I am in a real rush so these will not be fully fleshed out. But, for the record - can you fucking BELIEVE this Sandra Bullock/Jesse James shit? Unusual to the say the least. Anyway, on to my cutting edge reviews:
THE LOVELY BONES (DVD Screener)
Better than you might think, this kind of bombed at the box office. Peter Jackson has a great book to rely on here for source material, and the actress playing the young murdered girl (no spoilers - it happens really fast) is both beautiful and evokes the entire idea of wasted youth and people cut down just as they're starting to grow. So does this film make a great rental? Maybe not, but a pretty good one; especially if you have the time. With lots of unexpected twists and great performances, particularly from Stanley Tucci, this is a meaty film with a lot of ambition. Where Jackson really goes wrong is in his handling of the dreamscape sequences from the book. At its heart, the story is a pulpy gritty tale of a girl raped and murdered and somehow, she's around in some sort of purgatory to try and help her family figure out who murdered her (sort of.) What Jackson does is get lost in this visual dreamscapes to the point of where - it almost looks insanely fun to get killed because you get to hang out in a wonderland of snow and magic, while your family grows closer and blossoms. That said, this is still very effective in parts and while not any kind of classic, a story well told, that could've used a 20 minute chop.
Grade: C +
UNDERCOVER BOSS (CBS)
One of my favorite new reality shows, this is the biggest his CBS has had in forever. No wonder. It's that good. The bosses of huge, reconizable companies go undercover to see what's up and meet the people who really work for them on the front lines. Is it partly manipulated and scripted? Completely. Every worked the boss comes into contact with usually has an AMAZING story, they all know they're on film so there is no real UNDERCOVER aspect to this as everyone is probably on their best behavior (Do I really believe that if you went undercover in a Los Angeles 7-11 that the worst thing that would happen is a light bulb would be out? Not bloodly likely - since I knew of a 7-11 that was in close proximity to the one on the TV show - that store's biggest issue is that you could walk in and literally purchase crack-cocaine from the clerk.)
Still, it's an informative, uplifting hour and as long as they stick to big companies (they're starting to get into companies I've never even heard of) this a realy interesting bit of reality tv - which is to say- they pull back the curtain a tad - but not enough to really show anything.
Grade: B
ARCHER (F/X)
I've only seen the pilot thus far but I must say - it was really funny and offbeat. Looks like another winner for F/X.
Grade: B +
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (DVD Screener)
NO SPOILERS! Suffice it to say this is a study in tension. It's 90 minutes long and if you watch it straight through, I promise a satisfying pay off. And yes, I liked it better than Blair Witch. The non-actors (or rather - actors we've just not ever heard of) are almost pitch-perfect and their banter does sort of lull you into thinking they're not really onto anything. The payoffs here are small, but it works in a big way.
Grade: A -
24 (FOX)
Kind of a dreary season, but with news that it's the final season, suddenly every episode feels very vital.
UPDATE: Hold on the 24 movie franchise, NBC might pick this up for a 9th season.
PS: Freddie Prinze - on this show - fucking sucks.
SOBER HOUSE (VH1)
Nothing compares, nothing compares....to you.
Grade: A
SOUTH PARK (COM CEN) Season Premiere
South Park opens with maybe one of the best eps in its 14 seasons. The subject was rich celebs cheating on their spouses. Laugh out loud funny and of course, very thoughtful on its subject. When this show is on its game - there is nothing better.
Grade: A
Bonus Episode:
Woodland Critters Special
I saw this old ep for the first time the other night - no spoilers and I'm too pressed for time - but it's about Stan coming across a bunch of seemingly harmless woods critters and trying to help them. From there the show gets insane.
Grade: A
JUSTIFIED (F/X)
Wasn't nuts about the pilot, Walton Goggons should be ashamed of himself at this point. How many times is he going to play a dumb hillbilly? And the story didn't really work that well. That said, I love the lead, Tim Olyphant and the supporting cast is pretty excellent. I think this should get much better. And since I have high hopes for this show, I'm going to reserve my grade.
BAD GIRLS REUNION (Part 1) (OXY)
Da bomb. Can't wait for part 2. Nathalie is a HO!
UPDATE: Part 2 was just as insane, and Flo might be the sickest
girl in the house...no, has to be Nathalie.
Perez Hilton does a great job holding the reunion
together.
Grade: A (for lovers of trash TV only)
DR. OZ (Syndicated)
I love this show. They just rush too fast through the subjects. Slow down, Oz. Give an important topic more than 2 minutes. We won't tune out. Every episode seems like he's racing to get to the next segment.
CELEBRITY APPRENTICE (NBC/CNBC)
I just started watching this but so far, I fucking love it. Great cast and I love Cyndi Lauper.
Kimmel was great on Letterman the other night.
Sorry for the short reviews, but my time was limited this week.
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