flagrantdisregard » movies & television

Review: Hancock

John — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:10:40 +0000

I was expecting a comedy from beginning to end but Hancock is really two movies mashed together: a comedy in the first half (Superman is an asshole) and an action drama in the second half. It starts out as pretty funny superhero satire. But it’s like they ran out of steam and after Hancock is redeemed it’s a completely different movie. The whole becomes a hero backstory myth that follows a formula similar to Stripes or Batman Begins. Not exactly what I was expecting but it’s a fun popcorn movie.

Hancock (Netflix)

Review: Burn After Reading

John — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:38:13 +0000

Immediately goes for the jugular of awkward social interaction and then combines that with the awkwardness of senseless and accidental homicide. My favorite scenes were between the CIA Supervisor played by J. K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson in Spiderman) and the CIA Officer played by David Rasch (Senator, Flags of Our Fathers) as they comically tried (not too hard) to unravel just what the hell was going on. I liked it enough but, as dark comedies go, it’s no War of the Roses or Being John Malkovich. Fargo, also directed by Coen, was much better.

Burn After Reading (Netflix)

Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

John — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:05:54 +0000

I really enjoyed this one. Benjamin Button is a long, quiet film. Narrated in the first person, it tells the extraordinary epic of a boy named Benjamin who was born old and grows younger as he ages. While focusing on the important people in his life, Benjamin’s story reveals that his strange blend of experience plus youth has unique and emotionally painful drawbacks.

While hurricane Katrina approaches New Orleans, the story is read to us from Benjamin’s diary by a woman as a final request to her dying mother. And as the diary is read, mother and daughter each learn things that change their lives.

Touching, inspiring, filled with humor, sadness, and romance. Pitt and Blanchett are both wonderful. Did I mention that it’s long? Reminded me a lot of Meet Joe Black which I also liked.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Netflix)

Science, Hannah Montana, and men in tights

John — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:29:56 +0000

Day 3 of the Clean Living Room Experiment is well under way. Our children are spending their last precious days of Summer vacation with their aunt at the beach. She has them for a week and, yes, we’ve already sent in her application for sainthood. I thoroughly cleaned our living room the morning after they left. Hypothesis: the children are destroying the house. Results so far are promising if not totally conclusive. Four days to go.

In unrelated news, the Netflix version of the Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds concert is the 2D version despite the fact that they are clearly showing the 3D version of the DVD cover on their site. Boo. Hey, Netflix, there’s a little girl in this house who was pretty bummed out by that.

We finally were able to see The Dark Knight. Very satisfying. It didn’t quite have the impact of the the first one, probably only because my expectations for Begins were so low and my expectations for Dark Knight were so high. The cell-phone/sonar thing with the glowy bat eyes? Hokey. And can’t they use a mask that doesn’t make him sound like he’s got a head cold? But I forgive them. It was a great movie.

Speaking of comic book characters, they showed the Watchmen trailer. It looked cool and all but I think it probably left most of the audience—that is, the majority who never heard of Watchmen before—scratching their heads. I’ve never been a huge fan of comic books or graphic novels, but being a geek and an avid science fiction reader, it was impossible for me never to have at least heard of Watchmen. I decided to pick up a copy and read it through before the movie comes out. I’m on chapter three. It’s good so far. But I predict total disaster for the movie in that it will be impossible for a two hour PG-13 movie to be faithful to the book. You know, in the same kind of way that I, Robot (the movie) was a total, tragic, epic disaster.

Review: The Tudors, Season 1

John — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:58:39 +0000

Intense. A modern take on historical drama, The Tudors season one brings us the court of King Henry VIII (Queen Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn, “burn them at the stake,” all that jazz). Performances are outstanding all around, sets and costumes are lavish and convincing. The Tudors is intelligent, exciting, visceral, sexy—if not totally historically accurate. More intrigue, corruption, sex and scandal than you can shake a stick at. Highly recommended.

The Tudors Season 1 (Netflix)

A viewer’s guide to Battlestar Galactica

John — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:49:40 +0000

BSG is a great show—superb even—and awful. So if you’re watching it for the first time on DVD here is what I suggest: watch the first two seasons in their entirety. They’re great. In season three, watch through episode 42: Exodus Part 2. Then stop. Make up your own ending. Go rent something else. I hear Mad Men is good.

You’re still here? Fine. Just come by later so I can say I told you so.

If you continue, you’ll have to decide if you’re going to slog through the remainder of season three, which was like watching reruns of General Hospital but with more love triangles and less action. I recommend skipping most of it, watch Crossroads 1 & 2 (the last episodes of the season), and then start season four. [SPOILER: The only important things we learn in season three are that there are five dormant and unknown Cylon models in the human fleet who know the way to Earth and that Apollo is almost certainly in denial about being homosexual.]

BSG jumped the shark at season three, episode 47: Unfinished Business. Worst. Episode. Ever. I watched it and kept thinking, “Ok, any second now…” But nothing happens. And it’s mostly down hill from there.

Which brings us to season four. Four was better than three if only because it was shorter and more focused. It too had almost no action. In some ways it’s like watching a sci-fi version of Plato’s dialogues. Remember how Neon Genesis Evangelion ended? It’s not quite there yet but, yah, it’s headed in that direction.

Honestly, just stop after Exodus. Up to that point, Battlestar Galactica was a fun, exciting, action-packed sci-fi drama. Even those “webisodes” were pretty good. But season three was frackin’ terrible and season four was disappointing at best.

TiVo is stalking me

John — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:17:57 +0000

Ha ha. Well, not exactly. Then again… well, you decide:

(click to enlarge)

The letter reads:

Dear John, Happy Father’s Day! Just when you thought you couldn’t get a worse Father’s day tie… TiVo has raised the bar. Don’t worry, it is not a total bust; we’ve also included a Rhapsody card, good for three months service. Everyone at TiVo loves your blog, and we just wanted to send a little note and let you know we’re fans. This Father’s day, we hope you find time to pause and enjoy the day. From everyone at TiVo, have a great day!

Do you see what they did there? “…pause and enjoy the day.” Cute, right? Anyway, the fact is, I love my TiVo. I don’t watch a lot of television but when I do I like to watch when it’s convenient for me. So, thank you, TiVo.

I’m keeping the tie but I’ve decided to give away the Rhapsody card. It’s a 3-month “Rhapsody To Go” membership. Rhapsody is not available for Mac or Linux (boooo!) so if you’re on Windows (boooo!) and you don’t mind renting your music, leave a comment expressing your deepest, most sincere wishes to get the coupon code printed on the back of the card (bonus points for haiku). I’ll pick a commenter at random to get the loot.

Does the punishment fit the crime?

John — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:48:04 +0000

In the United States, copying a DVD can get you up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. At least, that’s what all of my legally rented Netflix DVDs tell me every single time I watch them. For fun, I thought I’d see if that punishment was reasonable by surveying the California penal code (the penal code is actually funnier than it sounds). Here are some other crimes, for comparison:

Crime (penal code section)	Maximum prison sentence	Illegal DVD equivalent
Assault (“an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another”) (241.a)	6 months	10 counts of assault = 1 illegal DVD
Possession of an assault weapon (12280.b)	1 year	5 assault weapons = 1 illegal DVD
Battery (“any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another”) against a peace officer, fire fighter, nurse, physician, lifeguard, paramedic, armed services member, etc. (243.b)	1 year	5 counts of battery = 1 illegal DVD
Deserting your child with intent to abandon (271)	1 year	Deserting 5 children = 1 illegal DVD
Firing a laser at an occupied aircraft (No, I’m not kidding!) (247.5)	3 years	0.6 DVDs
Sexual battery (243.4.b)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Throwing feces on a prison guard (243.9.a)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Assault with a deadly weapon (245.a.1)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor (261.5.d)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Forcing your wife into prostitution (266g)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Rape (264.a)	8 years	1.6 DVDs
Kidnapping (208.a)	8 years	1.6 DVDs
Mayhem (“unlawfully and maliciously deprives a human being of a member of his body”) (204)	8 years	1.6 DVDs
Sexual assault of a child (269)	15 years to life	3 to 20 DVDs
2nd degree murder (190.a)	15 years to life	3 to 20 DVDs
1st degree murder (190.a)	25 years to life	5 to 20 DVDs

So, in theory, you might do more time for illegally copying a Disney DVD for your kids to watch than if you deserted them in a Hollywood alley. Does that sound reasonable to you?

My eyes are still burning

John — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:34:51 +0000

According to their website, Hip Hop Harry has been nominated for the 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Preschool Children’s Series.”

The phrase “crimes against humanity” springs to mind almost instantly.

I want to see some fracking explosions!

John — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:50:18 +0000

I’m a fan of Battlestar Galactica. (In case you haven’t watched it, they say it’s one of the best shows on television. But don’t let that non-endorsement stop you—it really is good. You can rent the first couple seasons.)

The show has continued to stay strong through 2.5 seasons, but a recent multi-epsiode love-square story arc nearly sucked the life out of me and I’m glad it finally seems to be over. Please, directors, writers! The whole Starbuck/Apollo/Dualla/Anders thing: stop that! It was boring. It was time that would have been better spent blowing up Cylons.