Hot Tub Time Machine Is Not "All Wet"

It's been out for 5 weeks, but I finally saw Hot Tub Time Machine last night.  What a fun movie (if you don't mind the constant barrage of F bombs).  The title pretty much sums it up.  Four guys travel back to 1986 by way of an energy drink supercharged hot tub (yes, you read that right).  John Cusack is the 'star' but the real lead role goes to Rob Corddry (Old School, Semi-Pro) as Lou.
Lou is a Lou-ser (get it?) and after what appears to be a suicide attempt his buddies whisk him off to a dilapidated ski resort for a weekend getaway where they proceed to do the said time traveling.  Queue the 80's music and movie spoofs!  There are some neat cameos by Chevy Chase, Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) and William Zabka (The Karate Kid).  There's even a performance by Poison (not really, it's a bunch of look-alikes up on stage lip-syncing).
All-in-all it was a good way to spend 90 minutes.  It's not blockbuster material but I'd recommend it for a matinee or video rental.  Rated R for language, drugs, nudity and 80's fashions ;-).  Check it out....

Who Watches the Watchers?

There are seven television shows, total, that I'm currently watching.  They're not necessarily the best or most popular but they entertain well enough and that's all I'm looking for.  As I've stated in the past, I'm not a reality show fan.  You'll find none of those on my list.  Nor do I watch a lot of sports.  I do not find most very exciting in a spectator role.  That being said, this is what I have:
Currently, Monday is occupied by 24.  This, I think, is my guilty pleasure.  It is over-the-top, preposterous action and I've watched it loyaly for the past 5 of its 8 seasons.  It's about to wrap up its run (at least on Fox), so I'll be freed up on Monday nights before long.

Tuesday is LOST and V.  The former is coming to a close as well, and it has been a wild ride.  Did not miss an episode of this one and I hope the finale' is satisfying (2 hrs. on Sunday, May 23rd).  V, however, is just 'meh'.  Having watched the original series, I'm not seeing anything new here.  Once LOST is done and the new Syfy Tuesday lineup kicks off, I won't be going out of my way to watch.  It's catching me with its LOST lead-in right now.
Wednesday is Ghost Hunters.  While some list this as a "reality show", it is more of a documentary style investigation as opposed to the standard competition/drama.  As long as they remain legitimate, I'll continue to follow these guys.  Sometimes I catch Destination Truth afterwords,  but I consider it to be the National Enquirer of paranormal investigative shows (all flash and no substance).  It can be fun, though.

Thursday, of course, is Fringe.  One of the most intellectual speculative fiction dramas on television right now.  Created by the team that gave you Alias, LOST and the new Star Trek movie, how could it not be good?
Friday is Stargate Universe.  Quite a change from previous incarnations of the franchise, this show is very dark and gritty.  Some of the most humor I've seen displayed was on tonight's episode "Human" and it was mixed with its fair share of drama.

Saturday is now occupied by the new season of Doctor Who on BBC America.  The resurrection of this franchise has been quite a spectacle.  I enjoyed it back when it was hokey rubber costumes and cardboard sets.  Now it's top-notch science fiction.  I'll check out a Syfy original movie on Saturday night from time-to-time but it really depends on the subject matter (not as big on their disaster-of-the-month story as others).
Sundays are usually wide open.  Kind of a TV wasteland for me.  I used to watch Desperate Housewives but they were really, really finished after season 1.  I tried to watch more but it just got predictable and stupid.
Well, I think that's it for now.  This list will change when the off-season series start back up this summer.  Shows like Warehouse 13 (definitely) and possibly the new series Haven may draw me in.  We'll have to see.  Until next time my minions...

Take Me to the River....

Last night's Syfy Re-make of RiverWorld turned out to be pretty decent. Better than their first attempt a couple of years ago anyway. Based on Science Fiction author, Philip Jose' Farmer's series of books, the story poses the question; What if everyone who had ever lived on Earth were thrown together on a world at the same time? Five books tried to answer this question, but Syfy thought they could do it in a 4 hour television movie. Ambitious to say the least. Of course, they left it open for a possible series if they feel the viewership is there.
The pacing was good through the first three quarters of the movie but the ending felt rushed and convenient. The acting was decent featuring former cast members of such shows as Battlestar Galactica, Highlander: The Series, Smallville and the X-Men. The on-location scenes were refreshing after so many 'green-screen' environments. One word to Syfy, though, everything is really starting to look like Canada ;-)
Characters and storylines have been thrown about to accommodate a TV audience I suppose. The main 'hero' of the first book, To Your Scattered Bodies Go, ended up being the bad guy and a brand new hero was introduced.  While the basic story was based on the first 2 books, elements of all were thrown in.
If they do try to make this into a series, they may have already given away too much information.  Part of the 'mystery' was the Caretakers of RiverWorld.  What were they doing and why?  The movie revealed much of this.  I'm not sure where they can go with a possible series now.
At any rate, if you get the chance check it out,  I'm sure Syfy will repeat it many times for your viewing pleasure.