The Office: “Gossip” (S06E01)

Summary:

For the season six premiere, “Gossip” was a bit unbalanced.  The episode opens up with Michael Scott, Dwight, and Andy running around the office, jumping off things, and basically making a mess of everything they touch.  They explain they’re participating in Parkour, which was a 2004 Internet phenomenom displaying professionals jumping and climbing in their environment in a dangerous and freestyle way.  It was funny and wild, but not that funny.

Anyway, this happens to be the last day for the three Summer interns at Dunder Mifflin.  As you can predict, they’ve done nothing around the office.

Anyway, the title of the episode forms into the central storyline.  Michael finds out he’s being left out on a lot of office gossip.  But once he finds out a bit of information from the interns about Stanley, he spreads the rumor to everyone that Stanley’s having an affair.  When Michael confronts Stanley about the rumor, Stanley confirms it and begs Michael to refrain from telling anyone else.

Knowing that he already told everyone about Stanley’s affair, Michael plans to spread rumors about everyone in the office to take their focus away from Stanley.  Some of the rumors he starts are as follow:  Angela is dating an 81-year-old, Toby’s a virgin, Andy is gay, Kelly has an eating disorder, and Pam is pregnant.

When people begin confronting each other about their rumor, that sparks a riot in the office.  Kevin snickers that Andy is gay, which makes him start thinking whether or not he really is gay.  Andy talks to Oscar, which results in Oscar saying that he actually might be gay.  Meanwhile, while Pam and Jim have been hiding the fact that Pam’s pregnant, somehow Michael was able to nail that rumor accurately.  When Andy tells Jim he knows there will be a “baby tuna” soon, that’s when everything comes out.

Michael calls for an immediate meeting in the conference room and explains how he made up all of the rumors except for one.  When they ask Michael which was the one rumor that was true, the quick mind of Jim saves the humiliation for Stanley and steps forward to admit Pam is pregnant.  Pam proves it with the sonogram and no one is more surprised than Michael.

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Reaction:

Who would’ve ever expected Stanley to cheat on his wife?  Stanley, the most stagnant character in the show, actually expressed real emotions during this episode.  He’s not just a puzzle-solving, uncaring salesmen counting the seconds down until he leaves work to go home and watch television before going to sleep and then do it all over again like a robot… He’s a real person!

And once again, Michael dodged a bullet with his rumors scheme.  Even though this is becoming more predictable than a WWE match, it’s still funny and effective.

The interns were just a ploy to start Michael’s gossip.  Other than that, they weren’t funny and I’m happy that I’ll never see them again.

Also, can I just say it was hilarious that Michael was trying to spread the rumor that Toby was a virgin.  Toby’s response:  “What are you guys talking about? I have a daughter. How can I be a virgin?”  Too good.

Dollhouse: Vows (S02E01)

Was anyone else a bit confused right from the beginning of the second season’s premiere?  I wanted to re-watch the last few episodes of the first season but didn’t get a chance to.  So there I was, watching the season premiere to Dollhouse and BAM!  Information overload.  It took me a few moments to completely catch myself up as to where we left off, but I think I understand it now.

Summary:

The main storyline of the episode went something like this:  Echo was an undercover agent working with Paul Ballard trying to make a huge bust on an arms dealer, Martin.  So as the undercover cop, she played Martin’s love interest.  They get married.  They consummate the marriage.  And she continues to try and reveal Martin’s plans before they go on their honeymoon.

Something confusing was whether or not Ballard was Echo’s handler throughout this mission.  He was not.  He was just her partner to cracking down on Martin’s illegal deals.  But in the episode, DeWitt and Ballard discuss the idea of making him Echo’s handler by mentioning how he still has an attachment towards her.  He was reluctant to the idea, but he definitely kept a close watch on her while she was on her mission.

Meanwhile, Dr. Saunders, formerly known as Whiskey, was an important character in this episode.  She was very unstable with who she was, which was apparent from her stalkings and sexual attack on Topher (hilarious).  We find out that the scars Victor received from Alpha’s attack could be healed and she didn’t want it done to herself.  Later in the episode, Echo had a flashback of herself and Whiskey almost kissing and then Echo saying how Whiskey used to be number one.  Then Dr. Saunders had a conversation with Boyd about how her confinement at the Dollhouse was her decision.  She knows she’s an Active.  She could leave, but she had many excuses not to.  But as they kept talking, Boyd made her understand that her fears of the outside world are all programmed.  And finally, the conversation with Topher that revealed that he never programmed Dr. Saunders to hate him.  Instead, he programmed her to be one to question things instead of obeying everything he said in order to make sure nothing wrong slips through their fingers.  He programmed her to be a fighter for what she believed in, but he never programmed her to hate him.

Back to Echo’s story, she wakes up one morning alone in the bedroom.  Someone working with Martin shows him photos of Echo talking with Ballard, who Martin instantly recognizes.  He catches Echo trying to open a locked desk drawer, smashes her head against the desk and confronts her about working with Ballard.  She turns the tables around by being extremely convincing that she didn’t marry him because of his money but because she loved him… until she said the wrong name.

Ballard calls in to Topher to check up on Echo and Topher tells him that she’s in trouble.  At the airplane hanger, Ballard steps out and confronts Martin face-to-face.  Martin takes advantage of knowing Ballard doesn’t work for the FBI anymore and strikes him.  Because of Echo’s concussion, she’s glitching different personalities at a frequent rate that confuses Martin.  Ballard tries to make Echo remember her ass-kicking persona by attacking her and reciting specific lines of dialogue.  It somehow worked and then Echo and Ballard took on the entire Martin gang.  There was a lot of action that included a shoot-out, a car chase with Echo hanging on the hood, and an explosion.

Back in the Dollhouse, Dr. Saunders leaves a note that Boyd reads.  “I’m running out… of excuses.”  She’s seen driving away from the Dollhouse and out into the open world.

After the mission, Echo got her treatment.  Victor’s face was now healed and Sierra approached him, acknowledged him, and they walked away holding hands.  During her doll-like state, Echo admits to Ballard that she remembers all of her past personalities and wants to find them all, including her original self, Caroline.  Ballard swears to help her.  The episode concludes with Ballard holding Echo’s hand and going through the ritual to become her handler.

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Reaction:

I wasn’t exactly thrilled about this premiere episode.  There was a lot of character development for Dr. Saunders, which I was not prepared for.  I did like the double-identity storyline for Echo, which added a lot of action and brought back the Ballard-Echo background and importance.  But after all the explosions, the only essential thing to take from her story was that she retains all of her past personas and that Ballard became her handler.

Amy Acker did one hell of a job as a Dr. Saunders who is being tormented inside, knowing that she’s an Active known as Whiskey.  But she would rather stay as this Dr. Saunders than go back to her true identity, one that she doesn’t even know anymore.  At times, Dollhouse has glimpses of pure brilliance in questioning the advancements of technology along with exploring the concept of people’s identities and their soul.

Oh, and before I forget to mention, it looks like the show has its new antagonist.  There’s a Senator who made claims that the Rossum Corp. is withholding valuable medical information from the public that could be used to advance the studies to cure Alzheimer’s.  I do like the angle they’re taking with this and am interested on how this all plays out.  Will this Senator play Ballard’s role to find and terminate the Dollhouse?  Frankly, that was one of my favorite aspects about the first season.

Overall, the episode had a lot of punch with some heart to give it balance.  We’re sympathizing more and more with Topher’s character, learning more about Dr. Saunders, and coming to terms with Boyd and Ballard’s new responsibilities in the Dollhouse.  Oh, and watching Eliza Dushku kicking ass will never get old.

Box Office Results: ‘Meatballs’ rain on box office for second straight weekend

Studio Estimate for September 25-27:

1.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $25 million
2.  Surrogates – $14.9 million
3.  Fame – $10 million
4.  The Informant! – $6.6 million
5.  Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $4.8 million

6.  Pandorum – $4.4 million

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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs experienced only a 17% decline from last weekend’s total and grossed $25 million to take the top spot at the box office for a second straight week.  Meanwhile, the new releases weren’t as successful as they would’ve liked.  Surrogates only grossed $14.9 million, which was good enough as runner-up, while Fame took in $10 million for the third spot.

The Informant! grossed $6.6 million for fourth place and I Can Do Bad All By Myself grossed $4.8 million to finish off the Top 5.  The sci-fi/horror Pandorum landed in the sixth spot with a dismal $4.4 million.

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As for our predictions, it was a close race between Sheehan and I.  We both correctly predicted four of the Top 5 films, with three in the correct ranking.  So what it came down to were our gross estimates, where I edged him out by being $13 million off to his $20 million.  Meanwhile, Phil did not have very accurate predictions.  Better next time buddy!

Check back on Friday for our predictions with four new wide releases.  The Ricky Gervais comedy The Invention of Lying; the Drew Barrymore chick-sport/comedy Whip It; the horror/comedy Zombieland; and the two-week only, 3-D double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2.

Review: Pandorum

Pandorum (2009)
109 minutes
Rated – R
Directed by Christian Alvart
Starring:  Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster

Grade: C+

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After a big weekend for Sci-fi movie fans, the horror fans were left wondering what happened to Paranormal Activity? Despite the hoopla over the mocumentary horror flick that opened up in just a handful of theaters, horror fans were left with one major release to titillate their terror needs before our horror holiday season–Pandorum.

After Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) awakens in his sleeping chamber on a spaceship destined for another planet like Earth, he discovers that something horrible has happened to the ship.  Once Lt. Payton (Dennis Quaid) awakens from his sleep, the two men desperately try to figure out a way to open the doors to the pilots bridge.  Payton remains locked in the room the two men awakened, while Bower crawls out through a vent so he can restart a generator and get to the bridge.  But what Bowers finds out is that the humans that were in charge of the ship while they slept, were gone.  Or were they?

Pandorum - definition (according to movie) – is when the mind breaks down into madness deep in outer space .  Or something like that.

For the sci-fi movie culture this movie will provide solid entertainment.  The storyline and twists can be complex at moments, particularly toward the end, so please be attentive as you watch this movie unfold.  The creatures appear to resemble the underground cavern monsters of The Descent so the lack of originality there is a little disappointing (although I can’t imagine how much more they could have done with it).

Both Foster and Quaid give performances that work for this film, although at times Foster’s character seemed a bit over dramatic.  Neither of their characters had much substance or back-story so don’t expect too much characterization in this film.  What you can expect is a dark, ominous set design, which appears to be the same set from Alien Resurrection, and cramped quarters that are not for the painfully claustrophobic.  At times this movie is laughable, such as when the none English-speaking man fights one of the monsters and the monsters throw him a weapon to use.  Seriously?  But you will also find some moments incredibly intriguing, especially if sci-fi horror films are something you cherish.

Overall, this highly suspenseful film will leave you with some very entertaining moments and an interesting storyline.  Although the movie is not much different aesthetically to other sci-fi movies of the past decade, the storyline is a little more unique than other films of the past.  However, it’ll be hard to compete with the incredibly popular and skillfully made District 9, which came out earlier this summer.  And it may also fall short of being the best sci-fi movie of the weekend.

Author note:

For all you horror movies fans reading my reviews, please stop by The Horror Lot to view more blog posts by me about horror genre films.  This post and my previous review posts can also be viewed there.  I will continue to post all my reviews on The Entertainment Blur as always, but you can find more horror specific news such as, upcoming releases, news of remakes or upcoming pictures, previews, and a look at the classics.

Stay tuned for The Entertainment Blurs Horror Movie Month in October.  During the month of October, I will be writing a blog once a week about a classic horror movie that people should watch during the month, culminating with my post on my ALTERNATIVE to “Halloween” on Halloween.

Box Office Predictions (Sept. 25-27)

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Last weekend, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs rained on the box office with $30 million, which landed the top spot.  It’s going to be a tough task for any of the three new releases to take the top spot from the kiddie-animation.

First, there is Surrogates starring Bruce Willis in a sci-fi/thriller about villain who kills people through robots.  The friendly PG-13 rating and the big-name movie star could be its ticket to the top.  Debuting in about 2,700 theaters, let’s see how well it does.

One concern for the success of Surrogates lies in the release of Pandorum during the same weekend.  Pandorum stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster as astronauts who wake up with no memory on a deserted and dangerous spaceship.  It’s a sci-fi/horror with an R-rating.  I feel more people will be interested in Surrogates, but Pandorum could create direct competition.

Finally, the musical remake of Fame, a story of aspiring New York dancers.  Its demographic will be towards young teenage girls, since the teenage boys will be seeing Surrogates.  Or maybe some tweens will get this mixed up with another High School Musical?  Nah… debuting in about 3,000 theaters, expect Fame to make the Top 5.

Here are our predictions…

My Predictions:

1.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $21 million
2.  Surrogates – $18 million
3.  Fame – $12 million
4.  Pandorum – $7 million
5.  The Informant! – $6 million

Phil’s Predictions:

1.  Surrogates – $30 million
2.  Fame – $23 million
3.  Pandorum – $18 million
4.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $14 million
5.  The Informant! – $5 million

Sheehan’s Predictions:

1.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $22 million
2.  Surrogates – $20 million
3.  Pandorum – $12 million
4.  The Informant! – $9 million
5.  Fame – $8 million

Review: Jennifer’s Body

Jennifer’s Body (2009)
102 minutes
Rated – R
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Starring:  Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried

Grade: C

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One thing I learned after seeing Jennifer’s Body—don’t watch a horror/erotic teen flick when teenagers will be swarming the theaters.  They laugh before they get scared.  They laugh when they are about to feel horny.  And they laugh when they get a funny text message from a person sitting next to them who are trying to make light of the fact that they are turned on or scared.  Try enjoying a movie with that kind of audience.

And if you’re seeing Jennifer’s Body, expect to have it.

If you didn’t pick up on the quirky teen lingo of Diablo Cody’s world in Juno, you certainly can’t miss it in her follow up film, Jennifer’s Body. The movie is a salacious look into the high school teen world where Jennifer (Megan Fox) becomes a demon who needs to feed on teenage boys in order to stay perky and beautiful.

It starts after Jennifer and her BFF Anita, aka Needy, (played by Amanda Seyfried) go to a local dive bar in their small town, interestingly named, Devils Kettle.  They go to the bar, despite being high school teenagers, to watch a band from the city called Low Shoulder.  The band happens to be a group of Satanists who believe that by sacrificing a virgin they will receive eternal wealth and fame.  So they choose Jennifer.

Only one problem.

As Jennifer confesses to Needy moments before she leaves with the band:  “I’m not even a backdoor virgin.  And do you know that really hurts?  I couldn’t go to flags the next day because I had to sit on a bag of peas.”

Right.

Because of the bands lack of obvious ability to distinguish which of the two girls is a virgin, the band sacrifices the class slut.  Although the band does become rich and famous, by not sacrificing a virgin they have now released a demon that possesses Jennifer’s body.

If you’re looking to get scared during this movie, don’t expect it.  If you’re looking to get excited (you know what I mean), it’ll happen from time to time.  If you’re looking to see good acting, try the theater down the hall.  Megan Fox didn’t impress me with any Oscar winning acting ability (although I’m sure someone will give her a serious role some day and she will be carrying the gold, bald-headed bodybuilder at some point in her career).

You will enjoy this movie if you like Diablo Cody’s writing and are looking for new “Honest to blog?” kind of expressions to add to your very extensive teenage terminology.  But certainly don’t expect a second coming of the Evil Dead or a sequel to Juno. This movie is mediocre at best and I’m only giving it a C because it is somewhat entertaining.  But it has some major plot holes and characters with empty story lines that are on screen solely to be eaten by a BONEfide zombie.

If only George Romero or Sam Raimi got a hold of this script.  Then we would have really gotten the blood sucking/erotic/pimple popping/cherry popping horror comedy experience many of us were hoping for. 

Box Office Results: Audience eats up ‘Meatballs’ this weekend

Studio Results for September 18-20:

1.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $30.1 million
2.  The Informant! – $10.5 million
3.  Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $10.1 million
4.  Love Happens – $8.5 million
5.  Jennifer’s Body – $6.8 million

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The family-friendly animated feature, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, took the box office by storm this weekend with an impressive $30.1 million.  The screenings in 3-D and IMAX certainly helped, as it counted for about $20 million of its weekend gross.  Runner-up went to The Informant! with $10.5 million.  According to Warner Bros’ research, 72 percent of ticket sales went to people 30 years of age or older.

Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself landed the third spot with $10.1 million on its second weekend.  The romantic comedy, Love Happens, debuted fourth in the box office with $8.5 million.  And rounding out the Top 5 was the disappointing Jennifer’s Body with $6.8 million.

As for our predictions, Sheehan and I both predicted all five films in the Top 5 correctly, but only two of the five in the right order.  We both had Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at the top, but then faltered after that.  We both completely over-shot Jennifer’s Body.  We’ll try to do better next time.

On Friday there will be three new wide releases hitting the theaters:  two sci-fi/action films, Pandorum and Surrogates… and then the musical Fame.  Check back on Friday for our new predictions.

Album Review: “Defying Gravity”

Artist:  Keith Urban
Album:  Defying Gravity
Year:  2009

Grade:  C+

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Keith Urban is one of Country music’s powerhouses.  Displaying his excellent guitar skills, sensational writing ability, and a voice to make fans crumble, heck Keith Urban has it all.  But there’s something missing in his fifth and latest album, Defying Gravity, that allows it to just be one in a crowd and not stand out.

The album’s 11-track collection begins with two stand out songs, “Kiss a Girl” and “Sweet Thing.”  Coincidentally, those were his two hit singles off of the album and rightfully so.  Each packs a shot of energy and express Urban’s child-like charm successfully.

He immediately changes directions to a lost-love ballad in “‘Til Summer Comes Around.”  Personally, this might be the standout song of the album just because it’s the one track that sounds so different from the rest.  But it’s far from my favorite track off the album.  The sluggish tempo and the lackluster lyrics is too deep of a hole to climb out of.

The sixth track, “Hit the Ground Runnin’” exemplifies Urban’s style of banjo-rock.  This is the direction his entire album should’ve taken.  Instead, it was plagued by a lot of fillers like “Standing Right in Front of You,” “Why’s It Feel So Long,” and his The Kinleys cover of “I’m In.”  It’s no wonder these tracks were thrown at the end of the album.

As usual, Urban concludes his album with a love ballad in “Thank You.”  This is an example of the power a love ballad could contain when you know the artist really means what he’s saying.  Whether Urban’s singing to his wife, Nicole Kidman, or Brad Paisley’s singing to his wife Kimberly Williams… it’s a glorious thing to hear someone pour their heart out on an album with no shame.

Overall, the album falls short of being good.  The bland taste left after listening to each track straight through is disatisfying.  And the fact that you expect so much more from Keith Urban adds to the fire of disappointment.  What I’m able to take from this album is no more than a handful of tracks I’ve added to my shuffle, but that’s it.

Box Office Predictions (Sept. 18-20)

Another Friday, another four new releases hitting the theaters.  Once again, we have an animation, a horror, and a romantic comedy.  But the film that sticks out like a sore thumb is Steven Soderbergh’s, The Informant!

The Informant! is an R-rated film starring Matt Damon as a corporate whistleblower who goes undercover for the FBI.  The previews and commercials make the pic look a lot like a comedy, but I’m expecting a lot more from Soderbergh.  Opening in about 2,500 theaters, the competition might be too steep this weekend for The Informant! to really make an impact.

The family animation film this weekend is titled, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  And guess what?  It’s available in 3-D and in Imax!  It’s been a while since there was a movie targetting kids and families, so expect this to top the box office.

And then there’s Jennifer’s Body, the screenplay follow-up from Diablo Cody (Juno).  Starring Megan Fox, the film is a horror/comedy about a teenage girl who eats boys.  It has an R-rating, which should inhibit its box office success a bit.  But opening in about 2,700 theaters and being able to attract male and female viewers should easily rank this film into the Top 5.

Finally, there’s a cute romantic-comedy out starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart titled, Love Happens.  This film doesn’t appeal to me, but that’s probably since the target demographic for the flick will be young adult-adult women who want their Hollywood-romance fix.  Debuting in about 1,800 theaters, let’s see if it’ll make the Top 5.

Here are our predictions…

My Predictions:

1.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $27 million
2.  Jennifer’s Body – $15 million
3.  Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $11 million
4.  The Informant! – $10 million
5.  Love Happens – $8 million

Sheehan’s Predictions:

1.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $40 million
2.  Jennifer’s Body – $25 million
3.  The Informant! – $16 million
4.  Love Happens – $13 million
5.  Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $12 million

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Movie Review: 9

9 (2009)
79 minutes
Rated PG-13
Directed by Shane Acker

Grade: B-

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In a dark, decrepit post-apocalyptic world, 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood)—a small doll made out of what appears to be an old potato sack with a zipper, copper hands, and cylinder eyes—awakens to become the savior of planet earth.  Humanity has been destroyed by machines (similar to the demise of humans in the Terminator saga) and it is up to 9 and a group of other dolls, all labeled and named with a number, to figure out how to save and restart life on the planet.  Each of them possesses a gift and only 9 is the one that can help them figure out what it is.

Tim Burton’s name has been slapped all over this new animated film (although he is merely one of four other producers).  Director Shane Acker certainly keeps to the typical gloomy, ominous atmosphere we have seen in Burton’s films before, creating a world that keeps a viewer enticed as they watch the story play along.

9 is certainly not an animated children’s movie, as the violent deaths given to some of the very likeable characters are powerfully done.  Like other post-apocalyptic movies, this one is challenging the notion that we—humans—are relying to much on machines and computers and ultimately technology is what will evaporate us in a violent war of man v. machine.

The plot of this movie is very simple.  9 and the others must figure out how to destroy The Brain—a technological creation made by the same scientist who created 9 and the others that was taken over by a totalitarian military leader who decides to use it for war rather than peace.  Wow, that was some sentence.

Overall, this move is entertaining despite its uncomplicated plot.  The animation is fantastic and the story continuously moves along without boring and unnecessary filler scenes.  Of course, like all Burton films, a peculiar outcast looms among what would appear to be the normal group.  6 (voiced by Crispin Glover), the only doll wearing a Beetlejuice style, black and white stripped potato sack, shines in the latter part of this film.

9 has a star-studded cast consisting of Wood, Glover, Martin Landau, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, and my favorite, John C. Reilly as 5.  I think viewers will be impressed with the animation and enjoy this film, but no one should go in expecting to see something truly unique and memorable.