Black River (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Considering the fact that Dean Koontz has written over 50 books, you'd think there'd be more movie adaptations. Perhaps movies like this one, BLACK RIVER, explains it. Koontz is a prolific writer, and even though he's a good genre writer, his stories sometimes take on such ethereal and philosophical tones, they lose their terror. Such as it is in BLACK RIVER. There's nothing overtly frightening, and much of it comes across as laughable.
Disgruntled screenwriter Bo Aikens (played rather amatuerishly by Jay Mohr) decides to chuck it all in LA and find himself a "nice home" somewhere up north. This leads him to a town called Black River. When he walks into the local eatery, he is met by the town's over-effusive mayor (played awfully by Stephen Tobolowsky), who welcomes him to Black River and tells Bo that he will love it there. Of course, Bo is just "looking", and it isn't long before he's being tormented by the town's redneck, offends the waitress, meets up with the waitresses' sister who just pops out of nowhere (they were both adopted and never knew they existed). Seems like good things happen to "good people" and bad things happen to "bad people." Video cameras are everywhere; you have no private moments, and Aikens finds out that he can't leave Black River.
There's an obvious diabolical connection with two local computer companies and by the time we find out their connection, it's so muddled and confusing, it makes little if any sense.
The most believable moments in the film are the very beginning where Aikens loses his beloved pet retriever and tries to find somewhere to bury him. Mohr is convincing in this scene.
It's made for t.v. so it's not the least bit gruesome and the only death shown on screen is pretty funny...electrifyingly so!!

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Item Name: Black River; Studio:Mti Home Video

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House, M.D.: Season Six (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)**possible spoilers**
Season 5 of the series House ended memorably with a well-edited contrast: family and friends at warm wedding vs. Wilson watching the broken doctor as he checked himself into a hospital on a cold and gray day. Season 6 starts off with House (Hugh Laurie) in treatment for his vicodin addiction, an addiction which had fueled a series of devastating (yet revealing) hallucinations. Viewers know how House treats "normal" people (that is to say, not with warm and fuzzy feelings) and in the beginning of Season 6 they are treated to House interacting with "abnormal" people. House, ever the equal opportunity offender, does not seem too changed by his stint in Mayfield hospital. Andre Braugher (of "Homicide") was well cast as House's experienced, nothing-shocks-him therapist, able to go head-to-head with House, and there is a guest role by Franka Potente ("Run Lola Run") as a beautiful visitor to the hospital with whom House has a brief relationship.
The writers are able to take House out of his comfort zone, surround him with multi-dimensional characters, and still have House stand out. Don't expect any blatant epiphanies in therapy for House about why he is the way he is. Is it the pain, is it the drugs, his relationship with is father, is it the curse of being a genius? There are no resolutions to go back into the "real world," settle down and live happily ever after. Thank goodness!
The epiphanies are of course saved for the hospital, when House returns to work. He gradually becomes more confident in his ability to solve cases. Even after five previous seasons, the writers are able to come up with all new cases and all new characters for House to read right through.
That being said, Season 6 delves more of the personal lives of the characters than prior seasons: Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) as she balances being a mom, with a love life, and with the demands of her job; Cuddy and House; Taub (Peter Jacobson) and his wife, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) and Foreman (Omar Epps), Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) and House (some of the best dialogue from the show still occurs between those two), Wilson and his ex-wife. Of particular note, Dr. Chase (played by Jesse Spencer) finally gets some great story lines dealing with secrets, morality and ethics (which the show has always been great at raising discussions about). By Season 6, Robert Chase is no longer the doctor who always tries to stay on House's good side, or agree with House, or play it safe. In past seasons, it was Foreman who had to gain independence from House. In Season 6, Cuddy struggles with it, Taub struggles with it, Wilson starts to and Dr. Chase definitely does, but with severe professional and personal consequences. Of course, there was also the strawberry body butter incident(season 5). Gotta love the variety in the show!
In past seasons, there has been at least one reference (that I can recall) to a patient who died while under House's care. In Season 6, viewers witness other patients not making it. When it happens to House or his team, there will be and were huge ramifications.
Overall, another great season for House.Even after five seasons, Hugh Laurie is able to make House a multi-dimensional character, capable of stinging one-liners but also of conveying internal trauma. How he could not have won every Emmy and golden globe since House was on the air is beyond me. Don't award committees love drug addicts, people pulling off accents, and people in mental institutions? It's the trifecta!
Regarding the famed House/Cuddy relationship, I was probably in the minority by not being too keen on the idea, I thought it might get too "Grey's Anatomy" if you'll pardon the other medical show reference. However, the writers managed (who knows how) to put an original spin on their relationship, it is certainly kept far from the soap opera-ish realm of workplace romances, probably because the characters involved both have complex motivations. It will be interesting to see if House and Cuddy can make it, and in any case, it at least won't be a television cliché.
House fans have come to expect changes in House's team each season finale and true to form, Season 6 does not deviate as one cast member seems to be departing.
Bravo once again! Bravo!

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House, M.D.: Season Three (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)You have to give the "House" production team credit. Your show has the "American Idol" lead-in and is often the highest-rated scripted drama on TV. However, instead of playing it safe with disease-of-the week plots, "House" swung for the fences several times: putting its main character in jail and threatening him with prison; ramping up the conflicts between all six of the main characters; and ending the year with a big cliffhanger that threatened to cut the main cast in half. Even when a given episode wasn't advancing the progressive storyline, the writers attempted to push the envelope with several politically themed episodes.
Early in Season 3, the big storyline revolved around recurring guest star David Morse, a detective out to get House and his questionable supply of Vicodin. In previous years, lengthy story arcs were given to Chi McBride and Sela Ward: would House lose his job? would House get married? This year, the theme was: would House go to prison? Morse dominated his episodes by playing the rare character that wouldn't back down to House. Although some media critics grew tired of the plot, which perhaps went on 2-3 episodes too long, the resolution was clever and allowed House to keep his dignity (and his job) without having to sacrifice... anything.
Several subplots emerged throughout the season, such as the romance between Drs. Chase and Cameron (first shown in season 2), and Dr. Foreman's growing dissatisfaction with having House as his mentor. House's fascination (or, some might say, obsession) with his boss, Dr. Cuddy, reached new levels. By the end of the season, House faced near mutiny from his underlings... and still didn't seem all that bothered. Perhaps House was too busy counseling a patient to end his life, or faking cancer in order to get a supply of pain medications. Perhaps he was dodging the romantic advances of a teenager, or trading in his case for a wheelchair in order to recover his handicapped parking spot. The more outrageous the behavior, the better Hugh Laurie was in the role. He even upgraded his cane to a model decorated with stars.
Standout guest stars this season included John Larroquette as a man waking up from a decade-long coma, Joel Grey as an ailing doctor, Dave Matthews as a stunted piano prodigy, and the return of Charles S. Dutton as Foreman's dad.
While the "House" season DVDs are never what you'd call packed with extras, the tightly knotted plots and the rapid-fire dialogue makes this a great show to watch more than once. Also try and track down plot-lines that never quite went anywhere, like Cuddy's rumored pregnancy or her not-quite romance with Wilson.
"House" season 3 drew top ratings while continuing with the show's unflinching dialogue and medical situations. This may not have been a great year for "Grey's Anatomy" or "E.R.", so cruise on over to Princeton Plainsborough for a few hours of intense hospital drama.

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