The Crazy Old Wizard's Domain

The Silver Screen: New Releases 3/19/2010

2010-03-18T13:06:00.008-06:00

Each week the new feature films released during that period will be listed here for ease of reference along with my pick(s) for the movies to see that week. Check them out.

The Bounty Hunter (PG-13) - Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler
Milo Boyd, a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, thinks he's seeing an upswing in fortune when he gets the call to bring in his bail-jumping ex-wife, a reporter named Nicole. Milo considers the job an easy payday, but Nicole quickly escapes to chase a lead on a murder case. The ex-spouses play an escalating game of one-upmanship, until they suddenly find themselves on the run for their lives.

City Island (PG-13) -Limited- Cast: Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer, Alan Arkin, Steven Strait
Set in a quaint fishing community on the outskirts of New York City, City Island is a hilarious and touching tale about a family whose comfortable co-existence is upended by surprising revelations of past secrets and present day lies. Vince Rizzo is a lifelong resident of the tiny, tradition-steeped Bronx enclave of City Island. A family man who makes his living as a corrections officer, Vince longs to become an actor. Ashamed to admit his aspirations to his family, Vince would rather let his fiery wife Joyce believe his weekly poker games are a cover for an extramarital affair than admit he’s secretly taking acting classes in Manhattan. A perfect storm of deception, half truths and confusion makes Vince and his family members realize that the truth may not set them free, but it is easier to keep track of than all their well-intentioned white lies.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (PG) - Cast: Zachary Gordon, Steve Zahn, Rachael Harris, Robert Capron, Devon Bostick
The story follows the travails of wise-cracking middle school student Greg Heffley over the course of an academic year.

Greenberg (R) -Limited- Cast: Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brie Larson
Roger Greenberg, a failed musician now making a living as a carpenter in New York, returns to Los Angeles to house-sit for his brother. Since Roger doesn't drive, he's immediately stranded, until his brother's assistant, Florence, comes to his rescue. Florence is as much a lost soul as Roger, and as the pair begin spending more time together, they form a significant connection -- giving Roger a much-needed reason to finally be happy.

Hubble 3D (G) -Limited-
Featuring stunning, on-orbit coverage of the STS-1256 Hubble Space Telescope, "Hubble 3D" chronicles the amazing saga of the greatest success in space since the Moon Landing. IMAX 3D cameras launched on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 11 , 2009. The astronauts operated the IMAX cameras and filmed the five intricate and difficult spacewalks required for the final service of the Hubble. The IMAX footage will be combined with breathtaking up close images of distant galaxies from Hubble capturing the Hubble's astonishing legacy for generations to come.

Killing Jar (NR) -Limited- Cast: Michael Madsen, Harold Parrineau, Jr., Amber Benson, Danny Treho, Kevin Gage, Lew Temple
Seven people are passing time one late evening at a small roadside diner in the middle of nowhere. Among them are Noreen, a waitress trapped in a loveless marriage; John, a melancholy salesman; Hank, a quiet guy with a secret; Lonnie, a small-town cop; and Jimmy, the ill-tempered owner. When a radio reports the disturbing murders of a family in a nearby county, the patrons immediately suspect new arrival Doe as the killer. A bloody confrontation ensues, and the patrons become hostages as the troubled Doe decides their fates. As secrets are revealed, the desperate survivors slowly realize that one of the hostages may be even more dangerous than their captor.

Repo Men (R) - Cast: Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Alice Brage, Liev Schreiber, RZA
In the futuristic action-thriller Repo Men, humans have extended and improved our lives through highly sophisticated and expensive mechanical organs created by a company called The Union. The dark side of these medical breakthroughs is that if you don’t pay your bill, The Union sends its highly skilled repo men to take back its property…with no concern for your comfort or survival. Jude Law plays Remy, one of the best organ repo men in the business. When he suffers a cardiac failure on the job, he awakens to find himself fitted with the company’s top-of-the-line heart-replacement…as well as a hefty debt. But a side effect of the procedure is that his heart’s no longer in the job. When he can’t make the payments, The Union sends its toughest enforcer, Remy’s former partner Jake, to track him down.

The Runaways (R) -Limited- Cast: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton, Alia Shawkat
Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, two rebellious teenagers from Southern California, become the frontwomen for the Runaways -- the now-legendary group that paved the way for future generations of female rockers. Under the Svengali-like influence of impresario Kim Fowley, the band becomes a huge success, with Joan as the band's hard-rocking heart and Cherie as the sex kitten. But, the teens' stormy relationship threatens the band's future.

What new movie speaks to you? Anything? Of the new films out this week, my choice would be Either Repo Men or Hubble 3D.

All synopses are the copyright and property of Fandango and are reprinted here for informational purposes only.

Primetime: South Park Review - S14E1 'Sexual Healing'

2010-03-18T08:30:00.003-06:00

Back from their winter hiatus, Matt Stone and Trey Parker's grand satire returned to our televisions last night with a new installment. Centered around the recent media notion of sexual addiction, did Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny fall prey? Read on to find out!

"What's that between the lady's legs? It's all bushy!" -Butters

Ahhh, Butters, how we've missed you... Unfortunately, Butters and his side show were the funniest parts of this episode, and there wasn't much of him. Sure, the central gag was amusing, and in true South Park fashion, also spot on as a cultural commentary, but I was looking for something more... maybe something really over the top. Every time one of the guys' eyes darted back and forth because of the sheer stupidity of the situation and fear that the women would find out it was all a ruse was funny, to be sure... but what else was there?

The initial segment with EA's Tiger Woods 2011 was great, very funny stuff. It illustrates that even though his name is supposed to be mud, he's still got huge sponsors and making huge money from them, and even in the wake of this, that won't stop... the sponsors will roll with it. That said, the second and third sequences from the game were far less amusing.

In terms of the sex addiction clinic, I'm surprised we didn't get to see Eric Massa... though I guess that may have happened too recently to have been included... but some tickle fights or snorkeling would've been appropriate in this episode. Ah well...

And how funny was it when Butters was pissed because he found out what was under the bush? Though I take back what I said earlier... the funniest part of the episode was Kenny's mom finding him in the Batman costume! Wow.

A reasonable start to the season, looking forward to next week!

3/5 wizards

Primetime: New Star Wars Cartoon?

2010-03-18T08:18:00.003-06:00

As good as The Clone Wars series is, and as good as it is getting, it is beginning to put itself outside the realm of small children's fare. The fact is, we've seen more adult situations in this animated series than we did in either live action trilogy of films, with the possible exception of the fight on Mustafar. With that said, it appears that George Lucas now has plans to correct that... fear not, it's not by changing The Clone Wars, but rather by introducing a new series aimed more directly at the younglings out there.

IESB has published a story suggesting that Lucas and his team are prepping a new series aimed at pre-school and kindergarten aged children. Apparently the series will be centered around the Star Wars: Galactic Heroes toy line... much in the same way that Marvel recently started The Super Hero Squad show. In fact, the short, fat little caricatures even look similar.

For me, I'd much rather their attention be firmly set on The Clone Wars and the live-action series we were promised. However, I won't begrudge the kiddies their Star Wars. No word yet on distribution or a timeframe for the premiere.

Primetime: Lost Review - S6E7 'Recon'

2010-03-17T18:14:00.007-06:00

Always able to live up to the standard set by its name, Lost is one of, if not the preeminent science fiction shows ever on television. It would almost be criminal not to review it here... and so... it is reviewed here... right here, right now!

"We ain't takin' the plane, Freckles... We're taking the sub." -James Ford aka Sawyer

For my money, there hasn't been a lackluster episode of Lost in about 3 seasons. Ever since they started down the path toward the endpoint, their storytelling has been concise, consistent, and always compelling. This week was no different, picking back up with Sawyer.

When last we saw our grifter friend, he was deep inside Jacob's cave of candidates, agreeing to partner with UnLocke (i.e. the Smoke Monster, Man in Black, whatever you want to call him... I'll call him UnLocke.) to get off the island. He hadn't gone with UnLocke to the Temple, and we find out he's just been camped out in the woods waiting. We're also treated to seeing his flashes in the betaverse, which are among some of the most interesting yet.

First, since the moment they landed at LAX in the opening of this season, it has been my belief that the events we're seeing in the betaverse are the result of what is currently about to happen on the island in the alphaverse. Juliet detonated the bomb. The bomb was the incident. The Swan was constructed and everything else that happened, happened. The timeloop was completed and they returned to the "present" of 2007 on the island. What we're about to see happen on the island will result in the destruction of the alpha timeline and its replacement by the beta. Thus, the flashes we're seeing this season are actually the extended coda of the series. And each passing week only reinforces my thinking that this theory is right.

In our flashes this week we see a James Ford that never encountered Jacob after the death of his parents... one that never was given that pen to write that letter and cling to that hatred. Sure, he still hates the man who caused him such pain, but the path to the present wasn't one of crime and hurting people in the same manner his family had been hurt. He says he'd kill the man, and I don't begrudge him that, but I also don't necessarily believe it. I don't know that James Ford is a murderer. The most tragic aspect of his character was what happened to his parents and then what he had turned into. And just like every other character we've seen from the betaverse, he's far better off.

And that leads us back to the alphaverse and the island. When UnLocke returns with his group, he sends James to Hydra Island on a recon mission. The whole setup seemed a little odd, what with UnLocke telling Ben to meet him there, and him already knowing that Ilana and her group are on the main island... When he arrives and finds Widmore's people he pulls his con and tries to pit Charles Widmore against UnLocke. It seems like this goes off without a hitch. Both UnLocke and Widmore seem to trust and believe him. Unfortunately for him, I think they're both playing him.

Consider the following: Charles Widmore was exiled from the island by Jacob. Charles Widmore and Ben aren't allowed to kill each other, just like Jacob and UnLocke. Ben was able to kill Jacob, just like Dogen suggested Sayid could kill UnLocke. Is that because Ben was Jacob's chosen leader and Charles Widmore is UnLocke's? It would explain a lot... it would also mean that Sawyer just betrayed one side to itself... not good. If the recon mission was a test of faith, then Sawyer failed.

The bigger question for me remains simple, who are the good guys? If taken at face value, UnLocke is the man to bet on. He says he just wants to leave. He says that the island doesn't need protection, and that it was Jacob's interference that caused such troubles in the lives of everyone he touched. If the betaverse is the result of what is about to happen, it seems like UnLocke will win, and was telling the truth. After all, we saw a sunken island with the Dharma ruins in place. That suggests the island isn't being protected. Every person we've seen is better off as a result. So, is UnLocke being completely truthful? Hard to say... But this week he specifically invoked the notion of changing everything... and that's what the betaverse is.

As for the other players, the standouts this week for me were Emilie de Raven's turn as crazy Claire and Naveen Andrews' creepy zombie Sayid... really chilling as he sat there while Claire nearly killed Kate. Eeek. And was UnLocke trying to get Kate to kill Claire?

Next week we get some answers about Richard!

4/5 wizards

Primetime: Celebrity Apprentice - S9E1 'Diner'

2010-03-17T12:08:00.009-06:00

A new season of Trump has come. And the hair just keeps getting better, doesn't it? Each week we'll take a look at the different tasks The Celebrity Apprentice teams are assigned, how they perform, and obviously the infighting and outcome... We'll also look at the 2 charities from that week's celebs. So, let's start!

"Hi, nice to meet you... innocent of all charges... pleasure meeting you." -Rocket Rod Blagojevich

This cast certainly features some interesting characters. Last season we had the likes of Dennis Rodman, Tom Green, and Andrew "Dice" Clay. This year we have a group that's a little more tame with folks like Blago, Sharon Osbourne, and Bret Michaels. The only one I had no clue about was Selita Ebanks... I guess you can be famous for being a Victoria's Secret model... She's pretty... is she special? Meh.

I will say, I think 2 hours is a bit much for this series. Survivor or The Amazing Race would hold up so much better under this treatment... then again, CBS doesn't have the holes in its schedule to fill that NBC does, so... While it doesn't need the 2 hours, they also aren't really bogged down and boring, either.

The first task out of the gate after Trump had separated them into the classic men and women teams was to run a diner. I always enjoy the challenges where the teams have to take an existing business and try to work it their own way. Unfortunately, as is usually the case in the first celebrity challenge, it was all about fundraising, not the challenge itself. So, instead of seeing how they actually do running the diner, it's more about being on the phone calling big donors. Sure, I understand it's for charity, and I understand pulling in that money meant $100,000 for the winning charity... but it still isn't compelling tv to see which multi-millionaire has enough multi-millionaire friends to come by and drop some cash for charity on a burger.

During the challenge, some of the dynamics of these people are coming out. First, it's pretty obvious that Holly Robinson Peete is there to play. There to play, and there to win. Right from the start she's looking for the weak to pick off from the group. History shows us that this makes her a pretty good contender for the end... likeable or not.

On the flip side, there was Bret... I was really prepared to throw his participation away as a joke. I never watched his skin crawling reality show Rock of Love, and I certainly don't dig Poison... But much like Jesse James from last year, Bret Michaels is coming out of the gate looking like a contender. He's competent, thoughtful, and really has some sense regarding the business side of things. Who knew?

So, the guys brought in more money from their big donors, but they also would've won without that. They had set their pricepoint higher than the girls. Curtis, the resident chef, understood that they wouldn't have a huge amount of turnover possible, so charging outrageous prices for the celebrity interaction was the way to go. It's interesting that Ivanka trashed that ploy, but when it turned out sound, she never said a thing.

In the Boardroom, things weren't terribly interesting. By the time we got down to the nitty gritty, the writing was on the wall for Carol. Was she the worst at the game? Yup... not because of her performance during the challenge, but because she wasn't prepared for the politics of it all. That's what got her, and nothing else.

And for me, that brings me to my biggest disappointment of the episode. Look, I like Cindi Lauper as much as the next child of the '80's, but the fact is, she's in way over her head. She's a fruit loop. Keeping her was for ratings, just like keeping Rodman for so long last year was... I really hate that aspect of this show... and thus my rating.

Bret Michaels': American Diabetes Association - http://www.diabetes.org/
Cindi Lauper: True Colors Fund of Stonewall Community Foundation - http://www.truecolorsfund.org/

2.5/5 wizards

Symposium: Deem & Pass

2010-03-17T10:53:00.005-06:00

Whether you support the President's overhaul of the nation's insurance system or not, I would hope that everyone can agree that how it gets done is almost as important as the thing itself. But now, after side deals and special elections, and any number of ugly meat grinding processes, they've simply decided to unravel our republic at its very core. It was bad enough when they were going to use the archane tool of reconciliation, but now they've gone into a whole new territory with "Deem & Pass".

So, for those not closely following the ins and outs of the procedural aspects of the healthcare situation, here's a brief primer: The House passed a bill. The Senate passed a bill. The normal process is for there to then be a conference, where the two bills are merged into a single piece of legislation which then returns to both houses of congress for a final vote. Unfortunately for the Democrats, the people got in the way and elected Scott Brown to fill Ted Kennedy's seat in the Senate... They no longer had the votes. Their solution to only having 59 votes was reconciliation, a procedural budget tool. That was a clear bastardization of the process, the same sort of tool the Democrats referred to as the "nuclear option" when Republicans threatened a simple majority vote when they were blocking Federal judges en masse during the last administration. No longer nuclear, apparently, they still couldn't do it. Democrats themselves still couldn't pull it together because to do this the House Democrats would have to wholly accept the Senate bill, pass it, and then rely on both houses to pass corrections after the fact. And if there is anyone that distrusts the Democrats in the Senate more than the American people, it's the Democrats in the House. Enter "Deem & Pass".

So, what is deem and pass? Basically, the House is going to skip ahead and work only on the amendments to the bill. When they have that, they will pass the amendments. They assert that passage of the amendments inherently deem that the previous bill had been passed. Thus, House Democrats don't have to actively vote through the Senate bill, don't have to go on record with that vote, and can simply vote for the corrected bill, which grandfathers in the Senate bill.

I have two inherent problems with all of this. First, I wasn't in favor of a simple majority for Federal judges under Bush, and I'm certainly not in favor of it here. The Senate has traditionally codified the ability of any member to fillibuster. It used to require a full super-majority of 67 votes to break it. That was reduced to 60. The whole point isn't to frustrate the process or the people. Its purpose is to protect the minority. The protection of the minority is one of the most fundamental bedrocks of our nation. When the Founders were crafting the Constitution they specifically intended the Senate to function as a filter. The Federalist Papers talked extensively about this. The use of reconciliation to avoid a basic threshold is impossible to support or condone. The tyranny of the majority has officially taken a foothold... which, if you're a liberal should keep you awake at night, because this moment represents the largest representation of Democrats in power for a generation. The vast majority of this country is independent and principly conservative leaning. This breakdown won't end here, and neither extreme is good for us. Madison's great fears are now being realized.

My second objection is to this deem and pass rubbish. Amendments must be to a bill or to a law. They are attempting to amend a bill as though it were law. This is a slippery slope if ever there were one. So, in order to codify anything we merely need to reference it in a later piece of legislation? What? Congress is there to draft and either pass or not pass legislation. The Democrats cannot pass this with votes under their own rules. So, they're going to cheat.

Folks, we're drifting into Roman Empire territory here. There is corruption like Charlie Rangel, and then there's the full corruption of the system where our legislature no longer even votes! So, with reconciliation we destroy the protection of the minority. With deem and pass we remove Congress as a legitimate body... Ever wonder what the Roman Senate did during the Imperial period? They deemed and passed the whims of the Emperor.

This has all happened before and will happen again.

Primetime: The Amazing Race - S16E5 'I Think We're Fighting the Germans, Right?'

2010-03-15T16:40:00.007-06:00

The gold standard of reality television, The Amazing Race takes contestants and audiences around the world in a whirlwind race from point to point for a million dollars! Even the concept elevates this material. Each week the events of that week's race will be reviewed here. Check out the review!

"?????" -Jordan

I rather liked the opening this week with the teams not knowing where they were due to the moving nature of the pit stop. It reminded me of Lost... No, not Lost as in Oceanic 815, but rather the reality show that premiered at roughly the same time as The Amazing Race on NBC. In that show, teams of 2 were dropped in the middle of nowhere, and they had to find their way back to a predetermined locale. It was entertaining, and this was a nice mini-hybridization of that, which was cool.

Unfortunately, because the travel had taken place during the mandatory rest periods, the leg was going to be extremely difficult for Jeff and Jordan. I particularly thought they were dead when we saw them leave the pits so late compared to the other teams. I hadn't realized they were that far back. It would take a miracle...

The Detectives, after a really slow start to the season, are coming along nicely. At this point they're definitely the team to beat, but based on the physical conditioning of Louie, they're beatable. On the other hand, Cowboys Jet and Cord continue to do well and are really the dark horses, if you ask me.

The pacing of this season has been really odd, and that continues in this episode. Throughout this season teams have been showing up and completing tasks without us ever seeing any reference shots. Now, there's no roadblock... what's up? Maybe that crawl was harder than it looked, but it was just 100 yards. I like roadblocks because I like one member having to stand on his/her own feet... ah well, next week!

With regard to the U-Turn, I'm of two minds. On the one hand, I probably wouldn't use it if I were out in front, particularly a Blind U-Turn where it's obvious I did it... On the other, if I was fighting for first in a leg and another team was on my heels, then it's fair game all the way... those prizes are pretty nice. They won $5,000 because they were willing to play the game. I don't begrudge those guys that. I don't even begrudge their other more personal reasoning. Joe shot his mouth off in range of other teams... teams they were losing to. So, they got slapped down. However, it's not like their team had done the mental challenge and were forced back to do the physical one... his knee wasn't the determining factor, thinking dot dot dot equals dash did... stupidity.

In the end, I'm glad to see Jordan and Jeff still in it, but I doubt they're long for the game. What do you think? Can they rally?

3.5/5 wizards

Primetime: Shows COWD Reviews

2010-03-15T12:23:00.008-06:00

One of the central features at COWD are the television reviews. Listed below are the current planned slate of reviews for this site. The list includes a mixture of different programming, from science fiction to comedy, from reality shows to cartoons, with some political fare thrown in to boot. Check out our full listing below.

The Amazing Race

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Caprica

The Celebrity Apprentice

The Clone Wars

Community

Heroes (pending return)

Lost

Modern Family

Psych

South Park

Stargate: Universe

Survivor

White Collar

Political Roundup (COWD's review of politics on tv that week)

There will also be a set of Retro-Reviews, where selected series will be rewatched, episode by episode, and a new review in hindsight created. The series on the list for upcoming Retro-Reviews are as follows:

Batman: The Animated Series

Band of Brothers

Battlestar Galactica

Boston Legal

Clone Wars

The Clone Wars

Ducktales

From Earth to the Moon

Lost

Magnum, PI

Rome

X-Men (the 90's Animated Series)

Primetime: Caprica Review - S1E6 'The Imperfections of Memory'

2010-03-15T11:20:00.006-06:00

Following in the esteemed footsteps of Battlestar Galactica, the Syfy series Caprica has gotten off to a slow, but intense start. The blend of science fiction elements into a wholly character and drama driven narrative is really compelling thus far, and I hope we can explore the world a little more with these reviews...

"Zoe?" -Daniel Greystone

Who knew that Amanda Greystone was so nutty to begin with? Until now I'd assumed she was simply distraught over her daughter's death, and then the revelation that she was the one who caused it. Now, however, we learn that things have never really been great for Amanda. You have to wonder how she ended up with Daniel. The flashes to chasing her brother down that hallway felt very much like an echo of Laura Rosyln chasing after Hera and some of her other kamala induced visions. She might be nuts, she might be seeing things from the pills she's popping... either way, Amanda is susceptible.

To what? More like to whom, it seems. Polly Walker is amazing as Sister Clarice. I enjoyed her work immensely on Rome, and she's turning in another brilliantly devilish performance in this series thus far. Her character is the perfect seductive viper.

Speaking of vipers, wasn't that sequence in New Cap City with the oldschool vipers awesome?!? The V-world definitely has potential for some really great science fiction settings and elements going forward. This week, however, I wasn't very interested in the happenings on the inside. It seemed like they were spinning their wheels with that, holding Tamara's story until next week, which was fine.

This week we learned that the tech Daniel stole from Vergis, strangely, never worked. That kernel of knowledge is undoubtedly what set Daniel's mind to thinking about Zoe's avatar, particularly after Philomon's comments about analog and unique elements. And while it will be good for the story to move forward, it leaves me with one question related to BSG... namely, there were many copies. So, either the Cylons overcome the hurdle of copying, or something else is eventually at play... or is there something already different at play with Zoe?

It was a solid episode, with a really great ending.

Primetime: Survivor Review - S20E5 'Knights of the Round Table'

2010-03-14T14:35:00.014-06:00

Along with the multi-Emmy Award winning The Amazing Race, genre pioneer Survivor will be among the reality programs reviewed here on COWD. This 20th season and 10th year of Survivor is already off to a roaring start. One of the great things about these all-star seasons is that we know all the castaways, how they play, and all the minutia that can often bore or distract from the game itself. We have none of that and are racing toward the eventual merge... So let's begin!

"Coach bows down to me- He was the one kneeling to me, and I knight him. As the King that I am, I knight the Dragon Slayer to be part of my Kingdom." -Russell

At last week's Tribal we saw JT choose to stick with Tom & Colby over the Micronesia gang which included James, Amanda, Rupert, and the now voted out Cirie. As usual, this episode picked up right where the last left off, with the "Heroes" on their way back from Tribal. This is where the ramifications of JT's choice come into play, as Amanda, a quiet, beautiful, genial, but cutthroat player expresses that she doesn't buy his excuse for voting out Cirie, and that she no longer trusts him regardless. It seems he has burned that bridge and will be with Tom & Colby to the end, with Candice in tow... Or not??? I do think JT's reasoning to the group for ousting Cirie was sound, and if they were playing the game instead of purely the numbers within their own tribe at this point, I think most would've seen the wisdom of his action, whether they trust him going forward or not. Cirie was dangerous, and as mad as Amanda might have been, from every comment Cirie has made, she was just waiting for the chance to return the knife to Amanda's back from their previous experience... so be careful what you wish for.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenges this season. They're brutal physically and often mentally as well. The Reward Challenge for this episode saw the return of a very punishing game from just last season. In that challenge, Ben won notoriety as the first ever castaway ejected from a challenge when he knee-capped "Bug-Eyed" Russell. This season the action was just as rough, but without the cheap shots... Or Not!!! Did you see that push into the pylon that Rupert sent Jerri's way? Wow! It must've felt so nice to sink the winning basket for her... Speaking of Jerri, am I the only one who likes her this season? She seems to be a bit more mellow and able to own her role on the "Villains" tribe. I really didn't like seeing her upset at the All-Stars reunion show, so it's good that she's back on the horse.

As bad as Ben knee-capping Russell last season, the real knee-capping was with injury-prone James. A darker presence in Survivor this season, James has seemingly been really angry. I think he was really bummed about his medical evacuation from before and has been so focused this season that it's coming out improperly. His second appearance was supposed to redeem him from the stupid mistake of being voted out while holding two immunity idols from his first go-round... how embarrassing then, that he went out with a cut finger. This third outing holds tremendous pressure for our grave digger, I'm certain. From being hyper-critical to teammates, to just plain dismissive and rude, the new injury can't help his demeanor going forward, though. For his sake, let's hope the rest of the season is torso heavy...

From the idol challenged of James, to the idol sublime of Russell, the king has come through again. I'm not quite sure what Boston Rob's plan is. It's possible that his lack of familiarity with idol play is going to bite him in the end. He may very well have telegraphed his undoing several times over the past couple weeks when he pointed out that he never dealt with idols before. If he has it out for Russell, and he does, and he plans to vote Russell out, that's a problem. The only way to get someone out who has an idol is to blindside them. The other option is to flush the idol and sacrifice one of your own, or split the vote carefully and send an ally of the idol holder home while still flushing the idol. So, instead of this being dangerous for Russell, it's really only dangerous to Rob himself and Parvati as Russell's ally. It's a good thing the Villains haven't had to attend many Tribals...

And the reason they don't have to go to Tribal is that they're really good at puzzles. The Heroes have brawn in spades, but they're totally lacking upstairs, and their votes to send people home only continue to weaken them mentally. At this point, the only hope the Heroes have is for some really physical immunity challenges. Once again this week, it was their undoing.

The loss left them bound for Tribal again and JT in a swing vote position again. He had repaired things enough with James, et al. that they at least somewhat trusted him for a vote going in. Tom & Colby were understandably somewhat confident. Then the vote... They kept the guy who can't run.

I think JT made the wrong choice tonight. Had he stayed with Tom & Colby he could have brought along Candice, and made her more happy. James would've been gone, leaving Amanda and Rupert. Rupert has proven worthless as a strategic player and as a lasting physical one, and Amanda stabs her allies in the back on the way to being second every time through bitter jury votes. How did JT choose wisely? I can't even run the scenario...

What did you think of this week's episode and the vote? Did JT do the right thing?

Primetime: Community Review - S1E18 'Basic Genealogy'

2010-03-12T13:06:00.016-07:00

For me, after ABC's Modern Family, the best new comedy of the season is Community, NBC's offbeat sitcom from creator Dan Harmon. Like Modern Family, Community has a fantastic ensemble. Over the coming weeks I will be reviewing the final episodes of this first season, and then again when the show returns next fall, as NBC has already announced its renewal!

COWD's reviews will contain spoilers, obviously... Click to read the review.

"I'll give Jeff a shoulder to cry on and you boys go put a dead bird in that bitch's glove compartment." -Shirley

Opening quickly, they dispatched Jeff's relationship with Professor Slater in the pre-credits sequence. The scene itself was really well done, and the way she let him know was just classic and heartless. What did we expect from her? Seems Jeff fell a bit more for her than they'd agreed going in... I wonder if this will play out going forward? The writers of this series seem to be quite good with callbacks, so we can hope.

Once Slater had pulled the rug from under Jeff's feet he put on a brave face for the group and figured a little romp with a hottie wouldn't hurt either! Enter this week's guest star, Katharine McPhee of American Idol fame as Amber. The only catch? Amber is Pierce's daughter... well, step-daughter... okay, okay, ex-step-daughter.

I never watched her season of American Idol, so I was totally unfamiliar with her. I thought she did a fine and seemless performance. With some high profile guest stars, particularly those not primarily known for acting, they can stick out. To her credit, she wasn't out of place and I can see her having a future in acting if she wants it.

"Hey, Phantom Menace, how's the trade embargo with the Naboo?" - Señor Chang

Although the setup of a family day at the college level stretches credibility, this is an outrageous place from top to bottom, so it fit for me. Ken Jeong's performance as Señor Chang only gets better, a scene stealer every second he appears, he was in rare form tonight. The zingers toward Starburns and the other students was great. He plays bitter so well, and was a highlight in this episode, particularly the Star Wars reference got me.

That reference was to Abed's cousin as she sat in class wearing a burkha. Abed's family has been the focus before and his dad retured this week in another funny turn. It was nice to see Shirley rewarded with the realization that it was her boys who had hatched the plan to let Abed's cousin have some fun.

"And I may just be a simple cop, but people need to know this isn't gonna stop until Pictionary bans the word windmill." -Police Officer

The interaction between Pierce and Amber was as strained and amusing as you can imagine. This really is a dream part for Chevy Chase, it plays up the clueless character with a hidden heart that he's played for years. But now, with him trying to play the aged hipster, it works better than ever. Even as clueless as he is, you had to feel bad for him that he's so alone that he had to trick Amber to come. If only he weren't so completely daft! Though he's apparently pretty well off to just drop $25k on a girl he knew was scamming him. As he said, she earned it...

Britta also earned what she got! Wow, talk about putting your foot in your mouth. From the moment she encountered Troy's grandmother, she was in trouble. This story had the most punch for me this week. When she asked for Britta to get her a switch and she was confused by what one was?!? Yikes, you could see the comedy coming, but the payoff was pitch perfect, down to Troy being just as upset as Britta was during her punishment. Too funny.

"We always used to watch the shows she wanted to watch... I hate Glee... I hate it. I don't understand the appeal at all." -Jeff

It's good that Jeff is back on the market, it offers up more comedy potential than if he's stuck in a relationship. It was also nice to see that he wouldn't stab Pierce in the back for a piece... Well, a second piece...

"Troy?"
"I think I hit G13..." Abed & Troy

Community has some of the best end sequences I have ever seen. They are definitely part of the episodes I look forward to most. This week with Abed and Troy in the vending machine, a mirror to Shirley's boy from earlier, was great again. It didn't have the same impact as the Bert and Ernie sketch from a few weeks ago, but it still made me laugh out loud, and that's what this whole episode did... another solid entry for the freshman season.

4/5 wizards

The Silver Screen: New Releases 3/12/2010

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Each week the new feature films released during that period will be listed here for ease of reference.

Green Zone (R) - Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson
Army inspectors sniff out a huge cover-up while looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Stolen (R) - Cast: Jon Hamm, Josh Lucas, Jimmy Bennett
A detective whose son is missing becomes obsessed with solving the 50-year-old murder of a child.

She’s Out of My League (R) - Cast: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller
An airport security agent (Jay Baruchel) cannot believe his luck when a beautiful gal falls for him.

Our Family Wedding (PG-13) - Cast: Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia
Two overbearing fathers wreak havoc with their children's wedding plans.

Mother (R) - Cast: Kim Hye-Ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo

Remember Me (PG-13) - Cast: Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Chris Cooper
Tyler, a rebellious young man in New York City, meets Ally (Emilie de Ravin) through an unusual twist of fate.

Are there any new films that appeal to anyone reading this? Of the new films out this week, my choice would be to see the Green Zone. However, if I hadn't already seen it, my choice would still be to catch Alice in Wonderland!

A New COWD for a New Decade

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Welcome to the new incarnation of The Crazy Old Wizard’s Domain! Originally founded nearly a decade ago as an internet based center of lively and intelligent discussion about various entertainment and social issues, the new COWD will retain the friendly community while also focusing more on providing content for our users.

An exciting line-up of reviews, updates, and other features are scheduled. To that end, the message board format has been switched into a weblog. The idea is to have greater flexibility and potential visibility for the individual elements of the site, hopefully leading to the expansion of the community through spinning of articles and other methods.

The original Crazy Old Wizard’s Domain is not disappearing, however. The original COWD message board will remain on Yuku along with our Feedback forum and Club Obi Wan, the center for community discussions and personal interactions.
I look forward to the coming weeks and months as this new manifestation of COWD takes root, I hope you’re all along for the ride! Post a comment below to let us know you’re out there!