Linda Blair Week: Roller Boogie

Well hello again and welcome back to Day 2 of Linda Blair Week. This time around we move back to the time era of roller rinks and disco music. For those that do not care for either can bog off and move on. We observe a film that held auditions of over 300 skaters to work on the film but ultimately only 50 were cast. In addition to this movie, roller skating champion Jim Bray was hired as a stunt skater only to become the leading man next to Linda Blair. This is Roller Boogie.

Okay, she looks like she is having fun.

Wealthy socialites Lillian (Beverly Garland of D.O.A., Swamp Diamonds, Gunslinger, It Conquered the World, Not of This Earth, Decoy and The Alligator People) and Roger Barkley (Roger Perry of Arrest and Trial, Count Yorga, Vampire, The Thing with Two Heads, Barnaby Jones, The Facts of Life, Falcon Crest and Dirty Love) have overall ignored their daughter aside from she goes to Juilliard as a flautist (One that plays the flute) and must succeed to the highest plateau. 

Definitely grooving.

Unfortunately, daughter Terry (Linda Blair of Sweet Hostage, Stranger in Our House, Wild Horse Hank, Ruckus, Hell Night, Chained Heat, Savage Streets, Chicken Soup for the Soul, S Club 7 in L.A., and Monster Makers) has aspirations to have fun versus study, study and more study as she and her snooty friend Lana (Kimberly Beck of Massacre at Central High, Eight Is Enough, Zuma Beach, and Friday the 13^th The Final Chapter) hit the broadwalk via Venice Beach. Terry notices Bobby James (Jim Bray of Roller Boogie) out with another girl but clearly our boy took in Terry with a long lasting glance. The two start developing a relationship in spite of their social standings being so different they have found a mutual love of disco and roller skating. Terry offers Bobby money so she can complete and win the Roller Disco contest at the skating place Jammers.

Like Hell Night, it wouldn't be 70s to 80s without a Van Patten (It was a Hollywood rule in the day) as Jimmy Van Patten (Lunch Wagon, Young Warriors, For Love and Honor, The Flunky Saw IV, Saw VI and Saw 3D: The Final Chapter) as Hoppy, Bobby's buddy from Venice Beach. I am still reeling from street name/nickname Hoppy.

I know, I know. Where's the twist in all of this? Pipe down and I will tell you. It looks as though Jammers is to be bought out by some shady mobster cats that will most likely tear down Jammers and make it a night club or some other means to launder ill-gotten gains. Terry and Bobby have to put the kibosh on this somehow with the aid of their friends and get that incriminating evidence to the cops before they're all wearing cement overshoes.

This film has it all. A vibrant cast, a great soundtrack and a kind of wholesome story about life is never what you think it will be. Now some will view this a mushy throwback but I like think of it as a pleasant reminder that these stories hold weight. From director Mark L. Lester of such cheese like: Gold of the Amazon Women, Class of 1984 also brought us Firestarter, Commando and Class of 1999 so it takes all kind to move a picture. Plus Earth, Wind and Fire is on the soundtrack. I'd watch a splatter fest flick if you can guarantee me Earth, Wind and Fire. Granted I could have done with less men in terry cloth shorts but I review a lot of 70s to 80s horror flicks and that is a constant.

John Holmes, is that you?

Vampires Reborn

Well the holiday of Christmas will be rearing its head as Black Friday probably already had a kill and maim count and yes I did not go out for that VERY REASON. Festive films a plenty for the season. Some of these films are heartwarming, others are campy but sweet and then some are Made for TV movies with so much tripe cliches you will feel as though you have seen this film 20 to 30 times at length.

Can't imagine why Jake doesn't want to review flicks like mine.

So rather than breaking into some Frank Capra, I am reminded of one Vampire franchise that I have been neglecting for some time and that is the Subspecies series. Yes, you may have many a question is to why I would choose the holly jolly Christmas time to speak of abominations of nature that feed on the living in order to continue existing... Well corporation Christmas spending and such themes make it hard to enjoy Christmas at the fullest so we will just have to press on and do our level best to get the gifts, make the gifts and give thanks to those in our life that matter deeply to us and not worry about getting a TV really cheap at the expense of others' lives. Yeah Black Friday, I am not a fan.

I am touching base on this particular series for about 3 reasons. One, really do not want to read more comments on the Christmas themed Horror films and how could I watch that and so on. Two, really am a wee bit tired of clay motion jolly films I have seen to death so I want cut down on that for reviews and three, my brain is so lagged from different projects I simply could not come up with a thing for the week at all. I could have bugged all of you readers for input but you may or may not get back to me ASAP so this is what we got.

You all knew I would return...for the holidays!

Drama in Cinema

Hey folks! I was just going over a few writing ideas for the week when my lady love pointed out that I do not embrace drama that often. To which I was overly dramatic and defensive... nah I am in agreement with her in that I do not cover a lot of the heartfelt tear jerkers. The main reason why is while a good story of humans trials, struggles and goals does hold my interest for the day, I normally do not need my heart strings throttled that often.  However, this is not entirely for my own enjoyment but it is also for the readers. That in mind, I will subject myself to the current standing of drama for the last 3 years. Keep in mind that the last 15 years there are too many hybrids between the genres. I have seen comedy dramas, romantic dramas, dramatic horrors, comedic horror films with drama. There is too much mix-mashed now that it gets confusing on how to catalogue it and frankly that is irksome.

Why is the camera so far away?

So I will do my very level best to find drama with only one real tone to it. Think Spielberg's The Color Purple or Schindler's List or Robert Altman's MASH and Gosford Park. Where additional elements of humanity are underlined but at the end of the day this is drama.   Dark and sad things are on the rise throughout this film and you can just suck it up, grab some tissues and marshal through it. While I myself, do not mind the genre it seems several writers and directors cannot simply tell a tale without something evil or zany added to it. I am guessing this is to distract the audience that they are sitting down for a film recanting tales of historical atrocities and if that is the case, why the Hell are you watching in the first place if you do not want to see it??!!! Aside from all this, I still feel that drama is a valid genre in cinema, novels and television and it deserves the respect for those that do NOT over add from the other genres to give it a bit of pep. Let's see what we can find to watch.

STOP FARTING IN MY TRUCK!!!!

Dunaway Week: The Thomas Crown Affair

Welcome back again fans of the written text to Day 3 of Dunaway Week and I find this particular film to be enjoyable, clever and well-written.  The oddest thing is I actually enjoy the remake of this movie a tad bit more than its original but of course it did lack our leading lady of the week in a more substantial role.  What happens when a billionaire and sportsman gets bored with the daily grind of the 9 to 5?  How about a multi-million dollar heist for the kicks?  If I have tickled your fancy, grab those schematics, keep your safecracker tools at the ready and prep your getaway.  This is The Thomas Crown Affair.

Hey, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...pervs.

Thomas Crown: What a funny, dirty little spoiler!

Vicki Anderson: It’s a funny, dirty little job!  So shoot me in the leg!

Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen of The Great Escape, Bullit, The Getaway, Papllion and The Hunter) is a millionaire businessman, a man’s man and a go getter plotting a heist to having five guys lift 2.6 million from a bank in Boston and hide it in a trash can in a cemetery.  Brilliant hiding spot to be certain, Thomas does not have any interaction during ore before the crime and these men do not even know one another.  Thomas scoops up the money and sends the deposit to a Geneva account.

With the local law enforcement baffled an insurance investigator, Vicki Anderson (Faye Dunaway of Casanova, Barfly, Midnight Crossing, Burning Secret, Double Edge, Albino Alligator and Last Goodbye) has a contract to look into this heist, receive 10% of the money that was taken if she can managed to recover it.  With a bit of instinct and know how she suspects Crown as the mastermind behind the swindle.

Don't look up her skirt, don't look up her skirt. Crap, I just looked.

She profiles Crown as one of those playboy millionaires that bore easily and sky diving or golf is just not enough to end boredom.  Maybe he should consider martial arts and an elaborate bat costume but not sure if it would help.  The two begin the mating dance i.e. cat and mouse that Anderson will figure out how she will prove Crown the thief.  Shockingly enough Vicki starts to fall for Crown and he as well with her but she aids Detective Eddie Malone (Paul Burke of Naked City, 12 O’Clock High, Valley of the Dolls, Hot Shots and Dynasty) crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s but will she reveal her findings to the cops in spite of her feelings for Crown?

I just had a few minor nitpicks and observations at this time for the movie.  I saw in the robbery scene that the robbers had quite a few revolvers with silencers that somehow snapped on and off easily, I am no expert in this but commonly unless it is a custom job a silencer will not work on a revolver.  From three angles I witnessed the character Carl put his glove ( I think his left one) on three times.  Now this could be a matter of dramatic build up but more likely a continuity error.   Written by the talented Alan Trustman (Bullitt, They Call Me Mister Tibbs!, Lady Ice, Hit! and Crime and Passion) this is a diverting and leisurely film with a good build up of suspense and very character driven with a kicky soundtrack.

Girl on the move, ladies and gents.

Before They Were Stars: Something Wild

Back again youngins!  We dabble back into Before They Were Stars week with Ray Liotta’s first film.  What happens when a yuppie encounters a free spirit and goes on a wild ride?   Headaches, heartache and a potential relationship is most likely.  Grab some Jiffy Pop, snag a MexiCoke and plop it on the couch.   This is Something Wild.

Spoilers channel rebellion into the mainstream….

Screenwriter E. Max Frye (Amos & Andrew, Palmetto, Where the Money Is and Second Nature) and director Jonathan Demme , a former exploitation and Roger Corman protégé(Caged Heat, Crazy Mama, Last Embrace, Philadelphia, and Silence of the Lambs) captures the imagination with this screwball comedy throwing two completely different people in to a bizarre series of adventures.  This is loosely referred as part of Demme’s small-town trilogy of which started with the 1977 Handle With Care (starring Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark and Bruce McGill) and Melvin & Howard (starring again Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards and Mary Steenburgen)

 Anal retentive straight laced Wall Street tax accountant Charlie Driggs (Jeff Daniels of Checking Out, Arachnophobia, The Butcher’s Wife, Timescape, Speed and Dumb & Dumber) gets a ride to work from her only to be abducted by a freewheeling, adventure seeking girl Lulu a.k.a. Audrey Hankel (Melanie Griffith of Working Girl, Cherry 2000, In the Spirit, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Mulholland Falls and Another Day in Paradise)   Charlie was protests at this crazy ride due to his new promotion, his meetings he must attend, the reports to write and various calls to return. 

Lulu is dragging him off from his tried and true everyday life and asks him to pretend to be her husband for her mom’s sake and her 10^th year high school reunion.  Lulu robs a liquor store for some scotch and whatever was in the till, drags Charlie to a motel, cuffing him to the bed and well…you kinda have to see the scene.     As this road trip is under way Ray Sinclair (Ray Liotta of Field of Dreams, Goodfellas, Unlawful Entry, No Escape, Corrina, Corrina and Unforgettable) Lulu’s ex-con, ex-husband is tracking her down.  He’s pinning to get back together but really unable to confer his full ration of emotions leads to fight scenes, screaming matches and sheer insanity.  You don’t see just an abusive thug in Liotta’s portrayal but a man at the end of his rope one minute and then a level headed cat the next. 

A lot of this movie feels like it is pointing out facets of 1980’s America from the love and worship of pop culture to how the other halves live.  While three protagonists are all white, the background of this road trip has an absorbent amount of black actors playing church members, musicians, waiters, gas attendants and hitchhikers.  I guess the main theme is to point out how the Reagan years were not the best for everyone and these are some of the folk that simply got the short end of the stick.  You get the feeling the influences of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet or perhaps Martin Scorsese’s After Hours.  The whole Yuppie Angst angle that was very popular in both TV and movie.  Yeah ,30 Something didn’t make much sense to me even then.  It is a dark comedy, a romantic comedy and worth of the road trips of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.   

Before They Were Stars: The Mighty Quinn

Howdy boys and girls!  Yes we are back again with Before They Were Stars and to be honest this film was deeply impressive from the story to the cast and crew.  Grab your snacks, get over that round of musical chairs and let’s kick this pig.   This is The Mighty Quinn.

Spoilers be the devil.

The 1989 film is most definitely a thriller with a pretty top notch crew, lead by TV and movie director Carl Shenkel (Graf Dracula beiBt jetzt in Oberbayern, Abwarts, Bay Coven, The Edge, Silhouette and Knight Moves) writer Hampton Fancher (Blade Runner, The Minus Man) take the thriller novel Finding Maubee based on A. H.Z. Carr’s 1982 novel .  

Police Chief Xavier Quinn (Denzel Washington of St. Elsewhere, Glory, Ricochet, Malcolm X, Much Ado About Nothing, Crimson Tide, Training Day and The Book of Eli) is called to investigate a resort hotel mogul Donald Pater (Bobby Ghisays of Club Paradise, Passion and Paradise and Popcorn) and all circumstantial evidence points to Quinn’s childhood friend Maubee (Robert Townsend of Odd Jobs, The Five Heartbeats, The Meteor Man, Bliss, Taxman and Undercover Brother) this unnamed island in the Caribbean has the typical local bureaucracy with the island governor (Norman Beaton of Black Joy, The Fosters, Empire Road and Desmond’s) and his power player Thomas Elgin (James Fox of The Servant, King Rat, The Chase, Farwell to the King, Patriot Games, Mickey Blue Eyes) seem to want this to be an open and shut case. An American representing Pater’s company Fred Miller (M. Emmet Walsh of Blade Runner, Blood Simple, The Flash, Silverfox, White Sands and Equinox) agrees with the governor.   Quinn is not satisfied with the answers he has been given for his questions.   You get the feeling that most the witnesses have been threatened or bought off.

Maubee is evading the police so well that he even drops by to visit Quinn face to face.   From chatting up the local witch to questioning Thomas Elgin’s wife Hadley (Mimi Rogers of Gung Ho, Street Smart, Someone to Watch Over Me, The Doors, Wedlock and The Rapture).  Hadley makes dreamy eyes at Xavier.  The investigation goes on, feathers are getting ruffled and Xavier is devoting so much time to defend Maubee that his wife and son feel the strain of going beyond the call of duty.  One witness claims to see Maubee take off with a 10,000 dollar bill.  Quinn knows there is no such bill so the mystery is getting stranger already.

The cause of death is pretty spot on to as Pater was found floating in a Jacuzzi tub decapitated.  *adjusts shades* Guess he just lost his head *cues Baba O Reilly*.    The islands doctor Dr. Raj (Keye Luke of The Green Hornet, Charlie Chan at the Circus, King of Burlesque, Kung Fu and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan) indicates that Pater had a venomous snake bite prior to decapitation.  A man keeps tailing Quinn and making his own inquiries.   The plot thickens further and the entangled web reveals plots and counterplots.   As a first major movie role let alone lead role Washington knocks this one out of the ball park.  The tension ratchets up well and this film will keep you constantly guessing what is happening next.   I found this to be riveting, clever and quite devious.  This is completely worth the watch people.

Big Tits Zombie...I know what you are thinking..

Hey all, back with YET another zombie film.  Maybe this one will have its own unique spin.  Instead of that tired lumbering zombie of Romero years, this will be mildly intelligent and sentient flesh eaters.  Doomed to roam a world where no one understands their plight, hopes and dreams.   So grab your clear heels, draw up your g-string and prepare of swirling and twirling.  This is Jugs &Ghouls…er…I mean Big Tits Zombie.

Spoilers dig strippers…it’s true…look it up.

Soft core pornographer/writer Takao Nakano (Sumo Vixen, Sexual Parasite and Hot Step Jump!) decided to branch out in his…particular genre of horror eroticism and delve into the realm of zombies.  Now you Nakano fans must be asking, “But Jake how will he achieve the proper exploitation of actresses and insure us nudity?”   Well as luck would have it he makes the girls fending off the legions of the undead, strippers.   Yeah breaking some new unfettered ground there let me tell you.  This manga (Japanese comic book for those of you not in the knowing) influenced film was based on Rei Mikamoto’s Kyonyu-Dragon.   Our story opens with a barely dressed stripper lightly dribbled with blood.  I think it must have been a pen cap full sprinkled on.   As she attempts to clean her ample cleavage off, three shambling ghouls appear with patented Walking Dead moans.  Another girl with a cowgirl outfit and chainsaw, Lena (Adult actress Sola Aoi) splits one down the middle in true Tokyo Gore Police fashion with blood sprinklers at the ready.  She proceeds to have technical difficulties but her friend got her second wind, proceeds to go sickhouse on the lot with a katana.   Joining back in the fray, Lena goes back to back with Ginko (Risa Kasumi of Tokyo Girls 2: Supervixens and Subete no onna ni uso ga aru)

A few technical critiques I have offhand.  The feel of the film is to give the implied Grindhouse standing.  Lower budget and grainy film stock to give it that patented 1960’s exploitation feel and overall it is decent but the combo of CGI blood splatter, squibbed gel blood packs as well as the more viscous sprays with a under cranked fast paced film may be a bit hard on the photophobic eyes.   Takano is really going for the live anime standing so that means absurd violence, twisting the laws of gravity and physics with a dash of what the hell.   Lucky me I got to endure the 3D version and yes we are talking old school red and blue glasses rather than your polarized version of current.  Migraine sufferers you may want to skip this film but of course the title didn’t shoo you away I guess you deserve your fate.

This is ridiculous violence, caricatures of working girls and an amusing narrative through this bloodbath.  Mindless hack and slash for all to enjoy and yes boys ample amounts of nudity so you are fully covered. So have at it folks.  I’m going to crack up a Doctor Who book.

There Can Be Only...confusion?

It’s a kind of magic.  This TV series is just that.  Taking place in 1992 at the height of the ill-fated sequel Highlander 2: The Quickening, The reluctant hero Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert of Highlander, Highlander 2, 3) has a fellow clansman 75 years younger than him, Duncan.  Duncan (Adrian Paul of Love Potion No. 9, Merlin: The Return, The Breed) took himself out of the immortal game of fighting to the death and claiming his opponent’s quickening or life force until a sinister immortal named Slain Quince(Richard Moll of Night Court, House and Batman TAS) seeks Duncan out, wanting his head.  Connor intervenes and frightens Quince off.  Eventually Duncan cannot sit on the sidelines any longer and must confront Quince.   This premiere episode launches a starring role of Duncan MacLeod for the next seven years of which becomes a phenomenon in captivated worldwide.  

 A show where MacLeod fights not only other immortals of tremendous age and skill with a blade but mortal elements such as terrorists, freedom fighters and organized crime.  Admittedly it is the clique right man in the wrong place at the right time.   Each episode carries out a flashback sequence to an earlier portion of Duncan’s life and the people he met through history.   Establishing that all immortals were completely human until a fatal accident or slew in battle, this series did their level best to adhere to historical reenactments, period costumes as well as sets and one of the finest sword masters (Bob Anderson sword master of The Master of Ballantrae, Highlander, The Princess Bride, First Knight and Die Another Day) assisted guest stars who had not so much as held a blade to mastering the finer points in just a few short days.   Over the series guest stars ranging from rock n’ roll legends like Joan Jett and The Who’s front man Roger Daltrey to Babylon 5’s Traci Scoggins and 21 Jump Street’s Dustin Nguyen. 

Highlander has taken place over Bordeaux France, British Columbia Canada, Seattle Washington and even Scotland where the character was originated.  While some of the storylines may not be everyone’s cup of tea, this character driven series is worth anyone’s time if you have a fondness of sword battles, gunfights and a little martial arts thrown in.  In the end however, there can be only one.

Insatiable? We’ll see.

The Insatiable

SPOILERS…Eh you know the drill.

Man o man I seem to be on a vampire kick this month.  This time I have a flick with some budget and meat on the bones.  No more time to waste, let’s delve into The Insatiable.   Writers/directors Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman (TNT and Earth Vs. the Spider) bring us this modern day macabre L.A. story of an everyday guy (Sean Patrick Flannery of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, The Boondock Saints 1 and 2) who works selling flange pipes and is the super for his building .  His local stop at a convenience store and he offers to get a homeless guy; Sammy (Jimmy Gonzales of Four Christmases and Beewax) something to eat.  The convenience store clerk Ronnie (Brad Rowe of Shelter and National Treasure: Book of Secrets ) is swarmy to a couple of preppy kids buying porno mags with the typical hiding purchases.  Harry and Ronnie chatter for a bit and Harry is on his way out to feed the unfortunate fellow on the street.  He then encounters a gorgeous vivacious redheaded vampire (Charlotte Ayanna of Training Day and The Thirst) feeding that very same homeless man.  Startled as he is, his vampire rends Sammy’s head off and leaps 30 feet straight up and through a window without breaking stride.  Harry hyperventilates, passes out but manages to call the cops afterwards.

 Naturally the lead detective treats him like he is jotting down a drunk’s UFO sighting.  Harry slighted by this reaction and terrified of what he saw, of course he goes to work the next day to get crap from his co-workers; Javier (Jon Huertas of Castle and NCIS) and Chet (Josh Hopkins of Swingtown and Private Practice) about the vampiress.   Follow-up questions with lead detective Michael Roper (Boyd Kestner of The General’s Daughter and Hannibal) seems tedious and awkward.  Harry is shown crime scene photos and he is sickened by it. Detective Roper classifies Harry as a nut that saw what he couldn’t possibly have seen, and tells him to take a hike.   Meeting up with Ronnie at the convenience store, Harry notices a neck wound on Ronnie and points out how wiped he appears.  Ronnie tells Harry how his new girlfriend is just running him ragged from sex.  Hmm sounds better than watching this movie any day but I digress. 

 Obsessed with the vampire; Harry surfs the web trying to get a handle on female vampires.  God only knows how many porn sites came up he had to delete out of and discovers they originate from the demon succubus; in that they feed on a man’s life force in the act of sex and slowly drain them of will and strength.  Harry tries to sleep only having a ridiculous bedtime montage of the past events to he heads over to Ronnie’s place to look in on him.  To his shock and horror Ronnie to has met his fate by the vampiress.   The cops are uninterested in what he has to say, so Harry takes it upon himself to deal out justice Peter Cushing style…..okay he actually contacts a web operator that has a few vampire pages.   Harry deals with a backed up garbage disposal of his neighbor Cindi. (Amanda Noret of Veronica Mars and Bunny Whipped)   Just pointing out that she is drooling over Young Indy here and he is too damn bashful to do anything about it.  Smack upside head!

Destiny or a clogged toilet lends a hand and Harry meets a man that is more than just a resident.  Stuck in a wheelchair but wields a decent sawed off boomstick is Strickland (Michael Biehn of Terminator, Aliens and The Rock) who explains to Harry the heightened senses of a vampire.  If they get your scent they can track you anywhere and given his last scene with her I am sure she got pheromones and urine.   Strickland cross-references the known attacks over the last two months and narrows down a grid pattern that is her hunting grounds.  Yes once again we have technology, geography and obsession to hunt and kill vampires.  A trifle cliché but it is Michael Biehn so I excuse him.   Harry hits a hardware store for some tools of the trade.  Pry bar for boarded up doors.  Wire cutters for chain link fences and a decent sized sledgehammer and railroad spikes for staking.  Guess the old lop the head off and everything is gravy concept is key here.   Trailing her to the lair, the vamp wakes only to plead for her life and doofus Balbo lets her live.   Strickland reams him over the phone and Harry devises a plan to deal with her his way.   Using his contacts at work and a handy welding manual; Harry creates the very first Vampire cage.  The same steel used for bank vaults and is damn certain she cannot get out of there.  Excellent time for a spear through the chest but now she is locked away he hasn’t a fricking clue what to do next.  JACKASS!   Stake her, lop the head off and chuck the body to the sun after soaking both head and body in holy water.   Well that was just my opinion. 

 Begging Harry to be free; Tatiana tells him she needs blood every night or she will waste away horribly.  Not wanting a life on his hands, Harry offers her rabbits and other such creatures like a take-out order, but eventually that is not enough for her appetite.  He starts developing a rapport with Tatiana and she can sense he is a lonely sad man who has never really known love.     Too tempted by our vampiress the lines of morality get crossed and Harry starts feeding Tatiana people including jackass co-worker Javier.  Eh can’t say I blame Harry on that one.  Hell I would have fed that guy to a wood chipper let alone a vampire.   The cops find Harry’s prints on discarded bags of trash containing victims and Harry gives himself to Tatiana.     The moral of the story is to kill the pretty thing before it gets in your head.

Season 1: The Story Begins

Normally I am not a huge USA network fan.  I skim through it every so often for series in repeat or marathons on episodes I have missed and generally do not care for films that have been censored and neutered to make less offensive.   So in 2007, I heard on the IMDB grapevine that a new show is coming out I do a brief scan and it looks interesting, I watch the first 3 episodes and it becomes captivating so grab your cell phone, your Sig Sauer and prep your lies.  This is Burn Notice Season 1.

The review you are about to read may contain spoilers and above all else is "need to know" information that is classified…(okay I was having fun that last bit).

Series creator and head writer Matt Nix (Burn Notice and The Good Guys) devised a complex series of episodes outlining a spy’s life of point and counterpoint.  Who are enemies and who allies are and lastly who blurs in between those lines.  To cap off this series is one Michael Westen (Jeffery Donovan of Touching Evil, Hitch and The Pretender) who narrates throughout the chapter.  At first I feel like it was unnecessary and just let the show unfold as it is but after a few episodes I got the feeling that the narration is integral to the action and scenes.  While conducting a little hush money transaction to a ruthless warlord in order to smooth diplomacy to warring nations, Westen’s alias has be compromised and is cut loose from any back up.  The warlord’s men proceed to beat him and he comes up with a decent lie to formulate a plan of escape. 

 Making his way to the agency plane he passes out and wakes up in a cheap hotel in Miami where he is greeted awake (by a light boot in the bruised ribs) by former girlfriend and IRA terrorist Fiona Glenn Anne (Gabrielle Anwar of Scent of a Woman, The Three Musketeers, Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead)   Given all his assets and money are frozen he has to seek operating funds elsewhere and speaks to former SEAL and friend Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell of Evil Dead, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., Spiderman)   Michael has to figure out who set him up and who he can turn to for help.   Family is always a good choice unless you are a Westen.  Mother, Madeline Westen  (Sharon Gless of Cagney and Lacey) could teach the KGB a thing or two about manipulation but she has a good heart and should have blacken lungs from how often she chain smokes.

This show feels like an action movie.  The fight choreography is a very similar approach to the Bourne Trilogy.  Very fluid motion and it does not feel staged.   Car chases have such precision; it is mind boggling.  The gun fights are intense.   Which each new scene you get the sensation that this conspiracy against one capable man is very elaborate and a far bigger puzzle than Michael has put together thus far and it is only going to get worse before it gets better for him.   As for the viewer, if you appreciate a well rounded cast, good writing and impressive story telling then give this show more than the once over.  You just might be pleasantly surprised.