-Wednesday, April 3, 2013 The Montmorency County Trib0ne 1:5
New DVDs reviewed in this column will be released April 15, 2013
COUCH TH EATEF
PREVIEWS
PICKS OF THE WEEK
"Django Unchained" fR) - Quentin Tarentino
serves up another pithy revenge story, this time
setting the carnage in the pre-war South. Django
(Jamie Foxx) i's a slave who lost his wife to an
especially cruel master (Leonardo DiCaprio.)
Fate gives him another shot when he is bought,
freed and then hired by a German-bom bounty
hunter (Christoph Waltz). Together, they go
from plantation to plantation, hunting fugitives
and tracking down Django's lost love.
While the bullets and witty rejoinders fly,
"Django" keeps you involved despite its one-
sidedness. Without the sense of real conflict, the
story doesn't rise above revenge fantasy. It's not
Tarentino's finest, probably not even top five,
but undeniably fun. Viewers sensitive to shoot-
outs and coarse language won't last five min-
utes. This is DiCaprio's first time playing the
villain, and he delivers.
"Save the Date" (R) --Sarah (Lizzy Caplan), a
sardonic, 30-ish bookstore manager, receives
an unwelcome and comedically misfired pro-
posal from her boyfriend. Embarrassed, she
dumps him and moves on ... perhaps a little too
fast. Sarah's sister Beth ("Mad Men's" Alison
Brie) isoblivious to this mess as she is wrapped
up in planning her own wedding. As the sisters
realize their lives and relationships are all
screwy, they run home to Mom and Dad for
reassurance, only to find that their folks are just
as lost.
This is not a love- dovey romantic comedy, nor
is it a thought-provoking indie-flick. "Save the
Date" is in the weird in-between space, where
the story is neither insightful nor comforting,
just sort of there. Caplan and'Brie are positively
sublime, but without a script to support them,
their full abilities are left out of this film.
"Spies of Warsaw" - Poland must have been a
pretty tense place in 1937, with the Germans
gearing up for an invasion and little that could
be done to stop it. Too bad this British TV mini-
series is pretty tame-- given the circumstances.
Adapted from a novel byAmerican author David
Furst, the high-budget production brings the
historical fiction to lee. David Tennant (who
made a fine Doctor on the sci-fi series "Doctor
Who") plays French military officer Jean-
Francois Mercier, a smooth operator who can
convince well-to-do ladies to forget themselves
for a bit.
Jam& Foxx in "Django Unchained"
"Future Weather" (R)- This environmentally
conSciousindie-movie followsLauduree, aMid-
westemteenwhose mother gave her only aweird
name. When Lauduree's mother runs to LA to
become a makeup artist, the teenage girl is left
with her rather frigid grandma. Lauduree's is-
sues are explored through her interest in the
science of global climate change. Her fears for
the future and concems about human responsi-
bilities are discussed within the context of sci-
ence. The environmental messages are overt,
but the eal story is how they are used to explore
the character.
Diane Ladd, couldn't save the show.
Q: Please tell me that TBS will con
tinue to produce new episodes
"Cougar Town" after this season. - DaRa
by cindy elavsky w., Birmingham, Ala.
One of my favorite character ac A : I am happy to report that TBS has
tors is Michael O'Neill. Iespecially / ]krenewed Cougar Town" fora13-
enjoyed him as Special Agent Butterfield episode fifth season. The new season -
in "The West Wing," and as distraught
widower Gary Clark in"Grey's Anatomy."
What is he up to now? - Patrick G. in Con-
necticut
AjS Michael co-stars in the new
undance Channel original drama
called "Rectify," a six-episode series that
begins April 22 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. He plays
Sen. Roland Foulkes, who rose to great
political heights on the heels of what turns
out to be the wrongful prosecution and
imprisonment of Daniel Holden for rape
and murder, for which he is exonerated
after serving 19 years on death row.
When I spoke with Michael recently, he
told me about his new role: "On the one
hand, it's so delicious to play a guy who's
Machiavellian, and you want to make him
more evil, more manipulative. You just
want to go down that rabbit hole.
"But I don't think that's true (to his char-
acter). I think he feels like he's been a
public servant. He answers to the people.
He felt the pulse of the town and what they
wanted. Theywanted a retribution for the
act, so he went about making sure that
they were satisfied. And it didn't hurt --
clearly my character's a political animal.
There's a certain hunger in him to be the
top dog. At the end of the day, there's a
certain self-serving that takes over."
O: I love actress Laura Dem and her
HBO series "Enlightened." Will it
be [) ck for another season? -1erry U., via
e-mail
ad: HBO recently announced the "very
ifficult decision" of deciding to
cancel the struggling comedy series after
two seasons. "Enlightened," which was
created by Laura and co -star Mike White,
was critically acclaimed but struggled
with ratings. Even a Laura's Golden Globe
win for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series,
as well as co-stars like Luke Wilson and
which will continue to star Courteney
Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Dan
Byrd, Ian Gomez, Josh Hopkins and Brian
Van Holt, is expected to launch in 201&
Michael O'Neill
Q: Can you tell me if "Fairly Legal"
will ever come back? - Elainel.,
via e-mail
A The USA Network decided to
ancel the lawyer senes after two
seasons. Series star Sarah Shahi has
since co-starred on "Chicago Fire" and
had a guest appearance in February
(which could turn into a recurring role)
on" Person of Interest." Michael Trucco
recently completed an explosive recur-
ring role on "Revenge," and was cast to
star alongside former "Battlestar
Gallactica" co-star Tricia Helfer in her
newABC pilot, "Killer Women."
Write to Cindy at King Features Weelc
Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL
32853-6475; or e-mail her at
Ietters@cindyelavsky.com.
1. Who wrote and first released "All Along the Watch-
tower"?
2. What was the title of Del Shannon's only No. I hit? What
year was it?
3. Who sang the 1959 version of "Lonely Boy"?
4. Who released the worldwide No. 1 hit "Mickey" in
1982?
5. Name the song containing this lyric: "They ate up all my
food. And I don't stand to search. Don't tell me it was a
woman Cause a woman don't eat that much."
Answers
1. Bob Dylan, in 1967 on his "John Wesley Harding"
album. Those who've studied the lyrics think the story
comes from the Bible, Isaiah, Chapter 21, verses 5-9. Six
months later, Jimi Hendrix came out with his own version.
2. "Runaway," in 196!. After his death in 1990, The
Traveling Wilburys recorded a version of "Runaway" to
honor Shannon.
3. Paul Anka. He'd recorded his first single, "1 Confess," at
age 14.
4. Toni Basil (born Antonia Basilotta in Philadelphia). The
former high-school cheerleader has had a long career as a
film director, choreographer and dancer, actress, singer-
songwriter and filmmaker.
5. "Somebody's Been Sleeping in My Bed" by funk-soul
group 100 Proof (Aged in Soul). The song was a Grammy
runner-up in 1971.
1. The Croods (PG) animated
2. Olympus Has Fallen (R) Gerard Butler,
Aaron Eckhart
3. Oz the Great and Powerful (PG) James
Franco, Michelle Williams
4. The Call (R) Halle Berry, Evie Thompson
5. Admission (PG-13) Tina Fey, Paul Rudd
6. Spring Breakers (R) Vanessa Hudgens,
Selena Gomez
7. The Incredible Burt Wmderstone (PG-
13) Steve Carell, Luke Van k
8. Jack the Giant Slayer (IG-13) Nicholas
Houit, Stanley Tucci
9. Identity Thief (R)Jason B teman, Melissa
McCarthy
10. Snitch (PG-13) Dwayne Johnson, Susan
Sarandon
"The Chronicles of Down-
town Abbey: A New Era"
By ]essica Fellowes & Matthew Strugis
Reviewed by Larry Cox
"Upstairs, Downstairs" was a British Recommended
television series set in a London Reading
townhouse in Belgravia during the
earlyyears of the past century. The 68 behind-the-scenes glimpses of
episodes depicted the lives of the ser- thedramaandotheraspectsthat
rants, who lived downstairs in the make the program so popular.
house, and the wealthy Bellamy faro- It is the authenticity to detail
fly, who occfipied the upper floors, that makes this series so intrigu-
The series covered the period from ing. There simply is not a single
about 1903 until the beginning of the misstep as far as costuming and
Great Depression of the 1930s, and it set designs are concerned. Even
was must-viewing both in the U.K. themusicoccasionallyplayedon
and America during the early 1970s. the family's old gramophone is
Forty years later, a British TV series genuine.
reminiscent of "Upstairs, Down- This gorgeous book is filled
stairs" has become one ofthehottest with images in full color and
programs on PBS. "Downton Abbey" otherpieces ofmemorabillathat
also follows the day-to-day lives of place both the estate and its pe-
servants and an aristocratic family in riod of history in context. Short
elaborate detail. There are differ- chapters focus on each of the
ences, of course. Instead of being set characters, examining their mo-
in London, the story unfolds inthe tivations, actions and inspira-
Yorkshire estate of Downton Abbey tions to provide new depth for
and follows a slightly later time, start- viewers.
ingin1912inthepost-Edwardianera. An evocative combination of
A new book documents the first history, storyandcharacters, this
three seasons of the series with hun- guide brings fans even closer to
dreds of photographs, closer looks at Downton Abbey and the people
many of the colorful characters and who inhabit the grand estate.
