Dateline: The Pink Gang

Not a big fan of ‘Dateline’. I did watch it sometimes when my fave news person, Jana Wendt was hosting. There is nothing wrong with the program, it just isn’t in my schedule.

As a media writer though I am sent preview copies of programs on a regular basis and this encourages me to watch ‘other’ programs that perhaps were not in my normal personal viewing schedule. This has been a major ‘wake-up’ call for me, with SBS and ABC becoming a regular part of my new personal viewing line-up.

This week on ‘Dateline’, Amos Roberts travels to India to meet a courageous women called Sampat Pal, a woman that will not stand for government laws that do not protect women’s rights and for police that regularly accept bribes, which allow for the continuation of criminal activity.

I think it is really important that we take the time to appreciate how lucky we are as a country. We all know about third world countries where people are starving, however, there is also more ‘developed’ countries that still have outdated laws that do not protect the civil basic rights of human beings. Sampat herself was forced into marriage at the age of 12 and was pregnant at 15.

I think we all realise that that there is a LOT to be done in the world but we often are overcome with the magnitude of it all and then step back. Sampat Pal is just one woman who said enough is enough and this fabulous crusader is an inspiration to even us lucky ones here in Australia. She has devoted her life to challenging the hierarchies and protocols that keep India’s poor in place. Sampat started a ‘gang’ called ‘The Pink Gang’ who travel India offering hands on intervention for abused child brides and corrupt officials. The gang seeks peaceful resolutions but will resort to violence if necessary. This is no ordinary gang. They now have a membership over 40 000 and are quite the fear to law breakers and government officials.

If Dateline is not your thing and you are usually watching ‘Talkin’  ‘Bout Your Generation’, ‘Bones’ and ‘Border Security’, I would encourage you to flick over to SBS, check out this powerful and inspirational story and be reminded of what our fellow brothers and sisters are living through in other countries.

The 18 time Walkley winner ‘Dateline’ and the program on ‘The Pink Gang’ airs THIS Sunday at 8:30pm on SBS.

Jerry Seinfeld in NBC's 'The Marriage Ref'.

Some may ask what is ‘The Marriage Ref’?…and rightly so. Despite heavy promotion during NBC’s Olympic coverage, the actual promos didn’t seem to reveal much about Seinfeld’s latest comedy endeavour. But following the 2010 Winter Olympics’ Closing Ceremony, a sneak peek was broadcast giving the entire nation look at what Seinfeld has up his sleeve with the new series, ‘The Marriage Ref.’

Last century Seinfeld was a household name around the world and a ratings powerhouse for NBC. When the sitcom ‘Seinfeld’ ended, NBC’s reign as the number 1 network dissipated with it, and for the past five years they have been languishing in fourth place. So when Seinfeld proposed his new project to NBC early last year, it was greenlit immediately.

What seemed to be a routine husband/wife argument between Jerry Seinfeld and his wife Jessica, who conveniently had a friend over, has turned into a TV Show. Awkwardly placed, Jessica’s friend decided to leave, rather than see her out the door, Jerry asked her to be the ‘ref’ aka judge as Jerry and his wife pleaded their case.

The TV show is a cross between a reality, comedy and panel show. Our host is Tom Papa, who looks like he has been separated from birth with ‘Cougar Town’s’ Ian Gomez. He is joined by Jerry Seinfeld and two other celebrities as they provide their ‘expert opinion’ on the relationship at hand. Tonight’s episode featured Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) and Kelly Ripa.

In the sneak peak, we are shown clips of Danielle and Kevin who are arguing over a stuffed pet and Dianah and Greg disputing over whether or not a stripper pole should be fitted in the bedroom. The panel of experts attempts to parody the clip and the ‘contestants’ but it fails to draw many laughs, Baldwin came up with some good one liners but Seinfeld and Ripa didn’t add much to the panel.

Further, the corniness provided by Natalie Morales (NBC newsreader) the statistician who provided some useless numbers, some sports guy Marv Albert who might as well not be there and Tom Papa giving his ‘verdict,’  ‘The Marriage Ref’ isn’t NBC’s best replacement for Leno.

But who knows? NBC did include a clip show of what’s to come which included some big names in Ricky Gervais, Larry David and Madonna all on the same panel which had me excited otherwise it left a lot to be desired. Granted NBC has ordered only seven hours and the star power on display in the upcoming episodes, I’ll be returning for seconds.

‘The Marriage Ref’ premieres in its permanent timeslot, Thursday on NBC.

2 out of 5 stars

Ben Whishaw and Bill Paterson star in ABC1's 'Criminal Justice'.

OLDIES BEWARE: This Friday night thriller is no ‘Midsomer Murders’.

In this compelling and addictive two part UK mystery, murder, crime, justice and the law are mixed in with drug use, prisons and a young man’s bare bum.

However, if you skip this one, you will be missing one of the best crime thrillers in quite some time.

YOUNG ONES BEWARE: ABC1 Friday night dramas aren’t always just for the ‘oldies’. Check this one out.

When I received the review for this program and saw that it would be airing in the Friday 8:30 slot on ABC1 and that it was from the UK, I thought it would be another similar show to other Friday night stalwarts such as ‘Silent Witness’ and ‘Midsomer Murders’.

These shows usually skew to an older demographic although being a person in my 20’s, I have enjoyed shows like ‘Wire in the Blood’. So, I put the series to the side and thought I would watch it “sometime”.

However, the press release that went with the DVD was quite compelling, it was the winner of a number of awards including an International Emmy, BAFTA, Writer’s Guild of Great Britain and Broadcast Award. The plot sounded quite tempting. So, being a two part series (beginning March 12th) I thought I would at least watch the first part.

So along came the first 15 minutes; young people, sport, nudity, drugs, violence and a grizzly death. BANG! My nanna usually watches those Friday night ABC1 mysteries and she will get a bit of a shock. However, moving past that and it is easy to see why this mini-series has won a multitude of awards. It is simply compelling. It also raises more questions beyond what we have already been asking such as, Is the law an ass? Is the legal system really about truth and justice or is it a case of who has the best lawyer, who can act the best on the stand, what legal technicalities can be introduced and is truth only a tiny element of a case? The series poses the theme of truth being optional; where what counts is playing the game, in order to come out on top.

The main young cast member Ben Whishaw who plays Ben Coulter, a 21 year old man who embarks on a night of spontaneous fun with a sexy stranger, Melanie (Ruth Negga), is simply a young and rising star with incredible star potential. His character doesn’t expect to wake up to find her dead body, covered in her blood and holding the murder weapon with no recollection of the night’s events.

So to young people out there that think that the Friday 8:30 slot on ABC1 is just for the ‘oldies’ then you may miss out on something as incredible and as compelling as this 2 part mystery which is not to be missed. And to the ‘oldies’ out there that think all the programs in that slot are the same, then I challenge you to give this fabulous UK thriller a go; you might see a bare young man’s bum now and then, but if you get past that, it surely will be worthwhile. Anyway what is a bum here and there, when most of the other shows are full of violence and grizzly deaths?

If you were watching this in the UK you would have had to watch it over 5 episodes. Lucky for us, ABC1 presents the show as a two part mini series. Even better news is that a second season has been completed which I hope the ABC will screen  in 2010.

So YES, I did watch the second part immediately and was satisfied to the end. Now do I recommend it for my Nanna? Hmmm…

Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's 'Shutter Island'.

As far as directors go, Martin Scorsese is one of the greats. With films like ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘The Departed’ up his sleeve, his name alone is enough to get moviegoers in seats.

So to heard that ‘Shutter Island’ had been pushed back four months — due to Paramount not having “the financing in 2009 to spend the $50 to $60 million necessary to market a big awards pic like this” — came as a bit of a surprise. February has never been a huge opening box office month for studios.

Fortunately, working in its favour is the the fact that buzz surrounding James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ has finally begun to slow.

So how does Scorsese’s latest flick stack up against his growing list of iconic films?

‘Shutter Island’ is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, whose previous novels have been turned into Academy Award winning/nominated films ‘Mystic River’ and ‘Gone, Baby, Gone’.

The film centres on two US marshals, Edward “Teddy” Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who travel to an island off Boston Harbour to investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane.

On the island, they meet the hospital administrator Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), who they find is unwilling to provide them complete access to the facility throughout their investigation.

The plot begins to thicken when a hurricane hits the facility, leaving them trapped on the island. During this time, Daniels begins to piece together a series mysterious clues, which lead him down a path to uncover what’s really happening on the island.

Despite being marketed as a edge-of-your seat horror flick, ‘Shutter Island’ is really more of a deeply threaded psychological thriller.

Scorsese pulls out all the tricks, from dark and harrowing environments, to long foreboding shots. It appears like an homage to an old Hitchcock thriller.

The biggest let down is the film’s feeble plot, which when you take into consideration all the build up and atmospheric conditioning which Scorsese has carefully crafted, the ending unfortunately fails to meet its own expectations. There’s far too much exposition, for what is considerably a less than earth-shattering plot twist.

Having said that, ‘Shutter Island’ is so precisely crafted, from a technical and directorial standpoint, the film is a beautiful work of art.

Curiously, one of the most memorable elements of the film was the score, which is actually an ensemble of previously recorded material. Scorsese re-teams with his long time collaborator music supervisor Robbie Robertson to create a rather cohesive soundscape. It lacks the subtly of traditional original score, but memorable none the less.

Cinema aficionados will appreciate the film’s strong self-awareness as a genre piece, while average moviegoers are likely to leave satisfied knowing they’ve witnessed more than just an edge-of-your-seat horror flick.

The film isn’t likely to win Best Picture at next year’s Oscars, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few nominations in the creative categories like Best Cinematography or Best Editing.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Rose Byrne stars in FX's 'Damages'.

If you’ve never watched an episode of ”Damages” before, well Season 3 could officially be your jumping in point. As far as legal dramas on television go, there is nothing like it. Impeccably acted, incredibly written and intricately plotted, its easily one of the most confounding, head-unscrewing dramas around. This is not television to be taken lightly by any means.

Perhaps a jumping-in point is perhaps a little much. There is a long history between civil law great Patty Hewes and her once-protégée Ellen Parsons that the summing up over the pre credits montage glosses over way too easily. Deception, underhanded dealings, lies and betrayal – all the really juicy stuff in law are just regular occurrences in the past two seasons. And while Season 3 starts with Ellen now out of Patty’s firm and working for the District At tourney’s office, you can bet your bottom dollar that she’ll be pulled back in soon enough.

Certainly something that’s noticeably missing is the head-to-head grudge match between Patty and Ellen. What made the early seasons great is Ellen slowly realising the lengths to which Patty would go to get what she wants, and then the trajectory of her going back at Patty. Not so much a full blow war, but the subtleties in the dialogue and their characters is what made their relationship must see viewing every week.

The fact that time and space now separate the two means, again hopefully only for the moment, its about coming to grips with the case of the season. Again, its another CEO who has frauded his company’s investors and lost them all their money. Including a ‘Damages’ regular as the second episode drops into the plot. So Patty is firmly ready to bring the money-cheating bastard down; except that she is doing so through the seemingly innocent son who claims to know very little about the situation and simply wants to help the unflappable Patty in an effort to reclaim his family’s name, if for no other reason than to protect his wife and son.

As is always the case with ‘Damages’, there is waaay more to the plot here than meets the eye, especially in a single episode; or in the case of this review, two episodes. By the end of the second instalment you’ll find yourself wondering what the hell is going on; no more or less so than any other season at this stage. But for those that love being confused and tested by their television shows rather than the passive experience most shows usually afford, ‘Damages’ is a series like no other.

The enigmatic unfolding of a seasons mystery is one that certainly requires dedication to the series; thankfully each run has a brisk 13 episode commitment. But its that tight episode order that maintains the highest level of writing a television show can muster these days; not only in the brilliantly written and defined characters, but also in delivering only the most important details in each episode to make it wholly compelling viewing. Don’t be fooled, you can be certain that everything, even the seemingly minor drug bust that Ellen’s involved in in the first two episodes, has something to do with what is happening six months later.

Perhaps a little contrived, but hey, its TV. This is what makes it compelling, slightly hyper-real, but always amazingly taut viewing each and every episode.

Other than the skilfully written episodes and characters, ‘Damages’ is also known for its brilliant (but also expensive) casting coups; Martin Short, Lily Tomlin, Campbell Scott have all featured brilliantly so far, as well as 24 alum Reiko Aylesworth, the mysterious architect hitting on Patty in Keith Carradine and even another Aussie Sarah Wynter is still to turn up.

So far, Martin Short will be robbed not to get an Emmy nod come September as a guest star. And no doubt completing the trifecta will be Close after two Best Actress in a Drama series wins in a row. She is that good.

This show is that good. Season 3, only two episodes in, is that good. Its certainly an acquired taste with its fractured plotting methods, which has shown in its continual lacklustre ratings – even cable networks take that into account now, so nothing is safe. It requires dedication, intelligence and patience, but every season has been worth it, and Season 3 so far looks like its lost none of its ability to draw you in and keep you guessing until the very end. If only all television was this good.

'My Kitchen Rules' judges Pete Evans and Manu Feildel.

When Network Ten announced plans to scrap ‘Big Brother’ for ‘MasterChef Australia’ back in November 2008, there was a resounding “huh?” across the industry. Little did we know that a mere 7-months later ‘MasterChef’ would be breaking ratings records in Australia.

Skip forward 1 month and Seven have announced plans to revive the ‘Rules’ brand in a new cooking format, pitting state against state and kitchen against kitchen.

If Seven were ever going to take another stab at a cooking show, then why not try to leverage the success of their most resounding cooking format?

So after several weeks of heavy promotion and publicity, ‘My Kitchen Rules’ is finally here. But will it set kitchens on fire?

From the get go, ‘My Kitchen Rules’ would be in for a tough battle, trying to beat down the stigma of being just a ‘MasterChef’ rip-off. In that regard, the ‘Rules’ name probably works strongly in its favour, seeming more like revival and less of a copycat format.

Renowned chefs Manu Feildel and Pete Evans play judge on ‘Kitchen Rules’, who are probably the greatest assets of the show. Coincidentally (or not), both Feildel and Evans also provided guidance to the aspiring chefs on ‘MasterChef’ last year. I gather they won’t be receiving invitations back to the ‘MasterChef’ kitchen this year…

It’s clear that ‘My Kitchen Rules’ has taken plenty of inspiration from its Network Ten counterpart. From the show’s (arguably-simulated) high drama presentation, to the whimsical mood-setting soundtrack, there are ‘MasterChef’ cues written all over it.

None of this is a surprise really. This style has become somewhat synonymous with the reality TV format — just watch ‘The Biggest Loser’, ‘The Amazing Race’ or ‘Survivor’.

The problem of utilising this high-drama presentation style on ‘My Kitchen Rules’ is that no matter how different the show may be, audiences will automatically be reminded of ‘MasterChef’.

To its advantage ‘My Kitchen Rules’ differs from ‘MasterChef’, in that it pits couples against couples — a competition style which proved highly successful for ‘My Restaurant Rules’ and Nine’s renovation spectacular ‘The Block’.

What made these formats so engaging was the highly competitive nature of the contestants, whose ego’s became even more inflated as the series progressed. This made for must-see TV back in 2003-2004.

But will this be enough to keep viewers glued to the screens in 2010?

Just examining the most popular reality TV shows on the air today — ‘MasterChef’, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, ‘The Biggest Loser’, ‘Beauty and the Geek’ — theres clearly a new trend where reality shows pride themselves on being a positive and uplifting. Contestants are guided and nurtured, despite being in competition with each other.

It’s possible that the spitefulness and negative nature of ‘My Kitchen’ contestants judging each other could prove fatal for Seven.

Just look at last year’s biggest reality flop, Nine’s renovation disaster ‘homeMADE’, which pitted one team of designers against another. The show was fast paced and had plenty of drama, but there was also a significant amount of manipulation and sabotage at play.

Even ‘Big Brother’ struggled to maintain its popularity once this new “positive reality show” trend set in.

Will ‘My Kitchen Rules’ be the one to buck the trend? Only time will tell.

If it doesn’t catch on, Seven will no doubt need to significantly rejig the format if they even hope to retain somewhat of an audience over the season. Scrapping its ludicrous and obviously flawed contestant-on-contestant judging system would be a start. Distancing itself from the elephant in the room that is ‘MasterChef’ may be slightly more difficult.

2 out of 5 stars

Shiri Appleby and Britt Robertson in 'Life Unexpected'.

Prior to The CW, there existed The WB network – this was a place to find heartwarming, family dramas where the whole family could sit in front of the TV to enjoy the likes of ‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Everwood.’ Unfortunately due to financial difficulties it was forced to merge with fellow struggling network UPN. This saw the end of The WB’s distinct brand, giving rise to what we see on The CW right now, with most shows focusing on filthy rich teenagers who have too much time on their hands.

Last fall, The CW tried to buck the trend with ‘Privileged,’ which coincidentally focused on filthy rich girls without the sex and bitching, but that failed. This time around they have come up with ‘Life Unexpected,’ ‘Life Unexpected’ was so different to The CW’s other shows that The CW didn’t even know what to do with it. The title of the show changed three times in the space of a couple of months, from ‘Light Years’ to ‘Parental Discretion Advised’ to the ridiculous ‘Life UneXpected’ and then finally settling on ‘Life Unexpected.’ And for those who haven’t noticed, the capitalization of the ‘X’ was supposed to put emphasis on its main antagonist Lux.

Lux (Brittany Robertson) has been in the foster care system for a long and treacherous 15 years, on the eve of her sixteenth birthday she decides she wants to free herself from the system, to do this she must be legally emancipated, which requires the signatures of her birth parents. Created by Liz Tigelaar, this is where ‘Life Unexpected’ picks up the story. To obtain the signatures she must seek out her parents, her father Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha) is a thirty-something living above a bar still unsure of his future. On the other hand, Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby), her birth mum, partners up with Kyle, her soon to be husband (Kerr Smith) on a successful morning radio program.

Lux was a result of an accidental one night stand between high school students Nate and Cate. But when Lux confronts her parents, one of which who didn’t know she existed and the other who didn’t give a second thought of keeping her, both are naturally shocked. To complicate the matter, Lux’s emancipation hearing is rejected by the judge handing Cate and Nate joint custody of their biological daughter despite just meeting the distant individuals. This forces Cate and Nate to realise they must mature quickly and become responsible parents.

No doubt, the proceeding episodes will focus on the complicated matters they face as they try to juggle their everyday lives with the addition of a teenager, Lux’s eagerness to find out her parent’s past and the possible problem of having Lux, Cate, Nate (and his friends) and Kyle live under the same roof and or the fight for custody of Lux.

Despite the plot holes – the bleeding obvious, why wouldn’t anyone want a smart, pretty teenage caucasian as their daughter, there is plenty to like about this warm family drama, ‘Life Unexpected.’ The characters are funny, charming and the relationships are well played out making them believable and hopefully this will be the breakout role for Polaha who charmed and entertained us on the short lived CW series ‘Valentine.’ ‘Life Unexpected’ is a flashback to the feel good dramas on The WB, where it was more about being nice to each other than bitching and whining.

4 out of 5 stars

Sam Worthington

The widely held consensus from the more senior of filmgoers these days can be summed up with the old adage “they don’t make movies like they used to”. It is of course most commonly attached to films with an overload of special effects that take precedent over story and characters.

Having been on a self-imposed hiatus for the better part of the last decade, James Cameron certainly wouldn’t have been the first choice in a director to make a comeback with the intention of completely blowing said expression out of the water. But, within minutes of Avatar starting; nay, before the opening title card even appears, everyone who has ever seen a movie will be saying they don’t make movies like they used to anymore. Thank you, Mr Cameron.

Its without question that Cameron has invested everything he has into this. You can only imagine the technical dexterity required to create what in all reality is one of the most strikingly original, and utterly groundbreaking, examples of visuals on offer here. The detail and scope in the imagery that Cameron has created is incredible. He’s created a world unlike anything cinemagoers will have ever seen, and his achievement in this is nothing less than a revelation in the advancement in animation, cinematography and motion capture technology.

Knowing full well the time and effort taken to create this world and the characters that inhabit it, the millions of dollars spent – its been rumored to be the most expensive movie of all time – and the development of said technology from the ground up, the evidence is all there on the screen. In glorious 3D nonetheless, no expense has been spared and its perhaps even more incredible than you could even imagine.

As groundbreaking visually as the film undoubtedly is, personally there is still the undeniable feeling of animation niggling in the back of your mind. For something as hyper-realistic as it strives to be, I found it at times hard to be fooled. Its hardly a flaw though, as the wow factor is distracting enough throughout for it to remain nothing more than an after thought.

There are other criticisms here though amongst the inherent brilliance of the film. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, there are some reservations regarding characterizations. You wont be in for many surprises as the relationships between characters evolve, particularly Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri being (Zoe Saldaña) central to the movie. But even moreso the archtypical characters themselves; the war-mongering smack-talking military colonel hell-bent on destruction, the money-hungry businessman with no morals, the scientists who are hopelessly devoted to the indigenous Na’vi and their plight against the destruction of their home. Knowing all that, they rarely venture off the well-worn path and everything pretty much follows on where you’d expect as the film progresses.
Which of course leads into the plotting; much like the obviousness of the characters, the film as a whole is generally unsurprising in regards to the unfolding of the story in its most basic form. Boy meets girl, boy stuffs something up, girl gets angry, girl forgives boy, queue big fight scenes, live happily ever after once big bad guys are dead/gone.

In its defense though, none of the negatives here sully the experience at all. Despite its well worn chestnuts, it never feels quite so tedious considering Cameron’s background primarily in the action film genre. The balance is handled quite well, mixing the subtle romantic elements of the story amongst the evils of humanity through destruction of natural resources for financial gain. It will feel heavy handed to the cynics out there, but its really never that bad.
Cameron’s creation of a rich history for the Na’vi people also help enhance the plots more one-dimensional aspects. Not to mention the rousing action, battle scenes complimenting the beautiful, intricate details of the world that are equally as inherent in the film.

Ideally, Avatar is an experience that is best felt with minimal knowledge of the surprises that lay in store. Even knowing the weaknesses of the story, its entirely possible to enjoy this on its purely superficial points as they are so immersive and just so incredible. James Cameron has proven that even going without making a film for over 10 years he can still impress. Simply amazing.

5 out of 5 stars

by Mathew Muratore

'Desperate Housewives' The Complete Fifth Season is out now.

Fans of ‘Desperate Housewives’ were left in shock at the end of season four when the show unexpectedly leaped forward five years into the future  giving  ’Desperate Housewives: The Complete Fifth Season’ a fresh new start for the residents of Wisteria Lane.

The lives of the main housewives has changed dramatically Bree (Marcia Cross) has now received Martha Stewart type fame with a successful catering company and a cook book on the way, Lynette (Felicity Huffman) is now dealing with her rebellious teenage sons, Susan (Teri Hatcher) has separated from Mike (James Denton) and Gabrielle (Eva Longoria Parker) has undergone the most significant change losing her looks as a result of having two children.

Eva Longoria Parker was the real standout of the season the transformation her character had undergone was in typical ‘Desperate Housewives’ fashion both humorous and touching at the same time. Its fascinating looking back on the way Gabrielle was in season one to what she had become in season five even though Gabrielle re-gains her looks she never fully reverts back to her old self with many lessons learnt along the way by dealing with financial struggles, her husband’s blindness and raising her two daughters.

Despite the lives of the housewives sustaining enough interest across thye 24 episodes it is unfortunate that the mystery does not live up to ‘Desperate Housewives’ standards. The mystery surrounding Edie’s (Nicollette Sheridan) husband; Dave Williams (Neal McDonough) seeking revenge for the death of his wife and daughter was predictable and the individual he was after was obvious from the beginning and it lacked any of the show’s trademark twists and turns.

The show celebrated its 100^th episode during season five and the episode remains a standout of the entire series. The episode involved a series of flashbacks centred around resident handyman Eli Scruggs wonderfully played by Beau Bridges and how he touched the lives of each of the housewives. The flashbacks allow us to see the return of old favourites including Rex Van De Kamp (Steven Culp), Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook) and one of the few appearances of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong).

The various flashback episodes including the episode ‘Mirror Mirror’ that fills in the gaps during the five year jump are the real standouts of the season including a tribute episode after the surprise death of one of the housewives.

Special Features

The amount of special features is impressive with audio commentary with cast and crew on the premier episode “You’re going to love tomorrow” and the 100^th episode “The best thing that ever could have happened.” There is also an interesting look at the celebrations surrounding the 100^th episode along with Marc Cherry’s favourite scenes, Bloopers, deleted scenes and a feature on Teri Hatcher.

Summary

Spanning across eight discs ‘Desperate Housewives: The Red Hot Edition- the Complete Fifth Season’ is a must for any fan and a great way to introduce new viewers to the show with its fresh start. Despite some of the season’s short comings including the lack of Katharine Mayfair (Dana Delany), the predictable mystery and the sometimes sitcom style the show evoked the fifth season is a great starting point for a new chapter of the show with only better things to come.

4 out of 5 stars

Dave Hughes, Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and James Mathison on Ten's 'The 7PM Project'.

Last night I managed to catch my very first episode of Network Ten’s sort of new news show, ‘The 7PM Project.’ I’ve watched a few clips here and there but why did it take me so long to actually sit down and watch a full episode of ‘The 7PM Project?’ a) It was on at an inconvenient time and I must congratulate Ten for showing some patience with this show – airing it right across the summer and even airing encores late at night, which was how I managed to catch it and b) I saw it as a tabloid show with childish humour and after my first viewing I wasn’t wrong.

Let’s start off with the positives, Carrie Bickmore and Charlie Pickering seem to both have a bright future, their presentation is smooth and they seem to be comfortable doing a daily show. Now to Dave Hughes, seriously with that sort of face who can treat him seriously? And with that annoying voice, I just wanna switch off the TV every time he speaks.

The show itself is direction-less, is it trying to be serious or is it trying to find the funny side of news? I think the later is true but it is not working. They focused on the Liberal leadership as Tony Abbott was elected as Liberal leader that morning replacing Malcolm Turnbull. Ten’s political editor Paul Bongiorno – who was referred to by Charlie Pickering as ‘Bonj,’ seriously? – joined the team as they discussed the day’s events. Paul Bongiorno looked out of place, he started off with a smirk and as Charlie and co questioned him with their usual childish humour, you could see he was trying to hold it together. Couldn’t they tone it down and act professional for one segment?

The opening sequence also seems to be trying too hard. They attempt to include funnies into news stories which aren’t working. I recommend trying an opening monologue in a similar mould to American talk shows or even better a daily version of ‘Carrie at the Newsdesk’ from ‘Rove.’

As for the guests, last night Ray Martin joined the crew to promote his new biography, but we didn’t learn much more than what has been reported in the papers. Perhaps, I have been Americanised with my comparisons to American talk shows such as ‘The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,’ ‘The Lateshow with David Letterman’ and ‘The Jay Leno Show,’ but the hosts in the aforementioned shows actually spend a good 10 to 15 minutes with their nightly guests and we actually learn something new about the guest once the interview is done. I know ‘The 7PM Project’ doesn’t have the time to interview a guest for 10 minutes, but if they could ignore the tabloid stories, there would a lot more time for the guest.

‘The 7PM Project’ has potential to build an audience but the people behind the show need to be clear of which direction they are heading, keep it light without the silly jokes.

‘The 7PM Project’ airs nightly at 7pm on Network Ten and is repeated daily after ‘Ten’s Late News.’

2.5 out of 5 stars

Damien Leith's new album "Remember June" is out now.

Irish-born singer/songwriter Damien Leith soared into the local music scene when he won the ‘Australian Idol’ back in 2006.

Unfortunately for Leith, his debut album, “Where We Land” probably didn’t receive all the accolades it deserved — part of the stigma many ‘Australian Idol’ artists struggle to overcome.

After a somewhat questionable U-turn with the cover-album “Catch The Wind: Songs of a Generation”, Leith surges back into the mainstream with the powerfully diverse and complex album “Remember June”.

The album opens to the title track “Remember June”, which long time Leith fans will instantly find familiar.

“Golden Line” ups the ante, with a faster rock sensibility. There’s even a little falsetto thrown in for good measure.

Next up is probably the standout track of the album — and possibly Leith’s entire recording history. “To Get To You” is one hell of an addictive track, which will leave you humming the tune for hours after. It’s clearly Leith’s attempt at targeting the mainstream audience with it’s strong pop/rock vibe.

It may sounds familiar to some, who will recognise it from Seven’s promos for medical drama ‘Mercy’. It’s unclear why the single hasn’t received more air play on the radio, cause it’s by far one of the most hit-worthy tracks.

Leith ventures ridiculously close to “epic” territory with the massive track “Forgive, Forget” — think U2 or Coldplay. The chorus simply soars.

“See You Again” feels like an homage to The Buggles’ iconic track “Video Killed the Radio Star”, with its punchy melodic beat. A little kitschy, but memorable none the less.

Other standout tracks on the album are “Don’t Give Up” and “Unordinary World”.

The album “Remember June” is an obvious progression for Leith. It encompasses everything those familiar with his previous music will appreciate, plus an overall shift towards the mainstream.

If you’ve yet to pick up any of Leith’s previous albums, then now is the time to jump in.

Get the album on iTunes.

by Mathew Muratore

'Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Four' is out now.

‘Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Four’ written by Sharon Gosling gives the reviewers a fascinating insight into the final season of what has been proclaimed the greatest sci-fi series of our time.

Fans may be disappointed by the black and white images depicting scenes from each of season four’s episodes but there are a number of colour images as this companion is much more than just the images as the writers, actors and crew all give an honest account of making the final season leaving the reader satisfied with the extent of information provided.

The images are not just limited to black and white stills but the companion also offers several coloured images spanning across sixteen of cast photo shoots, iconic images from several episodes and most interesting pictures of props and costumes used throughout the series.

Edward James Olmos’ commitment and admiration of the show is clearly evident as the book opens with an introduction by the actor who played the iconic character Admiral William Adama.

Spanning 160 pages this book is a fitting tribute to the final chapter of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ providing insights with extensive character profiles on the array of unique characters that appeared in the show and an informative commentary of how the Cylons evolved over the series.

The final episode ‘Day Break’ is covered in great detail  with excerpts on the cast’s feelings as the show came to an end and how the creator Ronald D Moore would carry one of the most anticpated finals in sci-fi history.

The book also offers interesting trivia extracts on each episode from cameos, to director’s notes and behind the scenes knowledge giving an even greater insight into the series.

The official companion season four successfully documents the final season of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ allowing readers to not just look back upon season four but on the entire series itself.

Pick up a copy of ‘Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Four’ at your local book store, or visit Titan Books online.

Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner

It is still hard to fathom the mass rabid hysteria that the Twilight franchise incites in its fans. The problem isn’t so much that people enjoy the films, as there are people who enjoy stuff that’s much worse than this, but more that its hard to gain a grounded, well balanced perspective to the franchise – its basically a matter of picking your side and swooning as such.

So for those who have yet to be blinded by the dreamy awesomeness of these films, here comes your less fanatical-more grounded eye on what’s going on here.

As if anyone was doubting the possibility, New Moon offers very little difference to what its predecessor essentially set up. Its just the next instalment of the hyper-romanticised, exaggerated vampire love story for young girls. No more and no less. For the cynics out there, it’s difficult to say its harmless puff-cinema as its suggestive nature sways more to the obsessive side of romance. The literary-light musings of its characters through deep, longing, dramatic verses and gazes are just as expertly crafted here as they were in Twilight to maximise the effectiveness of said romantic appeal. To say that its not designed as such is the extent to which the obsession of these movies extends.

Okay, so this kind of narrative style isn’t to everyone’s appeal. The films aren’t meant for that kind of wide reaching demographic; let the girls have their dreamy undead and wolf-like male protagonists. For all the exploitative female characters in cinema that men get, a couple of guys taking their shirts off for the ladies really isn’t going to balance the scales anyway. Basically, this kind of thing either appeals to you, or it doesn’t.

For most everyone else though, that aren’t caught under the spell of this, it may well be a chore to sit through. The dialogue mostly borders on ridiculous, in particular much of the tripe that heartthrob Robert Pattinson has to spout in the effort of getting the young hearts racing. Wolf-boy Taylor Lautner fares better when paired with Kristen Stewart who has to carry much of the film’s weight on her shoulders; she too struggles under material that is well beneath her acting abilities.

Visually, the movie looks as you’d expect, Chris Weitz’s camera focusing completely on what helps sell the appeal of the movies. Compared to Catherine Hardwick’s direction in Twilight, Chris doesn’t deliver anything all that groundbreaking. If he should be praised for anything, it’s the lack of high wire forest vampire running that cheapened the first movie. There are also a few key scenes here that are actually rather good to watch, all of which work mostly because of the best element of the movie altogether; the soundtrack. Again, still probably not worth paying to see at the cinemas unless you are a fan of this franchise already, but certainly a good example of the bar being raised somewhat after the first film. Overall the film is more than adequate in the technical stakes, but certainly not worth the the price of admission just to admire it.

In the end though, films like this are essentially review proof. That is, weather its panned or celebrated by critics (or anyone for that matter), the film is designed to be the massive pop-cultural phenomenon that it was always going to be no matter what anyone says. This is pure popcorn cinema for girls, and with an already well-established blood-thirsty fan base of them ready to see this in droves, the ramblings of cinematic cynics and their mostly meaningless point of view will never be a match for that.

You know weather these movies are for you by the very fact that you have any idea of what its all about. New Moon follows on from Twilight closely enough to keep fans satisfied which is all that matters. If you aren’t one already, you wont be one after this, and you won’t be missing out on anything that will change your life either.

3 out of 5 stars

by Mathew Muratore

'Bones: The Forensic Files' is out now.

‘Bones: The Forensic Files’ written by Paul Ruditis is a must have for any die hard Bones fan not only does it have an impressive array of pictures but a fascinating insight into the making of the show.

The book spans 159 pages chronicling in great detail seasons three and four of ‘Bones’. What makes this book stand out is the honesty displayed by the show’s creators and actors detailing storylines that did not work and the struggles they suffered in season three as a result of the 2008 Writer’s Strike and an insight into storylines that were considered during that season.

The actors including Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz and the rest of the cast give insights into their characters with the book containing detailed character profiles along with the show’s creator Hart Hanson who provides a unique perspective on the making of the show.

The cast and crew commentary is accompanied by stunning images within the book that are sure to please many Bones fans with a diverse range of pictures that span across both of the seasons that capture an array of iconic moments that featured during seasons three and four.

The companion also provides reader’s with accurate definitions of some of the scientific terms used within each episode to give a greater understanding of the complex scientific names given to particular parts of the body.

An interesting aspect of the book is the Research Files which gives detailed descriptions of the techniques used by the Jeffersonian team to solve a murder such as determining the time of death, flesh VS bones and weapon identification.

This is much more than just a companion to the successful crime drama or referred to in the book as a “crimedy” as ‘Bones: The Forensic Files’ expands upon the show giving the loyal ‘Bones’ fan a truly unique perspective into the program, the characters and the behind scenes of the show.

Pick up a copy of ‘Bones: The Forensic Files’ at your local book store, or visit Titan Books online.

'Brothers and Sisters' The Complete Third Season

‘Brothers and Sisters’ is a grand family drama in the greatest sense of the word. It encapsulates everything a good drama should — uniquely defined characters, raw heartfelt emotion and of course humour.

At the centre of the Walker’s story, is the betrayal of William Walker. The patriarch of the Californian family, who’s affairs have rocked the family’s foundation to its core.

While William’s deceit and death have long passed, his actions still plague his family, including his wife Nora (Sally Field) and their five children Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), Kitty (Calista Flockhart), Tommy (Balthazar Getty), Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Justin (Dave Annable).

Holly Harper (Patricia Wettig), William’s mistress, serves as a living reminder of his deceptions — having conveniently weaved her way back into the Walker’s lives. Her daughter, Rebecca (Emily VanCamp), was once even thought to be William’s illegitimate love child. When the truth was finally revealed at the end of season two, another affair was uncovered — in which William did actually father a child, a boy named Ryan Lafferty (Luke Grimes).

Season three brings everything out into the open — the latest earth shattering secret bubbles to the surface in the big season opener. As the season progresses, the family tries to readjust to welcoming a new member to the family, which doesn’t necessarily go down too smoothly. Tension grows as relationships are tested, financial burdens take over and medical emergencies rock the less than settled boat.

The show doesn’t always take itself so seriously, as some might expect. It frequently diverts to comedy, giving you a break from all the drama. Just look to any of the trademark chain phone calls and you’ll likely find yourself grinning. It’s actually these lighter moments which make this show so effective — you really get a sense that this is a real family.

Video and Audio

The 22-episode season is presented in a 16:9 (1.78:1 aspect ratio). The picture sharp and vibrant, despite the softer colour palette. There’s a little grain here, but not enough to be distracting. Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound with English, Italian and Spanish dubs.

Bonus Features

Included on the 6-disc set are a number of bonus features, including interviews, deleted scenes, bloopers and audio commentaries. Nothing out of the ordinary here, but fans will appreciate them none the less.

The “In-Between Scenes” featurette is a nice little addition giving viewers an insight into the behind-the-scene antics of the cast, while “The Ojai Experience” documents a cast visit to a real family winery in Ojai, California.

Conclusion

What makes ‘Brothers and Sisters’ work so well is the show’s amazing cast. There are some truly brilliant performances, no more so than from Academy award winner Sally Field, who shows her immense versatility as an actor. Add to that supporting performances by Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe, Ron Rifkin and Australia’s Rachel Griffiths, there’s really no weak link in this big ensemble drama.

Thanks to its healthy balance of drama and comedy, ‘Brother and Sisters’ continues to prove itself as a solid first rate television series — one that will evolve and retain its relevancy against society’s ever changing social and political standpoints.

4 out of 5 stars

Guy Sebastian's new album "Like It Like That" is out now.

It’s taken him three originals and one cover album to get here, but it seems Guy Sebastian may have finally struck gold with his latest outing “Like It Like That” — not in the top 40 sense, but creatively as an artist.

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Sebastian’s previous ‘Memphis’ record has inspired him like no other. From the first beat of his new album, it screams soul. It’s bold, brash, but it works —  it really works.

It’s probably one of the most cohesive albums from Sebastian to date. Listening from start to finish, you truly feel like you’ve experienced a musical journey.

The title track “Like It Like That”, which everyone already knows from Seven’s on air idents, is possibly one of Sebastian’s greatest singles ever. It’s foundations of soul and the accompanying surf guitar makes for a truly addictive 4-minutes.

The second track on the album “All To Myself” is like a bizarre, yet intriguing fusion of old and new. The verses are reminiscent of Maroon 5’s distinctive funk rock sound, yet the chorus is easily motown inspired. It’s quite an odd mix as first, but it actually becomes far more palatable on repeat listens.

Next up is the RnB single “Art of Love”, which Sebastian has recruited ‘American Idol’ winner Jordin Sparks to lend her vocals. It’s likely to be a huge chart topper for Sebastian, and possibly his big break into the US market, but a little misplaced on a motown inspired album. It would however feel right at home alongside Sparks’ similarly powerful duet with Chris Brown, “No Air”.

The track “Attention” does just that — it grabs your attention with its big swinging sounds, courtesy of the precise orchestration of instruments.

“Bring Yourself” is a standout track on the album. It encompasses everything you’d want and expect from a slow jam session. Even the Prince of Motown, Marvin Gaye, would feel comfortable singing this impressive track.

Other notable tracks include “Magic” and “Never Hold You Down”, neither of which are single worthy, but  run with the soulful swing of motown. Derivative, but none-the-less gallant efforts.

The final track “Perfection”, diverts from the motown vibe just once more to offer a rather sickly sweet romantic ballad. Clearly a serenade to his newly-wed wife. It’s poetically beautiful, but amongst the rest of the album, again a little misplaced.

The album, while not without its flaws, is definitely one of the most artistically complex records we’ve heard from an ‘Australian Idol’ artist to date.

It’s rich, multi-layered  and engaging. The motown influences are clear, and it just feels right for Sebastian to be playing in this space. We look forward to seeing where he takes these talents next.

“Like It Like That” is out now.

Buy the album on iTunes.

'Dirty Sexy Money' The Complete Second Season is out November 4.

‘Dirty Sexy Money’ returns for another gut busting season of lies, deceit, murder and adultery.

Lead by family patriarch Trip Darling played by the incomparable Donald Sutherland, the series also stars Peter Krause, Jill Clayburgh, William Baldwin, Glenn Fitzgerald, Seth Gabel, Zoe McLellan, Blair Underwood, Natalie Zea and Lucy Liu.

As the Darling’s family attorney, a role which he inherited from his father, Nick George (Peter Krause) finds himself thrown into all kinds of crazy situations orchestrated by the family’s outlandish antics. The biggest head banger is Nick’s personal connection with the family, with several members being key suspects in his father Dutch George’s murder. While this mystery is ultimately solved by series end, it’s long drawn out reveal slightly diminishes its eventual impact.

Perhaps one of the more outrageous story lines on the show is Patrick Darling’s (William Baldwin) affair with his transexual lover Carmelita Rainer (Candis Cayne). After discovering Patrick’s deceit, his wife Ellen (Bellamy Young) confronts Patrick over the affair — however this ultimately leads to her accidental death.

In an attempt to cover up Patrick’s political reputation as a New York senator, he and his father conspire to cover up Ellen’s death by planting her body in the family’s burning country house estate. Definitely a mouthful to say the least.

This second season of ‘Dirty Sexy Money’ also introduces Nola Lyons (Lucy Liu) the hard-ass prosecutor in Nick’s father’s murder trial, who’s determined to bring down the Darling family. But because that clearly isn’t quite juicy enough, she also becomes romantically involved with the Darling’s playboy youngest son Jeremy Darling (Seth Gabel).

Like all series that debuted that previous year, ‘Dirty Sexy Money’ was heavily impacted by the 2007-2008 writers strike. The 100-day production halt is likely the main reason for the show’s cancellation, following its return to low ratings post-strike.

Had the series continued for a full season the previous year, I think the show would have started out much stronger creatively in it second season. The momentum built up surrounding Dutch George’s murder mystery was unfortunately lost between the first and second seasons. Having said that, it does do a modest job of trying to re-engage viewers and eventually wrap up all loose ends.

The 3-disc set contains a couple of extras, including behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes and a bloopers reel. Nothing particularly ground breaking here. It would have been nice to have an audio commentary from the show’s cast and crew, particularly to hear their views on how the writers strike impacted their original story arc.

‘Dirty Sexy Money’ is probably worth a look for fans of juicy mind-bending soap opera. It’s delicious characters make it thoroughly entertaining, if not just for your disbelief over what these characters get away with.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Warning: This review contains possible spoilers

Esai Morales and Eric Stoltz

So, after four seasons of one of the greatest series ever made, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ came to an end earlier in 2009. And the world well and truly mourned.

The series practically redefined science fiction for the modern era; adding politics, human struggle and dramatic character arcs that were more well-defined that even some of the very best drama series on TV.

It was so much more than just science fiction, it was a critique of humanity, of society, a series that delved deep into the psyche of the human condition and posed questions and ideas that few shows would ever touch.

And now, in the wake of its demise, the hole left in the world with ‘BSG’s’ absence is now in the early stages of being filled with yet another look at the same fractured, futuristic world where humans are again toying with the very nature of their existance. ‘Caprica’, to those who followed BSG for the last 5 years, is of course the ill-fated metropolis that falls at the start of ‘Battlestar Galactica’.

This new series chronicles the preceeding generations lives 50 years before the fall, showing us the first steps in what will eventually be the Cylon rebellion that is humanities undoing.

The two hour pilot here clearly sets into motion the chain of events that will result in the future that is destined. We see the who, the why and the how… and again, it’s political and religious undertones ironically mirror that of the characters future ancestors regarding deep ideals and beliefs. Like ‘BSG’, ‘Caprica’ delicately threads together the existances of its characters into a rich mosaic of events and its provocative disposition.

Starting with a shocking “terrorist attack” that will obviously prove to be more than just the catalyst that sees Greystone Sr adapt his daughters technological advancements into something more tangible, it soon becomes aparent that all the characters here have skeletons. All of which will undoubtedly come back to bite them when things go pear-shaped.

Visually, ‘Caprica’ has its similarities to the ‘BSG’ universe, but the focus is clearly much more on the characterisations and the origins plot of this generation and what their actions will do in regards to what happens in ‘BSG’. It’s a brighter series obviously being set in ‘Caprica’ itself, but it certainly doesn’t make things any less dark – that much is clear very early on. It’s easy to see this will become the confronting, stark series that ‘BSG’ was.

It’s easy to get excited about the potential that ‘Caprica’ holds, and thankfully we get a full series early 2010 to see where the deliciously taut plot threads set up in the pilot go as the series progresses.

Those going into this with ‘BSG’ in mind will need to put that series out of their minds, as this is an entirely different creature even considering its existance within the same universe of characters, events and places. Minus much of the action ‘BSG’ had, this prequel will be more about people than its predecessor was, but should keep its cutting-edge dramatic flair that made ‘BSG’ so damn good. Bring it on!

4 out of 5 stars

James Marsden and Cameron Diaz star in Richard Kelly's 'The Box'.

Where do you begin with a movie like ‘The Box’? Well, forget the stunt casting of Cameron Diaz in the lead role; she’s just the cherry to get people who would not otherwise have given ‘The Box’ a chance the opportunity to see something like this. The name to remember is Richard Kelly, the helmer of a little movie called ‘Donnie Darko’ that’s become the cult coming-of-age-slash-sci-fi-slash-superhero movie of the last decade. He is the real reason to sit down to ‘The Box’.

Having blown minds with the mind-bending ‘Donnie’, his follow up was the stunted straight to DVD release of ‘Southland Tales’. Boasting a massive cast of people who had no idea about any of Kelly’s grand ideas, the film tanked majorly with its incomprehensible plotting, overcrowded characters and generally over-ambitious clashing of styles and genres.

If ‘The Box’ was supposed to be the movie where Kelly comes back licking his wounds after ‘Southland Tales’, there is little evidence of that here. What starts off almost rudimentary quickly dissolves into something much more quixotic, as Kelly brings out his customary bag of tricks. The premise; a struggling suburban family in 70’s America is offered a million dollars to press a button and in the process kill someone, somewhere on the planet that they dont know – is simplistic enough on the surface, but clearly no movie can hold up a two hour running time on such a thin device. There is much, much more, going on here than meets the eye, which also too becomes apparent in due time.

Kelly, penning the script from a short story that was adapted to a ‘Twilight Zone’ segment, applies layer upon layer of depth to the at-first shallow story. He makes it easy to feel confused, but its all rather superficial in many ways when you think about it a little more. The trick is that there really isn’t much depth at all, because Kelly has given us little to work with. Like the simplistic box itself, its the irrational fears in people that the box represents that is the point. Is getting rid of your troubles as simple as pushing a button? Not likely.

Kelly taps into an authenticicy that encapsulates the times this is set in; visually, tonally. His direction has uniformally been very good, even in ‘Southland Tales’ where things went a little nuts. Fittingly here though, ‘Twilight Zone’ afficionado’s will immediately see the homage-like execution, right down to the cheesy retro-horror scoring that has just works in its own nostalgic way. But while this looks and sounds the part, the simpler question is why?

Why go to all this trouble, creating a plot that has so many seemingly unncessary aspects to it, just to teach its protagonists the devestating effects their moral choices can have? Well, it comes down to personal taste really. Kelly’s fondness of sci-fi, human paranoia and the world of the unknown, runs throughout all three of his films now, and clearly its an aquired frame of mind. While this certainly has its sinister elements, especially in the final act, its confronting methods fit within the parameters of ‘The Box’s’ intentions without being as shockingly exploitative as something like the Saw series.

Diaz’ stunt casting is odd though. This is hardly the debacle that Southland Tales was, but in its wake its easy to see Kelly would not have been able to make this without someone big to attract studio backing. At times its hard to take her seriously when she struggles to take her role seriously. Her muted performance seems to fit quite often though so its not a total watershed. Marsden fares better, but its Langella as the shadowy stranger with an offer too good to refuse who’se restrained cool appears here effortlessly.

‘The Box’ isn’t sold on its stars though; its Kelly’s overly warped imagination that is really on show. He might have raised his own bar too high with ‘Donnie Darko’; ‘The Box’ isn’t up to that standard, but thankfully its a massive improvement on his misfired follow up to the D-wonder. As compainion pieces, you couldn’t find two better movies to sit side by side with each other.  Thematically, both exist in the same realm of hightened science-fiction awareness that is just pure indulgence for the sci-fi lover who wants something more challengeing to devour. But dont let the premises red herrings throw you; even though this is Kelly’s most accessable film, it’ll still be a challenge for those unprepared. Its definatly not to be taken lightly.

4 out of 5 stars

Amy Meredith's debut single "Pornstar" is out now.

It’s not often we do music reviews here, but every so often we find some tunes that really gets our blood pumping.

Up and coming Sydney rock band, Amy Meredith’s debut single ”Pornstar” is one of those songs.

These five young rockers originally joined forces back in 2006, after members from various local Sutherland Shire bands came together.

They had a bit of a false start in the music scene, signing with fashion brand Ksubi’s now defunct in-house record label — after which they turned to extensive touring and writing new tracks.

In 2008, the band released the self titled EP “Amy Meredith”, which featured the quote “Smiths/Joy Division” inspired track “Black Eyes”. The song saw moderate success, becoming the “Free Single of the Week” on the Australian iTunes Music Store — often a sign of future success.

Earlier this year, the band signed with major label Sony Music, under which they’ll release their debut album in 2010.

But for now, the band’s debut single “Pornstar” is out and it gives us a taste of what’s to come on the band’s forthcoming album.

With it’s punchy pop sensibilities, the single is sure to have broad appeal. It’s reminiscent of both The Killers earlier alternative rock work “Mr Brightside” and their more recent synth based endeavours “Spaceman” and “Human”.

The possibilities for Amy Meredith’s evolution into more of a rock and pop synth fusion is pretty evident, just from the progression the band made from “Black Eyes” to “Pornstar”.

Whether this is the direction the band is moving towards, or if they’ll return to their alternative rock roots remains to be seen.

Whatever the band comes out with next year is sure to be just beginning for these talented young Sydney siders.

Keep an eye out for Amy Meredith, I have an inkling they’re going to be huge.

Download the single “Pornstar” on iTunes.

Download the EP “Amy Meredith” on iTunes.

Visit Amy Meredith on MySpace.

Eliza Dushku as Echo and Dichen Lachmen as Sierra in Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse'.

As most of my favourite shows from the states go on hiatus for a week – in place of sports, I thought I would just give a few reviews on shows I have kept in my viewing rotation this fall.

Despite the pre-season buzz surrounding ‘Dollhouse’ after the fantastic finale, unaired episode, ‘Epitaph One’ and the Comic-Con, the sophomore season of ‘Dollhouse’ has somewhat been an anti-climax. Similar to season one, season two of ‘Dollhouse’ has seen more boring episodes than engaging ones but this week’s episode ‘Belonging’ illustrates the potential of the show.

Ironically, the best episode since ‘Epitaph One’ had more of Sierra/Priya (Dichen Lachman) and less of Echo (Eliza Dusku). ‘Belonging’ continued on from last season’s ‘Needs’ where it hinted that Sierra was perhaps sold to the ‘Dollhouse’ rather than volunteering like the others. It also demonstrated how adaptable Dichen Lachman is when given different roles. We flashback one year ago, where Priya is a normal citizen working as a craftswoman when Nolan (Vincent Ventresca) approaches her. Nolan does everything he can to seduce her, giving her a painting gallery, even hiring both Victor and Echo to convince her he is the right man. But when she decides “Nothing in this world could ever make me love you,” we cut back to the present day where the two are hugging and kissing like they are a couple.

We later discover, in an attempt to seduce her, Nolan drugs her, making others believe that she is a schizophrenic, has her institutionalized, and uses his connections with the dollhouse to “help” her by making her a doll. Then he hires her for repeat engagements as his love interest.

Back in the Dollhouse, Echo senses some discomfort with Sierra and decides to show Topher Sierra’s disturbed paintings, who is surprisingly shaken. Topher’s transformation from an arrogant smartarse (season one) to a sympathetic character must also be highlighted. His conversation with Adele (Olivia Williams), after finding out how Nolan is treating Sierra emphasizes the lack of control the supposed boss has over the dollhouse. It is unethical head honchos like Harding (Keith Carradine) who run the show.

Nolan then demands he wants Priya permanently imprinted with his preferred personality and Priya returned to him for good leads to some cool scenes. Topher imprints Sierra with her original Priya which leads to the murder of Nolan and the gruesome hacking and dissolution of his body.

Finally as many of you know, Fox has done a back flip with their November sweeps schedule, after announcing they would stick with ‘Dollhouse,’ they will be airing repeats of Bones and House during November, then will burn off a further six episodes during December by airing episodes back to back. This leaves the remaining three episodes in limbo and who knows with Fox, these episodes might not even reach the airwaves and will eventually be on DVD. I suppose, we fans can only treat this second season as a bonus as this show should’ve ended in May given the ugly ratings.

We can play the blame game all we want, but both Fox and Whedon should cop the blame for the show’s soft ratings, Fox for wanting more stand alone episodes in season 1 and giving it an unfavourable Friday slot and Whedon (who had free rein this season) for bland early episodes. The bottom line is the relationship between Whedon and Fox is no longer as tight – I know Fox is giving Whedon a chance to redeem himself in ‘Glee,’ where he will write an episode or is this just some sort of justification to put ‘Dollhouse’ on hiatus during November? Nevertheless, Whedon and Fox should part ways which will be a win-win for both parties.

Other Notable Quotes:

• Adele to Nolan – after discovering Nolan’s dark events with Sierra: “I would no sooner allow you near one of our other actives as I would a mad dog near a child… given that you’re a raping scumbag one tick shy of a murderer.”
• Harding reminds Adele of her morals “Miss Lonelyheart”
• Sierra to Nolan: “I love him so much more than I hate you.”
• Sierra: “This secret we have… can you keep it?” Topher: “I can keep it, but I don’t know I can live with it.”

4 out of 5 stars

Matthew Bomer stars as con artist Neal Caffrey in USA's 'White Collar'.

USA Network seem to have a pretty solid business plan in motion. Introduce fun, character driven dramas with a touch of crime-solving thrown in for good measure. That seems to be the description for USA’s latest outing anyway.

The slick, fast-paced crime series, created by Jeff Eastin, centres on con artist Neal Caffrey (Matthew Bomer), who escapes from a maximum security prison just prior to the end of his four-year sentence.

On the hunt for his missing girlfriend, who he believes is in trouble, Neal finds himself being captured by FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), the man responsible for his arrest the first time around.

Upon his capture, Neal offers Peter some pivotal information relating to an obscure ongoing investigation. As a result, Peter agrees to releasing Neal in exchange for his assistance on the case.

The first 5 minutes of the show chronicles an intricate escape sequence, which some may find a little bit too much of a stretch.

But if you’re able to believe the strategically woven plot with only a few flags raised, then you can totally buy into this show.

The quick witted banter between the two main characters is positively entertaining. They really do make this show. Like Simon Baker in ‘The Mentalist’, it’s the characters which will keep people watching.

These characters are also smart, but not beyond believability. While they may think they know all the answers — solving clues like nothing else — they’re not excluded from being caught out themselves when jumping the gun.

Bomer and DeKay really seem to work well together. They’re both really believable in these roles. Tiffani Thiessen and Willie Garson make great supporting cast members too — as Peter’s ever so supporting wife and Neal’s shady friend from the past.

If you’re a fan of light crime series, like ‘Psych’, ‘Monk’ and ‘Burn Notice’, then ‘White Collar’ is sure to strike a chord.

The show has just enough intrigue to keep regular watchers engaged and appears to be easily accessible for the casual viewer.

With such fun, smart and engaging characters, USA Network’s new series ‘White Collar’ hits all the right notes. You’d be crazy to miss it

4 out of 5 stars

Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan

There is no doubting ‘An Education’s’ ability to subtly seduce you with its charms. Without a doubt, its way of working around the questionable themes without being exploitative is one of the very intelligent standouts of Nick Hornby’s great screenplay.

Yes, this does show the burgeoning relationship between a 16 year old girl and a 30-plus year old man. Yet, perhaps more shockingly than the relationship itself, is feeling that it doesn’t seem all that bad… to begin with anyway.

Jenny is equal parts bright and naive, studying at school and just about ready to take the leap to university. The air of boredom in her monotonous life is then gently given a nudge when she meets the effortlessly charming David. He has everything she wants; the attraction of a life free of burden and expectations at seemingly no cost. It is too good to pass up as she falls deeper into the allure of good music, food and art.

However, Hornby peppers the plot early on with a few hints to suggest things aren’t exactly all what they appear to be. How coincidental was their first encounter? How exactly does David afford this wonderful life? We don’t know the specifics at first, but we all know what the story is and the plot eventually takes us right to them. It’s a tough lesson to learn for young Jenny, and all it takes is one moment to destroy any chance she has at her dream life.

It comes across a tad preachy at times regarding its comment on education itself, but the whole idea of trust, love and attraction through the eyes of youth is handled very well here. While it perhaps takes a few liberties here and there; to suggest teens would be as honest as Jenny is with her parents is a little much, the depiction of how easily people can deceive others is the real dramatic uptick. When you consider this is set in the 60’s, before the advent of the internet, the level of deception required for such trickery here puts into perspective the simplicity of such a charade these days.

Sarsgaard is his usual excellent self as David, capturing the subtleties and idiosyncrasies of such a character with a scarily accurate demeanor. It’s Carey Mulligan as Jenny who is the real treat to watch though. The older-than-she-seems qualities exude the kind of sensibilities needed for such a role, giving more credence to the character than would otherwise have been. While none are as well developed as the leads, Hornby also gives enough material to supports, including a brilliant Olivia Williams as Jenny’s teacher, to ensure they are more than just catalysts reacting to the events happening in the foreground.

While the character elements of the plot are pretty well honed here, the story itself nigglingly doesn’t lend itself to as much accuracy. Even though its set in the early 60’s, it does feel like a stretch at times that her parents could be so easily lead by David’s often forced eager-to-please appearance. And when David is exposed, considering the effort put into hiding the truth, it feels kind of thankless the way it’s all revealed in the end.

Even the ending itself feels kind of rushed. Once its point is made, it does kind of run out of steam and take the quick way with its resolution.

Showing honesty in the face of dishonesty though is what its all about though, and ‘An Education’ paints it with broad strokes. If it feels slightly exaggerated, it’s only to illuminate its ideas. You don’t feel uncomfortable about the relationship until it turns sour. And that it never exploits the situation to the point of uncomfort lends itself to the fact that there is romance at its heart. It’s a feeling that extends throughout the movie, and makes it better for it. It’s definatly a lesson worth indulging in.

4 out of 5 stars

'Family Guy' Season Eight

Seth McFarland’s hilarious animated satire returns with ‘Family Guy’ Season Eight.

The 3-disc set brings 13 more episodes to DVD, following the outrageous Griffin family (Peter, Lois, Chris, Meg, Stewie and Brian) as they take poke fun at even more pop cultural references.

Part of what makes ‘Family Guy’ so successful, is its ability to find humour in our society and culture.

It draws heavily from the truth — exploiting our most transparent absurdities.

From our society’s attitude towards religion, corporate structure and homosexuality, ‘Family Guy’ exploits it all.

The show even looks back at war torn Poland in 1939, during the rise of Nazi Germany.

As controversial as the material is, it’s hard to find faults with a show that speaks so honestly about our society’s flaws.

Having said that, its not without its own flaws. Generally, a lack of direction in the overall storyline sense, though common with most animated series.

As far as bonus features go, ‘Family Guy’ Season Eight is packed. Like previous season releases, every episode comes with an audio commentary from the show’s cast and crew. With such controversial subject matter, it’s great to get an insight into the mind of the makers and their individual opinions on these topics.

There are also several deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes, giving fans even more insight into the hit series.

For those not fortunate enough to visit Comic-Con in San Francisco, like me, the DVD set also includes the entire panel session from the 2008 convention.

The biggest problem with this DVD set is the way Twentieth Century Fox have decided to structure their ‘Family Guy’ releases. In the US, Fox began to distribute the show in half volumes, splitting seasons into multiple releases.

This not only becomes confusing for watchers, but local distributors have seemingly also become confused. This “season eight” release is actually the last 4 episodes of season six and the first 9 episodes of season seven.

Apart from the inherent cataloguing problems, ‘Family Guy’ Season Eight makes a given addition to any ‘Family Guy’ DVD collection.

The only question is: when can I get Season Nine (aka Season Seven Part 2)?

3.5 out of 5 stars

WIN: For your chance to win “Heroes: An Insider’s Guide to the Award Winning Show” — click here.

Heroes: An Insider's Guide to the Award-Winning Show

Thanks to Titan Books, we were lucky enough to get our hands on the official tie in book for the hit series ‘Heroes’.

The glossy 176 page book, written by ‘Heroes’ co-executive producer Jeph Loeb, is filled to the brim with insights into the series, its mythology and the multitude of characters which make up the ‘Heroes’ universe.

It features in depth interviews with the cast, commentary from the crew and it even takes you behind the scenes, deconstructing some of the show’s amazing visual effects sequences.

Every page is packed with stunning photographs, illustrations and production artwork, which are sure to make any ‘Heroes’ fan water at the mount.

The sheer amount of effort and attention to detail put into the design and layout of the book is incredible and makes for a truly immersive visual experience.

For fans of the show, “Heroes: An Insider’s Guide to the Award Winning Show” is the perfect companion to the hit series. For those new to the series, it’s a great way to catch up and find out all those facts and titbits you may  have missed.

“Heroes: An Insider’s Guide to the Award Winning Show” features interviews with Jeph Loeb, Masi Oka, George Takei, James Kyson Lee, Zachary Quinto, Hayden Panettiere, Santiago Cabera, Tim Sale, Ali Larter, Leonard Roberts, Noah Gray-Cabey, Milo Ventimiglia, Adrian Pasdar, Greg Grunberg, Kristen Bell, Jack Coleman and creator Tim Kring.

Pick up a copy of “Heroes: An Insider’s Guide to the Award Winning Show” at your local book store, or visit Titan Books online.

Ellen Page

Many would have thought at some point in her career so far that Drew Barrymore would have directed at least one film. She has her own production company, starred in over 50 films and worked many of Hollywood’s most famous. But she actually hasn’t – until now.

While in many ways this would seem like a very low-key choice for a directorial debut, its easy to see why Drew took the helm. Of course, obscure sports movies are nothing new – the “boy’s club” perspective has been well and truly run into the ground thanks to the Will Ferrell’s of the world. But with its colourful dose girl power and teen movie smarts, Whip It is a whole other kind of ball game… in that, its not actually about a ball game at all.

It’s about roller derby; you’d be forgiven for not knowing anything about the game. Its as niche as it gets; even when the rules are explained, you’ll still be scratching your head at exactly how it works. While the game certainly is central to the plot, you can get by without the exact details of what is going on. And thankfully, its not really the point of the movie. As emblazend on the one-sheet, its about being your own hero. In this case, straping on the skates, blowing off the pagent-obsessed mother and taking down the competition in on the track is what it takes to be a hero.

All the girl power gusto definatly gives this all the more authenticity, but generally though its the predictability of the character arcs and the whole plot in general that keeps this from being as engaging as it should be. Whip It goes to great lengths to get have a good time thanks to its free-wheeling tone, but the more serious moral moments ever so slightly undermines the well-intentioned messages. Put it down to Shauna adapting her own novel to the screenplay.

Thankfully, Barrymore has been around the traps long enough to learn a few things, and it comes out in the traditional direction. But for a simple film, there is no need for flashy and it works in her favour. She’s also not afraid to get into the race during derby scenes which works quite well too.

Casting is pretty much spot on. Indie darling Page taps into her usual sardonic characteristics for leading lady Bliss; this is a walk in the park after Juno. Harden is also great as the pagent obssesed mother.

Drew putting herself into the film in a rather prominent slapstick role as one of the team members seems a little forced, but she’s careful enough to steal the scenes necessary and stand back at other times. Lewis in particular is great as arch nemesis Iron Maven, likewise Arrested Development’s Shawkat as Bliss’ archtypical BFF.

For all the minor quibbles, Whip It still remains a charming little movie mostly thanks to its reliability on convention. It balances the right attitude, the right cast and the right director with conviction, and maintains its infectious, fun feeling throughout. Which is more than can be said about most churned out teen movies of recent times.

4 out of 5 stars

'Hey Hey It's Saturday'

The return of, ‘Hey Hey It’s Saturday’ was back to the delight of many of its devoted fans, including over 200 thousand on Facebook, however many ridiculed it, as a bunch of has been coming back to relive their glory days.

The show began with a comedy skit which seemed a little try hard, and it felt very painful to watch. The opening by Daryl began with him saying sarcastically as if the show had ended rudely and now they are back better than ever. Daryl looked like a kid on Christmas Day, happy as can be however still mumbling through his lines like he always has.

Jimmy Barnes was introduced to sing one of his songs from his newest Rhythm and Blues CD. The show definitely had a 90s feel about it, reliving old acts of the past. However later on the show introduced Eskimo Joe and tried to unearth a couple of new musical acts.

Celebrity Heads was back, better than ever? Well not quite, I can’t remember the segment from years ago, but it felt a little stretched and tedious, Wilbe Wilde and Akmal were trying to make gags rather than playing the game properly.

Throughout the show there was continual talk about how the show is finally back and how it managed to do so. All this was interesting enough but got a bit old after it was mentioned a couple of times.

Molly’s Melodrama was back trying to unearth some new talent. It looked at the current Aria Charts and said that around 10 or so acts were back from Hey Hey days with the eerie music playing in the background. Yes Hey Hey did a lot of good for music, especially Australian Music, but the longevity isn’t all due to show.

Red Faces was back the opening act, “The Carabean Kings” were somewhat horrible, with the John Blackman voice over paying out the lead singers weight. Of course mean judge Red Symonds gonged them out early just like the good ol’ days. Second up “Sam the Man” a young kid with a vegemite gag, ‘5 uses of vegemite”. Another poor segement but some good ol’ Hey Hey moments of course. The third segment “The Dung Beatle Song” was a clever little song and probably the best of the bunch but the humour a little on the gross side. The fourth act, “I still call Australia Home” which was interesting to say the least, not sure what more to say about it. The young vegemite boy ended up winning the segment taking home $1000 from Kraft, appropriately.

The show then continued with the usual frivolitys and music acts and later ended off with the classic Plucka Duck segment before a couple more musical numbers.

All in all a nice reunion special, the fans seem extremely divided, half would love to have it back, the other half are appalled by the show. Time will tell when ratings come through as to whether it could possibly be resurrected.

3 out of 5 stars

Joseph Fiennes

‘Lost’ set a new precedent for serialised dramas on network television, spawning dozens of new shows, all hoping to tap into the same addictive style of storytelling.

So with ‘Lost’ wrapping up next year, it’s pretty clear ABC are hoping to keep fans invested in the network with another ambitious project.

Loosely based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer and developed for television by David S. Goyer (co-writer of ‘The Dark Knight’) and Brannon Braga (‘24′), ‘FlashForward’ explores a mysterious global event which causes everyone on the planet to simultaneously blackout for two minutes and seventeen seconds, giving them a glimpse into their future.

FBI agent, Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes), is mid car-chase through downtown Los Angeles when he blacks out.

Based on his glimpse into the future and corroboration with fellow FBI agents, he and his team are able to deduct that everyone’s consciousness somehow jumped forward six months during the flash forward, to the date April 29, 2010. With this vital piece of information at hand, Benford and his team begin to put together pieces of the puzzle surrounding this mysterious global event.

Ambitious is definitely a word that comes to mind after watching the pilot. It’s riddled with mystery and intrigue. The characters introduced provide a diverse range of opinions on the situation, ranging from at first what’s thought to be a terrorist attack to divine intervention.

For some, the flash forward brings something to look forward to, for others, dread. Every character’s life is thrown upside down as a result of this strange phenomenon.

Mark’s AA sponsor Aaron Stark (Brian F. O’Byrne) see his believed to be deceased daughter alive, Mark’s wife Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger) see’s herself with another man, FBI agent Janis Hawks (Christine Woods) is pregnant, despite being boyfriend-less in the present and fellow FBI agent Demetri Noh (John Cho) doesn’t see anything at all — predicting he’ll be dead in six months.

This show is definitely targeted at the same type of audience as ‘Lost’ or ‘Heroes’. The kind of fans who love coming up with different theories and drawing various connections.

There are plenty of goodies for television watchers to keep an eye out for, including an “Oceanic Airlines” billboard towards the beginning of the episode, which ‘Lost’ fans will no doubt get a kick out of.

Some may also find familiarity in the show’s score, composed by Ramin Djawadi, who’s best know for his work on ‘Prison Break’.

With such a strong emphasis on finding out answers, you really just hope the writers and producers know exactly where this show is heading. Unlike ‘Lost’, which is similar in its mysterious clue-dropping, ‘FlashForward’ has the disadvantage of its characters also trying to figure out what the hell is going on. This could be potentially problematic if the pieces don’t all fit together. It’s one thing for something to not be fully coherent as a viewer, it’s another for the story not to line up for a character.

That being said, there are plenty of great ideas here, which have potential to become truly mind blowing stuff. It’ll become more clear as the show progresses, whether this show will become the success that ‘Lost’ did.

With so many questions raised, it’s sure to have fans on the edge of their seats begging for more. But like ‘Lost’, viewers disheartened by all the mystery and lack of fast answers will most likely tune out after the initial spectacle has worn off.

‘FlashForward’ definitely has big shoes to fill, but it’s off to a great start.

4 out of 5 stars

"The Resistance", out now.

Muse are one of those rare bands that can reinvent themselves without reinventing themselves. The last outing, “Black Holes and Revelations”, saw them experiment with different sounds that would have alienated fans of any other band. Instead, they embraced the new direction, which saw said album closer “Knights of Cydonia” hit the number one spot on JJJ’s Hot 100 of 2007.

Clearly not content with walking on the knife’s edge of fan alienation, this follow up sees even more daring diversion from the norm. Pop, rock, operatic, dance, retro; Muse dabble in just about everything other than what they are known for. While it could come across as a lack of focus to some, the success rate in which they hit the right notes definetly suggest otherwise.

If there is one flaw, it’s that track 2 “Resistance” is what should have opened this album. Okay, it’s kinda obvious as an opening track when you listen to it and perhaps that’s why it’s second. But there is nothing wrong with lead single “Uprising” leading the pack. It’s clearly the safe bet before things just go crazy.

“Undisclosed Desires” is bordering on dance pop…the sound is instantly a hook…it’s crying out for single! Matt’s soaring vocals appear on “Guiding Light” is itself a guiding light. “Unnatural Selection” is crazy guitars and just a great old-skool rock track. “MK Ultra” has retro electro/techno rock; there is just so much going on in this one; listen for the warped vocals at 1:50. “I Belong to You” is just plain cheesy pop. In an album full of so many completely out of character sounds from the boys, this one is easily the standout when it comes to weirdness.

Ending on “Exogenesis”…incredible. It’s their most ambitious endeavour ever and combine to make easily the standout musical moments of the year. Amazing and worth the wait… the definition of epic.

Despite the massive shift in style, there is still something comforting in hearing Matt belt out his unmistakeable falsetto over the length of the album. Every track is epic in it’s own effortless way, pushing the progressive boundaries even further than they ever have. They make sure there is never a dull moment, you can be certain of that. And as different as things sound, it’s that curiosity in what lies around the corner that keeps The Resistance on the rails.

The Resistance is the album that will test the long term Muse fans. Weather fans are agreeable or not, The Resistance is the step that they needed to take creatively. It’s the sound of a band that is comfortable with where they are in their career, in that they can afford to take a chance on something new. it’s a bold move that has paid off in that it’s quite possibly their most consistent album yet. If nothing else it’s definitely one of the most unique albums of the year, and again proves that Muse are one of the very best bands that will continue to surprise. Just listen to the final track of Exogenesis and see how moving a rock band can be without being cheesy. Incredible.

Get the album on iTunes.

Mischa Barton, Sara Paxton and Ashley Madekwe star in 'The Beautiful Life'.

Amidst all the remakes, book adaptations and spin-offs, The CW did actually have an original idea in the production slate this season.

From former model-turned-writer Adam Giaudrone and executive producers Mike Kelley (‘Swingtown’) and Ashton Kutcher, comes ‘The Beautiful Life’, a model centric drama based around the world of high-fashion in New York City.

Said to based on Ashton Kutcher’s early days as a model, the series follows Chris Andrews (Ben Hollingsworth), a gutsy young farm boy from Iowa, whose life is thrown up side down when he’s discovered by a modelling agent whilst visiting New York City.

Completely out of his element, he finds himself being assisted by Raina Mayer (Sara Paxton), a young model whose been tapped as the next big thing.

Mischa Barton marks her return to television in ‘The Beautiful Life’ as Sonja Stone, the former IT girl, who returns after mysteriously fleeing the country for six months.

The series also stars Corbin Bleu (‘High School Musical’) as Issac Taylor, Nico Tortorella (‘Make It or Break It’) as Cole Shepherd, Ashley Madekwe (‘Secret Diary of a Call Girl’) as Marissa Delfina and Australia’s Elle Macpherson as former supermodel Claudia Foster, the owner of Covet Modeling Agency.

What could have been yet another “small-town girl realising her full potential in the big city” cliche, by flipping the character to a male role, it suddenly becomes a whole lot more interesting. We get to see a different perspective on a played out storyline.

Another interesting facet is actually seeing Barton back on the screen, her character Sonja Stone is surprisingly multi-dimension. The reason surrounding her disappearance is unexpected and helps ground the character in reality.

As far as CW pilots this season go, ‘The Beautiful Life’ is by far the most original and distinctive. It has its own real and gritty visual style, which is a refreshing change from the plush, glossy worlds of ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘90210′ and ‘Melrose Place’.

While it’s unlikely that ‘The Beautiful Life’ will set the ratings on fire, having such a niche target audience, the series does hold its own among the other staple dramas on The CW.

3 out of 5 stars

Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder

From the moment, I first heard The CW would be commisioning ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ I have been holding out with bated breath for the pilot of this show and judging by its premiere, I will definitely be back for more blood.

From the creator who brought you ‘Dawson’s Creek’, Kevin Williamson returns to the scene for this decade’s smash theme, vampires. There have been numerous similaritires between ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘Twilight’ and the similarities do not just stop at the vampire theme, from love interests and teenagers, right down to the physical appearance of the two leads. The similarities can not be more pronouce.

Like ‘Twilight’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’ is based on a series of novels, by L.J. Smith. After surviving a car accident which killed both her parents, Elena (Nina Dobrev) and her brother Jeremy (Steven McQueen) move in with their aunt in Mystic Falls. When Elena isn’t mourning over her parents or listening to her BFF, Bonnie, tell her she may be psychic, she has to cope with her whining emo, pill popping brother Jeremy (Steven McQueen).

In comes Stefan (Paul Wesley), the pretty boy who gets all the girls talking as he walks down the hallway. Like Edward Cullen, Stefan is a vampire who has been 17 for centuries, apparently. Before long, Elena and Stefan embark on the sort of cheesy love, you expect from all high school flicks, she secretly looks at him, he secretly smiles at her. He begins to appear outside her window at night, she typically dreams of him every night.

Here comes the twist, Stefan may be the good vampire, but his long lost brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is the evil one who is capable of killing anyone to stay alive and he has his eyes on Elena. Ian does a good job of portraying the evil brother as everything he does looks evil, from his dark stare right down to his evil voice.

The special effects are limited, but there is a lot of blood. The bloodlust eyes in the sight of blood are really cool and the final fight scene was dramatic and exciting. Here’s hoping we see more fight scenes like that.

Overall, despite the similarities to a lot of vampire flicks – vampire falls in love with a sweet teenage girl, teenage girl is threatened by another blood sucking vampire, good vampire does his best to protect her – the pilot was a good start to the show and set the characters up nicely for hopefully a good season of blood.

3 out of 5 stars

'Melrose Place' is back, on The CW.

The CW seem to be setting a trend for bringing Darren Star’s 90’s dramas back to the screen; and the spin-off to the original’Beverly Hills 90210’, ‘Melrose Place’, is the latest to see new life on the network.

Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, who ran ‘Smallville’ last season, breath new life into the iconic apartment complex, introducing a new batch of characters, new mysteries and new dramas — and like the new ‘90210’, the producers hope to infuse the new characters with a few original cast members too.

Laura Leighton reprises her role as Sydney Andrews in the new series and it appears little has changed since the original. Sydney is just as devious and scheming as before (albeit, alive once again — which is said to be explained at some point in the new series).

As the new landlord, she’s worked her way into every one of the new tenants lives, especially David Breck (Shaun Sipos). Within the first five minutes we’re thrown right into the middle of one of Sydney’s deceptions, which ultimately leads to pivotal moment in the pilot. This single incident brings all the new characters together, complicating all of their seemingly normal lives.

Perhaps the two of the more intriguing storylines, revolve around aspiring filmmaker Jonah Miller (Michael Rady) and medical student Lauren Yung (Australian raised Stephanie Jacobsen).

Jonah, who is left hanging after proposing to his long time girlfriend Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas), catches an Oscar-winning producer in an incriminating position with a barely legal young girl. Faced with the option of trading the footage for a film-deal, Jonah realises the the impact this decision could have on his career and pending engagement.

Meanwhile, Lauren, who is struggling to pay off her hefty student loans, is propositioned by her patient’s attractive and charming son. With the offer of a large sum of money in return for certain behind closed-door favours, Lauren is unsure what to do, but finds herself being convinced to take up the offer by the mysterious new tenant Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz).

Another Melrose resident is super PR agent, Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy), whose love for being in control is equal to her love for woman. Ella is likely to stir up plenty of trouble for her fellow residents, showing signs of being equally manipulative and deceitful as Sydney.

Rounding out the series regulars is Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield), who, while keeping up the appearance of being a talented young sous chef, shows he actually has a much darker side.

Also reprising his role from the original series is Thomas Calabro, as Dr. Michael Mancini, who is revealed as the father of bad-boy David. It appears the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in this case, as both have found themselves involved with Sydney at some point.

Following the initial “off with a bang” introduction, the pilot tends to drag a little with your standard character exposition and interactions. Though it does pick up towards the end, when the coda kicks in. Questions which were raised are somewhat answered, while even more perplexing questions are established as the episode comes to a close.

Between all the mystery, flash backs and seductions, there’s plenty of intriguing story lines to pull in even the newest ‘Melrose’ watchers.

While it’s nothing new or the least bit original, The CW have managed to sex up an already sultry franchise — with its flashy new look and glammed out set pieces, its bound to fit in nicely with the rest of the networks buzz worthy dramas.

One big question that remains is whether Network Ten will even consider screening the series, considering how awfully ‘90210’ bombed last year. Perhaps GO! will try to snap up both series. They’d fit nicely on the new channel’s line up.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Jordin Sparks has already proved she’s one of the ones to watch out for from ‘American Idol’, arguably the only other Pop/R&B winner of the program to have continued success in the international market alongside Kelly Clarkson. Her debut album sported hits such as ‘Tattoo’, ‘One Step At A Time’, and thewWorldwide smash duet with Chris Brown in 2008, ‘No Air’.

Now she’s back with her second album, ‘Battlefield’, and it’s a really solid album, surprisingly so for this reviewer, not many albums are that easy to listen to from start to finish, sometimes you have to be in the groove not to skip certain tracks, but Battlefield has such a good flow, from Pop/ one moment to a string of lighter R&B numbers that still pack a punch and don’t descend too much into monotonous balladeering, which is a pitfall some R&B artists fall into quite often.

The lead single ‘Battlefield’ is a pretty multilayered and epic sounding song and a great choice as first single. Written by OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder (Who has been swanning around quite a bit lately, also behind Beyonce’s ‘Halo’ and Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Already Gone’) it has had the critics raving. One reviewer, ‘Popjustice’ writes, “to start with you think ‘this isn’t up to much’ then by the end of it you think ‘this is going to be number one for precisely 2.5 months’. There is a brilliant middle eight where everything falls out and it’s just Jordin bellowing “like a battlefield! Like a battlefield!” and then it all crashes back in and then it all falls out again and then it all goes back in again and it’s all jolly good.”

The second single has been confirmed as ‘SOS (Let The Music Play)’ which is a pretty boppy R&B song laced with some great sound effects.

With so many great songs, Wikipedia notes it has been praised for having so many solid songs that any one of them could work well as singles.

General consensus on the TVAus forums is that ‘Don’t Let It Go To Your Head’ is amongst their top picks for a future Single. This reviewer if he had to pick his top most picks from the album other than ‘Battlefield’ would probably choose ‘Watch You Go’, ‘Let It Rain’, and ‘No Parade’. The first two have really good power in their beats, and the latter is a great dynamic R&B ballad sounding track.

I could also see ‘Emergency (911)’ becoming a radio favorite.

Overall a great effort by Jordin and if she keeps it up on future releases, she’s going to become quite an artist in my opinion.

A great, solid album.

Get the album on iTunes.

The cast of ABC Family's '10 Things I Hate About You'.

ABC Family have pumped out a number of hit series over the last few years, including ‘Greek’, ‘The Secret Life of an American Teenager’ and ‘Kyle XY’, all of which found strong audience bases in their core teen demographic.

Now ABC Family are hoping to do it once again, but this time with a proven concept pulled right out of the 90’s. ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ is based on the hit 1999 film by the same name, which starred Julia Stiles and the late Heath Ledger.

The original film was based on William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, though these elements of the story were either omitted for the series, or were not explored fully in the pilot, but the general basis for the series is more or less same as the film. It revolves around two sisters, Kat and Bianca, as they try to navigate their way through high school and deal with their over protective father.

Lindsey Shaw, who played the essence of high school popularity in the short-lived comedy ‘Aliens in America’ does a complete 180˚ for ‘10 Things’. She plays the independent, self confident, feminist Kat, which she delivers eerily familiar to Stiles, with the exception of her being a brunette.

The role of Kat’s younger, impressionable sister Bianca is filled by Meaghan Jette Martina, who also looks and plays the part quite well. Nicholas Braun fills the shoes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adorkable character Cameron, while Ethan Peck as Ledger’s bad boy character Patrick. Finally, to my great surprise, Larry Miller reprises his role as the sisters crazily protective father, a role which he plays too well.

The spot on casting of the sisters and solid supporting cast has helped the show to capture the same fun attitude that the 1999 film did. It has plenty of great one liners and comedic beats which is surely a result of having the same creative team as the original. Director Gil Junger and writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith all resume their roles on the series. They’re also joined by showrunner Carter Covington, who previously served as a writer and producer on ‘Greek’.

The writers have thrown in a number of references to the film, which fans of the original will easily recognise. There’s even a call back to the song “I Want You To Want Me” by Cheap Trick which has been covered by all-female Californian rock band KSM. The song was infamously covered and performed by Letters to Cleo in the film.

With so much of the original team involved and some great peformances, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ looks to be another hit in the making. That is if these teens today are still able to appreciate what was once one of the kings of 90’s teen comedies.

4 out of 5 stars

Michael Gambon and Daniel Radcliffe star in the long awaited 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'.

After being held back six months due to the writer’s strike leaving a rather large gap in Warner Bros. US summer release schedule, ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is finally here.

It’s been one of the most anticipated films of the year and early box office sales only seem to confirm this statement. The US midnight opening raked in an estimated $22.2 million, the biggest midnight opening ever. It even beat the studios’ previous record of $18.5 million for ‘The Dark Knight’.

So here we are six films into the series and it appears the magic is still there. The peak of the ‘Harry Potter’ mania has well passed, yet people are still flocking to the cinemas to see the latest instalment and after seeing ‘Half-Blood Prince’ it’s easy to see why.

From the get-go you know you’re in for a much different film than any of Harry’s previous adventures. David Yates who directed 2007’s ‘Order of the Phoenix’ returns as director for what is arguable the darkest ‘Harry Potter’ film yet.

Probably the biggest difference in the latest film and to a lesser degree ‘Order of the Phoenix’, is that the films are now simply pieces to a larger overarching story. Unlike the first four films they can no longer be taken as standalone stories, rather a fair bit of prior knowledge is not only assumed, but required.

Fans of the books will probably find this latest film to be quite a good screen adapation, while newcomers to the series will no doubt find it a littler harder to grasp on to. That being said, there are some truly wonderful things in this film worth non-readers time.

There are great performances from a number of the films cast, including Michael Gabon as the wise and protective Albus Dumbledore, Helena Bonham Carter as the psychotic Bellatrix Lestrange and Jim Broadbent as the new potions master Horace Slughorn.

The junior cast rise to the occasion with some great comedic performances by Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and newcomer Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown. We also finally get to see Draco Malfoy as more than just the school bully, portrayed brilliantly by Tom Felton.

Romantic comedy takes centre stage in this film, as the characters begin to realise the feelings they have for each other. While some of these relationships lack the subtly they had in the books, they make for some truly entertaining moments.

Visually, this film is in constant darkeness. Some scenes are almost completely pitch black, silhouetted, or simply lit by the moon and/or characters wands. You don’t really get as sense of “magic in the air” like you did in previous films, instead the world seems rather stale. While this goes with the territory of the books becoming darker, as a film, it’s much harder to become engaged when everything is so dark and drab. It feels like they were trying for a more gothic Buton-esque style, though the end result wasn’t nearly fantastical enough.

Steve Kloves who wrote the screenplays for all of the previous films, sans ‘Order of the Phenix’, tries his best to make something fun and enjoyable out of a rather depressing story. Still, we’re able to laugh and become engaged by these characters we’ve grown to love over the last five films. Kloves was able to give the film a constant sense of movement and impending danger, despite the story relying on a fairly expositional reveal towards the end. While this film never really reaches an ultimate showdown for Harry, you do start to see the pieces begin to fall into place for what is to become the final battle between Harry and Voldemort.

The biggest let down in the film series so far is the direction the music has taken since John Williams left. The oscar winning composer, who created the wonderfully magical soundscape of the ‘Harry Potter’ universe, left after ‘Prison of Azkaban’ due to scheduling problems. In came Patrick Doyle who brought a brassy British sensibility to the ‘Goblet of Fire’ score. While many fans were initially outraged with Doyle’s effort, looking back on it now, it’s hard to argue that Doyle did in fact create some really bold and iconic themes.

‘Order of the Phoenix’ and subsequently ‘Half-Blood Prince’ brought in Nicholas Hooper, a long time collaborator of director David Yates. Hooper’s musical take on the series so far has been pretty much unmemorable. While he’s been somewhat more open to translating some of Williams’ original themes, the lack of his own iconic themes has left the series feeling musically bland. There’s nothing thematic to grab onto. Everything feels rather monotonous with the sole purpose of serving the current scene, rather than building its own overall identity. By now there really should be an iconic theme for Voldemort, but it’s nowhere to be found. Even Doyle managed to create a strong brooding theme for Voldemort in the one film he scored.

‘Half-Blood Prince’ really manages to hold up quite well in comparison to its prequels, if not exceeding them. It has its own strong identify which is both entertaining and emotional. Yates has really managed to ground the film in a reality which could otherwise be lost to farce. It has an ease and flow about it, in which some of the previous films have struggled to do so eloquently.

To sum things up, ‘Half-Blood Prince’ probably isn’t the magical adventure previous films were, but its dark and moody and it sets up an excellent launch pad for the final two installments. The ending leaves us begging for answers and we can only begin to anticipate what the final chapters will bring.

4 out of 5 stars

When Mark Vincent stepped onto the grand finale stage of Seven’s ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ in April, we all knew it was just the beginning for this talented 15-year old.

So here we are just a few months later and Vincent’s debut album “My Dream – Mio Visionario” has hit the scene after a whirlwind tour to Italy and back.

Now I’m no expert when it comes to vocal music, but I can appreciate a great singer like the next guy. What can I say? This kid has talent.

Kicking off the album is Vincent’s rendition of the infamous “Nessun Dorma”, as song which has become synonymous with the greatest tenor of all time. While bringing his own fresh element to this classic, Vincent’s rendition also pays homage to the incomparable Luciano Pavarotti.

One of the standout tracks for me is a rendition of Leonard Cohen’s similarly infamous “Hallelujah”, which was made famous by John Cale as featured in the 2001 animated film ‘Shrek’ and by Jeff Buckley as used in ‘The OC’. Vincent puts his own spin on the popular song, with his trademark mix of English and Italian lyrics. It’s both satisfying for fans of the previously mentioned covers and distinctive enough to warrant a second listen.

A favourite of vocal music fans is Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli’s “The Prayer”, which Vincent does admirably in a rather Josh Groban-esque way.

Another stand out is a cover of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “No Matter What”, in which Vincent teams up with fellow ‘Got Talent’ finalist Jal Joshua. It’s a fun, distinctive track, which would otherwise be overshadowed by the other power ballads on the album.

The last track on the album is the Australian national anthem “Advance Australia Fair”, which I often criticise for being dull and nowhere near as patriotic as the US anthem. But the orchestral arrangement on Vincent’s version is just bold enough to make even me feel a twinge of patriotism, which is saying something.

At only 15 years of age, Mark Vincent is sure to have bright future ahead of him and it shall be interesting to watch him grow and mature as a performer.

“My Dream – Mio Visionario” is now available online from iTunes.

‘Everwood’ The Complete Second Season

‘Everwood’ is one of my favourite shows ever. Like many others, I fell in love the small town of Everwood, Colorado back when it aired on The WB and subsequently on the Nine Network in Australia.

The Complete First Season was released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment back in September 2004. It was a number of new teen dramas headed to DVD, including Josh Schwartz’s ‘The OC’.

A few years went by and there had been no word on the second season of ‘Everwood’. Despite ‘The OC’ seeing several later season hit shevles.

The initial response from Warner Bros. was that they had no plans to release future seasons of ‘Everwood’ because of poor sales on the first season.

So naturally, when it became apparent that the second season would never come out on DVD, I was absolutely devastated.

Then in July last year, there were a couple rumblings of a release, with music artist Will Derryberry stating on his blog that some of his songs would be featured in episodes of ‘Everwood’ headed for TheWB.com video portal and on DVD.

At this point it became apparent that Warner Bros. were working on acquiring licences for the music featured in the series, plus a number of additional music replacements.

Finally in September last year, the news was confirmed by Warner Bros. Vice President of TV marketing during the online Home Theatre Forum chat. Finally!

So here we are, five years later and ‘Everwood’ The Complete Second Season is finally out on DVD and boy was is worth the wait.

The second season picks up exactly where the first season left off, where we were let wondering many questions, including: Did Colin survive the surgery? Will Amy and Ephram finally get together?

The answer to one of these questions becomes apparent within the first five minutes, but not before a convincing daydream sequence, which leads us to believe otherwise.

We see how these characters, which we’ve grown to love, deal with the loss of such a pivotal character during the show’s first season. We see them through their ups and downs and ultimately how their small town universe is suddenly altered.

Existing relationships are tested with the reversal two key relationships. We also see new relationships develop out of all the chaos of last season.

Season two also introduces a number of new characters, including Dr. Linda Abbott, a new love interest for Dr. Andy Brown (Treat Williams), played by the incomparable Marcia Cross (‘Desperate Housewives’).

Deliah’s new baby-sitter Madison (Sarah Lancaster, ‘Chuck’), who becomes an interesting influence on the adolescent Ephram (Gregory Smith).

Finally, bad boy Tommy (Paul Wesley, ‘The Vampire Diaries’), who leads Amy (Emily Vancamp) down a dark path as she struggles to deal with her loss.

Here we have 22 brilliantly crafted episodes, dealing with such topical social issues including adolescent sex, depression and AIDS;  all though the microcosm of a small mountain town.

‘Everwood’ is poetic, eye opening and makes for an unbeatable television experience.

The images are sharp and presented in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, preserving the original broadcast presentation. Some music has been replaced for this home entertainment version, but nothing too detrimental to the overall experience. Fortunately the series features a lot of original music composed by Blake Neely, including the series theme song, all of which is still intact.

Bonus features are pretty sparse. There’s just a batch of deleted scenes, some of which are great additions, others not so much.

I guess that’s what happens when you wait five years to release a series on DVD. Hopefully for future releases, Warner Bros. will make more effort in producing cast and crew interviews, commentaries and behind the scenes featurettes.

It’d be of particular interest to hear from series creator Greg Berlanti, whose since gone off to produce ‘Brothers and Sisters’, ‘Dirty Sexy Money’, ‘Eli Stone’ and co-write the upcoming blockbuster ‘The Green Lantern’.

“Everwood’ The Complete Second Season is a rare example of a family drama which is smart and topical, all the while being cool and entertaining.

Let’s hope Warner Bros. fast track the release of the final two seasons of this outstanding series.

5 out of 5 stars

Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf star in "Revenge of the Fallen", the follow up to 2007's smash hit "Transformers".

Following on from the hugely successful 2007 smash hit “Transformers”, comes “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, the second film based on the Hasbro toyline by the same name.

Director Michael Bay (‘Armageddon’, ‘Peal Harbour’) returns to helm the multi-million dollar blockbuster with stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro.

So where do we begin with “Revenge of the Fallen”?  Well, let’s start with the action.

Let’s just say there’s plenty of it. Loud, messy, chaotic action. The film jumps from city to city destroying everything in its path. Not unlike is prequel.

You can’t go past Michael Bay when it comes to action blockbusters. He’s the king, right?

Well, unfortunately for “Revenge of the Fallen”, as great as the action is, its almost like one giant ego-stroking rehash of every other Michael Bay film. Whether this was intentional, or perhaps I’m just too familiar with Bay’s previous work, there really wasn’t anything in there that hasn’t been seen before. Asteroids, sinking warships, you name it. It’s all in there.

Half an hour into the film and you’ve pretty much filled your action quota. There’s just too much of the same action and nothing really stands out.

That being said, the visual effects are truly unbelievable. Industrial Light and Magic have absolutely nailed a visual style for the Autobots and Decepticons which is both realistic and other worldly.

The Witwicky clan are back to fill your ears with plenty of mindless banter. Shia LeBeouf (Sam Witwicky), Kevin Dunn (Ron Witwicky) and Julie White (Judy Witwicky) provide reasonably strong comedic performances, which help break up the excessive action scenes.

John Turturro (former Sector 7 agent Seymour Simmons) and Ramón Rodríguez  (Sam’s college roommate, Leo Spitz) also provide some comic relief.

What made the first film so great, was its ability to not take itself to seriously, thanks to its strong comedic cast. However in “Revenge of the Fallen” you start to feel as though the film is almost trying too hard to be funny and sometimes actually verges on annoying.

Megan Fox (Mikaela Banes) resumes her role as the resident hottie, a role which everyone knows she does all too well. Michael Bay clearly intended to up the ante, by strategically dressing her in even more scant clothing.

Australia’s Isabel Lucas (Alice) adds a second layer of sex appeal, just in case Megan Fox straddling a motorcycle wasn’t enough for you. Lucas has never been the strongest actor in our books and “Revenge of the Fallen” is no different. If it weren’t for her looks, would she have been cast? Doubtful…

What lets “Revenge of the Fallen” down so much is its rather poor storyline. Everything is made out to be so eventful, that by the end, nothing stands out.

Hollywood writing duo Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who’ve brought us a number of Hollywood blockbusters over the last few years including “The Ledged of Zorro”, “The Island” and “Mission Impossible III”, resume their writing positions on “Transformers”.

While “Revenge of the Fallen” was in development, Kurtzman and Orci were also hard at work writing “Star Trek” and co-creating television series ‘Fringe’ with J.J. Abrams. They were also making final (but uncredited) script revisions to Zack Snyder’s “Watchmen”, serving as producers on “Eagle Eye” and executive producers on romantic-comedy “The Proposal”.

Perhaps the fact that they’ve been just so busy with so many projects is why “Revenge of the Fallen” fails to hit the mark. The storyline feels so thinly stretched between all the rampant collateral damage, if someone asked me what the film is about, I’d really have to think hard to try and remember.

So, what’s the bottom line?

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is a great action blockbuster for those who love fun popcorn flicks. Its even a little easier to sit through from just a motion sickness inducing persecutive, thanks to less chaotic camera work. But for anyone who was expecting something different to the first or a little more in terms story, then perhaps you might leave a little disappointed.

2 out of 5 stars

Eliza Dushka as Echo in Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse'.

Without giving too much away, here is my preview/review of drama ‘Dollhouse’ which has its Australian premiere on FOX8 June 9.

From the producer who brought you ‘Angel’, ‘Firefly’ and ‘Buffy’ comes Joss Whedon’s new project ‘Dollhouse’. ‘Dollhouse’ follows ordinary citizens who have volunteered to work for the Dollhouse, also known as ‘Actives’ or ‘Dolls’, whereby their personalities from the outside world have been wiped clean so they can be imprinted with personas demanded by clients. These personas range from crimes to fantasies to the occasional good deed. Outside of these personas, these dolls are stored away in a mysterious yet futuristic laboratory, named the Dollhouse. The Dollhouse is an illegal facility and is constantly under threat from FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett).

The lead Echo (Eliza Dushku) is joined by Sierra (Dichen Lachman) and Victor (Enver Gjokaj) who all play dolls. When ‘Dollhouse’ first premiered it had a lot of potential, however due to Eliza Dushku’s limitations, the procedural nature of the show seemed very bland. It wasn’t until the sixth episode (‘Man on the Street’) where they delved more into the Dollhouse the show realised this potential. Ironically, this is when Sierra and Victor received more screen time. However, after that episode, the show headed south as it focused more on standalone episodes with Dushku. It wasn’t until the penultimate episode where I felt grateful for toughing it out during those boring periods.

Perhaps, Whedon chose the wrong lead with Dushku but that is an argument for another day. If you haven’t heard, ‘Dollhouse’ has been renewed for a second season, which might I add was one of the most surprising renewals of the last decade, especially given it was on a downward spiral (sinking from 2.0 rating in the key A18-49 demo to 1.0 for its finale). However, if the show did end on that episode, I wouldn’t mind as it was almost a perfect finish to a show which had so much potential.

As for the sophomore season, I can only hope Whedon focuses more on serialized episodes as the the show finished on such an awesome note. If it returns to standalone episodes, it will lose me.

If you are tight on time, I would recommend DVR-ing all the episodes and just skip to the Dollhouse scenes. Although I’d definitely recommend watching episode 6 (‘Man on the street’), 11 (‘Briar Rose’) and 12 (‘Omega’) from start to finish.

3 out of 5 stars

‘Dollhouse’ has its Australian premiere on FOX8 and if your lucky Ten Network will air it sometime in the future perhaps 12am Friday night.

'Smallville' The Complete Seventh Season

‘Smallville’ is one of the few shows that I watch exclusively on DVD. Originally not by choice, but because the show was jerked around so much by the networks here in Australia.

How can one honestly expect fans to follow a show over three different channels over seven years in various timeslots? Those who remember, the Warner Bros. series originally started out on the Nine Network, where it played out on and off in various timeslots for three seasons. It was then on-sold to Network Ten where it remained for a season or two. The series was then shafted to the now defunct Ten HD, which was the last time ‘Smallville’ was seen on free-to-air television in Australia.

Thanks to the popularity of TV shows on DVD, fans can finally catch up on Clark Kent’s younger years in ‘Smallville’ without the interruption of a lousy network.

Funnily enough, despite being a fan of the show, I never seem to give it enough credit. Perhaps the fact that my viewing habits for the show are somewhat sporadic due to the yearly gaps between DVD releases, I’m often one to say that the show should’ve been cancelled years ago. Looking back on this, I now acknowledge that the reason why used to say this was because I just hadn’t seen the show in over a year.

So when season seven of ‘Smallville’ finally came out on DVD last month, I was pleasantly surprised as just how wrong I was about this show. It was still just as engaging and addictive as ever.

What’s great about ‘Smallville’, is that you know where the show is heading. You know that Clark Kent will eventually become a clumsy spectacle ridden reporter for the Daily Planet. You know that Clark Kent is finally going to realise who his true feelings are for. And you know that one day Clart Kent is going to don the red cap and the blue tights and save the world.

With all these things in mind, watching the show is like watching the pieces of a puzzle slowly coming together.

Season seven reigns in some new series regulars and guest stars, including Clark’s tenacious Kryptonian cousin Kara played by Larua Vandervoort, the adorkable Jimmy Olsen played by Aaron Ashmore, who was only a guest star last season and Grant Gabriel, played by Michael Cassidy (‘The OC’, ‘Privileged’) who takes post as the new editor of the Daily Planet.

I’m always nervous when television shows bring in new characters, because I often feel as though the newbies are somehow invading an already formulated group of characters.

Understandably, the introduction of new characters on a series is to a) mix up the existing world of the characters and b) give the writers of the show something new and different to work with when constructing story lines.

Fortunately for ‘Smallville’, they’ve never introduced a new character which I didn’t end up liking by the end of the season.

So as expected, the introduction of Kara opens up a cavalcade of new story lines and plot twists which ultimately allow Clark to learn more about his birth parents and his home planet Krypton. Thankfully, we’re also not overwhelmed by these alien story lines and are given a more grounded relationship driven story arc between Chloe and Jimmy.

Let’s face it, this show needed a new power couple, I can’t even describe how much I despise the never ending Clark and Lana lovefest.

A particularly intriguing story arc this season follows Lex’s discovery of his father, Lionel Luthor’s secret society, Veritas. A group of wealthy society figures who protect the secret of the Traveler (Clark), and ultimately hold the power to control him.

This season also hints at what’s to come in Superman’s crime fighting future, with another taste of the Justice League. We’re introduced to Dinah Lance, also know as Black Canary, played by Alaina Huffman.

Other returning guest stars this season include James Masters as Brainiac, Dean Cain as Dr. Curtis Knox, Justin Hartley as the Green Arrow and Sam Jones III as Pete Ross.

The 6-disc set comes with a couple extras including:

• Audio commentaries on 2 key episodes
• “Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Krypton” featurette
• “Jimmy on Jimmy” featurette
• “Smallville Legends: Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton” mobisodes
• “Smallville: Visions” digital comic book

Season seven is an exciting mix of intrigue, action and drama, which sets up a thrilling launch pad for season eight.

If only I didn’t have to wait a whole year for the next season to roll around on DVD.

3.5 out of 5 stars

“The Way the World Looks” definitely seems like an apt title for Mr. Carr’s debut album as our ‘Australian Idol’; with his career and fame skyrocketing higher and higher each day, life must seem like quite a blessing though this muso’s eyes.

From the first beat, you know the kind of album you’re in for.

It kicks off with a bang with “Any Other Way”, which features the same bouncy British sensibilities of  The Fratellis.

Wes’ catchy no. 2 single “Feels Like Woah” (which is now the 2009 NRL anthem) bridges us to the fist pumping ”Fearless”, which feels like a promo track for Network Ten’s ‘The Biggest Loser’. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw commercials for the next season running with this track.

Other notable tracks from the album are “When We Were Kings”, a strong anthemic rock tune which progressively builds to a grand chorus, and the similarly bold ”Stay Awake”, which is reminiscent of Gavin Degraw’s 2003-04 hit single ”I Don’t Want To Be” (which went on to become the ‘One Tree Hill’ theme song).

The tone shifts for “Hurricanes”, which feels like a Jack Johnson inspired reggae tune. Wes’ states on his website that he wrote the song while trying to escape a hurricane in Fiji at the beginning of the year.

We’re treated to equally different tones in the softer, Aqualung-esque, piano driven ”Light Years”, the chilled out “Love Is an Animal” and the musing tracks “East Coast” and “The Way the World Looks”.

It’s hard to pick key highlights from the album, with all the tracks bringing something new and unique to the ears. I gather it’ll be a difficult decision to choose the next single from the album, as it’s filled with a plethora of iconic and addictive tracks.

It’s definitely one of the most well rounded debut albums we’ve seen from an ‘Idol’ winner so far, but perhaps that’s more due to the fact that Mr. Carr was already such a well defined artist before landing on ‘Idol’.

From Wes’ humble beginnings at the Robin Hood Hotel in Waverley, to centre stage at the Sydney Opera House forecourt last September; it must’ve been quite an adventure for the Bondi local and “The Way the World Looks” is a testament to his achievements.

The future only looks bright for this accomplished artist.

“The Way the World Looks” is available in stores now and online from iTunes.

Lawrence Leung stars in the seemingly pseudo documentary 'Choose Your Own Adventure'.

‘Lawrence Leung’s Choose Your Own Adventure’ is a 6-part ABC1 series, produced by the team that brought us ‘The Chaser’s War on Everything’.

It follows 20-something-year-old Leung, as he goes back to fufil his life long aspirations.

In the first episode, Leung is on a mission to find his long lost childhood crush Angela.

He even goes as far as to fly to California to seek advice from supposed experts in the field of “talking to girls.”

While this show may not be for everyone, it has its moments. Its far from the garish over top mockumentaty style of Chris Lilley’s ‘Summer Height High’, instead it tends to lean towards a more subtle form of comedy which extends from the awkwardness of more or less every situation Leung gets into.

The biggest laughs come from Leung’s Hong-Kong born parents, whose charming commentary on all of Leung’s antics make for some excellent entertainment.

There is a certain level of charisma that comes from Leung’s rather naive and gentle persona, however is this enough to sustain our attention over six weeks? Unfortunately, the awkwardness of the show’s comedy stylings sometimes plays too subtly that you do feel rather embarrassed by the events unfolding.

While I don’t think ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ will be the smash hit that ‘Summer Heights’ was, I do think the series will find its own loyal fan-base. Perhaps those who enjoy the similarly awkward Kiki comedy, ‘Flight of the Concords’.

3 out of 5 stars

‘Lawrence Leung’s Choose Your Own Adventure’ airs 9.30pm Wednesday’s on ABC1. Re-runs air 9.00pm Thursday’s on ABC2.

Chris Bath hosts 'Sunday Night' with Mike Monro.

Sunday the 8th of February at 6:30pm Sunday Night premiered for Channel 7.  Hosted by Mike Munro and Chris Bath. Produced by Adam Bowland, successful creator of Sunrise and The Morning Show.

The show began a little unstable at first, Mike Munro seemed a little nervous, he was live to air discussing the Victorian Bushfires.  Within the first 5 minutes there were a couple of stumbles and stutters however Mike is a consumate professional.  He then passed it onto Monique Wright, yes she is a blonde, however quite an intelligent blonde, has always been a reasonable presenter on 7 news and Sunrise.  She interviewed some of the survivors and discussed their stories.  Quite a heartfelt interview in such hard times.  She managed to show a great deal of compassion but at the same time convey her professionalism.

It was then onto Britt Lapthorne, the main story of the night.  Quite an indepth analysis on the case, with some new evidence analysed on the show.

Overall the show is quite well presented and should be a reasonably successful show for Channel 7.  Ideally if it could rate 1.4 million a week they should be really happy with that as it will launch their Sunday Nights quite nicely along with Seven News.

For those looking to find out more about the Brit Lapthorne case there is a Q and A after Sunday Night on 7HD starting at 7:30pm.  Also viewable online at Yahoo Seven.

3 out of 5 stars

Michael C. Hall stars as a Miami blood-spatter analyst and serial killer on 'Dexter'.

Season 2 of ‘Dexter’ is about to hit free-to-air screens thanks to the Network Ten, who’ve been bringing us a few nice little niche shows of late (albeit these show are airing in the Sunday slot in timeslots that are never at a set time), but nonetheless they are still on the air. Last year Season 1 of Dexter was in this slot, but proved to be popular and was able to maintain a core audience right through to screenings which sometimes weren’t ending until close to midnight. Well finally TEN have realised the potential this show has and have bought it into primetime.

This season of Dexter focuses on our homicidal maniac we all love and how he deals with life when his world starts crumbling down around him, there is a dramatic shift of character for Dexter Morgan this season, he is truely tormented and is quite obviously not himself, it all starts with the discovery of bodies lurking deep within Miami Harbour. Labelled “The Bay Harbour Butcher” Dexter’s world comes crashing down when he realises, which doesn’t take long, that these bodies, these kills, are his own. Adding to this is the drama created when Doakes starts making accusations against Dexter and knows that he is sly and hiding something within. Poor “Dashing Dexter” can’t even make a kill, his every move being watched, this adds to our anti-heroes downfall which sees our character dealing with domesticity, his relationship with Rita and confessing a dark secret to the women who helps hide his identity (Rita).

With the heat turned to danger levels Dexter needs to play it very cool to stay below a new sergants watchful eye who wants to stop at nothing until the case of the “Bay Harbour Butcher” is solved. Even though in the eys of the community this new serial killer is doing them a favour by taking out the trash of Miami.

Dexter is a stylish, addictive and completely out of the ordinary crime drama, and Season 2 really packs a punch, with stand out performances and cunning storylines. If you enjoyed Season 1 you’re going to LOVE Season 2.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Season 2 of Dexter premieres on Network Ten 9.30 p.m. Monday Feb 9.

America Ferrera is 'Ugly Betty'.

Season two of ‘Ugly Betty’ has had a rough trot on Seven but with the final episodes airing at last in January I thought I would review the season.

Season two started with the passing of Hilda’s (Anna Ortiz) husband Santos (Kevin Alejandro). This had a great affect on her life and her sister Betty (America Ferrera) helped her through it.  Betty decided to stay with Henry (Christopher Gorham) despite the fact that his ex girlfriend Charlie (Jayma Mays) was pregnant by him and they would only have a few months together.

Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) was engaged to Bradford Mead (Alan Dale) and they were set to marry until he dropped dead at the wedding.  Betty’s boss Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) had to cope with his mother Claire Meade (Judith Light) being sent to prison and the death of his father Bradford. Claire eventually escaped and was allowed freedom once it was proven she only murdered Fey Sommers after being driven insane by a perfume.

Daniels transgender sister Alexis (Rebecca Romijn) gains large power over Mode in this season and grows to be a huge part of the show.

With these final season two episodes in January we will see much change in Betty’s work life and personal life. The season two finale “Jump” features a range of Madonna songs from her latest cd Hard Candy and of course the song Jump. It is an important episode for Betty where she has to make a big choice. Lindsay Lohan appears for the first time on ‘Ugly Betty’ in this episode in the role of Betty’s high school enemy Kimmie Keegan. Season three also features this character and a lot of big changes in Betty’s life.

Season three starts with Betty making a huge decision about her personal life. This changes her outlook in life and she goes on a trip by herself to the Grand Canyon. This trip makes her more work orientated and leads to Betty striving to get ahead in her career more so then seasons one and two. A big change happens in the life of Alexis that changes the whole show.

Kimmie Keegan makes her life difficult in various amusing ways and for once in recent years Lindsay Lohan plays her role well. A few episodes in Aussie actor Grant Bowler begins a recurring role as they mysterious Connor Owens. Hilder continues her dream to open a beauty salon and battles the council to get a permit so she can legally stay open. Mark and Amanda have huge changes in their lives with a change in one of there home lives and a possible huge relationship change.

Wilhelmina’s main focus is her surrogate baby with Bradford being carried by Betty’s best friend Christina (Ashley Jensen.) As usual she tries to advance her career and suceeds in a big way. Things are looking good for ‘Ugly Betty’ and I for one hope it continues for many seasons. The next episode airs on the 1st of January on Seven.

3.5 out of 5 stars

If you’ve yet to see this brilliant piece of television mastery, then now is the time to catch up.

From series creator Matthew Weiner (The Sopranos), comes the most talked about drama of the year.

Filled with egomaniacal suits, powdered housewives, retro furnishings and enough smoke and booze to make your eyes water, this drama will entice all your senses. It’s complete and utter genius and my favourite new show.

Previously limited to Foxtel Movie Extra subscribers, the critically acclaimed drama, has just arrived on iTunes. Go check out this truly mesmerising piece of television.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Set in the 1960’s New York, this sexy, stylised and provocative drama fellows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising, and ego-driven world where key players make an art of the sell. The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series for Best TV drama blurs the lines between truth and lies, perception and reality. The drama unfolds around Donald Draper, the biggest ad man in the business. As he calls the shots n the boardroom – the bedroom – he struggles to stay a step ahead of the rapidly changing times and the young executives nipping at his heels.

Download the entire first season on iTunes today. You’d be mad not to experience the show the critics are raving about!

Out of Africa: Jack's back in '24: Redemption'.

It’s been eighteen months since we last saw our hero Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) but he is finally back with a two hour telemovie to wet our appetite of what’s to come in the seventh season of 24.

24: Redemption sees Jack in the fictional African country, Sangala, as he tries to dodge a subpoena from a Senate subcommittee for ‘illegal detention and torture of certain prisoners in [his] custody.’ Whilst in Sangala he catches up with his old mate Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle) who runs a boy’s school in the war-stricken country. However trouble arises when the warlords of the country are keen on enlisting these young boys as soldiers for a military coup.

What follows, is some action packed drama as Jack and Carl attempt to protect the orphans and escort them out of the country. And like previous seasons, it involves numerous firearm confrontation and explosions and gruelling torture scenes. Nevertheless, there are some moving scenes with Jack showing unusual emotion towards the orphans.

As all of this action is taking place in Sangala, a new president, Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), is sworn in to office in Washington.

Overall, 24: Redemption does not disappoint, but I found, besides the dark first scene, the first twenty to thirty minutes to be a chore. However, the remainder of the episode, kept me on the edge of my seat, with a couple of surprising developments and Jack back to his bulls eye best (How can he be so accurate when the others are so uncoordinated?). The telemovie definitely sets up the entire seventh season with a number of interesting subplots set to unfold – Tony Todd, the Sangala Warlord, heading the coup, Allison Taylor as the first female president and her son (Eric Lively) who may possibly be the target for the baddies.

4 out of 5 stars

24: Redemption premieres 9:30pm 8:30pm Friday, December 5th on Seven.

Christian Slater stars in 'My Own Worst Enemy'.

John Eisendrath (Alias), Jason Smilovic (Kidnapped), and David Semel (Heroes and Life) have teamed up to produce NBC’s new fall drama, My Own Worst Enemy.

My Own Worst Enemy follows Christian Slater as he struggles to control his double life as Henry and Edward. Edward is employed by Janus Corporation, the government agency responsible for his induced persona. The Feds activate a chip in his head to trigger an operative licensed to kill (Edward) and inactivate the chip to disguise him as middle-class father, Henry.

Each episode involves Edward completing tasks for his company. However, when the company’s controlling device malfunctions, switching of personas can no longer be controlled. This can occur at the worst of times such as when Edward attempts an assassination or when Henry is spending quality time with his family.

As well as the missions, the proceeding episodes follow Henry as he attempts to remove the chip, but it is not as easy as it looks as Edward prevents Henry from knowing anymore.

Each episode is action packed and is slickly produced. However, the constant switching between personas may be confusing, but you get use to it after a couple of episodes.

If I were to rate the pilot on its own I would give it 5/10, but episodes two and three have been exhilarating.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Network Seven has the rights to My Own Worst Enemy with no mention of an airdate, but in the meantime catch it on NBC Monday 10/9c.

Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as America's 'Kim & Kim'.

It has been plagued with bad press, re-shoots and shuffling of staff behind the scenes, but now the American version is just under a week away and we have our first review of the NBC half-hour comedy.

While I was never a huge fan of the Australian series, I did have high hopes for the US adaptation of our foxy ladies. I thought if anyone could pull off an adaptation, it would be Ben Silverman and the folks over at Reveille Productions, the brains behind the American versions of The Office and Ugly Betty. Unfortunately for Kath & Kim, this adaptation of falls flat on its face.

I remember seeing the original bunch of promos that NBC ran earlier this year to promote the show, there were signs of the same ridiculous comedy that the Australian version strived on. But since the re-shoots it appears all those seemingly funny moments are gone.

What made the Australian version work so well, was that it was completely outrageous and over the top. The American version doesn’t even seem to have the same style. It’s not funny enough to be a laugh-out-loud comedy and its not well versed enough to be a good dramedy. It’s sort of stuck in this middle ground which doesn’t seem to offer anything remotely new or entertaining. I kept waiting for it to really pick up, having a few humorous moments throughout, but for the most part stayed pretty flat.

While I’ve always thought Molly Shannon was an great choice for Kath and Selma Blair as Kim was starting to grow on me, it’s the script and direction that really lets this pilot down. It wasn’t particularly clever or witty, but rather dull and lacking the outrageous comic prowess of the Aussie original. It often felt half baked or even restrained. I can only imagine how much more intriguing the original Paul Feig (The Office, Arrested Development and 30 Rock) directed pilot would have been.

One thing the script did get right was the pop culture references. There were some good one liners, but the execution was less praise worthy. I don’t know if it was poor direction or just bad comic timing on the actors behalf, but they just didn’t have the impact they should have had.

There were subtle hints of the original in the dialogue and John Michael Higgins plays a pretty great replacement for Glenn Robinns, but thats about it. It don’t think it really resembles enough of the original to be called Kath & Kim. Even Gina Riley’s cheesy soap operatic theme song rendition of “The Joker Is Me” has been replaced (with “Filthy/Gorgeous” by the Scissor Sisters). To top it all off, there are horribly done voice overs which sound more like after thoughts.

Perhaps because the show has undergone so many changes, it’s lost the original spark that attracted the American producers in the first place. Maybe the series will improve as it continues (like The Office did), but for now, I gotta say – It’s nothing nice, different or unusual. I don’t like it.

1.5 out of 5 stars

Kath & Kim premieres Sunday September 12 on Seven.

Lucy Hale and Joanna Garcia in 'Privileged'.

I briefly mentioned Privileged in a previous post, but I thought it deserved its own, if not brief little review.

Coming off the successful adaptation of Gossip Girl, the new CW dramady Privileged is based on another Alloy Entertainment novel, ‘How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls’ by Zoey Dean. It was adapted for television by Everwood writer and producer Rina Mimoun, whose more recent credits include Gilmore Girls and Pushing Daisies.

The show centres around Yale graduate Megan Smith, who recently moved to Manhattan with hopes of finding success in the field of journalism. However, when her plans suddenly go awry, she accepts the job as the live-in tutor for two spoilt rich girls in the wealthy town of Palm Beach and is presented with an offer she just can’t refuse. If she can get both girls into college, she’ll have all of her own college loans paid off by the girls millionaire Grandmother, Laurel Limoges.

From the very first frame, you can’t help but fall in love with Megan Smith, played so brilliantly by Joanna Garica (Reba). It’s almost as if she was born to play this role. She brings so much charm and sophistication to the character, something I haven’t seen so well delivered since Lauren Graham in Gilmore Girls.

The show also stars a solid supporting cast including, Lucy Hale (Bionic Woman) and Ashley Newbrough (Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Rose and Sage Baker, Anne Archer (Ghost Whisperer) as their grandmother Laurel Limoges and Michael Cassidy (The OC) as Megan’s friend Charlie Hogan.

The writing incredibly smart and funny, filled with so much vim and vigor. It definitely has all the trademarks of Rina Mimoun’s sumptuous writing.

Privileged is a delicious new dramady and is right at home on The CW’s line up. Fan’s of Gilmore Girls will love it for its neurotic, witty, fast talking characters and will be swept away by its undeniable charm and charisma.

4.5 out of 5 stars