Fletch Lives...Again!?!

Lets get the news out of the way. Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs, has been tapped to write and direct "Fletch Won" the much ballyhooed film version of the novel (why is this movie so hard to make? It ain't Spiderman. Its freaking Fletch). Now, I never read any of the novels (Bill Lawrence has and is a big fan of them). My relationship with Fletch begins and ends with the two movies "Fletch" and "Fletch Lives" starring demi-god Chevy Chase.

The movie sequel feels a bit off at times and doesn't really feel at all like the original, but it has its moments. The original movie is a tour de force though. One of the true comedy classics. Chevy Chase's portrayal of Fletch is just mind numbingly good and is still funny today. I suggest you go and buy the DVD right now.

Anyway, the other assumed news is that now that Lawrence is on board, the oft rumored casting of Zach Braff as Fletch is a given. I don't like this at all. Granted, this is based on my belief of what Fletch should be based on Chase's performance. Braff is far too goofy to pull of the suave, ultra-arrogance that Chase had in the role (actually all of his roles). When Kevin Smith was attached he wanted to put Jason Lee in the role, which I liked...but I hate Kevin Smith so it was another quandary.

I liken this to a James Bond situation. Ian Fleming, the original author, hated Sean Connery's casting and didn't like "Dr. No" that much. The movie Bond is quite different from Fleming's creation, but Connery's Bond is considered iconic. I put Chase's Fletch in the same category (which Gregory McDonald, the original author, has gone on record of not liking either). So screw books. I would also like to pre-emptively create controversy for Fletch 5 by saying the obligatory, "I think its about time that we had a Black Fletch! I think (insert hot black actor of the time, Denzel Washington, or Marlon Wayans) would be phenomenal!!!"

Either way, I appreciate that Lawrence is a fan and have faith he will do a good job...if the movie ever gets made. Best pick for Fletch that I have heard so far...Ryan Reynolds.

P.S. I think I have solved the "Chase equation" aka How did Chevy's career go from so good to so bad? A deal with the devil had to have been made in the early 70's for meteoric rise to fame and fortune and a string of blockbuster comedy classics. But like that monkey paw episode of the Simpsons treehouse of horrors, all those deals have unforseen repercussions that make the person regret ever making the deal. Unfortunately for Chase, right about 1985 the "b" side of the deal kicked in and he starred in such an enormous amount of shit that people forgot that he was ever famous to begin with.

Vice Wins Box Office Battle, Probably Loses the War

The good news this weekend is that MIAMI VICE did claim the top spot at the box office and ousted mega-hit PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST from the throne after 3 weeks at #1. The bad news is VICE took in just over $25 million which isn't too hot considering the reported budget for the film was $135 million.

I've toyed with putting up a review of VICE on here but the nature of film business is sadly so slanted to the opening weekend that by now everyone essentially has made up their mind whether they will see it in theaters or not. To give the short version of my view the movie is tremendous. One of the better realistic looks at undercover cops. It's not an action film, but the last 40 minutes contain the 2 best action sequences I've seen in a movie this year.

I don't know what it is about audiences that cause them to be largely indifferent to crime dramas. It seems like every week some cheap comedy does decent business. I know youngsters make up a large portion of the movie going public but who in the hell sees an add for JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE and thinks that it's a film they gotta lay eyes on? That movie just made more this past weekend than the film NARC earned during its entire run.

Spot the Weasel is (conservatively) live

In an effort to get these up as quickly as possible, I have once again put up pre-made templated blogs (early Stealing Cable esque) in place of anything refined, so work with me, but not one but TWO Spot the Weasel blogs are now live and here for me to plug. First up is the aptly named "Spot the Weasel
" which is a blog centered around Manimal and other STW work. Second, K105 is our review oriented arm, where you can see the more Stealing Cableistic posts. Since i'm plugging shit anyway, also you can check out our own Manimerchindise and ManiMySpace. For the love of god, buy the yellow Baron von Buttsecks shirt.

Take care everyone.

Television Fall 2006

My name is Kyle and this is the beginning of my second tour of duty as a Stealing Cable contributor. However, despite the fact that I was a member before, this is actually my first post on the site. (thus solved: the mystery of why I was "fired" the first time)

About Me: In general I watch way too much television. However, since the summer began I've laid off the television viewing a bit. I burned myself out watching approximately 20 shows at a time during the fall and winter seasons. Now I'm down to one new show, (and really it's basically a fluff show) The 4400. Rather than talking about that show, I'd rather share with you my current schedule of what shows I'm going to watch. This past year I had a dual tuner DVR, and although I'm changing residences in a couple weeks I feel very confident that I can get one for next year, because it is very important to me. My tentative Fall television schedule is as follows:

We'll begin with Monday where I start off with Prison Break at 8PM. The first season was silly and uneven, but mostly entertaining and I think the second season has some promise to be better than the first, so I'm definitely going to continue with that show. On at the same time is How I Met Your Mother, a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I can't dislike any show that features Jason Segel in a prominent role and has the two guys who created Clone High as writers. I'll follow those two up with 2 intersting looking new shows, Heroes and Runaway. Both have the potential to suck badly, but the premises sound interesting enough that I'll certainly give them a shot and see how they turn out. Then I'll finish off my night with the new show I'm looking forward to the most (as is almost everyone else) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I don't think I really need to go into much detail about that one, but it sure does look good.

Tuesday is almost as packed for viewing as Monday, and introduces my first (and really only) scheduling conflict. At 8 I have Gilmore Girls, constantly one of my favorite shows, although I am still moderatly concerned about them having new show runners, and apparently House will be on the also. That squeezes out Friday Night Lights, which had a pretty impressive preview and a pretty good pedigree. I'll probably figure out a way to record one of those shows on VHS so that I can watch all three. Then I'll follow that up with a show I've been a big champion of from the beginning, Veronica Mars. Although last season faltered a bit in comparison to the first, I like what Rob Thomas has been doing and have faith that this next season will be great, rather than merely good.

Next up is Wednesday, which is not nearly as busy as the first two nights. I actually think there's a good chance that when Lost goes on it's haitus I may not have any shows to watch on Wednesday. But when the season begins I'll be giving 20 Good Years and 30 Rock a shot. I don't have high hopes for either, but I believe they'll both end up being solid, but far from great, sitcoms. And although I'm mystified by people who think Lost is great I do still quite enjoy the show, and I will definitely be counting myself among the viewers next season. I'm also interested in giving Day Break a chance, mainly because Adam Baldwin's in it. The premise actually seems a bit silly to me.

Thursday night, all the biggest show's are on. However, apparently I don't know jackshit because there is almost nothing I want to watch. I'll definitely be watch My Name is Earl and the new best sitcom on television The Office, and I'm going to give 'Til Death a shot early in the season when nothing else is on. I'm also going to try to catch up on the second half of the first season of Supernatural before it's second season begins, but that might not happen. And finally I'll finish it off with Six Degrees, which I'm mainly interested in because of the cast, and not J.J. Abrams attachment to it.

Finally we finish off the week on Friday with only one show that I've deemed worthwhile, but it's a fucking good one. The third season of Battlestar Galactica begins on Sci-Fi on October 6th, giving everyone plenty of time to pick up the DVDs from the first two seasons and catch up, if you haven't already been watching. I love the hell out of this show and whole heartedly recommend to anyone with a brain, but I've got another post saved up to gush about BSG.

Weekends suck for dramatic television. I have a feeling my weekends are going to be dedicated solely to sports. (even though I won't be watching the NFL anymore)

Of course, this is all fairly tentative. I imagine there will be at least one great show I'm completely overlooking at this point that I'll be super into halfway through the season. This is just a little exercise to get a TV junkie like myself hyped up for the upcoming season. Only a bit of 3 weeks until Prison Break kicks it off!

2 day old news: Arrested Development is kind of back!!!

This article basically explains everything. We can watch Arrested Development reruns either on MSN's video service (they had one?), HDNet (for you home theater enthusiasts), and G4 (another non gaming, girls, gadgets, 4th g related show they have added to their lineup).

At least this show will get more exposure. There is buzz about a movie, which Will Arnett commented on in a recent interview. It will never happen, but news like this helps keep the dream alive.

MyTube: NEVER USE THE BATHROOM IN JAPAN

I forget if I posted this. Looking back in the archives of the blog it doesn't look like it. What took me so long!? I saw this clip about 2 months ago now. I have no idea how I came across this clip seeing as how all the text is in Japanese and would be practically unsearchable on YouTube, but thank God I have found it.

Its a prank from one of the seemingly endless number of Japanese prank shows that exist in that country. I think the clip is pretty much self explanatory. I also appreciate the use of the Mission: Impossible theme song.

P.S. Keep an eye out at the end when they cut back to the studio, I think that's Beat Takeshi in a Little Sailor Boy Hitler outfit

ESPN NFL 2k5 vs. Madden: Biggest screw job in history?

I love football. I love video games. I also love "THEM TWINS!!!". Madden Football has been the industry standard as far as video game football goes. Unfortunately, Electronic Arts has basically chosen one aspect of the game to "tweak" every year and release basically the same game over and over because like suckers, we all still buy it. And boy have there been some competitors, NFL Fever, NFL Blitz, etc.

Things changed in 2004. Visual Concepts, a subsidiary of Sega, had been releasing multi-platform sports titles for the next gen systems aka The Ps2, the xbox, and the gamecube since Sega's Dreamcast was rudely awakened. The NFL 2k series had been getting better and better with each version. 2k5 was the perfect storm of sorts. VC smoothed out their football engine, widly improved their graphics, and included some groundbreaking integration of the ESPN license and put out ESPN NFL 2k5 for 20 bucks to stick it to Madden. The game was as close to perfect as you can get. It had its issues in the internet arena, and the lack of a proper qb spy function really hurt play, but it was just the best damn game on the market.

In response, EA bought the exclusive rights to the NFL, signed a new 15 year deal with ESPN, and basically killed the 2k series so they could continue to release mediocre Madden games. Anyway, we are getting close to the release of Madden 2007 for the Xbox 360 and while it looks good, it still seems to be the same old Madden. To make myself feel better, I spent a couple hours painstakingly updating as much of the NFL roster as I could, and creating the pertinent rookies. I have been replaying NFL 2k5 and you know what, the game is still the best damn football game out there. The running game is umpteen times better than Madden's (even this ridiculous idea of controlling your lead blocker probably wont solve its horrible collision issues, and poor between the tackles animation), the passing game was very refined and required a working knowledge of the play (vs. audibling everything into some sort of deep bomb and tossing passes to your best reciever in Madden), the right stick juke moves were amazingly deep allowing you to combo spins, stutter steps, jukes into highlight reels (which Madden has now totally ripped off), and finally the presentation of your own personal highlights at halftime and at the end of the game commentated by Chris Berman is still one of the funnest things to watch (Madden still hasn't done this, but apparently believes that recording Peyton Manning's actual voice yelling out numbers and words will help players feel more "in the game").

It really is sad that the NFL 2k series was not allowed to continue because it was clearly on a path of assasination akin to Conan's quest to lop off the head of Thulsa Doom (By Crom!!!).

NFL 2k5 can be picked up for less than 20 dollars anywhere. Get it for the Xbox (the hard drive is what allows the game to replay your highlights to you during halftime), you won't regret it.

Personal Confuser + Tivo + Internet = Access to MTV's "The Hills" ANYWHERE!!!

So, I am no computer geek. I appreciate my PC for allowing me to get on the "triple dub" and view movie news/rumors, sports news, waste time, and chat on AIM. Beyond that, I have no clue how to program anything, what java is or does, and if it wasn't for Blogger's ridiculously easy setup you would not be reading this right now.

Anyway, I thought I would post how 1337 (elite) I am after viewing the newest episode of "The Real World" on my laptop...as it was streamed off my Tivo about 90 miles away.

Basically, you need a Tivo, a PC, and a home network with access to the internet. First, download "Tivo Desktop" from www.tivo.com Then download Orb from www.tivoanywhere.com Those two programs will allow you to get your tivo programs onto your PC and then streamed across the internet. It works surprisingly well. It is a bit annoying when you try to fast forward through commercials though because you view everything through windows media player and it has to rebuffer and you are just guessing when you think the commercials will be over. All in all, it easily accomplishes what you want. You have access to your Tivo's library anywhere that has internet access.

For our geekeir readers out there, this I am sure is nothing new to you. But screw you. For all the non-dungeon masters out there, I highly recommend Orb's product and you know I loves me the Tivo long time.

You Can Almost Smell the Vice

Nothing too profound to say here. Just an attempt to yell to the dozen people reading this to check out MIAMI VICE this weekend. I haven't seen it yet and I certainly can't promise it's the best movie so far this year but all indications suggest that it's at least one of the more unique films of the year. Hollywood just isn't in the business of turning out realistic crime dramas so pictures like this don't come along often.

Oh, and if you're still operating under the belief that this is just a rehash of the series then put your nickels and dimes together and buy a clue.

Russell + Tarantino = Me Happy

The big news just keeps coming from Comic-Con. It has been reported that 12 men were spotted on the convention floor with brushed teeth, I repeat 12 men brushed their teeth. While details aren't quite clear on that scoop another big story comes from Comingsoon.net. While hyping his joint film with Robert Rodriguez, GRIND HOUSE, Quentin Tarantino announced that living legend Kurt Russell will have the lead in his half of the movie titled "Death Proof."

Russell will play a slasher character known as Stuntman Mike, a role that had originally been cast with Mickey Rourke. No definite word has come out as to why Rourke is off the film but if I know Rourke (which I don't) I bet it has something to do with manslaughter.

This could be a real shot in the arm for Russell who needs it after POSEIDON bombed its way in and out of theaters in record time earlier this summer. He has played a ton of anti-heroes in his career but he has really never done a total maniac turn that this role promises to be. I sort of feel bad for Rourke but to be honest he has been on an upswing the past few years and has roles in some high profile upcoming flicks, including the Tarantino-produced KILLSHOT. GRIND HOUSE is scheduled for release on April 6th.

What a difference a few hours can make. Earlier today I was bummed to see that Russell might end up doing needless STARGATE sequels. Now I'm stoked to see that he'll be working with my favorite director. Of course I'm still wearing the same syrup-stained T-shirt that I've had on all day so it's not like things are all that different.

More Stargate! Why?

In San Diego this weekend hundreds and thousands of men have fled their mom's basement to attend the nation's biggest comic book convention. You won't find me there, mainly because my mom's basement is sweet. She just bought me a mini-fridge and everything. So instead of trading back issues of "She-Hulk" with some guy dressed as Wesley Crusher I sit on the sidelines to hear all the news to come from this nerd gathering.

One such item comes straight from the mouth of Dean Devlin, who along with director Roland Emmerich helped bring such films as INDEPENDENCE DAY and UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (AKA: Perfection!). Another one of their flicks, STARGATE, has somehow spawned a true following and led to 2 television shows that I've never watched. While at Comic-Con Devlin revealed that a second and possibly 3rd STARGATE film is in the works at MGM (now owned by Sony). "They think there is an audience out there who would like to see what part two and part three were intended to be because there was a larger story arc that we had in mind," said Devlin.

Honestly, where are the rabid STARGATE fans? They must exist but for the life of me I don't know why anyone would watch that below average film more than once, not to mention a TV show that appears to have the same budget that "She's the Sheriff" had 20 years ago. As a big Kurt Russell fan I'd hate to see this be a role he reprises. He's often said that sequels don't appeal to him and aside from ESCAPE FROM L.A. his track record backs that belief up. Instead of another STARGATE why can't we have a CAPTAIN RON RETURNS? Or MIRACLE 2: RUSSIA'S REVENGE? Or the most obvious of all, TANGO & CASH VACATION TOGETHER AT MARTHA'S VINEYARD?

Balancing act

You know amidst all the Don John mania that has infected this blog, I was starting to feel that we weren't representing the fairer sex. So, here is a photo of super hottie Marissa Miller.

YOWZA!!!

CGI Heroes in a Half Shell?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you are in my age demographic, you were probably obsessed with them either in cartoon, toy, or movie form. Over the past 2 years there has been wild speculation over a new CGI film coming out. At one time John Woo's name was attached to the program. Thankfully, that was debunked and Woo has moved onto better projects like He-man (which I think he is also done with), an old timey railroad movie involving Chinamen and Chow Yun Fat, a musical, and now a new project back in Hong Kong...at least we will always have the "Hard" series of movies (Hard Boiled, Hard Target)

Anyway, someone was crazy enough to actually make a CGI Turtles movie! Apparently its set sometime after the movie sequel (but will acknowledge the cartoon series somehow), and thankfully denies any knowledge of a certain group of amphibians traveling through time. And guess what!? The CGI looks kind of good!

TEASER

MyTube: Nobody's Watching

Well, it finally happened. YouTube changes the course of network TV. Long story short, a pilot that was making the rounds at last year's "upfronts" (where networks look at pilots and decide whether a show is worth investing in) got onto YouTube, got some good buzz, and is now being put into production by NBC.

The show is called "Nobody's Watching". Bill Lawrence, the mastermind behind Scrubs and Boy Meets World, is one of the co-writers of the show. The concept is pretty fantastic. 2 life long sitcom fans are hired by the WB to write a sitcom, and while writing it they will live on a television set with a live audience watching as they try and write a sitcom. Unfortunately, I hate the 2 leads. I also wish that the show actually talked a little bit more about sitcoms. There are only 2-3 jokes about sitcoms themselves and their cliches. Although, one of the strongest points is Alan Thicke's appearance. Also, I love the network execs. They are great characters.

Either way, its a pretty fantastic precedent being set here. You can read the article in Variety explaining more about this whole thing.

Here is part 1 of the pilot. Links to part 2 and 3 will conveniently show themselves when done with part 1.

Vice Refresher

This is probably a bad sign. For the second entry in a row the accompanied photo has featured Don Johnson. This must break some type of blog rule and I'm sure we'll now be the laughing stock of the blogging community. I apologize for the trouble this may cause and I promise to do my best to make sure the next item I submit in no way features Don Johnson. Even if CBS announces a "Nash Bridges" retrospective is in the works I will resist the urge to use a photo of Johnson mugging it up with Cheech.

Now why would I use a photo of Johnson alongside the unemployable Philip Michael Thomas? Well NBC has decided to air the pilot episode of "Miami Vice" this Saturday at 8. Obviously this is in anticipation of the big screen VICE movie opening July 28th starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. Farrell and Foxx will host the broadcast and since the 2 hour pilot is being stretched to 3 you can bet there will be a lot of footage of the new film throughout the evening. Probably not worth cancelling Saturday night activities such as dining, dancing, and fucking but if you're as hyped for the movie as I am this could be a great way to sample the old before embracing the new.

On the Brink of World War?

I've been in and out for most of the weekend. But when I've dialed around the channels looking for baseball scores I keep glancing at the news stations and it almost sounds like there is a bunch of unrest in the world. I don't know if North Korea threw a grenade at Israel or if Luxembourg has finally decided to break off a piece of France for itself but life as we know it could be coming to an end. With that in mind I hope everyone has taken it upon themselves to watch HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN.

The film is the (un)true story of 2 buddies who have spent their entire lives riding hogs and getting into barfights. Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson play the title characters. Originally the film was to be named HARLEY DAVIDSON, THE MARLBORO MAN, AND BAZOOKA JOE but that was scrapped when Sam Elliott pulled out due to strep throat.

The plot finds Harley and Marlboro butting heads with a banker portrayed by a slim Tom Sizemore, who also dabbles in dealing a new synthetic drug that's all the rage. Throughout this adventure you get Big John Studd, a Baldwin brother wearing a bulletproof leather trench coat, and Vanessa Williams long before the ravages of time and Rick Fox had taken their toll. This movie leaves no stone unturned.

Who knows how much longer we have until the nukes start knocking on our front doors? But I do know that if you see just one movie before the apocalypse begins, make sure it's HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN or one of the odd numbered POLICE ACADEMY flicks.

Amazing Screw-on Head: GREENLIGHT NOW!!!

What's this? An original program on Sci-Fi channel that isn't Battlestar Galactica that is actually good? And its an animated show?! I really don't know what the deal is with Sci-Fi. It clearly isn't run by people who understand the genre. 90% of the time they are showing 1 star z-grade schlock put out by some eastern European country that you wouldn't even find your local video store carrying...And they can't even show the copious amounts of nudity that are usually in those movies anyway.

Early on if I understand correctly they were still teetering on whether or not they were going to show BSG in its entirety (Kyle can correct this if I am wrong), until the show became a sensation in England and became sort of the unofficial mascot of Bit Torrent giving access to media that people normally wouldn't have due to network politics. They also had that one mildly amusing show "Tripping the Rift", a CGI animated show, but I don't know if it exists anymore. It wasn't that great anyway.

Anyway, I am posting this so we can get our small readership to voice their opinions on the pilot for "The Amazing Screw-on Head". It started as a comic book by uber-genius Mike Mignola (of Hellboy fame). I never actually got around to reading any of the comics, but I can say that the animated show LOOKS EXACTLY like what you think Mignola's comic work should look like if it were in motion.

Setting aside the art design, which is fantastic, the show itself is quite a riot. During the Civil War era, Abraham Lincoln turns to his number one spy guy "Screw-on Head", who literally is a head that screws himself into robotic bodies, to fight matters of the occult and generally weird things. The show's tongue is definitely in cheek at all times. The concepts that Mignola brings forth are wild and entertaining. I won't sit here and list off all the insane oddities that show up in this pilot, but I will just say you will be entertained.

Overall, the pilot is very strong. Its beautiful to look at. The characters are fun and original. The pacing of this episode feels a bit off the whole time, but its very much an introductory episode to this alternate universe of sorts. I highly recommend you guys watch it on Sci-fi's Pulse video network and then take the survey afterwards so we can get this show greenlighted. If this was Adult Swim, I would imagine this show would already be in production, but its Sci-Fi so keep that in mind when you take the survey.

Link: The pilot should be the Featured Video

Psych: Kind of not just another detective show

At this point, USA is even poking fun at its own programming lineup with its crossover commercials highlighting the leads from The Dead Zone, Monk, and Psych talking about their own powers and talents in solving mysteries. The formula has worked twice before, and you know what it works again with Psych.

The premise itself is quite an awesome one. A loser son of a cop has always had a sense of spotting "what's wrong with this picture", and it was a talent that his father would have him hone as a child. Now, the son Shawn Spencer falls into freelancing for the police department and quickly creates a cover that he is a psychic to explain how he is able to know so much about a crime scene.

The first two episodes have been amazingly well written. They are very funny, and the 2 leads (James Rhoday and Dule Hill) have a great chemistry together. I think that is what really carries the show. The banter between the two, Spencer's smug arrogance, and Gus' real world approach to the crimes is a nice change of pace from other shows. The plots themselves could have easily been plots for any episode of Monk, but they work well enough. One aspect of the show so far that I do like more than Monk is that they have made the choice to highlight the clues that Spencer picks up before making a deduction, while in Monk the deductions are all made in the characters head sort of keeping the audience clueless as far as "how he figures these things out".

One other main aspect to the show is Spencer's relationship with his estranged father. It's the typical "dad was tough on son through childhood, and then they had a falling out, and now they are working on fixing things slowly". It works though. Corbin Bernsen plays the dad pretty well. Once again, the chemistry between Spencer and his Father is also very good.

They made a smart choice of getting rid of the blonde cop in the pilot who was dating the doubting annoying cop and putting in another more attractive blonde cop with inklings of a future relationship with Shawn. Overall, all the supporting cast are pretty strong. Really at the end of the first two episodes, I thought "wow that was entertaining and hilarious stuff" and tend to forget the intricacies of the mystery. I think that's important because compared to the multiple CSI's where the mystery always takes the forefront, which becomes tiresome very quickly, you will return to this show for the characters. If you are a fan of Monk, I think you will definitely love this show because its almost like "anti-Monk" and a spoofing of other detective shows.

Psych airs on USA at Fridays at 10pm.

Superman Returns Thoughts

I know we have covered Superman Returns 1.5 times already on the blog, but seeing that I just saw it and liked it so much I wanted to post a few thoughts on it.

First and foremost, it felt a lot like Spiderman 1, which in itself borrowed a lot from Superman 1, which Superman Returns also borrows a lot from. Its kind of eerie how similar these 3 movies are. I guess its a testament to Richard Donner's work in kickstarting the comic book movie.

Secondly, Singer definitely knows how to shoot the "iconic" imagery people want when they think of Superman on film. There were a dozen shots in the movie that were just breathtaking and really embodied what Superman should look like. My favorite was his lifting of the car in the nod to the Action Comics #1 cover. The saving of the plane was easily the best sequence in the movie, but it was unfortunate it was in the beginning because the action quotient really tapered off quite a bit near the end. I enjoyed the montage of news coverage about Superman's exploits around the world, and his rush through Metropolis saving people as the crystals were causing havoc.

Thirdly, I can clearly see that Singer understands the character behind the comic book characters he has dealt with so far. He really makes it a point to nail the essence of each character whether its X-men or Superman. What I don't understand is why he can't manage to greenlight better super villain plots. The main scheme of each bad guy in X1, X2, and Superman are so comic booky that they are a bit laughable. I was able to buy Luthor's scheme relatively well in Superman though, but still it was all a bit too hokey.

Fourthly, ****SPOILER WARNING***


Superboy. I am not completely sold on it. The kid was as annoying as any other "cute kid" in other movies. But I liked the whole Father-son angle that was presented throughout the movie, and felt it all came together nicely with Supes giving the Jor-el speech to the kid as he slept. That was a nice bookend moment. As far as the kid having super powers...while it made sense in the realm of one movie, I think it creates a massive mine field for what is inevitably at least a 3 film franchise. What do you do with the kid? You have established he will have super powers. Now, the audience is going to expect some advancement on that with each subsequent movie. Will he become a super boy sidekick? What powers will he have? And countless other questions that could be distractions in future movies.

Finally, Singer has proven he can rise to the action occasion in each of his super hero films. I would like to see more super action in the sequel. The plane sequence was phenomenal, but I want it to be topped. Sam Raimi really knocked it out of the park in Spidey 2 with some of the best superhero action ever. I hope Singer is aiming to up the ante with Superman Returns again.

Overall, this was an excellent movie, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good everyone was in it. I still think Spidey 2 is the best superhero movie we have seen so far, but its clear that the competition is getting better and better.

Brotherhood

I read recently that Showtime just celebrated its 30th Anniversary. Wow, 30 years of being HBO's bitch. What a legacy! No matter what shows they've thrown on the air none of them have interested me. Some folks recommended "Huff" to me but in my mind it will always be the show that steals rightful Emmy nominations from "The Shield." But alas, Showtime has finally provided me with a show I'll give a fair chance, "Brotherhood."

It's the story of 2 brothers in Providence. Jason Clarke plays Michael, a politician who seems like a good man but is not above some dirty dealings to get his way. Jason Isaacs, who did a lovely over the top job opposite Mel Gibson in THE PATRIOT, plays Tommy who returns home after 7 years in hiding. Tommy was pretty high on the Rhode Island organized crime totem pole and after one epiosde he's already quite eager to reclaim the aspects of the "business" that are his.

It's obvious that this is Showtime's bid for a "Sopranoish" crime drama. While it may sometimes have the look and violence of David Chase's masterpiece it does not have the dark sense of humor which is so far its main flaw. Still the characters, especially Isaacs' Tommy, look as though they are full of interesting possibilities.

"Brotherhood" airs on Showtime at 10 PM and then is replayed at 11 PM before being made available On Demand. For some odd reason CBS is going to run the pilot tonight at 10. I guess it's a good way to get the show some exposure but on network TV this thing will be gutted.

MyTube: The Greatest Dunk EVER

Once again, I am bringing some of my favorites from YouTube.com (an idea that I think has become pretty hackneyed now across the internet. I am not saying I invented the idea...but I sort of did.)

So, we have the And1 Mixtape Tour. Flashy dribbling, complicated passing, and dunks galore. Its great fun watching not only the game but the massive egos these guys carry around as well. Finally, one member of the tour has stepped out and done something historic. Taurian Fontanette aka "The Air Up There" (great Kevin Bacon movie also) dunked the greatest dunk I have ever seen in my life: The 720. I will let you watch the video, its pretty self explanatory. Also, watch for a quick cameo from Grayson Boucher aka "Tha PROFESSAAAAAAAAA"

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

F/X has been setting the standard for television dramas the last few years between "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck," and "Rescue Me." Last summer they tested the comedy waters with 2 shows, "Starved" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." I liked "Starved." Few shows could find the humor in bulimia but that one did. I dismissed "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" as a generic "Friends" clone with cussing. Well "Starved" is now a stain on the road of the basic cable highway and "Philadelphia" has returned with a new addition to the cast in the form of Rhea Pealman-fucker Danny DeVito.

After 2 weeks of new "Philadelphia" episodes I think F/X made the right call. The show has grown on me in a big way. The network has been hyping it as a more edgy "Seinfeld" and while it has a long way to go to for that type of comparison it's not as outlandish a claim as it would have been a year ago. Like "Seinfeld" you have 4 principal characters who find themselves in all sorts of humerous self-centered situations. Of course I don't recall George ever sleeping with Jerry's mother (though she was hot!) which is the type of premise that is tame by "Philadelphia's" standards.

As for the addition of DeVito, he's tremendous. He's always been one of those guys who could appear in 10 shitty movies but then pop up in something like L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and remind you how talented he is. I'm sure he's appearing on "Philadelphia" for cab fare but he seems to enjoy what's he's doing. Half his scenes involve him hitting on strippers which must be a welcome change from what he sees when he wakes up in the morning.

This ain't dead yet

While it may have seemed like it for the past 2 months, this blog ain't dead yet. Justin has gone on to do his own thing and Sarah has decided to leave too. I will do my best to keep some content up on this site, but it will most likely be very inconsistent.

So, I would once again like to extend an invitation to any of our readers who might be interested in contributing to drop a line to fazermd@hotmail.com

Really, if you are reading this blog somewhat regularly I am sure you could add something to the site.

I am out.

I decided to follow in Justin's stride and leave stealingcable because I have my own blog now. I'll leave an open account if I feel like there is something extremely open to discuss. It's been fun.



P.S. here is the link...I am sure it won't interest most of you. Anyways, peace out.

ROCKY BALBOA

The minute the famous Bill Conti theme hits in the beginning of the trailer for "Rocky Balboa" aka Rocky 6, I knew my ticket was already as good as purchased. But actually, the movie looks halfway decent. Stallone knows how to make this character work, but what looks interesting is the style the movie seems to be shot in. It seems more gritty and workmanlike ala Rocky 1, and not so glitzy and glamorous like Rocky 2-4 were. I think my favorite part is when Tony Burton (glad to see he is back...and still alive...as Rocky's trainer (he was formerly apollo's trainer and then managed rocky to victory over Russian giant Ivan Drago)) says, "what you need to win is speed...you don't have that. You have calcium deposits in most of your joints, so sparring is out of the question. So what we have to rely on is blunt force trauma...lets build some HURTIN BOMBS."

Seems like Stallone is going back to the basics. I like what I am seeing. I think you guys will too. This Christmas...gonna fly now.

Trailer

Summer Movie Rundown

Well, I can only speak for the movies I have seen. Here is a basic rundown of what actually is worth watching in theaters right now and what isn't.

The Devil Wears Prada: Is it just me or does Anne Hathaway always seem to play the ugly girl who undergoes a makeover and becomes the girl who takes over. Well, this was no different. Girl graduates from college, moves in with the boyfriend in the Big City and tries to find her way. Ends up getting a job that "a million girls would want," but things aren't always that easy. I am sure many of you have read the book and if this movie was anything like the book than I am not reading it. It wasn't funny and it was so freaking long. The only pseudo entertaining part was Meryl Streep acting like a bitch.

Superman Returns: Really enjoyed it, read Justin's post below.

Click: Oh my gosh!! I cried. I mean not to get your hopes up because this was probably like any mediocre Bruce Almighty-type flick but it was still very touching. It is interesting to note that Adam Sandler is starting to pick projects that are all family-oriented where he gets to play dramatic roles as the good father trying to balance it all. (Spanglish and this one) But hey, it works. So his character in this movie is tired of his life even though he has great kids and a hot wife, but he cannot seem to get the promotion at work. So he finds a universal remote at Bed, Bath and Beyond which helps him fast forward through all the mundane crap in life. But then we see how big of a mistake this was.

Nacho Libre: Loved it, see post below.

The Break-Up: It was okay and see post below.

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest- Seeing Johnny Depp in anything is quite entertaining. This was no different. I am not a huge Pirates fan but this was pretty good. A lot of the action scenes were fun, and there were a lot of funny moments because Captain Jack Sparrow is somewhat of a nut job. The imagery was great and the special effects were fun. That's probably the word of the day: fun. The giant octopus was sooo gross and the Dutch sailors made me want to vomit, all of which are good things because it was well done.

Emmy Nominees 2006...Disappointment continues

I have finally managed to make it through this past month alive. I just want to give my best to Justin and his future endeavors. From the podcast to the blog, it was all his brainchild. I basically came up with the name and shoehorned my way into the whole thing. Hopefully, the blog will maintain some regularity in content...which it never has. To all our contributors, FEEL FREE TO POST WHEN YOU WANT. To all our readers, continue to leave comments. Not only does it prove that people are reading, but it lets us know what you think. Anyway, onto the emmy's.

Every year it seems like the Emmy nominations take a step forward and then two steps back. I still applaud them for giving Michael Chiklis the best actor award for The Shield season 1. For whatever reason, whether its marketing, lack of "awards press" from FX, etc. The Emmy's pretty much TOTALLY overlooked the past season of The Shield, which just happened to be some of the best television ever filmed. No nod to Forest Whitaker, not even CCH Pounder got the obligatory "strong black character" nomination.

The head scratching continues with the seemingly random, yet very deserving nomination of Dennis Leary as best lead actor in a drama for Rescue Me. That whole cast deserves an award but not necessarily just Leary. But I guess its nice to see Leary getting some credit for doing something original instead of being accused of stealing Bill Hicks' routines.

Going down the list, there are some welcome surprises with Steve Carrell getting a nom for The Office. And for whatever reason, Lost is not a candidate for Best Drama. The emmy's continue to give far too much credit to 24. This last season was easily the worst one yet, but it continues to get nominated. Its like high class schlock. Entertaining at times, but everybody knows it isn't really good tv.

Finally, I saved the best for last. The Emmy's may be pulling an Andre Braugher on Arrested Development. With no hope of the show being revived, the academy NOW sees it fit to nominate the show for best comedy (which it should win by a mile) AND have FINALLY nominated Will Arnett for best supporting actor. Now, Arnett will be going up against Jeremy Piven and his role in Entourage so looks like fan support will be split. But honestly Entourage will go on for some time and AD is clearly done. If I don't see Will Arnett get up to give an acceptance speech the Emmy's are dead to me.

Any other notable absences or perplexing nominations? Let us know.

Signing out

I teased it a little last week, but now I'll go ahead and make it official..I will be leaving Stealing Cable along with Andrew, better known to readers as Darth Chocula, to work on our new script, a re-imagining of an 80s TV show known as Manimal, as well as a new website, Spot the Weasel(ill come back to add the link when it's there), where you will be able to find not only the posts you loved from us here, but updates on the production and news surrounding Manimal.

Manimal, a show about a man who can turn into an animal, shares nothing but a name with our story. Anything more would spoil the fun. I am currently working with an artist on a comic rendition of this, which will likely be distributed at Spot the Weasel, and Andrew and I are collaborating on a longform script as well.

With this news, I hope Faze does a better job here than I did.

Does this mean the end of the podcast? Yeah, in this form at least.
Is anyone else coming with you? If they are interested
Why leave? We'll I have had trouble as it is taking on a leadership role here with so much going on, so not only will I officially relinquish that, but I'll leave an active account here, just in case.

See you all soon!

Justin