CliqueClack

John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King is terrific spectacle

“With great power comes great responsibility”
– Voltaire

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
– John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

Think about those two quotations for a minute: How many times have you seen the themes borne out in one form or another? In how many films? And books? And plays? You can apply them to any number of television programs past and present, regardless of the year. (For me? One of the first things that comes to mind when I see those quotes is Warner Bros. cartoons, especially ones featuring Bugs Bunny. Not Bugs as protagonist falling prey to the themes but his many nemeses.)

Hell … for that matter, how many times have you seen or read about them played out in real life? Because they’re everywhere, through the likes of moguls and political figures and various others who keep the news and the tabloids hopping month to month.

Time and again, we’ve witnessed both quotations laid out and here they are once more in The Man Who Would Be King. And in this incarnation they’re put forth grandly and very well indeed.

Adapted from the short story by Rudyard Kipling, two ex-officers of the Indian Army (Michael Caine as Peachy Carnehan and Sean Connery as Daniel Dravot) make a pact to seek their fortunes in far away Kafiristan (an area of Afghanistan) during 19th-century British India. Their intentions are to conquer local tribes with the ultimate goal of becoming kings of all the lands through good old fashioned English know how. After all, two British smugglers and con men can surely outwit the primitive savages of Afghanistan, right?

Fast forward: They do. Continue reading 'John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King is terrific spectacle' »

Queen of the Dark Things is an engrossing follow-up for urban fantasy author C. Robert Cargill

When the world seems dark and troubling, it’s easy to imagine that you’re the hero in your own story, fighting demons and rescuing damsels (male or female as you prefer). But sometimes high fantasy can be a barrier for newer readers, a new world filled with weird words and geography, magical beasts and kingdoms; why can’t we just have it on Earth, like Harry Potter? Ah, but that’s where urban fantasy comes in. This is the genre that takes magic and fantastical concepts and shoves them whole cloth into our own non-magical reality. Depending on the rules of this urban fantasy version of our own world, sometimes all magic has just been hidden or perhaps it’s just about to be discovered. The former is far more common, because we humans love our conspiracies and mysteries. So we take our Earth and shake things up, but sometimes the darkness of reality can’t help but bleed through into the stories we invent.

Following up on his urban fantasy book Dreams and Shadows, author C. Robert Cargill returns with a direct sequel Queen of the Dark Things. In a similar way to the first book, Cargill blends past and present timelines to continue the story of itinerant rogue wizard Colby. The story continues to show more of the tale of Colby’s childhood and his training in magic while also directly continuing from the dark events of the first book. This time, Austin is not only home to the faeries and myths of before, but new mythos show up. We see the seventy-two Goetic demons from The Lesser Key of Solomon, mainly more pseudo-Christian imagery, but there’s an extended series of events about the Aboriginal shamans in Australia. Even a real life historical horror, the massacre in the Batavia is integrated seamlessly in the story. But this is once again a story about trickery and cleverness, how power can be abused or misunderstood, and the complex morality of the real world transposed into fantastical circumstances. Colby must face an old threat and make an impossible choice, all the while trying to keep his remaining friends alive.

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Win passes and prizes for Transformers: Age of Extinction screening June 25 in Virginia

ALL PASSES HAVE BEEN CLAIMED. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED. WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL. FOLLOW CLIQUECLACK ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE+ and TUMBLR FOR CONTEST ALERTS, REVIEWS and BREAKING NEWS.

CliqueClack has partnered with Paramount Pictures to offer readers in the Washington, DC area an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the highly anticipated Transformers: Age of Extinction starring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, Jack Reynor, T.J. Miller and Kelsey Grammer.

After an epic battle, a great city lies in ruins, but the Earth itself is saved. As humanity begins to pick up the pieces, a shadowy group emerges to try to take control of history. Meanwhile, an ancient and powerful new menace sets its sights on Earth. A new group of humans, led by Cade Yeager (Wahlberg), helps Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the Autobots rise up to meet their most fearsome challenge yet: a worldwide war of good versus evil.

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Winter’s Tale has heart but lacks real magic

When Winter’s Tale was released theatrically on Valentine’s Day, the film was met with tepid to hostile reviews, scoring just 13% on Rotten Tomatoes. Our own Jeremy Fogelman called it a “bewildering mess” in his review, so I sat down to watch the new Blu-ray release with something less than wild enthusiasm. The two-hour film is based on a 627 page book by Mark Helprin. Writer and director Akiva Goldman was forced to distill an epic romance into a 120 page script, and unfortunately, the result is a bit lacking.

The story focuses on Peter Lake, a son of immigrants (dad is briefly played by Matt Bomer) in 1895 who were denied entry into the country because of an illness. They set the baby adrift in a model sailboat named City of Justice and the next thing we know, it’s 1916 and the baby has grown up to become Collin Farrell who is on the run from Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe) for reasons unknown. Peter discovers a white horse during his escape attempt, mounts the steed and magically flies over the iron gates to safety. But we still are unclear as to why Soames is after Peter and the horse … or is it a dog?

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300: Rise of an Empire thrills on Blu-ray

300: Rise of an Empire makes its way to home video on DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and Digital Download, and if you missed seeing in theaters because you thought it was simply a re-do of the original 300, then now is the time to right that wrong. I won’t go too much into reviewing the movie itself because I already did that when it was in theaters. 300: Rise of an Empire isn’t so much a sequel or a prequel, but an equal (or side-quel, as many labeled it). The story takes place concurrently with the events in 300, and while this movie introduces us to another army and protagonists, led by Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) and Artemesia (Eva Green) respectively, we are still following characters from the original movie on the fringes, including Queen Gorgo (Lena Heady), Dilios (David Wenham), Daxos (Andrew Pleavin), and Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).

The movie, however, truly belongs to Green who brings a fierce determination to Artemesia. Stapleton does a fine job as Themistokles, but he doesn’t have the same presence as Gerard Butler did in 300, and he’s completely upstaged by Green who dominates the movie. In fact, Artemesia is such a distinct character, the lone woman warrior in the gigantic battle, that the rest of the soldiers register simply as handsome, impossibly buff extras whose only function is to run, yell and die. Some of them do have personalities though, like the father and son fighting side-by-side, but Green’s performance is so powerful that you just want to see more of her when she’s not on screen. She single-handedly makes 300: Rise of an Empire a much more interesting, and better, movie than its predecessor.

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Attend an advance screening of Red Band Society in Los Angeles

You and a guest are invited to attend a special advance screening of the pilot episode of Fox TV’s new fall series Red Band Society in Los Angeles.

From Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and starring Academy Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer (The Help), Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters) and a charismatic cast of fresh faces, Red Band Society is a provocative, unconventional and unique coming-of-age drama about a group of unlikely and rule-bending friends and the adults who mentor them through the ups and downs of adolescence in Los Angeles’ Ocean Park Hospital. Exploring everything from strong friendships, first loves, humorous mishaps and heartbreaks, the series is a story of life, with an edgy comedic tone all its own.

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Ancient warriors, time traveling adversaries, and a timeless actress come to home video

Some great titles come to home video this week led by the just as good, if not better, side-quel 300: Rise of an Empire, featuring a fierce performance by Eva Green. Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe play good and evil in the time traveling romantic drama Winter’s Tale, the cult horror flick Wolf Creek gets a sequel, and Elaine Stritch’s life and career is the subject of the entertaining documentary Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me. Beatles fans should be thrilled with the new Criterion Collection release of A Hard Day’s Night, and horror movie lovers should be equally thrilled with the Blu-ray release of the 1979 Italian horror flick Screamers. These titles and more will be available June 24, and you can check out all the highlights in our handy shopper’s guide. Click on a link to get more information or to make a purchase, and remember, any purchase you make through a link helps support our work at CliqueClack.

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Win free passes to see Tammy in LA, Boston, Hartford, Baltimore or DC

ALL PASSES FOR ALL SCREENINGS HAVE BEEN CLAIMED. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED. WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL. FOLLOW CLIQUECLACK ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE+ and TUMBLR FOR CONTEST ALERTS, REVIEWS and BREAKING NEWS.

CliqueClack has partnered with Warner Brothers Pictures to offer readers in Los Angeles, Boston, Hartford, Baltimore and DC an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new comedy Tammy starring Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney, Gary Cole, Mark Duplass, Dan Aykroyd, and Kathy Bates. Rounding out the cast are Sandra Oh, Toni Collette, and Nat Faxon.

Tammy (McCarthy) is having a bad day. She’s totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint, and instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house. It’s time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she’s broke and without wheels. The worse news is her grandma, Pearl (Sarandon), is her only option — with a car, cash, and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with Pearl riding shotgun, it may be just what Tammy needs. The film marks the directorial debut of McCarthy’s husband Ben Falcone.

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Win passes to attend encore screenings of The Met in HD in MD/DC

CliqueClack has partnered with Fathom Events to offer readers in the Maryland/DC area an opportunity to attend special encore screenings of The Met: Live in HD. The Metropolitan Opera and Fathom events will once again present Summer HD Encores, a series of choice encore performances from the groundbreaking Live in HD series. Patrons will have the chance to see these shows in a theatre that will bring it to life in a very unique setting.

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Devious Maids’ new African-American family adds comedy and intrigue

Scintillating is the word when it comes to Lifetime’s Devious Maids. Now in its sophomore season, the entertaining soapy sudser about resilient and resourceful Latina maids working for the rich and snobbish A-list of Beverly Hills is arguably one of the network’s most talked about shows – and for that matter, perhaps one of its most ethnically diverse. Don’t believe me? Just tune in for yourself. Go ahead. Try it!

Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I am a firm advocate for more, um, color on the airwaves. What can I say? I’m an equal opportunity television junkie. With that being said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Devious Maids is one of my favorite programs. Not only is the writing spot on and the mystery intriguing, but the talented cast boasts some of the most ethnically diverse faces on television today. This season introduced a brand new family of characters to this mix – the Millers, a super wealthy yet super dysfunctional African-American household with a crap ton of issues.

Needless to say, I was definitely intrigued.

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