TV: Fall or Fail Fantasy Premieres

SLEEPY HOLLOW
DRAMA/FANTASY
MONDAYS AT 9:00 PM
FOX CHANNEL 5

STORY: Ichabod Crane in 2013 to stop the Headless Horsemen.

Tom Mison is not the Ichabod Crane we are used to telling the plot of Sleepy Hollow but a scholar and soldier in 1781 who manages to survive and getting used to modern living. Abbie Mills (Nicole Behaire, American Violet, Shame) is a police lieutenant seeking who or what killed her partner pairing with Crane. It is great a black, female lead! The creators of the show are Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci (who updated Hawaii 50) and Len Wiseman, the director of Underworld movies. This show has a talent behind it but how does it last a few seasons?

AGENTS OF S.H.I.EL.D
ACTION/FANTASY
TUESDAYS AT 8:00 PM
CHANNEL 7

STORY: The further adventures of the spies of SHIELD.

Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is alive!! In the premiere episode and he tells you why. If you watched the Avengers you would know why Coulson being alive is important. In this series they find people with mutant powers either to recruit them or save them from being used. It seems to be a good series but will any of the Avengers make cameos?

FANGASM
REALITY SHOW
TUESDAYS NIGHT AT 10:00 PM
SYFY

STORY: Seven geeks live in the same house and work for famous comic book icon Stan Lee.

I don’t like reality shows but I saw this one because it is about movies and comic book nerds so I had to watch the first show. I like the show because the cast seem sincere. They love what they love and not shamed about it. The highlight of the show the gang meeting George Takei (Sulu) and one of them cry afterwards because he was his idol. I do hope it is a success.

Black Servants, White Heroes

THE BUTLER
Historical Drama

PLOT: Cecil Gaines who works in the White House sees major events that affect his life. It is inspired by a true story

The movie is very well done; Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo WILL be nominated for Oscars this season. My trouble with the film is that why did the main character have to be a servant!! It could have been about a black family going through decades of change. Hollywood loves to show black people as slaves, servants. Knock it off! Blacks know their history, so try to show them in a better light.

2 GUNS
ACTION/COMEDY

PLOT: A DEA agent and a navy intelligent agent to infiltrate a Mexican cartel with funny and violent results.

It is a typical buddy-cop movie. Denzel Washington is the DEA and Mark Wahlberg is the navy intelligence. So many betrayals it’s hard to keep up. Why is Washington in a movie is beyond me and Wahlberg is so funny. The action is not so bad either but if you can wait until video or cable.

KICK ASS 2
ACTION/COMEDY

PLOT: The further adventures of Kick Ass and Hit Girl.

Alan Taylor Johnson (Kick Ass) is a few years older along with Chole Grace Moretz (Hit Girl) who have to adjust to being normal high school teens instead of real life superheroes. The movie is light for most part and near the end it becomes a serious graphic novel comic book!! It is amazing!! Jim Carrey is in it and you almost don’t recognize him as Colonel Stars and Stripes. The battle between Hit Girl and Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina) is epic!!!

PERCY JACKSON SEA OF MONSTERS
FANTASY/ACTION

PLOT: Percy Jackson must go on a quest to find the Golden Fleece.

Not as good as the first one but still very entertaining Percy must save his school by using the Golden Fleece. Like I said before it is myth and modern storytelling. The first one should have come out in the summer and this one in the fall. If you can wait for video or VOD wait but it is worth the wait.

Mid-Summer 2013 Scraps and Smurfs

SMURFS 2
ANIMATED/COMEDY

PLOT: The evil but comical Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette to make the formula to make his brand of Smurfs-The Naughties into real Smurfs.

                The story is really not important as the cute, whimsical tale of Poppa Smurf and group and human friends trying to save Smurfette.  It is funny, sweet and it’s a moral tale how important family is.  Not as good as the first but still entertaining.  It didn’t make much money as the first but it is not bad.

FRUITVALE STATION

DRAMA

PLOT:   New Year’s Eve 2008, Oscar Grant III, a 22 year old black man was killed by a white officer.

                The tragic event is told from the morning until the end of his life of Oscar Grant played by Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle).  He is a young man who served time now trying to find work to support his girlfriend Sophia (Melonie Diaz) and his daughter.  He loves his mom too played by Octavia Spencer (The Help) and she loves his son but doesn’t want him in jail.  The film is very sad so beware what you’re getting into.  All the actors are amazing.  What also is amazing is that the film is color-blind to the romance. Oscar is black and Sophia is Latina not emphasized at all which is very good.  Director Ryan Coogler did a good job on his first movie.  I hope he does more films.

           

DESPICABLE ME 2

ANIMATED/COMEDY

PLOT:  Gru an ex-villain is hired to help a secret organization to stop a new super villain.

                This animated film is just hilarious!!!  Gru is trying hard not to be a bad guy and raise his adopted three daughters when he is needed to stop a new super criminal.  The film is funny and his minions are even funnier!!  The only bad thing is the stereotyping of Latinos.  It has made millions and when you see the movie you can see why.

Big Epic Action, Big Credibility Problems

LONE RANGER

ACTION/ADVENTURE

PLOT: A spectacular remake of the classic TV show.

                This is a popcorn movie!!  Big and loud with amazing special effects.  The movie tells the origin of the Lone Ranger.  Armie Hammer is John Reid/Lone Ranger.  He is very good at being bland.  He is a good actor.  He was in The Social Network and J. Edgar Hoover but this flick doesn’t require acting.   The star is Johnny Depp who plays Tonto, the Native American who plays Ranger sidekick.  Depp does his usual weirdness and he is very good most of the time. 

The villain Butch Cavendish played by William Fichtner is very crazed and the writers add something to make him more evil.  What is wrong with the movie?  It is too long and it is told in flashback by Tonto!!!  It was one of the financial flops of the summer and if you watch it you will know why. PLEASE watch it on video or Movie on Demand!!

PACIFIC RIM

ACTION/SCI-FI/FANTASY

PLOT: Monsters from the sea try to destroy mankind and the government creates mega-machines to stop them.

                The plot is all you need to know about this movie.  It is AMAZING film.  If you don’t like monsters or machines stop reading this right now but if you do this movie is for you!!  I didn’t list the actors in the film because they are not important but you just can’t make a movie with killer giant creatures versus killer robots.  Guillermo del Toro the director loves monster movies and he got it right!! It is big, loud and epic!!  Too bad he didn’t do Godzilla 2014.  See it on the big screen, see it in 3D but above all SEE IT!!!  The summer movie I have been waiting for!!!

WHITE HOUSE DOWN

ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

PLOT:  Another movie about terrorist taking the president prisoner.

                This film could be easily called Die Hard in the White House.  Channing Tatum (GI Joe, Magic Mike) is Cale who badly wants to be a Secret Service agent to impress his distant daughter then by incredible events proves he is the perfect for the job.  People will be debating which is the better picture this movie or Olympus Has Fallen.  Both have their strengths and weaknesses.  At least WHD is funnier and has Jamie Foxx as the president.

Retreads, Reloads & Knockoffs

FDR:  AMERICAN BADASS-2012

ACTION/COMEDY

PLOT:  A different spin on Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

                This outrageous, obscene flick came out last year.  I found out about it by accident but I am glad I did!!  FDR is a horny, foul-mouth hero/president.  Story is not important but the crazy comedy is!!  Barry Bostwick is great as FDR but I don’t know why he wanted to star in the low-budget B-movie mess.  Kevin Sorbo (Hercules himself is in and one of the producers!!) as pot-head Abraham Lincoln.  It is a trashy gem for all who are into bad cinema!!!

12 ROUNDS 2: RELOADED

ACTION/DRAMA

PLOT: EMT gets caught in a deadly game.

                Randy Orton is Nick Malloy just an ordinary EMT who saves the wrong guy and he has to play sick games with a hi-tech artist.  It is sequel in name only.  No one in the original movie is in it.  Wrestler Randy Orton is no actor but he reacts like a real person in the insane situations.  It is better than I thought it would be.

ATLANTIC RIM aka Attack From Beneath

SCI-FI/ACTION

PLOT: Giant monsters come from the sea and government makes giant robots to attack them.

               

                This is a rip-off of the summer blockbuster movie Pacific Rim.  The original title is this but they had to change it.  It is a better special effects movie from Asylum who makes films for Syfy.  A Syfy regular David Chokachi (Baywatch), Jackie Moore and rapper Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss and the soldiers who get in the mecha machines to fight off the monsters. Graham Greene from Defiance is funny as a no-nonsense admiral who delivers silly lines with a straight face is.  It is great fun if you don’t take it seriously.