The Boggy Nature of Fear

Halloween is a time of fright and fear. It’s a favorite time of year for many kids. Of course the candy helps, but that’s not all of it. It’s really about the feeling. The leaves are falling, the skies are darker, the weather is getting colder and there’s still more cold to come. It’s a time for spookiness, mystery and the unknown. So, as I write this, on a dark and stormy night, well, actually,  it’s the afternoon, but it is very dark and very stormy outside. My mind turns to this season, to Halloween, to fear.

There are a lot of films that scared us as kids, and still scare us. Many of the films today are far too graphic for my tastes. Heck, most of television is, too, for that matter. So, I should say right at the outset that I’m not a fan of gore, not in any way shape or form. I know some folks out there are big on the stuff, but not me. Sure, I’ve seen some, the classic Herschell Gordon Lewis, Romero and Savini works, but none of the modern multi-sequel films that grace our theaters with single word titles. I don’t mind being scared. As most would agree, we all need a good scare every now and then. It’s good for you. It’s thrilling. But gore isn’t thrilling for me. It’s sickening. I like to be thrilled, I don’t wish to be sick. Besides, I’ve seen enough of the footage and descriptions of films like “Saw” and “Hostel,” which I rebel against, regardless of how “intelligent” or “clever” they are reported to be. (more…)

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Tags: blair witch project, CSI, earl hamner, Fear, fouke monster
Posted Oct 31st 2009 at 5:42 pm in Film | 25265848 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smann/2009/10/31/the-boggy-nature-of-fear/The+Boggy+Nature+of+Fear2009-11-01+00%3A42%3A14Schizoid+Mann

ABC’s ‘Forgotten’: Solid Crime Drama with Values

After several years of mostly miserably failed attempts to ride the wave of crime dramas most of the other TV networks were successfully navigating, ABC has turned to the TV and cinematic crime drama maestro Jerry Bruckheimer for help. The resulting series, The Forgotten (Tuesdays, 10 p.m. EDT), is a solid crime drama and stands for some very appealing values.

The visual style of the show is familiar from Bruckheimer’s many other policiers, such as the CSI series. It has the same tendency toward dingy, low-level lighting, moving camera shots, eccentric framing, and the like, though in The Forgotten it’s not as frenetic and flashy as in most of Bruckheimer’s shows. That’s a good thing.

The stories and performances reflect the earnestness of Bruckheimer’s TV productions, while avoiding the sensationalism the other shows tend to indulge in. Christian Slater is Alex, an ex-cop who leads the Forgotten Network, a team of private citizens in Chicago who investigate cases in which the police have run out of leads and can’t afford to devote additional resources.

Avoiding both cynicism and romanticism, the program makes a point of showing how many people around the nation are willing to volunteer their help. It also shows people who refuse to help, thus making each such instance a test of a person’s character. (more…)

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Tags: abc, Christian Slater, CSI, Jerry Bruckheimer, The Forgotten
Posted Oct 25th 2009 at 5:54 am in Featured Story, Reviews, Television | 25043432 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/stkarnick/2009/10/25/abcs-forgotten-solid-crime-drama-with-values/ABC%27s+%27Forgotten%27%3A+Solid+Crime+Drama+with+Values2009-10-25+12%3A54%3A08S.T.+Karnick

My 20 All-Time Favorite TV Series

Television is often treated like the unloved step-child of the arts.  It’s been called a vast wasteland and worse.  And vast it certainly is.  It’s on all the time and on hundreds of channels, so it’s no surprise that most of it is just awful.  The surprise is how much of it is worthwhile, and I’m not just referring to the artsy-fartsy stuff that shows up on Masterpiece Theatre. 

Of course everyone’s list is going to seem eccentric to other people.  My own is no exception.  For one thing, there have been very popular shows that I never even tuned in.  I’m thinking of “Beverly Hillbillies,” “Bonanza,” “Green Acres,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “Dallas,” “Dynasty,” “Knott’s Landing,” “Peyton Place,” “L.A. Law,” “Six Feet Under,” “ER,” “Chicago Hope,” “CSI,” “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Ally McBeal” and “Sex and the City.”  There were a few I watched once or twice to see what all the fuss was about, but I didn’t care for “Star Trek,” “Picket Fences,” “The X Files,” “Boston Legal,” “Touched By An Angel,” “Monty Python” or “N.Y.P.D. Blue.”  (more…)

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Tags: " "Ally McBeal", " "Bonanza, " "Chicago Hope, " "Dallas, " "Dynasty
Posted Mar 25th 2009 at 7:52 am in Entertainment | 88174No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bprelutsky/2009/03/25/my-20-all-time-favorite-tv-series/My+20+All-Time+Favorite+TV+Series2009-03-25+14%3A52%3A14Burt+Prelutsky

Crime Shows Ignore Real Crime

The US Department of Justice released a very important report in January, but it got little attention. The report found that 80 percent of crime in the US was gang related and that the vast majority of that was drug related.

Those of us who have worked with crime data have long understood this problem. For example, 50 percent of counties in the US have zero murders in any given year and another 25 percent have just one murder. Over 70 percent of murders take place in just a little over 3 percent of the counties, but even that exaggerates the picture because anyone who has seen a picture of murders in a major city know how heavily concentrated they are in specific areas within the city. (more…)

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Tags: crime, CSI, CSI NY, gang violence, law & order
Posted Mar 24th 2009 at 6:27 am in Entertainment, Media Criticism | 8681859 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jlott/2009/03/24/something-to-remember-the-next-time-that-you-watch-a-crime-show-on-tv/Crime+Shows+Ignore+Real+Crime2009-03-24+13%3A27%3A19John+Lott