CliqueClack

Star Trek Into Darkness is all flash, no substance

I am going to be completely up front with you right from the start. There will be no pussy-footing around. There will be a spoiler here because it’s completely unavoidable … even if it is one of the worst kept secrets in cinema history. But we’ll get to that.

Star Trek Into Darkness is a slam bang summer popcorn movie, no doubt about it. Once we get caught up on all of the established characters, the film goes into warp speed with one huge action-packed, special effects sequence after another. There is enough serious eye candy here to put you into filmic sugar shock. And for the die hard Trekkers, there are plenty of little things here and there to make you happy. Oh, look … a tribble! Bones mentions a Gorn. Christine Chapel’s name is brought up. Carol Marcus joins the crew. Klingons! More than a few Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan references, including …

Continue reading 'Star Trek Into Darkness is all flash, no substance' »

Solve the mysteries of Cloud Atlas on home video

It’s absolutely no secret that I loved Cloud Atlas during its theatrical release. The proof is in my lengthy review. I loved the audacity that directors Tom Tykwer and Andy & Lana Wachowski had to even try to bring this story to the screen. Based on David Mitchell’s novel, Cloud Atlas tells six stories in six eras from the distant past to the far-flung future. In the book, Mitchell wrote the stories separately and then chopped them in half at a cliffhanger point so that the reader read the first half of each story before getting to the second half.

The film is much more tricky than that — and it’s fun to see Lana Wachowski feign anger at Mitchell in one of the bonus features on the Blu-ray when he mentions how easy it was to cut the stories in half — only giving you bits and pieces of each story over the course of the film’s nearly three hour running time. It all sounds to be a bit confusing, and as the film opens and basically throws a piece of each story at you, you may feel hopelessly lost. But stick with it! You will see how things come into focus and how each story is linked by various objects, most notably a comet-shaped birthmark, a diary, a book, and some love letters. There are actually more things that tie the stories together that may not be seen on first viewing, but Cloud Atlas is a film that demands repeat viewings and it can be fun to pick out things like an article of clothing that appears on different characters throughout the film (it reminds me a bit of the jade ashtray that made an appearance in each segment of the classic horror film Creepshow, but on a much grander scale).

Continue reading 'Solve the mysteries of Cloud Atlas on home video' »

Dexter and Liz & Dick bring slash and trash to home video

If Elizabeth Taylor hadn’t passed away before the Lifetime movie Liz & Dick was made, seeing Lindsay Lohan play her would have done the trick. And since we all like a good train wreck, you can now own the notorious TV movie to enjoy again and again. Also making its home video debut this week is the penultimate season of Dexter, and more entries from the WWE and UFC. Reality TV is spotlighted with the release of new volumes of Top Gear, Mythbusters, and Dance Academy. For the kids — and Bronies — we’ve got another volume of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and a variety of kids programming from Fraggle Rock to Power Rangers. On top of these releases, more classic TV comes to DVD capped with full series sets of Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun and That 70s Show. To see all the titles released on May 14, have a look at our shopper’s guide and click on a link to get more information or to make a purchase.

Continue reading 'Dexter and Liz & Dick bring slash and trash to home video' »

Cloud Atlas, Texas Chainsaw, and 4K remasters on home video

If you missed the amazing Cloud Atlas during its brief theatrical run, now is your chance to catch up and watch the almost three-hour film at your leisure. This week’s other big theatrical release is the reboot/remake/reimagining of the granddaddy of the slasher films, Texas Chainsaw. The bulk of the new releases are smaller films that may interest our readers, but the big news is Sony’s new 4K remastering of several of their classic (Taxi Driver) and not-so-classic (Battle Los Angeles) titles, bringing new clarity to these films. Whether consumers who are still not sure about 3D TV are ready for yet another new video format remains to be seen, but hopefully the upgrade will help some films that looked questionable on their initial Blu-ray release (and yes, I am looking squarely at you, Ghostbusters). To see all the titles being released on May 14, have a look at our handy shopper’s guide and click on a link to make a purchase or to get more information.

Continue reading 'Cloud Atlas, Texas Chainsaw, and 4K remasters on home video' »

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers is on DVD! Hallelujah!

Every now and then there comes a quality television show that will stand the test a time, a program with such a lasting impression to make you dream you were a character during your sleep. If you ask me, Power Rangers is one of those programs. And I bet you thought I was talking about The Walking Dead. Sorry, guys – I’m a little biased. I’m a 26-year-old man, and my six five-inch Power Ranger action figures stand on my DVD rack to guard my BluRay discs — a fact that my girlfriend tends to roll her eyes at.

Hey, no shame in my game.

So, imagine my excitement when Saban Brands and the Shout Factory recently released the first two seasons of Power Rangers on DVD. Cue the chorus. There is a God.

Now, anyone that knows me knows that I keep it real. The only Power Rangers seasons worth owning are the first two. Everything after that is overly campy … especially those wretched Turbo years … with the exception of Yellow Ranger Tanya, who I always thought was cool. But let’s focus on the positive! Season one of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers is available on DVD, and if you’re a nerd like me, I suggest you go get it! I mean, seriously. It’s been out for a while now. What are you waiting on?

Continue reading 'Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers is on DVD! Hallelujah!' »

A few thoughts going into the American Idol finale

Things have definitely been lively on American Idol of late.

In a season filled with uncertainty, it’s the one thing that has been indisputably certain.

But … for all the wrong reasons.

Unneeded drama has overseen the mission statement of the show this year. Want proof? Here are a few examples … and from just the last 10 days or so: American Idol to Axe All Judges. Randy Jackson Is Leaving American Idol. How American Idol lost the magic this year.  An off-tune American Idol strategy of making hit show about judges instead of contestants has viewers tuning out. That last report by David Hinckley of New York Daily News strikes home, something the fans of the show have been decrying for the last few years. And it’s something I’ve touched on time and again in my posts here. Continue reading 'A few thoughts going into the American Idol finale' »

What’s new for Corey Reynolds?

Summer television programs are a dime a dozen, but one quality drama will sadly be missing from the line-up this upcoming season – TNT’s The Closer. After it ended its stellar seven year run last summer, the show’s principal cast has been exceptionally busy including fan favorite Corey Reynolds, the cool Tony Award nominated actor who played Kyra Sedgwick’s right-hand man Detective David Gabriel. So, what has Reynolds been up to lately? You’d be surprised. I was blessed to be able to catch up with him to ask him about life after The Closer, the state of minorities in Hollywood and – drum roll please – what it feels like to be a new father.

Ah, Corey! So nice of you to speak with me.

Jaylen Christie! It is I, Corey Reynolds! How are you?

I’m good, dude. So, let’s get this thing started. You made a name for yourself as the actor that originated the role of Seaweed in Broadway’s Hairspray. How does it feel to be both a master of stage and screen?

I don’t know if I’d call myself a master. When I think of a master, I think of the old Chinese sensei that’s 90 years old and kicks every young guy’s ass. Before I moved to L.A. in 2003, every job that I’ve taken in my life, as far as performance goes, has involved singing and dancing. I miss live theatre. There’s nothing that is quite on par with the instant gratification that you get from a live audience. You know, when you’re playing a scene on a stage in front of 25,000 people, you can tell when you have them in the palm of your hand. Sometimes, when it comes to filming, if you say something funny in a scene, no one is really allowed to laugh, so it comes down to trusting the director, trusting your performance and trusting that the camera is capturing what you need because you don’t have an audience that gives you the instant response.

Continue reading 'What’s new for Corey Reynolds?' »

Put Community out of its misery

To misquote Abed on season four: “I remember when this show was about community college and didn’t suck.” Sure, it improved as it went along, but it never managed to shake that Community-tribute-act vibe. It was like the writers were performing a “Best Of,” but hadn’t actually heard the original songs. Or learnt to play their instruments. All the half-assed call-backs to paintball and the darkest timeline seemed to scream: “The fans will remember this! You know, from when it was good.”

Even the characters felt like bad lookalikes this seasons. Look at Abed, surely one of the most interesting comedy characters of recent years. This season saw him reduced to making increasingly lazy references and forced homages. Meanwhile, Jeff’s speeches have become so utterly mawkish and wet that he might as well just walk around wearing a t-shirt saying “I LOVE MY FRIENDS” and save us a lot of wasted time. As for Chang, he’s just one of the worst characters ever.

Continue reading 'Put Community out of its misery' »

A Dangerous Profession: With friends like these …

You know …  A Dangerous Profession wouldn’t have been so dangerous had tough guy George Raft left well enough alone and hadn’t poked his nose into business he had no business poking his nose into.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand … scene!

That’s what I learned from this melodrama that was rather mellow on the drama and stylistically convoluted to boot. Of course, it’s not quite as easy as all that. There’s plenty more to the story … but if you boil it all down, that was pretty much the gist of the matter.

Oh, you betcha … there was a dame involved (Ella Raines as Lucy Beckett, hubba-hubba). She was the reason Vince Kane (Raft) gets involved in all the hoo-ha in the first place. Kane — who was a cop before he got into the “high profile” career as bondsman — gets invested in former flame Mrs. Beckett’s affairs when her husband is nabbed on embezzlement charges. Once sprung from the clink on bond (1/3 of which is courtesy of Kane, his business’s coin and his ulterior motives) Mr. Beckett ends up getting himself snuffed, in turn giving the missus one of the best presents he could possibly afford her: Instant marriage relief. Continue reading 'A Dangerous Profession: With friends like these …' »

Community is renewed, so why am I not flipping-out happy?

The answer to that last question is: probably not.

I know there are a lot of die-hard Community fans out there who believe their beloved show can do no wrong. We have a few at CliqueClack HQ, in fact; I’ve seen the sub-Reddit dedicated to the show too. The fact of the matter is, this season sucked — at least in comparison to previous seasons — and unless it decides to make a significant shift in its writing style, I’m out next season.

What happened to stand-out episodes like the first Halloween episodes? The first paintball episode? Advanced Dungeons and Dragons? The blanket/pillow fort war? What do these all have in common? They didn’t happen in season four. Can you name any that even come close to these gems from season four? I didn’t think so.

Continue reading 'Community is renewed, so why am I not flipping-out happy?' »