Ever
wonder what happened to television, how so-called reality shows took over the
industry and made it possible for the most obnoxious and outrageous behavior to
rise to the top even if the people acting that way don’t actually have talent
or do anything to earn their money and attention? This fascinating documentary
from directors Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger makes a very
strong case that it all boils down to a loudmouth jerk and his highly
influential talk show. The film goes beyond the mouth that roared across cable
television from 1988-1989 to give the audience a look at both the softer side
of Mort --- he was a ballad singer just like his old man – as well as his more
psychotic episodes, like the alleged attack by skinheads that just happened to
take place when the show’s ratings were in the toilet. You may not love the guy
when it’s over, but you will have a better idea of what he did to change the
world.
Any
movie that advertises itself as being “The Motion Picture With Something to
Offend Everyone” is either brilliant or a piece of filth. Luckily for viewers
picking up a copy of this 1965 classic directed by Tony Richardson (Tom Jones),
it’s brilliant. The film stars Robert Morse as Dennis Barlow, an English poet
who travels to Hollywood to live with –and off – is uncle, Sir Francis Hinsley
(John Gielgud), a renowned artist who makes his living doing sketches for the
movie studios. The film starts out as a kind of demented travelogue, with the
two Englishmen giving very droll accounts of life in LA LA Land. The comedy
keeps getting darker and darker as Sir Francis dies, leaving Dennis to wander
through the hidden world of undertakers where he finds, love, lust and the
American Dream. Keep your eyes peeled for a slew of fantastic supporting
performances and cameo appearances, like Liberace as a casket salesman.
Outside
of It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, it’s hard to think of an animated
feature that families can sit around and
watch to get ready to celebrate Halloween. Until now. This collection of
scary-themed episodes form the popular Cartoon Network series is not only
perfect for kids looking for something a little more mature than Linus in a
pumpkin patch (great as it is), but will prove equally enjoyable for parents in
search of the same, The set kicks off with “Terror Tales of the Park II,” the
2-part Halloween special wherein Mordecai, Rigby, Margaret and Benson take
turns telling scary stories on their way to a Halloween party. It’s a familiar
format, but the creative team behind the series adds some twists that will
leave you howling, especially if you’ve ever been caught egging a house. The
set rounds off with a collection of episodes form the first four seasons of the
show which are worth watching in order on this disc, even if you’ve seen them
before.
To
say this new series from David S. Goyer (writer of Man of Steel) gives
audiences the "untold" story of Leonardo Da Vinci, is an
understatement, but one that even the most serious scholars of the Renaissance
genius will forgive once they get lost in the sheer fun of it all. It stars the
charismatic Tom Riley in the title role and he plays the part of Da Vinci as
part tortured soul and part action hero, with a good dose of yummy TV hunk
thrown in for good measure. As rollicking as the show can get at times, though,
it always stays grounded in the idea that Da Vinci was a tortured genius who
couldn’t stop inventing things if he tried, or if others tried to force him,
which seems to happen with every episode. The inventive visual ways the show
keeps coming up with to illustrate Da Vinci’s ideas, as well as his pain, is
impressive, walking a fine balance of giving the audience something to make
their mouths hang open in wonder while never neglecting the need to inspire
their brains to think about what it all means.
Picture
the frustration you feel when you go to turn on a light or you laptop and
nothing happens. Nothing. The same goes for your cell phone and every
electrical device you use on a daily basis. Now imagine everybody in the world
experiencing the same thing at the same time. Forever. That’s the premise of
this NBC series set in the world 15 years after the Blackout. Civilization has
crawled up from the ashes, in a manner of speaking, and divided itself into
those who can build homesteads and those who have the power to dominate them.
The only hope is a rumor or a power source that can restore the world or
destroy it, depending on who finds it first. Although the story gets a bit
overblown at times, the cast does a good job of selling even the silliest ideas.
Billy Burke is particularly effective as the swashbuckling, yet still reluctant
hero of the show.
Given
the popularity of dramas like Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs, it would
be easy to forget that the British also have a very silly side. Thank goodness,
this delightful BBC series is now out on DVD to remind us just how funny the
upper crust can be. The show stars Timothy Sprall as Lord Clarence Emsworth,
the befuddled head of Blandings Castle who devotes more time to making sure his
prize pig is constantly being fed than to the crumbling empire that surrounds him.
He has an almost as befuddled son named Freddie (Jack Farthing) who is so
scatterbrained he drives his jaunty automobile into the same tree almost every
episode. Thankfully, the dour matriarch of the clan, Lady Conny (Jennifer
Saunders) is on hand to make sure things stay as properly British as possible.
It’s all played frightfully seriously, which makes it even funnier to watch.
Now
they are part of the American music consciousness, the band that tours forever,
the band who put the South in Southern Rock and taught all those new jam bands
that it’s OK to play the same song for an hour or more as long as you’ve got
the musical chops to make it interesting for the audience. There was a time,
though, when the Allman Brothers Band was this close to being just a musical
footnote in, of all things, the history of white soul music. That was the path
they were taking – strictly middle of the road – until lead guitarist and
driving force Duane Allman decided he was going to play the music in his head
and nothing else. The results, as this great documentary proves, changed the
world and is still changing it today, 42 years after Duane Allman died.
