Feature Presentation--Holiday Viewing

A Fistful of Dollars


After watching the season finale of Community Season 2, I decided to watch this movie. I’m not a big Western guy and don’t get references to Leone or Spaghetti Westerns or anything like that.


I almost gave up after the intro. Yikes. I know this was made in 1964 but surely that was bad then as it is now. Took me a while to figure out the plot and what Clint Eastwood’s character was even doing there but by the end it was pretty clear.

The movie was ok, with very sparse production value. Let’s just say I’m not going to catch up the Western genre anytime soon.


Modern Family Season 2

What a quality show, telling little nuggets of wisdom about love and family and life in 20 minute segments. That’s all I have to say.



Hung Season 1

One my best friends suggested this and since it was shot in Detroit, with part of one episode being shot a BIGGBY location, I gave it a try.

Meh. Interesting idea, actually very intriguing, but I’m still not sure on the execution. What would it look for an everyman to become a male escort being pimped by an everywoman with a dream and some hard work? It might look something like the show. Obviously the Lenore character is the correct angle but would have been too obvious at the outset. The tension and misfortune and mistakes are plausible but it’s kinda hard to sit through. This is not a show that I watched in a day. It took two because I was vacation but I did get bored of it. Not sure that I’m going to continue for season two.



Sherlock Holmes’ Game of Shadows

Let me first say that I have not seen the first one. Not sure why, just didn’t, but over Thanksgiving, I saw the trailer for this movie and immediately said I have to see this. Some time opened up over Christmas, and me and the missus checked it out.
Man is Robert Downey, Jr amazing. Non stop energy and charisma, you cannot take your eyes off him. Jude Law provides a nice foil, keeping things grounded as the two meander around Europe. The story was fascinating, using the market of war and the impact of geo-politics to craft a narrative that kept the audience intrigued.

***SPOILER ALERT***
Liked the introduction of Moriarty but why introduce him and kill him off in the same film? Surely that would have set up a third. Plus bringing back Sherlock at the end. Seems like they shot their wad with that one.
***SPOILER ALERT OVER***

The actions sequences were visually appealing. I enjoyed how they used Sherlock’s thought processes to explore the action and create depth to the moment. I thought the slow mo through the forest was a little much and went on a little too long. Other than that, clever angles and techniques to move the story long.

The movie is good fun and worth seeing, at least once.



Sherlock (BBC) Season 1

My best friend recommended this series from the BBC. Having just seen Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows, I was primed for the World’s Greatest Detective.
After watching the first episode, I tweeted: Sherlock is a combination of House and CSI and Perfect Strangers. Honestly, my first impression was—wonderful. The show takes Doyle’s stories and inserts them into the 21st century, using current technology, situations and dialogue to update the character and create fascinating, dramatic, and enjoyable shows. The Sherlock of the modern age uses the tools of the day—internet, smart phones and medical expertise—to track down cases beyond the police. The interaction with Watson is quite good, as the two play off each other to form a team of energy, wisdom and cunning.
The first season has three episodes and introduces the principal villain, Moriarty, in the last one. I imagine this will set up season two and I anxiously await watching it.

Feature Presentation--The Modern Family goes Eastbound and Down Once in a Lifetime

Once in a Lifetime

A film about the rise and fall of the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League, it is a story with so many great characters—Steve Ross, Chinaglia, Pele, Clive Toye, Beckenbauer, Messing.  For a short window of time, soccer was popular in the US.  I'll be honest, the only thing I actually remember was the name Chicago Sting.  Don't know why.  The couple takeaways from this viewing were the fact that the Cosmos really were ahead of their time in assembling talent from all over the world; say what you want about Maradona, Best, Zidane, and Messi, Pele is truly a global icon; MLS did their homework and have built a stable league that will never conquer the American market but will continue to flourish. 

If you any interest in the history of American soccer, a must see.  If you enjoy locker room bust ups and athletes living the high life, you’ll enjoy this as well.

Modern Family

A well written, well acted comedy about life in these times.  Really enjoy the dynamic of Claire and Phil.  All of the kids are great and bring an added dimension to the show.  My favorite episode may have been the fencing/ice dancing one.  I can’t believe I passed on this show three times before finally watching it.  The 20+ episodes are daunting but they go by quickly

If you like Arrested Development, they you would definitely enjoy this show.

Eastbound and Down

I had heard decent things about this show but really had no idea what to expect.  Well how about a profane, raucous, highly inappropriate comedy about an athlete on the downside of a career?  The show covers a lot of ground in only six episodes, with the cameos by Will Farrell providing moments of comedy gold.  I won’t rush out for season two, not because it wasn’t funny, but I’m not sure I need my vocabulary reinforced in quite that way.

Not for the faint of heart or family viewing, but worth a watch.