Reviews

Movie Review: MONEYBALL

MONEYBALL movie poster | ©2011 Sony Pictures

Stars: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright Writers: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, story by Stan Chervin, based on the book by Michael Lewis Director: Bennett Miller Distributor: Columbia Pictures Release Date: September 23, 2011 To describe MONEYBALL accurately is to run the risk of making it sound like a number of things that it is not – dry, insular, too cerebral for the masses. Instead, it is about baseball in the way that THE SOCIAL NETWORK was about Facebook. Baseball is MONEYBALL’s universe, but the film actually makes the topic so universal that even people who […]Read On »


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TV Review: A GIFTED MAN – Season 1 – “Pilot” – Series Premiere

Patrick WIlson in A GIFTED MAN - Season 1 | ©2011 CBS/Tom Zuback

Stars: Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Ehle, Margo Martindale, Rachel Lefevre, Julie Benz, Pablo Schreiber Writer: Susannah Grant Director: Jonathan Demme Network: CBS, Fridays @ 8 PM Original Telecast: September 23, 2011 CBS has had very good luck with ghosts in its Friday 8 PM time slot – GHOST WHISPERER ran for five seasons – so it makes sense for them to put A GIFTED MAN there. However, unlike the older show’s Melinda Gordon, MAN’s protagonist, surgeon Michael Holt (Patrick Wilson), can only see one ghost. We see Michael at work being rude, pushy, oblivious to others, even to his terrific secretary […]Read On »


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TV Review: PERSON OF INTEREST – Season 1 – “Pilot” – Series Premiere

Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson in PERSON OF INTEREST - Season 1 | ©2011 CBS/Michael Muller

Stars: Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, Taraji P. Henson Writer: Jonathan Nolan Director: David Semel Network: CBS, Thursdays @ 9 PM Original Telecast: September 22, 2011 This isn’t (so far as we know) real, but it certainly sounds plausible – what if the government commissioned a tech genius to invent software that could isolate possible terrorist “chatter”? And what if that software included an element that was later discarded, which also picked up indications of non-terrorist crimes about to be committed? So far, so good with writer Jonathan Nolan’s premise (he shares creator status with J.J. Abrams) for PERSON OF INTEREST, […]Read On »


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CD Review: STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION COLLECTION: VOLUME 1 soundtrack

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION COLLECTION: VOLUME 1 soundtrack | ©2011 La La Land Records

It was a strange, syndicated world in 1987 when a brief quote of Alexander Courage’s inimitable melody launched into Jerry Goldsmith’s theme from ST –TMP– a bold announcement if there ever was one that STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION was going to launch a whole new franchise of Roddenberry-based shows. But as opposed to the kind of bold melodies by the likes of Sol Kaplan, Gerald Fried and George Duning that distinguished the scoring of classic TREK, producers Rick Berman and Peter Lauritson went for a more sleekly homogenous route. While the show and its spin-offs wouldn’t get outrageously distinctive […]Read On »


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Exclusive Interview: FRINGE executive producer J.H. Wyman chats about Season 4

Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv and John Noble in FRINGE - Season 4 | ©2011 Fox/Andrew Matusik

With FRINGE heading into Season 4, ASSIGNMENT X recently spoke with executive producer J.H. Wyman about what to expect with the series return (it premieres tonight on Fox). Thankfully, he doesn’t offer any huge spoilers, but hinted at the direction the series will be going in with the absence of now non-existent Peter (Joshua Jackson) weighing heavily on Walter (John Noble) and Olivia (Anna Torv) as they continue to explore Fringe science (both Over Here and Over There). Here’s what he had to say. ASSIGNMENT X: It’s a given that Peter will be back, correct? J.H. WYMAN: You’re going to […]Read On »


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Blu-ray Review: SUPERNATURAL – THE COMPLETE SEASON SIX

SUPERNATURAL SEASON 6 | (c) 2011 Warner Home Video

Cast: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jim Beaver, Misha Collins Directors: Robert Singer, Philip Sgriccia, John F. Showalter, Writers: Sera Gamble, Eric Kripke, Distributor: Warner Home Video Suggested Retail Price: $69.99 You gotta hand it to Sera Gamble and her writing crew. They took the ball that Eric Kripke gave to them and carried it across the goal line. When Kripke decided that he was no longer going to be the showrunner for SUPERNATURAL, many fans were worried that the show they loved would go down to the toilet or stop completely. Gamble and The CW decided that they wanted a […]Read On »


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Blu-ray Review: FRINGE: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON

FRINGE SEASON 3 | (c) 2011 Warner Home Video

Cast: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole Directors: Joe Chappelle, Jeffrey G. Hunt Writers: Jeff Pinker, J.H. Wyman Distributor: Warner Home Video Suggested Retail Price: $69.97 What the hell happened to Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) on FRINGE? Obviously, this is the million dollar question heading into Season Four of the science fiction show on Fox. Now you can catch up with the Blu-ray release of FRINGE: THE COMPLETE SEASON THREE that delves deep into the mythology of the budding war between the two universes that are set to collide, at the heart of the season was […]Read On »


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TV Review: COMMUNITY – Season 3 – “Biology 101” – Season Premiere

Joel McHale in COMMUNITY - Season 3 - "Biology 101" | ©2011 NBC/Lewis Jacobs

Stars: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Chevy Chase, Jim Rash Director: Anthony Russo Network: NBC, airs Thursday nights Original Telecast: September 22, 2011 COMMUNITY is usually so good, but when it makes a mis-step or two, it’s quite noticeable Granted, a mediocre or flawed episode of COMMUNITY is still more entertaining than most sitcoms, but still, the Season Three premiere “Biology 101” left me a little bit cold. It starts off with a pretty funny musical number about the show not being as weird as it was the first two […]Read On »


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CD Review: ROME

ROME | ©2011 Danielle Luppi

At first impressing with his replication of 60’s Hollywood sleaze jazz in the brilliantly underrated WOMAN CHASER, Danielle Luppi then swung to stop-on recreations of his motherland’s cinematic sound during the same period, an ITALIAN STORY that ranged from Morricone Spaghetti western-isms to the sensual jazz of composers like Piero Piccioni (CAMILLE 2000). Now Luppi invites DJ Danger Mouse to venture with him to ROME, their entrancing collaboration taking Luppi’s Italo soundtrack tributes to the next, mod level. With a beautifully dreamy sound that recalls the retro-progressiveness of the group Air, Luppi and Danger Mouse’s concept album mixes catchy songs […]Read On »


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TV Review: PARKS AND RECREATION – Season 4 – “I’m Leslie Knope” – Season Premiere

Amy Poehler in PARKS AND RECREATION - Season 4 - "I'm Leslie Knope" | ©2011 NBC/Ron Tom

Stars: Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe Network: NBC, airs Thursday nights Original Telecast: September 22, 2011 Although PARKS AND RECREATION started off okay and then developed into one of the funniest shows during its second season, it finally found some mainstream acceptance with its third season and the addition of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe to the cast. Season Three was fantastic and showed the show growing and evolving into its own. With the Season Four premiere “I’m Leslie Knope,” the series is on target to deliver another solid […]Read On »


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