Twit Nick

Curious about what's going on in the lives of today's young female celebrities but don't want to join Twitter? That's no problem no thanks to Nick Offerman, who will gladly share with us what they're tweeting while he does some woodworking. Courtesy of Conan

RBR: This Means War

This is another sad example of when bad movies happen to good actors. I love Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine and Tom Hardy are both rising stars, yet being in this film did not of them any service. The ridiculous set up involves Pine and Hardy playing CIA agents who are also friends and also just happen to be dating the same girl (Witherspoon). They decide to use all of their available spy tactics in order to be the one that ultimately wins the girl. Their efforts are stalkerish and mean, yet are meant to be played for laughs. Meanwhile, Witherspoon's character doesn't come off well either as she's never upfront to either guy about seeing someone's else. We also have to trudge through several unfunny scenes involving her receiving advice from Chelsea Handler, who's stiff delivery grates on you quickly. About the only funny line in the film comes from Chris Pine who confuses Handler for an old man (How is that there's only a one year age difference between Handler and Witherspoon?) The implausibility of the story may have been tolerated more had it not been coupled with the poor direction of McG. Action scenes are edited at a dizzying pace and every shot in the film apparently required a bright light to be shone in the background. I'm not there will be many people tempted into seeing this because of its cast, but do yourself a favor and skip it. Rating: **

Scariott Hotel

Here's a trailer for the upcoming animated film Hotel Transylvania featuring the voice work of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Selena Gomez.

RBR: 21 Jump Street

The last thing we needed was yet another movie made based off of a TV show, but at least 21 Jump Street has the courtesy of acknowledging this fact and having some fun with it. There is plenty to like here as Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have fun playing cops who go undercover as high school students in order to bust a drug ring. A lot of that comes from them going against their original roles in high school (Tatum hangs with the nerds, while Hill buddies up with the cool kids). Even though the film yields some decent laughs, I also grew frustrated with the fact that the film felt that it was more clever than it really was. Several jokes are included that try to mock cop movie cliches, but most of them have either been done before or just didn't work in their execution. There's a running gag about expected explosions that never really pays off. I did appreciate the fact that they rounded out the cast with several funny people who helped give the film a bit more credibility. Nick Offerman, Rob Riggle, Ice Cube and Ellie Kemper all briefly show up and do their best to milk the most out of their screentime. I'm sure those in high school particularly found this film funny, but as I get further away from that period of my life, I find it more difficult to relate to what they appreciate. This is far from a perfect film, but I do give them an A for effort. Given the poor execution though, it's actual rating is much lower. Rating: *** 1/2

Bond Countdown: Goldfinger (1964)

RBR: The Grey

Speaking of Liam Neeson, he pops up in this thriller from earlier this year to again prove himself to be the most unlikely action hero perhaps in the history of film. I mean, who seriously predicted this would be the go-to guy for the bad-ass in action flicks? And yet, once more we see him as the best thing in an otherwise mediocre film. The setup here is that he along with six oil workers survive a plane crash in Alaska and then must work together to find rescue before being killed by omnipresent wolves. Director Joe Carnahan does a nice job with each scene featuring the wolves making them suitably terrifying with a few surprising scares that you don't necessarily anticipate. What doesn't work though is the inevitablilty of the plot as we see these survivors get picked off one by one until we arrive at the expected showdown. The film also decides to adopt a philosophical preachiness to the narrative which I didn't find to be needed and/or effective. Still, Neeson gives another strong performance and the atmospheric feel of the film sucks you in, causing you to fear for your own life at times. This is a mixed bag that earns a mild recommendation from me. Rating: *** 1/2

Taken for another ride

The man with a particular set of skills is back and ready to kick more ass. Here's your first look at the trailer for Taken 2

Tribe Watch (Week 11)

Record: 37-34

Standing: Second in AL Central (0.5 games back)

After getting swept the week prior in Cincinnati, the Indians gained a measure of revenge this past week by sweeping the Reds in Cleveland. That proved to be the high point for the week as we not only had won 3 games in a row, but also climbed back up into first place. Sadly, things went downhill from there as they lost the last two out of a three game series against the Houston Astros and fell back into second place. The Houston series was particularly frustrating as the bats went dormant once again against a less than stellar pitching rotatation. In addition, we saw a recurring problem from both Jeanmar Gomez and Derek Lowe. Both pitchers pitched well early on, but got hit bad as they went through the lineup the second and third time. Given that Lowe's a veteran, we can hope that he'll be able to recover from this. As for Gomez, it seems as if he needs to be either sent back to the minors or converted into a long man in the bullpen. In other disappointing news, it was announced yesterday that the longtime Boston Red Sox slugger Kevin Youkilis had been traded to the Chicago White Sox. While I do not necessarily think the Indians needed to get him, the absolute LAST place I wanted him to wind up was in Chicago. If he provides them with any sort of offensive productivity, it could be really harmful to our chances at competing with them for the AL Central title. Despite that, we shouldn't dwell on the negative. Remaining positive will be key as the Indians continue their 10-game road trip with visits to New York for a three game series against the Yankees and then a four game series beginning on Thursday in Baltimore against the Orioles. Those two teams currently sit in first and second place respectively in the AL East. We cannot afford to lose much ground heading into the midway point of the season, so this could be a make it or break it week for the tribe. Now that the NBA season is over and the people of Cleveland can stop dwelling on Lebron, our focus should be on the Indians and rooting them on to victory. Go Tribe!

Party Monsters

Here's your first look at the prequel to Monsters Inc., which looks at the lives of Mike and Sully back in their college days. Called Monsters University, the trailer is barely a minute long and I already like the film better than Cars 2

Pyr gathering

I know I've discussed this possibility before, but it finally now seems like a revival of The $25,000 Pyramid is going to happen. Here's the latest news on the reboot, courtesy of Buzzerblog.

It’s been an exciting few days for game show fans. First we had the announcement that Mike Richards would be the host of GSN’s revival of the classic game show The Pyramid. The reports are saying the look of the show retains a classic, familiar feeling so many of you will be happy about that. Now we’ve got some information on the new pilot. I think you’re all going to be very excited for the show.

The game is played like the old version. Two teams compete in two games per show. You have seven clues to convey within 30 seconds. The main difference is how money is handled. Whenever you go to the titular Pyramid you play for a base of $10,000. In the main game if you score a perfect 7-out-of-7 you earn a $500 bonus plus you play for $5,000 more on the Pyramid. So one perfect round means you win $500 and have a chance at $15,000. Two perfect rounds is $1,000 and a chance at $20,000. A perfect game means you win $1,500 and play for $25,000. Of course no perfect rounds mean you play for the base $10,000. There are no bonus categories such as Mystery 7 or 7-11. If you can’t beat the Pyramid you get money for each box you do beat. In order, from left to right, the first row is worth $100, $200, and $300; the second row is $400 and $500; the top box is $750.

So that’s what we have. It looks like, wisely, they are going with the retro looking set. The reception to Mike Richards has been positive also. We’ll have more later but we just wanted to be sure that you knew the details before we head out for the rest of the weekend. Feeling good about this? I know I am. I admit I had some major fears after how GSN handled the recent revival of Lingo. However, this looks to be exceptional and with Michael Davies and Embassy Row in charge that really shouldn’t be a shock. We hope to see it soon.

RBR: Chronicle

Whenever you read a biography of a superhero, two of the common dossier categories listed are the character's strengths and weaknesses. Watching Chronicle, it became apparent that this film about high school kids who develop super powers has its own well-defined strengths and weaknesses. The biggest detraction is its use of the 'found footage' storytelling device. Instead of enhancing the story like it does when used in the Paranormal Activity franchise, Chronicle feels stifled by this form of narrative. Scenes necessary for the story suffer from the lack of plausibility behind why they would be filmed by the characters in the first place. I also had problems at times empathizing with the drama of high school students, but that's more my issue than the film's. As for the film's strengths, it's premise is the primary draw. Though we've seen plenty of movies featuring superheroes and comic book characters, this still feels fresh. There is an authenticity to the way they portray what would happen if teenagers were able to obtain super powers. I also really loved the film's climatic scenes between two characters with these powers. They pull no punches going at each other and the end result is one of the most satisfying superhuman battles ever filmed. If a show like Heroes had been able to pull off scenes like the one in this low-budget film, it may have still been on the air. Going back to the film's premise, though, that is really the key to whether or not you'll seek this out. If you find it intriguing, then I definitely would recommend you give this watch. If there's no interest in seeing these kids fly and move object with a flick of their wrist, then you can skip this and not miss much. Rating: *** 3/4

Tribe Watch (Week 10)

Record: 33-32

Standing: Second in AL Central (1.5 games back)

This has been a pretty dismal week for the Tribe as the only managed to get one victory. The week began with a rough time in Cincinnati as the Reds swept us. Then we returned home and only got one win against the Pirates. Once again, pitching problems plagued this time. Both Cincinnati and Pittsburg seemed to hit off our pitchers at will. While our hitters could be doing more, this team will live and die by our pitching, so they need to start getting their act together if we have any hopes of contending. If there's a silver lining after such a pathetic performance, it's that the White Sox played just as poorly and thus we did not really lose any ground in the standings. We can't expect that to always happen, so we need to start winning again. We'll get a chance for some revenge against the Reds this week as they come to Cleveland for a three game set. Then we head back out onto the road this weekend for a set against the Houston Astros, a team that isn't very good. Capitalizing on weaker competition will be important. Plus it'll give us an opportunity to do some advanced scouting since Houston will become a part of the American League next year. As interleague play wraps up, I'll be watching to see if we can end this stretch of games on a positive note. Go Tribe!

Bond countdown: From Russia With Love (1963)

Tribe Watch (Week 9)

Record: 32-27

Standing: 2nd in AL Central (0.5 games back)

While far from a great week, there was definitely an improved effort from this team in comparison to how they had played the week before. The Indians managed to score two series victories, taking two of out three from both the Tigers and the Cardinals. Both of those teams, while struggling, are solid opponents so it was nice to come away with wins against both of them. Most notably the pitching was much better this week. Ubaldo Jimenez had two quality starts in a row, which is positve to see. Sadly, the guy who probably had the best pitching performance, Justin Masterson, came away with a loss on Saturday due to the Tribe getting shut out for the first time this season. Of course, I would love to see the Indians continue to improve on offense. Now that we're in the middle of interleague play, it means we'll be playing several games without the luxury of a DH, so each of our positional players need to pick up the slack when it comes to the bat. Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis (who hit the game-winning 3 run home run today) have been great at the plate, but guys like Carlos Santana really need to start having more quality at-bats so that we're not constantly leaving guys on base. Speaking of interleague play, it continues to roll on this week as the Indians will head to Cincinnati to play their cross-state rivals the Reds for 3 games. Then it's finally back home to take on the Pittsburg Pirates in a three game set. Teams that do well during interleague play typically find their way into the post-season, so let's hope the Indians can continue their winnings ways against these National League teams. Go Tribe!

Wreck in effect

A big week of trailers continues with the first look at Disney's latest animated effort, the video game themed Wreck-it Ralph. Check it out below.

Creation story

Much ado has been made about Ridley Scott's latest film Prometheus as to whether or not it is a prequel to the beloved Alien franchise. Whether it be fans of the original series or those just curious about the mystery surrounding this new movie, this has become one of the most anticipated films of the year. Of course, with that anticipation comes the possibility of disappointment if it fails to live up to expectations. Thankfully, this film manages to satisfy those expectations, even if it doesn't fully address everything that some may have wanted the film to do.

Prometheus is about a pair of scientists who believe they have discovered the beings responsible for the creation of the human race and set off on a space voyage along with a crew of several other travelers to the moon that they believe these beings are on. Of course, like most sci-fi space explorations they get more than they bargained for once they begin exploring this distant land.

One of the early signs that there is a connection between this film and the Alien series is the presence of an android on this space flight. David (played by Michael Fassbender) is perhaps the most compelling character in the film. He's not only integral to the interactions the humans have with the beings they encounter, but he also posits some of the film's most compelling questions. At times, David's motives are a bit unclear. The fact that he's a robot, and thus possesses no human emotions, only complicates matters. At times this can be frustrating. But ultimately, I think what it does is spurs healthy debate amongst those who enjoy and want to discuss this movie in great detail.

David's motives are not the only aspect of this film that is left unanswered. The film addresses but does not give clear answers to some major philosophical questions including 'where did we come from' and 'is our fate entirely in our control?'. It should come as no surprise that one of the film's co-writers is Damon Lindelof, who wrote for the TV series, Lost The Lost DNA is felt heavily throughout the film as it not only deals with those eternal debates but only tackles things like daddy issues and infertility.

Again, if you have someone who is willing to engage you on these topics after seeing the film, they make for a rich cinematic experience, but I would also imagine that there will be plenty out there who find their addition to the film's narrative unnecessary. Some people are simply looking for a film that features gooey creatures bursting out of people's chests and scaring the bejeebus out of audiences. Thankfully, the film offers plenty of that in here as well. Let there be no doubt at this point, that this IS an Alien prequel both in story and in spirit. There are plenty of frightful moments in this film that leave many of the human characters in great peril. Without giving too much away, one of the film's best scenes involves Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) attempting surgery on herself in an awesomely squemish sequence. After all these years, Scott still knows how to craft a good creature feature.

While it's hard to overlook it when we're talking about film featuring tons of slimy aliens, there is several noteworthy acting performances as well. As noted above, Fassbender is great as David as he continues to deliver one fine performance after another. Charlize Theron as the corporate-minded executive who oversees the Prometheus flight gives a nice, steely performance. I also really liked Idris Elba, who has a number of great lines as the hard-edged captain of the ship.

In the end, Prometheus may have been a bit too ambitious trying to tackle larger issues than were necessary for a series like this. But it's hard for me to fault them for that. A little mythology never hurt anyone and we could use more film that inspire discussion rather than the mindless dreck that only appeals to those who like to see things go BOOM. The film, with its impressive visual look, really attacks you from all senses and leaves you satisfied. And just like the evil creatures who haunt our protagonists here, once you get a taste, it'll leave you wanting more. Grade: B+

Double your pleasure

There was actually some notable happenings over the past week's worth of episodes on The Price is Right. On Monday, there was the first "perfect show" (all 6 pricing games won) of the season. Although some debate the verity of the perfect show label since one of the games 'won' was someone getting 'only' $10,000 on Plinko when they could have won $50,000. Then on Wednesday, we saw perhaps the contestant of the year in Henry, an 85 year old who tripped on stage and lost a tooth, yet kept a great attitude throughout. You can watch his appearance here. On Thursday, a contestant gave Drew a Brook Jacoby baseball card, which probably doesn't mean a lot to most of you, but does to me since he was my favorite Cleveland Indians baseball player growing up. The week was then capped off with the debut of a brand new pricing game, called Double Cross. You can watch its debut playing down below.

RBR: The Woman in Black

Credit Daniel Radcliffe for trying to work on another film as quickly as he could after the Harry Potter franchise in order to sustain an acting career in a post-wizard world. It's just a shame that he couldn't have attached himself to a better film. There's no sense of magic found here, in more ways than one. This period horror film slogs along at a glacial pace that tested my patience. Unlike The Others, a film that used its setting to add to the mystery and scares of this story, The Woman in Black merely includes it as a way to mask the fact that this is a very pedestrian ghost story. Director James Watkins fails to effectively film the film's key scary moments. Scenes that should send chills down your spine barely even register a notice here. Meanwhile, the answers to the mysterious happenings come too late in the film and by that point, you simply don't care. I hope Radcliffe, who does the best with what he's given here, can continue to have success in Hollywood, but if that is to happen, he'll need to find more inspired material than this. Rating: * 1/2

The plane truth

We got more trailers coming at ya. This time it's a preview for the first live-action film directed by Robert Zemeckis in over a decade. Flight is the fictional tale of a heroic effort of a pilot (Denzel Washington) to avoid a tragic plane crash that gets marred by the discovery that the pilot had been drinking prior to the flight and may have caused the accident in the first place.

RBR: Man on a Ledge

The subtitle for this review should be 'when good premises go bad'. This is one of those films that you best leave your thinking cap off because if you try to think about anything that is going on here, you'll just give yourself a headache. The setup is this - a man (Sam Worthington) wrongfully accussed of stealing a diamond escapes prison and then attempts suicide by jumping off a hotel in New York. This is no ordinary jump, though. It's all a big diversion as the accused man's brother attempts to clear his name. The cast is rounded out by a number of likeable actors including Elizabeth Banks, Anthony Mackie, Ed Burns, Jamie Bell, Titus Welliver, and Kyra Sedgwick. Sadly, each of them is either underwritten as a character or gives a laughable performance thanks to the weak script. Not even Ed Harris can do much playing the slimly rich guy who framed the man on a ledge. The story moves along at a nice pace but nothing really works as the story is filled with contrivances and plot holes. Like the suicide attempt itself, the film serves only as a mere diversion. The audience is left watching, waiting for something exciting to happen but gets disappointed when nothing pans out as you would have liked. Rating: ** 1/2

Unchained melody

Check out the first trailer for Quentin Tarantino's latest, Django Unchained, which is set to hit theaters this Christmas.

Tribe Watch (Week 8)

Record: 28-25

Standing: Second in AL Central

The Indians' performance this week did nothing to really motivate me to do this write up, but here I am anyways. This week the Tribe saw themselves fall out of first place, partially because those nasty Chicago White Sox are red hot and partially because we only managed to win two out of six games against Kansas City and Minnesota - a pair of divisional opponents that we need to beat. While our offense continues to struggle due to some key injuries, the bigger issue was the pitching. A staff that looked dominant against the Tigers has really faltered the past three series. If we want any chance of competing in this division, both our starters and middle relievers need to step up their game. We have another off day tomorrow and then head out onto the road for a lengthy trip. It will begin on Tuesday with a stint in Detroit. This weekend interleague play will resume as we square off against the Cardinals. At this point we can't afford to lose any more ground in the standings so we'll need to play competitive against this pair of decent teams. June has not been a good month in recent history for the Tribe, so let's change that up this year. Since the Indians won't be playing many home games this month, everyone needs to do their part in rooting on this team from their living room. Hopefully if we send good vibes their way, they can regain their winning ways. Go Tribe!

Bond countdown: Dr. No (1962)

We're about 22 weeks away from the newest James Bond film, Skyfall, so I've decided to once again look back at the past Bond films leading up to the new one. I wanted to do something different this time so that you wouldn't feel like I was simply doing a repost of my past thoughts. So I've decided to use Voicethread, which allows you to create audio commentary to images. Simply press play on the presentation below and you'll hear my thoughts on anything and everything that I found to be notable on that particular Bond film. Since this is my first outing using Voicethread in this particular manner, my commentary may sound a little rough, but I'm hoping that I'll improve as I get more comfortable sharing my thoughts in this manner. Certainly I would love to hear anyone and everyone's thoughts on both the films and my opinions on them, so sound off in the comments below. And without further ado, here's my take on the first Bond film, Dr. No

RBR: Haywire

MMA fighter Gina Carano makes her screen debut in this spy thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh. Carano does need to do much in the way of acting here, but shows enough screen presence to suggest that she may have a future in Hollywood. Her cage fighting experience, however, is put to good use here as she has several impressive scenes where she is handily beating up men twice her size. While Carano may not have much experience in front of the camera, Soderbergh certainly has plenty behind it and his style is felt throughout the entire film. His trademark touches work both in the film's favor and to its detriment. The film is very stylish with its beautiful shot locations and omnipresent soundtrack. As far as the film's plot, the minimalist approach taken her is a bit disappointing. Don't expect much in terms of freshness when it comes to this story about a spy who's been burned by their own organization. This is Jason Bourne lite in more ways than one. If you're a person who favors style over substance, you should really enjoy this film. For those who like a little bit more meat on the bones when it comes to story, then you may be left feeling hungry. I like the film's look and its cast (Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, and Bill Paxton all show up in small roles) but I would have prefered a bit stronger narrative connecting all of Carano's asskickings together. Rating: *** 1/2