House, M.D.: Season Six (2009) Review

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Season 5 of the series House ended memorably with a well-edited contrast: family and friends at warm wedding vs. Wilson watching the broken doctor as he checked himself into a hospital on a cold and gray day. Season 6 starts off with House (Hugh Laurie) in treatment for his vicodin addiction, an addiction which had fueled a series of devastating (yet revealing) hallucinations. Viewers know how House treats "normal" people (that is to say, not with warm and fuzzy feelings) and in the beginning of Season 6 they are treated to House interacting with "abnormal" people. House, ever the equal opportunity offender, does not seem too changed by his stint in Mayfield hospital. Andre Braugher (of "Homicide") was well cast as House's experienced, nothing-shocks-him therapist, able to go head-to-head with House, and there is a guest role by Franka Potente ("Run Lola Run") as a beautiful visitor to the hospital with whom House has a brief relationship.
The writers are able to take House out of his comfort zone, surround him with multi-dimensional characters, and still have House stand out. Don't expect any blatant epiphanies in therapy for House about why he is the way he is. Is it the pain, is it the drugs, his relationship with is father, is it the curse of being a genius? There are no resolutions to go back into the "real world," settle down and live happily ever after. Thank goodness!
The epiphanies are of course saved for the hospital, when House returns to work. He gradually becomes more confident in his ability to solve cases. Even after five previous seasons, the writers are able to come up with all new cases and all new characters for House to read right through.
That being said, Season 6 delves more of the personal lives of the characters than prior seasons: Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) as she balances being a mom, with a love life, and with the demands of her job; Cuddy and House; Taub (Peter Jacobson) and his wife, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) and Foreman (Omar Epps), Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) and House (some of the best dialogue from the show still occurs between those two), Wilson and his ex-wife. Of particular note, Dr. Chase (played by Jesse Spencer) finally gets some great story lines dealing with secrets, morality and ethics (which the show has always been great at raising discussions about). By Season 6, Robert Chase is no longer the doctor who always tries to stay on House's good side, or agree with House, or play it safe. In past seasons, it was Foreman who had to gain independence from House. In Season 6, Cuddy struggles with it, Taub struggles with it, Wilson starts to and Dr. Chase definitely does, but with severe professional and personal consequences. Of course, there was also the strawberry body butter incident(season 5). Gotta love the variety in the show!
In past seasons, there has been at least one reference (that I can recall) to a patient who died while under House's care. In Season 6, viewers witness other patients not making it. When it happens to House or his team, there will be and were huge ramifications.
Overall, another great season for House.Even after five seasons, Hugh Laurie is able to make House a multi-dimensional character, capable of stinging one-liners but also of conveying internal trauma. How he could not have won every Emmy and golden globe since House was on the air is beyond me. Don't award committees love drug addicts, people pulling off accents, and people in mental institutions? It's the trifecta!
Regarding the famed House/Cuddy relationship, I was probably in the minority by not being too keen on the idea, I thought it might get too "Grey's Anatomy" if you'll pardon the other medical show reference. However, the writers managed (who knows how) to put an original spin on their relationship, it is certainly kept far from the soap opera-ish realm of workplace romances, probably because the characters involved both have complex motivations. It will be interesting to see if House and Cuddy can make it, and in any case, it at least won't be a television cliché.
House fans have come to expect changes in House's team each season finale and true to form, Season 6 does not deviate as one cast member seems to be departing.
Bravo once again! Bravo!

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Get ready for a full dose of medical mysteries with 21 episodes of the riveting drama series, House. Hugh Laurie is joined by James Earl Jones (Star Wars), Laura Prepon (That '70s Show) and David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum) in guest appearances as he returns to his Golden Globe® winning and Primetime Emmy® Award-nominated role as Dr. Gregory House. In this brilliant sixth season, House finds himself in an uncomfortable position— away from the examination room. As he works to regain his license and his life, his coworkers deal with the staff shakeups, moral dilemmas, and their own tricky relationships with House. And when House returns more obstinate than ever, Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital will never be the same again.

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The Next Three Days (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)Russell Crowe plays a man who's wife is convicted of a murder he's convinced she didn't commit. After she tries to kill herself, he decides to break her out of jail. Although the movie felt somewhat slow for a portion of it, ultimately I have to say that I enjoyed it, and can highly recommend it. Here's why:
1. It's a smart movie. It makes you think, and you're not told every last detail up front. In fact, you don't even know if the wife was innocent of murder or not for most of the movie. You're led through the story with pieces to the puzzle, and by the end it all comes together. It was really interesting.
2. It was not predictable. I found myself constantly evaluating what was happening, and trying to figure out what would come next. When you think you know what's coming, you realize you don't. It had some interesting turns and twists.
Although it started out slow, I think the way it progressed was important for the development of the characters and the story. It was, in my opinion, a good decision to develop the story this way, and worth sitting through.
3. It challenges your values. I had to keep wondering if I thought Crowe's character was doing right or not, and I found I kept evaluating whether I wanted him to succeed. Was he a desperate man who was forced to become a hero? Or was he a man who has gone over the edge into darkness? It certainly makes you think.
4. The acting was amazing, as you'd expect from Crowe. We think he's one of the very best actors of our time. Elizabeth Banks played the wife, and she was so believable. I was surprised that Liam Neeson had such a very tiny role, and Brian Dennehy, a powerful actor, barely said anything. Still, their presence in the film added to it.
5. There was some good action. Not a ton of it though, but enough to keep your adrenaline rushing once in a while. The last portion was edge of your seat exciting.
Ultimately I'd say this is a very satisfying movie experience. It's different, not a formula, and by the end you're on the edge of your seat.

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Life seems perfect for John Brennan until his wife, Lara, is arrested for a murder she says she didn’t commit. Three years into her sentence, John is struggling to hold his family together, raising their son and teaching at college while he pursues every means available to prove her innocence. With the rejection of their final appeal, Lara becomes suicidal and John decides there is only one possible, bearable solution: to break his wife out of prison. Refusing to be deterred by impossible odds or his own inexperience, John devises an elaborate escape plot and plunges into a dangerous and unfamiliar world, ultimately risking everything for the woman he loves. Lionsgate presents a Hwy 61 Films / Lionsgate production. The Next Three Days stars Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Brian Dennehy, Olivia Wilde and Liam Neeson, and is directed by Paul Haggis from a screenplay by Paul Haggis. The Next Three Days is produced by Michael Nozik and Paul Haggis, and Olivier Delbosc and Marc Missonnier.

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