CliqueClack

TNT’s ‘Rizzoli & Isles,’ a real hit on Season Four DVD!

It’s fascinating to me how prominent cable networks have become as I’ve gotten older. Let’s take TNT for example. Over the past ten years, the network has developed some pretty impressive programming – gritty dramas and captivating procedurals that manage to keep audiences glued to the screen. Rizzoli & Isles is one such program.

Based on the popular novels by Tess Gerritsen, Rizzoli & Isles premiered back in 2010 and has been going strong ever since. In fact, I do believe it’s one of TNT’s sturdiest shows. I know that’s what my mother believes. She and my father watch it religiously. Me? I tended to gravitate towards The Closer – one of TNT’s other stand out procedurals. However, I think I may be hopping onto the Rizzoli & Isles bandwagon. A simple look at season four of the show, starring Angie Harmon (the one actress who honestly never seems to age) and Sasha Alexander (who’s easy on the eyes as well), was all it took to get me hooked like a fish. Consider me entertained.

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Win passes to see Jersey Boys in Boston or Hartford

The life and times of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is making the leap from the musical stage to the big screen, and we want to give readers in the Boston and Hartford areas the opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new movie musical Jersey Boys directed by Clint Eastwood.

The film tells the story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons. The story of their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the songs that influenced a generation, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Dawn,” “Rag Doll,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Who Loves You,” and many more. These classic hits are now being embraced by a new generation of fans through the stage musical, which has been running on Broadway for more than eight years and has also enjoyed successful tours around the globe.

Starring in the film, John Lloyd Young reprises his Tony Award-winning portrayal of the legendary lead singer of The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli. Erich Bergen stars as Bob Gaudio, who wrote or co-wrote all of the group’s biggest hits. Michael Lomenda and Vincent Piazza star respectively as Nick Massi and Tommy DeVito, two original members of The Four Seasons. Oscar winner Christopher Walken stars as mobster Gyp DeCarlo.

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Download free passes to see Obvious Child in DC this Wednesday

CliqueClack has partnered with A24 Films to offer readers in Washington, DC an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new comedy Obvious Child starring Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, Gabe Liedman, Polly Draper, Richard Kind, and David Cross.

For aspiring comedian Donna Stern (Slate), everyday life as a female twenty-something provides ample material for her hysterical and relatable brand of humor. On stage, Donna is unapologetically herself, joking about topics as intimate as her sex life and as crude as her day-old underwear. But when Donna winds up unexpectedly pregnant after a one-night stand, she is forced to face the uncomfortable realities of independent womanhood for the first time. Donna’s drunken hookup – and epic lapse in prophylactic judgment – turns out to be the beginning of a hilarious and totally unplanned journey of self-discovery and empowerment.

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Falling Skies, True Blood, The Killing, and more on DVD and Blu-ray

With the regular TV season over and the summer TV season about to begin, now is the time to catch up on some of your favorite series before they come back to the airwaves. This week saw the release of previous seasons of Falling Skies, True Blood, The Killing, Workaholics, The Glades, Pretty Little Liars and Awkward, as well as a complete series set for Breaking Bad. Classic TV was represented with Highway to Heaven, Rawhide and Barbary Coast (starring William Shatner), and Batman, Superman and Power Rangers are here to keep the kids entertained. You can see all of the June 3 releases in our handy shopper’s guide, and you can click on a link to get more information or make a purchase!

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Lone Survivor, Robocop and more on DVD and Blu-ray

Some major titles were released on home video this week including the well-reviewed Lone Survivor, the not-so-well reviewed RoboCop (we gave it a fair review), and the theatrical spin-off of the History Channel’s The Bible mini-series, Son of God. The anime hit Attack on Titan, Part 1 came to home video, and Winter’s Tale and 300: Rise of an Empire got early digital only releases before coming to DVD and Blu-ray. Older movies getting the high def treatment this week include The Birdcage, The Outsiders, Ravenous and Kissing Jessica Stein. These titles and more were released on June 3, and you can see all the highlights in our handy shopper’s guide. Click on a link to get more information about a title or to make a purchase!

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Win passes to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in Chicago

This contest is now closed. Winners will be notified by email. Follow CliqueClack on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr for contest alerts, reviews and breaking news.

CliqueClack has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to offer readers in Chicago an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new action movie Dawn of the Planet of the Apes starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smith-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, and Kirk Acevedo.

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.

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You’ll fall in love with The Fault in Our Stars slowly, and then all at once

Every now and then a story comes along that is so powerful that it becomes a phenomenon. The premise resonates so true with so many individuals, the characters are so completely and utterly captivating and the emotions are so raw that it simply can’t be ignored. The Fault in Our Stars is such a story, and thanks to the movie, it is no longer limited to just the literary tween set.

Released by 20th Century Fox, based on the best-selling novel by Indianapolis author John Green, The Fault in Our Stars tells the story of two teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love as one would fall asleep, “slowly, and then all at once.” The movie stars Shailene Woodley as Hazel Grace Lancaster (a 16-year-old girl who was diagnosed with Stage 4 thyroid cancer when she was 13; it spread to form a satellite colony in her lungs, which is why she has to travel everywhere hooked up to an oxygen tank) and Ansel Elgort as Augustus (“Gus”) Waters (a 17-year-old boy with osteosarcoma in remission though it already claimed half his leg). I don’t know that I’ve ever been as fascinated by a pair of young star-crossed lovers as I was with these two. They banter extremely well together using very grown-up words, poking fun at their medical conditions and how the world views them as “cancer kids.” Their insights about life, love, death and how the world is not “a wish-granting factory” are at times funny and at times a bit morbid, but always right on the money. Frankly, I’ve never read a novel or seen a movie that dealt with cancer and children quite as honestly. Continue reading 'You’ll fall in love with The Fault in Our Stars slowly, and then all at once' »

Edge of Tomorrow will keep you on the edge of your seat

Imagine a world devastated by an alien attack and Tom Cruise is the one man who can figure out what’s going on and save the world. Yeah, many people think they have already seen this movie with last year’s Oblivion which was a much more solemn and thought-provoking affair. Cruise’s new sci-fi flick about an alien invasion, Edge of Tomorrow, is 180 degrees away from that other alien invasion movie, but will audiences feel like it’s Cruise vs aliens overkill?

The answer is a big fat NO! In Oblivion, Cruise was the “last man on Earth” after an alien invasion but not everything was as it seemed. In Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise is a military man of sorts. Instead of enlisting to fight the enemy, he’s taken a path that gives him rank but usually keeps him out of danger by producing what amounts to propaganda videos for the war effort. An alien race has arrived on Earth via meteor strike and is hellbent on wiping out the human race. Interestingly enough, we never know why. When Cruise’s Major Cage refuses General Brigham’s orders to be embedded at the front of an upcoming attack, he finds himself branded a deserter and placed with a squadron of less than desirable recruits.

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Win free passes to see How To Train Your Dragon 2 in Milwaukee

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CliqueClack has partnered with DreamWorks Animation to offer readers in the Milwaukee area an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new animated movie How To Train Your Dragon 2 starring Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Kit Harington, Cate Blanchett, Djimon Honsou, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig.

The thrilling second chapter of the epic How To Train Your Dragon trilogy returns to the fantastical world of the heroic Viking Hiccup and his faithful dragon Toothless. The inseparable duo must protect the peace — and save the future of men and dragons from the power-hungry Drago.

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The Oklahoma Kid is western gone schlock

Remember the casting errors from The Ten Commandments? You know the ones. Edward G. Robinson as that weasel Dathan? (Each time I see him in that role I can’t help hearing Billy Crystal’s routine caricaturing Robinson’s voice: “Where’s yer Moses now … ???”) My beloved Vincent Price as Baka the master builder? Ugh. And as foreboding a figure as Yul Brynner’s Rameses was, the character just didn’t set well in the grand scheme of that classic.

Well, The Oklahoma Kid came almost a generation before The Ten Commandments and courtesy of the central casting monkey business department. It features a couple well known gangsters attempting to put an old west twist on characters they couldn’t possibly pull off.

James Cagney, as the titular Oklahoma Kid, is oft times so carefree it seems many of his scenes are walk-on cameo stints. Throughout the film, his demeanor mimics the high-waist pants he wears — he doesn’t care how he appears to others (same goes for those pants) and it frequently translates to a haughtiness uncharacteristic of cowboy flicks. There’s no haughtiness in westerns! There are dashing good guys! Bad guys with an agenda and ulterior motives! Grumpy general store patrons! Not the kind of haughtiness Cagney puts on display. He floats through the role putting on airs wherever he goes, making certain it’s known he’s above the law. Rules don’t apply to him.

On the other side of the fence, at least Humphrey Bogart’s Whip McCord puts a little effort into his part as the town scourge with underhanded smiles and ulterior motives. He takes advantage when it suits him, pulls fast ones out from underneath everyone he comes in contact with and works those motives in plain sight of everyone. He’s the consummate opportunist bad guy, something that should translate well in a western. But his character suffers from noirish sneers and unscrupulousness that works better in other mediums, not in the old west. Continue reading 'The Oklahoma Kid is western gone schlock' »