Search results matching tags 'movies' and 'action'

"Awake" an amazing TV show, cancelled after tonight

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:48:00 GMT

I'm not a fan of hyperbole...but Awake is, without a doubt, the best show I've seen on TV in a long time.

However, the bean counters at NBC have already cancelled the show. Tonight's season finale will also be the series finale.

Detective Michael Britten survives a horrific car crash with his wife and son as passengers. Following the accident, Michael finds himself living in two realities: one in which his wife survived but his son didn't, and one where his son survived but his wife didn't.

Michael alternates between the two realities every morning when he wakes. Happenings in one reality become clues for the other.

Definitely an interesting concept. But it's the writing, acting, and emotion that make the show so great. The cinematography is excellent as well, always alerting the viewer to which reality they are currently seeing (except for a few scenes that are intentionally vague).

Is one of the realities a dream? Are both? What is going on? We should find out tonight as the 13th and final episode airs.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this series (if you couldn't tell already), but you must watch them in order. They are available for viewing on Hulu.

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My Favorite Sleep/Dream Related Movies

So all this talk about Awake made me think about movies involving sleep & dreaming. Below are 3 of my favs, and as I previously declared my love for all things Christopher Nolan it should be no surprise that two of these are his.

Inception (2010) - Check our catalog

Ambiguous Plot Description: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, & Ellen Page.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - Check our catalog

Ambiguous Plot Description: A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with. Starring Jim Carrey & Kate Winslet.

Insomnia (2002) - Check our catalog

Ambiguous Plot Description: Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to an Alaska town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the murder of a local teen. Starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, & Hilary Swank.

Not so Fast, and you may leave Furious

E-Ville Librarian@evpl — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:00:00 GMT

First off, I don't care how tough of a rear wheel-drive car you have, wheelies are pretty much impossible in a car that has an engine under the hood. Even Fieros don't do wheelies, let alone V-8 muscle cars from the 70's, so you can understand my initial disbelief while watching the most recent of street rod action in Fast & Furious. Couple the physics-bending wheelmanship with Vin Diesel's even less believable portrayal of anything other Van Diesel (aka Mark Vincent), and you have a recipe for another bad movie. I have to admit that I skipped Tokyo Drift, so maybe I missed some important back plot that is key to my understanding of this flick However, If such is the case, I'll stay blissfully ignorant.

Doomsday, wrathful robots, other cheerfulness in "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:38:00 GMT

Being a self-proclaimed sci-fi geek, I love the Terminator movies. With three theatrical movies, and a fourth coming in 2009 (Terminator Salvation, starring Christian Bale!), Fox decided to capitalize on the series' success with a spin-off television series. Season 1 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles began airing in January of 2008, and was recently released on DVD & Blu-ray.

Explaining the TV show requires a bit of backstory from the movies, so here goes...

The Terminator (1984) - In 1997, a computer system called Skynet becomes self-aware, unleashes a nuclear apocalypse on humanity, and builds an army of robots to destroy the few surviving humans that have formed a resistance. The leader of this resistance is John Connor, and under his command they are able to keep humanity alive.

In 2029, Skynet decides to send an indestructible Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time, to the year 1984, to kill John's mother, Sarah. If they kill Sarah, John will never be born, thus never organizing the resistance. Upon learning of Skynet's plan, the resistance sends one of their own to the year 1984, to protect Sarah from the Terminator. Fortunately, Sarah stays alive and the Terminator is destroyed.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - It's now 1993. Sarah Connor is in a mental institution for "delusions". John Connor is a rebellious youth, living with foster parents. Skynet decides to send a more advanced Terminator to kill John. Future-John (in 2029) has reprogrammed a T-100 (Arnold) and sent him to 1993 to protect young-John. They bust Sarah out of the institution and destroy Cyberdyne, a company creating robotic endoskeletons (used in the future for the robot armies). This successfully delays the nuclear apocalypse.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) - Forget about this one. Has no correlation with this TV show.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles takes place in 1997. Sarah & John have been on the run for four years, pursued by the FBI for charges of terrorism. While at school one day, John discovers that his substitute teacher is a Terminator sent back in time to kill him. And guess what?

The resistance has sent a female Terminator named Cameron, played by Summer Glau (best-known for her role in Firefly & Serenity), to protect him. Cameron transports Sarah & John to the year 2007, as that is now the year that Skynet takes over. Agent Ellison of the FBI picks up the case, after it remained stagnant for the previous 10 years.

Sarah, John, & Cameron are on a mission to discover what Skynet is and to destroy it. Turns out that an advanced chess computer, that has garnered military interest, is the prime suspect. As Agent Ellison investigates Sarah's record, including visiting her former psychiatrist from the mental institution, he slowly begins to realize that she wasn't lying. The final episode features an epic battle, to Johnny Cash's "When the Man Comes Around" (one of his last songs, containing many references to the Book of Revelations), which literally gave me goosebumps.

While a bit cheesy at times, as most TV shows are, I found the acting and plot to be top-notch. It was also fascinating to see concepts, never fully explained in the movies, fleshed out. Fans of the Terminator films, good sci-fi, and thought-provoking storylines should definitely check it out!

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Check availability of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles at EVPL libraries.
Amazon.com: Buy Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on DVD or Blu-ray using this link, and the Public Library Friends will receive a portion of your purchase.
Internet Movie Database: Find out more about the show at IMDB.
Fox.com: View the official website of the TV show.

"Iron Man"

MediaPhile@evpl — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:28:00 GMT

Loved it!

My son had told me that this was the superhero action movie of the year -- NOT The Dark Knight -- and now I know what he means. The good guys weren't perfect, the bad guys weren't Satan personified, and the plot unpredictable and halfway intelligent.

Robert Downey Jr obviously had a lot of fun with his double role as wealthy industrialist Tony Stark and Iron Man. Jeff Bridges equally seemed to relish playing jovial but obviously sleazy businessman/villain Obadiah Stane. And Gwenyth Paltrow, as Stark's ever patient and hardworking secretary Pepper Potts, had just the right amount of chemistry with her boss.

Kudos to comic writer-editor Stan Lee! And to Marvel Studios, who reacquired the rights in 2006 after the film had been "in development" since 1990 at Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and New Line Cinema. This was Marvel's first self-financed film, and the $574,049,094 worldwide box office gross shows that they made a wise move.

I just wish I had seen Iron Man on the big screen! DVDs like this just make we want to run out to buy a wide screen High Def TV. Iron Man was the first in a trilogy, with Iron Man 2 due out in April 2010. I hope it defies the usual downward trend for sequels and lives up to the standards of the first film.