Category: Reviews

Cable dramatic series take chances on shoestring budgets, casting a few familiar names and plenty of unknowns, shooting in unfamiliar locales and yet, have continually been delivering the goods, making the quality of television overall much better than it has been in a long time.

Among the more inventive, engaging and entertaining of these shows is TNT’s Leverage
, which returns for a third season with a two-episode debut on June 20. This week, Paramount Home Video releases the complete second season
in a four-disc DVD set. By now, most might be familiar with the high concept: a band of thieves teams with an emotionally damaged insurance adjuster to apply the right amount of “[[[leverage]]]” to do good.

The show has evolved into more than just the caper of the week as this band of dysfunctional people grows as individuals and as an odd family. In the center is Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton), who lost his son because his own insurance company declined to cover a potentially life-saving treatment. This has cost him his job and his wife, sending him into an alcoholic binge. For the first 27 episodes, Ford continues to insist that bending and breaking the law to accomplish justice makes him a good guy, not a thief. That all changes as his character arc reaches a crisis point in the 28th show.

His emotional damage is such that he has not been able to maintain real relationships with people including Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman), the grifter he’s harbored feelings for over the years. Season two was broken into halves and by the end of the summer 2009 half, she left the team to find herself (a clever way of writing her out to cover Bellman’s pregnancy). To protect the team, she has asked her friend Tara Cole (Jeri Ryan) to take her place so injecting her into the family brings up trust issues. Throughout the winter 2010 half season, members of the team are seen seeking advice from Sophie as she globetrots and is seen on viewscreens only.

The entire second season builds up to breaking Ford down, as he falls off the wagon in Sophie’s absence and is gradually distancing himself from the team. The fifteen episodes comprising the complete second season have somewhat slight cons while carrying forward many of the character arcs, enriching the overall series.

Several figures from season one return, among them James Sterling (Mark A. Sheppard), Nate’s former rival and now opponent. The Sterling-Ford confrontations are well played by two gifted actors and keeps reminding us of Ford’s tortured past. The return of his ex-wife Maggie Collins (Kari Matchett) also complicates matters as does Nate’s decision to relocate to Boston and live above the Pub where his father used to do business and drink heavily.

The show is uneven to be sure, as the supporting cast is nowhere near as well-developed as they should be. Parker (Beth Riesgraf)’s background is the most intriguing but little is done to show us more and the potential romance with her and Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge) has gone nowhere. Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), the deadliest muscle on Earth, has been given too few opportunities to show he’s anything more. Ryan’s character mixed in well and was intriguing but no effort was made to explore how she became a grifter.

The final two-part episode nicely brings things to a climax, resolving some things, and leaving you wondering what will happen next.

The discs contain some nice extras including production crew commentaries on all fifteen episodes, which provide tremendous insight into how much thought goes into setting up arcs and motifs. There’s a Creators of Leverage Q&A from a public appearance, John Rogers Set Tour, a featurette on the special effects, an unevenly funny “The Hand Job” spoof video, a short piece on Any Lange’s music seen in one episode; and finally, the Season 2 Wrap Party Gag Reel.

A nice package and great way to catch up before the ten new episodes arrive to brighten the summer.

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There’s something to be said for immersing yourself in a new world, letting yourself discover new life forms and new civilizations. Going where no man has gone before is one reason we pay out bucks and attend big screen presentation. James Cameron delivers on that expectation with [[[Avatar]]], the lushly-produced science fiction film that recently was released on Blu-ray by 20th Century Home Entertainment.

Pandora is a colorful world, looking nothing like Earth and yet has a vibrant ecosystem with intelligent life that has found harmony with the flora and fauna. The worst thing that ever happened to them was being discovered by mankind.

By the 2040s, we’re told Earth has ruined its ecology and was a dying world so people needed to spread out, find new resources to let the billions live until solutions could be found. A new mineral discovered in abundance on Pandora brings ship after ship as man invades a new frontier, threatening a way of life.

While this has been an engaging theme in fiction for decades, Avatar offers us nothing new on the subject. The story has been reviled and ridiculed because it evokes memories of better versions of this same story, most notably Dances With Wolves, but even that Kevin Costner epic was retelling an old tale.

Cameron put all the money on the screen. Even on home video, Pandora is a rich world that moves and breathes with grace. The logical extrapolation of technology looks great down to the tiniest of details.

And again, this is why the story fails us so completely. On the one hand we enter an alien world and see compelling imagery and then on the other, we watch every stock cliché and story point telegraphed because of its utter familiarity. While sitting at home seeing the film for the first time, my wife and I were calling out what was coming next because it was so obvious. James Horner seemed equally uninspired, repeating elements of his Glory soundtrack.

There’s a reason Jake, our hero, was only a corporal: he sucks as a strategist.  The final assault to protect Pandora from the humans wasted so much life because he didn’t use the geography and geology to his benefit.

When Colonel Kilgore, I mean Colonel Quaritch, suits up to take on Jake, I uttered, “We have gone from a Cameron film to a Bruckheimer film” and the utterly unnecessary final battle was saved from being too much on-the-nose by Neytiri delivering the killing blow on behalf of her world.

By being given nothing real to play, the performers went through the motions and did the best they could but no one performance stands out as being particularly good or memorable.

Similarly, the Blu-ray had one of the sharpest transfers I’ve ever seen and it made me miss seeing Pandora projected large and in 3-D. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack lacks a single extra (not even the trailers) so no doubt some collector’s set is in the offing.

On the other hand, the thin and flat story made me equally happy I didn’t shell out extra bucks for what is ultimately a disappointing experience because the finished product came nowhere close to its potential.

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As a storyteller, Garry Marshall’s credentials include some of the finest character-driver television of the 1960s. This success with [[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]] and [[[I Spy]]], among others, led to his chance to produce and direct sitcoms and then feature films. Along the way, he built a reputation as a great person to work for, earning him endless loyalty. His films grew in sophistication without losing the heart and soul, as seen when he turned $3000 into [[[Pretty Woman]]].

With the passage of time, though, it has become clear that while a beloved figure, he has lost sight of the strong and individualistic characters he used to surround himself with. As a result, his more recent offerings have been softer, less interesting, and far less commercially relevant.

When viewers saw the marquee ensemble he assembled for [[[Valentine’s Day]]], it was a guarantee that people would come and see their favorites. There were big names for every demographic from Emma Roberts and Taylor Launter for the tween set to Shirley MacLaine for the seniors. Unfortunately, when we bought our tickets and popcorn and sat down, we were treated to a watered down, predicable story.

The film’s biggest problem is that it poorly compares with 2003’s [[[Love Actually]]], which has become a cable, DVD and sleepover staple. That film focused on a far small cast with much stronger storylines for everyone.

Watching Valentine’s Day on DVD, out tomorrow from Warner Home Video, you are just a tad surprised by how some of the characters intersect but not by what they do. Every storyline is telegraphed and every character is a stock type, yanked from Central Casting.

Katherine Fugate’s story may feel sprawling and at the same time intimate, it also fails to surprise. More, it fails to show us anything but a narrow demographic which was upper middle class to the wealthy. George Lopez, playing the lowest paid character in the film also had the strongest romance and shortest amount of screen time to demonstrate it.

Her story also has logic-defying plot holes such as Jennifer Garner’s 5:30 flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco and yet was able to get humiliated, return to the airport and manage to crash the early dinner seating at a posh LA restaurant.

Several actors were criticized for walking through their parts but then again, when they were given nothing to work with, it’s clear they were there out of love for Marshall. Garner and Anne Hathaway give two of the most honest performances while Taylor Swift shows us what a good singer she is. Even Marshall’s go-to actor, the great Hector Elizondo, gives a fairly rote performance.

This disappointing film comes in the standard combo pack with Blu-ray, Standard DVD and digital copy in a nice package. The Blu-ray video and sound were top-notch, which let us enjoy the excellent sound track. Blu-ray extras include an extensive number of deleted scenes, none of which make the story any deeper or more satisfying, while The Garry Factor clearly demonstrates why people signed on to make this sad effort. The Blooper Reel, a Jewel music video, and The Stars Confess Their Valentine’s Day Stories round out the nice assortment of extras. 

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It seemed fairly inevitable that as super-heroes and graphic novels grew more prevalent for younger readers, there’d be a greater variety in presentation. Jake Bell and Chris Giarrusso have come up with something a little bit different: young adult prose books with 8-page comic sections.

Bell, an experienced writer, offers up [[[The Amazing Adventures of Nate Banks]]], comic book expert and middle school student in the new Scholastic series. The first two volumes were simultaneously released this month to give readers a chance to enter and immerse themselves in Nate’s colorful world.

The precipitating event is the arrival of [[[Ultraviolet]]]], a brand new super-heroine in the small suburban community of Kanigher Falls. Her arrival prompts speculation over who she is and why the community, which lacked its own resident metahuman. The world of Nate Banks is one filled with super-heroes and the requisite super-villains where people accept their presence.

Book one, [[[Secret Identity Crisis]]], is all set up and introductory material so we meet Nate, his family, his friends, and his teachers while also giving us the early days of  Ultraviolet. The second volume, [[[Freezer Burned]]], picks up a short time later as Coldsnap comes to town ostensibly seeking a valuable diamond on display but Nate figures out there’s more to his scheme.

The books are nicely constructed and written. While many of the twists and turns are telegraphed and therefore lack surprise, the stories move along briskly and expand this inventive world that clearly pays homage to beloved comic book creators from Jack Kirby to Steve Gerber.

Bell fails, though, to create original and interesting characters. Nate is a fine protagonist but his friends and family all come from a stock company. Most have little or anything to do or say that don’t further the story and lack any sense of dimension. The same for Ultraviolet, the town’s hero and budding friend to Nate, who actually has less to do in book two than she should.

The comic sections provide additional background and information to each story. Giarrusso, an incredibly talented and funny writer/artist in his own right, does a nice job here and on the covers.

This series is off to a solid if unspectacular start. If more arrive, hopefully Bell will deepen the supporting cast and offer up some truly interesting characters and complications.

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