Posts by Brent Lorentson

Coming into the HBO animated series on its third season, I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Life & Times of Tim.  Even after a quick search on IMDB to see what else creator Steve Dildarian had worked on, it left me with little to go on concerning what to possibly expect. I got to go into season three with virgin eyes, and overall it was a good time. When we first meet Tim (Dildarian), his life is at a low point, lower than what most twenty-something graduates would be used to.  But on the bright side Tim has managed to find a job as the personal assistant to a women’s basketball player (Kym Whitley), though Tim is too ashamed to admit to his girlfriend Amy (M.J. Otto) what he really does.  From episode one on we see a common formula take place, Tim decides to do something, and in the end his actions prove his idea was horrible or will simply end with disastrous results.  If anything Tim is something of an inspiration; after all, for those who claim to have terrible luck, they can always look to Tim and realize it could always be worse.  But Tim is also fictional and animated, so any comfort the show may give will most likely be short-lived.

Each episode consists of two separate stories running about 15 minutes each.  Having these mini episodes helps the pacing of each of the episodes, and even when there is a weaker story playing it at least manages enough time to fit in a couple laughs without overstaying its welcome.  Also having the 2-story episodes it seemed at least for me there was easily “the good story” and then “the weaker story”.  For me there wasn’t a point where I ever found myself hysterically laughing throughout an episode, but there were two that I could say with ease were my favorites.

Back in 1964 a film was released about a reporter who wanted to know what it was like to be black in the deep south during the civil rights movement.  When I first heard this my initial reaction had me picturing some white guy in black face strolling the streets and then subsequently being beaten by both sides of the race coin.  It turns out this thankfully wasn’t the case, and the reporter, John Howard Griffin, underwent medical treatments, as well as hours under a sunlamp, to change the hue of his skin.  From the procedure on, the film explores a dark time in America seen through the eyes of both a white and a black man at the same time.

James Whitmore (The Shawshank Redemption and Them) plays the role of the reporter, whose name has been changed to John Horton for the film.  When we see him as a black man for the first time it is on a bus, sitting in the colored section, and standing next to his seat is a middle-aged white woman.  He looks up to her and wants to do the gentlemanly thing and offer her his seat, but her response is nothing but repulsion from this “negro” who dares to even look at her.  John can’t understand this reaction; after all it was her comfort he was concerned about, but this is only a glimpse into the bigot-filled world John has now opened himself up to, and things are only going to get worse.

The idea of traveling out into the middle of nowhere, surrounded by snow and with no running water or toilet around, is not my idea of a nice vacation.  In fact, being a former Eagle Scout, just hearing about camping is enough to recall nights of sleeping on the hard ground, in the cold with rocks and sticks being stabbed into my back while trying to sleep.  It’s not that I hate the outdoors; I’ve simply grown to appreciate the niceties of life, and if getting in touch with nature means mosquito bites, I’ll stick with the motel 8 and enjoy the view from my room.  This being said, when I see a film like The Frozen where a couple from the city decides to go camping, in the middle of nowhere and in the snow no less, I already suspect this cannot possibly end well.

When we first meet Emma (Brit Morgan), she’s locked away in the bathroom waiting for the results of a pregnancy test to come through.  At this point when she discovers she is pregnant, she should have put a stop to this insane trip; with one responsible decision she could have prevented the entire horrible mess that awaits her, but alas, had she been wise, we never would have had much of a film to watch.  Her long time boyfriend, Mike (Seth David Mitchell), has been planning this special trip for some time and has picked this frozen tundra over the warm sun, where Emma had hoped their vacation would be.  But Emma knows how much this trip means to Mike, so she swallows all common sense, and the two set out for their adventure.

This short-lived UK television series from 1995 is something I had never heard of, and after watching it, I consider it one of the best horror anthologies produced.  Tales from the Crypt, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits all hold their own place in what they brought to the small screen, each with episodes that are given the same reverence we would give a classic film.  What Chiller managed in five episodes left me wanting so much more; five episodes simply was not enough.

Prophecy: When a group of friends get together for some drinks and a séance, you just know things are not going to go as planned.  During the séance a prophecy is given that seems vague and nothing for the friends to worry about, that is until five years later when the friends begin to die off one by one. Though the story seems familiar, it remains fresh by adding a young boy who has a gift/curse where is able to see how people will die.  As the first of the stories, it sets up the tone nicely for the other tales to follow.