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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the season premiere of Smallville, the first episode of TMNT: Back to the Sewer, and the Jim Henson CGI cartoon movie Tortoise Vs. Hare.
Smallville "Oddessy"
I actually am somewhat relieved about this episode. When I saw Smallville's infuriating season finale I had thought the show had jumped the shark big time but the season premiere was pretty cool and in a way makes me glad that Al Gough and Miles Millar left the show. Maybe now it can get some momentum.
Good to see that Alison Mack is now the show's female lead although I'd probably feel better about it if they hooked her up with Clark for a while.
Good idea to make Justin Hartley a regular but I wonder what happened to Kara.
Good opening. Let's hope the rest of the season isn't a let-down and that things will FINALLY start happening this year. ****.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward / TMNT: Back to the Sewer "Tempus Fugit"
I liked the premiere because it was not only the first episode of the new series but in a lot of ways it was the last episode of Fast Forward (they even used the old theme song at the beginning to throw the audience off track). I have to say I enjoyed this a whole bunch and am relieved they finally brought the Turtles home. Now all they need to do is get Splinter back.
I love the idea of the three Shredders. I think it's SO cool they're bringing back the Utrom Shredder but if they are serious about bringing the Demon Shredder back they're gonna have to de-power him a bit. I'm intruiged to see where this is going.
Yeah, I've seen the complaints on message boards about the "cheap-looking" animation but I seriously didn't notice it. People need to get over themselves. This is a Saturday morning cartoon, not Akira.
Good kick-off to Back to the Sewer and bitter-sweet farewell to Fast Forward. ****1/2.
The X-Files: Season Four
The X-Files season four is when the show was in it's prime. The season starts off with a bang and arguably ends with a whimper. But a lot of the stuff in between is great. I was never a fan of the show questioning the actual existance of aliens and though much of the end of the season and the beginning of the fifth was too much of an distraction but befor all that the show has some excellent episodes. And yes, this season has the Black Oil and THIS is the season in which everything regarding it doesn't add up.
This is also the season that introduced Scully's cancer arc and I like to think it paid off considering Gillian Anderson's performance was so touching.
Best episodes of the season are the hilariously disturbing Home, the cool but polarizing Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man, the beautiful Memento Mori, the Darin Morgan starring Small Potatoes, and the best Skinner spotlight ever Zero Sum.
Worst episode are the boring Teliko, the take-it-or-leave-it El Mundo Gira, the exceedingly dull Kaddish, and the frustrating Unrequited. Season Overall: ****1/2.
Herrenvolk: Everything Dies. I liked the season premiere because it DID answer some questions which last season's finale didn't. Sad they killed off X but I liked that this episode gave us the debut of the Killer Bees and Marita Covarrubias. I especially liked the touch of Cancer Man and the Alien Bounty Hunter healing Mrs. Mulder, especially the Cigarette Smoking Man's reasoning behind it. ****.
Home: Truly horrific and gross episode that is an outright classic and extremely disturbing. I love Tucker Smallwood as the doomed Sheriff Andy Taylor ("For real?") This episode also started the X-Files/ Millennium tradition of playing an up-tempo oldie while truly heinous things are occuring on-screen in this case "Wonderful, Wonderful" while the sheriff and his wife are getting bludgened. A lot of dark humor this episode including a hilarious Babe reference. Greatness. *****.
Teliko: Deceive. Inveigle. Obfuscate. I didn't like this for some reason. It was kind of boring. Cool seeing Carl Lumbly (Justice League, Alias) though. **.
Unruhe: Excellent episode. Pruit Taylor Vince is perfectly cast as the photograph killer Jerry and it was great to see Scully unafraid during her abduction. Too often on this series they weaken Scully so Mulder can save her but here she held her own. The concept of this episode was great too. ****.
The Field Where I Died: Cool and heart-breaking episode. Kristen Cloke (Millennium) gives a fantastic performance as Mulder's soul-mate Melissa. David Duchovny, for his part shows off considerable acting chops too. ****.
Sanguinarium: I love that the bad guy (played by Richard Beymer who was Benjamin Horne on Twin Peaks) actually won. If ANYONE is ever considering liposuction or plastic surgery this episode will turn them off that idea REAL quick. ***1/2.
Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man: This is one of those love it or hate it episodes. I really enjoyed it but the ambiguous nature of it leads one to believe that a LOT of the story has been embelished and that not everything portrayed on screen actually happened. However the very end hints that Cancer Man IS a failed writer with him quoting one of the lamer bits of his novel. ****.
Tunguska: This is where everything starts to fall apart. The Black Oil is COMPLETELY different from it's first appearance. There it was a sentient alien life form that jumped from body to body. Here it is a worm-like virus. I have to give this episode SOME props though: watching Mulder and Skinner repeatedly kick the crap out of Krycek was QUITE amusing. ***1/2.
Terma: E Pur Si Muove. Meh. As a mythology episode it was only mediocre but it had a couple of really good scenes: the Well-Manicured Man admitting to Cancer Man he had an affair with the murdered woman, and Kryeck getting his arm sliced off. ***.
Paper Hearts: I like that this episode has you feeling for Mulder while letting you know he's going too far in his search for the truth. People may think he is acting out of character here but it is perfectly in character for him to wear his heart on his sleeve and believing that HIS beliefs are the true ones. ****.
El Mundo Gira: I didn't care for this. It was kind of boring and dealt with characters I didn't know or care about. The opening teaser with the yellow rain was cool though. **1/2.
Leonard Betts: The TRUE beginning of Scully's cancer arc is a doozy. REALLY great concept with a VERY unsettling ending. Betts popping out of his skin was great. ****.
Never Again: This was good for a Scully character piece but not for much else. It paints Mulder as quite obnoxious which might not have been the best choice considering what episode immediately followed. Oh, I also love that the crazy tattoo was voiced by Jodie Foster!. ***.
Memento Mori: Powerful episode with heart-breaking performances all around. I loved the genesis of the Lone Gunmen's Mission Impossible schtick too. I REALLY loved Mulder and Scully's tender moment at the end. *****.
Kaddish: This episode was kind of dull. Cool Golem dissolving effects at the end though. **.
Unrequited: I hate these "__ Hours Earlier" episodes just because they get so repetitive in the last act. And seeing how young the Vietnam Vets were in this episode made me feel kind of old. **1/2.
Tempus Fugit: I am SO bummed they killed off Max Fenig in the teaser. He was such a great character. For the record they shouldn't have killed off Agent Pendrell either. Good mythology episode otherwise. ***1/2.
Max: VERY cool second part. I loved Mulder's conversation with the guy with the mustache especially since he was cracking jokes during an otherwise tense confrontation. ****.
Synchrony: Cool time travel episode co-written by David Greenwalt (co-creator of Angel). I like the implications the episode had at the end that time-travel WILL be possible at some point in the future which hints that humanity survives the alien invasion of 2012. Now I REALLY hope a third movie is made but considering I Want To Believe made so much less money than Fight the Future it may be a tall order. ***1/2.
Small Potatoes: A classic. The next best thing to a Darin Morgan written episode is a Darin Morgan STARRING episode. SO much greatness. My favorite scenes involve Eddie Van Blundht looking around Mulder's office and apartment and realizing his life boiled down to aliens, geeks for friends, and phone sex operators. Christine Cavanaugh (the voice of Babe) is hilarious and adorable as the woman inpregnated by "Luke Skywalker". I think the most memorable part of the episode is Mulder bursting in and seeing Scully and Eddie (as Mulder) start to kiss. Just the expressions on David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson's faces are SO funny and worth the price of admission. God, I love this episode. *****.
Zero Sum: Unexpectedly cool mythology episode that brings back the killer bees makes us worry about the true allegiance of Marita Covarubbias at the end. Skinner's confrontation with Cancer Man was awesome and Laurie Holden exudes hotness as Covarrubias. ****1/2.
Elegy: I really liked this until the very end when Mulder accuses Scully of working against him by not telling him the truth. Y'know I MIGHT have understood his point if it had been any other case but in this instance Scully was trying to deal with SEEING A DEATH OMEN WHEN SHE HAS CANCER. Almost as bad was that the writers had her be contrite and apologetic to this uncharacteristically cruel Mulder-buttwipe. The last two minutes don't COMPLETELY take away from the rest of the episode though. ***1/2.
Demons: I loved how maternal Scully is to an obviously confused and vulnerable Mulder. I think an episode putting Mulder through the wringer is exactly what was needed before the season finale. ****1/2.
Gethsemane: Believe the Lie. I personally think that it was lucky that The X-Files was no longer "on the bubble" and an established hit when they delivered this episode filled with bombshells basically debunking everything that had been set up. If this HAD been a last episode it would have been unbelievably cruel to both the audience and the characters of Mulder and Scully. The fact that the show returned is fortunate so this merely stands as jaw-droppimg instead of a "screw the fans" ending like Twin Peaks. ****1/2.
Alternate Teaser Audio: Home: Oh, my lord this was disturbing. It probably would have made the episode even scarier if Fox didn't censor it but while I'm perfectly comfortable with seeing it on DVD seeing it on TV is enough to give little kids nightmares for weeks (and possibly intensive therapy). *****.
Deleted Scene: Home: They went a little overboard on the special features for Home including a clip that is no longer than ten seconds which adds nothing to the episode. **.
Deleted Scene: Unruhe: Aw, I'm sad they cut this scene. It would have been nice to get some follow-up to Herrenvolk on Mulder's mother. Actually it probably should have happened in Home but it would have been nice if it HAD been followed-up on. ****1/2.
Deleted Scene: The Field Where I Died: More Kristen Cloke craziness! Excellent find. *****.
Deleted Scenes: Tunguska: These are really cool scenes that actually help understanding some of the conspiracy better. In the first Skinner and Scully discuss Krycek and in the second the Cigarette-Smoking Man confronts the Well-Manicured Man. Cool. ****1/2.
Deleted Scene: Paper Hearts: This was kind of creepy but unneeded as we got all of this information in the following scene. ***.
Deleted Scenes: Memento Mori: Okay, we KNEW Bill Scully was a jerk from episodes later in the series' run but in the deleted scene he's practically a monster. They wisely cut this. The second scene is the infamous "first kiss" between Mulder and Scully. When I first heard about it I was kind of glad they lost it as it makes the Millennium episode that much more rewarding but really it's not a passionate kiss but more of a loving one. I don't think the episode is worse for losing it but I don't think it needed to be cut either. ****.
Deleted Scene: Max: Scully's waiting, waiting, waiting. **1/2.
Unstable Fables: Tortoise Vs. Hare:
I liked this a lot. The second Jim Henson "Unstable Fables" computer animated feature is a BIG improvement on 3 Pigs and a Baby. I chalk that up with this concept (a rematch between the Tortoise and the Hare) being actually fun and appealing instead of the first feature's somewhat unsettling concept of three pigs raising a baby wolf who was left on their doorstep to help them meet their demise and be eaten.
Like the first feature the middle drags somewhat but I really liked a lot of the gags. Jay Leno unexpectedly steals the show as Murray Hare.
The subplot of the movie is Walter Tortoise's daughter and Murray's son becoming friends while trying to get out from under their fathers' thumb. LOTS of cliched dialogue during this part of the movie but it's no worse than anything in Aladdin.
I saw the ending coming a mile away and while it IS somewhat unsatisfactory, considering the themes of how being too competitive can ruin your personal relationships it couldn't really end any other way (the movie even points this out and pokes gentle fun at itself).
Also unlike the first movie I found the climax somewhat exciting which was a pleasant surprise.
I like that this movie actually featured non-speaking cameos from the three pigs from the first movie. It looks like "Unstable Fables" is looking to set itself up as a new universe and continuity with it's own characters and rules which I think is really neat.
This movie isn't perfect but I enjoyed it anyways. ****.
Smallville "Oddessy"
I actually am somewhat relieved about this episode. When I saw Smallville's infuriating season finale I had thought the show had jumped the shark big time but the season premiere was pretty cool and in a way makes me glad that Al Gough and Miles Millar left the show. Maybe now it can get some momentum.
Good to see that Alison Mack is now the show's female lead although I'd probably feel better about it if they hooked her up with Clark for a while.
Good idea to make Justin Hartley a regular but I wonder what happened to Kara.
Good opening. Let's hope the rest of the season isn't a let-down and that things will FINALLY start happening this year. ****.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward / TMNT: Back to the Sewer "Tempus Fugit"
I liked the premiere because it was not only the first episode of the new series but in a lot of ways it was the last episode of Fast Forward (they even used the old theme song at the beginning to throw the audience off track). I have to say I enjoyed this a whole bunch and am relieved they finally brought the Turtles home. Now all they need to do is get Splinter back.
I love the idea of the three Shredders. I think it's SO cool they're bringing back the Utrom Shredder but if they are serious about bringing the Demon Shredder back they're gonna have to de-power him a bit. I'm intruiged to see where this is going.
Yeah, I've seen the complaints on message boards about the "cheap-looking" animation but I seriously didn't notice it. People need to get over themselves. This is a Saturday morning cartoon, not Akira.
Good kick-off to Back to the Sewer and bitter-sweet farewell to Fast Forward. ****1/2.
The X-Files: Season Four
The X-Files season four is when the show was in it's prime. The season starts off with a bang and arguably ends with a whimper. But a lot of the stuff in between is great. I was never a fan of the show questioning the actual existance of aliens and though much of the end of the season and the beginning of the fifth was too much of an distraction but befor all that the show has some excellent episodes. And yes, this season has the Black Oil and THIS is the season in which everything regarding it doesn't add up.
This is also the season that introduced Scully's cancer arc and I like to think it paid off considering Gillian Anderson's performance was so touching.
Best episodes of the season are the hilariously disturbing Home, the cool but polarizing Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man, the beautiful Memento Mori, the Darin Morgan starring Small Potatoes, and the best Skinner spotlight ever Zero Sum.
Worst episode are the boring Teliko, the take-it-or-leave-it El Mundo Gira, the exceedingly dull Kaddish, and the frustrating Unrequited. Season Overall: ****1/2.
Herrenvolk: Everything Dies. I liked the season premiere because it DID answer some questions which last season's finale didn't. Sad they killed off X but I liked that this episode gave us the debut of the Killer Bees and Marita Covarrubias. I especially liked the touch of Cancer Man and the Alien Bounty Hunter healing Mrs. Mulder, especially the Cigarette Smoking Man's reasoning behind it. ****.
Home: Truly horrific and gross episode that is an outright classic and extremely disturbing. I love Tucker Smallwood as the doomed Sheriff Andy Taylor ("For real?") This episode also started the X-Files/ Millennium tradition of playing an up-tempo oldie while truly heinous things are occuring on-screen in this case "Wonderful, Wonderful" while the sheriff and his wife are getting bludgened. A lot of dark humor this episode including a hilarious Babe reference. Greatness. *****.
Teliko: Deceive. Inveigle. Obfuscate. I didn't like this for some reason. It was kind of boring. Cool seeing Carl Lumbly (Justice League, Alias) though. **.
Unruhe: Excellent episode. Pruit Taylor Vince is perfectly cast as the photograph killer Jerry and it was great to see Scully unafraid during her abduction. Too often on this series they weaken Scully so Mulder can save her but here she held her own. The concept of this episode was great too. ****.
The Field Where I Died: Cool and heart-breaking episode. Kristen Cloke (Millennium) gives a fantastic performance as Mulder's soul-mate Melissa. David Duchovny, for his part shows off considerable acting chops too. ****.
Sanguinarium: I love that the bad guy (played by Richard Beymer who was Benjamin Horne on Twin Peaks) actually won. If ANYONE is ever considering liposuction or plastic surgery this episode will turn them off that idea REAL quick. ***1/2.
Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man: This is one of those love it or hate it episodes. I really enjoyed it but the ambiguous nature of it leads one to believe that a LOT of the story has been embelished and that not everything portrayed on screen actually happened. However the very end hints that Cancer Man IS a failed writer with him quoting one of the lamer bits of his novel. ****.
Tunguska: This is where everything starts to fall apart. The Black Oil is COMPLETELY different from it's first appearance. There it was a sentient alien life form that jumped from body to body. Here it is a worm-like virus. I have to give this episode SOME props though: watching Mulder and Skinner repeatedly kick the crap out of Krycek was QUITE amusing. ***1/2.
Terma: E Pur Si Muove. Meh. As a mythology episode it was only mediocre but it had a couple of really good scenes: the Well-Manicured Man admitting to Cancer Man he had an affair with the murdered woman, and Kryeck getting his arm sliced off. ***.
Paper Hearts: I like that this episode has you feeling for Mulder while letting you know he's going too far in his search for the truth. People may think he is acting out of character here but it is perfectly in character for him to wear his heart on his sleeve and believing that HIS beliefs are the true ones. ****.
El Mundo Gira: I didn't care for this. It was kind of boring and dealt with characters I didn't know or care about. The opening teaser with the yellow rain was cool though. **1/2.
Leonard Betts: The TRUE beginning of Scully's cancer arc is a doozy. REALLY great concept with a VERY unsettling ending. Betts popping out of his skin was great. ****.
Never Again: This was good for a Scully character piece but not for much else. It paints Mulder as quite obnoxious which might not have been the best choice considering what episode immediately followed. Oh, I also love that the crazy tattoo was voiced by Jodie Foster!. ***.
Memento Mori: Powerful episode with heart-breaking performances all around. I loved the genesis of the Lone Gunmen's Mission Impossible schtick too. I REALLY loved Mulder and Scully's tender moment at the end. *****.
Kaddish: This episode was kind of dull. Cool Golem dissolving effects at the end though. **.
Unrequited: I hate these "__ Hours Earlier" episodes just because they get so repetitive in the last act. And seeing how young the Vietnam Vets were in this episode made me feel kind of old. **1/2.
Tempus Fugit: I am SO bummed they killed off Max Fenig in the teaser. He was such a great character. For the record they shouldn't have killed off Agent Pendrell either. Good mythology episode otherwise. ***1/2.
Max: VERY cool second part. I loved Mulder's conversation with the guy with the mustache especially since he was cracking jokes during an otherwise tense confrontation. ****.
Synchrony: Cool time travel episode co-written by David Greenwalt (co-creator of Angel). I like the implications the episode had at the end that time-travel WILL be possible at some point in the future which hints that humanity survives the alien invasion of 2012. Now I REALLY hope a third movie is made but considering I Want To Believe made so much less money than Fight the Future it may be a tall order. ***1/2.
Small Potatoes: A classic. The next best thing to a Darin Morgan written episode is a Darin Morgan STARRING episode. SO much greatness. My favorite scenes involve Eddie Van Blundht looking around Mulder's office and apartment and realizing his life boiled down to aliens, geeks for friends, and phone sex operators. Christine Cavanaugh (the voice of Babe) is hilarious and adorable as the woman inpregnated by "Luke Skywalker". I think the most memorable part of the episode is Mulder bursting in and seeing Scully and Eddie (as Mulder) start to kiss. Just the expressions on David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson's faces are SO funny and worth the price of admission. God, I love this episode. *****.
Zero Sum: Unexpectedly cool mythology episode that brings back the killer bees makes us worry about the true allegiance of Marita Covarubbias at the end. Skinner's confrontation with Cancer Man was awesome and Laurie Holden exudes hotness as Covarrubias. ****1/2.
Elegy: I really liked this until the very end when Mulder accuses Scully of working against him by not telling him the truth. Y'know I MIGHT have understood his point if it had been any other case but in this instance Scully was trying to deal with SEEING A DEATH OMEN WHEN SHE HAS CANCER. Almost as bad was that the writers had her be contrite and apologetic to this uncharacteristically cruel Mulder-buttwipe. The last two minutes don't COMPLETELY take away from the rest of the episode though. ***1/2.
Demons: I loved how maternal Scully is to an obviously confused and vulnerable Mulder. I think an episode putting Mulder through the wringer is exactly what was needed before the season finale. ****1/2.
Gethsemane: Believe the Lie. I personally think that it was lucky that The X-Files was no longer "on the bubble" and an established hit when they delivered this episode filled with bombshells basically debunking everything that had been set up. If this HAD been a last episode it would have been unbelievably cruel to both the audience and the characters of Mulder and Scully. The fact that the show returned is fortunate so this merely stands as jaw-droppimg instead of a "screw the fans" ending like Twin Peaks. ****1/2.
Alternate Teaser Audio: Home: Oh, my lord this was disturbing. It probably would have made the episode even scarier if Fox didn't censor it but while I'm perfectly comfortable with seeing it on DVD seeing it on TV is enough to give little kids nightmares for weeks (and possibly intensive therapy). *****.
Deleted Scene: Home: They went a little overboard on the special features for Home including a clip that is no longer than ten seconds which adds nothing to the episode. **.
Deleted Scene: Unruhe: Aw, I'm sad they cut this scene. It would have been nice to get some follow-up to Herrenvolk on Mulder's mother. Actually it probably should have happened in Home but it would have been nice if it HAD been followed-up on. ****1/2.
Deleted Scene: The Field Where I Died: More Kristen Cloke craziness! Excellent find. *****.
Deleted Scenes: Tunguska: These are really cool scenes that actually help understanding some of the conspiracy better. In the first Skinner and Scully discuss Krycek and in the second the Cigarette-Smoking Man confronts the Well-Manicured Man. Cool. ****1/2.
Deleted Scene: Paper Hearts: This was kind of creepy but unneeded as we got all of this information in the following scene. ***.
Deleted Scenes: Memento Mori: Okay, we KNEW Bill Scully was a jerk from episodes later in the series' run but in the deleted scene he's practically a monster. They wisely cut this. The second scene is the infamous "first kiss" between Mulder and Scully. When I first heard about it I was kind of glad they lost it as it makes the Millennium episode that much more rewarding but really it's not a passionate kiss but more of a loving one. I don't think the episode is worse for losing it but I don't think it needed to be cut either. ****.
Deleted Scene: Max: Scully's waiting, waiting, waiting. **1/2.
Unstable Fables: Tortoise Vs. Hare:
I liked this a lot. The second Jim Henson "Unstable Fables" computer animated feature is a BIG improvement on 3 Pigs and a Baby. I chalk that up with this concept (a rematch between the Tortoise and the Hare) being actually fun and appealing instead of the first feature's somewhat unsettling concept of three pigs raising a baby wolf who was left on their doorstep to help them meet their demise and be eaten.
Like the first feature the middle drags somewhat but I really liked a lot of the gags. Jay Leno unexpectedly steals the show as Murray Hare.
The subplot of the movie is Walter Tortoise's daughter and Murray's son becoming friends while trying to get out from under their fathers' thumb. LOTS of cliched dialogue during this part of the movie but it's no worse than anything in Aladdin.
I saw the ending coming a mile away and while it IS somewhat unsatisfactory, considering the themes of how being too competitive can ruin your personal relationships it couldn't really end any other way (the movie even points this out and pokes gentle fun at itself).
Also unlike the first movie I found the climax somewhat exciting which was a pleasant surprise.
I like that this movie actually featured non-speaking cameos from the three pigs from the first movie. It looks like "Unstable Fables" is looking to set itself up as a new universe and continuity with it's own characters and rules which I think is really neat.
This movie isn't perfect but I enjoyed it anyways. ****.
