Archive | May, 2010
First Look: HAWAII FIVE O – CBS
27 May
CBS Press Express just provided IR with a new still from the highly anticipated fall series redo of “Hawaii Five-O” starring Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park.
The Jeff Dunham Show – DVD Review
20 May
The aspect of “The Jeff Dunham Show” has a tattered perception of its time. After premiering to big fanfare and good ratings, it seemed to lose traction. Now watching the DVD of the episodes, the consequence looking at it is that it really needed to have time to get going. The same was true of “The Chappelle Show”. One needs to find a rhythm to truly make this all work.
The first episodes are a balance of trying to find out what the essential DNA is of the program. On an ongoing basis, it is the competition and veritable odds of the characters Jeff brings to bear in the form of Peanut, Bobby J and Sweet Daddy D that truly makes the difference with his most popular creation Walter providing cynical commentary throughout the whole affair. Some specific sketches hit the mark while others hit the wayside but brilliance is a fleeting and finicky customer.
The first of the sketches that truly hits the mark goes against the grain of what Chappelle was good at which was the interaction with white folks. Here, in comparison, Sweet Daddy D brings Dunham to an old school barber shop and tells him to get out. The reality that Dunham himself has related [to this journalist] about the show is the fact that people forget they are talking to a puppet. You completely get that feeling within this sketch as the locals give their brother a true taste of what Dunham needs to do to attract the African American audience. It walks the line but knows it through and through.
The second sketch of note is Peanut who seems like he is on uppers anyway doing an infomercial for his new energy drink “Neow”. It has that fly-by mentality and works because you tend to think about Peter Jackson’s “Meet The Feebles” where all the puppets were going completely amuck. There is a taste here of that anarchy.
Bobby J, the redneck who never stops drinking, has a great sketch called “Drunk Proofing”. The little guy who gets squeamish when he goes to the doctor is out of his mind anyway and tries to make life a little easier for those around him despite the fact that he falls down stairs. Just as that idea is perfectly suited for J, Walter’s segment giving relationship advice in an almost speed dating lightning round works wonders.
The last intention of mention is Achmed, the Dead Terrorist, who is the newest addition in Dunham’s arsenal. When the character is doing the simple terrorist act, it doesn’t work as well but when he runs into situations he doesn’t know (like karate and adult book stores), that is when the comedy shines. Granted it is simply an unconscious reaction but it is within this corner where he earns the most laughs.
Though short lived, “The Jeff Dunham Show” showed the abilities of the man and the possibilities within this structure. Ultimately ratings determine the victor though it is interesting to see the plug pulled on this one so quickly. The show was not groundbreaking television but it was something different and the diversity of the DVD shows that. While the deleted Sweet Daddy D sketch missed the mark and some of the bloopers reveal too much “behind the curtain, the DVD itself shows the man’s talents on a different angle medium. Out of 5, I give it a 2 1/2.
Edge Of Darkness – BD Review
19 May
“Edge Of Darkness” as a project was supposed to be a return to form of Mel Gibson. When it came out people weren’t quite sure at times what to make of it. Gibson did look older but he seemed to gain youth throughout the film. The same aspects are viable on the BD release. The beginning of the movie shows the man looking defeated (as that is part of the function of the character) but he seems to ramp it up from there. This is Mel returning to the revenge genre. This is a hard boiled approach which many people maybe didn’t expect. It wasn’t the normal Mel humor. The one thing that tended to throw this reviewer off was the inclusion of the ghosts whispering to Mel’s character Craven in the film. It seemed to be too much of a plot ploy. However some of the extras reveal later it to be an integral part of the original book. However on the surface it comes across as lazy storytelling through and through. Despite this, the shooting at the beginning of the film and especially the hitting of the girl in the car near the beginning of the 3rd act are particularly jarring and show how good a director Martin Campbell can be. This film for the lead creatives however seemed to be more of an exercise of being still. The different featurettes explain this specifically. There is a very brief reference that actor Ray Winstone makes to coming in late since apparently his role was originally supposed to be played by Robert De Niro who left a week into shooting. What this tends to do is place the film squarely on Gibson’s shoulders. Howard Shore, who did the music for “Lord Of The Rings”, talks about building a score which for this film means starting off with tinges of mourning and then creating the tension as the momentum builds. The film was adapted from the “Edge Of Darkness” miniseries which Campbell also directed. He had a specific writer working on it for nearly 12 drafts. Then Graham King brought in William Monahan who had done “The Departed” who was able to bridge certain elements and add the Bostonian flavor which was always key. Gibson speaks that he saw the story as a 17th century style revenge tale where at the end every body goes out including the hero. The deleted alternative scenes don’t necessarily lend anything much to the plot though the beginning golf scene which DeNiro supposedly shot and now has Winstone in it shows the blend of humor needed which might not have the been the right spark. “Edge Of Darkness” works a bit better on second viewing because its intention by its makers is very clear on the disc but still skewed perhaps a little too unbalanced despite an effective turn by Gibson. Out of 5, I give it a 2 1/2.
