Denzel’s equal to the task
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2014 (3476 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
MOVIES
BIG RELEASE FRIDAY: The Equalizer
BIG PICTURE: Denzel Washington is a one-man A-Team. He plays McCall, a former black-ops commando living a quiet life and working at a Home Hardware megastore. (He’ll make you live in fear of ever asking the guy in the tools section for help again.) When a young girl (Chlo´ Grace Moretz) is threatened by vicious local thugs, McCall comes out of retirement to engage in a violent form of community service. Unfortunately, the lowlifes turn out to be high-ranking Russian gangsters. McCall makes Die Hard’s John McClane — “Yippee-ki-yay…” — sound like a Neanderthal. In Washington’s capable hands, the badass vigilante has the unique power to make a discussion of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea sound threatening.
FORECAST: McCall is a true soldier of fortune, helping those with nowhere else to turn (without the help of a helicopter or Mr. T).
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: The Boxtrolls. Am I the only one who hoped for a live-action flick starring Steve Buscemi as a troll (Oscar would come calling)? Instead, we get an adorable animated tale of an orphan boy raised by underground cave-dwelling Boxtrolls (think Fraggles, only with less personal hygiene). Appropriate to their name, the cute critters only wear boxes (I’ve started doing this around my neighbourhood, and it’s surprisingly breezy and comfortable). Trolls have gotten a bum rap since Three Billy Goats Gruff; redemption is long overdue.
TV
BIG EVENTS: Gotham (Monday, Fox/CTV 7 p.m.), Forever (Monday, ABC/CTV, 9 p.m.)
BIG PICTURE: The world’s most famous superhero city without the spandex? What will the Comic Con kids think? It’s Gotham before Batman. The series is a coming-of-age story of a morally decayed city featuring future villains such as the Penguin, the Riddler and Catwoman, as well as future police commissioner Jim Gordon. Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Southland) plays the young detective, returning to his hometown to clean up the streets and mentoring a young, orphaned Bruce Wayne. Jada Pinkett plays scene-stealer as the slinky, sinister crime boss Fish Mooney. Meanwhile, a TV executive’s dream is born: A hospital drama featuring an immortal creature. Forever tells the tale of Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd), a British medical examiner who can’t die. It’s like Groundhog Day meets Dracula meets a Hugh Grant rom-com. Every time Morgan is resurrected, he returns in water — making the Manhattan setting perfect for a game of immortal go fish. Judd Hirsch plays cab driver Abe, Morgan’s only confidante (not a good sign when Dear John is your only friend). The première is followed by the second episode in the show’s regular Tuesday time-slot on CTV (7 p.m) and ABC (9 p.m.)
FORECAST: My advice to Gordon? Ban all leather and spandex clothing. The city will be supervillain-free in no time. (But I’m sure he’ll do it the hard way.) Meanwhile, expect Forever to use too many flashbacks to show all the life lessons Morgan has learned in his 200-year lifespan. (I just hope he doesn’t end up secretly being a vampire).
HONOURABLE MENTION: (How to Get Away with Murder, Tuesday, ABC/CTV, 9 p.m.). No, it’s not a miniseries based on the O.J. Simpson case. Creator Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal) takes her saucy melodrama to the campus and courtroom in this compelling mashup. Viola Davis stars as Annalise Keating, a legendary lawyer and professor. Each year, four of her law students battle for coveted internships by playing lawyer (tampering with witnesses, suspects, evidence). How far will they go to make the grade? Seduction. Theft. Lying. And, if I know my screenwriters, murder.
MUSIC
BIG RELEASES TUESDAY: Leonard Cohen (Popular Problems); Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett (Cheek to Cheek)
BIG PICTURE: The Canadian icon’s 13th album is, simply put, a stunner that will give you goosebumps. The venerable poet’s standard subjects of loss and heartbreak are found alongside lyrical allusions to politics, from hurricane Katrina to 9/11. The tight collection of songs is infused with folk, country, blues and gospel. Anyone who has loved and lost will be deeply moved by the haunting, horn-driven ballad My Oh My, with its haunting refrain of “held you for a little while, my oh my oh my.” In Slow, Cohen’s gravel voice croons “You want to get there soon; I want to get there last.” (I hope he gets there last, too. It means we’ll be gifted with many more albums.) Meanwhile, Bennett and Gaga team up for an album of jazz standards from the likes of Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. Their first duet together, The Lady is a Tramp, from Bennett’s Duet’s II, sparked this collaboration. The vocal chemistry between Mother Monster and Bennett is undeniable. (Am I the only one — besides Perez Hilton and TMZ — hoping for the future birth of an illicit love child named Gaga Bennett?)
FORECAST: The musical world is full of popular problems (most of which are named Adam or Levine). For serious music lovers, Cohen is still part of the solution.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Lights (Little Machine), the Crooked Brothers (Thank You, I’m Sorry). Toronto electro-pop wizard Valerie Anne Poxleitner Bokan, otherwise known as Lights (rolls off the tongue easier), will brighten the day for electro fans. Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s the Crooked Brothers offers prairie-dust laden blues with a touch of funk.
DISHONOURABLE MENTION: Jennifer Hudson (JHUD). Least creative album title EVER.
Twitter: @popforecast