Surrogates is a decent enough sci-fi/action vehicle, except insofar as it doesn't have the level of internal sensibility necessary to realize that "action" shouldn't be something you're forced to mention. Based on a graphic novel, Surrogates is a story that takes place several years in the future (but not as many as you might think), and a revolution in technological advancement has made it … [Read more...]
Hitting shelves tomorrow, The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary DVD Editions are amazing treatments for the classic film. Newly remastered and filled with bonuses, the DVD releases are absolute must-owns. The Blu-Ray release is obviously the clear winner here, but this is a great example of not skimping for those who haven't made that upgrade yet. The 2-disc edition gives you a treasure trove of … [Read more...]
When I first took a look at Castle, I was a bit nervous about the delivery, and the back-and-forth sort of angle the writing seemed to be using. The pilot's inclusion of a scene with famous novelists sitting around with the show's main character left a bad taste in my mouth, and Nathan Fillion's main character looked as though we were possibly going overboard with the smarmy charm. After a few … [Read more...]
Kelsey Grammer's next effort at sitcom, Hank, premieres Wednesday, September 30th at 8:00 pm, and the short version of that story is that the show is a lot more Back to You than Frasier... this assumes Frasier is a positive option for you. This story of the show is that Hank Pryor (Grammer) has just been ousted from his own giant retail sports company, and now he and his family are moving … [Read more...]
A real classic from Saturday mornings has returned with the release of Dungeons & Dragons on DVD. The 3-disc set unfortunately has no special features, but this is a case where it really is enough to get the complete series worth of shows. There's a special, decidedly unique, charm to this mid-80's attempt to spin Dungeons & Dragons into something that worked for younger audiences, and as … [Read more...]
Fans of Gordon Ramsay are certainly familiar with Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, but The F Word hasn't gotten a lot of attention in the U.S., despite airing on BBCAmerica. While I have a special fondness for Kitchen Nightmares, The F Word is probably the next most entertaining of Ramsay's shows. It's a very different sort of ballgame in the F Word restaurant, and there's a lot less … [Read more...]
Despite having only four episodes under its belt, Glee has been acquiring fanatical devotion for several months. The move to air the pilot months before audiences would get anything more has proven a good idea in this instance, despite how it may have made many scratch their heads. The fun and surprisingly enticing play on High School caricature run wild has so far served up a brilliant mix of … [Read more...]
The world of webshows got itself a new addition about a week ago, and the In Gayle We Trust is one of the very rare efforts that you hope will get a lot of attention so that expansion becomes a real possibility. Gayle is an insurance agent, and the series revolves around quick glimpses into her life at work and at home. The show takes solid advantage of the bite-sized format that is web … [Read more...]
This week is flying like mad with things to let you know about, and there may be a special weekend edition of ScreenIt? this week, so I'm doubly inspired to get this out to you early. There may be a weekend edition this week, because next week there won't be a ScreenIt? at all. Why? I'm glad you asked. I'll be having a tricky go of it next week in terms of getting things out that I probably … [Read more...]
Where the Wild Things Are is on the way, hitting theaters October 16th, and the soundtrack is showing up on shelves September 29th. I've got a great pack of prizes to get you in the mood for the film, and this is going to be my first Twitter giveaway. All you have to do is tweet this message - @areyouscreening Where the Wild Things Are - I hope I win! That's it. You can tweet it once per day … [Read more...]
You may have had your fill of my talking about Being Erica already, but the second season kicks off tonight on CBC, and having had a chance to watch there second season premiere, there's no way I could keep from throwing out my impressions. You may know that we left off season one in fairly tricky circumstances, and Dr. Tom and Erica's entire relationship was up in the air. Season two opens … [Read more...]
Back when The Mentalist first aired, I called it, "The best new show on TV... by a mile," and it went on to solidify its status as one of the most worthwhile, entertaining shows in years. That it performed solidly in the ratings is actually less a testament to the quality of the show than it is a somewhat curious surprise with regard to the viewing public. The show is a tremendously fun and … [Read more...]
Premiering Thursday, September 24th at 8:00 est, FlashForward is one of ABC's big push shows. Joseph Fiennes stars as main focus FBI agent Mark Benford in a story about a uniquely bizarre event. At exactly the same time, and for exactly the same 2 minute 17 second duration, every person on the planet blacks out. Once the world starts regaining its composure from the catastrophic results, it turns … [Read more...]
Another film with a ton of potential by Richard Curtis, Pirate Radio (aka The Boat That Rocked) is hitting theaters November 13th, and I wanted to just quickly share the rundown and trailer. While films like Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral only rank above-average to me, they are classics to many, and with good reason. More importantly (to me) Curtis wrote quite a bit of brilliant … [Read more...]
There's something missing from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs that would push it over the edge into the realm of something that immediately enters the realm of films that will be watched over and over. Some magic isn't quite there, and it stands out as some kind of flaw by virtue of being so close to that must-own category. Oddly, the most noteworthy aspects of Cloudy with a Chance of … [Read more...]
You may have caught my preview review for ABC's new family-centered sitcom Modern Family about a month ago, and I've got a few clips and images to share to get you a fuller idea of what's going on with the show. But, if you missed it, check out the earlier review here. There's something about this show, and its effort to tear down the norms of family and family sitcom at the same time that … [Read more...]
