filmfun

When I first heard there was going to be a Sex and the City movie I decided to borrow the series DVDs from a friend and watch the show in it’s entirety in preparation for the movie.  In doing so I found the first season or so to be a slightly unimpressive with several things to nitpick, but as the show progressed I believe it came into its own and started to become a strong show that fans have grown to love.  The four characters are intriguing and it’s nice to have four different strong women to admire.  Every woman can relate to at least one of the four main female characters or even a mixture of the four.

I was very excited about the film and saw it in theaters its opening weekend.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from the movie, I was glad to be getting more of Sex and the City, but I was a little skeptical because in the past plenty of movies based on television shows have been disappointing and there have been many that just flopped.  It’s hard to bring a television series to the movies because they are such different formats.  A television show gets so much more in-depth of it’s characters because it focuses on only a few days at a time in each episode and then lapses over years of this characters life.  Whereas a film can lapse over many years if need be but only shows the moments that are most key to this character’s life.

            After seeing the film I was very impressed with the outcome and I actually saw the movie two more times in the theater, not because it was that good, but because it was good enough and I was invited two more times by other friends.  The film was successful in its transition from television to the big screen.  I especially liked the tidy and entertaining way of recapping the series during the opening credits with actual clips of the show and a voice over narration by Carrie.  The focus of the movie being that Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker ) finally getting married was perfect for a Sex and the City film and we were also able to see the three other women Samantha (Kim Cattrall ), Charlotte (Kristin Davis ), and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon ) deal with difficult life obstacles and grow more into themselves.

Some people complained, or more so observantly commented on, the length of the film.  It is long for a movie now-a-days coming in at 148 minutes, but I didn’t find any section of the movie unneeded and therefore I believe it was at just the right length.  One negative critic I can make is the directing/editing of the scene in which Carrie throws her wedding bouquet at Big (Chris Noth ).  I believe the director was trying to add an artistically dramatic style to this pivotal moment of the film but for me it seemed a little too overdone and unfitting to the rest of the film.  But besides that one moment, which I can look past, the film is a must see especially for a girls bonding night or just a good flick for alone time on the couch.

The film was released on DVD a few days ago (September 23^rd).  If interested, there is a special 2 disc version of the film: Disc 1 contains an extended feature film version (12 additional minutes, 157 minutes total) with extended commentary with director Michael Patrick King. Disc 2 contains a digital copy of the movie plus extra content featuring “Conversation with Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King”, “Fabulous Fashion of SATC”, Deleted Scenes and Fergie interview.

-Shavon Keller

Run Fatboy Run was released onto DVD today.  While in theaters the film grossed about £10.6 million in the UK and just under $6 million in the US.  Although it wasn’t hugely successful in the US it’s still worth a download, or rental, and if you’re a Simon Pegg fan then it’s worth a buy.

The plot of the film focuses on Dennis (Simon Pegg) a slightly overweight and childish middle-aged man who left his pregnant fiancée of five years at the alter. He regrets this action and wants her back but she is now happily with an American played by Hank Azaria. In order to prove himself and win his ex-fiancée back he’s decided to show that he can be dedicated by committing to a Nike River-run marathon in London. Now he must train with the help of his friend Gordon played by Pegg’s good friend Dylan Moran (Shaun of the Dead).

What I found most particularly interesting was the unusual collaboration of three great comedians coming together with all their wit and talents in order to produce this film. These three all seem to have their own variation on comedy and it was interesting to see what kind of humor could be produced from this unique mix.

First there is David Schwimmer, best known as Ross from the hit series Friends making his motion picture directing debut with this film. Schwimmer has had some directing experience in which he directed ten episodes of Friends and a few episodes of other TV series. As an actor Schwimmer’s comedic acting tended to focus on the romantic comedies in which he is a lovable nerd that needs a little help in order to be with the one he loves. Having the experience of playing these types of roles helped him in his directing decisions since the main character is of a similar character type.

Next, another American comedian Michael Ian Black , who wrote and starred in Stella wrote the screenplay of this film. Stella was an offbeat sketch-comedy with the tagline: “Dumb comedy dressed up in a suit.” It was aired on Comedy Central in 2005 with a short run until it was cancelled, but has since gained an underground following and fan club. Many of the jokes focused on the absurd parodying of relationships and situations in typical dramas. It makes sense that Black would write this serious story about a man trying to win back the one he loves with such an absurd idea of the man showing this commitment by running in a marathon.

Finally there is British comedian Simon Pegg , best known for writing and starring in the cult zombie spoof film Shaun of the Dead who co-wrote this screenplay and stars in the film. In Shaun of the Dead Pegg’s character is similar to his character in this film as Dennis: they both are romantics at heart but have strong commitment problems. Similar to Black, Pegg also likes to focus on the bizarre and parody. With zombie spoofs and cop spoofs (Hot Fuzz) already under his belt, this film focused on the underdog sport spoof. He also wrote and starred in his own British TV series Spaced which is similar to Stella with its absurd sketch-comedy qualities.

-Shavon Keller

Here is a list of the winners for the 2008 Emmy Awards. I just have a few comments:

DRAMA
Best Series: Mad Men
Best Actor: Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
Best Actress: Glenn Close – Damages
Best Supporting Actor: Zeljko Ivanek – Damages
Best Supporting Actress: Dianne Wiest – In Treatment
Best Directing: Greg Yaitanes – House
Best Writing: Matthew Weiner – Mad Men

COMEDY
Best Series: 30 Rock
Best Actor: Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Best Actress: Tina Fey – 30 Rock
Best Supporting Actor: Jeremy Piven – Entourage
I am very upset about this decision because Jeremy Piven won last year and I don’t believe he is that good to win two years in a row, whereas  Neil Patrick Harris is a comedic genius in How I Met Your Mother, nevermind everything else he does, and he deserved this award especially after already facing one loss to Jeremy Piven last year. 
Supporting Actress: Jean Smart – Samantha Who
Best Directing: Barry Sonnenfeld – Pushing Daisies
Best Writing: Tina Fey – 30 Rock

I believe in this category 30 Rock deserved to take home four awards because it is the best comedy series on television at the moment.

MINISERIES
Best Miniseries: John Adams
Best Lead Actress: Laura Linney – John Adams
Best Lead Actor: Paul Giamatti – John Adams
Best Supporting Actress: Elieen Atkins – Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre)
Best Supporting Actor: Tom Wilkinson
Best Directing: Jay Roach – Recount
Best Writing: Kirk Ellis – John Adams
Best Made for TV Movie: Recount

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY
Best Series: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Best Directing: Louis J. Horvitz – 80^th Annual Academy Awards
Best Individual Performance: Don Rickles – Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
Best Writing: The Colbert Report

REALITY
Best Program: The Amazing Race
Last year and this year there were the same five shows nominated, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Project Runway, Top Chef, and this year The Amazing Race won just as it did last year.  But I really don’t understand why this show won.  I really don’t think it’s that popular, I didn’t even realize that it was still on the air.  Whereas the other four nominees I hear hype about all the time and I’ve watched all of them (and I’m not even a big reality fan) and think they are much more entertaining and interesting shows than The Amazing Race, (including American Idol which I don’t even like but I can’t ignore its obvious popularity).
Best Host: Jeff Probst – Survivor
Another decision that I am very upset about because I believe Tom Bergeron of Dancing With The Stars was much more deserving of this award than Jeff Probst.  Bergeron is just all around a great host and he has more history to prove it by his past hosting duties with America’s Funniest Videos and Hollywood Squares.

Overall for the Reality Show category, maybe since it is a newer category, I think they were way off the mark and need a better way of judging what makes good reality television.

P.S. Just a reminded there are two great shows premiering tonight, the two shows that I think were underestimated at the Emmy Awards and you should check out:

Dancing With The Stars (with the amazing Tom Bergeron as host) on ABC at 8pm
How I Met Your Mother (with the hilarious NPH as Barney) on CBS at 8:30pm

-Shavon Keller

Veronica Mars made its TV series debut September 2004 and lasted 3 seasons ending May 2007.  The show focuses on Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell ) the high school daughter of Keith Mars ex-county sheriff and new private detective.  The first season takes place a year after Veronica’s best friend Lilly was murdered and Keith claimed it was her billionaire father who did the murdering.  But another man had confessed to the murder and Keith was therefore kicked off the force.  This entire first season introduces us to the diverse and complicated characters of the small town of Neptune as Veronica takes on her own responsibilities as private eye along with her father and delve deeper into the mysterious case of Lilly Kane’s murder.

After Season One’s finale and the mystery solved, Season Two takes on a new overall arc.  On the way back from a school field trip a bus of Neptune High students mysteriously goes over a cliff.  Now with Veronica on the case this doesn’t seem to be just a simple accident and she is determined to find out the true cause.  While at the same time deals with relationships including a complicated romantic relationship with Logan, Lilly’s brother.

Season Three lacks a great deal compared to the first two suspenseful action-packed seasons.  The reason for this is the pressure put on Creator Rob Thomas by the new WB.  The WB decided that they didn’t want the show to follow its usual course of an overall arc for an entire season.  They thought by having shorter 5 show arcs it would be easier for newcomers to join in on the show and the audience numbers would climb.  Unfortunately this seemed to have the opposite affect proving that what was great was best left unchanged.  I personally preferred the original set up for the show and found it more interesting making it a show worth being dedicated to.  I think the WB underestimated its audience as unable to follow a complicated series.  Well the show LOST and its success would certainly prove those thoughts wrong now.  I don’t know what they were thinking in a day where a fan could easily watch missed episodes online therefore they didn’t need to do the 5 show arcs because people could catch up on what was going on by downloading missed episodes.  I believe Rob Thomas took back the show a little more at the end of the season because the episodes were better but it was just too late and he was forced to end the series because the show was being cancelled.  The finale is a powerful episode and it’s a very sad one at that, because of Veronica’s situation and also because of the show being forced to end.

Now there’s been a lot of talk about a Veronica Mars movie.  It would only be logical to have a film in order to give VMars fans what they deserve and the show what it deserves for being unfairly stunted.  Although the idea of a film seems to be just that an idea and lots of talk, I really do hope it will be made because then Veronica Mars will have the ending it was meant to have and VMars fans will finally be satisfied.

-Shavon Keller

Dancing with the Stars revealed season eight’s dance couple’s today.

Hosts: The great Emmy nominated Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris of E! Entertainment

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer:
The former member of NSYNC and newcomer 2006 U.S. Youth Latin Champ and 2007 World Swing Dance Champ.

Toni Braxton and Alec Mazo:
Six time Grammy winner and season one champion.

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough:
Host/actress who is regularly ranked in men’s magazines as one of the sexiest women in the world and third time DWTS dancer and brother of DWTS dancer Julianne Hough.

Rocco Dispirito and Karina Smirnoff:
The James Beard Award-winning celebrity chef fifth timer who was paired up with R&B singer Mario last season.

Maurice Greene and Cheryl Burke:
Winner of two gold medals, in the 100m sprint and the 4×100m relay at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics and two time DWTS winner of season 2 and 3.

Kim Kardashian and Mark Ballas:
Celebrity and reality star of E! reality series, Keeping up with the Kardashians and last season’s winner.

Cloris Leachman and Corky Ballas:
Nine time Emmy winner, winner of a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award who is best known for her role as Phyllis in the television series Phyllis and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the World Latin Champion/Mark Ballas’s father.

Cody Linley and Julianne Hough:
The youngest contestant to ever compete on the show and known for his character Jake Ryan of Hannah Montana with two time DWTS winner of seasons 4 and 5.

Susan Lucci and Tony Dovolani:
Known as the most famous face of daytime television for her role as Erica Kane on All My Children and sixth time DWTS dancer.

Misty May-Treanor and Maksim Chmerkovskiy:
Her and partner Kerri Walsh captured their second Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and became the first team ever to repeat as back-to-back champs and returning dancer for his fifth season.

Ted McGinley and Inna Brayer:
First known for his role as Jefferson the neighbor on Married with Children and first timer current US Amateur 10 Dance Champion.

Jeffrey Ross and Edyta Sliwinska:
Comedian/”Roastmaster General” and the only dancer who has competed in all 7 seasons of DWTS.

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson:
Recently retired defensive tackle and Superbowl Champion Warren Sapp played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders and fifth time DWTS dancer.

Check out the 3 day Season 8 Premier starting Monday September 22^nd at 8pm.

-Shavon Keller