HYSTERICAL!

Posted : 2 weeks, 5 days ago on 6 July 2008 07:59 (A review of "Reno 911!")

This is one of the funniest shows I have personally ever seen. Every time I watch it I just cannot believe how hysterical it really is. The spoof factor is probably what really makes me laugh. They make fun of cops, and all of the other serious shows like that. They do such a great job at it too. I especially think Nick Swardson is the funniest of them all. He his always getting into trouble, and then runs away. There are no flaws in this television show. It is one of the greatest shows ever made.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Amazingly Entertaining.

Posted : 2 weeks, 5 days ago on 6 July 2008 07:40 (A review of "John Doe")

I remember watching this television show awhile back and enjoying it a lot. It is one of those film like television shows. There was always an exciting scene going on, like John Doe breaking into a building, fighting someone, or doing other awesome objectives. I think of this show to be one of the best action shows, when it was airing. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Shakespeare Re-Told: Macbeth review

Posted : 2 weeks, 5 days ago on 6 July 2008 05:51 (A review of Shakespeare Re-Told: Macbeth)

A great adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. The setting is odd as I couldn't quite figure out what kind of restaurant/hotel it was. It was dark and incredibly odd, but it generally fit the overall tone of the movie. Watching Joe and Ella breakdown was intense. Each does it in a different way, but it's no less interesting to watch.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Supernatural for Jensen

Posted : 2 weeks, 5 days ago on 6 July 2008 07:56 (A review of "Supernatural")

Love this show if only to drool over the extremely fit Jensen Ackles!! Seriously, the show is excellent. I look forward to the next series.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Lost no longer!

Posted : 2 weeks, 5 days ago on 6 July 2008 07:51 (A review of Lost)

Ive watched this series from the beginning and while I admit the plot had worn a little thin series 3 and 4 have had me hooked once more. A few questions are now being answered and I cant wait for the next season. Is John Locke really dead?? I hope not as he is an integral part of the story. Hmm!

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Spoiler

Posted : 3 weeks, 2 days ago on 3 July 2008 12:08 (A review of Voices from Within (aka Silhouette))

Ever wondered about the struggle for some"one" living the life with multiple personalities? This movie can educate you quite a lot. This is not at all what it is like for everyone. Everyone is unique, but what you will see is the struggle to cope and the creative measures some people may go to to express ALL of who they are. You will also see the extreme they may go to when it doesn't work for everyone inside.

I've worked with quite a lot of "multiples." Someone did their homework for this movie. A lot of effort went into showing this possible truth.

If you know someone with multiplicity, do not be afraid just because they are a multiple, based on what you see in this movie. Use it to develop understanding. Get to know who they are, just like you got to know your classmates in school each year. It can be that simple.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

The [second] best show ever made

Posted : 3 weeks, 3 days ago on 1 July 2008 12:06 (A review of "The Daily Show")

Well, as I previously said, I never give a 10/10 for anything.
So this will recieve a big fat nine from me.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart mocks American Politics/and or anything that is American in such a way that it is hilarious. The ironic thing I found out about this that The Daily Show, starting in '96, recieved a 9.0 out of 10 in the indb.com rating. However, the Colber Report (the best show) which started a mere three years ago in 2005, recieved a 9.3/10. Stephen Colbert, as you may know, was a correspondent for Jon Stewart before he got his own show.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

The best TV Programme out there.

Posted : 3 weeks, 3 days ago on 1 July 2008 12:01 (A review of The Colbert Report)

I don't give 10/10 for anything.
But this is just the best show I have ever seen.
Stephen Colbert is just the most hilarious guy I've ever seen. He truly earns that Peabody award. Rain, you should be scared! Colbert will win. Eventually.
The "Sport Report" "Air Colbert" "Rain of course" "Wag of the Finger"
Are all just a portion of the reasons I adore this show.
Nation, watch this!

A little extract from my favorite ever Colbert Report:

Rain...Rain...Rain!
Time had a poll of the most influential peopel of 2006 and I'm right there at number 2?! Who's number 1?
No...it can't be...
My arch nemesis, hiphop pop sensation Rain!
He's always gotten the best of me!

0 comments, Reply to this entry

The best Aussie TV show for years...

Posted : 3 weeks, 5 days ago on 29 June 2008 07:15 (A review of Breaking News)

NOTE: This is a review solely for season 1

"I'm Mike Moore...welcome to Frontline"

By the mid-1990's, Current Affairs programs had developed into a strange nightly beast on our television screens. These programs were more tabloid than journalism: few viewers truly understood the extent to which they were being manipulated. Even in the current generation of television viewers, shows like Today Tonight and A Current Affair are seen to be concealing themselves behind the facade of journalistic professionalism. Yet they feed us nothing but tiring stories about weight-loss and dodgy tradesmen, in addition to shameless network promotions and pointless celebrity puff-pieces. Stories broadcast in these Current Affairs programs are not determined by their importance but their entertainment value. How severely will ratings rise if fascinating (futile) stories constantly fill their time-slot?

Enter the brilliant satire team of Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner. Following the triumph of The Late Show in 1992 and 1993, and prior to the creation of The Castle (still regarded as Australia's best film) in 1997, the team behind those classic Australian comedies produced what is extensively regarded as one of the smartest and funniest satire comedy series ever created in Australia. This aforementioned series was of course Frontline, and the fact that many of the episodes are still used as a part of school syllabuses around the country is a testament to the esteem in which the series is held.

In the early 1990s, Frontline took audiences completely by surprise. The brilliant show opened up the eyes of the gullible viewing public to some of the more dubious and entirely debauched procedures of commercial tabloid television...all while stocking a high amount of laughs. Frontline covers everything in the dishonest Current Affairs industry: from the use of concealed cameras, the standard foot-in-the-door bullying approach of interviewing, the vulgarity of cheque-book journalism and the necessity to consider ratings wins above everything else - Rob Sitch and his loyal team include the whole package. The show also deals with the huge egos noticeably present in commercial television and the incapacity for many television stars to stop thinking about anything apart from themselves. Frontline satirised many events that were topical at the time: such as a real event when the host of A Current Affair, Mike Willesee, actually talked to a gunman during a siege. Within one series of the wildly innovative program, the team managed to tear down the apocryphal pretences constantly surrounding the medium using brilliant satire without exaggerations.

Frontline is fundamentally a satirical fly-on-the-wall account (almost documentary style) of the background workings of a commercial television Current Affairs program. 'Frontline' is the title of the news program aired each weeknight on an unnamed commercial network. Consider a cross between A Current Affair and Today Tonight...and you are accurately comprehending the types of stories that Frontline is after. The show is hosted by former ABC journalist Mike Moore (Rob Sitch). Mike believes that he's hard hitting and in the same league as Laurie Oakes or Kerry O'Brien, but in actuality he's fairly light weight and nothing overwhelmingly superior to a talking head. Mike uses a great deal of each episode trying to prove his journalistic worth and increase his standing in the hierarchy of Australian television...all without much success.

The on-air reporting responsibilities are carried out by Brooke Vandenberg (Jane Kennedy) and Martin Di Stasio (Tiriel Mora). Brooke is a highly motivated, upwardly mobile young lady who will let nothing get in her way as she scrambles to the very top of the television pile. Marty is a somewhat disparaging, hard-bitten and extremely rough-around-the-edges veteran journalist of countless years. He's seen and done it all, and genuinely cannot be bothered with all the shenanigans of those wannabes surrounding him. Similar to Brooke, he has been known to bend a few rules and stretch the journalist’s code of ethics to breaking point to secure the exclusive story. The man charged with the responsibility of getting the show to air each night and keeping the ratings on the upward trend is executive producer Brian Thompson (the late Bruno Lawrence). Brian is a man with one eye on the ratings, one on his staff, and one on the executives pushing for higher ratings. His life is one extreme stress attack and he is never settled. The real brains and effort behind each of the stories is program producer Emma Ward (Alison Whyte), who comes up with most of the ideas for the stories, does almost all the research, and is also probably the only staff member with any hint of veracity.

The creative team behind Frontline did not exaggerate because there was no need - Current Affairs programs generally used over-the-top methods of getting the most fascinating stories to boost their ratings. This behind-the-scenes examination looks in-depth at two different aspects of the show: the journalism + planning of an episode, and the broadcasting of an episode with Mike at the newsdesk. These two aspects portray a different version of the truth. While the show is being planned, we watch the actual truth being manipulated by the sneaky journalists. This aspect of the show is portrayed using hand-held camera as it is essentially behind-the-scenes footage. During a broadcast, the manipulated version of the truth is shoved into the head of the viewer. Of course, these shots are filmed using steady tripod camera.

Overall, Frontline is a clever Australian TV show that is still rightfully held in high regard over a decade since its initial release. The form of humour is dissimilar to the brainless slapstick and constant swearing present in American humour. It's a breath of fresh air. This is a stunning show which relied on a subtle wit and an intelligent dissection of a media white elephant. Watch this series and you will never, ever look at A Current Affair, Today Tonight, or the myriad of other current affairs shows that have long come and gone in the same way again.

1 comments, Reply to this entry

much wasted potential

Posted : 3 weeks, 6 days ago on 28 June 2008 03:17 (A review of "The Pretender")

i'm currently near the end of the third season and i really have to say that this show could have been so great... all the mysteries, interesting characters like jarod and angelo, also the interesting relationship between jarod and sidney

BUT...

there is one character who is so far behind all others that it sometimes really hurts me watching this show - ms. parker. with her intelligence (which is at the level of about a seven year old... and i hope seven year olds who might read this aren't insulted by that...) i bet she still uses her fingers for counting. the only character that manages to surpass ms. parker is brigitte. what the hell were the creators thinking?! "we need a character that competes with ms. parker but it still needs to be clearly visible that she's even stupider than her. ha! i know! let's stick a lollipop into her mouth!"

luckily, jarod has more than 50% screen time... and he hardly ever does something stupid. which is why i still rate this show higher than 5/10. but who knows - maybe i'll downgrade it once i get to the very finish. i just needed to vent and writing a review to warn people who still haven't watched the show and are wondering if they have to bear ms. parker and brigitte for long - you do. so if you don't like the rest as much as i do, better stay away from the show.

-----

having just watched the last episode, i have downgraded my rating from 7 to 6. the whole ms. parker stuff gets even more annoying in the very end and the quality of the dialogue also gets worse - right to the level of some van damme action movie.

0 comments, Reply to this entry