Delayed Reaction: The Accused

The Pitch: Jodie Foster as a rape victim in a courtroom drama.

What Took Me So Long: This is another movie that has been thoroughly covered by an episode of SVU I saw once.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Jodie Foster won and Oscar for this role, which I did not know, and good for her. She's good in this playing the not-so-innocent victim. A lot of the conflict is hammed up as much as possible but it is done to get its point across. I'm happy it opted for the happy[ish] ending rather than the "the system is corrupt and broken" ending.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: My biggest regret about only having my list [currently] going back to 1987 is that I can't fully trace the evolution of a genre. Like so many other movies I've come across, I don't know where this fits in the evolution of this kind of story. I watch this and think "Boy, they sure are laying it thick about how guilty these guys are. How could it even be questionable if they are guilty?" because I've seen much more nuanced versions that have come out since. Now, I haven't seen a lot of courtroom dramas before this and certainly none with a similar subject matter so I don't have a proper context for it. Did audiences in 1988 really need it to be this cut and dry? Was the fact that she smokes a little pot enough for most people to think that she is such a loose cannon that maybe she was asking for it? I like to think that even 25 years ago this movie was talking down to the audience the way it would come off now, but maybe I'm wrong. So, what I'm trying to say is that I didn't think this was all that engaging watched in the modern context, but that may not be the movie's fault.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Always

The Pitch: A love triangle with a guardian angel.

What Took Me So Long: Holly Hunter kind of annoys me. I don't know why.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) It's a Steven Spielberg movie so there's a baseline level of quality I could expect. The movie is very small, tucked away in its own little corner of the world. It's sweet story. Richard Dreyfuss is in his fussy but lovable wheelhouse and Holly Hunter is familiarly tough but delicate. John Goodman is the best friend, which is a role he's had for the majority of his career. It walks the fine line of talking about the afterlife without getting too bogged down with religion. That's key.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: It was kind of boring and meanders a lot. It's positioned as a great love story and it's a good one. I feel like 30 minutes could've easily been cut from this. This thing dragged at almost all points.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Dances with Wolves

The Pitch: Kevin Costner becomes a Native American. Think, The Last Samurai but in America and made a dozen years earlier.

What Took Me So Long: I was intimidated by the movies' length.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) It's an Oscar winner and has one of those titles that is so pretentious that you have to see what it's about. This is one of those weird out-of-nowhere movies. Before this, Kevin Costner was that actor who made all those baseball movies. I'd say it's like George Clooney showing up with Good Night, and Good Luck except Clooney had at least done Confessions of a Dangerous Mind first, Costner was much younger, and Wolves got way more critical adoration. The movie is fairly immersive. By the time it ends there is an attachment to all the main characters. It looks great for a period piece.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: It's just so damn long. Most of the length was there to show us what Native American life was like, which is interesting, but they may have overdone it. There were no emotional beats that were heightened sufficiently to justify the amount of time spent on any character or relationship. I don't want to say that an hour could've been cut out for mostly the same affect. It does feel like it though.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Camp

The Pitch: You know, it's been too long since Fame was on.

What Took Me So Long: The only thing that had me considering it is the need to see anything I can with Anna Kendrick.

Why I Saw It: Did I mention Anna Kendrick? Other than that, there were no redeeming qualities to this movie.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: This is one of those cases when I can't figure out who the intended audience is. The plot screams "Disney Channel movie" (think Camp Rock. In fact, think exactly that) but the language and discussion of sex is intended for someone older. Then there's the singing, which isn't bad, but it is annoying, I mean, it's not great (except Kendrick, of course, who nails her one song. Side rant: How do you only give her ONE song?). There's something fascinating about watching a movie in which this is the only IMDB credit for most of the cast. It's like a train wreck and you can't look away. Beyond Kendrick, it is quickly apparent why no one else broke out after this movie, and Kendrick still took a few years to get going again. If you rate every episode of Glee a 10 out of 10, you might enjoy this...maybe.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Atlantis: The Lost Empire

The Pitch: Let's find a sciency way to tell a kid's movie about Atlantis.

What Took Me So Long: I didn't think this was in the Disney catalog, so that halved my limited interest immediately.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I eventually realized it is a Disney movie. It's fun to compare the Disney Renaissance movies with the ones like Lilo & Stitch, The Emporer's New Groove, and this to figure out what went wrong. Because, this is not a bad movie. It's not all that different from, say a Pocahontas. The voice cast is top notch and it looks good. I think Joss Whedon is in the army of writers for this (hint: whenever "army" is used to describe writers of a screenplay, that's immediately a bad sign).

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Alas, it is missing that "je ne sais quas" of Disney at its best. There's a magic or alchemy to it all and it wasn't there this time. The payoff for the mystery of Atlantis isn't all that great, but more importantly, the core story that's there when you strip away all the crazy characters and mythology isn't all that interesting. I'm not even sure if it was about friendship or having faith [in yourself].

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

DVR Purge: 11/21-11/24

 Past Purges

The Big Bang Theory "The Thanksgiving Decoupling"
Look, I get that comparing his situation to slavery is completely within Sheldon's character and I did get a couple chuckles from it, but I've never been more certain that he is the antagonist of this show.

Parks and Rec. "Fluoride"
I'm not sure how I feel about Craig. They need to tone him down...all the way. I can see some long term potential for him, but not in his current form. I don't worry about the show's ability to do that though. He has long term potential due to the openings left by Ann and Chris leaving. Has Ann already left though? Was she in either episode? I knew Rashida Jones is leaving. I didn't realize there'd be a cutoff in appearances. Maybe I've not been paying attention. Did Leslie have to leave her job with the Parks dept. to become a council woman? She keeps talking about being unemployed. How did I miss that?

Parks and Rec. "The Cones of Dunshire"
1. Ben is King of the Nerds
2. Jamm has some kickass clothes.
3. Can Ron just go ahead and legally adopt April?

The Crazy Ones "Sixteen-Inch Softball"
This show likes it's montages. It continues to be perfectly amiable and traditional in all ways except the lack of laugh-track. I knew the only way the game would end would be with Simon getting drugged back up. I'm a little confused about why they let him play if they knew he was on sedatives. It made for a fun fantasy sequence though. I think the Simon/Zach relationship continues to be the best part of the show.

The Michael J Fox Show "Thanksgiving"
Holy shit, I haven't seen Charles Grodin since Beethoven. He's certainly aged. Is he really 70? The genuine moment between Mike and him at the end took me by surprise. The real guest-Star though was Candice Bergen. I really believe she could tear down Annie that quickly. It helps that she's been playing characters like this almost exclusively since Murphy Brown ended. Was that the first Harris and Eve story the show has done? That should happen more often. She interns for the station, right?

Parenthood "Election Day"
Hallelujah! The election is over and I couldn't be happier about it (and that she lost). There's plenty of other stories worth exploring and this has been eating up time. Crosby's story was light enough to counterbalance everything else going on although I'm confused why he would lie so much about voting. It's not like he was ever shown to be responsibly before reuniting with Jasmine. Actually, Max's story was pretty light too. It dealt with some of the difficulties he faces without making a big fuss of it. Really, the darkness is all with Amber and Ryan and Julia and Joel. Ryan's anger and jealously finally exploding was written in the wall from the moment we met him and it was only a matter of when and how. This is about as good as any way. Since Matt Lauria hasn't been signed on as a regular [yet], I'm assuming this will not end well from here. I find myself wanting to side with Joel in his marital strife because it is really unfair for Julia to be doing this after he stayed at home quietly for years. He is responding to all of this unreasonably poorly. He's never been a character who is this dense. If anything, he's the more perceptive of the two. There issues seem to be as much manufactured for plot as it is motivated by decisions that fit the characters. Again, thank god Kristina lost!

Saturday Night Live "Josh Hucherson/HAIM"
That had to be the least host intensive monologue I've seen in a long time. I'm not sure if Hucherson didn't have as much time to prep or if the writers had so little material. I've seen musical guests with more heavy lifting in an episode than him, which is surprising, because it's not like he was bad. The "Your Love" sketch was fantastic and his lip sync-ing sold it. You know who was busy this episode: Cicely Strong. Damn. I haven't seen that much usage since Kristen Wiig was on. This isn't a complaint, mind you. She is one of my two or three favorites in the cast right now and I was originally worried she would disappear outside of the Weekend Update desk.

The Walking Dead "Dead Weight"
Too much Governor. We have now officially been away from the prison for too long. For all the character rehab they did last week, he's back to being the same "Ends justify the means" despot that he was before. I sure hope whatever they have planned for him is something other than picking up exactly where we left off at the end of season 3. And, did I miss how he also magically found the prison too? In a zombia apocalypse, this sure is a small world. I guess that's what I expect from the show though. At least I have no worries about how well the action will be staged in next week's episode. They rarely disappoint with that.

Movie Reaction: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Formula: (The Hunger Games) ^ 2

Why I Saw It: Guaranteed $150 Million opening, non-3D, Jennifer Lawrence. Try and stop me.

Cast: Isn't Jennifer Lawrence great? Fresh off an Oscar win she's bringing those talents to her return to franchise fare. It's hard to say how good the material for Katniss is on the page because J-Law nails it regardless. Josh Hucherson is better than I remember him being in the first movie. He's more of his own character. Woody Harrelson (Haymitch) seemed more engaged this time and Elizabeth Banks (Effie) proved to be a much deeper character than I expected after coming off as little more than a cartoon in the first. As for new faces, Sam Claflin (Finnick) has the demeanor and look of a former Hunger Games victor. He still has a generic white guy look, which is why I don't remember him from anything he's been in. I'm so happy to see Jena Malone show up in this. I don't recall ever disliking her in something although I didn't find her character to be fully realized here. Philip Seymour Hoffman gets good use out of his few scenes. I assume he'll have more to do in future movie(s). There's others I'm forgetting. For a 2.5 hour movie, this was still overstuffed with cast.

Plot: Half the movie is about something I couldn't be less interested in. We did the Hunger Games thing in the first movie. It was a good hook for the first movie. It sets up the world effectively and allows for a self contained story. You couldn't ask for a better setup to a franchise. That's been done. There's a lot about the world, the rebellion that I care about. Doing another Hunger Games is a boring way to go and an example of why most people have issues with sequels: redoing the first movie but bigger is not interesting. That said, they nail everything happening outside the games. The beginning of the movie does a great job showing the unrest and fallout from Katniss' actions in her first games. The Hunger Games part was very well done. Had it been the first time we saw this, I'd fully enjoy it, no caveats. I'm not sure how much of the end I should talk about but let's say I was very pleased with everything it revealed about the games and the Volunteers from the districts.

Elephant in the Room: It sounds like your problems are with the book, not the movie. Absolutely. I should've started with that. I don't know all the details of the book vs. movie but as far as I can tell, the movie took mediocre lemons and made delicious lemonade. Had the second book been about something other than another Hunger Games and been just as good then I wouldn't worry about the third book/movie. Instead, all the second book/movie has proven is that they can tell a really good story about a battle royale. I'm a little worried about where it goes from here.

To Sum Things Up:
I feel better about this movie than I do about the series going forward. Ignoring the franchise and focusing on the movie, this was a very good blockbuster movie. It is edge of your seat exciting, filled with a variety of characters and better than expected performances. It's redundant at this point to say it but Jennifer Lawrence is as strong a lead as you are going to find. It looks like this is going to have the 4th highest opening of all time, so most of this is pointless because you've already seen it, but I could not be more pleased with this as a second movie for the franchise. 

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Sleeping with the Enemy

The Pitch: It's like a Lifetime movie on the big screen.

What Took Me So Long: I've never shared America's love affair with Julia Roberts. She's fine. Hardly a draw for me.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) A good psychological thriller is worth the hunt, so I am ready to sift through the lesser ones to reach a good one. I liked how much time this spent at the beginning to show Laura's life before fleeing. Most movies would opt to use a series of flashbacks (think Safe Haven), but I think that knowing the threat early made it tenser overall. It was surprisingly quiet in terms of dialog as well.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Again, here is a case where I'm not sure if this was the movie that started a trend or another example of a common plot, because I've seen a more interesting version of this story on SVU. If this is the first of its kind, then bravo, this is a great story structure. If it is another derivative version, then eh, I've seen better. Also, why does the evil husband have to be OCD? On more than one occasion I find myself siding with him. He just wants some god damn order in the house.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Harlem Nights

The Pitch: Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor is an R-rated - what's that? You don't need to know the rest. You'll make it?

What Took Me So Long: With a cast like that, I don't know how I missed it for so long.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) ...And then I watched it. To date, this is the only time Eddie Murphy has directed a movie and it looks like a lot of people were willing to take part in it. Personally, I was most excited to see Murphy and Pryor together. Both have a rough batting average in theaters (To be fair, at the time, Murphy didn't) so it is a volatile pairing.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: This wasn't particularly funny. It was written by, directed by, and starring Murphy so we can squarely place the blame here. That said, looking at reviews of it, I wouldn't rate it as hyperbolicly bad as others did. It was merely underwhelming.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Saw

The Pitch: Clever torture with some sort of plot around it.

What Took Me So Long: I don't handle super violent movies will and this is the poster child for them.

Why I Saw It: I want to get better at handling violence in movies and the only way to do that is to watch. Also, with most horror movies that yield numerous sequels, the first generally does something special. The twists in this movie are terribly clever. Even the ones that should've been obvious (anytime you cast Michael Emerson, be suspicious) got me. I was thankful that the movie followed what was going on outside the room too. I always had the impression that it was one of those small horror movies that takes place in small confines which is tough to pull off.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: The violence wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Still not for the squeamish though. A couple beats do play as horror movie tropes, so it wasn't perfect. I can already see how the next installments in the series will probably drop the ball. Eventually, I'll see if I'm right.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

DVR Purge: 11/19-11/20

Look at this. I've got one of these up after only two days. Perhaps I've finally balanced the very few things I have going on in my life and have found consistency? That's sounds really unlike me though. I'm labeling this as a fluke until given reason to think otherwise.

Past Purges

SHIELD "The Well"
So, I assume they told Simmons to sound as much like Cate Blanchett at the beginning of a Tolkien Movie as possible for that opening? It worked well as the setup for them having to cleanup after Thor and company. I'm glad someone finally decided to acknowledge that the buildings just don't rebuild/clean themselves. As someone completely uninitiated with the comics, I appreciate the additional explanation of the Asgardians. We get some nice character background for Ward, although it still doesn't make his performance interesting. He's trying though. May is still a mystery but Ming-Na Wen (still can't believe she's 50) plays her well.
-It definitely seems like the writers have a better grasp on how to use Fitz and Simmons now than Ward and Skye. I especially enjoyed Ward "tricking" Simmons to climb up the tree.
-Peter MacNicol kind of looks like a grownup Iain De Caestecker (Fitz), or is that just me?
-I imagine that casting for all the villains must've been a fun day. Basically everyone's instruction was "again, by more intense".
-"And if Thor's in town, I'll introduce you." Nice dig Coulson.
-Has Coulson gone an episode yet without mentioning that he died? Let it go!

Brooklyn Nine Nine "Sal's Pizza"
This has solidified itself as my favorite new show of the fall. That has as much to do with it's quality as the shortcomings of everything else. I like the foodie aspect of Boyle's character. It is right in Joe Lo Truglio's wheelhouse. I love when Capt. Holt mentions his newsletter. It was a great use of Andre Braugher's deadpan. I don't think anyone was fooled by Linetti's behavior interviewing for the IT job. It's still a nice reminder that she knows what she's doing. I'd be ok if they toned down Santiago's uptight thing. That's getting old. So, Scully is Jerry Gergich, right?

New Girl "Longest Night Ever"
It's nice to have Cece back in an episode for more than a cameo. I'm already tired of her and Coach though. I think, in general, I'm a bigger fan of the show when no one in the main cast is dating, except for maybe Schmidt and Cece because jealous Schmidt is exhausting and there's no such thing as "just friends" Schmidt when it comes to her. I'm starting to think the show just needs to embrace that Winston is in his own show and let his go insane doing it. All the stories that have stuck with me the most for him (the job at the radio station, reserving the table, searching for a con**m) he is by himself. I think if the writers just embrace it, he can reach a whole new level of insane. This week was close to that. Nick was nice for the reactions but he was basically a non-factor.

The Mindy Project "Mindy Lahiri is a Racist"
This was certainly the laugh out loud funniest episode I can think of. The midwives are in full villain mode, and the ways Schulman & Associates handle it are all hilarious. People pointing out all of Mindy's casual racism is a nice twist, given that she is the only of the doctors of color. All the things about the midwives that set Danny off are hilarious, like getting angry they don't know Yankee players. Jeremy turning on his own practice, especially after it was revealed he's from South Africa was great. I didn't see it coming at all when Peter realizes he was thinking about a different guy when he almost meets the politician. I'm going to have to start a spreadsheet off all the guest stars on this show. This week, we add Jenna Elfman and Missi Pyle to it. The past two weeks have me really excited that they may have finally figured this show out.
Oh, I almost forgot. The opening tag had me laughing all the way through the opening credits. I pretty much knew how it would play out but that didn't stop me from finding it hilarious.

I don't know where I'm supposed to mention this, but for anyone who watched the ABC Wednesday shows on TV, those crossover Target commercials with Sue, Danny, and the dog from Modern Family were delightful. I'd like more shows to have these. I don't care if it is kind of lame.

The Middle "Thanksgiving V"
Favorite Line: "You know, this is the kind of thing you might want to share with a blood relative." -Mike
You can always rely on a good holiday episode from The Middle. The fact that they number each holiday episode goes to show how often they do them. Probably more often than any show I can think of. I always welcome more Jack McBrayer on my TV, so that was nice. I don't really remember the sister-in-law at all. She was a little over the top but I like being reminded that the Hecks are virtually the normal ones in their family. I like the apathetic reverse psychology that Mike uses on Axl, although I'm still confused how he can keep his scholarship if he isn't a full-time student. I'm sure they'll address that in some way. As sad as it makes me to see the family continuing to shit on Brick, I'll like that he took things into his own hands and made that disgusting casserole.

Back in the Game "Color Barrier"
Money is tricky. Even in TV shows, seeing a story about the disparity between friends makes me uncomfortable. It is handled about as well as it could be this week and I love the way that Terry and Gigi make up. I find myself less annoyed by the stories with Danny and the team than I expected. I didn't see the end scene with Dick and David coming at all. The show has done well by Dick so far. His douchiness was dialed all the way down and we get a nice, personal scene between him and his son.

Modern Family "ClosetCon '13"
Fantastic Apollo 13 spoof. I've must get that out of the way now. Occasionally Modern Family works too hard to setup a joke and the end result is muted because we can see too many of the strings at work (Ex. "We love the F word"). In this case it all comes together fairly perfectly from Phil's dad having to help via Internet because he doesn't live there and Gloria, Alex, and Haley watching from the security system computers. Jay has a known love for models and toys like this. Wonderfully done. I wasn't wild about Claire and Jay at the conventional, but it was more filler than detriment and setup for a great tag at the end about Phil's phobias. Cam and Mitchell were more of a mixed bag. I've always found Farm Cam to be overbearing but for some reason city vs. farm bickering is about the only type that I like between Cam and Mitchell. Lily continues her covert MVP ways as well by adapting to farm ways quickly. Overall, definitely a case of one story more than making up for the deficiencies of the others.

Delayed Reaction: Rush Hour 2

The Pitch: Same movie, but this time, in China.

What Took Me So Long: I hadn't seen the first Rush Hour. You'd have to consult past-Alex on why I didn't see that though.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) The first movie was pretty good for what it is, so it didn't take a lot of persuading to get me to continue the series. I find it funny how formulaic this was in reversing the fish out of water aspect of the first movie. You know what though, it worked as well as it needed to. There' always a cheap laugh to be had from a joke about how tall Asian's are or how stupid Americans don't understand Asian culture.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Yeah, the low hanging fruit jokes can get old pretty fast. Thankfully, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan's chemistry can always keep this going.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

DVR Purge: 11/12-11/18

 

 Whoops. Wrong filibuster.

That's better.

Past Purges

SHIELD "The Hub"
My favorite line this week:
Simmons: "I like following the rules and doing what's expected of me. It makes me feel nice."
This show still isn't perfect but I thought found the pairing of Fitz and Ward and Simmons and Skye were refreshing changes of pace. They are still doing just enough to keep me interested.

Brooklyn Nine Nine "Old School"
This episode fully pleased me. It is the most like an adult that Peralta has been yet. They showed him being a fully competent cop too. Most of the laughs of the night came from Det. Diaz for me though. I love the cut to her threatening the stenographer. Oh, and Santiago recognizing she's being manipulated by Capt. Holt but not caring was funny too.

New Girl "Menus"
Ok, I'm a lot more for Coach as a regular if this is what it will look like and I approve. Him re-meeting Cece was quite funny. It'll be funny seeing how a first season character fits into a third season world is off to an entertaining start. Jess's feud with the Chinese restaurant owner was weird. It fit though.

The Mindy Project "You've Got Sext"
Mindy: "Are you watching the nature channel? I love this. It makes me so happy I don't live in those places."
Was it my recording or was the sound a little off for a lot of the outdoor scenes. Regardless, a very good episode. They continue the outstanding record of guest stars. I didn't realize how much I missed Ellie Kemper on my TV until she turned up this week. On a similar note, I forget how much I miss seeing It's Always Sunny when Glenn Howerton shows up. Let's just hope they can build on the momentum of this episode.

Trophy Wife "Lice and Beary White"
Am I just in good mood or were all the shows Tuesday exceedingly good? Jackie and Kate realizing they both used to shampoo dogs was a fun throwaway joke. I love that the solution to the Hillary situation is to run away. I'm so tired of the Solomon solution being used, so Bert and Warren turning it on it's head is very welcome.

The Middle "The Jump"
This episode prominently features a puppy so I approve it. I sure hope the solution to Axl's problems isn't for him to move back in and drop out of school. That's such a lazy fix (I'm looking at you, Modern Family).

Back in the Game "Safety Squeeze"
Oh, is this the part of the season when we get an episode highlighting each of the kids? It was a charming enough episode and Tank vs. Dick was good for a couple laughs. I'm liking Gigi a lot more than I expected I would in the pilot.

Modern Family "A Fair to Remember"
As often is the case, I'm gonna need to break this down by character but overall, I have good feelings toward this episode:
Cam & Mitchell - It's weird how much I like them when they aren't undercutting each other. Mitchell basically just plays the chorus to Cam's football team issue. I loved the hitting vs. vacuuming away your demons joke and Cam yelling about bad calls from the sidelines.
Jay - He and Key or Peele was a familiar but effectively done buddy cop spoof. Key or Peele was excellent here.
Gloria & Manny - Seen it before but it was really just a means to the end of getting Manny on the football team, so whatever.
Alex & Luke - A bit of an underwhelming climax to the story. I appreciate that they are continuing to let Luke grow up though.
Phil & Claire - Poor Phil. I'm glad he got his Chinese acrobats. Had it ended with him being shamed from singing, I'd've been very disappointed.
Haley & the manny - Oh, right, like I'm going to not like that. Can I request that we formally retire the Manny/manny joke though.

Parks & Rec. "Filibuster/Recall Vote"
I'm not even going to try to break this episodes in my head. Assorted thoughts:
-As much Tatiana Maslany as possible, please. She close to displacing Natalie Morales for "best potential girlfriend for Tom who can't be a regular due to other jobs"...Ok, it may not be a large club, but it is a very good one.
-I don't remember only Donna and Ron being in a story before, but if this is the result, I support it entirely.
-I'm sad and surprised that Leslie lost the recall vote. From her point of view, that's a bummer. For my enjoyment of the show, I'm ok with this. Councilwoman Knope has not yielded the consistent results the rest of the show has.
-Does this mean this is the end of Rent-a-Swag? I hope not.

The Big Bang Theory "The Itchy Brain Simulation"
I'm not wild about the pettiness of Sheldon in this story (does the audience really need a reason to sympathize with him? Isn't he the villain of the series at this point?). It gave Johnny Galecki some funny physical comedy to do though, so it isn't all bad. Then we get the return of Kate Micucci. That's always going to be welcome.

The Crazy Ones "The Stan Wood Account"
Is it just me or did this episode not have an ending? It certainly ended but not a lot felt like it was resolved. I think that's a big difference between the comedies I like and love. I love ones that end where is best for the story. I like the ones that end where is best for one last laugh. I like to think the final act at the used car lot was inspired by The Good: Buy Hard, Sell Hard.

Parenthood "The Ring"
This is another one of those shows I must break up my discussion:
-Zeek and Camille. Zeek having fun was nice but the end was pretty heartbreaking.
-Jasmine and Crosby. He'll grow up one of these days. I'm glad that they had an episode with an ending like the minivan episode because sometimes Jasmine seems to only be written as a foil for him.
-Julia and Joel. I don't like them having marital issue. That's because it's tough to watch, not that the writers are doing a bad job. Far from it.
-Amber and Ryan. This is not going to end well, is it? Oh boy, next week is going to be rough.
-Adam and Kristina. I don't care. I want this story to end.
-Sarah. A small story. No complaints. I'd like to see more from Hank but he isn't a Braverman and I'm sure he'll return in time.
-Haddie...oh, I'm sorry. I guess she doesn't exist anymore.

SNL "Lady Gaga"
Mostly a funny episode. It wasn't the most diverse use of Gaga which was a little disappointing. Something like the "Waking Up with Kimye" sketch had her even more uncomfortable than I think they intended for her to be. The Upper West Side 2063 sketch was weird and somber and the laughs didn't so much matter. It was not a common thing for SNL to do but I liked it. I wasn't crazy about the Weekend Update until Taram Killam broke as the speechwriter. Enough here to make men excited for if she ever hosts again.

The Walking Dead "Live Bait"
This week was all about character rehab. This is the kind of episode I'd've liked before he went insane last year. He's getting the Loki treatment here. He's a bad guy but the writers/fans/etc. like him so he's being softened. It's not a horrible idea but it is a little transparent. David Morrissey does a great job. I don't know what to make with his travelling buddies, or, as I like to call them: girl who would be played by Michelle Rodriguez if she wasn't already busy, girl who looks way too much like Lauren Cohan, and replacement daughter. I get that not everyone understands as much about the zombies as we do, but aiming for the head seems like first day shit. You're telling me that would-be Michelle Rodriguez wouldn't have aimed for the head just once through sheer statistics? Whatever. Small girpe. It looks like they did a good enough job because, damn it, I think I'm pulling for the Governor now.

How I Met Your Mother "Mom and Dad"
At this point the show is way closer to 30 Rock than Friends. I'm not sure when that happened but it won't change anything. Both are great shows so no reason to be down on it. I really dug the "Sabotage" reference although that whole plotline seemed like it was trying to reference a dozen things at once. I didn't realize we needed to have an emotional beat for Billy Zabka. Even though it wasn't expected, it was welcome. His perspective, always being hated by anyone he saw a movie with, was very amusing. I'm so confused by Marshall's story. How close are they to where Sherri Springfield needed to be? If they were that close, why would she think she couldn't make it to the model UN event? It's odd, but the pro-oil spin at the end surprised me and got a good chuckle. With barely a day left until the wedding and the story only going until a few hours after said wedding, does this mean an increased frequency of time hopping stories? I hope so. There's gotta be at least one from the Mother's perspective coming up, right?

Movie Reaction: About Time

Formula: Love, Actually * The Time Traveler's Wife

Why I Saw It: An interesting premise can go a long way.

Cast: I don't remember Domhnall Gleeson from anything but his hair color and accent should've led me to assume he was a Weasley. He is every bit as charming as Hugh Grant at his best. Rachel McAdams is built for a role like this (insanely attractive, but still seems attainable). It also helps that both can believably play 20-35 years old. Bill Nighy is wonderful as the dad, cracking jokes and delivering knockout dramatic beats. Lydia Wilson plays Gleeson's free-spirited sister. I've never seen her before, but of the supporting characters, she was the biggest surprise.

Plot: A 21-year old guy finds out that he has inherited the ability to travel back in time. With this, he chooses to seek true-love. That's how the movie is being sold and it's certainly what it is for most of the first hour. A surprising amount is about Gleeson's relationship with his father and the movie as a whole is way more concerned with how to live life to the fullest than the RomCom trappings. It's a much deeper movie than at first it appears. I was relieved that the movie never tries to understand the time-traveling. The audience is supposed to accept it and go from there which is probably the only way a movie like this can work.

Elephant in the Room: So, it's not a romance or a comedy? I wouldn't go that far. It has some romance to it. I would definitely classify this as a date movie. It is also quite funny. I kind of forget the definition of dramatic irony but if I recall correctly, 95% of the laughs in the movie come from that. That means it can be classified as a Romantic Comedy. There's also some drama in there too. If I'm going to label this, I'd say it's a coming of age story.

To Sum Things Up:I really liked this movie. It's a little long. That's about my only complaint and it's a toothless one. I'm not calling this one of my favorite movies of the year, but I could easily see it working it's way up there five years from now. I know for a fact it's one of those movies I'll have to watch every time I see it on TBS in the middle of the afternoon. That's a list that includes The Shawshank Redemption and Bring It On, so I'll let you decide what that means exactly.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: The FP

The Pitch: A timeless tale about love, betrayal, and DDR in a dystopian, Mad Max future that looks like it cost $17.34 to make.

What Took Me So Long: I don't find movies like this. They find me.

Why I Saw It: It begins with a friend saying "you won't believe this movie" and ends with you saying "I can't believe this movie." It's bad but a little brilliant in that I cannot for the life of me determine if the people who made this movie realize how bad it is. It is so incredibly over the top without ever winking to the camera. Until I see something else that the Trost family (seriously, check the credits. There's a clan of them behind this), I won't know what their angle is.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: This is a bad movie, and like most bad movies, it should be enjoyed with others. Let me be clear though. This is a bad movie, not a movie that could be good but does a few things remarkably well. It is beginning to end not very good, to the point that the badness is so exact and copious that you start to believe it could be brilliant, even though it isn't because it is plain bad. The dialogue is atrocious. There is no production value. The acting is...tricky. The delivery is awful but the conviction is there. I'll put it this way. Of the 1 star movies I've found, this is one I'd be likely to see again.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Ghost Rider

The Pitch: A guy sells his soul to the devil, by accident or something, and rides a motorcycle. Oh, and he turns into a fire monster thing, and only at night because it's the devil. You know what, it doesn't matter what it's about. This is a Marvel property, so this is getting green-lit regardless of what we pitch.

Cheer up Nic Cage. It gets better.

What Took Me So Long: Is "It looked stupid" a good enough reason?

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) There really was no reason to see this. It's a Marvel production from Fox, so it doesn't even belong to the larger Marvel universe (that would be Disney). While not doing anything to particularly offend me, this is lazily unremarkable.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Am I the only one bothered by the age difference of Eva Mendes and Nic Cage in this. Their flashback selves seem to be about the same age, but Mendes and Cage in no way look like they belong in the same age group. That took me out of the movie almost completely by itself. Beyond that, it's just a boring origin story. All this stuff about working for the devil and riding on a motorcycle are hokie. Oh, and the animation of the Ghost Rider looks bad. That's all I can say about that. I can't call this the worst Marvel movie, but it is certainly one that should be forgotten. I can't believe this had a sequel.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Punchline

The Pitch: I want to make a movie about the world of stand up comedy. No, god no! Not how it actually is. Let's do the Disney version of the that.

What Took Me So Long: I never knew about this movie until about a month before I got it from Netflix. That probably didn't bode well for it now that I think of it.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Sally Field. Tom Hanks. Jon Goodman. Set in the back drop of the 80s stand-up comedy scene. What could go wrong?

Why I Wish I Hadn't: It turns out, a lot can go wrong. First of all, it wasn't that funny. According to this movie, every comedian tells almost exclusively hack jokes. I've seen enough stand-up from then or before to know that it isn't a generational issue. I'm pretty sure when it came out, most of this was considered lazy comedy then too. Now, I realize that I probably know more about the comedy scene than the average Joe who this movie was aimed toward. Still, it is absolutely absurd that Sally Field's character is able to go from novice who can't even deliver jokes that she paid for to able to win a major competition in as short a time as she does. I found this entire movie to be laughable only in how bad it was. I assume other people will like it more than I did. Even ignoring the aspects of the comedy world that I didn't enjoy, the plot itself was very pedestrian and unremarkable. I suppose it does a decent job of giving the most basic of insights into the world of comedy and joke-writing though. Oh, and as someone watching this after seeing Forrest Gump, the romance angle between Hanks and Field creeped me out a bit.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Romeo Must Die

The Pitch: Jet Li and hip-hop. It's a can't miss idea.

What Took Me So Long: I'm not a huge fan of Jet Li or hip-hop.

Why I Saw It: This is supposed to be a 90s retelling of Romeo and Juliet, I suppose. That is, it a retelling that is different than the retelling that Baz Lurhman did a couple years earlier. Basically, Romeo and Juliet in all its iterations is a story that, unlike its protagonists, won't die. Jet Li doing his crazy martial arts moves is always fun to see and I have to admit, Aaliyah is not as bad an actress as I'd've assumed.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I didn't really know what was going on a lot of the time. I know there was a lot of stuff about Asian and black gangs at war and a football stadium. Mostly though, it was scattered scenes of Jet Li beating people up. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for that if the staging of the fighting is the point of the movie, but this is one of those that tried to give it all too much plot and I could not have cared less.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: The English Patient

The Pitch: It's a love story for the ages, set in the desert during WWII.

What Took Me So Long: Ever since it came out, it sort of symbolized Oscar movies for me. It was this movie that was impossibly higher brow than me and I'd need a guide book to make my through it. I didn't say this was a correct read of it, but it's hard for an impression made when you were 9 to go away.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I figured it was best to finally demystify the movie. Also, it got me another movie further back in my Oscar winner checklist. At the time of writing this, the next one up is Out of Africa. Oh boy.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I've so far avoided to say anything of note about this film for a reason. I'm with Elaine on this. Not for me. I tried watching this twice and lost track (via losing interest) both times. I had to go to the Wikipedia page on this and still didn't know what happened. The movie looks good and all that and the acting was fine, but the final product could not have been less to my taste. So boring.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

DVR Purge: 11/6-11/11

Finally! I'm off the Wednesday cycle. I know how many of you will be disappointed by my break from consistency, but I'm about to get a couple days behind, so this was out of necessity. With a lot of heavy hitters taking a break and a surprisingly strong episode, HIMYM is my strong horse for this purge.

 

  Past Purges

The Big Bang Theory "The Proton Displacement"
I wonder how often they are going to dip into the Bob Newhart well now that they've seen how well received it is? I must say, I was surprised how quickly they brought him back. I think both times were within the calendar year. I'm never going to complain about some Newhart though. I was a little disappointed by the use of Bill Nye, except for him interacting with Newhart. It was a bit of a waste, but he isn't a comedic actor quite as much as Newhart, so I can understand the under-utilization. As for the regulars, they were fine. I like that Raj's ability to speak to women hasn't suddenly ended his invitations to girls nights.

The Crazy Ones "Sydney, Australia"
I've learned to always be in favor of Josh Groban in a comedy show. For a singer, the man gets how to do it. I'm curious if the Australian board pitch idea started with the idea of Simon and Zach doing Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and worked backwards from there. Regardless, I approve.

The Michael J Fox Show "Bed Bugs"
I get it. Leigh's annoying, but she's family. Isn't having her live in the same building as Mike's family enough to have her around too much? Did we really need to see her literally living in the apartment? Whatever. I'm not crazy about Ian being the hapless character who gets all the breaks. I'm still looking for some more characterization than "he's smart, but a fuck up."

Parenthood "Speaking of Baggage"
It's weird how no election talk seems to coincide with the better episodes of Parenthood this season. Ray Romano is welcome on this show as long as he wants. Hank is a great character and I continue to love any scene with him and Sarah because it is so awkward and not trying to prove anything. I'm starting to worry about how things are going with Amber and Ryan. This episode was quite ominous. Hopefully Ashes of Rome doesn't get in the way. Speaking of everyone's favorite primetime TV band, do Adam and Crosby just have no other work to do or clients? They must be going broke, right? Whatever. It makes for good TV. I find myself torn between insanely jealous of and completely pitying Drew right now. A very solid episode overall though.

The Walking Dead "Internment"
It wasn't a perfect episode but the dual sequence of Rick and Carl stopping the zombies at the gate while Hershel and then Maggie try to control the infirmary outbreak was one of the best the show has put together. I'm not looking forward to the return of the Governor/ That's a next week problem though. For now, this was a good episode.

HIMYM "Platonish"
Now that's what I'm talking about! This wasn't a perfect episode but if every episode was like this, I'd be really enjoying this season. We get Barney with some wacky hijinkss and also a Mother interaction that, while a little too instantly prophetic, was a great couple scenes. Ted and Marshall at the Harlem Globetrotters game, rooting for the Generals is a funny setting while rehashing the dos and don'ts of Ted and Robin. I'm not sure what the point of the return of Bryan Cranston is, especially considering they apparently couldn't get him in the same room as Ted, but I assume they will play itself out later. The Farhampton Inn was used as a bookend for the stories. You know, if every other week could be like this, I'd be pleased.

Movie Reaction: Thor: The Dark World

Formula: Thor + more world jumping

Why I Saw It: I find the Marvel universe to be one of the most fascinating properties in the movie industry.

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, as I said with Rush, is a movie star. He still feels second tier in this, although I think a lot of that has to do with the character. It's nice to see Natalie Portman in this universe but this character is a little slight, don't you think. She's a scientist, has a little sass, but is mostly just lovesick woman in this. It would be nice for her to be a little more interesting. Tom Hiddleston is as effective as ever as Loki. Personally, I don't quite get why that character is so beloved. Everything people love about him is there though. Thanks to 2 Broke Girls, I forget how funny Kat Dennings is. Her comedic relief is some of the best in the Marvel series. There's too many others to name. I can assure you that this is the highest profile cast of any of the Marvel movies and none of them hurt the movie in the slightest.

Plot: Thor saves the world from certain destruction. Oh, I'm sorry, should I have started that with "spoiler alert"? This is a pretty big story. With all the world hopping, this plays more like Green Lantern* than Iron Man or Captain America. In this case, Thor is battling some group of evil Elves who want revenge on Asgard, I think. Portman's Jane Foster coincidentally ends up with some ancient weapon that puts her right in the middle of this. Honestly, the narrative could've done a much better job explaining the stakes and the context. It's all kept afloat by some good action sequences and healthy sprinkling in of jokes.

*I'm guessing. Still haven't see that one.

Elephant in the Room: How's phase 2 looking after this? I think the ambition of Marvel is wonderful. They are looking for a depth of universe that is almost unparalleled. I'm not comic expert, but The Dark World seems to be much closer to the direction of the Marvel movies than Iron Man 3 and I'm not ready yet to say if I like that or not. The Dark World certainly plays less like a movie in the Post-Avengers world. There's references to SHIELD but there's really no reason why they aren't there. In general, it's hard for me to see why, beyond contractual negotiations, we wouldn't see anyone else from the team. This is a very isolated movie in that respect. It's just Thor, much like Iron Man 3 is just Iron Man. It's hard for me to fathom why this world isn't more filled with these characters. Perhaps that's just me.

To Sum Things Up:
Through two movies, I'm still looking for something in Marvel's Phase 2 to really excite me. I had a feeling I'd have to wait for the next Captain America since he's the only one who stays in the thick of the SHIELD world and it appears that was a correct assumption. This is an entertaining enough superhero movie. There's nothing to set it apart. It doesn't have a particular wit like Iron Man or rage like Hulk. It doesn't look exceptionally great (Man of Steel) or aim for some deeper themes (The Dark Knight). It's pretty much exactly what I expect from it and not much else. Wow, that makes it sound like I didn't enjoy the movie. I did. I didn't love it though.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Scream 4

The Pitch: It's not a reboot. It's like the other Screams but with a younger group of kids. I repeat, it is not a reboot.

What Took Me So Long: I was really underwhelmed by the third one as well as most horror reboots (Note: before seeing it, I did not realize it wasn't a reboot).

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I liked the first two Screams enough that it was worth giving this one a try. Besides, the part of me that likes pretty people on the screen was delighted by Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Alison Brie, Aimee Teegarden, and vintage Courtney Cox and Neve Campbell. That alone would've gotten me to finish it. Thankfully, that wasn't even needed because this was everything you hope for with a Scream movie: thrills, twists, scares, and most importantly, thorough dissection of the horror movie genre.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I didn't like that I was wrong about who the killer was. I liked the actual identity better though, so that doesn't even count. Yeah, no complaints here except for the mileage I get from the genre to begin with.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Rush Hour

The Pitch: We want Jackie Chan in an action movie, but lets put him with someone funny to make it a buddy cop movie.

What Took Me So Long: Jackie Chan + chatty American actor is a common enough setup that Shanghai Cowboys sufficed for a long time.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I like Jackie Chan. He is a pretty unique Hollywood presence. His slapstick is kind of like Buster Keaton on crack. He is great at staged fighting but only seems concerned with how he can make it funny and I'd say the Rush Hour franchise. Chris Tucker is a good ying to Chan's yang even if he does exhausted you with his constant barrage of words. I wouldn't say there's anything new to this but it gets the buddy cop formula right.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: As I said, Tucker wore me down, so that got a little tiring by the end. That is admittedly how his character is supposed to be seen, but that doesn't make it any less tiring.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

The Pitch: People keep thinking this movie is about dinosaurs. We might as well give 'em just that.

What Took Me So Long: I thought having not seen the second movie would hurt my understanding of it. Silly me.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) The foreign box office goes insane for these movies. I'm not really sure why. Most animated movies have a much harder time in foreign markets but this did over 3/4 of its business overseas. I get how something like Kung-fu Panda would do well due to to obvious foreign appeal. I suppose the lack of explicitly an American setting in the Ice Age movies helps make it more marketable, but this was breaking box office records in some markets. I suppose people like dinosaurs. Can that really be enough?

Why I Wish I Hadn't: You may have noticed that I've said nothing about the movie. That's because it's the same as the first two, only slightly different. Good message about friendship and family. A lot of broad humor for the kids with a couple that might land on an adult. Largely, a painless family film, this time, with dinosaurs.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Planes Trains and Automobiles

The Pitch: A road trip with Steven Martin and John Candy.

What Took Me So Long: Your guess is as good as mine for how I hadn't seen this yet.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I love Steve Martin. I love John Candy. I love a good Odyssey story. All the pieces were there and they delivered. It's one of those movies that is talked about enough that I've already managed to see clips of the best parts so not a lot took me by surprised. Oddly, I didn't know it was John Hughes movie until I watched it. Knowing that now, it shouldn't surprised me that even when the whole movie came off a little broad, the heart behind it ultimately won me over.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I'm not going to go out of my way to find a reason to regret watching this. The comedy is a little dated, but not terribly. By and large is holds up well. I know I certainly enjoyed it more that something like Identity Thief.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

DVR Purge: 10/30-11/5

 Past Purges
 
The Middle "Halloween IV: The Ghost Story"
It was a pretty unremarkable episode until Sue speech at the end. The Middle has a way of pulling gems seemingly out of nowhere like that. I enjoyed the revelation that Brick likes girls now more than the execution of any of it afterwards.

Back in the Game "Night Games"
I'm pretty bummed to hear that more episodes are not being ordered for Back in the Game. I think that effectively kills it which is such a shame because I'm enjoying it as much as any new show this year. My favorite line from this week:
"Oh good lord. You look like a 7 year old doing the walk of shame. It's Halloween, darling. Where' are your breasts?"

The Crazy Ones "Hugging the Now"
So, is that the end of Sydney and her crush? That was abrupt. Amanda Setton is proving to be an MVP on this show in a way they could never figure out on The Mindy Project (similar to Jennifer Esposito on Spin City if you'll allow me the obvious comparison).

The Michael J Fox Show "Golf"
I feel like they either went too far or not far enough with the blind golf player. Either make it absurd beyond reason or abandon the idea. It was like the episode wanted me to just casually accept that a blind guy would be good at golf. I can't be the only one who that bothered.

Parenthood "The M Word"
That debate was a stinker. I don't remember Little being such a d-bag originally and it seems like lazy reworking of the character. Perhaps my natural distaste for politics is getting in the way, but I will be so happy when this election thing is over and Kristina gets her offer from Little to head up an education council or whatever after he wins. I enjoyed Crosby and Jasmine's minivan infomercial though.

SNL "Kerry Washington/Eminem"
So, SNL is aware of there lack of diverse cast. Cool. While I'm not for hiring a black female cast member to more or less fill a quote it is getting hard to defend them adding a half dozen white guys as featured players who are all rather generic. This week was kind of shamelessly "black week" and there were some good, not great, sketches. I particularly liked the sketch about Obama's approval in the black community. Certainly a welcome dosage of Jay Pharaoh.

The Walking Dead "Indifference"
I am dumbfounded. If you told me Saturday that there would be an episode just following Rick and Carol and Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese, and Bob and someone wasn't coming back, I would've prepared my touching video tribute to Tyreese or Bob (given the show's T-Dawg roots). Instead, we get a very fitting farewell to Carol who I never thought I'd care about circa season 2. It was a smart move. One of the few things that has been consistently unique about TWD is how many characters are unprotected. Sure, Rick won't die. Beyond that, I can't say who is safe and that makes it fun.

HIMYM "The Lighthouse"
This was one of the better episodes but it was mostly by way of the good cancelling out the bad. Bringing back Anna Camp's character: negated by Ted's proposal at the end (despite the scene looking unbelievably cheap). The bickering between Robin and Barney's mom: negated by two different hugs. Clint and the fact that Sherri Shepherd is nearing "Series regular" status: negated by the Proclaimers callback. Lily's anger at hearing Judge words: the Linus gag, which still gets me. I can't call it good. But, in it's current state, "not-bad" is the new "good" for HIMYM. I'm more curious about next week's episode. None of the previews look to take place at the Farhampton Inn which means one of two things: 1) the writers are finally tiring of that place and plan to give us a story with the structure they promised before the season or 2) the promotional department senses the Farhampton fatigue and wants to call as little attention to that setting as possible.

SHIELD "FZZT"
They are certainly trying. This is probably my favorite episode since the pilot. Coulson got to be dramatic, which I liked. I'm less interested and more tired of the constant referencing to how he died and came back. I'd sort of like to move past that. The scene at the beginning of everyone joking about Ward was fairly painful. Why is it that when shows have scenes with the characters cracking jokes and laughing it is never funny to the audience? It must be harder than it looks. I like the attempt to up the stakes. Sadly, I don't genuinely care about Simmons enough (beyond an inherent love of any attractive woman with a British accent) for the episode to resonate much. Solid character building and definite signs that the writing staff is figuring out how to do this show more effectively.

Brooklyn Nine Nine "48hrs."
I can't wait to see what this show will look like when Peralta is calibrated to fit the rest of the cast. Basically everyone else is where they need to be. I love this cast and it's so nice to watch this without the constant fear of cancellation. I love that this is continuing the tradition of comedy shows that need sparse evidence to close any case (See: Monk).

New Girl "Coach"
The return of Coach basically had to fall under the pressure of my lofty expectations. Like most of this season, there's been some good laughs even if
the heart of the episode wasn't there. This is basically what episode 2 Coach would look like, which is understandable. I believe Damon Wayans Jr. is doing a few episodes so I'd like to see what it will be like in coming weeks. I liked how Jess is finally acknowledging how all of them are in their 30s and still living like this.

The Mindy Project "Sk8ter Man"
Ugh, DVR! It didn't record. Based on the title alone, I am hoping for at least one Avril Lavigne reference.

Trophy Wife "Lice & Beary White"
Still not seeing how Meg is fitting into this show long term but I like the effort put in to give her a story with Diane. I'm also very encouraged by the fact that the writers realize that Jackie can be a bit much. Now, it's about seeing how long it takes for that to get reflected in the writing because this episode was irritatingly heavy with her.

Delayed Reaction: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The Pitch: Live action version of the beloved Christmas spacial. Excuse me, I mean, book.

What Took Me So Long: The thing about Christmas movies is that if you don't watch them in December, it feels wrong and I could never find time for it in December.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I like when Jim Carrey is having fun. I like him at other times too, but I think his is one of the most naturally entertaining comedy actors out there. Overall, it is really impressive how well the movie recreates the Doctor Seuss world, which I really always assumed could only successfully exist in animated form.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: There isn't enough to this story for a full movie. The animated special is the perfect length for this story. Adding everything they did to this left it feeling very bloated.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Movie Reaction: Ender's Game

Formula: Harry Potter - magic + moral ambiguity

Why I Saw It: It looked like it could be fun and Oscar credentials alone put the cast a step above that of similar movies.

Cast: Asa Butterfield (star of Oscar-winning movie, Hugo) plays Ender. He's not particularly engaging in this but I think a lot of that has to do with the dialogue which is not the best. His sister is played by Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin. His, female best friend/maybe love interest (it's hard to entirely tell) is played by Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld. The overbearing Colonel is played by Oscar nominee and living legend, Harrison Ford. His other overbearing Colonel is played by Gandhi himself, Oscar Winner Ben Kingsley. Then there's Oscar nominee Viola Davis playing another one of his senior officers. That's a surprising amount of proven acting talent for what's basically "space Harry Potter" (I don't care which book came first). Even the kids in this are proven commodities.

Plot: I've never read the book. Let me make that clear. I had no preconceptions about this. Nothing to compare it to favorably or unfavorably. I knew it something about space and a kid who had to save the world or something. That probably worked in my favor. Most of the movie follows through Ender's training, from Earth to the space station where they learn strategy through playing Space-Quidditch, and finally on to the front lines of the war with some alien race who tried to colonize Earth 50 years before. The action sequences are gripping. That was the biggest surprise. The climactic battle even had me breathless for a bit and they do a wonderful job of making it seem big. The more dramatic moments are more of a mixed bag. Some are a little contrived (most notably a scene with Ender and his sister on a boat that was reminiscent to the ridiculous scene staging of Attack of the Clones). Others work fine, such as nearly any scene with Ford and Butterfield. The adaptation is far from perfect as there were many times where I simply didn't know the context of anything the characters were saying or what was happening. Specifically, I have no idea what Ender's discovery about his dream at the end is all about. That was clunky.

Elephant in the Room: It's about little kids saving the world. I hate movies in which a little kid saves the world completely due to contrivance. This movie is exactly that.  I'm sure the book does a much better job of explaining why an entire military is placing all of their hopes and trust into a bunch of kids who aren't old enough to vote (Under current voting laws. I have no idea how it works in Ender's future). That sounds absurd to me. All I can say is that I didn't care as much as I normally do with this movie. It worked better than it normally does. I'm not sure why.

To Sum Things Up:
I enjoyed this. There's a lot of reason for me not to but none of them worked. It is exactly the movie that you think it is, with a couple action sequences that are better than I expected. I can't suggest anyone go out of their way to see it, but anyone who does should be pleased with the result.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend