Tuesday, December 04, 2007 Rant Archive
They don't make 'em like this one anymore, do they? The closest Hollywood has come to mimicking the hard-boiled gumshoe antics of CHINATOWN was with L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, and either it's a real pity, because those are two great films, or it's a boon, because it makes them really stand out. Raymond Chandler definitely would be proud of the legacy he left behind, and no one has come close to touching Jack Nicholson as J.J. "Jake" Gittes, the ultimate private dick.
At any rate, CHINATOWN is the 1974 film that was inspired by the
California Water Wars. You can check out that Wikipedia entry for the full skinny, but it boils down to the bullying City of Los Angeles shoving around little Owens Valley for rights to their water, which L.A. desperately needed. Through a smoke and mirrors deal and some political flim-flammery, they rip the valley off and start bleeding them dry, literally. Before long, Owens Valley doesn't have enough water to support their livestock and agriculture, and they come calling on Los Angeles and they aren't too happy about it. It's a true story, and Southern California is still feeling the effects of it.
In the movie, Jake gets hired in what seems like a basic "I think my husband is cheating on me" case, and the husband in question is Hollis Mulwray, a play on words for William Mulholland who was an actual figure in the real water scandal. Gittes tails Mulwray and finds out that even though the Los Angeles is under drought conditions, the city is dumping fresh water into the ocean at night. He tires going to Mulwray for answers at his house, but finds him dead. He soon finds out that the Mrs. Mulwray who hired him was someone else posing as her, and whammo... we're deep into a mystery.
Finally, HEROES is back on track! Just in time to be yanked of the air for an indefinite hiatus! Boo. However, before departing, the hit show gave us one hell of a titillating episode to wet our appetites and keep us howling for more until it returns.
The episode picked up with Mohinder arriving at his apartment to rescue Molly from the clutches of Sylar. When he arrived Sylar was waiting, playing “house” with unwitting accomplice Maya. At first Sylar seemed calm, almost friendly. However, when Mohinder spilled the beans about his nefarious past, Maya, furious for having been deceived, turned her “evil eyes” on Sylar. However she could not kill him without killing Mohinder and Molly too, so she was forced to let him go. Sylar commanded Mohinder to cure him of the virus The Company had injected him with. Mohinder conceded, leading Sylar to Isaac Mendez’ loft with the promise of a cure.
One of the major reasons I love BROTHERHOOD is the fact that there’s rarely a lack of drama. Last week Collin (Bryan F. O’Bryne) screws up the hit on Freddie Cork and this week the Caffee brothers have to deal with the aftermath. Freddie gets a hold of Nozzoli and talks him into putting a hit onto Michael (Jason Isaac) for all the profits of his ATMs and half the rent taken in from his properties on the South End. Nozzoli sends two goomba buffoons to excommunicate Michael from life, but apparently Michael is too much man for two idiot Italian hit men to deal with.
This leads to a huge Wild West gunfight in the middle of suburban Rhode Island. Moreover, word gets around that Michael was responsible for that shoot out and it ends up haunting Tommy and his ability to plot and excel politically. Michael then realizes he needs to take matters into his hands and he alludes to Nozzoli that Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) knows that Nozzoli is being wiretapped and uses this to talk Nozzoli into helping Freddie get recaptured by the police. Meanwhile, Michael decides that his connection to the murder of Marty Trio must be managed and he strangles Ralphie, the only person between him and his freedom.
It seems like every time you turn around, there are new photos from BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT popping up everywhere. We've already seen Batman's new suit, his "batpod" (motorcycle), the new Joker, and more. In fact, it feels like by the time the movie comes out next year, we'll have seen every square inch of it. Maybe even the bloopers.
At any rate, along those lines we have some brand spanking new photos of The Dark Knight himself and The Joker prancing around, and you can check them out and rant back to us. Is THE DARK KNIGHT going to add more bang to the BATMAN BEGINS buck? Are you looking forward to it? Or do you feel kind of "meh" about the whole thing?
Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan) has a lot to process. Beyond the stress of having most of her limbs replaced with bionic parts, dating a CIA agent and working for a hush-hush agency headed by a fellow named Jonas (Miguel Ferrer) who’s equal parts paternal and ruthless, her friend and mentor Antonio (Isaiah Washington) got himself killed in the previous episode. Needless to say, she’s a little harried. Like many folks, she buries herself in work, but since her kind of work can get people killed—or at least in dire need of reconstructive surgery—this approach is of some concern to her boss. So, he tells her to take a break. When she’s less than receptive, he modifies it into a simple delivery plus vacation. Simple, right?
The kids over at
Hollywood Insider have reported that the always sexy Christian Bale will reprise the epic role of John Connor in the Terminator, made famous by the geeky Edward Furlong in TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY.
The new script, TERMINATOR SALVATION: THE FUTURE BEGINS is linked to director McG, famous for both Charlie’s Angeles’s films and most recently the Matthew McConaughey film We Are Marshall. Both McG and Bale are posted on IMDB, as the likely suspects for their roles in the upcoming Terminator flick. The ending of the film is entirely hush-hush and for the most part details on the script are sketchy. For all we know John Connor could be a cross-dressing mutant this time around, but I highly doubt it. Hilariously, this information has been leaked even before the film has been greenlit, but immediately before the airing of THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES on Fox. Oh, what won’t studios will do for a little publicity. Oh what I’d do for twenty minutes alone with Christian Bale.
This week the writers get their due. As the strike looms large for the coming year, tonight on CHUCK we got a glimpse of what we will be missing. Would a scab writer think to start a Christmas episode with Nelly’s “Pimp Juice” as the soundtrack? The replacement shows, like AMERICAN GLADIATORS will have witty dialogue like, “Arrg!” instead of Morgan proclaiming giant prawns to be as big as “Baby kittens!” Will CLASH OF THE CHOIRS have a decent mid-season story arc close that satisfies the romance questions and excites danger for the coming episodes? No. Tonight’s CHUCK certainly did though, and unfortunately it is such a young show it may not survive the strike. So pay the writers! This whole “new media” trend is going nowhere anyway.