Archive for April, 2015

More Milwaukee media notes…of a sort

Posted by Duane Dudek

Things add up. Unless you clean house.

Like this.

—The John Ridley file keeps growing. Entertainment Weekly reports the Mequon native is joining forces with Marvel to create a “mysterious new series” for ABC. The magazine reports Ridley will be “reinventing an existing” superhero.

Other sites report the character is the Muslim-American superhero, “Ms. Marvel.” Marvel just announced an “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” spinoff.  The much-anticipated “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” is released in theaters May 1.

Read More

Bon Appetit pays tribute to Milwaukee bars, Rocket Baby

Posted by Duane Dudek
amolFullSizeRender

How can you miss me if I don’t go away?

You’ll have to pardon my absence last week. I’ve got a note from my wife.

We went on a field trip to Minneapolis for a beer, baseball and birthday celebration. We visited Target Field and saw a rare thing; the home team won twice.

I got a Paul Molitor magnet. The weather was perfect – 70 degrees both days.

And I breakfasted at the Tiny Diner, where it was Milwaukee month.

The menu featured Milwaukee dishes and images of area icons including the Violent Femmes and Liberace.

Read More

People who live in glass houses….in TV and film

Posted by Duane Dudek
fracture

“People who live in glass houses ….” is a recurring device in film and TV narrative.

The aphorism that ends with “…shouldn’t throw stones” (or “…shouldn’t stow thrones,” as parodied on a “Fractured Fairy Tales” segment of “Rocky and Bullwinkle”) suggests that it’s unwise to cast aspersions when your own life is subject to scrutiny.

In film and television, however, glass houses are an aesthetic decision that evoke different things, from wealth and privilege to isolation and vulnerability.

Read More

Why Sunday is the best night of television

Posted by Duane Dudek

The best night of the week for television once was Saturday, when “All In the Family” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” ruled CBS.

NBC called its Thursday night shows like “Cheers,” “The Cosby Show,” “Hill Street Blues” and “L.A. Law” “Must see TV.” ABC once declared TGIF with its Friday night lineup of “Full House” and “Family Matters” and now gives its Thursday night shows “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” a #TGIT hashtag.

Read More

Playful “While We’re Young” about the terror of acting your age

Posted by Duane Dudek
ayoung

Who hasn’t heard, or uttered, the threat: “Wait until you have kids of your own.”

The reasons for not having kids are as numerous as the peer and social pressure to have them is enormous.

Kids – having them and being them – are one of the subplots of “While We’re Young,” Noah Baumbach’s New York Centric comedy about the terrors of acting your age.

The truth is you are not as young as you feel; you are as old as you are. And each age brings with it unique pleasures and misery in equal measure.

Read More

A (mostly) spoiler free look at new season of ‘Game of Thrones’

Posted by Duane Dudek

Too much is not enough for hardcore “Game of Thrones” fans.

The paperback versions of the five books in the series by George R.R. Martin run 5,216 pages. And the last two volumes are expected to be about 1,500 pages each. Which probably explains why the next book has been so long in the making. Book five took six years. Book six is due sometime in 2016.

The HBO series adapted from the books has its own fan base and out of necessity condenses the story and rearranges the chronology of events. The fifth season premiere, Sunday, is based on the books four and five.

Read More

‘True Detective’ season two teaser trailer explained

Posted by Duane Dudek

Judging from the first trailer, the upcoming season of “True Detective,” on HBO June 21, promises to be as intricate as the first. Hopefully it is just as compelling.

After watching the trailer, interpret it using the synopsis below.

A bizarre murder brings together three law-enforcement officers and a career criminal, each of whom must navigate a web of conspiracy and betrayal in the scorched landscapes of California.

Colin Farrell is Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective in the all-industrial City of Vinci, LA County. Vince Vaughn plays Frank Semyon, a criminal and entrepreneur in danger of losing his life’s work, while his wife and closest ally (Kelly Reilly), struggles with his choices and her own.

Read More

Vin Scully calls Hank Aaron’s 715th HR on his date in 1974

Posted by Duane Dudek

On this date in 1974 Atlanta Brave Henry Aaron hit his 715th home run, in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, passing record holder Babe Ruth.

“What a marvelous moment for the country and the world,” announcer Vin Scully proclaimed. “A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking the record of an all time baseball idol.”

Four cable comedies argue that April is the funniest month

Posted by Duane Dudek

During his likely valedictory appearance last week on  “Late Show With David Letterman.” comic turned US senator Al Franken offered a heartfelt tribute to what Letterman has accomplished as the longest running late night host in TV history. He said that Letterman changed comedy.

This week the return and premiere of notable TV comedies, each featuring fools we suffer gladly, offer some evidence of this change. They are to traditional sitcoms what “Mad Men,” “The Sopranos” and “Breaking Bad” are to TV drama. And like those dramas they are each story and character driven.

Read More

HBO introduces its streaming service free for 30-days

Posted by Duane Dudek
ahbonow

HBO is now available for streaming on Apple TV and IOS operating devices including the iPad and the iPhone. The new service called HBO Now is a standalone service available for non cable subscribers.

It is being After that it will cost $14.99 monthly.

Its debut coincides with the premiere this Sunday of the anticipated season premiere of “Game of Thrones”  as well as “Veep” and “Silicon Valley.”

The service also allows access to past and current episodes of all HBO original programing, past and current, like “Girls,” “The Wire,” “The Sopranos” and “True Detective” as well as movies, documentaries and specials.

Read More

©2016 The Dudek Abides
<