of which got his own business rolling. So now, Team Kettleman has their collective back against the wall, and, meeting at the same diner, they need Jimmy's services the way he once needed their business: desperately.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bL6qS4f7YIQ/VQfNAsJRdLI/AAAAAAAAnEY/vAg2zvj7rVA/s1600/saul2.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bL6qS4f7YIQ/VQfNAsJRdLI/AAAAAAAAnEY/vAg2zvj7rVA/s1600/saul2.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie Ann Emery as Betsy</td></tr> </tbody></table> Accused of embezzlement, the sneaky duo represent the kind of plastic phonies Jimmy can’t stand. As characters, while bordering on caucasian-cliché, even compared to as "Ned and Maude Flanders", actress Julie Ann Emery, as the steely wife, Betsy, plays the role with a cunning, shady, sophisticated reserve...<br /> <br /> One quick glance can render the already-weak husband useless while her catty chatter gave a defensive Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler more purpose than she's had thus far, and provides Jimmy his biggest challenge, even more than the psychotic drug dealers that, in the first two ventures, seemed more like a contrived BREAKING BAD rehash than what holds the most potential for a sneaky lawyer's climb: the world of the rich and idyllically crooked.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AFrHRvL7t6A/VQgUHLs4-bI/AAAAAAAAnFQ/eelebqD5AvY/s1600/photo-187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="590" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AFrHRvL7t6A/VQgUHLs4-bI/AAAAAAAAnFQ/eelebqD5AvY/s1600/photo-187.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catch BETTER CALL SAUL on AMC 10pm Mondays... And Long Live The Kettlemans</td></tr> </tbody></table>

2015, bob odenkirk, cable, julie ann emery

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 107 BINGO AKA TEAM KETTLEMAN

Episode 107: BINGO Grade: B In Episode 10 7 titled BINGO, Jimmy McGill goes up against who is arguably his most complicated foe: The Ke...

WALKING DEAD DIARIES: SEASON FIVE EPISODE SPEND

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dyXsct293Wg/VQZsbMz6BEI/AAAAAAAAnDo/onx2TMYpUuA/s1600/the-walking-dead-514-02-530x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dyXsct293Wg/VQZsbMz6BEI/AAAAAAAAnDo/onx2TMYpUuA/s1600/the-walking-dead-514-02-530x350.jpg" width="169" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SPEND Grade: B</td></tr> </tbody></table> Noah’s arc, if you pardon the pun, wasn’t very involving. He helped Beth out of trouble but she bought the farm either way. After which, he didn’t have much input on THE WALKING DEAD. As happens, certain characters, especially when one or two are solely centered on, become mere wallpaper. And tonight, wallpaper got painted over… Including pretty boy PARTY OF FIVE, the gung ho son of Deanna – no loss there.  <br /> <br /> The zombies must have had a union meeting before this show. More screen time, more importance – and most of the episode deals with The Dead inside a dark warehouse: flashlights piercing darkness in a strategic location harboring important power grid adapters (or something) for the town of Alexandria.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1DovsEIbAGI/VQZuK0ULkaI/AAAAAAAAnD8/XXW__B9T0O8/s1600/safe_image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1DovsEIbAGI/VQZuK0ULkaI/AAAAAAAAnD8/XXW__B9T0O8/s1600/safe_image.jpg" /></a>It felt very much like an intense mid-section of a no-holds-barred cop show, or the climax of an action movie. Not much serialized melodrama except one conversation with Rick and… the husband of that really pretty girl Rick has his eyes on… that’s for next week. Oh and Carol had another talk with Cookie Boy, her bitch. And Abraham got a promotion as head of construction. Now <i>that </i>shoe fits. <br /> <br /> But tonight’s SPEND spent its time with frantic action: A gray-hued barrage of edgy pandemonium. Especially important is Eugene, the cowardly lion who once held a bogus answer to cure the “disease” in Washington D.C., where they're existing now. And did anyone<i> ever</i> trust Father Marvin Hagler in the first place? The whiny preacher previously holed-up in the rural church house is… well not exactly a traitor; but he doesn’t have nice things to say about our heroes... That they're basically, to quote the Bible... No, let's quote David Lee Roth... "Runnin' with the Devil." Then again, in a Zombie Apocalypse – perhaps that’s the only side left.

2015, cable, walking dead, zombie

WALKING DEAD DIARIES: SEASON FIVE EPISODE SPEND

SPEND Grade: B Noah’s arc, if you pardon the pun, wasn’t very involving. He helped Beth out of trouble but she bought the farm either wa...

LIAM NEESON & ED HARRIS IN RUN ALL NIGHT

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9ygeTNbDTaY/VQJ0NuiVfiI/AAAAAAAAnDU/oeEJajcgZZE/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9ygeTNbDTaY/VQJ0NuiVfiI/AAAAAAAAnDU/oeEJajcgZZE/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" width="237" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> There’s a beginning to THE GODFATHER… a very large wedding. Then there’s the point where the movie <i>really</i> starts…<br /> <br /> As soon as Marlon Brando’s Don Corleone refuses to bring drugs into the business, and his not very business-minded son questions the decision – the dam bursts. And in RUN ALL NIGHT, logical mob boss Shawn Maguire, played by Ed Harris, has his own reasons to… say no to drugs. The rejection puts his own instigating son in jeopardy… But not for long.<br /> <br /> The plot is simple enough. Shawn keeps around his old friend Jimmy Conlon, a hitman with more hang-ups than bullets. In this role, Liam Neeson takes down-and-out to the extreme. Which only means he'll be that much more resilient when the tables turn. This happens when Maguire’s son Danny, who couldn’t be a bigger jerk, kills the guys who were gonna kill him. And Conlon’s son, a limo driver for the deceased, happens to be in the same vicinity. Long story short, Harris wants to kill our ragged hero’s boy as revenge for his own kid's death. And at this point, Action-genre Neeson comes alive... sort of. <br /> <br /> Ironically, with such an energetic title, there’s hardly any pace at all. Despite the camera zooming in frantic beelines, taking us throughout New York City like a Heat-seeking missile, the suspenseful urgency on the ground is limited. Meanwhile, Mike, the son being protected, is so annoyingly reluctant to kick into gear that you’ll want to scream “Get over it already!” after the 100th time he gets his butt saved, and <i>still </i>complains about it. That’s an exaggeration, sure; but the perpetual mopey grudge against pop slows down an already weary vehicle. <b>OVERALL RANK: Jedi, Rebel, </b><u><b>Droid, Sith</b>. </u><br /> <br />

2015, ed harris, liam neeson, neo noir

LIAM NEESON & ED HARRIS IN RUN ALL NIGHT

2015 rating: ** There’s a beginning to THE GODFATHER… a very large wedding. Then there’s the point where the movie really starts… As ...

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: MIKE STEPS OUT IN EPISODE 106 FIVE-O

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ROwLCkI57MY/VP6L-UaEMQI/AAAAAAAAnCU/jZMCwsi2kCk/s1600/Better-Call-Saul-Five-O.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ROwLCkI57MY/VP6L-UaEMQI/AAAAAAAAnCU/jZMCwsi2kCk/s1600/Better-Call-Saul-Five-O.jpg" width="137" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FIVE-0 Grade: A–</td></tr> </tbody></table> No one’s allergic to electricity. There’s no time for that. Put away childish things. It’s Mike’s turn at bat…<br /> <br /> Jonathan Banks has played villains for an entire career, and since 2008 he’s been a "good guy" on two shows about crooked anti-heroes. And what’s ironic about the title of this BREAKING BAD spinoff, BETTER CALL SAUL, is that Saul... whose name was, and is, Jimmy McGill... would call Mike after Walter White called him...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gRfqXxtfYSs/VP_aixXobzI/AAAAAAAAnCw/T8iOHCqTjMo/s1600/600px-BevCopRemington4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gRfqXxtfYSs/VP_aixXobzI/AAAAAAAAnCw/T8iOHCqTjMo/s1600/600px-BevCopRemington4.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beverly Hills Cop, 1984</td></tr> </tbody></table> Because Mike is the bottom line, and this entire episode, FIVE-O, centers on his backstory – arriving into town before holding that catatonic job at the parking booth: getting off a train, bandaging a mysterious wound, and bonding with his daughter-in-law and granddaughter in a dilapidated Albuquerque backyard.<br /> <br /> Then we learn more about what we need to learn, as usual, and it’s an intentionally slow, Neo-Noir potboiler of a process: Including a crooked cabbie and a secret cash-only doctor. And, of course, a shifty lawyer. Surprisingly enough, Jimmy still holds onto a few remaining shards of honesty. And the nickle-plated payoff comes towards the end when we flashback even further. But what makes this a real keeper are all the expressions Jonathan Banks can morph into one cold-blooded stare that's still completely sympathetic. It’s an amazing thing and difficult to explain. Finally unchained from cameo guest-spots, let’s hope he’s more than just a random backup. Maybe his prequel story will continue. Now that's a "cop show" with real edge!

2015, bob odenkirk, cable, crime, jonathan banks

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: MIKE STEPS OUT IN EPISODE 106 FIVE-O

FIVE-0 Grade: A– No one’s allergic to electricity. There’s no time for that. Put away childish things. It’s Mike’s turn at bat… Jonath...

DEV PATEL AND HUGH JACKMAN IN CHAPPIE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IyEJCi5JbHI/VP08FZDkARI/AAAAAAAAnBA/oOJv6rFlH3Q/s1600/chappie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IyEJCi5JbHI/VP08FZDkARI/AAAAAAAAnBA/oOJv6rFlH3Q/s200/chappie.jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> A busy weekend for energetic actor Dev Patel… He trumps the elderly with far more screen time in the limp BEST EXOTIC HOTEL sequel, and kind of stars in CHAPPIE, a future-Earth Science-fiction tale about... does ROBOCOP ring a bell? That story involved a human police officer turned into a law enforcing robot, who eventually discovers he’s still a person deep down… Here the cops are already 'bots and one in particular, still in developmental stages and bearing the film’s corny title, is more skittish than an abused child.  <br /> <br /> The scientist/creator, Deon Wilson, played by Patel, works for an uptight boss who wants to cut costs – yet the biggest obstacle is a bullying alpha male, Vincent... Hugh Jackman in an “anyone could have played this part” role... who is, like one ROBOCOP corporate goon, in charge of a monstrous banned mechanism so similar to the ED-209, CHAPPIE could have easily been a second (and better) RC remake. Hell, it's even bookended with pseudo documentary newsreels providing glimpses into a dystopian society (but in South Africa). <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4uCDYqb0iPE/VP1C0ExUfhI/AAAAAAAAnBY/R8rFA-j7bMY/s1600/Chappie_poster%2B23-38-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4uCDYqb0iPE/VP1C0ExUfhI/AAAAAAAAnBY/R8rFA-j7bMY/s200/Chappie_poster%2B23-38-17.jpg" width="139" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster Artwork</td></tr> </tbody></table> Most of the film takes place in literal ruins where a small band of renegades... including a 1990's Cyberpunk and two bizarre gang-bangers... teach Chappie the ropes when his master’s not around. We’re skipping past much of the plot: sought-after by a MAD MAX style biker gang, the trio plan a lucrative heist while Chappie, turning from a cowardly machine into a shrugging thief, becomes something his creator doesn’t recognize: baby's now a teenager! Which means little since Patel eventually fades out, almost entirely.<br /> <br /> After a long two-hours, suffering though particular characters limited in depth and intelligence, the realization that CHAPPIE is more of a contained fable than a rip-roaring action flick could let some people down. Others might be relieved that there's something surprisingly original about a vehicle that's anything but. <b>OVERALL RANK: Jedi, Rebel, <u>Droid</u>, Sith. </b>

2015, dev patel, hugh jackman, science-fiction, sigourney weaver

DEV PATEL AND HUGH JACKMAN IN CHAPPIE

2015 rating: **1/2 A busy weekend for energetic actor Dev Patel… He trumps the elderly with far more screen time in the limp BEST EXOTIC...

WALKING DEAD DIARIES: SEASON FIVE EPISODE FORGET

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gzpkPqQK0Wo/VP1NlKVX_cI/AAAAAAAAnBo/-tuJOsI6Y4k/s1600/the-walking-dead-episode-513-sasha-martin-green-main-590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gzpkPqQK0Wo/VP1NlKVX_cI/AAAAAAAAnBo/-tuJOsI6Y4k/s1600/the-walking-dead-episode-513-sasha-martin-green-main-590.jpg" width="172" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FORGET Grade: B+</td></tr> </tbody></table> Last week's episode title was REMEMBER, now we FORGET… Next week, ME NOT?<br /> <br /> Well it’d be impossible to imagine an entire series centering on the oblivious Stepford suburbanites of Alexandria, playing video games, baking cookies and throwing polite parties while the dead munch flesh outside the sturdy walls…<br /> <br /> But if there were such a vehicle, you can imagine that these grungy strangers would definitely seem like potential villains, and then some: Sasha the most obvious – shocked beyond belief, she can’t and won't adhere to the mundane normalcy of this town, run by a woman using words like "Constable" and people stressing over how good their dinner tastes.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hZ7cMBbmp50/VP1Rh-CygQI/AAAAAAAAnCA/39eS57__WWo/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hZ7cMBbmp50/VP1Rh-CygQI/AAAAAAAAnCA/39eS57__WWo/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" width="70" /></a>But Rick has the real trick under his sleeve, and his heart’s right on it – has our King David met his Bathsheba? Or did Delilah cut Solomon's hair, with a reverse effect? Meanwhile, white trash Daryl, bonding with Aaron, seems grungier than ever. Felix found Oscar in the Zombie Apocalypse. It's too bad Aaron's character "must be good" simply because he's gay... more limitations to Political Correctness. There's still a cool shadiness to the guy. He's the White Rabbit to this so-called Wonderland, after all. But the most bizarre "potential romance" could be budding between Michonne and Abraham... Say what?!? <br /> <br /> THE WALKING DEAD has taken <i>another</i> good turn, despite soap operatic melodrama breezing into the zombie stampedes of yesteryear. Finally having a place to settle, we get a calculated glimpse into the folks we’ve struggled and suffered with for five seasons. All shaved and/or showered up, they’re getting even dirtier... especially Carol. And the real highlight is saved for the end... An obscure pop tune in the BREAKING BAD fashion playing while Rick gets a nefarious notion! It's no wonder the moral compass (Tyreese) had to buy the farm. Conscience? We don't need no stinking...

2015, cable, walking dead, zombie

WALKING DEAD DIARIES: SEASON FIVE EPISODE FORGET

FORGET Grade: B+ Last week's episode title was REMEMBER, now we FORGET… Next week, ME NOT? Well it’d be impossible to imagine an e...

THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t5ojBsgjXc0/VPv_89o8WzI/AAAAAAAAnAs/OFgoSt-B7og/s1600/the_second_best_exotic_marigold_hotel_638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t5ojBsgjXc0/VPv_89o8WzI/AAAAAAAAnAs/OFgoSt-B7og/s320/the_second_best_exotic_marigold_hotel_638.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: *</td></tr> </tbody></table> It made perfect sense that Dev Patel’s Sonny Kapoor was overly excited in THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL since he was hiding something: the entire premise of a plush residence for the elderly in India, actually a dilapidated dive, was all his ruse... The place wasn’t as nice as the ads, and, when a group of British old-timers showed up, it took an entire film for each to realize it was home sweet home. <br /> <br /> This time, Patel has more energy than a young Jerry Lewis on crystal meth… His overacting is so horrendous, you’ll want to center on those same old people who, sadly, have very little to do other than sightseeing locations previously covered. Maggie Smith's former racist grouch is lost within stressful preparations of a planned Bollywood style wedding between Sonny and his fiance, our former leading lady Judy Dench and her love interest Bill Nighy are stuck in the mud while the “and the rest” characters haven’t progressed either. Meanwhile, special guest star Richard Gere shows up under not-so-mysterious circumstances, wasted in a pointless courtship subplot and possibly having to do with the old hotel expanding into a new improved, legitimate building. In that, this more expensive sequel pales to an original story that was simply just-okay to begin with. <b>OVERALL RANK: Jedi, Rebel, Droid, <u>Sith</u>. </b>

2015, judi dench, sequel

THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

2015 rating: * It made perfect sense that Dev Patel’s Sonny Kapoor was overly excited in THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL since he was hid...

VINCE VAUGHN IN UNFINISHED BUSINESS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iEXOhUabmd0/VPlVyTFt3kI/AAAAAAAAm_o/YptnFWCJVQ8/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iEXOhUabmd0/VPlVyTFt3kI/AAAAAAAAm_o/YptnFWCJVQ8/s320/1.png" width="174" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> It’s Politically Incorrect to use the “R” word for… the mentally challenged. And it’s even worse, especially in a movie with a bullying subplot, to laugh at… those people. Which is the first of many problems with UNFINISHED BUSINESS since the unpredictable third banana wild card, played by Dave Franco, is beyond "touched." <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rksTiJNNBYU/VPlV2h528CI/AAAAAAAAm_w/4U51rGbm8xI/s1600/2.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rksTiJNNBYU/VPlV2h528CI/AAAAAAAAm_w/4U51rGbm8xI/s1600/2.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Token Doofus</td></tr> </tbody></table> Not sure when Tom Wilkinson aesthetically morphed into Jack Klugman. And lately, Vince Vaughn’s comedies have been lackluster. Although compared to DELIVERY MAN, this underdog globetrotter isn’t entirely horrendous: yet it constantly aims in that direction. <br /> <br /> The plot is both simple and complicated: Vaughn’s Dan Trunkman and Wilkinson’s Timothy McWinters are former employees of a successful company that… it really doesn’t matter what they did or are attempting: Something about having “good numbers” and basically, if an important deal fails – shuffling the boys from St. Louis to Portland, Oregon and then Berlin, Germany – the future isn't theirs.<br /> <br /> Other than one over-the-top scene at a gay nightclub bathroom, there are no real laughs, shocking or otherwise. Franco’s brain-dead Mike Pancake hardly utters a complete sentence. The wrongly cast/overly qualified Wilkinson seems lost while Vaughn acts like a passenger in his own vehicle, sleepwalking through the usual "cool talkative guy" routine. Meanwhile, bonding sequences with his wife and kids (mostly online) disrupt what could have been a wild overseas party – like the trailers (and poster) imply. But everyone's having a bum trip. Especially the audience. <b>OVERALL RANK: Jedi Rebel, <u>Droid, Sith</u>. </b>

2015, comedy, dave franco, road movie, tom wilkinson, vince vaughn

VINCE VAUGHN IN UNFINISHED BUSINESS

year: 2015 rating: ** It’s Politically Incorrect to use the “R” word for… the mentally challenged. And it’s even worse, especially in a ...

HOUSE OF CARDS BINGE NOTES: SEASON ONE CHAPTERS 2-3

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-89O8bZLHUIE/VPJ_C5JklnI/AAAAAAAAm3w/QgymXebzuTM/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-89O8bZLHUIE/VPJ_C5JklnI/AAAAAAAAm3w/QgymXebzuTM/s1600/1.jpg" width="177" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Spacey as Frank</td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>HOUSE OF CARDS binging continues, from the second episode following the pilot, these were all written watching and experiencing the show while catching up to Season 3...</i><br /> <br /> <b>CHAPTER 2:</b> Like DALLAS tycoon J.R. Ewing, Frank Underwood's a guy you love to hate… Only there’s little hating going on since no one else is very lovable in comparison… We’re talking Washington here so Frank is probably the most likeable of the lot… He turns and looks right at us, and says what’s going on… So his lies are honest and he’s serves his audience a promise to, for better or worse, deliver... <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WwUEqN0Yzog/VPJ_QYjwr7I/AAAAAAAAm4A/49Cag1ZC76Y/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WwUEqN0Yzog/VPJ_QYjwr7I/AAAAAAAAm4A/49Cag1ZC76Y/s1600/2.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hillary & Carville inspired?</td></tr> </tbody></table> And this fourth wall breaking has gone even further – he tells us an opinion about a rowing machine and a few other more mundane things, less important than the important political maneuvers during the first chapter… This time we journey deeper into the knockdown of his possible replacement for Secretary of State… Perhaps it’s a bit farfetched to think an education bill would get so much media scrutiny in the first place, especially manned by Democrats, but by digging up the past, Frank, using his blog medium Zoe Barnes, pounds his surreptitious rivals (as in, they don’t know he hates them) while the most vulnerable and flawed of the cast, Peter Stoll’s Rep. Peter Russo, snorts coke and smokes pot (rarely are both of these actions done at the same time... why medicate a catapult?)... Russo's getting loaded with a libertarian recluse (with a really hot stripper girlfriend) who… well that’s one of many things set up for further episode… We’ll only highlight what’s memorable...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eVUh0u5J4tk/VPJ_wxzSCsI/AAAAAAAAm4Y/T0WzwJzb5ws/s1600/rowrow.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eVUh0u5J4tk/VPJ_wxzSCsI/AAAAAAAAm4Y/T0WzwJzb5ws/s1600/rowrow.png" width="174" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rowing Underwood</td></tr> </tbody></table> And it’s a good chapter, sort of a slick version of the pilot, moving forward at a nice pace… And least we forget the secondary character, Frank’s wife Claire, played by Robin Wright, who, taking over a non-profit clean water association, proves equally cutthroat as her husband... And he does use that rowing machine he’d moaned about earlier – seeing Spacey shaping up is reminiscent of AMERICAN BEAUTY, only without Bob Dylan on the radio in a dusty garage. "Said the joker to the thief..."  <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--905kqYb9Sk/VPJ_J2DlEEI/AAAAAAAAm34/DhuymDP0DxE/s1600/ab1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--905kqYb9Sk/VPJ_J2DlEEI/AAAAAAAAm34/DhuymDP0DxE/s1600/ab1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shaping up in Beauty</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>CHAPTER 3:</b> The first episode not directed by David Fincher… Kevin Spacey’s GLENNGARY GLEN ROSS pilot James Foley takes the helm, and this chapter finally settles us into Congressman Frank Underwood’s menial job with the down and outs, progressing from the edgy pinpointed revenge theme of the pilot and continuous follow-up… <br /> <br /> Almost feels like the start of an actual series now, as happens when the initial kickstarting pilot/movie ends and a real story begins, an aftermath with legs... Because of an electric tower that resembles an X Rated Peach on the South Carolina highway... that Frank had signed into fruition (partial pun intended)... a young girl is killed while driving and texting, and we venture with Frank to his roots, where he represents but has far surpassed mentally… And that accent now fits the setting…<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ksixqEk8mlI/VPKAbdAvTcI/AAAAAAAAm4g/pmbSQn-6j24/s1600/Picture%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ksixqEk8mlI/VPKAbdAvTcI/AAAAAAAAm4g/pmbSQn-6j24/s1600/Picture%2B1.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate Mara in Fantastic 4</td></tr> </tbody></table> One very important scene shows the difference between a D.C. shark and a small town minnow when the latter, sitting on his porch and irate to the bone, doesn’t invite his enemy up for a drink… Frank points this out, and we learn a deeper lesson in the political beast: never show your real feelings and always be kind... Friends close, enemies closer kind of thing… <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uC09g6wo7iE/VPKAh5fzLkI/AAAAAAAAm4o/ODhCUBghbR4/s1600/fur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uC09g6wo7iE/VPKAh5fzLkI/AAAAAAAAm4o/ODhCUBghbR4/s1600/fur.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sexy Kate Mara</td></tr> </tbody></table> Meanwhile, the fourth-wall breaking hits a new high – or low depending on your perspective as Frank turns to the audience during a Sunday morning church vigil, telling us about his father, who he cared little for… No surprise there… And the show’s young hot sexpot Zoe (starring in the upcoming FANTASTIC FOUR reboot) seems to have sights above and beyond her newspaper for a newscaster job at cable news… And things are subliminally heating up between her and her mentor… Nice soapy element… After all, all these addictive high-end cable serials have their roots planted in the nighttime soaps of yesteryear, only now we can watch ‘em whenever and wherever… Long live technology… No more waiting a week and being tortured with commercial breaks. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M9SYc9VGk_A/VPKCiLXJxtI/AAAAAAAAm48/SoS-olejvvc/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M9SYc9VGk_A/VPKCiLXJxtI/AAAAAAAAm48/SoS-olejvvc/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" width="70" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RIP</td></tr> </tbody></table> Now a word or two about THE WALKING DEAD and how it’s been the last season… (NOTE: The following was written before the positive post about the episode <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2015/03/wdead-remember.html">REMEMBER).</a> Seems to be stuck in a sort of malaise, which isn’t entirely a bad thing… In this zombie apocalypse future there would be a lot of meantime… Wandering around searching for life, in a sort of investigatory element, is always welcome, and sometimes surpasses high drama and battles and such… Only we’re getting our feet stuck in the sand…<br /> <br /> A beloved character, Tyreese, died last episode, the second of the fifth half-season and while surprising and bittersweet, and pretty shocking, must an entire episode dwell on an important character buying the farm? Just a thought, and more on THE WALKING DEAD as it goes... And perhaps we’ll venture back to the beginning, during those first two seasons when, like the entire BREAKING BAD run, it seemed like a really long epic film with a beginning, middle and end… Lately it feels like a story that doesn’t quite know how to end in order to continue further… Or something... But for that you can venture into the CABLE page by clicking here. More <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/p/cable.html">HOUSE OF CARDS</a> binge notes coming soon...

2013, cable, kevin spacey, robin wright

HOUSE OF CARDS BINGE NOTES: SEASON ONE CHAPTERS 2-3

Kevin Spacey as Frank HOUSE OF CARDS binging continues, from the second episode following the pilot, these were all written watching and...