Nip/Tuck: Season 1

I've finally finished watching the first season of "Nip/Tuck", FX's extremely entertaining sidekick to "The Shield". FX is quietly becoming the HBO of cable TV. High concept drama like "The Shield", "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me" are all the caliber of show you come to expect of HBO, but get on FX for free. Somehow, I had managed to avidly watch "The Shield" and yet never see "Nip/Tuck" which was on right after it through it's first season. After much prodding from a buddy of mine to give it a chance, I scooped up the first season of "Nip/Tuck" and decided to give it a whirl. 13 episodes later, I am ready for season 2 to hit DVD. The show seems vain at first, it's shot and edited flashy and all the characters are pretty, but the more you watch the more you realize that the flashy exterior to the show is just window dressing (a lot like the characters). In truth "Nip/Tuck" is exactly what the shows creator, Ryan Murphy, said it was in the DVD extras. It is a deep show about a shallow world. And that is what makes it so fascinating. The show hinges on the relationship of partners/best friends Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon). They are about as opposite as any 2 people can be, but that's why they need each other. If this central relationship didn't work so beautifully, the show just would not work. Walsh and McMahon really do great work here as the yin and yang that make this show work. Both turned in Emmy caliber performances in this season. The supporting cast can sometimes get lost in the shuffle but they all do solid work as well. Two supporting characters who really stand out are Sophia Lopez (a transexual who teaches everyone else a thing or 2) and the Columbian drug lord. I am sure I could continue to run off at the typewriter about why "Nip/Tuck" works, but I am hungry and you have already heard enough to make you go out and rent it. So get on it and go out and give "Nip/Tuck" a shot.

Random Top 10 Lists (Comic Book Movies)

I want to start off by saying that, even thought it was a graphic novel, I did not include "The Road To Perdition" on this list because I really do not consider it a comic book movie. Now that we got that little bit of info out of the way, here is the list...

10. Men In Black
9. Ghost World
8. X 2: X-Men United
7. Superman (1978)
6. The Crow
5. Blade
4. Spiderman
3. Spiderman 2
2. Sin City
1. Batman

Honorable Mention: Batman Forever, Blade 2, Dick Tracy, The Mask, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X Men.

DVD Roundup (Love Song For Bobby Long, Suspect Zero, The Woodsman)

A Love Song For Bobby Long

I knew very little about this movie other than the cast and that it had gotten pretty good reviews. So I was a pretty blank slate when I sat down to watch it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I got. This movie was far better than I anticipated. It is everything that is great about independent films, it's subtle, quite and beautiful. The performances by the 3 leads were all spot on. Travolta give maybe the best performance of his career as the likeable and hateable Bobby Long. Travolta uses the charm and charisma that he seems to have in all his great roles here to make his character much more likeable than he really should be. What really impressed me was that for most of the movie Travolta looses that charm and dives head first into playing this broken man. The result is a beautifully textured performance that is both subtle and flashy. Scarlett Johannson is also good (big shock, is she even capable of being bad?) as the girl that thrusts Bobby Long back into life. The real surprise here for me though, was Gabriel Macht. I expect Travolta and Johannson to be good, but Macht was new to me. I know I have seen him in supporting roles over the years, but nothing like he gets to play here. Macht really steps up to the plate and is equal to the task. He turns in a touching performance as the guy who holds this quasi-family together. The movie is a simple tale about 2 people being given a second shot at life thanks to a fragile little girl. What makes the movie rise above it's subject matter is the great acting, the subtle direction and the great choice of location. New Orleans is ingrained in the story and almost becomes a character. It is hard to believe this by a first time director. It certainly won't be her last film. Definitely worth seeking out.


Suspect Zero

Suspect Zero sets out to rise above the often bland serial killer genre, and with an interesting premise it had a shot, but ultimately we don't get much new and exciting. Ben Kingsley is good, as usual and the film occasionally has great moments, but they are too few and far between. What "Suspect Zero" really needed was more serial killer (Kingsley) and less FBI agents (Aaron Eckhart and Carrie Anne Moss) chasing him. The FBI agent chasing the serial killer has been done to death and the movie seemed to fall flat whenever Kinglsey was off screen. I expected more from a serial killer movie by the director of the wildly inventive "Shadow of the Vampire". Not bad, but not all that good either.


The Woodsman

Kevin Bacon is truly one of the great actors of his generation. Sometimes he allows us to forget this fact by making complete and utter crap, but then he does movie like "Mystic River" and "The Woodsman" and reminds us just how good he can be. Bacon's portrayal of a child molester in this film is so good, that he almost makes you feel too sorry for him. He takes what often comes off as a despicable person and give him heart and makes you feel for him. This of course made more than a few people upset after seeing the movie. People like their pedophiles unlikeable it seems, but my guess is that not all of them are. The supporting cast is also solid, with good performances turned in by Kyra Sedgwick, Ben Bratt and especially Mos Def as the police officer convinced that once a child molester, always a child molester. This movie is great at unobjectivly showing the struggle of a man who can not always control his demons, even though he wants to and hates what he becomes. It is not always an easy watch, and you may watch part of it through your fingers. But it is always interesting. A strong film by another first time director.

Random Top 10 Lists (Best Twist Endings)

10. Arlington Road
9. The Crying Game
8. The Others
7. Se7en
6. The Empire Strikes Back
5. Memento
4. Planet of the Apes
3. The Usual Suspects
2. The Sixth Sense
1. Psycho

Honorable Mention: Citizen Kane, Fight Club, Identity, Primal Fear, Twelve Monkeys, Unbreakable.

DVD Roundup (After The Sunset, The Final Cut, Ladder 49)

After The Sunset

If you took every heist movie cliche and threw it together, it would look a lot like "After The Sunset". Great thief taking one last job...bumbling cop always one step behind...job that is supposedly impossible...beautiful women...I know, you have heard this all before. The movie is likeable enough, in a recycled sort of way. Everyone in it is good, but no one is outstanding. Brosnan is likeable in suave sort of way. Harrelson is funny, as the bumbling FBI agent. Salma Hayek is unbelievably good looking as Brosnan's girlfriend/partner in crime. This is certainly Brett Ratner's worst film to date, it seems like he is really regressing as a filmmaker.

The Final Cut

In the not to distant future, you can buy an implant that records your life. When you die, an editor edits your life together for people to remember you by. This of course brings up many ethical questions. This is basically the story of "The Final Cut" in a nutshell. It is a movie that doesn't always work, but the story is so interesting, that even when it isn't fully working it still holds your attention. Robin Williams plays the editor and he does a good job here as a guy living his life through other people's death. Jim Caviezel and Mira Sorvino do the best with what they have, but are pretty one dimensional. Worth a look, especially if your into science fiction.

Ladder 49

What "Ladder 49" lacks in creativity, it makes up with solid acting and a good smart script. It is nothing that hasn't been seen before, but it hasn't all been done this well before. Joaquin Phoenix is really solid as the lead. He manages to pull off being a rookie and a grizzled firefighter equally well. The supporting cast is what really makes the film stand out though. John Travolta, Balthazar Getty, Morris Chestnutt, Robert Patrick and Jacinda Barrett round out the solid supporting cast. The firefighting stuff is ultra believable too. Which is extremely important here. It feels very authentic. Not an edgy or inventive film, but a good solid one.

Bond, James Bond

It seems like every week comes a new James Bond rumor. Will Brosnan be back or won't he? Will Tarentino direct the new Bond? Who will play Bond if Pierce doesn't come back? Owen, McMahon, Craig, Connery, Crowe? There are a million rumors floating around and most are speculative garbage. For my money, Brosnan has been the best Bond since Connery and he should stay Bond as long as he wants to. Unfortunately, it looks less and less likely that will happen. With Tarentino off the project, it looks like Brosnan will be pushed out for a new, younger Bond. The way I see it, if you want a new young Bond, you have 2 choices. Clive Owen or Julian McMahon. Owen and McMahon both would make terrific James Bonds. I would probably take McMahon over Owen, I think McMahon exudes cool and confidence, like Bond is supposed to. Anyone who watches "Nip/Tuck" knows what I am talking about. Sadly, it looks like neither Brosnan, Owen, or McMahon will be the next James Bond. Instead, the role appears to be going to Daniel Craig. Who is Daniel Craig you ask? He is a British actor who was Paul Newman's son in "The Road to Perdition" and he was supposedly very good in "Layer Cake", which I have not yet seen. I like Craig as an actor, I really do, but he will not make nearly as good a Bond as the other 3. He just doesn't look cool enough. He lacks that fundamental quality that Bond must have, Bond has to be a guy men want to be and a guy women want to be with. Brosnan, Owen and McMahon all have that quality. Craig does not. This all furthers my theory that the people behind the Bond movies couldn't find their asses with both hands and a map. They would rather bring in inferior talent to keep all the control for themselves. Sadly, with inferior talent comes inferior films.

There is no telling how great a Tarentino/Brosnan Bond movie could have been.

Sin City

"Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find just about anything"

So last night I walked down the isle to Sin City, and what I found was exactly what I was hoping to find. A hard boiled stylized neo-noir. This movie is balls to the wall action. It hits the ground running and doesn't slow down until credits start to roll. I have long been a Robert Rodriguez fan, even though he has been a bit of an underachiever since breaking down the door to Hollywood with his 7,000 amature epic "El Mariachi". Don't get me wrong, I really like "The Faculty", "From Dusk til Dawn" and "Desperado", but I always had the feeling that Rodriguez never really got all the pieces to fit as well as he did with "El Mariachi". The talent was obvious, but he had yet to fully deliver on it...until now. From the first scene of Marly Shelton shaking in Josh Hartnett's arms to the very last frame, this move works on every level. I love the Spiderman and X-Men movies, but this isn't a movie based on a comic book. It is a comic book come to life. The cinematography and visual effects are breathtaking and really add to the feel of the film. "Sin City" does what "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" was never able to. That is to make the effects compliment the film, instead of draw attention away from it. They were both shot pretty much the same way, but you can tell that Robert Rodriguez is a vastly superior filmmaker. The next thing to gush about is the casting. It is pitch perfect dead on. Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Benecio Del Toro and Clive Owen deserve special mention for really delivering very real and heartfelt performances in what could have been way over the top. The cast really helps ground a film that could have been too cartoony and over the top for it's own good. This film should do for Mickey Rourke what "Pulp Fiction" did for Travolta. At the very least it should get him more, better parts. Watching Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, and Alexis Bledel play completely against type so well, was also cool to see. Elijah Wood does an especially good job as a mean as hell killer for hire. I am not a big comic book guy and I have never read "Sin City" in comic form, but if it is anything like what I saw on that screen last night then maybe I should give it a shot. It's my kind of comic book. No superheroes in tights, instead its violence and hot women. Sometimes even violence with hot women. Can't beat that.

"Sin City" is easily the best film of the year, maybe the best comic book movie ever and deffinatly the movie that will remind everyone that Robert Rodriguez is a force to be reckoned with.