Movie of the Week – The Fugitive

This week’s movie: The Fugitive (1993).

Dr. Richard Kimble’s wife is murdered and Kimble contends that he is innocent, but is convicted and sentenced anyway. After his transport bus to prison crashes, Kimble is able to escape. He returns to Chicago to prove his innocence and find the one-armed man responsible.

The action thriller is directed by Andrew Davis, who directed a number of action films in Hollywood, but The Fugitive is by far his best (other notable films by him are Above the Law and Under Siege). He worked with composer James Newton Howard, cinematographer Michael Chapman, and production designer J. Dennis Washington.

The film stars Harrison Ford and co-stars Tommy Lee Jones (who won an Oscar). Sela Ward, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, Jeroen Krabbe, Daniel Roebuck, L. Scott Caldwell, Tom Wood, Nick Searcy, and Jane Lynch feature in support.

The Fugitive is a great thriller from the 1990s, a decade that is probably better remembered now for its indie films than its Hollywood output. It is based on the 1960s TV series, and Tommy Lee Jones’s character was so popular that it produced a sequel in which his character chases down another innocent fugitive called U.S. Marshalls. It is worth checking out for fans of good action thrillers and fans of Harrison Ford; it is one of his best of the 1990s (along with Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and Air Force One).

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Video On-Demand

TV Series of the Month – Party Down

This month’s TV series is Party Down (2009-2010).

The comedy is about a group of actors and writers in LA trying to make it in the industry, but in the meantime they work for a catering company. The show was created by John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, Paul Rudd, and Rob Thomas (Enbom and Etheridge wrote on Veronica Mars, which was created by Thomas, and Rudd guest starred in an episode). The series has a fantastic comedic cast with Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, Lizzy Caplan, Jane Lynch (season one), and Megan Mullally (season two). It also boasts a great guest appearance list highlighted by Kristen Bell, Ken Jeong, J.K. Simmons, and Steve Guttenberg. Airing on Starz during its run, Party Down is one of the funniest cable shows of the last decade (and probably one of the most unheralded). What works so well is that the comedy is these actors trying to make it having to deal with the almost dehumanizing mundane existence of menial unskilled labor and being treated essentially as lepers. I highly recommend checking it out for fans of Veronica Mars (at least the humor in VM) and series like Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office and Extras. Check out the trailer.

Available on DVD and Streaming