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Entries tagged with 'Showtime'
Posted May. 13, 2008,
An American Crime on Showtime!
By Dennis Dermody
Finally seeing the light of day after a controversial Sundance premiere, Tommy O'Haver's deeply disturbing An American Crime debuted on Showtime, ironically, the day before Mother's Day. Based on the heinous true crime story that took place in Indiana in 1966, the film's about poor Sylvia Likens (Ellen Page -- from Juno). She and her sister were left (by their carny parents) to board with a total stranger, Gertrude Baniszewski (Catherine Keener), a single, sickly mother of five who took in laundry and was happy for the $20 a week the parents sent to board their two young daughters. But soon Gertrude starts to punish Sylvia for imagined slights and banishes the girl to the basement where kids from the neighborhood came by to join in abusing the girl. They put cigarettes out on her, kicked and beat her, and carved "I am a prostitute and proud of it" on her stomach. It's an unimaginable horror story. You're so used to seeing Keener as the sarcastically funny indie co-star, that this turn as the defeated, bitter, weary monster "Gertie" is uncomfortably unpleasant. The movie is hell to sit through but really well-made and deserves to be seen. There's also a great book on this crime by Kate Millett called The Basement that is unforgettable.
Posted Aug. 24, 2007,
Dexter out on DVD!
By Dennis Dermody
The first season of the fabulous Showtime series Dexter is out on DVD (Parmount) and it's just one of my favorite shows on TV. The series, based on the books by Jeff Lindsay, stars Michael C. Hall (from Six Feet Under) as a forensic scientist who works for a Florida crime unit, but is secretly a serial killer himself (but offing only really bad people who skirt the law). His late father (James Remar) was a homicide detective who recognized Dexter's killer impulses and helped him channel them and taught him the ropes on how not to get caught. His sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) is a cop and his girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) thinks he's a nice guy. Only Sgt. Doakes (Erik King) seems on to the fact that's there's something off about Dexter and is openly hostile to him.
Michael C. Hall really nails this character -- he's odd and kind of sexy and disturbing at the same time. The first season had a plot line about the wily "Ice Truck Killer" which eluded authorities but was on to Dexter -- and left little gifts in his freezer to let him know that. That whole story line played out beautifully. It's just a creepy, great show. Wonderful ensemble work in the cast featuring Lauren Velez as Lt. LaGuerta and the sensational Christian Camargo as Debra's boyfriend. I cannot wait until September when the new season starts! Check out their website: http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/home.do