Reviews

"Back to You" was highly anticipated when it premiered, given that it was the Next Project for Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton, both of whom were coming off highly successful sitcoms. It's too bad that the show didn't live up to the hype. It alternated between Grammar's character Chuck Darling finding out that he was father to a ten-year-old daughter he never knew he'd had (the product of a one-night stand with his co-anchor) and the work environment of a local news team.

I think "Back to You" was most successful when it focused on the wacky antics of Chuck's co-workers, namely Fred Willard as the slightly insane sportscaster and Ty Burrell as a nebbishy, henpecked reporter condemned to doing bizarre "human interest" stories around Pittsburgh. Burrell has, of course, gone on to success on "Modern Family" since this show went off the air. Memorable episodes include Burrell at a furries convention; he showed no respect for the participants, and he paid for it later in the episode! The show's biggest weak point: the way Heaton's character is written. She always appears angry, repressed and defensive, which is reasonable considering her situation: She had been the solo news anchor and now finds herself forced back into sharing her broadcast with a scene-stealing co-anchor she can't stand, who is also the father of her child. We get it. But you have to ask why she wasn't also allowed a softer side. As it is, her character is so off-putting the audience finds themselves rooting for Chuck despite how self-centered and immature he is. I also didn't like the show's reliance on cheap sex jokes. I've certainly heard worse, but there were way too many on this show to suit my taste.

Now that "Back to You" is on Netflix, I certainly think it is worth a quick look. There are only about 11 episodes available, some better than others. When the show is on, though, it's really on, and it had me laughing more than I had anticipated.

(Note: I know Grammar's name is spelled with an "E" but apparently IMDb insists on correcting it. Knock it off, IMDb!)

I should start by explaining that my rating of "Magma" doesn't correspond with my enjoyment of it. I regard these movies as a guilty pleasure and I am a fan of Xander Berkeley, so I really enjoyed watching it, but that doesn't make it a good movie. However, since it's a Sci-Fi Pictures production I wasn't expecting one.

The plot, as other reviewers have pointed out, is predictable - though that's true of all disaster pictures no matter how large the budget. The special effects are really, really bad; the underground scenes look like they could have been shot in Tom Sawyer's cave at Disneyland (though in actual fact, the movie was filmed in Bulgaria). Berkeley is great; it's a treat to see him in a starring role and getting to play a good guy for a change. Reiko Aylesworth does a creditable job as his estranged wife, though she doesn't get pulled into the plot until the last third of the movie. It must have been Old Home Week for "24" alumni when they were casting this thing.

I have to commend the writers for one plot twist I wasn't expecting. Berkeley's character works with a cute young female geologist who obviously hero-worships him. I would have expected some romantic entanglement to ensue between the characters, but that doesn't happen. In fact, in one scene in a bar she gives him advice on how to make up with his wife! She winds up falling for the only other one of Berkeley's research assistants to survive the cataclysm. Nice work, writers.

The reviewer above who pointed out the nonsense of getting "superficial burns" from exposure to hot lava was right on the money, and the whole concept of a volcano going from total dormancy to blowing its top with absolutely no warning is just as silly. But that just adds to the fun. If it weren't ridiculous it wouldn't be a Sci-Fi channel movie, now would it? So, should you watch it? If you are a Xander Berkeley fan and/or a fan of cheesy disaster movies, go for it. It's your call.

Michael Bay clearly went to a lot of trouble and expense to film this reenactment of the events which led America into WWII. Unfortunately I have to agree with many of the other reviewers here and state that "Pearl Harbor" is not a very good movie. It has its points: The battle scenes are very well filmed and the attention to period detail is wonderful. The soggy love story at the movie's center is not.

As with most epics, playing "spot the star" here is lots of fun. I didn't recognize Jon Voight as FDR. Colm Feore as Admiral Kimmel, Alec Baldwin as James Doolittle orchestrating the bombing of Tokyo, Dan Aykroyd as a military codebreaker racing against time to decipher Japanese messages - they're all great to watch. Cuba Gooding Jr. is also good as a black seaman who finally gets his chance to see combat during the raid.

For good measure, Bay throws in the Tokyo raid which took place four months after Pearl Harbor. This makes for a good one-two plot punch, but the first hour of the movie with its excruciatingly slow buildup could and should have been chopped. I fast forwarded through a lot of it. The most ridiculous part of the film's plot has to be Kate Beckinsale's pregnancy, which is magically never visible even after the Tokyo bombing (by that point she'd have to be six to seven months along)! It's a miracle baby!

If you're in the mood to see a lushly filmed modern take on Pearl Harbor and it's a slow afternoon, you'll probably enjoy this. If you want to see a more tightly filmed version, try one of the others such as "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

The criticisms I've seen leveled at "Despicable Me" seem to be mostly that it isn't original and doesn't measure up to Pixar. My response: True but irrelevant. What this movie lacks in originality it makes up for with bucketloads of charm, personality and neat little jabs of humor for adults as well as kids. The pop culture references include the Bank of Evil's sign reading "Formerly Lerman Brothers" and the Vector/Victor naming of Gru's nemesis - shades of "Airplane!"

Steve Carell's Gru is a terrific creation, a villain with a moon fixation who has longed for his mother's love all his life. The three orphan girls he adopts as part of his nefarious plan to steal the moon quickly worm their way into his heart as he finds out that he loves being a father figure to them. Watching Gru agonize over a scheduling conflict - steal the moon or attend the girls' dance recital? - is just wonderful.

I freely admit that I'm a sucker for a happy ending, but I hate feeling manipulated; "Despicable Me" was a pleasant surprise in that respect. The caliber of the writing and acting in DM ensures that it doesn't sink into sugary goo. The animation of the characters is also fantastic, and to see this big guy surrounded by tiny girls is really something. Gru may be slipping into middle age, but compare the way he is drawn with Vector's teeny shoulders and pot belly. The audience is predisposed to believe him the stronger and more competent of the two villains, as of course he turns out to be.

The minions are fantastic. Though they look almost exactly alike, Gru clearly recognizes each of them as individuals and calls them by name - another endearing trait. Their shining moment comes during the credits, and allow me to say that the film should definitely be seen in 3D for this reason alone. Bottom line: I loved it. Highly recommended.

I wasn't expecting much when I rented "Grizzly Park." I'm not a fan of horror movies and only rented this due to the presence of Glenn Morshower as Ranger Bob. After reading a lot of reviews I was expecting a total mess of a film; it wasn't quite that bad.

The idea of characters getting killed as punishment for their misdeeds isn't a new one in horror, or even in mystery (see "And Then There Were None"), but I liked the idea of this group of offenders being given a chance to repent their misdeeds. Needless to say, they don't. "Grizzly Park" is also beautiful to look at, as it was filmed on location in a couple of state parks (quibble: the movie is supposed to be set in a California state park, but the vegetation is clearly Eastern, witness all the deciduous trees changing color. It obviously isn't California). Some horror film aficionados may have downgraded the film due to its lack of sex and minimal violence - for a horror film. There are a couple of fairly graphic deaths for those who enjoy that sort of thing.

Glenn Morshower turns in a great performance and I think his presence is reason enough to rent the film. It actually would have benefited from being longer, as we really don't get to know the characters very well. One of the extras on the disc includes interviews with the actors describing their characters as "deep" and "troubled." I'd call them "sketchy" myself.

The so-called twist ending really didn't come as a surprise, but it was very rushed; not enough time was spent on it for it to be believable and it really felt tacked on. A couple more minutes would have been better here. Overall, if you're a fan of Mr Morshower and cheesy movies I think this is worth your time on a slow evening. I've certainly seen worse.

I'm a character actor fan. With an actor I like, one of my favorite things to do is to track down as many of his or her performances on film and television as I can. (Netflix has made this much easier.) I rented "Delta Farce" because Glenn Morshower was in it. Well, the joke was on me: he's in the film for a grand total of about five minutes. The rest of the film was an empty, desolate comic waste. It's just not funny. I wasn't expecting the Marx Brothers, but I was expecting something better than this.

The movie does pick up once the plot kicks in: our comic trio wind up in a Mexican village and find themselves defending it from a group of bandits. Yes, it's lifted from "The Magnificent Seven," but it still works. Sadly it takes way too long to get there, and the first third of the movie is almost unwatchable. I could feel my brain liquefying and pouring out my ears with every "We're in I-RAK!" uttered by Larry the Cable Guy. Not recommended.

Okay, I will admit that the SciFi Channel (I refuse to call it SyFy) has become a veritable cheese factory of bad movies. I will further agree that "Fire From Below" is a classic specimen of scifi cheese, what with its bad CGI effects and logistical plot holes. But it's all in good fun and I found it a pleasant way to waste a couple of hours on a Sunday night.

What really saves the movie is its two stars: Kevin Sorbo and Glenn Morshower. I'm a fan of Mr. Morshower's from years of watching "24" and here he plays his usual authoritative military character in his usual way. He's fun to watch as always. Kevin Sorbo is not looking as Herculean as he used to, but he comes across well on screen as a nice-guy character thrown into a disaster situation. The scene in which he and his girlfriend discover that the town has been totally wiped out is atmospheric and pretty effective. Also, the military personnel are portrayed as brave and competent instead of as fascist clods - a welcome change. Basically this is an update of a 1950's disaster flick. Think "Them!" with lithium instead of ants. If you're in the mood for a slice of scifi cheese, you could do worse than this movie.