Last night, Fox got the new television season started early. Last night was the season premiere of “Prison Break.” Last season the show was all about escape from prison, this season is about the cons on the run. The big challenge for the show this year, is to keep the show as interesting as it was last year and so far, so good. 
Last season Michel Scofield (Wentworth Miller,) robbed a bank and was sent to prison, but it was just the first part of his plan. He requested to be sent to Fox River Penitentiary, where, unknown to the judge, Michael’s older brother Lincoln Burrows was being held. Burrows was on death row for the murder of Terrence Stedman, the vice president’s brother. He didn’t do it (in fact Stedman is still alive), but there is no proof. Michael has a plan to get his brother out. Using his elaborate tattoo and some other convicts he is able to break out him, his brother as well as six others who get involved in the process.
The eight cons that escaped have been split up. “T-Bag” (Robert Knepper,) “Tweener” (Lane Garrison,) and “Haywire” (Silas Wier Mitchell) have been left to fend for themselves. Michael Scofield, Lincoln Burrows, “C-Note” (Rockmand Dunbar,) Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco,) and John Abruzzi (Peter Stormare) are on the run together going through Michael’s Plan B (Plan A was to get on a plane after escaping, but the plane took off as they got to the airfield and that’s why they are on the run.) The new member to the cast is William Fichtner he plays Special Agent Alexander Mahone, who has been assigned by the FBI to track the escapees.
The real challenge for the creators was to keep this show interesting. Last season we saw Michael use his elaborate tattoo to help them escape. Each part of the tattoo had bits of information hidden within it to help them escape. (Ex. The path of pipes under the psych ward, size screw needed to unscrew the toilet so that they can move it and get through the wall of the cell) This season is not going to rely on the tattoo as much (though there was some use last night.) Keeping the show intriguing will be harder.
The first episode of season two was just as riveting as the best episode of season one. The introduction of Agent Mahone was the best thing the show could have done. Mahone is as smart as Michel and has already figured out that he had the map of the prison tattooed on his body. He will be the one this season to match wits with Michael. It was made clear last night that making it out of prison was the easy part, with Mahone looking for them, it’s going to be hard to stay a head of him.
“Escape is only the beginning.” That was the tagline for season one and it was, but now things are just picking up. The challenges of life on the run have the potential to be more interesting then the plan to escape was. I had my doubts when season two began, but if last night was any indication, this should shape up to be a very good season.
Fox Monday’s 8:00/ 7:00 Central
TV14
What do you do when a movie franchise has lost its luster? How do you resurrect a character that has become campy and lost all credibility? The answer is simple; you go back to the beginning and reinvent him. Sometimes it is best to start over instead of trying to fix something that is as broken as the Batman series was. The last Batman movie had strayed so far from what Batman was that it was in need of a major overhaul. That is what Christopher Nolan (Memento) did when he wrote and directed “Batman Begins.” He started fresh and in doing so, gave us the best comic book movie adaptation ever.
The movie starts with Bruce as a child playing in Wayne Manor. He falls down a hole into the cave that will one day become the Bat cave and is rescued by his father and the butler, Alfred (Michael Caine.) It then flashes forward to Bruce (Christian Bale) in jail. He has disappeared from Gotham and become a criminal. He is rescued by a man named Herri Ducard (Liam Nesson,) who wants him to join the League of Shadows, lead by Ra’s Al Ghul (Ken Watannabe.) Through flashbacks, we see the death of his parents, a straining friendship with childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes (Katie Homes,) until we are brought back to the present and his training with The League of Shadows. After he discovers that he was chosen to lead the league into Gotham to destroy it. He chooses not to and fights his way out and returns to Gotham to become Batman in order to save the city. Using one of the few honest cops, Jim Gordan (Gary Oldman,) he starts his fight by taking on Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson.)
One of the things that makes this movie different from the previous films is that the city is much darker. At one point Rachel asks Bruce; “What chance does Gotham have when the good people do nothing?” This sums up the city. The city is run by corrupt leaders who ignore the mob and the extreme poverty. As long as they can live in ignorance they can live happy.
Christian Bale plays Batman/Bruce Wayne in this movie. He is able to do something that the actor cast as Batman before him (George Clooney,) could not do. He gives us the tortured hero. He struggles with the balance Wayne and Batman. He must keep up appearances as Bruce Wayne during the day and Batman at night. Living a duel life is not easy and we can see it take it’s toll on Bruce. One of the things I like about Christian Bale as an actor is he throws himself into the roles he chooses. The role he had before this in “The Machinist” required him to lose a lot of weight, and he got deathly skinny for this role. (See pic included.) He had to gain 30 pounds in order to get the role as Batman. He gives the best performance in the film and is the best Batman yet. 
One of the things that was done was to make the movie more realistic. They made the movie feel like Batman could really exist. Bruce goes to Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman,) who is the head of the “applied sciences department.” On a tour Bruce asks Fox to borrow a few items that he uses as the bat suit, cape, and a few of the Batman gadgets and even the Batmobile. They keep everything down to earth, nothing is extravagant. One of the most impressive realistic elements was the Batmobile. It was designed as a tanke to jump rivers to tow cables to make bridges.
“Batman Begins” is a new take on an old character. Updated and made real. Christopher Nolan has breathed new life into a dead franchise Batman has been given a second chance and so far it is the best of the DC comic book movies, if not the best of all comic book movies. The Dark Knight has returned and the Batsignal is relit. If they can keep up the quality, Batman has a bright future.
9 out of 10
Rated PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements.
Runtime: 141 min
In the summer of 2003, Disney released a movie based on a ride at their theme parks. It was arrived with almost no hype, and that is why “Pirates of the
This time around Jack Sparrow…sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) gets a visit from octopus-faced Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and his crew. Davy Jones raised The Black Pearl, Jack's ship, from the bottom of the ocean. Jack’s payment was to serve 100 years on Davy’s crew. Now he must find a way out of the debt and the only way out is to find the chest of Davy Jones or the Dead Man’s Chest. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) are set to be married when their past catches up with them. For their part in helping Jack to escape, they are arrested and sentenced to be hung. Their only way out is to find Jack and get his compass for Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander.)
The big reason many people, including yours truly, loved the first one was Johnny Depp’s performance as Capt. Jack Sparrow. Disney was hesitant at first to have Jack be played in the way Depp did, but looks like it paid off. Jack is back in full force in this movie, complete with the abnormalities that made him famous. He lies his way through most of the situations he gets into, uses others for his own benefit and makes wisecracks in even the most grave of positions. As we all know by now, Depp based Jack on Rolling Stones member Keith Richards (who will be making an appearance in the third film.) He may be based on another, but Capt. Jack Sparrow has taken on a life of his own. He makes both movies what they are. Sure the other actors are good and do a great job of making these characters interesting, but it is Jack who adds that little extra to the movies. That is a credit to Depp (who before this had never done a sequel.) He has made his career by playing different characters. He doesn’t just act, he becomes Jack Sparrow and that makes the character what he is.
Visually this was an incredible movie. One of the most amazing visual effects in the movie was Davy Jones. The actor Bill Nighy had no make up on, it was all added digitally. He wore motion sensor balls on his face so that the tentacles could be added later. The other members of the crew, who all have changed into human/sea creatures were really well done and looked awesome on the big screen.
My only problem with the movie is they tried too hard. There were a lot of moments in the first one that made it special and the surprise hit that it was. In this one, it seemed that they tried a little to hard too replicate the first. There are those same moments in this one that made the first unique, but there are a lot put in for just that reason. It was as if they decided to cram as much odd Jack into the movie as they could. One of the things that I liked about Jack was that there are times where he was torn between what is right and what he wants. There are times where we see his conscience in this one, but there could have been more. There were times where he seemed to just betray people without a second thought. He is not as torn as he was in the first.
Lots of people I know were mad at how it ended. That is because technically it didn’t end. The third; “Pirates of the
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.
Runtime: 150 min
8 out of 10
Chances are you missed what could have been one of the most original shows on television. It’s not your fault, it’s Fox’s. In 2001, Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel,) was given a chance to start another television show. It was his dream project, the one he cared more about then any of his previous works. It was “Firefly.” This show doesn’t have a simple story line that could possibly be explained in one sentence and still do it justice.
500 years in the future and Earth has been used up and the only two superpowers left are 
to unite all the planets under their rule and The War for Unification began. Those who fought the decision were called The Browncoats. They lost the war at the Battle of Serenity Valley. Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) was one of the Browncoats and after the war bought a Firefly class ship and named it after the bloodiest battle of the war; Serenity. On Mal’s crew are Zoe Washburn (Gina Torres) his first mate and fellow Browncoat, Hoban “Wash” Washburn, pilot and husband of Zoe, Kaylee Frye (Jewel Staite) the genius mechanic, and Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) the mercenary. Also on board, renting one of Serenity’s two shuttles is a Companion (or in modern terms a hooker) named Inara (Morena Baccarin.) While in port one day they take on passengers to help get money to fuel the ship. One is a Shepard (priest) named Book (Ron Glass) and Dr. Simon Tam (Sean Maher.) It is soon discovered that Simon has a secret stowed in his luggage; his sister River (Summer Glau.) River was a part of a government sponsored school that was really a government program to create assassins (as far as we can tell.) She was experimented on and as a result became mentally unstable.
So if this show is so great, why was it canceled? I knew you would ask. That is all Fox’s fault. Fox showed the episodes out of order, including showing the intended pilot after they axed the show, and put it in the worst time slot on television, Friday night at
So I happen to be an obsessed fan, you may find this review bias, but it’s not. I can be impartial; it’s what I have to do as a critic. If I wrote that a certain director or actor made the greatest film ever when there were obvious flaws, then I would be doing my readers a great injustice. As an impartial viewer, this show is great. It has humor, action, adventure and great characters that you will love to watch. You will find something in at least one character that will make you enjoy the show, heck, maybe you’ll see a bit of yourself in all nine main characters.
Now to address the “super power” issue; the only countries in control at the time of the move to the new galaxy were
One thing that is really interesting about the show is the role of the Companion. While in our times being a “lady of the night” is frowned upon, a companion is a position of respect and class. There is a lot of tradition and ritual that comes with being or being with a companion. In fact there are some places that won’t let you dock with out a registered companion on board. Inara even helps get them out of trouble once or twice.
A basic episode of the show goes a little like this; get a job, get into trouble, get out of trouble, get paid for job. The crew is always running into trouble from the
This show is not for everyone, it is a space western. But even if you hate sci-fi, and hate westerns, give this show a chance. As a loyal fan of the show, trust me it is worth it. Rent in on Netflix, or other online movie rental places, heck, ask me to bring my box set with me the next time you see me. I’m more then happy to recruit more browncoats. The show is a different breed. It is like nothing in television today. So give it a chance, if you don’t like it, fine at least you gave it a try and that’s all I, an obsessed fan, and ask of you.
Rent
As a guy, I’m not supposed to like musicals. It’s not in our DNA. The closest we can come is “The Blues Brothers.” Even then it is by the mere fact that John Belushi is the star that we can allow ourselves to love the movie. So why then, when I took the chance, did I love “Rent?” What is it that makes this movie musical one that I enjoy watching? There must be something that sets it apart from other musicals because I hated movies like “
“Rent” is the story of a group of eight friends living in the East Village of New York. Dealing with AIDS, love, loss and struggling to pay the rent the film follows them through one year in their lives. 
The two main characters are Mark Cohen (Anthony Rapp,) a struggling film maker and Rodger Davis (Adam Pascal,) a struggling musician. As Mark tries to capture “real life” for his documentary, Rodger struggles to write a song, something he has not done since his ex-girlfriend died. On Christmas Eve, the power for the block they live on is turned off because no one has paid their rent. When their friend Benny (Taye Diggs,) who has become successful after marrying the owner of their block tells Mark and Rodger that if they get Mark’s ex-girlfriend Maureen Johnson (Idina Manzel,) to cancel her protest against them, they can live in their loft for free. This is complicated by the fact that Maureen left Mark for a lawyer named Joanne (Tracie Thomas.) Their friend Tom Collins (Jessie L. Martin,) a college professor comes to visit and falls in love with Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia,) a drag queen street musician. During the landlord-induced power outage, Rodger meets Mimi (Rosario Dawson,) a drug addicted stripper and begins to fall in love with her, but won’t admit it because they both have “baggage.”
As a cast, these are some of the best performances I have ever seen, but it is expected when most of the cast (with the exception of Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thomas,) have been playing these characters for ten years. They should know all the nuances of their characters by this point and be able to show the relationships with the other characters. The two newcomers, Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thomas, seem like they were there from the beginning. They have great connections with the original members. Of the two “newbies” I was most impressed with Rosario Dawson. I knew she could act, but she can also sing really well. I was convinced that she had her voice dubbed, but I was wrong. She has an incredible voice to go along with her acting ability. Tracie Thomas also has an amazing voice. When she sang her solo in “Seasons of Love,” I was blown away. They picked two great additions to the cast who even though are new, fit just like they were supposed to be there from the beginning.
Of the original cast I was most impressed by Jessie L. Martin (Tom Collins.) Why you ask, well because he is one of the detectives on “Law and Order.” I’m a fan of all the “Law and Order” shows and was shocked to see Detective Ed Green singing. It was also interesting to see him play a gay character with AIDS. It is the complete opposite of his “Law and Order” character. The one scene where I see this is evident is when he sings the reprise “I’ll Cover You.” I cannot say much about the circumstances with out spoiling the end, but when you see it you will understand what I feel that he alone makes it one of the most powerful scenes in the second half of the play.
I would not be doing this film justice if I did not comment on the music. Written by Jonathan Larson for the play, which was first preformed in 1996, it still holds up ten years later. You are destined to find yourself singing some of the songs after you are finished with the film. Jonathan Larson was able to write rock songs, ballads, and even a tango themed song. The music in the film/play is a credit to Larson’s ability. “Rent,” the play, was Larson’s first big hit and unfortunately he died before he could see how much his play would be loved.
So what is it about “Rent” that makes me sing along and actually enjoy a musical? It is many things. The music is actually good and very well written. The actors care so much for the material that they wanted to do it justice in the film version. The message of “No Day But Today” is something that tells the viewer to not miss out on life and to live each day to it’s fullest. Whether you are dying from AIDS or not, “life is yours to miss.”
So give the movie a try, I did and was impressed so much that I have seen in a few times since. It is amazing what can happen when you open yourself to something you would not normally watch or something you could easy write off as not “your thing.” Life is about taking chances and taking risks in everything you do; love, friends, opening you mind to new ideas. Take chances on things…even movies and you will be surprised at what you find.
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving drugs and sexuality, and for some strong language.
Runtime: 135 min
9 out of 10
