Danny Goes to THE TOWN

THE TOWN Review:

- It was clear from Gone Baby Gone that Ben Affleck might have a real knack for directing. But while his first real directorial effort was solid but flawed, The Town easily cranks things up a notch - being much more than merely solid, and instead coming close to being flat-out great.

The Town is set in the roughneck neighborhood of Charlestown, a section of Boston with a uniquely high crime rate, particularly when it comes to armed bank robberies. As depicted in the film, it's a place where crime and vice seems to be encoded in the DNA of longtime residents, where seemingly decent people are drawn to the wrong side of the law - because of circumstance, upbringing, or simply because they don't know any better. The Town follows one such local, Doug MacRay (played by Affleck), who is the leader of a gang of armed robbers known for the outlandish masks they wear on each of their jobs (in the film, they go from creepy looking skeletons to nuns-with-guns). Doug seems to want out of his life of crime, but, even as more and more heat comes down on he and his crew, he keeps getting pulled back in. Doug's lifelong friend, James (Jeremy Renner), for one, has no intentions of going clean. However, Doug's life is severely complicated when he tails a woman who ended up as a hostage on the crew's most recent robbery. The woman (Rebecca Hall), a manager at the bank that Doug's group held up, doesn't realize that the new man she met at the laundromat is one of the same thugs who took her as a hostage - and somehow, the two fall into a relationship. And therein lies the central theme of the film - Doug has met a woman, his gang is being hunted by the cops, and he has every reason and motivation to leave his old life behind and attempt to start over. And yet, part of him is trapped - unable to escape the life of violence and vice that was handed down to him by a father who was a career criminal, by a town that didn't seem to want him to leave.

The bigger existential themes of THE TOWN are, I think, what elevate it beyond the level of the standard heist fare. Sure, the movie in some ways covers well-worn territory. But the film feels deeper and more substantive than others like it. Part of that is due to a punchy script, part due to the gritty realism and measured direction by Affleck. A lot of the credit for why the movie works though has to go to the kickass cast.

Affleck, for one, gives one of the better dramatic performances of his career - up there with his work in movies like Hollywoodland. I don't think Affleck's ever been a bad actor - just in some clunkers - but he's really good here, and I think it's a role that will make some people rethink his ability to be a serious leading man in a deep and dramatic film.

That said, I think it's Jeremy Renner who steals the film. Renner absolutely blew me away in The Hurt Locker, and he's now one of those guys who is so good that he can instantly elevate anything he's in. He is fantastic in The Town as James - the loose-cannon criminal who's both terrified of going back to jail after a nine year sentence, yet unable to see a life for himself away from crime and robbery. It's a dynamite performance from Renner, and, like The Hurt Locker, he's at the center of some gripping, emotional scenes and also some absolutely riveting action to boot.

The rest of the cast is also excellent. I was a big fan of Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and she does a nice job here - I think her vulnerability here as Claire goes a long way towards making her eventual romance with Doug more believable than it might have been otherwise. She's an actress who I think is going to get a lot of big parts from here on out. Speaking of which, I think a lot of people questioned how Blake Lively would fit into this cast, but she does a nice job as James' trashy sister, Krista. Lively still comes off as more teen drama queen than potential leading lady, but for this part, it works well. Oddly, The Town has a number of actors known for their parts on hit TV series in prominent roles. In fact, the two main agents chasing down Doug and his crew are played by Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Titus Welliver (the Man In Black from Lost). Both do a nice job, with Hamm projecting dogged determination in finding his targets, and Welliver lending a world-weary cynicism to the part of Hamm's loyal #2. Meanwhile, the always-great Chris Cooper makes a strong impression as Doug's jailbird dad, who lays down some hard truths for his son. The inclusion of a guy like Cooper is just the kind of instant-gravitas-injection that helps put the film over-the-top on the intensity scale.

Now, if The Town was just a nice, quiet character study with a great cast, it still might not have risen above "solid." But The Town also has some terrific, balls-to-the-wall action sequences that really help take it to another level. Some of the chase scenes in this one are uber-intense, and directed with great flair by Affleck. Seriously, it was actually really refreshing to see fast-paced action that was still easy to follow and told a great story. I never thought I'd tell the likes of Michael Bay to take notes from Ben Affleck, but after The Town, I will say exactly that.

Now, as good as The Town was, I think it had a couple of plot issues that kept it from being a flat-out "A." For one, I just didn't 100% buy into the relationship between Affleck and Hall. Particularly later on in the film, it was a little hard for me to swallow the idea that a connection still existed between them, especially after certain revelations come to light. A couple other plot details just felt a little too sketchy for me - a slightly tighter script might have helped in that regard.

Otherwise, though, The Town definitely rises above the usual popcorn heist movie by putting the focus squarely on character and theme. There's still some badass action and a couple of great, "holy-$%@&" moments, but again, this is a character study more than anything else, and that's to the movie's great credit. It's definitely worth taking a trip to The Town.

My Grade: A-

*And by the way, one sidenote about the movie and its impressive box-office take over the weekend. The Town is a great film, and I'm happy that it did well and made money. But, I'm sick of some of the talk out there about how this movie is a win for "adults" at the movies. The Town is an excellent crime movie, but it's not any better or more worthy of making money than any number of great films that we've seen in the last year. Because Inception has sci-fi elements it's not "adult?" Because Scott Pilgrim employs a hyperreal style of filmmaking it's only for teens? "Adult" movie now means a straight drama in a firmly real-world setting with no fantastical elements or heavy stylization? If that's true, then that's a pretty narrow definition of what is "adult." If you're trying to argue that there's been a dearth of high profile, serious-minded dramas in theaters, and that The Town is a welcome return for the genre - then hey, that's a valid point. I just object to classifying certain movies as adult and certain movies as being something else. No need to backhandedly demean other types of movies for the sake of praising this one.

FALL TV Roundup: NIKITA and BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Well, as I heavily alluded to in my last post (my big Fall TV Preview), the new TV season is upon us. My DVR is already on the verge of exploding. And I've been eyeing my cable bill, twitchily on the cusp of calling the moneygrubbing rip-off artists at Charter and ordering HBO, for the purpose of watching Boardwalk Empire and Eastbound & Down. Mondays and Thursdays though ... man, just too much TV on at one time, and so it becomes essential to narrow down my viewing to only the best of the best. Now, Thursdays in particular are tough - you've got the NBC comedies, maybe my favorite TV drama of the moment in Fringe, and now, Nikita.

NIKITA thoughts:

I wasn't prepared to commit to Nikita, but hey, the pilot genuinely surprised me. It wasn't a home run, per se, but it also didn't feel like some generic, CW-ized take on the Nikita legend. I was impressed that the pilot didn't simply retread what's already come before, instead giving us a new twist on the at-this-point-well-established story. I liked that Nikita was now an experienced operative-gone-rogue - on the run from Division (a different name for the group known as Section in the old series), and out to bring down the corrupt government agency. On the old La Femme Nikita show, we saw a number of storylines that explored the idea that Section was going to far outside the bounds of upholding global peace. Instead, under a corrupt leadership looking to further its own political agenda and power base, Section became a very morally grey institution - one that agents like Nikita were never quite comfortable operating under. In any case, I thought it was cool that the new Nikita jumps right into the midst of this interesting situation - Nikita vs. Division. Plus, to make sure that the show still has a familiar element to it, we see the usual Nikita origin story played out via Alex - a Nikita-esque teen who's a recent Division recruit.

SPOILER WARNINGS:

The pilot very cleverly threw us a big curveball at the end. We had been led to believe that the stories of Nikita and Alex were relatively distinct. Perhaps, we might assume, Alex was being groomed to eventually help take down Nikita in a clash of the new model vs. the original. But, as it turns out, Alex is actually working WITH Nikita, planted in Division to spy on the group and act as Nikita's woman on the inside.

This was a damn good twist, I thought, and instantly gave the pilot a new layer of complexity that we didn't quite see at the outset. While watching the pilot, I definitely had some major reservations about the show's potential - the acting was in some cases subpar, there was some iffy writing / dialogue, and while the show looked slick, it lacked the unique style and aesthetic of the old USA series. But, that ending made me think that the show might just have some real juice - if this new Nikita could weave an intricate, layered plot around these iconic archetypes, then maybe, just maybe, it could prove itself a worthy torchbearer of the La Femme Nikita franchise.

So, I was sort of excited for Episode 2, and genuinely starting to wonder where the plot was going. I was coming around to Hong Kong action star Maggie Q in the title role, and was anxious to see if some of the key supporting actors like Xander Berkley as Percy (filling the old role of "Operations) and Melinda Clarke as Amanda (the equivalent of the old series' Madeline) could step up and be as good in this as they were on 24 and The OC respectively. In Episode 2 though, I still don't think either character has much bite, and watching this one really made me miss the old series. Xander Berkley does sleazy cunning well, but so far he doesn't seem truly menacing or dangerous. Similarly, Melinda Clarke has shown she's good with soapy melodrama, but seems a little lightweight here. And maybe that's the problem - while the Nikita pilot seemed surprisingly edgy and action-packed for a CW show, the second ep seemed to revert to what I had feared the show might be. The petty fighting at Division between Alex and rival recruit Jaden, for example, was just plain hard to watch. And although the Birkhoff character had some fun moments, he just comes off like every snarky tech geek in every action show and movie ever made. What made the character so great on La Femme Nikita was that he wasn't snarky or cool, but a genuinely shy, awkward, nerdy guy who had basically never known a life outside of Section. I don't know, I'm just concerned that so far, none of the supporting characters have truly popped.

I'm also concerned with the overall pacing of the show. Whereas the old La Femme Nikita was known for its stylish action sequences and proto-24 sense of sleek, quasi-futuristic cool, the new Nikita seems to have a lot of CW-style montages of emo-ish brooding set to mellow indie rock tunes. Seriously? This is Nikita, not Gossip Girl and hopefully not Smallville. Less brooding, more ass-kicking, please. The style issue is actually important, too. On the old show, Section was a cold, foreboding place filled with sinister-looking operatives and hardened criminals-turned-government-agents. Now, Division is like reform school for troubled teens who walk around wearing ab-revealing tank tops and spend most of their time in high school-style romantic stand-offs.. Again, the pilot hinted that things would be a little more edgy and hardcore than you might have thought, and yet ... Episode 2 felt like a step back.

Indeed, even the segments that were on one level the most intriguing - the flashbacks to Nikita's initial recruitment of Alex - felt pretty by-the-numbers. If these are the kinds of flashbacks that the show has in store for us, then I hope it sticks more to the here and now from this point forward. I think I was also a bit troubled by the "mission" at hand for Alex. Not to beat a dead horse here, but La Femme Nikita, when not airing mythology-driven episodes, had a knack for really badass one-and-done installments, often with pretty memorable villains-of-the-week. In comparison, Alex's first mission was, well, to be a prostitute. Seriously, that was it. It made me wonder if the show might collapse under the weight of its multitiered structure. If each episode is going to feature more of the cat and mouse game between Nikita and Division, PLUS a mission-of-the-week for Alex, PLUS have Nikita somehow end up involved in Alex's mission trying to both help her AND thwart Division's sketchy agenda - that's going to make it hard to focus on anything in particular, and to really churn out some meaty self-contained stories.

I think, with a show like Nikita, that's a remake of a remake of a remake, it really needs a reason to justify its existence. Is it a unique creative vision? A new twist on an old story? A new chapter? The pilot hinted that it might be something interesting, something special. Episode 2 gave me some serious doubts. Now, I'm on the fence. We'll see what the next handful of episodes bring.

My Grade:

Pilot: B+

Episode 2: C+

And, what was I saying about having a fierce internal debate about whether to spring for HBO? Haven't quite settled that yet, but I did manage to catch the pilot episode of Boardwalk Empire, so ... here are my thoughts.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE thoughts:

It's funny, because a lot of people - me included - have expressed worry that, after a brief renaissance of sorts, TV could be headed back to a dark age of reality TV crap and other such lowest-common-denominator fare. There is some evidence to support that, but, whereas things looked bleak a year or two ago, networks like FX, AMC, and in particular HBO are fighting to usher in a new golden age. Hugely ambitious projects, big budgets, A-list cast and creative talent. Experiences on television that equal or rival anything at the movies in terms of size and scope. Well, BOARDWALK EMPIRE is exhibit A in this equation - a new HBO series brimming with ambition and loaded with talent. Rarely has a TV show been this prestige right out of the gate.

The Boardwalk Empire pilot, directed by Martin Scorcese, feels like Part 1 of the next Oscar-worthy Martin Scorcese movie. That alone is a pretty huge endorsement. Steve Buscemi stars as Nucky Thompson, the city treasurer of Atlantic City at the dawn of the prohibition era. Even before the new anti-booze laws go into effect, Nucky has plans to keep Atlantic City wet even as other parts of the country go dry. Buscemi has always been the man - one of the best actors of the last couple of decades - and it's a treat to see him star in a show like this. It's definitely a unique role for character actor Buscemi - we're used to seeing him play weaselly, awkward outcasts. But here he's sort of sleazy, sure, but also a leader and a fugire of great authority. I think it's a credit to Buscemi that he pulls it off.

The rest of the cast is already shaping up to be stellar. I can't wait, for example, to see more of the great Michael Shannon as Van Alden, a fed looking to put the early hurt on would-be bootleggers. I think Shannon should be in the Oscar race for his role in this year's The Runaways, and now he may be in the Emmy race for this part as well. The guy is just intense as hell in everything he does. Michael Pitt is probably the early standout though as Jimmy - a young lackey of Nucky's who's still traumatized from his experiences in WWI and feeling reckless and overambitious because of it. It's clear that the building partnership/conflict between Nucky and Jimmy is going to be one of the show's central story arcs, and it's going to be exciting to see that develop over time.

In fact, the pilot is almost overloaded with characters and plot points, and it's one flaw is that it feels so much, structurally, like a movie, that it almost feels like you're getting bits of a great film without the payoff. From what I've read, the show settles into a more conventional, serialized rhythm in the second episode, which is good. But, by that same token, the pilot really feels like something special for that same reason - it's just uber-cinematic and epic. The direction by Scorcese is classic Scorcese - evocative, larger-than-life, and at times filled with quick bursts of brutal and shocking violence. There's a lot of very artful cutting between the main characters and colorful period detail - street parades, comedy shows, ostentatious advertising, etc. - that give a real flavor for the time and place. And all of that detail is pretty amazing - the set design, the locations, the costuming - they're all absolutely top notch.

I'm very, very curious to see some additional episodes of Boardwalk Empire. There's so much setup in the pilot that it's almost difficult to tell where this is all going - which characters are the ones to watch, which plotlines are going to have the big payoffs? But what the pilot pulls off spectacularly is that it creates - well, recreates - this world that you want to go back to. So far, so good.

My Grade: A-

Man, so much TV. Tonight alone, we've got the return of CHUCK, the premiere of THE EVENT, and the premiere of LONE STAR. Stay tuned for more.

Danny's 2010 Fall TV Preview: The New & Returning Shows I'll Be Watching, Downloading, Streaming, DVR'ing, and Beaming Into My Brain!

I both love and hate the Fall TV season. As a kid, new Fall TV was the perfect counterbalance to the doldrums of back-to-school season. We were about to get bombarded with homework and tests, but gosh darn it, new episodes of The X-Files and The Simpsons would be there to ease the pain. Yes, I was one of those kids who poured over the TV Guide Fall Preview issue every year and dutifully determined which of the new Fall shows I'd try out. Oh, how things were simpler back then. If a show was on FOX's Sunday night lineup, I'd give it a look. If a show was sci-fi or bore some similarity to my then-fave X-Files, I'd probably also check it out. Once in a while, I'd get sucked into the odd family drama (hello, Party of Five). Whitebread comedies about priveleged yuppies? Pass (although subversive comedies that *mock* whitebread yuppies, ala Arrested Development? Yes, please). Anything on geriatric CBS? Definitely pass (and with rare exceptions that still holds true today - except for the underrated Swingtown from a few years back, which I still don't think got a fair shake). Today, things are more complicated. Part of me wants to watch anything and everything, but part of me doesn't want to devote the time to all of these shows just for the sake of being in the loop. At the same time, it's so easy to miss some of the good stuff. There's just too much good TV out there for any one person to watch, and it's easy to suddenly realize that there's some apparently-amazing show called Mad Men that everyone seems to be watching except you. F/X now has multiple great shows. AMC as well. HBO seems to be back in top form, and Showtime is getting up there, even Starz (I still need to see Spartacus). There's too much, and no person not named Matt Roush could ever hope to watch it all.

That's why - and I hate to admit it - but I'm often secretly hoping that new TV shows will suck. Nowadays, when a new show has a great pilot, I'm often simultaneously excited and annoyed. Excited that the show was top-notch, annoyed that here is yet another potential time-waster. I just felt that way this past week while watching the pilot of TERRIERS, from F/X. I watched it on a whim, curious because of F/X's great track record of late and because I'm a fan of star Donal Logue. Turns out, the show had a damn good pilot that got me intrigued for episodes to come. And yet, part of me wanted to just ditch the show. It was extremely well done, yes, but was it essential viewing? Hard to say at this point, but I now feel semi-obligated to give it a chance to prove itself. Then again, there are some shows that are just plain no-brainers. In the case of AMC's upcoming WALKING DEAD series, that's true in more ways than one (bwahaha). What I mean is, there's no way in hell that I'm going to miss that one. Frank Darabount adapting the best serialized comic book in existence? I'm onboard, no questions asked.

Part of what's so interesting about AMC's The Walking Dead, however, is that it's truly something we've never seen on TV before. I feel like so many TV shows historically play it safe and basically just recycle elements we've already seen a million times. But, that is starting to change. A couple years ago, I never would have thought that a TV show about the zombie apocalypse would make it to air. And indeed, I don't think many within the industry thought that such a concept was commercially viable. But now, experiment-inclined networks like AMC are taking a chance, and the results should be really, really interesting. And I guess that's why, in comparison, a lot of the same-old, same-old stuff just doesn't tickle my fancy like it used to. Again, so many recycled concepts: Hawaii Five-O - seriously? Who was clamoring for that? The new show is getting good buzz, but I just don't quite get the appeal of a fairly blah concept being dragged out from the dustballs for no apparent reason. And hey, I enjoyed the Nikita pilot, but it's not something that even needed to be called Nikita. Why not be original and create the NEXT great spy franchise, not recycle something that's already been done and done well.

At the same time though, I do think there is a growing sense of ambition in the TV industry, at least in some respects - and maybe it's partly born out of desperation, I don't know. I mean, just this past week, NBC Universal announced a hugely ambitious plan to turn Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER series of books into a multimedia film and TV franchise, with a slew of films accompanied by a TV series that would closely tie-in with the movies, with Ron Howard directing / executive-producing. Now that's raising the bar in terms of scale. At the same time, there are all kinds of similarly-exciting projects in the pipeline, projects that really have no precedent in television. From Steven Spielberg's dinosaur adventure Terra Nova on FOX to HBO's fantasy epic Game of Thrones - both coming in 2011 - there's some really interesting, unprecedented stuff coming to TV in the next year or so. It's encouraging, I think, to know that even though we still have a glut of reality, the networks and HBO and others are putting some substantial cash into big, unique, scripted projects to distinguish themselves from the E!'s and VH1's of the world.

So what we're witnessing now - the relatively safe slate of new Fall TV set to premiere over the next few weeks - may just be the calm before the storm. But I do think there's a lot of give and take going on. Once upon a time, for example, all the networks were looking for the next Lost. But now that Lost is off the air, people seem to have backed off a bit. Maybe that's because of shows like ... Surface, Threshold, Invasion, The Nine, Flashforward, etc. ... whose collective failure may have scared people off of finding the next Lost. But hey, I think NBC is smart to be pushing THE EVENT as hard as they are. Speaking for myself, I am definitely going to have a void that needs filling this year sans 24 and Lost - maybe my two favorite TV shows of the last several years. Yes, FRINGE is the bomb (and I can't wait for the new season), but I may have room for one more blockbuster sci-fi serial.

Still, even as TV programmers plan some ambitious content, they're also, I think, going back to basics a bit. The reason is that the networks in particular are no longer just going after the once-coveted 18-49 demo. As much as us Gen Y-ers may hate to admit it, the nation's largest and most influential demo is still the Baby Boomers, and, guess what - the Baby Boomers are now well into their 50's and older. But, they have the money (unlike us poor twenty-somethings), and they're the ones who still watch TV the old-fashioned way - in primetime, on TV, in real-time. So, I think we're going to continue to see a selection of shows that feature older characters or more old-school elements in general. Guys like Jimmy Smits, Tom Selleck, and William Shatner - who all hold appeal with the AARP crowd, are more prominent than ever on the air, as are reimaginings of Boomer favorites like Hawaii Five-O, The Rockford Files, etc. So ... how long before Matlock gets a remake?

Suffice it to say, it's definitely an interesting time in television. Between new distribution models, new networks that are emerging as primetime players, and new genres that are crossing over from movies and games and comics to TV, change is definitely in the air (even if it's not, necessarilly, evident in the Fall TV schedule just yet).

So what new series am I most looking forward to this Fall? A quick list below:

1. THE WALKING DEAD - AMC

- Even if this was *just* your run-of-the-mill zombie apocalypse TV show, I'd probably be excited. But, this is not run-of-the-mill by any stretch. It's an adaptation of The Walking Dead comic book - maybe the single best, most riveting comic of the last five years. Creator Robert Kirkman is onboard with the show, even writing some episodes. And the show's driving creative force? Some guy named Frank Darabount. If you've read the graphic novels though, you know that the whole zombie thing is really the backdrop by which Kirkman explores the dark places of the human soul. He examnes the places that people will go when stripped of the comforts of modern society, forced to fight to simply survive. It's potent subject matter, and I have every confidence that AMC won't shy away from the edginess of the comics. Yep, this show is going to freaking rock, and it's my #1 "must-see" series of the Fall.

2. THE EVENT - NBC

- I don't know if The Event will have a great fourth episode, or a great fifth episode. And as is always the case with shows of this type, that will ultimately be what makes or breaks it. But I think the show will grab people at the outset, because I can testify that the pilot is pretty darn compelling, and sets up a lot of intriguing questions and mysteries. I'm very curious about a couple of things though. I'm wondering what this show will be like week to week - from the pilot, it's hard to get a sense of that, exactly. I'm also anxious to see if the show becomes mythology-heavy, or keeps things more self-contained. Looking at something like Fringe, I think The Event could benefit from laying its cards on the table fairly quickly and taking things up a notch from there. But the show has an excellent cast and a fun pilot. I'm excited to see how it progresses.

3. BOARDWALK EMPIRE - HBO

- I currently don't have HBO, but this show is really tempting me to subscribe. From Martin Scorcese, this prohibition-era drama stars the great Steve Buscemi, and yeah, basically looks like it will be amazing. I think just knowing that this show is on HBO, where there's free reign for it to be R-rated and adult, makes it that much more appealling. Plus, it just looks to document a fascinating time in history, and again, it's a story that we've never really seen on TV before. That's become HBO's specialty of late, and this looks to be another crown jewel in their stellar lineup.

4. LONESTAR - FOX

- I read the script for this a while back on the recommendation of my friend Abby (one of the biggest TV gurus I know), and as usual her judgement was impeccable - it was a crazy-good read, full of intrigue, double-crosses, and twists. Imagine, if you will, a drama about Sawyer from Lost's life as a con-man, pre-Island, and you might have an idea of what Lonestar is all about. Now, my main question is whether the actual pilot and subsequent episodes can capture the energy of the script's writing, and whether the cast is up to the task of pulling it all off. Also, why do Monday nights have to be so crowded this fall? Still, Lonestar will definitely be a show to sample.

5. NIKITA - CW

- I was very much prepared to hate this show, but I admit to being pretty impressed with the pilot, which had some cool action, some interesting setup, and a damn good twist at the end that I wasn't expecting. It's still hard for me to accept yet another take on the La Femme Nikita mythos, especially being a huge fan of the 90's USA series. But I at least appreciate that this new version picks up at a later point in the story, rather than just being another retread of the tried-and-true origin story. After the pilot though, I'm definitely in for a while longer.

6. TERRIERS - F/X

- Here's another show that I really had zero expectations for. But I was really surprised by the pilot, to the point where I may be onboard for the long haul if the quality keeps up. I feel like it may be premature to invoke the late great Veronica Mars, but I definitely got a VM vibe while watching this show. There was a gritty, semi-noirish feel to the pilot, with some dark humor and quirkiness thrown in as well. And I was intrigued by the mix of standalone cases mixed in with an ongoing plotline of corruption and greed in a SoCal beach town - a formula that worked well for shows like VM and later Justified. Definitely a lot of promise here.

7. RUNNING WILDE / INCREASINGLY POOR DECISIONS OF TODD MARGARET - FOX / IFC

- Random tangent: can we please get a moratorium on show's with titles that incorporate the character's pun-er-ific last name? I mean, how many characters need to have conveniently kewl-sounding names like Hope, Caine, Wilde, etc. just for the sake of an artificially catchy-seeming title? Enough already. Anyways, Arrested Development fans rejoice. There's a new show on FOX called Running Wilde, and it's from AD creator Mitch Hurvitz and it stars Will Arnett! Meanwhile, IFC has a new comedy, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (whew!), that stars David Cross! And, David Cross is also a recurring guest star on Running Wilde! Now, will either of these shows be any good? We can only hope. Running Wilde seemed like a sure bet, but early reviews have been very, very mixed. So we'll have to wait and see. Todd Margaret looks super quirky but potentially awesome. IFC has no real track record to speak of though, so it's also something of an unknown quantity. Either way, it's hard to imagine that Will Arnett and David Cross on TV will be a bad thing.

8. NO ORDINARY FAMILY - ABC

- I'm somewhat surprised that ABC has no real heir apparent to Lost on its Fall schedule, but they do have a show that looks like it borrows a lot from Heroes, The Incredibles, and The Fantastic Four - No Ordinary Family. I watched this pilot a while back, and had mixed feelings. On one hand, the show looked and felt top-notch, production-wise. Movie-caliber f/x and a great cast were some of the highlights. But, it also was a little too light and bouncy and cheesy for my tastes, more ABC Family or Disney Channel-ish than anything else. Still, if subsequent episodes give us a little more to sink our teeth into - some meatier plots, villains, etc. - this could really be one to watch.

9. UNDERCOVERS - NBC

- Undercovers has a lot going for it. If nothing else, it's the new show from JJ Abrams, and given his track record I think a lot of people will a.) check it out, and b.) be willing to invest some time in it to see how it shapes up. However, I think fans of Alias, Lost, and Fringe will likely have to resign themselves to the fact that Undercovers is not going to be a big, mythology-heavy show like Abrams' other recent projects. At least at first. It's a lot lighter than those shows, and I'm curious if it will stay that way or evolve into something with a bit more bite to it. That said, it's JJ Abrams doing a spy show, so you know you're going to get interesting characters, bigtime action, and plenty of cool visuals.

10. MY GENERATION - ABC

- I read the pilot script to this one a while back, and enjoyed it - and now I'm very curious to see how it translates to the screen. I can't help but get a kick out of the fact that the show is all about a group of people exactly my age - it chronicles a group of young adults who graduated high school in 2000, and intercuts between their time as seniors and their current lives ten years later. I really hope that the show turns out to be more than just a series of cliches, and that the characters end up feeling authentic. I'll be watching this one closely though, and I do think it could be a sleeper.

And how about returning series? Here are my top picks for Fall:

1. FRINGE - FOX

- Last year, Fringe emerged as *the* must-see show on network TV, expanding its mythology and going full-steam-ahead into the farthest reaches of time and space. I can't wait to see where things pick up in Season 3, and I can't wait to see the too-good-for-the-Emmys John Noble back on TV as the insanely awesome Dr. Walter Bishop.

2. THE OFFICE - NBC

- I have high hopes for The Office this year, Steve Carell's last on the show. I have a feeling that the show is going to going to make sure that Michael Scott goes out with a bang, and I can't wait to see the buildup towards a post-Michael Scott office. Sometimes, having a definitive endpoint is the best thing for a show creatively, and I think it's going to be exciting to see The Office march to a conclusion, of sorts, this coming year.

3. CHUCK - NBC

- Finally, Chuck is actually coming back in September with a full season of awesome. It warms my heart to know that Chuck is about to, somewhat improbably, begin its fourth season, and I can't wait to see what surprises the show has in store. One thing we do know is that there will be some great stunt casting - people like Linda Hamilton and Dolph Lungdren. Mostly though, I'm just excited to spend more time with the show's great, often hilarious cast of characters. Keep eating your Subway sandwiches, fanboys, and support Chuck!

4. SMALLVILLE - CW

- I never thought this day would come, but here we are - the tenth and FINAL season of the show that never ends - Smallville. If you've read my blog you know that I've always had very mixed feelings about the show. Its quality veers wildly from great to awful, and it just seems to meander with no signs of actual character progression - making Clark's fateful transition to Superman the slowest march to superherodom in history. But time is almost up, so I hope and pray to the gods of Krypton that this season actually brings us some real Superman-worthy moments. I want the blue, red, and yellow tights, dammit. I want huge action, great villains, and I want Clark to nut-up, and be less emo and more Superman. I've made it this far, so yeah, I'm in it 'til the end. So come on Smallville - kick some ass. I'm rootin' for ya'.

5. COMMUNITY - NBC

- Community emerged last year as perhaps the funniest show on TV, and I can't wait to see what Season 2 brings now that the show's really found its groove. And hey, Betty White is on the first few episodes. Everyone loves Betty White. And Betty White could help bring even more eyeballs to Community, which is awesome, because man, this show is hilarious. If you need proof, go back and watch the paintball episode from Season 1, and tell me it's not ridiculously funny.

6. EASTBOUND & DOWN - HBO

- Hmm, now that I think about it, this might be my #1 pick, except for that pesky no-HBO thing. That said, I am dyin', dyin' I tell you, to see Season 2 of one of the funniest series I've ever seen. All hail Danny McBride as Kenny f'n Powers. I loved Season 1 so much that I almost don't want a Season 2 - it was just so good as a self-contained thing. But at the same time, the idea of more Kenny Powers and co. is too good to say no to. My god, this show is amazing.

7. MODERN FAMILY - ABC

- Yes, I am an MF'er. I can't wait to see more Modern Family, which after only one season is already like this crazy TV comedy comfort food. The characters on this show are so great, to the point where just reading descriptions of upcoming plotlines in Entertainment Weekly made me chuckle, as I could so clearly envision how hilarity would ensue in the situations mentioned. Yes to more Modern Family.

8. GLEE - FOX

- I like Glee, but you never really know what show you're getting with this one. Dark? Light? Funny? Serious? Who knows. But I guess that's what makes the show so watchable - it's completely unpredictable episode to episode. I do feel like there could be some burnout in Season 2, but I'm also curious to see how the show will attempt to continue to keep up its momentum from Season 1. If nothing else, there's Jane Lynch, and Jane Lynch is awesome.

9. 30 ROCK - NBC

- I admit to having lost a little interest in 30 Rock last season, but with a show like this, it's such a perrenial all-star that even after a few off nights, it could still come out swinging. Who am I kidding, I love 30 Rock - it's one of the funniest shows of the last five years. I just want it to reclaim its former randomness - more silly satire and less soapy love triangles, please!

10. THE SIMPSONS - FOX

- Don't roll your eyes at me, you cynical bastards. Yes, the show is long in the tooth, and yes, it's not the same show it once was, oh, fifteen years ago. But, who knows. What if this season of The Simpsons is great? What if the return of Futurama, which came back in top form this summer, has lit a fire under the current crop of Simpsons writers and producers? What if the upcoming episode with Brett and Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords as starving artists who mentor Lisa is actually as funny as it sounds? What if can be a dangerous question, but hey, you never know.

- So, what shows are you looking forward to? Anything I left off the list? For now though, happy TV watching.

Danny's Super-Epic Summer 2010 Movie Wrap-Up: The Top 10 Movies Of The Summer!

Within weeks, it was clear that Summer 2010 was not exactly going to be a banner season at the box office. That's not to say there weren't certain films that were highly-anticipated, but overall, the really exciting movies seemed few and far between, and they were outweighed by a glut of pointless-seeming remakes, sequels, and bottom-of-the-barrel mediocrity. It was especially hard not to be disappointed in this summer's crop of movies in comparison to last summer's amazing output. Summer 2009 was jampacked with great movies - in a span of months we had The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, District 9, Moon, Up, Star Trek, Drag Me to Hell, and more. Three Best Picture Oscar nominees, and one eventual winner.

Were there movies of that caliber this summer? Sure, a couple. But the sheer amount of crap was staggering. I mean, there was a Marmaduke movie. Marmaduke!

There was The Karate Kid, The A-Team, Predators - 80's remakes that were okay, sure, but unnecessary and just felt like Hollywood throwing darts at a wall of nostalgia and seeing if anything stuck. Step Up 3D, Vampires Suck, Grown Ups. Prince of Persia - an overhyped mess, along with The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Jonah Hex, which should have been awesome given the source material but was, by all accounts, a disaster. The Last Airbender - need I say more? The thing is, a lot of these were big-budget tentpole movies. The kind of movies that are meant to truly wow us. Very few films lived up to the hype this summer. Even Iron Man 2, probably the most anticipated blockbuster as the summer began, was very good but not great. When even a sure thing like that doesn't quite deliver on expectations, you know you're in trouble. Hell, every guy with an ounce of testosterone in his body was looking forward to The Expendables, but I haven't heard a single person who really loved the movie, which was not, as it turns out, the ultimate action film it was hyped up to be.

The one movie that kicked ass both critically and commercially this summer? Inception. Christopher Nolan delivered, plain and simple. It's an instant-classic film that is going to be talked about and analyzed for a long time, and it's right up there with Memento and The Dark Knight in the Nolan cannon. The other film that just about everyone can agree on: Toy Story 3. The film was another Pixar blockbuster, and it was a fun, exciting, and surprisingly emotional movie that was as good if not better for adults as it was for kids.

Meanwhile, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World *should* have been right up there with Inception as one of the summer's biggest commercial hits. I see why the movie was a hard sell initially, but still, it's one of those great films that has a little something for everyone: action, humor, romance, and heart - plus amazing visuals and style to spare. Scott Pilgrim has been one of the most hotly debated films of the summer - those who like it really like it - me included, while others were quick to dismiss it for whatever reason.

Let me take a second though and make an important point about movies - and this is in response to all the snarky commentators on sites like Deadline Hollywood that think they have all the answers. I can't stand it when people talk about box office gross and *quality* as if they are one and the same. Plenty of terrible movies make money, and plenty of great movies underperform. But what I can't stand is people who say "oh, the movie bombed, clearly it's awful - what were they thinking in greenlighting this film?" But some people are so jaded that they can't seem to separate the movie-going experience from all of the other stuff surrounding the movie industry. I'm sick of seeing reviews and commentaries that talk about a star's likability (based more on their real-life persona than the quality of their work in a film), a movie's box office potential, the politics behind the making of the movie, etc. If you want to specifically analyze how a film was marketed, then fine. But keep that separate from any discussion of a movie's quality - it's irrelevant.

This summer, I felt like the level of discussion around movies often sank to new lows. Scott Pilgrim was a great example. A lot of fans were passionate about the movie, and in response, there was a backlash to the positivity that was often painful to read or listen to. I guess some people saw the film as yet another example of Hollywood misguidedly catering to fanboy sensibilities, supposedly to the exclusion of more mainstream, traditional fare. All of those haters need to get over themselves. It's not some big, new revelation that all movies aren't for everyone. I totally get that something like Scott Pilgrim isn't everyone's cup of tea, just as I get that Eat, Pray, Love probably isn't for me. But to me, it's frustrating to see culture wars play out when discussing movies. And one other pet peeve - I'm sick of people having an opinion on a movie because they arbitrarily like or disklike one of its stars. If you think someone is a bad actor or a great actor, then fine. But I feel like Scott Pilgrim (sorry to keep using it, but it's a fascinating example) discussions often included people saying "I can't stand Michael Cera," "Michael Cera is not a star," etc. Um, what? Okay, let's look at Michael Cera. He was hilarious and beloved on Arrested Development. He went on to be in a series of funny and/or quality movies from there: Superbad, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Juno, and Youth In Revolt. Has he played sort-of-similar characters? Sure. But his career is also only a few years old, so give him a break. Then there's all this talk - a lot of it, again, on sites like Deadline - about who is and isn't a star. Look - NOBODY is a "star" anymore. Any actor can be in a huge grossing movie or in a bomb. People say Michael Cera isn't a star - he's appeared in some huge-grossing movies, so on what basis do you say that? People say Jennifer Aniston isn't a star - true, she's been in a lot of duds, but if just about any other actress was in those same crappy movies, you'd get the same crappy result. If Will Smith were to star in a quirky indie arthouse movie, would it make 100 million dollars? No. Look at George Clooney's career - he's a huge tabloid persona, an A-list celeb - but many of his movies have been relatively modest performers at the box office - and that's because he stars in a lot of smaller, quirkier movies (like the recent film The American). My point is that it's ridiculous to slam a movie like Scott Pilgrim by pointing out that Michael Cera isn't a star. If everything was exactly the same, but the movie starred Jesse Eisenberg, would it have done any better or worse? Zach Effron (who starred in the bomb Charlie St. Cloud)? Who? What I'm getting at is that there is the world of tabloid gossip and celebrity and there is the world of movies and entertainment. The correlation between the two is increasingly minimal.

But to apply my point to more of this summer's movies, let me talk about some of the great indie flicks that were released. The Kids Are All Right was one such movie. I don't know what kind of "stars" Annette Benning or Julianne Moore are, but I do know that both of them turn in amazing, Oscar-worthy peformances in the film. While not quite on the same level, you had Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, and Marissa Tomei all in fine form in indie-comedy Cyrus. Michael Fassbender kicking ass as a member of the Roman army's Ninth Legion in Centurion. And yes, the legendary Michael Caine showing he's still one tough bastard in the revenge thriller Harry Brown. Speaking of tough bastards, how about Danny Trejo as Machete? While a couple of movies like The Expendables and Pirahna 3D tried to recreate old-school B-movie thrills, Machete was the one summer movie that felt like B-movie grindhouse nirvana.

Finally, I'll end my Summer summary on this note: MacGruber was crazy funny. I know there were higher profile comedies like The Other Guys and Get Him to the Greek, but man, I don't think any other movie this summer made me laugh harder than MacGruber. If that makes me insane, then so be it.

And yeah, I'm sure I missed some good ones. I still really want to see Australian crime flick Animal Kingdom, for example.

In any case, I'm looking forward to all of the great-looking films coming our way this fall and winter. And by the way, there are at least a few films from earlier this year that I think should be in the discussion in December when we start talking best-of-the-year. How To Train Your Dragon, for one. The Runaways, for another.

And so, without further ado ...



DANNY'S TOP 10 MOVIES OF SUMMER 2010:


1. INCEPTION

- Christopher Nolan's mind-bending thriller was a heist movie, an action film, and a metaphysical mind-$%&% all rolled into one. Great performances, riveting direction, and a plot that had us all talking, debating, and comparing notes. Inception was the savior of Summer 2010 - the one blockbuster action film that lived up to all the hype and then some.


2. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

- Scott Pilgrim was the most fun I had at the movies this summer. Like some crazed, videogame-inspired fever dream, Scott Pilgrim is a retro rock n' roll adventure that's like nothing you've ever seen before. Edgar Wright is totally on top of his game, delivering a new cult classic that surpasses the likes of Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz for sheer wit, humor, and heart.


3. TOY STORY 3

- Pixar does it again, eclipsing the first two Toy Story movies in every way, with a third film that is surprisingly dark and moving. Thinking back on this one, what really impresses me is how the movie works as both an intimate story about growing up and moving on, and as a huge adventure film with set piece sequences to rival Indiana Jones. Truly a remarkable achievement.


4. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

- This one really surprised me - I expected a run-of-the-mill family drama but got something surprisingly sweet, sharp, and raw. The movie presents a unique sort of family that is nonetheless all too relatable, and it features a cast that is top-to-bottom amazing.


5. MACHETE

- As much as I enjoyed Grindhouse a few years back, Machete may just be the ultimate postmodern grindhouse flick. Badass, ultra-violent, and oftentimes hilarious, Machete is an ultra-enjoyable homage to old-school exploitation. And was there any better line of deadpan dialogue this summer than "Machete don't text" ...?


6. CENTURION

- Centurion didn't get a wide release, which is too bad, because it has the same sort of badass, bone-crunching style that made similarly stylized historical epics like Gladiator and 300 pop. Filled with iconic characters and memorable performances, Centurion is a pulpy parable set in ancient Rome that deserves to find an appreciative audience.


7. CYRUS

- In a summer filled with quite a few rather generic comedies, Cyrus stood out for taking mainstream comedy stars and placing them in a decidedly indie-style film. Cyrus was a movie that went to very weird, very dark places, and was all the funnier for it.


8. IRON MAN 2

- Even if it didn't quite have the polish of the first film, Iron Man 2 succeeded in being bigger and crazier than the original, and was yet another worthy epic from Marvel Studios. Not many other big studio blockbusters had that must-see feel to them this summer, but Iron Man 2 truly felt like a cinematic event. Not only did it have a great cast and kickass action, but it helped set the stage for the expansion of the Marvel movie universe, and effectively hinted at even bigger and better things to come.


9. MACGRUBER

- I know, I know - the comedies in vogue these days are the Judd Apatow-style films that mix vulgarity, wit, and heart and make us feel like we're hanging with the cool kids. But sometimes, you can't beat a good, old-fashioned silly satire, and MacGruber was squarely in that camp - a gag-filled spoof that reminded me of movies I loved as a kid like The Naked Gun and Hot Shots. MacGruber is a pretty damn hilarious parody of 80's action movies, and I laughed my ass off while watching it.


10. HARRY BROWN

- Harry Brown had its flaws as a movie, but man, did it ever have some kickass moments. A British take on the Gran Turino-style genre of "old man who kicks ass one last time", Harry Brown features a very memorable turn from Michael Caine. If you ever had a moment while watching The Dark Knight where you thought "hmm, I bet Alfred kicked some major league ass in his day," well, Harry Brown is proof that yes, yes he did.


Runners Up:


ROBIN HOOD

- Unfairly pummelled by the press, Robin Hood wasn't incredible, but it was solid - with some impressive action scenes and Ridley Scott's usual directorial prowess. While the movie took a while to shift into high gear, by the end I was actually sort of jonesing for a sequel.


SALT

- Salt was just a fun, old-fashioned action movie. Not too flashy ... but with a lot of old-school stunt work and crazy-yet-fun twists, this was a solid popcorn movie and a great vehicle for Angelina Jolie.


And that's it for my Summer 2010 wrap-up. What are your thoughts? Any movies that I left out? Any of my top picks you disagree with? Let's hear it.

Danny Gets Real With THE AMERICAN.

THE AMERICAN Review:

- I don't know if The American fully works as a movie, but at the least, I give it props for its unique approach in telling its story. The movie is methodically paced, short on dialogue, and lean on plot or character details. It feels very European, very 70's-ish, very retro overall. I dug the aesthetic, and loved the movie's stunning scenery and exotic locales. There were moments when I was sucked in, when I found myself getting lost in the lush landscapes and atmospheric storytelling. And yet, the movie never really comes together in any meaningful way. For all of its eye-pleasing cinematography, the movie never truly gives you much to sink your teeth into. Not much actually happens. That could be okay in some instances, but I think The American is set up in such a way that its trying to get us invested in its lead character. We're supposed to wonder about him, to wonder what it must be like to live his life. But the movie's sparse style ultimately backfires. It leaves us feeling empty and unsatisfied. Nonetheless, I'd say The American is worth checking out if only because it is, in many ways, a refreshing alternative to the standard spy movie. The pacing, the look, the feel of the film is going to really surprise people who go in expecting a standard-issue George Clooney action thriller. It's going to turn people off, because make no mistake, this is an art film disguised as a Hollywood blockbuster. For that reason, you've got to respect it at least a little. At the same time, artsy doesn't always automatically equal incredible, and The American is proof that attempting to be abstract and experimental doesn't always pay off as the artist intended.

The American stars Clooney as Jack, a veteran weapons-maker who crafts ultra high-precision firearms for use by trained assassins. We don't know much about Jack - we're not sure if he is or was an assassin himself, but we get the sense that he's been a longtime player in this high stakes and dangerous world, and is ready to get out. Jack had been laying low in Europe with a woman, possibly thinking that he could stay off the grid. Of course, Jack was wrong. Soon enough, his past catches up to him, and he's back in the game, doing one last job for his old employer. Working out of a remote mountain village in Italy, Jack tells the locals that he's a nature photographer on assignment, when in fact he spends his days creating a precision sniper rifle for use in some sort of high profile assassination. When he's not meeting with his client - a femme fatale spy type, he's striking up a reluctant friendship with the chatty local priest, or cavorting with a stunning prostitute who has taken a more-than-professional liking to him. All the while, Jack is becoming increasingly paranoid that he'll be found out by people out to get him. He's contstantly on high alert for anyone who might want to find him and kill him, and he's constantly haunted by the horrors of his life as a professional killer.

Again, the setup for the film is very bare bones. The film drops us into the middle of Jack's life-in-progress and never really takes the time to catch us up on what, exactly, has gotten us to this point in the story. It's an interesting concept - letting us observe this character without a lot of context - seeing him operate and seeing how he thinks, but never having a real grasp of the bigger picture. For parts of the film, this storytelling style works in part because we're able to ignore the particulars of the plot and just immerse ourselves in the visuals. Director Anton Corbijn has long, lingering shots of the European countryside - of hills, forests, and streams, of old villages and snow-covered vistas, of quaint cafes and winding cobblestone streets. The American, ironically enough given the title, does a remarkable job of transporting you to these other places. If nothing else, you'll have a hankering to go backpacking through Europe after seeing this film. By the same token, Corbijn seems to transport us to another time as well. On one hand, the presence of cell phones and other modern tech clearly places this film in the present day. And yet, everything from the cinematic stylings to the hairstyles and fashions indicates a bygone era. The movie screams 70's-era cool - you half-expect a young Elliot Gould to pop up and share a cigarette with Clooney in some out-of-the-way cafe.

So yeah, clearly, the movie has a ton of style and sense of place. In a weird way, it almost reminded me a bit of Let The Right One In - if only because that was another movie with a heavily European aesthetic, whose extremely methodical pace allowed for lingering shots of flora and fauna and other quietly reflective atmospherics. Does the pacing mean that The American gets boring at times? I think so, yeah. Whereas Let The Right One In presented us with an increasingly fascinating and disturbing plotline, The American never gives us any great payoffs to all the slowly-building tension. The plot is thin, and yet a lot of time is spent building up a couple of key mysteries - Who is Jack really working for? Who is their target? And ... Who are the mysterious men after Jack, and why? Maybe there's a way to address these questions without spelling everything out, but the movie doesn't find it. Instead, it stumbles towards its conclusion with an ending that's ultimately pretty frustrating in its ambiguity and pointlessness.

The bottom line is that The American is very nice to look at, filled with exotic locales and beautiful women, and anchored by a strong, commanding performance from George Clooney. While the pacing and ambiguity of the plot can occasionally cause boredom and confusion, for a while at least, these qualities help to create an atmospheric, immersive sort of arthouse storytelling that's a nice change of pace. But, the movie ultimately doesn't have much to it aside from its amazing imagery. The muddy plot and half-formed characters make it hard to care all that much about Jack and his standard "one-last-job" scenario. In fact, there aren't really any truly compelling *ideas* in this one, and that's too bad, because the movie very vaguely hints at some attempts to find deeper meaning or subtext in its imagery and characters, but I think it ends up coming up empty. That means you may leave the film with that feeling of "so ... that was it?". The American is worth a look, though. I give it credit for ditching convention and being (at least aesthetically) original. The fact that this somewhat oddball arthouse movie was the #1 movie in America this past weekend is, in fact, kind of cool.

My Grade: B

Raise Your Sword for CENTURION - Neil Marshall's latest - reviewed!

CENTURION Review:

- Centurion, like many of Neil Marshall's movies, may be something of an acquired taste. Some might not really dig this one, but for me, it really clicked. I loved the look of the movie, the characters, the action. I loved that it felt like an ancient Rome version of some old EC comic book - a dark, violent, tale of survival and cruel twists of fate. Centurion has over the top violence, larger than life, comic book-like characters, and a Roman empire setting that's somewhere between Gladiator and 300 in terms of historical accuracy vs. stylized fantasy. If you only accept historical fiction in the form of sweeping, epic drama, then this might not be the film for you. Centurion is more that cool little side story on the fringes of a much grander backdrop. It's down n' dirty, bloody, pulpy. In fact, pulp might be the best word for this. It's Roman legion pulp fiction. And if that is your bag, you're bound to like Centurion.

Just to back up for a second, I know some of you are probably wondering what this CENTURION movie is. Well, it's the latest from writer / director Neil Marshall, whose past credits include subterranean horror flick The Descent, and 80's action homage Doomsday. After the promise and acclaim of The Descent, Marshall likely had his pick of high profile projects. But rather than do what's easy, Marshall has chosen to make less commercial genre films that show off a unique sensibility and style. To me, that's made him one of the most interesting guys in movies, but it's also made him something of a divisive figure. I mean, I loved DOOMSDAY, for example. I thought it was a kickass, balls to the wall action movie that felt like the second coming of John Carpenter (and it was, pretty clearly, a tribute to the old Carpenter movies like Escape From New York). Some hated the movie, though, and wrote it off as just another mindless actionfest. Still, a bit of a cult formed around it and a lot of people were excited for Marshall's next movie - Centurion - myself included. For whatever reason though, the movie never got a big US distribution deal, and was relegated to a limited theatrical release - although it's also currently viewable on VOD and digital platforms like XBOX Live and Playstation. In any case, Centurion is another kickass film from Marshall and, once again, I'm left eagerly awaiting whatever he comes up with next.

Centurion takes place in Britain, circa 117 A.D. The Roman army, in its neverending quest to expand the empire, has been having trouble with a particularly savage tribe known as the Pict. When the legendary Ninth Legion - led by the charismatic General Virilus' (played by Dominic West) descends on Pict land, the legion is ambushed and mostly slaughtered. Centurion follows the only seven Roman soldiers to survive the battle. On the run from the unrelenting Pict warriors, the survivors, led by the resourceful Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) must avoid death by sword, by beast, by cold, by starvation, and by treachery. The hunters, as they say, have become the hunted.

Like Doomsday before it, Centurion just seems to press all the right buttons. It's got a simple but effective story, intriguing and iconic characters brought to life by some great actors, and some truly riveting and shocking action scenes. Plus, the sense of tension, of foreboding, is everpresent. It's the kind of dark tale that draws you in and doesn't let go. The grim narration of Quintus frames the story, giving it that extra-pulpy feel. Meanwhile, sweeping shots of the British highlands are intercut with swift, kinetic, and gory action, creating a potent mix of scenic landscapes and bone-crunching violence.

It helps that the cast is more than up to the task of drawing us headlong into this atmospheric world. First and foremost, Michael Fassbender is just plain badass in the lead role of Quintus. He has a quiet intensity that makes his character easy to root for and empathize with. I hadn't had a lot of previous exposure to Fassbender, but he just seems like one of those great, sort of underrated actors who is very believable as a period action hero. Centurion is a showcase for Fassbender's very obvious talent. Dominic West is another standout. He is a lot of fun as the revered general of the Ninth Legion. Again, totally badass and definitely a scene-stealer. The rest of the cast is generally very good to excellent, and I really liked the team dynamic of Quintus band of Roman brothers. We aren't given a ton of information about each soldier, but we know just enough to feel invested in each. That said, the other real breakout star of the film is Olga Kurylenko as Etain, a Pict huntress who is completely consumed with wreaking unholy vengeance on any and all Romans, who long ago, among other horrific deeds, killer her family and slashed her tongue, leaving her mute. Kurylenko doesn't speak in the movie, but her eyes burn with ferocious intensity, and her character, adorned in war paint, is stunning but also pretty damn scary. Etain is just a great, iconic character, and sure to be a fanboy favorite for a long time to come.

Centurion does have a couple of moments that walk the line between over-the-top and just plain hokey, and it takes a while to really build up some good momentum and get the story rolling. The initial jumps between Fassbender and West are a bit confusing at first, as their characters look a bit too similar (in fact, several main character in the movie are similar-looking, making things a bit more hard to follow than they should be). However, once the movie turns its focus to Quintus and his small band of legionaires on the run, it really picks up steam. It's at that point that we get a better sense for what sort of movie it is that we're watching. Although the opening scenes hint at some sort of epic war movie, Centurion is in fact a much smaller-scale parable about a soldier who finds himself without an army, without a country, without a king. This soldier, hunted by unrelenting forces, has nothing let except his will to survive.

I would definitely recommend giving Centurion a look. It's dark, grim, and violent ... it's unquestionably badass as hell. Not for everyone, I get that. But if you're the type that can let yourself be pulled into a pulpy tale with bigger-than-life characters and over-the-top action - and yes, probably some dramatic license with history - then I think you're going to like this one a lot.

My Grade: A-

MACHETE don't text! A review of Summer 2010's final action epic!

Well, somehow, it's already September, and already the Fall. The air is getting a bit chillier (even here in sunny LA), the back-to-school season is in fill swing, and the networks are rolling out new TV shows vying for our primetime viewership. Now that I'm in the "real world" - and in LA where its perpetually warm and sunny - the end of summer doesn't have quite the same sting it used to. I don't get that same sickly feeling of looking at the Sunday circulars and seeing "Back to School" ads plastered all over the place. I don't have that sense of desperation to get in one more game of basketball before the snow falls and the driveway ices up. In the world of pop culture though, the seasons still carry a lot of meaning. The end of summer means a temporary respite from the endless stream of whiz-bang blockbuster movies, as studios roll out more serious, Oscar-baiting fare. Usually, by the time September comes around, I'm more than ready for movies that are as heavy on substance as they are on style. Sometimes, when we get summer blockbusters like The Dark Knight or District 9, it feels like there's been a perfect merger of popcorn flick excitement with Oscar-caliber depth. But, after a summer that's had its share of high-concept, low-yield, lower-imagination creative duds, it'll be nice to see new movies from titanic directors like Danny Boyle, Darren Aranofsky, David Fincher, and the Coen Bros this Fall and Winter. That's not to say that this summer was a total flop at the movies. Sure, things started out slow, but at the end of the day Summer 2010 brought us great films like Toy Story 3, Inception, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and The Kids Are Alright. And the summer closed out strong. This labor day weekend, in fact, I saw a couple of kickass action flicks that closed out the summer in brutally awesome fashion. In this post, I'll talk about the first of those two flicks ... MACHETE.

MACHETE Review:

- Machete flat out owns. A hilarious, brutal, badass action movie very squarely in the postmodern Grindhouse style, Machete is a new-wave B-movie that knows exactly what it is and accomplishes exactly what it wants to do: kick ass, take names, and rock your face in for approximately 1.5 hours.

If you saw Grindhouse a few years back, then you were surely shocked and awed by the memorable trailer for the then-nonexistent movie Machete. Danny Trejo as a grizzled, knife-wielding Mexican vigilante? What's not to like? Eventually, word spread that Grindhouse co-director and Machete creator Robert Rodriguez was interested in turning Machete into a full-on feature film. Now, that vision has become a reality, and we finally get to see just what happens when you %&#% with the wrong Mexican.

Machete stars Danny Trejo as a former Federale who, after witnessing his family get violently executed by a sinister gang leader (Steven Seagal), becomes a manual laborer near the American-Mexico border. Caught in the middle of an escalating border dispute between the network of illegal immigrants and the politicians, businessmen, and angry citizens who want them gone, Machete becomes a reluctant hero to the masses and leader of the people's latest revolucion.

The two things that stick out to me most about Machete, in terms of why it works so well, are tone and casting. In terms of tone, Robert Rodriguez and co. absolutely nail the B-movie exploitation vibe that they're going for. I called the movie postmodern, in that the film definitely winks at the audience, and has a lot of moments of very intentional, over-the-top silliness. There's a definite tongue-in-cheek tone to the proceedings, but Rodriguez knows how to craft action and dialogue that's both cartoonishly fun, yet still suitably badass. There are plenty of holy-$#%& moments that will have you smiling throughout. Does Rodriguez sometimes get a little too self-conciously cheesy? Probably - while most of the little B-movie touches work very well, there are a couple bits that are probably a bit too jokey. Overall though, RR finds a pretty good balance between humor and badass drama / action, and leaves you laughing hysterically at Machete's over-the-top antics even as you marvel at just how much ass Danny Trejo and co. manage to kick over the course of the film.

Now, about that casting. The cast in Machete doesn't just sound awesome on paper and in the trailer (where it does sound pretty damn awesome), but each casting decision is pretty much perfect. Rodriguez accomplishes a similar feat to what his buddy, Quentin Tarantino, has done so often. He casts a somewhat motley crew of actors - some stars, some forgotten veterans, some up-and-comers - and puts them in roles that seem perfectly suited for their specific talents. Now, look at something like The Expendables, which was touted as having a dream cast of action movie stars. On paper, it was a pretty cool lineup of action icons. But were any of their characters memorable in the film? Not really, no. In The Expendables, the whole would-be aura of awesome was based on the audience's past history with these actors. "Oh sweet, it's Dolph!" and such. But in Machete, you get those great character moments that have often been a Rodriguez trademark. Danny Trejo finally playing the leading man badass he was always meant to be. Sure, the man is now 66 and craggy like a mountain range, but it's about damn time that the beast was unleashed in a starring action-hero role. Better late than never. Trejo just has that cinematic presence that's been refined by real-life hardship and hard-livin'. The man is legit, and he brought that legitimacy to Machete, and turned it into action movie awesome. Michelle Rodriguez kicks ass as well as an underground revolutionary who runs a Taco truck by day but moonlights as the vigilante She - the leader of The Network - the aforementioned army of migrant Mexicans. Michelle Rodriguez's role here is a perfect example of what Robert Rodriguez does with the casting. We all know Michelle as a woman who likes to play the badass. But I don't know that she's ever really had a role that let her kickass without also being sort of obnoxious and unlikable. RR twists the part just right so that by the end of the film, you can't help but be impressed with Michelle Rodriguez, who looks better, is more likable, and kicks more ass in Machete than she ever has before. Another, more extreme example is Lindsay Lohan. For years now, Lohan's been playing the part of good girl even as her real-life shenanigans made it harder and harder to buy her in the sort of sweet n' innocent roles that made her a star. Well, Robert Rodriguez seems to be saying here "screw it, the Lohan is a crazy, drugged-up hot mess, so let's just go with that." And you know what? - it works. Seeing queen of sleaze Lindsay Lohan embrace her bad-self, playing gun-toting jailbait in a nun's habit? So wrong, and yet so right. I didn't think a movie could make people actually love Lindsay Lohan again, but in Machete, you can't help but root for her. I mean, who better to cast in a sleazy exploitation film than the ultimate example of the former-A-list star-gone-wild? Rounding out the movie's trio of leading ladies is Jessica Alba as a by-the-book immigration officer who slowly comes around to the side of Machete and his revolutionaries. Again, it's exactly the sort of part that Jessica Alba is perfect for. And the best part about a B exploitation movie is that the occasional bit of wooden acting or whatever can simply be written off as part of the fun. Look at Steven Seagal. We all know the guy can't exactly act, and at this stage in his career he definitely no longer looks the part of legit action movie hero (or in this case, villain). But Robert Rodriguez perfectly embraces the inherent cheese-factor of casting Seagal as a Big Bad, going so far as to give him Six Million Dollar Man style sound f/x whenever he unsheathes his trademark sword. Again, it's not just stunt casting, but a satisfying melding of eyebrow-raising casting with memorable characters perfectly matched with the actor.

That said, there are a couple of pretty dynamite performances in this one. Everyone is good, really. But other than Trejo and Michelle Rodriguez, you've got to give a ton of credit to Jeff Fahey as one of the movie's main villains. Fahey, probably best known as intrepid pilot Frank Lapidus on LOST, is stellar here as a corrupt businessman looking to profit from the plight of the beleagured Mexicans. Fahey is charismatic and a lot of fun in this part - I wouldn't be surprised to see him cast in a lot of big films after people see him in Machete. Similarly, Don Johnson (hilariously given an "and introducing ... Don Johnson" intro in the credits) is pretty awesome as a xenophobic police lieutenant who fancies himself a Mexican-killing badass. Another guy who has a boatload of charisma who's well-utilized in the flick. You've also got Cheech Marin in fine form as Machete's man-of-the-cloth brother, Tom Savini (the beady-eyed lunatic who's recognizable from most other Rodriguez movies) as the hilarious 1800-dial-a-hitman named Osiris Amanpour, and, yeah, some guy named Robert De Niro.

I don't know if De Niro quite gains back all of his long-lost mojo in Machete, but he gives it a go. He's entertaining as anti-immigration Senator McLaughlin, although I think he struggles a bit with the pulpy, over-the-top tone of the film. It's definitely a bit surreal to see De Niro mixing it up with Danny Trejo and Lindsay Lohan, and in general, it's just weird seeing the great method actor in this type of film. Nonetheless, it's nice seeing De Niro in a hardcore action movie for a change. He seems to be having a lot of fun with the part.

Meanwhile, there has been some talk about the political content of the film. Some claim to be turned off by the film's pro-immigration political message, and others have panned the movie for glorifying violence and rebellion as a viable response to current political tensions along the border. At the same time, Robert Rodriguez makes the very apt point that Machete is an exploitation movie - the quasi-political plotline is really just there as a loose backdrop to create a fun, kickass movie around. And yet, there is definitely a political component to the movie, and its timeliness only emphasizes that. Personally, I think Machete is just the latest in a long line of B-movies that channel a populist rage into something more fun and over-the-top. It's hard to take anything in the movie too seriously, especially given that the film pokes as much fun at itself - pointing out its own absurdity and that of its heroes - as it does the villainous characters played by Fahey and De Niro. Bottom line though is that this is a crazy action-fantasy. It is, in its own way, a movie for our times, but it's not something to really be taken seriously, either.

All in all, Machete is a blast. This past summer, we've seen a couple of campy films that tried to recapture earlier eras of B-movie glory, but didn't quite hit the mark. The Expendables was nowhere near as fun as it should have been, and was devoid of characters that lived up to the hallowed iconography of its lineup of action stars. Pirahna was halfway there, but in between its glorious, carnage-filled action scenes we had to put up with lots of ABC Family-style teen drama. MACHETE, meanwhile, gets it right. The balance of humor with action is spot-on. The eclectic lineup of actors is well-chosen, and those actors are matched with iconic characters that playfully play off of and/or subvert their already-established personas. Danny Trejo is awesome. Michelle Rodriguez kicks ass in leather and an eyepatch. Lapidus from Lost is one bad mother. Machete is the kind of movie that will have you laughing, clapping, and hollering throughout. It's a crowd-pleaser - an old-fashioned, badass romp that is also well aware of its own absurdity. Machete is, finally, a new-age grindhouse movie done right. And as the credits roll, and as the sweet voiceover guy from that original trailer promises us further adventures of our grizzled antihero (in the form of "Machete Kills" and "Machete Kills Again" ...!), we can only look at our friends and say "dammit all, sign me up."

My Grade: A-

Up next: a review of CENTURION, a wrap-up of the best movies of Summer '10, and a Fall TV Preview. So, yes, keep reading!