Entertainment Today and Beyond

Never Met a Zombi I Didn’t Like…

And Beyond… week of July 14th, 2008

According to the trade Variety, Paramount has officially green lighted the sequel to the terrific 2004 comedy SCHOOL OF ROCK which, in my opinion, is the definitive movie in the career of its star, Jack Black. This follow up, which will be written once again by Mike White, has wannabe/substitute teacher Dewey Finn (Black) leading a group of students on a cross country field trip while exploring the history of Rock and Roll, Country and Jazz. The original School Of Rock pulled in a solid 131 mill box-office worldwide on a budget of 30 million. This sequel’s official title is School Of Rock: America Rocks and it will once again be directed by Richard Linklater. Jack Black is a unique talent and no film captures that talent like School of Rock.

According to TV guide, producers of the canceled ABC show OCTOBER ROAD are planning to film a 15 minute storyline wrap-up which will be seen on the DVD of its second and last season. I must admit I was a big fan of the show as I really liked its small town feel and appealing cast. With a very small but loyal fan base of around five million viewers weekly I don’t understand why the fledgling CW network didn’t try and pick it up.

Speaking of the CW, its longest running program SMALLVILE goes into its eighth season as the first new episode premieres on Thursday Sept 18th. While I would have liked to see the show end a few seasons ago while it still had a lot of creative juice left, I’m hoping the new creative team assembled for this season can put some real life back into it since last season was pretty weak. The first episode brings back the Justice League characters lead by The Green Arrow (Justin Hartley). This season Clark (Tom Welling) also takes a job at the daily planet. Hopefully that will lead to some interesting and fresh story lines. One has to wonder if he’ll ever get into the Superman garb before the series officially ends. I certainly hope so – even if it’s only for a moment!

NBC’s Heroes will return for its third season on Monday Sept 22nd. This show really has to turn it around creatively or I think it will be in trouble. While the first season was a lot of fun and very inventive, season two took a nose dive in terms of writing – something that the creators have acknowledged.

One other show of interest to mention is Fox’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which returns for its second season Sept 8th on a Monday night. I thoroughly enjoyed season one and I must admit it far exceeded my expectations. I certainly am looking forward to its creators building on its momentum.

July 14, 2008 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | And Beyond - Trailers & News | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY REVIEW

Director Guillermo Del Toro’s 2004 “Hellboy” was based on the popular Dark Horse comic series by Mike Mignola about a demonic cigar chomping superhero and it was an inventive and funny movie with a standout lead performance by actor Ron Perlman. While the film didn’t light the box office on fire (It pulled in 55 mill in ticket sales) it gained popularity on DVD and cable. Four years later comes HELLBOY 2: The Golden Army, an ambitious but flawed follow up with a bigger budget and higher expectations. Hard core fans of the character will get their money’s worth but the everyday moviegoer expecting to see what this universe is all about might be a little perplexed.

Here Del Toro tones down the humor somewhat and pumps up the fantasy portion of the story, making this feel at times like an extended cut of his Oscar nominated “Pans Labyrinth.” There’s a much broader mythology on display here than in the first installment with a whole array of supernatural allies and villains on hand. Unfortunately, character development is far from a priority. The story is as follows: an ancient truce has been broken unleashing big trouble on humanity by releasing a golden army led by long silver haired Prince (Luke Goss) set out to take over the world. Meanwhile, Red (Hell Boy) is suffering from some inner turmoil dealing with public acceptance and family squabbles with his pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair). The director packs the film with trolls, warriors, fairies and monsters, and at times it seems like a bomb went off in a CGI factory. There’s a few amusing bits; one involving a Barry Manilow song and a big action sequence where Perlman gets to utter the line “You woke up the baby,” while holding a newborn in one hand and a huge gun in the other. Over all I wish Guillermo had spent at least half the effort on a tighter, more focused, storyline as he did with the highly inventive visuals which are pretty much non-stop throughout. I must admit I’m a traditionalist when it comes to movies and the word “visionary” only has true meaning if it’s backed up by its story telling. So while I didn’t like this second installment quite as much as the first, I do look forward to a third entry in this franchise since, despite the story telling, problems I love Ron Perlman in the title role.

July 14, 2008 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | Reviews | , , , | Leave a Comment