How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
November 30, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For clueless NBC executives, and for that bastard Greg Pikitis: Parks & Recreation: Season Two
Building on the foundation laid in its brief six-episode first season, the second season of Parks and Recreation developed into one of the best written and acted sitcoms in recent years. Amy Poehler really hit her stride as Leslie Knope, a tireless bureaucrat in the Pawnee, Indiana Parks and Recreation department. Poehler has created a character who is mildly self-deluded – but where The Office’s Michael Scott is taken overboard to irritating lengths in this regard, Poehler’s Knope stays endearing as she tirelessly navigates the pitfalls of small-town government.
The supporting cast really shines in the second season. Emerging as a notable in the world of stand-up comedy, Aziz Ansari is brilliant as overcompensating cad Tom Haverford. Underrated Aubrey Plaza turns in an understated performance as April, who lets some cracks of light peek through her varnished cynicism as she develops a crush on clueless lug Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt).
The standout of the second season is Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, the head of the department who wants nothing more than to see the system he works in crumble. Offerman gives a handful of Emmy-worthy performances, playing off his real-life wife Megan Mullally in “Ron and Tammy,” or the brilliantly written “Woman of the Year.” In addition to Mullally, the season features strong guest appearances by Louis C.K., John Laroquette and the real-life Mr. Poehler, Will Arnett.
It’s no surprise to Parks and Rec fans that NBC has less than steady confidence in the series, and this became apparent in the writing of the last episodes of the season. Two state auditors (Rob Lowe and Adam Scott) visit the department to assess its future, just as uncertainty about whether or not the show would be renewed swirled. In its two seasons, Parks and Rec had built a deep bullpen of genuinely funny characters within the show, and a dedicated corps of fans without.
Despite its successes, though, when the fall 2010 schedule came out, Parks and Recreation was left off the slate. Peacock execs instead said that it would return as a mid season replacement – never a good sign for an established show. Since then, NBC had promised that the third season of the show would be a full 22-episode season… but the network’s inability to develop any kind of successful programming as of late makes it hard to put trust in their wisdom. It’s a shame – Parks and Recreation is developing into a gem, and it would be a shame to lose it. (Tony Kollath/BOP)
Disc includes: Deleted scenes (2.5 hours), bloopers, Pratt on Parks featurette, Mouse Rat Performance featurette, ?uestlove on: Parks (RZA Screen Test) featurette
For people who wonder what the Harry Potter films would have been like if Nic Cage got cast as Professor Snape over Alan Rickman: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
It’s awfully weird for a whole month to go by without Nic Cage starring in some big Hollywood movie. At first, you blame the uneasiness on the change in seasons, or something going on with daylight savings or anything else outside your control. And then truth sets in when you realize, “Hey! Nic Cage didn’t globetrot the world decoding the Declaration of Independence… nor did he ride around on a motorcycle emblazoned in fire. Never mind that my friend won’t speak to me – Nic Cage just needs work!”
Thank god for Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer. Elsewise we wouldn’t have gems like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, a flick starring Cage as the titular trick charmer who faces off against Alfred Molina when Doc Ock himself threatens to take over the world. Alongside Cage is the uber scrawny Jay Baruchel, a geeky physics student – “geeky” is redundant here, I know – who, unbeknownst to him, is poised to inherit Merlin’s powers. It’s all rather crazy and outlandish, but I wouldn’t want it any other way when talkin’ Nic Cage movies. I mean, have you seen this? (Eric Hughes/BOP Staff)
Disc includes: Magic in the City featurette, The Science of Sorcery featurette, Making Magic Real featurette, Fantasia: Reinventing a Classic featurette, The World’s Coolest Car featurette, deleted scenes, outtakes, The Making Of featurette
For people who are really good at suspending belief: Knight and Day
So Knight and Day did so poorly at the box office that it happened to rank as Tom Cruise’s worst outing in an action movie in two decades. My first question, of course, is: Wait, Tom Cruise is still making action movies?
I suspect that one of the main things that went wrong here, in hindsight, is in casting. Cameron Diaz and the couch jumper, combined, total 86 years. Right? At 38, Diaz is far from old, yet she’s far from her Tina Carlyle or Mary Jensen days, too. A way to alleviate the stress of it would have been to cast Betty White as equal parts Cruise and Diaz and be done with it. Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Grace, who are actually in this movie, probably would have been suitable replacements. (Eric Hughes/BOP Staff)
Disc includes: Wilder Knights and Crazier Days featurette, Boston Days and Spanish Knights featurette, Knight and Someday featuring The Black Eyed Peas featurette, Knight and Day: Story featurette, Knight and Day: Scope featurette
For people who are proud students of Hollywood University: Going the Distance
Can I just say Drew Barrymore is so much better than Going the Distance that’s it’s disgusting? Not that Drew has always been a barometer for quality (item: Duplex). Yet we only seem to get one new Drew movie a year anymore, and her last one, Whip It, was fantastic. Maybe she should direct more. Or, pass on anything that doesn’t include at least one good roller derby scene. Or, insist on being credited as Smashly Simpson… always.
This column took an odd turn.
Anyway, I’m reading over the synopsis to Going the Distance and it’s about as bland as I imagined. Anybody who saw this one in theaters and liked it, please see me. I know a great therapist. The studio behind Going the Distance – about, yes, long distance relationships – is the same that did the Step Up movies, that pre-Blind Side Bullock movie, Premonition, and, um, The Last Song. So yes, Going the Distance is one of those. (Eric Hughes/BOP Staff)
Disc includes: How to Have a Perfect Date featurette, A Guide to Long-Distance Dating featurette, The Cast of Going the Distance: Off the Cuff featurette, audio commentary, “If You Run” music video by The Boxer Rebellion, Behind the Scenes of The Going the Distance Soundtrack featurette, deleted scenes
November 30, 2010
Blu-ray
Bee Movie
Cairo Time
The Fantasia Anthology (Special Edition)
Going the Distance
Kill Zone
Knight and Day
Madagascar
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Make Out with Violence
Meet The Fockers
Meet The Parents
Monsters vs. Aliens
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Space 1999: Complete Season 1
Vampires Suck
The Wiz
DVD
Cairo Time
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Ultimate Collector's Edition)
The Fantasia Anthology (Special Edition)
Going the Distance
Knight and Day
The Lucy Show: Seasons 1-3 (Set)
The Lucy Show: The Official Third Season
Parks & Recreation: Season Two
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Space 1999: Complete Season 1
The Special Relationship
UFOs: The Secret History (Special Edition)
Vampires Suck