Kevin Williamson created this engaging drama, which chronicles a group of young friends’ passage from adolescence to young adulthood in the small coastal town of Capeside, Massachusetts. based on Williamson’s own experiences growing up, “Dawson’s Creek” focuses on fifteen-year-olds Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes), who have been friends since they were five and are trying to cope with the way their relationship is changing now that their hormones are raging. Add to the mix their friend Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and the new girl in town, Jen (Michelle Williams) and you can count on extra twists to their drama in their already turbulent lives.

Episode 01: Pilot
It is a shame this show came much too early in my life. Or I was just born way too late for it. While Dawson’s Creek took a tiny small place in my life, when I went to high school, I never saw the first season until I bought the DVD collection. And it is time for a rewatch and a few flashbacks of earlier moments of my life.
The pilot was good, though James Van Der Beek overacted a bit in his own show (especially when Dawson surprised his parents while making out) and it is a bit unbelievable that the teens (who are not even 16 years old in here) already have such big minds (especially Pacey, who says to Tamara [Leann Hunley] that he was the best sex she never had). This was one of the biggest problems I had with this show during the first four seasons, though I pretty much got into it very fast and wasn’t confused anymore with the start of the second season.
Other than that: It is really authentic. And even with the age the show already has, it is still realistic enough to be the love guide for every upcoming teenager in a small town somewhere on the east side of America. Van Der Beek overacted a bit and Dawson’s Spielberg obsession already sucks balls, Joshua Jackson was good, as well as Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams. The rest of the cast didn’t really have much screentime, and they are the adult ones in here, so they have to develop during the next couple of episodes.
The stories for the pilot were alright. Joey says that puberty hits, and they aren’t kids anymore, love comes into play, together with the talent of flirtation and all the rest. And of course Pacey had to kiss a MILF in the pilot, even the truly authentic teen series needs a bit of sex in the story – even though we didn’t see anything, and nothing happened. 7,5/10

Episode 02: Dance
Another good episode, and this time it is working better than the pilot. The “a little bit too much” from the pilot loosened up a bit in the second episode and made much more fun. Though some moments were really stereotype.
So, Dawson’s lands in film class due to a backdoor, while he is trying to get into the neighbor girl’s pants without screwing with her. The story couldn’t be more stereotype, but at least James Van Der Beek wasn’t overacting here and Michelle Williams was a really sweet girl with the feeling of her character. Also, Katie Holmes managed to get her role into realism, switching perfectly between having a secret involving Dawson’s mother Gail (Mary-Margaret Humes) and not showing her true feelings to Dawson, because she said herself, everything is changing for all of them. Or being honest to each other about their feelings. For that, Dawson’s “trouble” with Jen and her being “stolen” by Cliff (Scott Foley), wasn’t really interesting, it remains still the beginning of a bigger story, but it doesn’t feel like that.
Pacey’s flirts and kisses with Tamara was only a side plot, and I truly don’t know why Tamara – as a teacher – is about to ruin her career. But today there are a lot of teachers screwing around with their students; Dawson’s Creek was pretty much a harbinger, though there were cases, before the series went on the air.
Dawson’s parents are loving, but the secret Gail has isn’t moving and makes their relationship more and more unbelievable. But we are just in the second episode so far… 7,5/10

Episode 03: Kiss
Good episode, and again: better than the episode before. This time all the stories are working, though one is a romantic cliché, and the other was almost a waste of time.
If Dawson was only busy with the film shooting and the writers would have cut his “search for a kiss with Jen”, then this would be a Joey show, and the episode would have been a foreshadow of what Dawson’s Creek was during the last season: more a show about Joey than about the title character. And it was interesting to put another character beside Dawson in front of a story and actually having a lot of screentime (which isn’t happening to Pacey – he has only one storyline right now, and the writers only spend four minutes per episode with it).
The film shoot at the high school was partly interesting, though it brings Dawson a few winning moments; but his moments with Jen were great, and finally they kissed (this was the waste of time, one episode looking for the kiss can be too much sometimes). It just seems a coincidence that Pacey lost his virginity with Tamara at the same place (by the way: nice acting by Leann Hunley in that scene, in which she wasn’t sure about what she did at that moment), and what a coincidence Dawson filmed it.
Joey’s romance with the guy from New York was nice, though stereotype. Who doesn’t lie about the own name, age and background to have a nice time with a guy, who won’t even have interest in little high school girls? And, seriously, Katie Holmes was more than sweet in here – how could she marry Tom Cruise later on? 8/10

Episode 04: Discovery
Another good episode, though slightly weaker than the last one. At least it looks like the stories are up and running, together with Gail’s affair, from which Dawson finally knows about (he didn’t just have the guts to tell his father Mitch [John Wesley Shipp] about – which is totally authentic, btw). And the lovely relationship between Dawson and Jen gets better as well. Basically: I really liked the episode for its story continuing – they are told not too fast, not too slow (except Gail, but I can live with that), and they have always a bit of heart and emotion in it.
I am happy to see that Pacey had a bit more screentime in this episode, which results in Dawson filming his tete-a-tete with Tamara, which again results in Pacey telling Dawson about his “I got the girl this time” – very nice scene, showing that Joshua Jackson can act, and James Van Der Beek not so really. His reaction of Pacey’s confession was just… argh. And it seems like the story with Pacey and Tamara grows bigger, when he is starting to get jealous, as Tamara is hanging around with men her age… Well, it is a bit funny, but it is a storyline for Pacey and I don’t think the writers had something different in mind for him at that time.
Grams (Mary Beth Peil) has increasingly more screentime as well, and I like that. Though she could stop worrying about Jen, because she of all people should know that Capeside isn’t suitable for bringing kids on the deeper and uglier roads of life. But Jen and Grams have interesting talks together, which develops both characters – nice writing.
Dawson being felt betrayed by Joey was the weakest storyline in here, because it was predictable and a cliché. But it was necessary for him to learn more about Jen, so it was not that bad after all. 7,5/10

Episode 05: Hurricane
A strong episode with lots of stuff happening. Gail tells Mitch the truth and nothing but the truth, and leaves Mitch and Dawson back to let them think of their own. Though it was good to see a proper adult storyline for the first time of the series, it would have been nice to see Dawson thinking about his parents’ problems, even though he already was dealing with that topic in the last episode. But it seems to separated that first Dawson deals with his mother’s affair, then he drops it to do other business, and
when Mitch learns about it, he is the one dealing with this. What great moments would have been in the episode, when father and son trying to react together to Gail’s affair. But the scene with gale and Mitch was just awesome – really authentic and believable.
The rest of the episode was good as well, though I find it curious that Pacey’s brother Doug (Dylan Neal) develops interest in Tamara, and why the story about him not getting out of the closet, because he is scared. Sure, this storyline begins here and
develops with the time of the series, but it came too suddenly. We never saw Doug before and with his first appearance he already gets a story? Because I don’t think this will effect Pacey very much. But it means one thing: The writers tell stories not only for the teenager.
And Dawson and Jen having a break? Didn’t they just start dating? This seems like a stereotype storyline, but it was good that this didn’t take the bigger part of the episode. 8,5/10

Episode 06: Baby
Nice episode with interesting topics. The birth brings together all the storyline Grams had with the others, especially her “racist” opinions about Bessie (Nina Repeta) and her relationship with Brody. The scene in which Grams made kind of peace with Bessie, while she is in labor, bleeding and scared about everything was written very good and brought the two characters closer to the audience. And even with Joey worrying about the situation, remembering her mother, this story had even a more interesting meaning. Lifes are changing right now, and it is only a simple birth (exclude the small problems Bessie had) in the living room of the Leerys.
The rest of the episode, which includes Pacey and Tamara, was partly interesting though. Of course, somebody heard the conversation between Dawson and Pacey and of course the rumors are spreading like a virus. And of course everybody of Pacey’s surrounding learns about it (even Doug) and of course it was supposed to be funny, until the school board comes and threatens Tamara’s job in the high school. It just seems unbelievable that the school board is meeting that fast and that they don’t do any investigation, just because Pacey stormed into the session and told everybody that it was just his fantasy… Yeah, of course. Nice try.
The ending was nice, though. Tamara is leaving Capeside, Pacey says goodbye and Joey holds the baby on her arms – very sweet moments, but they don’t make the episode better. 7/10

Episode 07: Detention
Best episode so far – my a mile. Obviously a rip-off of The Breakfast Club, a nice copy of John Hughes’ film and lots of emotional stories in here. and with Abby Morgan (Monica Keena) the series introduces us to a new character. Like in every high school there is one real hard-ass bitch, doing everything for herself, not having friends for this and being the mean bitch everyone from the main character list hates – there are some nice stories coming up with her.
The detention episode was awesome. Finally everybody knows every feeling about anybody. Joey is in love with Dawson, while Jen thinks he is the right one for her compared to her past relationships in New York, and Pacey whacked off, because he has too much pressure going on “down there”. Most of the story could be considered funny, but honestly, this was just the next important step to the character’s relationship. And it was very nice from the writers not to include other stories, especially something with Doug, after we saw him the last two episodes, and maybe something about the failing marriage of Gail and Mitch (which I miss btw, this topic was missing last episode as well – and I miss Dawson reacting to the upcoming break-up of his parents).
The one think I didn’t find very amusing was the kind of overacting in some scenes, especially James Van Der Beek again. But I blame that on their not existing experience in the TV business and hope, this one gets better in the next season. Other than that, this was an almost excellent hour of television. 9/10

Episode 08: Boyfriend
A necessary episode for separating Jen and Dawson, so Dawson can be with Joey at the end of the season. And of course, after the little “break” they had a couple of episodes ago, their relationship is troubled again, after Jen’s ex Billy (Eion Bailey) comes from New York and wants her back. First: Why wants Billy Jen back at all and why was he coming from New York to do exactly that? Any reason at all? While Jen and Billy are flirting, Dawson and Joey are flirting and getting more and more together, so it was predictable that Jen wants to break up with Dawson, because she sees that life in Capeside is the same like in New York. Despite the predictable story, I liked the break-up scene between Jen and Dawson; this was one of the scenes James Van Der Beek actually acted well.
The side plots were a bit uninteresting, though. Joey can’t sleep because of “Rosemary’s baby” (hilarious) and gets drunk because she doesn’t get what she truly wants and what we know since the Breakfast Club episode. Nice that the series is handling alcohol as well in their stories, just the moral of the story was… yeah, where was the moral of the story?
The other plot with Gail and Mitch trying to find something to do was alright; after their story was absent for a couple episodes it was necessary to bring it back. But it just was free of highlights. Of course they are trying to save their marriage, of course they can’t trust each other right now, and of course they have troubles to find back to each other – predictable storylines, but authentic enough to look not stupid or boring.
Okay, it was a necessary episode, but it was a kind of boring one. 6,5/10

Episode 09: Road Trip
The episode was good and had a nice aftermath of Dawson’s and Jen’s break-up. While the boys go with Billy (surprisingly is he still there and wants Jen back, even though she said no to him) on a road trip, into a bar and trying to have fun with women, Joey has different problems with another guy and starts to revenge back – together with Jen, but the plan backfires. Both stories were interesting. Dawson and Pacey had a trip as real friends, which doesn’t happen very often, and both of them trying to find a way out of their teen life for a couple hours, which they managed to do so. Just Dawson’s flirt with Nina (Melissa McBride) was a bit stupid. Not only did Nina look like a 40-year-old, masked as a teen, but her interest in Dawson was way too unbelievable. And I would have wished to see Pacey in a little adventure; after his fail with Tamara and everything what came after he needs a little love story again – or at least a story.
Joey’s and Jen’s plan to humiliate Warren (Eric Balfour) was alright, though I hoped it would be more hilarious. When Joey talked to Abby, this was hilarious, but the rest was pretty boring. When their plan backfired, Jen and Joey didn’t seem to learn from their actions, and instead they are talking about Dawson. But after all they managed to be friends again.
The episode could have been better, when there weren’t some unbelievable stuff in it. 7,5/10

Episode 10: The Scare
A good episode, which actually had some suspense in it, not only because it was Friday, the 13th. Though the fact that the writers built in the story with the Ladykiller was really stupid and predictable. Of course the guy who talked to Joey was the Ladykiller, no wonders there. But their faces were hilarious at the end of the episode.
The rest was alright. Dawson’s séance in his house, together with friends and a stranger (where do all these one-episode characters come from – first Dawson’s flirt last episode now the girl who gets… troubles from her boyfriend) and all of them trying to put some relationship troubles into the night of scary happenings. Dawson’s night was well planned, and there was always the question of what he did to scare his friends and what didn’t he do (e.g. the calls and the letter for Jen). Only a bummer that the girls didn’t took revenge for one time and that Pacey didn’t do anything at all. The story with the “abusive” boyfriend was awkward, though. I don’t know why the writers put that in here (as opposite to all the fake scary moments?).
At least the little date story with Jen and Cliff is over now. Not only is Cliff a boring character, but it is realistic that Jen doesn’t want to be in a relationship now. 7,5/10

Episode 11: Double Date
A good episode and in one storyline a big foreshadow of what’s to come. This episode was evidence for the fact that the writers always wanted to bring Joey and Pacey together, even though they didn’t start that story here. But it will be necessary for later to understand why Pacey even likes Joey that much. Their story was interesting, because it was not only clear that Pacey has problems in high school (another on-going storyline during the next seasons), but their little trip into the nature was
interesting – both characters had a slight development and have to bring Dawson to choose over Jen and Joey, after Pacey told him he has to.
The double date story was good, too, but predictable. With Mary Beth (Meghan Perry) we have another one-episode character (and – again – connected to Dawson, this is not a coincidence anymore), and I thought Jen’s and Cliff’s date story is over – looks like it isn’t. But now it – again – looks like it’s over, after Mary Beth had the hots for Cliff. It was nice to let Jen and Dawson really talk with each
other, so that the season cliffhanger can be prepared – together with Pacey’s words to Dawson that he has to give himself some answers.
If you think about it, this could basically be the episode before the season finale, and I wished it would be, but there are two more episodes coming. 7/10

Episode 12: Beauty Contest
Excellent episode. Though it doesn’t really fit as the episode before the finale (like I said the previous episode suits better as the pre-finale), the beauty contest was a great story for character development and Pacey being a comic relief. And fortunately the writers choose to bring all the characters together in one story, instead telling their lifes apart from each other in different stories and locations. With everybody having the same story the episode is working way better.
I am curious why Joey is thinking that she will be stuck in Capeside and wants to get out of this miserable place – her feelings about her home didn’t come through before, so this comes a bit too fast and too suddenly (though her reasons were partly explained in the last episode). But with Joey being in the competition she had nice moments to think about her life in Capeside, together with her sister, together with what the others thinking about her, and together with her dreams. And her speech on the stage during the contest was really interesting. More breathtaking was her performance of “On My Own”, though I had to think of Rachel singing this song in “Glee”, but this just for the side.
Pacey as competition in the contest was hilarious. First he thinks that he can be funny, then he wants to win (but can’t, the judges won’t let him win, because… they don’t want him to win – nice view on favoritism and sexual racists), and then he gives his William Wallace impersonation – hilarious. 9/10

Episode 13: Decisions
Interesting episode, and kind of “spoof” of all the season finales offering a cliffhanger to let the viewers guess. How funny would it actually be, when Dawson’s Creek had a cliffhanger in its first season? But for that the series does take itself seriously and can’t bring any ironic episodes (The Scare was probably the only almost ironic episode in this season), which is a shame. So I have to rely my hope on Buffy again.
The episode was good. All the stories were concluded, before Dawson’s Creek doesn’t get a second season. Dawson’s parents are into their newfound relationship (already seen in the last episode); Jen’s grandpa dies (a story which I never saw in this season), but gets closer to her Grams; Pacey is still “just” the friend for everybody and risks his relationship to his family for just driving Joey to the prison to visit her father Mike (Gareth Williams); Joey talks to her father, both love each other (and the writers prepare something for the next season), while Joey and Dawson take the next, better first step, into their relationship. All in all, this season has a happy ending, it is the beginning of the friends finally really growing up and the end of the steps they took to start growing up. The first season was partly too brave, but now the characters can live the lives of adults-to-be.
What makes the episode really good is the fact that almost every story told during the first season gets the proper ending. Everybody was waiting for Dawson and Joey to happen, and everybody was predicting that Dawson and Jen won’t be holding much longer, while Pacey didn’t even had a real story in this season (except his “The Graduate” with Tamara, which was a separated story after all) and nothing needs to be concluded with him. And the fact that the writers wrote Joey’s father into the episode (to give her a closer, if this was the series finale, and to bring him into the story, if there is a second season), makes the episode even more important. Not just as a cliffhanger-free season finale. 8,5/10

Season average is 7,77. I rewatched this season in three days, thanks to the public library and much time right now for that. The second season is on my waiting list, as well as the rest of the series, which DVD collection is waiting for me at home. A rewatch of Surface is coming up and I hope to finish Nurse Jackie sometimes soon. The fall and winter breaks of all the current US shows is coming up as well, which gives me time to pick up my archive and get to a few British shows I have on my list.

• The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says 90210 is “succeeding.”
• TVGuideMagazine.com has 90210 casting spoilers.
• The New York Times has an article on the webseries trend, which mentions Jennie Garth (Kelly, Beverly Hills 90210) and The Broadroom.
• I watched Grey’s Anatomy for the first time last night and saw that James Pickens Jr. (Henry, Beverly Hills 90210) is in it.
• Beverly Hills 90210 on DVD made EW.com’s Holiday Gift Guide. (I heard Dawson’s Creek is in there, too, but I can’t find it.)
• Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills 90210), Ed Westwick (Chuck, Gossip Girl) and Jessica Szohr (Vanessa, Gossip Girl) are all included in PEOPLE.com’s Couples Watch.
• PEOPLE.com has an interview with Szohr about her style compared to Vanessa’s.
• Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) will host Saturday Night Live on December 5.
• Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) was a presenter at the American Music Awards.
• Examiner.com has more on the Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) and Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) appearance on a USO Tour.
• James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill), Robert Buckley (Clay, One Tree Hill) and Eric Balfour (Eddie, The O.C.) are all starring in The Legend of Hell’s Gate: An American Conspiracy.
• There’s an interesting reference to The O.C. in this Huffington Post piece.
• SoapNet will air the two O.C. specials–The O.C.: Obsess Completely and Welcome to The O.C.: A Day in the Life–Tuesday at 1 and 2pm.
• Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) will star in UFO, a film based on a British television show.

Ya hablé sobre esta cinta en artículos anteriores, estaba realmente ansioso por echarle un vistazo, no se, pintaba de puta madre, Tarantino, Carradine, Madsen,  Harleys, 1%, mujeres explosivas hambrientas de sexo y drogas, violencia…

La dirige Larry Bishop, el tío conocido entre mi grupo de amigos como: “El señor eres más inútil que un culo en el codo”,  hijo del actor Joey Bishop y también actor, dirigió “Encantado de Matarte” una película que a mi personalmente me gusta bastante, al enterarme de este proyecto de Bishop y habiendo visto anteriormente su opera prima, pensé que podía ser una muy buena experiencia cinematográfica… me equivoque.

SINOPSIS: Narra la historia de Pistolero, The Gent y Comanche, quienes comenzarán una caza contra los 666ers, un grupo de motoristas rivales que han asesinado a Cherokee Kisum, la novia de Pistolero.

Bueno, eso sería a grandes rasgos la sinopsis, pero solo a grandes rasgos. No se muy bien como empezar a hablar de la película, quizás, empecemos por una pregunta: ¿Por qué Quentin solo produce mierdas de segunda? Hagamos una retrospectiva, veamos que basuras ha producido el señor Tarantino. Tenemos por un lado las terribles secuelas de “Abierto hasta el amanecer”, que en cierto modo estaba casi obligado a producir.  Luego tenemos “Tú asesina, que nosotras limpiamos la sangre” (nombre más propio del gordo Almodóvar) cortometraje que convirtió en largo y seamos sensatos, no le salió demasiado bien. Y por último  la saga de “Hostel”, que en fin, solo tenéis que buscar mi opinión en el blog. Ha producido más pero yo hablo de las películas de segunda que por alguna extraña razón a él le parecen acojonantes. Hell Ride me parecía un proyecto de lo más ambicioso y daba mi voto de confianza a Tarantino y a su equipo, bueno, en realidad a su equipo no, Michael Steinberg y Shana Stein solo han producido y dirigido mierdas, pero no se, se trataba de una cinta con un ambiente “grindy” de los que me gustan (como ya sabéis soy un enamorado del cine de los 70).

Bueno pues cuando la película empieza, parece que vas a ver una opera “híperviolenta” de moteros genial, pero se convierte en una hora y dieciocho minutos de diálogos completamente absurdos, personajes que van y vienen sin sentido, un Larry Bishop que realmente se pone las botas fornicando con todas las muchachitas pervertidas que salen en la cinta, quizás aprovechando su posición de director y productor, actores de segunda mal aprovechados… en fin, lo que normalmente se llama una puta mierda.

Hablemos de los actores: Larry Bishop, es un tipo que no tiene demasiadas dotes interpretativas, no es malo, pero muy pesado interpretando, de hecho me da la sensación que creó a su personaje, Pistolero, sin demasiadas pretensiones artísticas para que no flojeé su interpretación, que por otra parte acaba siendo nefasta. Este hombre empezó formando pareja cómica con Rob Reiner, actor, escritor, productor y director de películas bastante míticas y que conforman un núcleo contracultural de cierta generación, pelis como: la friki “This is Spinal Tap”, la increíble “La princesa prometida”, el referente humorístico “Cuando Harry encontró a Sally”, la entrañable “Cuenta conmigo” o la inquietante “Misery”… pero Larry pasó completamente desapercibido basando su carrera interpretativa en apariciones estelares en series de los 70 o ya en los noventa, en producciones para la televisión.

Dennis Hopper interpreta a Eddie Zero. No me parece mal que intenten dar una oportunidad a Hopper, porque desde que salió en “Super Mario Bros” interpretando al villano Rey Koopa, no levanta cabeza el hombre. No está mal, pero tampoco esta bien que le dejen interpretar un papel sin explicarle siquiera que hace en la película, porque me da esa sensación, el anciano Hopper se pasea por la película sin pena ni gloria y  dando la impresión que no sabe que hace ahí… Al igual que Carradine, que sinceramente me parece una pena que esa sea una de sus últimas películas, por lo menos no será recordado por interpretar a The Deuce, por que ni siquiera me acuerdo yo, su aparición es como un trozo de pollo enganchado a los dientes, molesto.

No me alargaré mucho más, Vinnie Jones me parece un actor bastante carismático pero limitado a los papeles que hasta ahora está haciendo en cine, no me parece mal y de hecho me gusta, pero hubiera estado de puta madre que en “Hell Ride” por lo menos te den una explicación sensata de quien coño es y porque se encarga de matar a diestro y siniestro a todo el santo mundo. Sigamos con Eric Balfour, un chaval que es de lo mejor de la peli y que espero que haga más trabajos porque realmente tiene potencial, pero precisamente ese es su problema en “Hell Ride”, Bishop no es un buen director de actores y no ha sabido aprovechar a Balfour.  Pasemos a Madsen, a mí Michael Madsen me parece un actor genial, es malo, sin llegar a la altura de Ben Afleck, pero queda la hostia de bien en las pelis que sale y el tipo quiere hacerlo lo mejor posible y se nota que se esfuerza, a destacar en “Hell Ride” su voz (la vi en versión original), más ronca si cabe que en el resto de producciones. Por último hablaremos de Leonor Varela, que interpreta a Nada… sus apariciones en la cinta se basan en follar o intentar follar a Bishop, soltando parrafadas bastante extrañas e incoherentes, y en comportamientos descabellados y que se salen completamente de tono.

La banda sonora se compone de canciones sacadas de otras pelis de motoristas interpretadas por el rey de las bandas sonoras de pelis de motoristas, Davie Allen & the Arrows, siendo aun así bastante regular, destaca la maravillosa “Maggot Brain” de Funkadelic.

Bueno, que voy a acabar que me estoy liando, cuando terminas de ver “Hell Ride” piensas en que coño has visto, si ha merecido la pena perder tiempo en verla y te sorprende bastante porque te das cuenta como te han vendido la moto con trailers cañeros firmados por Tarantino. “Hell Ride” es una visión de las pelis “grindhouse” de motoristas, como hizo Tarantino en “Death Proof” con las pelis “grindhouse” de coches, o Rodriguez con las de zombies,  pero siendo muy, muy poco efectiva, con la narrativa típica de esta clase de películas pero sin transportarte en ningún momento a una sala de cine sucia, ni a ese mundo de violencia “pulp” desmedida, un fracaso por parte de Bishop y de Tarantino.

Lo mejor de la cinta, sin duda, el cartel...

Se me olvidó comentar que a veces resulta patetico como cabalgan en sus motos, parece que el único que sabe montar es Madsen.

Impresionante la moto de Madsen

Hopper volviendo al geriátrico después del rodaje.

Dette er en film jeg ble informert om gjennom Twitter og faktisk hadde liggende… jeg var ikke sen om å sette den på etter at jeg så traileren det skal være sikkert. Hærlig film med kul soundtrack, kule karakterer, sexy motorsykler og masser av eyecandy. Filmen har ett hvisst spaghetti western preg over seg som gjør den veldig kul… Definitivt verdt å se synes iallefall jeg…

Jeg gir denne filmen

(5/6 stjerner)

• I’ll be live-blogging 90210 tomorrow.
• Registration for the One Tree Hill Reunion is now open.  Hope to see you there!
• There’s a new One Tree Hill Connection podcast.  This one has an interview with Jana Kramer (Alex).
• Rick Fox (Dante, One Tree Hill) has joined the cast of Melrose Place.
• BuddyTV and Star News have interviews with Mark Schwahn, One Tree Hill’s creator.
• TVGuide.com has an interview with Robert Buckley (Clayton, One Tree Hill).
• TVGuide.com all has a Fall Preview video that includes a segment on One Tree Hill.
• PEOPLE.com has some One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl video interviews.
• PEOPLE.com also has a “super glam” Gossip Girl cast pic.
• And they also have a story on Penn Badgley (Dan, Gossip Girl) being in the Fall 2009 issue of VMan.
• USA Today has an interview with Badgley.  He said some interesting things about his relationship with Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl).
• TVGuide.com said Lively was a fashion hit last week.
• If you’re into the media and all the various personalities and power types, you’ll like this piece on matching the Gossip Girl characters with their “media mates.”
• The Gossip Girl-inspired clothing line is now available exclusively at Target.
• Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl), Chace Crawford (Nate, Gossip Girl) and Adam Brody (Seth, The O.C.) appeared on stage at last night’s Video Music Awards.
• MTV.com has an interview with Mischa Barton (Marissa, The O.C.) from the premiere party for The Beautiful Life.  PEOPLE.com has one, too.
• Eric Balfour (Eddie, The O.C.) has joined the cast of The Beautiful Life, where he’ll be working with Barton again.
• Kevin Williamson (creator, Dawson’s Creek) gave his own DC-Vampire Diaries comparison–by mostly saying they’re different.  He does say he’s open to having DC alumni on the show, though.

Nova seção aqui do blog. A idéia é reunir as notinhas sobre seriados que escrevo no Twitter (e Facebook) e juntá-las aqui. A Rapidinhas do Twitter é semanal e será atualizado durante toda a semana.

Sons of Anarchy

Muito boa a season premiere de ‘Sons of Anarchy’. Mais pesada, mais política. Em breve comentários completos aqui no blog.

My Boys

TBS renova a pequenina e charmosa ‘My Boys’ para uma quarta temporada: http://is.gd/3ghPK

10 Things I Hate About You

ABC Family renova ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ para uma 2a temp. Para quem não sabe, a série é baseada no filme de 1999. http://is.gd/3ghZK

Gossip Girl

Leighton Meester, a Blair de ‘Gossip Girl’, fazendo lobby pra ser a próxima Barbarella, hahaha. http://is.gd/3gir5

Por falar em ‘Gossip Girl’, a série volta hoje com sua terceira temporada e o episódio ‘Reversals of Fortune’.

Vale lembrar que as séries teens são famosas por despencar na audiência quando os protagonistas se separam e vão pra faculdade. Veremos.

E o box da segunda temporada da série foi lançado aqui no Brasil na semana passada.

Eric McCormack

Depois de protagonistar a fracassada ‘Trust Me’ ano passado, Eric McCormack será protagonista de uma nova comédia ainda sem emissora.

Jericho

Aos que pensam em comprar os boxes de ‘Jericho’, sugiro que esperem. A Paramount lançará a série completa em DVD dia 20/10.

Fringe

Para os fãs de ‘Fringe’: a série volta nos EUA esta quarta com sua 2a temporada. Já a primeira, será lançada em DVD no Brasil no dia 22/10.

A Lei e o Crime

‘A Lei e o Crime’, série da Record bem recebida pelo público e pela crítica, terá sua primeira temporada lançada em DVD no dia 28/10.

Pessoalmente, gostei bastante de ‘A Lei e o Crime’. Bem melhor que ‘Maysa’ (foram ao ar na mesma época). A 2a temporada já está confirmada.

Life

Já a segunda temporada de ‘Life’, melhor série da TV aberta na última temporada norte-americana, será lançada em DVD no Brasil no dia 30/10.

Sarah Connor Chronicles

A segunda de ‘Sarah Connor Chronicles’ também vem por aí em DVD: 19/11.

One Tree Hill

Outra série que está voltando hoje é ‘One Tree Hill’, outro drama teen da CW. A sétima temporada é provavelmente a última do seriado.

The Beautiful Life

E dia 16, quarta-feira, tem a series premiere de ‘The Beautiful Life’, mais um drama teen da CW sobre jovens modelos em um mundo de inseguranças e muita competição em torno da indústria da moda. Quem estrela é Mischa Barton.

Retornos

‘Bones’, ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’, ‘Parks and Recreation’ e ‘The Office’ retornam na quinta-feira, além da já citada ‘Fringe’ e da novata ‘Community’, comédia estrelada por Chevy Chase e exibida pela NBC.

The Mentalist

Já se encontra em pronta-entrega o box da primeira temporada de ‘The Mentalist’. O preço sugerido pela Warner é R$ 129,90.

Minisséries

HBO prepara duas minisséries históricas sendo uma delas da produtora da Oprah Winfrey sobre Ida Tarbell, jornalista pioneira da década de 20.

Jay Leno

Tudo que você precisa saber sobre a importância do novo show do Jay Leno que foi ao ar ontem a noite: http://is.gd/3iGV1 – imprescindível.

E aqui, um review do programa com novos quadros. Mas a dúvida persiste: hit ou miss? http://is.gd/3iH3w

VMAs

Surpresa. O VMAs está na contramão de outras premiações. A audiência do evento este ano subiu em 6%, alcançando 8,97 milhões de telespectadores. Esta foi a maior audiência dos VMAs desde 2004.

Patrick Swayze

Morreu ontem o ator Patrick Swayze. Patrick tinha 57 anos e morreu de câncer pancreático após mais de um ano de luta. O ator chegou a protagonizar ano passado o seriado policial ‘The Beast’.

Aqui tem uma lista com os 10 papeis mais marcantes da carreira de Swayze: http://is.gd/3iJ3P e aqui uma lista com os melhores quotes das personagens do ator: http://is.gd/3iMQ8

The Jay Leno Show

Não há mais dúvida: é um hit, fato. De acordo com a Nielsen, 17 milhões de norte-americanos assistiram o novo programa de Jay Leno segunda a noite na NBC.

Lost

Katey Sagal, a Gemma de ‘Sons of Anarchy’, vai participar novamente de ‘Lost’ no papel de Helen, affair de Locke.

Anúncios

BEM legal! Lista com os melhores e os piores anúncios da fall season norte-americana: http://is.gd/3j1JX

The Jay Leno Show

No segundo episódio do ‘The Jay Leno Show’, houve uma queda muito grande de audiência. 42% a menos que a premiere, mas ainda sim, ganhou o timeslot.

Flash Forward

O AXN continua mandando muito bem. Comprou os direitos de exibição de ‘Flash Forward’, série mais hypada da fall season. Estréia será em 2010. Sonya Walger, a Penny de ‘Lost’, está no elenco.

Melhor Comédia do Ano

30 Rock, Entourage, Family Guy, Flight of the Conchords, How I Met Your Mother, The Office e Weeds. O Zap2It quer saber: qual é a melhor comédia do ano? http://is.gd/3nJO0

Sons of Anarchy

‘Sons of Anarchy’ vacila e perde 20% de audiência na exibição do S02E02. Mesmo assim, série foi vista por 3,7 milhões de telespectadores, sendo 3 milhões da demo 18-49, principalmente demo da audiência. Os números ainda são ótimos. Quando comparada a series premiere, a season premiere da segunda temporada teve um crescimento absurdo de 95% na audiência.

Gossip Girl

Bacana observar que na volta de ‘Gossip Girl’, a série mandou muito bem na amostragem mulheres de 18 a 34 anos, crescendo 0,1 ponto percentual.

The Beautiful Life

Eric Balfour, famoso por participar de séries prematuramente canceladas, fará um arco de dois episódios em ‘The Beautiful Life’.

Audiências HBO

Segundo o Broadcasting & Cable, ‘Hung’ teve a melhor audiência de uma série estreante da história da HBO. E a season finale fechou com 2,9 milhões de telespectadores, um bom número.

Já ‘True Blood’, apesar do lixo que é, é o novo grande hit da HBO. A season finale fechou com excelentes 5,1 milhões de telespectadores. O crescimento em relação a season finale da temporada passada, foi de 100%.

Californication

Vazaram os dois primeiros episódios da terceira temporada de ‘Californication’. A série estreia apenas no dia 27 de setembro. O vazamento não é acidental, já que a Showtime, cabo norte-americano que exibe o programa, é famosa por usar esta estratégica para divulgar suas séries.

My city, I can not deny her. My city screams. She is my mother. She is my lover, and I am her Spirit.

– The Spirit

Universally panned by critics and the word mouths of the entire internet, The Spirit was unfortunately brought to us by writer/director Frank Miller who tried to parlay his successful collaboration of Sin City into this movie. It delivered on the pure suckage that it was promised.

The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) is a crime fighter and notorious womanizer that lives in the fictional Central City. He is constantly fighting the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) that gets into his mind about why he could withstand a lot of punishment and is able to heal himself. Octopus and his partner in crime, Silken Floss (Scarlett Johannson) and his team of idiotic goons Pathos, Ethos, Logos (all played by Louis Lombardi) look for a vase filled with blood of Heracles to make him immortal like a god.

The Spirit teams up with a local detective that loves the word “goddamn” Dolan (Dan Lauria) and a rookie with high pitched voice, Morgenstern (Stana Katic) to uncover any connection between the random crimes to the Octopus, and a beautiful jewel thief named Sand Saref (Eva Mendes). She wants to attain the ultimate prize, a lost artifact from the Argonauts, Jason’s Golden Fleece.

The movie is classic style over substance. Having a comic book writer, as film director does not go hand and hand with Miller being more interested in the visual look of the film that he forgets to realize that the actors need to be on the same page with the look. The actors struggle to make this movie make any semblance of coherent sense, but they fail because Miller dropped the ball actually directing them.

Macht throws on his “I’m Batman” Christian Bale voice having long conversations with himself and loving his pussycat. Jackson is like a chicken with its head cut off talking about eggs for some reason. Johansson is so wooden; you believe that her soul was missing. Mendes’s character is obsessed with shiny anything and her ass that wants to be a femme fatale, but it makes you want to kill yourself. Sarah Paulson as The Spirit’s love interest, Ellen Dolan acted like she was in a bad soap opera. It’s a damn shame.

The movie is hallow. The action is over the top and cartoonish. It’s laughable. The plot is non-existent and filled with plot holes. You don’t have any idea what the fuck is going on. Who are these people? Are they living in the 1940s? Present day? The dialogue is atrocious with such gems as “Shut up and bleed,” “I’m gonna kill you all kinds of dead,” and “All the enemy has is gun to knives. I have the entire city as my weapon.” Are you serious?

Please, Frank Miller, I implore you. If you want to direct another movie, stop and think. Take some classes about the art of filmmaking. With this movie, it looked like you were mocking it. You didn’t care about the joy and satisfaction of making a competent movie. Collaborate with other directors. Stick your feet in with short films to gain some experience. Something.

Judgment: If you are a person that enjoys shitty movies, this one is the Holy Grail for you.

Rating: *

Aveam de ceva timp filmul asta pe hard si numai nu am avut timp sa il vizionez. Bine, nici nu parea el asa interesant asa ca m-am hotarat cu greu sa ma uit la el, intr-un moment de plictiseala ce se apropia de maxim.

Si totusi desi credeam ca nu promite multe, filmul s-a dovedit a fi unul destul de ok si mai ales daca nu ai ce face, merita vazut. Vizionare placuta !

The Horsemen is a dark look inside the cat and mouse game of cop versus serial killer.  Dennis Quaid leads this amazing cast down the disturbing tale of death and destruction.  If you have not yet watched a trailer for the movie, don’t.  I made the mistake of watching it and remembered something during a pivotal plot scene which was a great twist my husband did not see coming.  I felt robbed of that ‘a-ha’ moment, but as you know most trailers give away way too much information anyway.  I was disappointed that I knew what I knew from watching the trailer. 

(Minor spoilers ahead).

I loved the cast and thought that everyone did an outstanding job with their characters.  Dennis played his ‘out of touch with life’, Detective Breslin, so well that you aren’t sure if you like him for being thorough, or hate him for continually bailing on his kids for work.  Clifton Collins Jr plays his partner Stingray who tends to breathe life and humanity back into their job.  There is a touching scene between the two characters when Stingray asks Breslin how his kids are doing.  I loved how during that scene the camera focuses on Breslin’s face then Stingray is absorbed into the background.  I don’t know if that was a happy accident or a brilliant shot.  It almost symbolized how Breslin escapes his emotions. 

Lou Taylor Pucci and Liam James play Dennis’ sons and they truely show what it’s like to be a ‘latchkey’ kid.  Lou falls into the father role in their dad’s absence, and Liam remains curious and hopeful.  It was painful to watch the hope escape their eyes during one particular scene between father and sons.

Patrick Fugit and Eric Balfour really broke out of their molds in these roles.  I was so impressed with both of these actors for the levels of emotion they pushed themselves to reach.  Kudos to Eric for allowing himself to be fully submerged into this part, he went places I could never go as an actor.  That was incredible and I hope both of them (along with the rest of the cast) get the recognition they deserve. 

Everyone in the cast plays an important part in telling this story, but I do want to mention a few other amazing actors in this ensemble: Barry Shabaka Henley, Ziyi Zhang, and Peter Stormare. 

My only complaint is that there was so much story to tell, that in the end everything seemed shoved together and rushed through.  Maybe this was done on purpose so that the audience would have that roller-coaster feeling, but I felt cheated on the last 10 minutes.  There is a powerful scene that happens and I wish I could have let it settle a little bit before the movie ended.  I don’t know how they could have ended it better, but it left me with a headache (so in other words it did it’s job).

I hate comparing movies, but I’d say with a little tighter of an ending, The Horsemen is right up there with Silence of the Lambs and Seven.  It is one of the most dirty, raw, gruesome, frightening, depressing, sad, yet touching pieces of crime drama I have seen in a very long time.

Rated R for grisly and disturbing content, some sexual images and language.

Four victims. Four painful secrets.

The Horsemen is a movie that I decided to see on a whim. It stars follow Houstonian Dennis Quaid in the lead role. This movie had a very limited release in early March. There was not that much talk about this movie. I can see why.

A recently widowed detective Aidan Breslin (Quaid) is called to a frozen lake where a set of extracted teeth are discovered.

Over the course of a couple of days, more disturbing and gruesome murders happens that leads him and his partner, Stingray (Clifton Collins, Jr.) a hideous plot dealing with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The movie was an average crime thriller. It was like a poor man’s version of Criminal Minds. That’s not saying the much.

The family drama aspect with Aidan with his sons, Alex (Lou Taylor Pucci) and Sean (Liam James) was lame.

The ending was a huge WTF! It was like a slap in the face. That’s it. That’s the thrilling conclusion.

Judgment: A generic thriller that delivers more groans than gasps.

Rating: ***

Laufzeit: 84 Minuten – Land: USA – Altersfreigabe: Ab 18 !

Kernige Typen, staubiger Wüstensand und knatternde Bikes – das ist die Welt von Pistolero (Larry Bishop) und seinen Jungs. Gemeinsam touren sie durch ödes Wüstenland, um hier und da Halt in der ein oder anderen erfrischendes Oase zu machen – hauptsächlich, um sich mit “Babes” und Alkohol zu versorgen. Denn sie alle leben für die “3 B’s”: Bikes, Bier und Bräute. Und dann gibt es da noch das klitzekleine Wörtchen Loyalität, welches im Zuge von “Hell Ride” eine ganz und gar große Bedeutung bekommt. Denn eines Tages flammt eine schon lange Jahre andauernder Fehde mit dem Deuce (David Carradine) und seiner Gang, den 666‘ers, erneut auf. Der “zweite Chef” der Bande ist der grimmige Billy Wings (Vinnie Jones); er spielt eine wichtige Rolle – denn auch er war im Jahr 1976 in ein grausames Verbrechen involviert. Dann hätten wir da noch Commanche (Eric Balfour) – den Jungspund der Gruppe unter Pistolero, auf den anscheinend noch die ein oder andere (grausame) Wahrheit wartet…

Was haben die Ereignisse von 1976 mit Commanche’s Geschichte zu tun… ?

Wohlan – hier handelt es sich wieder einmal um einen der Filme, in welchem der Name Tarantino auftaucht. Und diesmal fungiert selbiger als executive producer – er leiht also nicht nur seinen Namen (schrecklich, aber schon vorgekommen), sondern war auch tatsächlich in die Produktion involviert. Und, als alter Fan von Quentin habe ich den Film natürlich mit großer Spannung auf mich wirken lassen. Glücklicherweise ist der fast schon typische Tarantino-Stil wieder schnell erkennbar: so sind es beispielsweise diese markanten Szenen, in denen wir die Protagonisten sehen (oftmals  in leichter Zeitlupe), während im Hintergrund diese leicht mexikanisch angehauchte Gitarrenmusik läuft. Da “passiert” dann in dem Sinne zwar nicht allzu viel, doch man weiss sofort: hey, das ist doch… genau, ein irgendwo bekannter (und angenehmer) Stil. Beziehungsweise ist es natürlich vor allem der von Larry Bishop, der hier als Regisseur fungiert und ein “alter Hase” im Schauspielgeschäft ist. Oder nehmen wir die kurzen Szenenbilder, mit welchen die wichtigsten Charaktere des Films vorgestellt werden – das sieht einfach nur nett aus, und ist stimmig. Nach dem für mich sehr enttäuschenden Film Sukiyaki Western Django von Takashi Miike (wo Tarantino als Darsteller dabei war) haben wir nun also wieder einen Film, der besonders auf eines setzt: enorm markante Charaktere.

Immer gut gestylt… und bereit für neue Biker-Taten… !

Denn genau die sind es, die den Film interessanter machen. Und zwar als ein positiver Aspekt, neben dem kompletten technischen Part sowie den Darstellerleistungen. Denn handwerklich gibt es am Film wirklich fast nichts auszusetzen – Optik, Schnitt und Szenenwahl sind absolut perfekt realisiert, und gehen stimmig-staubig ineinander über. Einzig und allein eine Drogentrip-Szene zur Mitte des Films hat mich einiges an Nerven gekostet – hier wäre etwas weniger vielleicht mehr gewesen, zumal diese längere Szene so gar nicht in den Kontext des Films passt. Neben den bereits von sich aus interessanten Charakteren (interessant, da jeder eine unterschiedliche Motivation für das “Wüstenleben” hat), sind es die guten (nicht sehr guten !) Darstellerleistungen, die dem Film Leben einhauchen. Zugegeben: da wäre noch mehr dringewesen, teilweise wirkten die Darsteller doch leicht unterfordert (warum, dazu gleich mehr). Besonders Larry Bishop (ja, nicht nur Regisseur des Films !) hat mich überzeugt – und zwar nicht nur aufgrund seinen überaus stimmigen, kernigen Aussehens und seinem teilweise irren Blick. Nein, man nimmt ihm die Rolle als “Boss” der Bande durchaus ab – ein Mensch mal skrupellos, mal sexbessesen (nun ja, desöfteren); mal (hauptsächlich…?) ehrenhaft, da er ein bestimmtes Vermächtnis bewahrt…

So werden uns die markantesten Charaktere des Filsm vorgestellt…

Doch halt; ich muss etwas einlenken – und ersteinmal sagen: genug des Lobes… ! Denn auch die (leider zahlreichen) Schwächen des Films sind wirklich unübersehbar. Nicht dass ich die IMDB als Maßstab nehmen würde, doch auch dort gibt es einige lesenswerte (Kurz-)Meinungen zum Film; mit entsprechenden Niedrigwertungen. Gut, ganz so gravierend sehe ich es nicht – aber vielleicht kurz die Punkte, die mir aufgefallen sind. Zu allererst wäre da selbstverständlich das merkliche schwache Skript. Irgendwie wirkt die ganze Geschichte leicht motivationslos; und wird nur durch die enorm stylische Aufmachung “gerettet”. Es wurden einfach zu wenige Ideen eingebracht, im Grunde ist die hier präsentierte Story gar keine – beziehungsweise lässt sich so in jedem x-beliebigen anderen Film (vgl. “Roadmovies) wiederfinden. Da ist (leider !) absolut nichts besonderes dran ! Aufgrund dessen bleiben auch besondere Wendungen oder Twists aus – dass der ein oder andere dann mal die Seiten wechselt, ist nun wirklich nicht genug im Sinne einer ausgefeilten Dramaturgie.

Treu, geldgierig, intrigant… oder doch alles auf einmal… ?

Doch es gibt da noch mehr. Und zwar ist dies ohne Zweifel der übertrieben hohe Anteil an Gewalt und Sexdarstellungen. Gut, ich bin nicht der übertrieben zimperliche Typ – keinesfalls ! Aber man muss schon unterscheiden ob solche Dinge als (mehr oder minder “nette”) Dreingabe dienen, oder ob sich ein Film wirklich daran hochzieht. Besonders gravierend: durch den übertriebenen Fokus auf eben diese beiden Dinge wirken die Charaktere enorm reduziert – sie haben eben NUR die “3 B’s” im Kopf, und das muss reichen. Mir persönlich ist das aber weitaus zu stumpfsinnig. Deshalb auch das Stichwort “Unterforderung” hinsichtlich der Schauspieler – wir alle wissen, dass die meisten dieser dsurchaus talentierten Riege hier viel mehr können. Dann aber müsste das Drehbuch etwas ausgefeilter sein… sodass die Charaktere merklich mehr Tiefe bekommen. Die Rolle des “verlorenen Sohnes” beispielsweise hätte man noch weiter ausbauen müssen – so haben wir tatsächlich “nur” einen relativ kurzen Racheakt (und auch keinen Blick in die Kiste, insider) – dies enttäuschte mich etwas.

Wie verfahren wir jetzt mit unserem Erzfeind, was meinst du… ?

Schlussendlich: ein Film, der wohl ausschließlich für Fans geeignet ist. Für welche Fans… ? Nun, eventuell die, die die Werke Tarantinos im allgemeinen mögen. Oder, die ohnehin auf die Biker-Thematik stehen. Denn in der Hinsicht ist der Film durchaus annehmbar – doch geht er nicht über Genre-Grenzen hinaus. Zu verkraften sind weiterhin eine enorme Fäkalsprache, eine übertriebene “coolness” der Charaktere, viel Sex und Gewalt. Alles in allem eine klare Patt-Situation – ich möchte exakt 5.0 von 10 Punkten vergeben. Denn ein abgrundtief schlechter Film (siehe IMDB) ist dies mit Sicherheit nicht. Nur eben viel zu ambitioniert und etwas ideenlos. Schade, aber immerhin. Klar dem Machwerk “Sukiyaki Western Django” vorzuziehen. Nicht zu viel erwarten !

Alles Gute auch für die Zukunft…

• Gatunek: Thriller
• Produkcja: Australia (2008)
• Polska Premiera: 03-07-2009
• Światowa premiera: 14-05-2008
• Polski dystrybutor: Best Film
• Reżyseria: Jonas Akerlund

Obsada filmu

• Eric Balfour
• Clifton Collins Jr.
• David Dastmalchian
• Patrick Fugit
• Liam James
• Lou Taylor Pucci
• Dennis Quaid
• Peter Stormare
• Ziyi Zhang

Dennis Quaid, znany z filmu „Pojutrze”, w mrocznym thrillerze jakiego jeszcze nie było, będzie musiał stawić czoła mordercy, który wydaje się podążać biblijną drogą Czterech Jeźdźców Apokalipsy: Wojny, Głodu, Zarazy i Śmierci. Niesamowite zwroty akcji powodują, że niczego nie można przewidzieć, niczego nie można być pewnym…

The Horsemen est un thriller avec du serial killer et des flics, le tout dans un genre qui est devenu très codifié et qui ne trouve son originalité que dans l’orchestration des meurtres. On pourrait appelé ça l’héritage Se7en, étant donné qu’après ce film il a été dur pour la concurrence de sortir la tête de l’eau.

Ici, on a Dennis Quaid qui chassent 4 tueurs qui se prennent pour les chevaliers de l’Apocalypse et qui ont une manière bien vicieuse de tuer. Le coup des références bibliques est pour moi un gros point faible, mais passé de ça, il y a pas mal d’idées. Si au début l’intérêt est principalement dans la réalisation -  inventive, stylisée et qui ne s’amuse pas à s’arrêter sur les cadavres pour se la jouer gore -, et dans le casting plutôt solide (sauf peut-être Zhang Ziyi qui ne sonne pas toujours terrible en anglais), le développement offrira un angle intéressant sur la psychologie des tueurs, en particulier à partir du moment où Patrick Fugit entrera dans le champs d’action de la caméra.

Il y a en effet pas mal de personnages qui s’ajouteront au fur et à mesure. Si on passe outre les chevaliers de l’Apocalypse, je trouve dommage que la fin soit si prévisible, mais la chute est rapide, comme si le scénariste avait conscience de la faiblesse de celle-ci.

Bref, dans le genre Thriller with serial Killer, The Horsemen vaut bien le coup d’œil.

B-

รู้นะว่าเข้ามาเพื่ออ่าน อย่ามามัวเสียเวลากันอีกเลยไปดูหนังเข้าใหม่วันนี้ดีกว่ามี4เรื่องด้วยกันนะครับ

เรื่องแรกเป็นการกลับมาของหนังฟอร์มยักษ์นั่นก็คือ Star Trek นั่นเองครับ ก็ยังคงความเป็นหนังเอกชั่นได้อย่างยอดเยี่ยมเช่นเคยครับนำทีมนักแสดงโดย John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana, Leonard Nimoy, Marlene Forte, Jimmy Bennett และกำกับโดย J.J. Abrams

เรื่องย่อ

เรื่องราวเกี่ยวกับ เจมส์ ที. เคิร์ก และ มิสเตอร์สป็อค ในวัยหนุ่ม การพบกันครั้งแรกของทั้งคู่ใน สตาร์ฟลีท อะคาเดมี่ รวมถึงการออกปฏิบัติภารกิจครั้งแรกที่ต้องเหยียบย่างเข้าสู่ดินแดนที่ไม่เคยมีมนุษย์หน้าไหนย่างกรายเข้าไปมาก่อน!
ชะตากรรมของแกแล็คซี่ตกอยู่ในกำมือของเด็กหนุ่มจากสองโลกที่มีนิสัยแตกต่างกันอย่างสิ้นเชิง คนแรกคือ เจมส์ ไทบีเรียส เคิร์กคริส ไพน์ เด็กหนุ่มหัวรั้นจากไอโอว่าผู้รักความสนุกตื่นเต้น ซึ่งมีความเป็นผู้นำอยู่ในสายเลือด อีกคนก็คือ สป็อค( แซ็คคารี่ ควินโต้) ผู้เติบโตมาบนดาววัลแคนสถานที่ซึ่งปลูกฝั่งให้ดำเนินชีวิตด้วยหลักเหตุผลและปฏิเสธการตัดสินใจเรื่องต่างๆ ด้วยอารมณ์ อย่างไรก็ตาม สป็อค ถูกมองเป็นแกะดำในสังคมเพราะชาติพันธุ์ที่เขาเกิดเป็นลูกครึ่งมนุษย์ แต่ด้วยความทุ่มเทและตั้งมั่น บวกกับความเฉลียวฉลาดที่มีอยู่ในตัว ทำให้เขากลายเป็นชาววัลแคนคนแรกที่สามารถเข้าเรียนในสถาบันสตาร์ฟลีทได้ สำเร็จ
แม้ว่า เคิร์ก และ สป็อค จะมีนิสัยแตกต่างกันเหมือนหยินกับหยาง แม้คนหนึ่งจะดำเนินชีวิตด้วยอารมณ์ ส่วนอีกคนทำทุกอย่างด้วยเหตุผล ถึงแม้ว่าพวกจะเป็นคู่กัดที่คอยชิงดีชิงเด่นกันอยู่ตลอดเวลาก็ตาม แต่ทั้งคู่ก็มีความใฝ่ฝันสูงสุดเหมือนกัน นั่นก็คือ การได้รับคัดเลือกให้เข้าร่วมทีมลูกเรือของยาน ยูเอสเอส เอ็นเตอร์ไพรส์ ยานอวกาศที่ก้าวล้ำยุคที่สุดเท่าที่เคยมีการสร้างกันมา ซึ่งอยู่ภายใต้การนำทีมของกัปตัน คริสโตเฟอร์ ไพค์ (บรูซ กรีนวู้ด) และลูกเรือคนอื่นๆ ซึ่งประกอบไปด้วย เด็กอัจฉริยะวัย 17 ปีอย่าง เชคอฟ (อันตวน เยลชิน), เจ้าหน้าที่แพทย์ประจำยานเลนนาร์ด “โบนส์” แม็คคอย (คาร์ล เออร์แบน), หัวหน้าทีมวิศวกรรมของยาน มอนต์โกเมอรี่ สก็อตต์ (ไซม่อน เป็กก์), เจ้าหน้าที่สื่อสาร อูฮูร่า (โซอี้ ซัลดาน่า), และ นายท้ายยานผู้มีประสบการณ์สูงอย่าง ซูลู (จอห์น โช)
ปฏิบัติภารกิจครั้งนี้จะทำให้พวกเขาได้พบกับบททดสอบครั้งยิ่งใหญ่ในชีวิตที่ มีทั้งความเจ็บปวด, มิตรภาพ, ความกล้าหาญ และความน่าประทับใจ ที่จะทำให้ทุกคนจดจำไปตลอดกาล
นี่คือหนัง Star Trek เวอร์ชั่นล่าสุดที่ถูกนำกลับมาสร้างใหม่อีกครั้ง (หลังจากภาค Nemesis ขึ้นจอใหญ่ไปเมื่อปี 2002) โดยผู้กำกับ เจ เจ เอแบรมส์ ซึ่งอยู่เบื้องหลังความสำเร็จของซีรี่ส์ยอดฮิตอย่าง Alias และ Lost อยู่เบื้องหลังความสำเร็จในการทำให้ Cloverfield กลายเป็นหนังสัตว์ประหลาดบุกโลกแนวใหม่ และเคยกำกับพระเอกระดับซูเปอร์สตาร์อย่างทอม ครูซ ใน Mission Impossible : 3 มาแล้วอีกด้วย

เรื่องต่อไปเป็นหนังตลกที่มีนักแสดงนำจอมฮาอย่าง Rob Schneider นั่นก็คือเรื่อง Big Stan นำทีมนักแสดงโดย Rob Schneide, Jennifer Morrison, Scott Wilson, Henry Gibson, Richard Kind, Jackson Rathbone, M. Emmet Walsh, David Carradine โดยที่ Rob นั้นกำกับเองอีกด้วย

เรื่องย่อ

เมื่อหนุ่มหน้าตาบ้านๆ ร็อบ ชไนเดอร์ มีเหตุต้องเข้าไปอยู่ในคุกในอีกหกเดือนข้างหน้า เขาจึงตัดสินใจเรียนกังฟูกับบุรุษเร่ร่อน ที่เรียกตัวเองว่า The Master (เดวิด คาร์ราดีน) ระหว่างนั้น เขาก็ยังต้องคอยปลอบใจภรรยาสุดสวยของเขา (เจนนิเฟอร์ มอร์ริสัน) ซึ่งการฝึกฝนนั้นก็ดูเหมือนจะได้ผล เพราะเมื่อถึงกำหนดการที่เขาต้องไปเข้าคุก เขาก็สามารถลงมือจัดการสั่งสอนหัวโจกของแก๊งค์ทุกแก๊งค์ในนั้น ไม่ว่าจะเป็นพี่มืดร่างยักษ์จอมตุ๋ย หรือแม้กระทั่งแก๊งค์นาซีจอมโหด จนในที่สุดเขาก็ได้รับการยกย่องจากทุกคนในคุกว่าเป็น “ลูกพี่ใหญ่!”

ต่อไปมาดูการ์ตูนอนิเมชั่นในสัปดาห์นี้กันบ้างนะครับ กับเรื่อง The Tale of Despereaux (การผจญภัยของเดสเพอรีอัส) กำกับโดย Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen และพากย์โดย Matthew Broderick, Ben Falcone, Emma Watson, Tony Hale, Dustin Hoffman ไปดูเนื้อเรื่องย่อกันเลยครับ

เรื่องย่อ

กาลครั้งหนึ่งนานมาแล้ว ในอาณาจักรดอร์ อันไกลโพ้น ที่อบอวลไปด้วยเวทมนตร์ เสียงหัวเราะเฮฮาและซุปรสโอชา แต่อุบัติเหตุร้ายแรงได้ทำให้พระราชาหัวใจสลาย เจ้าหญิงเกิดความรู้สึกโหยหา และชาวเมืองรู้สึกสิ้นหวัง ความหวังทั้งมวลสิ้นสลายไปจากผืนแผ่นดินที่พระอาทิตย์เลิกสาดส่องและโลกก็ กลายเป็นสีเทาหม่นหมอง จนกระทั่ง เดสเพอรีอัส ทิลลิง ถือกำเนิด        เจ้าหญิง เฝ้าโหยหาในบางสิ่งและชาวเมืองต้องอยู่โดยปราศจากซุป แสงอาทิตย์จางหายไป โลกกลับกลายเป็นสีเทา ความหวังทั้งหมดสูญหายไปในดินแดนแห่งนี้ จนกระทั่ง เดสเพอรีอัสทิลลิ่ง ได้ลืมตาดูโลก แม้จะตัวเล็กจิ๋วและมีหูที่ใหญ่เกินเหตุแต่เดสเพอรีอัสก็เกิดมาเพื่อเป็นผู้ ยิ่งใหญ่ในโลกเล็กๆ ของเขา เขาปฏิเสธที่จะใช้ชีวิตอย่างคนขลาดและผูกมิตรกับเจ้าหญิงที่ชื่อว่า พี และ เริ่มเรียนรู้การอ่านหนังสือที่เต็มไปด้วยเรื่องราวของเหล่าอัศวิน มังกร และหญิงงาม
แต่แล้ว เดแปโคซ์ ก็ถูกเนรเทศออกจากโลกของหนูเพราะความที่เขาดูเหมือนมนุษย์ มากกว่าที่จะเป็นหนูและได้รับความช่วยเหลือจาก รอสคูโร่ ซึ่งเป็นหนูที่สังคม ไม่ยอมรับอีกตัวหนึ่ง แต่เมื่อเจ้าหญิงตัดมิตรภาพกับ รอสคูโร่ เขาก็เปลี่ยนไปเป็นหนูที่ร้ายกาจและวางแผนสำหรับการแแก้แค้น หลังจากที่เจ้าหญิงพีถูกลักพาตัวไป เดสเพอรีอัส ค้นพบว่าเขาคือหนูเพียงผู้เดียวที่จะช่วยเหลือเธอได้ เขาค้นพบความกล้าสำหรับหนูตัวเล็กที่สุดของการเป็นอัศวินในชุดเกราะที่ส่อง แสง ในตำนานแห่งความกล้าหาญ การให้อภัยและการกอบกู้ หนูตัวเล็กๆ ตัวหนึ่งจะสอนให้คนทั้งอาณาจักรรู้ว่าการแสดงความจริงให้เห็นนั้นใช่แสง เพียงแค่เล็กน้อยเท่านั้น
เพราะภาพลักษณ์ภายนอกไม่ใช่สิ่งเดียวกับตัวตนที่แท้จริงเสมอไป!

เรื่องสุดท้ายเป็นหนังที่ดูแล้วเครียดนิดหน่อยนะครับ นั่นก็คือ The Hoursemen เป็นหนังแนวThriller นำแสดงโดย Dennis Quaid, Ziyi Zhang, Lou Taylor Pucci, Clifton Collins Jr., Patrick Fugit, Eric Balfour, Peter Stormare, Chelcie Ross, Liam James กำกับโดย Jonas Akerlund ไปดูเนื้อเรื่องย่อกันเลยครับ

เรื่องย่อ

“โลก กำลังสูญสิ้นศรัทธา อีกไม่ช้าจะถึงวันสิ้นโลก มันคือกลียุค ยุคของ สงคราม ความอดยาก โรคระบาด และความตาย ทางเดียวที่จะปลดปล่อยจิตวิญญาณ สู่กลียุคนี้ คือ การฆ่าเพื่อชำระบาป” จากประโยคที่กล่าวมานี้คือสารที่ ฆาตกรฆ่าต่อเนื่องที่เหี้ยมโหดที่สุดแห่งยุค ส่งถึง ตำรวจนักสืบผู้รับผิดชอบคดี ที่ค้นพบว่าลูกชาย 2 คน ของเขาเข้าไปพัวพันกับคดีประหลากนี้ ที่สำคัญก็คือ ถ้าเขาไม่สามารถหาร่องรอยแห่งฆาตกร ที่ทิ้งร่องรอยไว้ที่คำว่า Horsemen ได้ เขาอาจจะต้องสูญเสียครอบครัวทั้งหมดของเขาไป
นับตั้งแต่ที่ภรรยาเสียชีวิตไป ดูเหมือนว่า ไอแดน เบรสลิน (เดนนิส เคว็ด) ตำรวจนักสืบประสบการณ์สูง จะห่างเหินกับ อเล็คส์ (ลู เทเลอร์ พุคซี่) และ ณอน (เลียม เจมส์) ลูกชายทั้งสองของเขามากขึ้นทุกที ในขณะที่ชีวิตการทำหน้าที่พิทักษ์สันติราษฎ์ของเขา ก็เดินทางมาสู่จุดหักเห เมื่อเขาต้องมาทำคดีฆาตกรรมต่อเนื่องที่สยดสยองซึ่งมีส่วนเกี่ยวพันกับตัว เขาอย่างไม่คาดคิด โดยคดีฆาตกรรมนี้มีส่วนคล้ายคลึงกับคำทำนายในคัมภีร์ไบเบิ้ล เกี่ยวกับ Four Horsemen ที่จะมาถึงโลกาวินาศ คือ สงคราม ความอดอยาก โรคระบาด และ ความตาย ซึ่งฆาตกรจะทำการสังหารเหยื่อโดยอ้างอิงจากคำทำนายในพระคำภีร์ที่กล่าวถึง “สี่อัศวินแห่งวันโลกาวินาศ”
ทั้งสี่อัศวินนั้นประกอบไปด้วย “อัศวินม้าขาว” เจ้าแห่งการล่อลวงและเป็นผู้นำทัพเข้าสู่สงคราม “อัศวินม้าแดง” นักรบสุดเจ้าเล่ห์ ที่ประสงค์ให้มนุษย์ฆ่าฟันกันเอง แม้อาจดูไม่มีพิษมีภัย แต่ความนิ่งเฉยนั้นก็ฉาบไปด้วยแรงแค้นที่อยู่ภายในจิตใจ “อัศวินม้าดำ” ผู้ครอบงำจิตใจและทรราชย์แห่งความมืด จิตใจไม่ปกติและก้าวนำความคิดของทุกคนเสมอ และ “อัศวินม้าเขียวซีด” เพชรฆาตสังหารที่มีกำลังมหาศาล มุ่งหวังที่จะทำให้เหยื่อตายอย่างทรมาณ
ยิ่ง เบรสลิน ถลำ ลึกลงไปในเรื่องนี้มากเท่าไร เขาก็ค้นพบถึงความสัมพันธ์อันน่าสะพรึงกลัว ระหว่างเขากับผู้ต้องสงสัยทั้ง 4 คน… อัศวิน 4 ตน เหยื่อ 4 คนที่ไม่เกี่ยวข้องกัน และความลับที่ปวดร้าวทั้ง 4 เรื่อง
นอกเหนือจาก เดนนิส เควด แล้ว ยังได้ จางจือยี่ สาวหมวยอินเตอร์ มาพลิกบทบาทครั้งใหม่ในหนังแนวสยองขวัญ โดยในเรื่องเธอรับบทเป็น คริสเท็น สาวผู้มีปมทางจิตซึ่งเป็นกุญแจสำคัญของคดีฆาตกรรมนี้

credit : majorcineplex.com

Design: Gino Verna

Produced and Distributed: Inkworks, Morrisville, NC

Shown below: Spirit Trading cards box, wrapper, collector’s album

Design: Gino Verna

Produced and Distributed: Inkworks, Morrisville, NC

Cards shown: base cards,

box loaders, case loader, chase cards

fronts and backs shown

front and backs shown