Will Arnett

TV Review: ‘30 Rock’ Returns With Two Perfect Episodes

BrianTT — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:03:25 -0600

CHICAGO – NBC sent over the first two episodes of the fourth season of the Emmy-winning “30 Rock” and, believe it or not, the show may actually be better than when it left the air last spring. Tonight’s premiere is good but next week’s episode is even better with some of the strongest comedy writing of the year to date and amazing work by the standard cast and one of their most talented regular guest stars, Will Arnett.

Television Rating: 4.5/5.0

Tonight’s episode, the fourth season premiere, is a clever satire of not just the show itself but the entire network. (A show-closing jab at “The Jay Leno Show” is a true gem.) “30 Rock” has never set the ratings on fire, appealing more to critics than actual viewers. It doesn’t really have that big a following or audience. And the season premiere brilliantly and subversively plays off the popularity, or lack thereof, of the show itself.

Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer.
Photo credit: Mary Ellen Mathew/NBC

In the premiere, “Season Four,” Jack (Alec Baldwin) tells Liz (Tina Fey), Tracy (Tracy Morgan), and Jenna (Jane Krakowski) that “TGS” needs to make a few adjustments to become more relatable to the masses. Jenna decides to makeover her image, including a hilarious sports theme song a la the opening number to “Monday Night Football”. Tracy takes to the streets to get in touch with the common man again. Meanwhile, Jack sends Liz and Pete (Scott Adsit) to find a new cast member for the show, something that Tracy and Jenna are not going to take very well. At the same time, Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) leads a hysterical Page strike after accidentally seeing how much Jack makes. Steve Buscemi guest stars.

“Season Four” Episode 401 — Pictured: Jack McBrayer as Kenneth.
Photo credit: Ali Goldstein/NBC

The first episode of the fourth season of “30 Rock” is nearly perfect. Each cast member gets a scene or two to shine and the overall self-awareness is clever without being smug. The show has reached the point that it’s merely comforting to have the characters and the writer’s sense of humor back on the air like later seasons of “Cheers” or “Seinfeld”. The state of comedy on television is simply weaker when “30 Rock” is off the air.

Remarkably, the second episode is even better, standing among the best in the history of the show. “Into the Crevasse” features the return of the great Will Arnett as Devin, plotting revenge against Jack by bringing down GE and him with it. Jenna continues to work against Liz by getting a hilarious acting gig that takes her away from her work on the show and every man in town is angry after the publication of Liz’s book. Kenneth gets a job at an animal shelter.

If it’s possible, and I certainly think it is after a slightly-down third season, “30 Rock” has gotten better in season four. This is the best opening pair of episodes for any season of the show to date with rapid-fire dialogue, unpredictable plot turns, and great performances. There’s a scene between Arnett and Baldwin in the second episode that is one of my favorite of the year to date from any show.

With consecutive wins for Best Comedy Series, it seems likely that the rest of the industry is waiting for “30 Rock” to fall from its pedestal. Based on the excellent fourth season premiere and its even better second episode, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen this year.

‘30 Rock,’ which airs on NBC, stars Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jack McBrayer, Jane Krakowski, Scott Adsit, and Judah Friedlander. Season four premieres on October 15th, 2009 at 8:30PM CST.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Video Game Review: ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ Will Entertain Fans of Film

BrianTT — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:07:12 -0600

Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Even part-time game players have a movie tie-in horror story to share. Show me one blockbuster that produced a quality video game companion and I’ll show you ten that failed to do so. So no one’s more surprised than this writer at how enjoyable Activision’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” is from start and nearly to finish.

It’s not a perfect game, but judged on the scale of movie tie-in releases, “Monsters vs. Aliens” is a very pleasant surprise. To be blunt, I enjoyed my experience with the game more than the film itself, something incredibly rare in the world of movie tie-ins.

Monsters vs. Aliens
Photo credit: Activision

“Monsters vs. Aliens” features 25 stages over four levels of the game. No, it’s not very long. Even an average player shouldn’t take more than five hours although there are also mini-game challenges and a point structure that makes the replay value of the actual levels a bit higher. But it should be clear that, like the movie, this is a game primarily for children or young adults. Don’t expect nail-biting action.

Monsters vs. Aliens
Photo credit: Activision

Each level alternates between one of the three primary characters from the movie - Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon in the film), The Missing Link (Will Arnett), and B.O.B.(Seth Rogen). Each character has a different skill set and each level is designed a little differently.

For example, all of the Ginormica levels play off the scene in the film in which she uses cars as roller skates. They are all race levels and all require a combination of jumping and dodging attacks as the players speeds from point A to point B. The Missing Link’s levels are a little more action-based as the player punches, spins, and leaps his way to safety. Finally, B.O.B.’s levels are more strategy, as the amorphous blob has to swallow boxes and enemies to avoid slipping through grates. The final B.O.B. levels are literally mazes.

The alternating strategies of each level - the speed of Ginormica, action of Link, and strategy of B.O.B.- make for an experience that rarely feels stale. By the final levels, “MvA” does get a bit too repetitive for its own good, but most movie tie-in games are repetitive before the first hour is over, so a little boredom by hour five can be forgiven.

The graphics on “Monsters vs. Aliens” are a mixed bag. The film itself looks so amazing that some people might be turned off by some of the graphic problems in the tie-in but the gameplay is remarkably smooth. There are no glitches to be found and while the 2-D style may be a turn-off at first for fans of the 3-D movie, one quickly gets accustomed to the look of the game.

Monsters vs. Aliens
Photo credit: Activision

What’s wrong with “Monsters vs. Aliens”? The multi-player, which allows a second player to join in as Dr. Cockroach and help out player one with a targeted shooting system is a little weird. It feels like an afterthought. I can’t imagine anyone would enjoy playing the Cockroach role for too long. It seems like a way to crowbar the character into the game.

It also feels like “MvA” could have had a lower price point than $49.99 for the PS3 version. $10 an hour with no online multiplayer capability is a stretch. Especially when hours 3-5 feature as much repetition as this title. Activision should have either cut the price in half or double the game length.

Your enjoyment of “Monsters vs. Aliens” will come down to your tolerance for repetition - using the same gameplay devices in increasingly difficult situations - and your acceptance of the brevity of the title going in. This gamer, one who grew up in an era when Mario could really just jump and occasionally shoot fireballs, is more tolerant of repetition than a lot of other critics, especially when what’s being repeated is as enjoyable as the action in “Monsters vs. Aliens”.

The fact is that kids, the main target audience for a game named “Monsters vs. Aliens,” don’t care about repetition. They’ll watch the same movie and show over and over again and listen to the same “High School Musical” and “Miley Cyrus” records until their parents’ heads explode. The fact that “Monsters vs. Aliens” is only moderately repetitive for this older critic means it will likely be even less of a problem for younger gamers. “MvA” could have been better, but I’ll admit that I expected it to be much, much worse.

‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ was released and developed by Activision. It is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older). The version reviewed was for the PS3, but the title is also available for the Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PS2 and PC. It was released on March 24th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett Reunite For ‘Sit Down, Shut Up’

BrianTT — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:07:10 -0600

Television Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Will another animated show on Sunday nights be a perfect fit for “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” fans or will those beloved shows have set too high a bar to jump over for another cartoon to compete? People love their Homer and Stewie. Will they fall for the teachers of Knob Haven on “Sit Down, Shut Up”? Despite the incredible talent involved, I highly doubt it.

What incredible talent? Try the creator of the best sitcom of the ’00s, Mitch Hurwitz of “Arrested Development,” and voice talent that includes amazing comedians like Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Henry Winkler, Will Forte, Cheri Oteri, and Kristin Chenoweth. Lots of talent. Most of it completely wasted.

Sit Down, Shut Up
Photo credit: FOX

Bateman voices the lead, Larry Littlejunk, a gym teacher at Knob Haven High School, an educational facility where the teachers have way more to learn that the students. Larry has a crush on the science teacher Miracle (Kristin Chenoweth), an overly religious girl who probably shouldn’t be teaching about evolution.

In Plain Sight
Photo credit: Gregory Peters/USA

Larry and Miracle may be the center of the show, but “Sit Down, Shut Up” is over-crowded with crazy personalities. There’s acting Principal Sue Sezno (Kenan Thompson), “Ass Principal” Stuart Proszakian (Will Forte), English teacher Ennis Hofftard (Will Arnett), German teacher Willard Deutschebog (Henry Winkler), librarian Helen Klench (Cheri Oteri), drama teacher Andrew Legustambos (Nick Kroll), and custodian “Happy” (Tom Kenny).

The series does look different. It’s blend of 2-d animation against live-action backdrops that makes for an intriguing visual presentation. And I like the design of the characters.

The faculty of Knob Haven may look interesting and have great people voicing them, but they don’t say anything particularly clever or funny. I’ve seen the first two episodes of “Sit Down, Shut Up” and they’re just not as laugh-out-loud as you’d expect. They’re too often frantic, over-the-top, and ridiculous.

Too much of the show plays like something that Bateman, Arnett, Winkler, and Hurwitz came up with while sitting around after filming on a day off from the “Arrested Development” movie. It feels like everyone can do better. Perhaps if “Sit Down, Shut Up” featured unrecognizable voices and I didn’t know Hurwitz was behind it, but I expected so much more from these multi-talented people and I think viewers will tune out in droves.

The biggest problem is the ADD sensibility of the show. I know “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” aren’t exactly what you would call leisurely-paced, but there’s a difference between a show that’s well-timed like those series and one that just feels frantically eager-to-please like “Sit Down, Shut Up”.

If the show is to be saved, they need to put the focus on just a few characters, like The Simpsons family, and then let the supporting ensemble come and go. But, now, it feels like Bateman, Arnett, Forte, Thompson, Oteri, and the rest of the gang are all fighting for microphone time. As is, it’s likely that audiences will tell “Sit Down, Shut Up” to live up to its title and make room for another attempt at animation domination.

‘Sit Down, Shut Up,’ which airs on FOX, stars voice work by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Forte, Henry Winkler, Kenan Thompson, and Cheri Oteri. It was created by Mitch Hurwitz. The series premieres on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at 7:30PM CST.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Video Game Review: ‘B’-Movie Style of ‘Eat Lead’ Nearly Saves Pretty Awful Game

BrianTT — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:31:11 -0600

Video Game Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard” has so many deep, unacceptable, gameplay flaws that it couldn’t possibly merit a traditional recommendation, but the game nearly succeeds in the same way that an Ed Wood or Uwe Boll movie has fans. Have you heard the phrase “so bad it’s good”? Can it be applied to a video game?

The problem with even remotely recommending a B-movie of a game like “Eat Lead” is the purchase price. It’s easy to recommend a bad action flick or stupid horror movie when it costs under $10, but for a purchase price of $50 and up it’s impossible to do so for a game, especially in light of all the quality competition this season like “Killzone 2,” “Resident Evil 5,” “Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars,” and “Guitar Hero: Metallica”.

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
Photo credit: D3 Publishing

There’s so much potential in the concept of “Eat Lead” that it was easily one of my most anticipated titles of the season. First, it features two great comedic actors, both of whom should have Best Supporting Actor Emmys on their shelves, Will Arnett (“Arrested Development”) & Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”). Second, it’s a spoof of shooting games in the last quarter-century, a genre ripe for parody.

And “Eat Lead” starts with a promising bang. The great Arnett voices the lead, Matt Hazard, as he tries to stage a comeback from his popular days as an ’80s game hero. Hearing Arnett crack wise as you work your way through the tutorial, it’s easy to get excited about the shooter to come.

After the tutorial and the first relatively mundane level, the real drive of “Eat Lead” kicks in. It turns out that someone’s trying to kill Matt and he’s actually supposed to die at the end of the first level. When he doesn’t die, the gaming world goes haywire as whoever is trying to take down this legendary hero throws waves of baddies from Hazard’s past into the game. The game becomes almost charming in its chaos as Wild West gunslingers from one of Matt’s old games exist on the same level as AK-47-toting Russian spies.

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
Photo credit: D3 Publishing

The concept and the voice cast is great but the script for “Eat Lead” isn’t as memorable as it should be. There’s a fine line between parodying bad video game dialogue and, well, just bad video game dialogue. The jokes get old and the enemy banter is ridiculously awful.

The less-than-stellar script wouldn’t be as big of a problem if the gameplay wasn’t some of the worst of the year. The enemy AI is laughable, the cover system is difficult to use, and the graphics are borderline horrendous. “Eat Lead” should be a spoof of the 8-bit era, but does that mean it needs to have the same glitches and haphazardly rendered characters? Watch Matt run down a hall if you don’t believe me. Mario had more natural movement on the SNES.

“Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard” has a basic cover system that it’s nearly impossible to shoot accurately from. I actually found more success going for body shots than head shots and any good shooter fan knows that’s just wrong. The music tracks repeat to the point that you’ll actually want to turn down the volume but then you’ll miss the best thing about the game - Arnett’s voice work.

“Eat Lead” follows the same tired gameplay structure that shooters have employed for decades. Shoot everyone in the room. Move on. And the environments are shockingly lacking in interactivity. You can shoot a fire extinguisher? Ooh. What about the bottles behind the bar and the mirrors and the glass around the rest of the restaurant? No luck there.

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
Photo credit: D3 Publishing

But are all of these glitches and poorly designed elements of “Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard” meant to be a swipe at the era of the 8-bit? If you approach the game as a parody of bad games, it might work for you, but doesn’t that make it a bad game itself?

As for multiplayer, there’s none to speak of, which is simply unacceptable in today’s multiplayer-adoring gaming world.

What’s most frustrating about “Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard” is the failed potential. Gob Bluth and Barney Stinson in a video game parody? Sign me up for that. But “Eat Lead” gets dull, repetitive, and frustrating far too quickly and the game becomes more surprising for the clear corners that were cut in its development than what should have been the ingenuity of the concept. It’s probably not going to be “Hazard time!” for very long.

‘Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard’ was released by D3 Publishing and developed by Vicious Cycle. It is rated T (Teen). The version reviewed was for the PS3, but the title is also available for the Xbox 360. It was released on March 3rd, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

DreamWorks’ ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ Has Great 3D Concept, But Falls Flat

BrianTT — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:12:17 -0600

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Hasn’t Pixar proven that animation can be more than just concept and celebrity voice work? The problem with “Monsters vs. Aliens” is that the team behind it clearly prioritized nearly every element of the film over actual storytelling. It looks good, has some talented people behind the mic, and is visually engaging, but there’s nothing memorable about the script at all. The 3D may pop, but the story is flat.

Rob Letterman (writer/director of “Shark Tale”) and Conrad Vernon (director of “Shrek 2”) direct a script that took five writers to bring to the big screen and feels like it was haphazardly constructed like kids playing the story game on a playground. One kid starts the story and then another picks it up and so on and so on.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Monsters vs. Aliens” in our reviews section.

“Monsters vs. Aliens” pushes its 3D gimmick from the very beginning, opening with an asteroid belt designed to provoke oohs and aahs and moving into a sky watcher bouncing a rubber ball into the audience. Kids will be impressed. Adults will remember that 3D is just a trick, not an actualy storytelling device.

Through that asteroid belt, a giant space rock hurtles toward the Earth. The debris is headed right for the wedding of Susan (Reese Witherspoon) and Derek (Paul Rudd) and the poor bride gets slammed to the ground, slowly turning into Ginormica, the film’s variatoin on the 50-Foot Woman.

‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ stars the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland, and Paul Rudd. It was written by Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky, Rob Letterman, Jonathan Aibel, and Glenn Berger and directed by Conrad Vernon & Rob Letterman. It opens on March 27th, 2009. It is rated PG.

Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Monsters vs. Aliens” review.

B.O.B.(Seth Rogen), The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie) introduce themselves to their new monster roommate.
Photo credit: Monsters vs. Aliens & © 2009 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Slideshow: 26-Image Gallery From ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ With Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen

BrianTT — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:29:40 -0600

CHICAGO – This 26-image slideshow contains the press images for Dreamworks’ “Monsters vs. Aliens,” starring Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Rudd. Directed by Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon, the film opens on Friday, March 27th, 2009.

Synopsis: “When California girl Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall. The military jumps into action and Susan is captured and secreted away to a covert government compound. There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of Monsters: the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.; the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, the President is persuaded to enlist the motley crew of Monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction.”

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos credited to Monsters vs. Aliens & © 2009 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.

MVA004: An invading alien robot pursues Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon)—a.k.a. Ginormica, having been clobbered with a meteor full of outer space gunk and growing to 49-feet-11-inches tall.
MVA009: Groom-to-be Derek Dietl (Paul Rudd) and fiancee Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) share a pre-nuptial moment.
MVA011: General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) convinces The President (Stephen Colbert) that his monster attack plan is more workable than launching nuclear weapons.
MVA015: Having been clobbered with a meteor full of outer space gunk and growing to 49-feet-11-inches tall, bride-to-be Susan Murphy, a.k.a. Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon), finds her guests fleeing in terror from her wedding.
MVA018: Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) is introduced to The Missing Link (Will Arnett).
MVA019: B.O.B.(Seth Rogen), The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie) introduce themselves to their new monster roommate.
MVA022: The mysterious alien robot turns out to be very hostile indeed.
MVA029: Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) evades the alien robot by donning taxicab skates.
MVA040: General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) advises Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) on the way to battle the invading alien robot.
MVA043: The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon, right) en route to alien ground zero.
MVA045: The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) chat before she is reunited with her family.
MVA051: The Missing Link (Will Arnett), Dr. Cockroach, Ph. D. (Hugh Laurie) and B.O.B.(Seth Rogen) are on their best behavior while meeting their fellow monster Susan/Ginormica’s parents.
MVA052: These Monsters—The Missing Link (Will Arnett), Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon), B.O.B.(Seth Rogen), Insectosaurus and Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie)—are defenders of the planet.
MVA064: Invading alien Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) during a rare moment of self-doubt.
MVA065: Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) powers through the atmosphere.
MVA088: B.O.B.(Seth Rogen), The Missing Link (Will Arnett), Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie), and Ginormica (Reese
Witherspoon) head to a reunion with Susan/Ginormica’s family.
MVA090: Mr. and Mrs. Murphy are introduced to The Missing Link (Will Arnett), Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie) and B.O.B.(Seth Rogen) by their daughter, Susan (Reese Witherspoon), now known as Girnormica.
MVA091: B.O.B.(Seth Rogen) meets a hot little number in green at the Murphy family reunion.
MVA095: Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) is treated to an alien diatribe courtesy of invading alien Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson).
MVA099: General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) shares his idea about how to defeat the alien force with the President (Stephen Colbert).
MVA106: Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie), chats with B.O.B.(Seth Rogen) en route to do battle with the alien robot.
MVA107: Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) battles the alien robot on the Golden Gate Bridge.
MVA109: General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) receives a salute from conscripted Monster Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) before the big battle.
MVA115: The Missing Link (Will Arnett), Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon), B.O.B.(Seth Rogen) and Dr. Cockroach, Ph. D. (Hugh Laurie) board the alien ship to battle the outer space threat.
KEYART1: Key Art 1.
MvA-1-Sht IMAX 3D: IMax Poster.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Horton Hears a Who’ a Playful Movie, Average Blu-Ray

BrianTT — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:20:20 -0700

CHICAGO – Fox animation tries to keep pace with DreamWorks and Disney with their high budget, extras-packed release of “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who”, an entertaining animated adventure but a Blu-Ray release that does nothing to rise above average.

With a mediocre video and audio transfer, a frustratingly organized collection of special features, and the fact that the highlight of the package is essentially a commercial for another movie, the Blu-Ray release of “Horton Hears a Who” has to be considered a disappointment, even if the film itself is more consistently enjoyable than most adaptations of the legendary author.

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who is available on DVD/Blu-Ray on December 9, 2008.

Jim Carrey voices the title character, a playful pachyderm named Horton who happens to hear a sound coming from microscopic speck of dust. Horton discovers an entire community known as Who-ville existing on that floating orb and realizes that he holds their fate in his giant hands. Steve Carell voices the Mayor of Who-Ville, the only Who who knows that the strange changes in his world are due to Horton and the inhabitants of the world above. Horton needs to find a safer home for the Who-ville speck of dust but the Sour Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) stands in his way. Meanwhile, the Mayor has a loving wife named Sally (Amy Poehler), 96 daughters, and one lonely son named JoJo (Jesse McCartney). Can the giant elephant and the creature who lives on a speck of dust work together to save the day?

“Horton Hears a Who” is far from the most clever animated script of the year but it’s well-paced enough to be consistently enjoyable for its brief running time and the voice work helps the film stand out. Carrey and Carell are predictably excellent and expressive but Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, and the rest of the cast work together seamlessly and creatively. There’s also a surreal nature to both the character design and script for “Horton Hears a Who” (for example, the movie ends with a cast sing-a-long to REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling”) that’s refreshing for a genre that’s typically predictable.

“Horton Hears a Who” was not as critically successful as “Kung Fu Panda” or “Wall-E”, but that doesn’t excuse the sometimes-shabby treatment Fox continues to give their animated features on Blu-Ray. The HD video in 1.85:1 widescreen is certainly not bad, but when it’s compared to “Panda” or “Wall-E” it looks shockingly flat. The colors simply are not as vibrant or three-dimensional. The audio is also below average for animation on Blu-Ray with a 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio track that isn’t bad but isn’t memorable either.

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who is available on DVD/Blu-Ray on December 9, 2008.

What’s most frustrating about Fox Blu-Ray is the way they have chosen to organize their special features. While other studios are trying to find new ways to present featurettes and commentaries on the next-gen format, Fox is taking a step back, usually choosing to emphasize quantity over quality or organization.

Looking at the back of the BD case for “Horton Hears a Who” will entice fans of the film to set aside time for the extensive list of special features but a large majority of them run under five minutes long before bouncing viewers back to the menu screen. Why not collect them all into one behind-the-scenes documentary? It’s hard to believe that there’s a single viewer out there who enjoys two-to-three minute featurettes like “Meet Katie” or “The Elephant in the Room: Jim Carrey”. Other featurettes include “Bringing the Characters to Life”, “That’s One Big Elephant: Animating Horton”, “Bringing Seuss to Screen”, “A Person is a Person: A Universal Message”, “Our Speck: Where Do We Fit In?”, and “Elephant Fun: The Facts”. None are memorable.

Far more interesting will be the deleted footage and animation screen tests, the commentary by directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino and an all-new “Ice Age” short called “Surviving Sid”. Featuring John Leguizamo and his character from the first two “Ice Age” movies, “Surviving Sid” is a cute, 8-minute film that all fans of that franchise should enjoy. There’s also a preview for the third “Ice Age” movie, coming out early in 2009. Hopefully, the inevitable Blu-Ray release for that film is more impressive than the one for “Horton Hears a Who”.

‘Horton Hears a Who’ is released by Twentieth Century Fox Home Video on DVD/Blu-Ray and stars Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Isla Fisher, and Amy Poehler. It was written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio and directed by Jimmy Hayward & Steve Martino. It will be released on December 9th, 2008.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Exclusive: Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg Offers Sneak Peek of ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ in Chicago

BrianTT — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:07:21 -0700

CHICAGO – Jeffrey Katzenberg stopped off in Chicago on the morning of Monday, December 8th, to preview DreamWorks Animation’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” and show off the brand-spanking-new 3D technology that will be used for all upcoming animated films produced by the studio.

After an introduction by Katzenberg, critics, journalists, distributors, publicists, and others were treated to roughly half an hour of footage, spread over three distinctly different scenes.

Before the audience donned their 3D glasses (but after the coffee and Danish), Mr. Katzenberg spoke for about fifteen minutes about what he considers as important a technological advancement as sound and color to the history of film. Instead of taking projects that were conceived in 2D and converting them to 3D, Katzenberg has dictated that all of the filmmakers under the DreamWorks banner conceive and author their works with 3D in mind. It was a creative development that would fuel an interesting discussion and debate after the footage was shown, but it was met with all positivity beforehand.

Monsters vs. Aliens opens on March 27th, 2009 from DreamWorks Animation.
Photo credit: DreamWorks Animation

Highlights from Mr. Katzenberg’s introduction:

“To me, when I look at the history of the film, there have been, to date, two great revolutionary changes. The first is in the 1920s when movies went from silent film to talkies and the second great revolution is the arrival of color in the 1930s. Now, seven decades later, I believe that we are looking at what may be the next great change with the arrival of 3D. The first two were actually about bringing a better experience to the audience. This one is about bringing the audience into the movie experience itself.”

“It was an exploitation gimmick. It was a trick. For the most part, it was put on usually B-movies, many ’50s and ’60s, sci-fi monster movies. It was more for marketing than the experience. It was about reaching out and making you self-conscious of the process of 3D. In the last few years, all of this has changed.”

“All of the things that have changed come down to one word - digital. In the same way that digital technology has radically altered special effects to the extent that we can feel like we’re actually riding on the Titanic or traveling across buildings with Spider-Man or coming face-to-face with King Kong, it’s completely transformed 3D into a medium that can actually replicate the most remarkable human sense of all - the sense of sight.”

Something that Mr. Katzenberg got into in more depth in the Q&A section following the film was the interesting suggestion that developments in technology NOT related to the actual filmmaking process have had a huge impact on this development - home theaters and piracy. Of course, for the latter, it’s impossible to pirate a movie in 3D because the standard camera will pick up a blurry image and, for the former…

“If you think about what’s happened in the home in the last decade, the rate of innovation is breathtaking. You now have huge, flat-screen TVs, High-Def, Blu-Ray, stereo sound. It’s an amazing thing that has happened. As that has occurred, the theater experience has remained constant. This is an opportunity to reclaim a unique experience that can only be recreated in a theater. At DreamWorks, we believe so much in this that all of our films and our whole studio have been retooled for the medium. Beginning next year with the release of Monsters vs. Aliens, all of our productions moving forward, from the very first storyboard right to the final release print, are being authored in 3D.”

Monsters vs. Aliens opens on March 27th, 2009 from DreamWorks Animation.
Photo credit: DreamWorks Animation

So, what’s the story being authored in “Monsters vs. Aliens”, opening on March 27th, 2009?

“As the film begins, the planet Earth has been attacked by outer space by an alien who definitely isn’t coming in peace. Our weapons are completely ineffective against it. And so, the U.S. Government has no choice but to tap into the most highly, super, extra top-secret program in its arsenal. Unbeknownst to all of us, the government has been rounding up monsters and locking them away in a super, maximum security prison. These monsters now represent Earth’s only chance for survival.”

“The smartest of the bunch is the brilliant scientist, Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. Using the voice of Hugh Laurie.”

“Next is B.O.B., voiced by Seth Rogen. He’s an indestructible, gelatinous blob that will eat anything and everything.”

“Insectosaurus is a giant tower of power who speaks in an unintelligible roar that can only be understood by his best friend, Missing Link.”

“It’s hard to classify this fellow as his name says he is the Missing Link between prehistoric man and our undersea ancestors.” (Voiced by Will Arnett)

“The newest addition is Susan Murphy, voiced by Academy Award-winner Reese Witherspoon. Susan was actually about to have the happiest day of her life, her wedding. Just before the ceremony was to begin, she was hit by a meteor, which covered her in some mysterious space goop which caused her to grow to fifty feet tall.”

“Over the years, there has been only one man tough enough to track down this team of misfit monsters and lock them away and that would be General W.R. Monger, voiced by 24 star Kiefer Sutherland. He reports directly to the President of the United States, played, appropriately, by Stephen Colbert.”

Monsters vs. Aliens opens on March 27th, 2009 from DreamWorks Animation.
Photo credit: DreamWorks Animation

Recaps of the Footage

1. The longest scene shown to audiences was clearly meant to truly show off the depth of the 3D technology. The filmmakers are striving to almost “reverse” the expectations of 3D. Audiences won’t have things thrown at them like in “Friday the 13th 3D” or “Captain EO”. Instead, the technology is striving for depth “into the screen”.

The first scene shown tried to illustrate this with fields of tanks and soldiers trying to take down the alien probe. Flanked by security, the President arrives at the crash location and climbs an enormous staircase (another good way to show depth in 3D) to greet the new visitor. At the top, he plays a couple of synthesizer songs that will be familiar to movie fans, but the probe only ends up aggravated and on the move.

After the assembled Army unleashes hell on the metallic monster with no effect at all, the scene switches to the President’s war room, where the audience is introduced to General Monger and his plan to let the monsters save the day. It was a great scene to show the audience assembled with about 10-12 minutes of footage that includes all of the character introductions and a heavy dose of what the 3D technology can do.

2. If the first scene was about introductions, the second was about the protagonists that Katzenberg and DreamWorks hope we will all learn to love. The scene opens with Susan waking up in a cell, unaware even that she’s grown in height. She meets the other monsters - Dr. Cockroach, B.O.B., Missing Link, and Insectosaurus - before General Monger comes and ushers everyone into their cells. 3D isn’t the focus of this scene but it does make clear that the character design and voice work in “Monsters vs. Aliens” might be just as remarkable as the technological advancement. Seth Rogen, in particular, looks to be a scene-stealer yet again.

3. The final scene was the action sequence involving a heck of a battle between the monsters and the alien probe. Susan uses cars in the San Francisco streets as roller skates to cruise to the action on the Golden Gate Bridge and try to save the innocent humans from alien attack. It’s an impressive sequence, both on a visual level and the way all of the monsters are used to save the day. Katzenberg made clear that this was not the finale of the movie although it easily could have been, which gives us a good indication that action will be a priority in “Monsters vs. Aliens”.

The Q&A that followed the presentation started off a little heated as two critics questioned the idea that 3D technology is anything more than a gimmick. Katzenberg reassured the audience that it’s not a focus group thing or a gimmick but that filmmakers are dying to use this technology to tell deeper stories. He even claimed that he expects all films to be in 3D in five or six years and that the dawning moment for him was when he saw Polar Express in 3D. He says he immediately got on the phone and the 2D to 3D transition at DreamWorks was initiated. See if it paid off when “Monsters vs. Aliens” opens on March 27th, 2009 from DreamWorks Entertainment.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Rainn Wilson Lays Down Tracks Beyond ‘The Office’ in New Film ‘The Rocker’

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:10:08 -0600

CHICAGO – Rainn Wilson is more than just the popular NBC character Dwight Schrute. The bespectacled antagonist of “The Office” is nowhere in evidence this time around as Wilson sat down with HollywoodChicago.com to talk about his new film “The Rocker”.

The theater and TV veteran expressed a thoughtfulness and gratitude about his journey to this first feature-film lead role and spoke more about the craft of acting than the virtue of his celebrity.

Rainn Wilson in Chicago (left) for “The Rocker” with HollywoodChicago.com film critic Patrick McDonald (right).
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

Rainn Wilson is “The Rocker” (also known as Robert “Fish” Fishman) who joins his nephew’s band “A.D.D.” and finally reclaims the rock-god throne he has always thought he deserved in the film “The Rocker”.
Photo credit: George Kraychyk

“The Rocker” is a comedy about Richard “Fish” Fishman (Wilson): a drummer from the 1980s whose hair metal band “Vesuvius” is about to hit the big time.

Unfortunately, he isn’t going with them. The band decides to dump Fish right before the breakthrough. Distraught, Fish goes on a downward spiral for a few decades and ends up living in his sister’s attic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Rainn Wilson was able to play a drummer because he had a music background.

“I had a little bit of experience when I went to New Trier Township High School (in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Ill.). There was a short-lived band I was in called Collective Moss,” he said. “We only played two gigs. We were the world’s worst cover band. We were just awful.”

Rainn Wilson in Chicago for “The Rocker” on June 10, 2008.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Wilson added: “But I could read music and that’s how I learned the tracks for ‘The Rocker’. I would tape the ‘score’ on the drum set and learn to play that way. This made it easier for me to pick up the rhythm.”

When Fishman’s nephew (Josh Gad) finds that his fledgling band “A.D.D.” is in need of a drummer, he turns to his now-older uncle to sit in. In a calculated turn of events, this new band (with old-man Fish on drums) becomes an up-and-coming sensation.

They go on the road with their parents (including Christina Applegate) and a new manager (Jason Sudeikis) in tow.

“A lot of dialogue was improvised,” Wilson said. “Jason Sudeikus would say some of the most wildly inappropriate stuff that would come out in a stream of consciousness. Josh Gad had the strangest wiring of his brain. You never knew what he was going to do.”

Christina Applegate is Kim: the mother of and chaperone to a young rock musician in “The Rocker”.
Photo credit: George Kraychyk

Rainn Wilson in “The Rocker”.
Photo credit: George Kraychyk

He added: “It was nice to see everyone doing their thing and being allowed to do their thing. Everyone was allowed to be funny.”

Strangely enough, it is Fish who’s the wild and inappropriate child on the tour. His antics almost derail the entire band. There is one last concert chance, though, at the Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame against his old 1980s band mates.

How did the normally lower-key characters that Rainn Wilson plays get morphed into a wild-man rock star?

“It was studying the drums. There is something about a drummer,” he said. “They’re not cerebral. I have a tendency in my life to be more cerebral and a bit reserved. But he’s a big puppy dog, a physical person and a ‘talk first, think later’ type with his heart on his sleeve. It was lot of fun to plunge into that.”

“There was no specific drummer who I based my character on,” he added. “It was a compilation of watching the heavy-metal drummers on YouTube. I recommend that to anyone. Start researching hair-metal drummers.”

Wilson also talked about the inevitability of comparisons between his essential Dwight Schrute character on “The Office” and drummer Fish in “The Rocker”.

“There are similarities between Dwight Schrute and Fish and there are differences,” he reflected. “But there has to be enough similarities so ‘The Office’ fans will line up when ‘The Rocker’ opens to see the guy who plays Dwight play a heavy-metal rocker dude. It was just a blast to enter into that whole genre of music.”

RELATED IMAGE GALLERY
View our full, high-resolution “The Rocker” image gallery.

RELATED READING
More film reviews from critic Patrick McDonald.

Finally, Wilson discusses his experience in working at “The Office”.

“I’ve been very fortunate because Dwight Schrute comes from the writers and creator Greg Daniels. They aren’t interested in doing things the normal way things have been done,” Wilson said. “They want to find different facets and different sides to all the characters.”

“It works well,” he added. “When you see Dwight’s vulnerabilities, people respond to it and are more likely to tune in. Then we get to make more episodes.”

Note: In a unique viral marketing promotion, Rainn Wilson has “kidnapped” “The Office” mate Jenna Fischer and will not free her until “everyone” sees “The Rocker”. Visit FreeJennaNow.com to play along.

“The Rocker,” which features Rainn Wilson, Josh Gad, Christina Applegate, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Teddy Geiger, Jeff Garlin, Jane Lynch, Fred Armisen, Will Arnett and Jane Krakowski, opens on Aug. 20, 2008 everywhere.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Dr. Seuss’ ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ Heard Loudly Into Instant Children’s Classic

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:37:13 -0600

CHICAGO – One of Dr. Seuss’ most famous storybooks has finally been granted life with its self-titled animated feature “Horton Hears a Who!,” which involves a morally righteous elephant, philosophical timbre and Dr. Seuss’ ingenious lyrical rhymes.

A star-studded cast supports this vibrant tale and Dr. Seuss’ ethical elephant and morally slated advice about equality are well represented in this CG-animated adaptation.

The elephant Horton (Jim Carrey) comes to the rescue of a speck crying for help as it floats by in the colorful jungle of Nool. When Horton decides to help the speck even though he can’t see the Whos who inhabit it, the famous line “a person’s a person no matter how big or how small” comes into the film and sets the Suessian tone of the tale.

Click here to read Allison Pitaccio’s full review
of “Horton Hears a Who!” in our reviews section!

Click here for our full “Horton Hears a Who!” image gallery!

Isla Fisher in “Horton Hears a Who!”.
Photo credit: IMDb

“Horton Hears a Who!”.
Photo credit: IMDb