Search results matching tags 'reviews' and 'showtime'

Toni Collette wins Golden Globe for "United States of Tara"

MediaPhile@evpl — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:17:00 GMT

Having always been a Toni Collette fan, I was happy to hear that she was the star of a new Showtime series. I was even happier when the first season of "United States of Tara" arrived at the libraries on DVD.

Collette, who is Australian by the way (I didn't know that), played the mom in "The Sixth Sense." She also played the mom in "Little Miss Sunshine." Once again she plays a mom, but this time she is split into 4 parts.

Yes, she has dissociative identity disorder -- which (shades of "Sybil") used to be known as multiple personality disorder. As the series starts, she and her family have just agreed that the drugs she is taking are not worth the side-effects, and she is off her meds.

Collette is magnificent at morphing into the various personalities. In fact, the four-time nominee just took home the Golden Globe for leading actress in a comedy TV series.

Rounding out the cast are John Corbett (the nice guy who Carrie leaves on "Sex and the City" -- still a really really nice guy) as her husband Max, Kier Gilchrist as son Marshall, Brie Larson as daughter Kate, and Rosemarie DeWitt as sister Charmaine. Each family member is unique and a bit flawed but they all soldier on, with humor and grace.

Give this one a try. The second season just started in January.

"Dexter" season 3

MediaPhile@evpl — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:42:00 GMT

The lovable serial killer/blood spatter anaylyst with a Code of Ethics (he only kills killers) is back!

This time Dexter makes a friend! It is, unfortunately, Miami Assistant D.A. Miguel Prado, played by Jimmy Smits. Can Dexter keep his secrets but continue his mission? Turns out that A.D.A. Prado has through the years compiled his own hit list, and he enlists Dexter's advice on carrying out his personal vendettas.

Then there is Dexter's domestic situation. Can a secret killer also make a good father and husband? His angelic girlfriend thinks so. But will marriage cramp his style?

Michael C. Hall, who delighted us as the gay undertaker in turmoil in "Six Feet Under" easily slipped into Dexter's shoes. It is sheer pleasure just to watch him act. Another high point of the series is Jennifer Carpenter, who plays Dexter's tomboyish adopted sister Debra, a woman who knows how to speak her mind. In real life Hall married Carpenter in January 2009.

Just a note: don't even THINK of watching Season 3 until you have seen the first two seasons. (And be sure to stick with the first season through at least 4 episodes before passing judgment -- Dexter DOES develop a conscience!)

"Dexter" and his dark roots

MediaPhile@evpl — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:54:00 GMT

I've been watching the hit Showtime series "Dexter" on DVD and have been tracing the genealogy of this "lovable" serial killer.

The "Dexter" series, based on a 2004 novel entitled "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay, does, I think, owe a debt of gratitude to the Ripley series of novels by Patricia Highsmith. To quote Wikipedia, "her recurring character Tom Ripley — an amoral, sexually ambiguous con artist and erstwhile murderer — was featured in a total of five novels, known to fans as the Ripliad, written between 1955 and 1991."

I got hooked by the 2000 movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (starring the dream cast of Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett and directed by the esteemed Anthony Minghella). I ended up reading all five installments of the Ripliad. "Ripley's Game," a pale but acceptable follow-up by a different director that starred John Malcovich, was released in 2002.

Now we have "Dexter." Both Tom Ripley and Dexter Morgan are sociopaths who operate out of the normal bounds of accepted behavior. Ripley, however, only kills to get ahead and to protect his secrets. One kill inevitably leads to another. Dexter is drawn to killing and enjoys it -- it is the only thing that makes him feel -- but is taught by his cop foster father to channel his urges into killing only serial killers.

So, you are probably telling yourself, why should I watch such a disturbing program as "Dexter"? Well it stars "Six Feet Under's" Michael C. Hall (as a blood spatter analyst), has a strong supporting cast, is set in scenic Miami, and is essentially a mystery suspense series. But I must warn you that a strong stomach is a necessity when Dexter gets down to business. It's not that we see much -- it's just the thought of it. If you prefer a more elegant killer, you might want to check out Ripley in book or video form.