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Tonight G4 presented the South Korean monster movie, 괴물 - Gwoemul - "Creature" - The Host, a non-traditional take on the monster genre where we follow a family town asunder by the attack of a horribly mutated beast and their attempts to reunite. In addition to the staples of the horror genre, the Host is also ripe with political commentary, dark comedy, environmental issues, and social satire. It is easy to see how and why this film rose to blockbuster status in South Korea, as well as firmly entrenched its self in several global top ten lists for that year.
One key difference between the Host and most monster films of our time is that the creature is not of some unimaginable size, it is more along the lines of an elephant, save for a preternatural agility and violent tendencies. Unlike its fellows of the monster movie genre, the creature from the Host is not shy about being seen by great crowds, as it acts similar to various aquatic and amphibious predators, going into a feeding and killing frenzy when presented with large numbers. The CGI of the monster is impressive, especially when the modest budget of $11 Million USD is taken into account.
While there is definitely a bias against the portrayal against the United State's military in the picture, as well as the South Korean government and the nature of organized protest, there are also individuals of the same various groups that are shown in a positive and heroic light. Perhaps the film is commenting on how the person, not the group, is an important thing in our life.
Even though it is a horror movie, the Host has plenty of touching moments about parental and familial love and the lengths that family will go to in order to protect those that they love, in some cases some unusual extremes. But, in the end, it is the emotion of the human condition that is front and center in this movie, as seen by the touching epilogue at the end of the movie.
Overall, the Host is an enjoyable foreign film and monster movie that is a welcome addition to anyone's video library.
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James Bond is as much a stable of my childhood heroes as is Han Solo, Indiana Jones, Starbuck, and Thomas Magnum, his suave charm hide the brutal efficient of a spy with a license to kill. For Queen and Country, the whole mystique of the super spy genre, for me, begins and ends with James Bond and the restart of the series, with Daniel Craig as the new Bond, is something I was worried about, initially, but fully embrace.
Sean Connery is my favorite bond, although Roger Moore was my first Bond, but Daniel Craig is a close second, a position formerly held by Peirce Brosnan. If we follow Bond's grittiness via his actors we can look at his deadly efficiency under Connery, his suave charm under Moore, his cheeky lethality with Dalton, his good looks and lethal hands under Brosnan and his dark and gritty return under Daniel Craig. It's my opinion, that in many ways, Daniel Craig is the Bond that Connery was before he cleaned himself up a bit and the Bond that we often saw during Connery's run.
With Casino Royale we experience a reboot of the James Bond genre, a taking of its classic concepts and ideals and placing them upon a modern stage. Daniel Craig's portrayal of 007 owes as much to Sean Connery's Bond, as it does Matt Damon's Jason Bourne and Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer. With Craig's Bond we are seeing a mace reforged into a saber, a blunt ruthless killer being shown the subtleties of assassination and covert operations that look more accidental than shock and awe.
This revitalization and change to the series, as James Bond was slowly becoming dated, even though it is a classic piece of motion picture history and enjoyable for millions of fans. We are stepping on unfamiliar territory for the majority of Bond films, upon ground that was not covered by Ian Flemming, but inspired by the work he has done before and I, for one, think that Sir Ian would be pleased and impressed with what is to come.
Daniel Craig's Bond is one that Flemming hinted at, more than showed, and in now seeing the formation of Bond, not only are we seeing an interesting story, but the rejuvenation of a series that will be there for our generation and the next, as it was for us and the generation before us.
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CBS' The Mentalist follows the exploits of Patrick Jane, played by Simon Baker, a reformed charlatan psychic who assists the California Bureau of Investigation after the tragic murder of his wife and child following his "psychic" insight into a serial killer known as Red John. Jane is partnered, nay under the supervision of Senion Agent Teresa Lisbon, played by the lovely Robin Tunney, and her team of Agents Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt, who are played, respectively, by Tim Kang, Owain Yoeman, and Amanda Righetti.
It is the ensemble cast that I feel will be the strength of this show, which garnered a full season buy from CBS on the 15th of October, and the inkling of a metaplot involving Jane's desire to catch Red John, the killer of his wife and child, while working his uncanny powers of observation and deduction to help the CBI solve cases. While it would be easy for some to draw a parallel between Jane and other detectives with astounding perception and reasoning skills, it should be noted that unlike many of the others, Jane is actually most balanced mentally, socially well adjusted, and, thus far, seems to be coping with his loss in a reasonable manner.
Unlike shows like Life, Psych, Monk, the defunct Rayne, or even Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Jane doesn't appear to suffer from mental illness, social anxiety, or crippling dysfunctional interactions with other people, be they civilians or law enforcement. However, that's not to say that Jane doesn't have his issues, because he's obviously use to doing things his way, as a former celebrity psychic, and this often leads to friction or trouble with his team and their superiors. Yet, this group of issues also marks the show in an interesting light.
It is obvious that the tragedy of losing his wife and child has drastically changed Jane from the person he previously was, as he not only seems to care more about helping people, truly helping them, but he is very adamant about their being no such thing as psychics. So vehement are these denials that I'd almost think he's channeling Harry Houdini, except that would be a mark of the psychic medium. Perhaps him and Cris Angel twitter each other, often, about psychics ticking them off.
Either way, The Mentalist is definitely an enjoyable show that should be a hit for sometime to come and a show that you don't wanna miss if you'd like to see the procedural drama with a twist.
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So, I'm the kind of guy who enjoys comedies, yet normally avoids them, save for if I'm hanging out with someone who wants to watch a comedy. It's odd, because I'm normally into comedies, love the humor, and just dig the whole satire and irony thing, yet I just don't watch them that much. But, thanks to doing this blog, I've expanded my horizons, which brings me to FX's Testees.
As you can see, even the title brings a fun, juvenile giggle to most folks and if you didn't laugh, even a little bit, I'm so sorry and sad for you. *grins
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Okay, I promise to do my best to keep politics out of this, as this is not a political blog, but a blog where I blather, or babble I should say, about television. But, due to whom I'm about to talk about, some politics will bleed through.
I'm a dyed in the wool moderate, which is why I'm able to watch Foxnews, CNN, and BBC America and get what I want and need from them all. All three are enjoyable, informative, and have a good handle on their presentation of the news, but all three have different stances, too. Foxnews is conservative, CNN is liberal, and BBC America is moderate
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So, I've been holding off on talking about the SciFi channels newest show, Sanctuary, mainly because I've been watching it since last year, when it was the online show "Sanctuary for All." It was an interesting way to backdoor a pilot, I think, as it build up a fan-base, who then sponsored the show by buying into the subscription for the series, which fueled it growing into something more. Now, it is on television and has went through the early episodes that it had originally aired, as well as some that it made, but did not air until now.
It's an okay show, but it still needs some more ground to stretch it's legs before I'll say whether it's great or a must see. The concept is interesting enough, about a place where the truth behind urban legends, cryptozology, and other mysteries are studied, helped, and, in some needed cases, imprisoned. The proprietor, perhaps proprietrix is more proper, is a centuries old woman who does not age, her butt-kicking daughter, a skeptical criminal profiler, and Bigfoot
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Now, I'll be one of the first to admit that I'm a dyed in the wool geek. You could get this from the fact that I'm blogging, although that has become a lot more mainstream before I stepped out of the com-closet. You could also get this from my being a life-long role-playing game enthusiast, a hobby that I started back in January of 1980, when I was a six years-old and improperly thought of as hyper, turned out I was just smart and needed a creative outlet. But, we could go back a bit further than that, to the fact that around the same time that I was getting into Star Wars, at age four, I was also getting into comic books.
Yeah, I started reading young, too. Like I said, I was smart, not hyper, but only my Grampa Fiegi had a solid lock on that fact, everyone else pressured mom into getting me on Ritalin. Feh. But, I digress
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First off, I'm honestly surprised it took one of the networks this long to bring an Age of Sail piece to broadcast, given all of the Pirates hype we've been going through over the past few years. Ever since Pirates of the Caribbean hit theaters, as well as its sequels, I've been expecting more and more swashbuckling shows to hit the air, yet none really have, until now.
Crusoe is based on the classic novel of a man stranded on an island with a islander companion, however the tale has been modernized in many aspects and gives a healthy nod toward pulp and swashbuckler sources. Much of our hero's early life is shown via flashbacks, which include the talented Sam Neil as Blackthorn and Sean Bean as Crusoe's widower father. One thing I would say is that the cast screams mini series or movie, as the caliber is that good
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Now I'll readily admit that I've been a Christian Slater mark for years, not only do I own a copy of Pump up the Volume, but I swear by Heathers on a fairly regular basis. So, imagine my surprise, when I hear that Christian Slater has his own series, in which he plays a spy with purposefully induced split personality disorder. More so, when you look at the whole concept and realize that it is a play off of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde, it becomes even more enjoyable.
During the first episode we're introduced first to Edward, the suave spy who applies his talents in cold, quick fashion. After his mission we're introduced to whom he works for, although they're not identified with a known agency, and then comes Henry. It becomes obvious, quickly, that Henry has no idea about his other life, as well as given an insight into the methods of splitting our spy into another, domestic personality. So far, a pretty good concept with moderately nice execution
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As I've said in other posts, I'm a huge fan of a solid British show being brought to the United States, however I'm even more of a fan of the actual show,its self,coming to American television. Thankfully, when I recently moved back to Oregon from Idaho I gained access to a cable provider that had BBC America. Not only do they have fine news coverage, but some of the most interesting shows, too. One such show is Primeval, a Science Fiction thriller/drama that is about portals in time opening up in and near London and the creatures, from the past and future, that happen through them.
While this show has a very attractive cast, overall, it is not to the odd, almost freakish, point that many American shows are currently at. Sure, the cast is attractive, but not so cut and polished as some American shows. They play their parts well and believable, both mentally and physically, as you honestly see Abby as someone who could hold her own in a fight, or that Connor is the quirky dork with a heart of gold, not to mention the dysfunctional teamwork of Professor Cutter and Stephen. Last, but not least, you learn, quite easily, how to hate the amoralistic Helen Cutter, easily a pain the butt ex-wife if I've ever heard of one
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Comment by Robert N Emerson
on Fringe in Oz - Why so ignored?
TV Babble
Film Mage
Also, it is less Alias-y and more like Lost, in that the heroine is not unbeatable, nor are the others in the "group" who are sorta tossed together by fate, and that you are discovering the mystery along with them.
Anna is attractive, that is true, and she does an okay job at being an government agent, too. It does need some build up, that's for sure, and the pilot needs some follow up, for sure. I think we'll know if it is solid or not by about Episode 4-5 range, if not a smite sooner.