Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 23, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A11 A11 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2014 ENTERTAINMENT Compiled by CHRIS LACKNER / twitter. com/ PopForecast Airborne ADRENALINE Neeson flick Non- Stop guaranteed to deliver action " You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what's on the radar in TV, music and film for the coming week. MOVIES BIG RELEASES: Non- Stop ( Friday) BIG PICTURE: Non- Stop is Speed meets Passenger 57 meets The Fugitive meets Airplane! The ageless Liam Neeson will deliver non- stop action - and non- stop frowning - in this cinematic twist on plane hijacking. Really, is there anything Neeson can't do? He has gone head- to- head with kidnappers, Olympian gods, the dark side of the Force, the dark side of Narnia - and now hijackers! If I were Obama, I'd make him U. S. Secretary of Defense for life. In his new flick, Neeson plays Bill Marks, a U. S. federal air marshal who happens to hate flying. His in- flight woes magnify when he receives a text message from a terrorist threatening to kill someone on the plane every 20 minutes unless $ 150 million dollars is transferred to a special account - which, Bill soon learns, happens to be in his name. Soon, the whole world thinks he is the terrorist. Fighter jets are employed. People scream. Cabin pressure is lost. ( Hey, Bill. You could be on a worse flight. At least there are no snakes on board and you don't have to deal with Samuel L. Jackson shouting all his lines.) FORECAST: The lovely, talented Julianne Moore plays Bill's seatmate Jen. Unassuming name, right? My guess is she is somehow linked to the terror plot. Moore doesn't sign on to films to be window dressing. Personally, I'm hoping the plane crashes on the island from Lost . It wouldn't have taken Neeson six seasons for Neeson to figure out what the hell was going on - and he would have quickly stared down the Smoke Monster and then cooked marshmallows over him. TV BIG EVENTS: Mind Games ( Tuesday, Citytv, ABC, 9 p. m.); Mixology ( Wednesday, ABC, CTV, 8: 30 p. m.) BIG PICTURE: Christian Slater needs a win. And unless Pump up the Volume 2 is in the works, Mind Games might be his best bet. After short- lived TV series such as Breaking In , The Forgotten and My Own Worst Enemy , Slater returns to the small screen alongside Steve Zahn ( Treme ) as, respectively, brothers Ross and Clark. Ross is a charismatic ex- con ( nobody does charming sleaze quite like Slater), and Clark is a brilliant expert in human behaviour who happens to be bipolar and unstable. They join forces to start a new kind of agency - one that promises an " alternative to fate" and to " change people's minds without them knowing." Zahn's character is essentially part House, part Rain Man. Meanwhile, the sitcom Mixology is like 24 , only with less actual torture and more torturous pickup lines. When Tom's ( Blake Lee) girlfriend dumps him with the classic rationale of " you look like a beaver," his buddies convince him he needs a night on the town. He is one of 10 singles looking for love over the course of this series - all set on one long night full of raging hormones, learning moments and self- deprecating one- liners. The roster of recognizable characters' include: hot waitress, womanizing bartender, blind date girl, big penis guy, beaver face guy and scruffy, funny bearded guy. You'll recognize them all from a drinking hole near you. FORECAST: The Mind Games brothers are experts in changing human behaviour. My bet is they can make people stay tuned to a Christian Slater series. As for Mixology , can this premise get viewers to drink the Kool- Aid for a full season? People always kid themselves into thinking this week's " bar night" will change their lives forever. My guess is the members of this rag- tag crew end up disappointed, hungover, broke - or staring with mild horror at the person sleeping next to them. We've all been there. Maybe we'll enjoy watching a group of strangers go through the same unpredictable journey. HONOURABLE MENTION: Remedy ( Global, Feb. 24, 8 p. m.). Griffin Connor ( Dillon Casey) is a genius and prodigy - but he's also a drug addict, med school dropout and unreliable screw- up. He hopes to redeem himself by entering the family business, working at a major hospital in an unglamorous role as the new orderly. Enrico Colantoni ( Flashpoint ) plays his father, Dr. Allan Conner. When the prodigal son returns, it shakes up the family dynamic and antagonizes Griffin's complicated relationships with his two sisters: a surgeon and a nurse. The diagnosis? Some formulaic symptoms, but entertaining. MUSIC BIG RELEASES: Beck, Morning Phase ( Tuesday) BIG PICTURE: Beck's 12th studio album reunites much of the musical team behind Sea Change , his seminal 2002 album. Notably, his father David Campbell lends a hand on brass and string instruments. Standout tracks include the lush, folksy single Blue Moon ( which has already appeared on HBO's Girls ) and the piano ballad Waking Light . Beck has said these songs are loosely set in the early hours of the morning. It appears to be a creative phase that suits him well. FORECAST: Meditative without being melancholy, bemused without being cynical, Morning Phase finds the 43- year- old musical chameleon comfortable in his own ever- changing skin. I'm hoping Beck launches a 24- song album dedicated to every hour of the day. Tchaikovsky did the four seasons. Surely Beck's talents could handle a day. HONOURABLE MENTION: St. Vincent ( St. Vincent ). She might deserve musical sainthood for this one. St. Vincent channels everything from Bjork and Madonna to David Bowie and David Byrne, and filters them through her own eccentric mix of funk, pop and electronica. Non- Stop Mind Games Beck A_ 11_ Feb- 23- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A11 2/ 22/ 14 6: 34: 23 PM ;