October 2, 2007

Comics On Screen

One of the few PG comic book franchises, the Fantastic Four are back for their next adventure in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The heroes have all returned to reprise their roles from the first picture, so the cast includes Jessica Alba (Into The Blue), Michael Chicklis (The Shield) and Ioan Gruffudd (Horatio Hornblower), as well as the introduction of the CGI incarnation of the beloved comic character Silver Surfer into the film series. Now with Rifftrax!

Secret of the Cave is the other PG film this week, the story of a young American boy in Ireland as he tries to solve the mystery of ghosts in a local village.

Starting Early

October is here, so it's time to start bringing in the spooky movies for Halloween. 1408 is the biggest movie of the lot, a Stephen King (Secret Window, Dreamcatcher) story where John Cuscak (City Hall, The Ice Harvest) plays a writer staying in the haunted room 1408 of a mysterious hotel, disregarding the objections of the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson: SWAT, Snakes on a Plane)... speaking of which, "Zombies on a Plane" is the premise of Flight of the Living Dead, for more of a B-picture horror film, as well as Evil Aliens, a high octane humans vs. aliens gorefest with amputations, mutilations, and probes, probes, probes.

Sally Field (Forrest Gump, Mrs. Doubtfire) stars in Two Weeks, a new comedy/drama about a family gathering at their dying mother's house for a last goodbye, only to find themselves trapped for two weeks and forced to get along. Jindabyne is the story of a fishing trip gone wrong, as Gabriel Byrne (Ghost Ship, End of Days) and his group find a dead woman in the river, the effect it has on his wife Laura Linney (Breach, Love Actually). The story of a young woman preparing to become a suicide bomber, Day Night Day Night follows her through her conviction, fear, and doubts.

Two new mocumentary-style comedies have just been released. Pittsburgh stars Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Fay Grimm), who has agreed to play the lead in a regional theater production of The Music Man. In the style of The Office, Chalk is a mostly-improvised film following the careers of three teachers in the school system.

Ken Burns' 6-part documentary The War is new this week, which covers the history of World War II. We also have the complete The Bronx Is Burning, set during the New York Yankees' attempt to win the 1977 World Series.

We're starting up a set of new series, as well. The first season of Jericho details the fate of a small Kansas town after a nuclear attack on America. Season 1 of Adult Swim's Metalocalypse follows the world's most popular metal band through "Scooby-Doo meets Spinal Tap meets Sweden" adventures. Two & a Half Men, the two adult men and one boy sitcom, won an Emmy for its first season, and courtroom drama Shark, starring James Woods (Northfork, Be Cool), was Emmy-nominated. We also have the first season of Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program, a sketch show with a number of high profile comedians.

Continuing series include the third season of the math/cop procedural Numbers, part 2 of season 3 of the movie star series Entourage, the 4th season of the cinematic animated series Samurai Jack, and the second season of the FBI series Criminal Minds.