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Reviews
Terriers (2010)
Surprisingly Good, Somehow Both Laid-Back and Intense
Terriers is a hard show to nail down because it artfully merges several seeming-clichés into a fresh-feeling hour of entertainment. Someone described it this way: "It's kind of like The Rockford Files had a one-night stand with The Big Lebowski and had a charming little accident," and I have to agree.
There's one thing missing from that description, though; Terriers is also very touching and surprisingly deep. The last few minutes of each episode manage to reach out and grab your heart every single time.
If you're thinking about giving it a shot and will watch it from the beginning, be sure to watch both the first and second episode before deciding whether or not it's for you. There's a deeper level of the show that's easily missed if you watch only the first episode or manage to just catch a portion of it while channel surfing.
Terriers is easily the best new show of the 2010 Fall season, and even manages to make it into my top 3 shows that are currently airing.
The Island (2005)
Deeply Disappointing
Just got back from a screening. Wow, what a really disappointing and truly awful movie. Only some nifty special effects and the presence of some of my favorite actors saved it from a single star.
I'm accustomed to action movies having plot holes, but not a half-dozen so large you can drive a truck through them. I was looking forward to some chemistry between McGregor and Johansson, but for plot reasons (at the very least) there was absolutely none. I'm a huge fan of Johansson, but she could have been replaced by any Barbie doll and a bit of CGI and the film would have been no different.
I love a good action sequence, but these sequences went ON and ON and ON, pushing WAY past the point of excitement or interest and well into "wonder how difficult it will be getting out of the parking lot afterwards" territory.
The complaints I had about Armageddon (which I'd rate a 6) are simply magnified by Bay, and the things I liked from that flick were abolished. Really disappointing. Not recommended, even on DVD.