Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air is a great film. What makes it so remarkable isn’t just that it’s timely and brilliant – it’s that it started out to be one thing and then, when the world’s financial climate changed radically, Reitman adapted it to fit the times in a way that is, topically at least, irony free – a first for him.
Ryan Bingham [George Clooney] is a corporate assassin. When companies downsize and don’t have the stones to do the firing themselves, Bingham’s boss [Jason Bateman] sends him to do the dirty work – which he does in a calculatedly semi-warm, dignified manner.
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George Clooney,
Jason Reitman,
Paramount Home Video,
Up in the Air,
Vera Farmiga
Although he only wrote one episode, VEGA$ bore the stamp of series creator Michael Mann. It was a slick detective series set in Las Vegas – a place where, especially then, the flashy façade hid a grittier reality. The big hotels and casinos [like the long gone Stardust Hotel and The Sands] where not family friendly, but Family friendly. Dean Martin [and his producer Ken Lane], Wayne Newton and June Wilkinson [in Pajama Tops, boasts a marquee in one ep] were the big draws.
In this Vegas, Dan Tanna [Robert Urich] was the P.I. of note. He had a working relationship [strained, but working] with the Vegas police – especially Lt. Dave Nelson [Mission: Impossible’s Greg Morris] and Sgt. Bella Archer [Naomi Stevens]. His assistants included his secretary and ex-showgirl, Bea [Phyllis Davis], current showgirl Angie [Judy Anders] and gumshoe wannabe, Bobby Binzer [Bart Braverman]. Tony Curtis had a recurring role as casino owner [allegedly “connected”] Philip “Slick” Roth.
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Judy Landers,
Paramount Home Video,
Phyllis Davis,
Robert Urich,
Tony Curtis
The Lovely Bones never gained traction at the box office, maybe it’ll find it’s audience on Blu-ray and DVD this April. The Blu-ray will include a 15 Part Documentary called Filming The Lovely Bones—An extensive production diary in 15 segments hosted by Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens that follows the film’s shoot and post-production work on the visual effects. There’s no word on whether this will be presented in Picture In Picture on the Blu-ray version. The two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles.
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Blu-Ray,
Paramount Home Video
I have no idea if David Shore was influenced by Becker when he was creating Dr. Gregory House, but as I screened the third season of Becker, I couldn’t help but think that it wouldn’t have taken much to turn Ted Danson’s second hit series [six seasons] into a drama.
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Becker,
Matthew Weiner,
Paramount Home Video,
Ted Danson
Lenny Bruce went to jail for taking street language onstage and giving it a context. Richard Pryor went to jail for drugs – and giving vulgarity music. George Carlin took a more philosophical approach but still got arrested. By the time that David Milch’s Deadwood gave vulgarity a Shakespearean poetry, the days of jail time for vulgarity were long past. Which is too bad.
Aziz Ansari does a lovely job with other people’s material [see: The Hangover and Parks and Recreation] but when it comes to his stand-up act, captured on Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening [a title clearly meant to be ironic], his major contribution is volume.
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Aziz Ansari,
Paramount Home Video
Over the course of its five-year run, Taxi was one of the best-loved sitcoms in North America because its comedy was derived from the creation and development of characters who were fleshed out and felt real – even [or maybe especially] the burnt out, but warm-hearted “Reverend Jim” Ignatowski [Christopher Lloyd] and the Gravases, Latka [Andy Kaufman] and Simka [Carole Kane].
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Christopher Lloyd,
Danny DeVito,
Judd Hirsch,
Paramount Home Video
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