NY Times: Many Hollywood marriages now arranged in comedy heaven

Articles July 12th, 2009

Saw these two ads in the New York Times… side by side!

Away We Go (newspaper ad)

The Proposal (newspaper ad)

Shawshank takes Godfather in IMDB Top 250

Articles May 11th, 2009

Today we noticed that The Shawshank Redemption is actually the best movie ever made. It overtook The Godfather on the IMDB Top 250.

Really.

Also, please note The Dark Knight sneaking up on Pulp Fiction. But honestly, where is Iron Man on this list? We can’t wait till it starts climbing the chart.

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Knowing

Six Word Synopsis March 25th, 2009

Cage breaks code. World ends anyway.

See Knowing in a theater near you (only seriously, don’t bother)

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It’s not too late to start watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Reviews March 12th, 2009

SaCoChroYou may have some misgivings about watching an under-viewed sci-fi series that airs on Friday night. Who wouldn’t? It’s like falling in love with a girl who has terminal cancer. And nobody wants to be Keanu Reeves in Sweet November.

Don’t cry. Critical Oversight is here to help you deal with your concerns and keep this show on the air. Just peruse this list of FMEs (Frequently Made Excuses) and get over your fear of falling for a show that isn’t long for this world.

Frequently Made Excuses for not watching
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

“The name is too long.”

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Yeah, that’s actually quite a mouthful. If only there were some sort of abbreviation available. Here ya go: SaCoChro (sah – kō – kroh).

“I’m busy on Friday night.”

Nice try. But we see you here on our website and that means that you’ve got the Internet. Well guess what smart guy… the show is available online in HD via Hulu and Fox.

“I hated the third Terminator movie.”

Great, then you’re going to love SaCoChro. In the very first episode, they time travel right over the year where Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine takes place. So, John Connor never turns 20, he doesn’t meet Kate (played by Clair Danes), and he doesn’t hide in a bunker during Judgment Day. In fact, this show takes you to present day, and J-Day hasn’t even happened yet. Pretty reassuring, right?

“I’ve heard the show sucks.”

Well, you’re hearing from us that it rocks balls. How’s that for counterpoint?

“Compared to the movies, this show is kind of dull.”

Sure. Dull. We guess you could call multiple robots killing nearly a hundred humans in just two seasons “dull.” And I guess you’re not too excited when a robot travels back in time and supplants a human, becoming both a successful CEO and a passable mother. Oh, and that same robot combining present day artificial intelligence with future technology to both foster and reverse engineer Skynet at the same time? Yeah, that’s as dull as a metal knife arm on a T-1000.

“Summer Glau can’t act.”

Well, if you thought she could act in Firefly, then she probably hasn’t lost the ability. Did you ever consider that she’s playing a robot, and robots just act funny?

And, if you thought she could never act, just try to suspend your disbelief. Tell yourself these words. “Cameron is a lifeless robot. If I criticize Cameron’s acting, she may kill me to help protect her robot identity.”

“There’s not enough Summer Glau.”

Well moron, the only way to get the most Summer Glau is to watch the show. That or dust off your precious Firefly DVDs. Who am I kidding, with a gripe like that, your Firefly DVDs probably haven’t left your DVD player since they came out.

“Shirley Manson can’t act.”

No one said she could. She’s a rocker! But consider this, she too is playing a robot. When you watch the original Terminator film, do you watch Arnold’s ridiculous walk and monotone speech and think, “Bring this man an Oscar?”

“There’s not enough action.”

To be honest, SaCoChro isn’t about action. It’s about drama. And, if you look back at the three Terminator movies, you’ll find that the action was… well… here are some examples:

  1. Robot drives tanker truck full of jet fuel, explosion ensues
  2. Robot drives tanker truck full of liquid nitrogen, freezing ensues
  3. Robot drives crane truck, crash ensues

Based on that exciting array of action, you were hoping what, that SaCoChro simply expanded upon that? Did you want to see a robot drive a truck filled with nuclear waste? Maybe one of those trucks that pumps out portable toilets?

Well, no dice. This is commercial television. In SaCoChro, robots drive whatever vehicle Dodge payed to have them drive that week. So, do you want a Dodge Ram with a 5.7-liter Hemi® V-8 yet?

“You’ve worn me down a bit. But I’m not conviced.”

While the Terminator films push the edges of the envelope for action and special effects, SaCoChro defines the characters that are lost on the big screen. Throughout the episodes, you grow to learn about each character and their individual motivations.

It’s less “come with me if you want to live,” and more “come with me if you want to continue to struggle to get along, with the threat of an ever-changing Judgment Day in our future, as we strive to maintain John’s life at all costs, unsure of the true effect of our actions, and without knowing whether the things we do now will save the world or trigger Armageddon.”

Ready to watch? Check out the available episodes of SaCoChro at FOD (Fox on Demand)

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Smart People

Six Word Synopsis February 25th, 2009

Smart people shouldn’t watch this movie

Smart People is available on DVD

Equilibrium

Six Word Synopsis February 24th, 2009

Christian Bale goes off his meds

Buy Equilibrium on DVD from Amazon for under $10

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Six Word Synopsis January 30th, 2009

The Obvious Remake of Forrest Gump

Funny or Die: The similarities are pretty ridiculous.

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Critical Oversight’s 2009 Oscar Picks

Predictions January 12th, 2009

We’ve got a few ideas about how the 2009 Academy Awards will turn out. It’s a little early to be making calls, but we’ve got a good feeling about this one.

Best Picture: “Iron Man”

Best Director: Jon Favreau, “Iron Man”

Best Actor: Robert Downey Jr., “Iron Man”

Best Actress: Gwyneth Paltrow, “Iron Man”

Best Supporting Actor: Terrence Howard, “Iron Man”

Best Supporting Actress: Leslie Bibb, “Iron Man”

Best Animated Feature Film: “WALL-E”

Best Foreign Film: “Hombre de Hierro”

Best Original Screenplay: “Iron Man”

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Iron Man”

Best Documentary Feature: The Making of “Iron Man”

Best Original Score: “Iron Man (Theme from the Animated Series)”

Best Original Song: “Iron Man,” performed by Black Sabbath

Best Film Editing: “Iron Man”

Best Cinematography: “Iron Man”

Best Costume Design: “Iron Man”

Best Sound Mixing: “Iron Man”

Best Sound Editing: “Iron Man”

Best Makeup: “Tropic Thunder”

Best Art Direction: “Iron Man”

Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeff Bridges, Mostly for “The Big Lebowski” and “Iron Man”

Best Visual Effects: “Iron Man”

Update: Okay, so the nominees are out, and we concede that we may have been a little overzealous in our distribution of Iron Man calls. Still, two of our predictions have a chance. And Downey may still walk away with an Oscar for his second best performance of the year.

On February 22nd, 2009, follow along during the 81st Academy Awards with their Oscar Ballot (pdf).

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The Day the Earth Stood Still

Six Word Synopsis January 9th, 2009

The Day Ticket Sales Stood Still

See The Day the Earth Stood Still in your hood. But not really though.

Onion Article Overflowing with Ghost Busters Jokes

Reviews September 30th, 2008

delorean.gifIf the normal number of inside jokes in an Onion article were represented by a Twinkie, then this article would have a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.

But don’t take my word for it, read the article: EPA Shuts Down Local Ghost-Entrapment Business

For Extra Credit: Explain an inside joke in the comments!

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