One Line Review Tuesday

I like fall. I like winter better. But fall has a lot going for it - leaves turning lovely fally colors, temps dropping, Oktoberfest, and TV and Film starts to get a little interesting.

I have said it before, and I will say it again, I watch TV like a 14 year girl. I can't help myself. You know things like 90210, Gossip Girl, Glee, Life Unexpected, Greek....Whatever. I do try to temper this by reading the occasional National Geographic and having a few rousing conversations about social issues and stuff. But having said all that, I have a pretty full slate of teenagey angst filled dramas on my DVR already, so I usually only pick a few new shows to try out every season. Here is a brief review on the few that made the cut this year.

Television

Hawaii Five-0

Special ops cops working to fight crime in Hawaii.

I enjoyed this show. So far I have only seen the pilot episode, but I do enjoy that they cast younger actors. I am sure Jack Lord was considered handsome back in the day, but I don't see it. The camaradarie between the actors is fun to watch, and I wasn't bored. Plus there is enough homage to the old show to give a feeling of nostalgia. I would give this show a B+.

Nikita

Trained assassin, attempting to bring down splinter group of covert government run spy agency gone rogue.

I really wanted to like this show. I enjoyed the original (TV show, not movie) very much. But I have watched 2 episodes now and I am just not feeling it. Maybe I need to give it more time to care about the characters, but meh...I think I will remove from my DVR. I give this show a C.

Top Chef:Just Desserts

Chefs cooking desserts in a competition.

I do so love to watch cooking shows and Top Chef and Top Chef Masters are some of my favorites. So far I have watched one episode of this one, and it was ok. The Chef's seem more diva-ish than on the original Top Chef. Who knew that a Pastry Chef would threaten to 'cut' someone? The judges on this one seem nicer. And the head judge (Johnny Iuzzini) is easy on the eyes. But I don't think this version of Top Chef is as interesting as the other versions. I will probably keep watching it though. I give this show a B-.

The Glades

Cop show.

This one is sort of your run of the mill detective show set in the Florida Everglades. However the lead character is sassy and I do love a sassy man. So even though this show can be formulaic at times and even though the female lead seems to know a lot about a wide range of unbelievable things (treasure hunting/Spanish ship wrecks, horse racing, medical things) thereby inventing a reason for her to be around the male lead all the time (which is a very sloppy way to progress a storyline according to my film teachers), I still like this show. It amuses me. So I give it a B+.

Film

So back to a very important reason why fall is an awesome Season - films start to show up in the theater rather than just movies. And by that I mean, cinema that is done well. As opposed to well done which is just wrong when cooking a steak.

Secretariat

The life story of the 1973 Triple Crown winner and his owner.

I love Disney. I love Horses. But this movie was just ok. It is the poor man's Seabiscuit. I am not suggesting that you shouldn't go see it when it comes out in a few weeks, but just be prepared not to leave with the same feeling you had after watching Seabiscuit. This movie is PG. I give this movie a B.

Easy A

Straight A, straight lace student relies on rumor and innuendo to improve her social standing in school, with very loose references to the Scarlett Letter.

This movie is really funny and smart. But even though it's PG-13 I must advise some of you (you know who you are) that this movie is raunchy and you probably won't like it. I however, was delighted by it. I give it an A-.

The Town

Boston area thugs, who grew up in the business, rob banks. Their leader tries to come to terms with his feelings for a girl he meets in connection to one of his 'jobs', all while trying to elude the FBI agent tracking him down.

Say what you will about Ben Affleck and his horrific acting in Armageddon or Pearl Harbor (or Gigli, or Jersey Girl, or....). But he's one fine director. Well he has only directed two movies so far, but they were both fantastic. The Town is gritty, and smart, and sobering. The move is Rated R for all the normal reasons a movie is Rated R. I give this movie an A.

P.S. Check out his acting in Good Will Hunting, Chasing Amy, Changing Lanes, or this movie and you might feel better about his acting ability.

Get Low

Set in 1930's Tennessee and loosely based on fact, this movie is about a hermit who threw his own funeral wake while he was still alive.

This movie was a delight. Mark my words; Robert Duvall will get an Oscar nomination for this role. And maybe even Sissy Spacek. This movie was at Sundance last year, which just proves once again that Sundance is not becoming irrelevant. This movie is PG-13. I give this movie an A.

On DVD

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish)

A journalist is aided in his investigation of a 40 year old murder by a young female hacker.

This movie was really good. I wasn't even distracted by the Swedish, which can sound a little like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets at times. The movie actually made me feel very anxious while I was watching it, which I consider a sign that it was a well done suspense filled movie. This movie is Rated R, and I must admit that there were scenes where I averted my eyes due to the gore factor. I give this movie an A-.

A Prophet (French)

A young Arab is sent to prison at the age of 19 and in order to survive falls in with a group of Corsicans who run the prison including the guards.

This movie was brutal to watch in places, as any "realistic" movie set in a prison probably would be. There were moments in this movie where I felt the director was trying to be artsy but without any real context or vision, I suppose if I tried hard enough I could pretend that when you see scenes with a narrow focus that this is symbolic of the "narrow" view a prisoner and in particular the protagonist has due to his circumstances. But you really shouldn't have to try that hard. This movie was nominated for best foreign film at the 2009 Academy Awards, and I wanted to love it. But I didn't, in fact I had to force myself to finish watching it. This movie would probably be Rated R in the U.S. I give it a B-.

The Backup Plan

Woman on verge of turning 40 is artificially inseminated and then meets "the one".

I hated this movie. I give it a D. And I plan to try and curb my enthusiasm for adding things to my Netflix queue just because there is a cute actor in the movie.

Coming Soon

Waiting for Superman

A heartbreaking documentary about the broken public school system in the United States.

I have wanted to see this movie way before Oprah featured it on her show this week, let me just put that out there. When I saw the preview a few months ago, I couldn't stop myself from crying and that was just the trailer. From what I can tell from the trailer, this documentary follows a handful of students in the D.C. area who are put into a lottery system to see if they can win a place in a better school. It is devastating to watch these little kids who just want to learn, and whose parents just want to provide a better life for them, sit in a room while waiting for their number to be called. And one wonders why in America we are behind at least 25 other countries in almost every subject except one. And do you know what the one subject is? Self confidence. I don't think that this means that our kids have really great self esteems, but rather I think it shows that we are bringing up arrogant kids who feel entitled and in the end are just stupid. I know that is harsh, and I know that all kids are not like that, but there is obviously something wrong with the system. And I have been saying that for a very long time.

And on that very self indulgent, know-it-all sounding note - I leave you so that I can actually get some work done. Let me know if there is anything you want me to review. I do love a forum for my pontifications (yes I know that isn't a word).