In Whit Stilman’s Barcelona (a movie I love, but can’t quite call ‘great’), Chris Eigeman’s character wonders about sub-text. To paraphrase - Everyone’s always talking about the sub-text, he says, but what’s the stuff that’s not the sub-text? The text, comes the quick reply. I faced a similar sort of dilemma at the end of M. Night Shyamalan’s effort The Village. Where, I … [Read more...]
You may have missed Howie Mandel's new show Howie Do It so far, but now that NBC has given the go ahead to several more episodes, you might as well check it out. Howie Do It is neck-and-neck with Game Show In Your Head in terms of entertainment value (and not in a really good way), but at least Howie Do It has Howie. Both shows are a little bland, and somehow don't seem to quite … [Read more...]
Welcome to ScreenTime! ScreenTime is my attempt to connect fans with a variety of celebrities from every corner of the screening world. There won't be any questions about upcoming projects, because the aim is just to figure out who these people are... and what they screen. ScreenTime is brought to you by MuzeClothing, makers of the coolest movie-related apparel in the … [Read more...]
There is a lot of really bizarre S & M in the Secretary, and moreover there is nudity and general freakiness. You’d be hard-pressed (I hope) to watch this movie with your mother in the room. I’m telling you that at the beginning so that those who feel it necessary can leave the room now. Let’s face it, I don’t care what your schedule says, you might be in the wrong room, and there’s … [Read more...]
The Retributioners is a webshow brought to you by Stephanie Faith Scott and Eric Rasmussen. It follows Stephanie on her quest to contact several people who did her wrong in the past, and... well, it isn't generally clear what she plans do on these escapades. Give them what for, apparently. From ex-BFFs, to those who shoved her down in grade school and stole her imaginary unicorn, Stephanie … [Read more...]
Rhona Mitra is one of the stars of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, but only in the sense that three characters dominate the movie's run, and she happens to be one of them. Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy steal the movie, and it is one of the most shocking things I've seen in quite some time. Rise of the Lycans takes place several hundred years before the events of the first two films, … [Read more...]
Lost is a show that had me for a good stretch, but somewhere during the second season it became pretty clear that things had gone down a sophomore album road. You don't need six seasons worth of scripts to pitch a show, or get it aired, but when it suddenly turns popular you have to start whipping things out quick. Eventually, things turned around somewhat for the show, and one way or another … [Read more...]
Even with John Cusack, who has a special place in my heart, Being John Malkovich does nothing for me at all. The best response to the film I can manage is to roll my eyes, and I find no redeeming qualities in it at all, apart (maybe) from a few bits of dialogue. Nevertheless, I do find myself in the curious position of being glad that a lot of people found something in it. Charlie Kaufman’s … [Read more...]
Food Network's reality competition Next Food Network Star (or whatever it's called) has proven to be the single most useless reality competition show in history. The first season kicked things off fairly well for such a show, and the second season got us something of a star for the network in Guy Fieri... except that he doesn't cook in his shows. The third season got us a guy who faked his … [Read more...]
Lie to Me stars Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, one of the world's premiere experts on detecting lies. He runs his own company, and gives lectures to police forces, special agents, and a wide variety of other institutions. Of course, he also gets called in on the odd case, because that's where we get our show. Something of a mix between House and The Mentalist, Lie to Me is part … [Read more...]
It's not that we get lost in translation, it's that 'we' get lost in translation. There’s a problem with life and relationships, and basically it is that they are in a certain sense opposed to each other. Life is in some sense (and some may even find it to be the goal of life) about moving from particulars to the general. That’s pretty much what we do in life, and (even if it isn’t … [Read more...]
Joaquin Phoenix is straight up rappin' Yo! There's been a lot of talk since he announced he was quitting that whack acting gig a couple of months ago, for a music career. Recently we found out that his homeboy cuz DJ Jazzy Affleck was going to film a documentary about Phoenix' move through the ranks of the music biz. Now, PopEater turns out a video of Snazzidy WhaPP Enix working his … [Read more...]
It's been a long time since I was so torn over a series premiere. United States of Tara stars Toni Collette and John Corbett, and features multiple personality disorder. I should probably mention Diablo Cody as part of the cast, because a writer has never been so prominently displayed in a show's hype. I'm torn because the show plays out rather horribly actually, but I'm still … [Read more...]
Somewhere in the back of our minds, we've all known that Twitter is in trouble. I don't mean because every once in a while someone wonders aloud how the thing is going to make anyone any money. That's somewhere in the front of our minds. The recent spin on buying friends for $1 pops the question up again, and we look at, and we talk about money often enough. No, I mean that thing we … [Read more...]
The first two shows are behind us, and American Idol's new judge seems to have already solidified her role. Kara DioGuardi, according to her bio on the American Idol website, has written more songs than God and is just absolutely shiny!!! The idea that American Idol was adding a new judge led to much chatter among fans of the show as people tried to get a feel for what a new judge would mean. … [Read more...]
The main problem with The Last Samurai is not that the plot is almost exactly the same as both Dances with Wolves and Shogun, but that it assumes you’ve seen both those movies, and can’t seem to decide whether or not it thinks you want to see them again. If you’ve seen both the full ten hours of Shogun, and the version where the mini-series is reduced to approximately the length of a … [Read more...]
