test: Giovanni Ribisi

FOX Tuesday Lineup

I've finally got the chance to view FOX's two new shows, dads and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but unfortunately only one of these shows seems pretty decent. I had to watch dads a few times to try and understand the humor in the show. Seth Green isn't bad but the show as a whole seems to be lacking something. In my opinion, I think one item missing is a musical quip to transition between scenes. It feels too.. quiet. I understand that this is still a pilot, and limited money is involved, but to captivate an audience and reel them in, it just really didn't do it for me. With it being too quiet, it doesn't really grab your attention and keep you focused. If it sticks with this time slot, I don't believe it will do well against CBS's NCIS or ABC's Agents of Shield. I think it might do better on a Wednesday.

I really do hope that the writing and budget improves. I'm really curious to see how they can turn it around.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Andy Samberg is pretty good. The pilot introduces many characters and provides a solid foundation for character development as well as hint at some back story. Detective RightAllTheTime and Detective Terrible Detective deserve to be watched every week. They have great chemistry and a unique dynamic together that shouldn't be dismissed. Andy Samberg does a great job portraying a hot shot detective with swagger (Do people still say that?). This show adds something that FOX has been missing. It seems like with all of these reality shows, networks forget that we like to laugh and enjoy a good comedy.

You can watch dads and Brooklyn Nine-Nine online at FOX.com

Movie Review: Gangster Squad

This is a film we’ve seen before. This is a film we’ll see again. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a bad film; it’s still quite enjoyable. It’s just not original in the least bit.

Gangster Squad takes us to a city that is under the rule of a murderous crook (seen it before), where crime runs rampant (seen it before), and where the men who can do something about it are either bought out or rubbed out (seen it before). But lo and behold! There is a small group of men who are fed up with the corruption that plagues their city (seen it before). We have:

the police chief who still remains loyal to the cause (seen it before)
the idealistic sergeant who will stop at nothing to bring justice to those who deserve it (seen it before)
the caring (and pregnant!) wife who is terrified for her husband’s safety, but knows she won’t be able to change his mind (seen it before)
the apathetic sergeant who has given up on the idea of toppling the city’s gangsters until the death of someone he cares makes it a personal matter (seen it before)
the vixen who catches the eyes of one of our heroes, but is in dangerously close with the wrong crowd (seen it before)
the family man who wants his child to grow up in a better world (seen it before)
the rag-tag group of police officers with their quirks and special skills (seen it before)
the black guy (duh)

It would be very easy to label this movie is just a recycled storyline with some new packaging on it, but that would be selling it short. What keeps Gangster Squad from slipping into mediocrity is its anything-but-mediocre cast. With a star-studded lineup of Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, and Anthony Mackie, these cookie-cutter characters are given a bit of new life.

Any scene featuring the whole of the titular Gangster Squad is just a pleasure to watch. The actors play off each other extremely well and their sense of camaraderie (and mutual disdain for Burbank) comes across very naturally. On the other end of the spectrum, Sean Penn is able to exemplify the mobster persona to such a high degree that the lack of memorable supporting antagonists in the film isn’t that much of an issue. But it still would have been nice to have more of an evil ensemble than Mickey Cohen, “the guy with the weird eye,” and “the other bad guy.”

Despite the fact that these are the same archetypal characters we’re used to seeing, this talented group of actors, a few awesomely violent action sequences, and some really snazzy outfits are able to provide us with an experience that, while not anything new, is definitely still entertaining. With a better screenplay to work with we could have had something really amazing, but this will do.

Grade: B-

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Movie Review: Gangster Squad