The Anti-Bourne

Grade: B+

The Informant was not just any movie-going experience for me. When I showed up to the free screening I found online this past Tuesday, I met the unexpected sight of a red carpet. Turns out I was at the New York premiere, and I soon found myself sharing a theater with the likes of Matt Damon, Joel McHale, and Steven Soderbergh. Not that I got a good look at any of them. I came in the back entrance and sat in the front with the commoners. Still, pretty cool.

As for the movie itself, it was a lot of fun. Based on a true story (but adjusted heavily enough to turn the serious truth into a comedy), The Informant finds Matt Damon playing Mark Whitacre, family man and top exec in one of those big pharmabiological type companies that make a ton of money even though you and I have no idea what it is they actually do. When the FBI is brought in over another matter, Whitacre gets the chance to play the crusader as he volunteers information on a massive price-fixing scheme.

Sure, the FBI agents (played by Scott Bakula and The Soup's Joel McHale) question why a guy making six figures who isn't wanted for any other crime would turn informant, but soon enough that's exactly what he becomes. Wearing a wire for years, he gets the FBI their case. But once they start looking a little closer at their informant, they realize he may not be all he says.

With all of that though, the movie succeeds most as a character piece. Matt Damon, not needing the extra weight to make you forget the Jason Bournes and Will Huntings he's played in the past, takes a character who at first seems a joke into something far more interesting. Early on, we're given snippets of his nonsensical, word association inner monologue, simplying nothing is going on upstairs. And if you've seen the trailers, making him out to be some sort of bumbling fool who does all but should out "I'm an informant," you'd think the same thing.

The movie works though because that's not at all the case. Damon's Whitacre is actually a highly intelligent man. He's got a PHD, speaks multiple languages, and as far as we can tell executes his job well. Furthermore, he actually makes a decent spy. He never for a second breaks character in front of his bosses, and even improvises when the FBI's gadgets don't work. So it makes all the less sense when he narrates to his wire where people can hear him or pulls out a recorder in the middle of a meeting. This question of how someone can be so smart and so dumb at the same time creates most of the comedy in the movie's first half.

It's in the second half though that the movie really expands from something slight and amusing enough to something better. Once Whitacre becomes the FBI's focus and you start to see what Whitacre's really up to, his character only becomes more complex and Damon's performance all the more impressive. Is he naive, malicious, stupid, crazy? You don't really get any answers, but it's certainly fun to try to figure out.

I've seen some reviews complaining about the '70s aesthetic for a movie set in the '90s, but I think that only adds to the general tone of absurdity. The '70s mood makes as much sense in this environment as all the stand-up comedians who populate the cast. In addition to McHale in a major part, there's also Tony Hale (Arrested Development's Buster) as Whitacre's lawyer, and cameos by Patton Oswalt, Best Week Ever host Paul F. Tompkins, and Scott Adsit (30 Rock's Pete).

Since the main jist of the comedy is the incomprehensibility of its lead's actions, the incompatibility of the style and some of the cast only raises the laughs. Which all makes sense for a satire about greed and business ethics. But I'm making this movie sound more serious and thought-provoking than it actually is. The movie's good for laughs, but it's Damon and his character that make it more.

Let's Take Some Glee

Seeing as how we were all hooked on Glee last May, I count it as a returning show, separate from that list of pilots I feel like I should check out but will actually delete from my DVR unwatched 2 months from now. Still, we all know a good (even great) pilot is not the same thing as a good show, so now that I've seen 2 more episodes of Glee it's time to see how it holds up.

The answer? Pretty awesomely. If anything, these past two episodes have brought out what we all liked in the pilot even more. If the pilot was Election meets High School Musical, then since then it's been shifting more towards a musical Election - more comedy, less cute. Credit some of that to scene stealer Jane Lynch, who always has any episode's best lines. But even when she's offscreen I'm finding myself laughing more than I'd expect to.

Last week's episode served a duel purpose - it had to be simultaneously a "premiere" and a second episode, the downfall to having the first episode air months earlier. And it felt like both, taking the glee club's existence for granted while giving them a whole other set of challenges, like getting enough people to be eligible for regionals. Not to mention a list of acceptable songs. Let's just hope that doesn't last, or the musical numbers might lose some of their fun.

Speaking of the songs, there's some good and some bad on that front. The good is that this won't be a show that does one obligatory song an episode; this is a full-out musical. Not a musical so much in the breaking into song mid-sentence way (though we did say that kind of non-Glee Club singing this week), but in that they're throwing in a bunch of songs each week. So if you like musicals (which, if you're watching the show I presume you do), you've got quite a lot to enjoy here.

On the other hand, they still need to work on making the songs feel more natural. Last week in particular all of the songs sounded incredibly canned. The second their mouths opened a studio-perfected song would magically come out. As great as "Gold Digger" was, you didn't for a second believe he was really singing it. Worse was the cheerleaders' audition song. I questioned if they were even doing their own singing, since it didn't really sound like them. This week struck me as an improvement, but let's hope they work on the lipsynching, pre-recordings, or whatever it is that isn't working.

Also, as funny as Ryan Murphy's writing often is, there's always the danger that he'll just go too over the top. The last thing anyone wants is for Glee to turn into Nip/Tuck. So while tonight's episode was as entertaining as the rest, it does trouble me that there's already a celebrity guest appearance in the third episode (though Josh Groban was funny, and I'm sure it was intended to self-reflexively bring up that very point). And an episode about Will losing interest in Glee seems like it should be midseason, not right away.

Until someone starts humping a couch or cutting their breast off with a chainsaw in a doctor's waiting room (both things that have actually happened on Nip/Tuck in JUST THE LAST YEAR), I think it's safe to say that Glee has earned its season pass on my DVR. As a musical comedy that's equally successful at both, Glee is a big bright spot on the fall line-up.

This Year's Slumdog Millionaire?

When looking forward to what to see in the fall (and especially what to see for awards season), it's always good to see how things are playing at the festivals. Toronto in particular has become more and more important for launching potential Oscar hopefuls, most notably last year's winner Slumdog Millionaire. So what's this year's equivalent? Take a look:

Just like Slumdog, Up in the Air has been getting universally glowing reviews from everyone who's seen it. And with George Clooney doing a variation on his Michael Clayton character and Jason Reitman going a bit more dramatic than Juno and Thank You for Smoking (both festival favorites as well), it's easy to see why. So as the first of what will be many amendments to my top 10 fall must-sees, bump this one up to the main list.

Racing for Attention

Gossip Girl's back, and while it's too soon to judge the high school to college transition (that will come next week), we can look at where this season's heading. Thankfully, for one episode at least, the show seems free of the dead-end plots that made up most of last season. No Duchess, no Uncle Jack, no awful 80s flashbacks. So let's look at where that leaves everyone.

Is it a bad sign that I'm actually most interested in Nate's storyline so far? Yes and no. No, because it may eliminate some deadweight (Vanessa still can't be helped). Yes, because since when do I care about Nate? Well, since he got himself involved in the kind of wacky feud between ultra-rich families that only seems to exist in soap operas. Which, at least for now, sounds kind of fun.

More so than Chuck & Blair anyway, who, despite claims that "we could never be boring," have managed to succeed from my standpoint. I know, I know, this is the CW and their everlasting love is the #1 reason 16 year old girls (ie 95% of the CW's audience, if not specifically Gossip Girl's) watch the show. But enough already. I don't care. I don't go to Gossip Girl for super serious teen angst. Wait, so what do I go for? I'll go with ridiculousness.

Which is why the subplot with the most potential is still Dan's creepy half-brother stalking around and trying to be besties with his bio family without revealing himself. How long before this Ice Truck Killer starts leaving Barbie dolls in Dan's fridge (it's a Dexter reference, deal with it)? And will Vanessa be playing the part of Deb? I'm just saying, he seems up to no good.

So who's that leave? Oh right, Serena and her neverending parade of paparazzi. Was it supposed to be a big mystery what she was doing in Europe if we already knew the answer? For now, I'm saying this storyline depends entirely on who they cast as Serena's dad. Let's see, who's blonde, age appropriate, and a cool enough get to justify all this screentime for Carter? Any suggestions?

Lastly, Lila was very noticeably MIA this week, which either means she was having her baby or in divorce court, since TV shows don't bother to go through that much effort to explain a character's absence if they just weren't needed in the episode. Seriously, how many times did we need to be reminded she was with her mother?

Next week sees Blair & Georgina as roommates and the full-on college initiation. Most shows set in college tend to go "frats! uh...what else happens in college?" Since I don't think NYU even has frats (and I know Columbia barely does), I think we're safe on that front. If we see them in class even twice as much as we saw them in high school, I still don't think anyone will notice the difference.

Fall TV Preview

As enjoyable as summer TV could be, this week begins the process us TV junkies have been waiting for: Fall TV Season, when all of our favorite shows come back from their summer vacations to come entertain us once more. If you want to know when CSI and Grey's Anatomy come back, look elsewhere. If you want to know what I'll be watching, read on.

Glee (September 9th, 9-10 PM, Fox, NEW SHOW)

If you saw the pilot last May (and if you haven't, do it now), you know this is heading into the fall as frontrunner for best new show. As hard as that performance of "Don't Stop Believing" may be to top, the news that there will be 2 soundtracks in 2009 alone to cover all the songs leaves me very hopeful.

Gossip Girl (September 14th, 9-10 PM, The CW)

Will Gossip Girl avoid the college curse that's plagued every high school show ever? Since we never actually saw them in high school, and NYU barely counts as college, they stand as good a chance as anyone. Just as long as it's not another season of "omg Blair & Chuck 4eva omg."

The Office (September 17th, 9-9:30 PM, NBC)

Jim and Pam get married! Other than that, we'll really see the writers' creativity in keeping this show going into its sixth(!) season.

Community (September 17th, 9:30-10 PM, NBC, NEW SHOW)

A chance to see Joel McHale do something other than make fun of Speidi/Ryan Seacrest/Miley? I'm so there (as long as I can still get my weekly Soup fixings on Friday).

Curb Your Enthusiasm (September 20th, 9-9:30 PM, HBO)

This show's still on? After however many seasons, Larry David's found a surefire way to get people to watch: Seinfeld reunion! Guess he wins, cause I'll be watching.

Bored to Death (September 20th, 9:30-10 PM, HBO, NEW SHOW)

Sure, it's cool that the cast consists of Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and The Hangover's Zach Galifinokusableskiver (maybe someday I'll learn his name, but today is not that day). But the real reason I'm excited? The theme song. Wouldn't be the first time I watched a show just for its theme song (that would be Angel).

How I Met Your Mother (September 21st, 8-8:30 PM, CBS)

Barney & Robin! Ted's at Columbia! The mother's in his class! 100th episode musical spectacular! All of which suggests this season will be legen - wait for it...

Heroes (September 21st, 8-9 PM, NBC)

I know I wrote a whole post on how Heroes' fourth volume wasn't as bad as everyone said, but that doesn't mean I'm actually looking forward to the new season. It's go big or go home time for Heroes, cause I don't think anyone will put up with another year of coasting by.

...dary! Legendary!

The Good Wife (September 22nd, 10-11 PM, CBS, NEW SHOW)

This so doesn't seem like my kind of show, but critics seem to be enjoying it. And there's absolutely nothing else AT ALL on Tuesday nights. So maybe I'll check it out? We'll see.

Modern Family (September 23rd, 9-9:30 PM, ABC, NEW SHOW)

Count this as another one the critics (may or may not) have convinced me to watch. Sounds like a pretty standard family sitcom to me, but supposedly it's hilarious. Maybe I should actually watch a promo...

Cougar Town (September 23rd, 9:30-10 PM, ABC, NEW SHOW)

Ok, promos aren't going to help on this one, but it's Bill Lawrence! The Scrubs man himself! So I've got to at least give it a try.

Flash Forward (September 24th, 8-9 PM, ABC, NEW SHOW)

People keep calling it "the next Lost", thinking it will fool all of us die-hard Lost fans into watching. They're right. I can't wait. Whether it lasts past the pilot to become a great series or suffers The Nine syndrome (which many critics fear), at least it won't be an NCIS spin-off.

Dollhouse (September 25th, 9-10 PM, Fox)

Yes! After getting hooked this summer, this is one of my most anticipated returning shows. Adding to my excitement is their decision to go all-out geek this year, with guest/recurring roles by BSG's Apollo and Colonel Tigh, Summer Glau of Firefly fame, and Buffy and Angel's Alexis Denisof (aka Mr. Alyson Hannigan). Now we just need to get Amy Acker's show canceled so we can have our Whiskey back.

Saturday Night Live (September 26th, 11:30 PM-1 AM, NBC)

New girls were cast. Other girls were kicked off. Still nobody can do a decent Obama.

The Cleveland Show (September 27th, 8:30-9 PM, Fox, NEW SHOW)

Even though I no longer regularly watch Family Guy, I'd still like to give the spin-off a look. Can't be as bad as American Dad, right?

Dexter (September 27th, 9-10 PM, Showtime)

Yes! My #1 most anticipated show of the fall. No matter what the storylines, I'm always happy to watch Dexter, Deb, Rita, and the rest. And with John Lithgow's Trinity Killer, the return of FBI Agent Lundy, and domesticated Dexter now married with a baby, this season should up the watercooler factor even further.

South Park (October 7th, 10-10:30 PM, Comedy Central)

South Park likes to alternate between smart, satirical humor and stupid, gross humor. While the former may be less than 25% of the show, it's good enough that I trudge through the rest.

30 Rock (October 15th, 9:30-10 PM, NBC)

Why does NBC keep holding 30 Rock back a month? If season 4 starts better than last year's guest star marathon, I'll forgive them.

V (November 3rd, 8-9 PM, ABC, NEW SHOW)

Juliet vs. aliens? What's not to love? It's like a preview to the Lost series finale (I'm kidding....I hope).

So that's what I'm looking forward to. How about you? What new shows are you most excited to try, what returning favorites have left you in suspense all summer, and what shows are finally getting kicked off your DVR? That's what the comments are for.

Serious Summer Movie Catch-Up

In an effort to go into the fall with a clean-slate blog-wise, I'm taking care of 5 summer movies I saw months ago yet somehow haven't written about yet. I know you've already seen 3 of these, so there's no point in going into too much detail. And I still owe you District 9 and Julie & Julia.

I'm going in order of enjoyment, from Star Trek to Transformers 2.

Star Trek

Grade: A-

A Star Trek movie equally beloved by the hardcore Trekkies (sorry, Trekkers) and those like me who had never seen a single movie or episode of any of the TV shows. Why? 2 reasons: 1. JJ Abrams made the kind of light, fun blockbuster we wish all summer movies could be. 2. The young cast of insta-stars brought all sorts of new life into an aging franchise. I wouldn't say this was a Dark Knight level instant classic, but more Iron Man level: a thoroughly enjoyable movie that made me very excited to see what will come next.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Grade: B+

Ok, there were some strange changes from the book (what happened to the final battle sequence?), and it did feel like like a warm-up for Deathly Hallows. But there's a lot this Potter got right in ways the previous ones didn't. More than ever before, this one didn't get bogged down in excess exposition and extraneous sub-plots, keeping it simple with the most important story threads (like snogging. How great was Lavender Brown?). And it's probably the most visually stunning Potter yet. So I say no, Manohla Dargis, this is not a tiring franchise, but one ready to rev up for a (hopefully) incredible finale.

Away We Go

Grade: B+

Sam Mendes can't get any respect. Pretentious film school types call American Beauty the worst Best Picture winner in recent memory (have they not seen Chicago or Million Dollar Baby?) and Revolutionary Road got unfairly snubbed by everyone last year. Now his newest has gotten a rather lukewarm response from most critics. But you know what? I liked it. Some episodes along the road trip story get a little too over-the-top and sitcommy (I'm looking at you, Allison Janney and Maggie Gyllenhaal), but the two leads keep everything nicely grounded. John Krasinski proves he can be more than Jim Halpert, and Maya Rudolph amazes in her first dramatic performance. Even if nobody else remembers, she's on my shortlist for year-end honors.

The Taking of Pelham 123

Grade: B+

It's sad that this somehow ended up on that infamous list of movies that supposedly prove people don't want movies for adults (always along with State of Play and The Soloist). Because it was actually one of the most satisfying action movies this summer. Updating a classic (which, by the way, still totally holds up and you should go see now) to fit today's times, this Pelham is a completely different movie that still completely works. At first John Travolta seems way too ridiculous, but once you get used to him you kind of enjoy his villainous turn. And Tony Scott keeps the suspense and action coming strong. People may not still be watching this version 30 years from now, but they're missing out if they don't catch it now.

Transformers 2

Grade: C-

In the movie's defense, it was exactly what I was expecting. Problem is, I was expecting 2 and a half hours of machines fighting each other with ridiculous dialogue and a plot that makes absolutely no sense. And honestly, the special effects aren't even that great. You can't even tell what's going on in the machinery most of the time. As for the "humans," I continue to not get the appeal of Shia Labeouf, who's at his most annoying here, while I kept expecting Megan Fox to turn into a robot (that's not a comment on her acting, I just don't think she seems entirely human, which is why Jennifer's Body is a good movie for her). The plot has something to do with robots trying to destroy the sun with a gun hidden in the pyramids, but you're not really supposed to pay attention to that. More pressing was that the movie NEVER ENDS. I'm sure this is some people's idea of entertainment, but not mine.

Weeds Cracks Its Way to a Great Finale

First of all, if you haven't seen the Weeds season 5 finale, STOP READING. MAJOR SPOILERS TO FOLLOW.

Well, for whatever else you might say about Weeds' fifth season, that was a pretty phenomenal way to end it. I'm not even talking about the full episode, I really mean just those last two minutes. Or how bout just that final image of Pilar floating bloody in the pool after Shane whacked her upside the head with a croquet mallet? That right there made any of the season's faults worth getting through, and easily renews my interest in watching a sixth season.

Thing is, Weeds has always had pretty great cliffhangers for a show that once called itself a comedy. Season 1 had the DEA reveal. Season 2 had that crazy shitstorm of a bad drug deal that still ranks as one of my favorite cliffhanger endings for any show. Season 3 had the burning of Agrestic, and season 4 had the pregnancy reveal that kept me watching into this season after the meandering waste of a season that preceded it.

It's unfair though to say that Shane's swing is all that made this year worthwhile. While still not really a comedy anymore and a far cry from the Agrestic years, season 5 was a vast improvement over season 4. Characters interacted with each other more, and weren't bogged down in as many pointless storylines (remember the coyote business and Mermex? I try not to). Sure, Silas and Doug's pot store ended abruptly, but at least it led into something else. And Andy actually got stories that affected the show instead of just launching him on a series of misadventures.

Some of the new characters are even starting to work for me. Esteban may not be the most exciting character ever, but at least he got to do more this season than go "I'm a drug kingpin AND a politician, isn't that wacky?" Cesar has become more than Esteban's lackey and always has some fun scenes with Nancy. And Ignacio (aka Perro Insano) is often the funniest part in any episode. Maybe it's cause he's the only one who ever seems to be having any fun.

Other things to look forward to: As much as Celia's been all over the place the past few seasons, having her resurrect Nancy's drug dealing organization is exactly the kind of return-to-the-show's roots that's needed. With Nancy having nothing to do with drugs this season, somebody's got to keep up the title of the show.

Still, that last scene was a whole other level of satisfying. After Pilar's whole big speech about her plans to dispose of Shane and Silas since they were "extraneous," a deathblow to the head was exactly what she needed. It was all the more surprising since tricky spoiler guru Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly had pretty much convinced all his readers that Shane would be shooting Nancy in the finale instead. All in all, a great ending to a so-so season. Not bad for a show that's been on this long.