Steph & Madhu's TV Show and Movie Reviews

The Da Vinci Code

2007-11-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

Okay so I know that this movie came out over a year ago but I only recently got the chance to see it. In my opinion this is definitely worth seeing, even if you haven't read the book. This was one of the best suspense movies I've seen in a long, and it had a very interesting plot. However if you are a very religious Christian, I should warn you that some of the things discussed in this movie may offend you, but I would still recommend that you see it.

The story is centered around Dr. Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks, who's specialty is in the interpretation of symbols. When the curator of the Louvre museum in Paris is killed all the evidence points to Dr. Langdon. However the evidence turns out to be secret code left by the dead man for Dr. Langdon. These clues lead to several Da Vinci paitings which hold a long kept secret that if exposed could shake the foundation of Christianity.

This movie is filled with action, mystery and an ending you probably won't be able to predict. Although the movie refers to a lot information from the basis of Christianity, I guarantee that that you do not have to be Christian or religious in order to follow and enjoy this movie.

1408

2007-11-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

You like scary movies? Well, I've got a doozy for you! To begin with, I'm not a big fan of scary movies, but I saw the trailer for this one and something about it compelled me. What is up with room 1408? It was very intriguing. 1408 is full of all the necessities of a scary movies: scenes that will make you pop out of your seat, scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and scenes with creepy children. I liked this one a lot.

John Cusack plays an author who visits the scariest places in the world, spends the night there, and the writes a book about it. Well, he has met his match when he is encountered with room
1408. Samuel L. Jackson is great in his role as the hotel manager. If you like scary movies, I'd definitely suggest you rent this one immediately. Check out the "Director's Cut", that was my favorite version of the film.

Released on DVD: October 2, 2007

The Hills

2007-11-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

It is now the third season that MTV and faithful viewers have been following the life of Lauren Conrad – LC from Laguna Beach stardom (the girl appealing to all other girls dealing with unrequited crushes on boys who have unrequited crushes on some other girl that’s not you). This includes taking a look at her closest friends, her internship at Teen Vogue’s LA headquarters, and her unending supply of dresses and headbands.

This season, the focus is once again on Heidi and Lauren’s deteriorating relationship – a divide triggered by Heidi’s fiancé, Spencer Pratt, and further intensified by rumors of unknown origin, having to do with alleged sex tapes starring Lauren and ex boyfriend Jason. Back stories include Audrina and Justin Bobby’s indefinable pseudo-relationship, Heidi’s controversial promotion, Lauren’s flirt sessions with Brody Jenner, and Whitney’s demanding new position at Teen Vogue.

There are a lot of pressing questions that need answers immediately. Who started the rumors about the sex tapes? Why does Spencer have whiskers and is it his intention to look like Garfield? These are more than enough reasons to keep watching The Hills – but not the only. There are also Justin Bobby’s bored facial expressions and genius witticisms (“Truth and time… tell all”) .. and his completely palpable desire to be Johnny Depp, Heidi’s flawless sense of style and frustrating lack of perspective, and Lauren’s great, albeit cynical, relationship wisdom.

Though it’s easy to say “Who cares?,” boil it down to “a show about rich kids who whine about relationships,” shrug your shoulders, and change the channel to LOST or some other intellectually stimulating show, The Hills is strangely engaging and perhaps if it gives you your fill of drama - as this show has a lot of it - you’ll be less likely to crave it in real life (this is just the optimist in me). Whenever the 30 minutes is up I’m always left with the curious desire to get a manicure and buy a cute dress – until I realize I live in the icy arctic that is Binghamton, and also that I’m not being filmed.

Airs: Mondays @ 10:00PM on MTV

Ugly Betty

2007-11-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

Ugly Betty is a very colorful prime time drama. And it is in fact very dramatic, at times overly so. This show is very reminiscent of a spanish soap opera (if you have never had the pleasure of watching one of those you should definitely check it out, even if you can't understand a word it's still hysterical). Ugly Betty is about a nerdy looking, non-fashionable girl who gets a job at a top fashion magazine (think Vogue) as the assistant to the editor-in-chief. Because she doesn't fit the perfect cookie cutter image of everyone else at the magazine she has a very hard time in the beginning, but because of her determination and thinking outside of the box she manages to find her place. She also becomes indispensable to her boss. But the show is not only about her; there's an ongoing plot for a hostile take over of the magazine by the very evil Wilhemena Slater (played by Vanessa Williams), a murder mystery, a rich alcoholic woman going to jail, and a transsexual. This show is pretty funny, you should definitely check it out.

Airs: Thursdays @ 8:00PM on ABC

American Gangster

2007-11-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

American Gangster is the gripping story of a black man who went from being a driver to being one of the most powerful and dangerous men in the streets of Harlem. Based on the true story of the life of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), we follow Frank's rise to the top of the food chain when it came to drug lords and crime bosses. Frank starts running a systematic operation out of Harlem while bringing his family (Common, T.I., Chiwetel Ejiofor) from North Carolina in to help him. Business starts booming.

Enter Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) - a cop from New Jersey who has just been put in charge of a special drug unit, leading an investigation into the rising drug problem in the streets. Frank and Richie are two passionate individuals on a collision course throughout the movie. Frank's situation gets messy when he starts feeling the rival drug lords (Cuba Gooding Jr.), the Mafia (Armand Assante), crooked cops (Josh Brolin), and Richie, all breathing down his neck. How far will Frank go and how long will his reign last?

Denzel Washington(Glory, Training Day) gives us another amazing performance worthy of another Oscar while Russell Crowe(Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) shines in his role. This is a movie which will make you root for the bad guy until the very end. Director Ridley Scott(Gladiator, Black Hawk Down) brings us a masterpiece which will go down as a classic crime drama with the likes of GodFather and Scarface. The discussion is no longer Corleone or Montana, it's Corleone, Montana or Lucas.

Released: November 2, 2007

The Game

2007-11-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

I watch The Game regularly on the CW, however I am very surprised that it lasted a second season. This show stars Tia Mowry, one of the twins from Sister,Sister (remember that show, I loved it) and is basically about three football players and the women in their lives. The show is actually pretty funny. If you're looking for something lite, but that still has quite a bit of drama you should definitively check out this show on Monday nights at 9:30 on the CW.

Airs: Mondays @ 9:30PM on the CW

Saturday Night Live

2007-11-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

Saturday Night Live has been one of my favorite shows for a very long time now. Since 1975, this show has been consistently delivering sketch comedy at its finest. Now in its 33rd season, people will argue that the cast isn't what it once was. It's hard to complain with this as we look at the list of those who have come and gone through this late night circuit. Eddie Murphy, Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, Mike Myers, David Spade, Dan Aykroyd, Chris Farley, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Molly Shannon...just to name a few. At first I tended to agree with this and didn't think much of the new cast.

However, in the past two seasons, I've started to fall in love with this cast. I can't think of a flaw in this cast. They've got a good variety of characters at their disposal and they all know how to get a laugh. Andy Samberg is a crowd favorite and his "digital shorts" are always something to look forward to. His "D*@& in a box" sketch from last season, featuring Justin Timberlake, was an instant classic. At times I see myself questioning the writing. Some of the sketches are hilarious and yet others make my head scratch.

SNL continues to bring in big names to host the show. This season alone they've had basketball player Lebron James, musicians Kanye West and Jon Bon Jovi, actor Seth Rogen and even news anchor Brian Williams. Jonah Hill, star of Superbad, is set to host the next new episode on November 17th. Tune in for some guaranteed laughs!

Airs: Saturdays @ 11:30PM on NBC

I Love New York 2

2007-11-05T15:26:00.001-08:00

This show is so awesome, yea it's sleazy and classless but it is soooooo entertaining. In true VH1 celeb reality matchmaking show fashion, after the first season of I Love New York, New York (Tiffany Patterson, the two time loser from Flavor of Love) did not find "love". So she is back and attempting to find it again. The men on this show are what make it the most hillarious. First of all there is a lot of suspicions that half of them are gay, and that would be fine if they weren't fighting to date a woman. The other half of the contestants have serious anger management problems, and get into fights every episode. At this point, New York has already eliminated one contestant because of fighting and in the very next episode one of the guys spit in another one's face. These guys are so catty and conniving, they definitely make it worth tuning in every Monday night.

Airs: Mondays @ 9:00PM on VH1

Gone, Baby, Gone

2007-11-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angela Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) are private investigators who specialize on finding missing children. Set in a rough neighborhood in Boston where Patrick was born and raised, he makes it his business to know everyone and everything going on in his city. When a case comes to his door involving a missing 4 year old girl, little do Patrick and Angela know that this case will change their lives forever. As Patrick and Angela work alongside the Boston PD to find the missing child, they all realize there is way more to the case than what meets the eye.

Casey Affleck delivers an oscar worthy performance in this masterpiece of a film while his brother Ben Affleck flexes his directing muscle. Hollywood veterans, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman, play some great supporting roles to supplement Casey's performance. This movie keeps you entertained and intrigued throughout. Gone, Baby, Gone is one of those movies which will have you talking for days, even after the movie is over. I would give this more than 5 stars if I could.

Released: October 19, 2007

Grey's Anatomy

2007-11-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Grey's Anatomy is currently in it's fourth season and let me tell you if they don't do something fast this might (or at least should)be their last season. Don't get me wrong I'm still a faithful Grey's watcher; every Thursday at 9 pm I am glued to my TV for an hour. But the problem is I find myself getting upset at the TV more often these days. They have these characters doing some pretty dumb stuff (best friends falling in "love", people breaking up but not really breaking up because they have sex on a regular basis, and so on). Even those who do not watch the show know about Meridith Grey and how everyone hates her always complaining, self-pitying, doesn't know a good thing when she's got it character, well this season they've introduced another Grey to the cast (Meredith's sister) and she is just as annoying.

If you are not currently a fan I would not advise that you start watching now, because you would absolutely hate it (i still like it but I'm a fan, and understand the stupid drama and character backgrounds). I would however recommended seeing the first and second seasons because those were truly awesome and would allow you to understand why fans like me still tune in every Thursday. (we're hoping maybe the magic will return)

Airs: Thursdays @ 9:00PM on ABC

How I Met Your Mother

2007-10-30T15:00:00.001-07:00

It's the year 2030 and Ted Mosby is sitting his kids down to tell them the story of How he Met their mother (hence the title). The story starts 25 years ago, where Ted is a bachelor in New York City living with his best friends Marshall(Jason Segel from Knocked Up) and Lily(Alyson Hannigan from American Pie). Then there's his womanizer friend, Barney(Neil Patrick Harris, Doogie Howser M.D.), who is always ready to be Ted's wingman as they go out on the town looking for a girl for Ted. This usually leads them to the pub which is located underneath Ted's apartment. Ted is picky and has some bad luck with women. Every week Ted goes through another story in his life, which will all lead to how he met his future wife.

How I Met Your Mother is another one of my favorite shows on TV. It is great from front to back. The acting, the writing, the directing, the concept - it's all good. At times it's funny and at other times it's uproarious. Currently it is in its 3rd season, but I would recommend you watch this starting from the first episode, first season. Trust me, you will enjoy it a lot more if you know how it all started. After watching a couple episodes, I'm sure you'll go out and do it anyway.

Who is "the mother"? When will she be revealed? What will Barney do next? You've gotta tune in to find out!

Airs: Mondays @ 8:00PM on CBS

Why Did I Get Married?

2007-10-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

Unlike the typical Tyler Perry film, the hilarious Madea was not included in this one. However this by no means diminished its value. This movie is dramatic, funny and romantic. The plot is based on four couples who take yearly vacations together where they evaluate the state of their marriage. But when one of the husbands brings another woman on the trip with him, the cozy vacation in the mountains begins to spiral out of control. The climax of this film is the dinner scene where everyone at the table has a devastating secret exposed, and believe me these are some juicy, unexpected secrets.

This movie is a must see, you will be laughing the entire time (for the most part), and at least once ask yourself: Why do people get married?

Released: October 12, 2007

Kid Nation

2007-10-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

40 kids. No adults. One abandoned city. It's the job of these kids, ranging from ages eight to fifteen, to rebuild this city on their own without the help of any adult supervision. There are four kids who are the town council, they act as the leaders of the four districts in Bonanza City. Every three days there is a showdown between the districts to determine who will be the Upper Class(paid $1 to help as much or as little as they want), the Merchants(paid 50 cents to run the stores in the city), the Cooks(paid 25 cents to cook meals for everyone) and the Laborers(paid 10 cents to do the cleaning and hard labor). In addition, it is the council's job to award one kid with a "gold star" which is worth $20,000 for their hard work in the city.

Kid Nation is GREAT. It's my new favorite show. It's really amazing to see how kids interact with each other with no adults around. They all act like they are adults and the drama between the kids is fun to watch. Will they be able to come together and rebuild the city? Will the council be able to control the kids? and Who will get those coveted "gold stars"? You better tune in to find out!

Airs: Wednesdays @ 8:00PM on CBS

America's Next Top Model

2007-10-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

What can I say about ANTM? America's Next Top Model is currently in its 9th Cycle, but as far as talent this is not the best season. We are now half way through the competition and none of the girls truly stands out. Although so far there have been some pretty awesome photo shoots. For example there was a photo shoot depicting the after effects of smoking, and another where the ladies had to pose as gargoyles on the roof of a skyscraper. If you're already an ANTM fan it's worth tuning in if only to compare it to past seasons. If you're not a fan, this may not be the season when you want to start watching.

Airs: Wednesdays @ 8:00PM on The CW

We Own The Night

2007-10-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

This is a crime drama which centers around two brothers Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix) and Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) who end up with two opposite lifestyles. Bobby lives a care-free life while he runs a night club in Brooklyn. Joseph leads a well disciplined life as an NYPD officer which makes his father, Burt (Robert Duvall), the deputy chief of police, very proud. Bobby has kept his family a secret, even changing his last name, except to his girlfriend (Eva Mendes). The drama begins when their lives become entangled through the drug trade orchestrated by the Russian mafia. How will the family cope when they are forced together on opposite sides of the law?

We Own the Night comes With an outstanding cast and a great story. However, at the end, I found myself wanting more. If you're a big Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, Signs, The Village, Walk the Line) fan, like myself, then there's enough there to keep you entertained. There are some great individual scenes, but overall, it's good -- not great.

Released: October 12, 2007

The Real World - Sydney

2007-10-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Now in it's 17th season, The Real World has moved to Australia. This season is interesting to say the least. There hasn't been one episode so far that hasn't had a screaming, shouting, tear-filled, bottle throwing argument. This season is also filled with the usual Real World intrigue: hooking up, breaking up, making up, cheating on boyfriends/girlfriends, and one night stands with the locals.
Although I definitely would not call this the best season, I guarantee that if you watch one episode this season's bitchy, on edge characters will definitely have you addicted to this show.

Airs: Wednesdays @ 10:00PM on MTV

The Office

2007-10-18T04:45:00.001-07:00

Currently in it's fourth season, The Office, has quickly become one of the funniest and one of my favorite shows on TV. Michael(Steve Carell), star of The 40-year old Virgin and Evan Almighty, is the Regional Manager at the Scranton branch of a paper company called Dunder Mifflin. Each week we follow the daily lives of the various characters working at the office. Each character comes with their own little quirks which you will come to enjoy. If you've ever worked in an office environment, you will love this. I've been hooked since the first episode. The humor ranges from subtle to slapstick to sarcastic to innappropriate, but all in all hilarious. This is a must watch!

Airs: Thursdays @ 9:00PM on NBC