Last week, we started Season Three of Game of Thrones. Look for the recap coming up soon, because I missed placed my notes. Anyway, grab your wolf-pup and head on over. [Read more…] about Game of Thrones Recap: Everyone Hates the Cavepeople
TELEVISION
Hannibal is Delectable, to Die For
Hannibal: Thursdays 10p.m. NBC
In a year where killers are in mid-season vogue (Cult, The Following, Bates Motel), it would only make sense that one network would take on one of the silver screen’s most genial killers of all time: Hannibal Lecter. This has potential to be a huge risk, however, as Anthony Hopkins’ turn as Lecter in Silence of the Lambs remains one of the most iconic performances in cinema history. Add in the fact that NBC’s last 10pm Thursday offering remains one of the most abysmal offerings of a show this season (Do Not Harm) and we suddenly see one of the most high-risk, high-reward scenarios in a time slot that has held some very lauded offerings (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, ER).
Hannibal follows a much younger Lecter than we are used to as the show takes us back to the origins of Lecter as a killer. When criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) consults Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) in order to track down a criminal whose head he can’t get into, it looks like the beginning of a beautiful partnership. They are surrounded by a veteran cast including Lawrence Fishburne as Dr. Jack Crawford, whom doesn’t always agree with Graham’s methods.
The premiere has Crawford going to Graham to chase down a serial killer whom murdered eight girls in the Minnesota area. When they struggle with the forensic details and Graham cannot get into this killer’s head (despite his pure empathy), Crawford recruits Lecter in order to get in the head of a cannibal (any guesses who this cannibal might be?). However, Graham views Lecter with suspicion due to the issues between himself and Crawford, while Lecter uses subterfuge to try and break Graham.
The first thing I noticed, and I think many people will notice, is how visually impressive the show looks. It has the best set of blood effects I’ve seen on a show this ilk, and the cinematography of both Will’s murder replays and his dream sequences never fail to impress. The show has a very cinematic feel to it in general, especially in terms of the camera work even in it’s more subtle instances, such as the dark silhouette-like introduction to our titular character.
In addition to the visual beauty of the show, the show is well acted. Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham perfectly displays the sort of anti-social (and tortured) personality that they have written for him without being excessively hammy. Mikkelsen’s Hannibal is friendly, a touch stern, and far enough removed from Hopkins’ portrayal that over time I could see one becoming comfortable with it as an alternative approach to the character, while portraying Lecter’s love of mind games and foreshadowing the monster to come. For me however, the biggest surprise was watching Scott Thompson (of Kids in the Hall fame) playing an understated and astute forensic pathologist.
The writing also feels tight in a number of ways. First and foremost, it was not afraid to take its’ time bringing Hannibal into the party, instead focusing the first half hour on Will Hughes, whom in and of himself is a gripping protagonist. Similarly, I appreciated that the writing showed small flashes of the cannibalistic killer we all know and love, including the standard issue Hannibal lectures, the emphasis on politeness, and the overall mastermind aspect we’ve come to expect from the character. The ending felt a little rushed to compensate for taking the time, but considering the way the episode resolved itself (I try to avoid spoilers wherever possible), it makes perfect sense in hindsight.
The Final Verdict: Hannibal just clicks. The show is visually vibrant, its’ characters are incredibly deep, and the show is not afraid to put spanners in the works to keep its’ characters from succeeding (for me one of the worst things about the forensic drama genre is when it becomes incredibly obvious that the criminal will always end up in cuffs at 55 past the hour). The show seems compelling as Hannibal will continue to find new ways to break Will, Will tries to shrug off Hannibal, and Crawford will be completely confused by both of them. My recommendation? Watch it.
How to Live with Mediocrity: ABC’s Latest Show Fails to Bring The Funny
How to Live With Your Parents (For The Rest of Your Life): Wednesdays 9:30pm, ABC
When it comes to television, even broadcast television, networks tend to have their own historical strengths and weaknesses. Fox, for example, built their network on The Simpsons, but also has a fairly rich tradition of animated comedy over the past decade. NBC had its’ Thursday Night comedy juggernaut throughout the 80’s and 90’s. CBS rules the roost with its’ alphabet soup of forensic shows and mediocre-to-bad Chuck Lorre comedies.
As for ABC, when I think of them, the first thing that pops into my mind is their domestic/family comedies going back to eighties, be it Growing Pains, Full House, Home Improvement, Roseanne, Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, Modern Family, or as the network that inexplicably gave According to Jim eight seasons. From this long line of dom-coms comes ABC’s newest show: How to Live with Your Parents (For The Rest of Your Life).
How to Live is about uptight divorcee Polly (Sarah Chalke) whom due to the economy is forced to move back in with her laid back parents Max and Elaine (Brad Garrett and Elizabeth Perkins). Things are further complicated however, as her ex-husband Julian (Jon Dore) hangs around in her life, mostly to be around their daughter, Natalie (Rachel Eggleston). The pilot picks up about a year after this move, only to find Polly stuck in a state of relative inertia about how to piece her life back together in terms of both love and money.
So how does How to Live fare? Well it’s very obvious from moment one that Polly is very much a straight up retooling of Elliot Reed, neuroses and all. In fact the opening segment takes liberally from Scrubs, including a number of narration to cut away gags that seemed like lesser versions of your average John Dorian flashbacks. The writing in general is mediocre and inoffensive, if a little formulaic at points. For example, was there really a need to introduce Julian in the second segment in a throw away scene that says almost nothing about the character that wasn’t brought up in the introduction?
The acting is generally pretty competent, despite the often lacking material. Elizabeth Perkins is particularly strong as Polly’s mom, as she sells the oft ridiculous and borderline negligent nature of her character perfectly. Brad Garrett is similarly competent as Max, Polly’s stepfather, an occasionally peevish but fairly responsible father-figure. Sarah Chalke’s Polly, however is a little too neurotic and overwrought at times, as if the weight of the world is on her shoulders despite the relatively low stakes of the show (How low are they? So low that Julian would conceivably save her from a bad date).
The Final Verdict: How to Live With Your Parents (for the Rest of your Life) is the definition of mediocre. It’s not completely unfunny, but a red flag pops up in my mind when I realize that I laughed more at the last five minutes of tonight’s Modern Family (from tuning in early), than I did in thirty minutes of How to Live. I’d recommend skipping it, though there’s enough chemistry in the cast that if it ever moves from taking it’s characters and structure from other shows and tightens up it’s jokes a little more, it could eventually become a serviceable fourth show for a block that already has three very strong comedies.
Dance Moms Recap: Harder Better Faster Whatever
Last time on Dance Moms, we won everything, even though we spent too much time arguing with Rachelle, the Broadway Dancer. Let’s head to the Pyramid of Shame after the jump. [Read more…] about Dance Moms Recap: Harder Better Faster Whatever
Disney Pixar announces ‘Nemo’ sequel ‘Finding Dory’ for 2015!
Remember when ‘Nemo’ was a cute fish that got lost in the sea and not that awful storm that most of us had to endear a couple of months ago? Well the former is now on everyone’s minds, as Ellen Degeneres announced yesterday on her show that the sequel to Nemo dubbed ‘Finding Dory” will make its mark in theaters on November 25, 2015.
Dubbed Finding Dory, the flick will employ DeGeneres as the voice of Dory, who Disney Pixar describes as the “friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish.”
“I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” DeGeneres said in a statement Tuesday. This also was the result of her posting on Facebook and Instagram.
“I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating Toy Story 16.
“But the time they took was worth it,” she added. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is — it’s got a lot more Dory.”
The movie this time around will be directed by Andrew Stanton, a two time Oscar winner for ‘Finding Nemo’ and in 2008 for ‘Wall-E’. He has also been nominated four times for Original Screenplay for those two movies as well as ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Toy Story 3’.
“She won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world — not to mention our team here at Pixar,” Stanton said. “One thing we couldn’t stop thinking about was why she was all alone in the ocean on the day she met Marlin. In ‘Finding Dory,’ she will be reunited with her loved ones, learning a few things about the meaning of family along the way.”
‘Finding Nemo’ has been widely seen as the best Pixar film to date, rivaling other ones such as ‘Up’ and ‘Toy Story’. Many people thought that Ellen was robbed of an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Dory, as it has been stated in the for years that people who voice animated characters are always overlooked at award season time. This sequel is highly anticipated and should be a great addition to the Pixar line of movies when it comes out in 2015! I know I’m excited!
Netflix’d: Venture Brothers
Format: Half-Hour-long Sit-com
Genre: animation, parody, comedy,
Cast: James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton, Michael Sinterniklaas, Christopher McCulloch, Doc Hammer, Steven Rattazzi, Dana Snyder
Similar Too: Futurama, The Tick, Ugly Americans
Primetime animation is arguably more popular than it’s ever been right now, with the raunchy cartoons of Seth MacFarlane dominating television ratings and the pop culture lexicon. Still, television’s more cultured viewers most likely feel a hole where ingenuity should be since King of the Hill came to a close. The Simpsons lost its edge over a decade ago, South Park has been faltering, and I seriously doubt Mad Men’s audience would consider the excrement-vomit jokes on Family Guy worthy of water cooler talk. Thing is, there has been a critically acclaimed adult themed animated series on cable television for nearly a decade now, and it gets half the ratings as its network counterparts. A show that not only puts other animated half-hours to shame in terms of writing, animation, characters, and story-telling, but it’s arguably one of the best shows on TV period. That show is the Venture Brothers.
Airing on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block since 2004, the show immediately stands out from the more absurdist shows that have given the channel the label of “stoner friendly”. Created by Jackson Publick (a principal writer on popular 90s Saturday morning cartoon, The Tick), the show initially began as a parody on the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon Johnny Quest, as it principally focused on Professor Venture and his two sons, Dean and Hank, going on scientific-driven adventures. Since then however, the show has grown to embody numerous satires of things you might have grown up with, from Marvel Comics to David Bowie.
The show seems to reference so much that just about any type of nerd could watch this show and feel satisfied. An episode from last season was a homage to film noir, with Hank playing a detective and developing his own Philip Marlowe-brand of dialogue, complete with black-and-white coloring and grainy resolution. The episode even managed to lend audio and visual references to non-noir films of the classical Hollywood era, such as Some Like it Hot and His Girl Friday. If it weren’t for the episodes reliance on continuity, I’d easily recommend it for viewing in film studies classes.
Of course, it takes more than geeky references to make a show great, and the writing on The Venture Brothers is so sharp you don’t have to be part of the comic book crowd to enjoy it. Being one of only a handful of Adult Swim shows that runs a half-hour per episode (as opposed to shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job which only run about ten minutes), the show certainly makes good use of the time it’s allowed. Airing at a late night timeslot on a cable channel, Venture Brothers’ humor is certainly edgy but never gratuitous. Half the fun of the show is watching all these familiar archetypes go through seriously twisted reimaginings (there have been several episodes that have looked at the homoerotic flairs of superhero sidekicks). With continuous story arcs that include recurring characters and plot elements, I’d also recommend that people watch the show in sequential order to experience the complete benefits.
In terms of animation, Venture Brothers is easily one of the best looking shows on TV. Consisting mainly of traditional hand-drawn animation, the show has a longer production time than others (the average gap between seasons is two years), but it’s certainly worth the time and effort. The animation is always fluid, and at its best it looks like a graphic novel come to life. The character designs are equally easy on the eyes, as they look like characters from Saturday Morning Cartoons, but with a more rugged and zany side.
Like another great animated series, Futurama, the reason Venture Brothers is so fresh and fun as it takes common genre tropes and uses them to make stories that are both outlandish and relatable. After the end of the show’s excellent fourth season in fall 2010, the show has not aired any new episodes, but there is a silver lining! We do know the show has been renewed for at least two more seasons, and the long-awaited 5th season is set to air on May 19th. That said, now is the perfect time to marathon the show’s four completed seasons. The first season just became available on Netflix, and the subsequent ones are likely to follow. You might notice that this review hasn’t been descriptive regarding characters or storylines on the show, and that’s because I don’t want to spoil how creative this show is. It’s easily the best cartoon on the idiot box these days, and likely to remain that way for quite a while.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: The Gworl from Impanema
At the beginning of tonight’s Drag Race, Ivy’s gone and everyone has a sad. Jinkx is devastated. Alyssa feels confident about performing, but still makes snaps about coco. People think that means that Alyssa isn’t working. More after the jump. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: The Gworl from Impanema
Chatty Talk with Elise
BREAKING CELEBRITY NEWS!
Cory Monteith, also known as Finn Hudson from the Fox series Glee, has decided to voluntarily check himself into rehab for substance abuse. He’s made it no secret that he has struggled in the past, with a previous stint in rehab at 19. Let’s just hope we decided to go to rehab before anything got out of hand! We are all sending positive thoughts your way, Cory! Get yourself healthy!
Real Housewives of Atlanta Recap: GWTW Fabulous?
As an avid Real Housewives of Atlanta fan (and other seasons at that), this season was different in several ways yet it still brought home that punch at this particular venue does so well. Now that Kim Zolciak has departed this year, the lone original housewive in NeNe Leakes continues to be the one that everyone watches for when it comes to her no nonsense tolerance of stupidity and her overall hilarity that comes with being her. Besides her, there are two new housewives that were introduced in the mix, and boy did they deliver. One more than the other though. Kenya Moore made herself pretty comfortable in the RHOA franchise this year, coming in like a bullet from episode one when judging on a Jet Magazine contest to the finale last night when attempting to kick out other new housewife Porsha Stewart out for coming in a different costume (yes, that happened). Regardless, this was the best season of RHOA in a very long time and I am going to breakdown each housewife and my thoughts on them this season.
NeNe Leakes-
NeNe is truly the best part of this show, and in many people’s eyes the best housewife to ever exist on any of the series. Her vivaciousness and tenacity to get her career where it needs to be has been truly shown this season, in particular her always being bi-coastal in LA and Atlanta. She is finally a series regular on the NBC show “The New Normal” and that was documented in full this year. Also profiled heavily was her reconciliation with her ex husband Greg which culminated in him proposing to her in last weeks episode (Aww). My personal opinion is that they should’ve never gotten divorced in the first place, as to me it just seemed like she was so career driven that she wanted her independence and that was a main focal point in her leaving. Nevertheless, NeNe had words with every cast member this season except for Kandi (her former nemesis) and Cynthia. She read every other girl correctly this year, from Porsha having a controlling husband to Kenya getting way out of line with everyone for no reason. As for her relationship with Kim, that is one that will truly never flourish and be what it was supposed to be- as a modern day boughetto version of Thelma & Louise. Facts are this- NeNe is water to that shows livelihood. That franchise can’t survive without it. So keep coming back NeNe because we love you!
Kandi Burruss-
In my opinion, Kandi is the most successful when it comes to being a true business woman. Her storyline this year was falling in love with her boo Todd Tucker and the road to engagement and potentially a new baby in the works. She is one of two of the RHOA housewives that are getting a spin off, her’s being “The Kandi Factory” in which she discovers new talent to work professionally in the music industry (pumped for that). Kandi and NeNe are in the same realm in that they both really keep it 100 everywhere they go. Kandi did a very good job in the drama department by sticking with Phaedra during the whole battle with Kenya and finally settling the stupid beef between her and NeNe when they were on vacation. A true businesswoman, she continues to be the pioneer in female sex toys with her “Bedroom Kandi” line that earned her the Best Toy Sex Line at the 2012 AVN’s. The joke here that I love is when she said “I think I am the only person to win a Grammy and an AVN”. Really for me, Kandi is the shit and should’ve been an original housewife in season one as opposed to the woman she replaced, DeShawn (boring). She continues to breakaway from being just a girl from a 90’s girl group and really make herself a force to be reckoned with in the business world. Good for her.
Cynthia Bailey-
Cynthia’s will be short and sweet. The renewal of vows with Peter in Anguilla was nice. Her continuing her Bailey Model Agency was fun to watch as well. Her standing her ground when Kenya was acting a hot ass mess at her agency was great as well. Besides that, Cynthia remains to me an anomaly on that show. She isn’t that interesting but somehow continues a third season on the show. I was sort of shocked they kept her around and not that insane nut job Marlo Hampton. She does read well though. The funniest thing this season for me is when she asks Kenya- “Now Kenya, were you before or after Vanessa Williams”. HA. Love it.
Phaedra Parks-
Ugh. There are times where I like Phaedra, and there are times where she annoys the heck out of me. Regardless, her colorful commentary keeps me cracking up, especially her digs at onetime friend Kenya. That seemed to be her main focal point this season as well, was her ongoing battle with Ms. Moore. The battle began really when Phaedra didn’t want to cough up any money to pay Kenya for all the work she put into Phaedra’s workout video. I side with Kenya here, as regardless of friendship you should pay for something like that. That is when the flood gates opened and pretty much at every event something happened between the two of them. They seemed to squash things in the end, but besides that fight was there anything really interesting about Phaedra this season? Her going into the funeral business for pets bored the heck out of me and her relationship with her fine as heck husband Apollo bored me as well. With baby number two on the way, is there anything left for this woman to be a vital structure when season six happens? Stay tuned.
Porsha Stewart-
Or as I like to call her, the Alexis Bellino of RHOA. Meaning the girl says some dumb shit. Porsha is a bubbly fun girl who has some great family history that was documented at the beginning of the season (she is family members with Hosea Williams). That being said, the girl just proved why she is a real housewife this season by being married to a very controlling husband, AKA that closet case Kordell Stewart. Now he has filed for divorce from her and it is getting ugly. Really ugly. I am sure the way he was portrayed on the show didn’t really hit well with him on the home front hence why he is leaving her, but was there anything else that could’ve attributed to it? There were some great and genuine moments such as Porsha revealing her problems trying to conceive and her devotion to charity work, but really all that relationship was was Kordell telling Porsha what to do in every situation. She was another one that got into it so many times with Kenya, and originally I was on Porsha’s side, but as the season went on and all she had to throw digs on was her age really just showed how immature Porsha was. Now with the divorce riding high, she is sure to be a cast member for next season, but will they portray her as the newly single Carrie Bradshaw of Atlanta? Time will tell.
Kenya Moore-
I love Kenya Moore. I really, really do. I have had this girl’s back from the get go pretty much and there are so many aspects about her that I find to just be freaking fantastic. This show needed someone like her, and I understood why she did what she did. The only thing I disagreed with was how rough she was in the first episode when judging the Jet Beauty Pageant thing at Cynthia’s agency. Besides that, girl can stand up for herself. Phaedra was wrong in not paying her, you don’t do stuff for free. Porsha, miss “265 Days A Year” was wrong as well with her below the belt jokes that made Kenya seem to be this old woman when really she is the best looking girl of the bunch (and most physically fit). Did she overreact about Walter? No. If my friends kept inviting my ex to places and they knew it made me uncomfortable, well then they aren’t really friends to begin with? Kenya really did a great job at getting her point across and looking back on things I really get where she was coming from. “Gone With The Wind Fabulous” is truly the best quote of the season and a mantra I use in my everyday life. She is a beautiful and smart addition to the show and I can’t wait to see where it leads next season.
What are your thoughts RHOA fans? Did you like this season? What are your views on the ladies? Can’t wait for the reunion next week!
Dance Moms Recap: An Eclectic Celebration of Dance
Last time on Dance Moms, it was the last of the five hour episodes, which, thank the hundred little gods! [Read more…] about Dance Moms Recap: An Eclectic Celebration of Dance