From a Picket Line Outside of NBC: Writer's Strike,TV Roundup (Prison Break, Simpsons Treehouse of Horror ...) + AMERICAN GANGSTER & 30 DAYS OF NIGHT!

No strike here, baby. The blog must go on ...

Well, it's been another crazy week here in Hollywood. The Writer's Strike is now in full force, and right outside, by NBC Burbank's various entrances, numerous picketers are rallying for their cause. As a TV and film fanboy, I'm tempted to peruse the picket lines just to see if I can spot any of my favorite writers - I mean, right now, anyone from Damon Lindeloff to Brian K. Vaughan to Chris Carter to the Coen Brothers could be outside our offices, snacking on a sandwich and hoisting signs towards the corporate suites in protest. Pretty crazy, huh? And here I am, working in the much-talked-about area of New Media, an aspiring writer myself, very much caught in the middle and with an insider's view of both sides of the coin. Interesting times to work in entertainment, though not a very good time to be working in or on a production. All of my friends working on such shows as Leno, Ellen, etc. are very much screwed, as are many of the NBC Pages, who suddenly find themselves with a signifigant part of their job cut out of the equation (working at The Tonight Show). As if that wasn't enough, from a TV fan's perspective we may be headed for very dark times indeed. No Conan, SNL, Daily Show, etc starting NOW for the forseeable future. In the next several weeks, virtually all scripted shows from THE OFFICE to HEROES to PUSHING DAISIES will burn off their last five or six episodes that have already been shot - meaning, come January ... get ready for a distinct lack of quality television ... and I shudder to even think that the highly-anticipated new seasons of LOST and 24 might be delayed or even postponed until NEXT year. I think the TV nets have a lot to be afraid about. Anyone remember how long it took Major League Baseball to recover from its strike? In the absence of new scripted television, you can bet that those X-Box's and Playstations are going to be flying off the shelves - Heroes might be in reruns, but Mario, Solid Snake, and Master Chief will be there to consume hours of downtime - and what better time is there to catch up on older series on DVD (I can finally finish up my PRISONER box set, and man, I've been dying to finally watch TWIN PEAKS) or expand one's film horizons? Like I said ... TV's success in this day and age of so many entertainment options is in large part based on the quality of its programming realtive to everything else that's out there (film, games, internet, etc). Without that key content, expect hard times ahead for television.

- Before I forget, I never had a chance to properly congratulate the BOSTON RED SOX on their World Series victory. Like I've said, lack of time and lack of enthusiasm due to being so far removed from everything kind of kept me out of the baseball loop this year, but still ... BOSTON, baby.

- Speaking of sports, on Sunday (Sunday, SUNDAY!) I was lucky enough to go see a Lakers game, for free, thanks to two tickets procured by the G-Man. And these weren't any old tickets, but $200 courtside seats, baby! Awww yeah, rollin' VIP style. Ironically enough though, the game in question pitted the hated Lakers against my other all-time most-hated team, the Utah Jazz. Now, some of you know that my brother Matt is a DIEHARD Jazz fan. As youngsters, the two of us would often sit down in a state of sibling on sibling warfare as we buckled in to see our respective teams square off in on-court combat. Even as I always rooted for the Charles Barkley-led Suns and then the Rockets, my brother was a devout deciple of the Stockton-Malone Jazz, and remains a hardcore Jazz Man to this day. Back in the day, the Jazz vs. Suns / Rockets rivalry led to many epic showdowns and playoff duels. Who can forget Stockton's infamous 3 that shut down the Rockets en route to another NBA Finals push for The Mailman and co.? Or what about Eddie Johnson's half-court shot at the buzzer? Or the classic Sir Charles vs. Mailman showdowns? So anyways, it was interesting to see the hated Jazz in person, even if at this point they are a somewhat likable team in my eyes, led by the likes of scrappy underdogs like Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. I was actually rooting for the Jazz to defeat the Lakers, as I freaking hate Kobe and his whiny moaning all the time. What we got was a good back and forth game, even if I couldn't bring myself to really get behind either team. But thanks again to the G-Man for the tix - always a good time to see some live NBA action. Next mission: to see the re-tooled CELTICS live and kicking ass!

- Otherwise, good times were had this weekend. In addition to the Lakers - Jazz game, Saturday was a fun night as a large crew gathered to celebrate the birthday of our fellow former Page, Ms. Whitney. Many crazy dance moves were busted out, and many an 80's rock classic sung along to. Other than that, I've been knee-deep in the finger-busting awesomeness that is GUITAR HERO III. And when I say finger-busting, man do I mean it. With a revamped look and feel thanks to new developer Neversoft (of Tony Hawk fame), the latest GH iteration has a strong emphasis on rapid-fire sequences that have you pushing your fingers to the limits of hand-eye coordination. There are less of the clean chords of Guitar Hero II, and a lot more songs like Ozzy Osbourne's Paranoid and The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black, which have quick, button-mashing notes that fall all over the guitar. But man, the song selection this time around is pretty great - everything from Poison's Talk Dirty To Me, to The Killer's When You Were Young, to Sunshine of Your Life by Cream. I'm still waiting for The Ramones, the Donnas, Green Day, and AC/DC, but overall this is another addictive entry into one of the most fun game franchises to come along in a while. In the meantime, I'm still plugging away on ZELDA: The Phantom Hourglass for DS, Daxter and Castlevania for PSP, and I still have to get all the way through God of War II as well. On second thought, maybe this writer's strike isn't such a bad thing after all ...

TV STUFF:

Once again I'm way behind, so I'll work backwords and go quickly:

PRISON BREAK:

- Last night's two-hour Prison Break event ... well, it was pretty freaking riveting. In a season filled with angsty heroes and gossipy teens, it was nice to finally be sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, wondering who would live and who would die, taking in the intensity of the moment and soaking in the gravitas.

One thing about last night's ep was that we really got to see some different sides of Michael and Lincoln. We saw Michael come unglued after realizing that Sarah was dead. We saw Lincoln go through moments of desperation, trying to keep his aggression in check as he did everything he could to ensure that LJ would not be killed at the hands of the Company. And sorry, I don't know the actress' name, but, let's call her Company Woman - dayum, she was downright EVIL last night ... I couldn't wait to see her get her what-for (haha, that phrase needs to be used more). Fichtner as Mahone - awesome as always. Bellick - still a kickass character. Lechero had some great moments here as well. Even the much-neglected Sucre had a key "save the day" scene which was pretty cool.

Here's the thing - the whole build up to the escape attempt was off-the-chain intense. I was totally into it, from the spiking of the guard's drink to the precise moment when the sunlight caused the other guard to squint. On top of that, Mahone was taken into custody and Whistler got himself into a to-the-death brawl with Scofield. Like I said, off-the chain. My only complaint is that, by episode's end, the reset button was essentially hit, and all the cool escape plans, all of the intense scenes with Lincoln vs. The Company that had a "now or never" feel to them ... they were all rendered somewhat of a moot point since it's now back to square one. Typically, this is not a show that treads water, so it was a bit deflating to see that happen. Don't get me wrong though, for two solid hours, this was some highly entertaining TV that showed again why PRISON BREAK is TV that hits you like a punch in the mouth.

My Grade: A -

NOTE: I have not yet watched HEROES, as I was engrossed in the 2-hour PRISON BREAK. I've heard that last night's was the best of the season thus far though, so I'm eager to check it out, along with one of my favs, CHUCK.

SNL:

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Saturday's edition of SNL, hosted by the always funny Brian Williams (yes, you read that right). Sure, the show was, as is usual of late, fairly inconsistent, but it had several sketches which really hit the mark - from a dead-on iPhone commercial parody to a scathing lampoon of network execs. Brian Williams was dryly funny, and there were a number of enjoyable sketches. My main complaint - the show's political humor continues to be very flat, with weak writing and not enough performers outside of Darrell Hammond who can do servicable impressions. Still, this was the best overall ep of SNL I've seen in a long while.

My Grade: B

- I also have not yet seen FAMILY GUY due to the Lakers game, but did manage to catch the annual ...

THE SIMPSONS: TREEHOUSE OF HORROR:

- ... And holy lord, this was just sad, pathetic, and horrifying in the worst sense of the word. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I saw over on IGN they gave this one a VERY generous 7.5 or so out of 10 ... but when I looked at the comment section I saw many postings that echoed my own thoughts. This was one sorry excuse for a Halloween episode. The opeing intro was unnecessary - it's bad enough that the show now regularly airs after Halloween is over and done with - but did we need to be reminded of that sad fact by Marge's opening banter? Instead of some kind of creepy / funny intro, all we got was a stale parody of all the network bugs that pop up on FOX. Ugghhh. The first short, an ET parody (kind of) featuring Bart taking a liking to a marooned space-alien (forget if it was Kang or Kodos), was pretty tired and weak, with one or two good lines but really, nothing to get very excited about. And that was kind of the theme of the night ... this whole ep was VERY short on laughs, or even on clever writing. Things got even worse, okay, make that WAY worse, in the lame-as-can-be Mr. and Mrs. Smith parody that followed. Yep, you heard right. A parody of a sub-par film from three years ago, that is not horror or Halloween-related in any way. WTF. I'll say it again: WTF. Seriously? Just bad. Emabarrassingly bad. Finally, we at least got something Halloween-related with the Heck House segment. Only problem was, this was once again much more trick than treat. Few if any laughs, a boring concept, just a total lack of wit or sharpness, with the exception of some nifty visuals once Bart and Lisa and co. enter Flanders' version of Hell. Otherwise, it was a disappointing capper to what was a total disappointment of an episode. It was flawed from the subjects chosen to parody (again: Mr. and Mrs. Smith!?!?) to the decidely unfunny execution. Better luck next year kids, I guess this is what rock bottom looks like.

My Grade: D

THE OFFICE:

- I've heard from a few people that I've been pretty hard on The Office of late. Well, hold up, dudes. Like many, I jumped on the "Office at one-hour is a shadow of The Office at half-hour" bandwagon. And it was a cause that I believe had and has merit. For the first few episodes of the season, The Office felt watered-down in terms of jokes and humor. Characters like Michael Scott began acting strangely and getting increasingly annoying. And the show began taking a turn into the melodramatic that soundly violated its usual "show don't tell" style of fly-on-the-wall storytelling. But wait! The last two episodes of The Office have, clearly, been a full return to form. In particular, I felt like Thursday's ep was a bonafide classic - downright hilarious, while at the same time giving us a slightly different look at Jim than we usually get, showing him getting stressed-out, nervous, and awkward when confronted with having to see Karen again. Meanwhile, the interplay between Dwight and Michael was classic (Dwight is always great when playing Michael's child-like cheerleader), and hey, who doesn't love fake mustaches? A great episode that re-affirmed The Office as one of the best, funniest shows on TV.

My Grade: A

SMALLVILLE:

- Over the last few weeks, Smallville has been on a relative roll. Storylines seem to be gaining a lot of momentum, and the addition of Kara to the mix has certainly made for some interesting plot possibilities, especially as far as Lex Luthor is concerned. The return of Lionel to the mix has also been great for the show, as we get to see John Glover do his thing and act circles around most of the cast members on the show. We also got a cool glimpse of Kara's Kryptonian family life, with her father Zor-El revealed as not being all he was cracked up to be. Plus, Helen Slater, aka Supergirl from the camp-classic 1980's SUPERGIRL flick, was on hand as Clark's mother Lara, in yet another nice tip of the hat to those who have previously contributed (okay, I guess Supergirl counts, barely, as a contribution), to the Superman legacy. Still, there were a few hiccups along the way. Lana continues to be pretty irritating as a manipulative puppet-master who is not being honest with Clark about her various shady dealings. Enough already! Let's just see Lana as a normal girl for once and keep her on the sidelines while Clark has his adventures. Her character has just become too damaged for anyone to really care at this point. My other big issue is that I'm still totally confused about Lionel. In this ep he hugs Clark ... but hasn't Clark long been aware that Lionel is an evil bastard out to kill him? The show needs to take an episode and establish once and for all what the real deal with Lionel is. This "is he or isn't he evil" thing is getting pretty annoying. Otherwise, this was a good ep with some fun bits and some interesting backstory revealed as far as Kara is concerned.

My Grade: B

PUSHING DAISIES:

- Last week's Halloween ep was another gem. I found it a bit odd that the episode's mystery turnedo ut to be less Headless Horsemen and more Scooby Doo in nature, but as always the real meat of the episode was the relationship between Ned and Chuck, which has yet to get stale thanks to clever writing and the great chemistry between the two leads. Of the many shows just getting into the swing of things, this might be the biggest casualty of a strike-shortened season. Pushing Daisies is a potential classic-in-the-making, and I'm sad to see it facing a potentially prematurely-cut-short run.

My Grade: A -

- That's about it for TV stuff for now - but remember, show your support for shows like CHUCK, PUSHING DAISIES, and ALIENS IN AMERICA now ... it might be your last chance!

- Okay, I've got some long-gestating movie reviews for you guys as well ... so strap in, you're in for a ride ...

AMERICAN GANGSTER Review:

- I went into American Gangster with a near-guarantee that this powerhouse of a movie, starring two iconic actors and directed by a legendary director, would be a movie of note. The question was - would it be a great movie, or merely a very good one? The answer to that is not simple, but the fact remains that what we have in American Gangster is a quality film that ranks among the most enjoyable crime flicks in quite some time.

This version of the Mafia rags-to-riches fable concerns Frank Lucas, a real-life figure who, in the 1960's, defied the odds to become the unlikely crime boss of the New York drug-trade. Because he was African-american, few believed that Lucas wielded as much power as he did, though he was eventually targeted and taken down by a particularly driven cop. From the outset, all of the ingrediants are here for a classic film. You've got two of today's most charismatic and convincing stars going head to head in Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. You've got one of the all-time great film directors in Ridley Scott at the helm. And you have a quintissential American story that seems tailor-made for film, following in the footsteps of other great crime sagas, from The Godfather to Goodfellas.

On most counts, American Gangster delivers on its promise. A lot of that is thanks to Ridley Scott, who makes a movie that feels perfectly paced and looks stunning from start to finish. Even at two and a half hours long, the film races from scene to scene, quickly showing shades of The Godfather in the way in which it documents Lucas' rise to power, in a story that spans a number of years and is fairly epic in scope. However, in the midst of all of the heavy plotting, there's plenty of time for Scott's trademark visual brilliance. Nobody does moody lighting, atmosphere, or ambiance like Scott, and each scene here takes on a visual life of its own. From shadowy sillhouettes in backlit country homes to dank drug-dens, this movie teems with visual style.

As far as the leads go, both do an admirale job, but I'm not sure if this is necessarily career-defining work for either Washington or Crowe. Washington as Lucas gets most of the film's juciest scenes to chew on, and Denzel does a great job as always. However, Denzel does a bit too much Denzel-as-Denzel here, in a role that calls for something a bit deeper. While watching the movie, I didn't realy consider this, and simply enjoyed watching Washington as a cool and ultra-confident criminal who always went the extra-step to ensure success, no matter how dirty he had to get his hands in the process. Undoubtedly, Lucas was and is a fascinating character - the entire story of how he traveled to the jungles of Vietnam, at the height of the War, and imported heroin himself in order to cut out a middleman - is attention-grabbing in and of itself. But Lucas is also portrayed as someone capable of shocking violence ... and yet, there's somthing a bit lacking in Denzel's performance in that he makes it very difficult to reconcile the usual Denzel persona with a character who kills mercilessly in cold blood and profits from the suffering of others. As I said, the character of Lucas is fascinating, and Denzel does a great job with what he's given, for the msot part. But we never really get that hint of weakness, that sign that sure, this guy SEEMS like he has it all together, but doesn't quite.

And that ties into the script. I guess that part of the problem with this movie is that it doesn't seem to know, exactly, whether it wants to be a straight-up drama or a more over-the-top genre piece. Last year, Scorcese created a crackling crime drama in THE DEPARTED which was so memorable partly because it relished its own pulpiness and genre roots. Even in films like the Godfather, there is that certain sense of heightened reality, that idea that this is reality with an edge. By seeing this exaggerated art, we also see truth, and that's why many classic films are also films that dare to be stylized, with a unique vision of the world filtered through the eyes of their creators. In American Gangster, there seems to be a conflict between Ridley Scott's desire to do his own Godfather and the script's desire to play things straight. Simply put - the script here does not afford Scott, Denzel, or Crowe enough opportunities to let loose, go wild, and indulge in the type of over-the-top, cinematic moments that make crime movies like this so entertaining. This movie does all of the small scenes to perfection ... but ... for a movie this big, this epic, this filled with charismatic stars, there are surprisingly few big, grand moments of sweeping cinema on display. And that's ultimately what keeps it from being a GREAT, classic movie - for all its strengths, when the end of the movie hits, it still feels like we're in the build-up phase - those expected moments of passion and intensity never quite came.

Now, again, there is so much to like about American Gangster. I've touched on Denzel's performance, but Russell Crowe is also really great here. He doesn't get as many fun moments, but his character is a bit deeper and has a bit more going on below the surface. He is, essentially, the ying to Denzel's yang (which sounds pretty weird when said aloud, but whatever ...). While Frank Lucas is professionally a ruthless crime lord, but personally a man who always puts family and loyalty first, Crowe's Richie Roberts is a by-the-book cop who cheats on his wife and can't make time to see his young son. Personally, Richie is a trainwreck, but professionally, he is about the most driven guy you'll find, to the point where he once gave up a huge stash of unclaimed money, becoming the butt of countless jokes in the police force. Both experience prejudice (Frank for being black, Richie for being a Jew), but one is living the high life while the other is struggling in the trenches. Crowe gives a very strong performance, and really tones down his alpha male tendencies for the sake of the character. Now, aside from the big two though, Josh Brolin nearly steals the movie, as a crooked cop who plays both sides of the fence. Brolin is great here - his is the type of over-the-top villain that this movie seems made for, menacing 'stache and all. Carla Gugino does a nice job as Richie's beleagured wife, and the rest of the cast is uniformly strong. Of particular note is Ruby Dee as Frank's elderly mother, who has one scene in particular that maight just be the movie's most memorable and resonant.

In the end, American Gangster surely falls among the year's best films to date. A superb cast and visually brilliant direction makes this feel like an epic crime saga in the grand tradition of cinema's best. But is American Gangster to be considered in that same canon as the all-time greats? I'd have to say it falls just short. For all it's craftsmanship, the movie just seems to be missing that certain perspective, that certain punch, to give it a truly lasting impact. I won't give away the ending, but I did really like the final shots of the film - they hint at an idea - a very intriguing one - of Frank Lucas as relates to the modern struggle of African Americans. I wish that these types of idea had been more thoroughly explored. As it is, this one is completely watchable and in many ways fascinating, but just short of a home-run. With a movie as good as this one, with so much talent and potential, that is, I hate to say it, slightly disappointing.

My Grade: A -

30 DAYS OF NIGHT Review:

- So, I saw this just before Halloween and have been meaning to write a review. I was eager to see 30 Days because I had recently read the graphic novel it's based on, and was curious to see how it was adapted for the screen. Basically, the best thing about 30 Days of Night, both the movie and the comic, is the tres-cool premise: In a small Alaskan town, every winter there's a period in which the sun doesn't rise for a full 30 days. Having recently become aware of this, a clan of vampires decides this is basically a dream scenario for them - without any of that pesky sunlight to get in the way, it's feastin' time for the undead. It's a damn good idea for a horror story, so kudos to comic writer Steve Niles for that ...

Now, the graphic novel is an interesting beast. It's a cool little story, sure. But in the comics world the thing has been pretty hyped-up, and reading 30 Days, I couldn't help but feel a bit let down. The story mostly cruises on the strength of its concept, and is pretty minimalist, with little in the way of backstory or characterization. In this respect, the movie actually improves on its source material (how often can you say THAT?), with some decently fleshed-out characters and a bit more meat to its plotting than the comic has.

What I liked in the film was how it took time to let the suspense build. With some stylish direction that evoked the moody art of illustrator Ben Templesmith, I really got immersed in the movie as it introduced us to the various residents of Barrow, Alaska, as they prepared for a month of darkness. In his lead role as the town sherrif, Josh Hartnett does a good job. No, he won't win any Oscars for this, but Hartnett is a good leading man and does a nice job of carrying the bulk of the movie on his shoulders.

As for the vampires - they border the line between looking menacing and overly cartoonish. When standing still, they're pretty freaky. The best is emerging star Ben Foster as a particularly gruesome vampire lackey. But when the vampires attack ... well ... they look like hungry beavers gnawing into a wooden log - it's a bit over the top, even for a movie of this nature. Also, the vampires talk in some weird vampire language, which was a little off-putting to me, and also tend to howl and growl a lot in affirmation or anger ... I think that vampires are one of the most enduring horrror creatures because of their paradoxical blend of danger and elegance. To portray these vampires essentially as beastly killing machines with no real motive or purpose - well, it makes them a bit less interesting.

And that's the other area where this movie doesn't seem to hold up. I mean, what exactly is so great about the vampires' plan to swarm in on Barrow? It sounds good at first, but they basically descend on the town and kill everyone, save a few elusive stragglers, within a matter of hours. How then is Barrow any better than any other town that could be wiped off the map in a single evening?

Despite some logic gaps, the movie is a pretty well-done, straightforward creepfest for most of its running time. In the final act though, the movie devolves into a totally over-the-top, crazy acid-trip that plays out like some high school kids' vampire fan-fiction come to life. At first, I was kind of amused by how crazy the movie was getting as it drew to a close, but after several miutes of nuttiness, enough was enough - what had started as a legitimately eerie gothic horror flick had turned into a totally ridiculous piece of crap in a matter of minutes. I won't reveal what happens, but I don't recall this movie's ending being present in the comic, and it's a clear example of a case where the book's more minimalist approach would have worked best.

So overall this was an enjoyable pre-Halloween flick, but some logic holes and a final act that left me cringing made it not quite Drac-worthy. No, it didn't totally bite, but 30 Days of Night was not as sharp as I had hoped.

My Grade: B -

- Alriiiiiiiiiiight, it's been a big blog and I'm outta time. Stay tuned for more.