Entertainment

Back at the end of February Lisa and I went to see Gran Torino (2008,R) (ScreenIt! Review).  From Screen It!:

Although he initially has nothing but racial disdain toward them, a gruff Korean War veteran ends up protecting and befriending the Hmong family next door from a gang that wants to recruit their teenage boy into their fold.

I thought it was very good.  Dark, of course, but good.  It felt a little strange as the whole theater laughed at Walt's racist banter.  It's also one where you are left sitting there at the end, not ready to leave.

I give it 4 out of 5.

Several weeks back we watched The Santa Clause (1994,PG) (ScreenIt! Review) for family movie night.  From ScreenIt!:

A father unwillingly takes over Santa’s duties after the real Santa falls from his roof.

Funny to think that Home Improvement was in it's prime when this film was made.  I didn't watch either his show or this film back then.

I give it 3 out of 5.

This evening the fam went to see Monsters vs. Aliens (2009,PG) (ScreenIt! Review).  From ScreenIt!:

After being struck by a meteorite, a bride-to-be suddenly grows to 50 feet tall and finds herself, along with a group of monsters long-held in secret by the U.S. Government, in a battle against an extraterrestrial, his clones, and the alien robotic probes sent to conquer Earth.

I thought it was OK, though not as good as I was expecting.  I found myself paying too much attention to the identity of the voices and not enough on the story.  I thought it was very nice visually.  Maybe my expectations were too high based on the comments I'd heard other people make.

I give it 3 out of 5.

A few weeks back we watched I Am Legend (2007,PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review) after turning off Will Ferrell's disappointing GWB special.  From ScreenIt!:

The lone inhabitant of post-apocalyptic Manhattan must not only contend with having no human contact, but also the evolving actions of zombie-type, infected beings, all he continues his quest to find a cure for the contagion that afflicts them.

I like Will Smith and liked this film well enough, though I don't particularly care for blood/gore/suspense in my cinema.  I didn't know anything about the book on which the film is loosely based, so after watching the film it was interesting to read about the plot of the book as well as the original ending of the film.  Not only was the original ending of the film more consistent with the spirit of the book, but it was also more interesting than the actual ending of the movie.  However, I can understand the ending the filmmakers chose in the end was the safer one...we like a clear line between the good guys and bad guys and clarity about which is which.

By the way, there's going to be a prequel.

I give it 3 out of 5.

It's always a bit of a disappointment when you watch a season or two of a show only to see it cancelled...especially if it has a serial story line that's gets abandoned mid cliffhanger.  The more episodic ones that die are a bummer too but to a lesser extent.

Today I went through the season pass lists on the Tivos and did some investigating about the shows I suspected might be dead.  I noticed a trend in which the creators of some of the canceled shows are making an effort to provide some resolution for their fans.  The other trend I noticed: ABC.

October Road (ABC)

Can you ever really go home again?

That's the question that confronts acclaimed novelist Nick Garrett when he returns home after being away for ten years. Once back home on October Road, he quickly discovers that the circle of friends whose teenaged lives he wrote about have since settled into blue collar careers and started families.

Canceled.  I was definitely sorry to see that this one was gone.  It grew on me over a couple of seasons...lots of likeable characters and storylines.  When they heard it was canceled, the creators wrote a 15-minute finale and contacted each of the cast-members.  It will be on the season 2 DVD when it's released in about a month.

Traveler (ABC)

College friends go on the lam after becoming suspects in a terrorist bombing. Along the way, they attempt to track down information to clear their names and expose a conspiracy.

Not as disappointed that Traveler died.  That's probably because it was only 8 episodes in.  Anyway, after it was cancelled, the show's creator posted an "answers blog."

Notes from the Underbelly (ABC)

Andrew and Lauren are deciding if they really want a family or not. But the advice from their friends is not helping them at all! Are they going to have a baby or are they going to continue their lives without one?

Underbelly was cute and enjoyable and always good for a few chuckles.  Not glad to see it go.

Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)

When idealistic attorney Nick George's father dies, he ends up taking his father's clients, the Darlings, led by patriarch Tripp.  It's not always easy for Nick handling both legal and sometimes illegal matters.

I liked DSM at first but then it seemed to devolve into just a prime time soap opera, so I wasn't too sad to see it go.  There were a few episodes that didn't air in the U.S.  Guess those will come with the DVD.  It'd be nice if they showed up on ABC.com too.

Pushing Daisies (ABC)

...centers around a pie-maker with the ability to bring the dead back to life with minor stipulations.

I like Daisies and enjoyed it, but in the end it just seemed like a gimmick with no where else to go.  There are 3 as-yet-unaired episodes.  Reportedly they'll air this summer but won't provide a narrative conclusion (per ABC's instructions).

Aliens in America (The CW)

A Wisconsin mom arranges to host a foreign exchange student, believing the visitor will help her shy son become more popular. When the student turns out to be a Muslim teenager from Pakistan, her plans go awry - and everyone is likely to learn a little lesson about life.

I enjoyed this Aliens and was disappointed to see it go.  It was a nice combination of comedy while also dealing with issues of religion and culture.

Dirt (FX)

The series follows the exploits of Lucy Spiller, an executive editor at two tabloid magazines. Lucy possesses the power to manipulate the lives of celebrities through the articles she prints in the magazine.

I liked this Dirt OK, though it seemed liked it went out of the way to push the decency standards of basic cable just for the fun of it.

I was thinking that Reaper was dead too (even though I'd heard it was coming back) because the episodes weren't appearing on the Tivo.  Turns out that new episodes have been airing since early March but the season pass wasn't functioning for some unknown reason.  I fixed that and am catching up on the missed episodes online.  I'm also currently enjoying the second seasons of Damages and Breaking Bad.

Out of all of those dead shows, if you haven't seen the following then I'd recommend adding them to your Netflix queue: Pushing Daisies, October Road, Aliens in America, and Notes from the Underbelly.