Remaking it happen

So I'm finally getting around to the final spring break movie I saw; Be Kind Rewind. And like the adage goes, I ended up saving the best for last.

While not a perfect movie, the film's core idea is what drives it to success. For the unaware, Mike (Mos Def) is a video store clerk, who is best friends with Jerry (Jack Black), who is a little on the crazy side. After Jerry unsuccessfully attempts to sabotage the local power plant, he becomes magnetized and ends up erasing every single VHS tape in Mike's store when he visits him. In order to save the store, the two friends decide to make their own versions of the films and sell them to customers. Lo and behold, their remakes (they refer to them as 'sweeded' versions of the originals) become a huge hit with the local townspeople.

Seeing Mike and Jerry remake classic films is where the money is at in terms of this film. We get to see them do their versions of such films as Ghostbusters, Rush Hour 2, Boyz N the Hood, and Driving Miss Daisy. The two have a real chemistry and the scenes involving their filmmaking are a riot to watch. Their versions are skewed just enough to make them funny, yet realistic enough for you to understand what movie they are doing. In addition to being hilarious, I found it interesting to watch their creativity in making these sweeded versions. It gave you a nice insight into the lengths people will go to try and make unreal scenarios seem realistic. In an age where all the visual effects seem to be computerized, it was nice to see a call out to the classic methods of filmmaking.

As Jerry and Mike's films grow in popularity, they bring on other people to help them out. Most notably is the dry cleaner's sister, Alma. Played by newcomer Melonie Diaz, Alma is hired by the guys to start playing the female roles in their films. She ends up bringing an added level of excitement to the filmmaking scenes. This was a character that was clearly going nowhere in her current job and we see how these films end up bringing out the best in her. There are hints of a possible romance between her and Mike, but sadly this subplot never truly gets developed.

That lack of subplot development ends up being the film's one flaw. Directed by Michel Gondry, the films ends up leaving too many ideas up to the audience's imagination. Gondry is best known for directing the quirky film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Known for his stylistic direction, I feel he was a bad fit for this film. Typically, I will criticize directors for hammering the audience over the head with the film's story, but the opposite is true here. There are too many loose threads that Gondry never delves into. For instance, there appears to be some sort of connection between the VHS store owner (played by Danny Glover) and the kooky Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), who frequents the store and is the first to rent one of the fellas sweeded films. Having an concrete idea of what their relationship is/was might have added another dimension to those characters.

The simplistic approach that Gondry takes is annoyingly noticeable in the film's final scenes. After the government shuts down Mike and Jerry's versions of copyrighted films (another subplot that could have been further developed), the store creates one original film that involves the entire town, in the hopes that the screening of the film will generate enough money to keep the store from being torn down. The film ends with the screening of this film and no sense of resolution. I can respect when directors want to end on an ambiguous note, but that only works when you leave certain questions unanswered. The end of this film answers nothing. It seems to insinuate that having everyone come together to work on and then watch this film is enough of a happy ending. Nevermind the fact that we have no idea what happens to any of the characters that we have become invested in over the past hour and a half.

It is hard to say at this point whether successive viewings of this film may soften or harden my criticism of the film's flat ending. On one hand, knowing what to expect may make it easier to digest on future viewings. On the other hand, seeing a lack of resolution over and over again may just cause a buildup of frustration.

Overall, I think the fun and enjoyment that is experienced watching these two friends make these new versions of classic films is predominate enough to recommend this film to others. Since this concept is focused on for the majority of the film, it is likely that the film's flaws won't be that noticeable. Perhaps I have done a disservice by pointing out what annoyed me about this film in this review. However, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't express all of my thoughts on the films I review.

This film was only given a limited release when it first came out, so it's unlikely that you'll be able to find it in a theater at this point. My best suggestion would be to check it out in a couple of months when it's released on DVD. Who knows, maybe someone will agree with me that the film is underdeveloped in certain spots and end up making their own sweeded version of this movie. I know that there are certainly worse things that have been created and put on the Internet. Grade: B

Could lightning strike twice?

No wonder I keep hearing rumors about how much this show is overbudget this year. At least this guy didn't embarass himself upon hearing the news.

Views to a kill

I'm still trying to play catch up on all the stuff I've gotten to see this week, so bear with me. Next up on my spring break movie marathon is Vantage Point. The film's advertising was equal parts enticing and frustrating. I was sold when I saw this would be a film that would use the Rashomon style of filmmaking by showing a singular incident from multiple perspectives. However, I was dismayed to see a critical and surprising plot point get revealed during the commercials. Still, with a limited amount of films to choose from at the theaters right now, there was enough here to get me to go watch up.

The basic premise involves the president of the United States attending a summit in Spain and as he's prepared to speak, he's shot. We then see this assassination attempt from the eyes of many different characters including Dennis Quaid as a Secret Serviceman, who's just returned to the job after being shot himself, Forrest Whittaker as a tourist watching the historic moment, and Sigorney Weaver as a cable news channel producer who is covering the summit. With each person's story, the film rewinds back to noon and replays things, each time adding something new.

In general, I like the idea of telling a story from multiple perspectives. I do wish that the director had chosen some more stylistic ways to shift from one person's perspective to the next. His transitions give the sense of repetitiveness and frustration. We didn't need to see the seconds ticking up to noon each time a new character's perspective was shown. We also didn't need to see the same shots so many times. I'm not talking about seeing the same events over and over again, because that is necessary for this style of storytelling. Rather, I'm talking about seeing the same visuals each time. This, to me, just reeked of lazyness.

While some of the characters' stories built nicely upon each other, others felt forced. There were too many times where characters nonsensically interacted with each other or acted in certain ways that weren't plausible, yet needed to be done in order for the multiple perspectives method to work. I got the sense that the filmmakers fell in love with this method of storytelling, yet did not come up with a robust enough story to make it work.

As I mentioned before, the commercials gave away a major plot twist in their commercials. Now this is not the first film to do this and it certainly won't be the last. However, as annoying as that can be, it was even more problematic for this particular film. When you use this method of storytelling, it means that each story is to provide us something new and interesting. Well, if your commercials reveals something interesting that doesn't occur until halfway through the film, then you're forcing your audience to sit through 50 minutes of unnecessary storytelling. If you have been fortunate enough to miss most of the advertising for this film, you may not care about this criticism since you should still be able to enjoy the film and not realize what will happen.

The film does have one other twist in it, but it's reveal is equally annoying, yet for different reasons. At the end of Dennis Quaid's storyline (which is the second one shown in the film), he spots something on a TV monitor, which shocks him, yet the audience doesn't see it. What he saw isn't revealed to us until the end of the film. That would be fine suspenseful drama if it were not for the fact that we had to sit through a bunch of ancillary storytelling before that point. If we could have just seen what was on that screen during Quaid's story, it would have moved things along much quicker. But on the other hand, the film would have probably only been about 20 minutes long then.

Even though I have been critical of the approach the director took with the multiple perspective method, I could have overlooked at lot of it, had he stayed true to this method. Once the final perspective is shown and we learn the big twist, the film shifts gears into generic action film and spends a significant amount of time on a generic car chase. The chase scene goes on too long and is poorly shot. Many people complain about the shaky cam method of shooting a scene that is seen in films like The Bourne Supremacy, but I typically do not have a problem with it; usually because the people filming them are skilled filmmakers. However, the camera work during this chase scene nearly made me nauseous. I could not believe how long they let this scene go on for, especially considering we basically knew how it would end thanks to some of the earlier scenes from other characters' perspectives.

As the film comes to a close, it can't even find a way to include all of the characters. This just confirmed to me that some were added as mere plot devices. To me, if you're going to provide multiple characters' perspectives, then they should all be involved in how the film is resolved. Instead, the film continues to retread into generic action film territory and loses any goodwill it may have gained with it's initial unique method of storytelling. Worst of all, we never get a good understanding of the villains motives in the film. Would it have killed them to come up with a story from their perspective to make us understand why they chose to attack the president?

I really wanted to like this film and there are certainly elements touched upon the film that make you see it could have been something special. Issues such as media censorship, country loyalty, heroicism, and the importance of family are all introduced but never developed. Instead, we get a half-baked action film filled with actors who seemingly chose to do this in order to make a quick payday.

Despite my complaints, the film isn't exactly terrible. It just came off worse to me given what I had hoped it would be. Perhaps with this review, I have lowered your expectations enough that if you decide to watch this on DVD or cable that it will seem a bit more palatable to you. The film does enough to work as a simple action film, but fails at being an intelligent thriller. Depending on where your tastes fall on that spectrum, this one may just fit the bill. But from my vantage point, the film doesn't offer a fresh perspective on the genre. Grade: C

It's like Mortal Kombat, only gassier.

Check out this video from Gamespot where they preview an upcoming game called Major League Eating: The Game that will be released exclusive on WiiWare. If you're unfamiliar, WiiWare is the new channel that will be offered on the Wii which allows people to download games through their server. It works just like the Virtual Controller games, only these are brand new games instead of classic Nintendo ones.

Rim shot

Semi-Pro ended up being the first movie I saw over spring break (there will be more reviews forthcoming) and unfortunately it did not begin on a positive note. Will Ferrell has been pretty consistent when it comes to funny movies (we'll just pretend that 2005, in which he made Kicking and Screaming and Bewitched, never existed). His track record gets marred here, though, as this is one of his lesser efforts.

It would be easy to simply criticize this film as being a carbon copy of his past successes. It is true that there are scenes in this film that feel like retread (i.e. we've seen Ferrell get attacked by several animals in films; this time it's a bear). However, I'm not going to complain so much about that, because I'm of the belief that what's funny once typically remains funny. You don't want everything to be the same, but reusing certain proven jokes is not the worse thing that you can do.

Rather, my primary complaint with the film is that there were too many times where they couldn't follow through on a potentially good joke. There were several instances where I could see a joke being set up and when the punchline was delivered, I was disappointed. A perfect example of this is when owner/coach/player of the Flint Tropics, Jackie Moon (Ferrell) is trying to stop his team from scoring 125 points because that would mean all fans would get a free corndog and he doesn't have any corndogs to give away. When the Tropics do manage to score the 125 points, you're excited to see how Jackie will handle the situation. Will he talk his way out of it? Will the fans riot? Will he try giving them other things and pass them off as corndogs? Nope, none of those viable choices happen. Instead, when the game ends Jackie simply runs out of the arena and the whole scenario is never brought up again. Talk about a major letdown.

Perhaps the most obvious evidence of lazy writing is the film's decision to use coarse language as a substitute for actual humor. The film garnered an R rating purely for its language, most of which was unnecessary. It's not that the language was offensive; it was merely unnecessary. Using foul language sporadically can often produce funny situations, but when it's an endless barrage of f bombs and c words it grows tiresome. The writers needed to use some imagination and not just resort to old tactics when seaching for a laugh.

This is not to say that I sat stonefaced throughout the entire movie. There are several moments of hilarity sprinkled throughout the film. I enjoyed when the Tropics and their opponents engage in a brawl only during a commercial break so that the ABA commissioner won't see any of it occurring. Will Arnett and Andrew Daly as the Tropics announce team also provide a lot of laughs. While the laughs here may have been acceptable in a different comedy, when you go see a Will Ferrell movie you expect a better laugh to dud ratio.

Perhaps the laughs could have been better had they not decided to devote so much time to a subplot involving another Tropics player, Ed Monix (played by Woody Harrelson) pining over a past girlfriend (Maura Tierney). The story is almost a carbon copy of the Tom Berenger/Rene Russo subplot in Major League, but it seems really out of place in this film here. It's not given enough time to make sense and produces zero emotional ressonance with the audience.

In many ways, the film resembles the ABA. It is a cheap imitation of a quality product. It relied on heavy promotion to stay relevant (how many commercials did Will Ferrell do dressed as Jackie Moon?) It contains appealing elements, but the product as a whole isn't sustainable. And finally, it too will end soon and become a mere footnote in its industry.

Those looking for a cheap laugh can probably catch this at the cheap theater and enjoy themselves. For most people, however, waiting until this comes on cable will probably be your best bet. Believe me, having the film's language cleaned up on TV will not eliminate the few jokes that exist in the film. I would have liked another Ferrell gem, but I should have known that this wouldn't be up to snuff with some of his other classics when it got a February release. To finish off my basketball analogies, I would say that this film isn't a complete air ball, but the shot definitely falls short. Grade: C

Boobies!!

In case you haven't seen them yet, here are the photos from the Playboy shoot featuring WWE's own, Maria. It probably doesn't need to be said, but just to be safe: WARNING! Pics are NSFW.

For my two cents, it's great to see someone who I actually find attractive do the annual WWE Playboy shoot as opposed to the usual bimbo or tranny (coughAshleycough). But these photos seem like the exact same photoshoot I've seen from Playboy ever since I began checking out the magazine. The photos are rather boring and do not exhibit Maria's personality whatsoever. So while I'll never look a gift boob in the mouth, color me unimpressed with this shoot.

Little Miss Punshine

Don't worry, I'm still alive. Last week was a hellish week for me at school and right now I'm in the middle of spring break and my mom came down for a visit. So posts will be a bit few and far between. But I did have a bit of time tonight and I wanted to post my review for Juno since it's been over a week since I've seen it and if I wait too much longer, I'll start to forget aspects of the film.

Juno was a film that piqued my interest last fall before it came out. It certainly had a lot of pedigree behind it; stellar cast (including Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, JK Simmons, and Rainn Wilson, just to name a few), an up and coming director (Jason Reitman), and a buzzworthy writer (former stripper Diablo Cody). After seeing the trailer I was sold on the film, but also convinced that this would not click with a mainstream audience. However, it turned out I was wrong and this became the only bonafide hit of the best picture nominess. Now that I have seen it though, I'm a little perplexed as to why it did become a hit.

In many ways, the film is perfect and exactly what I expected it to be. There are several hilarious one-liners strewn throughout the film that are so random and funny that you have to wonder who's clever enough to come up with this stuff. You also have wonderful performances being delivered by almost everyone involved. Everything that I found appealing in the trailer was magnified in the actual film.

Unfortunately, these strengths of the film also end up being a detriment to the film's quality. The first and most glaring problem comes from the witty dialogue. The film seems so deadset on bombarding the audience with pop culture references and sarcasm that it at times takes away from the reality of the story being told. Naturally, Juno (played by Ellen Page) is the greatest abuser of this. And because she is the central character of the film, it poses a big problem. Her use of this type of dialogue prevented me from feeling an emotional connection between her and the characters around her. While her character supposedly goes through some emotional growth (to go along side her expanding belly), I never felt that a change had actually occurred.

This emotional distance is particularly noticeable in her relationship with her baby daddy Paul Bleeker (Cera). On top of Juno's sarcasm keeping him at arm's length throughout most of the film, Cera's character does not get enough screentime for us to truly understand or appreciate their complicated relationship. What ultimately led her to sleep with him? Why does she feel the need to exclude him from all pregnancy matters when he actually seemed willing to particpate? Perhaps if their dynamic had been developed more, I would have felt more about their coming together despite Juno's acid tongue.

Michael Cera is not alone is getting the shaft when it came to screentime. For my personal tastes, I felt like we didn't get to see enough from most of the adults. Most of the actors absolutely shine in their appearances, yet it seems that some of them are merely there as props to allow Juno to spout off more of her bon mots. JK Simmons, in particular, is underutilized as Juno's blue collar father. Perhaps seeing more of him could have given us a better perspective of how Juno became the way she did.

Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner playing a couple planning on adopting Juno's baby actually do get enough screentime to have their characters fleshed out. This is one of the bright spots of the film as their characters seem to be very stereotypical at the beginning, yet as the film unfolds we get to see very different sides to both of them. Had the film just focused on them and Juno, it would have been fine. But because they introduced so many other potentially interesting characters, it was a bit more frustrating.

There is one final aspect that made the film grate on my nerves; the soundtrack. If Juno's dialogue doesn't scream out indie film to you, then the music sure will. Every scene seems to be peppered with these annoying little ditties that think they are clever but instead are just pretentious. Having one song like this during the opening credits would have been tolerable, but they are endlessly played throughout the film.

At the end of the day, I feel so torn on this film. Some aspects of this film I absolutely adored, while other parts really annoyed me. I think because I have such strong emotions for it on both sides of the spectrum, that the film easily warrants my recommendation. It's a film that is great for discussion. I would not be surprised at all if there are some people who absolutely agree with me and other who will love and hate the exact opposite things that I do about this film. I also think that the passion I have for this film is common, which is why it ended up scoring a Best Picture nominee. While it would not have been my pick to win, I can easily accept it's nomination. So go out and see this when you can and then tell me how right or wrong I am about this film. Grade: B+

NMR: The Machinist

This was another Christian Bale flick that I decided to check out since I've become such a fan of his. Unfortunately, I cannot heap on the amount of praise that I usually do for his films. This film is notable however for establishing Bale as truly the most masochistic actor out there today. If you're unfamiliar with this film, Bale lost a significant amount of weight to play Trevor Resnik, a man who hasn't slept in a year. Bale is so emaciated in the film, it is often too difficult to look at the screen. As much credit as I give Bale for committing himself to the role and doing a good job at portraying this tortured soul, it made me too uncomfortable for me to truly appreciate it.

Ultimately, that feeling of unease is what causes me to give this film a less than favorable review. However, it should be noted that even if Bale's appearance wasn't a factor, I still found the film to be flawed. It tries to do something creative in the lines of Memento by leaving the audience as much in the dark as the title character about what has actually happened, but I just don't think it's fully achieved what it set out to do. There is a lot of good in this film, but given how difficult it was to watch, I can't rate it very high. Unless you want to be squemish for an hour and a half, I probably wouldn't recommend this film to you. Netflix rating: **

The big night is upon us!

OK, so it's Oscar night and for the first time in quite a while the show has some intrique for me. This year there are no front-runners and most of the big nominess are films that I'll be fine with winning. Usually these awards are a foregone conclusion or given to films I can't stand (i.e. The English Patient, Chicago). I really have no idea who will win, so it should be fun to watch. Here now are my fearless picks for the winners in the major categories, but I have no confidence in them whatsoever:

Best Picture:
No Country for Old Men

Best Actor:
George Clooney

Best Actress:
Julie Christie

Best Supporting Actor:
Javier Bardem

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett

Best Director:
Joel and Ethan Coen

Best Original Screenplay:
Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay:
No Country for Old Men

Best Animated Film:
Ratatouille

Litagation Sensation

I almost didn't make it, but I just managed to see at least one Best Picture nominee before the big awards show. If I was a betting man, I would have figured it would have been Juno, but since I haven't found anyone willing to go see it with me yet, I had to settle for catching the only one that's made it to the budget theater yet; Michael Clayton.

Settling for this film though is no burden as this was a superb film that is easily worthy of it's nomination. It's an intense legal thriller that had me riveted from start until finish. Even if you have a good idea of how the film will end, the film is so intricate that you'll want to see how they handle all of the small details that make up the story.

This film was written and directed by Tony Gilroy. This is actually Gilroy's first stab at directing and he hits a home run on his initial attempt. He's not overly stylistic and he doesn't go for any outside-of-the-box techniques, he just puts together a strong, cohesive film. Gilroy also wrote the screenplay for The Bourne Ultimatum, so I'm glad to see that at least one of his films got recognized by the Oscars.

Of course, it goes without saying that a lot of the film's merit is based upon the terrific acting jobs found throughout. We'll start with George Clooney who is really good in the title role. Many people complain that he's just playing himself, but I detect small nuances in his performance that allows me to seperate the actor from the character. You can really feel the weight of the world on his shoulders as he has to deal with a number of problems both personally and professionally.

As good as Clooney is, however, Tom Wilkenson is the one who truly shines in this film. Playing manic depressive lawyer Arthur Edens, Wilkenson takes command of the screen every time he is on and leaves you wondering what this guy is all about. I had ridiculed Wilkenson in the past for his bombastic performance in In The Bedroom, a film that the Academy loved and no one saw. However, after seeing his work in Batman Begins and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I've really begun to be impressed with his work and look forward to seeing more films with him in the future. But back to this film, enough can't be said for how good he is. The film begins with a monologue by his character, that immediately hooks you into the story.

Tilda Swinton, playing the slimy lawyer for the corrupt UNorth corporation also does a fine job as an exec who is in way over their head. As much as I liked her performance, however, I actually thought her role could have been fleshed out a bit more. She does well with what she has, but I really think that we could have seen a whole lot more from the character and her struggles in this situation.

One of the things that I think works so well for this movie is that it doesn't waste a lot of time with exposition. They make you work to understand what's going on and the motivations behind each character's actions. So many films today feel like they have to drop an anvil on your head so that you don't fall behind with the story. Because this film opts not to do that, it gives the story a more realistic feel. Let's be honest, two people plotting to kill someone don't take ten minutes explaining to each other why they're going to do that, so why should we see it in a film. Those that are too slow to follow along may not care for this movie, but if you appreciate when a film doesn't take you for an idiot, then you'll enjoy this film.

I think the best proof I have to show you how well this film captivated its audience is by explaining the scenario that occured as the film ended. Without giving anything away, the credits begin to role while there is still action on the screen. This final scene involves no dialogue and is rather simplistic; however no one in the theater left their seat. Some may have been waiting to see if something else would happen, while others were probably still trying to process everything that had taken place. But the bottom line is that there was no rush to the exits, despite the fact that the credits were beginning. A truly impressive feat, especially from the usually less than sophisticated budget theater crowd.

I enjoyed this film so much that I already went out and picked it up on DVD. It not only has a good story and fine acting, but there was so much going on that I feel a repeat viewing will only enhance my enjoyment of the film. Given how everything has gone down this awards season, I don't think this film has enough momentum to win Best Picture, but that's ok. Whether it wins or not, should not deter you from making an effort to watch it at some point in the future. This is a great legal thriller filled with intrique and suspense and it doesn't dumb things down for the lowest common denominator. What more could you ask for? Grade: A

The next time you see me, I may weigh 300 lbs.

For those of you who have visited me before, you'll know that my apartment shares the same space with a strip of stores. There a grocery store, video store, dry cleaners, etc. Well recently, they tore out a bunch of the parking spaces from this shopping area and they were building something new, which of course piqued my curiousity. As the building started to get erected, it looked like it was going to be a gas station. Not very exciting, but I was at least excited about the possibility of not having to go far to get gas.

However, I learned yesterday that I was wrong. Instead of a gas station going in there, they are putting in a Sonic restaurant. This is the first one of this chain in this area as far as I can tell. Now I have never been to a Sonic before, but based on their awesome commercials, which make everything look amazing and from high recommendations from friends who have actually been to one, I cannot wait to try it out. If it's as good as it looks, I could be in trouble. I may have to start doing laps around my complex before running over there, just so I can keep my already amazing physique.

But as excited as I am for its arrival, I hope it doesn't open for another month or so because I gave up all fast food for Lent. I feel like Beau Bridges in Airplane..."Looks like I picked the wrong time to give up fast food".

If anyone has any recommendations for what I should get from there, please let me know!

OMG!

From last night's Price is Right primetime special:

NMR: The Ex

In a word, terrible. I had known that the reviews were bad and it had tanked at the box office, but I still ended up renting this because I love Jason Bateman and it had a variety of other funny people in it. I figured, how bad could it really be. Well I found out the hard way. They had a decent, albeit familiar premise. Zach Braff and Amanda Peet are newlyweds, who move back to Ohio. Braff takes a job at his father-in-law's company and meets an old friend of Peet's, Chip (Bateman). Everyone loves Chip, but Braff thinks he's evil, a liar, and still lusting after his wife.

Instead of doing anything fresh, the films provides some expected gags. The story just meanders all over the place and throws in a lot of unnecessary subplots. Worst of all is that Braff's character isn't likeable in the least, so you have no interest in seeing him succeeding in exposing Chip for who he really is. Bateman has moments of brillance as Chip, but ultimately gets buried amongst the dreck that surrounds him. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect here is that this film marked the return of funnyman Charles Grodin to film and they do nothing with him. It's a shame he couldn't have come back in a better film than this. This movie goes right up there with The Brothers Solomon as an epic waste of true comedic talent. Netflix rating: *

RIP HD DVD

Toshiba quits HD DVD 'format war

Since I have yet to buy any high def. technology, this comes as good news to me as I don't have to worry about buying the losing product. It sucks for those that have already bought HD DVD players though. I guess Blu-Ray's victory is a nice retribution for Sony after their failure with Betamax.

A Mistery of Violence

The second film adaptation of a Stephen King work for 2007 finally made its way to the budget theater. Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long considering it underperformed at the box office last November.

My initial reaction coming out of the film was that I enjoyed it, but I felt that what I enjoyed about it probably had more to do with King's story than with anything the film actually did. However, in investigating the differences between the film and the novella, I learned that the film decided to radically change the ending; more on that in a bit.

The premise is that a mysterious fog has rolled into a small Maine town trapping many of its citizens in a supermarket. Opinions as to what the mist is and what dangers it poses varies amongst the various townspeople. As we learn what's in the mist, the thrills and chills really get amped up. It then becomes a story of survival for all those trapped.

Most of the actors have a lot of fun with their roles and make the most of their screen time. Andre Braugher is good as a skeptical big city lawyer. I really like Toby Jones (who played Capote in that other film about his life), who plays Ollie, the supermarket's assistant manager. Marcia Gay Harden is the one who truly shines here, however, as the religious nutcase who believes the mist is a sign of the end of days.

The one anomolous acting performance, unfortunately comes from the film's lead, Thomas Jane. He plays David Drayton and leads the efforts to save everyone from whatever is out there. The film uses Drayton's relationship with his son as one of the core emotional cruxes, but I personally didn't feel that connection. For too much of the film, Drayton's action are seemingly motivated to prove that he's right moreso than to rescue his son from these potential perils. Despite that, there are several emotional scenes where Drayton is seen crying. Jane's efforts to emote though come off forced and unintentionally funny.

Speaking of things that came off more hokey than real, I was somewhat unimpressed with the film's visual effects. Without giving too much away, there are scenes that involve some monsters. Some of the smaller creatures look pretty cool and creepy, but the larger creatures have a definite B-movie feel to them.

For me, the film was at its best when it was dealing with human relationships and how people deal with scary situations. When faced with unknowns like these people are, we begin to see who the true monsters are. As the townspeople in the supermarket become divided, the film's energy really picks up. I would have gladly sacrificed one scary monster scene for some more interpersonal communication.

As much as I enjoyed those interaction, the film's cheese factor still had me leaning towards a thumbs down on this movie for most of the way, until the end came. While far from optimistic, The Mist has one of the gutsiest endings for a film that I've seen in a long time. I'm sure many did and will hate it, but I really appreciated it for being so unconventional. If I had any gripes about the finish, it would be that it could have used a little bit more explanation for why the events unfolded as they did. But I can certainly understand why the filmmakers opted not to do that. In many cases, some things are better left unsaid.

The Mist is by no means perfect, but there is a lot there for different audiences. The film does succeed in providing a number of genuinely scare moments, while will please the thrill seekers. It also provides enough interpersonal communication to appeal to a more cerebral crowd. And if you're a person that loves to debate about films after you've watched one, well then this one has an ending that will spark plenty of discussion. In the battle of the Stephen King films for 2007, I'll give this one the slight nod over 1408. However, both are decent and worthy of a rental. Grade:B+

NMR: The Lookout

What's The Lookout, you say? Well I was just as in the dark as you are now about the film until Richard Roeper (of Ebert and Roeper) put it #3 on his list of best films for 2007. It's an indie crime thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun) as Chris Pratt, a guy who's life became a mess after a car accident left him with a serious head injury. Working as a janitor at a bank in a small Kansas town, he gets manipulated into helping some crooks rob the place, but as usual, nothing goes as planned.

I thought the film was solid, but I'm still in the dark as to what Roeper saw that was so special about it. Most of the characters are well defined (Jeff Bridges does a nice job as Pratt's blind roommate) and the story keeps you involved. But at the end of the day, I saw nothing terribly unique or captivating about the film. I've heard some comparisons to Memento, which is an injustice to that film. I'd more closely compare it to Fargo, which was a solid movie, but nothing that I would go out of my way to rave about. Stil, if you're looking for a crime thriller, this is certainly a good choice. However, if you don't see it, it won't be like you're missing out on some piece of cinematic history. Netflix rating: ****

Summer starts to take shape

Within the past few days, there have been a number of trailers for some of the big summer movies set to come out. Take a gander at them and see what you think:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull


The Happening


Here are links to a couple of redband trailers (aka NSFW) for a pair of films that have some Apatow connections to them:
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
The Pineapple Express

Some additional strike news

I'm sure you've been keeping up with the return status of our beloved TV shows via the list on my blog here, but I wanted to give a little bit more info here on a couple of my favorite shows:

Lost:
Beyond the eight pre-strike episodes that they had completed, the producers plan to make 5 more episodes this season for a total of 13. Had the strike not occurred, we were supposed to have 16 episodes this season. But good news, we are not permanently losing three episodes. The producers will tack on three more episodes to a future season before the show ends. With the five additional episodes that they'll be doing for this season, the producers said that they plan on condensing the storylines that they had planned for their original 16 episode season. This means that the season should end with a proper cliffhanger and not just some random episode. Finally, the producers said that there probably will be a gap between the end of the 8 pre-strike episodes and the beginning of these additional five. These additional episodes will begin airing sometime in April and when that happens, Lost will be moving to 10pm on Thursday to make room for Grey's Anatomy. Normally, I'd groan over that news, but there's going to be other stuff airing at Thursdays at 9, so moving Lost out of that timeslot is fine by me.

The Office:
Speaking of shows airing on Thursdays at 9, The Office will be back with 6 more episodes this season. The first one will be titled "Dinner Party" and involves Michael and Jan inviting some of the other Dunder-Mifflin workers over for a dinner party. This episode was basically written before the strike, but since Steve Carell and some of the other actors refused to film their scenes while the strike was going on, it never got made. Sadly, a Christmas episode was also written before the strike, but the producers have said that they will not make this one as part of Season 4. That's such a shame since their Christmas episodes are always so good. As of right now, The Office is scheduled to return on April 10th. Let the anticipation commence!

NMR: Rescue Dawn

Given how impressed I've been with everything I've seen with Christian Bale in it lately, it was a no-brainer that I would eventually get around to seeing this one. Released on only a small number of screens this past summer, Rescue Dawn tells the story of Dieter Dangler (Bale), a German-American fighter pilot who was shot down and imprisoned in Laos in 1966.

Aside from being a remarkable story, what made this film so impressive is that it plays more like an autobiography more than a film. What I mean by that is that doesn't try to add a bunch of symbolism or meaning behind any of the action. It just provides numerous glimpses into Dangler's attempts to survive and escape. For instance, at one point Dangler starts hallucinating and sees one of his fellow prisoners, who is dead. Instead of making a big deal about it, it's just briefly touched upon to give you a sense of Dangler's mental state at that point.

Of course, Bale gives a stellar performance, but credit also needs to be given to Steve Zahn who is also very good as another one of the prisoners. The film also has a couple of Lost connections as Dr. Marvin Candle has a brief appearance and newcomer Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) has a larger role as yet another prisoner. Aside from the acting, I should also mention that this film is gorgeous and probably would look especially good in HD.

In short, this was just an excellent film and you should note it made it on my top 10 for 2007. It's a shame this too got overlooked this awards season, but as Little Miss Sunshine proved, what I think of films doesn't always jive with what the Academy thinks. Netflix rating: *****

Strike OUT (of here)!!!

From TVGuide.com:

The boards for both branches of the Writers Guild of America on Sunday unanimously approved the tentative deal reached on a new contract. The boards are also taking the final decision on liftng the strike to membership in a vote on Tuesday.

In the meantime, showrunners will get going even sooner, heading back to work Monday to get crews set up and production facilities going again, as will writers who have producing duties on their shows. Ballots to ratify the three-year deal are also going out to members, and will be returned within a 10-12 day period.

Patric Verrone commented on the deal agreement, saying, "This is the best deal this guild has bargained for in 30 years."

Verrone also went on to praise the work of the three CEOs who stepped up in the decisive moments of negotiations, including News Corp. chief Peter Chernin, Disney head Robert Iger and CBS' top dog, Leslie Moonves. Until the business chiefs sat down at the bargaining table, Verrone said, "We spent about three months getting nowhere."

In light of the huge support among writers for the deals in members' meetings on both coasts Saturday, it's expected that they'll be in favor to end the strike in Tuesday's vote, and be able to return to work as early as Wednesday. For writers pushed out of contracts in force majeure situations, many will be hired back, but in a case-by-case scenario, in which the status of each show will affect the deals.

As the final logistical steps are taking place, as least most of Hollywood will start getting back into motion. — Anna Dimond

With this good news, I've changed the info on my favorite TV shows' list to show how many episodes we can expect to see from those shows still this season (i.e. before the end of May). In some cases, despite this strike ending, some shows will sadly not be returning until next Fall. Regardless of when they return, I think we can all agree that this announcement is very good news.

NMR: Little Miss Sunshine

Despite the presence of Steve Carell here, I had some reservations about watching this film. But now with Netflix, I decided to give it a look and sadly my concerns were accurrate. The film is not without its moments. Carell and Alan Arkin both turn in solid performances (I would completely support Arkin's win for Best Supporting Actor if it were not for the fact that his role is so small in the film). There were also a couple of moments that produced laughs; although probably not as many as they were striving for.

The primary problem with the film is that it forces you to watch this dysfunctional family interact in very uncomfortable situations without seeing any significant growth in the characters. I don't buy the bonding that occurs in the film's final scenes. Despite that moment of togetherness, I still get the feeling that these individuals will maintain their negative qualities. Even worse is the fact that these characters aren't terribly original or interesting. Everyone seems to be created out of sitcom cliches (the pathetic father! the moody son!)

Finally, I found the pageant scenes to be confusing. On one hand it seemed to mock the whole young girl pageant scene. But then it had Olive (Abigail Breslin) act just as ridiculous as these other girls, yet the film seems to applaud this as if it's radically different than everyone else. Plus, the fact that no one outside of Olive's grandfather had seen her act before the pageant seemed really contrived.

Fitting of the title, there are small moments of sunshine found here, but overall the film was both too depressing and overly ridiculous for me to like it. Seeing it get a Best Picture nominee really makes me wonder how these films are being chose. Netflix rating: **

New look

I'm working with blogs for a class project and I decided to give this page a makeover. I get bored easily with seeing the same website over and over again, so I try to freshen things up every now and then.

Just to have this post have some relevance, I'll announce here that I got the 120 stars with Luigi in Super Mario Galaxy. Doing that unlocked one last level for Mario and Luigi to do. Unfortunately, it's very simple level that used pretty much just to end the storyline. About the only difficult thing about it was finding where the level was. So I have now officially completed everything with the game. As sad as I am to not have anything more to do with it, I was also obsessed with finishing it, so I can't really complain. Now I just have to play the waiting game until another decent title comes out for the Wii.

NMR: The Constant Gardener

I continue my Netflix "Tour of Africa", with this little known film from 2005. This is a film that got very little mention and probably would never have hit on my radar had Rachel Weisz not won an Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in this. Since I heard it was a political thriller, I decided to check it out and boy am I glad I did. Ralph Fiennes stars as Justin Quayle, a member of the British High Commission who is currently working in Africa. Weisz plays his wife, who is mysteriously murdered. The film then follows Quayle's quest to find out who killed his wife.

The movie rises above your typical political thriller through it's superb direction by Fernando Meirelles. He does some very creative work both visually and temporally with the story that make it unique and captivating. Weisz' work was definitely worthy of the award and Fiennes is outstanding as well. Watching the transformation of his character as he goes on this investigation is really something. And unlike Blood Diamond, the film never preaches, yet you are very aware of the plight of these Africans throughout the film. The movie is based on a John Le Carre novel. I've never read anything by him, but from what I understand, transfering his work to film is never easy, so I give the writers credit for making such a compelling film. This is not a film that you shut your brain off for, so if you're up for a thought-provoking, well-made film, I highly recommend this one. Netflix rating: *****

Sting operation

With the weekend upon us, I decided to head over to the budget theater and check out Bee Movie. Aside from the Pixar films, I tend not to check out these animated films, since they're more aimed at kids. However, I have always been a fan of Jerry Seinfeld and his sitcom, so his presence here made things a bit more appealing.

Seinfeld voices Barry B. Benson, a bee who is not content with the drone lifestyle. He'd rather be with the "pollen jocks" (those bees who leave the hive and pollenate the flowers). The film's plot takes hold once Barry ventures out with them and makes the shocking discovery that humans are consuming the honey they work so hard to make. He learns this truth after befriending a woman named Vanessa (voiced by Renee Zellweger). Zellweger, I should add gives a fantastic performance here. Then again, any performance where we don't have to see that old catcher's mitt she calls a face will be considered fantastic by me.

Barry's meeting of Vanessa is where things take a turn for the surreal. It takes Vanessa all of about 30 seconds to get over the idea that a bee can talk and then proceeds to hang out with him as if they are the best of friends. Patrick Warburton voices Vanessa's boyfriend, who is incredulous over the fact that she's befriended a bee. He's portrayed in the film as a raving lunatic, but if you ask me, he comes off as the voice of reason.

If you can look past this bizarre plot development, what you have is a beautiful film that has some very funny moments. At this point, we really shouldn't be surprised by the precision and style that these animated films can display, but I still can't help but be amazed with the detail they can create in these movies. They are able to make vast cityscapes and the tiny hairs on a tennis ball look equally impressive. The animation here truly rivals anything seen in the Pixar films.

I mentioned that the film also has some funny moments, which is obviously should given that it's a cartoon and features Jerry Seinfeld. To me, the best stuff involved their humorous takes on the bee lifestyle. From the Willy Wonka-esque factory where the honey is made to Bee Larry King, they get the most mileage out all bee-related humor. The jokes made at the human's expense are more hit and miss. It's hard to say whether this is because Seinfeld is a little out of touch with humorous observations about humanity or whether I was still trying to wrap my head around this bizarro world where humans normally interact with insects.

There are several celebrity cameos strewn throughout the movie. Some are fun like Ray Liotta who plays himself and is a Paul Newman-like pitchman for a brand of honey. Others, like Matthew Broderick playing Barry's best friend are frustrating as I sat through the whole movie realizing that I recognized the voice but couldn't tell who it was. As fun as these celebrity cameos are, they can also be somewhat annoying. In this film more than any other recent animated film, I thought it was really noticeable that the voice actors had all done their parts seperately. As a result, it was difficult to gain a sense of connection between the characters.

There is a lot to enjoy here, but I have a feeling that there will be aspects that all audiences find annoying. For someone like me, I mentioned having a difficult time grasping with the odd bee-human interactions. I just felt like that needed to be developed more before jumping right in and making it seem normal. I wouldn't be surprised if other adults share this confusion. For kids, there is a lot of adult humor that is likely to fly right over their heads, which is probably why this film didn't have the success that most Pixar films do.

Bee Movie is equal parts bee-dazzling and bee-fuddling (and here I thought I could get through the whole review without any bee puns). In general, there is plenty enough here for an enjoyable film. If you are not resistant to the computer animated genre, you'll likely find the film appealing enough. It may not provide the solid laughs that were found on some of those classic episodes of Seinfeld, but it's an entertaining little diversion nontheless. Grade: B

The joys of live TV

I saw this clip on The Soup and was in stitches afterwards. Please to enjoy this video of a local TV reporter's story on bird infestation...

Finally! Some TV to talk about

I know that this post is primarily for Lost's return, but I figure I'll mention the other new content that was on this week:

House: I have no idea what is going on with the braintrust at FOX. It's great that they saved a few episodes to air now, but why did they hold back this Christmas themed episode. Seeing that made the episode feel off in some ways, but on the other hand now that House has his new team finally picked this episode felt more normal than most of the episodes this season. The patient of the week had some pretty wild stuff going on including bleeding eyes, bones turning to stone and breast cancer behind her knee. But perhaps weirdest of all was her firm stance in always telling her daughter the truth. Of course, that put House on a mission to prove her wrong, which he manages to do. The secret Santa subplot provided us with some great House material. It also allowed for the new team to learn what he's really all about and it gave us our only House/Wilson moments, which are always great. Even though it's brief, I'm glad to have Dr. Crankypants back and will be interested to see what they do for their big post-Super Bowl episode.

Mythbusters: A pair of really cool myths dealt with last night. It's weird that the airplane on a conveyor belt (which was originally intended for the airplane myths show but got left off for some reason) generated so much debate from the online fans when this one was seemingly so easy to answer if you knew anything about physics. Still, seeing them do a large scale test of this was cool. Then you had the cockroachs surviving a nuclear blast myth. It's amazing (and very scary) that they were able to answer this one. But lo and behold, not only are cockroaches able to survive it, it appears several other bugs would as well. Let's hope we never have to see the day where this becomes a reality. Finally, the shaving cream prank one was pretty lame and was clearly added in just so they could ultimately destroy something. It wouldn't be Mythbusters if they didn't destroy some mode of transportation each episode.

Lost: And now the long awaited return!! And what an episode it was. I'm really liking the flash-forwards as they somehow manage to add more mystery to the show instead of giving us all of the answer. Who would have thought that Hurley would be chosen as the focus of the first episode. Doesn't Matthew Fox's contract state that he has to have the flashback/forward to begin and end each season? Back to Hurley though, I loved how we got so many callbacks in his story: the Camaro, Ana Lucia's ex-partner, the mental institution. All good stuff. I'm not sure what to make of what Hurley saw on the island considering it could be the island messing with him or it could just be his delusions. And even though he was only on for a small portion, Ben was just excellent tonight. He had a couple killer lines throughout the episode. Next week, the calvary finally arrives, but to do what? I sure can't wait to find out.

NMR: Blood Diamond

I had a few people tell me they really enjoyed this and it also received a handful of Oscar nominations, so this was a natural one for me to put on my queue. Overall I enjoyed it, but the critic in me still had some qualms about it.

First, the good; both Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou give stellar performances. Hounsou especially is just fantastic here and you really feel his character's pain throughout the film. I think I actually liked DiCaprio better in The Departed, but I understand why he got the nomination for this film. Jennifer Connelly is fine as the American reporter doing a story on conflict diamonds, but I also felt that the film would have been just as good, if not even better without her character.

I guess my one primary complaint about the film is it's lack of flow. This film wants to be an all-out action film and a political film with a message. While wanting to be both is commendable, Blood Diamond has a difficult time balancing the two. At times, the action comes to a complete halt so we can have a scene where the characters preach the film's message. By trying to balance the two, the sermonizing becomes all the more apparent. It also makes you feel as if you've missed some scenes because one doesn't flow to the next in a logical manner. This is truly a shame too because the action scenes are really amazing in the film. And the message that it's trying to get across is an important one and one that we do not hear a lot about in either film or the news. If only the two aspects could have been blended together better, this would have been an amazing film instead of just a really good film. This movie is good enough to warrant a solid recommendation, but it's also one that I'm not likely to rewatch. Netflix rating: ****

Are you ready to get Lost again?

I just finished rewatching season 3 of Lost and am now super psyched for its return. In preparation for tomorrow's season premiere, here's the final mobisode that was just released. Most of these scenes have been pure filler without revealing anything new. However, the one posted here is very interesting and just adds to the mystery behind life and death and the role it plays on this island. Check it out and enjoy the beginning of Season 4!

Royal Rumble statistics

With the big event this Sunday, I figured I would get everyone in the mood with this awesome video produced by the WWE chronicling all the various statistics that this match has produced in its 20 year anniversary.

Needs a fix

After much anticipation, I finally got a chance to see American Gangster this week at the budget theater. Perhaps I built the film up too much in my mind, however, because I came away feeling slightly disappointed.

It should be said upfront that Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe give excellent performances. Denzel, playing notorious Harlem gangster Frank Lucas, proves once again that he can play good guy or bad guy equally well. And while not his best performance (he was better in his other film from 2007, 3:10 to Yuma) Russell Crowe does a fine job playing "boy scout" cop, Richie Roberts.

And while each give good performances, their stars truly shine in the moments where they share scenes. Unfortunately there are very few of them here. Now I had known going in that these two had didn't have much screen time together, but I didn't realize how little it actually would be. Perhaps it was just more noticeable because the scenes involving them seperatly were at times slow and uninteresting.

The film spends way too much time chronicling their individual lives. I understand the need to provide backstory, but it took too long to even get to the point where Roberts starts to investigate Lucas. And while Lucas rise in the drug and mafia communities is remarkable, the film displays it in a way that we've seen countless times before in other mob films.

I think a lot of the blame here falls on director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Steve Zallian's shoulders. Zallian's script fails to provide enough consistent action or tension to help the film moving and Scott does not provide enough directional style to make the biographical aspects of the film captivating.

As slow as the first portion of the film is, it really sparkles by the time Lucas and Roberts actually intersect. I absolutely love the scene where Roberts meets Lucas outside of the church as 'Amazing Grace' is played. I know the film has been heavily criticized for the liberties it took with Lucas' actual life story. I don't know for sure, but I would imagine that that church scene is an example of that, but it doesn't matter because scenes like that show the potential of what this film could have truly been.

The last section of the film deals with Lucas' court case and the subsequent deal he made in helping take down a number of corrupt cops and drug dealers. All of that is really excellent and was disappointed when the credits began to roll a short time later. To me, the focus should have been on this aspect of Lucas' life. Watching the corrupt turn on the corrupt and seeing what possesses someone to suddenly rat out his associates is more interesting than watching someone be a real life Tony Montana.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out two additional superb acting performances in the film. Josh Brolin (who can also be currently seen in Best Picture nominee, No Country for Old Men) does a really good job as a corrupt New York cop who just exudes the essence of an asshole. Also, Ruby Dee is wonderful as Lucas' mother. Clearly, others agree as she was nominated for an Oscar for this role. It was shocking to see, though, how little screentime she has. However, she's so great in every scene that she's in that I still think the nomination is deserved.

It is just a shame to see all of this acting talent go to waste as a result of poor direction. Until the final half hour there are only glimmers of excellence. With each moment, you keep hoping that it will sustain; but alas, they remain only fleeting. I think the acting performance are strong enough and the basic story interesting enough to warrant a recommendation. And while it takes a long time to get there, the payoff in the end is solid. I guess my warning would be that if you do see it, make sure you're in the right mood to do so. Like the Blue Magic cocaine that Frank Lucas deals in the film, the film will give you some highs, but they are only fleeting. Grade: B

Bond 22 gets a real title!

And it is...


The title doesn't necessarily roll off your tongue as well as some of the previous ones, but I'm extremely intrigued nonetheless. Below is a few more plot points revealed at today's news conference:

The new film sees 007 (Daniel Craig) out for revenge on a mission that takes him to Austria, Italy and South America. Bond girl Camille, played by Ukrainian-born Olga Kurylenko, leads the secret agent to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), member of a mysterious organization and a ruthless businessman, seeking to control huge natural resources.

The plot follows on directly from Casino Royale, as Bond aims to uncover the truth about Vesper, the beauty who betrayed him, and discovers that she had been blackmailed.

"James Bond is after revenge, and Camille is after revenge and they have slightly different goals, but in the end they are going to have to collaborate," Kurylenko said.

At a press conference at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, reporters were shown a minute of footage from the new film, including Bond swinging on a rope after an explosion at an art gallery in Siena, Italy.

Another scene showed him meeting M, played by Dame Judi Dench, outside in the snow.

Kurylenko says she will play a very different Bond girl. She has yet to film any scenes, but is working hard preparing for her role.

"I'm doing weapons training and body flight training for aerial scenes and stunt work for fighting," she said. "My days are so long, and it's very physical. She's a fighter. This girl is going to kick ass. She's on her own mission and she's driven by revenge."

Actress Gemma Arterton plays an MI6 agent in the film and has already shot her love scenes with 007. She said, "I felt like a giggly girl, and I felt so young and inexperienced - but I kissed James Bond!"

The 21-year-old said her Bond role is "not so frolicksome" and her character "fresh and young, not sultry and a femme fatale".

Yippee for the Hippies

The latest installment of the Amazing Race came to an end last night with another pair of hippies winning it all (although this time it was a pair of dating hippies and not two male friends). Just like BJ and Tyler, TK and Rachel were a carefree duo who were fun to watch throughout the race and easily likeable.

What is most interesting however, is that when I blogged about this season of TAR after the first episode, I specifically pointed out the two family teams; one comprised of a father/daughter and the other a grandfather/grandson. At that time, I mentioned how I thought both teams made for good TV, but was worried they would be eliminated quickly just like most of the other teams that are composed of family members. Well, lo and behold, those two teams were the other teams still in it on this final episode. It was remarkable to see the older members on these teams tough it out to the end and in the case of the father/daughter team, see their relationship evolve and improve over the course of the race. It's a shame neither of them ended up winning, but for them to make it as far as they did is a true testament to how good of players they were (although having no strong male duo this season also helped their chances).

Ron and Christina (the father/daughter) actually had a very good chance of winning this. They led through most of the leg, until the final road block. This challenge was utterly confusing to comprehend for the viewer at home (something about picking out certain items that the racers encountered throughout the race) and it proved to be just as difficult for Christina. They probably had about a half hour lead on the other two teams, yet Rachel was able to figure out the puzzle first and from there the hippies had it made in the shade as they cruised to the finish line well ahead of the other teams.

Overall, this was an enjoyable season. There were a lot of interesting teams that were fun to watch. And the one loathesome team (Nate and Jen, who rivaled Jonathan/Victoria and Freddy/Kendra for most vile dating couple ever on TAR) got their proper comeuppance by being eliminated on the leg right before the finale. No word yet on when the next season will be, but if the strike continues, there's no doubt it will happen sooner rather than later. In the meantime, it's a good thing Lost and Survivor are right around the corner to give me at least something new to watch over the next few months.

NMR: The Kingdom

Here was another late summer/early fall entry that got shipped onto DVD before I had a chance to check it out on the big screen. This was one of the many victims of the war film fatigue seen in '07, and sadly this one probably deserved better.

For 3/4ths of the film, this is a strong effort and a somewhat unique look at the complicated relationship between the United States and the Middle East. A terrorist attack takes place in Saudi Arabi and a group of FBI detectives have to deal with a lot of political and bureaucratic red tape while trying to investigate the crime. If it had stuck with that, I would have really enjoyed this film. There's a scene about half way through where the FBI officers (played by Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman) are forced to stay in a gymnasium instead of going out to the crime scene. I would have loved to see more from that and how these proud gov't officials cannot properly do their job.

However, the film kind of goes in the crapper near the end as the reigns are taken off the FBI and it turns into your standard action flick. I've got not problem with seeing good action with plenty of guns and explosions, but it just felt unnecessary here given how the film started out. The end of the film is a complete waste as it tries to provide this jingoistic feel-good moment, while also trying to establish the moral ambiguity of the actions we've just witnessed. The whole film ends up being a case of the director wanting to have his cake and eat it too.

There is likely to be something for everybody here. Some will like the film's political intrigue, while others appreciate the action. But it is unlikely that any viewer will be completely satisfied with the whole product. Since the part that appealed to me took up the majority of the film and because it has strong performances from the primary players, I'll be kind and give this a fairly generous rating. Netflix rating: ****

Down goes Bowser, down goes Bowser

I finally got the 120th star today to finish Super Mario Galaxy. I had actually defeated Bowser a few weeks ago, but still needed to get some additional stars to completely beat the game. Defeating Bowser was a piece of cake in comparison to some of these last few stars. Most of the ones I had difficulty with involved getting 100 purple coins at the various levels. When it was just a glorified Easter egg hunt, I had no problem with them, but when it involved getting them in a specific amount of time or ones that involved complicated sequences of jumps, I struggled with them. But after some persistence I finally conquered the game and it's a huge sigh of relief. I don't completely beat many games, so this is a big deal for me.

Although, I say I've completely beaten it, but in reality I haven't. Turns out when you get all 120 stars, it unlocks Luigi and you can now play all of the levels as him to get another 120 stars. I'll do that eventually, but I don't feel the same urgency as I did with Mario. Overall, this was a really fun game and I highly request anyone who has/gets a Wii to definitely play this game.

NMR: The Ten

This was criminally overlooked by many due to its small release last August. If you're unfamiliar with the premise, it is a film comprised of ten comedic short stories each related to one of the ten commandments. Paul Rudd plays a character who has a story of his own that serves as a bridge between the ten stories.

The film's greatest flaw is its inconsistency. Some of the stories are absolutely brilliant and hilarious (like the one about coveting thy neighbor's goods which involves two neighbors competing with each other to see who can own the most CAT scan machines), others sound good on paper but don't play out as well as they do (like the one about thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife that involves a prison inmate yearning for another inmate's bitch), and some just aren't funny at all (like the one for keeping holy the sabbath day that involves a bunch of guys skipping church so that they can hang out together and be naked).

What makes The Ten a lot of fun is the rich cast full of comedic talent that show up throughout the film. Some of the people include Paul Rudd, Winona Rider, Liev Schreiber, Oliver Platt, Famke Jannsen, Jessica Alba, and several cast members from Reno 911.

If you're a religious person, you'll probably feel dirty for enjoying it. And if you're not a religious person, you won't feel guilty, but you may not appreciate the humor as much. While not a perfect film, there is enough humor to be found to make this a good rental. Netflix rating: ****

Random hilarity

Ahhh, this takes me back to some of the great stories my high school history teacher would tell us....ummmm...I mean, drinking is bad; nobody should ever do it.

NMR: Hot Rod

This one left the budget theaters too quickly in the fall before I could catch it and now that I have seen it on DVD, I can see why it didn't last too long. The premise definitely had potential; young guy (played by SNL's Andy Samberg) has aspirations of being a daredevil, but is terrible at it. Unfortunately, they opted to go with the "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" mentality with its comedy. There are certainly some amusing aspects of the film, but the crap far outweighs the gold.

The plot involved Samberg's character going for one grand stunt in order to raise enough money to pay for an operation his stepfather needs. The setup is pretty familiar and I couldn't tell if they wanted that to be a legitimate plot or if they were trying to parody other "inspirational" film. It doesn't really matter since the film fails to do either scenario justice. There were also too many WTF scenes where the film diverts into these tangents that are just bizarre and unfunny. It seemed as if they were trying to go something along the lines of the street fight scene in Anchorman, but it just didn't work here.

Samberg may have potential to be a big movie star, but all this film did was reiterate that he belongs in sketch comedy for the time being. The film plays like a hodgepodge collection of SNL skits and has about the same success rate when it comes to funny material. It wasn't the worst film I saw from 2007, but I don't intend on watching it again. Netflix rating: **

Hump Day Humor

Everyone needs a good laugh every now and then, right? Well I decided to post a couple of vidoes from two of my favorite comedians right now, Dimitri Martin and Zach Galifianakis. Both are really hilarious and if you're a Netflix subscriber, both have DVDs available for you to rent, which I recommend. Enjoy!

NMR: Super Size Me

This was a completely engrossing (emphasis on gross, at times) look at the obesity problem in America. This is an issue that has been and continues to be ignored by too many people. Director and star Morgan Spurlock sums it up nicely when one of the people he interviews says that it's come to be acceptable to say to a smoker, "Hey put out that cigarette, you're going to kill yourself", so when will it become acceptable to say, "Hey put down that french fry, you're going to kill yourself". As I watched Spurlock put himself through a 30-day McDiet, there were several times where I felt so sad for the guy and just wanted him to stop eating, and this is coming from someone who enjoys McDonalds.

I had some minor complaints with the film, namely with Spurlock's filmmaking skills. First, he needed to narrate more throughout the film. There were a couple of times where he was travelling to cities for untold reasons. There was also scenes that he filmed Jared from Subway giving a speech to kids, but then he doesn't actually speak to Jared himself. And the people he did speak too sounded like some of the most ignorant rubes found in this country. It would have been nice to get some balance from the ordinary people he talked to on the streets.

These are minor issues and shouldn't take away from the film's core message. And I should point out that he does have some nice touches to his filmmaking style. I really liked the pop art paintings involving McDonalds characters that he used to introduce each "chapter" of the film. And anyone who uses "Rock and Roll McDonalds" by Wesley Willis in their film instantly wins my admiration.

I can't guarantee I'll permanently change my diet after seeing this, but everytime I consider heading to the Golden Arches, I'll definitely be thinking of this film. Netflix rating: *****

Claus for concern

Since it's the middle of January, I was really in the mood for a Christmas movie. Actually, I wasn't, but since Fred Claus eluded me before the holiday season, I figured I better check it out now since it's not likely to be around much longer at the budget theater.

Based on the previews, this one certainly had promise. It had a strong cast (perhaps too strong for this film) and a unique premise; examining the left in the shadows brother of Santa Claus. Given these variables, I was surprised to see it only do moderately well at the box office. It certainly wasn't the smash hit that Elf was (a film that I find vastly overrated). With no other major Christmas films released this past season, it puzzled me why this didn't do better; that is until I saw it myself.

The film's primary problem is that it failed to find an appropriate voice. It can't decide if it wants to be a kids movie or adult fare. It also can't determine if it wants to be a true Christmas film or just use that context to tell a more universal story of family and relationships. The end result is a hodgepodge of content that aims to please everyone and ends up pleasing no one.

The main character of Fred Claus (played by Vince Vaughn) has plot points involving his brother Santa, his mother, his on-again off-again girlfriend, and an orphan that he's befriended. Each of them could have worked on their own as the main plot of the movie, but since they're all included, none of them get the proper time devoted to them. On top of all that, you also have a subplot involving an elf pining over one of Santa's female assistants and Kevin Spacey as an efficiency expert trying to shut down Santa's workshop. Needless to say, the writer of the film needed to ask Santa for some Ritalin this Christmas.

Vince Vaughn is his typical self in this movie providing plenty of rapid-fire lines full of hilarity. Despite being the guy I've come to enjoy in so many other films, this one doesn't hold up. I think Vaughn is at his best when he has someone of equal comedic talent to work off of him. In his better films, he has guys like Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller to play off of. No offense to Paul Giammati, who is a fine actor, but he can't match wits with Vaughn like those other guys do. The same held true for Vaughn in the awful, The Break-Up, where the best he had to work with was Jennifer Aniston.

As previously mentioned, this film has a pretty strong cast including Kevin Spacey, Paul Giammati, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Elizabeth Banks, Ludacris, and John Michael Higgins. Each do an admirable job with the role they have, but given the film's content, I was wondering what many of them were doing here. They must have wanted an extra paycheck in case this strike goes on for too long, because most of them should be in better pictures than this.

The film certainly has its moments. As mentioned before, Vaughn is always good for a handful of laughs based on his delivery alone. I also enjoyed the subplot involving John Michael Higgins playing the head elf (which involved some weird visual effects) pining over Elizabeth Banks' charcter. It's never explained why a normal human being is working at the North Pole with Santa and his elves, but since in meant seeing her in skimpy santa outfits, I didn't really care. There is also a funny scene where Fred attends a Siblings Anonymous meeting that involves some good cameos of famous "in the shadows" brothers.

If this had been a non-holiday film, I may have reviewed it a bit more harshly. But since it's a Christmas movie, I see it as being tolerable enough to be watched/enjoyed once a year. This one will not go down in the annals of classic Christmas films, but when it comes time for it to show up on some basic cable channel, I'll probably stop and watch it again. For those reading this, there's probably no need to seek this out at the moment. If you're a sucker for holiday movies however, you may want to rent it come next Christmas. It's the film equivalent of receiving a sweater; It's not as bad as a lump of coal, but certainly not the most appealing gift you could get either. Grade: C+

NMR: Fight Club

I've been a big fan of David Fincher's work, most recently with his superb Zodiac (which now has a 2 disc deluxe edition available on DVD). So I was surprised to realize that one of his earlier films, Fight Club had eluded me until now. This movie starts off real strong. Edward Norton's insomniac narrator quickly draws you in as you try to figure out what this guy's deal is. Early on, there are also some neat meta-references to the filmmaking industry (like including subliminal images and then talking about it as well). It was these small touches which really gave the film character and made it real creative.

Sadly, the inspiration found in the first third of the film vanishes for the sake of gratuitous violence in the later parts of the film. As the fight clubs grow in number and popularity, the film begins to lose focus and really drags on for me. I was already tapping out before the climax of the film.

Now I will confess that I already knew the film's major twist before watching it. However, being spoiled about it did not really affect my opinion of the film. By the time the twist is revealed I wouldn't have cared because I was too worn out by all the film's gruesome scenes.

I've read a handful of reviews and heard a few different interpretations on what the film's message is. I'm not sure if any of them are right, because I feel the film fails to do a good job of making any coherent message. For this film, Fincher got too caught up in all the blood and gore to make sure the film's narrative was apparent. I'm glad to see that he's grown as a director and scaled back on the gross-out factor. For it's brief moments of inspiration, I'll give it a mild recommendation, but really this one went downhill fast. Netflix rating: ***

Some Cleveland sports developments

Today marked the end of an era as the Indians will no longer be playing in Jacobs Field. Instead, they'll now be playing in the newly named, Progressive Field.


I can't tell you how much it pains me to see another sports venue get stamped with a corporate name. It's just so wrong on so many levels. That building will always be "The Jake" to me. But as much as I hate the change, as long as the Tribe plays well, it won't matter too much what name is on the outside of the stadium.


In other news, the Browns fired their defensive coordinator today. It may seem odd that a 10 win team would fire a coordinator, but considering that the Browns were still one of the worst teams defensively, I say it's justified. Let's hope that they bring someone decent in who can maximize the talent that we have. We can also hope that with all that cap money that the Browns have that we can maybe get someone to help out that defense here in the offseason.

NMR: No End in Sight

As I was waiting for my next disc to arrive, I watched this through Netflix's online service. I had heard high praise for this documentary after it had been released this past summer, so I thought, given that we're in the thick of primary season, I would check this out. If you're not familiar with the film, it goes into great detail the reasons why the Iraq war has become such a disaster.

The arguments made by the filmmaker are very compelling. Watching it, you feel as if you're listening to a prosecutor make his arguments in a case against the Bush administration. This strategy, while sound and at times sobering, did not make for the most watchable film. As I heard how things unfolded, I shook my head in disbelief, yet after a while I wanted there to be something more. I'm not saying that I was looking for the Michael Moore approach of trying to infuse pop culture references into a serious subject, but there needed to be something here to make the film more engrossing. Listening to how those in charge made one mistake after another wears the audience down.

By the end of the film you want some kind of closure to all of this, but it never comes. Perhaps I should have expected it with a title like No End in Sight. However, after finished watching it, I felt like saying, 'so what?'. Nothing about the film is very revealing, if you follow the news on a daily basis. All this does is simplify the past four years into a 90 minute capsule. If you like hearing what idiots the Bush admistration are, go ahead and check this out, otherwise, just go read a newspaper. Netflix rating: ***

Update on 'Bond 22'

This news is a few days old, but I still wanted to post it anyways. As filming begins for the new James Bond film (still doesn't have a title yet), we're getting word of some of the new cast members. Returning from Casino Royale is of course, Daniel Craig and Judy Dench as M. Also the Felix Lighter and Mathis characters will be back as well played by the same actors.

In addition to the returning members, we have two Bond girls, played by relative unknowns:

Gemma Arterton


Olga Kurylenko



The primary villain for the film has also been cast and will be played by Mathieu Amalric, who is currently in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and was also in Munich.



As soon as the title for this film is released, I'll be sure to post it up on here.

Strike Watch

Here are some recent news and notes about television that are strike related.

- Of course, the biggest news is that the Golden Globes show has been cancelled. As of right now, here's what NBC plans to air. At 8pm, a news special highlighting the performances of the nominees. At 9pm, a special press conference will air where the winners of the Golden Globes will be announced. At 10pm, an Access Hollywood like show covering all of the celebrities at parties. Apparently, the WGA won't let them go to the actual awards show, but has no problem with them still having parties.

On one hand, this idea is somewhat appealing because I get tired of the bloated awards shows filled with humorless banter, frivolous video packages, tiresome speeches, and annoying musical numbers. However, the actions of the WGA to prove a point in this strike has become equally annoying. It's clear that whenever this gets resolved no one is going to come out of it a winner, so lets just end this thing right now.

- In order to fill some airtime, CBS has officially announced that it will air the first season of Showtime's critically acclaimed series, Dexter. Episodes will air on Sundays starting on Feb. 17. No word on how long the episodes will be given how much CBS will likely have to edit out to make the show appropriate for network television. Looks like I won't have to Netflix that one after all.

- Starting Feb. 28, Reaper will be moving to Thursday nights at 9. That's bad news for fans of this show and Lost since they'll now be airing head to head. However, Reaper doesn't have too many new episodes left, so it shouldn't be a problem for very long.

- On Jan. 24, which is a Thursday, NBC will air two new episodes of Chuck. One will air at 8pm and the other at 10pm. With so few precious episodes of our shows left, I have no idea why they are burning two of them on one night, but that's the TV biz for ya.

- And if you're interested to see how the late night talk show hosts are coping with being back without their writers, check out this hilarious video from a recent Conan O'Brien:

Netflix Mini Review (NMR): Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Thanks to my brother, I got a Netflix subscription for Christmas. My queue is all loaded up and I'll be watching a lot of movies over the next few months that for one reason or another slipped through the cracks when they first came out. These will be shorter reviews than I typically do for first run movies because if they were as long as those, I'd never get any work done. So without further ado is the first review for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

I had a real difficult time getting into this one. Partially because I was tired and partially because the narrative is really hard to follow. Now I'm not some dim-bulb who finds Back to the Future complex, so for me to say the movie was hard to follow, you know that this is one involved movie. However, I'm glad I stuck with it, because once you really grasp what's going on, it is a fun ride. Seeing Jim Carrey at war with his own mind is fun and really unique. For most of the film, I had no clue how this was going to get resolved. The film is also filled with a great supporting cast including Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, and Mark Ruffalo (who I usually don't care for). I must say, though, that I thought the best performance came from Kate Winslet. I haven't seen too much else from her to compare this to her other films, but I thought she was superb in this. I found her completely engaging and understood why Jim Carrey's character would be attracted to her, yet also find having a relationship with her difficult.

I will say that I was slightly disappointed in the ending though. Not so much for the events that took place, but for what I ulimately got out of the film. For as creative as this film is, it ends up being another film about a couple who needs to communicate better to realize they belong together. They are not breaking any grounds with that idea. I would have liked if they had more to say about the power of the mind or perhaps even about fate. These ideas certainly are touched upon in the film, but aren't fully realized. Maybe with successive viewings I could find those ideas to be stronger, but for now I found them to be lacking. Whether I'm looking for deeper meaning or not, I think this one deserves repeated viewing just so I can go back and understand better what was going on throughout the movie. Unfortunately, because I want to maximize the number of movies I see through Netflix, a repeat viewing of this will have to wait for another day. Netflix rating: ****

Gladiators ready? Nope!

So I caught the premiere of the new American Gladiators and was less than encouraged by what I saw. Clearly, the powers that be brought the show back figuring that there were plenty of fans of the original version, yet they abandonded many of the show's aspects that made it enjoyable. First of all, they got rid of the memorable theme music. Bad move right away. They've also virtually done away with the commentating during the events. Hosts Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali only do cheesy pre and postmatch interviews. There is some lame voice over guy who speaks during the action, but his lines consist of bad puns rather than any sort of insightful commentary. Finally, I know it was unlikely but I missed referee Larry Thompson. Interestingly enough, however, I believe the new referee is the guy who played the referee in the Dodgeball movie.

There are also several other new additions which are unwelcome. Most glaring is the excessive time spent on the contestants' personal lives. I don't care if they're a single mother of three or a down on his luck firefighter. The only thing that matters is how well they do in the competition. Their efforts in the games should tell a sufficient story about them. Another annoying thing is the egregious use of instant replay. I don't need to see someone fall from the joust podium five different ways. Between these and the endless amount of pointless interviews, the show feels very bloated. They could easily cut away most of that and have time for another event (they only participate in four before the eliminator right now).

The new version did have a few positives however. The new crop of gladiators seems decent and I like how they've done more to make them distinctive (ie a gladiator with frizzy hair and a beard called Wolf) rather than just "Meathead Gladiator #1" or "Lesbian Gladiator #2). They also added a few new games which all seem decent and sufficiently difficult. I even enjoyed how they added songs in defeat like "Another One Bites the Dust", although I think it should be reserved only for when the gladiator is defeated. Finally, I'll say that the eliminator is badass. It's much longer than any previous version and is a true test of endurance. My only complaint about it is that it is so long and difficult that the time penalty given to the second place contestant heading into the eliminator is rendered moot. As seen a couple of times last night, even a big head start, like 15 seconds, can easily be made up. With this being the case, it makes the contests before the eliminator somewhat pointless.

Given that this was the initial episode, hopefully some changes can and will be made. However, based on what I saw last night, this new version will be on a short leash with me. If no significant changes are made, I may just go back to the 90s version on ESPN Classic.

"Favorites" for Survivor:Micronesia announced

An interesting group of 10 alumni have been chosen for the upcoming fans vs. favorites edition of Survivor. Here they are and the original season they were on:

Johnny Fairplay - Pearl Islands
Eliza Orlins - Vanuatu
Ami Cusack - Vanuatu
Cirie Fields - Panama
Ozzy Lusth - Cook Islands
Jonathan Penner - Cook Islands
Parvati Shallow - Cook Islands
Yau Man Chan - Fiji
Amanda Kimmel - China
James Clement - China

I'm not sure if these are the most worthy people to be chosen or ones that the 'fans' will take pleasure in defeating. However, there are some potentially good redemption stories amongst these all stars. Both James and Amanda could have easily won this past season, but blew it; so it will be interesting to see if they correct their mistakes this time. Yau Man's trusting nature screwed him in Fiji, so we'll see how he changes his game. Ozzy is likely to remain a strong challenge player, but will that be enough to have him win. And then there's wild card Fairplay. Certainly everyone will be keen to his cheating ways, so it should be interesting to see how he'll try to pull the wool over their eyes again. I certainly would have loved to see people from the Palau (like Tom or Ian) or Guatemala (like Judd, Rafe or Danni) rather than the annoying women of Vanuatu, but I know that at least in one case (Tom from Palau) that they were invited, but turned it down.

Despite what we may think of the choices, I have no doubt it'll still be a very entertaining season. We can all watch it unfold when Survivor returns on Feb. 7.