ScreenScribe

HDTV Ratings: May 16

philip — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:31:28 +0000

The season finale of Sons of Anarchy won its time slot on Wednesday, averaging 7.3%-10.5% of the key demographics.

It not only outrated the TVNZ competition — HD rival Castle struggled on 2.9%-5.1% — but also its lead-in, the penultimate episode of The Almighty Johnsons (6.9%-7.8%).

But TV3′s most popular show of the night was the publicity gift that keeps on giving, The GC.

It lost to TV2′s 2 Broke Girls but by a relatively slim margin, averaging 9.5%-12.9% compared to the HD comedy’s 12.7%-14.0%.

The GC’s lead-in, Road Cops, also is rating well, drawing 7.2%-11.5% of the key demos — a competitive performance given its gangsbuster opposition, Two and a Half Men (16.6%-17.8%).

But The Big Bang Theory continues to be the most popular comedy of the night, with ratings of 15.7%-20.0% — and drew fractionally more 18-39 year-olds than even Shortland Street (19.8%).

Tonight in HD: May 20

philip — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:58:39 +0000

SoHo Highlight: Magic City (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) Ike faces the disappearance of Mike Strauss, while DA Klein attacks organised crime through Ike’s law-student son. “Throughout the history of television, there has been a long, depressing tradition of a series’ second episode being little more than a retread of its first episode,” said the AV Club. “The producers of Magic City may well say that Feeding Frenzy is less a retread than an opportunity to further strengthen concepts introduced in the pilot, and that would certainly be their right, but it really isn’t necessary.” ✮✮✮✮

Network Movie Premiere: The Blind Side (TV2, 8.30, 5.1) Did Oscar voters have a blind side when they awarded Sandra Bullock the best actress trophy over Precious’ Gabourey Sidibe? She’s great as the sassy, swanky Memphis businesswoman whose unlikely fostering of an abused black youngster from the wrong side of town helps him to become a gird iron hero. But her performance doesn’t even begin to compare to the intensity and complexity of Sidibe’s, largely because The Blind Side, despite treading similar territory, is only half the movie. (2009) ✮✮✮

Pretty Little Liars (TV2, 5.30, 5.1) Realising that ‘A’ is not acting alone and her ‘helper’ may be closer than they think, the girls decide to enlist Caleb’s hacking skills. ✮✮

The War at Home (TV2, 6.30, R) When Mike asks for a Bar Mitzvah, Dave believes his son is only interested in the party and gifts, and Larry gains the confidence to ask out an attractive girl at school. ✮✮✮

The Food Truck (TV One, 7.00) Chef Michael Van de Elzen attempts to reinvigorate the takeaway roast to serve up at the Wings and Wheels Ardmore Showdown at Ardmore Airport. ✮✮✮✮

The Big Bang Theory (TV2, 7.00, 5.1, R) When Penny learns that Leonard doesn’t celebrate birthdays, she attempts to throw him a surprise party. ✮✮✮✮

Modern Family (TV3, 7.00, 5.1, R) Back to the beginning, season one, episode one: Jay adjusts to his preteen stepson’s views on romance, while his adult son, Mitchell, searches for a way to tell his relatives about his adopted baby from Vietnam with his partner, Cameron. ✮✮✮✮

Mike & Molly (TV2, 7.30, 5.1) When Mike realises he forgot to make dinner reservations for Valentine’s Day with Molly, he piggybacks onto Carl’s elaborate holiday plans with his girlfriend, Christina. ✮✮

The Big Bang Theory (TV2, 8.00, 5.1, R) When Penny breaks up with her boyfriend, Leonard finally gets up the courage to ask her out on a real date. When she says yes, each seeks the ‘wisdom’ of a reluctant advisor – Sheldon. ✮✮✮✮

Movie: Walk the Line (TV3, 8.30, 5.1, R) Johnny Cash’s favourite movie was Frankenstein because it’s about a man made up of bad parts who still tried to be decent. The Man in Black, it seems, was driven by even darker forces and was virtually past the point of redemption when wife-to-be June Carter pulled him back from the brink. Walk the Line might tread the same rise-and-fall path as other showbiz bios but is distinguished by an ambitious narrative and authentic performers who are musicians and singers in their own right: Joaquin Phoenix captures Cash’s every nuance and was as deserving of an Oscar as Reese Witherspoon. (2005) ✮✮✮✮

Call the Midwife (TV One, 9.30) Jenny finds herself not involved for once in the beginning of life, but at its end. ✮✮✮

Enlightened (TV One, 10.35, 5.1) Levi gives a photo album to Amy containing pictures that cause strong emotions. ✮✮✮

The Almighty Johnsons (TV3, 11.10, R) Axl and Gaia’s escape from the real world takes a turn for the surreal, while Mike discovers his world is not his alone, as Dawn’s world comes to an unexpected end of the line. ✮✮✮

Sky Movies Premiere: Arthur (Sky 20, 8.30, 5.1) To quote a line from this romantic-comedy dud: How can you squander your considerable intelligence on idiocy like this? Dudley Moore’s sozzled playboy billionaire is resurrected with a nanny instead of a butler, who helps him to learn the value of life when he contemplates marrying for money. At least the original had a catchy theme song. Modern Family vet Jason Winer directs Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner. (2011) ✮

Tonight in HD: May 19

philip — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:48:25 +0000

SoHo Highlight: Mad Men (Sky 10, 8.40, 5.1) Don gets a visit from the in-laws and his children just as he’s about to receive a prestigious award and tries to save the Heinz account; Peggy and her boyfriend take the next step in their relationship. “There were a series of gears seamlessly interlocking in At the Codfish Ball, an episode of Mad Men that very creatively dissected the way men talk to and interact with women and women talk to and interact with each other,” said The Hollywood Reporter. “It was a nuanced play on generations that also – separately – was funny, sexy and had a very intriguing idea dropped so casually into the mix it could easily have gone unnoticed.” Time thought it “much like last week’s episode, which gave us three solid plot lines that spun around each other and converged in the last few minutes. Two of them deal with the disappointment that comes with expectations, on which the world doesn’t come close to delivering, and one is a crushing glimpse into the world of adults.” The Guardian confessed to having ”a funny feeling as I watched the unlikely conclusion to the Heinz deal. I was thoroughly absorbed at the time: it was the kind of moment that Mad Men had seemingly been lacking for a while; that exhilarating thrill of watching creative talent at work.” ✮✮✮✮✮

TradeZone Gone Fishin’ (TV3, 5.30) ✮✮

Hyundai Country Calendar (TV One, 7.00) Growing garlic and lavender on just a hectare of land provides Rex Hendry with most of his income. ✮✮✮✮

ITM Fishing Show (TV3, 7.00) Bluefin for Beginners, Part 2: Matt and the team fish all day and night to help make two newbie fishers’ wildest fishing dreams come true. ✮✮✮

Ice Road Truckers (TV3, 7.30, 5.1) TV3 brightens up Saturday nights with the season-three resumption of this superior reality series and the return of CSI and House (albeit in SD). In Accident Alley, another winter storm drops nearly a foot of fresh, new snow, obscuring the truckers’ road south. ✮✮✮

Season Highlight: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV3, 8.30, 5.1) The CSI team says goodbye to Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) as she makes a life-changing decision. Helgenberger’s exit after 260 episodes leaves George Eads as the last original cast member. Entertainment Weekly lamented the inadequacy of her departure: “Once the FBI-black-ops nonsense was dispatched, we got what we’d come to see. Catherine saying goodbye to her team (the plot device was a job offer from the FBI), and by extension, to us. She was compelled to make a speech rife with cliches (‘how brilliant I think you are…it’s gone by too fast…the hardest decision I’ve ever made’), and once again, Helgenberger saved much of this purely on the strength of her acting commitment. It wasn’t quite the send-off Catherine and the actress who played her deserved, but it’ll have to do.” ✮✮

HDTV Heads-Up: May 26-June 1

philip — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:56:05 +0000

Underbelly meets Sons of Anarchy in TV3′s new Wednesday night drama, Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms, which premieres on May 30.

It dramatises the true story of Father’s Day 1984, when motorcycle club rivals the Bandidos and the Comancheros went to war at a public Sydney swap meet.

Australia’s Herald Sun noted it had half the cast of Underbelly and the same writer on board when it went to air this week.

“And it certainly has the same levels of gratuitous violence and nudity as its Aussie crime predecessor.

“Before the first ad break we had binge-drinking, guns firing, a vigorous sex scene and more naked breasts than you would see at a strip club.

“Problem was they weren’t good breasts, but rather the sort that should be kept well-contained in a good support-bra.”

Otherwise, Bikie Wars is “well-acted and well-told. And the cast, which includes ex-Underbelly players Callan Mulvey, Damien Walshe Howling, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and Todd Lassance as well as award-winning actress Susie Porter, is stellar.”

As for other HD highlights of the week starting May 26:

✮ The only network HD movie premiere is Crazy Heart on May 27 (TV3, 8.30), although there will be HD re-runs of Bank Job on May 28 (TV3, 8.30) and Lethal Weapon 4 on May 31 (TV One, 8.30).

✮ Revenge seems to be a dish best served over, and over, and over again — having aired re-runs late-night and at midday, TV2′s about to dish up another cycle from May 27, where it will screen after the Sunday Premiere Movie presumably in a bid to cement it as next year’s successor to Desperate Housewives.

✮ TV One’s 9.30pm Sunday double-bill of Call the Midwife and Enlightened ends on May 27.

✮ On May 29, Jarred Christmas goes in seach of his Funny Roots in Scotland (TV3, 8.00) and Steve Price travels to Nepal in Intrepid Journeys (TV One, 8.30).

✮ The same night, That ’70s Show’s Wilma Valderamma guest stars on Suburgatory (TV2, 8.00) and Jame Lee Curtis on NCIS (TV3, 8.30), which will be followed by part one of NCIS: Los Angeles’ two-part season finale (TV3, 9.30).

✮ June 1′s Glee pays homage to disco movie classic Saturday Night Fever (TV3, 7.30) — opposite TV2 instituting a third weekly re-run of The Big Bang Theory and ahead of Will Smith, Sir Tom Jones and Take That’s Gary Barlow appearing on The Graham Norton Show (TV3, 8.30).

✮ The same night will see TV One revert to season one re-runs of Sherlock (but not in HD and, confusingly, directly after the season two) while TV2 hits a bum note by replacing American Idol with The Voice Australia in SD when it aired the US original in HD.

Tonight in HD: May 18

philip — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:01:18 +0000

Season Highlight: Sherlock (TV One, 8.30) It’s Sherlock’s most famous case, but is a monster really stalking Dartmoor? What seems like fantasy in Baker Street is a very different prospect in the ultra-secret army base that looms over the moor. “The Hounds of Baskerville took the most famous of all Sherlock Holmes stories, gave the original title just the smallest of tweaks, then had its wicked way with the rest of the tale,” said The Daily Telegraph. “The whole thing was pacy, sharp and witty.” The Independent said Hounds had “far more action, along with a good share of scares” than last week’s A Scandal in Belgravia. “The plot was also far more cogent and well put together … Just like the novel, there were touches of horror and darkness, along with the theme of creating fear to control others. However, there was also a fascinating science fiction element thrown into the mix that grounded the story and gave it a sense of authenticity.” The Times’ Andrew Billen quipped the episode was “a little Avengers for my taste. Sherlock is still fabulously superior TV, of course. My only quarrel is that the episode repeated Holmes’s most stupid remark: ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.’ My dear Holmes, what remained would simply be the possible.” ✮✮✮✮

Sky Movies Greats Premiere: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Sky 22, 8.30, 5.1) The Tinseltown trades were surprisingly gung-ho about this vampires-vs-werewolves prequel. "First-time helmer Patrick Tatopoulos (who designed creatures for all three pics) offers a satisfyingly exciting monster rally that often plays like a period swashbuckler," said Variety while The Hollywood Reporter praised "the sturdy performances by holdovers Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy as well as tidy, unfussy direction". Arguably the most succinct appraisal was the Los Angeles Times': "Grimly competent." (2009) ✮✮✮

Home & Away (TV3, 5.30) John puts the press onto Harvey’s election rigging; Harvey, Mel and Lottie’s tragic past is revealed; April tries to win Dex’s attention back from Lottie. ✮✮

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) The friends make New Year’s resolutions, but it looks like Rachel’s resolution to stop gossiping is going to be the hardest to keep when she finds out about Chandler and Monica’s dating. ✮✮✮✮

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) Chris cuts Hayley off; the Jefferies family receives heartening news; Ula faces a life she never wanted. ✮✮✮

Glee (TV3, 7.30, 5.1) The New Directions go head-to-head with the Dalton Academy Warblers at Regionals. ✮✮✮

The Graham Norton Show (TV3, 8.30) With Julie Walters, footballer Didier Drogba, singer Jesse J and Simon Amstell. ✮✮✮✮

The Vampire Diaries (TV2, 10.30, 5.1) Damon is surprised to learn why Sage has returned, and pleased when she devises an unusual method to help him figure out what Rebekah is up to. ✮✮✮

Primeval (TV2, 11.30) The exhausted ARC team struggle to cope as more anomalies are opening. As the whole team lets Lester in on the secrets of Matt’s mission, they’re interrupted by worrying news. ✮✮✮

Numb3rs (TV3, 12.15, 5.1) A CalSci professor is tortured and murdered in his lab, where animals are subjected to medical experiments. ✮✮

NCIS: Los Angeles (TV3, 1.05, 5.1, R) Newly located in a Los Angeles mission, the NCIS Office of Special Projects welcomes Callen back to the team and races to solve a kidnapping case. ✮✮

Bored to Death With Hemingway on SoHo

philip — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:53:27 +0000

Next month SoHo will premiere in HD a Nicole Kidman movie screening in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Hemingway & Gellhorn dramatises the relationship between war correspondent Martha Gellhorn (Kidman) and novelist Ernest Hemingway (Clive Owen) over the course of the Spanish Civil War and World War II.

Directed by Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Henry & June), it co-stars Robert Duvall and David Strathairn, and this month screens out of competition at Cannes (along with Madagascar 3 and new films from Claude Miller and Bernardo Bertolucci).

It will screen here on June 15, fewer than three weeks after its May 28 premiere on HBO.

Next month SoHo also will premiere season three of the nutty noir comedy Bored to Death and re-run the first two seasons as a “box set” weekend.

HBO axed Bored to Death after its third season, in which Jonathan (Jason Schwartrzman) discovers the truth of his parentage, Ray (Zach Galifianakis) is granted visitation rights to see his son, and George (Ted Danson) is reunited with his daughter.

It will continue on from season two, starting June 14; seasons one and two will be boxed set on June 16-17.

Other box set weekends in June include seasons two of Entourage (June 2-3) and one of Top Boy (June 9), the mini-series Mildred Pierce (June 10), The Shadow Line (June 23), Five Days 2 (June 24) and season one of The Wire (June 30-July 1).

The rest of SoHo’s June premieres range from The Pillars of the Earth (June 18) to The Gathering Storm (June 8), If These Walls Could Talk II (June 22) and Sometimes in April (June 29).

My Sky Movies … in June

philip — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:55:10 +0000

Bridesmaids, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Thor are among the mighty blockbusters that will be thundering on to Sky Movies in June.

Also having their HD premieres will be Water for Elephants, Priest and, on Sky Movies Greats, Big, V for Vendetta and Deja Vu.

However, the premium titles again are out-numbered by an extraordinary number of premieres that went direct-to-disc here or were made for TV.

They range from sequels like The Howling Reborn and Street Kings 2: Motor City to Kill the Irishman, The Gundown, Seconds Apart, Lottery Ticket and Medium Raw.

Screening in order of their appearance will be:

Sky Movies

The Howling Reborn (June 1)
Medium Raw (June 2)
Thor, The Task (June 3)
Knockout (June 4)
The Gundown, Casino Jack (June 6)
Bridesmaids (June 10)
Street Kings 2: Motor City (June 11)
The Eagle (June 13)
Daydream Nation (June 14)
Priest, Seconds Apart (June 17)
For Coloured Girls (June 20)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (June 24)
Kill the Irishman (June 25)
Lottery Ticket (June 26)
Water For Elephants (June 27)

Sky Movies Greats

Déjà Vu (June 2)
Edge of Darkness (June 3)
Big (June 4)
V for Vendetta (June 5)
Eraser (June 17)
Fun With Dick and Jane (June 21)
Courage Under Fire (June 24)
Working Girl (June 25).

New to Blu: May 16-22

philip — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:44:52 +0000

You can’t go past the Blu-ray 3D release of Hugo.

“Breathtaking is perhaps the best way to describe this reference quality transfer from Paramount.

“Hugo won Oscars for its cinematography, art direction, and visual effects, and this often jaw-droppingly beautiful 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 effort showcases all those elements to perfection, while transforming the 3D presentation from gimmick to art form in the blink of an eye.”

“So much goes into every frame, from period production design to visual effects to appealing composition, that you can literally freeze any frame and have a piece of art on your screen.”

“A 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48kHz/24-bit) soundtrack is provided for both 3D and 2D versions and the extra surround back channels are put to splendid use from the very beginning.

“The sound here is big without being overwhelming or pushed to the limits absent a sense of dynamics. The mix allows for breathing room, letting up with lulls, never becoming too loud and audacious, but hitting with a wallop of special effects when need be.”

Another must-see, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, has a “very high” bit rate that “replicates the theatrical presentation extremely well.

“The period art-direction and misty, dark aura are accentuated by the occasional detailed close-up. The image quality shows plenty of textured, appealing, grain … I see no digital manipulation and visually this looks very strong and faithful to the stylistic intent.”

“Although the artistic choices keep the film from having absolutely rock solid darks, what this does allow the image is a wonderfully extended amount of shadow detail.”

The Muppets comes to Blu-ray with “a superb 1080p presentation that just smacks of all the best qualities of digital cinematography”.

“Disney continues its Blu-ray dominance with yet another stellar transfer. You have never seen The Muppets up this close and personal, from the colour graduation on Gonzo’s beak to the matted hair on Fozzie hands.

“The mix of interior and exterior shots, day and night, keeps everything perfectly balanced; deep blacks, vibrant colors, and not a hint of digital tampering.”

Also out this week are the delayed Pina, the direct-to-disc Jean-Claude Van Damme thriller Dragon Eyes, WWE WrestleMania XXVIII, Bizet: Carmen and The Chemical Brothers – Don’t Think.

HDTV Ratings: May 14-15

philip — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:42:51 +0000

GCB’s Tuesday premiere narrowly won the 8.30 hour with TV2′s target audience, 18-39 year-olds, but was soundly beaten by the season finale of Yellowstone in every other key demographic.

The soap opera satire averaged an 18-39 rating of 10.0% compared to Yellowstone’s 9.6% and NCIS’ 5.6%.

But in the 18-49, 25-54 and household shopper demos, Yellowstone averaged 11.7%-15.3%, GCB 8.8%-11.1% and NCIS 4.1%-6.8%.

The double-episode of The Middle was down slightly on the previous week’s half-hour but Funny Roots largely held up in its second week, with ratings of 6.2%-9.0%.

NCIS: Los Angeles’ see-saw ratings continued, with the Hawaii Five-0 crossover episode averaging only 4.1%-6.3%.

TV2 dominated Monday’s ratings with another hour-long episode of Shortland Street (18.6%-21.9%) and strong numbers ofor Desperate Housewives (9.9%-14.8%) and Revenge (7.9%-.12.5): both shows won their slots across the key demos.

TV One’s Criminal Minds (9.9%) and Person of Interest (7.0%) also rated well with their target audience, 25-54 year-olds, as did TV3′s Modern Family (7.2%).

Once again, Modern Family lead-in Last Man Standing was pulverised by the extra-long Stortland Street, averaging only 1.5%-3.2%.

Tonight in HD: May 17

philip — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:25:29 +0000

Season Highlight: Fringe (TV2, 10.30, 5.1) Bolivia and her team call upon their counterparts from This Side to help track a serial killer who “drains the brain of happy memories”. US critic thought episode two of season four especially memorable. HitFix said this “often stunning episode … is the show at its empathetic best” while the AV Club called it “a terrific hour of television, making excellent use of the resources Fringe has available to them right now, both behind the camera and in front” (and went on to compare it with The Firefly and Lysergic Acid Diethylamide as one of the series’ three best episodes). Said the Los Angeles Times: “I’m always partial to the Flashback episodes or Singing Film Noir episodes, but One Night in October definitely skyrocketed to one of my top five episodes of Fringe.” Former producer Brad Anderson (The Machinist) directs. ✮✮✮✮✮

Movie: Casino Royale (TV One, 8.30, 5.1, R) One of the best 007 adventures in years rejuvenated Her Majesty’s top secret agent with a true-Brit grit makeover and a high-stakes mission to thwart the bankrolling of terrorism that was more grounded than the usual global megalomania. Yet for all its much-ballyhooed realism, Casino Royale still can’t resist ludicrously extravagant stunts. Daniel Craig, Eva Green and Judi Dench star; Martin Campbell (GoldenEye) directs. (2006) ✮✮✮✮

Home & Away (TV3, 5.30) John and Sid join forces; Indi and Romeo struggle with the mistakes they’ve made; John questions Harvey about the validity of his involvement in the Eco Park. ✮✮

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) A bored Ross creates havoc in Joey and Chandler’s lives; Rachel is disturbed by her date’s inappropriate relationship with his sister. ✮✮✮✮

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) A broken heart endangers the Jefferies family; Lana’s eaten up by doubt; Phoenix’s best efforts threaten Chris. ✮✮✮

Once Upon a Time (TV2, 8.30, 5.1) Emma hires Ruby to be her assistant after she quits Granny’s diner, and Red Riding Hood longs to join her true love, but becomes imprisoned when a bloodthirsty wolf wreaks havoc on her village. ✮✮

The Finder (TV3, 8.30, 5.1) When new tracks are leaked from late rapper J-Stryke, music mogul Big Glade and his business savvy lawyer ask Walter to find the source of the illegally released music. 50 Cent guest stars; Bones’ David Boreanaz directs. “The Finder’s eighth episode continues to smooth out the show’s rough edges – without losing the eccentricities that make The Finder, Walter Sherman [Geoff Stults], such an interesting character,” Eclipse magazine said. “A well-paced hour with plenty of character beats, a decent amount of action and some twists that rank up among the best on any kind of mystery series this season.” ✮✮✮

SoHo Highlight: Girls (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) Hannah worries about the efficacy of condoms; Marnie plans a day for the girls at a women’s health clinic. Time said Vagina Panic ”really dealt with the group as a group. And as a result, where the pilot felt more like a prologue, or a brief indie movie, this felt like an episode of a TV show. And it was better for it — sharper, funnier, more focused, more TV-like, in a good way.” Slate said it was “rich with good lines and striking moments” — and noted the “amazingly awful sex scene that opens this episode”, one that Paste magazine agreed “is not funny at all but it’s one of the few moments where I’ve actually been impressed by Girls.” ✮✮✮✮