So it's premiere week for television where all of our favorite TV shows return and networks try out their new programs. While I'm not watching every new show, there are a few that have caught my eye. With each review, I'll let you know whether or not the show is good enough to gain a 'season pass' on my DVR or not.
New Girl: This actually premieres tonight, but a free preview of the pilot has been available on Time Warner On Demand for a couple of weeks now. This stars quirky Zooey Deschanel as a girl who gets dumped and ends up moving in with three young guys. Most will make the argument that your enjoyment of the show rests on how appealing you find Deschanel. For me, she runs hot and cold. At times, she can be charming and sexy in that nerdy kind of way, but at other times I feel she tries too hard to be zany and it becomes annoying. My bigger issue with the show was the three guys who had zero charisma or appeal. They were combined a big bunch of nothing and I had no interest in seeing her interact with them on a continued basis. I also feel as if the show would have been better served with a small town location rather than the big city where everyone including the extras in the background come off as pompus douchebags. Zooey may have star power but this show does her no favors. Verdict: Deleted from DVR
Up All Night: The pilot for this sitcom aired last Wednesday and has been replayed throughout the week before it settles in to its regular Wednesdays at 8:00pm timeslot on NBC. It stars Will Arnett and Christina Applegate as a couple who have a baby later in their life. The show centers around the upheaval the new addition causes them and their way of life. Maya Rudolph is also part of the cast as an Oprah-like talk show host that Applegate's character works for. The first episode had some legitimate laughs thanks in large part to the three funny actors. My biggest concern is relatability. Being a single guy I question whether I'll enjoy baby and parenting humor on a regular basis. There is definitely a large part of the country that should really enjoy this however. I'm not totally sold, but I'll stick with it for the time being. Verdict: On a week-to-week basis
2 Broke Girls: They are not really breaking new ground either comedically or stylistically with this sitcom about 2 Brooklyn waitresses trying to make ends meat. That said, the two leads, Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs, have already shown that they have great rapport. Thus far, they've been able to raise up the quality of the writing through their performances. I'm not sure if this show has legs from a storytelling perspective, but being nestled between How I Met Your Mother and Two and Half Men on CBS' Monday lineup ensures that it'll be given plenty of time to find its voice. Verdict: Receives a season pass
The Playboy Club: It would seem as if all the kerfuffle that religious groups made about this show were either very successful or completely pointless as the first episode bombed in the ratings last night. I gave it a look to see if it was scandalous and/or appealing and it turned out to be neither. The Playboy Club setting turns out to be mere window dressing for a bloated, uninteresting mob story. It was clear that the show was made in an attempt to sponge off the success of another 60's period drama, Mad Men. However, that aspect failed to hook me either. The male chauvinism that was on display was more eye-rolling that poignant and their attempts at addressing other topical issues of the era (racism, closeted homosexuality) fell flat. There was absolutely nothing here that gave me a reason to stay, so if it ends up being the first show cancelled, you won't see me shed a tear. Verdict: Deleted from DVR
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Zoo crew
I've never been a huge Cameron Crowe fan and the premise of his new film, We Bought a Zoo, seemed a bit shaky, despite being based on a true story. But watching this trailer I was sold. This seems like it has the right combination of talented actors and animals to make this a solid story worth seeing.
NMR: Everything Must Go
This is a somewhat historic review as it is the last movie that I'll watch from Netflix on DVD. Like many Americans, I was not pleased with Netflix's decision to raise their subscription prices. It's a move that clearly seems designed to phase out the hard disc side of their business. For now, I'll remain a streaming customer, but since most of the movies available on their streaming service are older films, I'm not sure how many of them I'll actually bother reviewing on the blog. If they don't improve and update their library, Netflix could be losing me as a customer altogether. So from now on, all of the new movies I rent will come from Redbox. As a result, I'll begin using the code RBR (Redbox Review) in the titles of these reviews.
As for this movie, if you're not familiar with the title, this was a small dramedy that was screened in theaters last May starring Will Ferrell as a man who's losing everything in his life. On the same day he gets fired, he comes home only to learn that his wife has left him and placed all of his possessions on their front lawn. Frustrated and mad, Ferrell decides to simply live on his lawn as a form of protest against everything that's happened to him. Of course, in doing so we see him engage and talk with people who show him a reason to go on and have a happy life. Ferrell, a man mostly known for his comedic roles, does a nice job here pulling off the drama, although I wasn't as sold that he was as big of an alcoholic as the movie claimed he was. I also liked the smaller performances from people like Rebecca Hall, Michael Pena, and Stephen Root. Overall though, I just felt as if there was nothing here. There wasn't a deep enough exploration into either any of the characters nor the story hook about living on the lawn. It's as if we see the whole story from some unseen neighbor living on the street who's watching these events unfold from afar. If you like smaller independent films, you may find this appealing, but I would imagine those who are fans of Ferrell's films like Anchorman or Talladega Nights will likely be bored by this. Rating: *** 1/2
As for this movie, if you're not familiar with the title, this was a small dramedy that was screened in theaters last May starring Will Ferrell as a man who's losing everything in his life. On the same day he gets fired, he comes home only to learn that his wife has left him and placed all of his possessions on their front lawn. Frustrated and mad, Ferrell decides to simply live on his lawn as a form of protest against everything that's happened to him. Of course, in doing so we see him engage and talk with people who show him a reason to go on and have a happy life. Ferrell, a man mostly known for his comedic roles, does a nice job here pulling off the drama, although I wasn't as sold that he was as big of an alcoholic as the movie claimed he was. I also liked the smaller performances from people like Rebecca Hall, Michael Pena, and Stephen Root. Overall though, I just felt as if there was nothing here. There wasn't a deep enough exploration into either any of the characters nor the story hook about living on the lawn. It's as if we see the whole story from some unseen neighbor living on the street who's watching these events unfold from afar. If you like smaller independent films, you may find this appealing, but I would imagine those who are fans of Ferrell's films like Anchorman or Talladega Nights will likely be bored by this. Rating: *** 1/2
Monday, September 12, 2011
Bird-brained
There's no denying the comedic talent of Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, but watching this trailer for The Big Year, I was a bit disappointed that the focus of the film seems to be more on their characters personal crises rather than on the birdwatching expedition, which seemed to be rife for comedy of the mundane. Take a look and see if you agree.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Going viral
Now that I've just gotten done washing my hands for the 50th time, I think I'm ready to type up my review of Steven Soderbergh's latest film, Contagion. This is a smart and impressively realistic thriller exploring the possibility of a deadly virus spreading across the globe.
The film begins its focus on Beth Emhoff (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) , a businesswomen on her way home from a trip to Hong Kong, who quickly becomes sick and just as suddenly dies. Doctors, as well as her husband (the always terrific Matt Damon) are at a loss as to how this could have happened. Soon we see other people dying after exhibiting the same conditions and before you know it we have an epidemic on our hands.
From here, the film splinters off into several different storylines connected to this disease. We see people from the Center for Disease Control trying to locate where this virus began in order to identify a cure for it, as well as stopping it from spreading further. We meet a blogger (Jude Law) who initially attempts to break the story on the epidemic and then turns his attention towards attacking the goverment and promoting his own homeopathic remedy to the disease. We also spend more time with Damon as he tirelessly works at making sure his daughter does not get sick (Damon himself is immune to virus).
At times, the multiple storyline approach can be frustrating because some of the stories don't receive the attention they could have had for further development, while other stories could have been eliminated and it wouldn't have dramatically hurt the film. I feel like if there could have been a way to combine Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard's storylines together, that may have been more effective. And yet, I think it was a smart approach to deal with this story in this manner. Like the virus itself the storytelling here continues to spread and grow sometimes in an uncontrollable way. It gives the film an added feeling of chaos that would surely ensue if such an event actually occurred.
One of the best things about this film is Soderbergh's attention to detail. The way he frames his shots makes you acutely aware of the surroundings without being overt about it. Suddenly you're picking up on all of the different ways that you could easily contract germs. Watching the film will cause you to never look at a bowl of bar peanuts or a door knob in the same way. While awareness is an important element of the film, I don't feel like it's intent is to make us all into neurotic germophobes. The film is just as much about people as it is about the virus. We are in a global society today - something that we often take for granted. As a result we are often incorrectly take an microscopic look at things. Having a better understanding of the bigger picture in life can help all of us work better together.
I know there will be some that will be turned off by the subject matter and will refuse to see this film, but I think they are doing themselves a great disservice. This is an excellent film that deftly juggles a lot of characters (played by an all-star cast) and appropriately addresses a touchy subject matter. Credit also to the Soderbergh for being able to find moments of levity to sprinkle throughout the film. Their presence prevent you from being a frazzled bunch of nerves by the end of the film while never causing the subject matter to be taken lightly. I wouldn't blame you for skipping this film in theaters, which are a germ breeding ground, but at some point do yourself a favor and check this out. I guarantee you'll find it infectious. Grade: A-
The film begins its focus on Beth Emhoff (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) , a businesswomen on her way home from a trip to Hong Kong, who quickly becomes sick and just as suddenly dies. Doctors, as well as her husband (the always terrific Matt Damon) are at a loss as to how this could have happened. Soon we see other people dying after exhibiting the same conditions and before you know it we have an epidemic on our hands.
From here, the film splinters off into several different storylines connected to this disease. We see people from the Center for Disease Control trying to locate where this virus began in order to identify a cure for it, as well as stopping it from spreading further. We meet a blogger (Jude Law) who initially attempts to break the story on the epidemic and then turns his attention towards attacking the goverment and promoting his own homeopathic remedy to the disease. We also spend more time with Damon as he tirelessly works at making sure his daughter does not get sick (Damon himself is immune to virus).
At times, the multiple storyline approach can be frustrating because some of the stories don't receive the attention they could have had for further development, while other stories could have been eliminated and it wouldn't have dramatically hurt the film. I feel like if there could have been a way to combine Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard's storylines together, that may have been more effective. And yet, I think it was a smart approach to deal with this story in this manner. Like the virus itself the storytelling here continues to spread and grow sometimes in an uncontrollable way. It gives the film an added feeling of chaos that would surely ensue if such an event actually occurred.
One of the best things about this film is Soderbergh's attention to detail. The way he frames his shots makes you acutely aware of the surroundings without being overt about it. Suddenly you're picking up on all of the different ways that you could easily contract germs. Watching the film will cause you to never look at a bowl of bar peanuts or a door knob in the same way. While awareness is an important element of the film, I don't feel like it's intent is to make us all into neurotic germophobes. The film is just as much about people as it is about the virus. We are in a global society today - something that we often take for granted. As a result we are often incorrectly take an microscopic look at things. Having a better understanding of the bigger picture in life can help all of us work better together.
I know there will be some that will be turned off by the subject matter and will refuse to see this film, but I think they are doing themselves a great disservice. This is an excellent film that deftly juggles a lot of characters (played by an all-star cast) and appropriately addresses a touchy subject matter. Credit also to the Soderbergh for being able to find moments of levity to sprinkle throughout the film. Their presence prevent you from being a frazzled bunch of nerves by the end of the film while never causing the subject matter to be taken lightly. I wouldn't blame you for skipping this film in theaters, which are a germ breeding ground, but at some point do yourself a favor and check this out. I guarantee you'll find it infectious. Grade: A-
Never forget - 9/11
So with everyone commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, I thought I would share some of my own personal memories and reflections on the day as well.
Like virtually everyone else, I remember vividly where I was when all of this went down. I had gone to my first class hearing about the first plane hitting. At the time I thought it was a random accident. That morning class happened to be a religion class and we had said a prayer for those people. I came home from that class only to learn that something much bigger was happening. The rest of the day then became a blur of disbelief, sadness, confusion, and fear. Living in my fraternity house at that time, I had friends and roommates who lived in areas directly affected by these attacks. To say there was a wide range of emotions displayed by these people is an understatement. I did my best, in whatever small way possible to help everyone come together united in our grief, yet also our patriotism to help get through this terrible tragedy.
Now 10 years later, I'm struck by so many things that have resulted because of those attacks. It truly changed our country and the world at large forever. While things like multiple endless wars are difficult to endure, there have been small ways where a horrific incident like this has caused people to change for the better. At church today, I was moved by the message of forgiveness that was at the center of the sermon. Of course none of us will ever forget what happened on this day back in 2001, but for us to actually move on and improve things in this world, we have to find ways to forgive others. Harboring ill will only leads to more hate - something we don't need. Let's hope we can continue to unite in ways that strengthen our communities, our country and the world as a whole. That's the only way we'll ever truly win a war against terrorism.
Lastly, I'll post this video from the first live entertainment gathering that occurred after the attacks. It's the opening moments of WWE Smackdown. Specifically it's then ring announcer Lillian Garcia's rendition of the National Anthem. Being the terrific singer that she is, she always does a wonderful version of this song, but on that particularly night her performance was particularly stirring, causing anyone to get goosebumps listening to it.
Like virtually everyone else, I remember vividly where I was when all of this went down. I had gone to my first class hearing about the first plane hitting. At the time I thought it was a random accident. That morning class happened to be a religion class and we had said a prayer for those people. I came home from that class only to learn that something much bigger was happening. The rest of the day then became a blur of disbelief, sadness, confusion, and fear. Living in my fraternity house at that time, I had friends and roommates who lived in areas directly affected by these attacks. To say there was a wide range of emotions displayed by these people is an understatement. I did my best, in whatever small way possible to help everyone come together united in our grief, yet also our patriotism to help get through this terrible tragedy.
Now 10 years later, I'm struck by so many things that have resulted because of those attacks. It truly changed our country and the world at large forever. While things like multiple endless wars are difficult to endure, there have been small ways where a horrific incident like this has caused people to change for the better. At church today, I was moved by the message of forgiveness that was at the center of the sermon. Of course none of us will ever forget what happened on this day back in 2001, but for us to actually move on and improve things in this world, we have to find ways to forgive others. Harboring ill will only leads to more hate - something we don't need. Let's hope we can continue to unite in ways that strengthen our communities, our country and the world as a whole. That's the only way we'll ever truly win a war against terrorism.
Lastly, I'll post this video from the first live entertainment gathering that occurred after the attacks. It's the opening moments of WWE Smackdown. Specifically it's then ring announcer Lillian Garcia's rendition of the National Anthem. Being the terrific singer that she is, she always does a wonderful version of this song, but on that particularly night her performance was particularly stirring, causing anyone to get goosebumps listening to it.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Pigskin preview
While the Indians continue to mire in mediocrity, now is as good of time as any to begin looking toward football season and what we can expect from the Cleveland Browns this year. Here's SI.com's Peter King's take on how Colt McCoy and co. will fare.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Ape Fear
As usual, I'm behind the times, but better late than never they say. I had an opportunity to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes a couple weeks ago - a film which has surprised a number of people as it relates to its performance at the box office. Having seen the movie now, I can't say that it's performance has shocked me, but if you would have asked me at the beginning of the summer if I had planned on seeing this, I would have said no.
A large part of what drew me in to see this latest entry in the sci-fi franchise is the visual effects that made these monkeys possible. Using the same people who worked on Avatar, as well as the movements of the underrated Andy Serkis, these creatures come to life on the big screen in impressive fashion. While the focus is on Cesar, the ape who initiates the revolt against the humans, there are several simian characters who get significant screen time. Each of these monkeys is distinct enough for you to know who they are (something that hasn't been said of the Transformers) and the visual effects crew does a nice job of allowing these creatures to be able to express certain emotions without it coming off as being fake or unrealistic.
The other interesting thing about the film that is partially credited to the visual effects team is the way they are able to put these apes into several story archetypes and you instantly recognize what the film is going for. Packed within this film you get a prison story, a family drama, comedy, romance and everything else. Despite being primative beings, I instantly related to what they were experiencing. In many ways, you come to root for the apes success as you watch the film.
This is not to say that there isn't some good acting from the human cast as well. The director smartly brought in a number of terrific character actors who nicely fill out the film. James Franco is the lead as a scientist who is testing the apes in order to develop a new drug aimed at curing Alzheimers. Of course, he has a personal investment in his work since his father (played in an understated manner by John Lithgow) is currently suffering from the disease. Some of the actors in the cast include Freida Pinto, who plays Franco's girlfriend, Tyler Labine as Franco's lab assistant, and the always terrific Brian Cox has a few scenes as the director of an ape sanctuary. I should also mention Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, is more evil here playing a cruel worker at the ape sanctuary than he was in any of the Potter films.
Overall, this is a really solid film, but yet as I watched it there were several things that bothered me. None of them were so severe that made me dislike the film, but so many of them were things that if fixed could have turned this film into something special. One of these things was the attention to detail, or lack there of, when it came to signifying a change over time. The entire film takes place over at least an 8 year span, yet none of the human characters appear different. There is no change of haircuts, wardrobe, or signs of aging in any way. That lack of change frequently takes you out of the moment and causes you to scratch your head in confusion. There are also some pretty blatant moments of editing where a scene would suggest something will happen immediately next, yet that scene never comes. I'm not sure if these quibbles will become more apparent or less apparent upon repeat viewings, but I think they still merit mentioning here. Watching the film, I got the sense that they had shot their budget entirely on making the apes look great, so they had nothing left to put into the rest of the production. Since it appears, based on the film's conclusion and success at the box office, that there will be another Apes film made at some point, I hope they take notice of these small flaws and correct them.
I hate to be so nitpicky about a film that deals with apes taking over the world, but I can't help but dwelling on them. If Joe Moviegoer can pick up on those things, why couldn't anyone who worked on the film? But while they're important to point out, I don't want to dwell on them. I am recommending this film as it serves as some excellent blockbuster entertainment as the summer comes to a close. Even if you've never seen any of the previous Apes films before or feel like you wouldn't enjoy this, I would suggest you reconsider. This is a film that is never slow and offers a number of nice moments. And when it comes to those nitpicks I mentioned, just act like the monkeys in the 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' statue. Grade: B+
Tree-mendous
From Funny or Die comes a hilarious live action version of Captain Planet, starring Don Cheadle as the eco-avenger. Warning some of the language in it is NSFW.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tribe Watch (Week 21)
Record: 65-65
Standing: 3rd in AL Central
It was a wretched week performance wise and I really don't feel like talking about it. To put things in perspective to show you how the team has performed lately, the last time the Indians won three games in a row was July 2nd. Technically this should be an easy week playing the A's for four games at home and then a weekend set in Kansas City, but I just don't know what to think about this team anymore. It was nice to see them bring in Thome, who had a nice homecoming, but I'm not sure if his presence is even an bandaid at this point. At this point, we practically have a more impressive lineup on the DL than we do starting each game. It'd be nice if this team looked like they were trying, but it seems like they're closer to packing it in for the year than they are making a playoff push. They've made it tough for me recently, but still I must forge ahead and say Go Tribe!
Standing: 3rd in AL Central
It was a wretched week performance wise and I really don't feel like talking about it. To put things in perspective to show you how the team has performed lately, the last time the Indians won three games in a row was July 2nd. Technically this should be an easy week playing the A's for four games at home and then a weekend set in Kansas City, but I just don't know what to think about this team anymore. It was nice to see them bring in Thome, who had a nice homecoming, but I'm not sure if his presence is even an bandaid at this point. At this point, we practically have a more impressive lineup on the DL than we do starting each game. It'd be nice if this team looked like they were trying, but it seems like they're closer to packing it in for the year than they are making a playoff push. They've made it tough for me recently, but still I must forge ahead and say Go Tribe!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
NMR: Take Me Home Tonight
This movie feels very dated and it has nothing to do with the fact that it's set in the 1980s (although the fact that it sat on the shelf for quite a while before actually getting released into theaters last spring may have something to do with it). The story centers around a Labor Day party set during the 80s. The focal point is on Matt Franklin (Topher Grace), an MIT grad who is now wasting his life as a clerk at Suncoast Video. He's hoping this party gives him the opportunity to meet up with the girl he had a huge crush on in high school, Tori Frederking (played by Theresa Palmer). A lot of the story and jokes feel as if this was a poor Superbad sequel. You've got sexual frustration, a big party, and a fat, loudmouth sidekick who thinks he's funnier than he really is (the unfunny Dan Fogler). There are some nice momemts sprinkled in like the scenes involving real life couple Anna Faris and Chris Pratt (Andy from Parks and Recreation). I also liked the chemistry between Grace and Palmer, even if their storyline is overly cliched. Overall though, it just felt like this film had borrowed ideas and themes from other better films and did nothing but poorly emulate them. Everyone in the cast (with the exception of Fogler) deserves better than what they got in this film. Rating: ** 1/2
Fall Movie Preview (December)
CARNAGE (December 16)
Plot: Set in contemporary Brooklyn, New York, "Carnage" centers on two pairs of parents one of whose child has hurt the other at a public park, who meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner. However, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening devolving into chaos.
Quick thoughts: The story may be simplistic, but that's because of it being adapted from the stage. What it lacks it setting, is more than made up for in the acting talent. With four supremely talented actors working off of each other in a very dark comedic story, I'll be very interested to see if director Roman Polanski can successfully turn this into an engaging film.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (December 16)
Plot: When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder, a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction, all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.
Quick thoughts: I absolutely loved the first venture into this franchise by Downey and co. so I am immediately on board for a second go-round. The fact that this one will feature Holmes' greatest nemesis, Professor Moriarty, only sweeteneds the deals. Let's just hope than unlike some of this year's sequels, this one is able to still feel fresh on its own.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (December 21)
Plot: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is the first film in Columbia Pictures' three-picture adaptation of Stieg Larsson's literary blockbuster "The Millennium Trilogy." Directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the film is based on the first novel in the trilogy, which altogether have sold 50 million copies in 46 countries and become a worldwide phenomenon. The screenplay is by Steven Zaillian.
Quick thoughts: I'll be honest - I haven't read these books and I really don't know too much about what the plot involves. Having said that, the fact that it stars Daniel Craig and is being directed by David Fincher, who has made some of my favorite films in the past five years is enough of an incentive for me to at least give this (anticipated) trilogy a look.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL (December 21)
Plot: The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Quick thoughts: Unlike so many people, I really enjoyed the third entry in this franchise. And while J.J. Abrams isn't directing this one, he's still worked on it and left the director's chair in good hands with Brad Bird (who directed The Incredibles). In amongst all of the films vying for an Oscar, this will serve as a nice entertainment diversion come the Christmas season.
WE BOUGHT A ZOO (December 23)
Plot: "We Bought a Zoo," a memoir by Benjamin Mee, tells the true account of how the author and his family used their life savings to buy a dilapidated zoo, replete with 200 exotic animals facing destruction, in the English countryside. Mee, along with his children, had to balance caring for his wife, who was dying of brain cancer, with dealing with escaped tigers, raising endangered animals, working with an eclectic skeleton crew and readying the zoo for a reopening.
Quick thoughts: In the past, I've never really been a big fan of director Cameron Crowe's work, but they've been undeniably successful, especially come awards season. This one intrigues me mainly because of a solid cast (Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson) and a story that is true and hasn't been done a thousand times before. I have a feeling this will be infinitely better than The Zookeeper.
OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST:
The Sitter (December 9)
Young Adult (December 9)
The Iron Lady (December 16)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (December 23)
Plot: Set in contemporary Brooklyn, New York, "Carnage" centers on two pairs of parents one of whose child has hurt the other at a public park, who meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner. However, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening devolving into chaos.
Quick thoughts: The story may be simplistic, but that's because of it being adapted from the stage. What it lacks it setting, is more than made up for in the acting talent. With four supremely talented actors working off of each other in a very dark comedic story, I'll be very interested to see if director Roman Polanski can successfully turn this into an engaging film.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (December 16)
Plot: When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder, a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction, all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.
Quick thoughts: I absolutely loved the first venture into this franchise by Downey and co. so I am immediately on board for a second go-round. The fact that this one will feature Holmes' greatest nemesis, Professor Moriarty, only sweeteneds the deals. Let's just hope than unlike some of this year's sequels, this one is able to still feel fresh on its own.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (December 21)
Plot: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is the first film in Columbia Pictures' three-picture adaptation of Stieg Larsson's literary blockbuster "The Millennium Trilogy." Directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the film is based on the first novel in the trilogy, which altogether have sold 50 million copies in 46 countries and become a worldwide phenomenon. The screenplay is by Steven Zaillian.
Quick thoughts: I'll be honest - I haven't read these books and I really don't know too much about what the plot involves. Having said that, the fact that it stars Daniel Craig and is being directed by David Fincher, who has made some of my favorite films in the past five years is enough of an incentive for me to at least give this (anticipated) trilogy a look.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL (December 21)
Plot: The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Quick thoughts: Unlike so many people, I really enjoyed the third entry in this franchise. And while J.J. Abrams isn't directing this one, he's still worked on it and left the director's chair in good hands with Brad Bird (who directed The Incredibles). In amongst all of the films vying for an Oscar, this will serve as a nice entertainment diversion come the Christmas season.
WE BOUGHT A ZOO (December 23)
Plot: "We Bought a Zoo," a memoir by Benjamin Mee, tells the true account of how the author and his family used their life savings to buy a dilapidated zoo, replete with 200 exotic animals facing destruction, in the English countryside. Mee, along with his children, had to balance caring for his wife, who was dying of brain cancer, with dealing with escaped tigers, raising endangered animals, working with an eclectic skeleton crew and readying the zoo for a reopening.
Quick thoughts: In the past, I've never really been a big fan of director Cameron Crowe's work, but they've been undeniably successful, especially come awards season. This one intrigues me mainly because of a solid cast (Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson) and a story that is true and hasn't been done a thousand times before. I have a feeling this will be infinitely better than The Zookeeper.
OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST:
The Sitter (December 9)
Young Adult (December 9)
The Iron Lady (December 16)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (December 23)
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Filling the void
We're still a few weeks away from the start of new programming on network TV, so this little teaser will have to suffice in the meantime. But my title works on a second level, because we'll see here that our favorite female FBI agent, Olivia Dunham, seems to be struggling with the mysterious loss of Peter Bishop. I know we're all anxious to get answers as to where he went. To hopefully get answers tune in to Fringe starting September 23rd on FOX.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Fall Movie Preview (November)
PUSS IN BOOTS (November 4)
Plot: Way before he ever met Shrek, the legendary Puss In Boots goes on a heroic journey, teaming up with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty Softpaws to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. It's the adventure of nine lifetimes!
Quick thoughts: This could go one of two ways. Either it'll continue to water down the original Shrek formula or it could provide a fresh start that's needed to rejuvinate some of these characters. The fact that they've added Zack Galifianakis to the voice cast certainly couldn't hurt.
J. EDGAR (November 11)
Plot: "J. Edgar" explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century. As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio) was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.
Quick thoughts: For so long, Oscar gold has eluded Leonardo DiCaprio despite a string of strong performances. That may end this year as he's playing the lead in this biopic of the former head of the FBI. Adding to his chances are the fact that the film is being directed Clint Eastwood who knows a thing or two about capturing the gold statue.
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (November 18)
Plot: The feature adaptation of John Le Carre's seminal cold war best-seller. Set in the aftermath of the cold war, the thriller tells the tale of a spy-hunt within the highest echelons of the British Secret Intelligence Service.
Quick thoughts: This is the type of pot-boiler spy films that I really enjoy. Tons of intrigue and suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Gary Oldman is always terrific in supporting roles like playing Sirius Black in Harry Potter or Commissioner Gordon in the recent Batman films, so I'm excited to see him take on a more leading role this time out. This film should provide an excellent alternative for adults from the rest of the garbage that is being released that weekend.
THE DESCENDANTS (November 23)
Plot: From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning "Sideways", set in Hawaii, "The Descendants" is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.
Quick thoughts: Director Alexander Payne always seems to create great films that find that right balance of drama and comedy. His film, Election, remains one of my favorites to this day. So seeing him team up with George Clooney definitely has aroused my curiosity. I doubt many people will rush out to see this when it gets released around Thanksgiving, but if it manages to earn buzz come awards season more and more people will likely flock to this film.
THE MUPPETS (November 23)
Plot: On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways.
Quick thoughts: I know I've plugged this new film a lot with all the viral videos they've made for it, but hopefully you also share my enthusiasm for seeing Kermit and the gang back on the big screen. Unlike their last venture onto the big screen, Muppets in Space, I have high hopes for this given the care and passion that Jason Segal has expressed for doing this film right. If you've seen what he does with puppets in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, then you know that this franchise is in very good hands. Look for this to be a big hit during the holiday season.
OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (November 4)
Tower Heist (November 4)
Jack and Jill (November 11)
The Artist (November 23)
Plot: Way before he ever met Shrek, the legendary Puss In Boots goes on a heroic journey, teaming up with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty Softpaws to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. It's the adventure of nine lifetimes!
Quick thoughts: This could go one of two ways. Either it'll continue to water down the original Shrek formula or it could provide a fresh start that's needed to rejuvinate some of these characters. The fact that they've added Zack Galifianakis to the voice cast certainly couldn't hurt.
J. EDGAR (November 11)
Plot: "J. Edgar" explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century. As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio) was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.
Quick thoughts: For so long, Oscar gold has eluded Leonardo DiCaprio despite a string of strong performances. That may end this year as he's playing the lead in this biopic of the former head of the FBI. Adding to his chances are the fact that the film is being directed Clint Eastwood who knows a thing or two about capturing the gold statue.
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (November 18)
Plot: The feature adaptation of John Le Carre's seminal cold war best-seller. Set in the aftermath of the cold war, the thriller tells the tale of a spy-hunt within the highest echelons of the British Secret Intelligence Service.
Quick thoughts: This is the type of pot-boiler spy films that I really enjoy. Tons of intrigue and suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Gary Oldman is always terrific in supporting roles like playing Sirius Black in Harry Potter or Commissioner Gordon in the recent Batman films, so I'm excited to see him take on a more leading role this time out. This film should provide an excellent alternative for adults from the rest of the garbage that is being released that weekend.
THE DESCENDANTS (November 23)
Plot: From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning "Sideways", set in Hawaii, "The Descendants" is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.
Quick thoughts: Director Alexander Payne always seems to create great films that find that right balance of drama and comedy. His film, Election, remains one of my favorites to this day. So seeing him team up with George Clooney definitely has aroused my curiosity. I doubt many people will rush out to see this when it gets released around Thanksgiving, but if it manages to earn buzz come awards season more and more people will likely flock to this film.
THE MUPPETS (November 23)
Plot: On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways.
Quick thoughts: I know I've plugged this new film a lot with all the viral videos they've made for it, but hopefully you also share my enthusiasm for seeing Kermit and the gang back on the big screen. Unlike their last venture onto the big screen, Muppets in Space, I have high hopes for this given the care and passion that Jason Segal has expressed for doing this film right. If you've seen what he does with puppets in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, then you know that this franchise is in very good hands. Look for this to be a big hit during the holiday season.
OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (November 4)
Tower Heist (November 4)
Jack and Jill (November 11)
The Artist (November 23)
NMR: Limitless
Apparently, the title of the film isn't exactly true since its limits get exposed by failing to come up with a satisfactory conclusion to the film's intriguing premise. The movie stars Bradley Cooper as a struggling writter who runs into an ex-brother-in-law who offers him a mysterious drug that allows him to unlock the full potential of his brain power. The drug works and soon he's not only able to write books, but conquer the world of high finance. All of this works and instantly hooks you. However, once he's on top the film devolves into a standard drug movie with corruption, violence, and lies. Robert De Niro plays a financial bigwig who tries to do business with Cooper's character. Like the film's plot, his character is interesting but not fleshed out enough and thus ultimately disappointing. I also felt the director tried a little too hard with the visual imagery he included, particularly during the scenes where anyone is using the drug. For a rental, this is a worth a recommendation as the film feels fresh for at least the first half. The second isn't terrible, just disappointing because of the failure to do more with the set-up. Rating: *** 1/2
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Fall Movie Preview (October)
THE IDES OF MARCH (October 7)
Plot: "The Ides of March" takes place during the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, when an up-and-coming campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate's shot at the presidency.
Quick thoughts: I'm not sure if there is a film this fall that has a better pedigree than this one. I would expect this to be a major player come awards season. This is one of the films I'm most looking forward to seeing. And if you're concerned about the film being too political, from what I hear, it's more about morality and self evaluation than it is about promoting one party over the other.
THE BIG YEAR (October 14)
Plot: Based on Mark Obmascik's 1998 book "The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession," the film is about three men who try to outdo each other in a bird-watching competition to spot the rarest birds in North America. The rivalry is an allegory for the challenges each faces in his own life.
Quick thoughts: Just the notion of a movie about bird-watching startting Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson has me already laughing, so I can only imagine what the final product will be like. If that trio wasn't strong enough you also have people like Jim Parsons, Rashida Jones, and Kevin Pollack mixed in the fray to amp the funny quotient even more. The only thing that concerns me is that we haven't seen a trailer yet for the film. Without that, I can't know for sure whether this will be comedy gold or simply a movie for the birds.
MARGIN CALL (October 21)
Plot: Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, "Margin Call" is a thriller entangling the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. When entry-level analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster. Expanding the parameters of genre, "Margin Call" is a riveting examination of the human components of a subject too often relegated to partisan issues of black and white.
Quick thoughts: I mentioned in the September preview yesterday when discussing Contagion that audiences may not be too keen to watch a movie about a deadly virus. That may go double for this film which focuses on the 2008 financial meltdown. While I can sympathize with not wanting to pay to relive that, I can't ignore the terrific cast of actor they have compiled for this film, who each seem to be giving stellar performances based on the trailer. That alone is enough to pique my interest.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (October 21)
Plot: The third film is being envisioned as an origin story set in the 1980s that will follow a new family.
Quick thoughts: The first film I didn't care for, although some of that could have had to do with the fact that it was overhyped and I saw it on a weekday morning. I decided to keep an open mind and watched the second one. I thought it was better, but still not overly scary. At this point though, they've got me interested in the story they've established with these characters so I'm hoping that this origin story provides us with some answers as to why these things are happening. This will likely be the best bet for anyone looking for some scares come Halloween time.
IN TIME (October 28)
Plot: "In Time" presents a world where time has become the ultimate currency. You stop aging at 25, but there's a catch: you're genetically-engineered to live only one more year, unless you can buy your way out of it. The rich "earn" decades at a time (remaining at age 25), becoming essentially immortal, while the rest beg, borrow or steal enough hours to make it through the day. When a man from the wrong side of the tracks is falsely accused of murder, he is forced to go on the run with a beautiful hostage. Living minute to minute, the duo's love becomes a powerful tool in their war against the system.
Quick thoughts: The premise of the film immediately hooked me and it's the type of high concept film that I wish Hollywood would do more of. I was disappointed that the trailer seemingly gave away the entire film. Let's hope that just like with Dream House, there's more than meets the eye. The success of this film will likely determine whether or not Justin Timberlake actually has a future as a leading man in Hollywood.
OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST
Real Steel (October 7)
The Rum Diary (October 28)
Plot: "The Ides of March" takes place during the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, when an up-and-coming campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate's shot at the presidency.
Quick thoughts: I'm not sure if there is a film this fall that has a better pedigree than this one. I would expect this to be a major player come awards season. This is one of the films I'm most looking forward to seeing. And if you're concerned about the film being too political, from what I hear, it's more about morality and self evaluation than it is about promoting one party over the other.
THE BIG YEAR (October 14)
Plot: Based on Mark Obmascik's 1998 book "The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession," the film is about three men who try to outdo each other in a bird-watching competition to spot the rarest birds in North America. The rivalry is an allegory for the challenges each faces in his own life.
Quick thoughts: Just the notion of a movie about bird-watching startting Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson has me already laughing, so I can only imagine what the final product will be like. If that trio wasn't strong enough you also have people like Jim Parsons, Rashida Jones, and Kevin Pollack mixed in the fray to amp the funny quotient even more. The only thing that concerns me is that we haven't seen a trailer yet for the film. Without that, I can't know for sure whether this will be comedy gold or simply a movie for the birds.
MARGIN CALL (October 21)
Plot: Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, "Margin Call" is a thriller entangling the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. When entry-level analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster. Expanding the parameters of genre, "Margin Call" is a riveting examination of the human components of a subject too often relegated to partisan issues of black and white.
Quick thoughts: I mentioned in the September preview yesterday when discussing Contagion that audiences may not be too keen to watch a movie about a deadly virus. That may go double for this film which focuses on the 2008 financial meltdown. While I can sympathize with not wanting to pay to relive that, I can't ignore the terrific cast of actor they have compiled for this film, who each seem to be giving stellar performances based on the trailer. That alone is enough to pique my interest.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (October 21)
Plot: The third film is being envisioned as an origin story set in the 1980s that will follow a new family.
Quick thoughts: The first film I didn't care for, although some of that could have had to do with the fact that it was overhyped and I saw it on a weekday morning. I decided to keep an open mind and watched the second one. I thought it was better, but still not overly scary. At this point though, they've got me interested in the story they've established with these characters so I'm hoping that this origin story provides us with some answers as to why these things are happening. This will likely be the best bet for anyone looking for some scares come Halloween time.
IN TIME (October 28)
Plot: "In Time" presents a world where time has become the ultimate currency. You stop aging at 25, but there's a catch: you're genetically-engineered to live only one more year, unless you can buy your way out of it. The rich "earn" decades at a time (remaining at age 25), becoming essentially immortal, while the rest beg, borrow or steal enough hours to make it through the day. When a man from the wrong side of the tracks is falsely accused of murder, he is forced to go on the run with a beautiful hostage. Living minute to minute, the duo's love becomes a powerful tool in their war against the system.
Quick thoughts: The premise of the film immediately hooked me and it's the type of high concept film that I wish Hollywood would do more of. I was disappointed that the trailer seemingly gave away the entire film. Let's hope that just like with Dream House, there's more than meets the eye. The success of this film will likely determine whether or not Justin Timberlake actually has a future as a leading man in Hollywood.
OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST
Real Steel (October 7)
The Rum Diary (October 28)
Welcome Thome
Twins deal Jim Thome back to Indians
I'll have more to say about this at the end of the week in my Tribe Watch report. But for now, I'll just say that it's nice that Thome gets to come back home and (hopefully) finish out his career where it began. With that said, you'd be kidding yourself if you actually believe that this move in anyway helps the team or allows them a shot at getting back into this AL Central race. In other words, it's a shrewd PR move, but not one that helps the future of this franchise.
I'll have more to say about this at the end of the week in my Tribe Watch report. But for now, I'll just say that it's nice that Thome gets to come back home and (hopefully) finish out his career where it began. With that said, you'd be kidding yourself if you actually believe that this move in anyway helps the team or allows them a shot at getting back into this AL Central race. In other words, it's a shrewd PR move, but not one that helps the future of this franchise.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
More than OK
Check out the always innovative OK Go performing The Muppet Show theme along with cameos from all of our puppet pals.
Fall Movie Preview (September)
As the temperature begins to cool off and everyone heads back to school, movie fans turn their attention to the most 'prestige' films that will be coming out in the next few months. I was having difficulty ranking the ones I'm looking forward to, so instead, I'm just going to focus on the most interesting films coming out month by month.
A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY (September 2)
Plot: Jason Sudeikis is Eric, a thirtysomething party animal famous among his close circle of friends for his lavish summer theme parties at his father's swanky Hamptons pad. But when members of the crew start settling down, and Eric's dad announces plans to sell the beach house, Eric decides it's time for one last bash to go out with a proverbial bang--a good old-fashioned orgy. The only obstacles to overcome are actually convincing each of his reluctant friends to join in on the bacchanal, and an inconveniently blossoming romance with the real estate agent threatening to sell the house out from under him before the main event can even take place.
Quick thoughts I'm sure there's a lot of you who may need a break from the R-rated comedy after having a glut of them this summer, but if you've got room for one more, then this seems like it might be right up your alley. Based on the trailer I posted last week, there seems to be enough solid laughs to make this worth a look. Plus, Jason Sudekis has been solid in his other films this year and this time it appears he's surrounding himself with a solid cast of other funny people. While the subject matter may seem a bit taboo, I'd like to think this will focus more on the comedy than the tawdry.
CONTAGION (September 9th)
Plot: "Contagion" follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.
Quick Thoughts: The idea of a non-terrorist virus spreading throughout the globe may be a little too real for people to enjoy this thriller. However, it's hard to ignore this impressive cast of actors coupled with an excellent director. I'd have to be sick in order to miss this one.
MONEYBALL (September 23)
Plot: Based on a true story, "Moneyball" is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games.
Quick Thoughts: With the Cleveland Indians imploding, it appears this is the only fall baseball I have to look forward to. While I still don't understand it completely, the system that Billy Beane created to scout players is pretty impressive and I'm anxious to see how they depict it on the big screen.
50/50 (September 30)
Plot: The dram'edy is a funny, touching, and original story of friendship, love, and survival, in no particular order. Joseph Gordon-Levitt toplines opposite Seth Rogen as the twenty-something who's been diagnosed with cancer and decides to use humor in helping fight against the disease.
Quick thoughts: While the title refers to the chances the title character has of surviving his cancer, it's also the odds I'll give this film of being really good. On one hand, you have Seth Rogen who has turned from hilarious to grating in most of his recent films. But then you have Joseph Gordon Levitt, who's really starting to come into his own as an actor. Making light of cancer is a difficult task, but the previews I've seen thus far make me think this has a chance of doing it right.
DREAM HOUSE (September 30)
Plot: Some say that all houses have memories. For one man, his home is the place he would kill to forget. Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts star in "Dream House," a suspense thriller about a family that unknowingly moves into a home where several grisly murders were committed...only to find themselves the killer's next target.
Quick thoughts: The plot seems familiar and the first trailer for the film seems to give away the big twist, which would be major marks against seeing this. Yet, I can't shake the feeling that this still might be good, especially if you're looking for a few good scares. The director recently came out to say that the twist revealed in the trailer is not the final twist, so here's hoping this still has a chance to surprise us all.
OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST:
- Apollo 18 (September 2)
- Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star (September 9)
A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY (September 2)
Plot: Jason Sudeikis is Eric, a thirtysomething party animal famous among his close circle of friends for his lavish summer theme parties at his father's swanky Hamptons pad. But when members of the crew start settling down, and Eric's dad announces plans to sell the beach house, Eric decides it's time for one last bash to go out with a proverbial bang--a good old-fashioned orgy. The only obstacles to overcome are actually convincing each of his reluctant friends to join in on the bacchanal, and an inconveniently blossoming romance with the real estate agent threatening to sell the house out from under him before the main event can even take place.
Quick thoughts I'm sure there's a lot of you who may need a break from the R-rated comedy after having a glut of them this summer, but if you've got room for one more, then this seems like it might be right up your alley. Based on the trailer I posted last week, there seems to be enough solid laughs to make this worth a look. Plus, Jason Sudekis has been solid in his other films this year and this time it appears he's surrounding himself with a solid cast of other funny people. While the subject matter may seem a bit taboo, I'd like to think this will focus more on the comedy than the tawdry.
CONTAGION (September 9th)
Plot: "Contagion" follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.
Quick Thoughts: The idea of a non-terrorist virus spreading throughout the globe may be a little too real for people to enjoy this thriller. However, it's hard to ignore this impressive cast of actors coupled with an excellent director. I'd have to be sick in order to miss this one.
MONEYBALL (September 23)
Plot: Based on a true story, "Moneyball" is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games.
Quick Thoughts: With the Cleveland Indians imploding, it appears this is the only fall baseball I have to look forward to. While I still don't understand it completely, the system that Billy Beane created to scout players is pretty impressive and I'm anxious to see how they depict it on the big screen.
50/50 (September 30)
Plot: The dram'edy is a funny, touching, and original story of friendship, love, and survival, in no particular order. Joseph Gordon-Levitt toplines opposite Seth Rogen as the twenty-something who's been diagnosed with cancer and decides to use humor in helping fight against the disease.
Quick thoughts: While the title refers to the chances the title character has of surviving his cancer, it's also the odds I'll give this film of being really good. On one hand, you have Seth Rogen who has turned from hilarious to grating in most of his recent films. But then you have Joseph Gordon Levitt, who's really starting to come into his own as an actor. Making light of cancer is a difficult task, but the previews I've seen thus far make me think this has a chance of doing it right.
DREAM HOUSE (September 30)
Plot: Some say that all houses have memories. For one man, his home is the place he would kill to forget. Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts star in "Dream House," a suspense thriller about a family that unknowingly moves into a home where several grisly murders were committed...only to find themselves the killer's next target.
Quick thoughts: The plot seems familiar and the first trailer for the film seems to give away the big twist, which would be major marks against seeing this. Yet, I can't shake the feeling that this still might be good, especially if you're looking for a few good scares. The director recently came out to say that the twist revealed in the trailer is not the final twist, so here's hoping this still has a chance to surprise us all.
OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST:
- Apollo 18 (September 2)
- Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star (September 9)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Quarreling Quartet
Here's a trailer for Carnage, based on a play titled Gods of Carnage. The film centers around a pair of parents who agree to meet after their sons were in a fight. With such a low concept premise, you need strong performances to drive the narrative and based on this first look, it seems like we have that.
NMR: The Conspirator
This legal drama unfortunately came and went from theaters this past spring with very little fanfare. Set during the time of the Civil War, the story is based around the court case of Mary Surratt, who was accused of conspiring to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. James McAvoy plays the conflicted lawyer assigned to defend her. McAvoy does a terrific job conveying this character's dilemma of offering her a fair trial and seeing the people responsible for this heinous act punished. The film features a host of other terrific actors including Robin Wright (playing the accused woman), Tom Wilkinson, Danny Huston, and Kevin Kline. I loved all of the courtroom scenes and actually wish there would have been more. However, the film also spends time having McAvoy investigate his client's background, where we learn that things are not completely what they seem. You can easily see some parallels between this court case and current events involving men being held at Guantanamo Bay. Sometimes the desire to see anyone punished for crimes blinds us from actually serving justice. I can't say that this movie is for everyone, but if the subject matter interests you at all, I'd highly recommend you give this one a look. Director Robert Redford does an impressive job of making the film feel authentic while also making it relevant for today's audiences. Rating: ****
Monday, August 22, 2011
Pac Men
It's that time of year again to unveil a whole new cast of Survivor as the show prepares for its 23rd installment, Survivor: South Pacific. This time, there will be 16 new contestants (pictured below) along with two returning castaways. The returning members won't officially be announced until Wednesday, but it has long been leaked online that they are Ozzy and Coach. One notable new contestant is 19 year old Brandon Hantz, who is the nephew of Russell Hantz, who had competed in three out of the last four seasons. Will he be just as evil and scheming as his uncle or will he play against type? From the rest of the group we have a lingerie football player, a mortician, a medical marijuana dispenser, and a former Miss Washington. For full information on the cast, as well as some news to changes being made with both the immunity idol and redemption island, you can check out Entertainment Weekly's coverage here. Survivor: South Pacific begins Sept. 14th.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Tribe Watch (Week 20)
Record: 62-61
Standing: Second in AL Central
The Indians were victims of a Motor City Massacre this weekend. After finally exercising some demons in Chicago by taking two out of three from the White Sox, we went into Detroit and got steamrolled. Neither the offense nor the starting pitching looked strong. Tomlin continues to give up too many home runs, Huff had an off days and Jimenez got rocked for 8 runs in four innings of work today. The bats finally started to come to life today and nearly overcame a seven run deficit, only to fall short thanks to some poor base coaching in the ninth. We currently sit four and half games in back of Detroit right now. Mathematically, we are not out of it by a long shot, especially considering how many games we still have left against teams in our division. With that said, I'm beginning to think now that this team just doesn't have the right combination of killer instinct and talent to push them past the Tigers and win the division. It always seems like there's at least one core area of the team that's faltering. And of top of that, the injuries continue to mount up. Rookie Jason Kipnis, who had provided a real offensive boost to the team went on the 15-day DL and Travis Hafner, once again, left in the middle of the game hobbling with some sort of foot or leg injury. While doubt may be creeping into my mind about this team, I certainly hope that they are able to remain confident. It'll be of the utmost importance to do so heading into this week. We head home for a long home game stretch against three teams with poor records. We'll begin with a four game series against the Mariners, which includes a double-header and then move onto a weekend set with the Royals. Winning ball clubs are the ones who are able to beat up on weaker competition, so we need to win most of these games in order to stay competitve. If we can, then all we can hope for is for Detroit and Chicago to lose some games and we'll be right back in it. We'll see where things stand next week. Until then, Go Tribe!
Standing: Second in AL Central
The Indians were victims of a Motor City Massacre this weekend. After finally exercising some demons in Chicago by taking two out of three from the White Sox, we went into Detroit and got steamrolled. Neither the offense nor the starting pitching looked strong. Tomlin continues to give up too many home runs, Huff had an off days and Jimenez got rocked for 8 runs in four innings of work today. The bats finally started to come to life today and nearly overcame a seven run deficit, only to fall short thanks to some poor base coaching in the ninth. We currently sit four and half games in back of Detroit right now. Mathematically, we are not out of it by a long shot, especially considering how many games we still have left against teams in our division. With that said, I'm beginning to think now that this team just doesn't have the right combination of killer instinct and talent to push them past the Tigers and win the division. It always seems like there's at least one core area of the team that's faltering. And of top of that, the injuries continue to mount up. Rookie Jason Kipnis, who had provided a real offensive boost to the team went on the 15-day DL and Travis Hafner, once again, left in the middle of the game hobbling with some sort of foot or leg injury. While doubt may be creeping into my mind about this team, I certainly hope that they are able to remain confident. It'll be of the utmost importance to do so heading into this week. We head home for a long home game stretch against three teams with poor records. We'll begin with a four game series against the Mariners, which includes a double-header and then move onto a weekend set with the Royals. Winning ball clubs are the ones who are able to beat up on weaker competition, so we need to win most of these games in order to stay competitve. If we can, then all we can hope for is for Detroit and Chicago to lose some games and we'll be right back in it. We'll see where things stand next week. Until then, Go Tribe!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Blasting Cap
If you're having a sense of comic book fatigure, you're not alone. This summer has been filled with superheroes debuting on the big screen, eager to tell the origin of their story. The latest of which is Captain America: The First Avenger. Set during World War II, we see how Steve Rogers from a scrawny nothing into the red, white, and blue hero we know today. The story of this transformation though is one that doesn't quite have the same dramatic heft to it as some of his fellow Avenger heroes.
Early on, we learn that Rogers (plays by Chris Evans) is eager to fight in the war but is deemed on multiple occasions to be physically unfit for battle. Enter Dr. Abraham Erskine, played by the wonderful Stanley Tucci, who recruits him to be the first guinea pig for a serum aimed to create super soldiers. He, along with Howard Stark (the father of Tony Stark aka Iron Man) are successful at turning Steve into the chiseled specimen they wanted. However, the key to why Steve was chosen in the first place is not for the dramatic visual transformation, but that he had the integrity that would be prevent him from abusing his newly acquire physical attributes.
This moral code which is established in the first half of the movie gets somewhat abandoned in the second half of the film when the focus turns, like it does in each of these movies, towards the showdown against the big villain. In this case, that's Red Skull, (Hugo Weaving), a Nazi soldier, who after obtaining a mystical, powerful cube, aims to establish world domination for himself. What he plans to do if he succeeds is never really established, though. Red Skull is a visually impressive character, but not as menacing of a villain as I would have liked. He just comes off as more crazy than evil.
The film boasts an impressive cast, although not all of the actors give equal performances. Tommy Lee Jones, playing a crusty colonel, is reliable as always to throw in one-liners and look tough. I also liked Toby Jones, who played Red Skull's right-hand man, Dr. Zola. On the other hand, Hayley Atwell, who plays Peggy Carter, a potential love interest for Cap, is nice to look at but has a dull as dishwater personality and fails to create any sort of chemisty in her performance. Likewise, the actor who plays Cap's best friend, 'Bucky' Barnes doesn't do much to establish that relationship, despite the significance it supposedly has in the story.
All of the key players needed for one of these origin stories are here but that merely makes the film competent, not fresh. For every archetype that should be included in a comic book movie, there has been a film that has come out before Captain America and offered the same thing in a more interesting manner. You feel like you're watching the film out of duty rather than enjoyment. The payoff doesn't come until we get Cap together with the rest of the Avengers team, which won't happen until next year.
It's hard to say whether or not the character would have been appreciated and understood in the Avengers movie had this film not first come out. That judgment won't be made until then, but for now, it seems like this movie did not have to be made. About the only interesting story element that felt novel here is the idea of our country using the newly created Captain America more as a propaganda tool rather than a fighting soldier. That could have provided some interesting commentary, but of course you can make social commentary in 3D, so that aspect gets abandoned in favor of scenes involving fights on trains and tanks getting blown up.
There's nothing to actively hate about this film, but it's timing is poor. In a summer filled with comic book movies, this one failed to find a way to stand out from the pack. Instead of feeling like there was an appreciation for this character and a desire to tell his story, the movie evokes a sense that this was merely a cog in the machine necessary to make the eventual Avengers movie possible. That sort of corporate greed is disheartening, but it's also what all of the captains of America today seem to represent. Grade: B-
Early on, we learn that Rogers (plays by Chris Evans) is eager to fight in the war but is deemed on multiple occasions to be physically unfit for battle. Enter Dr. Abraham Erskine, played by the wonderful Stanley Tucci, who recruits him to be the first guinea pig for a serum aimed to create super soldiers. He, along with Howard Stark (the father of Tony Stark aka Iron Man) are successful at turning Steve into the chiseled specimen they wanted. However, the key to why Steve was chosen in the first place is not for the dramatic visual transformation, but that he had the integrity that would be prevent him from abusing his newly acquire physical attributes.
This moral code which is established in the first half of the movie gets somewhat abandoned in the second half of the film when the focus turns, like it does in each of these movies, towards the showdown against the big villain. In this case, that's Red Skull, (Hugo Weaving), a Nazi soldier, who after obtaining a mystical, powerful cube, aims to establish world domination for himself. What he plans to do if he succeeds is never really established, though. Red Skull is a visually impressive character, but not as menacing of a villain as I would have liked. He just comes off as more crazy than evil.
The film boasts an impressive cast, although not all of the actors give equal performances. Tommy Lee Jones, playing a crusty colonel, is reliable as always to throw in one-liners and look tough. I also liked Toby Jones, who played Red Skull's right-hand man, Dr. Zola. On the other hand, Hayley Atwell, who plays Peggy Carter, a potential love interest for Cap, is nice to look at but has a dull as dishwater personality and fails to create any sort of chemisty in her performance. Likewise, the actor who plays Cap's best friend, 'Bucky' Barnes doesn't do much to establish that relationship, despite the significance it supposedly has in the story.
All of the key players needed for one of these origin stories are here but that merely makes the film competent, not fresh. For every archetype that should be included in a comic book movie, there has been a film that has come out before Captain America and offered the same thing in a more interesting manner. You feel like you're watching the film out of duty rather than enjoyment. The payoff doesn't come until we get Cap together with the rest of the Avengers team, which won't happen until next year.
It's hard to say whether or not the character would have been appreciated and understood in the Avengers movie had this film not first come out. That judgment won't be made until then, but for now, it seems like this movie did not have to be made. About the only interesting story element that felt novel here is the idea of our country using the newly created Captain America more as a propaganda tool rather than a fighting soldier. That could have provided some interesting commentary, but of course you can make social commentary in 3D, so that aspect gets abandoned in favor of scenes involving fights on trains and tanks getting blown up.
There's nothing to actively hate about this film, but it's timing is poor. In a summer filled with comic book movies, this one failed to find a way to stand out from the pack. Instead of feeling like there was an appreciation for this character and a desire to tell his story, the movie evokes a sense that this was merely a cog in the machine necessary to make the eventual Avengers movie possible. That sort of corporate greed is disheartening, but it's also what all of the captains of America today seem to represent. Grade: B-
Friday, August 19, 2011
Good old times
If you're not burned out by all the R-rated comedies this summer, then might I suggest you take a look at this new film coming out Labor Day weekend called A Good Old Fashioned Orgy starring Jason Sudekis and whole host of other funny people. Please note, this is the Red Band trailer and thus is Not Safe For Work. View at your own discretion.
NMR: Arthur
It's difficult for me to write a review for this film because it gave me nothing really to work with. It's neither great nor terrible. Ultimately, it's a wholly unnecessary remake that was done in order to combine a popular comedian with a known franchise. While I was not particularly fond of the Dudley Moore original, there was nothing I saw here that provided justification as to why this story needed to be told again. The highlights of the film come from seeing Arthur (Russell Brand) enjoy and abuse the excesses of his wealth. Things like dressing up as Batman and driving in a replica Batmobile or waging in a bidding war with himself at an auction house for old suits of Abraham Lincoln provide at the very least a smile on your face. However, there's nothing really enjoyable about the love triangle storyline that becomes the focal point of them. Both Jennifer Garner and Nick Nolte, who plays her father give unlikable performances. And Greta Gerwig, the woman who Arthur truly falls in love with, has no screen presence or charm. Brand actually has more chemistry with Helen Mirren who plays his nanny Hobson. She, like John Gielgud in the original, is always reliable for a quick quip in an attempt to keep Arthur in line. It's hard to say whether a recommendation is waranted for this film. It neither pays homage nor ruins the name of the original. On its own, it provides a few mild laughs, but nothing more. This is a low risk, low return film. Rating: ***
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Get me a knife and fork now!
More food-based Ron Swanson fan art. This is a thing of beauty and needs to be sold in stores immediately.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tribe Watch (Week 19)
Record: 60 - 57
Standing: 2nd in AL Central
It's been a fairly positive week for the Tribe. After a tough road trip against two divisional leaders, they came back home and responded well against a couple of key AL Central opponents. We took two out of three from Detroit, including a wild game that saw us win it in 14 innings on a walk-off hit by pitch. The only game we lost was against Justin Verlander and there's no shame in losing to him. We then defeated Minnesota twice before having the last game of that series get rained out on Sunday. The rainout was doubly frustrating as it killed some momentum we were building and it means we're going to be playing a lot of games in a short amount of time since that will not be the only double header we have between now and the end of the season. This week the team deals with another difficult set of divisional opponents - this time on the road. We begin tonight in Chicago, who is breathing down our neck. I really want to sweep them so that we create some separation between us and also insure that there's no chance of them potentially winning this division. Then it's off to Detroit to once again play the Tigers. Any time you play divisional opponents, you have the opportunity to make a lot of movement in the standings, forward or backward. For our sake, let's hope it's all forward movement this week. And as we continue to watch those standings, I know we'll all be cheering on our team, Go Tribe!
Standing: 2nd in AL Central
It's been a fairly positive week for the Tribe. After a tough road trip against two divisional leaders, they came back home and responded well against a couple of key AL Central opponents. We took two out of three from Detroit, including a wild game that saw us win it in 14 innings on a walk-off hit by pitch. The only game we lost was against Justin Verlander and there's no shame in losing to him. We then defeated Minnesota twice before having the last game of that series get rained out on Sunday. The rainout was doubly frustrating as it killed some momentum we were building and it means we're going to be playing a lot of games in a short amount of time since that will not be the only double header we have between now and the end of the season. This week the team deals with another difficult set of divisional opponents - this time on the road. We begin tonight in Chicago, who is breathing down our neck. I really want to sweep them so that we create some separation between us and also insure that there's no chance of them potentially winning this division. Then it's off to Detroit to once again play the Tigers. Any time you play divisional opponents, you have the opportunity to make a lot of movement in the standings, forward or backward. For our sake, let's hope it's all forward movement this week. And as we continue to watch those standings, I know we'll all be cheering on our team, Go Tribe!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Fuhrer furor
I was going to post my thoughts on last night's Summerslam PPV, but, oddly enough, I believe Hitler sums up my reaction pretty well (with the exception of the part about watching the show with some guy named Benito).
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
NMR: Rango
This is such an odd film that I'm having difficulty identifying my feelings towards it. I think ultimately I admire the film more than I enjoyed it. This animated feature about a lizard (voiced by Johnny Depp) who's trying to find himself creates some interesting ideas, but I'm not sure if all of them work. Advertised as a kid's film, I'm questioning whether or not kids will actually enjoy it. The creatures that make up the cast aren't very cute or nice to look at. There's also several scenes that seem like they would come from the mind of Hunter S. Thompson. They're so bizarre and trippy, that they will downright confuse most younger audiences. The film also features homages to spaghetti westerns - another touch that's likely lost of kids. While I can appreciate those efforts more, I'm not sure if I was really seeking an animated Western that delves into the ideas of a existentialism. Still, the movie is absolutely gorgeous looking with wonderful colors and textures. I also think Depp gives a great three-dimensional performance voicing the title character. So while the film is technically sound, from a narrative standpoint it's searching for an identity as much as its main character. I don't see young kids enjoying this and I'd only recommend it for adults who enjoy the style or genre of film I've attempted to describe here. Rating: ***
Tribe Watch (Week 18)
Record: 56 - 56
Standing: Second in AL Central
So what to make out of a week that saw us go 3-4 against the AL East and West divisional leaders? Well you could be positive and say that we were competitive in both series and saw our offense show some signs of improvement. There will naturally be those who take a more pessimistic perspective and say that we could have and should have won more considering each of the four losses came in the final at-bat for the other team. It was disappointing to say the least to see our bullpen, which had been very strong to this point, give away victories. I think the thing that we need to take away from this series is that it didn't appear as if this team is playing like it's in a pennant race. I wanted to see both more passion and more consideration in the moves and play calling. I believe this team has the talent to win the division, but they're going to have to show they want it. They will get the biggest chance to prove that this week as there is a season-defining series against the Detroit Tigers beginning tonight. If we sweep the series, it puts us right back in the thick of things. If we win 1 or 2, that just puts more pressure on us to make sure we sweep Minnesota who comes in to play us this weekend. If we get swept, I'd hate to say it, but I think we can write off this team's chances at winning the division. I hope that this team is up to the challenge and I also hope that the city of Cleveland comes out to support this team and show them that we want October baseball. I can't be up in Cleveland, but you know I'll be rooting for them just as hard from the comfort of my own home this week. Go Tribe!
Standing: Second in AL Central
So what to make out of a week that saw us go 3-4 against the AL East and West divisional leaders? Well you could be positive and say that we were competitive in both series and saw our offense show some signs of improvement. There will naturally be those who take a more pessimistic perspective and say that we could have and should have won more considering each of the four losses came in the final at-bat for the other team. It was disappointing to say the least to see our bullpen, which had been very strong to this point, give away victories. I think the thing that we need to take away from this series is that it didn't appear as if this team is playing like it's in a pennant race. I wanted to see both more passion and more consideration in the moves and play calling. I believe this team has the talent to win the division, but they're going to have to show they want it. They will get the biggest chance to prove that this week as there is a season-defining series against the Detroit Tigers beginning tonight. If we sweep the series, it puts us right back in the thick of things. If we win 1 or 2, that just puts more pressure on us to make sure we sweep Minnesota who comes in to play us this weekend. If we get swept, I'd hate to say it, but I think we can write off this team's chances at winning the division. I hope that this team is up to the challenge and I also hope that the city of Cleveland comes out to support this team and show them that we want October baseball. I can't be up in Cleveland, but you know I'll be rooting for them just as hard from the comfort of my own home this week. Go Tribe!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Cult of Personality
So I've held off blogging about the whole CM Punk angle that's happening right now in the WWE for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is because I've been burned before getting prematurely excited about angles that start off buzzworthy and fizzle out quickly. But the very fact that this angle has gotten some mainstream attention tells me that if nothing else the WWE has all the more pressure on them to have this payoff positively. So far, things have been good.
If you've been out of the loop, here's a quick recap:
- About a month ago when CM Punk received a title shot, he announced that his contact ended the night of his title shot and that when he defeated John Cena for the title, he planned on leaving the company with the belt.
-Then as a lame duck employee, he went on several awesome work/shoot rants about the terrible people that ran the company and the poor way they treated their employees.
- Panicked over the fact that someone might leave his company with the title (ala Bret Hart back in '97), Vince McMahon puts pressure on John Cena to win the match by telling him that if he doesn't Vince will fire him.
- This created all sorts of buzz for the Money in the Bank PPV. Was Punk really leaving and they'd simply job him out? Would Punk win but then in a swerve not leave? Would they try to recreate the Montreal screwjob to prevent Punk from leaving with the title. The fact that the match was taking place in CM Punk's hometown of Chicago, just added to the aura of this match.
- So what happened? Well believe it or not, Punk won (relatively cleanly) and seemingly left the company.
- This put the company in a bit of a tailspin. Vince tried to pretend like Punk never existed, he set up a tournament to crown a new WWE champion and prepared to fire John Cena. However, on the night after the PPV, Triple H returned to announce that the board of directors had decided that Vince was not capable of handling the day-to-day duties of running the WWE anymore and put Triple H in charge.
- With The Game now running the show, a match was made between John Cena and Rey Mysterio, who had won the WWE title in the tournament to determine who was going to be the champion. To the surprise of no one Cena won and became WWE Champ once again, only to be visited at the end of the show by none other that CM Punk, who came out to his new, awesome theme music.
So that's where we stand right now. It's believe that Punk has resigned with the company, but a lot of it remains unclear from a real life perspective. Some feel he's back for good, while others believed that he's working on a brief extension and will be done in another month or so. In the meantime, it appears that Punk and Cena will square off in a couple of weeks at Summerslam to determine the 'true' WWE champion. If Punk gets jobbed out in that match and leaves, it will be a dark end to this awesome angle. If he's planning on sticking around, there's the potential for him to finally pick up that anti-hero superstar role that's been vacant ever since Stone Cold Steve Austin left. For now, they've done a good job of hooking me back in, but it's only with cautious optimism at this point.
If you've been out of the loop, here's a quick recap:
- About a month ago when CM Punk received a title shot, he announced that his contact ended the night of his title shot and that when he defeated John Cena for the title, he planned on leaving the company with the belt.
-Then as a lame duck employee, he went on several awesome work/shoot rants about the terrible people that ran the company and the poor way they treated their employees.
- Panicked over the fact that someone might leave his company with the title (ala Bret Hart back in '97), Vince McMahon puts pressure on John Cena to win the match by telling him that if he doesn't Vince will fire him.
- This created all sorts of buzz for the Money in the Bank PPV. Was Punk really leaving and they'd simply job him out? Would Punk win but then in a swerve not leave? Would they try to recreate the Montreal screwjob to prevent Punk from leaving with the title. The fact that the match was taking place in CM Punk's hometown of Chicago, just added to the aura of this match.
- So what happened? Well believe it or not, Punk won (relatively cleanly) and seemingly left the company.
- This put the company in a bit of a tailspin. Vince tried to pretend like Punk never existed, he set up a tournament to crown a new WWE champion and prepared to fire John Cena. However, on the night after the PPV, Triple H returned to announce that the board of directors had decided that Vince was not capable of handling the day-to-day duties of running the WWE anymore and put Triple H in charge.
- With The Game now running the show, a match was made between John Cena and Rey Mysterio, who had won the WWE title in the tournament to determine who was going to be the champion. To the surprise of no one Cena won and became WWE Champ once again, only to be visited at the end of the show by none other that CM Punk, who came out to his new, awesome theme music.
So that's where we stand right now. It's believe that Punk has resigned with the company, but a lot of it remains unclear from a real life perspective. Some feel he's back for good, while others believed that he's working on a brief extension and will be done in another month or so. In the meantime, it appears that Punk and Cena will square off in a couple of weeks at Summerslam to determine the 'true' WWE champion. If Punk gets jobbed out in that match and leaves, it will be a dark end to this awesome angle. If he's planning on sticking around, there's the potential for him to finally pick up that anti-hero superstar role that's been vacant ever since Stone Cold Steve Austin left. For now, they've done a good job of hooking me back in, but it's only with cautious optimism at this point.
Tribe Watch (Week 17)
Record: 53 - 52
Standing: Second in AL Central
Let's of course get to the big news of the week which was the trades the team was able to pull off before the deadline. I already talked about the Fukudome deal earlier this week, so I won't expand on that. We also traded Orlando Cabrera to San Francisco for a minor league outfielder who's currently injured. Cabrera was doing absolutely nothing but hitting ground ball out when he was playing for us and when his playing time got cut, he started to whine, so I'm glad to see him go. Even if the guy we got for him doesn't pan out, it'll be a relief just to have unloaded OCab. Of course, the big move was the trade with the Rockies where we were able to get Ubaldo Jimenez. For the first part of last season Jimenez was absolutely unstoppable on the mound and seemed like a lock for the Cy Young award. However, since the midway point of last year, he's scuffled a bit, but has shown signs that he was re-emerging as that preeminent pitcher. No doubt, at his best, this guy can be the future ace of this club. Some are concerned about this deal because in order to get him, we had to give up four prospect, two of which were our highly touted first round draft picks of the past two years. This is always a risk, but it's one that I'm hoping pays off. Overall, I'm conflicted by these moves. I really like that our front office tried to be proactive and not be content with what they had. However, it seems like they missed the boat at trying to secure our greatest need, which is a right-handed power hitter. Our offense is absolutely scuffling right now and needs some kind of spark. I'll assume they feel the guys who are currently injured like Choo and Sizemore will still be able to come back and produce in time for the home stretch of the season. I sure hope so or otherwise these trades will have been for naught.
As for the performance on the field, the less said the better. As I just mentioned, our offense is really anemic at this point and we cannot score any runs. The only two wins we got this week came in walkoff fashion and we were really only able to get those because our pitching had been able to keep us in the game. This was a definite missed opportunity to get some wins, especially against weaker opponents like the Royals. This upcoming week could get real ugly. We have a huge 7 game road trip against Boston (for 4 games) and Texas (for 3). Those are two of the three divisional leaders and a pair of teams that have really good offenses. If we can't score any runs, we could easily see ourselves quickly falling down the ranks in the division. But despite this uphill climb, we've got to put our best foot forward and hope for the best, all the while saying Go Tribe!
Standing: Second in AL Central
Let's of course get to the big news of the week which was the trades the team was able to pull off before the deadline. I already talked about the Fukudome deal earlier this week, so I won't expand on that. We also traded Orlando Cabrera to San Francisco for a minor league outfielder who's currently injured. Cabrera was doing absolutely nothing but hitting ground ball out when he was playing for us and when his playing time got cut, he started to whine, so I'm glad to see him go. Even if the guy we got for him doesn't pan out, it'll be a relief just to have unloaded OCab. Of course, the big move was the trade with the Rockies where we were able to get Ubaldo Jimenez. For the first part of last season Jimenez was absolutely unstoppable on the mound and seemed like a lock for the Cy Young award. However, since the midway point of last year, he's scuffled a bit, but has shown signs that he was re-emerging as that preeminent pitcher. No doubt, at his best, this guy can be the future ace of this club. Some are concerned about this deal because in order to get him, we had to give up four prospect, two of which were our highly touted first round draft picks of the past two years. This is always a risk, but it's one that I'm hoping pays off. Overall, I'm conflicted by these moves. I really like that our front office tried to be proactive and not be content with what they had. However, it seems like they missed the boat at trying to secure our greatest need, which is a right-handed power hitter. Our offense is absolutely scuffling right now and needs some kind of spark. I'll assume they feel the guys who are currently injured like Choo and Sizemore will still be able to come back and produce in time for the home stretch of the season. I sure hope so or otherwise these trades will have been for naught.
As for the performance on the field, the less said the better. As I just mentioned, our offense is really anemic at this point and we cannot score any runs. The only two wins we got this week came in walkoff fashion and we were really only able to get those because our pitching had been able to keep us in the game. This was a definite missed opportunity to get some wins, especially against weaker opponents like the Royals. This upcoming week could get real ugly. We have a huge 7 game road trip against Boston (for 4 games) and Texas (for 3). Those are two of the three divisional leaders and a pair of teams that have really good offenses. If we can't score any runs, we could easily see ourselves quickly falling down the ranks in the division. But despite this uphill climb, we've got to put our best foot forward and hope for the best, all the while saying Go Tribe!
NBC newbies
Over the past week, there's been a lot of casting news with a lot of big names announced as joining the casts of some of my favorite NBC shows for next season. Here are some of the familiar faces you can expect to see come this fall...
Parks and Recreation: One of the biggest questions that came out of last season's finale was who was going to play Tammy 1, the other ex-Mrs. Ron Swanson. Fans knew that the woman had to be terrifying if just the mention of her name scared both Ron and the evil Tammy 2 (Megan Mullaly). Well this wicked woman will be played by none other than Patricia Clarkson. Some of you may recognize Clarkson from recent films like Easy A or perhaps from playing Andy Samberg's mom in the Motherlovin' digital short on SNL. Clarkson was not someone I thought of when fantasy picking the role, but she's definitely a terrific actress and I think she'll do a great job at being absolutely terrifying to anyone who's in her presence.
Community: It appears the staff at Greendale Community College will continue to grow as this sitcom enters its third season. First we learned that Michael K. Williams, who played Omar on The Wire, will play a biology teacher for a multi-episode stint. Then it was announced that John Goodman had been hired to play a vice dean (and someone who will butt heads with Dean Pelton, no bout). And if those two announcements were good enough, a third bit of casting news came out that Martin Starr is also being brought on to play a political science instructor. While Starr was recently seen in the Starz' series, Party Down, I came to appreciate his immense comedic talents this summer watching the cult favorite series, Freaks and Geeks, for the first time. This guy is truly an underappreciated comic actor and I can't wait to see what he brings to table acting with Joel McHale and company.
Chuck: As this show prepares for its final season, it looks like they intend to go out with a bang. During Comic-con, word got out that Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill would be joining the cast playing this year's big villain. Then earlier this week, news broke that Craig Kilborn had also been hired to play a villainous role to go against our favorite spy team. Most people haven't seen Kilborn in a long time, but I think they'll quickly remember that this guy can play smarmy so well, that he'll easily adapt to this villainous role. Finally, we'll also see some love on the show when The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss comes aboard to be a romantic foil for Casey. With that trio, it appears this show is attempting to reach Nerd-vana.
Parks and Recreation: One of the biggest questions that came out of last season's finale was who was going to play Tammy 1, the other ex-Mrs. Ron Swanson. Fans knew that the woman had to be terrifying if just the mention of her name scared both Ron and the evil Tammy 2 (Megan Mullaly). Well this wicked woman will be played by none other than Patricia Clarkson. Some of you may recognize Clarkson from recent films like Easy A or perhaps from playing Andy Samberg's mom in the Motherlovin' digital short on SNL. Clarkson was not someone I thought of when fantasy picking the role, but she's definitely a terrific actress and I think she'll do a great job at being absolutely terrifying to anyone who's in her presence.
Community: It appears the staff at Greendale Community College will continue to grow as this sitcom enters its third season. First we learned that Michael K. Williams, who played Omar on The Wire, will play a biology teacher for a multi-episode stint. Then it was announced that John Goodman had been hired to play a vice dean (and someone who will butt heads with Dean Pelton, no bout). And if those two announcements were good enough, a third bit of casting news came out that Martin Starr is also being brought on to play a political science instructor. While Starr was recently seen in the Starz' series, Party Down, I came to appreciate his immense comedic talents this summer watching the cult favorite series, Freaks and Geeks, for the first time. This guy is truly an underappreciated comic actor and I can't wait to see what he brings to table acting with Joel McHale and company.
Chuck: As this show prepares for its final season, it looks like they intend to go out with a bang. During Comic-con, word got out that Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill would be joining the cast playing this year's big villain. Then earlier this week, news broke that Craig Kilborn had also been hired to play a villainous role to go against our favorite spy team. Most people haven't seen Kilborn in a long time, but I think they'll quickly remember that this guy can play smarmy so well, that he'll easily adapt to this villainous role. Finally, we'll also see some love on the show when The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss comes aboard to be a romantic foil for Casey. With that trio, it appears this show is attempting to reach Nerd-vana.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Spoilspots
I'm posting two trailers here because they are both for films that I have interest in seeing, but both also give away too many plot details. So while I want to plug the movies, I also want to give you advance notice. If you seemingly don't want the movie ruined for you, avoid watching these trailers. But if you don't mind being spoiled or if you just want to save yourself some money and basically see the whole movie right now, by all means go ahead and check out these videos.
In Time, a sci-fi thriller starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried
Dream House, a supernatural thriller starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz
In Time, a sci-fi thriller starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried
Dream House, a supernatural thriller starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz
NMR: Cedar Rapids
While more people probably saw Ed Helms in The Hangover Part II, his far better effort was in this small comedy. Helms stars as Tim Lippe, a sheltered insurance agent who has to travel outside of his hometown for the first time for a conference when his company's typical representative suddenly passes away. The film offers a few 'fish out of water' jokes, but it's primarily about the relationship he forms with a trio of other agents played nicely by John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and and Isiah Whitlock. As a bonus, the film also sprinkles in cameos from a number of talented and funny supporting actors like Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Root, Rob Corddry, Thomas Lennon, Mike O'Malley, and Kurtwood Smith. Helms' attempts to loosen up and shed his insecurities produce mostly funny content. However, I felt they made his character sink a bit too far into depravity in the middle, which hurt the film a bit. Still, this is a short, simple, enjoyable film about what happens when we venture beyond our safe bubble. Similar to the guys in The Hangover visiting Vegas or any teen comedy featuring characters heading off to college, being able to cut loose can be a lot of fun until things get out of hand. And it's your ability to return back to that bubble a better person rather than a destroyed one is what's most important. Rating: *** 1/2
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Schur as Schur can be
All this week, the AV Club has ran a 4-part interview with Parks and Recreation executive producer Michael Schur. In it he comments on each episode from Season 3, as well as discusses the season as a whole and the general vision of for the show. Obviously if you're a fan of Parks and Rec. you should read this. But even if you're just a fan of television this is a fantastic read as it really gives you an inside look at the behind-the-scenes process of what goes into making great televison. Links to all four parts of the interview are posted below.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Konichiwa Kosuke
Indians get Fukudome from Cubs
The first, and hopefully not last, trade for the Cleveland Indians have been made. Here's my breakdown of the move:
Pros: Fukudome has had a really good on base percentage this year, the Cubs ate up most of Fukudome's contract so we saved some money on the move, we only gave up a couple of single A guys to get him
Cons: Thus far with the Cubs this season he hasn't really produced many runs which is something that the team needs, he's also a left-handed batter and we need some righties
Overall, a mixed bag but I'll reserve judgment. If this is the first of more moves to come, I'll consider it a shrewd move. If this is all we do, it will seem like a lateral move that once again reaffirms the incompetence of the front office.
The first, and hopefully not last, trade for the Cleveland Indians have been made. Here's my breakdown of the move:
Pros: Fukudome has had a really good on base percentage this year, the Cubs ate up most of Fukudome's contract so we saved some money on the move, we only gave up a couple of single A guys to get him
Cons: Thus far with the Cubs this season he hasn't really produced many runs which is something that the team needs, he's also a left-handed batter and we need some righties
Overall, a mixed bag but I'll reserve judgment. If this is the first of more moves to come, I'll consider it a shrewd move. If this is all we do, it will seem like a lateral move that once again reaffirms the incompetence of the front office.
The Ides have it
Before you know it, it'll be awards season again for the film industry, which means we're starting to see glimpses of some of the possible contenders. One film that appears like it could do very well is The Ides of March, directed by and starring George Clooney. Here's your first look at a trailer from it.
NMR: Unknown
Typically when I watch my film I do my best to suspend disbelief when things get a bit preposterous or unrealistic, but this film tested my limits. Unknown is apt title for this film because it is just filled with so many plot holes, leaving the audience clueless. The story centers around a man played by Liam Neeson, who while attending a conference in Berlin with his wife, (January Jones) gets into a car accident and is in a coma for four days. When he awakens and finds his wife she claims to not recognize him and says she married to someone else by that name(the fact that she wasn't by his bedside to begin with should clue you in to the fact that something is amiss). From there Neeson's character goes on a quest to find out the truth and once we get some answers, we're only left with more questions. The twist itself isn't so bad, they just did a really poor job of getting us to that point. It's as if they started with the finish and worked backwards. It's clear that this film attempts to cash in on the success that Neeson had with his other Euro-thriller, Taken. And he is good in this role. There's also some nice acting in small supporting roles from the likes of Frank Langella and Bruno Ganz (the man who played Hitler in Downfall). Trying to comprehend the story in this film will simply cause your brain to hurt, so don't even try. If you can zone out and simply appreciate the action and thrill you may enjoy this movie, but that's easier said than done. Rating: ***
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Tribe Watch (Week 16)
Record: 51 - 48
Standing: Second in AL Central
The Tribe is at the worst spot they've been in all season right now. Not just in terms of the standings, where we currently sit a game an half behind Detroit, but just from a pure performance perspective. We continue to lose guys to injury and those who are playing cannot seem to get a hit to save their life. Currently we are riding a four game losing streak, all of which came against divisional opponents. It could have been worse, but we somehow managed to win both games in Monday's doubleheader. Losing against teams in your division is never good, but I especially hate it when we lose against those lowlifes from Chicago. I hate the White Sox so much and do not want to see them somehow win this division. For as bad as things have looked for the Tribe, this should be a very interesting week to watch because this is the final week of the trading deadline. It's becoming increasingly apparent that this team needs to make some kind of move. Hopefully they'll be smart about finding one or more players that can be brought in here and help this team produce without sacrificing too much in return. As far as opponents are concerned, we'll remain at home for the rest of the week, first against the Anaheim Angels and then another weekend series against a division opponent when we play the Kansas City Royals. By this time next week, we should a good sense of the state of this team and whether or not we can be hopeful that playoff baseball will be played in Cleveland this year. Pray for good news come next Sunday and as always, Go Tribe!
Standing: Second in AL Central
The Tribe is at the worst spot they've been in all season right now. Not just in terms of the standings, where we currently sit a game an half behind Detroit, but just from a pure performance perspective. We continue to lose guys to injury and those who are playing cannot seem to get a hit to save their life. Currently we are riding a four game losing streak, all of which came against divisional opponents. It could have been worse, but we somehow managed to win both games in Monday's doubleheader. Losing against teams in your division is never good, but I especially hate it when we lose against those lowlifes from Chicago. I hate the White Sox so much and do not want to see them somehow win this division. For as bad as things have looked for the Tribe, this should be a very interesting week to watch because this is the final week of the trading deadline. It's becoming increasingly apparent that this team needs to make some kind of move. Hopefully they'll be smart about finding one or more players that can be brought in here and help this team produce without sacrificing too much in return. As far as opponents are concerned, we'll remain at home for the rest of the week, first against the Anaheim Angels and then another weekend series against a division opponent when we play the Kansas City Royals. By this time next week, we should a good sense of the state of this team and whether or not we can be hopeful that playoff baseball will be played in Cleveland this year. Pray for good news come next Sunday and as always, Go Tribe!
Inaction Jackson
As Fringe fans contemplate what happened to Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), who literally disappeared at the end of last season, the show's producers decided to have a little fun with this and created this audition reel for Comic-Con attendees showcasing notable celebrities trying out for the role of Peter. Very funny stuff, especially for us nerds who know who each of these actors are.
Woe, the humanity
Try as I might, I just can't help myself from seeing these Transformers movies, despite being less than enamored with the previous entries. Blame the heat wave this time as I was merely trying to find respite and decided going to the theater was the best way to cool off.
Yes, the robots in disguise are back for a third time in Transformers: Dark of the Moon - an admittedly better effort than the awful second film, but one still plagued with problems. The story this time around ties in the real life events surrounding the first moon landing. Apparently, a ship carrying important Transformers technology had crashed on the moon and was discovered by the first American astronauts when they travelled to the dark side of the moon - a fact that had been kept a secret until now. Both Autobots and Decepticons want the technology and naturally, that eventually leads to another big battle between the two groups.
Of course, such an epic battle wouldn't be complete until there's a way to shoehorn Sam Witwicky (Shia Lebeouf) right into the middle of the action. This character may be one of the lest likable characters in the history of film. Some of it has to do with Lebeouf's grating 'acting'. But a lot of the blame falls on director Michael Bay and the film's writers. It was one thing to craft him as a whiny, petulant teen in the first film but the character has supposedly graduated from an Ivy League college and experience two robot wars and yet still behaves the same way. Despite his educational background he can't find a job (I guess that's Bay's way of trying to make the film relevant of our time) and whines about not being included in our country's usage of the Autobots. Why didn't this guy just join the army if he wanted to fight alongside his robot friends all the time? Yet, despite all of his very apparent flaws, he still manages to get hot, supermodel girlfriends. This time it's newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whitley, who easily replaces Megan Fox in the role of vapid hottie with no discernible acting skills.
Lebeouf's Witwicky is far from the only problem with the film - frankly every single human character in the film is bothersome. At best, they are one-dimensional (What were actors like Ken Jeong, Andrew Daly, and even, John Malkovich doing in this film) and at worst, they mug for the camera and take up way too much screen time that should have been devoted to the real conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons. There are large set pieces devoted to putting the human characters in peril and all I kept thinking was 'What are Optimus Prime, Megatron, and the rest of the key Transformers doing right now?' Had this been a film that had taken place on Cybertron, the Transformers' home planet and there were no human characters, this would have been infinitely a better film.
The scenes that do feature robot on robot carnage are admittedly very cool. Bay introduces some new ones that look great and do a lot of damage. He also eliminated any of the problematic one, like the racists twins or the one with 'robot balls'. I'm also glad I made the decision to see the film in 3D. It was clear that Michael Bay had the technology in mind when he created the film and the scenes that utilize the technology really pop off the screen. If more films could find a way to use 3D in this way, the technology wouldn't catch as much flack as it currently is.
I will give Michael Bay some credit in that he did seem to make a concentrated effort to fix some of the large issues that people had with the second film. The humor is kept to the minimum and isn't offensive this time. There also isn't as much exposition. They keep the storytelling fairly simple and just get straight to the action. I just wish they had allowed the action to be more centered around the robot. The one character that really gets short-changed here is Megatron, who not only loses screen time to the human characters, but also gets marginalized by his characters like Optimus Prime and newcomer, Sentinel Prime (voiced by Leonard Nimoy).
Those who are Transformers fans will likely have made peace already with Michael Bay's drawbacks as a director and will enjoy this improved effort. It's unlikely that those who have no care for this franchise will suddenly be lured in by this third film. I will say though that because the 3D is so well used here, that it is one of the few films that I would recommend seeing in the theater if you are going to see it. The characters will be one-dimensional no matter how you view it, so you might as well give your eyes a treat and let all the matter, debris and robot arms fly out at you to hopefully distract you from the poor acting that's on display. This is noisy entertainment, but sometimes it's fun to watch these robots hidden as cars pop out and start fighting one another. I just wish the humans weren't robots in disguise as well. Grade: C+
Yes, the robots in disguise are back for a third time in Transformers: Dark of the Moon - an admittedly better effort than the awful second film, but one still plagued with problems. The story this time around ties in the real life events surrounding the first moon landing. Apparently, a ship carrying important Transformers technology had crashed on the moon and was discovered by the first American astronauts when they travelled to the dark side of the moon - a fact that had been kept a secret until now. Both Autobots and Decepticons want the technology and naturally, that eventually leads to another big battle between the two groups.
Of course, such an epic battle wouldn't be complete until there's a way to shoehorn Sam Witwicky (Shia Lebeouf) right into the middle of the action. This character may be one of the lest likable characters in the history of film. Some of it has to do with Lebeouf's grating 'acting'. But a lot of the blame falls on director Michael Bay and the film's writers. It was one thing to craft him as a whiny, petulant teen in the first film but the character has supposedly graduated from an Ivy League college and experience two robot wars and yet still behaves the same way. Despite his educational background he can't find a job (I guess that's Bay's way of trying to make the film relevant of our time) and whines about not being included in our country's usage of the Autobots. Why didn't this guy just join the army if he wanted to fight alongside his robot friends all the time? Yet, despite all of his very apparent flaws, he still manages to get hot, supermodel girlfriends. This time it's newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whitley, who easily replaces Megan Fox in the role of vapid hottie with no discernible acting skills.
Lebeouf's Witwicky is far from the only problem with the film - frankly every single human character in the film is bothersome. At best, they are one-dimensional (What were actors like Ken Jeong, Andrew Daly, and even, John Malkovich doing in this film) and at worst, they mug for the camera and take up way too much screen time that should have been devoted to the real conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons. There are large set pieces devoted to putting the human characters in peril and all I kept thinking was 'What are Optimus Prime, Megatron, and the rest of the key Transformers doing right now?' Had this been a film that had taken place on Cybertron, the Transformers' home planet and there were no human characters, this would have been infinitely a better film.
The scenes that do feature robot on robot carnage are admittedly very cool. Bay introduces some new ones that look great and do a lot of damage. He also eliminated any of the problematic one, like the racists twins or the one with 'robot balls'. I'm also glad I made the decision to see the film in 3D. It was clear that Michael Bay had the technology in mind when he created the film and the scenes that utilize the technology really pop off the screen. If more films could find a way to use 3D in this way, the technology wouldn't catch as much flack as it currently is.
I will give Michael Bay some credit in that he did seem to make a concentrated effort to fix some of the large issues that people had with the second film. The humor is kept to the minimum and isn't offensive this time. There also isn't as much exposition. They keep the storytelling fairly simple and just get straight to the action. I just wish they had allowed the action to be more centered around the robot. The one character that really gets short-changed here is Megatron, who not only loses screen time to the human characters, but also gets marginalized by his characters like Optimus Prime and newcomer, Sentinel Prime (voiced by Leonard Nimoy).
Those who are Transformers fans will likely have made peace already with Michael Bay's drawbacks as a director and will enjoy this improved effort. It's unlikely that those who have no care for this franchise will suddenly be lured in by this third film. I will say though that because the 3D is so well used here, that it is one of the few films that I would recommend seeing in the theater if you are going to see it. The characters will be one-dimensional no matter how you view it, so you might as well give your eyes a treat and let all the matter, debris and robot arms fly out at you to hopefully distract you from the poor acting that's on display. This is noisy entertainment, but sometimes it's fun to watch these robots hidden as cars pop out and start fighting one another. I just wish the humans weren't robots in disguise as well. Grade: C+
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Lost footage
As Comic-con rolls on, fans of Lost were treated to a special surprise. Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse unveiled a "deleted" scene that supposedly was cut from the Season 1 finale. What begins as a tantalizing tease turns into a funny goof that shows how these guys are able to admit some of their errors as it relates to how the show was resolved.
NMR: The Lincoln Lawyer
Watching this made me realized how much I had forgotten how enjoyable a straightforward legal thriller can be. The genre has somewhat disappeared from theaters in recent years, likely due to the glut of legal shows on television, but this movie shows that if done right there's no reason why more stories like this can't be made into other films. Based on a novel by Michael Connelly, it stars Matthew McConaughey (in one of his best acting performances in a long time) as a lawyer who does most of his work while being driven around in his Lincoln. He takes on a case defending a rich kid (Ryan Phillipe) who's being accused of beating up a woman. The case takes a number of twists and turns, putting McConaughey's character into quite a pickle. The film is rounded out with a number of excellent supporting actors including Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Bryan Cranston, Josh Lucas, and John Leguizamo. Director Brad Furman creates a great mood in the film that shows a gritty side of Los Angeles without making you feel dirty or depressed in the process. If the film has any faults, I would say that it probably has a twist too many as the film tries to wrap things up and it also shortchanges some characters, who likely were more developed and/or explained in the original book. Still this is a very solid thriller that is certainly worth a rental if you never got a chance to check it out when it was in theaters. Rating: **** 1/2
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Amazing replace
With Comic-con this week, expect to see a lot of trailers/previews for stuff coming out next week. This time, it's our first look at Marvel's attempt to reboot the Spiderman franchise with Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) taking over as Peter Parker.
Prestige Potter
As the movie poster states - it ends here. After 10 years of enchanting audiences with their magic, Daniel Radcliff and co. say goodbye with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2. The film offers up fans a satisfying conclusion to this decade long ride, though like most of the adaptations this one also does not quite hit perfection.
When we left things off, things looked bleak for The Boy Who Lived and his Hogwarts pals. They were losing friends left and right while Voldemort was continuing to grow stronger. This film picks up with Harry, Ron and and Hermione on the search for horcruxes (random objects which contain a piece of Voldemort's soul), while the rest of the school tries to stave off an attack from an army of Death Eaters. Unlike Part 1, this film is mostly all action leaving you little time to catch your breath as you go along for the ride.
There are a lot of terrific scenes here, particularly the action sequences where everyone has wands a-firing. An early scene involving dragons and a bank heist is also top notch. What I appreciate the most about this film, even more than many of the recent films, is the way they were able to bring this expansive cast together and give them each their moment. I suppose that is more of a credit to author J.K. Rowling who had enough foresight to work all of these characters into the end game, but to also give all of the key characters who we have loved throughout the series their moment of triumph. While characters will often frame it as such, this is not just about Harry. This is a group effort to defeat evil and I enjoyed watching each of them find a way to utilize their talents to help the cause.
Since this is the end, it's important I point out one of the series' lesser-praised stars. Once again Alan Rickman shines as Professor Severus Snape. While he's been a delight to watch in each of these films in the various ways he's found to torment Harry and his friends, here he gets his moment of redemption through a series of flashbacks chronicling his life and his actions behind the scenes. Rickman is terrific in these scenes and it goes a long way to explaining the internal struggle Snape had to deal with throughout this whole ordeal. By noting his work, this is not meant to take away from the efforts of everyone else in his cast, but I truly feel that in a different actor's hands the complexities of the Snape character that are so well developed in the books would not have come across on the screen.
As I noted above, for as much of a enjoyable success as this film is, it does not quite hit every note exactly right. In the past, my minor quibbles have mostly surrounding the omissions or changes that the writer/director made in relation to the book. This time, I really didn't see any glaring changes that upset me. Instead, my minor complaints are associated with the emotional impact with some scenes. Reading the book, Rowling did such an amazing job of evoking pathos, sometimes with just a few words. In recalling those scenes, I anticipated having those emotions heightened as I saw them visually represented on the screen. Unfortunately, that didn't always happen. Without spoiling the actual events, I'll just say that some scenes that I expected to be quick and impactful were drug out to far and ones that I felt needed more time were rushed. I was disappointed, but that is the burden of the book reader who chooses to also see the film.
One important aside that I want to mention - this is the first of the Potter films to be done in 3D. I saw it in 2D and enjoyed it just the same. It certainly was clear though which scenes were intended for 3D though. Whether or not that extra dimension is worth it will likely depend on your general views of the technology. It seems like the filmmakers did enough to justify the conversion, but if you typically don't see films in 3D, I don't see any reason why you would change here.
Overall, no matter how large of a Potter fan you are, you'll likely be satisfied by the concluding tale. It provides a stark contrast to the overly talky Part 1 and wraps up all of the loose ends (there's even an epilogue which shows what happens to certain characters several year later - a fact you already know if you read the book). This film has already made a bajillion dollars, so it doesn't need my stamp of approval, but I shall praise it nonethess. Most film franchises peter out by the third or fourth movie, so credit to everyone involved for keeping the quality of the films consistent throughout. Simply put, their success was movie magic. Grade: A-
When we left things off, things looked bleak for The Boy Who Lived and his Hogwarts pals. They were losing friends left and right while Voldemort was continuing to grow stronger. This film picks up with Harry, Ron and and Hermione on the search for horcruxes (random objects which contain a piece of Voldemort's soul), while the rest of the school tries to stave off an attack from an army of Death Eaters. Unlike Part 1, this film is mostly all action leaving you little time to catch your breath as you go along for the ride.
There are a lot of terrific scenes here, particularly the action sequences where everyone has wands a-firing. An early scene involving dragons and a bank heist is also top notch. What I appreciate the most about this film, even more than many of the recent films, is the way they were able to bring this expansive cast together and give them each their moment. I suppose that is more of a credit to author J.K. Rowling who had enough foresight to work all of these characters into the end game, but to also give all of the key characters who we have loved throughout the series their moment of triumph. While characters will often frame it as such, this is not just about Harry. This is a group effort to defeat evil and I enjoyed watching each of them find a way to utilize their talents to help the cause.
Since this is the end, it's important I point out one of the series' lesser-praised stars. Once again Alan Rickman shines as Professor Severus Snape. While he's been a delight to watch in each of these films in the various ways he's found to torment Harry and his friends, here he gets his moment of redemption through a series of flashbacks chronicling his life and his actions behind the scenes. Rickman is terrific in these scenes and it goes a long way to explaining the internal struggle Snape had to deal with throughout this whole ordeal. By noting his work, this is not meant to take away from the efforts of everyone else in his cast, but I truly feel that in a different actor's hands the complexities of the Snape character that are so well developed in the books would not have come across on the screen.
As I noted above, for as much of a enjoyable success as this film is, it does not quite hit every note exactly right. In the past, my minor quibbles have mostly surrounding the omissions or changes that the writer/director made in relation to the book. This time, I really didn't see any glaring changes that upset me. Instead, my minor complaints are associated with the emotional impact with some scenes. Reading the book, Rowling did such an amazing job of evoking pathos, sometimes with just a few words. In recalling those scenes, I anticipated having those emotions heightened as I saw them visually represented on the screen. Unfortunately, that didn't always happen. Without spoiling the actual events, I'll just say that some scenes that I expected to be quick and impactful were drug out to far and ones that I felt needed more time were rushed. I was disappointed, but that is the burden of the book reader who chooses to also see the film.
One important aside that I want to mention - this is the first of the Potter films to be done in 3D. I saw it in 2D and enjoyed it just the same. It certainly was clear though which scenes were intended for 3D though. Whether or not that extra dimension is worth it will likely depend on your general views of the technology. It seems like the filmmakers did enough to justify the conversion, but if you typically don't see films in 3D, I don't see any reason why you would change here.
Overall, no matter how large of a Potter fan you are, you'll likely be satisfied by the concluding tale. It provides a stark contrast to the overly talky Part 1 and wraps up all of the loose ends (there's even an epilogue which shows what happens to certain characters several year later - a fact you already know if you read the book). This film has already made a bajillion dollars, so it doesn't need my stamp of approval, but I shall praise it nonethess. Most film franchises peter out by the third or fourth movie, so credit to everyone involved for keeping the quality of the films consistent throughout. Simply put, their success was movie magic. Grade: A-
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Bat signal
So it took a few days, but finally here's the first teaser trailer for next summer's next Batman adventure, The Dark Knight Rises.
NMR: Hall Pass
If you recall I wrote up a post analyzing this film's trailer shortly before the film was released in theaters. In it, I noted that I felt there were some problems with the storytelling that made it difficult for me to buy into the plot. Despite this misgivings, I felt I deserved to give the film a fair shake in case the trailer wasn't giving me the full story. Sadly, my worries turned out to be true. This film hits one false note after another until it arrives at a climax that is so overbooked and unnecessary that I have begun to question whether or not the Farrelly brothers are capable of making another quality comedy again. The biggest problem is that I never bought these guys (played by Owen Wilson and Jason Sudekis) needing the 'hall pass' in the first place. So they talk a bit crass when they're alone or occassionally eyeball an attractive woman. The wives'(played by Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) suggestion that they need this time apart seems like a major overreaction. And yet when these guys do get the pass, the time is squandered - not just in terms of what they do, but also in the comedic value for the audience in what they do. There are a couple of chuckles, but most of the gross-out gags simply stress the gross aspect of them. None of the characters here are all that appealing - the men are emasculated, the women are hypocritical and anyone on the sidelines is largely shortchanged in terms of screen time. Including guys like Richard Jenkins and Stephen Merchant (from the British version of The Office) and then hardly doing anything with them is a crime. I can't say that I never laughed, but I definitely expected to laugh more and would have needed to do so in order to give this film a recommendation. Rating: ** 1/2
Monday, July 18, 2011
This is one sick trailer!
I would have preferred to have posted the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, which was shown in front of Harry Potter this past weekend, but there isn't a decent version of it yet online, so you'll have to wait. In the meantime, here's a trailer for a film I'm anticipating this year - the new virus thriller, Contagion, starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Tribe Watch (Week 15)
Record: 49-44
Standing: First in AL Central
Definitely a missed opportunity this past weekend. After starting the second half of the season strong by beating up on Baltimore in the first two games, we ended up only coming away with a series split as the Indians gagged on Saturday and fell apart on Sunday. With as terrible as Baltimore is, we should have taken at the very least 3 out of the 4 games from them. The inability to beat those teams hurts our chances of separating ourselves from the rest of our AL Central rivals. Speaking of which, we start this week in a 4 game set against the Twins in Minnesota. That begins today with a doubleheader. I'm already worried about those two games given that we have an unproven David Huff pitching Game 1 in his season debut and the always shaky Fausto Carmona coming of the DL to pitch in Game 2. Also problematic is our depleted roster. We have seemingly lost Grady again to a knee injury, which certainly doesn't help. We have yet to play well in Minnesota's new stadium and I'm concerned that will continue in this series. I certainly hope I'm wrong though. After Minnesota, we'll be coming back home to play the dreaded White Sox. With two big divisional series this week, we could see our place in the standings dramatically shift. Let's hope it's in a postive direction. If nothing else, it should give the team's front office a clear sense of how active they should be as the trade deadline nears. Just like the thermostat, it appears things for this team are about to heat up. And I'll be there to root them on all the way through it. Go Tribe!
Standing: First in AL Central
Definitely a missed opportunity this past weekend. After starting the second half of the season strong by beating up on Baltimore in the first two games, we ended up only coming away with a series split as the Indians gagged on Saturday and fell apart on Sunday. With as terrible as Baltimore is, we should have taken at the very least 3 out of the 4 games from them. The inability to beat those teams hurts our chances of separating ourselves from the rest of our AL Central rivals. Speaking of which, we start this week in a 4 game set against the Twins in Minnesota. That begins today with a doubleheader. I'm already worried about those two games given that we have an unproven David Huff pitching Game 1 in his season debut and the always shaky Fausto Carmona coming of the DL to pitch in Game 2. Also problematic is our depleted roster. We have seemingly lost Grady again to a knee injury, which certainly doesn't help. We have yet to play well in Minnesota's new stadium and I'm concerned that will continue in this series. I certainly hope I'm wrong though. After Minnesota, we'll be coming back home to play the dreaded White Sox. With two big divisional series this week, we could see our place in the standings dramatically shift. Let's hope it's in a postive direction. If nothing else, it should give the team's front office a clear sense of how active they should be as the trade deadline nears. Just like the thermostat, it appears things for this team are about to heat up. And I'll be there to root them on all the way through it. Go Tribe!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Holmes Sweet Holmes
In case you can't wait to see this in the theater with the new Harry Potter film this weekend, here's the first trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Lacking supervision
Look at me finally getting a movie review done in a (relatively) timely manner. Although I'm just as likely to get recognition for my efforts as the three protagonists in Horrible Bosses. Played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, and Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), these three guys are having major problems with the titular superiors. Bateman's boss, played by Kevin Spacey, is a lying, manipulative psychopath. Sudekis struggles with his offensive, cokehead of a boss (plays by a nearly unrecognizable Colin Farrell). And Jennifer Aniston is causing havoc in Day's life by overtly sexually harrassing him (Oh, to have his problems).
The solution these guys come up with to deal with their problematic bosses is to murder them. Thanks to the help of Jamie Foxx (whose character name I can't even type here), they come up with a plan to off each other's boss, ala Throw Momma From the Train. This provides us with a number of stakeout/recon scenes that offer some awkward, yet funny moments.
It's a shame though that the film felt the need to rush us into this decision. The majority of the scenes meant to establish how horrible these guys' bosses can be seen in the film's trailers. While I didn't doubt that these guys were indeed terrible (Although again, how many people would complain about Aniston sexually harassing them, especially given how sexy she looked in this film). But there seemed to be a lot of untapped resources there in those scenes. Why not let these actors playing the bosses really let loose, especially since each of them seemed to be enjoying playing someone so nasty.
This remains a problem throughout the film. Everything stays one dimensional as we skip from one scene to the next as if there's some sort of plot checklist that needs to be accomplished with no regard to how deep we can explore the characters or their actions. By the time it reaches it's simplistic conclusion you keep expecting some additional wrinkle to be added, but it never comes. Before you know it, the credits are rolling, coupled with the blooper reel (always a trademark of a lazy comedy)
The actors are all good here. With maybe the exception of Charlie Day, who was a bit too loud and spastic here for my liking (and also, again, comes off a bit unsympathetic given his 'horrible' boss). I just wish each of them were given more. We get glimpses of their potential throughout the film. For instance, Bateman and Sudekis will start riffing on each other as they investigate one of their boss' houses, but just as things are starting to get good and funny we're already moving on to the next scene.
I wish the director Seth Gordon would have taken a page from someone like Judd Apatow and just let the camera keep rolling. And if he did and left a lot of stuff on the cutting room floor, then shame on him. If so, hopefully we can get a better 'extended' cut when it comes out on DVD. Otherwise, this will remain a solid comedy that failed to live up to its potential.
Perhaps I had too high of expectations coming in to the film. I'm sure there will be a lot of people that will really like this movie. I can certainly say that I laughed several times throughout it, but also felt like I should have been laughing more. Horrible Bosses is a film that seems to settle for middle management and never takes the opportunity to break through the glass ceiling. Grade: B-
The solution these guys come up with to deal with their problematic bosses is to murder them. Thanks to the help of Jamie Foxx (whose character name I can't even type here), they come up with a plan to off each other's boss, ala Throw Momma From the Train. This provides us with a number of stakeout/recon scenes that offer some awkward, yet funny moments.
It's a shame though that the film felt the need to rush us into this decision. The majority of the scenes meant to establish how horrible these guys' bosses can be seen in the film's trailers. While I didn't doubt that these guys were indeed terrible (Although again, how many people would complain about Aniston sexually harassing them, especially given how sexy she looked in this film). But there seemed to be a lot of untapped resources there in those scenes. Why not let these actors playing the bosses really let loose, especially since each of them seemed to be enjoying playing someone so nasty.
This remains a problem throughout the film. Everything stays one dimensional as we skip from one scene to the next as if there's some sort of plot checklist that needs to be accomplished with no regard to how deep we can explore the characters or their actions. By the time it reaches it's simplistic conclusion you keep expecting some additional wrinkle to be added, but it never comes. Before you know it, the credits are rolling, coupled with the blooper reel (always a trademark of a lazy comedy)
The actors are all good here. With maybe the exception of Charlie Day, who was a bit too loud and spastic here for my liking (and also, again, comes off a bit unsympathetic given his 'horrible' boss). I just wish each of them were given more. We get glimpses of their potential throughout the film. For instance, Bateman and Sudekis will start riffing on each other as they investigate one of their boss' houses, but just as things are starting to get good and funny we're already moving on to the next scene.
I wish the director Seth Gordon would have taken a page from someone like Judd Apatow and just let the camera keep rolling. And if he did and left a lot of stuff on the cutting room floor, then shame on him. If so, hopefully we can get a better 'extended' cut when it comes out on DVD. Otherwise, this will remain a solid comedy that failed to live up to its potential.
Perhaps I had too high of expectations coming in to the film. I'm sure there will be a lot of people that will really like this movie. I can certainly say that I laughed several times throughout it, but also felt like I should have been laughing more. Horrible Bosses is a film that seems to settle for middle management and never takes the opportunity to break through the glass ceiling. Grade: B-
Tribe Watch (All Star Break)
Record: 47-42
Standing: Second in AL Central
And so the Indians end up limping into the All-Star Break instead of finishing strong. Things had looked so promising earlier in the week though. We ended up taking two out of three from the Yankees and looked like we were finally coming out of our funk in the process. Unfortunately things peaked in the first game of the Toronto series when Travis Hafner hit that amazing walk-off grand slam to give us the win. It was all downhill after that, though, as we lost the last three to the Blue Jays and struggled to score in the process. As a result, Detroit managed to squeak back up into first place by a half game as well. As much as I would have liked to be in first place at the break, we're only a half game out and we've played two less games than the Tigers. What the Tribe needs to do is use this time wisely to rest up and come back out refocused so that they start playing like they did at the beginning of the year. As I mentioned in one of the other recent Tribe Watch posts, the month of July is a very easy schedule for the Indians. We need to take advantage of it, because things will get rough again come August. The first opportunity to rack up wins and give us some distance from Detroit comes on the road when we take on Baltimore in a four game series. The Orioles once again find themselves in the cellar of the AL East, so let's hope we can beat up on a lesser team. Until then, enjoy the All Star Game and Go Tribe!
Standing: Second in AL Central
And so the Indians end up limping into the All-Star Break instead of finishing strong. Things had looked so promising earlier in the week though. We ended up taking two out of three from the Yankees and looked like we were finally coming out of our funk in the process. Unfortunately things peaked in the first game of the Toronto series when Travis Hafner hit that amazing walk-off grand slam to give us the win. It was all downhill after that, though, as we lost the last three to the Blue Jays and struggled to score in the process. As a result, Detroit managed to squeak back up into first place by a half game as well. As much as I would have liked to be in first place at the break, we're only a half game out and we've played two less games than the Tigers. What the Tribe needs to do is use this time wisely to rest up and come back out refocused so that they start playing like they did at the beginning of the year. As I mentioned in one of the other recent Tribe Watch posts, the month of July is a very easy schedule for the Indians. We need to take advantage of it, because things will get rough again come August. The first opportunity to rack up wins and give us some distance from Detroit comes on the road when we take on Baltimore in a four game series. The Orioles once again find themselves in the cellar of the AL East, so let's hope we can beat up on a lesser team. Until then, enjoy the All Star Game and Go Tribe!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)