Movie | The Prestige | Pass

This should have been a PASS, but it somehow comes across a bit detached. Like Nolan's earlier work, I wish he'd used less well-known actors. I found Bale and Jackman distracting, as in they are "ac-TING because they are ac-TORS!"

Still, it was gorgeous and Nolan does his nonlinear timeline thing again to great effect. Would have loved to see more of Serkis, too. In a lead role, preferably. And Bowie was awesome.

Movie | The Guard | Pass

Great cast and some fun moments. Unfortunately, it's rather slow and forgettable, overall. Don't believe the intriguing enticements on the picture above. Too bad.

Book | The Cauliflower Chronicles | PASS

A simply marvelous book. Reminded me a bit of Dave Lowry's Autumn Lightning. High praise, indeed.

TV | Chuck | PASS-RIP

We'll miss one of the smartest spy comedies for adults ever. The finale was a real tearjerker. Viva La Chuck!

TV | The Finder | Pass-ish

Too one-dimensional and the substance that was there somehow comes across flat. Could definitely get better, but we probably won't watch another episode.

Movie | From Dusk Till Dawn | Pass

Tarantino and Clooney play the same characters they always do. Tattoos do not make you a good actor. But Keitel and Lewis play it so straight, they're nearly unrecognizable! Savini is hilarious and has some really great lines. The script is predictable and all over the place. Half the movie is a bad guy/bank robber/abduction thing and the other half is a gory vampire movie. For a person who loves movies that mix genres, I didn't think it worked very well.

Interesting number of elements from Pulp Fiction replayed in this movie. See how many you can spot.

TV | Touch | PASS...Fail

 

The pilot was excellent, beautiful in fact, and the show has tons of promise.

Update: Bummer. Sutherland's delivery became absolutely irritating in the worst way imaginable (is it possible that he has horrific asthma?) and the repetitive plot devices kept overwhelming the really interesting bits of the show (the state would never take a child away from a loving, nurturing parent...or at least, it wasn't believable). We watched the whole first season, but won't be watching the second.

Movie | The Lost Future | Fail

Awful. What happened to you, Sean Bean?

Movie | Vanishing on 7th Street | PASS

I love horror movies that don't feature lots of blood and guts, yet are still full of suspense. And when a good cast is kept simple and it's the end of the world, even better. Here's a great example of how's it's done.

Cars | Maybach | RIP

Another one bites the dust. This time, it was a company built around wretched excess. No wonder it went out of business. MB seems incapable of making good decisions in the past 20 years (Chrysler, anyone?).

Cars | SAAB | RIP

Though it hasn't been viable for years, it's still sad to see another car company like SAAB close its' doors.Especially one so focused on being unique. And that's what killed them - when they weren't anymore. The import car scene stole the idea of powerful front-drivers and SAAB seemed uninterested in maintaining a utilitarian slant. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if they teamed with another company. Subaru, for example, would have been very interesting (see the 9-2X). SAAB could have covered the higher end, while Subaru could have covered the lower.

Movie | It Might Get Loud | PASS

Fantastic documentary about three rock guitar gods.

Movie | Constantine | Pass

Passable supernatural thriller. The main distinction is an outstanding supporting cast including Shia LaBeouf, Djimon Hounsou and Pruitt Taylor Vince (who is just so awesome in everything he does). Same director that made I Am Legend.

TV | Alcatraz | Pass

It's so amazing to see a movie or TV show where the setting is familiar. "Hey, I've been there!"

This show starts off pretty well, it will be interesting to see if they can make future episodes interesting. The premise is already wearing a bit thin after only two episodes. Will it be week after week of the same thing - a new horrific criminal show up, the crew must hunt them down and stop them?

We'll see.

Oh, and NK requests that JJ Abrams find a new composer. She spent the entire show saying, "That's Lost music!" Ha ha! She's right.

Movie | Moneyball | Pass

Slow and over two hours, but quite good. Worth seeing if you're in the mood.

TV | House of Lies | Fail

Cheadle is awesome. But even he can't save this dreadful show. There is practically nothing to like about it.

Movie | Mars Needs Moms | PASS

C'mon! I have to see what critics labeled one of the worst movies of the year and possibly the worst Disney movie ever made.

And, yes, it was dark (aliens killing moms for their memories?!?). But, seriously, how can that be an argument? Bambi, anyone? That criticism is moot.

This had tons of action, real emotion, fantastic animation, interesting characters and an entertaining script. I liked it a lot! The critics are wrong on this one. I have the feeling that the folks that didn't like it were expecting something else. Gnomeo and Juliet, perhaps. So, don't see this if you want light, happy fun. But, if you want a great space adventure that involves aliens, explosions and is suitable for preteens (say, 10-12 or so) and adults (Zathura is another excellent example), this is a must see!

Movie | Darkon | Pass

Well done, straight-faced documentary that follows a fantasy live-action role-playing group in Maryland. 

While the concept (of LARPing) is ludicrous on the surface, this film does a good job of exploring how these folks are using the activity to strengthen their personal and professional lives. Like religion, I say whatever floats your boat and encourages positive, meaningful relationships with others is a good thing.

I found the gaming scenes intensely boring and skipped most of them. But, the "normal" scenes and interviews made the movie well worth watching. Like The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, you can't help but to really feel for these folks. Life (real and imagined) is brutally hard.

TV | Ebert Presents At The Movies | RIP

This great new version of the old Siskel and Ebert show featured hosts that didn't quite click (or maybe they were just too intellectual). But that's not the real problem. No, the failure of the show rests on the heads of the dopey public that don't care about anything other than staring at themselves in the mirror. Tragedy. I hope they keep it going online.

TV | Portlandia | PASS

NK found this hugely annoying, but I really grew to like the characters and appreciate the suble, low key humor about the 90s slacker lifestyle in Portland, OR. This is not a show you can just fall into. Love the intro music by Washed Out and the hilarious cameos by all sorts of cool actors and musicians (especially Kyle MacLachlan as the mayor). Portlandia has a similar feel as Flight of the Conchords, with the quirk and the music well mixed. This is a surprisingly great show and I can't get it out of my head.