Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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A New Kind of Crazy Happy Endings takes the sitcom to bizarre extremes TV by DEAN ROBBINS fresh young sitcom about six friends dealing with relationships." While I wasn't looking, though, Happy Endings actually turned into the hip, fresh young sitcom it wanted to be. Now, in its new season (Tuesday, 9 p.m., ABC), I proclaim the se- ries one of TV's best comedies. (Hopefully you're not reading this column for its philosophical consistency, but for its endearingly erratic mood swings.) The show finds a loopy wavelength and challenges viewers to get on it. We're in a surreal version of Chicago, where the characters do silly things while talking in ironically cutesy-dorky urban lingo. This week, ex-lovers Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) and Dave (Zachary Knighton) are getting involved again but want to keep it "cazsh." A prospective apartment is inexplicably deemed too "Shia LaBeouf-y." When startled, Penny (Casey Wilson) shouts out "F. Murray Abraham!" and "CCH Pounder!" The six stars – all great comedians – deliver their bizarre lines so fast that you can barely catch them. I suggest DVR-ing, then rewinding to laugh at what you missed. I can't keep it cazsh with Happy Endings. I'm deeply in love. Hunted Friday, 10 pm (Cinemax) The espionage series blew me away when it premiered last week, and it blows me away again in episode two. At this rate, I'm going to be a wreck by the end of the eight-part run. Last year, I panned the pilot of Happy Endings, calling it "another would-be hip, identity. Believe it or not, that's the least of her problems. She's being stalked by other assassins, and she's not even sure why. Plus, someone in her own organi- zation appears to be setting her up. We feel an overwhelming sense of menace as Sam creeps through the tycoon's mansion, with its ominous staircases and base- ment torture chamber. One of the things I love about Hunted — along with the brilliant acting and stylish filmmaking — is its moral gravity. Yes, it's an exciting thriller, but it also takes a hard look at the spy's life. Here, dead bodies are not just set decoration. Murders are brooded over, and Sam is clearly paying a price for the choices she's made. I want to see things end happily for her, but I'm not optimistic. Rise of the Zombies Saturday, 9 pm (Syfy) crew are obviously having the time of their lives, using every can of red paint in the Syfy backlot. (LeVar Burton, Mariel Hemingway) hole up on an is- land to find a cure for zombie-ism. The special-effects team spares no expense here, as scores of zombies are gruesomely shot, slashed and stabbed; the budget for extras alone must have been astronomical. The makeup In this made-for-Halloween TV movie, scientists This installment does a beautiful job of complicating life for Sam Hunter (Melissa George), an operative for a private spy outfit. Sam is working undercover in the home of a ruthless tycoon who will brutally kill her if he finds out her real In the middle of this over-the-top mayhem is one-time important movie actress Mariel Hemingway. You can't help but reflect on the transience of Hollywood stardom as you watch her struggle to make her lines heard over the high-decibel snarling and chomping. Poignantly, Hemingway tries to turn in an actual per- formance, rather than just mouthing her awful dialogue and picking up her pay- check. I give her credit: That takes a lot of nerve while your costars' brains are whizzing past your head. 5 p.m. - 9 p.m., Tues. - Thur. 5 p.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Tues. - Sat. Dinner Lunch Sunday Brunch 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Closed Monday Wines from South Africa to complement each course. 5 Course Meal Begins at 7 p.m. $55 per person + tax and gratuity Thurs., Oct. 25, 2012 • 6:30 p.m. Seating Wine Dinner Event featuring Zingo Munger Wed., Oct. 31, 2012 • 6:30 p.m. Seating Murder Mystery Dinner • Meal Begins at 7 p.m. • • • • • • • • Murder at the Haunted Hilltop Mansion $50 per person + tax and gratuity • • • • • • • • Each Event Requires Reservations. 1240 Fort Bragg Road • Fayetteville, NC 910.484.6699 www.hilltophousenc.com 20 UCW OCTOBER 24-30, 2012 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM R