My Top 10 Movies of 2011

10. Senna - PG-13

It seems like there are always one or two really good documentaries every year, and Senna definitely fits that description.  I don’t care much for motor “sports,” but this movie isn’t really about that as much as it is the meteoric rise and sudden death of one of the greatest racers of all time.  The best documentaries have a natural character arc, and Senna doesn’t disappoint.  It’s worth a watch even if you have no interest in racing.

09. Warrior – PG-13

Warrior is completely unbelievable, quite predictable, moderately clichéd, and somehow still manages to be entertaining.  Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton play brothers who haven’t seen each other for many years, but both end up in a mixed martial arts tournament. Nick Nolte is their recovering alcoholic father.  Their performances are  fantastic.  Several other real life MMA personalities also play themselves.  If you like sports movies at all it’s worth a watch to be sure.  I think you could enjoy it just for the universal theme of life’s struggles, but I tend to like sports movies so I can’t say for sure.

08. Red State – R

Kevin Smith can’t win with some people.  I can’t think of too many filmmakers who are willing, or able, to make such a drastic departure from their traditional style.  Red State follows three typical high school kids and their attempt to respond to an online classified ad offering sex with a mature woman.  That could be a story element for a typical Kevin Smith film, but that is pretty much the only similarity aside from a lot of often clever dialog.  The rest of movie is a thriller involving a psycho preacher and his congregation (read family).  Several familiar faces like John Goodman, Kevin Pollak, and Stephen Root play opposite a strong performance from Michael Parks as the aforementioned preacher.  If you are a thriller fan that likes brainless dialog, and non-stop action/gore then you probably won’t like Red State.  It’s definitely a more methodical journey.

07. Bridesmaids - R

I kept hearing Bridesmaids was like Hangover for women.  I see where that comparison comes from, but it also kept me away.  I finally succumbed after looking at the cast that includes: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Rose Byrne, Chris O’ Dowd, and Melissa McCarthy.  There are also tons of familiar faces scattered throughout the film like Jon Hamm, Terry Crews, Michael Hitchcock, and Matt Lucas.  Certainly a capable cast, and it doesn’t disappoint, although I have to say McCarthy steals the show.  Like Hangover there are tons of funny moments, and more than a few disgusting ones.  If you like Kristen Wiig you should be good to go.

06. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – PG-13

I refused to watch this one until someone finally told me Tim Burton was in no way involved.  With that guarantee in hand I was safe to commence viewing.  I was treated to an exemplary prequel to the original Planet of the Apes with references galore.  The cast is strong with the likes of James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, and Tyler Labine, and Andy Serkis.  As a casual fan of  the original this one seemed to fit really well.  The amazing advances in technology have allowed for exceptionally skilled performances from actors like Serkis, and do so in a way that doesn’t force the viewer to recognize the illusion.

05. Paul - R

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Bateman all in the same film.  I don’t really have to say anything else do I?  I do?  How about Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, David Koechner, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Blythe Danner, and some guy named Steven Spielberg?  Still not interested?  Then screw you.  I don’t think I want to associate with you.  Go away.

04. Your Highness - R

Okay, I probably like Paul more, but two of my favorite actresses in a fantasy setting, and more importantly costuming,  must be rewarded.  That, and I love Franco and Danny McBride.  Any movie that involves a minotaur penis deserves consideration.  What needs to be considered is another matter entirely.

03. X-Men: First Class – PG-13

As a non-Marvel comic book fan I have enjoyed every X-Men movie.  This one is the best.  That pretty much sums it up.

02. Hesher - R

I looked forward to this with a great deal of anticipation after seeing the trailer with Metallica music playing.  They let them use their music, and the movie poster utilized the classic Metallica font.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt based his character on Cliff Burton.  How epic is that?  Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, and Piper Laurie are all strong.  Oh yeah, and Natalie Portman.  She can dress poor and nerdy, but she’s still hot.  Dare I say hotter?

01. Super 8 – PG-13

Super 8 is almost like a cross between The Goonies, E.T., and Romeo and Juliet.  If that doesn’t at least partially interest you then you are in need of some self-reflection.  Six kids are making a zombie movie on Super 8 when they become entangled in a military conspiracy involving an alien.  The kids are all solid, but Elle Fanning especially so.  Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, and Noah Emmerich are also quite good as the main adults in the movie.  To top it all off, Michael Hitchcock makes an appearance as a policemen.  It may not be the best movie of all time, but it is certainly entertaining.

Slight spoiler alert:

Ignore those people who get hung up on the believability of the derailment scene.  The movie has an alien with telepathic powers and technology necessary to make a ship out of toasters, and the derailment is the part they can’t believe?  These people are morons, and should be shunned.

My Top 10 Least Favorite Movies of 2011

10. The Hangover Part II – R

I actually still enjoyed this film despite the fact that they pulled an Austin Powers, and made it exactly like the first film with one key exception: a monkey.  Monkeys are awesome.  Not awesome enough to sate my anger from being shoveled the same film in a different location, but still awesome.

09. The Green Hornet – PG-13

I don’t exactly hate this movie either, but I needed ten movies to be on my least favorite list.  That, and this one just never did much for me.  It was at best a decent popcorn flick, but Seth Rogen is one of my favorites and decent just doesn’t cut it.  Also, what a waste of Cristoph Waltz’s talent.

08. Our Idiot Brother – R

This film had several of my favorites: Zooey Deschanel, Paul Rudd, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, and Elizabeth Banks.  It still managed to suck.  It just felt generic.  Not just unoriginal, but even inadequate during the few times of originality.

07. Arthur - PG-13

I never saw all of the original, but it surely couldn’t have been this sterile.  I like Russell Brand, and Helen Mirren is just plain awesome.  Neither is utilized properly in this film.  Mirren is excellent of course, but otherwise wasted on this sorry piece of crap.  Brand doesn’t seem to be given full opportunity to do what makes him funny.  He was hamstrung by the original I think.  I like this film for introducing me to Greta Gerwig who I instantly liked, but it seemed like she was a poor man’s Zooey Deschanel here.

06. Contagion - PG-13

A phenomenal cast for this one (Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, and Jude Law), but was there a plot?  OK, a horrible disease strikes.  Who’s the protagonist?  It just seemed like four people’s perspective of the situation slapped together.  There was some fantastic technique, but I just kept waiting to feel something beyond a passing interest in the characters.  In many respects this should be number one because of the sheer disappointment, but the otherwise excellent filmmaking still shines enough to save it from that fate.

05. Batman Year One – PG-13

The worst Batman ever.  At least George Clooney made an okay Bruce Wayne.  Bryan Cranston was excellent as Gordon though.

04. Everything Must Go – R

One of those dramas where something bad happens, and then when you think nothing worse can happen they kick the three legged dog after it tripped on it’s freshly broken front leg just to be reassured at the end that bones can heal. Forget that nonsense. Real comfort comes when the dog is put down.

03. Transformers: Dark of the Moon – PG-13

Sigh.  I wasn’t even given the benefit of looking at Megan Fox.

02. The Smurfs – PG

You might be stunned, but it just wasn’t very good.  I expected very little, and was given even less. Well done.

01. Atlas Shrugged: Part I – PG-13

This one hurts.  I couldn’t even get half way through.  Why can’t they just do a mini-series on HBO instead of making this third-rate crap?

The movies of 2011 that I have seen

Once again, I used this awesome site.

The Green Hornet
The Adjustment Bureau
Red State
Battle: Los Angeles
The Lincoln Lawyer
Paul
Your Highness
Arthur
Thor
Bridesmaids
Hesher
The Hangover 2
Kung Fu Panda 2
X-Men: First Class
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Super 8
Green Lantern
Cars 2
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
Captain America: The First Avenger
Cowboys and Aliens
The Smurfs
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
30 Minutes or Less
Our Idiot Brother
Contagion
Warrior
Everything Must Go
Senna
Submarine
Batman Year One

I have seen part of the following:

Atlas Shrugged: Part 1
Gnomeo and Juliet

I intend to see the following films:

The Debt
Johnny English Reborn
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
The Darkest Hour
The Muppets
The Descendants
Puss in Boots
Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Star Wars is kind of messed up

Clearing my bookmarks again – part deux

This is Guillermo from Jimmy Kimmel Live at the Grammys.  Dave Mustaine did not take the joke well:

A really well done fan video of Doctor Who with music from The Muppet Show:

I could have sworn I posted this before, but here’s an audio essay from Stephan Fry about language:

Any similarly, a video about Grammar Nazis that spoofs Inglourious Basterds:

And Stephen Fry again on the subject of language via a skit from a Bit of Fry and Laurie:

And Rowan Atkinson with John Cleese on stage doing a skit from back in the day:

And Stephen Fry (he’s awesome, and I kept clicking on more videos) on Whose Line is It Anyway?:

And again:

Once more:

Somehow I discovered than another favorite Brit comedian, Matt Lucas, was featured on an album.  That led me to the discovery that last year they did a 25th anniversary concert of Les Misérables.  I loved the 10th anniversary concert, and in some ways the 25th is better.   Here is Lea Salonga’s Fantine (I prefer her Eponine, but she’s awesome as always):

This is one of the encores, and I have to say that Alfie Boe is quite a bit less annoying than Wilkinson.  I like them both:

And Nick Jonas as Marius was surprisingly decent.  If he had more power behind his voice (he was still just 17 at the time I believe) then he would easily be my favorite.  Even at 17 his Marius is more manly than Michael Ball’s (I still like his performance in many ways too).  If Jonas can get some more oomph and therefore not chop off the end of phrases he’ll be pretty darn good.  Apparently, he played Gavroche on Broadway:

This is Matt Lucas’ Thernadier.  He has also signed on for the part in the West End production:

They’ve also announced that a film version of the musical will finally be made too.  I just hope they get singers that can act rather than actors who can kind of sing.  I like Gerard Butler, but still think he was a poor cast in Phantom.  I hope they don’t get stars that can’t do the key parts justice.

Finally, here’s a Les Miz medley as performed at The Royal Variety Performance.  I love Tom Baker:

Clearing my bookmarks again

Here’s a full length BBC version of 1984 done in 1954.  I’ve only watched the first ten minutes or so, but it’s already better than the version done in 1984.

This is amusing and interesting all at the same time, but the language is NSFW:

Ricky Gervais’ 2011 Golden Globes bits.  I don’t see what the problem was.  I thought it was hilarious:

Finally, Stryper is putting out a covers album. I must say I was never a fan, but this cover of “The Trooper” is pretty awesome:

And “Blackout.”  Man, I love Scorpions:

And “Carry On My Wayward Son” to name a few:

My Top 10 Movies of 2010

10. The Other Guys – PG-13

This one has the benefit of a fresh watch behind it.  I did really enjoy it, but I think it would easily be knocked off the list given a few of the films I have yet to see, and probably would be if I watched Cop Out again.  While Cop Out was an homage to 80s buddy cop films, The Other Guys was a spoof, and it delivered with strong perf0rmances from Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.  The rest of the cast is good too with the likes of Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Rob Riggle, Dwayne Johnson, Derek Jeter, Samuel L. Jackson, and Eva Mendes.  Eva Mendes.  Eva Mendes.  No, that isn’t a typo.  I just felt like writing her name three times. She’s that awesomely hot.

09. Hot Tub Time Machine – R

This isn’t the best comedy ever made by any stretch, but it has several things working in its favor.  First, they travel back in time to the magical 1980s.  I loved the 80s way before that show came out.  Sure, it was often cheesy, and the fashion was almost always hideous, but the music and the movies are made from pure awesome.  This movie tapped into some residual gnarliness by using John Cusack as a conduit.  The rest of the cast is pretty solid too with Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Collette Wolfe, and Lyndsy Fonseca.  Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover both have small, but enjoyable parts as well.  William Zabka, aka Johnny from the Karate Kid, also makes a cameo appearance as does Thomas Lennon.  So, this movie is set in the 1980s, has a solid soundtrack, and an even better cast.  Even if none of that was true I would still be tempted to add this movie to the top 10 because of two words: Lizzy Caplan.  Nuff said.

08. Youth in Revolt – R

The main reason I watched this was for Zach Galifianakis, but the rest of the cast includes Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ray Liotta, and Justin Long.  Not too shabby.  The story itself is pretty cool too.  Cera’s character goes to criminal lengths in order to woo Doubleday’s character.  I need to watch it again to see if it holds up well, but I liked my initial viewing.

07. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – PG-13

Michael Cera strikes again.  This time in order to woo his even hotter counterpart, played by Mary Elizabeth Winestead, he must fight off her seven exes in a crazy and colorful video game inspired reality.  If you like video games and comic books, you’ll be right at home.  In fact, the movie is based on a comic book.  The rest of the cast is also strong, and full of hotties.  The cast includes Alison Pill, Ellen Wong, Brie Larson, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Abigail Chu, Satya Bhabha, Chris Evans, Mae Whitman, Brandon Routh, Thomas Jane, Clifton Collins Jr., and Jason Schwartzman.  They all did a good job, but Kieran Culkin stole the show as the gay roommate.

06. Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage – unrated

An awesome documentary on one of the most underrated yet influential bands of all time.  It doesn’t hurt that Rush happens to be one of my favorite bands too.  Still, I think even non-Rush fans could find this to be an enjoyable watch.  There are remarks from tons of people like Les Claypool, Jack Black, Sebastian Bach, Kirk Hammett, Billy Corgan, Taylor Hawkins, Tim Commerford, Vinnie Paul, Mike Portnoy, Trent Reznor, Gene Simmons, Matt Stone, Zakk Wylde, the guys themselves, and several others.  I definitely whipped out the old four-string after watching this one, and finally got around to reading Anthem too.  I’m hard pressed to name many movies that actually inspire me to do something.

05. Inception – PG-13

I’m pretty sure the hype and South Park’s spoof tainted my appreciation for this film.  I still enjoyed it, but I think I would have liked it a lot more if I would have gone in cold.  The cast is stocked full of solid components, the action is well-paced, and yet a ton of dialogue is interspersed to help make sense of the still easily confused story.  The greatest aspect of the movie is the fact that there is no clear cut conclusion.  Well, there is, but what that conclusion means is very much up for debate, and the nerds of the net have seen to that ad nauseam.  This was the first thing I had seen Marion Cotillard in since an episode of Highlander, and her performance definitely makes me want to see more.  Listing the rest of the cast would take another page.  It’s chocked full of awesome.

04. Sherlock Holmes – PG-13

I was watching this film, and thinking that the director really ripped off Guy Ritchie.  Then I saw it was Guy Ritchie, and felt a lot better about enjoying it like I did.  Before I realized it was him I felt a little disloyal.  Now I just feel sheepish for not remembering it in the first place as I’ve really liked his other stuff.  Robert Downey Jr., is solid as usual, as is Jude Law.  Rachel McAdams might be the cutest woman in the business, and Mark Strong has fast become one of my favorite actors.  The music was as raucous as the action, and I can’t wait for the unveiling of Moriarty via a sequel.

03. Wild Target – PG-13

You know how I said Rachel McAdams was the cutest woman in the business, Emily Blunt might be the most alluring.  Again, there are more attractive women, but I just really dig her.  I didn’t even watch this because of her, but was quite pleased with her performance.  I mostly got it for Bill Nighy, and Rupert Grint.  Meanwhile Rupert Everett, Eileen Atkins, and Martin Freeman round out the cast.  Admittedly, I am a bit of an anglophile, and particularly so when it comes to comedies, but I really liked this film.  It was lighthearted, but had enough emotion to it to keep me from discarding it as just another comedy.  I definitely plan on watching this one again, if nothing else than to see Bill Nighy in action.  In many ways, I think of him as the ideal debonair man.  He’s not quite as pimp as Cary Grant, but I’m not sure there is anyone else out there that comes as close to being as cool.

02. MacGruber – R

If not for The Blues Brothers, this would be the hands down best SNL film of all time.  It might be anyway.  I think Jorma Taccone is amazingly funny anyway, and he took vulgarity to new heights with this one.  The sound alone deserves some kind of award.  This movie could have failed miserably, but the story works and the cast is perfect.  Will Forte is there of course, as is Kristen Wiig.  They are joined by Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe, Maya Rudolph, and several cameo appearances.  The whole ongoing taunting between Forte and Kilmer’s characters is epic.  If you like absurdly vulgar comedy then this is the movie for you.

01. Kick-Ass – R

As apt as a name as you could possibly get.  If I had a shot at Lyndsy Fonseca I would try becoming a superhero to woo her too.  Strictly speaking, Aaron Johnson‘s eponymous character gives being a superhero  a shot first, and getting the girl was a nice result.  What a result.  He may get all of his bones broken, but he’d still be a lucky bastard in my book.  Mark Strong is awesome. I think I mentioned that in the Sherlock Holmes section, but it’s worth repeating.  Christopher Mintz-Plasse also turns in a surprisingly deep performance.  Well, as deep as the movie can yield anyway.  Nicolas Cage also finally gets the perfect role for using some over the top acting, and he delivers.  As awesome as that cast is on its own, Chloe Moretz blows them all away.  Critics pissed and moaned about a girl saying and doing the things she does in the film, but it is based on a comic, and she kills it.

My Top 10 Least Favorite Movies of 2010

I had to really struggle to pick my 10 Least Favorite Movies of 2010.  Some of these I actually enjoyed, but given that I had only seen 33 films at the time of writing this my pickings for worst were slim.  I guess that means that it was a pretty good year.  There are still a handful of films I haven’t seen yet that would probably make my top ten otherwise.  Oh well.

10. Get Him to the Greek – R

I had two problems with this film.  First, it annoyed me that Russell Brand was playing the same character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but that Jonah Hill wasn’t.  At the very least, they could have made some reference to it via a joke, but they never did.  Secondly, it falls prey to the same trap Forgetting Sarah Marshall did.  Namely, that by the end of the film I am no longer pulling for the protagonist.  In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jason Segel cheats on Mila Kunis‘ character after having been cheated on himself.  At that point, I wrote him off.  Jonah Hill’s character kind of sort of cheats on his girlfriend (I don’t think their break up was clear enough, but apparently his character did so I can at least tolerate it to a degree), but then he lets Brand’s character in on a ménage à trois with his girlfriend as a means of restitution for “cheating” on her.  Which is it?  Either he he cheated, or he didn’t.  That wishy-washy crap is even more disgusting than the aforementioned threesome, and that’s saying something.  There were some funny bits, and some awesome cameos including an excellent couple of scenes with Lars Ulrich.

09. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse – PG-13

This is another one that I didn’t really hate so much, but is acting as filler for the purpose of this list.  The story wasn’t all that great in my opinion, and it seemed a mighty waste of Summer Glau. Kind of funny that last year I used a Superman/Batman movie too.  I blame Superjerk.

08. Grown Ups – PG-13

I was quite disappointed with this one.  This movie had tons of hotties, including Selma Hayek, and some of my favorite comedic actors, but they all get thrown into this cliched film about growing up.  Weakness.  I didn’t hate it, but it was average at best.

07. Shutter Island – R

Not unlike Grown Ups, Shutter Island was a disappointment.  That’s forgivable in a comedy, but not so much in a drama.  The trailers ruined the “surprise” element of the film, and despite some awesome performances by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, it just didn’t do anything for me.

06. The Last Airbender – PG

I’m still an M. Night Shyamalan fan.  When I heard he was adapting the show with its creators, I expected a solid return.  Then I saw the trailer, and was even more excited.  Man, what a let down.  It was completely disjointed, the casting was almost all wrong, and the charm of the characters was nowhere to be found.  The action sequences were beyond stale thanks to slowing everything down.  Sequences that should have been exciting literally put me to sleep.  On top of all that, they changed up the races of the tribes (I hate political correctness), and inexplicably changed the pronunciation of the main character’s name.  It still makes me sad thinking about it.  I was hoping Shyamalan would kill with this one.  Sigh.  He did.

05. Diary of a Wimpy Kid – PG

In fairness, I only started watching this film about half way through. I knew it was a kid’s film, but sometimes those can be awesome (see Thunderpants).  This wasn’t.  Now that I think of it though, I think The Last Airbender was worse.  Seriously.

04. Resident Evil: Afterlife – R

Unlike the other movies on this list so far, I knew this one would suck.  I felt compelled to watch as I love Milla Jovovich, and have seen the other Resident Evil films.  They just get steadily worse.  This one clearly tops them all.  It was like they tried to get Milla to look as hot as she could (and she can look pretty darn hot), and then had her act as badly as she could while still keeping a straight face.  I’m telling you, I think there are times when she is about to bust out laughing before they quickly cut to something else.  I also just hate the whole Resident Evil story line really.  Lame.

03. Survival of the Dead – R

This one looked horrible, but I’ll watch a George A. Romero zombie film no matter how bad it looks.  The only good thing about this movie was Athena Karkanis.  Her acting was just so-so, not that a zombie film is indicative of a person’s range or anything, but she was hot.  She was the only one I cared about.  All of the rest of them could have died, and most did, but she’s the kind of woman that needs to stay alive in a zombie apocalypse even if she is a lesbian.  Someone has to repopulate the planet, and if that means a lesbian has to take one or two for the team, then I humbly submit my petition to be her ball boy.

02. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief – PG

From a movie with an actress named Athena to a movie with Athena as a character.  I’ve heard the books weren’t bad. I don’t know.  I do know this movie stunk.  The problem with these kinds of films is that you need to find kids/teenagers that can actually act.  They failed.  There were tons of names in this movie like Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Uma Thuman, Joe Pantoliano, and Rosario Dawson, but this film still isn’t worth a watch.  OK, the scene with Rosario is.  Man, she’s smoking.  The next film is not.

01. Smokin Aces 2: Assassins Ball – UR

I think this was unrated not because it went straight to DVD, but because no one could sit through the whole thing.  The first one was good, violent fun.  This was bad.  Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.  I figured if Vinnie Jones was in it that there would be at least a couple of decent scenes.  There weren’t, but at no fault to Vinnie.

The movies of 2010 that I have seen

It’s that time again.  I really like this site.

Youth in Revolt
Smokin Aces 2: Assassins Ball
Sherlock Holmes
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Shutter Island
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Hot Tub Time Machine
Kick-Ass
Iron Man 2
MacGruber
Get Him to the Greek
The Karate Kid
The A-Team
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
Toy Story 3
Grown Ups
The Last Airbender
Despicable Me
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
The Expendables
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Date Night
Survival of the Dead
Inception
Dinner for Schmucks
Wild Target
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
Cop Out
The Other Guys

I haven’t seen nearly as many movies this year, and I can’t say that there were too many that hold any interest for me that I have yet to see.  Here are the films I have yet to see, but have some degree of desire to see:

The Spy Next Door
Defendor
Clash of the Titans
Robin Hood
Shrek Forever After
Cyrus
Machete
Devil
Red
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I – After the last two films, I have extremely low expectations.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – I always preferred this book to the first two anyway.
Tron: Legacy – Looking forward to this one a great deal.
Little Fockers
True Grit – I really want to see this one.

EDIT: I saw some more of these films. I changed the lists accordingly.

Tru Calling (2003)

I haven’t done a movie review in a while, and I still won’t for a tad longer as this is a review of a TV show which I just finished watching.

Story

The basic premise of Tru Calling is that a young woman, Tru Davies,  hears the dead ask for help.  When they do, that day rewinds, and she tries to help them either stay alive or resolve an issue they left unfinished.  She runs into a lot of dead people, as she works in a morgue.

It’s a tad like Pushing Daisies except it’s far more drama than comedy, although there are definitely some funny moments hear and there.  Due to its more dramatic roots, however, Tru Calling calls into play the notion of “opposition in all things.”  When they started bringing this into play, the series really began to get interesting.  While Tru is trying to save people’s lives, someone else is out there trying to keep them dead.

SPOILERS - I like the whole opposition deal.  It’s amazing how many people don’t even consider the idea.  I would have loved to see the show develop the story more.  Tru’s mother had the same gift, and she was murdered for it by her father who served the oppositional force at the time.  Tru hadn’t yet discovered her father’s involvement, but it was clear he knew way more about the forces involved than she did. - END OF SPOILERS

Story = 17

Cast

I started watching Tru Calling because I kept seeing people’s involvement in the series.  Most notably, Zach Galifianakis and Lizzy Caplan.  I’ve liked both for many years, and I try to catch as many of their projects as I can.  Even if the show stinks they are guaranteed to deliver.  Eliza Dushku plays the lead, and I find her work in this series to be the least annoying of her roles.  It seems many of her other roles require her to be “tough,” and it always comes off as someone trying to be tough.  Trying the operative word.

Galifianakis, Dushku and Shawn Reeves are the main characters.  Reeves plays Tru’s less than exemplary brother Harrison.  Her sister (who is essentially written out of the series towards the end of the first season I believe) is played by Jessica Collins. Other semi-regulars include A.J. Cook (Tru’s best friend, and Harrison’s girlfriend for a bit), Matthew Borner (Tru’s boyfriend), Jason Priestley (Tru’s coworker and rival), Liz Vassey (the city psychiatrist and love interest of Galifianakis’ Davis), Cotter Smith (Tru’s dad), and Eric Christian Olsen (a classmate and boyfriend of Tru’s). 

Then there were tons of guest appearances from the likes of Christina Hendricks and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Cast = 20

Soundtrack/Score

It is what it is.  The theme song is OK, and the budget for the music wasn’t too extensive.  Not great, but not a hindrance by any means.  The band that did the theme, Full Blown Rose, also covered In the Air Tonight.  Their version was used on the show too.

Soundtrack/Score = 12

Quote/Catch Phrase

Uh, I guess, “Help me, Tru.”  Weaksauce to be sure.  Just not that kind of show.

Quote/Catch Phrase = 06

Rewatchability

I never watched the show when it aired originally.  I just now finished watching the series (all 20+ episodes, screw you, FOX), and was satisfied with its quality.  Definitely not one of my favorite shows of all time, but if a marathon was shown on cable or something I might watch an episode or two.

Rewatchability = 12

Total Score = 67

All right, so the final score is a tad low, but it’s hard to fully recommend something that has no real end.  Again, screw you, FOX!

Here’s a fan made trailer for the show.  It has issues, but give you a decent idea.