EUREKA

EUREKA
Season One

Created by: Andrew Cosby & Jaime Paglia
Starring: Colin Ferguson as the extremely relaxed US Marshal (soon to be sheriff) Jack Carter, Salli Richardson-Whitfield as Carter’s and Eureka’s babysitter Allison Blake, Jordan Hinson as Zoe Carter – the rebellious daughter, as well as a lot of other great actors both known and unknown.
Screen date (US): 2006

Date seen: 19.07.08
Reviewed by: neko

Trailer:

Review: OK, this is a television series, not a film. It’s harder to evaluate, both since they usually pick up or drop down in quality by the season (or sometimes episode), and you never know what to expect. I’m reviewing Eureka based on the pilot and the 2nd episode. I do this because that’s how I decide if I’m personally going to follow a series or not. With Entourage for instance, I needed to see the first four episodes before deciding to keep watching. And then again, I didn’t actually start to love the series until late in the first season.

But Eureka worked for me. It’s a science fiction series, with a few gags in between. It’s somewhat like a Disney film, but then again more like Desperate Housewives. I can’t really decide where to put this, but it’s safe to say that the plot for a TV series is original enough for me to get interested.

The plot: Jack Carter is a US Marshal, driving his rebellious daughter Zoe home after she once again escaped from his separated wife, and on top of that pretended to be an air stewardess. A serious offense of course, and Carter has enough on his mind when suddenly a dog appears in the middle of nowhere. He manages to steer clear, but crash into a tree. After walking all trough the night, they get to a quiet small town. Seemingly. But this small town is Eureka, hidden by the government to foster the greatest minds of the nation into developing all sorts of new inventions. Carter is an easy-going guy, and doesn’t mind much that 5 year olds read advanced science, pieces of motorhomes vanishes into thin air or that everything really is a bit off. He gets sucked into a somewhat big case when the sheriff looses his leg, and with his relaxed temper, charming smile, and quick wits, he impresses and overcomes even the smartest of scientists in this little town. Finally solving the case and getting the old sheriff back on his feet, he returns back home, only to be promoted. To sheriff of Eureka.

There’s potential for a nice love story or two in here, there’s the strange characters that you know is up to no good, there’s family issues, bizarre happenings and lots of geeks and cool gadgets. The tempo of the episodes is fairly relaxed, and although Carter didn’t have time to shower or brush his teeth for two days in the pilot, I didn’t flex a muscle. I liked that! This is something you could watch any time of the day – it’s pure entertainment.

In words: science, investigation, inventions, gadgets, fun, comedy, relationships, family, sci-fi, mystery

Reminds me of: A Disney Original Movie with a twist of Desperate Housewives.

Buy: From our friend, Amazon.

200 POUNDS BEAUTY

200 POUNDS BEAUTY
Minyeo-neun goerowo

Director: Kim Yong-hwa
Starring: Kim Ah-joong as the incredibly beautiful Jenny (Hanna when in fatsuit) and Joo Jin-mo as the handsome manager, amongst other great actors and actresses.
Screen date (Kor): 2006

Date seen: 18.07.08
Reviewed by: neko

Trailer:

Review: Where should I start? Maybe I should begin with proclaiming that this is the best feel-good romantic comedy I’ve ever seen? I guess I got your attention?

The plot starts out quite simple, and you’ll know how the story will develop from the very beginning. But it’s the things that happen in between that makes 200 Pounds Beauty such a great film! That’s why I don’t mind spoiling the story:

Ah-joong with the fatsuit (Hanna) is a fat, ugly girl with a very low self-conscience. Of course it doesn’t help that her two only talents is her job as a phone sex operator and being the (well hidden) voice of the very famous lip sync pop star Ammy. Especially when she has the biggest (no pun intended) crush on Ammy’s manager, played by Jin-mo. As she overhears Ammy and the manager talking about how they only use Hanna to make money, she decides to kill herself. But as she lies in bed waiting for the apartment to fill up with gas, one of her most demanding regulars calls her up for some more phone sex. She remembers that he’s a plastic surgeon, and the next day she heads to his office to extort him to transfer her into the girl she thinks others wants her to be.

Hanna is no more, the girl who comes out from the bandages is now Jenny – incredibly beautiful. Strange Korean music starts to play when men fall for her, and the stage is set for a lot of good laughs. Jenny decides to spy on her big love, the manager, and does so with great effort. Finally she auditions for him, and suddenly she’s famous. No wonder! When she sings the movies theme song Maria, I got shivers trough my entire body!

Jenny’s popularity rises and she almost gets her prince and the kingdom too. But Ammy is jealous, and somehow finds out that Jenny really is Hanna. Jenny tries to hide her old self to the extreme, and almost ruins everything. Of course it all ends well, but it’s important to see that this is a story not only about love, music and laughs – but also about accepting yourself as you are. A well used story in the film industry, but still so very important, especially in a country like Korea!

I love this movie for how it made me feel so incredibly happy and moved that I laughed out loud and even shed a few tears! I enjoyed it for it’s beautiful music, especially the way Maria was preformed. And I didn’t tire of it, even tough I’ve heard the story before. Because it always found ways to surprise me, ways I haven’t seen been done before in this kind of film. See it today or any day, and buy a copy for your mom and friends!

In words: love, music, confidence, friendship, culture, popularity, plastic surgery, idol, family

Reminds me of: This sets the standard for future movies.

Trivia: In Korea, it’s not unusual to marry your daughter to Vietnamese men if she’s overweight. It is in fact so popular, that it has become a million dollar industry doing dating services between the two countries.

Buy: From YesAsia with free worldwide shipping.
Or from our friend, Amazon.

KING LINES

KING LINES

Director: Josh Lowell & Peter Mortimer
Starring: Chris Sharma amongst others.
Screen date (US): 2007

Date seen: 18.07.08
Reviewed by: neko

Trailer:

Review: King Lines is THE best climbing video I’ve seen. Actually, I stumbled across the trailer on youtube, and I was sold. I HAD to see this film!

The plot revolves around Chris Sharma, a climbing legend. Lowell and Mortimer’s sponsors brings Sharma around the world looking for his perfect climb. He search trough the rocks of Greece and Malta in Europe before he boulders a bit in the US, climbs a few routes with his childhood gym trainer, and trek for days trough the Venezuelan jungle to find a hidden, magical bouldering spot. In between, there’s some partying documented with hand held cameras, a competition in Barcelona, and a flashback and short introduction to Sharma’s climbing career. Parts of this movie is set up to be a deifying of Sharma, but I’m sure he didn’t want it to be like this.

Mostly it’s just about the climbing. And it’s so intense, I even had to take off my socks. I usually get sweaty palms when watching masters in action, but this is the first time my feet started sweating. I was tense all trough the 64 minutes of this movie, and I felt so great afterwards – I was on top of the world with Sharma by my side! Highly recommended!

In words: climbing, rock, adventure, sending, routes, party, chris sharma, legend, sport

Reminds me of: Other climbing movies of course, but they don’t quite match this.

Quote: Sharma: Putting everything on hold, I might just stay here. Live up at Clark Mountain. I might just go crazy.

Buy: From Amazon.