MOVIE REVIEW: DISTRICT 9

I actually didn’t plan on writing this review today, but sometimes you just have to get something out. Kind of like when I hid in a bathroom stall at the Union Square theater for 10 minutes yesterday afternoon after having my fragile core rattled to the point of breaking by an action movie about giant shrimps from outer space who eat cat food.

Yes, District 9 made this bitch cry like a 3-year old baby girl.

I almost hesitate to say ANYTHING about this movie, because part of its genius (and just part, as it’s pretty much across-the-board a perfect genre movie) is its keen understanding of the power of original, immediate storytelling. The control that this bizarre story will (hopefully) have over your nerves is so masterful and so utterly absent from most contemporary genre films that it feels like it’s something that’s never been done before. Of course, that’s not the case, but in an era where sci-fi movies are more about which city is going to be destroyed by a tidal wave of pixels than the human condition, District 9 is a welcome slap in the tentacled face.

The story is of course about a giant alien ship that has been hovering silently over Johannesburg for 20 years, and within about three minutes of mock news footage and fake documentary interviews about how the millions of aliens (”prawns”) onboard have become South Africa’s new unwanted class, the parallels to Apartheid and the nation’s ongoing racial unrest will be clear. But this isn’t a direct allegory or a ponderous meditation, by any stretch: it’s a gooey, violent, terrifying adventure set in the bleakest Earthbound landscape imaginable. It’s a waking nightmare made all the more hellish because it’s happening here, on our planet, right now.

Technically, the film is a marvel. Seamlessly integrating digital characters and effects into gritty, on-the-ground footage (imagine Cloverfield if the monster were 7 feet tall and a central character), it’s start-to-finish a jaw-dropping thrill-ride. Cleverly laid out to make you think that what you just saw MUST be the extent of the visual wizardry (and gooey gore), the movie one-ups itself at every turn, and the cumulative effect is stunning. I won’t give away any of the twists but I will say that my mouth was literally hanging open at a few of the surprises.

And then of course there’s the tears. People, I haven’t been this emotionally invested in a movie in ages, and IT IS ABOUT GIANT SHRIMP. And it wasn’t just me: on the way out of the packed theater, I noted dozens of people (jaded New Yorkers, no less!) sitting quietly in their seats wiping their cheeks, hoping that the exiting crowd wouldn’t notice.

Sure, on the surface this is a movie about how humans react to the arrival of an alien race that, while not terribly hostile, is a marked inconvenience to our social system. But more than that, it’s about how all races and species jostle for survival, and how all too often our worst tendencies (greed, anger, fear) come to the surface when we lose our patience and willingness to learn.

Our own innate xenophobia is laid out in all its bloody, ugly glory, and our instincts and impulses are played upon brilliantly (notice that, while all the human characters have authentic, strange-sounding South African names, the central prawn’s rather amusing immigrant name is “Christopher Johnson”, encouraging us to identify immediately with the only non-human character). And rather than wrap this sentiment in an overly earnest drama, the decision to propel the idea with a shoot-em-up action movie pays off in spades.

Simply put, it fucking works. Neill Blomkamp, executive producer Peter Jackson, first-time actor Sharito Copley (who is outstanding as the bureaucrat trapped in the middle of this waking nightmare) and all others involved have made the best kind of science fiction possible: the kind that entertains mercilessly even as it challenges us to be better people. (Oh, and all the bad guys look like COLT models waiting to be activated, which never hurts.) It’s the best film I’ve seen so far all year, and one of the best of its genre, and it is not to be missed.

Review courtesy of www.campblood.org

TRUE BLOOD SEASON 3: MEET THE NEW CAST!

True Blood already has a ridiculously sprawling cast filled with vampires, shapeshifters, were-vampires, shape-wolves, and drunken hayseeds (the most dangerous of all!), but it seems like every day brings with it a new casting notice for Season 3. Who are all these new people? Who will they be playing? And most importantly, how naked will Alan Ball make them get? Here’s Movieline’s handy-dandy guide to help you make sense of it all:

THE LOVE INTERESTS

Alcide Heveraux: Joe Mangianello [pic 1]
Affiliation: Werewolf
Backstory: One of the most anticipated new roles, as the courteous Alcide becomes a love interest for Sookie later in the series. (Say what you will about Sookie having too many love interests too soon, but you have to admire the girl’s commitment to interspecies diversity.)
Chances of Getting Naked: By the time these two get together, Anna Paquin’s breast-baring will have lost its novelty value. Someone’s gotta pick up the slack.

Franklin Mott: James Frain [pic 3]
Affiliation: Vampire
Backstory: Franklin has a lot to live up to, as he’ll be replacing the oft-objectified Eggs as Tara’s new main squeeze.
Chances of Getting Naked: Described in the casting notice as “sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy.” (In casting parlance, that fourth “sexy” means the auditioning actor has to slate, read, and submit to an in-the-room improv exercise that involves manscaping and cupped genitals.)

Caroline: Shannon Lucio [pic 2]
Affiliation: Human
Backstory: Bill’s Civil War wife, who he abandoned after he was turned after he was turned into a vampire.
Chances of Getting Naked: Did they actually get naked during the Civil War? I always thought they mourned the loss at Fort Sumter, then engaged in heavy petting through a sheet.

Reverend Daniels: Gregg Daniel
Affiliation: Human
Backstory: The church pastor who counsels Lettie Mae, Tara’s mother.
Chances of Getting Naked: Says the casting notice: “He’s a bit uncomfortable when Lettie Mae’s hug goes on too long.” As are we. Let’s end it there.

THE EXTENDED FAMILY

Lafayette’s mother: Alfre Woodard [pic 7]
Affiliation: Human
Backstory: I repeat: Alfre Woodard is playing Lafayette’s mother. I can only hope they call each other “hooker” and start removing earrings when family spats get too heated.
Chances of Getting Naked: I mean, after that Desperate Housewives arc and the cancellation of Three Rivers, a girl’s gotta put food at the table, but I’m thinking not.

Tommy: Marshall Allman [pic 5]
Affiliation: Shapeshifter
Backstory: Sam’s brother.
Chances of Getting Naked: When the casting notice for your part has the somehow quaint-sounding term “BACKSIDE NUDITY” in capital letters, you’re getting naked.

Melinda: J Smith-Cameron
Affiliation: Shapeshifter
Backstory: Sam’s dirt-poor, hungover, trashy-looking mother.
Chances of Getting Naked: I’m betting that a low-cut, Cheeto-stained blouse is as far as we’re going here.

Joe Lee: Cooper Huckabee
Affiliation: Shapeshifter
Backstory: Sam’s father.
Chances of Getting Naked: Only if we’re getting an exciting flashback to Sam’s conception, where his parents morph-mated as birds, pigs, and adorably spooning okapi.

THE NEW BLOOD

Coot: Grant Bowler [pic 8]
Affiliation: Werewolf
Backstory: The leader of a group of dangerous “were-bikers.” This show.
Chances of Getting Naked: High. Bowler is Australian, and that’s simply what they do. Just ask Ryan Kwanten.

Russell Edgington: Denis O’Hare [pic 6]
Affiliation: Vampire
Backstory: The gay vampire king of Mississippi
Chances of Getting Naked: No need, when you’re flanked by…

Talbot: Theo Alexander [pic 4]
Affiliation: Vampire
Backstory: Russell’s hunky, sarcastic boy-toy.
Chances of Getting Naked: Described as an “intensely beautiful male vampire [with] the buff good looks of an underwear model.” Count on him taking a nudity bullet for Denis O’Hare.

THE PROMOTION

Pam: Kristin Bauer
Affiliation: Vampire
Backstory: Formerly just a recurring member of True Blood’s sprawling cast, Bauer’s bisexual vampire’s been upgraded to regular status.
Chances of Getting Naked: Like a Scientology war bride, it’s impossible for a True Blood cast member to sign an ironclad contract without knowing exactly what’s expected in return. See you at 24-Hour Fitness, Kristin!

Story courtesy of www.movieline.com

DEXTER RECAP: 4.12 "THE GETAWAY" [OMG!]

Rather than "The Getaway," a better name for this week's episode of Dexter might be: The Game Changer. After this, everything is different. Mind-blowingly, heart-breakingly different.

Warning! Spoilers if you haven't watched the finale yet.

We picked up where we left off, with "Trinity Killer," Arthur Mitchell, confronting Dexter at the station. Surprisingly, rather than cause a commotion, Arthur simply tells Dexter to disappear from his life--"like a ghost." Dexter ignores Arthur's request and follows him, driving like a madman and knocking off the mirror of another car. He catches Arthur in a bank parking garage and sedates him. Dexter finds wads of cash in an envelope Arthur carried and assumes he intended to use it to flee the country.

With Arthur still knocked out in the back of the van, Dexter ends up in jail following a scuffle with sheriff's deputies over the broken mirror. While there, he argues with the ghost of Harry, who says Dexter is hurting his family. Dexter is who he is; he can't change. Dex tells his father that's not true--and he's no longer willing to allow his avenging "Dark Passenger" to rule his life anymore.

After Rita picks him up from jail, Dex discovers Arthur has escaped the van. Dexter knows his family faces real danger. Rita's kids are off to Disneyworld with their grandparents, so Dex urges her to take Harrison and go to the Keys, where he'll meet her. He not only wants them out of harm's way, but also wants to give Rita the honeymoon they've never had.

The homicide team figures out the real pattern of the Trinity cases--three murders preceded by the disappearance of a young boy. By interviewing kidnapping victim Scott the team learns about the Four Walls logo on Arthur's van. A cross-check of the organization's records leads to Arthur.

At the Mitchell house, Dexter--who the Mitchells still think of as "Kyle Butler"--is almost killed in a SWAT raid. He manages to convince the others he arrived early. Deb, who has finally learned the truth about the murdered Laura Moser and her sons Dexter and Bryan, "reveals" to Dexter that his brother was the Ice Truck Killer. He's relieved she still doesn't know that Dexter killed Bryan. Moreover, she tells him he's the best, most consistent force in her life. A thrilled Dexter concludes both Deb and Rita value and love him.

Dexter discovers a clue to Arthur's whereabouts--a body shop receipt for the classic Mustang Arthur's son damaged. And in fact, Arthur is driving happily out of town in the now-repaired car. As day turns to night, the car breaks down on a lonely road. Unfortunately for him, Dexter has trailed behind. Finally, we reach the moment we've been waiting for all season--Arthur on Dexter's table, awaiting his fate.

It turns out Arthur believes his end is indeed fated--by God. Though Dexter disagrees with him, Arthur says everything has already happened. This is all part of God's plan, he says. As a skeptical Dexter raises a framing hammer (one of Arthur's favorite murder weapons) to land the final blow, he thinks, "Now, it's all over."

After dumping the body in the harbor, we see something rare: A lighter, happier Dexter. He now knows he's a committed family man--nothing like Arthur Mitchell. He goes home and checks his voice mail. A loving message from Rita says was returning home to get her ID and would be taking a later flight to the Keys, but would see him tomorrow. He calls her phone. It rings. In the house.

He finds Rita's purse, along with the ringing phone. He frantically runs through the house and then hears a baby crying. To his horror, he discovers Harrison in the bathroom, sitting in a puddle of blood. He flashes back to his own mother's death, when Harry rescued him. As the worst happened to him before, so the worst has happened again. Rita is dead in the bathtub, bloody water overflowing onto the floor. Arthur had struck one last time before Dexter stopped him. Dexter scoops up his crying son, agony written on his face.

As the picture fades out, Dexter has the last words. "Born in blood, both of us. Harry was right. I thought I could change what I am, keep my family safe. But it doesn't matter what I do. What I choose. I'm what's wrong. This is fate."

This shocking ending to a satisfying season made it clear there's no "getaway" here. Not for Lundy, killed by Christine to cover her father Arthur's guilt. Not for Christine, who killed herself after being rejected by her father. Not for Deb, who lost Lundy and bitterly watched as the FBI took control of the case. Not for Rita, who died at the hands of a madman. Not for Arthur, who believed God's will drove him to do evil. Not for Arthur's family, whose lives are shattered. And especially not for Dexter, whose Dark Passenger will probably come roaring back as he tries to keep his life together.

I have to agree with Michael C. Hall in his post-show interview with John Lithgow--this ending will tie the audience in knots. And as Lithgow said, "I don't know what will happen next season, but I know I'll be watching."

Recap courtesy of www.buddytv.com

SNEAK PEEK: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PT. 1

Below is the first peek at the final Harry Potter movie - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. [due in cinemas November 2010]...can't wait!!!



Trailer courtesy of www.ropeofsilicon.com

THE OFFICE RECAP: 6.12 "SECRET SANTA"

It was the regular Christmas episode of The Office last night, with its usual karaoke machine, Dwight as an elf, and the Secret Santa exchange that once led to one of the most memorable episodes in The Office history (“Christmas Party” back in season two), so we are hesitant to be too Scroogy here. But it’s difficult not to feel some disappointment. The potentially delicious plotline of Dunder-Mifflin closing and everyone being forced to make it on their own — the one hinted at most of this season — was summarily dropped: The company is being sold, but everyone’s keeping their jobs. All is normal: There is no reset button. Yay? Merry Christmas?

The Christmas episode has always been a beloved one for Office fans, from the odd Benihana waitresses from season three to the darkness of Angela’s affair in season five to the aforementioned season-two gala, which ended with a naked Meredith. This one took safer routes. Phyllis wants to be Santa this year, leading to a predictably jilted Michael undermining the whole enterprise. Michael eventually calls David Wallace to complain, who informs him that the executives are all being canned once new ownership takes over. Michael tells the staff they’re being fired, but once they confront Wallace about it, he cedes that only he’s being fired: The Scranton branch will remain as-is under the new owners. (Which would have to be someone like Staples, right?) Thus, conflict, and change, is avoided.

The episode still gets the little details right, from Michael calling Toby “the Antichrist” and Phyllis “Tranny Claus,” and the ongoing Erin/Andy flirtation ended on a giddy, 12 Drummers Drumming note. But was much of it funny? Did it take chances? No. It was just another Christmas episode.

For years, The Office has been a show that’s delicately walked the tightrope of being funny as well being sweet: It is one of its more endearing qualities. Now, though, it’s getting the conventional sweetness right but forgetting to make us laugh. The notion of “The Office” without an office could have sent the show off in daring new directions. Clearly, though, the franchise is too valuable at this point. It’s afraid to take chances or mess with the formula. That’s why critics are responding to Parks and Recreation this year and simply being polite to The Office: Because Parks is willing to be risky, and it’s willing to be hilarious. The Office is turning into a pleasant half hour with old friends … that’s all it is.

Recap courtesy of http://nymag.com

HIMYM RECAP: 5.10 "THE WINDOW"

Last episode, the commenting consensus was that HIMYM had burrowed itself into a rut. This week, actual development: A failed romantic pursuit proves to Ted he’s ready to seek the one (again). But would it be enough to counteract a warmed-over-for-like-the-third-friggin’-time Marshall subplot and not enough Barney? (Spoiler alert: No.)

Things get rolling with a mysterious phone call from an elderly lady — Ted, the window is open. Our man barrels down the street to ask out a freshly single Maggie Wilks, and we get the backstory: Ted’s been obsessed with Maggie since college, but she’s a serial monogamist and a serious catch (“the ultimate girl next door”), so her windows between boyfriends are comically small. The old woman on the phone was Maggie’s neighbor, giving Ted the jump. (We know, we know — who the hell knows anything about their neighbors' lives? Almost as ridiculous as a group of friends who hang out, nearly exclusively with one another, at a bar directly downstairs from one of their apartments where they could be drinking cheap store-bought booze in their sweatpants. Sorry, that just crossed our mind.) Ted brings Maggie to the bar … but totally forgets the class he’s teaching tonight! He leaves Maggie in the care of Marshall and Lily, who must block all male pursuit until Ted returns.

Meanwhile, Marshall’s found a letter of instructions written by his 15-year old-self to his 30-year-old future self: never stop wearing stone-washed overalls; never cut your rat tail; maintain ability to dunk; legally change your name to White Vanilla Thunder to reflect said dunking prowess; and don’t become a corporate sellout. Oh no, what has become of young idealistic Marshall?! Okay, seriously, how many times have they done this exact identity crisis before?

It does, however, lead to the awesome mini-subplot of Barney challenging himself to bed a lady while wearing overalls, and to this exchange:

Robin: That’s cheating. You can’t wear the overalls over a suit.
Barney: Why? They’re not called over T-shirts. They’re not called over shirtless fat guys who used to fix my mom’s car and then hang out with her upstairs for a little while. They’re called overalls.

In class, a visibly distracted Ted tries to wrap up the session early, but instead gets caught up in a discussion of his love life with his students. And we realize something — yes, Ted is sappy, but he’s believably sappy. From what we know of Ted, he would end up teaching for the opportunity to mold young minds or whatever, and he would end up having inappropriately personal relationships with his students. (That part when the whole class chanted mock advice was just awful, though).

A series of contrivances — primarily involving an erotic dog-art show — later, the irresistible Maggie has left the bar, and Ted, plus both Barney and another random guy, are in pursuit. As in, the three of them are literally running to her apartment. When they get there … she’s already got a dude. But not any dude — her childhood best friend/first love, who extremely inconveniently just looked her up. We get a Maggie and her man’s puppy-love-to-wedded-bliss montage set to “Two Weeks,” and we get Ted realizing he wants to find that real love himself.

Also, Marshall can’t dunk, but it’s okay cause he’s married to Lily, and Barney has sex with the old lady from the beginning cause she likes his overalls? Yeah, not so good.

Recap courtesy of http://nymag.com

SOOKIE STACKHOUSE: BOOK # 10 DETAILS

Charlaine Harris has just completed writing her 10th novel in the Southern Vampire Mystery Series featuring Sookie Stackhouse [the books that TVs True Blood is based on]. The title of the book is "Dead in the Family" and it should pick up where we left off in "Dead and Gone". Below is a quick description:

"Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. But all the other people in Sookie’s life – Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam – are having family problems. Eric’s maker shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place …or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives…"

DEXTER RECAP: 4.11 "HELLO DEXTER MORGAN"

Last week, I said that I hoped the season didn't end with a traditional Dexter (Michael C. Hall) hunt-kill, and I certainly seem to have gotten what I wanted.

It was one of those rare episodes that ran on all cylinders, tense from the start with a police interrogation of Christine Hill (Courtney Ford), the Trinity Killer's daughter. I've loved the pairing of Deb Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter) and Hill, and I liked the show's little indicators of the women's parallel lives, including, tonight, their similar hairstyles and shirt colors. Poor Christina, though: First she discovered her father's a killer, then she tried to impress him by following in his footsteps, only to be rewarded with the comforting thoughts, "You're a stupid girl! Always getting in the way. You've ruined everything. I'm sorry you were ever born!" and then, "Do not call me again ever." These words ringing in her ears and with Deb's understandable refusal to forgive her for shooting her and Lundy (Keith Carradine), Christine took her own life. I would rather have seen her try to take down dear old Dad, myself.

I wonder if Dexter's insistence on killing Trinity himself will hurt him at any point, with the police so close to getting the actual murderer. I don't recall him working so hard to throw the detectives off the scent for another kill -- his tampering with evidence and misleading the investigation seem almost more dangerous than tangling with Arthur Mitchell (John Lithgow) himself. I loved how Dexter threatened to expose Arthur as a pedophile and Arthur's offense at being called that. A serial killer, yes, but a pedophile? Never!

Even the relationship of Batista (David Zayas) and Laguerta (Lauren Vélez) popped, with their spontaneous, defiant marriage in order to finally cut through the red tape of their professional relationship. I still think one of them will end up dead by the end of the season though. Or both?

While Dexter was exasperated by Batista's urgent call to have him come in to work only to serve as a witness to their marriage, Dexter and Rita's (Julie Benz) marriage nicely bookended the lovebirds'. Rita confessed to Dexter that the neighbor kissed her, and Dexter obviously wanted to move on, partially because he had other things on his mind, also because jealousy was not one of his main M.O.'s. It seemed to me that Dexter punched Elliot (Rick Peters) simply because it seemed to be the thing that was expected of him, not so much because he really wanted to, but it also happened to show Rita that he cared.

But between Dexter and Arthur, the episode turned into "who's chasing whom?" Dexter wanted to catch Arthur, Arthur wanted to murder "Kyle Butler" and did, and Dexter tried to catch him in the act. Eventually, Arthur tracked Dexter down at the police department, confidently cruising through the halls, until they spotted each other through the windows and came face to face, only to have Arthur say, "Hey, you're wearing purple too!" Or something along those lines.

So how do we think the Arthur-Dexter showdown will end?

Recap courtesy of http://latimesblog.latimes.com

THE OFFICE RECAP: 6.11 "SCOTTS TOTS"

The Office, as pointed out in an excellent essay on the Awl, has been more quietly depressing than finger-clenching awkward this year. It has been less about impossible social situations to be wriggled out of and more about the slow, steady, unceasing collapse of your hopes and dreams while tethered to a company that has no idea what it’s doing anymore and would just as soon fire you. It has been quite the culture change.

Last night, though, The Office went old school with a classic What Did Michael Get Himself Into This Time? plot, and it was a worthy one: Ten years ago, Michael promised a class of third graders at an inner-city school that he would pay for their college tuition. Now that they're about to graduate from high school, Michael is called back to the school, where he must confess that he can’t afford it — to them, he was a “successful businessman” — right after the class puts together various testimonials to his largesse. It’s an ingenious plot, because it’s painfully uncomfortable — the whole class thinks Michael is paying for them to go to college, after all, and he has to tell the students he can’t — but also because telling a class of third graders he’ll pay for their college because he happens to be in a good mood and thinks he’ll be a millionaire someday is precisely something Michael would do.

When he made the “promise,” he was 30, and “I thought I would be a millionaire at 40. I ended up having less money at 40 than I did at 30.” One suspects most of America can relate.

In the B plot, it's the ongoing tale of Jim Halpert, lousy manager, when Dwight conspires to have him fired through a convoluted plan involving a fixed Employee of the Month award. (It also features Dwight doing hilarious impersonations of Kevin, Stanley, and Toby.) Dwight’s plan doesn’t work — though he does get a co-conspirator in Ryan, who ominously joins forces with him “to take down Jim” at the end of the episode — but it’s telling once again how poor a job Jim does of handling the situation. David Wallace calls at the end to yell at him, but ultimately backs off simply because they're friends. Jim Halpert, a supposedly smart, competent character on the series, is skating out of jams because he’s kissing up to the boss so he can keep his middling middle manager job at a failing paper company. Historically, he's the most likable character on the show. Maybe this episode was a little depressing.

Recap courtesy of http://nymag.com