Random Television Stuff - 3/17/12

- NBC has renewed Grimm for a second season.

- HBO has halted production of the second season of Luck and cancelled the series after a third horse was injured and has to be euthenized during filming.  The Dustin Hoffman racehorse drama didn't have good ratings, but HBO had hoped buzz could build for the second season.

- Did you know Rosie O'Donnell had a talk show on OWN?  Well, it's been cancelled.

- Keri Russell (Felicity) and Matthew Rhys (Brothers & Sisters) will star in FX's The Americans.  They'd play two KGB agents who've been undercover in the USA for years in the 1980's.  Noah Emmerich (Super 8) is in talks to play their neighbor.

- Rapper-actor Tip "T.I." Harris (Takers) has joined the cast of Starz's Boss.  He'll play a former gangbanger who wants a career at Chicago's City Hall.

HBO's Luck - TV Review

The acting, naturally, is very good. It's a powerhouse cast, with Dustin Hoffman front and center, but so many others (Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, Michael Gambon, Joan Allen, Jill Hennessy, Kevin Dunn, Kerry Condon, Jason Gedrick, Richard Kind, John Ortiz) makes it overflowing with talent, reminiscent of that other David Milch HBO drama Deadwood. But it's another show about unlikeable people doing dishonest things. Boardwalk Empire, for all its glossy glory, has no one to root for, and Luck may turn out to be the same way. The horse track, in some ways, is one of the seedier locations to center a show around, and it's clear we're going to see gambling addicts and mobsters and all sorts come and go.

I'm losing my free HBO soon, so it'll largely depend on other reviews of how future episodes go as whether or not I catch up with this.

Kung Fu Panda 2 - Movie Review

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Starring the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, David Cross, Lucy Liu, James Hong, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dennis Haysbert. Directed by Jennifer Yuh.

Saw this at the $1 theater. Should come out on DVD pretty soon, actually.

I really enjoyed Kung Fu Panda, and I was worried the sequel might diminish the memory off the original. My fears were unfounded, although I will say this isn't as good as the first.

Jack Black voices Po, the Baby-Huey of a panda who's now really good at kung fu, to where he can stand tall with the furious five. A new threat is sweeping across China. Turns out China's emperor family are peacocks, and the evil prodigal son Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) has returned to reclaim his throne. He's raised an army of assassins and brought a secret weapon to help him conquer the country. But the subplot is that Po, adopted by a goose, wants to learn about his biological parents, where he comes from.

There's more fighting and a bit darker tone this time around. It's also left wide open for Kung Fu Panda 3.