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Carpe Annum The Big Year (Rated R) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS The Big Year (100 minutes) is surprisingly restrained, consid- ering both Jack Black and Owen Wilson have starring roles. Not only is the picture fairly low-key, it also manages to avoid any ob- vious audience manipulation. Considering that David Frankel also directed the emotional cannonball that was Marley and Me, we can all be grateful The Big Year didn't involve a lot of dead birds and crying children. I mean, dead birds do appear, but early in the film before the audience gets emotionally invested in them, so it's okay. Weirdly, writer Howard Franklin, who adapted the Mark Obmascik birding (never bird-watching!) novel, not only wrote what is arguably the best Bill Murray vehicle ever (The Man Who Knew Too Little), but also scripted The Name of The Rose AND Romancing the Stone, which is a weird resume if I ever saw it. The film introduces us to the world of competitive bird- ing, peopled with obsessives who are nonetheless also trusting fools. Example: In attempting to achieve the North American Bird Watching Record for most birds seen during a big year (or something … I'm not clear on the actual title), it is sufficient to report seeing or hearing the birds … photographic evidence is not required. Since achieving this record apparently elevates winners to superstar sta- tus, worshipped by teenage boys everywhere they go, it seems like there should be safeguards in place to prevent heading over to the zoo and claiming those birds for one's list. But maybe I'm just a cynic. In any case, it seems pretty obvious that the title is for a rich man to win. Who else would have the time and money to travel around the United States averaging more than two unique bird sightings a year? Of course, that means in addition to the independently wealthy Bostick (Wilson) and the desperate-to-retire Preissler (Steve Martin) we get the adorable underdog Brad Harris (Black). I am instantly reminded of the good stormchaser/bad stormchaser dichotomy set up in Twister, where any hobbyist with money is automatically evil, while the scruffy underfunded Cloak & Dagger & Gags Chuck expertly mixes spy action and comedy in its fi nal season TV by DEAN ROBBINS Despite its awesomeness, the comic spy series Chuck has been under threat of cancella- tion ever since it premiered in 2007, and NBC has finally decided to pull the plug after the current season. But until then, we can enjoy the adventures of Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), the lowly retail clerk who became a su- perspy when an "Intersect" downloaded amaz- ing skills into his brain. In season five, Chuck has lost the Intersect but started his own spy agency with wife Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), National Security Agency honcho Casey (Adam Baldwin) and goofy friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez). In a twist, Morgan gets the Intersect, and his newfound powers turn him into an out- of-control egomaniac. In this week's episode (Friday, 8 p.m.), Chuck tries everything he can to shame Morgan into being his old self, even resorting to pantsing him. As always, that kind of silly stuff melds seamlessly with poignancy and excit- ing action. Is there any way we can shame NBC executives into giving Chuck yet one more reprieve? Pantsing them, perhaps? Boss Friday, 10 pm (Starz) I never thought I'd be scared of Kelsey Grammer. The genial sitcom come- dian is cast against type in this well-written new series about hardball politics, set in Chicago. Grammer plays the city's mayor, Tom Kane, who works the levers of power with a well-practiced smile. Behind the smile is a ruthless player who gets what he wants, even if he has to resort to physical violence. Grammer deftly WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM switches from public to private mode, offering a creepy portrait of a manipulative modern politician. As if that weren't enough of an acting challenge, his character also suffers from a degenerative disease that affects the brain and muscles. Yes, Grammer makes that a believable part of his portrayal, too. Who knew the Frasier star had this kind of role in him? I'll bet Grammer will now be able land any dra- matic part he wants when this series concludes its run. The only thing he won't be able to do is pursue political office. After watching Boss, no voters in their right mind would support him — and I mean that as high praise. We Have Your Husband Saturday, 8 pm (Lifetime) Jayne (Teri Polo), Eduardo (Esai Morles) and their kids live an impossibly happy life on their Mexican ranch. "I am feeling very lucky," Jayne says, obviously unaware that Lifetime TV-movie heroines have only about 10 minutes of bliss until everything falls apart. Right on cue, Eduardo is taken hos- tage by revolutionaries who demand an outrageously high ransom. Jayne has no idea where she can get the money, and her wealthy friends offer no help. Thus begins an hour and 45 minutes of distress, as Jayne goes through the usual path from helplessness to defiance. But, hey, I'm not complaining. Lifetime knows just how to get you involved in these kinds of melodramas, and Polo makes the emotions feel real. If I didn't have a pretty good idea of what would happen in the movie's last five minutes, I might have dipped into my own bank account to help Jayne achieve a happy ending. NOVEMBER 9-15, 2011 UCW 17 little guys are always good (see also Dodgeball and Rocky IV). Brad is divorced, and his daddy (Brian Dennehy) is surprisingly unsupportive of him taking a year off to run through his meager savings. Bostick, the current big year record-holder, is married — and his wife is surprisingly unsupportive of his plans to fly around the U.S. for a year and look at birds. Preissler, in the midst of phased retire- ment, has a supportive wife (JoBeth Williams) but unsup- portive coworkers, who keep interrupting his big year to trick him back into the highly lucrative job that he loves. The three meet several times before the plot really gets going, and there are several plot points set up, only to be dropped without resolution. For example, it is implied several times that Bostick might have cheated, but it is left for the au- dience to decide one way or the other. Maybe failing to spell out every little detail is not such a bad thing. However, since the idea was not introduced in a subtle way, the viewer waits for a dénouement that never comes. Rounding out the cast is Rashida Jones, playing a love in- terest shoehorned in to the story. As is typical for Hollywood, the film is essentially about male bonding and men finding themselves … women are only bystanders. Finally, for those of you dying to know, the criteria for The Big Year shown in the film limits the birders to the American Birding Association area, which excludes Hawaii. Approximately 925 bird species have been seen in the United State and Canada, and the winning number in the film is more than 700 bird species seen in a single year. Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15. HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? editor@upand- comingweekly.com