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Recent Posts
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- After Earth (2013) vs. Oblivion (2013)
- Now You See Me (2013) vs. The Prestige (2006)
- 42 (2013) vs. Remember the Titans (2000)
- Admission (2013) vs. About a Boy (2002)
- Oz the Great and Powerful (2012) vs. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
- Dark Skies (2013) vs. Dark Skies (1996)
- Oscar Wrap-Up 2013
- A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) vs. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- Oscar Smack-a-thon!
- The Tiersky Top Ten, 2012
- Smackdown Smacks Down the 2013 Oscar Nominees
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- Mariely on Hope Springs (2012) -vs- It’s Complicated (2009)
- Chris Gagen on Deep Impact (1998) -vs- Armageddon (1998)
- phillip_k_skick on The Walking Dead (AMC) -vs- Falling Skies (TNT)
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- Superman in the age of Disclosure | cika on Lois & Clark: The (Old) New Adventures of Superman
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Tag Archives: TV
HULK SMASH! — The Incredible Hulk (TV Series) (1978-82) -vs- Hulk (2003) -vs- The Incredible Hulk (2008) -vs- The Avengers (2012)
Back in 2008, the jade giant known as the Incredible Hulk wreaked havoc in the Movie Smackdown arena in a battle that pitted that year’s The Incredible Hulk, featuring Edward Norton, against 2003’s The Hulk, starring Eric Bana. Since then, a new Hulk has emerged on the scene, thanks to Joss Whedon’s The Avengers and Mark Ruffalo, so we’re revisiting the battle and kicking it up a notch by throwing Bill Bixby, the first man ever to embody David Bruce Banner on screen, into the mix as well. You might think Bixby has the advantage, since he has Lou Ferrigno in his corner, but don’t count out Bana, Norton and Ruffalo from this fatal four-way just yet.
This fight is so big that we need two Smack refs to officiate over the action. After all, one Hulk destroyed Las Vegas, overthrew an alien planet’s government and became their king, and beat the crap out of his fair share of Earth’s mightiest heroes, so imagine the destruction these four Hulks might cause! Continue reading
Posted in Action, Comic Book, Television
Tagged Ang Lee, Avengers, Bill Bixby, Edward Norton, Eric Bana, Louis Leterrier, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel Studios, remake, sequel, Stan Lee, TV
2 Comments
Dark Shadows (2012) -vs- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Can Barnabas suck the blood out of Buffy or can this tough vamp of a fighter slay the hell out of this unchained vampire? While that alone might be enough of a question to guide a Smackdown, this one gets complicated by history.
Dark Shadows, as people over fifty know, began as TV then became a film. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as people under thirty know, began as a film and became a TV series. The former, in theaters now, is a derivation of its former glory, while the latter is an inspired evolution of its big-screen glory. Continue reading
Posted in Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, SummerSmack
Tagged Avengers, Barnabas, Barnabas Collins, blood, Buffy, Buffy Summers, Curse, David Arquette, director, Donald Sutherland, Eva Green Tim Burton, film, Ghost, Gothic, Johnny Depp, Joss Whedon, Kristy Swanson, Luke Perry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Reubens, Psychiatrist Based On TV Series, Rutger Hauer, Script, Smackdown, theaters, TV, vampire, Whedon, Witch
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Mike’s Turn: “I Just Don’t Get This ‘Mad Men’ Thing”
I saw the scene where Jessica Pare sang Zoo-be-zoo-be-do or whatever that song was in the Season Five two-hour that everybody’s talking about. Sure, she looked straight-up awesome cleaning Draper’s apartment in her little black panties, but is that enough to make people watch a show? (By the way, this is not sour grapes. I love Jonny Hamm, and he deserves all the action he gets, both onscreen and off. We former bartenders always stick together — which is why he even helped me get my SAG card, thank you, Hamm-bone, and CSI Miami!) Continue reading
Posted in Mike's Turn, Smackdown News, TV Smack
Tagged accomplishment, civilized, Communications, expertise, gym, Hollywood, iPad, Mad Men, Mike, parkour, Red Carpet, rope line, TV
4 Comments
The Walking Dead (AMC) -vs- Falling Skies (TNT)
There’s just something about ragtag teams of extended families trying to get by after an apocalypse. It feels like a particularly American fantasy — that when the chips are down, we’ll all put aside our petty differences, realize what’s truly important and come together to kick some ass, whether it be Nazi or Commie or even alien or zombie. The point is that our melting pot really doesn’t get cooking until the heat is applied and the burner’s on high.
These two series are flagship action pieces for their respective networks — The Walking Dead came first on AMC, followed within a year by Falling Skies on TNT. The former has its second season finale this Sunday and the latter comes back this summer for its sophomore year. Both are in their prime when it comes to the life of any TV series — enough of a run to fix some early mistakes but not so much as to render the week-to-week predictable. Continue reading
Posted in Action, Alien/UFO, Apocalypse, Disaster, Drama, Family, Horror, Sci-Fi, Television, Thriller, TV Smack
Tagged aliens, AMC, apocalypse, extraterrestrial, Falling Skies, fantasy, poll, sci-fi, survivors, SyFy, TNT, TV, Walking Dead, wasteland, zombies
20 Comments
Smacked Around Emmys
An awards show is really the ultimate Smackdown, I guess, given that there are clearly established winners and losers. Except that it’s not politically correct to use those words anymore. Notice that the when the envelope is opened the phrase is “And the Emmy goes to…” and not “The winner is…” Oh, presenters still slip from time-to-time and admit the truth but they are discouraged from this, believe me.
As the former Chairman/CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (including the 9/11 Emmy postponements of 2001), my wife Jackie and I go to the Emmys every year. I could certainly “cover” them or “review” them like the hundreds of other news organizations but, really, I’m just a guy with a camera standing on the Red Carpet and if you put me up against the massive armies deployed by Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, The Insider, CNN, People, and everyone else, that’s not even a Smackdown, that’s a wipeout. Continue reading
Posted in Awards, TV Smack
Tagged Adrian Grenier, awards, Elizabeth Moss, Emmy, Entertainment Tonight, Entourage, FOX, Glee, Governor's Ball, Hollywood, Jane Lynch, Mad Men, Melissa McCarthy, Mike and Molly, Modern Family, Nokia Theater, painting, PhotoArtista, promotion, public releations, publicity, Red Carpet, television, TV, TV Academy
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Walton Goggins Talks Smack
It’s been a big summer for Walton Goggins. Aside from hitting the big screen this weekend with a memorable role in Cowboys & Aliens, the thoughtful, literate Southerner with the deep-set green eyes and electro-shock haircut picked up his first Emmy nomination for supporting actor on television’s Justified, after not getting similarly deserved recognition in seven years on The Shield. In addition, he filmed a part in the independent drama Officer Down, has been promoting his work in Rod Lurie’s Straw Dogs remake which is due in theaters Sept. 16, and has begun filming on Lincoln, the Steven Spielberg-directed biopic in which he has a key supporting role.
Movie Smackdown! editor Eric Estrin caught up with Goggins recently in the actor’s Hollywood home and asked about the experience of filming an old-fashioned Western mashed up with an edgy, extra-terrestrial thriller.* Continue reading
Posted in Interview
Tagged Cowboys and Aliens, film, Harrison Ford, Hollywood, Justified, sci-fi, The Shield, TV, western
1 Comment
TV’s Last Suppers: Locke, Cylon Six & Tony
We just couldn’t pass up this visual Smack on one of TV’s new trends, publicity stills that use the theme of “The Last Supper.” The latest to try this is ABC, promoting its final season of “Lost” but we’ve also seen Sci-Fi (SyFy) try it with the last pass at “Battlestar Galactica” and HBO in its first season (we think) with “The Sopranos.” If you click on the montage below, you can look at it in much fuller resolution. Continue reading
Posted in Bryce Zabel, Polls, Television, TV Smack
Tagged Battlestar Galactica, Bible, Jesus, Lost, polls, television, The Last Supper, The Sopranos, TV
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Dark Skies vs. Dark Skies
Our “Dark Skies” has established itself in the minds of a significant number of science fiction fans as a gripping piece of conspiracy drama set in the world of UFOs and abductions. It anchored NBC’s Saturday night “Thrillogy” concept in the 1996 season premiere and starred Eric Close (“Nashville”) and the late film character actor J.T. Walsh (“Sling Blade”). Its main title design won the Emmy award and its pilot screenplay received a Writers Guild nomination. The Syfy Channel aired the entire series multiple times. Since 2010 there’s been a Facebook page where thousands of fans from many different countries push Sony for a TV revival. Continue reading →