“Source Code”
Director Duncan Jones shows a movie can be a smart trek into the fantastic world of science fiction and still be grounded in a very human story.
The sci-fi part is a government program that allows one person to live the final eight minutes of another person’s life. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) makes several of these quantum leaps to search for clues to stop a terrorist attack.
As for the human element, Stevens falls for a young woman, played by the always dependable Michelle Monaghan. There’s something so engaging about the young actress, it’s easy to believe someone could fall in love with her in eight minutes.
Grade: B+
“The Unusuals: The Complete Series”
The short-lived ABC series stars Amber Tamblyn as a young police officer who gets transferred from vice to the NYPD’s homicide unit.
It’s a strange new world. Eric Delahoy (Adam Goldberg) is trying to get himself killed in the line of duty. Leo Banks (Harold Perrineau) refuses to remove his bulletproof vest. Religious detective Henry Cole (Josh Close) is trying to keep his secret past from his streetwise partner, Alison Beaumont (Monique Gabriela Curnen).
But, it’s Tamblyn’s work with co-star Jeremy Renner that is the strength of this series that ended way too early.
Grade: B
Also new
“Omnibus: American Profiles”: Looks at William Faulkner, James Thurber and Frank Lloyd Wright.
“Trust”: Family drama starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener.
“Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe”: Prequel story to the cable series “Burn Notice.” Bruce Campbell stars.
Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.).
“Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good”: A look at the band formed by Gary Sinise that has traveled the world to perform for American soldiers.
“Conan The Adventurer: Season One”: Animated adventures of the barbarian warrior.
“Mandrake: Season 1 and 2”: A detective series that follows a criminal lawyer from Rio de Janeiro.
Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.).
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