I give this: 6/10 Lee’s
Pushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009.
First episode: October 3, 2007
Final episode: December 17, 2008
Program creator: Bryan Fuller
Network: American Broadcasting Company
Writers: Bryan Fuller, Peter Ocko, Rina Mimoun, Scott Nimerfro
Starring
• Lee Pace
• Anna Friel
• Chi McBride
• Field Cate
• Ellen Greene
• Swoosie Kurtz
• Kristin Chenoweth
The first one of its kind and most definitely a challenge. Pushing Daisies can be classified as “you either love it, or, you hate it”. I am proudly part of the former. This series captures so many elements of film making but in doing so it failed to capture the hearts of many. The plot is very simple, nothing to bend your brain or to even dedicate your live to solitude, no. this is to the heart and soul a story about love… or rather how does one define love. In the case of our romantic lead characters, Ned and Chuck it kind of takes the idea or concept of love to a whole new level of freaky. Ned finds out early in the series that he has the gift of giving life, but this gift can only be given for 60 seconds after which someone or something of equal “life-weight” has to take its place…sort of to like balancing out. Ned found this out when his mother one sunny afternoon dropped dead and he touched her face and *wham* she was alive again, this had an unfortunate ending for the neighbour as he, after 60 seconds dropped dead – taking the dead place of Ned’ mother. He also found out that the first touch is life and the second, regardless of what had happened, meant an unforgettable and unforgiving death. Ned found this out when later that night his mother kissed him good night.
Where’s the love in this, I hear you ask? Well, it just so turns out that Ned fell in love with a little girl called Chuck, he father was the one who died taking the place in balance of Ned’s Mother who he kept alive. She later gets in the middle of a golden monkey transit and gets murdered. With the help of Ned’s “business partner” Emerson Cod: PI” they set out to find the killers behind the mysterious murder of Charlotte Charles. Soon Ned finds out that Charlotte is in fact is first kiss and neighbour Chuck, touching her once she came back to life and looking into each other’s eyes they instantly fell in love. Not being able to let Chuck die, Ned risks keeping her alive, knowing never to be able to touch her again his love will be that strong for as long as they both shall live. And so they did, they made major adjustments like a thick clear Perspex sheet dividing the car into two, kissing through cling wrap and also wearing mittens to hold hands. Their love was just that strong. And it lasted, they lived happily ever after.
Now, looking at the elements of this series, Pushing Daisies, pushed the boundaries of “outside the box thinking” out the water. As much as the series didn’t do well, rating’s wise it basically got cancelled after the first season. This was a bummer though as the idea of loving someone unconditionally without ever being able to touch, kiss, hug or hold. The concept blew us away. And maybe it blew is right into nowhere just of the Land of Oz, right next to Glee’ville. Each episode kept you hoping, wondering and continuously questions the fates of each and every character. With a brilliant cast and perfect scripts/storylines the creators set out to change something, whether it was to break the creative barrier or even if it was just to say “hey look at us we’re different”. Every aspect of the series was thoughtfully decided upon, from the picture frame that isn’t just any normal picture frame, to the quirky- fast paced dialogue that ran the show by actor Kristin Chenoweth, the hilarious comedy actress that graced our screens in films such as Bewitched, Stranger than Fiction, as well as the hit TV show, Glee – Where, as in Pushing Daisies, it’s never weird to burst out in song and dance. The show does have its negatives as well, for one being – I fear the only people who truly liked it was either in the film or TV industry having loads of old school film references and styles, making it very difficult for the normal viewer to really fully understand what they are watching, this homage of greatness lead to the cancellation of the show. Leaving all the fans disappointed, because, like I said – if you love it, you truly love it.
Technical aspects of the show makes this wonder emporium spectacular and perfect for the idea of fantasy, with bright colours, and heightened acting as well as the storylines, everything worked so well together, nothing ever felt out of place or forced, once you allowed yourself in resurrecting the dead and you forget about zombies, the collaboration of colour vs. contrast and theme vs. style you are captivated by this fantasy of perfection! The director made sure that every element of putting out a final show was perfect and worked perfectly together. The art department on this show must have had a field day making sure that everything looked quirky yet believable, taking form so many genres and infusing them into this collage of greatness cannot have been an easy task, yet they pull it off graciously.
My final thoughts to this are: sometimes one should think twice before making a film let alone a series that will only appeal to a small demographic, especially if your demographic is only going to be your colleagues and fellow film followers. Needless to say, I loved it, it gave me inspiration to write, paint, song write, but just to believe in love- and myself. The concept might be above the brow or even the heads of others, but to me, the idea worked well, and paid off well in the end. It was just unfortunate that the payoff came when the creator’s friends didn’t call him to congratulate him on a job well done. BUT with that said, this is a master piece in it's own right and should not be forgotten, It's an inspiring Fairy Tale with hints of Forensics, Super Naturalism, Comedy, Romance, Twists and Turns and lets not forget the Drama.
I give this: 7/10 Lee's
Life As We Know It is a 2010 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Greg Berlanti, starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. It was released on October 8, 2010, after sneak previews in 811 theaters on O
Director: Greg Berlanti
Running time: 115 minutes
Screenplay: Ian Deitchman, Kristin Rusk Robinson
Genres: Romantic comedy, Romance film, Comedy-drama, Drama film, Comedy film
ctober 2, 2010.
It is said that when life gives you lemons – you make lemonade. But what if life gives you a baby and a life you never planned? What then? This is the question that is asked to the two characters Eric (Josh Duhamel) and Holly (Katherine Heigl). Have you ever been put into a situation where you know that from here on out, everything is going to be different, your whole life will never be as you planned.
This hearty comedy-drama asks you that very question and I guess everyone has a different answer because we all have different situations, but still - the question is asked. The two lead characters meet for the first time as part of a hook up “scheme” by their best friends who are in love and who are planning a lifelong marriage together, but the two lead characters soon find out that they are the godparents and legal guardians to Sophie, the friends’ daughter who passes away in a car accident. The subject matter is handled so well by director Greg Berlani, who seems to have had every shot in every scene perfectly planned out and where nothing went wrong – even though they were working with a baby in every scene. Technically this film is flawed but what it lacks in technical it sure makes up elsewhere. The performances from all the actors are top class with a few kinks here or there you see past it all and continue focussing on what will happen next – from the annoying neighbours to the uninvited social worker who just rocks up unannounced for a spot visit just to see how everything is going and if the living environment is good for the orphaned baby.
Katherine Heigl, who has now become one of the top grossing actors in Hollywood, portrays her role as the lost and found best friend / unexpected mother so well. But the one person who has little moments of brilliance is Transformers star Josh Duhamel – every now and then you want to hit him, but you soon realize that he is doing exactly what you would be doing given the situation they are in. The film has twists and turns from the first frame and you enjoy each and every one of those moments, never fearing that the characters won’t be able to make it… this in turn can also be seen as bad script writing, because you want them to fail and fail miserably, but then again, you do want them to succeed and that, they do!
This is a definite watch if you are experiencing major changes in your life – it gives you that sense of, “it can only get better from here”, and even if you just want to have a quiet night in, and you want to do nothing else, pop it in, relax and enjoy!
The first one of its kind and most definitely a challenge. Pushing Daisies can be classified as “you either love it, or, you hate it”. I am proudly part of the former. This series captures so many elements of film making but in doing so it failed to capture the hearts of many. The plot is very simple, nothing to bend your brain or to even dedicate your live to solitude, no. this is to the heart and soul a story about love… or rather how does one define love. In the case of our romantic lead characters, Ned and Chuck it kind of takes the idea or concept of love to a whole new level of freaky. Ned finds out early in the series that he has the gift of giving life, but this gift can only be given for 60 seconds after which someone or something of equal “life-weight” has to take its place…sort of to like balancing out. Ned found this out when his mother one sunny afternoon dropped dead and he touched her face and *wham* she was alive again, this had an unfortunate ending for the neighbour as he, after 60 seconds dropped dead – taking the dead place of Ned’ mother. He also found out that the first touch is life and the second, regardless of what had happened, meant an unforgettable and unforgiving death. Ned found this out when later that night his mother kissed him good night. 
My final thoughts to this are: sometimes one should think twice before making a film let alone a series that will only appeal to a small demographic, especially if your demographic is only going to be your colleagues and fellow film followers. Needless to say, I loved it, it gave me inspiration to write, paint, song write, but just to believe in love- and myself. The concept might be above the brow or even the heads of others, but to me, the idea worked well, and paid off well in the end. It was just unfortunate that the payoff came when the creator’s friends didn’t call him to congratulate him on a job well done. BUT with that said, this is a master piece in it's own right and should not be forgotten, It's an inspiring Fairy Tale with hints of Forensics, Super Naturalism, Comedy, Romance, Twists and Turns and lets not forget the Drama.
