It’s hard to look at “The Dark Ages” without noting the sheer sense of irony engrained within the documentary. It was a time of sheer ignorance and disease, a time where the poor were drawn into war, where wars of faith were fought for years, while tyrannical rulers fought wars based on their faith. It was a time of great violence and poverty… and that’s just been in the last seven years. I had to take that joke, because it’s just too true to deny. “The Dark Ages” is a fascinating documentary chronicling the dark ages. It was a time where slaves revolted against their masters, and the Roman Empire fell to the grasp of warriors who began to dominate the land with bloodshed.
King of Cars: Season Two
Gearheads will utterly adore what surprises “King of Cars” holds in its grandiose arena of selling cars to unlikely buyers. In the two episodes viewed, the king of cars holds a bid on potential buyer, hosting a big war in a selling room trying to hook in potential buyers pumped up hip hop soundtrack and all. You have to appreciate the showmanship behind “King of Cars” turning a car dealership into somewhat of a spectacle. Fans of the series will find this doesn’t stray from what made the first season such an entertaining watch and it’s an interesting series.
The New World (2005)
The story of Pocahontas just isn’t interesting. There’s nothing about this pseudo-historical tale about a young woman who became civilized that attracts it to me. With “The New World,” there’s no new angle presented to the audience, no new exploration of other characters, and the soapy drippy romance is still present and accounted for. “The New World” just didn’t live up to the hype that preceded it, and that’s because Malick anxiously looks for a new method of telling this yarn and pretty much never achieves his goals in that respect from the get go.
Harvey Daggit and the Devil's Olives (2007)
One thing about comedy is that there are so many different dimensions of the art form to explore, and it takes a lot of time and patience to discover what’s right and what doesn’t work. “Harvey Daggit” is a new approach from directors Larry and Aaron Longstreth, more of a dark and demented comedy. About olives. You have to give to the Longstreth’s for taking such a ridiculous concept and adding a sense of menace, and utter confusion to it. It’s not often you see a crime mystery that revolves around gardening. Well, there’s “The Godfather,” but you get the picture.
Dracula – Masterpiece Theatre (2007)
It’s a requirement that anyone playing Lucy Westenra should possess a great deal of sexual allure, for the simple fact that it gives logic to Dracula’s hunt on her before going after Mina. And Sophia Myles hands the requirement like a pro. Myles is utterly ravishing in “Dracula” and she’s lusted after, for good reason, throughout much of the film, possessing her usual charm and likable charisma that makes her such a memorable actress. Myles also has a palpable chemistry with Leonidas, who manages to portray the charming innocence with Myles as the blonde siren that eventually gets bitey.
Forty Shades of Blue (2005)
Sachs’ love triangle a la Sundance is just more art house malarkey deemed important and groundbreaking, when it’s more soapy melodramatic fodder with a dull plot and a lackluster series of performances. I was severely disappointed as I was looking forward to “Forty Shades of Blue.” Mainly because the film looked to be an interesting take on the love triangle set to a life of a woman won by a man with a brutal ego.
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (2006)
I hate country music. In all of its forms. I think it’s a pro-conservative, right wing, antiquated form of music best suited for run down bars, filled with whiny, bitching, moaning, chaw chewing, cow poking “stars” who have no idea what good writing is (“Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” is proof positive), and is a genre so disgusted with itself it’s lost touch with its roots and instead has turned into another form of adult contemporary pop. That being said I like the Dixie Chicks. Not because of their music, granted, they have great voices, but because one day in a concert, they decided to exercise their freedom of speech and tell their fans what they thought of our government. And the fans, the red state hicks they are, hated that, and turned on them.