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(05/15/08 1:33am)
I saw "Redbelt" with my dad. About halfway through, he was nodding off. Although he didn’t stay asleep, it was clear the film was not holding his attention. At the end of the film, when I expected him to voice his displeasure, he surprised me with the words, "That was great!"
(04/23/08 1:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If you really like Al Pacino, “88 Minutes” might be for you, because it’s Al Pacino’s movie.I don’t mean this in the literal sense – the film was directed by Jon Avnet (“Boomtown,” “Fried Green Tomatoes”) and written by Gary Scott Thompson (“Las Vegas,” “Hollow Man”). But without Pacino, there’s no way this movie would have been made. Pacino is the sun and all the other cast members are mere planets, asteroids, satellites and other cosmic debris. After the opening scene, Pacino is in every scene of the movie.The film’s plot revolves around the Seattle Slayer, a serial killer who has killed multiple women in the same elaborate fashion. We learn that despite having no physical evidence, Gramm’s testimony is so compelling it gets the jury to convict Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) and sentence him to death. Fast forward seven years later to the day of Forster’s scheduled execution. Forster is trying his hardest to get his execution postponed, which is aided by the fact that women are still being murdered. The same day, Pacino receives a call telling him he has 88 minutes (surprise!) to live.What follows is a modernized version of the classic whodunit-mystery/thriller. Gramm becomes overwhelmingly paranoid of his students, co-workers and basically anyone he sees on the street. Most of the opening background scenes are pretty dull, but once Pacino gets that first call, the action picks up and remains entertaining the rest of the way through.Being entertaining is the only real accolade I can credit to “88 Minutes.” It is the epitome of OK. The dialogue is cliche; each character has their own little secret/wrinkle that provides them with just enough depth to be interesting. Meanwhile, you are constantly being beaten over the head with possible suspects and other obvious clues you probably would have picked up on anyway. Of the usual plot twists, the most surprising was that Pacino’s character spelled his name “Gramm” when the whole time I had been expecting it to be “Graham.”There are no descriptive adjectives for “88 Minutes,” because how many different ways can you describe “OK”? Wait for this one to come on TNT on a Sunday and it’ll fill your afternoon adequately.
(09/13/07 4:00am)
made the decision last year to casually begin watching the U.S. version of "The Office," around the time of the "Benihana Christmas" episode. My casual watching turned into a DVR series recording, and I didn't miss an episode for the rest of the season. The careful development of the characters and their awkward interaction had me hooked.\nSeason one was more like a bad Ben Stiller movie. It focused too much on Carell over the other characters, and Carell played his role overly-obnoxious/awkward to the point where he wasn't really likable. \nIn season three, Carell does an excellent job of remaining the annoying boss, but is able to do it with enough integrity to remain enjoyable to watch. Season three was so smart and funny, it won last year's outstanding comedy series Emmy, and was nominated again this year. Former producer Ben Silverman was also rewarded by the shows success with a promotion to co-chair of NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studios. Season three of "The Office" reminds me of season six of "South Park." After Kenny was finally killed off for the last time, Trey Parker and Matt Stone brought in a new group of hilarious characters to fill the void and take the show to the next level (and eventually brought Kenny back to join the newer, larger cast). "The Office" utilizes the supporting cast better in season three, and with Jim working at the Stamford branch, the characters of Karen (Rashida Jones) and Andy (Ed Helms) are added to the cast. When the two branches merge in the eighth episode of the season, it's back to the original office in Scranton with a couple new characters to make the show better. \nIf you're concerned about the $35 price tag, consider this: You get 22 episodes on four DVDs with tons of bonus features. Also, some of the episodes are 40 minutes long, as part of a NBC comedy night promo. In total, you get nine hours and 34 minutes of "Office" viewing material. The bonus features are definitely worth watching like the "Lazy Scranton" training video, a blooper reel depicting the hilarity of cast members break character, a Dwight Schrute music video, and episode commentaries and enough deleted scenes to keep you satisfied until the new season. \n"The Office - Season Three" reinvents the show and puts it into the "Arrested Development" level of amazing television comedies.
(08/30/07 4:00am)
Flight of the Conchords, everyone's favorite New Zealand-based band (other than OMC of course -- remember "How Bizarre"?) have thrown us a scrap to whet our appetites. \nWith the first season of the show coming to an end, I guess it's necessary for us to have a little something so we don't forget about our friends Bret and Jemaine. If you've never seen the show or found a clip on YouTube, Flight of the Conchords are two dudes who write and perform comedic songs, which they have recently adapted into a show on HBO following "Entourage." They're basically a New Zealand-ish Tenacious D. \nWhich finally brings us to The Distant Future, a five-song EP featuring some of the best songs from the show. This includes "Not Crying," Jemaine's ballad about not being upset, "Business Time", Jemaine's funkadelic sexy-time love song, and my personal favorite, "If You're Into It," Bret's song about how he (and possibly Jemaine) will do whatever his girlfriend wants them to do (and wherever she wants to do it). The CD also includes live performances of "Beautiful Girl", the song by Jemaine about trying to woo a girl at a party featured in the pilot episode, and "Robots," a hilarious song about, well, being robots. And like any good live CD, there's some funny banter between songs. \nApparently, a Flight of the Conchords full-length, live recording will be released in early 2008, so The Distant Future is basically a preview of things to come and a reminder of the best parts of the show -- the songs. It probably makes sense to just wait for the full CD, but if you need music to accompany your wall poster of Bret McKenzie, The Distant Future is five bucks. And we all know Murray needs the money.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Another season of "South Park" is out for you to own, but do you really need to have it? There are two main issues that make buying a DVD set of a TV show season different from a movie. 1) Price -- usually a quality TV set costs more than $30 for a season and 2) Volume -- referring to the sheer quantity of television shows now \navailable on DVD. If I bought the DVD set of every season from every TV show I loved, it would be like a full-time job. So what do we do? We create stricter guidelines for how good a season has to be in order to be worth the price, which brings me to "South Park," Season 9: It may be the best season ever.\nFor a show as successful and as long-running as "South Park," this is a pretty bold statement, but just look at the episode list: Mr. Garrison becomes a woman, the kids try to lose at baseball and Randy Marsh battles "Bat Dad," Jimmy can't get rid of his boner before the talent show, the kids talk to a whale and try to get him back to the moon, Randy Marsh tries to cure his alcoholism with help from a bleeding statue and the epic "Trapped in the Closet" episode about Scientologists that caused Isaac Hayes to quit the show.\nSeason 9 exemplifies all the things Trey Parker and Matt Stone do best. They can push the envelope of what's allowed while simultaneously making a social/political point while also simultaneously being hilarious. And each episode has at least one distinctive "laugh-out-loud" moment. Out of my favorite episodes, Season 9 has about five or six of them.\nSpecial features on the set are limited to an audio commentary on each episode by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but if I could only choose one feature for the DVDs to have, this would be it. Getting to listen to the creators describe and explain each episode adds to their already near-limitless rewatchability. This is a season you need.
(03/07/07 5:00am)
Before there was "The Office," "Extras," "Reno: 911" or any comedy driven mainly by improvisation, there was Christopher Guest. With a résumé that features classics such as "This is Spinal Tap" and "Best in Show," Guest helped set the standard for both improvising and his patented "mockumentary" style.\nWhile his newest film, "For Your Consideration," is not a mockumentary, it is still not conducted in the traditional way, but rather is a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a low-budget film called "Home For Purim." As the movie within the movie, "Home for Purim" is one of the funnier concepts throughout the film -- a story about a Southern family in the mid-'40s wartime whose two children come home to visit their dying mother on her favorite holiday, Purim (arguably the least important Jewish holiday of the year). The driving force of the plot occurs when "Home for Purim" begins to get an Internet-started Oscar buzz that blows up and gets the flick all over the Hollywood media.\nWhile "For Your Consideration" has several funny moments, they aren't really laugh-out-loud types, but more subtle humor -- like you might see on one of the shows mentioned earlier. There's a lot of great concepts and ideas that I wish they had shown more of -- like more scenes from "Home For Purim," more scenes from a Fred Willard-anchored "Access Hollywood" type show (as usual Willard stole the movie and a barelyused hilarious Ebert & Roeper-type critic show complete with scenes from fake movies they are reviewing). These segments are diamonds in the rough -- a lot of the movie is mired in quaint little character exchanges that are often hit-or-miss.\nAs for the features, the DVD is actually quite entertaining. Since much of the film was improvised, there are tons of deleted scenes full of good stuff. There's also a commentary by Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy, who would be funny to listen to on their own, let alone over the movie. There's also the theatrical trailer and a gallery of poster options for "Home for Purim," which are hilarious.\nThe biggest flaw of "For Your Consideration" is that it operates in its own world of nothingness. While the film is an obvious parody of several aspects of Hollywood, there's nothing that really connects it to the outside world. Nearly the entire film takes place on set, and when we get to leave the set, it's to go to an office or TV show. The characters have little to no background at all, and as a result they are hard to connect with and understand. There are many funny bits and pieces, but there's not much cohesiveness as a whole, including a sub-par ending that doesn't really go anywhere. Watching Guest and his cronies do what they do best at least makes "For Your Consideration" enjoyable but not memorable.
(02/15/07 5:00am)
My head hurts a bit, but don't take that as a bad sign. Michel Gondry's "The Science of Sleep" kind of blew my mind. Those familiar with Gondry's previous works such as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or even the various music videos he's directed, will be appropriately prepared for his unique style. Those who have never seen a Gondry work may at first be confused -- watching his work for the first time is much more difficult than having seen it before. Even though I loved "Eternal Sunshine" and enjoyed "The Science of Sleep" on my first viewing, I feel like I should see it again.\n"The Science of Sleep" doesn't really dwell on trying to focus on a plot, instead choosing the path of exploring the fantasy. The protagonist, Stéphane, has a particularly wild and vivid imagination and as the viewer, you experience the world as he does -- which by societal standards would hardly be considered normal. From the very beginning we are introduced to "Stéphane TV," which we later find out occurs within his imagination and in short can be described as a mini-Stéphane living inside his brain, operating human Stéphane from within.\nTrying to explain in words the fantastical aspect of the movie is probably more confusing than the movie itself, so I'll try and keep it short. The basic plot consists of following Stéphane around between his new job, new apartment and new neighbor, whom he subsequently falls in love with. At the same time, we experience the dreams that Stéphane experiences, which also consist of fantasies including his job, home and neighbor. We find out from Stephane's mother that he always had trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy, and as the viewer we also have a similar problem.\nAs for the special features, the DVD includes director and cast commentary, a "making of" bit, a featurette about the woman who designed many of the unique props used in the film, a music video and more. I found the "making of" piece and the piece about the woman most interesting; it shows you how much of the movie comes from Gondry's personal experiences, as well as how much of the amazing effects in the movie were not that complex.\n"The Science of Sleep" is a movie I would recommend seeing -- whether you rent it or buy it, both are good investments. With a story complex enough to remain captivating and a fantasy aspect that gets in touch with your childhood dreams, Michel Gondry has indeed turned the art of moviemaking into a science.
(02/15/07 12:01am)
My head hurts a bit, but don't take that as a bad sign. Michel Gondry's "The Science of Sleep" kind of blew my mind. Those familiar with Gondry's previous works such as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or even the various music videos he's directed, will be appropriately prepared for his unique style. Those who have never seen a Gondry work may at first be confused -- watching his work for the first time is much more difficult than having seen it before. Even though I loved "Eternal Sunshine" and enjoyed "The Science of Sleep" on my first viewing, I feel like I should see it again.\n"The Science of Sleep" doesn't really dwell on trying to focus on a plot, instead choosing the path of exploring the fantasy. The protagonist, Stéphane, has a particularly wild and vivid imagination and as the viewer, you experience the world as he does -- which by societal standards would hardly be considered normal. From the very beginning we are introduced to "Stéphane TV," which we later find out occurs within his imagination and in short can be described as a mini-Stéphane living inside his brain, operating human Stéphane from within.\nTrying to explain in words the fantastical aspect of the movie is probably more confusing than the movie itself, so I'll try and keep it short. The basic plot consists of following Stéphane around between his new job, new apartment and new neighbor, whom he subsequently falls in love with. At the same time, we experience the dreams that Stéphane experiences, which also consist of fantasies including his job, home and neighbor. We find out from Stephane's mother that he always had trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy, and as the viewer we also have a similar problem.\nAs for the special features, the DVD includes director and cast commentary, a "making of" bit, a featurette about the woman who designed many of the unique props used in the film, a music video and more. I found the "making of" piece and the piece about the woman most interesting; it shows you how much of the movie comes from Gondry's personal experiences, as well as how much of the amazing effects in the movie were not that complex.\n"The Science of Sleep" is a movie I would recommend seeing -- whether you rent it or buy it, both are good investments. With a story complex enough to remain captivating and a fantasy aspect that gets in touch with your childhood dreams, Michel Gondry has indeed turned the art of moviemaking into a science.
(11/09/06 8:53pm)
Few video games are able to blur the lines between reality and fantasy. No matter how realistic the players or crowds look, you still know you're not intercepting an errant Brett Favre pass or dunking over Shaq. But when you're in "Tiger Woods PGA Tour '07", you cross that line. You can feel the pressure as your video game-self prepares to tee off on the 17th at TPC at Sawgrass, the gale-force wind just waiting to take your ball into the water, Tiger breathing down your neck as you compete in match play. \nI couldn't wait for the XBOX 360 version of this game to be released. With last year's version quickly reformatted from regular XBOX, it barely had any of the features of the original classic -- already established as the best golf game out there. This year's edition is a complete game. The player list is adequately sized with all the usual suspects (Woods, Singh, Goosen, Furyk, and of course John Daly), and there's 12 stunningly realistic courses, with create-a-course options as well. \nBut the best part of the game is definitely the career mode. You start by creating a golfer, selecting from seemingly endless possibilities of physical appearance, accessories, and clothing. Then you can hit up the practice facility and train, improving your skills from rookie to legend. You can also compete in the Tiger Challenge, where you face random competitors and pros alike in match play in order to u lock courses, players, increase your skill, and eventually take on the ultimate challenger in Tiger Woods. Not to mention a little thing called the PGA Tour season, where you can compete in the same events as the pros in an effort to make a name for your created self. \nOf course, the game added some features as well. "Tournament atmosphere" allows you to play under the watchful eyes of a full gallery of people, there to cheer you on or get in the way of your shots as they're pelted with shots gone awry. There's also the "true aiming" system, which allows you to add a draw or fade on your shot by manipulating the joystick. \nOverall, the game's great, but it still isn't quite up to the level that the original XBOX version was. Great graphics, good gameplay, could use some more courses and players. It's still as close to shooting under par at Pebble Beach I'll get.
(11/09/06 5:00am)
Few video games are able to blur the lines between reality and fantasy. No matter how realistic the players or crowds look, you still know you're not intercepting an errant Brett Favre pass or dunking over Shaq. But when you're in "Tiger Woods PGA Tour '07", you cross that line. You can feel the pressure as your video game-self prepares to tee off on the 17th at TPC at Sawgrass, the gale-force wind just waiting to take your ball into the water, Tiger breathing down your neck as you compete in match play. \nI couldn't wait for the XBOX 360 version of this game to be released. With last year's version quickly reformatted from regular XBOX, it barely had any of the features of the original classic -- already established as the best golf game out there. This year's edition is a complete game. The player list is adequately sized with all the usual suspects (Woods, Singh, Goosen, Furyk, and of course John Daly), and there's 12 stunningly realistic courses, with create-a-course options as well. \nBut the best part of the game is definitely the career mode. You start by creating a golfer, selecting from seemingly endless possibilities of physical appearance, accessories, and clothing. Then you can hit up the practice facility and train, improving your skills from rookie to legend. You can also compete in the Tiger Challenge, where you face random competitors and pros alike in match play in order to u lock courses, players, increase your skill, and eventually take on the ultimate challenger in Tiger Woods. Not to mention a little thing called the PGA Tour season, where you can compete in the same events as the pros in an effort to make a name for your created self. \nOf course, the game added some features as well. "Tournament atmosphere" allows you to play under the watchful eyes of a full gallery of people, there to cheer you on or get in the way of your shots as they're pelted with shots gone awry. There's also the "true aiming" system, which allows you to add a draw or fade on your shot by manipulating the joystick. \nOverall, the game's great, but it still isn't quite up to the level that the original XBOX version was. Great graphics, good gameplay, could use some more courses and players. It's still as close to shooting under par at Pebble Beach I'll get.
(10/12/06 4:00am)
Christopher Buckley, the author of "Thank You for Smoking" - the novel on which the movie was based - has a knack for developing character... er, a character that is. I'm referring to Nick Naylor, the main character.\nNaylor is one of the most charismatic characters I've seen in a movie in a long time, while the rest are more or less flat -- which still works since Naylor is so interesting he makes up for the rest (not to mention they provide a nice contrast to the centerpiece). And Aaron Eckhart is perfect for the role, born to play it. For a relatively unheralded actor, Eckhart may now be forever associated with Nick Naylor.\nThe reason I've said Naylor 53 times already is because he is essentially what "Thank You for Smoking" is about. Naylor (I'll try not to say it again for a few paragraphs) is the top lobbyist for big tobacco. He manipulates words so well that he spins evil deeds into acceptable actions, teaches his son how to argue and gets people with cancer to side with the tobacco industry. Needless to say, he spits a good game. The film follows him around as he travels across America, finding ways to spin bad publicity the other way. He's virtually untouchable, until a series of events (including a few romps with a zombie-faced Katie Holmes) alters his life significantly.\nFor a DVD that took awhile to come out (the movie finished running in early summer), it doesn't have a spectacular amount of features. It has director and cast commentaries, deleted scenes, a Charlie Rose interview with director Jason Reitman, Aaron Eckhart and David O. Sacks, a making-of featurette and an 'America: Living in Spin' featurette. The DVD is only 20 bucks in most places, so for the amount you're getting, it's still a good deal. \nThe movie is a funny, exceedingly clever satire that forces you to think and makes some interesting points. Naylor is a character with the ability to get whatever he wants, and even though his job should make him a terrible person, he talks so well, even you as a viewer will end up identifying with him.\n"Thank You for Smoking" was worth seeing, and anything worth seeing is worth having.
(10/12/06 3:03am)
Christopher Buckley, the author of "Thank You for Smoking" - the novel on which the movie was based - has a knack for developing character... er, a character that is. I'm referring to Nick Naylor, the main character.\nNaylor is one of the most charismatic characters I've seen in a movie in a long time, while the rest are more or less flat -- which still works since Naylor is so interesting he makes up for the rest (not to mention they provide a nice contrast to the centerpiece). And Aaron Eckhart is perfect for the role, born to play it. For a relatively unheralded actor, Eckhart may now be forever associated with Nick Naylor.\nThe reason I've said Naylor 53 times already is because he is essentially what "Thank You for Smoking" is about. Naylor (I'll try not to say it again for a few paragraphs) is the top lobbyist for big tobacco. He manipulates words so well that he spins evil deeds into acceptable actions, teaches his son how to argue and gets people with cancer to side with the tobacco industry. Needless to say, he spits a good game. The film follows him around as he travels across America, finding ways to spin bad publicity the other way. He's virtually untouchable, until a series of events (including a few romps with a zombie-faced Katie Holmes) alters his life significantly.\nFor a DVD that took awhile to come out (the movie finished running in early summer), it doesn't have a spectacular amount of features. It has director and cast commentaries, deleted scenes, a Charlie Rose interview with director Jason Reitman, Aaron Eckhart and David O. Sacks, a making-of featurette and an 'America: Living in Spin' featurette. The DVD is only 20 bucks in most places, so for the amount you're getting, it's still a good deal. \nThe movie is a funny, exceedingly clever satire that forces you to think and makes some interesting points. Naylor is a character with the ability to get whatever he wants, and even though his job should make him a terrible person, he talks so well, even you as a viewer will end up identifying with him.\n"Thank You for Smoking" was worth seeing, and anything worth seeing is worth having.
(09/14/06 4:00am)
A WARNING FOR THE VIEWER: Purchasing the brand new, seven disk, 17+ hour DVD set of the second season of Lost may result in abnormally long sessions of television watching, with possible side-effects of eye damage, weight gain/loss (depending on how focused you are), deterioration of relationships, and muscle atrophy. \nThat's the warning label that should come with Lost: The Complete Second Season--The Extended Experience. Once you start watching episodes it's VERY difficult to stop. But if you were really considering buying it, you already know this: you've watched season one and are familiar with the show. If you've never seen it, then I suggest buying the season one set in addition to season two, and spending about two solid days watching every episode so you're up to date for the upcoming season three premiere. Even if you've been watching religiously like most fans, hitting up the season two DVDs to brush up on anything you forgot doesn't hurt either (you know the writers love foreshadowing and making every detail count). \nThe DVD set features all 24 episodes of season two (some with optional commentary), and an additional disc of entirely special features. These include an all-access pass behind to the set, never before seen flashbacks, deleted scenes and bloopers, an in-depth look at character connections, a special look inside "The Swan" hatch, and more things I don't feel like copying off the back of the box. \nAll in all, the seven discs add up to a running time of 1056 minutes (17+ hours), which I find hard to believe -- I think in reality it's probably longer, considering there's 24 approximately 40-45 minute episodes (around 1000 minutes), plus a whole disc of features. \nSeason two of Lost continues the story of the 40 survivors of a horrific plane crash on a deserted island. The island contains many mysteries, including life-threatening natives (the "others") and supernatural occurrences. Season two more specifically chronicles the drama caused when the survivors find and break into an underground hatch on the island. They quickly realize the hatch is part of a larger, stranger operation and inadvertently become replacements for a man whose job was entering a number sequence into a computer every 108 minutes to "save the world". Not to mention the usual character flashbacks in each episode that add extra wrinkles to the story. \nAfter starting out in extremely intriguing fashion, season two gets a bit aimless in some of the middle episodes, which season one somehow never managed to do. But things come together in one of the most climactic/chaotic last episodes I've ever seen in a TV series, leaving season three wide-open in terms of possibilities. \nLost is worth the investment, worth the time, and one of the best dramas on TV -- now get caught up before the season three premiere. Just be careful. Once you get Lost in this show, there's no coming back.
(09/14/06 3:15am)
A WARNING FOR THE VIEWER: Purchasing the brand new, seven disk, 17+ hour DVD set of the second season of Lost may result in abnormally long sessions of television watching, with possible side-effects of eye damage, weight gain/loss (depending on how focused you are), deterioration of relationships, and muscle atrophy. \nThat's the warning label that should come with Lost: The Complete Second Season--The Extended Experience. Once you start watching episodes it's VERY difficult to stop. But if you were really considering buying it, you already know this: you've watched season one and are familiar with the show. If you've never seen it, then I suggest buying the season one set in addition to season two, and spending about two solid days watching every episode so you're up to date for the upcoming season three premiere. Even if you've been watching religiously like most fans, hitting up the season two DVDs to brush up on anything you forgot doesn't hurt either (you know the writers love foreshadowing and making every detail count). \nThe DVD set features all 24 episodes of season two (some with optional commentary), and an additional disc of entirely special features. These include an all-access pass behind to the set, never before seen flashbacks, deleted scenes and bloopers, an in-depth look at character connections, a special look inside "The Swan" hatch, and more things I don't feel like copying off the back of the box. \nAll in all, the seven discs add up to a running time of 1056 minutes (17+ hours), which I find hard to believe -- I think in reality it's probably longer, considering there's 24 approximately 40-45 minute episodes (around 1000 minutes), plus a whole disc of features. \nSeason two of Lost continues the story of the 40 survivors of a horrific plane crash on a deserted island. The island contains many mysteries, including life-threatening natives (the "others") and supernatural occurrences. Season two more specifically chronicles the drama caused when the survivors find and break into an underground hatch on the island. They quickly realize the hatch is part of a larger, stranger operation and inadvertently become replacements for a man whose job was entering a number sequence into a computer every 108 minutes to "save the world". Not to mention the usual character flashbacks in each episode that add extra wrinkles to the story. \nAfter starting out in extremely intriguing fashion, season two gets a bit aimless in some of the middle episodes, which season one somehow never managed to do. But things come together in one of the most climactic/chaotic last episodes I've ever seen in a TV series, leaving season three wide-open in terms of possibilities. \nLost is worth the investment, worth the time, and one of the best dramas on TV -- now get caught up before the season three premiere. Just be careful. Once you get Lost in this show, there's no coming back.
(06/29/06 4:00am)
Much time has passed since the days of old Adam Sandler movies, dominated by slapstick comedy and inventive plots. After a pseudo-sabbatical in which Sandler appeared in more serious mainstream movies like "Punch-Drunk Love," "Anger Management" and "Spanglish," Sandler finally returns to a movie where he is the star -- "Click."\nWhile the slapstick may be gone, the inventive plot still remains. Sandler, who usually seems to play roles that more or less reflect the stage of life he is in, plays a married man with two kids. His life is good, yet redundant. His boss (David Hasselhoff -- great casting) is a jerk who overworks him and underpays him, and things are pretty routine at home with his wife (Kate Beckinsale). \nThen, upon another boring trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a universal remote, Sandler wanders into an area of the store he's never been, "Way Beyond." Here he encounters Christopher Walken (of course), where he is given the remote he is seeking, except with the added power to control the world around him.\nWith new remote in hand, Sandler's life takes off. Much of the laughs in the movie occur during his experimental stage with it, where he encounters audio commentary (James Earl Jones), the 'making of' (his parents having sex), color hue (doing Incredible Hulk and Barney impressions), pause (to hit his boss in the face) and his button of choice -- fast forward (major foreshadowing).\nToo often using the fast forward, the remote breaks and starts fast forwarding when Sandler doesn't want to. This leads to the inevitable lesson about relishing every moment of your life blah blah.\nNow for those of you reading this who think I just ruined the movie for you, think again. I haven't seen the movie yet. That entire plot summary was written solely on what I've seen from commercials.\nAnyone living outside of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country has encountered an absurd amount of commercials, trailers and advertisements for "Click." Once you and I see the movie, we'll see how accurate I was. Any Adam Sandler movie is going to make big money at the box office, so why they dished out what I would assume to be a ridiculous amount of money on this advertising campaign baffles me. They pretty much gave away 60% of the movie.\n(The rest of this review was written after seeing "Click").\nIn fear of being a spoiler, I won't tell you how accurate my plot summary was, but obviously all those scenes were in the movie since I'd seen them in previews. While they all got the inevitable laughs, it was the few moments that were new that I found most amusing.\n"Click" is a solid movie. It harkens back to comedy of "Happy Gilmore" and "Billy Madison," but with a matured spin. Walken and Hasselhoff were expectedly the standout characters, and Sandler does a good job of letting people act around him, while putting in the extra effort when needed. As Sandler gets older and wiser, his movies seem to follow suit -- and it's a good thing.\nIf only I didn't get the feeling like I'd seen it already, it would have been even better.
(06/27/06 6:59pm)
Much time has passed since the days of old Adam Sandler movies, dominated by slapstick comedy and inventive plots. After a pseudo-sabbatical in which Sandler appeared in more serious mainstream movies like "Punch-Drunk Love," "Anger Management" and "Spanglish," Sandler finally returns to a movie where he is the star -- "Click."\nWhile the slapstick may be gone, the inventive plot still remains. Sandler, who usually seems to play roles that more or less reflect the stage of life he is in, plays a married man with two kids. His life is good, yet redundant. His boss (David Hasselhoff -- great casting) is a jerk who overworks him and underpays him, and things are pretty routine at home with his wife (Kate Beckinsale). \nThen, upon another boring trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a universal remote, Sandler wanders into an area of the store he's never been, "Way Beyond." Here he encounters Christopher Walken (of course), where he is given the remote he is seeking, except with the added power to control the world around him.\nWith new remote in hand, Sandler's life takes off. Much of the laughs in the movie occur during his experimental stage with it, where he encounters audio commentary (James Earl Jones), the 'making of' (his parents having sex), color hue (doing Incredible Hulk and Barney impressions), pause (to hit his boss in the face) and his button of choice -- fast forward (major foreshadowing).\nToo often using the fast forward, the remote breaks and starts fast forwarding when Sandler doesn't want to. This leads to the inevitable lesson about relishing every moment of your life blah blah.\nNow for those of you reading this who think I just ruined the movie for you, think again. I haven't seen the movie yet. That entire plot summary was written solely on what I've seen from commercials.\nAnyone living outside of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country has encountered an absurd amount of commercials, trailers and advertisements for "Click." Once you and I see the movie, we'll see how accurate I was. Any Adam Sandler movie is going to make big money at the box office, so why they dished out what I would assume to be a ridiculous amount of money on this advertising campaign baffles me. They pretty much gave away 60% of the movie.\n(The rest of this review was written after seeing "Click").\nIn fear of being a spoiler, I won't tell you how accurate my plot summary was, but obviously all those scenes were in the movie since I'd seen them in previews. While they all got the inevitable laughs, it was the few moments that were new that I found most amusing.\n"Click" is a solid movie. It harkens back to comedy of "Happy Gilmore" and "Billy Madison," but with a matured spin. Walken and Hasselhoff were expectedly the standout characters, and Sandler does a good job of letting people act around him, while putting in the extra effort when needed. As Sandler gets older and wiser, his movies seem to follow suit -- and it's a good thing.\nIf only I didn't get the feeling like I'd seen it already, it would have been even better.
(06/22/06 4:00am)
One of the most intriguing new reality shows I've been watching recently is "The Hills," a spin off of MTV's "Laguna Beach" in which LC moves to Los Angeles to take classes at an art school and intern at Teen Vogue. \nBut what's intriguing about the show isn't LC's internship, her absurdly nice apartment or her idiotic roommate Heidi -- well actually it's a little of all of it (except for Heidi, she's just dumb). The most intriguing part of the show is the fact that MTV has blurred the lines of reality TV so much that it seems many of the events on "The Hills" are staged or written.\nMTV has headed in this direction for a while. They started the genre with "The Real World," where everything seems real enough other than the beautiful house and the jobs given to the cast members. The aforementioned "Laguna Beach," which is seemingly realistic (minus the fact that it focuses on one of the wealthiest areas in the country), for the first time spurred debate about how much of the show was actually real. Rumors arose about Kristin Cavallari actually being from Chicago (her parents are divorced so this is half true). The fact that people on the show often seem to randomly cross each other's paths seems questionable as well, considering they're being followed around by camera crews. Yet, at the beginning of each episode was a disclaimer stating that all the events were real, and I for one believe everything MTV tells me, so case closed on "Laguna."\nWhich brings us to "The Hills." There is no disclaimer saying the show is real. I'll let the amazing LA apartment with the spiral staircase slide, since MTV's done that before with "Real World." But the internship at Teen Vogue? When MTV gives jobs to the Real World cast members, they're real jobs -- but they really only affect people within the bubble of the show, which is basically the city it is being filmed in. In short, they're local jobs.\nBut Teen Vogue is a national magazine. Not to put down LC's credentials, but I'd be interested to know what kind of strings MTV pulled to set that up. And why would Teen Vogue refuse? They get publicity on a hit show and a new intern to boss around.\nAnd have you seen the clips of LC's job? They made her and her co-worker change clothes their first day to look "more Teen Vogue." Then on her first job assignment, LC was responsible for guarding a VIP area. Not only did she allow people to sit in the restricted area, the people she let through were her friends who weren't even on the list to the party but she snuck in anyway. Are you kidding me?!? Then to top it off, the next day at work LC was scolded not for doing the exact opposite of what she was supposed to, but because her friends were drunk and caused a minor disturbance. If this is happening in reality, I need to move to LA immediately.\nThen there's LC's roommate Heidi. This is a girl who went into a job interview and said she doesn't like to go to school, has had few, if any jobs, and that she wants to be a party planner, but isn't willing to put in the effort at the ground level and work her way up. What happens next? She gets a job! Once again, there seems to be a certain aspect of 'reality' missing from the show.\nFinally, on this week's episode LC randomly gets a message from her old Laguna boyfriend Jason. Convenient timing, J-Wal, telling your girlfriend you miss her and want to meet up during the fourth episode leaves a whole season of possible guest appearances for you. The kid's got timing.\nNevertheless, many people (myself included) love to watch "The Hills." It's a fantasy played out in the real world. As a regular TV show, why would anyone care about some girl who's an intern at some crappy magazine and hangs out with her stupid friends? But in the real world, the belief that all of this is going on as you and I live today adds a bit of excitement.\nWith enough success, "The Hills" could change the reality TV genre the way people thought Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" was going to change non-fiction writing. No more producer brain trusts sitting in a room thinking of ridiculous contrived situations and games for people to participate in (which seems like the easiest job on earth) -- but instead there could be a movement back towards the basics of television, the writing.
(06/21/06 9:03pm)
One of the most intriguing new reality shows I've been watching recently is "The Hills," a spin off of MTV's "Laguna Beach" in which LC moves to Los Angeles to take classes at an art school and intern at Teen Vogue. \nBut what's intriguing about the show isn't LC's internship, her absurdly nice apartment or her idiotic roommate Heidi -- well actually it's a little of all of it (except for Heidi, she's just dumb). The most intriguing part of the show is the fact that MTV has blurred the lines of reality TV so much that it seems many of the events on "The Hills" are staged or written.\nMTV has headed in this direction for a while. They started the genre with "The Real World," where everything seems real enough other than the beautiful house and the jobs given to the cast members. The aforementioned "Laguna Beach," which is seemingly realistic (minus the fact that it focuses on one of the wealthiest areas in the country), for the first time spurred debate about how much of the show was actually real. Rumors arose about Kristin Cavallari actually being from Chicago (her parents are divorced so this is half true). The fact that people on the show often seem to randomly cross each other's paths seems questionable as well, considering they're being followed around by camera crews. Yet, at the beginning of each episode was a disclaimer stating that all the events were real, and I for one believe everything MTV tells me, so case closed on "Laguna."\nWhich brings us to "The Hills." There is no disclaimer saying the show is real. I'll let the amazing LA apartment with the spiral staircase slide, since MTV's done that before with "Real World." But the internship at Teen Vogue? When MTV gives jobs to the Real World cast members, they're real jobs -- but they really only affect people within the bubble of the show, which is basically the city it is being filmed in. In short, they're local jobs.\nBut Teen Vogue is a national magazine. Not to put down LC's credentials, but I'd be interested to know what kind of strings MTV pulled to set that up. And why would Teen Vogue refuse? They get publicity on a hit show and a new intern to boss around.\nAnd have you seen the clips of LC's job? They made her and her co-worker change clothes their first day to look "more Teen Vogue." Then on her first job assignment, LC was responsible for guarding a VIP area. Not only did she allow people to sit in the restricted area, the people she let through were her friends who weren't even on the list to the party but she snuck in anyway. Are you kidding me?!? Then to top it off, the next day at work LC was scolded not for doing the exact opposite of what she was supposed to, but because her friends were drunk and caused a minor disturbance. If this is happening in reality, I need to move to LA immediately.\nThen there's LC's roommate Heidi. This is a girl who went into a job interview and said she doesn't like to go to school, has had few, if any jobs, and that she wants to be a party planner, but isn't willing to put in the effort at the ground level and work her way up. What happens next? She gets a job! Once again, there seems to be a certain aspect of 'reality' missing from the show.\nFinally, on this week's episode LC randomly gets a message from her old Laguna boyfriend Jason. Convenient timing, J-Wal, telling your girlfriend you miss her and want to meet up during the fourth episode leaves a whole season of possible guest appearances for you. The kid's got timing.\nNevertheless, many people (myself included) love to watch "The Hills." It's a fantasy played out in the real world. As a regular TV show, why would anyone care about some girl who's an intern at some crappy magazine and hangs out with her stupid friends? But in the real world, the belief that all of this is going on as you and I live today adds a bit of excitement.\nWith enough success, "The Hills" could change the reality TV genre the way people thought Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" was going to change non-fiction writing. No more producer brain trusts sitting in a room thinking of ridiculous contrived situations and games for people to participate in (which seems like the easiest job on earth) -- but instead there could be a movement back towards the basics of television, the writing.
(04/06/06 4:00am)
"And the prophecy read, that one day, like the phoenix that rose from the ashes, that a boy would be born unto a family in the slums. This boy would go on to use the knowledge he gained, while fighting for survival in the streets, to become a great leader. And in time that boy would grow to become king!"\nThis is the first thing you hear on Tip "T.I." Harris' new album, King. Apparently in T.I.'s opinion he's reached the pinnacle of rap. With 18 new tracks producing over 70 minutes of music, it's clear that T.I. definitely put a lot into the project. And with his starring role in the new film "ATL," it's clear T.I. had a busy year.\nAfter listening to the album, it's difficult noticing significant differences between the catalogue of songs -- most of them are basically bass-pounding beats with some sort of recurring background sound (but what rap isn't nowadays).\nHere's an anecdote that nicely sums up what type of record this is: I borrowed the CD from a friend of mine who purchased it, he gave it to me and we proceeded to get in different cars and make our respective rides home. On the way, we got stopped at a light side-by-side, as my other friend who was driving put in the CD. "Turn it to track six (Ride Wit' Me)" he says. My friend driving cranks the volume, track six blasts out of his Oldsmobile speakers and looks over at my other friend, both nodding.\nThis is the optimal listening environment for King (or perhaps an overcrowded party). Put it in your car CD player (hopefully you have speakers superior to those provided by stock Oldsmobile), crank it up and drive several miles an hour below the speed limit on crowded streets. I'm not sure what this accomplishes, but it feels right.\nIn terms of the actual content of the CD, once again most of the songs sound the same. There are a few standouts, however. The aforementioned track six "Ride Wit' Me," "What You Know," "Why You Wanna," "Get It" and "You Know Who" were my favorites.\nT.I. also abides by all the "contemporary rap album standards." Spoken word introduction: check. Song featuring Jamie Foxx: check. Random skit: check. Song beginning with a siren: check. Song featuring Pharrell: check. The only thing he was missing was a remix of a song that appears earlier on the CD, but who can expect perfection.\nOverall, King was pretty much what I expected. A lot of songs that are prone to be played extremely loud, with little difference between them and a few better than average songs mixed in. On a whole, it's nothing real special.
(04/05/06 10:53pm)
"And the prophecy read, that one day, like the phoenix that rose from the ashes, that a boy would be born unto a family in the slums. This boy would go on to use the knowledge he gained, while fighting for survival in the streets, to become a great leader. And in time that boy would grow to become king!"\nThis is the first thing you hear on Tip "T.I." Harris' new album, King. Apparently in T.I.'s opinion he's reached the pinnacle of rap. With 18 new tracks producing over 70 minutes of music, it's clear that T.I. definitely put a lot into the project. And with his starring role in the new film "ATL," it's clear T.I. had a busy year.\nAfter listening to the album, it's difficult noticing significant differences between the catalogue of songs -- most of them are basically bass-pounding beats with some sort of recurring background sound (but what rap isn't nowadays).\nHere's an anecdote that nicely sums up what type of record this is: I borrowed the CD from a friend of mine who purchased it, he gave it to me and we proceeded to get in different cars and make our respective rides home. On the way, we got stopped at a light side-by-side, as my other friend who was driving put in the CD. "Turn it to track six (Ride Wit' Me)" he says. My friend driving cranks the volume, track six blasts out of his Oldsmobile speakers and looks over at my other friend, both nodding.\nThis is the optimal listening environment for King (or perhaps an overcrowded party). Put it in your car CD player (hopefully you have speakers superior to those provided by stock Oldsmobile), crank it up and drive several miles an hour below the speed limit on crowded streets. I'm not sure what this accomplishes, but it feels right.\nIn terms of the actual content of the CD, once again most of the songs sound the same. There are a few standouts, however. The aforementioned track six "Ride Wit' Me," "What You Know," "Why You Wanna," "Get It" and "You Know Who" were my favorites.\nT.I. also abides by all the "contemporary rap album standards." Spoken word introduction: check. Song featuring Jamie Foxx: check. Random skit: check. Song beginning with a siren: check. Song featuring Pharrell: check. The only thing he was missing was a remix of a song that appears earlier on the CD, but who can expect perfection.\nOverall, King was pretty much what I expected. A lot of songs that are prone to be played extremely loud, with little difference between them and a few better than average songs mixed in. On a whole, it's nothing real special.