Adrian Pasdar

TV Review: Sigourney Weaver Carries USA’s Disappointing ‘Political Animals’

BrianTT — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 15:40:18 -0400

CHICAGO – I’m a political junkie who naturally loves to follow the world of journalism as well and so I was psyched about the premiere of USA’s mini-series, “Political Animals,” a star-studded affair about how a powerful Washington family deals with a headstrong reporter and the secrets they still hope to keep. Sigourney Weaver makes her TV premiere in this political drama and she’s supported by a stunningly strong cast. Sadly, the writing lets them all down a bit, choosing soap opera over satire.

Television Rating: 3.0/5.0

Despite attestations by the people involved that the show isn’t meant to be a commentary on the Clinton family, the parallels are obvious. We meet Former First Lady Elaine Barrish (Weaver) on the night she is conceding her shot at the Presidency after a hard-fought campaign, which also happens to be the same evening that she asks her philandering ex-President husband (a scenery-chewing Ciaran Hinds) for a divorce. Two years later, Barrish is Secretary of State, dealing with a crisis involving journalists kidnapped in Iran and a long-term interview with a writer (Carla Gugino) who has expressed disdain for the powerful female figure before.

Political Animals
Photo credit: USA

Of course, it wouldn’t be a deconstruction of a political family without a few secrets. The Barrish family has two sons, one of which happens to be the Secretary’s Chief of Staff and is about to be married to a woman with secrets of her own and the other of which happens to be a drug-addicted, suicidally depressed homosexual. He gets a lot of drama in episode one to the point that it almost feels unfair but one imagines that “the more stable son” will have his share of future problems. Ellen Burstyn rounds out the cast as the crotchety matriarch who can say and do whatever she likes and will remind you of that fact. She’s the Maggie Smith of this “Downton Abbey.”

Political Animals
Photo credit: USA

And she rules. So does Weaver. So does Hinds. Even the young cast members are strong. Gugino over-plays a few beats but she’s always been an interesting actress and James Wolk reminds me that I wish “Lone Star” had been given more time to find an audience. If people like “Political Animals” it will be because of what the cast brings to it.

Because it certainly ain’t the writing. It may be dressed in more high-profile clothing, but this is sudsy soap opera writing not much different than what TNT is doing on “Dallas.” And I think the disguise of allowing viewers access behind the political curtain makes it more annoying. I don’t know what happens on a Dallas estate but I know damn sure that much of what goes down in “Political Animals” is the kind of activity that only happens on TV. Let’s ignore the fact that someone as politically acute as Barrish would know not to ask for a divorce on the night she ends her campaign (it would be too much fuel for those who thought she was riding her husband’s coattails), but she also wouldn’t say half the things she does to Gugino’s reporter in their very first scene together (an interview that makes Palin-Couric look downright cordial).

And then there’s the dialogue. Barrish spits out things like “I hate lying and telling people things will get better” while her husband spouts gems like “I don’t eat shit. I serve it.” As much fun as it is to imagine Bill Clinton saying that with a serious face to Hillary, it didn’t happen. It’s dialogue like that reminds one of the missed opportunity here. It doesn’t have teeth. It mistakes melodrama and vulgarity for bite.

But, damn, those great performances. Weaver is just fantastic and, despite my obvious reservations, I’m going to keep watching for her and much of the strong supporting cast (which will also include Vanessa Redgrave).

“Political Animals” is the kind of exaggerated world that only exists on TV and with the brilliant satire of “Veep,” the Shakespearean saga of “Boss,” the genius of “Game Change,” and other recent political gems with which to compare it, USA’s entry just barely loses the election. Although given how I expect it will do in the ratings, I look forward to the eventual second campaign.

“Political Animals” stars Sigourney Weaver, Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino, Ellen Burstyn, James Wolk, Sebastian Stan, Brittany Ishibashi, Adrian Pasdar, Dylan Baker, Dan Futterman, Roger Bart, and Vanessa Redgrave. It premieres on Sunday, July 15 on USA at 9pm CST.

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

Blu-Ray Review: After ‘New Moon’ Sets, Pick Up ‘Near Dark’

BrianTT — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:32:08 -0500

CHICAGO – It’s funny the way that the Blu-Ray market has developed in that success of a new title can often bring an old one to the HD format more quickly than it otherwise would get there. In the case of the great “Near Dark,” it’s the success of two films, one that shares a theme (“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”) and one that shares director Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”). Whatever the reason, don’t fail to include arguably the best vampire movie ever made in your collection.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

I’d like to think that the success of one of the best movies of the year in Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” is why we’re seeing one of her earlier films on Blu-Ray but the cheesy, re-done cover that makes the thing practically look like a “Twilight” sequel leads me to believe that it’s more of the resurgence of “vampire as love story” genre in things like “New Moon” or “True Blood” that brings “Near Dark” to new release shelves once again.

Whatever the business motivation, “Near Dark” is a genre classic, a great blend of mystery and suspense that perfectly balances the threat of the vampire with the allure of living an immortal life as a bad-ass bloodsucker. Very few films in the history of the sub-genre have so stylishly captured the fact that the life of a vampire can be just as enticing as it is terrifying. We’ve seen a lot more of that kind of story - the vamp as “cool guy” - in the 20+ years since “Near Dark,” but I often think that this film doesn’t get the trend-setting credit it deserves.

Near Dark was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on November 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

Adrian Pasdar (“Heroes) plays Caleb Colton, an average, lonely, bored guy who becomes prey for the mysterious and beautiful Mae (Jenny Wright). Mae is a part of an outlaw band of vampires and, as any “New Moon” junkie will tell you, love between a human and immortal is no walk in the park.

Who hasn’t thought about being sucked into a more exciting world than their own? Face it. Being a vampire would be pretty cool. Hanging with “Dark” co-stars Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen all night at biker bars? Sign me up. “Near Dark” is a Western/horror/romance/biker movie hybrid that feels like nothing else in the subgenre of vampire flick. It stands alone. It is weird, unusual, riveting, action-packed, romantic, old-fashioned, gory, clever, and exceptional. “Near Dark” rules.

The movie rules but the Blu-Ray is clearly an afterthought timed for financial gain more than anything artistic. Where’s the retrospective documentary? Where is the new footage? Commentary on the influence of the film? All you’ll find is a commentary by Bigelow, “Living in Darkness,” and one deleted scene - all previously available. Not even all of the galleries - stills, storyboards, etc. - from the 2002 Anchor Bay edition have been imported. Why give a movie a technical upgrade but downgrade the special features?

Even the 1080p picture and 5.1 DTS-HD audio seem a bit lackluster. Maybe by the time they get to “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn,” someone will give “Near Dark” the treatment it truly deserves.

‘Near Dark’ is released by Lionsgate Home Video and stars Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, and Bill Paxton. It was written by Eric Red & Kathryn Bigelow and directed by Bigelow. It was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on November 10th, 2009.

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

Blu-Ray Review: Season Three of ‘Heroes’ Designed to Please Fans

BrianTT — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:19:53 -0400

CHICAGO – I’m one of many fans burned by the fizzling out of “Heroes,” a show that started incredibly strong and went from “must-see” to “meh” in just a few seasons. Despite the show’s overall dip in quality, the Blu-Ray releases have been heralded as leaders in the format, filled with special features designed to please hardcore fans. But special features are only one part of a Blu-Ray set and “Heroes: Season Three” falls short in all others.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

The Universal-produced set includes all 25 episodes from the season three volumes of “Heroes,” “Villains” and “Fugitives”. After the disappointing second season of “Heroes,” fans were excited to see how the once-clever show could return to form with a reportedly reinvigorated writing crew who publicly acknowledged the failures of season two. To this viewer, season three is just more of the same with cluttered storytelling, characters that we stopped caring about years ago, and ridiculous twists.

Having said that, I can still step back and tell the hardcore “Heroes” fans out there that the special features on the third season Blu-Ray are undeniably great. It’s nice to see a studio design a Blu-Ray release to honestly please a show’s devoted fans. Universal could have simply included the episodes and nothing more and most “Heroes” nuts would have bought the third season set. They went above and beyond.

Heroes: Season Three was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on September 1st, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

How so? The third season set includes hours of special features, many of them presented using Universal’s spectacular U-Control, a functionality that allows viewers to see behind-the-scenes details while the show plays. U-Control is used in two ways on “Heroes,” allowing for people to view cast & crew commentaries on an episode or to see bios of the characters as they appear on-screen in a function called “Hero Connections”. Both the commentaries and bios are the kind of special features that enhance an episode of a show like “Heroes” instead of just serving as filler.

But they’re just the beginning. All five discs include deleted scenes and “Hero Connections - Network” with other special features, disc by disc:

Disc One: “The Super Powers of “Heroes””
Disc Two: “Completing the Scene,” “Alternate Stories,” and “Pinehearst Commercial”
Disc Three: “The Prop Box” and “Tim Sale Gallery of Screen Art”
Disc Four: “Genetics of a Scene”
Disc Five: “The Writers’ Forum” and “Building Coyote Sands”

As for the episodes themselves, they certainly sound great but the HD transfer is undeniably disappointing when compared to other TV on Blu-Ray or the show’s original HD broadcast on NBC. Daylight scenes look great but the more darkly-lit scenes have come out murky, grainy, and with a noticeable loss of detail. Some of the grain is clearly intentional, but I’ve seen a majority of the episodes when they originally aired and the show looked more well-defined in its original HD broadcast.

A lot of viewers may have jumped ship (the average ratings for season three - 7.6 million viewers - were nearly half that of season one - 13.86 million viewers) but there are clearly still loyal, devoted “Heroes” fans. Enough that NBC saw fit to renew the show and bring it back for season four starting Monday, September 21st, 2009. Maybe there’s still enough fire burning in the world of “Heroes” that the show could be the water-cooler hit it was in season one once again and the care put into releases like this one is helping to keep the flame from going out.

‘Heroes: Season Three’ is released by Universal Home Video and stars Zachary Quinto, Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, Ali Larter, Jack Coleman, Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar, Sendhil Ramamurthy, and Milo Ventimgilia. It was created by Tim Kring. The third season was released on September 1st, 2009. It is not rated and runs 1,072 minutes.

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