For hundreds of years a creature of legend has roamed the woods known as The Jersey Devil. Ok, I never heard of it before either, so it's apparently no Loch Ness Monster, but I have it on pretty solid authority that there is such a legend. Throwing caution to the wind, and the general theory of the show to one side, Paranormal State lead Ryan Buell is going after the beast. For reasons I'm … [Read more...]
I have to confess that while I know my comic heroes fairly well, The Hulk is not one that I'm very familiar with. I was rather surprised when Planet Hulk kicked off its adventure with The Hulk on a spaceship bound for a remote planet, having been (apparently) exiled by Iron Man and others. From there, I obviously had to let myself go, and let things play out as they would, being that I was … [Read more...]
It seems the gloves have come off recently, and everybody and their brother is climbing on their high horse about the level of stupidity on television. I'm not sure why there seems to be this sudden upsurge of feeling superior to those who tune in to such things as Jersey Shore, which seems to be a major culprit in the upturn, but it's gotten to the point that it bears examination. As though … [Read more...]
It's getting to the point where it becomes difficult for television critics to partake of one of their favorite endeavors - championing the lesser-knowns. Unless it's on cable, if you don't already know about it, it's probably gone anyway. About the closest we get these days comes by way of cases like Gary Unmarried. Already in its second season, the show is doing pretty well, but it hasn't quite … [Read more...]
Sometimes you find yourself just asking, "Why?" A good percentage of the time the answer turns out to be that a goodly portion of those people who actually buy tickets are going to go see something. It's Friday night. You don't want to go see the love story, but you're not particularly in the mood for comedy, and whatever actiony thing is at the theater is what you're going to pick. Some movies … [Read more...]
It's been a very weird couple of weeks, and most everything I've had in mind to throw together in a ScreenIt? has been covered to death. Once everyone mentions something, I lose interest in sharing it. I'm not sure if it's just because we're still in awards season, or if The Olympics and Super Bowl have something to do with it as well, but even the fun and quirky bits are being jumped on … [Read more...]
The Super Bowl ads are hitting the internet in waves, and here's another one. A groundhog day spin for truTV's new show NFL Full Contact. truTV, which scored its best ratings year ever in 2009, will be part of the ad lineup for CBS’s broadcast of the Super Bowl. truTV’s first Super Bowl ad will feature one of the NFL’s most popular players, Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh … [Read more...]
A television staple for nine years, The Waltons won 13 Emmy Awards during its run. Now, to add to your collection, you can own six feature-length films that came from the series in one DVD set. While the show had its moments, and certainly kept viewers tuning in, the movies really stand out as quality productions with a serious eye toward delivering the best components of the show's efforts. … [Read more...]
Here's something really great for you to look forward to, and if you are going to be in New York Feb26-Mar21 I really suggest having a look at everything going on here. The critically acclaimed New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF) kicks off its 13th season Feb 26-March 21, 2010 at six New York locations, with ground-breaking, fun-filled and thought-provoking new works and special … [Read more...]
Two off-kilter comedies return to Comedy Central tonight, and they both kick off their new seasons with a lot of laughs. Important Things with Demetri Martin opens season two with a look at "Attention," and the oddly calm comic expands his efforts hilariously. The show really hasn't gotten enough attention (Ha!) and I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't caught it yet. It's a mix of … [Read more...]
SXSW has released their feature lineup, and it looks like a great year for the festival. If you're going to be there, let me know. The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the complete features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 12 – 20, 2010 in Austin, Texas. Over the course of nine days, 119 features will screen at the festival, with 55 of … [Read more...]
It's difficult to find a synopsis or discussion of Emma which doesn't include the word naive, and with rather good reason of course. Yet, while there are several fine screen adaptations of the work, they all suffer from a certain lack of delivery in this area. If you think about it, there aren't many things that are more difficult in the world of acting. There is something oxymoronic simply in … [Read more...]
The BBC series Robin Hood started with a bang. The introduction to the story was solidly put together, the characters were infinitely likable, and the general feel of syndicated adventure was delivered with more style than most were accustomed to from such an effort. Jonas Armstrong's Robin was just about everything you could hope for in the suave bandit, and as time went on, Richard Armitage's … [Read more...]
Period drama soars to new heights in the Emmy-winning mini-series Cranford. Based on three novels by Elizabeth Gaskell, and presented by an amazing cast, the BBC series is an absolute must own. Oscar©-winner Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal, Casino Royale) heads a stellar cast including Michael Gambon (Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films), Eileen Atkins (Cold Mountain, Gosford Park), Imelda … [Read more...]
There's something a bit hard to watch about jetliners flying upside-down and fight sequences that go on past fifteen seconds, but there's something a little different about FOX's new show Human Target that makes it easy to overlook some of the more common irritants of wild, action television. If you're unfamiliar, the show, based on the DC comic and graphic novel, stars Mark Valley as Christopher … [Read more...]
You may be well aware of my fondness for Gordon Ramsay. I've talked up his shows several times in the past, and while there are certainly a lot of people out there who write him off for all his screaming, you just have to like Kitchen Nightmares. Whatever else you might say about (I'll probably disagree), this show is reality television at its best. Love him or hate him, if the show does nothing … [Read more...]
