2013 Television Preview

Wondering when your shows are returning? Here’s when my shows are returning, as well as a few new shows to check out this winter. Enjoy.

Parenthood (Jan.1)

American Horror Story (Jan.2)

The Big Bang Theory (Jan.3)

Elementary (Jan.3)

Downton Abbey (Jan.6)

The Simpsons (Jan.6)

*Deception premieres Jan.7 on NBC

Seems similar to Revenge but this one has Victor Garber

Go On (Jan.8)

Ben & Kate (Jan.8)

New Girl (Jan.8)

The Mindy Project (Jan.8)

Happy Endings (Jan.8)

Don't Trust the B--  in Apt 23 (Jan.8)

Suburgatory (Jan.9)

Modern Family (Jan.9)

30 Rock (Jan.10)

The Office (Jan.10)

*1600 Penn ‘premieres’ Jan.10 on NBC

One episode in, it’s not fantastic but Josh Gad is funny

Fringe (Jan.11)

House of Lies (Jan.13)

How I Met Your Mother (Jan.14)

Parks & Recreation (Jan.17)

SNL (Jan.19)

*The Following premieres Jan.21 on FOX

Kevin Bacon tracks down a serial killer with a cult following. Creepy.

*The Americans premieres Jan.30 on FX

Two KGB agents pose as suburban Americans. Sounds Homeland-ish.

Arrested Development (Netflix) (early 2013)

*House of Cards premieres Feb.1 on Netflix

A political series with Kevin Spacey in the lead role. Sold!

Smash (Feb.5)

Community (Feb.7)

The Walking Dead (Feb.10)

The Amazing Race (Feb.17)

*Hannibal premieres Mar.12 on NBC

Hannibal Lecter, the early years, as a consultant. Interesting.

Revolution (Mar.25)

Game of Thrones (Mar.31)

*The Goodwin Games premieres Spring 2013 on FOX

New show from How I Met Your Mother creators.

Up All Night (Spring 2013)

Mad Men (Spring 2013)

The Pitch (Spring 2013)

Life's Too Short (Spring 2013)

The Newsroom (June.2013)

Breaking Bad (Summer 2013)

Wilfred (Summer 2013)

The Amazing Race: Canada (Summer 2013)

Canadians race around Canada. Not as epic. Oh well.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Les Miserables, Best of 2012

Film: Django Unchained

GENRE: Drama/Western/Action

RATING: R for graphic violence, language and some nudity
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 46 minutes

STARRING: Jamie Foxx (The Kingdom, Miami Vice, Ray)

Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception)

DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs)

WRITER: Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds)

PLOT: A bounty hunter helps a slave rescue his wife from an evil plantation owner. Much blood is shed.  

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 While the film is about Foxx’s Django character, it’s Waltz and DiCaprio who steal the show. Waltz is slick and humourous while DiCaprio is deliciously suave and despicable. Kudos also go to the unbelievably evil Samuel L Jackson.  

2 There’s a fun cameo in the surprisingly funny KKK scene. Who would have thought eye-holes would be so humourous?

3 Some great spaghetti western cinematography in this film, from beautiful journey shots to quick zoom close-ups.

4 You can tell that Tarantino’s beloved editor, Sally Menke, was not working on this feature (she died suddenly in 2010). There are parts that drag and seem unnecessary throughout the film. Hopefully the new editor, Fred Raskin, does a better slice & dice next time. Why so many slow motion walking scenes?

5 Tarantino makes liberal use of over-the-top blood splatter. Also most of the torture scenes are hard to watch. And rightfully so.  

RECOMMENDATION: Theatre for Tarantino fans

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Les Miserables

Film: Hitchcock

GENRE: Drama/Biography

RATING: PG-13 for violent images and sexual content
RUNTIME: 1 hours and 38 minutes

STARRING: Anthony Hopkins (Thor, Nixon, Silence of the Lambs )

Helen Mirren (Reds, The Queen) Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation)

DIRECTOR: Sacha Gervasi (newcomer)

WRITER: John J McLaughlin (Black Swan, Carnivale)

PLOT: Hitchcock’s marriage to his wife Alma is in trouble while he is obsessed with the making of Psycho.  

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 As a media teacher, I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the making of a popular yet controversial film. I loved the scenes with the censors. I found it interesting that there is no mention of Hitchcock shooting the film in black & white.

2 Hopkins does a great job as Hitchcock even with the heavy prosthetics. Mirren is also fantastic, as usual. They have some truly amazing scenes together.

3 I love the Hitchcock one-liners throughout the film. What a wicked sense of humour. I don’t know who to credit though; is it the screenwriter, the novelist or Hitchcock himself. Either way, these lines are so fun to listen to.

4 While I understood the idea behind the Ed Gein fantasies, I wish more was done with it, like add more outrageous imagery. That or take it out all together.

5 I enjoyed how they tried to show the famous Hitchcock silhouette as much as humanely possible.

RECOMMENDATION: Fine on DVD

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Django Unchained, Les Miserables

Film: Jack Reacher

GENRE: Action/Crime

RATING: PG-13 for violence and language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 10 minutes

STARRING: Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible, Valkyrie )

Rosamund Pike (Wrath of the Titans) Jai Courtney (TV’s Spartacus)

DIRECTOR: Christopher McQuarrie (The Way of the Gun)

WRITER: Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie)

PLOT: Loner, Jack Reacher finds himself involved in a case where a military sniper is accused of shooting five random victims.  

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 I was expecting more action than dramatic investigative speeches. The mystery was fine and all but it tended to drag throughout.

2 Cruise gets to have to some great one-liners, especially in his bar scene.

3 The ‘surprise’ bad guy is pretty easy to spot if you look at how certain roles are cast. Sometimes the most obvious ‘bad guy’ is just a giant predictable misdirect.

4 I would be frightened to have Pike as my defense attorney. Reacher spends a bunch of time having to slowly explain simple connections. A lawyer that can’t connect the dots on her own shouldn’t be allowed to practice law.

5 I don’t know if a certain actor is supposed to be a surprise in the last quarter of the film, but it was sure fun to see him.

RECOMMENDATION: Wait for the DVD

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Hitchcock, Django Unchained

Film: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

GENRE: Fantasy/Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for intense action violence
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 49 minutes

STARRING: Martin Freeman (BBC’s Sherlock & The Office)

Ian McKellan (LOTR, X-Men) Richard Armitage (Captain America)

DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson (LOTR, King Kong, The Lovely Bones)

WRITERS: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson (LOTR)

Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth)

PLOT: Bilbo Baggins joins a group of dwarves trying to reclaim their stolen home from a dragon.  

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 I understand the complaints surrounding Jackson’s three film decision and the fact that the first film covers only six chapters, but the overall length of the first installment did not bother me as much as I thought it would. Sure, it does drag a bit in the very beginning when Bilbo is making his decision to join the adventure, but after that, it moves along at a pretty good pace.

2 Freeman does a stellar job as young Bilbo Baggins. I have always loved his work and it’s great that more people will see how wonderful he is. While Frodo got a little tiresome, Bilbo is a breath of fresh air. Hope it lasts.

3 As a Lord of the Rings fan, its fun to see all the familiar faces. I like that Jackson is trying his hardest to connect the two stories as much as possible. I don’t like the birds however. What a deus ex machina.

4 No surprise, Gollum steals the show again. His scenes with Bilbo make the whole wait worth it. I’ve missed that creepy little guy.

5 So I didn’t see it in 3D (bad eye) or the apparently infuriating 48 framerate version. It was great in 2D, except the camera movements during the opening exposition were a tad dizzying. I can’t imagine how the people watching the 3D 48 framerate felt during those scenes. Maybe that could account for some of the mixed reviews.

RECOMMENDATION: Of course, see it in the theatre

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Hitchcock, Jack Reacher