Mariah Carey HSN Video Creates Buzz

Posted Jul 26, 2011 by Walt Belcher

Updated Jul 26, 2011 at 01:01 PM

Singer Mariah Carey does more than sell her line on HSN. Check out her recent visit to St. Pete studios:

Mariah. Mariah. Mariah. She’s so wacky that new mom.  Making a late night appearance on Home Shopping Sunday night, Carey went off topic. Instead of selling earrings and such, she seemed a little loopy….maybe a lot loopy.

She was on for two hours and while that might be entertaining, it also would be taxing. A editor at Gawker.com cut it to a nifty little video. She talks about her “ordeal” and being pregnant with twins, describing the “47-week ” ordeal as a “really difficult time.”

Yes, being pregnant for nearly a year would have been an ordeal.

She gave birth to son Moroccan and daughter Monroe on April 30 - the same day as her 3rd anniversary with husband Nick Cannon. This thing is making the rounds online.

 

---

New Releases for Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Posted Jul 26, 2011 by John Allman

Updated Jul 26, 2011 at 07:35 AM

What’s new in stores and on video shelves this week:

The Reef
Genre: Horror
Directed by: Andrew Traucki
Run time: 88 minutes
Rating: R
Format: Blu-Ray

The Lowdown: One of the few truly real-life terrifying things that I can imagine is being stranded in the ocean, no sign of land anywhere, forced to keep swimming, with nary a clue of what might be happening below me in the deep.

Several films have tried to capitalize on that fear in the years since “Jaws” first swam into the public consciousness and became an iconic and then overplayed, through consistently lamer sequels, film trope.

These films fall into two categories – the straight-up “Jaws” wannabes, aka “Deep Blue Sea,” which wasn’t a bad film for the genre, or the countless killer shark B-movies on SyFy, and the ripped-from-the-headlines, based on a true story flicks like “Open Water,” or its incredibly stupid sequel “Adrift.”

“The Reef” is based on a true story, and as such, it features the requisite set-up. Four friends and a crew member set sail to explore Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The captain of the vessel had a long relationship with the sister of his friend. The sister has re-emerged for this trip and things are awkward. They visit an island, almost run aground when the tide goes out and, after several hours of sailing, strike a jagged, jutting rock and capsize their boat. Left with two options, swim back toward the island or wait it out on top of the hull of the boat and hope it doesn’t sink while praying help arrives, the four friends decide to swim for it. The crew member decides to gut it out on the boat.

At this point, about half the film is over. That leaves a lot of time for bobbing in the water. “Open Water” was basically an entire movie about bobbing in the water, and as such, really tested the patience of its viewers.

“The Reef” somehow manages to avoid monotony, thankfully, by having the four friends try to swim for the island that they cannot see and don’t know if they are even swimming in the right direction towards.

And there’s the added bonus of the great white shark that begins following them, picking them off one by one.

The shark footage is all real. No CGI was employed. And it grows increasingly more terrifying the longer the game of shark and mouse plays out. If anything, the “Reef” knows how to pile on the tension. I found myself pulling my feet off the floor and onto the couch on several occasions. I leaned forward and rocked, anxious about what was about to happen and who it might happen to. I became agitated wondering why, in all the blue depths, this damn monstrous creature had to keep picking on these poor people who suddenly found themselves in the worst possible scenario.

And that, my friends, is the mark of a taunt thriller.

Some people might grow tired of the above water bobbing, the underwater establishing shots, the frequent freak outs of some in the group. But I found each decision the cast made, whether to swim a few yards to retrieve a piece of boogie board that had been knocked out of their hands by the creature or form a tight circle and pray for the beast to pass, to be genuine and real.

The final 20 minutes, in particular, is harrowing, especially given the fact that land is in sight.

In the end, this isn’t a film for everyone because for many it may simply be too real, and thereby doesn’t qualify as entertainment. There’s a strong I-told-you-this-is-why-I-avoid-boating-trips argument to be made. But it is a decidedly well-made film and an above-average entry in an oft overlooked genre.

The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Yes.
Nudity – No.
Gore – Mostly implied.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – One very hungry shark.
Buy/Rent – Buy it.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – Making-of featurette, theatrical trailer.

Torchwood: The Complete Original UK Series (BBC, 1584 minutes, Unrated, Blu-Ray): When Capt. Jack Harkness was introduced on “Doctor Who” six years ago, few people probably could have predicted what a lasting impact that character would have – not just on the ever-expanding Whoniverse, but on science fiction in general. Harkness and his super-secret, outside government control agency called Torchwood would go on to star in their very own BBC show, which is gathered here in a fan-tastic high-definition collection. I emphasized fan because “Torchwood” truly is a series created for fans of incredibly smart, insanely nuanced sci-fi the likes of which we rarely get to see. This is a show that had the gall, and wherewithal, to kill off not one but TWO major characters in a single episode. Such decisions make for a truly “real” viewing experience. The show is like life, anything can happen, at any time.

“Torchwood” – much like “Doctor Who” and “Being Human” – knows the virtue of taking its time and allowing storylines to play out organically and characters to develop slowly.

Many BBC shows, such as “Primeval” and “Demons,” throw so much at the viewer that you feel winded and spent by the end of the first hour.

But “Torchwood” is special, that rare episodic series that has consistently improved over the course of its two regular seasons and two shorter-season miniseries, “Children of Earth,” which is included in this 12-disc collection, and “Miracle Day,” which is airing now on Starz.

Much of the credit goes to Russell T. Davies, the British answer to Joss Whedon, who first revamped “Doctor Who” into the creative juggernaut that is has become since returning to weekly television in 2005, and then handed off “Who” to focus on “Torchwood.”

But even still, the show wouldn’t what it is without the incomparable John Barrowman as Harkness or Eve Myles as his partner, Gwen Cooper. Myles has evolved over the course of the show to be its tough-as-nails, yet unflappably human, core. And Barrowman has thoroughly embraced Harkness, a bisexual, immortal, time-traveling scoundrel who never lacks for a glint of mischief in his eye.

The most incredible thing about “Torchwood” is its ability to deftly combine both the inherent camp that exists in police and paranormal serials, that “oh no, the world is ending, kiss me, you fool” drama, with a genuine sense of urgency. Again, this is a show that has lost more than half its original cast, and not replaced them, since it began airing in 2006. When the world is in danger on “Torchwood,” it honestly feels like the world is in danger.

And then there are the stories – whether one-off tales of unrequited love, invading aliens or shape-shifting nasties, or the longer-arc storylines involving very complex science-fiction ideas, such as an alien force that targets only the world’s children, or a sudden, unexplainable planet-wide shift where no one dies anymore, and all the political, medical and societal complications that might ensue. The stories on “Torchwood” resonate because they challenge you to consider the impossible in a way that feels much more real than most TV shows you’re likely to ever watch.

Limitless (Fox, 105 minutes, PG-13, Blu-Ray): Here’s everything you need to know about the world, according to “Limitless”: Drugs are good. You should take as much of a drug as possible if it helps you gain an advantage that you otherwise wouldn’t have earned through hard work and perseverance. Killing people also is OK as long as it helps you continue to get ahead in a field you otherwise never would have had a chance to succeed in or they are trying to kill you to steal the drug that is giving you the advantage that you otherwise would never have had but that you now need to succeed in lieu of working hard and trying to do the right things to live a good life and get ahead.

Oh, and there is apparently no karma to come kick your butt for subverting the normal order of how things occur. And even if you look like a homeless man and lay around eating take-out pizza for weeks and months on end, you too can clean up to look like Bradley Cooper with his air-brushed abs and perfect teeth.

There are two redeeming things about “Limitless,” a throwback to the heyday of B-movies starring A-list stars from the 1980s like “Black Moon Rising” with Tommy Lee Jones.

The first is director Neil Burger, who does a really nice job employing a host of cool camera tricks to provide a visually striking film. He is definitely someone to watch, especially now that he’s been tapped to helm the upcoming videogame adaptation, “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.”

The second is a sick little scene about two-thirds of the way through “Limitless” where Cooper, finding himself in a predicament where most normal people would end up dead, makes a decision to juice himself up on the experimental brain drug NZT by lapping up the blood of someone he just killed who also was jacked up on NZT.

It’s a brave scene for a screen heartthrob because it shows just how big of a jackhole character he’s playing, someone so desperate to survive and hungry for a fix that he’s willing to lick blood off a floor.

Kudos for going there, sir. Kudos.

Tekken (Anchor Bay, 91 minutes, R, Blu-Ray): There is a discount bin in Hell filled with DVDs and Blu-Ray discs of all the failed live-action video game and manga adaptations like “Mortal Kombat,” “Street Fighter,” “Dragonball Z” and, now apparently, “Tekken.” This is one of those movies that you know is going to be cheesy, that you expect to really not be very good, that starts out promising and then completely falls apart well before the final fight that you already know the outcome so you end up wondering why you’re even bothering to watch it because…crap, I just almost put myself to sleep typing that incredibly long-winded sentence that reminded me of how I felt watching this… zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

House of the Rising Sun (Lionsgate, 90 minutes, R, Blu-Ray): If you based your video renting decisions solely on the synopsis written on the back of a DVD box, there’s no way anyone in their right mind would ever give “House of the Rising Sun” a chance. The paragraph is so poorly written, so ridiculously generic, so clichéd that it’s a wonder anyone actually provided funding to make the film. Never mind that it stars David Bautista, a former professional wrestling superstar. He’s actually perfectly passable because he’s given very little dialogue and mostly just glowers at people or beats them up. It’s just that the synopsis does such a disservice to what is, surprisingly, not a bad little B-grade action movie. So let this be a reminder – don’t ever base your decision whether to rent a movie solely on the box art description. Sometimes the synopsis oversells what is essentially a paint-by-numbers piece of crap and makes it sound like the be-all, end-all of motion picture experiences. And sometimes, so little care is used in crafting even a literate, educated description that a film worth watching on a rainy Saturday afternoon when nothing else is on the DVR, would almost always be overlooked or put back on the shelf.

Also Available:

Take Me Home Tonight – A movie made in 2010 based on movies from the 1980s that were better when they were made 20 years ago and didn’t have to rely on nostalgia to be funny.

Animal House – Top 10 best movies. All time. Ever. Still funny to this day.

The Blues Brothers – I hate Illinois Nazis. But I love this movie.

Cracks – The first feature from director Jordan Scott, the niece of director Tony Scott, the brother of director Ridley Scott, and featuring the luminous and sultry Eva Green, who is not related to the Scott family as far as I know.

Zonad – A comedy about an alcoholic who escapes rehab, breaks into a home and pretends to be from outer space so the family will let him stay. No, really, it’s a comedy.

Peep World – Dysfunctional family portrait with an all-star cast featuring Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson, Ben Schwartz and Judy Greer.

Amelie – Whimsical French film that rode a wave of adoration and praise to the 2001 Academy Awards.

Boyz ‘N the Hood 20th Anniversary – Cuba! Morpheus! Cube! Given my druthers, I still think “Menace to Society” is the better L.A. gang violence picture.

Hey Dude: Season 1 – Remember this Nickelodeon show from the 1980s? It finally gets a proper DVD release.

The Girls Next Door: Season 6 – More blondes than one man should be able to handle.

Melrose Place: Season 6 Volume 2 – I don’t know what’s worse, that they split the final season into two volumes, thereby making the last season of “Melrose Place” seem that much more important, or that “The Girls Next Door” lasted as many seasons as a former wildly successful primetime soap opera.

Dumbstruck – That’s right, it’s an entire movie about ventriloquist dummies. Somewhere, there’s a guy who has been waiting his whole life for this movie to come out.

---

A Conversation With: Matthew Senreich

Posted Jul 26, 2011 by John Allman

Updated Jul 26, 2011 at 07:25 AM

Since its debut back in February 2005, “Robot Chicken” has given fanboys and fangirls everywhere cause to celebrate.

It’s the most improbable of premises, a rapid-fire sketch comedy show built around stop-motion animation using iconic and little-known action figures and toys, mostly from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, to tell incredibly silly but undeniably hysterical stories.

Despite the odds, it has worked, and in a big way.

Each 15-minute episode is packed with pop culture references that fly so fast and so smart that multiple viewings are almost mandatory in order to catch every subversive gag. There are no sacred cows, no shows or celebrities or tabloid fodder deemed untouchable.

Co-creators Seth Green and Matt Senreich managed to capitalize on a burgeoning nerd revolution and become the movement’s creative Force, paving the way for a group of people previously relegated to the fringe – comic book enthusiasts, role-playing gamers and toy aficionados – to proudly step out of their bedrooms and proclaim their geek love for everything from “Thundercats” and “Transformers” to “The A-Team” and “G.I. Joe.”

Without “Robot Chicken,” I think it’s fair to say that there might not have been as welcoming a reception for Team Unicorn (look them up on You Tube, you will be glad you did) or Felicia Day and her ever-expanding presence in sci-fi shows like “Eureka,” comic books and live-action, online role-playing fantasies, fantastic female voices in a formerly male-dominated universe.

These guys exist in a creative stratosphere home to a few greats – creative visionaries like Joss Whedon or Seth MacFarlane – but they never come off as pretentious or pandering.

Their love for the franchises that shaped the collective consciousness of an entire generation extended into that most rarified air in 2007 when “Robot Chicken,” with the blessing of George Lucas himself, unveiled its first “Star Wars” special – an entire show built around delving deep into the rich mythology and vibrant worlds that Lucas created.

A second special followed in 2008, and now, three years later, the gang is unleashing “Robot Chicken: Star Wars III,” its third and likely final trip to that galaxy far, far away.
Senreich took time recently to talk by phone with BVB: Blood, Violence and Babes about the challenges of tackling such a beloved entity as “Star Wars,” the creative spark that sets their brand of humor apart and the wonders of being paid to play with toys all the time.

BVB: You guys have got to be excited with “Star Wars III” coming out yesterday. It struck me that so many people have taken a crack at “Star Wars.” Was there ever any trepidation on your part in tackling such an iconic series to spoof?

MS: You know, it’s one of those things where I don’t think we ever thought about it like that, and if we did, we would have been way more intimidated. Because when we first did our first few Star Wars sketches, they were in our regular season and our regular seasons, we mock everything. So when we got that Lucas Films call, we thought we were getting sued. Then we honestly pitched them on the idea of doing it, expecting a ‘No,’ and surprisingly they said ‘Yes’ and it just spiraled out of control ever since, in a good way.

BVB: I love what you guys have done with that, and I’m curious, from your perspective, what sets your take on Star Wars apart from some of the others? What is it that makes people gravitate to what Robot Chicken is doing with that series?

MS: I think our whole motif for Robot Chicken is taking these absurd worlds and making them very mundane. It’s kind of how we always phrase it. I think what we did was, giving a lot of credit to Kevin Smith for “Clerks.” He had the conversations that all of us were having in the early ‘90s about Star Wars and how much it cost to build the Death Star. We just now have the ability to kind of show it, take the normalcy of what’s going on in Star Wars without the wars, and that’s what made it fun.

BVB: It’s kind of like the skit with the Mos Eisley (Cantina) and I can’t think of his name…

MS: Ponda Baba’s Bad Day…

BVB: That’s just a riot because it is making it real.

MS: Yeah, it was literally, what was that guy doing before he got to that bar? Putting him in that situation and his friend just seemed to have a few. We just found that really funny. Our writer Tom Root put that together and when we read that page, we were like this is exactly what we want to do.

BVB: I’m curious, do you guys actually do the shopping for the figures and toys? Are you involved in that, the ones that are used on the show?

MS: We actually have a guy, if you look at our credits, his title is Toy Wrangler. His name is Hugh Sterbakov and we give him a boatload of cash and say these are the figures we need to find. Good luck. And that’s what he does. Usually we can’t use the actual figures themselves because they don’t pose the ways that we want, but we can use parts of them to get what we need. But, yeah, this is that guy’s job and it’s the best job in the world.

BVB: That is a great job. That would be amazing. What was, I’ve got to ask, what was your favorite toy of all time that you owned as a child? And I will preface this by saying mine was the original 1979 Kenner Alien doll, which was dubbed the scariest toy ever made at that time.

MS: That’s a really hard question because I have everything. It varies. I actually was just back at my parent’s place this last weekend and I was going through my old Darth Vader carrying case…

BVB: Yep

MS: And it’s amazing how I have all these figures just in complete condition even though some of them I just beat the crap out of, but you know, I found the old Hoth playset where the stuff crumbles?

BVB: Oh yeah…

MS: Picking your favorite is like picking your favorite baby.

BVB: Have you thought about other films or TV shows that you’d like to take a crack at like this? Where you could extend it beyond just a skit on “Robot Chicken” and actually do something where it’s fully based on another property?

MS: We have talked about it. The question is how and when. We would have to do it differently, I think, because there aren’t many universes that are as expansive as “Star Wars” with the amount of aliens and creatures that have gotten their own mythology. That said, there are a few. It’s just a question of, would they want us to do it (laughs) and how it would fit into the schedule.

BVB: Talk to me a little bit about “Stoopid Monkey.” What can fans expect?

MS: That title card at the end of “Robot Chicken” just took on a life of its own and people would just be quoting it on You Tube or wherever else. So we started goofing around with it. We started selling T-shirts as a little side project. Next thing you know, we’re doing these animated shorts with him and giving him a life of his own. And we find girls really think he’s cute. And I think that’s awesome. I like that there’s this optimistic, stupid monkey out there that does dumb stuff and gets into trouble but keeps a smile on his face. That’s kind of what he’s going to get himself into as we partner him with some live-action stuff.

BVB: Is it kind of cool to you to think that years from now some kid could look back and say that Stoopid Monkey was his favorite toy of all time

MS: If that ever happens 20 years from now, I look forward to shaking that guy’s hand and giving him a hug and saying thank you. I can only hope that’s the case.

BVB: It really seems like the gaming, the toy, the geek community is really starting to have its moment. So many other little communities, fringe communities, have had their time and now it seems like the time for us. How do you feel about that? Is it exciting to you?

MS: Yeah, it is. I never thought I would be in a day and age where Batman and Transformers and all my ‘80s properties growing up are being developed and turned into major motion pictures. It’s mind-boggling for me. I still remember when the Tim Burton “Batman” came out. I thought it was the greatest day of my life…

BVB: Right!

MS: But yeah, I think we are in a day and age where it’s cool to be a geek, and I don’t mind that. I think it’s fun. It makes the underground stuff even more underground, which is the stuff I find myself becoming even more interested in. And in 20 years, that will be the popular stuff.

BVB: OK, couple of just geek questions. At the end of every episode, you guys always have special names for particular people, like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Mila Kunis. Whose idea was that and who comes up with those names?

MS: (Laughing) That came out of our first season when they were doing voices for us. I think it started with Mila, if I’m correct. She was like, well, I want a credit at the end of it, because she couldn’t believe we actually had our own show. We’re like, all right. We didn’t really think much of it. And then with Sarah, I think she heard that Mila was doing it, and she was like, well if she gets one, I want to get one, and we were like, all right. It’s just kind of continued and gone on. That’s something our editorial department runs past Seth and I before every episode goes out.

BVB: That’s awesome.

MS: That’s our nod to our friends.

BVB: I just saw where she is going to a Marine ball with a guy from You Tube, which was kind of crazy.

MS: I’ve known her for a very long time now and she is just a wonderful person. It’s great to see her exploding onto the scene even though she’s been working for however long…I’m always impressed…I just saw “Black Swan” for the first time. I should have seen it when it was out, but I have a 2-year-old, and I thought she was amazing in it. It only makes me want to bring her back to “Robot Chicken” and have her do a parody of herself for that.

BVB: All right, so this is my best friend’s question, which I have to ask. Is there a bionic dog item on the Kung Pao Bistro menu?

MS: A bionic dog?

BVB: He was curious what else is on the menu that you got robot chicken from.

MS: There is no bionic dog, but there is a Seafood Commissioner. I’m not sure what that is.

BVB: That’s kind of scary sounding.

MS: I know. Perhaps we’ll do a show called that one day.

---

Living Large: Reality Series About Plus Size Models

Posted Jul 25, 2011 by Walt Belcher

Updated Jul 25, 2011 at 02:55 PM

Meet plus-size models Leslie, Tiffany, Audrey, Nikki and Heather the stars of “Big Sexy, ” a new three episode reality special that looks at plus-seized models.

They are fabulous, fashion-forward and not afraid to show off their fuller figures. They are the ladies of TLC’s newest three-part series, which premieres on Tuesday, August 30 at 10 p.m. 

From designing clothing to booking modeling gigs, “BIG SEXY” will follow the ladies as they take on Manhattan to make plus-size sexiness more mainstream. Weight bias is notoriously rampant in their chosen industries, and it is their mission to prove that a bigger girl – the girl that most Americans can relate to—can break the mold and change the fashion and cultural norms that have restricted and rejected them for so long. 

Each episode will feature the women as they attend major industry events, parties and opportunities, all while giving a candid peek into the balancing of their personal, dating and family relationships as plus-size women.

---

Style Network Profiles Psychic Next Door

Posted Jul 25, 2011 by Walt Belcher

Updated Jul 25, 2011 at 02:43 PM

“Psychic in Suburbia,” airing Saturday at 9 p.m. on The Style Network, follows the work of Maureen Hancock – a wife, mom and Boston-area suburbanite who claims to speak with the dead.

She’s a prophet who turns a profit. She runs a successful company and is author of “The Medium Next Door.” 

She says her mission is to help as many lives as she can by communing with the departed.  Through spirit communication, she claims tos bring closure, clarity and solace to lost or grieving souls. She also makes money off this stuff which some might find less than honest. 

Skeptics would say she’s playing the old “cold reading” con game. But you can watch and decide for yourself.

 

---