This Week in Television - Sept. 20-24, 2010

Glee
I like how the season opened by addressing some of the things viewers have been saying, like how the show is very gay and nobody likes it when Mr. Schue raps (both very valid complaints). But then we went right back into Glee's "after school special" habit of characters learning valuable lessons every episode (Rachel admitting she is self-centered, Mr. Schue learning he's not a bully). The best part was Brittany confessing that she wasn't on vacation, she was just lost in the sewers all summer. Also I could have sworn the new football coach was a man in drag, but apparently it actually is a female actress. Oops.

Running Wilde
I was excited for this, the new series from some of the people behind Arrested Development and starring Will Arnett. It's not as funny as Arrested Development, but I did enjoy it and there is a hint of a similar style in the editing and directing, and Arnett is playing a GOB-like character, but then he does in most of his work. I liked the little gags, like Steven (Arnett) pretending to dramatically play a piano that was playing itself, and he and his friend trying to perform a written dialogue but skipping and rearranging parts to make it weird.

Survivor: Nicaragua
Tribal council was hilarious - not in a good way, but because the young tribe are a bunch of brain-dead drama queens. But at least they voted off the right person. Shannon was a douche.

My Generation
I checked this one out because the concept sounded interesting, but I don't think I'll be coming back to it (it will probably be canceled anyway, being in FlashForward's unfortunate Thursday timeslot). One of my biggest problems with My Generation was that, for a fake documentary, the acting was not seamless enough to pull off the format. It just felt like a primetime soap shot like a documentary, which is what it is, and not like a documentary, which is what it wants to feel like. Also the stories felt like a bunch of Pro-American crap, like how September 11th and Bush's presidency had direct influences on the characters' lives, and I felt like they were reaching too far for the sympathetic moments. It's only the pilot, guys - give it a few episodes to better establish your characters before trying to make your viewers cry along with them.

Community
Adding Community to the blog because after I gave it a second chance this summer, I have decided it is awesome (look for my season 1 post at some point). Anyway, the opening of the season two premiere was great: all of the characters waking up in their bedrooms on the first day of classes, all uniquely decorated to remind us who they are. And when they were happy to see each other, it made me happy too. The plot of this episode wasn't the greatest, but I'll forgive it because I know they had to tie up the storylines that season one left open. As Abed said, hopefully they'll get away from the sappy romantic stuff and into more crazy hijinks. Also Senor Chang doing the Gollum thing was classic.

30 Rock
Like Community's opening, Liz wakes up to a series of phone calls that mean her work related stress is on its way back after the summer. This was one of the funniest episodes in a while (maybe because it was written by Tina Fey herself), and surprisingly it worked to have Jack just talk about his situation with Avery (Elizabeth Banks) without her actually being in the episode. But as much as I like Matt Damon, I don't think he pulled off the crying scenes very well.

The Office
They finally updated the opening credits sequence! I'm not sure who is a bigger candidate for Douchebag of the Week: Gabe for stealing Erin from Andy, or Michael's nephew for being an incompetent little punk, and not in the same way that Michael's incompetence is amusing (and sometimes even endearing). I think the writers improved on Jim and Pam, though, at least in this episode. Last season they weren't as likable.

Fringe
I have to admit I didn't like the premiere as much as I thought I would. On paper an episode about Olivia trying to get home while the world around her tries to turn her into Alt Olivia sounds cool, but I just didn't find it that exciting. I don't really buy that the cab driver wouldn't just continue to think she was insane, even if he did have that story about his wife being the only one who stood buy him during a rough patch, because people who claim the government is after them usually sound really, really bonkers, period. And the "Why make her think she's the other Olivia?" question doesn't seem that mysterious to me: it means Walternate gets both Olivias on his side, one of them having her Cortexiphan abilities and neither of them posing a threat to him. Seems obvious, unless there's some other reason that will come out of left field later on.

Hero of the Week: Our first Hero of the season is Liz Lemon from 30 Rock, for delivering the line "It okay! Don't be cry!", which would actually work toward cheering me up if I were crying, because I'd start laughing.

Douchebag of the Week: Well, it's nobody from The Office. I decided on Shannon from Survivor, for asking Sash if he was gay at tribal council, which is nobody's business, and claiming that "New York is full of gay people", which is nobody's opinion.

Man in the Chair

Impressions before seeing it
This was playing on the Sundance Channel one night, and I was on board because it was about a disgruntled old man helping a teen make a student film, and I like stuff about filmmaking.

How was it?
Well, all of the actual filmmaking done in this movie is summed up in a montage that lasts about 30-60 seconds. The rest of the movie is spent on Cameron's (Michael Angarano, who played young William at the beginning of Almost Famous) friendship with Flash (Christopher Plummer), an awful lot of pre-production on their movie that isn't really that interesting, and then takes a left turn and becomes about the poor conditions of retirement homes and how old people are generally mistreated and forgotten. Don't get me wrong, that is a serious and very real issue that needs to be addressed, but I came to see a movie about filmmaking and instead wound up watching a melodramatic indie movie that tries too hard to prove that it's an indie movie. I suppose the one saving grace is the small amount of references to movies that the characters make, which is marginally cool if you're a movie lover and have seen them, but it's mostly namedropping so you don't have to have seen them, and it's not enough to make me want to watch this movie again.

Recommendation
Yeah, don't bother watching this for the joy of seeing people make a movie, because you'll be highly disappointed. But if you want to see a sappy drama about a boy and a group of his senior friends, be my guest.

The 4400 - Season Four

The first thing that jumped out at me about the fourth and final season of The 4400 is that Diana Skouris was suddenly piling on an overabundance of makeup. This bothered me for the entire season, and I will not buy it if anyone tries to sell me the excuse that it's because she was dating Ben and he made her feel better about herself. No, it was probably because the network thought they could save the show's plummeting ratings by dolling up their female lead (and replacing the head of NTAC with a hot blond to boot.) Didn't work, guys, it just became annoying.

I also had some problems with the writing this season, although they were only continuing from last season - in other words, unnecessary cheesiness. It was funnier than it should have been when Jordan Collier created Promise City and decorated it with giant banners of himself that always appeared to be looking in the direction of whoever was nearby. However there was also The Marked, an episode about a guy whose ability is spreading truth by making really cheesy home movies, and that part was supposed to be funny. I also had a problem with Jordan and Shawn's battle over promicin. It made Jordan look irrational because he never gave a reason why he didn't want people to wait to take the shot, instead acting like Shawn was saying to stop taking it altogether.

But all of that being said, I was satisfied with the ending. I knew the show had been canceled and I worried about an unresolved cliffhanger, but instead they did something along the lines of how Heroes ended (also after four seasons): wrapping up most things but leaving it a little open for a possible fifth season. The 4400 had its ups and downs, but it was always entertaining and I liked how every season had a "time out" episode, i.e. one where we take a break from the regular plotline to explore some weird situation that is happening to someone.

Best episode: Usually I choose the aforementioned "time out" episode for this one, which in this case would be "No Exit", and that would probably be my second choice, but I have to admit I really liked "Tiny Machines" for all of its great character moments. One of the better written episodes this season, I think.

A Prophet

Impressions before seeing it
Recommended to me by a Flixster friend (Thanks, Jackie!) and it sounded interesting.

How was it?
Actually it wasn't what I was expecting from the description I'd read, but that's okay. Maybe the title threw me off, I thought there might be some "magical" charm to it, a la Life is Beautiful, and instead it was more like a version of The Godfather set in prison. I wasn't that big on The Godfather, but I liked this one a lot.

A Prophet is one of those movies that is an all-around well made effort. The acting is so seamless that it almost felt like a documentary, and the same goes for the story (with the exception of El Djebena's visions of a dead man). It's something that you can get right into without being pulled out of the experience, and that is always a plus in any movie. But I guess the real reason to watch is to follow El Djebena's character progression. When he first enters prison he seems almost innocent and moral (although prone to anger), but as he is forced into this world of prison gang wars he becomes more and more violent, arrogant, tyrannical, and sneaky, and most of it is hidden beneath a subservient performance as he works under his Corsican boss. Solid stuff.

Recommendation
Since A Prophet has a lot of mafia movie elements, you may love it if you're a fan of that genre, but then I am not and loved it anyway for being such a well made film. It's also a good one for those who are fascinated by prison life.

Micmacs

Impressions before seeing it
Very, very high expectations. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (or "JPJ" as I call him inside my head, where we are best friends) is one of my favourite directors. It had been a while since A Very Long Engagement, his last movie, and I was looking forward to that classic greenish tint and more Dominique Pinon, who is always in JPJ's films.

How was it?
I think I can say I'm a bit biased because I was already loving it about 10 minutes in thanks to JPJ's charming and creative storytelling style. To give the short version, Micmacs is basically about a gang of misfits who use their quirky abilities to take down these big weapons manufacturers/dealers. Except more interesting than that because JPJ is such a creative filmmaker. He's really good at putting all of these little nuances in his movies. It's the littler things that make his work great and not the big things.

That being said, I'm not really sure what to say about it other than "it was really good" and "it looks amazing on Blu-ray". Oh, one thing: watch for a very cool shout-out to an earlier JPJ movie, Delicatessen. That part delighted me the most.

Recommendation
If you're like me and get a boner every time you see the greenish tint of a JPJ joint, you'll most likely appreciate this one. If you're new to the style, it depends on your taste. There is a certain element of cartoonishness that not everyone might enjoy, although personally I think it's part of the charm.

This Week in Television - Sept. 13-17, 2010

Suvivor: Nicaragua
Well, this season started off lame. First of all, there have been both professional athletes and disabled people on Survivor before, so I don't understand why they made such a big deal out of both as if it was something shocking and new. I suppose they were counting on viewers not to remember that (and to their credit, most probably didn't). Second, it seems like the majority of young people they choose for Survivor are morons, and I'm not sure I want to follow an entire tribe of them. Conversely, it seems their definition of an "old" tribe is one person with grey hair and everyone else is in their 40's. While that is usually the case in every season, this is the first one to have what is supposedly an entire tribe of them, and I don't feel it is honest enough, although I suppose it was necessary to give them a fair chance against the youngsters. They should probably just stop with the gimmicks (except for the All-Stars seasons, those are always fun), because pretty soon they're just gonna be down to Survivor: Straights vs. Gays (it's pretty much the only category by which they haven't yet divided the tribes), and that's apt to end up offending people. I've been saying for years that they should do Survivor: Winner's Circle and have every single player be a former winner, but I guess not enough of them are willing to come back. Can you blame them?

We'll be back next week with a full TV schedule, and the return of Hero/Douchebag of the week!

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Impressions before seeing it
I heard it was a lot of fun, and I know Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer can be funny guys, but as for plot I didn't really know what to expect other than some comedy and action.

How was it?
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is kind of a hard movie to define. Like the title suggests, there is both romance and action, but I don't even think I would use those words to describe it. It's more like a mystery/comedy, and even that is an oversimplification. It satirizes film noir detective movies at times, and also just movies in general thanks to many instances of breaking the fourth wall, and then it gets all dramatic when the characters or their relationships are in jeopardy, as if it didn't just spend the first bit of the movie being funny and cool.

This movie is a lot of fun, and hilarious at times, but I can't decide whether it's occasional lack of focus in tone is a weakness or a strength. I know some people are against labels and conventions and such, and that's cool - all of the different genres thrown in here make the movie stand out, but it also gives the impression of being overstuffed or, again, unfocused. I'm not sure why I'm even bothering to mention it because it wasn't something I had a problem with while watching, except to say that I didn't really identify too closely with any of the characters (they were somewhat cartoonish, especially Downey) and during the romantic scenes it just felt like another instance of a movie stuffing in some heart because they think all movies need romance when they really don't.

But come on, how can you not love a movie where Val Kilmer fires a gun through the crotch of his pants?

Recommendation
It's really not a big deal if you don't end up caring about the characters, this film is a blast to watch anyway. It's entertaining, funny, and it's in on its own joke (at least I hope the unnecessarily complicated mystery plot was a joke). Feels like something most people would enjoy.

Celebrity Mix

Celebrity Mix is a collection of 8 short films featuring familiar actors that I purchased on DVD. I'll briefly discuss each one below.

Laud Weiner
Starring: David Hyde Pierce
This one was basically just a four minute joke about how Hollywood producers barely do anything yet take all the credit and prestige. Probably true, but as a short film it was only mildly amusing. However its short length is a strength because otherwise the joke would've gotten old really fast.

House Hunting
Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Paul Rudd, Terry Kinney, Felicity Huffman
I had already seen this one online and bought Celebrity Mix because of it. Deschanel and Rudd star as a young couple being shown houses by a quirky real estate agent (Kinney). It's funny and interesting, but mostly I just like Deschanel and Rudd.

Curiosity
Starring: Cheyenne Jackson
I recognized Cheyenne Jackson as Danny, the new TGS castmember on the fourth season of 30 Rock, but this DVD was released before that so I guess he's done other things to qualify as a celebrity. Anyway, this one is about a guy who finds a DVD taped to a street lamp and, when he takes it home to watch it, discovers some slightly creepy footage on there. Basically it kind of rips off the beginning part of David Lynch's Lost Highway with the videotape and, just like Lost Highway, feels pointless when it ends. I wasn't really impressed.

Dysenchanted
Starring: Jim Belushi, Alexis Bledel, Laura Kightlinger, Sarah Wynter, Jaime Bergman
Jim Belushi plays a shrink leading group therapy sessions with a bunch of classic fairy tale princesses who have psychological issues. Kind of cute and charming, but I think it was a comedy and more "cute funny" than actual funny.

Dependable People
Starring: Laura Kightlinger, Lewis Black
Laura Kightlinger - the only person to show up in this short film collection twice - wrote, directed, and starred in this one about a temp who comes to work at an office where the characters are kind of weird and unlikable (to me anyway). Not really worth watching a second time.

Media Whore
Starring: Chris Hardwick, Ali MacLean, Coolio, Taye Diggs, John Doe
Chris Hardwick (who you may recognize if you watch a lot of G4) introduces footage of a fictional MTV-type VJ interviewing such celebrities as Coolio, Taye Diggs, and John Doe. Poking fun at the shallowness of stations like MTV and Much Music (and their VJs), "Astrid" asks them a lot of dumb questions and makes conceited comments about herself. Funny if you like the whole "dumb/mediocre/inappropriate interviewer" shtick used by characters like Ali G and Jiminy Glick in the past, although it might have been funnier if they'd gotten better people to interview.

Waking Dreams
Starring: Ben Shenkman, Tina Holmes
I don't really know who Ben Shenkman and Tina Holmes are (they've done a lot of TV though, and they looked familiar), but this ended up being my favourite one in the collection. Waking Dreams is about an office manager who is told by a temp that she dreamt he will die if he takes the vacation he's been planning. I really loved the writing and acting, helping to create a great dynamic between the two characters. Overall it seems a little vague though, but I guess that makes it more interesting.

Mr. Dramatic
Starring: Amy Acker, Oliver Hudson, Rachel Nichols
In the final short, a woman waits in a bar for her blind date when she discovers that he is... Mr. Dramatic. Clad in a white tux and doing almost everything in slow motion, he quickly becomes the center of attention. If you are the type of person who loved the "Dear Sister" SNL short, you might enjoy this one too, because it has that similar joke of overly dramatizing stupid things. I found it funny, and the deep, dramatic movie trailer narrator voice was also a plus.

The 4400 - Season Three

Current TV shows will be back in a couple of weeks but until then I'm working on this bad boy. Only one season of The 4400 left after this one!

When we left off at the end of last season, baby Isabelle had inexplicably grown into an adult overnight. Her character arc then proceeded to unfold almost like that of Anakin Skywalker on his journey to becoming Darth Vader. I won't go into detailed comparisons, but I'm sure you could see the similarities yourself if you watched the show. I was fascinated as she went from cute and innocent in episode one to downright psychopathic and highly dangerous in the season finale. Her character brought some of the best storylines in a season that had weak points - like the whole arc about Diana stealing her sister's boyfriend: totally boring to me. I actually found it more entertaining when she was with Marco, or in the episode "Blink" where she spent half of it arguing with an ex (which was great only because the writers introduced a unique way to give us some of Tom's and Diana's back stories). I also felt that the promicin stuff was growing stale around the second half of the season, but it was nice to see Jeffrey Combs and Summer Glau return as Kevin and Tess, and even nicer to see Collier, who I'd previously disliked, finally show up again to own the episode and hand out a verbal smackdown to Isabelle. I was hoping there would be an epic battle between those two in the finale, but they went a different route and instead the season ended with pretty much a ripoff of that shot on The Simpsons (which was probably parodying something else) where Dr. Hibbert says he can't figure out who shot Mr. Burns and then turns to the camera and says "can you?" I guess maybe they were trying to make the viewer think, or feel involved, or at least say "Whoa!", but I only laughed because it was so corny and did not belong in a show where nobody ever acknowledges the camera.

Best Episode: "Gone", which is actually two episodes in two parts, but screw it, I'm counting them together. Like last season's "Life Interrupted", this was another of those cool episodes where we almost take a break from the main storyline to investigate some weird parallel scenario where Maia and other 4400 children are kidnapped and then seemingly erased from the minds and lives of everyone who knew them. A close second would maybe be "The Gospel According to Collier", but only for Billy Campbell's performance.