The Interview

Director: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen

Lead Actors: Seth Rogen, Jams Franco

Producer: Kyle Hunter

Plot Synopsis: Dave Skylark is a popular talk-show host who is constantly in search of approval. He gets this approval from his millions of fans but not from the East Coast intellectuals who ridicule his show for being, basically, a bit of a fusion between Jerry Springer and Montel Williams.

This doesn't eat at the ever jolly Skylark as much as it does his producer, Aaron Rapaport, played by Seth Rogen.

There is a scene in which Rapaport runs into an old acquaintance from college who is working at 60 Minutes and he ridicules the poppy work that he and Skylark are doing. 

This drives Rappaport to seek out a big fish interview. Hey, it helped Nick Frost get some respect when he landed Nixon, didn't it?

But the big fish Skylark and Rapaport end up getting is arguably a much bigger fish than Nixon after he resigned from the oval office.

Skylark and Rapaport find out that Kim Jong Un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, is one of Skylark's biggest fans. Rapaport makes some calls, badda bing, badda boom - suddenly these two clowns are on their way to North Korea to bag the interview of the century.

The only catch is that the CIA wants some of the action, and they 
want Skylark to kill Jim Jong Un. 

This is where we meet the ever beautiful and entertaining Lizzy Caplan, in her role as Agent Lacey. Lacey must have banked her whole career on Skylark and Rapaport being able to assassinate Kim Jong Un, because she sticks to the project with unrealistic conviction

If at one point she doesn't proclaim "You guys are idiots" with her words, she does so even more effectively with her beautiful eyes.

She and her deadpan sidekick go over, and over, and over what's supposed to happen, all the while having to know that the stoner duo from Pineapple Express are going to royally screw things up!

Who Would Like it
Anyone in touch with the news will know the drama that went along with getting this movie to be released on Christmas Day. 

They are familiar with how Sony Studios mishandled terrorist threats. They are also familiar, probably, with some of the extremely juicy bits of insider information spilled from a massive hack on their e-mails, perpetrated, allegedly, by North Korea, in retaliation for this rich satire.

So, if you haven't seen this movie yet, and you know the story, there is the reward of seeing what all the hubbub is about.

But when you finally actually watch the movie pound-for-pound, you realize that it is political satire laced with "the most powerful ecstasy you've ever had" - to borrow a line from Franco's Skylark. 

This being said, it is basically burp, pee, poo poo and fart jokes set amidst the possibility of assassinating the annoying and dangerous Kim Jong Un.

Under capitalism, South Korea has prospered and risen to the number 10 economy of the world, while North Korea struggles with country-wide famine, among other things.

The writers of this movie: Dan Sterling along with Rogen and Goldberg do touch on some of the political drama. They also let the outside world into their frat party. . . in one scene Bill Maher watches the actual interview with disgust and perhaps a bit of envy.


Who Might not Like it and Why

Well, Kim Jong Un of course! But I think the actor they chose did a good job all the same. His name is Randall Park.

I think people who are not a fan of stoner humor might struggle with this as well. The first half of this movie is nothing but crude jokes revolving around nothing more than the human anatomy. But, if you invest in the ride, it pays off. 

There are beautiful women, gun fights, tank chase scenes and the most boring Oscar award ceremony host in the world actually proving he is funny.

Highlights/Top Scenes
There was a montage where Un and Skylark are falling in love and bonding on fathers who don't understand and a public that just doesn't get them. It starts with a game of basketball and ends with an orgy with westernized Korean girls. That was funny and well done.

There is also a sequence wherein Rapaport has to intercept a small package that a drone drops off in North Korea. That too is funny.

Three Mike and Ikes.

Modern Family

Director: Michael Spiller (21 episodes 2010-2012), Jason Winer (20 episodes 2009-2014)

Lead Actors: Ed O'Neil, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen

Producer: 

Jeffrey Morton

...

co-executive producer / executive producer / producer (130 episodes, 2009-2014)

Plot Synopsis:
In which we meet the Pritchett/Dunphy family - a dysfunctional unit in the Los Angeles area who care very deeply about one another. They have managed to clump their houses together in an upper middle class neighborhood. 

Who Would Like it and Why
One thing is for sure - it's impossible to watch more than two episodes and not fall in love with this family.

Who Might not Like it and Why 
It would make me nervous to be around them because they are constantly lying to one another and scrambling to cover up their lies.  They are also constantly insulting one another.

Highlights/Top Scenes
The never-ending one-upmanship and the long-lasting insultathon is like watching a Shakespeare comedy. 

Sofia Vergara oozes sex appeal while still maintaining her ability to be funny and mix in with this nutty family experiment. 

Also, the overall acting is amazing. I now know why they have won so many accolades over the last few years. 

Three Mike and Ikes. 

Law and Order: Criminal Intent

Director: Frank Prinzi (among others, including many guest stints)

Lead Actors: Kathryne Erbe, Vincent D'Onofrio, Courtney B. Vance, Eric Bogosian, Jeff Goldblum, Julia Ormond, Tony Goldwyn, Kahan James

Producer: Dick Wolf

Plot Synopsis: This show centers on the NYPD's Major Case Squad (and the offbeat, Sherlock Holmes-like Detective Robert Goren) in its efforts to stop the worst criminal offenders in New York. 

It also puts a new twist to the "Law & Order" formula: now, in each episode, we see the crimes as they are planned and committed.               

Who Would Like it and Why

These particular Law and Orders with Vincent D'Onofrio put an intellectual spin on the law and cop genre that I found engaging. Upon watching more than a few episodes, one realizes that Vincent D'Onofrio pushes people to their confessions by taunting them, making them angry and sniffing around in their trash. '

Sometimes the audience wonders whether or not D'Onofrio's character, Detective Robert Green, has the mind of a criminal himself and that's what makes him so good. 

For all of the future B-list beefcakes we have seen in the endless horde of cop and lawyer dramas that have paraded by on USA over the years and put me to sleep, D'Onofrio stands out in a few ways. 

One, most detectives in New York have to really dress up by wearing a nice suit and tie, but they're still cops with guns and they have to be ready to get dirty. Well, Goren just sort of shows up to work a little dirty. He seemingly never shaves, seems to sweat a lot and doesn't seem to be always preening for the camera the way some other light weights do. 

One gets the impression that Goren sleeps on the subway or in an open cell at the police station sometimes instead of going home. 

Forget about money, if there's donuts on the ta able, Goren's gonna take one. 

He also has a somewhat bizarre speech pattern which makes the viewer want to pay attention to him more. 

Goren also believes no one and effortlessly sheds away away fake alibis and excuses. He seems like the guy who eventually will refuse to believe someone who's actually telling the truth, kind of a reverse person who cried wolf. 

I know from my limited viewings of this series that Gorren eventually gets himself in a lot of trouble, as one episode with him picking a dead rat out of his desk, likely put there by his fellow cops.

But the few full episodes I watched show how he picks apart the cases and always manages to get to the bottom of them, playing a great "bad cop" with Kathryne Erbe's nice cop. They are both after the same results, it's just that Gorren, being a somewhat large and slovenly man himself is able to be much bolder than Erbe's Detective Alexandra Earnes. Erbe, by the way, I think is much older but manages to be very lovely on the show and a sort of welcome break to D'Onofrio's reminder that not all men are created equal. 

Some of this team's methods for uncovering people seem a little aggressive, almost to the point of them finding evidence that is inadmissible in court because they lied or pretended to be someone they weren't in order to get it. For example, in one episode Erbe pretends to be a graduate student while interrogating a professor.


Who Might not Like it and Why
I had always had an aversion to Law and Order, not sure why, it all seemed so mundane. Just the Law & Order sound would put me to sleep. I didn't have the time or the interest to wait for another crime to unfold. 

But, I found D'Onoffrio intriguing enough and the crimes interesting enough to stop by and watch a few episodes during Christmas break, and I was not disappointed.

Gorren shares a few similarities and characteristics with the most famous fictional detective of all time: Sherlock Homes. He is a genius forever sort of stuck in his head. He is undaunted by people from any class of society and he also doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. 

Highlights/Top Scenes
I enjoy how they go all over New York to solve one case at a time. They must have some allowance and they seem to have all the time in the world. Aso, D'Onofrio mocking the criminals in never old. 

Gorren knows his place in life as a detective, and is never, ever intimidated by Wall Street Investors, or television producers, or anyone else. Also for someone who is merely a detective, he seems to have a great knowledge of the law.

Three Mike and Ikes.

STAND UP COMEDY REVIEW - Chris D'Elia

This will be a unique review in which I review a rising stand-up comedy star in Los Angeles, by the name of Chris D'Elia. People will know him by his show, "Undateable", on NBC, which is directed by Fred Savage from "The Wonder Years".

I first became aware of Chris D'Elia at a "Comedy Juice" at The Improv on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. I had free tickets that I got online. Other people who were there were paying $15 per ticket. I was lucky to get the free tickets and this was a way for The Improv to fill seats.

So, I went with my friend and what we stumbled into was some sort of open mic for the stars wherein Dane Cook, Chris D'Elia, Joe Rogan, Whitey Cummings and Neal Brennan were performing. I would say that of all these people, Chris D'Elia was the most intriguing. I had never seen him before.

When I first got to the Improv, I was waiting at the bar area, where I guess he was doing an earlier show and I could watch him on the monitor. He made some crack about "You know when you get to work and you're just like eh . . . , well that's how I feel right now . . . "

Turns out that's how he starts every show as if to tell his audience that he's just sort of winging it, I guess. Far be it from me to try to get into a comedian's head, especially if their name is Bill Cosby.

Anyway, back to D'Elia. He wears a t-shirt and jeans mostly and has long hair  and a beard. One who has spent too much time in West Hollywood can tell that D'Elia works out, as does Dane Cook, which sets a weird standards for these younger comics. Comics are usually supposed to destroy their bodies, are they not?!

Anyway, Chris, who I've seen about four times now at the Improv, and I can't remember signing any disclaimers not to talk about him, unlike for some of the other shows that I've been to. 

Anyway, so Chris D'Elia's rant goes along the lines of how soft he is and how many regrets he has about not being hard and then he launches into a bit about being around little kids and how much they open up your heart. I found it intriguing and funny, and D'Elia's caricatures of little kids and Tupac are really good and endearing!

Most notable though about D'Elia is his energy. A few weeks later I saw him follow Rob Scheider of SNL fame, and Schneider, albeit a comedy legend for his movie roles such as Deuce Bigalow, was a little wobbly doing stand up comedy. He had a notebook and was quiet and weird and still funny. Buuut, Chris followed him and brought the energy right back up without insulting Rob.

I happened to be sitting near the row on that show and when D'Elia was going to the stage, his brow was furrowed and he was deep in thought, not the cocky bearded dude you see on stage. This is how I would expect a real writer to look.

Anyway, if you read the LA  Weekly, you will notice that Chris is everywhere, including the Palladium and The Wiltern. Is it possible that he's the new white big thing in comedy. Is it ironic at all that he is doing stand up with Dane Cook?

In fact, when this blogger got up to go the bathroom another night, Cook and D'Elia were both sitting next to each other chatting about stand up comedy when I went into the bathroom. Perhaps they are partners in crime.

How do other comics feel about D'Elia? Will they hate him like they hate Dane Cook?! Not sure, I don't spend that much time around working comics, unfortunately.

Anyway, just know that D'Elia is a comer, not a blower, and that his energy is great and you should take every opportunity you can to watch him for a bargain, otherwise you may end up having to spend about $200 on him!

A Walk Among the Tombstones was a walk to remember

Director: Scott Frank
Lead Actors: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour

Producer: Tom Armbrust

Plot Synopsis:
We meet Matt Scudder in the early 90s when he is an active police officer in New York city. It seems we first meet him in a car in the middle of a bribe with someone, but this is not clear.

Anyway, once he gets out of the car, we see Liam Neeson with full facial hair, and his hair is grown out bushy.

He walks into a bar and orders two shots and a coffee. We see him walk a bit sloppily to a booth, then drink the shots and coffee and reads the paper and suddenly a robber comes in the bar and shoots the bartender.

Then Neeson chases after the robber and his cronies and takes all three of them out.

On that day though, his life changes forever. Later on we learn exactly why. But, before any secrets are given out, we meet him about 9 years later - clean shave, clean haircut and 9-years sober. Here, he is more clean cut and closer to the character, Ra's Al Ghul he played in Christopher Nolan's first batman.

Scudder also is no longer a police man but a private investigator, still in New York.

While he is eating in yet another great-looking diner (the kind that make a filmmaker want to out there with someone who knows the area and just eat and talk movies all day), one of his acquaintances from the AA meetings approaches him and asks him if he wants to do a job.

Turns out his brother needs an investigator to find out who murdered his girlfriend. Turns out this man's brother is also a drug dealer, turns out this man's girlfriend was chopped up and put into several tiny bags by the nutty criminals Neeson will spend the rest of the movie hunting down.

To make a long story short, our flawed hero Scott Rudder has a bit of a savior complex and once he finds out how the kidnapped woman was treated, and packaged, he decides to take the job, despite the seedy nature of his client and how it conflicts with his present-day sobriety.

One thing is for sure though, as we watch Scudder descend into Hell and lead an underground man hunt: he is as tough as any of the other bastards! Deranged kidnappers, gang bangers and even D.E.A. agents all get their fair share of rough treatment from Neeson's Scudder.

This makes for a great, gritty movie. In fact, we are treated to some of the snarl that Neeson displayed in an earlier movie he made called, "The Grey", wherein he fought wolves with his bare hands.

Although Scudder hits as hard as he is beaten with crow bars and gun handles and tasers and the like, and he never loses his sense of humor or his affinity for those less fortunate than him.

Enter the comic relief and a key plot point at the end of the movie - TJ. - a homeless youth with sickle cell anemia who ends up being Neesam's assistant.

Astro plays TJ in A Walk Among the Tombstones- he is Matt Scudder's assistant.


Who Would Like it and Why
I think this movie had a great feel to it. By that I mean the lighting was right, the cinematography was right, and it gave us a sense what it might be like to live in these older, tight-knit communities that vary in income. For a life-long west coaster, this is all very intriguing, albeit a bit claustrophobic at times.

Liam Nesson fans get to see him growl, beat up criminals, shoot people and confidently set up a rendezvous for exchanging "money for the girl".

Also, everything about this movie gave it the feel of a 1970s cop drama

                                     A typical, gritty, crime drama.

The cinematographer managed to keep everything dark enough so that there was a constant sense of foreboding throughout. Again, though, Scudder's humor and exchanges with TJ dulled the pain.


Who Might not Like it and Why
Well, there are some very tense moments when women are brutalized. Trophy wives of drug dealers receive the most punishment in this movie.

Not because of revenge from rival dealers, but something much more sinister. One can argue that even though these women made their beds when they chose to date or marry drug dealers, they seem to receive a lot of punishment that may be should be reserved for the dealers themselves.

Highlights/Top Scenes
Liam as a poorly shaven, whiskey swilling cop was fun. TJ and Neeson's exchanges were also well-written and fun. Also, there was some fine character work  as Neeson zeroes in on his main suspects, who were perhaps the best actors of all.

Three Mike and Ikes.