Media Summary: March 2011

(Click on the links for more encyclopedic information about the show and/or the actors.)

Movies= 6

All Star Superman: I thought DC missed out when they cast Christina Hendricks to voice Lois Lane but not Jon Hamm for Clark Kent in this adaptation of the Grant Morrison-Frank Quietly maxi-series.  (Seriously? Mike the plumber from Desperate Housewives?) Hell, had they also gotten John Slattery instead of Anthony LaPaglia for Lex Luthor it would've been Mad-Men-ly perfect!

Jackass 3D:  I've said it never so I'll say it now: poop viewings should stay in the toilet.  Funny in some parts, disgusting in the rest.  Johnny Knoxville is the Bear Grylls of comedy.

Justice League: Crisis on 2 Earths: This movie gave us what Grant Morrison's JLA: Earth 2 did not, namely an all-out slugfest between the Justice League and the Crime Syndicate.  We're also treated to a nihilistic Owlman and Mr. Big as Lex Luthor.  Speaking of voice actors, I wish people would stop complaining whenever Kevin Conroy isn't cast as Batman in these animated movies.  He may be the best, but variety is good so as not to have us get sick of hearing him all the time.  It's not like Bruce Greenwood, Jeremy Sisto or Billy Baldwin did a terrible job doing the raspy voice.  If anything it was Christian Bale that gave Batman a lisp!

Let Me In: I had a long online chat w/ my "purist" film friend who preferred the original Swedish Let the Right One In over my favoring this faster-paced American version.  While I agreed that the atmosphere and mood set the Swedish one perfectly, Let Me In concentrated more on the suspense angle, and just as well it did.  Vampires should be scary again, not glamorous.

L'illusioniste: Leisurely-paced French cartoon w/ nary a spoken word.  Beautifully animated, but it was more a like stroll in the park than a day at Disneyworld.

The Tourist: As I briefly mentioned in the January post, this is the inferior remake of Anthony Zimmer.  You won't even hear the name Anthony Zimmer in this version, just "Frank Tupelo." I think I'll just dload director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's (gesundheit) previous film The Lives of Others, instead.

TV= 21 Shows, 48 Episodes

1000 Ways to Die: Described on Wikipedia as a "docufiction anthology television series." I call it an easy and fun way to kill (no pun intended) 22 minutes.  This is where all of William Shatner's failed Rescue 911 calls go.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The latest incarnation of the Batman animated series, this time going for a retro-look but w/ modern and tongue-in-cheek comedic sensibilities. Diedrich Bader's (The Drew Carey Show) take on Batman is a perfect, straight-laced, no-nonsense crimefighter who's virtually indestructible and always on the job.  He's always surrounded by louder, crazier and funnier partners-in-crimefighting.

Breakout Kings: A spinoff of Prison Break, w/c already showed signs of breakage (pun intended) when The Unit's Nicole Steinwedell disappeared after the pilot episode to be replaced w/ the creepily eye-browed Serinda Swan.  Cancelled after 13 episodes.

Mad Dogs: Four men are invited to a private island paradise by their long-lost friend, every one of them (including the host) hiding a secret.  Never mind that the banner above makes them look like an over-aged boy band.  Hmm, I never went past watching the 1st half of episode 2, but now as I type this I'm tempted to dload the last episode just to see how it ended.

Outcasts: The year is 2040, and Man now lives on another planet like Earth, but eerily looks like South Africa.  What first enticed me to watch this was the presence of Battlestar Galactica actors like Jamie Bamber and Michael Trucco, but by the 3rd episode I got bored.

10 O'Clock Live
Archer
Bob's Burgers
Californication
Community
Fringe
How TV Ruined Your Life
Justified
Mitsudomoe
ONN
SNL
The Chicago Code
The Good Wife
The Office
The Ricky Gervais Show
Upstairs Downstairs