|
"BURN NOTICE: SEASON THREE" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
It’s the third year in which former spy Michael Weston has been burned, and he’s still trying to make a living in Miami. He seems to be getting closer to the people who have burned him, but around every corner, there are more mysteries. This season sees Michael reaching out to people who can help fix his past, including a blood-thirsty spy broker (Ben Shankman) and a freelancer (Chris Vance) who might help him find who burned him. However, as loose ends are tied up, more emerge to set Michael on a different path.
WHAT I LIKED
By the third season, the characters have all gelled. The tension has hit a steady-state between Michael and Fiona. They seem to have resolved their sexual past, or at least agreed to ignore it so it doesn’t get in the way. Sam has reached full comic relief mode, and any lingering animosities that Michael has against him for his FBI informing is a thing of the past.
The show also fully utilizes Maddie, Michael’s mom. She’s my least favorite of the characters, but they have done their best to bring her into the fold and make her part of the team. She’s no longer just the nagging mom. She gets a shot at her own episode (with former TV co-star Tyne Daley, no less) and does her best to protect her son.
Looking back on the “Burn Notice” phenomenon, I think that this season will be seen as when the show really hit its stride, which is not uncommon for third seasons. The cast is comfortable. The writers know what works. And the series is a hell of a lot of fun.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Aside from the season being relatively short, which is par for the course on a cable channel, I have to admit that the overall storyline of Michael searching for who burned him is wearing thing. The real charm of the series to me is the “Fall Guy” aspect, featuring a client of the week and a creative way the team fixes things, while blowing a lot of shit up.
Adding too much depth to the story works against the series sustaining itself. We can only see Michael double-crossed so many times before we wonder if we’ll ever uncover any real truths of his case. I’d rather just watch Team Weston do their job as private contractors.
Oh, and God love Jeffrey Donovan, but his crappy accents have to stop. He’s a great actor... until he slaps on an accent, then he becomes a cross between William Shatner and a pretentious community theater diva.
DVD FEATURES
The features on the season three DVD are relatively thin, and it’s problematic that FOX did not release a Blu-ray set like they did with season two. The featurettes included are “Smash, Crash, Boom: Inside the Burn Notice Stunt Unit” and a look at the “Burn Notice” appearance at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of the modern spy show... and people who like to watch shit get blown up.
|
"FLASHFORWARD: PART ONE, SEASON ONE" DVDReview by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: ABC Studios Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
On October 6, 2009, the entire world suffered a mysterious black-out. Every person lost consciousness for less than three minutes, then woke up with a vision of their future on April 29, 2010. This global black-out caused massive destruction and the death of 20 million people through accidents and crashes. The FBI assigns a task force to study the black-out and its ramifications. In the process, we see the man lives of the people touched by this phenomenon – from the people who think they caused it to the authorities working on the case and even the people who didn’t see a glimpse of the future.
WHAT I LIKED
With “LOST” coming to an end, many viewers like me were hoping for a show that could replace it. While “FlashForward” isn’t as smart or as twisted as “LOST” was, it had an opportunity to serve that purpose. Like “LOST,” “FlashForward is an ensemble show with a large cast of many interesting people.
“FlashForward” also has a huge scope, and it has the potential of being a massively powerful story that spans time and space. There’s aspects of a police procedural as well as that of a medical drama. Plus, it has some fantastic actors in it, including John Cho, Dominic Monaghan and Jack Davenport.
I never watched “FlashForward” in its initial first season run, but the DVD has me hooked.
Too bad they canceled the damn thing before it could really take off.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
While this show has certain aspects similar to my beloved “LOST,” it suffers from some character problems. First, the lead Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) is a little bit brittle for me. He seems to give into his flash forward more than he gives into trust in his family. Likewise, his daughter (and all the kids on the show) are horribly characterized and have the depth and annoyance of a child from a Michael Crichton book.
Certain roles on the show are interesting, particularly the dynamic between John Cho’s character of Demitri Noh (who doesn’t experience a flash forward and interprets that as he is going to die) and Gabrielle Union (who is determined to make her vision of marrying Demitri). However, others are completely uninteresting to me, including the babysitter Nicole and her budding relationship with suicidal doctor Bryce. But that’s to be expected from an ensemble show.
DVD FEATURES
For as big of a show as this is and for as big of a bang it started with, “FlashForward” has some nice, although limited, featurettes. There’s “Creating a Catastrophe: The Effects of a Global Blackout” and “FlashForward: A Look Ahead,” which teases the second half of season one.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of ensemble character dramas with a fantastical element to the story.
|
"KYLE XY: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: ABC Family Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Now that Kyle and Jessi have found each other and are uncovering their pasts, they find themselves in a bigger world. Kyle is learning the truth about Latnok and how he can relate to Cassidy, a mysterious person from his past. Meanwhile, Jessi relates more to Sarah, here “mother.” On the more human side, the Tragers are facing more challenges with Nicole and Stephen having some marital issues, Josh dealing with his girlfriend’s cancer and Lori gaining confidence and resolving some boy issues.
WHAT I LIKED
There are two types of teen shows... the ones that run on the CW, which tend to be a little more edgier and sexier but full of way more gossipy angst, and the shows that run on ABC Family. The latter tend to be a little more family friendly and open up issues to talk about with your kids. From this standpoint, I like ABC Family a little better. It’s not trying so hard to be edgy but rather tells a somewhat safe teen drama.
I also have always liked the sci-fi elements of “Kyle XY,” from the first season. It’s a neat show that mixes teen drama with fantastic elements. The more the show has delved into the background of Kyle, Jessi and Latnok, I became more interested. I really am not into the dating life of Lori Trager.
This third and final season offers the most development from the sci-fi end of the show, and it also develops the character of Jessi better, giving her more depth than she had when she showed up killing snakes and hunters. For a teen sci-fi show, it ain’t bad. I’ll take it over sparkly vampires any day.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Like other ABC Family shows (like “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”), this show doesn’t have the best acting I’ve ever seen. It can actually be quite bad, and this is an aspect which the CW excels at. Still, there’s a familiarity with the cheesy performances of “Kyle XY” that I do kind of enjoy.
In general, I’m not wild about the dating angst of the characters, though I will give the show credit for taking the Josh/Andy storyline farther and to greater depths than I ever thought they would. But that Amanda character as a love interest for Kyle has to go.
DVD FEATURES
Being the last season, the DVD includes “Kyle XY: Future Revealed,” a featurette that looks at what would have happened if the series had gotten a fourth season. This is a nice touch added to this DVD, which gives a nod to the fans. We didn’t get to see this on “Popular,” which ended abruptly, but we did get to see it on “October Road,” which had a low-rent but fulfilling denouement.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of a little sci-fi with a lotta teen drama.
|
"ARMY WIVES: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: Lifetime Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The drama surrounding the lives of the women at home at Fort Marshall as they support their families continues. Frank and Denise are struggling to keep their marriage alive while keeping their son safe. Joan and Roland face the challenges of being new parents with one on active duty. Pamela and Chase are having trouble dealing with his commitment to Delta Force. Roxy is fighting to keep the old Hump Bar alive while Trevor is trying to move up the Army’s ranks. And Claudia Joy learns some medical news while she and Michael try to handle a rebellious Emmalin.
WHAT I LIKED
I find that I enjoy “Army Wives” in spite of myself. It’s not my cup of tea by a long shot. It’s a Lifetime program, and it’s geared mainly for women. However, I will be the first to say that it is a very well produced show with plenty of drama and character development.
There’s a certain familiarity and comfort I feel with the characters, which have grown into their own by the third season. I root for them and find myself interested in their lives, even when the writing doesn’t always take them to the most realistic places.
This season has really clicked on the show, showing the best development with the characters of Joan and Roland who were very two-dimensional in the first season. The series also takes some neat risks, including a specific mid-season episode that was a love letter to the 40s, putting the cast in a retro storyline playing different parts.
My biggest compliment to “Army Wives” is that it differentiates itself from all the other military dramas that are on the big screen by giving a positive look at the soldiers’ lives and those of their families. They may have their challenges, but they aren’t all psychopathic nut cases that are ready to snap at any minute, which is how Hollywood normally likes to unrealistically portray the American soldier.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
As it has been pointed out in the special features before, the drama that happens in this show is so much beyond that of a real life Army family. While there are certain grains of truth in the conflicts, things tend to be simplified a bit, and a hell of a lot of challenges are crammed into just a few characters.
The realism of the show suffers at time to make the hour-long drama format, and there is always a certain degree of forcing characters into new problems for the sake of continuing the show. But overall, it’s a neat little show that has grown on me.
DVD FEATURES
For a third season DVD, there’s still a nice assortment of features. We have bloopers and deleted scenes, along with a series of webisodes featuring the characters of Joan and Roland Burton and Jeremy Sherwood.
Like previous DVDs, there’s a spotlight on “Army Wives Gives Back” in which the cast and crew of “Army Wives” surprises a deserving military family. Finally, the “Stationed in the South” featurette takes a look at the lives of the cast and crew as they run production in Charleston, South Carolina.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Women who like a dash of military in their drama.
