Showbits

I've been eager for developing news on the American TV series Life on Mars ever since it was first announced more than a year ago. Based on the British series of the same name, this local adaptation similarly tells the tale of a modern-day detective involved in a car accident who wakes up to find himself 30 years in the past. He must acclimate to the technology and procedures of that era's police force, all while questioning his sanity and the reality of his circumstances.

Finally, a trailer for this ABC series has surfaced, along with confirmation of it airing Thursdays at 10 PM this fall:

I'm a bit surprised by the casting — I'd been led to believe that Colm Meaney would have the lead role, which the Trekkie in me was eager to see. But I find the casting of Jason O'Mara (also an Irish actor) more believable, though that's based only on this brief preview, as I've not seen any of his other work.

It also seems odd that this trailer suggests an almost comedic element. A time-travelling cop hunting down a serial killer sounds like the Dennis Quaid movie Frequency, which had a certain element of incredulity and wonder to it, but humor was not its overarching theme.

As I don't have TV service, I missed the similar show Journeyman and will have to catch it upon its eventual DVD release. Life on Mars will probably come to me via a similar route, a year after everyone else has enjoyed its premiere. If my hopes prove true, it will be worth the wait.

(Hat tips to TrekToday and Den of Geek)

It's summer blockbuster season, which means it's time again for a dynamic duo team-up. No, not Batman & Robin — Angela Gunn and I have joined forces to review the technology in yet another explosive film. As we did last year with Live Free or Die Hard and The Bourne Ultimatum, we now turn to the IT in Iron Man.

As submitted to Angela, my initial review was rather lengthy and leaned more to the cinematic side, so to accommodate the IT angle called for by the publication venue, some content had to be cut. But Showbits is first and foremost about films, so I present to you that missing content, with ellipses used to indicate where in the final product it would've gone:

… we know that Stark's kryptonite and our own are one and the same.

Though Iron Man ostensibly shares the same world as his Marvel cohorts, the movie is not replete with clever cameos and geeky nods to his literary origins. Nonetheless, there's enough fine detail to reward those with even a passing knowledge of the Iron Man comic. There is a tease of Iron Man's sidekick, War Machine, that I honestly didn't know which way it would go. I was surprised to find myself holding my breath the potential of a surprise superhero. (Speaking of which, be sure to stay through the end of the credits for a bonus scene!)

There's little that Iron Man does badly, though perhaps it does some things less well than it could've. Gwyneth Paltrow's character of Pepper Potts has more depth than a Bond girl but still comes across as a bit weak — more a result of the scripting than the acting, I suspect. There's also plenty of borrowing from other genre films, including Marvel's own library. The villain's origin and appearance is similar to what we'll see next month in The Incredible Hulk; we've already seen the "bring the enemy into the atmosphere until his jets cool" trick in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer; and the hero and villain having an unmasked showdown is a staple of the Spider-Man line.

But hey, you're not here because you're a comic book geek; you're here because you're an IT geek. (There's a difference?) What makes this hero super is the technology, and there's plenty of it …

… Parts in a diagram can be rotated, separated and dragged to the trash, or worn like a glove. Très cool.

The less traditional machines in his house are more like versatile pets. With natural English speech recognition, Stark easily commands them to adjust variables, record logs, and assemble parts, though some machines exhibit personality traits that make them as annoying as helpful. It may not be flawless artificial intelligence, but they won't be threatening us with global thermonuclear war anytime soon, either.

Stark also sports a digital butler …

Read the full review at Computerworld.com »

On the cusp of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I was curious to see what other roles Harrison Ford played in his youth which may not have had the staying power of the aging archaeology professor. The film I chose to represent this era was The Frisco Kid.

Released in 1979, The Frisco Kid stars Gene Wilder as a student directed to leave his Poland hamlet to become San Francisco's first rabbi. Arriving in Philadelphia, he misses the boat to the West Coast and must make his inept way across the new world. Well into the film's first hour, he meets up with a post-Star Wars, pre-Indiana Jones Harrison Ford playing a very Han Solo-ish cowboy.

It's an unusual pairing that further manifests itself in the film's dichotomic nature. I liked The Frisco Kid, but not because it was a comedy. It's not that the jokes fall flat — there are some laughable moments, to be sure, but most scenes aren't trying to be funny. What I instead found fascinating was Wilder's character and his faith. The rabbi often values his religious practices and symbols above his and his friend's lives, creating some moments that are wonderfully celebratory — a scene that meshes Hebrew and Native American dancing is especially fun — and others that are tragic, driving him to tears. His faith is tested and even questioned — but, like the protagonist of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Wilder's values are strengthened by these trials and ultimately prove central to his character.

Predictably, he also has an influence on Ford's cowboy. When we first meet Ford, he's a loner with few redeeming characteristics and with little interest in anything that doesn't line his coffers. But when he begins mentoring young Skywalker — er, Rabbi Avram — on the ways of the West, he finds friendship to be a powerful and selfless motivator.

The Frisco Kid is a departure from Wilder's time in Blazing Saddles and may disappoint fans looking for more of the same. But it uniquely succeeds a gentle, lighthearted comedy and heartwarming tale.

When I previewed the summer blockbuster season, I declared Iron Man a must-see and Speed Racer a maybe-see. I've so far been right — Marvel's first of two superhero films this year was everything I'd hoped it would be, and more (with a full review to be posted here as soon as my editor is finished with it). With Speed Racer not being released until tomorrow, this other live-action adaptation remains an unknown quantity.

But more and more, I'm finding myself opening to the idea of spending 135 minutes watching a film from the same brothers who invented, and then ruined, the Matrix trilogy. What most recently nudged my opinion in a positive direction was this uninterrupted three-minute clip. It's corny, but that's okay: as with the second Fantastic Four film, it's not necessarily about having low expectations, but realistic expectations. And the more I see of Speed Racer, the better an idea I get of what to expect.

I was surprised that the plethora of Iron Man clips the studio released to the Internet did not ruin the film; despite all the previews, I went into the theater still not knowing as large a detail as the villain's identity. Given that safe philosophy, here are the three minutes of Speed Racer linked to above, along with its preceding four minutes, in the film's first seven minutes:

In the tradition of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, I recently watched the comedy The Great Race. Though it was fun to see Jack Lemmon as a villain, the film itself was lighthearted to the point of superficial. But I was glad to have seen it for having introduced me to two features: the song "The Sweetheart Tree" by Henry Mancini (who also created the memorable theme song to Mr. Lemmon's finest work, Days of Wine and Roses); and Natalie Wood, who I'd never seen in anything else (not even Miracle on 34th Street). All the Race characters were caricatures, making for not the best first impression of Ms. Wood — but upon a friend's recommendation, I sought out one of her more substantial works, Splendor in the Grass.

The gulf in quality between these two films proved more drastic than I expected. This 1961 drama about two teenagers coming of age in 1920s Kansas provides both Ms. Wood and newcomer Warren Beatty (who I'd only ever seen in his later films such as Dick Tracy and Bulworth) with the opportunity to demonstrate their talent. Together they tell the tale of a romance obstructed by morality, upbringing, and parental expectations. It seems no matter what they do, it will be for the wrong reason, and they will let somebody down — but their passion is so ardent, so fervent, that to deny it drives them to physical and mental exhaustion, landing each in a different kind of hospital.

Though the teenagers were the stars, the audience is given the context necessary to understand their dilemmas, leading me to find the parents to be entirely loathable characters. Parts of this film actually reminded me of Spider-Man: young Mr. Beatty bares a passing resemblance to James Franco (that film's Harry Osborne), with both characters having rich, manipulative fathers who find common women beneath them. It makes it all the more powerful when their children ultimately overcome their upbringing and find that there is nothing to forgive. "If I raised you wrong, I'm sorry," the girl's mother says. "I raised you the only way I know how; it's the way I was raised and probably the way my mother was raised." Though the impact our parents have on our lives is both undeniable and indelible, every person must eventually move past that and accept responsibility for their own lives.

Despite being set almost a century ago on the cusp of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Splendor in the Grass remains a tale to which the youth of any era can relate. Its ending provides satisfactory closure while still remaining melancholy — a more realistic finale than Hollywood prefers. It harkens truly to the Wordsworth poem from which the film draws its name:

What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
    Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
        We will grieve not, rather find
        Strength in what remains behind.

Dear faithful readers: Hiphopguy23 has finally finished watching all the movies he wanted to see that were released in 2007. Therefore, Hiphopguy23 would like to issue some updates to his 2007 Best Movie Awards.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Sadly, nothing has changed. There weren't any stand-out supporting actresses so Hiphopguy23 is going to give the award to Cheryl Hines in Waitress. Waitress is a very well acted movie and the award could just have easily been given to the late Adrienne Shelley, but Cheryl Hines was just a wee bit more memorable.

BEST DOCUMENTARY: The King of Kong. This one isn't even close. This is an absolutely astounding documentary, with heroes and villians for you to root for. Never mind the claims that the documentarians "fudged" with the truth. Watch this movie for the entertainment factor. Also, you do not need to be a fan of video games at all to appreciate this movie.

WORST MOVIE: Across the Universe. Yikes, was this movie a disaster. Hiphopguy23 figured, "The Beatles are enjoyable. How could a movie featuring their songs go wrong?" It turns out that you need to be a tremendous fan of the Beatles to even remotely enjoy this movie. The filmmakers picked the most unpopular B-side "hits" to fill out the soundtrack, and there are constant references to obscure lyrics and callbacks to the horrid Beatles movies, none of which Hiphopguy23 has seen. All of this occurs in the most unstructured free-flowing mess of a "plot". Not even a special appearance by Bono could save this train wreck. Hiphopguy23 is curious to hear if any die-hard Beatlemaniac enjoyed this movie, because that seems to be the only audience.

BEST DIRECTOR: David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix). Finally, a Harry Potter movie that works! Yates abandoned the "feel-good" vibe of the first two movies and wisely disregarded the "trendy teenager" motif of the third movie. The fourth movie was also too colorful and upbeat for this stage in Harry's life. Yates picks a dark, sinister direction that is very real and very true to life. This movie plays less like a crowd-pleaser and more as a twisted look into the good (and bad) that takes place at Hogwart's. This is the first Harry Potter movie that is better — yes, better — than the corresponding novel.

None of the other awards have changed, so in conclusion, Hiphopguy23 will give his top five recommendations:

1. 300
   
2. Enchanted
   
3. Juno
   
4. Waitress
   
5. The King of Kong
   

It's already two-week-old news that Secret Talents of the Stars was cancelled after one show. But it was just today that I found this commercial for the show:

Given the hindsight that the show was canned, I thought this commercial was a postmortem spoof; but given that it was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of CBS (license holders of both Secret Talents and Star Trek), I must assume it is authentic. Seems they didn't think very highly of their own property — or else they're just terrible marketers. Context aside, certainly anyone can exhibit the minimal talent Takei demonstrates in the above clip.

I never saw the show and cannot attest to how horrible it must've been to have met such a swift demise. The theory seems sound: if the American television viewing public is interested in seeing actors and athletes on the dance floor, why not see what else they can do?

But since I cancelled my television service just as the first season of Survivor was premiering, I've never really understood the whole "reality TV" concept.

The car being used in the latest James Bond film plunged into a lake in northern Italy while being driven to the set. [Story continues]

When I first read that news story's headline, I didn't think much of it; property damage and death-defying stunts are staples of the action genre. But the article goes on to clarify that this was no stunt; the vehicle was being delivered to the set of the 22nd James Bond film when it went off the road, over a cliff, and into Lake Garda. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt — but my heart weeps at the damage done to this beautiful machine:

The accident was blamed on recent rainfall having slickened the road … but really, if you were driving the Bondmobile, wouldn't you too feel invincible?