It will be attached to Speed Racer in two weeks, but the folks at Comic Con got to see the exclusive footage before the rest of the human race. It delivered BIG TIME! We got to see Joker talking with the mob bosses, Bruce struggling with Dawes and Dent’s relationship, and possibly the newly elected DA turning into Two-Face.
Further look later tonight!
Months and months of rumors can finally be put to rest. Tony Stark WILL appear in The Incredible Hulk!! In a special sneak-peek to the new Hulk trailer, there’s a special shot of General Ross and Tony Stark in the final clip. Thundebolt is hitting the sauce at a bar, most likely in response to Emil Blonsky’s turn as Abomination. Here’s a chunk of what they had to say:
Tony Stark: I hear you have an unusual problem.
General Ross: You should talk.
Stark: You should listen.
End scene. Avenger movie, here we come! (In-depth look later tonight.)
If you’re into Alexa Vega
Definitely watch “Spy Kids” again. But also see “Little Giants”, which is pretty much “Little Rascals” with a football spin. When aviator wearing, gum chewing business man Kevin O’Shea (Ed O’Neill) decides to start the best peewee football team in town, all the kids try out. But when O’Shea rejects his fierce little niece, Becky, simply because she’s a girl, Becky’s father, Danny, decides to start a whole new team for all those rejected by tyrannous, play to win Kevin. Rivals since childhood, with Kevin always coming out the victor, Danny sees his chance to finally even score with his unlikely band of “Little Giants”. Vega plays Kevin’s tutu clad younger daughter, who is cute as a button and the perfect pink foil to go for the gold Becky. With a little romance, a little conflict, and a lot of spirit, this film is complete with all the best parts of childhood, not to mention the most exciting elements of America’s favorite sport.
If you’re into school’s out for summer
Try the far superior “Dazed and Confused”, featuring Parker Posey, Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp, Matthew McConaughey. Joey Lauren Adams, and Milla Jovovich. Set in the 1970’s, this last day of school follows the story of several teens, frustrated with rules, regulations, girlfriends, boyfriends, and high school in general. The kids in this film are not pretentious dreamers like “Remember the Daze” attempts to portray, but regular, angsty teenagers who are just trying to make their mark as they embark into senior year, whether that’s by torturing harmless freshman, flipping off the football coach, or just getting completely smashed to celebrate the end of the tyrannous regime of school! “Remember the Daze” might as well be referring to “Dazed and Confused”, which is just the older and better version and what is in the theaters now.
If you’re into school’s out for summer part two
Try a more creative spin off of the last day of school saga, “Can’t Hardly Wait”, which was actually filmed in the late nineties. The class of ’98 proves to be a much more interesting group than the class of ’99 in “Remember the Daze”. Starring Lauren Ambrose, Ethan Embry, Seth Green, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Melissa Joan Hart, each character fills out their stereotype with flair and originality. It’s “Revenge of the Nerds” meets “Cyrano De Bergerac” meets “Clueless” meets (oh yes) “Dazed and Confused”. If for nothing else, it’s worth watching yellow-goggle clad Seth Green travel around the party all night with his “love kit” back pack, on the fruitless quest to get laid. Here’s a film that portrays high school in a truly entertaining, if not entirely truthful, way.
If you’re into Tim Roth
Try his more amusing turn as Charles Ferry in Woody Allen’s film musical, “Everyone Says I Love You”. Also starring Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, and Woody Allen of course, this oddball romantic comedy follows enough silly love stories to warrant its all-inclusive title. Perhaps the most ridiculous and charming is the triangle between Skylar Dandridge (Barrymore), Holden Spence (Norton), and Charles Ferry (Roth). Skylar and Holden are happily engaged with a wedding registry at every fifth avenue hot spot, until Skylar meets Charles, a sexy ex-convict who sweeps her off her feet. But as the story unfolds, Charles shows his true colors that are not quite fitting for a classy socialite girl, no matter how dangerously appealing the offender might be. If Roth couldn’t prove himself as a capable male in “Funny Games”, he more than makes up for it here as he walks all over anyone who stands in his way with a tough guy sneer to make Marlon Brando whimper.
If You’re into Michael Haneke
Try another one of his tough to sit through but extremely compelling films, “The Piano Teacher” with Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel. Huppert plays Erika Kohut, a desperately lonely but extremely talented pianist. Her repressed sexuality and general dissatisfaction with life lead her not only to detest her students to the point of sabotage, but bring out her sadomasochistic tendencies in relationships. She becomes obsessed with her lover, Walter Klemmer, who is excited to begin an affair with her until he realizes her dark and dangerous fantasies that he can’t bring himself to fulfill. Huppert and Magimel give fabulous performances, for which they won best actress and actor at the Cannes Film Festival, and this is Haneke at the height of his talent for disturbing his audiences. These characters are frighteningly real to the audience, more so than the camera consulting fiends of the “Funny Games” movies. Their plight is so much more effective and difficult to swallow, because it comes so close to what people can conceivably experience.
If you’re into being disturbed
Try “The Vanishing”, the Dutch film directed by George Sluizer. When his girlfriend, Saskia (Johanna Ter Steege) disappears at a rest stop, Rex Hofman (Gene Bervoets) is driven mad with uncertainty about what happened to her. He devotes three years to solving the mystery to no avail. That is, until her captor Raymond Lemorne (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) confronts the poor man with the knowledge of his girlfriend’s fate. Though Raymond admits to killing Saskia, the only way he will reveal the truth is if Rex consents to drinking a spiked cup of coffee, the result of which is beyond stomach churning. Rife with philosophical discussion and awful mind games, “The Vanishing” is one of those psychological horror films that has the capacity to haunt you even when the sun is shining and the lights are on. If the brutal message of “Funny Games” floats your boat, try “The Vanishing” for an even more startling denouement
If you’re into Ryan Reynolds
The loveable romantic lead whose abs we’ve all come to love, try “Sabrina The Teenage Witch” starring Melissa Joan Hart as the angst-ridden sorceress herself. Sabrina is just the average high school girl until she inherits her magical powers at the age of sixteen. Although you might think magic would greatly improve the stressful high school experience (and it does come with the perks of changing grades and lowering prices of chic clothes), it only complicates Sabrina’s life as she has to juggle perfecting her magical skills, homework, and finding a date for the spring fling! That’s where Seth (Reynolds), the dreamiest of jocks, comes in. Yes, you’ll have to endure overall mini skirts and unfortunate plaids, but as far as cute nineties actors go, Ryan Reynolds takes the cake.
If you’re into Romance in New York City
Try “Manhattan”, starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. Once again we find Mr. Allen in the throes of his own philosophical neuroses as he attempts to choose between two women, Mary (Keaton) and Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). He begins the film with Tracy, a sweet and beautiful 17 year-old who he convinces himself he’s only having fun with (how could ever take himself seriously with a teenager, he thinks). Then he meets his equally neurotic counterpart, Mary, who he falls in love with and pursues, even as he is still courting the innocent Tracy. Here is a man like Ryan Reynolds, give or take a few rippling muscles, who must make a decision that will lead him to the love of his life. Of course, nothing is quite that cut and dry in a Woody Allen film, which perhaps lends to his genius, but the story is compelling, witty, sexy, and hilarious as we go along for the ride.
If you’re into Kevin Kline
Try “Princess Caraboo”, also starring Phoebe Cates, Jim Broadbent, and Stephen Rea. Based on a true story, “Princess Caraboo” is the tale of a shoemaker’s daughter (Cates) who fooled an entire village into believing she was an eastern royal. She deceives everyone until Inspector Gutch (Rea) begins to heavily question who she really is. Kline, who is married to Phoebe Cates in real life, plays the self righteous butler, who is initially skeptical of the princess, but eventually won over, believing her to be a beautiful heroine in the fight against the rigid British class system. Kevin Kline is one of the most versatile film actors today, proven by his sterling portrayal of the stiff servant to the English artistocracy which is a far cry from the libidinous intellectual he played in “Definitely, Maybe”. But he pulls it off with the flair we’ve come to expect from his pitch perfect performances. And of course, if you’re just looking for a good romantic comedy, this charming film is a good bet.
A year ago, I would have jumped at the unexpected gift of two “House” episodes in one week; now I can hardly force myself to keep from channel surfing. I simply don’t care about the new Ducklings; and there aren’t enough probing moments into House’s psyche to hold my attention.
This was supposed to be an epic post-Superbowl episode that would’ve drastically developed either the House/Cuddy or House/Cameron romantic storylines, but due in part to the writers’ strike they had to re-work it. Now the only sweeps-like element of this episode is the guest star—Mira Sorvino—and the conceit—she’s a psychiatrist stranded in the South Pole, so House must diagnose and treat her via webcam.
Since the medical cases have become increasingly less engaging, this fan is starting to develop a “Grey’s Anatomy” complex and turn her attention to the romantic subplots. This episode, aptly entitled “Frozen” for its lack of interesting plotline advancement (read: action!), mostly dangled romantic possibilities in the viewers’ faces, only to withdraw them with little to no payoff.
There was a usual bizarre subplot in which House subjected his v2.0!Ducklings to inane tasks—this week, it was to get him cable in the rooms of the coma patients with whom he had lunch. Such a mission involved having the Ducklings trail Cameron and try to make her mess up her job in the emergency room (gee, that’s smart, House!). Any possibilities for a snarky House/Cameron confrontation fizzled when House revealed that the real reason for his plot was not to bother Cameron, but to get the Ducklings to learn to stand up to him (which Kutner did, hilariously).
On to the Patient of the Week. All of the online hype over the holiday break was about the introduction of a woman with whom House would forge an emotional connection—except the showrunners seemed to forget that this is the third time they’ve done so (remember Piper Perabo as Honey the not-so-bright nutritionist last season? yeah, neither do we), with as little success as the other times.
I’m not saying that House and Kate (Sorvino’s assured psychiatrist) don’t create a bond; they definitely do, as he walks her through the often cringe-inducing steps to treating herself (she has to extract liquid from her stomach, and perform x-rays on herself). There’s even some real emotion and sweet banter in the scene where she has to perform a self-examination naked in front of the webcam; first she demands to see House’s apartment (so she’s not the only one “bared”), and then later, he supplies “Let’s Get It On” as background music for the exam. This is the House I know and love!
Ultimately, however, House realizes that Kate’s co-worker is in love with her; and although House gleefully exploits this emotion to make the man drink Kate’s urine and drill a hole in her head, both to determine what’s wrong with her, he also makes such orders with a bit of pain in knowing that, as much as she makes doe-eyes at him once he’s diagnosed her, he won’t get the girl.
(Ultimately, Kate’s kidney and brain issues are due to a broken toe—she didn’t feel it because her feet were so numb—that was leaking bone marrow into her bloodstream. House angsts to Wilson that if he hadn’t respected Kate’s wishes in not having her take off her socks on Day One, he would’ve been able to cure her days earlier. It looks like House won’t let himself have any happiness.)
Since not even a possible soulmate can distract House from Wilson’s goings-on (because they truly are the main couple of the show), he spends the hours during which he’s not treating Kate stalking his best friend through lunch dates and gift receipts to discover that he has a new girlfriend. But when he confronts Wilson at the end, boasting about having “a list” of the possible female candidates, he’s the one thrown for a loop when the most frozen woman of all, Cutthroat Bitch, appears and gives Wilson a kiss. “Was she on your list?” Wilson jokes, and House deserves the shock he gets.
I will say that I saw a flicker of the old show’s personality in this episode, but it may be too soon for me to truly hope for a triumphant comeback to the genius of Season Two.
Next week (this Tuesday, actually): House doesn’t go down so easily, and he sets about to sabotage Wilson and Amber’s dates. The best parts of the show are the House/Wilson ones, so I’m actually a bit excited.
RSS 2.0
