duds & delights

Week of 29 November 2006

2006-11-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

Abba

Delight—ABBAzeum—Hooray for Stockholm planners of a new museum to honor the second biggest music act to ever come out of the Scandinavian region. I bet you forgot about A-Ha from Norway didn't you?

Dud—Hulk rebooted—Mark your calendars for June 2008. Marvel Comics® executives have announced a new film for the gamma green super hero is in the works. This will be the first time a superhero film (remember, this is not a film franchise as there was only one film) will be rebooted after a sound booting out of theatres by movie goers the first time around. Usually, one reboots a tiring franchise, not a one-hit-wonder, let alone a one-hit-failure.

I Promise This Will Be The Final Mention Of Borat Dud—Borat—A Kazakh author named Sapabek Asip-uly feels that Sacha Baron Cohen is worthy of an award for bringing international awareness of Kazakhstan. Did he see the same movie I saw?

Double Dud #1—What's in the Water Down Under?—Elton John and the Yellow Wiggle both ill in Australia at the same time?

Delight—"Must See TV"—So, NBC is bringing back a two-hour comedy block to Thursday begging the question, why did you try to fix what wasn't broken? But also, begging another question, why do the networks all think that situation comedy is dead? Is it because they went through a period of putting on too many to keep track of and wondered where the ratings all went? (see "Heroes" below)

Delight—Paula Patton—From Idlewild to Déjà Vu, Ms Patton is on the path of becoming the next Halle Berry. She's an incredibly attractive, strong, and charismatic. Bravo to the casting directors who have given her opportunities to demonstrate her full range of talent in these two very different films.

Madonna at the Music Awards

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Dud—Madonna's Thanksgiving Special—Ratings were a complete dud. Hmm, could it be that the network promised it would be lame...er...tame? If you want Madonna fans to watch, you put on the real show; or, at least, you don't announce in advance you're cutting out the controversy.

Double Dud—Mel and Michael—I am all about forgive and forget. What Mel Gibson and Michael Richards have demonstrated in no uncertain terms is that anger brings out the worst in all people.

Delight—Spirit Awards—Little Miss Sunshine and Half Nelson were recognized with numerous nominations marking the beginning of the season for film awards to come.

Dud—Swedish Sherrybaby—How is it that the Swedish people were able to honor Maggie Gyllenhall with a Best Actress award at 17th annual Stockholm International Film Festival for her role in Sherrybaby when most people in the USA still haven't had the opportunity to see this film?

Delight—"Heroes"—I love it when a sci-fi show hits the mainstream big time. Like it or not, nerds know good tv when they see it. Hence the success of Sci-Fi channel's "Battlestar Galactica" and "Stargate" franchises. But, could I be misconstruing the evidence? Could it be rather that people, all people, like fresh ideas rather than 7 "Law & Order" series, 6 "CSI" series, 27 reality series, and 15 newsmagazines in prime time? Hmm. I wonder. There is something to be learned from this season of television--different is better.

Week of 23 November 2006

2006-11-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Delight—Daniel Craig "Bond, James Bond"—If you've been waiting to see Casino Royale (2006), or you are boycotting still hoping Sean Connery will return, it's time to give in and see the film. Daniel Craig really is the best James Bond ever.

Probably Still Not The Last Mention of the Ever-expanding And Growing Even More Gigantic Than It Was the Two Previous Weeks Dud so Dudly It's Sick—Borat—Russia has decided that it will ban the film in a show of support for Kazakhstan. Interesting, huh? My point is still the same, don't make a movie like this where you make fun of people in this way that is all contrived and fake, and you won't have these problems. I hope that Mr. Cohen realizes that what he has done has hurt a lot of people. Worse, he has given a license for an entire generation to think this kind of comedy is funny. It's not. It is only funny if you think politically incorrect, stereotypical, sexist, racist comedy is funny, and if you do, it's time to stop and ask yourself why you do, because, really, it's not good to.

Hugh Jackman

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Delight—The Year of Hugh Jackman—Let's recap: Wolverine in X-Men 3, the dashing Lord Peter Lyman in Woody Allen's Scoop, the magician Robert Angier in The Prestige, the voice of Roddy in Flushed Away, the voice of Memphis in Happy Feet, and finally the conquistador Tomas in The Fountain. Has there been an actor that has delivered a more credible, more diverse résumé this year? Somebody please alert the Academy.

Delight—Pirates of the Caribbean 2—If you are among the very few who still haven't seen POC2, mark 5 December on your calendar.

Dud—X-Men 3 DVD Adverts—Ok, I've ranted about this before, but I'm still upset that they made such a big deal about Ben Foster's Angel and he's in the film all of 5 minutes. So, there he is with full wing span bursting out of the tv in the ad for the DVD along with James Marsden's Cyclops who may be the only X-Man in the film with less time than Angel. Arrgggghhhhh.

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Dud—Missing the Boat—I know I'm just one person, but I am fearful of the future of films when I read reports of critical raves for Borat which got an A- from Entertainment Weekly's critics who then gave the new Russell Crowe film, A Good Year, a C-. A C-, by the way, is the same grade EW gave to Garfield 2. Huh? Something smells rotten in Denmark or, rather, New Amsterdam.

Please Preview These Carefully Selected Products of Interest
James Bond 007 Monopoly • The Boy from Oz (2003 Original Broadway Cast) • Game of Life - Pirates of the Caribbean 2 • Ty Cool Cat - Garfield with Sunglasses

Week of 16 November 2006

2006-11-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

Delight—Sex and the City—The Movie—Well, I think it will delight someone.

Ever-expanding And Growing Even More Gigantic Than It Was Last Week Dud—Borat—I don't get it! The film's frat boys are now suing saying the movie makes them look bad and they were supposedly gotten drunk before signing the waivers?

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Dud—Justin Long—Somehow I just cannot picture the "I'm a Mac" guy becoming the next John McClane. Apparently, he'll play the sidekick in Die Hard 4 with some suspecting he'll take over the reins when Bruce Willis gets too old. Huh? Wasn't BW too old in Die Hard 1? That's the point, he's an older, out of shape cop, who still manages to knock the bad guys around and save the day. We need him to keep going strong so when he's 60, 60 will be the new 50 and so on down the line!

Tom Cruise

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Delight—Can't Keep a Good Tom Cruise Down—If you are a studio executive trying to get rid of Tom Cruise be careful. His revenge might just be to buy your competition and put you out of business.

Speed Racer

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Delight—Speed Racer—Fans of the ultra-cool car-toon can take a victory lap as the Wachowski bros are set to burn rubber with a live action version based on the 1960 Japanese original. No cast notes have been set yet.

Dud—Valderrama ChiPs—They cast That 70s Show, Wilmer Valderrama, as Ponch in the upcoming ChiPs movie? Who's going to play John Baker? Seann William Scott? That's just not fierce!+=

CHiPs

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Dud—The Good—How many movies will open in December that start with "The Good"? Two. Hmm. Maybe that's the new ticket...? The Good Van Wilder Deux: Rise of Taj, The Good Deck the Halls, The Good tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, The Good Turistas, The Good Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, The Good Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Please Check Out These Carefully Selected Items of Interest
Sex and the City - The Complete Seasons 1-5 & Season 6 Part 1 (6-Pack) • Die Hard - Explosion Movie T-Shirt "In-Stock" Ships Within 24 Hours! • Tom Cruise Top Gun Framed Photo w/Sign L.E. • Speed Racer: Complete Song Collection • LADIES - JUNIORS 80's TV Star Erik Estrada "Lookin' Good" - New Vintage Beige Tissue T-Shirt / Tee

Week of 9 November 2006

2006-11-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

Delight—Hooray for Bollywood—Recent deals made by Bodvod and Time Warner Cable will allow for the release of many more films from India to US audiences each year. As the second largest producer nation of films in the world, it will be interesting to see what all India has to offer. Hopefully, more films like Deepa Mehta’s film, Water.

Growing Even More Gigantic Dud—Borat—The more I think about this film the more disastrous I find it.

Dud—Google® Buys You Tube™—I could write for half an hour on this topic, but I'll just leave at one word...control. What was a place where freedom of speech rang from sea to shining sea, is now another media outlet.

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Delight/Dud—Johnny Depp and the People's Choice Awards—Congrats to Johnny Depp for three People's Choice Award-nominations. Just wondering though, who are the people who make these choices? Have you ever met anyone who got to make their choices known?

Dud—The Real Borat—A Turkish man is claiming that Cohen's Borat character was inspired by his web site and photos of him playing ping pong and wearing a skimpy bathing suit. Um, dude, why would you want to claim you were the inspiration for one of the most horrendous characters in cinematic history? I don't get it.

Reese Witherspoon & Ryan ...

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Dud—Reese and Ryan Split—With cruel intentions, crash into someone legally blond and you are bound to be pulled over to walk the line.

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Dud—Flushed Away—Just wondering if other people find it a little yucky to find the logo and title of this new animated film by the makers of Shrek on such things a cereal boxes and macaroni and cheese for kids?

Please Check Out These Specially Selected Items
Johnny Depp: The Illustrated Biography • Flushed Away: The Essential Guide • Walk the Line Movie Script Screenplay • Walk the Line Movie Script Screenplay • Barbie Legally Blonde 2 Elle Woods Doll Reese Witherspoon

Week of 2 November 2006

2006-11-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Fraggle Rock Group II

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Delight—"Fraggle Rock"—Finally, somebody has gotten a clue and decided to make "Fraggle Rock" into a movie! Ahmet Zappa is set to direct. Can an animated CGI version of "The Electric Company" be far behind?

Gigantic Dud—Borat—Sure, it's funny. If you can sit through over an hour of the most politically incorrect humor ever filmed on purpose.

Blade II

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Dud—Wesley Snipes—How come Wesley Snipes hasn't paid his taxes in years? Who's his tax advisor, Richard Hatch? Good thing that Blade III did not score that well at the box office or he might have join the Willie Nelson tour to make ends meet.

Delight—Halo Down the Draino(TM)—Apparently Peter Jackson has passed on the big screen conversion of the popular computer game, Halo. So far, video game to movie conversions haven't been a huge success. Until they make Pengo® and Dig-Dug® into movies, I'm not sure I'll care anyway.

Old Man of the Mountains,...

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Delight—Live Free or Die Hard—Naw, it's not New Hampshire's new motto. It's Die Hard IV. Hey, if they can make a Rocky VI, why not let John McClane take on cyber-terrorists while trapped in the 32nd floor of a bad marriage?

Dud/Delight?—Front runner for Best Documentary of 2007—Eddie Murphy will play a spaceship. I'm not making this up. Eddie Murphy will play a spaceship for a species of tiny human-like aliens the leader of which looks like Eddie Murphy. Uh huh. Could be funny. It could be.

Dud—Lake Effect—So, The Lake House came out on video 1 November. I had the film in my Netflix(TM) queue for a long time. I waited and waited for it to arrive. I went to the mailbox and it wasn't there. There was, however, a note from the woman who used to live in my apartment a few years ago saying how much she enjoyed watching the movie, and could I please put Speed 2 in my queue for next time?

David Bowie

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Delights—Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette / David Bowie as Nickola Tesla / Helen Mirren as HRM Queen Elizabeth II—Three of the very best portrayals of historical royal figures this year in nearly the same week! Two Queens and the King of Electricity! Can it get any better than this?

Dud—Religion and Sharp Implements—Who exactly was it that thought it a good idea to put out Conversations with God in the same week with Saw III and Running with Scissors? Must have been someone who saw Deliver Us From Evil.

Week of 23 October 2006

2006-11-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

Dud—Big Biz Taking on Hollywood?—Why is diamond export giant De Beers worrying about the upcoming film, Blood Diamond, and spending a load of money on a pro diamond-buying campaign? If Russell Crowe's The Insider had no impact on the sales of cigarettes, isn't it doubtful Leonardo DiCaprio's film will have much impact on diamond sales?

Delight—"Dallas" off Route 66—Oh darn, it seems that the movie version of the 1980s drama "Dallas" has hit the skids big time with John Travolta being the only name still attached. Maybe somebody realized that, actually, "Dynasty" was a better show?

Be Cool - John Travolta -...

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Dud—Critics of The Prestige—Come on folks, did you ruin The Sixth Sense too? The Prestige has so many great secrets and twists it seems like you'll do no harm in giving away a couple, three, or four. NO!

Delight—He's Back—Roger Ebert is recovering well and according to Entertainment Weekly p. 18, 27 October 2006, plans to cover this year's Oscars for ABC. His acerbic wit and thoughtful reviews have been sorely missed. Plus, I've had no one to with whom to disagree on nearly every film now for a couple of months.

Dud—Critics and Flags of Our Fathers—Sorry, but it is not unpatriotic to call out a mediocre movie when it is mediocre.

Clint Eastwood

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Delight—Letters from Iwo Jima—Clint Eastwood has quickly made a follow-up film to cover the Japanese perspective of the capture of Iwo Jima in WWII. Some say that added to Flags of our Fathers, one gets a more complete picture. That might be true if it was pared with a re-edited version of the first film.

Mark Wahlberg

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Dud or Delight—Wahlberg Bros. vs. Maggied Gyllenhall—Has anyone else noticed the Wahlbergs seem to be in just about every movie lately? They're nearly as ubiquitous as Maggie Gyllenhaal. Donnie and Mark [7 movies or TV shows in 2005-06]: The Departed, Invincible, "Runaway", "The Path to 9/11", Annapolis, Saw II, and Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School vs. Maggie [8 movies in 2005-06]: Stranger Than Fiction, World Trade Center, Monster House, Paris je t'aime, Sherrybaby, Trust the Man, The Great New Wonderful, Happy Endings.

Dud—Box Office Numbers—Can someone pelase explain how does Jackass: Number Two earn $68.4 million in four weeks vs. The Illusionist, one of the year's best films, earns half as much in twice as many weeks? Chalk it up to a lack of a marketing campaign for Edward Norton's take on a turn-of-the-century magician vs. the juvenile interest of USAers who cannot get enough of people wrestling with dangerous snakes or branding their hind ends with non-dinner-table talk icons.

Week of 16 October 2006

2006-11-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

Delight/Dud—Renaissance—This new French animated film is unlike anything I've ever seen with it's black and white only animation that achieve, nonetheless, a 3D quality. Unfortunately, the story needed to reveal the twist sooner in order to be as good as the animation.

Dud—Toby Jones—The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences has gotten itself into some trouble by giving a Best Actor Oscar® to Philip Seymor Hoffman for his portrayal of Truman Capote in Capote before seeing Toby Jones's do his thing in Infamous.

Dud—The Grudge 2—Yikes! This film was so disappointing. Convoluted, repetitive, and non-sensical. The best part of the film happens early before the opening credits, when Jennifer Beals improvises a new way of hitting her husband over the head with a frying pan. It's all down hill from there, and nearly no one can figure out exactly why she's in this film in the first place.

Double Dud—The Grudge 2—How on earth did The Grudge 2 beat out The Departed this weekend at the box office by $3 million? Come on kids!

Delight/Dud—Robin Williams in Man of the Year—It started off well with Robin Williams giving one of his best and most controlled performances since The Night Listener, I mean, since One Hour Photo, I mean since, on never mind. What was going on in Barry Levinson's mind when he decided to take all the potential fun out of this movie and instead turn it into a voting machine computer scandal film? Yuck. Is it yucky because it hits too close to home, or because he missed the boat on a really good time? Both, sadly, both.

Delight—Movie Preview for A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints—I saw the movie preview for the new Robert Downey, Jr. / Chazz Palminteri film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, again three times this weekend, and I have to say it's one of the best movie previews I've ever seen. Sharp, edgy, provocative, with that great beat in the music in the beginning to which they are all walking, it is amazing. Split into two segments musically to match the change in time from the youth to older age of the characters, the editors of this trailer have created a mini-masterpiece.

Week of 9 October 2006

2006-11-28T22:41:00.000-07:00

Delight—The Departed—Nicholson is back. Damon is bad in a bad way. DiCaprio is good in a bad way. Wahlberg and Sheen are bad in a good way. This movie is good in every way.

Delight—Year of the Conspiracy Theory Documentary—Like it or not, Michael Moore has popularized the conspiracy theory documentary into its own sub genre. This past week included no fewer than three CTDs opening in many parts of the nation:

Believe about Multi-level marketing,
America: Freedom to Fascism about there being no law that says we have to pay federal income taxes and a bunch of other conspiracies like that all of the gold in Fort Knox is gone; and, finally, the best of the bunch,
The U.S. vs. John Lennon—the U.S. really did try to get rid of Lennon. They failed, but they tried.

Dud—Hypocritical Movie Critics—Come on people, you cannot lambaste Jude Law, Kate Winslet, and Sir Anthony Hopkins one week for bad southern accents in All the King's Men, but give Nicholson a pass for his horrible Boston accent in The Departed. It's just not fair. Hmm, I wonder if there is a conspiracy against British actors in USA movies? (see above)

Huge Gigantic Dud—Texas Chainsaw Massacre—You know what? I'm tired of people making excuses for this franchise and these gory films saying that they are great horror films and you cannot expect a great story or great acting. You know what people? They aren't great. They aren't even good. You know how I know? I saw Aliens and it was great with a great story and great acting. All it takes is time, talent, and money.

Dude—Leonardo DiCaprio—Wow the kid has finally grown up. He's still a twig, but he's strong. And boy oh boy does he deliver in the emotion category in The Departed—see the look in his eyes above. A lot of people have slammed him over the years, and maybe rightly so, but it's hard to argue that he's now been in three Martin Scorsese films. Not many actors can say that.

Dud / Delight—Forest Whitaker—Why has it taken so long for people to discover Forest Whitaker? I knew he was a great actor the first time I saw him and that was in a pretty bad movie called Species. Watch out Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx, the competion just got tougher. It's hard to picture either doing the job Whitaker did playing the ruthless Idi Amin Dada in The Last King of Scotland. He was phenomenal.

Delight / Dud—Ron Howard—Bravo to Ron Howard for beating out Clooney, Scorsese, and Nichols to win the rights to direct the film version of the London stage play, Frost/Nixon. Boo to the critics who claim this should be his comeback film after the disaster that was The Da Vinci Code. People, if they had waited to read the book after seeing the film as I did, they wouldn't have thought the movie was so bad. And really, it wasn't except for the terrible miscasting of Tom Hanks. I say, leave Ron Howard alone. He'll always be little Opie to me.

Week of 3 October 2006

2006-11-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

Dud—Haven—Not sure what Orlando Bloom was thinking when he made this Cayman Island fiasco film. It might have been smarter to have released this in mid-August rather than during the time many people are planning spring vacations.

Delight—Confetti—Hilarious English mockumentary of mock weddings that fall into civil mockery that has been held back, mockingly, from the US for some mock reason.

Dud / Delight—Women in Film—Bandidas finally showcased the female versions of Zorro only to weaken them with unfavorable female stereotypes, while House of Sand, on the other hand, proved that strong women can, indeed prevail in the most desperate of survival circumstances. The latter will be long cherished while the former will move quickly to DVD.

Delight / Dud—Animated Films—Recognizing that Cars and Monster House were quite simply two of the best animated films ever made, perhaps it could have stopped there for this year. Alas, Open Season opened with similar problems as Over the Hedge—it has no target audience because it's too violent for children and too boring for adults. Teens? Forget it. If you want to see Ashton Kutcher, go see The Guardian, it's a much better film. Oh, and in case you were wondering, there are still TWO (2) more animated films to come this year, Flushed Away and Happy Feet.

Dud—Movie Critics and a Certain Johnny Knoxville Film—I apologize to my fellow critics for this criticism of their criticism, but how on earth are they giving Jackass: Number Two a better review than All the King's Men? Their big complaint of the latter is that the accents of the characters were all wrong. Their praise of the former is that it's not as horrifying as the original. The entire concept makes no sense. You downgrade a film that actually required talent because you find some of the accents off, but upgrade a film that required no talent, unless searching for snakes in a pool of plastic balls is a talent, because it wasn't as bad as the first one? I guess the lesson for filmmakers is that to get a good review you should have your actors speaking in the perfect dialects of complete idiots.

Delight—My Country, My Country—Take the time to track down this film. There has not been a film released since post-invasion of Iraq that actually follows the Iraqi people and discovers their hopes and dreams for their country. It also points out more idiocy by the current powers in charge such as marking all voters in the election with a visible purple ink spot to prevent duplicate voting while making them easier targets for those upset with the voting process and the hiring at enormous expense of Australian security forces to make the election look like it's not being run by the US military as if Australians in street clothes toting Russian AK-47s would make the Iraqi people feel better. This is one truly great documentary.

Delight—Kevin Costner—Say what you will about the guy, but he still knows how to make a great drama without getting into the same kinds of trouble as his Australian peer, Mr. Mel Gibson.

Dud—Critics of the Fall Movie Slate—I was just reading in a prominent, weekly, entertainment magazine that there is only a single major movie franchise film being released this fall, and that is Casino Royale—a remake of an old James Bond film with a very new Daniel Craig as 007. They said, "The Santa Clause 3 doesn't count." I don't know many people who think this is a bad thing for two reasons: (1) It's pretty easy to get sick of sequels and (2) it gets people out to see new films that could be THE next franchises. Who knew that Pirates of the Caribbean was going to be so good? So, really, nobody has any idea which films will resonate best with audiences this fall and spawn a new franchise. Meanwhile, if the movie industry is pinning its hope on Casino Royale, good luck. While the preview looks great, and the movie will probably do well, only one studio will benefit, not the entire industry. So, they better be pinning their hopes on The Prestige, Bobby, Stranger than Fiction, Happy Feet, Borat, Dream Girls, The Pursuit of Happyness, and my pick of December, Charlotte's Web!

Week of 25 September 2006

2006-11-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

Delight / Dud—Half Nelson—Ryan Gosling was outstanding to be sure, yet the plot lacked the depth necessary to warrant a feature-length film.

Delights—Edmond and Lunacy—Two entirely different takes on going mad. The Czech film, Lunacy, is entirely bizarre, and yet so fascinating. If you've always dreamed of seeing pieces of meat come to life, here's your film. Meanwhile, William H. Macy finally sheds his Fargo accent and becomes, Edmond—a character that truly defines his talent.

Dud—Lindsay Lohan—Can she go one week without a major headline?

Delight / Dud—Movie Releases This Weekend—How do they put out Jackass: Number Two in the same weekend with Fearless, All the King's Men, Flyboys, and a sneak of School for Scoundrels? Huh? How? Put this movie out in August in the same weekend with Snakes on a Plane. Were it not for that, this weekend would have been a 100% delight.

Dud—Jet Li's Retirement—Actually he's a Dud(e). No, but serioulsy, how can he retire? Well, support Fearless, and maybe he'll come back for one more round.

Dud—Fearless title—Did they think that USAers couldn't handle the title Huo Yuan Jia? Ok, maybe some couldn't, but come on. This is the name of the guy himself. It's like changing the title of JFK to "Red, White, and Blue". If it's the guy's name, then force USAers to deal with it.

Delight—Flyboys—The aerial battle scenes, especially the attack on the zepplin, were worth the price of the ticket.

Week of 18 September 2006

2006-11-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

Delight—Landmark Theatres—Founded by the same guy who created the Telluride Film Festival, Landmark Theatres are the only national chain that caters to the I&IFs (Independent and International) films. Please support these movie theaters in your city if you have the opportunity. We all need to help keep the I&IFs flowing in this country.

Biggest Dud—The Last Kiss—two hours of everything that's wrong with men and women and probably why they shouldn’t have relationships--gee, sounds like a winner to me! Warning, this is neither a good date film nor a 'chick flick'.

Biggest Delight—Gridiron Gang—a truly memorable film with heart and soul. Not the best film of the year, but certainly worthy of box office support.

Dud—Decision to Release So Many Animated Films in 2006—well, this is the year of the animated film. But the latest one, Everyone's Hero, proves the technique is showing signs of becoming trite and over used, and we've got a couple more yet to go. Really though, it all boils down to the story. If the story's weak, it doesn't matter how one films it.

Delight—Trust the Man—the polar opposite of The Last Kiss, and probably the movie that should have been Clerks II, this brilliantly funny, biting, romantic comedy is just plain great.

Dud / Delight—Maggie Gyllenhaal—I've got to admit that lately it seems like she's in every film I see. I am delighted to see her career blossom. She has been in four films this summer alone, and I just saw her in a preview for a moving coming soon. Yikes, girl, let some other actresses get some work.

Dud—Great New Wonderful—Don't be fooled by the title, it just as easily could have been called Psycho Cake Geritol®.

Delight—Keira Knightley—in a Yahoo®-conducted poll, Ms Knightley was dubbed the greatest starlet ever. When you look at her prestigious résumé for such a young actress it is difficult to disagree.

Week of 11 September 2006

2006-11-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Dud—The Emmys—Can someone explain how LOST didn't win best drama? Sure, I watched the first two seasons of 24. Then, I quit. Wanna know why? Simple, I watched them on DVD, all 24 episodes of each, in one day. Guess what? It's not 24 hours long because each show isn't an hour—there are those pesky commercials. So, what is going on during the 8 hours of lost time? It's weird to think that in 24 hours of television there are 8 hours of commercials, but that is approximately true. 20 minutes of each 60-minute show is commercials. In any case, the real thing is that if you watch the episodes one after another with no week in between so that your memories fade, you'll see a world of glitches and problems that simply don't add up. I still think it's a good show and all, but come on. LOST!?!?!?!?!

Dud—Crossover—Why even make a movie designed to empower young men and lead them down the right path if you have to do it at the expense of young women?

Delight—The War Tapes—Well, delight is not the right word, but this film should be a strong contender for best documentary of the year. If you have been wondering where all the cynics of the war in Iraq have been hiding, how about in the ranks of the front line? Dedicated soldiers risking their lives for what they all feel boils down to the money being made from war. Stunning and brave film.

Delight—Broken Bridges—Toby Keith? Sorry, I'm not like the other 99% of the nation that loves country. So, count me in your ranks on this guy. Great music, soulful sounds, movie that's really about trying to make good on all the dumb decisions we make in our youth.

Delight / Dud—The Protector—Tony Jaa yahoo for bringing the Thai culture to light and his brilliant martial arts choregraphy. Boo to the writer and director for turning the film into a live action video game with a nearly incomprehensible plot and the worst continuity flaws I've ever seen in a movie.

Delight—Pirate Booty—Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest has topped the $1 billion mark in world-wide ticket sales joining and elite duo of films: The Titanic and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. What did I tell you, " Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest will be THE hit of the summer." Actually, it's THE hit of the year.

Delight—Sicko—Michael Moore is at it again. This time he's making a film that nails the USA health care system. Should be fun! Great title anyway.

Delight / Dud—Toronto Film Festival Picketers—I was delighted by the kid-led group of picketers at the Toronto Film Festival who were protesting rating films with smoking in them below PG-13. Good call kids. Glad you thought of it especially when so many studies show that kids who watch smoking on tv or in the movies are far more likely to try smoking than those that don't. Kind of makes sense because movies and tv do not carry along the actual smell of the smoke or the choking sensations it brings like two chain-smoking parents did. I'll tell you, there's no better deterrent to smoking than having two chain-smoking parents. One 12-hour winter drive to Albuquerque from Denver in the car with the windows up to keep the heat in was all it took to ensure I'd never smoke in my lifetime. Now, I'll probably get lung cancer, but it will be through no fault of my own. Boo to Hollywood and smoking in movies in general. I understand it if it's for historical accuracy. But, I've noticed more and more smoking in movies lately. Which is kind of ironic since that is the theme of the film Thank You for Smoking where the tobacco lobbyist does everything he can to get more smoking in movies! And here I thought that was a fictional film. Maybe it should win best documentary.

Week of 4 September 2006

2006-11-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Dud—How to Eat Fried Worms—the story just doesn't translate well as a movie in 2006.

Delight—Idlewild—you must see this movie. It rocks! I still cannot believe how much I enjoyed it. The second time it was just as good!

Delight—Previews for Children of Men and Flyboys—the previews for these movies makes them look so awesome. I cannot wait to see them.

Delight—My review of Crank—Read the review at movieEVERYday.com. I'm really proud of it. I'm not trying to be immodest, but…it's one of my favorite theme reviews ever! As for the film? It's not too bad to bad either.

Dud—Plot of Idiocracy—pretty good movie, but my goodness it's too plausible for me! People will be so dumb in 500 years they will no longer know how to grow crops. They will all worship WWF stars and elect one to be president. This could never happen?

Week of 28 August 2006

2006-11-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

Dud—Snakes on Plane—Unfortunately, despite earlier comments, the film does not hold up to a second viewing.

Delight—Snakes on a Plane (Bring It!)—the featured song from the soundtrack by Cobra Starship and company is one of the best songs from a movie and definitely one of the best videos of a song from a movie in years. If you haven't downloaded it from iTunes™, it is highly recommended that you do so immediately.

Delights—Quinceañera and Only Human (Seres queridos)—an independent film and an international film that both really deliver.

Extreme Dud—Beerfest—if you see this film, don't say you weren't warned. Seriously, this is one of the worst movies ever conceived.

Extreme Delights—Invincible and Idlewild—it was a great week for movies starting with 'I'. Invincible warms the heart and Idlewild stirs the imagination.

Delights—Actors Mark Wahlberg and Matt Dillon live up to top billing though Dillon's movie (Factotum) isn't so good.

Dud—Paramount Pictures—Paramount dumps Tom Cruise, like he needs them, citing curious behavior. Ok? Wouldn't that mean they'd have to dump 99% of their stars? Seriously, what's up with that?

Delight or Potential Dud—End of Summer—summer's great and all, but here's to looking forward to the fall movie season when the Oscar® contenders start to come in droves, right?

Week of 21 August 2006

2006-11-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

Dud / Delight—Beowolf & Grendel—the film does not stick to the literary version / still it's a powerful and entertaining film nonetheless.

Dud—Beowolf & Grendel—a confusing mix of accents makes for a difficult time in understanding the story if you haven't read the epic poem, and who hasn't?

Delight—The Science of Sleep—creativity galore no need to snore this one's no bore.

Dud—Once in a Lifetime—New York Cosmos?—I thought the pro soccer team for NYC was called the New York Red Bulls. What do I know?

Dud—Wassup Rockers—I want to ask Larry Clark, what exactly was up? Time to get some new material buddy.

Delight / Dud?—Snakes on a Plane—Who would have thought that Samuel L. Jackson on a plane with 450 poisonous snakes would be so much fun? It's definitely a guilty pleasure though. / I'm not making this up, though, his next film will be called Black Snake Moan. It's not a sequel. It's about a dude who's not too happy with the ways of a woman he finds on the side of the road, so he chains her up to teach her some life lessons. Sounds, like a winner, huh?

Dud?—John Mark Karr—Has he finally given an ending to the JonBennet Ramsay story so they can make a real movie version? Let's hope not.

Week of 14 August 2006

2006-11-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

Delight/Dud—Toni Collette—in Little Miss Sunshine AND The Night Listener, she has got to get a nomination this year and win! / Robin Willilams in The Night Listener.

Dud—Shadowboxer—I have no clue what Helen Mirren nor Cuba Gooding, Jr. were thinking when they agreed to star in this film. Maybe it's better if Toni Collette doesn't win an award if this is where winners or nominees go next.

Delight—Little Miss Sunshine—there's no more 'real' film out there today!

Delight/Dud—Step Up—the music and dancing / the stereotypes and the gang banging.

Dud—Pulse—for a good ghost story, acquire Poltergeist instead.

Delight—Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul—finally a method for world peace has been found.

Dud/Delight—World Trade Center—Maggie Gyllenhaal is awful, and it's too soon for WTC movies / Oliver Stone takes the high ground and makes a very good movie that's not so much about the events of 9-11 as it is about the courage of rescue workers and a person's will to survive.

Possible Dud—Daniel Craig—the new James Bond?

Week of 7 August 2006

2006-11-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

Dud—Barnyard—these party animals should have gone to college and studied anatomy.

Delight—The Hidden Blade—With 77 films under his belt, Yamada Yoji shows no signs of slowing down.

Delight—Leonard Cohen as sung by Rufus Wainwright—I still cannot get these amazing songs out of my mind from the film, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.

Dud—Robin Williams in The Night Listener—I never thought I'd say that RV was a better movie or that Robin Williams should stay in the photo booth?

Delight—IMAX®-3D and The Ant Bully animation—Finally, a real 3D movie that isn't just gimmicks. This movie is unreal in 3D IMAX®.

Southern Pecan Delight—Talladega Nights—side-splitting funny, and I don't even like Nascar® or Will Ferrell.

Dud—The Ant Bully and Barnyard—one was a good movie the other was terrible, but both were badly in need of a biology consultant. Ants with hearts and male cows with udders? Can Charlotte with 10 legs be far off?