TV REVIEW - BLUE BLOODS

Would you trust this family? Yes, you probably would.

The most immediate thought I had when watching the pilot of new CBS drama ‘Blue Bloods’ is how reminiscent it was of ‘The Good Wife.’ It’s from the same channel in the US so that isn’t surprising, but it carries far more similarities than that. Considering ‘The Good Wife’ is one of my favourite shows, this bodes well for the future of ‘Blue Bloods’.

FILM REVIEW - THE GREEN HORNET

It’s hard not to watch The Green Hornet without thinking about Batman. Under the stewardship of Seth Rogen, The Green Hornet plays like Batman if Batman didn’t have skills, an alternative personality or sense of purpose.

That’s not the world’s worst idea. There’s the possibility of a subversive superhero movie there – like a more professional Kick-Ass – and if one director and star combination might pull it off, it’s Michel Gondry and Seth Rogen.

Unfortunately, they don’t.

TV REVIEW - MY KITCHEN RULES

My Kitchen Rules made its debut early last year in a post-Masterchef haze as Channel Seven’s great white cooking show hope. It kicked off to good ratings and has since become one of my guilty pleasure shows – and Channel Seven are counting on improved ratings in its second season. Subtle as a sledgehammer, the editors desperately eke every ounce of drama out of an undercooked mushroom or a lumpy mousse. It’s great fun, but only if you don’t take it too seriously.

MY TOP FIVE MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS FOR 2011

One of the most fun aspects of being a movie goer is the looking forward - the anticipation of films to come. So with that in mind - let's look forward with eyes full of hope...

FILM REVIEW: BLACK SWAN

Surprise! I'm secretly Annette Bening.

So I figure the mark of a good film is that it stays with you. You should leave the cinema thinking about it – and it should at least occupy some space in your mind in the following days.

So when I sat down to think about the Darren Aronofsky psychological ballet thriller (love that description) it occurred to me that this was, in fact, the first time that I’d really thought about it all day – and I saw it yesterday.

After discussing it in detail on a new podcast I gave it a score of 16/25 – which would equate to roughly 12.8 out of 20 – but getting further away from it I think I might like it even less than that.

Here’s why, after the jump;

TELEVISION REVISION – GREY'S ANATOMY EPISODE TWO

As the blog goes along this year, I’ll be doing episode-by-episode reviews of TV shows gone by, as a sort of DVD companion piece. Whether you’ve just started watching the show yourself, know it well and want to revisit it through someone else’s eyes, or simply want to know what all the fuss is about, these pieces should do the job.

One of the first shows on my list is an immensely popular show, designed mainly for the enjoyment of women, which I have never watched and wanted to see what all the fuss is about. I have a basic knowledge of key plot points thanks to media coverage, but apart from that. I’m going in blind. Guys, let’s see if there’s something here for us too. The show in question is…

GREY’S ANATOMY

My review of the second episode, after the jump....

The (Pod) Casting Couch - Episode One

I've started a new weekly film podcast called The (Pod) Casting Couch featuring the talents of:

Shannon Harvey from the West Australian and 6PR
Simon Miraudo from Quickflix.com.au
Laura Hewison from Channel 7
and Myself!

We discuss Black Swan, The Oscars and our Top 5 Anticipated Films of 2011. I hope you enjoy it, feel free to leave any comments on this post or send an email to thepodcastingcouch@gmail.com. It's perfect for a walk, a long drive or just doing work around the house.

You can subscribe through iTunes by going to http://boxseattv.podbean.com/ and clicking the Subscribe with iTunes link at the bottom right corner of the page.

Otherwise, simply:

Download 

FILM REVIEW – THE FIGHTER

So, can you see me as the Riddler? No? Okay, I get it.

Director: David O. Russell

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo

The story of ‘Irish’ Micky Ward’s struggle to make a career out of boxing while balancing his destructive family situation, the trials and successes of his brother Dickie Eklund and the influence of a new woman in his life.

Acting is a really difficult thing to objectively judge, especially for the casual film enthusiast like myself. For me, a great performance achieves a very simple, very difficult goal – it makes me forget I’m watching someone act.

There are two truly remarkable performances in ‘The Fighter.’

The Oscar Predictions and Nominations Wrap

Well after the Golden Globes performance I had to redeem myself and hopefully my Oscar picks went some of the way to doing that. Let’s have a look at the nominations and the favourites after the jump:

TV REVIEW - HAWAII FIVE-O

These are very, very serious people.

PILOT AIRS SUNDAY 30^TH JANUARY AT 8:30PM ON CHANNEL TEN

If you’ve ever read much about Alex O’Loughlin, the Australian actor playing the lead role in Hawaii Five-O, you’ll know he’s been trying to become a TV star with American network CBS for quite some time. First there was Moonlight, the vampire series that was cancelled right before the whole vampire craze really took off. Then there was Three Rivers the medical drama that bombed even worse than Moonlight.

Now, there’s Hawaii Five-O – and third time’s the charm.

5 Oscar Nominations I'd like to see tomorrow - but probably won't

A man can hope - and I'm hoping that at least one of these long shots gets a run tomorrow - but they are the longest of shots.

TOP 20 FAVOURITE FILMS COUNTDOWN - 20. THE PRESTIGE.

As another feature of the blog I’m going to be writing mini-essays about my top 20 favourite films of all time. I am in no way saying these are the best films ever made – they are the films that have resonated with me in ways others have not. Some of the consensus greatest films ever made  (The Godfather, Goodfellas, Citizen Kane) will have just missed out. Some others (Star Wars, The Sound of Music) won’t come anywhere near it. Feel free to offer your thoughts on these films, suggest your favourites, or even guess at the films yet to come! I hope these pieces will act as entertaining and mildly insightful companion pieces to the films listed here.

NUMBER 20: THE PRESTIGE

SOME PEOPLE NEVER LEARN - THE 2011 OSCAR NOMINATION PREDICTIONS

Okay so my Golden Globes picks didn’t go that well. But sometimes you just have to get back on the horse – and what better horse than the Oscars? We’re still a little way away from the ceremony itself, but on Tuesday (American time) the nominations will come out. So let’s have a crack at redeeming my Nostradamus credentials.

Talking TV Segment on 6PR

A new Talking TV Segment (190111) from 6PR Mornings with Paul Murray. You can now subscribe through iTunes - and there are a few more podcast projects coming up so stay tuned!

Here we discuss anticipated tv shows for 2011,  comedy and The Social Network.

http://boxseattv.podbean.com/ for all the podcasts. Of which there is one, so far.

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: PARKS AND RECREATION

Ever had this conversation?

“I mean, it’s like that episode of Mad Men where Don Draper…”

“Oh, sorry, I haven’t seen Mad Men”.

“You haven’t seen Mad Men? What’s wrong with you, it’s the BEST SHOW EVER!”

Is there any more annoying discussion to have with someone? As if you’re cultural education isn’t complete because you haven’t seen some obscure TV show most people only watch so they can be included in conversations?

So these pieces, in which I beseech you to watch TV shows you may not have come across, are not intended in that manner. They are simply explanations of why television shows are worth watching if you’ve never got past the title, or the pilot.

Maybe it should be called ‘why you could watch:’.

The Element of Surprise

Or why I wish I didn't know so much about 'The Dark Knight Rises'

TELEVISION REVISION – THE ‘GIRLY’ SHOW EDITION

As the blog goes along this year, I’ll be doing episode-by-episode reviews of TV shows gone by, as a sort of DVD companion piece. Whether you’ve just started watching the show yourself, know it well and want to revisit it through someone else’s eyes, or simply want to know what all the fuss is about, these pieces should do the job.

One of the first shows on my list is an immensely popular show, designed mainly for the enjoyment of women, which I have never watched and wanted to see what all the fuss is about. I have a basic knowledge of key plot points thanks to media coverage, but apart from that. I’m going in blind. Guys, let’s see if there’s something here for us too. The show in question is…

GREY’S ANATOMY

My review of the first episode, after the jump....

MY FIVE MOST ANTICIPATED AUSTRALIAN-MADE TV SHOWS OF 2011

I’ll out myself straight away – I completely prefer American and British TV to Australian television. It’s not that Australian television is worse, necessarily, just that since we have a smaller population and a less splintered audience we tend not to take as many risks. When you don’t have sustainable ratings on offer for a show like Mad Men, for example, no one is going to risk making it.

Our strengths lie, as always, in comedy and reality television, where we tend to capture so much more of the Australian character. Perhaps this is because we are a nation that enjoys laughing at ourselves and doesn’t take things too seriously - perhaps a serious drama requires a bigger risk, I don’t know. All I know is that Australian television hasn’t quite made the leap British and American TV has made just yet.

So it is with high hopes and heavy optimism that I look towards the coming year and pray that we can make something – anything - of note. Here are my five most anticipated Australian-made TV shows of 2011.

Golden Globes Predictions - The Results

Never let it be said Andrew Williams backs down from his performances – good or bad. With the usual caveats that picking Awards are always a crapshoot, here be the review of my effort for the Golden Globes – television. I’m awarding 2 points for a Will Win pick and 1 point for a Should Win pick.

PREDICTING THE GOLDEN GLOBES - TELEVISION

PREDICTING THE GOLDEN GLOBES – TV

As any frustrated American TV critic will tell you, the Golden Globes and the HFPA don’t actually care about television. They merely include it so some more stars turn up and the ceremony runs interminably long. But I care about television, god damn it, so at the expense of my own sanity here is a series of predictions for the Golden Globe awards for television.

PREDICTING THE GOLDEN GLOBES - FILM

Futility, thy name is…predicting the Golden Globes. Filled with so much inherent ridiculousness that watching it can make your mind spin, this mule of the awards show animal kingdom airs tomorrow morning Australian time, hosted by Ricky Gervais. As an award show junkie, I will now try and achieve the impossible – picking the winners.

A caveat: I haven’t seen all of these films. This is merely as educated a guess as possible – predicated on what I know about both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and award show campaigns in general.

IN DEFENSE OF 'FRIENDS'

In defense of ‘Friends’

“It’s a moo point. It’s like a cow’s opinion…. It just doesn’t matter. It’s moo.”

Joey (Matt LeBlanc) - Friends

If you’re ever in a discussion about the best TV sitcoms of all time – first of all, thanks for hanging out with me – but second of all, you’ll notice very few people who see themselves as a credible critic will ever mention ‘Friends’. You’ll get your Arrested Developments, your Seinfelds, your Cheers etc. but it could not be more chronically uncool to view Friends as worthy of mentioning in the same breath.

So here’s the case for the defense.

TV Segment with Paul Murray on 6PR Mornings

My regular segment with Paul Murray on the 6PR Morning program. We discuss the Channel Ten News evolution, Mad Men and 'the Kennedys'...

AUDIO

WHY THE CHANNEL TEN NEWS REVOLUTION (PROBABLY) WON'T WORK

SERIOUSLY OVERDOING IT

How can something that's delicious make me sick? Unless too much of a good thing is actually a bad thing. [In realization] My friendship with Abed is a giant cookie!

- Troy (Donald Glover), Community

2011 COMIC BOOK MOVIE PREVIEW

THE 2011 COMIC BOOK MOVIE PREVIEW
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What’s the most important Comic Book Movie of 2011?

I have the 19th of July 2012 marked in my diary. Not in a Mayan way – it’s a date I am looking forward to more than my own birthday. The 19th of July 2012 is when Christopher Nolan will unleash “The Dark Knight Rises” on a suspecting public. After “The Dark Knight” took comic book movies to commercial and critical apex, hype will be huge for the follow up.
But the road to the Promised Land is a hazardous journey – and 2011 is journey over the stormiest of seas. The year is filled with untried concepts, hard sells and no-name stars. So as we pass through this gauntlet of uncertainty – which of these films is the most important to the future of the comic book movie industry? We’ll find out…



Saturday Night Live Mid-Season Report

There’s a show that holds a very peculiar, very unusual position in my heart. I love it and hate it in equal measure – I want it to be better because I like almost everyone in it – and its something I like to talk in incredible detail about – but have no one to do that with because it is so very American.

And no, it’s not Glee.

It’s Saturday Night Live.

Trial Podcast post

This is the link to a radio segment I did on the Morning Program with Simon Beaumont in April of last year.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/848320628acc2615/

Andrew's Top 5 Films of 2010

ANDREW’S TOP FIVE MOVIES OF 2010

(That I’ve seen. If I left out your favourite movie of the year, I probably didn’t see it. Or I hated it. I’m looking at you, Iron Man 2…)

Film Review - The King's Speech

About half an hour into the King's Speech, Lionel Logue, the Australian speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush, auditions for Richard the Third. He's asked where he received his theatrical grounding. "Perth" he replies. "Big theatre town?" asks the director, sarcastically. "...Enthusiastic" replies Logue.

The Top Five TV Shows for 2010 (Aust. Free to Air)

THE TOP FIVE TV SHOWS OF 2010 – FREE-TO-AIR TELEVISION

Before we begin – it should be pointed out that for a show to qualify it had to appear on Australian free-to-air television in 2010 – so that rules out Mad Men, Breaking Bad (despite a half-assed appearance on the ABC), Dexter etc.)