As is the custom this time of year, critics, even fake ones like me, like to make top ten lists to show what they've liked and not liked. Amazingly, even with the job and the closing of Suprnova, I still managed to watch 62 movies in the year 2004, plus what will be a few more if I can get to watching Sideways, Closer, and other films. But for now, this is my top ten list of the 62 I have seen. Honestly, though, it's been a weak year for the movies, hasn't it?
1. The Incredibles - Another in a long line of great Pixar productions, this one hits the right notes in comedy, action, and drama while entertaining people of all ages.
2. Hero - American audiences had to wait 2 years to get their hands on this beautiful masterpiece from China.
3. Kill Bill: Volume 2 - The second and final installment was worth the wait, but with some good editing, the two could have been combined and would have been numero uno on this list.
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - The darkest of the 3 films in the Harry Potter series released so far is the best so far.
5. Collateral - A coolly shot Los Angeles frames a confident performance by Tom Cruise as a hitman.
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - The idea itself is worthy of awards, but Carrey and Winslet in the main roles make it that much better.
7. The Bourne Supremacy - It's a rarity in today's films: intelligent storytelling to go along with thrills and action scenes.
8. Miracle - Kurt Russell's portrayal of the late Herb Brooks makes this film go.
9. The Manchurian Candidate - A carefully crafted film that stands on its own as a taut political thriller.
10. Spider-Man 2 - After the first one, I said the only problem was the weak villain. With a better villain this time comes a better movie.
Of the movies I have seen, here are the top 10 movies of the year according to a variety of critics at moviecitynews.com.
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Aviator
3. The Incredibles
4. House of Flying Daggers
5. Fahrenheit 9/11
6. Kill Bill Volume 2
7. Collateral
8. Spider-Man 2
9. Hero
10. Team America: World Police
According to the same list, the top 5 movies I haven't seen:
1. Sideways
2. Million Dollar Baby
3. Before Sunset
4. Bad Education
5. Maria Full of Grace
Of course, when you mention the best, you have to mention the worst.
1. White Chicks - The Wayans Bros. were just ugly, like this film was.
2. Surviving Christmas - Ben Affleck orders around a family on Christmas. It just gets creepier as the film progresses.
3. Thunderbirds - I bet Ben Kingsley saw his career flashing before his eyes.
4. Resident Evil: Apocalypse - It's a zombie movie where zombies show up when you least expect them and then when you do expect them, they never show up.
5. Tremors 4: The Legend Begins - 3 sequels too many. Oh wait, this one's a prequel.
6. Walking Tall - OK! The Rock can beat people up. I GET IT!
7. King Arthur - Sorry, even Keira Knightley in a bikini through the movie can't save it.
8. Alfie - What's it all about? Really...I'm asking.
9. The Village - Gee, so much build up for nothing.
10. Alexander - If this is all you knew about Alexander, you have to wonder how he conquered most of the known world.
12/30/2004
It was a disappointing finish to an otherwise spectacular season which saw the California Golden Bears lose to the Texas Tech Red Raiders 45-31 in the Holiday Bowl.
Ever since I attended Cal, its football teams have always had one weakness: the secondary. Teams could pass at will against the Golden Bears. The problems were somewhat masked this year when Cal would outscore everybody, so it really didn't matter about the other team. Against Texas Tech tonite, two things were exposed which combined to make a perfect storm. The Red Raiders are pass-happy, first of all. They rarely run and when they pass, it's usually 15-20 yards with a lot of YAC. Then without Geoff MacArthur, the Bears' most prolific receiver, QB Aaron Rodgers had few people to throw to and RB J.J. Arrington can't do everything.
So, the secondary was exposed and all Texas Tech QB Sonny Cumbie had to do was throw it in the air and one of his teammates would probably catch it. It hurt a little more when TT chose to keep passing the ball with the game in hand.
What does it all mean for the Golden Bears? 29 seniors plus probably Rodgers are leaving. Only 2 of tonite's 11 defensive starters will return. The team, still ably led by Coach Jeff Tedford, will find it tough to match this year's 10-2 record. The Rose Bowl will become even harder to attain next year with it designated as the national championship game, meaning Cal would have to finish in the top 2 in the yet-to-be-designed BCS rankings. The main reason will be the schedule. This year, Auburn was hurt with a weak schedule despite going undefeated. California has on the 2005 schedule Sacramento State, New Mexico State, and Illinois, all weak teams this year, along with the other Pac-10 teams. Leading the team will be JC transfer Joe Ayoob from the City College of San Francisco. Hopefully the Tedford magic will continue and we can all be yelling Booya (that's Ayoob backwards).
Ever since I attended Cal, its football teams have always had one weakness: the secondary. Teams could pass at will against the Golden Bears. The problems were somewhat masked this year when Cal would outscore everybody, so it really didn't matter about the other team. Against Texas Tech tonite, two things were exposed which combined to make a perfect storm. The Red Raiders are pass-happy, first of all. They rarely run and when they pass, it's usually 15-20 yards with a lot of YAC. Then without Geoff MacArthur, the Bears' most prolific receiver, QB Aaron Rodgers had few people to throw to and RB J.J. Arrington can't do everything.
So, the secondary was exposed and all Texas Tech QB Sonny Cumbie had to do was throw it in the air and one of his teammates would probably catch it. It hurt a little more when TT chose to keep passing the ball with the game in hand.
What does it all mean for the Golden Bears? 29 seniors plus probably Rodgers are leaving. Only 2 of tonite's 11 defensive starters will return. The team, still ably led by Coach Jeff Tedford, will find it tough to match this year's 10-2 record. The Rose Bowl will become even harder to attain next year with it designated as the national championship game, meaning Cal would have to finish in the top 2 in the yet-to-be-designed BCS rankings. The main reason will be the schedule. This year, Auburn was hurt with a weak schedule despite going undefeated. California has on the 2005 schedule Sacramento State, New Mexico State, and Illinois, all weak teams this year, along with the other Pac-10 teams. Leading the team will be JC transfer Joe Ayoob from the City College of San Francisco. Hopefully the Tedford magic will continue and we can all be yelling Booya (that's Ayoob backwards).
12/24/2004
On this Christmas Eve, let me be the first or hundredth or whatever person to wish you a merry Christmas. As usual for this time of year, here is what makes Santa's job so difficult from the math/physics POV. This thing is probably old now since I got it 10 years ago...it needs to be updated.
1) No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.
2) There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc.
This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
5) 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.
In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.
1) No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.
2) There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc.
This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
5) 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.
In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera
The venerable Broadway musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber comes to the big screen for the first time. Previous film versions of the Phantom emphasize the horrors of the opera ghost but Webber's focuses on the love triangle between the Phantom (Gerard Butler), the new star Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum) and Raoul (Patrick Wilson). After the Opera Populaire gets new management, the Phantom seizes this opportunity to place his singing pupil Christine in the lead by making conditions for the established star Carlotta (Minnie Driver) less than pleasant. Once she gets her chance, Christine shines and it appears a new relationship may be developing between Christine and the Phantom until Raoul, her childhood friend takes her and become engaged. The Phantom becomes filled with jealousy and it soon becomes a fight for Charlotte's hand while the opera ghost wields his power over the theatre by forcing the group to perform an opera he wrote.
For anyone who hasn't watched the musical on Broadway or when it travels the country, this film by Joel Schumacher is a suitable substitute. The problem is the risk-free style of Schumacher's work. With the exception of a couple of exterior shots, you could have filmed this in the Broadway theatre where it is performed and none would have been the wiser. I was also a little disappointed in the choice of Butler as the Phantom. Even without the mask, he still looks okay; nothing horrific about him. His voice though lacks the deep authority the opera ghost should bring. The real star of the show is Rossum, whose look is beautiful with a singing voice that should live on through the ages. Once you get past the singing, it's a really simple love story that doesn't resonate onto the big screen the way it does on stage. But the pounding notes of Webber's score as well as the beauty of Rossum is enough to get through it. 2.5 stars
The venerable Broadway musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber comes to the big screen for the first time. Previous film versions of the Phantom emphasize the horrors of the opera ghost but Webber's focuses on the love triangle between the Phantom (Gerard Butler), the new star Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum) and Raoul (Patrick Wilson). After the Opera Populaire gets new management, the Phantom seizes this opportunity to place his singing pupil Christine in the lead by making conditions for the established star Carlotta (Minnie Driver) less than pleasant. Once she gets her chance, Christine shines and it appears a new relationship may be developing between Christine and the Phantom until Raoul, her childhood friend takes her and become engaged. The Phantom becomes filled with jealousy and it soon becomes a fight for Charlotte's hand while the opera ghost wields his power over the theatre by forcing the group to perform an opera he wrote.
For anyone who hasn't watched the musical on Broadway or when it travels the country, this film by Joel Schumacher is a suitable substitute. The problem is the risk-free style of Schumacher's work. With the exception of a couple of exterior shots, you could have filmed this in the Broadway theatre where it is performed and none would have been the wiser. I was also a little disappointed in the choice of Butler as the Phantom. Even without the mask, he still looks okay; nothing horrific about him. His voice though lacks the deep authority the opera ghost should bring. The real star of the show is Rossum, whose look is beautiful with a singing voice that should live on through the ages. Once you get past the singing, it's a really simple love story that doesn't resonate onto the big screen the way it does on stage. But the pounding notes of Webber's score as well as the beauty of Rossum is enough to get through it. 2.5 stars
Surviving Christmas
All Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) is a little companionship for Christmas. His girlfriend has just left him while all his friends are busy during the holiday season. A short conversation with a therapist leads him to his childhood home where he convinces the family now living there to welcome him into their home for $250,000. But with the money comes certain conditions which includes reliving Christmas the way Drew remembers it. It pushes the Valco family led by James Gandolfini to the brink and eventually have to choose between happiness and wealth.
This idea of hijacking Christmas could have had potential if it were in the context of another situation. But this one, in which a rich, crazy person wreaks havoc on the family sucks whatever fun could have been had. Affleck is a one-trick pony when it comes to acting and comedian he is not. Stick to smart-alecky action star please. Gandolfini essentially plays his Sopranos role and that's fine. Catherine O'Hara tries to bring comedic class to the role but that photo shoot scene was so out-of-place, which pretty much speaks for the entire film, especially considering its October release date. 1 star
All Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) is a little companionship for Christmas. His girlfriend has just left him while all his friends are busy during the holiday season. A short conversation with a therapist leads him to his childhood home where he convinces the family now living there to welcome him into their home for $250,000. But with the money comes certain conditions which includes reliving Christmas the way Drew remembers it. It pushes the Valco family led by James Gandolfini to the brink and eventually have to choose between happiness and wealth.
This idea of hijacking Christmas could have had potential if it were in the context of another situation. But this one, in which a rich, crazy person wreaks havoc on the family sucks whatever fun could have been had. Affleck is a one-trick pony when it comes to acting and comedian he is not. Stick to smart-alecky action star please. Gandolfini essentially plays his Sopranos role and that's fine. Catherine O'Hara tries to bring comedic class to the role but that photo shoot scene was so out-of-place, which pretty much speaks for the entire film, especially considering its October release date. 1 star
12/22/2004
A reaction to the trailer of White Noise, a new film starring Michael Keaton in which he contacts his dead wife: Hey, while you're at it, contact Michael Keaton's career. That's been dead for many years!
I did something really weird today and I can't even explain why. I'm driving on 85 and the BMW ahead of me throws a tightly wound wad of tissue out the window. So now it's headed right towards me. Now what do I do?
I duck.
Duck??? I'm driving a car. How's it gonna hit me, ducking or otherwise? It proceeds to hit my windshield and goes on its merry way to hit another car, but for the rest of the way, I can't stop thinking how I ducked at tissue headed right at me.
I did something really weird today and I can't even explain why. I'm driving on 85 and the BMW ahead of me throws a tightly wound wad of tissue out the window. So now it's headed right towards me. Now what do I do?
I duck.
Duck??? I'm driving a car. How's it gonna hit me, ducking or otherwise? It proceeds to hit my windshield and goes on its merry way to hit another car, but for the rest of the way, I can't stop thinking how I ducked at tissue headed right at me.
As some of you noticed, it was my birthday on Monday and thanks to you all who sent their wishes of a happy birthday. The day was highlighted by a trip to Todai, the overpriced buffet where it's only worth it if somebody in the party is celebrating a birthday since they're free. Honestly, if you hate sushi and seafood, this is definitely not the place to go, especially with the $25 price tag. Oh, I'm sorry...you get to save a buck on weekdays. To be fair, if you do like sushi, you'll get your money's worth plus it's a heck of a lot cleaner than other buffets.
On a related note, today the 22nd is Al's birthday so happy birthday.
Only 3 days until Christmas folks. I've gotta run to shop. I'm finished, but I gotta find presents people can't find themselves.
On a related note, today the 22nd is Al's birthday so happy birthday.
Only 3 days until Christmas folks. I've gotta run to shop. I'm finished, but I gotta find presents people can't find themselves.
Shaun of the Dead
This British film takes the comedic route in dealing with zombies. Shaun (Simon Pegg) has enough problems to deal with as his home deteriorates into a battle between his best friend Ed (Nick Frost) and his other flatmate Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) while his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) threatens to break up with him. But in the course of the night, most of the town has suddenly turned into zombies. It isn't evident at first to Shaun but soon, reality hits him head-on and so he gathers his group together and goes to where they usually hang out: the pub of course. It is there where they make their stand.
Overall, the film is amusing but it lacks the comedic bite to make it a laugh-out riot. Everything we know about zombies is taken by the film, twisted around, and spit back to us in funny ways. Their mimicking of zombies in order to walk down the street is well-conceived. But the ever-changing relationship between Shaun and Liz somewhat drags the film down, bringing with it the problem it shares with the latest update of the Dawn of the Dead: the zombies seem to disappear for large chunks of the film, leaving us uninterested until they show up again. 2.5 stars
This British film takes the comedic route in dealing with zombies. Shaun (Simon Pegg) has enough problems to deal with as his home deteriorates into a battle between his best friend Ed (Nick Frost) and his other flatmate Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) while his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) threatens to break up with him. But in the course of the night, most of the town has suddenly turned into zombies. It isn't evident at first to Shaun but soon, reality hits him head-on and so he gathers his group together and goes to where they usually hang out: the pub of course. It is there where they make their stand.
Overall, the film is amusing but it lacks the comedic bite to make it a laugh-out riot. Everything we know about zombies is taken by the film, twisted around, and spit back to us in funny ways. Their mimicking of zombies in order to walk down the street is well-conceived. But the ever-changing relationship between Shaun and Liz somewhat drags the film down, bringing with it the problem it shares with the latest update of the Dawn of the Dead: the zombies seem to disappear for large chunks of the film, leaving us uninterested until they show up again. 2.5 stars
12/19/2004
12/18/2004
One week before Christmas and I have all my shopping done. Amazing. All finished today with a stress-free trip to Oakridge. Here's a little tip. There are only two places where you should even try parking at Oakridge. One is behind the Target facing Thornwood where the bank is in the back. No entrances mean no one wants to park there. But today at noon, it was filled up. So, plan B. 3rd and 4th floors of the Sears parking garage. It was only half-filled at noon today, supposedly the busiest shopping day of the season.
Sports around here have gone from bad to confusing. It was bad enough that Cal didn't make the Rose Bowl. It's also bad that the Sharks haven't even played a game yet. It's bad that the 49ers are just so bad. But can someone explain the moves the A's are making? Sure, Tim Hudson probably couldn't be re-signed for a reasonable amount in the offseason so Billy Beane had to move him, but what's with Mark Mulder being traded? To me, he was the most consistent of the pitchers on the A's and now the team only has Zito, Harden, and a bunch of promising prospects, nothing like Hudson and Mulder offered.
At least the A's are making moves. What of the Orioles? All they've done is sign their senior citizens Palmeiro and Surhoff to 1-year deals. They still need a starting pitcher and another slugger.
I finally got around to trying one of the two new seafood buffets in the area, one called Super and the other Crazy. I liked the dungeness crab. Everything else? So-so. There is a lot of variety. I didn't even venture to some of the stations. At $16 though, they should scale it down and focus on a few items. I'm going to another buffet on Monday, Todai to be specific. The reason should be clear because of what day it is.
Sports around here have gone from bad to confusing. It was bad enough that Cal didn't make the Rose Bowl. It's also bad that the Sharks haven't even played a game yet. It's bad that the 49ers are just so bad. But can someone explain the moves the A's are making? Sure, Tim Hudson probably couldn't be re-signed for a reasonable amount in the offseason so Billy Beane had to move him, but what's with Mark Mulder being traded? To me, he was the most consistent of the pitchers on the A's and now the team only has Zito, Harden, and a bunch of promising prospects, nothing like Hudson and Mulder offered.
At least the A's are making moves. What of the Orioles? All they've done is sign their senior citizens Palmeiro and Surhoff to 1-year deals. They still need a starting pitcher and another slugger.
I finally got around to trying one of the two new seafood buffets in the area, one called Super and the other Crazy. I liked the dungeness crab. Everything else? So-so. There is a lot of variety. I didn't even venture to some of the stations. At $16 though, they should scale it down and focus on a few items. I'm going to another buffet on Monday, Todai to be specific. The reason should be clear because of what day it is.
12/16/2004
Ocean's Twelve
When last we left the story of Ocean's Eleven, the team had just stolen $160 million from Terry Benedict at the Bellagio. However, Benedict has found out all of their identities and is out for revenge, specifically, the money plus interest or they're dead. As a result, Danny Ocean (George Clooney), Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), and the team flee to Europe to try to steal back enough money to give back to Benedict. Though they thought they were going to work small jobs to reach their goal, they were actually lured by Francois Toulour (Vincent Cassel) who has been jealous of them ever since his mentor, the thief La Marque, believed the Bellagio theft was the greatest ever. Toulour bets Ocean to see who can steal a golden egg first so that only one can claim credit as the greatest thief ever. With $100 million on the line, Ocean can't refuse, but can they actually do it? Hot on their trail is a former lover of Rusty's and now a detective played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.
While the sequel keeps the charm of its predecessor, this European version isn't as smart nor as funny. Furthermore, the first one, even with its multitude of characters, managed to keep a right balance to get everyone in the mix. Here, with the addition of a couple of characters, some are completely ignored (so Bernie Mac spends the final half in a jail cell?) and others get way too much time. The ending is somewhat of a letdown, especially considering the genius of the Bellagio heist. Once you figure out what happened, it's like, wow, that's it? It could be considered too clever for its own good. Ultimately, the movie features a group of people having a fun time, and you will too. Just don't compare it with the previous film since that one is better. 2.5 stars
When last we left the story of Ocean's Eleven, the team had just stolen $160 million from Terry Benedict at the Bellagio. However, Benedict has found out all of their identities and is out for revenge, specifically, the money plus interest or they're dead. As a result, Danny Ocean (George Clooney), Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), and the team flee to Europe to try to steal back enough money to give back to Benedict. Though they thought they were going to work small jobs to reach their goal, they were actually lured by Francois Toulour (Vincent Cassel) who has been jealous of them ever since his mentor, the thief La Marque, believed the Bellagio theft was the greatest ever. Toulour bets Ocean to see who can steal a golden egg first so that only one can claim credit as the greatest thief ever. With $100 million on the line, Ocean can't refuse, but can they actually do it? Hot on their trail is a former lover of Rusty's and now a detective played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.
While the sequel keeps the charm of its predecessor, this European version isn't as smart nor as funny. Furthermore, the first one, even with its multitude of characters, managed to keep a right balance to get everyone in the mix. Here, with the addition of a couple of characters, some are completely ignored (so Bernie Mac spends the final half in a jail cell?) and others get way too much time. The ending is somewhat of a letdown, especially considering the genius of the Bellagio heist. Once you figure out what happened, it's like, wow, that's it? It could be considered too clever for its own good. Ultimately, the movie features a group of people having a fun time, and you will too. Just don't compare it with the previous film since that one is better. 2.5 stars
12/09/2004
Blade: Trinity
Our old friend Blade (Wesley Snipes) is back again, this time facing his most worthy adversary to date, Dracula, or as he likes to be called now, Drake (Dominic Purcell). However, the FBI has finally caught up to him, apprehending him after a lengthy fight that results in the death of Whistler (Kris Kristofferson, but seriously, Whistler's died like 20 times already, right?). Without him, help comes in the form of Ryan Reynolds, Van Wilder himself, and Jessica Biel playing Whistler's daughter. Helping out Drake is Parker Posey and the WWE's Triple H. Their hope is that since Drake is a pure-blooded vampire, he could transform today's vampires into daywalkers. Of course, it's up to Blade and his new band of kids to stop them.
Blade has fallen into something deadly: a pattern. These movies, now 3 in total, seem to concern the same thing. Some vampire is better than the rest and Blade comes out to kill him. Ho-hum. Director and writer David S. Goyer seems to have run out of ideas and has come to rely on Matrix-like scenes while conveniently making things easier for Blade and his band (Where did the FBI go? How come the security guards didn't have any guns?). With the addition of Reynolds, an effort was made to add some humor into the mix, but most of the jokes fall flat. There's a nice car chase and some energetic action scenes, but those alone can't save this run-of-the-mill film that's clearly fallen from the first one. 2 stars
Our old friend Blade (Wesley Snipes) is back again, this time facing his most worthy adversary to date, Dracula, or as he likes to be called now, Drake (Dominic Purcell). However, the FBI has finally caught up to him, apprehending him after a lengthy fight that results in the death of Whistler (Kris Kristofferson, but seriously, Whistler's died like 20 times already, right?). Without him, help comes in the form of Ryan Reynolds, Van Wilder himself, and Jessica Biel playing Whistler's daughter. Helping out Drake is Parker Posey and the WWE's Triple H. Their hope is that since Drake is a pure-blooded vampire, he could transform today's vampires into daywalkers. Of course, it's up to Blade and his new band of kids to stop them.
Blade has fallen into something deadly: a pattern. These movies, now 3 in total, seem to concern the same thing. Some vampire is better than the rest and Blade comes out to kill him. Ho-hum. Director and writer David S. Goyer seems to have run out of ideas and has come to rely on Matrix-like scenes while conveniently making things easier for Blade and his band (Where did the FBI go? How come the security guards didn't have any guns?). With the addition of Reynolds, an effort was made to add some humor into the mix, but most of the jokes fall flat. There's a nice car chase and some energetic action scenes, but those alone can't save this run-of-the-mill film that's clearly fallen from the first one. 2 stars
Alfie
What's it all about? Alfie (Jude Law) is your typical male living the life in Manhattan, going through one woman after another, let it be Marisa Tomei, Jane Krakowski, Susan Sarandon, Nia Long, etc., etc., etc. Apparently, he is irresistible to the women. But once they've had their fun, they go their separate ways. The women don't seem to mind, but it's Alfie himself who gets hurt. The swinging life of the '60s doesn't translate well in the 21st century. As a result, Alfie has to look to his past to reflect and change his ways before age catches up to him.
Law is fine in the role of Alfie, bringing charm, good looks, and the swagger needed to channel Michael Caine's Alfie from the 60's. But if this is the only Alfie you'll ever see, then you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. He gets rejected by every woman in the film, but you never feel sorry for him, like the movie wants you to. It's the life he's chosen to lead. As a result, the movie goes through different permutations of the same cycle with no end in sight until it finally ends. 1.5 stars
What's it all about? Alfie (Jude Law) is your typical male living the life in Manhattan, going through one woman after another, let it be Marisa Tomei, Jane Krakowski, Susan Sarandon, Nia Long, etc., etc., etc. Apparently, he is irresistible to the women. But once they've had their fun, they go their separate ways. The women don't seem to mind, but it's Alfie himself who gets hurt. The swinging life of the '60s doesn't translate well in the 21st century. As a result, Alfie has to look to his past to reflect and change his ways before age catches up to him.
Law is fine in the role of Alfie, bringing charm, good looks, and the swagger needed to channel Michael Caine's Alfie from the 60's. But if this is the only Alfie you'll ever see, then you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. He gets rejected by every woman in the film, but you never feel sorry for him, like the movie wants you to. It's the life he's chosen to lead. As a result, the movie goes through different permutations of the same cycle with no end in sight until it finally ends. 1.5 stars
12/05/2004
If you're a Cal football fan today, one sign at yesterday's Southern Miss game said it all.
BCS - C = BS
The 46-year drought from the Rose Bowl will stretch to 47 as the pollsters and computers believe that Texas is more deserving of a BCS bowl bid over the Golden Bears. Cal is now relegated to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. You can say that without the BCS, there wouldn't be any talk of Rose Bowl whatsoever. It hurts nonetheless. Being 10-1 is an accomplishment in itself though. So now is the time to look ahead. Task #1 is to defeat Texas Tech at the aforementioned Holiday Bowl. Next is to keep Coach Jeff Tedford and to grant his wish to upgrade the stadium. If Tedford leaves, kiss Cal football as we know it today goodbye for at least a few years. If an earthquake strikes, watch the stadium crumble to the ground. These two things should worry Cal fans more than a simple Rose Bowl.
At least one thing is done. Tedford is staying for at least another year.
BCS - C = BS
The 46-year drought from the Rose Bowl will stretch to 47 as the pollsters and computers believe that Texas is more deserving of a BCS bowl bid over the Golden Bears. Cal is now relegated to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. You can say that without the BCS, there wouldn't be any talk of Rose Bowl whatsoever. It hurts nonetheless. Being 10-1 is an accomplishment in itself though. So now is the time to look ahead. Task #1 is to defeat Texas Tech at the aforementioned Holiday Bowl. Next is to keep Coach Jeff Tedford and to grant his wish to upgrade the stadium. If Tedford leaves, kiss Cal football as we know it today goodbye for at least a few years. If an earthquake strikes, watch the stadium crumble to the ground. These two things should worry Cal fans more than a simple Rose Bowl.
At least one thing is done. Tedford is staying for at least another year.
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