Take 4 TV: 4400 Home Movies

The 4400: Season One (2004)

The Premise: Over the course of the past 70 years or so, people from all over the world have been vanishing under mysterious circumstances. One evening, on the shores of a secluded mountain lake outside modern-day Seattle, 4400 of these missing people reappear in a burst of light from the sky, not having aged a year since their respective disappearances and with no memory of where they've been...some having been gone decades, some having been gone only a year or two. As "The 4400" (a name given them by the media) adjust to life in today's world, they must fight fear and discrimination...while trying to understand the newfound powers that some of them seem to be developing.

Familiar Faces: The cast is led by two government investigators, played by Jacqueline McKenzie and Joel Gretsch...neither of whom I've seen in anything before. Their boss, however, is played by Peter Coyote, who you'd likely recognize (he was in both E.T. and Erin Brockovich). The only other person I recognized was Mark Valley (of Boston Legal and FOX's short-lived Keen Eddie), who has a small role in Season One.

Top Plot Keywords: Teen; Police; Supernatural Powers; Suburbia; Seattle, WA

Random Trivia: When the producers were conceiving the series, the secret of who had abducted the 4400 was supposed to be revealed during the fifth season. USA had picked the show up as a miniseries and wanted it to have some resolution, so the secret was instead revealed in the fifth episode.

And I Quote: Shawn Farrell: [Revisiting the mountain lake with a friend] "Me and 4,399 of my closest friends popped out of a ball of light right about here."

Curt's Take: Must See - I wasn't completely sure what to expect with this series, but had heard good things, so was looking forward to it. First off, I was surprised that the first season was only five episodes long, but with a LOT explained in the final episode of the first season (see above), it got me hooked and ready to watch Season Two. Because of this, Season One almost felt like more of a prologue, setting up what is likely to happen and be explored in the next season, and it was a great decision not to drag out the mystery (are you readinig this, J.J. Abrams?) of what happened to the missing 4400 people. It's so rare to have a TV series deliver you answers (rather than more questions), that this was a welcome change of pace...and it still left lots of room for story development. I don't want to give too much away, but just recommend at least checking out Season One (again, it's only five episodes)...it's enough sci-fi to satisfy everyone's inner geek, but not so much that it'll turn you off if that's not your cup of tea. Hell, even the opening credits are catchy. The storytelling is great, and the way Season One ends just leaves your mind swimming with what Season Two holds in store.

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Home Movies: Season One (1999)

The Premise: Eight-year-old Brendan Small lives with his single mom and baby sister, deals with the daily trials of elementary school and soccer practice, and is otherwise like any other young kid you might run into in your neighborhood...except for his obsession with making movies using homemade props, his close friends Melissas and Jason, and his handy-dandy camcorder.

Familiar Faces: Well, this is an animated series, so what voices might you recognize? The big one for me was comedienne Paula Poundstone, who plays Brendon's mom in the opening six episodes (but who is later replaced by another voice actress). As for the regular voices, didn't really recognize any of them.

Top Plot Keywords: Single Mother; Soccer; Home Movie; Soccer Coach; Squiggle Vision

Random Trivia: Only aired six episodes in its original UPN run. When it was picked up by Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in 2001, seven more "squigglevision" episodes from the original season were aired before transferring to Flash for the new seasons.

And I Quote: Melissa Robbins: "Coach McGuirk, what's the matter? You don't look so good. Are you on another bender?" Coach McGuirk: "Where'd you learn that word, Melissa?" Melissa Robbins: "From you." Coach McGuirk: "Oh, right."

Curt's Take: Don't Bother - This got a lot of acclaim, and was on in 1999 on UPN and from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. As for me...I just couldn't get into it. I've got a new rule of thumb where I'll give any television series a chance to impress me over the course of four episodes...and if I'm not hooked by then, I'm gone. American Gothic violated the "four strikes" rule when I reviewed, and (sadly) Home Movies also struck out. I'd seen this type of animation before ("squigglevision"), and it is somewhat painful to watch, and I didn't find the writing (some of it improvised, if I understand correctly) that compelling or entertaining. Maybe it was all in the presentation...hard to say. Regardless, there are folks out there who rave about this, but I just couldn't get into it. It wasn't so bad that it would earn a Run in Fear rating, and the only thing I somewhat enjoyed about it was Paula Poundstone's presence...and from reading about the show, I found that she only was on for the first six episodes. So...skip it, I say.

Take 4: Movie Marathon #1

On one clear and starlit evening in July, two (relatively) young Michigan State grads, Curt and Ryan, sat down to attempt an extended viewing session of four movies in order to do a "Movie Marathon" review. Each Spartan chose two movies. Below are the results of that fateful night. Read on, brave viewer.

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Rashomon (1950)

The Premise: The gripping classic film by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa which revolves around the murder of a samurai and the assault of his wife in the forests of 12th Century Japan. We get to see the facts unfold from several different points of view, including the story of the bandit accused of the crime, the testimony of the wife who survived the assault, the tale of the woodsman who found the body, and the beyond-the-grave evidence provided by the dead samurai (courtesy of a psychic). Where is the truth in these conflicting tales?

Familiar Faces: Toshirô Mifune? Machiko Kyô? Takashi Shimura? Yeah...me neither.

And I Quote: Commoner: "It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves."

Random Trivia: During shooting, the cast approached Kurosawa en masse with the script and asked him, "What does it mean?" The answer Kurosawa gave at that time and also in his biography is that "Rashomon" is a reflection of life, and life does not always have clear meanings.

Ryan's Take: Samurai (4 Shurikens) – This film blew my mind. During the closing credits, I recall Curt saying, “So…what…happened?” The idea of selective attention has always fascinated me, as evidenced in the “rumor game,” where stories change and evolve as they are filtered through more and more individual storytellers. The Rashomon effect highlights one facet of human behavior that cuts across all cultures: ‘Truth’ is subjective. What really matters is what we believe to be true.

Overheard: “Dead men don’t lie.”

Curt's Take: Worth Considering - So begins the first Take 4 DVD marathon. Good thing we started with this, because it likely would have become more and more difficult to follow the subtitles as the evening progressed (it was one of those nights). Plus, this was kind of a deep, philosophical film, exploring the nature of truth and reality. So who knows...that sort of stuff might have been more mind-blowing later in the evening. Anyway, if you're hoping for an action-filled film, you'll need to look elsewhere. This is more of a courtroom drama, and the nifty part is how you see different interpretations of the events in question from different people involved. Are some people lying? Or are they just viewing things naturally different than others? Lots of questions like this get raised. While it is a groundbreaking piece of film from a historical and technical standpoint, it is a little slow in a few places...I'd say give it a shot if you're up for an education and just want to say you saw a Kurosawa film.

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The Host (2006)

The Premise: When the government dumps chemicals in Seoul's Han river, it doesn't react all that well with a particular member of the local waterlife...which proceeds to run rampant through the waterways of Korea, snatching people left and right and dragging them back to its lair. When it snatches a young girl, a motley crew comprised of her father, aunt, uncle and grandfather set off on their own to track her down, dodging attacks from both the monster and the Korean government.

Familiar Faces: Starring Kang-ho Song! Riveting performances from everyone's favorite Hie-bong Byeon! Isn't that Hae-il Park? *Sigh*

And I Quote: Park Hie-Bong: "When a parent's heart breaks, the sound can be heard for miles."

Random Trivia: The event described in the beginning of the film is based on an actual event. In February 2000 at a US military facility located in the center of Seoul, a US military civilian employee named Mr. McFarland was ordered to dispose of formaldehyde by dumping it into the sewer system that led to the Han River, despite the objection of a South Korean subordinate. The South Korean government attempted to prosecute Mr. McFarland in a South Korean court, but the US military refused to hand over the custody of Mr. McFarland to the South Korean legal system. Later, a South Korean judge convicted Mr. McFarland in absentia. The public was enraged at the South Korean government's inability to enforce its law on its own soil. In 2005, nearly five years after the original incident, Mr. McFarland was finally found guilty in a South Korean court in his presence. He never served the actual prison sentence, however. No sighting of a mutant creature has been reported in Han River...yet.

Curt's Take: Not a Priority - This film didn't offer a Korean audio track, so at least we got to listen to it in English...although for some reason I let Ryan turn on the Spanish subtitles (so, apparently, we could learn how to say "Where is the monster?" and other non-useful phrases in Spanish). The movie didn't take itself too seriously, and had several humorous parts (the interaction between the family members throughout the movie is kind of amusing)...but overall there was something just a little bit lacking in it. Maybe I was just a little tired, or the stretches between action sequences were little too long, but it didn't hang together as well as I would have liked. This movie kicked ass back in Korea, and the visual effects are amazing, but other than that, there wasn't a whole lot to latch on to here. Check it out only if you have nothing else lined up.

Ryan's Take: Mollusk (1.5 Starfish) – At times, I found myself laughing at the poorly-developed characters’ misfortunes and was genuinely surprised at the quality of the special effects work. In short, I was about as entertained as I am staring at a tank of Sea Monkeys cannibalize each other.

Overheard: “¿Dónde está el monstruo?”

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Cool Hand Luke (1967)

The Premise: Luke Jackson gets thrown into a rural Southern prison for destruction of public property (i.e. parking meters), where he spends his time working on a chain gang. Between earning the respect of his fellow inmates and not letting the prison staff break his spirit, Luke almost has no time to plot his escape. Almost.

Familiar Faces: Finally...Paul Newman. But I also recognized a young George Kennedy, too (you'll most likely recognize him as Frank's partner in the Naked Gun movies).

And I Quote: Captain: "What we have here is...failure to communicate."

Random Trivia: Luke's prison number (37) is a reference to the Bible - Luke 1:37: "For with God nothing shall be impossible."

Ryan's Take: Model Prisoner (4 Prison Shanks) - This could easily be overlooked as just another prison buddy movie. Cool Hand Luke goes farther. Why do we hurt ourselves on purpose? How many times am I going to take it from the man? When will I take a stand? Can I eat 50 hard-boiled eggs?

Overheard: “Yeah, well, sometimes nothin’ can be a pretty cool hand.”

Curt's Take: Must See - Almost any Paul Newman movie is a Must See, but barring that, it was just a great movie to watch. For some reason, I had always thought Cool Hand Luke was a Western starring Clint Eastwood. I was a little bit off on that one. In truth, though, I may have to rent it again...it was a bit long, and I think I dozed off a couple times during it. Now, I'd been working all day, and it was now after midnight...three movies into the marathon, and I was dragging. So my sleepiness isn't a testament at all to the movie...more to my energy level. In sum, it's a great prison break movie, and reminded me quite a bit of an Americanized Stalag 17. Minus the Nazis.

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Reefer Madness: The Musical (2005)

The Premise: In 1936, an anti-marijuana propaganda film entitled Reefer Madness was released. Fast forward to the 21st century...and the same story is now a stage musical comedy, and has been adapted into a movie by Showtime. The film follows the story of two young high school lovebirds, Mary and Jimmy, and how their normal Leave it to Beaver-eque lives are turned upside-down by the denizens of a local "reefer den." Soon enough, everything goes to pot (oh, yes...I went there).

Familiar Faces: Quite a few, including Krisen Bell (aka Veronica Mars), Neve Campell, Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer (of Saturday Night Live), and Steven Weber (of Studio 60 and Wings).

And I Quote: FDR: "A little orphan girl once told me that the sun would come out tomorrow. Her adopted father was a powerful billionaire, so I suppressed the urge to laugh in her face, but now, by gum, I think she may have been on to something!"

Random Trivia: The number 420 can be spotted several times in the film. It appears as a house number, on a sign in the church, as a time of day in the Reefer Den (when Mae and Jack go out for Chinese) and on the town sign.

Curt's Take: Not a Priority - We only made it through about half of this film before both of us zonked out, but I really was enjoying what I saw before I crashed. Maybe it was the fatigue, or the beers, or the...whatever...but it was really corny. In a fun way, though. The next day, though, I finished watching it at home, and it wasn't nearly as funny as I remembered the night before. The musical numbers were clever, though, and from the brief part of the original Reefer Madness that I watched (it was included as a bonus feature), the remake actually stayed true to a lot of the original. So, if you're a fan of dopey musical comedies or early 20th-century propaganda films, you might bump this up to a Worth Considering. Otherwise, only bother watching it if you happen upon it while flipping channels.

Ryan's Take: Half-Baked (One Nugget) - I can vouch for Curt here. There is a movie with this title available on DVD.

Overheard: “What a night! I was in more laps than a napkin.”