A Brief History of Visual Media

Time is, as they say, fluid. It flows over us, catches us in its undertow, and carries us merrily along. Fortuneately, it serves cocktails before it throws us over that big waterfall at the end. All this is by way of saying that, in the rush of time, my intention to write several separate pieces review certain things I have seen in the last month or so has been washed away like so much pipeweed. So what I'm going to do to amend this situation is give a series of brief, yet hopefully informative reviews of all the stuff I should have already told you about. So here we go.

The Simpsons
Seasons 3 & 4
DVD
I got season 4 the day after Thanksgiving on sale for $18, and Kathreen gave me season 3 for Christmas, so naturally I have experienced a resurgence in my Simpsons watching, which had fallen off quite a bit with my possession of multiple volumes of Futurama, Family Guy and Smallville.
Season 4 is the superior of the two. It contains some of my personal favorites (Kamp Krusty, Homer the Heretic, Wacking Day), some of the most famous episodes (Marge Vs. the Monorail, Homer's Triple Bypass, Mr. Plow), and some of the most emotionally resonant (Lisa's First Word, New Kid on the Block, A Streetcar Named Marge). The secret of season 4 is that it was the first season with Conan O'Brien as a member of the writing team. He is credited as the writer of New Kid on the Block and Marge Vs. the Monorail, and the commentary contains some hilarious remarks on his personality. Unfortuneately, Conan only takes part in one of the episode commentaries (despite being credited on two), but his absense just means the remaining people can reveal more telling ancedotes about him.
Season 3 is definately a bit of an in-between, and is therefore a little hard to categorize. Some of the episodes are classic (Flaming Moe's, Burns Verkaufen Der Kraftwerk, I Married Marge, Black Widower and Brother, Can you Spare Two Dimes?), with the brilliant situations and emotion that characterize the best Simpson episodes. Others (Bart the Murderer, Lisa the Greek) are great for the first half but fail to finish strong. And still others (When Flanders Failed, Homer Defined, Saturdays of Thunder) are decent but lack the sophistication of the better episodes (although I do really like the line in Saturdays of Thunder: "Bart, what did I just say?" "Kill spectators."). In short, both these seasons are excellent and well worth getting, and represent the begining of the Golden Age of The Simpsons.

Smallville Season 3
DVD
I haven't finished watching Season 3 of Smallville yet, but even so I can tell you it's the best of the three seasons out on dvd right now. Not that it will mean anything to you if you haven't watched the first two already. Although it didn't look like it during most of the first season, Smallville evolved quickly into a show that demands constant following of the plot line. Season 3 surpasses season 2 because Clark isn't pissing off both Chloe and Lana in some manner or another every week, and he finally gains his super-hearing ability, which he uses to great effect. Plus the fight between Lex and Lionel takes several steps forward into the disturbingly dark side of things. The best episodes are the two parts of the season premiere, Perry, Truth (which, between the two of them have the best non-cliffhanger moments of the season), Legacy, and Obsession (which, aside from having the best Clark-with-a-girl moment since Lana's pool scene in season 1, is going to figure prominently in the next couple of new episodes). Watch the first two seasons, then get ready for the payoff in 3.

Daredevil: The Director's Cut
DVD
The Director's Cut of Daredevil is so shockingly different, I couldn't believe it. There are significant differences, both additions and subtractions. Murdock no longer sleeps with Elektra. They don't have the conversation while walking down the sidewalk, in which she talks about her many senseis and he acts decidedly unlike a blind man. Matt doesn't seek redemption from his priest. There is an entirely new plotline involving a new case that the legalistic duo take up, and the overall plot of the movie works much better. Watch the making of featurette and you can see the producer saying that the real movie is the one that played in theaters, and then cut immediately to the director who is all but screaming that the studio made him ruin his movie, and isn't it better this way? He's right: if you liked Daredevil, you'll like the D.C. If you didn't like the original, give this one a shot. You may be surprized.

Ocean's 12
Bottom line? This sequel has the cool attitude of the original. The characters are great, the heist contest is a cool idea. But the emotional payoff isn't as big, mostly because of the nature of the twist. Julia Roberts as Tess impersonating Julia Roberts is damn funny, especially with Bruce Willis thrown in the mix to blow it up a little. Of course, it raises the question of why Linus simply doesn't impersonate Matt Damon. But seeing "and introducing Tess as Julia Roberts" in the credits is worth it. Soderbergh definately has the sense of style to carry the movie, but if they make another one I hope they put a little more meat in the pie. (Sheperd's pie, stupid. Not regular pie.)

House of Flying Daggers
Fantastic movie. Very, very good. My viewing of it was a little tainted by the fact that I didn't realize the focus was on the love triangle, as opposed to the political conflict. You know how a lot of movies have a romantic backstory thrown in to help compliment the main arc? Well, this love story has political intrigue and stunningly beautiful martial arts scenes thrown in to help it move along. I think I like Hero a little better, but this movie is amazing. This film had more moments where I had no idea what was going to happen next than anything else I've seen recently. Well worth your time and money to see.

Sideways
Go see this movie. That's all I have to say.
Ok, fine, that's not all I have to say. Along with HoFD, one of the best movies to come out recently (this year, last year, whatever). The two main characters are fully realized and brilliantly written. Don't try to pigeonhole them or discount what they say, because while they both have significant faults, they both have insight into (at least) the other's life and problems. Extremely well written (better than anything else I saw last year, save maybe Eternal Sunshine), acted, shot, directed. There's a reason this film is getting a lot of attention and praise from critics. It's because this movie is too good to pass up, and the only way people will see it is by positive word of mouth. This is the sort of intelligent film that blows away most of the fluff that gets put out (even though it is often enjoyable fluff). Funny and introspective without getting too dark or taking itself too seriously. Again, see this movie. You'll be glad you did.

That's all for now, people. It's good to be back, and look for some book reviews coming your way soon.