Kate & Leo Take the Long "Road" Home

The success of My Bloody Valentine and The Uninvited make the Hollywood studios think the audiences just want to be scared. Well if it is a true horror movie they want, why not sit back and absorb Revolutionary Road. Sam Mendes' masterful look at life in suburbia is so frightening, it will leave you pondering the point of marriage for weeks to come. America can handle watching scantily clad teens being chased by chainsaws or token black guys saying funny lines right before they are decapitated, but being forced to examine in their marriage is a monster they cannot escape once they leave the theater. The truth in the success of American films is not that the audience wants to be scared, but they want to feel something. Sweeping epics, action packed thrillers and gory slasher flicks have always done well at the box office because it gets the blood pumping. As kids we live vicariously through our heroes by playing make believe. The true secret is that we never stop. We just don't acknowledge we sometimes pretend to be something we are not.

Movies like Revolutionary Road and American Beauty, Mendes' most famous film, are scary in premise but not content. In Revolutionary Road, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play Frank and April Wheeler, a beautiful couple who settle down in a New York suburb. Frank is a suave middle man who seems to have the world by the balls, and April is a aspiring actress and stay at home mom with two healthy kids. The world sees them as having everything, but they both cannot shake the fact that they are missing something. This film is not only about the struggle between man and wife, but the universal struggle of always wanting more. The performances from both leads are nothing short of riveting, as DiCaprio demonstrates again why he should be taken seriously as an actor. It's not fair to either film to compare this movie to Titanic, because there is nothing similar except for the cast. Whether the real life friendship between Kate and Leo helped their on screen "chemistry" is irrelevant. The two take part in some of the most intimate and emotionally devastating scenes in recent memory. The movie is paced just right, adding little by little to the relationship until it explodes. The supporting players are all on par, especially Michael Shannon, who walks the line of genius and insanity in a brilliant way.

While it is easy to be pessimistic about marriage after this film, there is a silver lining. To say Frank and April Wheeler are a representative of the typical American married couple is unfair. Think of them as a case study. Elements from other's relationships might be present, but they do not echo 100% of the whole. The film is just a story. Any generalization is on the part of the individual. Furthermore, a good relationship will not be strained by viewing this movie. In fact it may make a relationship stronger.

For Kate and Leo, you could not pick a better film for them to reunite in. Sure they took the long way home, but it was well worth the wait. Thanks to their dynamic performances and the directors first class film making, Revolutionary Road is one of the best films of the year.

Grammys: And the winner is ... CBS

With a surge in viewers, CBS has a lot to be happy about. Most importantly, they didn't blow one of the easiest award shows to produce. Non-music award shows have the pressure to not be boring (and often are), and the MTV VMAs have the pressure of trying to be edgy (and often aren't). The Grammys are a collection of all things music, which appeals to the masses better than any other ceremonies. Sure everyone loves movies, but how often are the movies everyone loves the movies nominated for Academy Awards. Plus, when you watch the Grammys you want to see your favorite perform. When you watch the Oscars, you want to see your favorite win, which isn't guaranteed. With so many things in the show's favor, the light and energetic atmosphere made the show actually enjoyable, no matter how long it was.

Katy Perry's sensual performance demonstrated how much cross over appeal the twenty four year old chart topper has. Her vocals make her a respectable artist, while her natural charisma makes her the object of admiration for teenage girls, and the object of desire for all guys. CBS hit all the key demographics by pimping Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift, and dusting off Neil Diamond. One thing is for sure, if Stevie Wonder could see what tools the Jonas Brothers are, no way he'd be singing with them. It was nice to see Coldplay pay homage to Paul McCartney which made me believe Chris Martin is just as cool as he seems.

All in all, there wasn't a "shocker" like the Britney Spears and Madonna kiss, or the Dixie Chicks going all political, but it was a solid show. For once, the worst judgment of the night went to a performer, M.I.A., who performed while crowning.

Can The Office deliver in Post- Super Bowl time slot?

For a television series, it is the most prestigious time slot of the entire year. To be given the after Super Bowl time slot is the figurative equivalent of your network giving you the ball. The only problem is … now you have to run with it. Since 1983, it is tradition for the home network to air new episodes following the biggest game of the year. Since the Super Bowl is usually the highest rated program of the year, the networks like to capitalize on the influx of new viewers, and hope at least half of the 97 million people who watch will keep their television on the same channel.

With the pressure on and America watching, some shows falter under the bright lights. As The Office continues to build on its’ water cooler status, the crew at Dunder Mufflin should take a lesson from their predecessors and take a few things into account.

The most important thing to remember is that this is the night to get the attention of new viewers. Bigger is better. Remember when Meredith had to hold a bomb lodged inside the chest cavity of a patient on Grey’s Anatomy. Remember when Rachel and Monica fought over Jean Claude Van Damme on Friends? Or when Sydney finally took down SD6 on Alias. Those pivotal moments all took place after the Super Bowl. Even if you never saw the shows before, casual viewers could appreciate the epsidoes.

Another trick of the trade is to not get too complex. Most Americans are ready to relax after the excitement. House, which is a very complex show in practice, “dumbed down” it’s content for last year’s post Super Bowl episode. On the other hand, The Practice didn’t change a lick of their story content when they had a go at it, and discovered something a two year old could have told you: Nobody wants to watch an agenda driven lawyer fight for his client’s life after a the biggest sports night of the year.

The third most important trick of the trade is to remember that if you are premiering an episode, make sure it is good. In the early years, it was customary to air the first episode of a series, in the hopes of building a core audience. The best examples of this is The A-Team and The Wonder Years. I imagine The Wonder Years would have found an audience anyway, but The A Team truly benefited by capitalizing on the gridiron testosterone boiling in the 18 to 40 year old males who just spent four quarters stuffing themselves with potato chips and high fiving each other. This method wasn’t always successful, and the debuts of four duds in a row show that the success of the show is not only determined on time slot, but the quality. I don’t think MacGruder and Loud would have been a hit series even if ABC took copies of episodes door to door to every house in America. Later CBS took a different route by airing non-scripted entertainment. First with the 1993 interview on 60 Minutes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, then with the premieres of Survivor:Australia in 2001 (the highest rated installment of the series ever) and Survivor: All Stars in 2004.

So with the groundbreaking episode just around the corner, NBC is already promising Jack Black and Jessica Alba will make a trip to Scranton. With so many open storylines and fully developed characters, blowing this golden opportunity does not seem likely. Along with The Office, Bruce Springsteen will perform at the half time show, Jennifer Hudson will sing the National Anthem and the commercials are guaranteed to be funnier than ever. And oh yeah, the think there’s a football game scheduled somewhere in the middle too.

Pop Culture's Christmas Wish List

With the Holidays right around the corner, here are a couple of things I hope to see under “Pop Culture’s” tree on Christmas morning.





1. A Sedative for Oprah. With Obama victorious, the release of Australia, and the on set recreation of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, America’s favorite talk show host has been screeching so loud the past couple months you’d think someone was grabbing her by the short hairs. It wouldn’t take an expert marksman to place a tranquilizer on her flip side either.



2. Another break-up for Pink. The badass rocker’s public divorce sparked the best pop song of 2008. Another failed relationship = more catchy tunes. Corey Hart must be happy nothing really goes with the line “So what … your dick is small.”



3. CSI: Bosnia. True, hunger is the leading cause of death, but murder has to be at least two or three. Plus, when a 7-11 clerk is killed in the Middle East, they will need Gil Grissom’s forensic technology to figure out it was his mistress’s jealous stepson avenging his dead father’s honor.



4. Birth control for John & Kate. Eight really is enough. The basic cable ratings monster
won’t have the same catchy title if they call it John & Kate Plus Nine. Props to John though. With a set of twins and sextuplets, it takes a real man to slip one past the goalie twice.


5. The Sopranos On Ice. Hey, Disney can keep recycling their shows by putting them on ice, why can’t the world grieve for the loss of their favorite mob show by celebrating it on the rink. Tell me you wouldn’t pay to see James Gandolfini doing a double axel while he dodges the feds and Johnny Sack. Not to reinforce negative stereotypes, but the professional ice skaters would feel right at home with the Vito/Johnny Cakes storyline.



6. More Celeb-reality. That’s right, I don’t care who or what, I love to watch celebrities in their own crazy element. Whether its’ Judd Nelson baking brownies or Courtney Love fighting a homeless man for cab fair, I’ll be parked in front of the T.V.



7. Original Videogames. Not being a big gamer myself, I imagine that if I played, I wouldn’t want to reenact World War II in my living room. What happened to the games where a steroidal genetic freak and girl with huge boobs save the world from an evil space alien and his moderately tough henchmen that are strategically dispersed through every level?


8. The Full House Movie. Cut. It. Out. Every major T.V. show is getting a big screen adaptation, what’s wrong with the Tanners? Thanks to a revolving door women, Stamos is looking younger than ever, and I doubt Saget has anything to do. Also, I’m pretty sure the Kimmy Gibbler was headed to the stripping pole and I’d like to see how that panned out.

Next up: Grammy Ballot Mailing Concert

Last night CBS aired a one hour special Grammy Nomination Concert where musical acts played between the announcement of the nominations. At one point John Mayer did a duet with B.B. King and I couldn't help but think "Hey this would have been great for the actual Grammy show." The buzz around the Grammys should be in the performances, because with 110 categories, its kind of hard not to get nominated for something. I have actively pursued trying to find out the difference between "Record of the Year","Song of the Year" and "Album of the Year" and have gotten nowhere. What confuses me even more is usually two or three different artists win those awards. I assume if voters have more than one song they like, they vote for one in each category. In my opinion, the Grammys are the least credible awards in the entertainment business. Music is so subjective that they should just do like the Peabody's do and give awards out to the artist who have produced exceptional work. When you watch the Grammys, it seems like the awards just get the way of the big musical acts. Everyone watches for the performances, but with big stars on last night, the actual show will lack luster.

Not only did CBS blow their load with this special, they picked the absolute worst person to host. Taylor Swift looked as frightened as she did skinny, and as she was reading the tele-prompter, you would have thought she never saw those words before in her life. The biggest stars from the music world were all on hand to see if they got nominated. When your a nominee at an award show, you celebrate the achievement of being nominated, and go in case you win. When you go to the nomination ceremony, you say "hey I think I'm getting nominated" and look like an ass when you don't.

In case you care, here is a link to the nominations. Maybe I'm out of touch with music, but I said "who??" about 10 times in after reading the first three categories.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2008/12/grammy-scorecar.html

A Salute to "The Shield"

Television cop shows follow the pattern of those who set the bar. In the 1960s, Dragnet defined the procedural drama. In the 1970s, The Streets of San Francisco opened the door for action adventure police work that would be very popular in the late seventies and early eights. Steven Bachcco redefined the genre twice by humanizing cops on Hill Street Blues in the 1980s, and portraying a realism never seen before with explicit language stories and nudity on NYPD Blue. While Blue embraced its’ hero as tragically flawed, it was a basic cable series that dared to push the bar in a direction it has never been before.

Tonight, FX closes the books on the drama series that put the cable network on the map. Since it’s inception in 1994, FX struggled to produce original programming that received high ratings and critical acclaim. In 2001, the brass at the Fox subsidiary took a risk on The Shield, gritty, in your face, detective series where the main character is as crooked as the criminals he arrests. Every aspect of the series is cutting edge. From the camera work, art decoration, storylines and performances, the cast and crew of The Shield make the viewer feel like they are watching a documentary. The Shield falls in the category of one of those shows that never had a bad season, and never compromised the essence or integrity of the plot by resorting to cheap gimmicks. Even when big guest stars such as Glenn Close or Forrest Whitaker joined the cast, their characters always seemed right at home instead of being forced down our throats. Creator Shawn Ryan had a definite vision, and built on the characters he created for seven seasons. It is amazing to me that Shawn Ryan was not sure how many seasons the series was going to have because leading into the series finale, everything has appeared to come full circle with the perfect build and story arcs exploding in the last ninety minutes. The Shield is a rarity in television. Despite falling off the pop culture radar as of late, this cult favorite will go down in history as the series that redefined a classic genre.

Awesome "The Shield" tribute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIQbXhtMgaU

Twenty-five years later: Hollywood is still coming to "terms"

It was twenty-five years ago today that Paramount took a gamble on a small, seemingly destined for failure family dramedy. As the holidays of 1983 approached, the studio hoped audiences would flock to a film where there were no special effects, or big action scenes. Terms of Endearment, based on the popular Larry McMurtry novel of the same name, had gone through the Hollywood systems for ten years, with many different stars attached along the way. The story of the turbulent relationship between a prim and proper Houston widow, and her free spirited daughter was finally given the green light by Paramount, with a rookie director at the helm.

James L. Brooks, the brains behind past hits such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi, and future hits such as The Simpsons, Jerry Maguire and As Good As It Gets, did such a remarkable adaption of the script that the studio gave him 7 million dollars right away. What separated Brooks from the rest of the contenders was his ability to bring a comedic tone to the core of the film, by adding characters and finding humor in the pain of severe life issues. Brooks understood it could have easily danced into “movie of the week” territory, but if the film was a comedy as opposed to a melodrama, audiences would warm to the human aspect of the heavy plot. He also used the influence of Norman Rockwell and The Best Years of Our Lives to contribute to the incredible look of the film.

By casting Shirley MacLaine as the overbearing mother, Brooks gave the thirty year screen veteran the role of her career. MacLaine’s portrayal of Aurora Greenway combines dramatic chops with comedic timing in a way that has not been done before or since. As you watch MacLaine’s performance, your understand the character is feeling one way on the inside, but acting differently. It is a tribute to MacLaine as an actress that she can convey one emotion by playing the exact opposite. MacLaine has such an overwhelming screen presence, you can’t help but want to make her proud in ways her daughter is never able to do. Debra Winger, known for being a method actress, embodied the character of Emma Horton in way that can only be justified by watching the film. Jack Nicholson, in a role was not in the book, took the supporting part of a womanizing alcoholic astronaut that captures Shirley MacLaine’s heart and turned it into a career rejuvenating opportunity that allowed him to take on all the great roles for men over 45.

Terms of Endearment is an example of all the right things coming together at the right time. The film was plagued with on set drama that almost rivaled its’ screenplay.
When filming went a million dollars over budget before a one scene was even shot, Brooks had to continually push back the start date. A year later, NBC saw the screenplay and paid the rest of the budget in exchange for exclusive television rights. The cameras finally started to role in late 1982. It was at that point, Brooks masterful direction sometimes took a back seat to his role as professional babysitter. The two leads, Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger caused a great deal of tension on the set, mostly because Debra Winger refused to break character. At one point, producer Penny Finkelman had to jump on the hood of MacLaine’s car to stop her from leaving the set. James L. Brooks lost three days of filming begging Debra Winger to come out of her hotel room. When Burt Reynolds dropped out of the role of Garret Breedlove despite loving the script (he was contractually obligated to Stroker Ace), and Harrison Ford and Paul Newman turned it down, Jack Nicholson stepped in as a favor to friend Debra Winger on the condition they schedule his shooting days around the Laker home games. John Lithgow filmed his role during a three day break from Footloose because the actor originally set to play his role dropped out as well. James L. Brooks and co-star Danny DeVito found out Taxi was cancelled during filming. The producers also had to fight for Jeff Daniels, who was relatively unknown, and not wanted by Paramount. Daniels had to co through eleven callbacks before he was cast in the crucial role of Emma’s husband.

Despite numerous set backs, Brooks managed to produce the most compelling family drama in the history of film. It was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, a won five including Best Picture. Roger Ebert gave it four stars and awarded it one of the best films of the year. It is also one of the exceptions to the rule “the book is always better than the movie.” Terms of Endearment is generally regarded in Hollywood as the best tearjerker of all time when the truth is not only is it one of the best tearjerkers of all time, it’s one of the best films of all time, period.