Reviews

I decided to give CW's "Easy Money" a try solely because it had Laurie Metcalfe in the cast. She always manages to create great characters regardless of whatever else is going on around her. It was worth a look, I figured.

I was pleasantly surprised by the show, given that it's had no critical press whatsoever. I think what's a little off-putting at first is that the photography is very flat, and looks almost as if videotaped. And the show's setting is in a slowly running to seed suburban strip mall, which doesn't exactly lead you to think that anything profound is going to unfold.

But as I watched I began to see that the photography is eminently suitable for the unvarnished suburban scenes, which not only centers on strip malls, but indoor shopping malls and a second tier local community college.

As for the characters and their story, well..it's shaping up to be slightly more Shakespearian than anything set in a seedy suburban setting has a right to be. Laurie Metcalfe plays the "Lady Macbeth" of Payday Loans. She's been carefully guiding (manipulating) her two sons and one daughter, who all work for her in the family business. Like Al Swearingen, she's at once morally repugnant and still somehow likable. In the first episode, her brightest son, the one who best understands the management of the business, finds out that he's not related by blood.

If this sounds familiar, then it is. It's very similar to the story that's being told in "Dirty Sexy Money", only in a slightly more declasse neighborhood. "Easy Money" has an equally skilled cast as the one in "Dirty Sexy Money", and with each episode, the screw turns slightly on Morgan Buffkin, the smart son, just as it does on Nick George, the put upon lawyer. The writing is understated, the humor is dry, and the soundtrack kicks ass.

Sadly, the show has almost no viewership at all, and I don't have any hope that I'll be seeing much more of it. It's smartness is too subtle not only for the masses, but apparently even for TV critics.

The show also answers the burning question of whatever happened to Judge Reinhold.

Reruns of this show just started playing in the US on BBC America and I think this show is a hoot to watch. Half the show is a send-up of British middle-class values, and the fact that the family is also Indian is treated so matter-of-factly that it doesn't seem exceptional at all. It's an interesting illustration of how western and eastern cultural mores can co-exist. Furthermore, the non-sequitor type questions asked by the Kumar family members reveal how our interest in celebrities is partly a self-absorbed wish to see ourselves reflected back. However, the primary thing about this show is that it's witty and entertaining.

I especially like that the celebrity guests aren't the sole focus. The show's unusual format seems to draw a genuine and candid reaction from the guests, most of whom are bemused but are clearly willing to join into the spirit of the show. This tells us more about who they are than all those canned anecdotes one hears on the typical late night talk shows.

This was a long running series on a local television station in South Bend, IN. It was written, produced, directed, and acted by local high school students. I only saw the series from 1975 through 1976, and remember that I enjoyed it immensely. I don't know what the show was like for other years, but during those years it was very Monty Python-esque. It aired during the middle of Saturday afternoons and I used to watch it regularly. It always cracked me up. I also remember that this show had one of the best opening credit sequences I've ever seen on a television show. 27 years later I still remember it as something unique and special.

If you liked any of the Star Trek shows, this one is better than those. If you didn't like Star Trek, this may be the first sci fi show that will grab your interest.

This is a great Sci Fi TV show, and one that I've found to be very addictive. The storylines, the characters, the writing, and the production values make it so much better than any other sci fi genre show on TV, ever.

With typical sci fi shows on TV, the FX are poorly done, which makes the storylines seem unbelievable. However on this show, the special effects are superb, never looking cheesy. But FX alone aren't enough to make a good show. The story lines, the dialogue, and the acting also have to be top-notch to keep your attention. This show delivers all of that, plus fascinating characters, and slam bang action that keeps you both on the edge of your seat during an episode, and wondering afterwards what will happen next. This show is easily as good as any other critically acclaimed and better known television shows. It is also the only teevee show I've seen that made for an experience comparable to that of seeing a first run movie. (I've watched teevee for 35+ years now, and this is the first time I've ever thought to say that about any show I've seen.)

Furthermore, it's a show that the whole family can watch together, without fear of harsh language, gratuitous violence or sex, while holding interest for both young and old alike.

In the US, season one episodes are available to rent in both DVD and VHS format, so if you can't find where to view the show, at least you can see what I'm raving about.

This is a story about a 43 year old man still trying to bag his first buck. In the he-man hunting culture of the Northwoods, this makes him more than a little ridiculous.

This is also the funniest movie I've seen in quite a while. When I first heard that Jeff Daniels was filming a movie in Michigan (my home state) I was definitely intrigued. Then I heard that all of the major studios had passed on it, and my heart sank. I figured it must really stink. I mean, if a studio saw fit to release "Little Nicky" but not this, then it must really be bad. However, I heard some of the buzz, and on a slow afternoon I decided to see it. I can't remember when I last laughed so hard and so long. I am really glad I saw it, and am looking forward to getting it on video.

Plenty of other user comments re-hash the plot, so I'll skip that. I must say, however, that this movies seems to elicit extreme positive or negative opinions. Although some users seem upset that the story isn't strictly authentic, I lived for 8 years in Michigan's U.P. and am of the opinion that it is entirely authentic to the spirit and culture of the Northwoods. Others seem to be upset at what they see as silly, sophmoric hijinks. Fair enough -- this movie certainly isn't for the ultra sophisticated. For example, it does have a fart scene that tops the one in "Blazing Saddles". (It is SO funny that my telling you about it won't spoil it for you.) The movie has a lot of heart, and a fundamental sweetness that redeems it's surface silliness. I guess, the best guide for determining if you would like this movie or not, is for me to point out that it most closely resembles "The Red Green Show" and the fellas at Possum Lodge.

The story is about two women who become friends when they discover that the man that dumped one of them also had a previous relationship with the other. It follows their struggles with getting over relationships, finding new ones, and moving on. (Did I mention that this was a "chick-flick"?)

This movie would have benefited greatly from better art direction, and better editing. There is a lot of ghastly blue lighting that doesn't flatter any of the actors. The dialogue was mostly intelligent, but there was too much of it -- and all of it is shown in medium shots with the actors jawing at each other. And a tip for beginning directors who have no budget for a costumer: for gosh sakes, DON'T film your lead actress wearing a hat through an entire scene, unless you have the budget to light her face properly!!! It is not only a disservice to her, but is distracting to the audience because they can't see her acting!!!

It says a lot for the strength of the story that despite these handicaps I found the movie to hold my attention (apart for some fast-forwarding through excess dialogue). The actors do a good job --heroic, really, considering all of the useless talking they're required to do. Quite a few of the scenes show some semblance of wit. (Check out the saxophone quartet on a street corner, and Dave Crosby's cameo.) The movie actually has a good message to deliver but remember, it's for chicks only. I kept wishing that someone would've re-written some of the scenes, or edited out some of the extraneous dialogue. Perhaps this movie could serve as an example of how not to direct one?

Nonetheless and all in all, worth the three bucks I paid for the DVD, but not much more than that. (Let me also add that I've paid more than that for videos that I couldn't manage to watch through to their end.)

A crime lord decides to double-cross a professional thief that the higher-ups in his organization hired for a food stamp heist. Naturally, the professional thief evades the trap, but then decides to get even. As things escalate the cops become more and more interested. So do the chiefs of the organization, who realize that all this unwanted attention is bad for business, and finally find themselves having to arbitrate the situation.

This is a well made crime movie. The movie starts with a humorous scene featuring a cameo by Janeane Garofalo where she and Alec Baldwin deadpan some lies to each other. This scene doesn't lead to anywhere, but is very hip.

The movie goes pretty fast through its story with plenty of smart, breezy dialogue. As always, Alec Baldwin is good, but is outshown by Michael Jai White and Andre Braugher, who play the crime lord and his top lieutenant respectively. White plays a not so bright but vicious crime lord with upwardly mobile aspirations. Braugher hits just the right notes of dismayed resignation as he contemplates his boss' follies. Rebecca DeMornay also has a great character to play - a hard-boiled police detective who has seen it all but remains a half-step behind the action. There are lots of well-crafted minor characters as well. The sound track also deserves a special note (no pun intended).

It you've seen all the Tarantino and Tarantino-esque movies, and are looking for more, this movie would fit the bill.

Three prisoners from a chain gang make an escape. It seems that one of them has four days to retrieve his stash from a bank robbery before a government damn project floods it over. This movie is set in the middle of the Depression in the deep South, where it is apparently pretty easy to escape from a chain gang. The three prisoners are wonderfully portrayed by George Clooney, John Torturro, and Tim Blake Nelson. Each of them present us with likeable goofball characters who are recognizably American yet aren't cliches. (Anyone who remembers Larry, his brother Darryl, and his other brother Darryl will nod with recognition at these three.)

On their travels to retrieve the treasure, they meet up with many colorful characters, and work their way out of several tight spots. Some of the people they meet are ordinary people trying to get by during one of America's most hardest times. Others they meet with are legendary, mythical, or even apocryphal. (The makers of the movie acknowledge Homer's Odyssey as their main source of inspiration.) They even meet up with a rascally scalawag or two.

As with any Coen brothers movie, the characters in this movie are unique and indelible. The movie's plot twists and turns its way into and out of one seemingly insurmountable scrape after another. It's a marvel to watch how these characters writhe their way out of each situation.

I saw this right after re-watching "The Big Lebowski", and it does suffer a little by comparison. Some of the situations in "O Brother" are a little anachronistic, and the dialogue seems slightly less sharp. On the other hand, the photography is beautiful, invoking nostalgic images of a simpler, more rural time. This movie is a pleasure to watch, especially in this particular year of a seemingly endless string of bad movies, and I recommend it highly.

I first saw this Trinity movie in the mid-seventies and laughed and snickered through it. Recently, I watched it again, and found that it held up well over the past decades, and recommend it highly. The humor in this movie is both subtle and broad. The lead actors, Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, slyly parody spaghetti western stereotypes without hamming it up. They do a masterful job at underplaying their characters' brotherly dislike of each other. There is plenty of broad humor too. Trinity is so scruffy and dirty that when he sits down to eat, puffs of dust fly up. The production values are generally pretty high; this doesn't look like a cheap movie. But the dubbing, as in any dubbed movie, is very obvious. Still, this is a highly enjoyable movie.