Random Top 10 Lists (Best Shows on TV)

10. Six Feet Under
9. Lost
8. Aquateen Hunger Force
7. Nip/Tuck
6. South Park
5. Deadwood
4. Chapelle's Show
3. The Shield
2. 24
1. Carnivale

Honorable Mention: Family Guy, Jeopardy, King Of The Hill, Project Greenlight, The Simpsons, Tilt, The West Wing

Carnivale: Season 2

I watched the first season of "Carnivale" waiting for something to happen, and nothing much ever did. The concept behind "Carnivale" is one of the best in TV history, but I found myself thinking that it would be mainly wasted on a show the would never be half as great as it could be. Then season 2 rolled around, and once again I watched it (because, in HBO I trust). This time though, stuff started happening, and quickly. Season 2 just finished up Sunday night, and "Carnivale" has gone from above average TV show to the best thing on TV. The 2nd season finally delivers on all the build up that was season 1. The further adventures of Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin heat up as the collision course they are on picks up speed and we finally learn where all the puzzle pieces fit together. In the season finale we finally see the battle we have been waiting patiently to see, and then we see that it is only the beginning. I once said to a buddy that I had no idea how they could do a 3rd season, but now I see it running for a good long time. As long as HBO doesn't do anything crazy. Hell, if "Arliss" could run for 8 seasons, "Carnivale" should be allowed to run forever. Forget Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin, season 3 will be the battle between Sophie and her own child. Good stuff!!!


I usually do not go back and edit my posts once they are published, but this time I will make an exception. It is looking more and more like HBO is not going to bring back "Carnivale" for a 3rd season. Obviously this sucks, and there is a petition going around the internet to save "Carnivale". Usually I don't mess with these internet petitions, but this show is just too good to lose. So here is the link to the petition if you want to sign it and do your part to keep this quality show on the air.

http://boards.hbo.com/thread.jspa?threadID=300001255&tstart=0&start=-1

DVD Roundup (Alfie, Exorcist: The Beginning, Flight Of The Phoenix)

I know I usually don't do it this way but I am going to review all 3 films together, because I feel pretty much the same way about all 3. "Alfie", "Exorcist: The Beginning" and "Flight Of The Phoenix" are all the kind of movie that Hollywood is great at churning out. They are all likeable if not average films with nothing really wrong with them, but also not much worth remembering after the movie is over. It seems that now more than ever there are very few truly good or bad films coming out of the studio system. Jude Law gives a solid performance as Alfie in the remake of the old British version transplanted to New York. Ultimately though, "Alfie" is pretty much a watered down, less effective copy of the far superior "Closer", in which Jude Law also stars. All 3 of these movies are remakes or unwarranted sequels, and it shows. I don't feel like I wasted the 6 hours of my life used to watch these films, but I am sure I could have done something far more constructive and gratifying with that time too.

Random Top 10 Lists (Stephen King Movies)

I am finally back from my hiatus and will go back to filling this blog with glorious content. Since I just started reading "The Gunslinger" last night, it gave me the idea of doing the top 10 movies based on Stephen King stories. Here is what I came up with...

10. Pet Cemetery
9. The Dead Zone
8. Apt Pupil
7. The Running Man
6. Misery
5. The Green Mile
4. Stand By Me
3. Carrie
2. The Shining
1. The Shawshank Redemption

Honorable Mention: Children Of The Corn, Cujo, Christine, It, Hearts In Atlantis, Thinner

Dirt = Money

I am going to be out of town for a few days so I will not be able to update the site for a while. Being the nice person that I am, I decided to leave you something to watch until I get back. "Dirt = Money" is a hilarious short film about 2 feuding redneck families made by an old friend of mine from film school. Craig has always been a very talented filmmaker, and this short just proves that he is broadening his abilities. He is also to my knowledge, the only person alive to get a halfway decent acting performance out of me. Mind you, I am not an actor, which I would tell him every time he told me he had a part for me. If you have ever had the misfortune to see me act, you would know just how high praise that is. So everyone check it out, and then wait patiently for me to return.


Check out "Dirt = Money" right here:
http://www.kinetic-pixelworks.com/drt/drt-med.wmv

Random Top 10 Lists (Worst Sequels)

10. Mortal Kombat: Annihilations
9. The Next Karate Kid
8. Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch
7. Jaws 4: The Revenge
6. Weekend At Bernie's 2
5. Highlander 2: The Quickening
4. Speed 2: Cruise Control
3. Rocky 5
2. Batman And Robin
1. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The New Generation

Honorable Mention: Urban Legend: Final Cut, Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Trail Of The Pink Panther, Scary Movie 2, Grease 2

Random Top 10 Lists (Best Sequels)

10. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
9. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
8. Spiderman 2
7. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
6. Kill Bill: Volume 2
5. Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom
4. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Aliens
2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1. The Godfather 2

Honorable Mention: Toy Story 2, Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King, Back To The Future 2, The Color Of Money, Return Of The Jedi, Rocky 4

2004 Cammy Awards

Sorry that it took so long for me to get this up this year, but there were some movies I still needed to see before I could make final decisions. So without further stalling, here is the brand spanking new 2004 Cammy Awards.



Best Picture

The Aviator
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Kill Bill: Volume 2
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways

Winner: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Best Actor

Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator)
Jamie Foxx (Ray)
Paul Giamatti (Sideways)

Winner: Jamie Foxx (Ray)

Best Actress

Julie Delphy (Before Sunset)
Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace)
Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
Uma Thurman (Kill Bill: Volume 2)
Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

Winner: Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)

Best Director

Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)
Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Alexander Payne (Sideways)
Martin Scorsese (The Aviator)
Quentin Tarentino (Kill Bill: Volume 2)

Winner: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

Best Supporting Actor

Thomas Haden Church (Sideways)
Jamie Foxx (Collateral)
Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby)
Derek Luke (Friday Night Lights)
Clive Owen (Closer)

Winner: Thomas Haden Church (Sideways)

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett (The Aviator)
Laura Linney (Kinsey)
Virginia Madsen (Sideways)
Natalie Portman (Garden State)
Natalie Portman (Closer)

Winner: Natalie Portman (Garden State)

Best Breakthrough Performance

Zack Braff (Garden State)
Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village)
Tim McGraw (Friday Night Lights)
Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace)
Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead)

Winner: Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace)

Best Screenplay

Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Patrick Marber (Closer)
Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor (Sideways)
Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries)
Quentin Tarentino (Kill Bill: Volume 2)

Winner: Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

Best Ensemble Cast

The Aviator
Closer
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways

Winner: Million Dollar Baby

Best Song

Ray Charles - What’d I Say (Ray)
Counting Crows - Accidentally In Love (Shrek 2)
Mick Jagger - Old Habits Die Hard (Alfie)
Wyclef Jean - Million Voices (Hotel Rwanda)
Damien Rice - The Blowers Daughter (Closer)

Winner: Damien Rice - The Blowers Daughter (Closer)

Best Cinematography

Dion Beebe & Paul Cameron (Collateral)
Caleb DeChanel (The Passion of the Christ)
Eric Gautier (The Motorcycle Diaries)
Robert Richardson (Kill Bill: Volume 2)
Tom Stern (Million Dollar Baby)

Winner: Dion Beebe & Paul Cameron (Collateral)

Best Special Effects

The Day After Tomorrow
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Spiderman 2

Winner: Spiderman 2

Best Sound Effects

Kill Bill: Volume 2
Miracle
The Passion of the Christ

Winner: Kill Bill: Volume 2

Best Debut Feature Film

Zack Braff (Garden State)

Worst Film

Van Helsing

DVD Roundup (Control, Cube: Zero, I Heart Huckabees)

Control

You have to be real careful when it comes to renting stuff you have never heard of. Especially if you are me, and you have heard of pretty much everything. Most B-movies didn't play in theaters for a reason, and most of the time you find out why 5 minutes or so after starting the movie. This of course, is not always the case. Occasionally a straight to video movie will come out of nowhere and be good, even some have become hits. I remember the first time I rented "The Boondock Saints" I had no idea what it was, but the box looked cool. So it is possible for a movie to be good out of nowhere, just not probable. Fast forward to me wandering aimlessly through the video store looking for something I haven't seen. Usually the stuff I haven't seen, is unseen for a reason. For instance I haven't seen "White Chicks". Finally, after much wandering I came across "Control" and even though I had never heard of it, I decided to give it a try. It had Ray Liotta and Willem Dafoe in it, how bad could it be? I know you, my faithful readers are expecting me to tell you it sucked now, but actually it wasn't bad. It wasn't particularly good either. It is the kind of movie where seeing it once, pretty much does the trick. Your not upset at losing 2 hours of your life to it, nor do you ever really need to see it again. The story is about a man on death row (Liotta) who instead of being put to death, he is put into a government program to test a drug that controls anger. Dafoe plays the doctor running this little experiment. Much to everyone's surprise Liotta soon becomes a model citizen. Of course it's not quite that simple or else we wouldn't have a movie. It is a bit far fetched, but better than half of the junk dumped into theaters.

Cube: Zero

I am a big fan of the original "Cube". It is a very smart psychological horror film. It was followed by an average sequel called "Hypercube" that got away from the claustrophobic horror of the first Cube film. So "Cube: Zero" really could have gone either way. Thankfully it is much more like the first film, and not so much like the sequel. This movie is a prequel that takes us out of the cube some of the time and into the room of the people who control it. This finally gives some answers as to how and why people are randomly appearing in the cubes. Setting a good portion of the film outside of the cube could have been a real disaster, but it works very nicely here. We get all the good horror of the first Cube, and also get a side story that works well in the film and gives us answers to some of the questions. If you liked "Cube", then "Cube: Zero" is certainly worth a rent.

I Heart Huckabees

David O. Russell has an ability to make comedy work in pretty much any situation. I guess when your first film is a quasi-comedy about a 17 year old kid who has sex with his mother, then you can pretty much make anything funny. "I Heart Huckabees" is a broad comedy about odd subject matter. It is about existentialism and psychology, but also surprisingly easy to follow. Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) goes to existential detectives (Dustin Hoffman and Lilly Tomlin) to find out why he keeps seeming the same man over and over. Hoffman and Tomlin are very funny, as a married couple with differing views on how to get the job done. Between this and "Meet The Fockers", Hoffman has proven to be a solid comedic actor. Albert becomes friends with Tommy Corn (Mark Wahlberg) a fireman with an unhealthy obsession with petroleum. Things get crazier by the minute, but this is always funny. Especially Wahlberg, who is laugh out loud funny all through the movie. Jude Law and Naomi Watts also prove they can do comedy, and even Shania Twain pops up by the end. "I Heart Huckabees" is definitely worth checking out, even if you don't know what the heck they are talking about half the time, you will still be laughing.

Quentin & Jason...A Match Made In Heaven

So, I usually avoid talking about industry gossip because it mostly proves to be untrue and ultimately a waste of my time. This rumor however is just too juicy not to comment on. For about the last week there has been a rumor circulating that Quentin Tarentino has been in talks with New Line to write and direct the next "Friday The 13th" film. I'll give you have a second to let that sink in. I know it sounds crazy but the more I hear and read the more I think this could actually go down. I know Tarentino has been rumored at one point or another to be doing about 100 different films, but something tells me this could happen. I think he would like to do a horror flick on the cheap and New Line must be salivating to get this done, as it would ensure a huge box office on a relatively cheap film to make. I personally would love to see what Tarentino could do in horror, especially with the constraints of a franchise to give way to. That's something he has never really had to deal with except in his couple forays into TV. Whatever gets Tarentino's next film into my theater fastest, that's what I am rooting for. For more information check out the link below.

http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=19583

Random Top 10 Lists (Nicholson Films)

10. A Few Good Men
9. The Last Detail
8. Terms Of Endearment
7. Batman
6. As Good As It Gets
5. Five Easy Pieces
4. The Shining
3. Easy Rider
2. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
1. Chinatown

Honorable Mention: Carnal Knowledge, The King Of Marvin Gardens, Reds, Prizzi's Honor, The Witches Of Eastwick, Broadcast News.

Deadwood

You may have noticed that my DVD reviews have slowed down recently. That is because I made the mistake of renting "Deadwood" season 1 and became completely addicted. To make matters worse, I found out that season 2 would be debuting March 6. So I had to hustle to get the whole first season watched before yesterdays premiere. So in the last week I have seen roughly 12 hours of another in a long line of quality programs from the geniuses at HBO. "Deadwood" is a show that pulls no punches. It curses more than any show ever and kills off more main characters than "Oz". It is truly must see TV. The story of "Deadwood" is a true story of a town in the Black Hills on the territory given to the Souix Indians. Because of that it is not part of America, so every outlaw and hustler headed out there to prospect for gold, avoid the law or get rich of the prospectors. All these dangerous people in one town with no laws, well, you can figure out how that might turn out. This show is cast with a ton of very good character actors. Tim Olyphant and Ian McShane play the 2 leads and Powers Booth, John Hawkes, Kim Dickens, Keith Caradine, Molly Parker, Jim Beaver, Brad Douriff and Ricky Jay round out the cast. This show doesn't skimp on cursing and killing, so be forewarned, but it is riveting television just the same. HBO can do no wrong when it comes to quality TV.

Season 2 started with a bang last night, so if you get a chance to catch the replay you won't be disappointed. If you don't have HBO go rent season 1 and patiently wait for the season 2 DVD's.

Must See TV: 24, Carnivale, The Shield, Lost, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, South Park, Family Guy, Chapelle's Show.

Random Top 10 Lists (Soon To Be Stars)

This is a list of actors or actresses that I think seem destined for stardom, but aren't quite there yet.

10. Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, The Notebook)
9. Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Blade 3)
8. Chris Evans (Cellular, The Fantastic Four)
7. Elisha Cuthbert (24, The Girl Next Door)
6. Clive Owen (Croupier, Closer)
5. Christian Bale (American Psycho, Batman Begins)
4. Ryan Gosling (The Believer, The Notebook)
3. Derek Luke (Antoine Fisher, Friday Night Lights)
2. Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, The Village)
1. Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, The Good Girl)

Honorable Mention: Mos Def (Monster's Ball, The Italian Job), Tim Olyphant (The Girl Next Door, Deadwood), Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen), Emile Hirsh (The Girl Next Door), Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village), Jeremy Renner (Dahmer, SWAT), Ian Somerhaulder (Rules Of Attraction, Lost)

Jamie Foxx: The Most Talented Man In Hollywood

1 Academy Award
1 Golden Globe
2 Academy Award Nominations
1 Independent Spirit Award Nomination
1 Emmy Nomination
1 Grammy Nomination
1 hit stand up comedy special on Comedy Central

It has been a pretty good year for Jamie Foxx. It feels like only yesterday that I walked out of "Any Given Sunday" and proclaimed to my mostly skeptical friends that Jamie Foxx was going to be a huge star. Most of them just looked at me like I had spoken in Latin, but something told me that Jamie was destined for superstardom. I mean like Tom Cruise or Denzel Washington type stardom. Some people seem to think that Jamie will be a one year wonder and go the rout of Charlize Theron or Cuba Gooding, but I believe this is just the beginning. 2004 won't be remembered as the year Jamie Foxx won an Oscar, but as the year he became a household name, a mega-star. As if his great performances in "Redemption" and "Collateral" and his uncanny performance in "Ray" weren't enough, it looks like Foxx has 2 more hits looming on the horizon in 2005. First up is the summer blockbuster "Miami Vice" directed by Michael Mann. Jamie Foxx and Colin Farell play Crockett and Tubbs. Later in the year comes the Gulf War drama "Jarhead" directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) and starring Jake Gyllenhall, Peter Sarsgaard and Chris Cooper along with Foxx. 1 blockbuster and 1 Oscar bait. I'm pretty sure this is just the tip of the iceberg for Mr. Foxx.