So there I was today at the bus stop, still waiting for a bus that just doesn't want to show up. Yet who does? Newly christened celebrity William Hung. Flanked by a camera crew, which I later find out to be Access Hollywood, Hung walks around, head held high, gave me a nod and went on his way. "No regrets" he said on that day in front of the American Idol panel after performing She Bangs with a monotone voice and arms flailing. Well, good for him. Let him enjoy his 15 minutes of fame. But you know what, this needs to stop. Sure, I laughed when I first saw it. I even saw it live and in person once. Now, whenever I hear it or something about it, I cringe. It could be him. It could be my dad humming the tune. It could be teenage girls performing it on campus with better voices. Something about it screams this is demeaning. This is mean. This is utterly embarrassing. Will this really be what he'll be known for forever? While I'm talking about Hung, it could also apply to Ricky Martin too. I mean really, wasn't there something in the song that screamed embarrassing while going solo has rendered him a one-hit wonder?
Yet this little phenomenon continues indefinitely. Hung continues to perform, tonite at a volleyball match, and I will go on covering my ears and changing the channel.
2/18/2004
2/13/2004
Some funny goings on down in San Jose involving a big rig hitting a restaurant. It was a Vietnamese restaurant on Story Road. At about 1 am on Thursday morning, a big rig swerved to avoid a Mercedes and hit the restaurant. No major injuries were reported but what was funny was the owner.
A structural engineer came out to survey the scene and concluded that the building would not collapse. Upon hearing that, the owner was reportedly adamant on opening for business that morning. Apparently, he did not mind that one side of his restaurant was literally gone with a cement truck occupying most of the eating area. People have to eat you know. True, and on the bright side, people eating could see the kitchen and the street. It took a lot of talking from San Jose police on scene to convince him to at least close for the day.
A structural engineer came out to survey the scene and concluded that the building would not collapse. Upon hearing that, the owner was reportedly adamant on opening for business that morning. Apparently, he did not mind that one side of his restaurant was literally gone with a cement truck occupying most of the eating area. People have to eat you know. True, and on the bright side, people eating could see the kitchen and the street. It took a lot of talking from San Jose police on scene to convince him to at least close for the day.
2/10/2004
No disrespect to you smokers out there, but you stink. I'm speaking literally. You could stink in other ways as well. Luckily, I know very few smokers, and I don't see them on a regular basis. Today at math, always an enlightening and awakening subject, I show up 5 minutes early yet still there are only single seats left and none around the people I know. It's homework day, I understand. So I venture to the other side of the room, a dark corner near the door. Right around the time lecture would start, a brooding Asian guy with a heavy coat on (70 degrees outside, probably 150 degrees inside the non-air conditioned Evans rooms, and he's wearing a jacket??) sat down in the seat next to me. And you know what? He stunk, big time. The smell of 1,000 stale cigarettes was just overwhelming. It's like he lived in the smoking section of a restaurant. Some homeless people smelled better than him. There were times during lecture, a fascinating study of proofs and whatnot, when I just wanted to push the guy out the door, but I guess that would look kinda weird. By the mid-time break, he left the room. And with it, fresh "Evans" air came in to replace the stench. Okay, it's not that fresh, but it was an improvement.
After 10 minutes, he came back. Smoke still leaving his mouth as he walked in. And there he sat down. A new foul smell to endure for another 40 minutes. I know it's hard to quit, but can we agree to abstain from smoking during the school day? Non-smokers I know would rejoice. Currently, UC Berkeley has a rule saying smokers must stay 20 feet away from buildings when they smoke. That's a joke. Especially when cigarettes can be discarded in that sand pit thing just a few feet from the door. I guess the only thing that may balance this out is having a drunkard sit next to me as well. Hell, I should try it, that way some of this complex stuff might actually make some sense.
After 10 minutes, he came back. Smoke still leaving his mouth as he walked in. And there he sat down. A new foul smell to endure for another 40 minutes. I know it's hard to quit, but can we agree to abstain from smoking during the school day? Non-smokers I know would rejoice. Currently, UC Berkeley has a rule saying smokers must stay 20 feet away from buildings when they smoke. That's a joke. Especially when cigarettes can be discarded in that sand pit thing just a few feet from the door. I guess the only thing that may balance this out is having a drunkard sit next to me as well. Hell, I should try it, that way some of this complex stuff might actually make some sense.
2/09/2004
In America
After the death of their son Frankie, parents Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah (Samantha Morton) along with their kids Christy and Ariel (Sarah and Emma Bolger) move from Ireland to New York City. It’s tough-going for the Irish family as they move into a place filled with drug addicts and the parents struggle to find work; Johnny an aspiring actor and Sarah, a teacher turned waitress. It takes time to assimilate the American culture, but step-by-step, they do. Halloween arrives and in the search for tricks and treats, Christy and Ariel encounter Mateo (Djimon Honsou), described thus far as simply the man who screams. Instead, they find a very nice man and along with Sarah, welcome him with open arms. Complications arrive though as Sarah becomes pregnant and Mateo falls ill to a disease that has everyone in the family mature and consider themselves truly Americans.
This is one of the most delightful and moving pictures you’ll see all year. Even while it has the makes of a true and emotional immigrant experience, events occur in the film that seems to border on fairytale and fantasy. Bad things eventually turn out to be good. Risks taken eventually have rewards in the end. This is especially true for the children, who are allowed to introduce themselves wherever they go, wander the rundown apartment building alone, and walk across the street to the ice cream parlor while the parents have some alone time. If I were the head of a newly immigrated family, I wouldn’t let my children out of my sight until I knew it was safe, which it obviously wasn’t in this case. That being said, the innocence of youth is something that truly isn’t to be denied and I was in awe to see things in their point of view, whether through their eyes or through Christy’s camcorder.
As the head of the family, Considine is great at mastering the delicate balance of being happy with his family while trying to hide the frustration he obviously has with trying to get a part in a Broadway play and dealing with the loss of his son Frankie. Morton, who works wonders with whatever film she acts in, shows off in this as well with her short hair and long looks. And it’s really nice to see Honsou play something different than a stereotypical African man. It’s refreshing to see aspects of this character combine with the emotion he lets out in the middle of the film to create someone entirely new. Finally, there are the children, who for the most part are just adorable and understand their environment years ahead of when they should. At first, they want to be just like everyone else, but by the end, Ariel recognizes things are gravely different and doesn’t like it and Christy tells her father to not “little girl” her. Individuals coming from different places make for an interesting and fulfilling experience, whether from the different ages of the Sullivan family or the different countries people come from only to meet in Manhattan. 3.5 stars
After the death of their son Frankie, parents Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah (Samantha Morton) along with their kids Christy and Ariel (Sarah and Emma Bolger) move from Ireland to New York City. It’s tough-going for the Irish family as they move into a place filled with drug addicts and the parents struggle to find work; Johnny an aspiring actor and Sarah, a teacher turned waitress. It takes time to assimilate the American culture, but step-by-step, they do. Halloween arrives and in the search for tricks and treats, Christy and Ariel encounter Mateo (Djimon Honsou), described thus far as simply the man who screams. Instead, they find a very nice man and along with Sarah, welcome him with open arms. Complications arrive though as Sarah becomes pregnant and Mateo falls ill to a disease that has everyone in the family mature and consider themselves truly Americans.
This is one of the most delightful and moving pictures you’ll see all year. Even while it has the makes of a true and emotional immigrant experience, events occur in the film that seems to border on fairytale and fantasy. Bad things eventually turn out to be good. Risks taken eventually have rewards in the end. This is especially true for the children, who are allowed to introduce themselves wherever they go, wander the rundown apartment building alone, and walk across the street to the ice cream parlor while the parents have some alone time. If I were the head of a newly immigrated family, I wouldn’t let my children out of my sight until I knew it was safe, which it obviously wasn’t in this case. That being said, the innocence of youth is something that truly isn’t to be denied and I was in awe to see things in their point of view, whether through their eyes or through Christy’s camcorder.
As the head of the family, Considine is great at mastering the delicate balance of being happy with his family while trying to hide the frustration he obviously has with trying to get a part in a Broadway play and dealing with the loss of his son Frankie. Morton, who works wonders with whatever film she acts in, shows off in this as well with her short hair and long looks. And it’s really nice to see Honsou play something different than a stereotypical African man. It’s refreshing to see aspects of this character combine with the emotion he lets out in the middle of the film to create someone entirely new. Finally, there are the children, who for the most part are just adorable and understand their environment years ahead of when they should. At first, they want to be just like everyone else, but by the end, Ariel recognizes things are gravely different and doesn’t like it and Christy tells her father to not “little girl” her. Individuals coming from different places make for an interesting and fulfilling experience, whether from the different ages of the Sullivan family or the different countries people come from only to meet in Manhattan. 3.5 stars
Whale Rider
Every Cal bonfire rally, the Cal haka is performed. Filled with loud chants and meant to put fear into their upcoming opponent (Stanfurd), we were told it came from the Maori tribe in New Zealand, who did the haka before going into the battle. These New Zealanders are placed front and center in “Whale Rider”, a film about a young girl who wishes to become tribal leader even though her traditions frown upon a woman doing so. Keisha Castle-Hughes plays the role of the girl, Pai, whose mother died at birth along with her twin brother. Her father would be next in line to be tribal leader, but he has no interest in it and has left the country, where he has pursued his artistic talents and married a German woman. Pai feels she would be a very strong leader but her grandfather still sees her as just a girl. Even so, she doesn’t give up and tries to learn the tribe’s ways, hoping she can put them to use later on.
Castle-Hughes is an empowering figure; an innocent girl standing up for what she believed was right in a place where females are already at a disadvantage. Her performance is made even more extraordinary by the fact that she was only twelve when she made the film. And all the while, writer and director Niki Caro, based on the book by Witi Ihimaera, makes sure to keep things as authentic as possible by showcasing the Maori traditions. But in doing so, the movie faces a dilemma. If tradition holds that only males can become chiefs, as grandpa insists, how can Pai succeed? Just like her, she does so in her own way. 3 stars
Every Cal bonfire rally, the Cal haka is performed. Filled with loud chants and meant to put fear into their upcoming opponent (Stanfurd), we were told it came from the Maori tribe in New Zealand, who did the haka before going into the battle. These New Zealanders are placed front and center in “Whale Rider”, a film about a young girl who wishes to become tribal leader even though her traditions frown upon a woman doing so. Keisha Castle-Hughes plays the role of the girl, Pai, whose mother died at birth along with her twin brother. Her father would be next in line to be tribal leader, but he has no interest in it and has left the country, where he has pursued his artistic talents and married a German woman. Pai feels she would be a very strong leader but her grandfather still sees her as just a girl. Even so, she doesn’t give up and tries to learn the tribe’s ways, hoping she can put them to use later on.
Castle-Hughes is an empowering figure; an innocent girl standing up for what she believed was right in a place where females are already at a disadvantage. Her performance is made even more extraordinary by the fact that she was only twelve when she made the film. And all the while, writer and director Niki Caro, based on the book by Witi Ihimaera, makes sure to keep things as authentic as possible by showcasing the Maori traditions. But in doing so, the movie faces a dilemma. If tradition holds that only males can become chiefs, as grandpa insists, how can Pai succeed? Just like her, she does so in her own way. 3 stars
Something's Gotta Give
So here is the tangled web we weave. Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is dating Marin (Amanda Peet), someone way younger than he is. Staying at her mother’s home in the Hamptons, they believe they have the house to themselves, but alas, mom Erica (Diane Keaton) has come up to write a new play along with her sister (Frances McDormand). In the course of events, Harry gets a heart attack and is treated by Dr. Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves). Julian prescribes some home time for Harry, leaving him and Erica all alone. All the while, Julian begins to date Erica. After a week of solitude and Marin breaking it off with Harry, he and Erica hit it off. When he gets better, he goes back to his old tricks of dating, infuriating Erica, leading her to furiously write a new play based on him. As stress and pain get the better of Harry, only time will tell if and when he gets back together with Erica.
It’s the most clichéd trick of romantic comedies. Two people so wrong for each other go ahead and fall for each other anyway. The outcome was never in doubt here but the way they got there is a bit different. Keaton and Nicholson give dazzling performances, showing off their acting experience in a film that would leave much to be desired had it been trusted in any other couple. Writer and director Nancy Meyers flirts with disaster with all the extra people cast to complicate things for the two, but she manages to make it work with some good dialogue, wonderful laughs, and some good chemistry between the main couple. The one character I have a problem with is Julian, who makes some questionable decisions throughout the film that only serves to confound. Otherwise, it’s a romantic comedy that serves up its material magnificently on both fronts, romantically and comedically. 3 stars
So here is the tangled web we weave. Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is dating Marin (Amanda Peet), someone way younger than he is. Staying at her mother’s home in the Hamptons, they believe they have the house to themselves, but alas, mom Erica (Diane Keaton) has come up to write a new play along with her sister (Frances McDormand). In the course of events, Harry gets a heart attack and is treated by Dr. Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves). Julian prescribes some home time for Harry, leaving him and Erica all alone. All the while, Julian begins to date Erica. After a week of solitude and Marin breaking it off with Harry, he and Erica hit it off. When he gets better, he goes back to his old tricks of dating, infuriating Erica, leading her to furiously write a new play based on him. As stress and pain get the better of Harry, only time will tell if and when he gets back together with Erica.
It’s the most clichéd trick of romantic comedies. Two people so wrong for each other go ahead and fall for each other anyway. The outcome was never in doubt here but the way they got there is a bit different. Keaton and Nicholson give dazzling performances, showing off their acting experience in a film that would leave much to be desired had it been trusted in any other couple. Writer and director Nancy Meyers flirts with disaster with all the extra people cast to complicate things for the two, but she manages to make it work with some good dialogue, wonderful laughs, and some good chemistry between the main couple. The one character I have a problem with is Julian, who makes some questionable decisions throughout the film that only serves to confound. Otherwise, it’s a romantic comedy that serves up its material magnificently on both fronts, romantically and comedically. 3 stars
Monster
Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron) only wanted to be loved. Since she couldn't, she improvised. She was the victim of child abuse. She was shunned at school because of her not-so-pretty looks. She became a prostitute to meet other men, hoping for a connection but it didn't work. Down on her luck and alone, she heads into a bar where she gets friendly with a fellow lonely figure in Selby (Christina Ricci). Estranged from her father and living with a family friend, Selby reaches out to Aileen and they bond, first at the bar and then at a roller skating rink. All that pent-up sexual frustration ends with a passionate kiss and soon enough, Selby runs away with her. During this, Aileen continues her "job" as a prostitute but when one john tries to take advantage of her, she shoots and kills him. After robbing him and taking his car, and after failing to get a legitimate job, she figures this is how she'll support herself. Aileen and Selby move around together but it's only a matter of time until the chasing police catch up.
The book on Theron throughout her career has been that she's the beautiful actress playing average roles in average to great movies, showing off her assets in most of them. In this film however, her transformation isn't just skin deep. She gives a particularly powerful performance (and very realistic too if you watch the documentary also being released) as the serial killer Wuornos. She shows a cold heart with a gun, an emotional openness with Selby, and, in light of things occurring in the movie, a borderline comedic job interview. It's also one of the few times when Theron is bigger than the movie, itself an average adventure which degenerates to killing and running from the law. Ricci's little story doesn't get the full treatment, even with a lot invested so far, and it serves more as a distraction than a viable plotline. The dialogue is filled with one word responses and not so insightful lines. But one look into the eyes of Theron in the film will have you hooked on her performance. 2.5 stars
Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron) only wanted to be loved. Since she couldn't, she improvised. She was the victim of child abuse. She was shunned at school because of her not-so-pretty looks. She became a prostitute to meet other men, hoping for a connection but it didn't work. Down on her luck and alone, she heads into a bar where she gets friendly with a fellow lonely figure in Selby (Christina Ricci). Estranged from her father and living with a family friend, Selby reaches out to Aileen and they bond, first at the bar and then at a roller skating rink. All that pent-up sexual frustration ends with a passionate kiss and soon enough, Selby runs away with her. During this, Aileen continues her "job" as a prostitute but when one john tries to take advantage of her, she shoots and kills him. After robbing him and taking his car, and after failing to get a legitimate job, she figures this is how she'll support herself. Aileen and Selby move around together but it's only a matter of time until the chasing police catch up.
The book on Theron throughout her career has been that she's the beautiful actress playing average roles in average to great movies, showing off her assets in most of them. In this film however, her transformation isn't just skin deep. She gives a particularly powerful performance (and very realistic too if you watch the documentary also being released) as the serial killer Wuornos. She shows a cold heart with a gun, an emotional openness with Selby, and, in light of things occurring in the movie, a borderline comedic job interview. It's also one of the few times when Theron is bigger than the movie, itself an average adventure which degenerates to killing and running from the law. Ricci's little story doesn't get the full treatment, even with a lot invested so far, and it serves more as a distraction than a viable plotline. The dialogue is filled with one word responses and not so insightful lines. But one look into the eyes of Theron in the film will have you hooked on her performance. 2.5 stars
A staggering 496 films have been released in 2003 and of the 75 I've watched, these are the top 10 of the year.
1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - A triumphant end to one of the best trilogies ever made.
2. City of God - Gritty realism in the slums of Rio.
3. Finding Nemo - All you can ever hope for in an action adventure with the added bonus of great animation.
4. Lost in Translation - Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson masterfully show off their acting chops as they discover Japan with both hilarity and romanticism.
5. In America - The immigrant experience has never been so moving as this was.
6. Seabiscuit - Great performances from a great director document the grand horse named Seabiscuit.
7. Bend it Like Beckham - This soccer crowd-pleaser gives us both entertainment and lessons to learn in life.
8. Big Fish - Tim Burton's imagination runs wild with fantastic results.
9. Elephant - The most thought-provoking film of the year sets the stage for a discussion of how school shootings occur in the most innocent of places.
10. The Last Samurai - Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise turns in a decent performance as a Civil War soldier but Ken Watanabe's role as Katsumoto is the star of the show.
Of the films I have seen, these are the 10 best films of the year according to a composite ranking from 228 critics compiled by moviecitynews.com.
1. Lost in Translation
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. Mystic River
4. Finding Nemo
5. In America
6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
7. 21 Grams
8. Kill Bill: Volume 1
9. City of God
10. Cold Mountain
Armed with the same list, these are the 5 best films I haven't seen yet.
1. American Splendor
2. Capturing the Friedmans
3. The Station Agent
4. House of Sand and Fog
5. The Fog of War
1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - A triumphant end to one of the best trilogies ever made.
2. City of God - Gritty realism in the slums of Rio.
3. Finding Nemo - All you can ever hope for in an action adventure with the added bonus of great animation.
4. Lost in Translation - Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson masterfully show off their acting chops as they discover Japan with both hilarity and romanticism.
5. In America - The immigrant experience has never been so moving as this was.
6. Seabiscuit - Great performances from a great director document the grand horse named Seabiscuit.
7. Bend it Like Beckham - This soccer crowd-pleaser gives us both entertainment and lessons to learn in life.
8. Big Fish - Tim Burton's imagination runs wild with fantastic results.
9. Elephant - The most thought-provoking film of the year sets the stage for a discussion of how school shootings occur in the most innocent of places.
10. The Last Samurai - Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise turns in a decent performance as a Civil War soldier but Ken Watanabe's role as Katsumoto is the star of the show.
Of the films I have seen, these are the 10 best films of the year according to a composite ranking from 228 critics compiled by moviecitynews.com.
1. Lost in Translation
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. Mystic River
4. Finding Nemo
5. In America
6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
7. 21 Grams
8. Kill Bill: Volume 1
9. City of God
10. Cold Mountain
Armed with the same list, these are the 5 best films I haven't seen yet.
1. American Splendor
2. Capturing the Friedmans
3. The Station Agent
4. House of Sand and Fog
5. The Fog of War
2/06/2004
To those of you searching for Tara Dakides information, you can catch her on the Late Show Monday where she will talk about the ordeal. Also appearing as a guest that night will be Dr. Phil. In the meantime, you can check the Letterman newsgroup for still shots of the incident but you can't see much. She was going down a 40-foot ramp, without a helmet apparently, and landed on the ground instead of the ramp. She was rushed to the hospital where Dave spent some time. He canceled Thursday's show with Drew Barrymore (rescheduled for Tuesday) and Fountains of Wayne (rescheduling not known) as guests and postponed the late Thursday night taping of Friday night's show to, well, Friday night, as the CBS web site says Hilary Swank and Todd Barry will be guests as scheduled.
The musical guest for February 6 was not piano prodigy Chloe Pang; instead it was Nellie McKay.
Why is this info here? There have been more hits in the last couple of days on this site compared to the week before that.
The musical guest for February 6 was not piano prodigy Chloe Pang; instead it was Nellie McKay.
Why is this info here? There have been more hits in the last couple of days on this site compared to the week before that.
2/02/2004
It was Super Bowl Sunday yesterday, football for the uninformed, and there I was at my brother's house watching. He's got one of those HDTV dealies and you know what? It really does seem like you're watching through a window. Too bad you could tell when CBS switched from the analog cameras to the digital ones and back again. It got really annoying.
The game itself started out to be a yawner. No scoring. Missed field goals. Not even a turnover. In this case, the commercials are supposed to wake you up and give you something to laugh about but no. Pretty much all of them were lame. Nothing revolutionary like the Apple one. No memorable figures like those Bud frogs and even Reebok's Terry Tate. Instead, we get Mike Ditka hawking medicine. And the disturbing image of two old folks in a bathtub with the odd voiceover informing us that yes, a man like this one can have an erection for hours. Ewww. Wasn't Bob Dole and Viagra bad enough?
There were some good ones. 7UP comes to mind. And the one with Homer was good too. But most sought out to offend and well, if you like those cheap laughs, whatever.
The halftime show was ho-hum. The last time MTV did a show, they had Aerosmith, Britney, NSync, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige seemingly all singing in unison, which kinda worked. Then it was U2, experiencing a revival that year. Then last year, it was Shania Twain, Sting and No Doubt. Not the most popular of singers, but good. Then we get to this year. Yuck. Janet Jackson. She's old and hasn't released an album in years. P Diddy and Nelly. P Diddy likes to do TV and fashion, not music anymore. Nelly sang that it was Hot in Herre even though it was awfully cold over there and everyone was sick of the song. Kid Rock? Next. Then Justin Timberlake goes up on stage and strips Janet Jackson. Okay, he pulled off half of her top. Justin attributes it to a "wardrobe malfunction". That's damn funny. I'm sure everyone has had a wardrobe malfunction sometimes.
Prior to the show, they had a commercial where actors and actresses repeat the phrase "Choose to Vote". I thought it was funny that the next image we see was of Jessica Simpson saying "Choose to Party!" I'm sure she said something else, but that's what I thought she said.
As for the game, it seems we were watching a repeat of the Super Bowl two years ago. Back then, Ricky Proehl scored the game-tying touchdown until the Patriots led by Tom Brady rushed downfield to set up a 48-yard field goal made by Adam Vinatieri to win the game. Yesterday, Ricky Proehl scored the game-tying touchdown until the Patriots led by Tom Brady rushed downfield to set up a 41-yard field goal made by Adam Vinatieri to win the game.
The game itself started out to be a yawner. No scoring. Missed field goals. Not even a turnover. In this case, the commercials are supposed to wake you up and give you something to laugh about but no. Pretty much all of them were lame. Nothing revolutionary like the Apple one. No memorable figures like those Bud frogs and even Reebok's Terry Tate. Instead, we get Mike Ditka hawking medicine. And the disturbing image of two old folks in a bathtub with the odd voiceover informing us that yes, a man like this one can have an erection for hours. Ewww. Wasn't Bob Dole and Viagra bad enough?
There were some good ones. 7UP comes to mind. And the one with Homer was good too. But most sought out to offend and well, if you like those cheap laughs, whatever.
The halftime show was ho-hum. The last time MTV did a show, they had Aerosmith, Britney, NSync, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige seemingly all singing in unison, which kinda worked. Then it was U2, experiencing a revival that year. Then last year, it was Shania Twain, Sting and No Doubt. Not the most popular of singers, but good. Then we get to this year. Yuck. Janet Jackson. She's old and hasn't released an album in years. P Diddy and Nelly. P Diddy likes to do TV and fashion, not music anymore. Nelly sang that it was Hot in Herre even though it was awfully cold over there and everyone was sick of the song. Kid Rock? Next. Then Justin Timberlake goes up on stage and strips Janet Jackson. Okay, he pulled off half of her top. Justin attributes it to a "wardrobe malfunction". That's damn funny. I'm sure everyone has had a wardrobe malfunction sometimes.
Prior to the show, they had a commercial where actors and actresses repeat the phrase "Choose to Vote". I thought it was funny that the next image we see was of Jessica Simpson saying "Choose to Party!" I'm sure she said something else, but that's what I thought she said.
As for the game, it seems we were watching a repeat of the Super Bowl two years ago. Back then, Ricky Proehl scored the game-tying touchdown until the Patriots led by Tom Brady rushed downfield to set up a 48-yard field goal made by Adam Vinatieri to win the game. Yesterday, Ricky Proehl scored the game-tying touchdown until the Patriots led by Tom Brady rushed downfield to set up a 41-yard field goal made by Adam Vinatieri to win the game.
1/27/2004
Oscar nominations were announced this morning and while there were some surprises, it's a wide-open race with very few contenders and major surprises. Where's Scarlett Johansson? Where's Cold Mountain? Johnny Depp got nominated? Here are some of the major categories.
Best Picture
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit
Achievement in Directing
Fernando Meirelles, City of God
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood, Mystic River
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law, Cold Mountain
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Sean Penn, Mystic River
Best Supporting Actor
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams
Djimon Honsou, In America
Tim Robbins, Mystic River
Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider
Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton, In America
Charlize Theron, Monster
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams
Best Supporting Actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River
Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain
At quick glance, best supporting actor seems to be the most competitive category as Del Toro and Robbins both excelled in their roles. I thought Watanabe did as well but his movie doesn't have widespread support. Overall, despite 7 nominations, Cold Mountain is the big loser with no Nicole Kidman, no best picture nom, and no best director nom. The big actors also lost out with Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe not getting nominated. In the best picture category, it seems it's Lord of the Rings to lose with Lost in Translation and Mystic River battling it out for second.
The rest can be found on the Oscar web site. Winners will be announced February 29. My wrong predictions will start before then. It may not be so wrong this year; I did get 15 out of 24 last year.
Best Picture
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit
Achievement in Directing
Fernando Meirelles, City of God
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood, Mystic River
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law, Cold Mountain
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Sean Penn, Mystic River
Best Supporting Actor
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams
Djimon Honsou, In America
Tim Robbins, Mystic River
Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider
Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton, In America
Charlize Theron, Monster
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams
Best Supporting Actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River
Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain
At quick glance, best supporting actor seems to be the most competitive category as Del Toro and Robbins both excelled in their roles. I thought Watanabe did as well but his movie doesn't have widespread support. Overall, despite 7 nominations, Cold Mountain is the big loser with no Nicole Kidman, no best picture nom, and no best director nom. The big actors also lost out with Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe not getting nominated. In the best picture category, it seems it's Lord of the Rings to lose with Lost in Translation and Mystic River battling it out for second.
The rest can be found on the Oscar web site. Winners will be announced February 29. My wrong predictions will start before then. It may not be so wrong this year; I did get 15 out of 24 last year.
1/26/2004
The Apprentice on NBC has quickly become one of my favorite shows to watch, but it has become a pain to figure out when it's on.
Originally, it was scheduled for 8 pm Wednesdays. It had a special premiere from 8:32 to 9:59 on a Thursday. Great episode which did boffo ratings.
CBS, mindful of this potential juggernaut, then schedules a new episode of its biggest hit, CSI, equally good, to go up against The Apprentice on Wednesday.
At the last minute, NBC schedules a repeat of the first episode of The Apprentice on Wednesday to be followed by a new episode the next day at 8:30. CBS backs down by scheduling a Cold Case rerun in CSI's place.
The second episode does better than the first, but NBC pleads to the public that this is the last time on Thursday. From now on, there will be ONLY Wednesday showings at 8.
Wednesday the 21st arrives and NBC keeps its word by showing the third episode of The Apprentice (Sam got fired! Did you see the look on his face?). It gets killed in the ratings, going down 50% from the week before. It wasn't anything CBS did. It was Fox and their own hit, American Idol. Watching no-talents perform in front of Simon is apprently much more preferable than watching the evolution of Donald Trump's hair (Trump claims he spent 30 hours a week on the show. How? He's in it for like 5 minutes tops.).
Soon after the bad ratings news hit, NBC says The Apprentice's home is Thursdays and will always be Thursdays, now at 9:00, where it will compete against, yes, new episodes of CBS' CSI.
And in this new age of TV, we're still waiting if it's going to be changed again.
Originally, it was scheduled for 8 pm Wednesdays. It had a special premiere from 8:32 to 9:59 on a Thursday. Great episode which did boffo ratings.
CBS, mindful of this potential juggernaut, then schedules a new episode of its biggest hit, CSI, equally good, to go up against The Apprentice on Wednesday.
At the last minute, NBC schedules a repeat of the first episode of The Apprentice on Wednesday to be followed by a new episode the next day at 8:30. CBS backs down by scheduling a Cold Case rerun in CSI's place.
The second episode does better than the first, but NBC pleads to the public that this is the last time on Thursday. From now on, there will be ONLY Wednesday showings at 8.
Wednesday the 21st arrives and NBC keeps its word by showing the third episode of The Apprentice (Sam got fired! Did you see the look on his face?). It gets killed in the ratings, going down 50% from the week before. It wasn't anything CBS did. It was Fox and their own hit, American Idol. Watching no-talents perform in front of Simon is apprently much more preferable than watching the evolution of Donald Trump's hair (Trump claims he spent 30 hours a week on the show. How? He's in it for like 5 minutes tops.).
Soon after the bad ratings news hit, NBC says The Apprentice's home is Thursdays and will always be Thursdays, now at 9:00, where it will compete against, yes, new episodes of CBS' CSI.
And in this new age of TV, we're still waiting if it's going to be changed again.
1/22/2004
Happy New Year folks. Chuc Mung Nam Moi. It's the Year of the Monkey, so yeah, good fortunes and good health. According to the Lunar Calendar, it's the year 4702. Damn, and just when I was starting to get used to writing 4701 on my checks.
Anyone who watched the preview for American Idol's California episode next week might have seen them poke fun at an Asian guy who was singing pretty horribly. (Actually, all Asians seem to be voted out long before the real competition begins.) If you don't remember him, he had the haircut of Datman and said he had no professional training whatsoever. It surprised me to see the person walking by me at the bus stop was him. I guess he goes to Berkeley. And that's sad.
Speaking of Berkeley sightings, I'm sorry, I haven't seen Gordo from Lizzie McGuire.
Anyone driving down University Avenue should make sure they are driving at the ridiculous speed limit of 25 for the next few days. They put up one of those speed radars that shows you how fast you were driving. For the past few days, the police have been waiting at corners to pull people over for those speeding. At one point, 5 cars were pulled over at once. And Berkeley's worried about a budget deficit?
Anyone who watched the preview for American Idol's California episode next week might have seen them poke fun at an Asian guy who was singing pretty horribly. (Actually, all Asians seem to be voted out long before the real competition begins.) If you don't remember him, he had the haircut of Datman and said he had no professional training whatsoever. It surprised me to see the person walking by me at the bus stop was him. I guess he goes to Berkeley. And that's sad.
Speaking of Berkeley sightings, I'm sorry, I haven't seen Gordo from Lizzie McGuire.
Anyone driving down University Avenue should make sure they are driving at the ridiculous speed limit of 25 for the next few days. They put up one of those speed radars that shows you how fast you were driving. For the past few days, the police have been waiting at corners to pull people over for those speeding. At one point, 5 cars were pulled over at once. And Berkeley's worried about a budget deficit?
1/20/2004
Observations on this the first day of school:
I woke up before my alarm clock. What does that say about me? Am I sleep deprived? (Most likely.) Was I really excited about school? (Please let that not be the answer.) In any case, I got up at 6:30 for my 8:00 class when I wanted to get up at 7. Predictably, I was tired the rest of the day.
With Fiona Apple's "A Mistake" blaring through my headphones, I scurried up to Latimer. Got there early yet no seats available. Had to sit in the aisles. Game theory sounds like a nice class. A boring talk involving bureaucratic stuff was highlighted by the auction example. I'd seen this done when I was in micro, but this seemed more fun today. Basically, people bid for a $5 bill. Highest bidder pays the 2nd highest bid and gets the bill while the 2nd highest bidder must pay for his bid but gets nothing. The auction got crazy with the bids getting pushed to $15. All this for a $5 bill. Luckily, the prof let them off the hook.
After recharging with ramen (really not good for you), it was time for some complex analysis. This time, I got a seat but the class still filled up to capacity levels. The professor doesn't really look the part. He looked like a freshman when he walked in. Worse yet, he dressed just like I would, with a sweater and khakis and whatnot. He actually got into some material, but once he explained about an hour's worth of stuff, he proclaimed "And that's how you prove the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra." I looked at my friend next to me and replied, "Really? Was that what we were doing?" Sprinkled in the lecture were mixed up words like when he used inextricably when he meant explicable and another one I just can't remember. But it was really good.
Right after was the California class with the locally famous Professor Cain. You might have seen him on the news talking about California politics. What? You've never seen the news? Your loss. Cain certainly fits the adage of the camera adding 10 pounds. He looks really fat on TV but really skinny in real life. He also seems to think that all students have pot in their rooms and are mostly Democrats; two assumptions that probably turns out to be right in Berkeley.
Okay, I'm tired. Don't bother me for now.
I woke up before my alarm clock. What does that say about me? Am I sleep deprived? (Most likely.) Was I really excited about school? (Please let that not be the answer.) In any case, I got up at 6:30 for my 8:00 class when I wanted to get up at 7. Predictably, I was tired the rest of the day.
With Fiona Apple's "A Mistake" blaring through my headphones, I scurried up to Latimer. Got there early yet no seats available. Had to sit in the aisles. Game theory sounds like a nice class. A boring talk involving bureaucratic stuff was highlighted by the auction example. I'd seen this done when I was in micro, but this seemed more fun today. Basically, people bid for a $5 bill. Highest bidder pays the 2nd highest bid and gets the bill while the 2nd highest bidder must pay for his bid but gets nothing. The auction got crazy with the bids getting pushed to $15. All this for a $5 bill. Luckily, the prof let them off the hook.
After recharging with ramen (really not good for you), it was time for some complex analysis. This time, I got a seat but the class still filled up to capacity levels. The professor doesn't really look the part. He looked like a freshman when he walked in. Worse yet, he dressed just like I would, with a sweater and khakis and whatnot. He actually got into some material, but once he explained about an hour's worth of stuff, he proclaimed "And that's how you prove the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra." I looked at my friend next to me and replied, "Really? Was that what we were doing?" Sprinkled in the lecture were mixed up words like when he used inextricably when he meant explicable and another one I just can't remember. But it was really good.
Right after was the California class with the locally famous Professor Cain. You might have seen him on the news talking about California politics. What? You've never seen the news? Your loss. Cain certainly fits the adage of the camera adding 10 pounds. He looks really fat on TV but really skinny in real life. He also seems to think that all students have pot in their rooms and are mostly Democrats; two assumptions that probably turns out to be right in Berkeley.
Okay, I'm tired. Don't bother me for now.
1/19/2004
I really don't know how people could stand to watch American Idol for all the weeks it is on, but this week is the only reason to watch this show. Not only will you find the most talented folks at the infancy of their future stardom, you'll also see Simon just mock and put down the not-so-talented. To its core, it's just mean that these people get picked out of a crowd only to be picked on for the enjoyment of the audience, but for this show, that's what sells, not the tedious and slow elimination of competitors down to just one.
Just a couple of days ago when I talked about the Iowa caucus, I mentioned that if Senator John Kerry finishes second and Senator John Edwards could finish third, that would go a long way toward winning the nomination. Polls had shown the race tightening up but the non-stop bashing of former Governor Howard Dean and the need for a fresher voice than the old-hat of Rep. Richard Gephardt has pushed Kerry to a win in Iowa with Edwards a very strong second, putting both in strong position for New Hampshire next week. Dean is probably disappointed with his 3rd place finish but he has run a more national campaign so look for him to stay in contention. However, Gephardt's run is over. Picked by many to win in the state where he won the caucus in 1988, a very weak 4th place finish with very little support in the upcoming primaries has convinced him to withdraw as soon as tomorrow. Taking his place are two people who didn't compete in Iowa to focus on New Hampshire: General Wesley Clark, who has attracted the Clinton vote and is the only one running neck-and-neck with Dean in the national vote, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, on the ticket in 2000 but running in the single digits and hoping for a bounce similar to the one Edwards has seen. The clock is ticking for Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich to leave the race but these two are in it to contribute their voice on the issues.
Just a couple of days ago when I talked about the Iowa caucus, I mentioned that if Senator John Kerry finishes second and Senator John Edwards could finish third, that would go a long way toward winning the nomination. Polls had shown the race tightening up but the non-stop bashing of former Governor Howard Dean and the need for a fresher voice than the old-hat of Rep. Richard Gephardt has pushed Kerry to a win in Iowa with Edwards a very strong second, putting both in strong position for New Hampshire next week. Dean is probably disappointed with his 3rd place finish but he has run a more national campaign so look for him to stay in contention. However, Gephardt's run is over. Picked by many to win in the state where he won the caucus in 1988, a very weak 4th place finish with very little support in the upcoming primaries has convinced him to withdraw as soon as tomorrow. Taking his place are two people who didn't compete in Iowa to focus on New Hampshire: General Wesley Clark, who has attracted the Clinton vote and is the only one running neck-and-neck with Dean in the national vote, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, on the ticket in 2000 but running in the single digits and hoping for a bounce similar to the one Edwards has seen. The clock is ticking for Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich to leave the race but these two are in it to contribute their voice on the issues.
From the Mercury News yesterday:
New California Secretary of Education Richard Riordan may need a lesson or two when it comes to interacting with female college students.
During a state community colleges board meeting last week in Sacramento, the affable, shoot-from-the-lip former L.A. mayor held forth with officials, including student board member Desirree Abshire. She splits her time between City College of San Francisco and the University of California-Berkeley.
Abshire told Riordan she was worried that higher tuition fees would hurt middle-income students who are out on their own and can't get aid.
"The middle income gets the short end of the stick in everything,'' Riordan said, commiserating. Then he added: "You could marry a wealthy man.''
That old-school comment caused a moment of stunned silence among audience members. But Abshire -- who said she may have set herself up earlier by joking about being a single young woman -- didn't miss a beat.
"There are no wealthy men at Berkeley,'' she said.
New California Secretary of Education Richard Riordan may need a lesson or two when it comes to interacting with female college students.
During a state community colleges board meeting last week in Sacramento, the affable, shoot-from-the-lip former L.A. mayor held forth with officials, including student board member Desirree Abshire. She splits her time between City College of San Francisco and the University of California-Berkeley.
Abshire told Riordan she was worried that higher tuition fees would hurt middle-income students who are out on their own and can't get aid.
"The middle income gets the short end of the stick in everything,'' Riordan said, commiserating. Then he added: "You could marry a wealthy man.''
That old-school comment caused a moment of stunned silence among audience members. But Abshire -- who said she may have set herself up earlier by joking about being a single young woman -- didn't miss a beat.
"There are no wealthy men at Berkeley,'' she said.
1/16/2004
Hi all. Can't believe it's only 4 days until my last semester at Berkeley. This winter break has sure gone by fast. And in a few short months, I'll be an unemployed college graduate. Shudder at the thought.
During the boredom that was econometrics last semester (I got out of Duncan's class with a B; I'm still pondering on how I managed to do that with the horrible final I took), I started to make a list of things I learned through my 4 years of experiences at Berkeley. I'm up to 59, so if you have some worthwhile, smart-alecky remarks, drop a line. I'll publish sometime toward May.
I went up to Berkeley this past Tuesday to check on the apartment and see how much the books are (crazy/expensive). My friend though convinced me to join him in applying for this tutoring job in Oakland. There were only a few openings yet from what the lady in charge told me, more than a hundred apps. Since it was some dinky after-school program that paid $20 an hour for like 10 hours work, I didn't expect the competition to be fierce but we showed up and there were credentialed teachers, a psychologist, and some retired folks among others. Suffice it to say, we were rejected.
And BART! Poor BART is really poor. I found that they raised the fares by 10%. Too late for me without any extra spare change so I had to resort to putting my credit card in the dumb machine to get a large enough ticket. Going to Union City now sets me back 3.35.
While Monday is Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, in terms of presidential politics, it's the kickoff of the campaign season with the Iowa caucus. A caucus is a meeting of the members of a political party where they listen to the merits of each candidate, side with one of them, leave themselves open to change their minds while they get beaten up physically or verbally (or hey, it might be civil), count again, then assign delegates for the convention. Heading up into the caucus, former Vermont governor Howard Dean was the runaway leader by winning the invisible primary and leading in all major nationwide, Iowa, and New Hampshire polls. Just three days away though, all the challenges to Dean's leadership seem to be taking its toll. General Wesley Clark's entry into the race has tightened the race nationally and in New Hampshire while a three-man attack from Senators John Kerry and John Edwards as well as Congressman Dick Gephardt has made the Iowa caucus a close 4-man race. Dean and Gephardt have the highest of expectations since Dean is the front-runner and Gephardt is from next door Missouri. Winning the expectations game is key to any election; look at Bush in the 2000 debates: he did merely better that expected with Gore could not meet his high expectations, portraying Bush as the winner and Gore the loser. A second place finish by Kerry and even a third place finish by Edwards will go a long way toward winning the nomination. However, the Bush machine will be tough to beat with its $200 million war chest, an improving Iraq, and an improving economy.
During the boredom that was econometrics last semester (I got out of Duncan's class with a B; I'm still pondering on how I managed to do that with the horrible final I took), I started to make a list of things I learned through my 4 years of experiences at Berkeley. I'm up to 59, so if you have some worthwhile, smart-alecky remarks, drop a line. I'll publish sometime toward May.
I went up to Berkeley this past Tuesday to check on the apartment and see how much the books are (crazy/expensive). My friend though convinced me to join him in applying for this tutoring job in Oakland. There were only a few openings yet from what the lady in charge told me, more than a hundred apps. Since it was some dinky after-school program that paid $20 an hour for like 10 hours work, I didn't expect the competition to be fierce but we showed up and there were credentialed teachers, a psychologist, and some retired folks among others. Suffice it to say, we were rejected.
And BART! Poor BART is really poor. I found that they raised the fares by 10%. Too late for me without any extra spare change so I had to resort to putting my credit card in the dumb machine to get a large enough ticket. Going to Union City now sets me back 3.35.
While Monday is Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, in terms of presidential politics, it's the kickoff of the campaign season with the Iowa caucus. A caucus is a meeting of the members of a political party where they listen to the merits of each candidate, side with one of them, leave themselves open to change their minds while they get beaten up physically or verbally (or hey, it might be civil), count again, then assign delegates for the convention. Heading up into the caucus, former Vermont governor Howard Dean was the runaway leader by winning the invisible primary and leading in all major nationwide, Iowa, and New Hampshire polls. Just three days away though, all the challenges to Dean's leadership seem to be taking its toll. General Wesley Clark's entry into the race has tightened the race nationally and in New Hampshire while a three-man attack from Senators John Kerry and John Edwards as well as Congressman Dick Gephardt has made the Iowa caucus a close 4-man race. Dean and Gephardt have the highest of expectations since Dean is the front-runner and Gephardt is from next door Missouri. Winning the expectations game is key to any election; look at Bush in the 2000 debates: he did merely better that expected with Gore could not meet his high expectations, portraying Bush as the winner and Gore the loser. A second place finish by Kerry and even a third place finish by Edwards will go a long way toward winning the nomination. However, the Bush machine will be tough to beat with its $200 million war chest, an improving Iraq, and an improving economy.
Cold Mountain
Under the backdrop of the Civil War, two lovers are thrown on different paths trying to find their way toward each other. Ada (Nicole Kidman) and Inman (Jude Law) fell in love at first sight on Cold Mountain but when the war broke out, Inman was forced to enlist for the Confederacy while Ada lived with her minister father (Donald Sutherland). Being an educated woman, Ada didn't know the first thing about keeping a house and would be tougher so when her father died. Her neighbor friend, Sally (Kathy Baker), recommended a lady to help with the upkeep, Ruby, played by Renee Zellweger. Meanwhile, with letters pouring in from Ada (okay, only 3 got through) pleading for Inman to come home, he does just that, deserting the army after he is hurt. Soon, it becomes a long, treacherous journey back to Cold Mountain, complete with many different characters met along the way including Giovanni Ribisi, Natalie Portman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman that resembles Odysseus' trip home in The Odyssey.
The movie is very realistic in its portrayal of the South ravaged by the war and director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) builds upon it with fresh performances filled with emotion, highlighted by another good performance from Zellweger. But the problem with dealing with the backstory of the Civil War rather than the war itself is that it's awfully boring. I really wasn't expecting to see two hours of Kidman trying to keep her house in order while screaming out Inman's name once in a while, yet ultimately that's what happened. Law plays the typical man where nothing gets in his way in his journey to the ultimate goal of finding Ada, even if it means deserting his army, running away from hunters, and refusing the temptations from at least two women along the way. Small performances sprinkled along the way provide a lot in terms of action and drama but don't contribute to the main, albeit long-distance, love story of Ada and Inman, making this movie nice to watch but ultimately a little bit tedious. 3 stars
Under the backdrop of the Civil War, two lovers are thrown on different paths trying to find their way toward each other. Ada (Nicole Kidman) and Inman (Jude Law) fell in love at first sight on Cold Mountain but when the war broke out, Inman was forced to enlist for the Confederacy while Ada lived with her minister father (Donald Sutherland). Being an educated woman, Ada didn't know the first thing about keeping a house and would be tougher so when her father died. Her neighbor friend, Sally (Kathy Baker), recommended a lady to help with the upkeep, Ruby, played by Renee Zellweger. Meanwhile, with letters pouring in from Ada (okay, only 3 got through) pleading for Inman to come home, he does just that, deserting the army after he is hurt. Soon, it becomes a long, treacherous journey back to Cold Mountain, complete with many different characters met along the way including Giovanni Ribisi, Natalie Portman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman that resembles Odysseus' trip home in The Odyssey.
The movie is very realistic in its portrayal of the South ravaged by the war and director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) builds upon it with fresh performances filled with emotion, highlighted by another good performance from Zellweger. But the problem with dealing with the backstory of the Civil War rather than the war itself is that it's awfully boring. I really wasn't expecting to see two hours of Kidman trying to keep her house in order while screaming out Inman's name once in a while, yet ultimately that's what happened. Law plays the typical man where nothing gets in his way in his journey to the ultimate goal of finding Ada, even if it means deserting his army, running away from hunters, and refusing the temptations from at least two women along the way. Small performances sprinkled along the way provide a lot in terms of action and drama but don't contribute to the main, albeit long-distance, love story of Ada and Inman, making this movie nice to watch but ultimately a little bit tedious. 3 stars
1/15/2004
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
Growing up, there were a few "so bad, it's good" movies that I liked very much. Clue, Spaceballs, Three Amigos!, and Bloodsport pretty much defined my bad movie experiences as a kid. Another that joins that list is Tremors. With Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, and 4 graboids, this horror/action film had the right comedic touch to make it a cult hit for many fans, including myself. Soon, its creators saw the potential for moneymaking and went ahead to make two sequels and a TV series, which has really hurt the franchise since they've been so bad, it's really bad. Now, a fourth installment is upon us and like its two predecessors, this prequel is straight-to-video and DVD.
Michael Gross (someone who can't get a job since he's been part of every Tremors venture) plays Hiram Gummer, the late 1800s owner of a silver mine inherited to him by his father. He's summoned from the east coast to his Rejection, Nevada mine upon hearing that his mine is struggling. When he arrives, he finds that his mine has closed and the town is being abandoned, with only a handful of people staying behind. The only mine worker left, Juan (Brent Roam), tells him that men come in but never come back out and believes creatures are in there. Gummer believes this to be preposterous and hires some local folk to accompany him to the mine and investigate. When these local folk are killed, Gummer sees the quick worms that are burrowing out of the ground and hires an experienced quick-shot gunman to take care of it. By now though, the baby worms have turned into the large ones seen in the first installment of the series and are headed to the town, forcing the townspeople to make their own stand there.
The successful original had the ability to not take things seriously when dealing with these worms, extremely helped by the buddy antics of Bacon and Ward. However, future installments seem to have lost this comedic touch and focus entirely on the worms and its new evolutionary capabilities while in the process, taking things way too seriously. In this installment, the only comedy that can be found is of their surroundings, essentially making fun of the 19th century amenities and technology to take on a 20th or 21st century worm. Like all Tremors films, they've got the fright down to a t, with the graboids coming out every which way they can, but the unbelievable way the cast handles them gets them knocked down a few points. 1.5 stars
Growing up, there were a few "so bad, it's good" movies that I liked very much. Clue, Spaceballs, Three Amigos!, and Bloodsport pretty much defined my bad movie experiences as a kid. Another that joins that list is Tremors. With Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, and 4 graboids, this horror/action film had the right comedic touch to make it a cult hit for many fans, including myself. Soon, its creators saw the potential for moneymaking and went ahead to make two sequels and a TV series, which has really hurt the franchise since they've been so bad, it's really bad. Now, a fourth installment is upon us and like its two predecessors, this prequel is straight-to-video and DVD.
Michael Gross (someone who can't get a job since he's been part of every Tremors venture) plays Hiram Gummer, the late 1800s owner of a silver mine inherited to him by his father. He's summoned from the east coast to his Rejection, Nevada mine upon hearing that his mine is struggling. When he arrives, he finds that his mine has closed and the town is being abandoned, with only a handful of people staying behind. The only mine worker left, Juan (Brent Roam), tells him that men come in but never come back out and believes creatures are in there. Gummer believes this to be preposterous and hires some local folk to accompany him to the mine and investigate. When these local folk are killed, Gummer sees the quick worms that are burrowing out of the ground and hires an experienced quick-shot gunman to take care of it. By now though, the baby worms have turned into the large ones seen in the first installment of the series and are headed to the town, forcing the townspeople to make their own stand there.
The successful original had the ability to not take things seriously when dealing with these worms, extremely helped by the buddy antics of Bacon and Ward. However, future installments seem to have lost this comedic touch and focus entirely on the worms and its new evolutionary capabilities while in the process, taking things way too seriously. In this installment, the only comedy that can be found is of their surroundings, essentially making fun of the 19th century amenities and technology to take on a 20th or 21st century worm. Like all Tremors films, they've got the fright down to a t, with the graboids coming out every which way they can, but the unbelievable way the cast handles them gets them knocked down a few points. 1.5 stars
1/13/2004
Love Actually
The Beatles insisted that love was all you really needed. Watching this movie, there may be such a thing as too much. Director Richard Curtis follows 9 couples around as love drives them crazy. At the focus of the movie is Hugh Grant, playing the Prime Minister. As a bachelor, he becomes smitten with the new coffee girl (Martine McCutcheon). You know where the relationship is going when the President of the United States (a cameo by Billy Bob Thornton) hits on her and Grant indirectly denounces him in front of the press. Also in the mix is Colin Firth who falls for a Portugese lady, the Prime Minister's sister (Emma Thompson) who questions the love of her husband (Alan Rickman), and Peter's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) best friend Mark admitting his love for Peter's wife, Juliet (Keira Knightley) through flash cards.
There are some genuine, well, lovely moments that occur in the movie. The little kid, Thomas Sangster, running after his American love in the airport can just melt a heart. Firth overcoming the spoken language barrier to convey the true universal language through marriage is nice too. Bill Nighy provides great comic relief throughout the movie as an aging rocker forced to change a lyric to his popular song. Other than that, what the movie considers to be love creeps into places where you least expect it. It seems the world we see in "Love Actually" becomes a little too perfect that it becomes very hard to believe. The fact that there are 9 love stories and many more people involved contributes to this disbelief in the sense that it cuts off the courting process when focusing on 4 or 5 couples would have made an equally great movie. 2 stars
The Beatles insisted that love was all you really needed. Watching this movie, there may be such a thing as too much. Director Richard Curtis follows 9 couples around as love drives them crazy. At the focus of the movie is Hugh Grant, playing the Prime Minister. As a bachelor, he becomes smitten with the new coffee girl (Martine McCutcheon). You know where the relationship is going when the President of the United States (a cameo by Billy Bob Thornton) hits on her and Grant indirectly denounces him in front of the press. Also in the mix is Colin Firth who falls for a Portugese lady, the Prime Minister's sister (Emma Thompson) who questions the love of her husband (Alan Rickman), and Peter's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) best friend Mark admitting his love for Peter's wife, Juliet (Keira Knightley) through flash cards.
There are some genuine, well, lovely moments that occur in the movie. The little kid, Thomas Sangster, running after his American love in the airport can just melt a heart. Firth overcoming the spoken language barrier to convey the true universal language through marriage is nice too. Bill Nighy provides great comic relief throughout the movie as an aging rocker forced to change a lyric to his popular song. Other than that, what the movie considers to be love creeps into places where you least expect it. It seems the world we see in "Love Actually" becomes a little too perfect that it becomes very hard to believe. The fact that there are 9 love stories and many more people involved contributes to this disbelief in the sense that it cuts off the courting process when focusing on 4 or 5 couples would have made an equally great movie. 2 stars
1/09/2004
This is the Spring Movie Preview. Technically, most of it is not spring. It includes winter too. But I'm sure you don't care. So here are the movies I'll probably be watching the next 4 months and others that will be making headlines.
Chasing Liberty - See that? The title means something. Liberty is like freedom. With Mandy Moore playing a president's daughter who suddenly runs away, she's trying to become free and independent, like she's chasing liberty. (January 9)
My Baby's Daddy - It's a Three Men and a Baby redux except that instead of one baby, now there's three! (January 9)
Along Came Polly - Ben Stiller gets the urge to start dating his childhood friend, Jennifer Aniston. (January 16)
Teacher's Pet - An animated feature based on the Saturday morning cartoon. Man, don't we yearn for how Saturday mornings used to be? (January 16)
Torque - One gang of motorcycle bikers chases another gang of motorcycle bikers. Lemme guess: with SUV's? (January 16)
The Butterfly Effect - Ashton Kutcher tries his hand at drama involving the mind. Once we see it, it could be his greatest movie ever or his greatest comedy ever. (January 23)
Mindhunters - The first big-star action pic of the year finds a group of FBI agents trying to figure out which one of them is a serial killer. (January 23)
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! - An actor (Josh Duhamel) unexpectedly falls in love with a hometown girl (Kate Bosworth). (January 23)
The Perfect Score - A group of students can't copy answers from the person next to them on the SAT's so they instead break in and get the answers ahead of time. (January 30)
The Big Bounce - A simple job for caretaker Owen Wilson leads into something much, much more. (January 30)
You Got Served - Courtroom drama? No, no. Hip-hop dance comedy. (January 30)
Barbershop 2: Back in Business - The barbershop is threatened by corporate types who want to provide some competition. (February 6)
Catch That Kid - Kids rob a bank to get money for a surgical operation. Yeah, you know, makes sense. (February 6)
Miracle - Kurt Russell plays Coach Herb Brooks in this film documenting the 1980 USA Hockey team. (February 6)
50 First Dates - Drew Barrymore can't remember that she dates Adam Sandler. I guess she'll need to watch The Wedding Singer. (February 13)
Against the Ropes - Meg Ryan plays a boxing manager in a true story. (February 20)
Eurotrip - 4 teens embark on a trip to Europe filled with sex and alcohol. (February 20)
Welcome to Mooseport - The former President of the United States decides to run for mayor in the town where he has retired, making things very competitive. (February 20)
The Passion of the Christ - Director Mel Gibson lets us see his vision of how things were when Jesus was killed. (February 25)
Club Dread - A superstar cast (okay, just Bill Paxton and a few other people) must stop a guy from killing everyone with a machete at a swank resort. (February 27)
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights - Well, its dirty dancing, only set in Havana. (February 27)
Twisted - Ashley Judd gets to investigate murders. What's so twisted? All of the victims are her former lovers. (February 27)
Hidalgo - Fresh off Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortensen embarks on a journey of his own, this one with his horse in a race. (March 5)
Starsky and Hutch - A remake of the '70's series starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch. (March 5)
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London - This tale of Frankie Muniz as a young spy may not be as successful as its first go-around without his co-stars Hilary Duff and Angie Harmon. (March 12)
The Girl Next Door - How can you not fall in love with the beautiful girl next door, especially when she's a porn star? (March 12)
The Prince and Me - Are they raiding '80s comedies? After My Baby's Daddy, we get this pic evoking memories of the hilarious Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy. Here, Julia Stiles gets wooed by a prince. (March 12)
Spartan - Val Kilmer tries to find the president's daughter after she's kidnapped but soon discovers something far more sinister. (March 12)
Dawn of the Dead - Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, and others must flee zombies in a mall. (March 19)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Jim Carrey undergoes a procedure to forget about Kate Winslet, but soon he figures that's gonna be a tough task to undertake. (March 19)
Jersey Girl - Starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, hopefully, it's not Gigli 2. (March 19)
Never Die Alone - YAY! That's all we needed! Another DMX film. Here he's dead and David Arquette gets to read his diary for a hour and a half. (March 19)
Taking Lives - Angelina Jolie is on the hunt for a serial killer who takes the identities of the people he kills. (March 19)
The Ladykillers - Tom Hanks' triumphant return to cinema is through a Coen Bros. film involving a heist. (March 26)
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed - Remember how bad the first one was? (My review was three sentences long.) Well, they wanted to make my life miserable by making a second one. I know, just don't watch it...but I'll have to suffer through the commercials. (March 26)
Envy - In this long-delayed flick, Ben Stiller is envious of Jack Black's fortune. (April 2)
Hellboy - Comic books continues its revival with this film about a demon who leads his agents to investigate the paranormal. (April 2)
Home on the Range - Another Disney animated feature involving animals, this time, cows. (April 2)
Mean Girls - Lindsay Lohan gives mean girls at her new high school a taste of their own medicine. (April 2)
Johnson Family Vacation - Raiding '80s comedies continues as Cedric the Entertainer leads his family across the country with hilarious results. (April 7)
The Alamo - Hopefully, they're not looking for Pee Wee's bicycle 'cuz there's no basement at the Alamo. (April 9)
Ella Enchanted - Anne Hathaway only wants Prince Charmont but obedience seems to be getting in her way. (April 9)
Walking Tall - The Rock gets to break some skulls when he becomes sheriff of a corrupt county. (April 9)
The Whole Ten Yards - It's a sequel to the original film about a crazy hit-man and a dentist. (April 9)
Connie and Carla - Nia Vardalos and Toni Collette become drag queens after witnessing a mob hit. (April 16)
Kill Bill Volume 2 - Uma Thurman has two down, three to go. (April 16)
The Punisher - Thomas Jane takes matters into his own hands when the law can't. Yes, based on the comic book. (April 16)
Man on Fire - When a bodyguard (Denzel Washington) fails at his job, it's his mission to take vengeance on those responsible. (April 23)
Secret Window - Johnny Depp gets threatened by a psycho who believes Depp stole his idea for a book. (April 23)
Without a Paddle - 3 friends go out looking for the money their lost friend was obsessed to find only to find themselves in comedic situations. (April 23)
Breakin' All the Rules - Here's a twist. A man (Jamie Foxx) writes a book about how breaking up is hard to do. (April 30)
Godsend - Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos find that cloning done by Robert DeNiro isn't so perfect. (April 30)
Laws of Attraction - Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore are both divorce attorneys who get married to each other, hoping to avoid the same problems they see at work. (April 30)
Chasing Liberty - See that? The title means something. Liberty is like freedom. With Mandy Moore playing a president's daughter who suddenly runs away, she's trying to become free and independent, like she's chasing liberty. (January 9)
My Baby's Daddy - It's a Three Men and a Baby redux except that instead of one baby, now there's three! (January 9)
Along Came Polly - Ben Stiller gets the urge to start dating his childhood friend, Jennifer Aniston. (January 16)
Teacher's Pet - An animated feature based on the Saturday morning cartoon. Man, don't we yearn for how Saturday mornings used to be? (January 16)
Torque - One gang of motorcycle bikers chases another gang of motorcycle bikers. Lemme guess: with SUV's? (January 16)
The Butterfly Effect - Ashton Kutcher tries his hand at drama involving the mind. Once we see it, it could be his greatest movie ever or his greatest comedy ever. (January 23)
Mindhunters - The first big-star action pic of the year finds a group of FBI agents trying to figure out which one of them is a serial killer. (January 23)
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! - An actor (Josh Duhamel) unexpectedly falls in love with a hometown girl (Kate Bosworth). (January 23)
The Perfect Score - A group of students can't copy answers from the person next to them on the SAT's so they instead break in and get the answers ahead of time. (January 30)
The Big Bounce - A simple job for caretaker Owen Wilson leads into something much, much more. (January 30)
You Got Served - Courtroom drama? No, no. Hip-hop dance comedy. (January 30)
Barbershop 2: Back in Business - The barbershop is threatened by corporate types who want to provide some competition. (February 6)
Catch That Kid - Kids rob a bank to get money for a surgical operation. Yeah, you know, makes sense. (February 6)
Miracle - Kurt Russell plays Coach Herb Brooks in this film documenting the 1980 USA Hockey team. (February 6)
50 First Dates - Drew Barrymore can't remember that she dates Adam Sandler. I guess she'll need to watch The Wedding Singer. (February 13)
Against the Ropes - Meg Ryan plays a boxing manager in a true story. (February 20)
Eurotrip - 4 teens embark on a trip to Europe filled with sex and alcohol. (February 20)
Welcome to Mooseport - The former President of the United States decides to run for mayor in the town where he has retired, making things very competitive. (February 20)
The Passion of the Christ - Director Mel Gibson lets us see his vision of how things were when Jesus was killed. (February 25)
Club Dread - A superstar cast (okay, just Bill Paxton and a few other people) must stop a guy from killing everyone with a machete at a swank resort. (February 27)
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights - Well, its dirty dancing, only set in Havana. (February 27)
Twisted - Ashley Judd gets to investigate murders. What's so twisted? All of the victims are her former lovers. (February 27)
Hidalgo - Fresh off Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortensen embarks on a journey of his own, this one with his horse in a race. (March 5)
Starsky and Hutch - A remake of the '70's series starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch. (March 5)
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London - This tale of Frankie Muniz as a young spy may not be as successful as its first go-around without his co-stars Hilary Duff and Angie Harmon. (March 12)
The Girl Next Door - How can you not fall in love with the beautiful girl next door, especially when she's a porn star? (March 12)
The Prince and Me - Are they raiding '80s comedies? After My Baby's Daddy, we get this pic evoking memories of the hilarious Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy. Here, Julia Stiles gets wooed by a prince. (March 12)
Spartan - Val Kilmer tries to find the president's daughter after she's kidnapped but soon discovers something far more sinister. (March 12)
Dawn of the Dead - Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, and others must flee zombies in a mall. (March 19)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Jim Carrey undergoes a procedure to forget about Kate Winslet, but soon he figures that's gonna be a tough task to undertake. (March 19)
Jersey Girl - Starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, hopefully, it's not Gigli 2. (March 19)
Never Die Alone - YAY! That's all we needed! Another DMX film. Here he's dead and David Arquette gets to read his diary for a hour and a half. (March 19)
Taking Lives - Angelina Jolie is on the hunt for a serial killer who takes the identities of the people he kills. (March 19)
The Ladykillers - Tom Hanks' triumphant return to cinema is through a Coen Bros. film involving a heist. (March 26)
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed - Remember how bad the first one was? (My review was three sentences long.) Well, they wanted to make my life miserable by making a second one. I know, just don't watch it...but I'll have to suffer through the commercials. (March 26)
Envy - In this long-delayed flick, Ben Stiller is envious of Jack Black's fortune. (April 2)
Hellboy - Comic books continues its revival with this film about a demon who leads his agents to investigate the paranormal. (April 2)
Home on the Range - Another Disney animated feature involving animals, this time, cows. (April 2)
Mean Girls - Lindsay Lohan gives mean girls at her new high school a taste of their own medicine. (April 2)
Johnson Family Vacation - Raiding '80s comedies continues as Cedric the Entertainer leads his family across the country with hilarious results. (April 7)
The Alamo - Hopefully, they're not looking for Pee Wee's bicycle 'cuz there's no basement at the Alamo. (April 9)
Ella Enchanted - Anne Hathaway only wants Prince Charmont but obedience seems to be getting in her way. (April 9)
Walking Tall - The Rock gets to break some skulls when he becomes sheriff of a corrupt county. (April 9)
The Whole Ten Yards - It's a sequel to the original film about a crazy hit-man and a dentist. (April 9)
Connie and Carla - Nia Vardalos and Toni Collette become drag queens after witnessing a mob hit. (April 16)
Kill Bill Volume 2 - Uma Thurman has two down, three to go. (April 16)
The Punisher - Thomas Jane takes matters into his own hands when the law can't. Yes, based on the comic book. (April 16)
Man on Fire - When a bodyguard (Denzel Washington) fails at his job, it's his mission to take vengeance on those responsible. (April 23)
Secret Window - Johnny Depp gets threatened by a psycho who believes Depp stole his idea for a book. (April 23)
Without a Paddle - 3 friends go out looking for the money their lost friend was obsessed to find only to find themselves in comedic situations. (April 23)
Breakin' All the Rules - Here's a twist. A man (Jamie Foxx) writes a book about how breaking up is hard to do. (April 30)
Godsend - Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos find that cloning done by Robert DeNiro isn't so perfect. (April 30)
Laws of Attraction - Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore are both divorce attorneys who get married to each other, hoping to avoid the same problems they see at work. (April 30)
1/07/2004
Happy New Year folks, and while not much has changed for me one week later, mostly meeting friends and family and whatnot, the world certainly has.
If you believe the news media though, the most earth-shattering event that has occured was Britney Spears getting married in Las Vegas and then having it annuled 55 hours later. People close to them claim that Britney was of sound mind and body when they got married. Well, we know at least half of that statement is right. But eventually, it was the realization of what they were getting into that was the end of it and soon enough, it would be described as a joke. So they weren't prepared? Let's see, they limo to the chapel, are denied for not having a marriage license, go to the courthouse and get the license, and then go back to get married. Seems to me they thought it through. The big loser? The brief husband, Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld?), who did not have the presence of mind to sign some pre-nup to cover him for the rest of his life.
Then there's the crazy Ohio lady who believed she won the lottery. The jackpot was $168 million and a lady filed a police report saying she lost the winning ticket after she dropped her purse in a store parking lot. The news was so astounding to some that people came to the parking lot in the middle of the night armed with flashlights to try to find it. Meanwhile, the next day, another lady claimed the jackpot after she had the winning ticket and a ticket from the previous week to prove she has used these numbers before. However, the first lady, who admits she has had a questionable past, still believes it is her ticket. We'll see how this goes.
Then there's Mars. After the Europeans failed to land on Mars, NASA one-upped them by landing Spirit on the Mars surface and taking a picture of some rocks. Yep, $400 million well spent. While I wish them luck on their quest for life in a mysterious mud puddle they've landed on, here's hoping an alien pops up, laughs at the primitive technology and throws it across the valley.
Then there's rock, paper, scissors. Now here's a sport destined to follow in the line of wacky things to be seen on ESPN (preceded by the Spelling Bee, the Math Bowl, the Geography Bee, miniature golf, chess, scrabble, among others). The current issue of Rolling Stone features a commentary on the World Rock, Paper, Scissors championship. 320 competitors get whittled down to one for the $5,000 check through best of three contests. What's next...pick a number?
Then there's the presidency. Primary season starts up soon as Democrats eliminate 8 nominees to get 1 guy to face George W. Bush in November. The first caucus, in Iowa, occurs January 19. The front runner is Howard Dean, quickly brushed off just a year ago, but now a contender thanks to his grassroots efforts. Rising though is General Wesley Clark, widely rumored to be a Vice Presidential candidate, but if he's so popular as a V.P., why not go for the big one? And that's exactly what he's done. The frontrunners from a year ago are behind these two: Gephardt, Kerry, and Lieberman. John Edwards needs to win his birth state of South Carolina to have any hope in the race and Sharpton, Braun, and Kucinich hope to have their voice heard. A debate was held yesterday and Kucinich was the noteworthy one with his dazzling array of pie charts a la Perot in 1992. Only problem? It was a radio only debate.
Then there's Mad Cow Disease. People seem to be taking this issue with ease. Even though mad-cow infected beef made its way to Maxim Market in East San Jose and 6 area restaurants, there doesn't seem to be any beef backlash or boycotts. The In and Out Burger I went to was packed. Then again, if you want a place that serves no beef whatsoever, head to Taco Bell.
Then there's Cal. Geez, one semester left and look, I didn't do half-bad last semester. Really, I think it was my best one. Of course, I was distracted by the sports. It seems in college sports, when you have football and basketball, only one is bound to be successful, you can't have both. Sure, there are exceptions but Cal is no exception. As football languished in last place, basketball flew high with a NIT championship and 3 straight NCAA tournament appearances. Now, football is becoming revitalized, highlighted by the Insight Bowl win over Virginia Tech. And what happened? Basketball now sucks. Sure, we can point to the three freshmen starting and the slumps last year's starters are in, but the media and the coaches had high hopes for the team, expectations that are not being met. It hit bottom when Cal lost to Washington State at home, where Cal had lost 5 times in the last three years yet have already lost 3 times this year alone. Washington State is by no means a basketball power, yet, and Cal did lead heading into the final few minutes. Now the team is 5-6 with 16 games to go. Usually, 17 wins are enough to make the tournament, meaning they need to finish 13-5 in the conference, a tough task since last year's stellar team also went 13-5.
Finally, Mitch Hedberg's new CD is out in stores entitled Mitch All Together. $9 at deepdiscountdvd.com. Here are some quick one-liners.
-I like refried beans. That's why I want to try fried beans 'cause maybe they're just as good and we're just wasting time.
-Mr. Pibb is the replica of Dr. Pepper, but it's the B-S replica 'cause the dude didn't even get his degree. Why'd you have to drop out and make pop so soon?
-I went to a doctor and all he did was suck blood out of my neck. So don't go to see Dr. Acula.
-I wanna hang a map of the world in my house and then I'm gonna put pins into all the locations that I've traveled to but first, I'm gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down.
-I've got a business card 'cause I wanna win some lunches.
-I bought myself a parrot; the parrot talked but it did not say "I'm hungry" so it died.
The Spring Movie Preview, technically covering most of the winter movies, is coming up next. The one with the most controversy is "The Passion of the Christ" opening on Ash Wednesday, February 25. From Catholic Mel Gibson, it documents the last hours of Jesus before his crucifixion in Jerusalem. Whatever religion you are, this movie is sure to spark discussion. You can search for the real trailer on the web, but for a little comic relief on such a serious subject, watch this version of the trailer re-dubbed to the tune of Kill Bill's "Battle Without Honor or Humanity".
If you believe the news media though, the most earth-shattering event that has occured was Britney Spears getting married in Las Vegas and then having it annuled 55 hours later. People close to them claim that Britney was of sound mind and body when they got married. Well, we know at least half of that statement is right. But eventually, it was the realization of what they were getting into that was the end of it and soon enough, it would be described as a joke. So they weren't prepared? Let's see, they limo to the chapel, are denied for not having a marriage license, go to the courthouse and get the license, and then go back to get married. Seems to me they thought it through. The big loser? The brief husband, Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld?), who did not have the presence of mind to sign some pre-nup to cover him for the rest of his life.
Then there's the crazy Ohio lady who believed she won the lottery. The jackpot was $168 million and a lady filed a police report saying she lost the winning ticket after she dropped her purse in a store parking lot. The news was so astounding to some that people came to the parking lot in the middle of the night armed with flashlights to try to find it. Meanwhile, the next day, another lady claimed the jackpot after she had the winning ticket and a ticket from the previous week to prove she has used these numbers before. However, the first lady, who admits she has had a questionable past, still believes it is her ticket. We'll see how this goes.
Then there's Mars. After the Europeans failed to land on Mars, NASA one-upped them by landing Spirit on the Mars surface and taking a picture of some rocks. Yep, $400 million well spent. While I wish them luck on their quest for life in a mysterious mud puddle they've landed on, here's hoping an alien pops up, laughs at the primitive technology and throws it across the valley.
Then there's rock, paper, scissors. Now here's a sport destined to follow in the line of wacky things to be seen on ESPN (preceded by the Spelling Bee, the Math Bowl, the Geography Bee, miniature golf, chess, scrabble, among others). The current issue of Rolling Stone features a commentary on the World Rock, Paper, Scissors championship. 320 competitors get whittled down to one for the $5,000 check through best of three contests. What's next...pick a number?
Then there's the presidency. Primary season starts up soon as Democrats eliminate 8 nominees to get 1 guy to face George W. Bush in November. The first caucus, in Iowa, occurs January 19. The front runner is Howard Dean, quickly brushed off just a year ago, but now a contender thanks to his grassroots efforts. Rising though is General Wesley Clark, widely rumored to be a Vice Presidential candidate, but if he's so popular as a V.P., why not go for the big one? And that's exactly what he's done. The frontrunners from a year ago are behind these two: Gephardt, Kerry, and Lieberman. John Edwards needs to win his birth state of South Carolina to have any hope in the race and Sharpton, Braun, and Kucinich hope to have their voice heard. A debate was held yesterday and Kucinich was the noteworthy one with his dazzling array of pie charts a la Perot in 1992. Only problem? It was a radio only debate.
Then there's Mad Cow Disease. People seem to be taking this issue with ease. Even though mad-cow infected beef made its way to Maxim Market in East San Jose and 6 area restaurants, there doesn't seem to be any beef backlash or boycotts. The In and Out Burger I went to was packed. Then again, if you want a place that serves no beef whatsoever, head to Taco Bell.
Then there's Cal. Geez, one semester left and look, I didn't do half-bad last semester. Really, I think it was my best one. Of course, I was distracted by the sports. It seems in college sports, when you have football and basketball, only one is bound to be successful, you can't have both. Sure, there are exceptions but Cal is no exception. As football languished in last place, basketball flew high with a NIT championship and 3 straight NCAA tournament appearances. Now, football is becoming revitalized, highlighted by the Insight Bowl win over Virginia Tech. And what happened? Basketball now sucks. Sure, we can point to the three freshmen starting and the slumps last year's starters are in, but the media and the coaches had high hopes for the team, expectations that are not being met. It hit bottom when Cal lost to Washington State at home, where Cal had lost 5 times in the last three years yet have already lost 3 times this year alone. Washington State is by no means a basketball power, yet, and Cal did lead heading into the final few minutes. Now the team is 5-6 with 16 games to go. Usually, 17 wins are enough to make the tournament, meaning they need to finish 13-5 in the conference, a tough task since last year's stellar team also went 13-5.
Finally, Mitch Hedberg's new CD is out in stores entitled Mitch All Together. $9 at deepdiscountdvd.com. Here are some quick one-liners.
-I like refried beans. That's why I want to try fried beans 'cause maybe they're just as good and we're just wasting time.
-Mr. Pibb is the replica of Dr. Pepper, but it's the B-S replica 'cause the dude didn't even get his degree. Why'd you have to drop out and make pop so soon?
-I went to a doctor and all he did was suck blood out of my neck. So don't go to see Dr. Acula.
-I wanna hang a map of the world in my house and then I'm gonna put pins into all the locations that I've traveled to but first, I'm gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down.
-I've got a business card 'cause I wanna win some lunches.
-I bought myself a parrot; the parrot talked but it did not say "I'm hungry" so it died.
The Spring Movie Preview, technically covering most of the winter movies, is coming up next. The one with the most controversy is "The Passion of the Christ" opening on Ash Wednesday, February 25. From Catholic Mel Gibson, it documents the last hours of Jesus before his crucifixion in Jerusalem. Whatever religion you are, this movie is sure to spark discussion. You can search for the real trailer on the web, but for a little comic relief on such a serious subject, watch this version of the trailer re-dubbed to the tune of Kill Bill's "Battle Without Honor or Humanity".
12/31/2003
A staggering 496 films have been released in 2003 and of the 74 I've watched, these are the top 10 of the year. Of course, as I finish watching the year's movies, this list as well as the worst list will be updated accordingly.
1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - A triumphant end to one of the best trilogies ever made.
2. Finding Nemo - All you can ever hope for in an action adventure with the added bonus of great animation.
3. Lost in Translation - Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson masterfully show off their acting chops as they discover Japan with both hilarity and romanticism.
4. In America - The immigrant experience has never been so moving as this was.
5. Seabiscuit - Great performances from a great director document the grand horse named Seabiscuit.
6. Bend it Like Beckham - This soccer crowd-pleaser gives us both entertainment and lessons to learn in life.
7. Big Fish - Tim Burton's imagination runs wild with fantastic results.
8. Elephant - The most thought-provoking film of the year sets the stage for a discussion of how school shootings occur in the most innocent of places.
9 The Last Samurai - Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise turns in a decent performance as a Civil War soldier but Ken Watanabe's role as Katsumoto is the star of the show.
10. School of Rock - The funniest comedy of the year will have you dancing in the aisles with the music an aged rocker and school kids can make.
Of the films I have seen, these are the 10 best films of the year according to a composite ranking from 228 critics compiled by moviecitynews.com.
1. Lost in Translation
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. Mystic River
4. Finding Nemo
5. In America
6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
7. 21 Grams
8. Kill Bill: Volume 1
9. Cold Mountain
10. Elephant
Armed with the same list, these are the 5 best films I haven't seen yet, but probably will.
1. American Splendor
2. Capturing the Friedmans
3. City of God
4. The Station Agent
5. House of Sand and Fog
1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - A triumphant end to one of the best trilogies ever made.
2. Finding Nemo - All you can ever hope for in an action adventure with the added bonus of great animation.
3. Lost in Translation - Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson masterfully show off their acting chops as they discover Japan with both hilarity and romanticism.
4. In America - The immigrant experience has never been so moving as this was.
5. Seabiscuit - Great performances from a great director document the grand horse named Seabiscuit.
6. Bend it Like Beckham - This soccer crowd-pleaser gives us both entertainment and lessons to learn in life.
7. Big Fish - Tim Burton's imagination runs wild with fantastic results.
8. Elephant - The most thought-provoking film of the year sets the stage for a discussion of how school shootings occur in the most innocent of places.
9 The Last Samurai - Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise turns in a decent performance as a Civil War soldier but Ken Watanabe's role as Katsumoto is the star of the show.
10. School of Rock - The funniest comedy of the year will have you dancing in the aisles with the music an aged rocker and school kids can make.
Of the films I have seen, these are the 10 best films of the year according to a composite ranking from 228 critics compiled by moviecitynews.com.
1. Lost in Translation
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. Mystic River
4. Finding Nemo
5. In America
6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
7. 21 Grams
8. Kill Bill: Volume 1
9. Cold Mountain
10. Elephant
Armed with the same list, these are the 5 best films I haven't seen yet, but probably will.
1. American Splendor
2. Capturing the Friedmans
3. City of God
4. The Station Agent
5. House of Sand and Fog
12/30/2003
Of the 70 films I've watched this year, these 10 have been judged as the worst of the year by combining the spring, summer, and fall movie rankings and seeing who fell to the bottom. Of course, I haven't seen all the movies of this year just yet and some might fall the cracks to this list soon. The top 10 can be found tomorrow.
1. Gigli - I don't know what was worse: the awful dialogue (gobble, gobble) or pretty boy Ben Affleck trying to play a tough guy.
2. The Real Cancun - Was that really the real Cancun or some sick guy's wet dream?
3. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd - When the creators and the original stars want no part of this fiasco, that really tells you something.
4. Dreamcatcher - How could so many fine actors, and a fine author in Stephen King, been involved in such crap?
5. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Like Sean Connery in the film, we're still waiting to be impressed.
6. Freddy vs. Jason - Typical slasher material leads into an awfully short "epic" battle.
7. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle - The thing makes no sense and only serves as eye candy, presumably enough to satisfy some people but not this one.
8. Alex and Emma - While Kate Hudson is a beautiful presence on-screen, someone needs to get her some better material.
9. Hollywood Homicide - The funny thing about this buddy-cop comedy was that the film was at its best when the duo was separated.
10. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde - Simply changing the scenery from the first one is not the way to make a sequel.
Of the films I have seen, these are the 10 worst films of the year according to a composite ranking from 67 critics compiled by moviecitynews.com.
1. Gigli
2. Bad Boys II
3. Dreamcatcher
4. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
5. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
6. The Matrix: Revolutions
7. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde
8. Alex and Emma
9. The Hulk
10. Daredevil
Armed with the same list, these are the 5 worst films I haven't seen yet and probably never will.
1. The Cat in the Hat
2. Boat Trip
3. From Justin to Kelly
4. Beyond Borders
5. The Life of David Gale
1. Gigli - I don't know what was worse: the awful dialogue (gobble, gobble) or pretty boy Ben Affleck trying to play a tough guy.
2. The Real Cancun - Was that really the real Cancun or some sick guy's wet dream?
3. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd - When the creators and the original stars want no part of this fiasco, that really tells you something.
4. Dreamcatcher - How could so many fine actors, and a fine author in Stephen King, been involved in such crap?
5. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Like Sean Connery in the film, we're still waiting to be impressed.
6. Freddy vs. Jason - Typical slasher material leads into an awfully short "epic" battle.
7. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle - The thing makes no sense and only serves as eye candy, presumably enough to satisfy some people but not this one.
8. Alex and Emma - While Kate Hudson is a beautiful presence on-screen, someone needs to get her some better material.
9. Hollywood Homicide - The funny thing about this buddy-cop comedy was that the film was at its best when the duo was separated.
10. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde - Simply changing the scenery from the first one is not the way to make a sequel.
Of the films I have seen, these are the 10 worst films of the year according to a composite ranking from 67 critics compiled by moviecitynews.com.
1. Gigli
2. Bad Boys II
3. Dreamcatcher
4. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
5. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
6. The Matrix: Revolutions
7. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde
8. Alex and Emma
9. The Hulk
10. Daredevil
Armed with the same list, these are the 5 worst films I haven't seen yet and probably never will.
1. The Cat in the Hat
2. Boat Trip
3. From Justin to Kelly
4. Beyond Borders
5. The Life of David Gale
12/29/2003
During the lull that is the days between Christmas and New Year's Day, I hope you've had a fullfilling holiday. Receiving gifts and seeing long-lost friends like Ak and Steve and Jimmy has been the story of these holidays for me. For my birthday, I even got a cell phone. I can't even believe it. I swore I'd never get such a thing since I'm broke and I don't want people to get a hold me whenever they wanted. Since this phone is being paid for, then I don't mind if they can track me, I'll just turn the damn thing off when I want to. Don't worry, I'll try to leave it on when I can.
But amidst the DVD's and money I got for Christmas was the noteworthy gift from my friends Alex and Hai who always want to give such a, let's say, thoughtful gift. Before, I've gotten a piggy bank and a piggy pillow (erm, sleeping buddy like the tag writes) and now they've turned away from the pig theme and seeing as how I'm a math major, given me slippers of the Count from Sesame Street. And like I promised, I took a picture of the slippers, with a cameo appearance from the piggy.
As New Year's approaches, I'm working on the annual best/worst lists for movies in 2003. Contrary to popular belief, I've only seen 68 movies so far with a few more remaining until Oscar nominations roll out at the end of next month. The lists should be published within the next couple of days.
But amidst the DVD's and money I got for Christmas was the noteworthy gift from my friends Alex and Hai who always want to give such a, let's say, thoughtful gift. Before, I've gotten a piggy bank and a piggy pillow (erm, sleeping buddy like the tag writes) and now they've turned away from the pig theme and seeing as how I'm a math major, given me slippers of the Count from Sesame Street. And like I promised, I took a picture of the slippers, with a cameo appearance from the piggy.
As New Year's approaches, I'm working on the annual best/worst lists for movies in 2003. Contrary to popular belief, I've only seen 68 movies so far with a few more remaining until Oscar nominations roll out at the end of next month. The lists should be published within the next couple of days.
12/28/2003
Big Fish
Edward Bloom (Old: Albert Finney, Young: Ewan McGregor) led a remarkable life. But you wouldn't know it if you talked to his son, Will (Billy Crudup). To him, the stories his father told blur the line between reality and fiction and he is confused on what is true and what is false. His father's failure to be up front about his past soured the relationship between the two, at one point not talking to each other for a few years. Soon, Edward is dying, a combination of old age and cancer, and Will tries one last time to communicate with his father and, with his journalistic mentality, searches for the truth and patiently waits for the real Edward Bloom to please stand up.
Director Tim Burton has always been a genius in using the screen to transform his imagination to reality for all the world to see. With the free-wheeling script he's been given, Burton runs wild with enthusiasm to create wondrous stories out of Edward Bloom, a man whose stories are truly unbelievable, but, with its scenes re-created, making us believe as well. Wondering about whether the events Edward goes through are true or what his motives were shouldn't be really important; the question to ask when listening to Edward is whether he can capture your attention. Like Will's pregnant wife midway through the movie when she becomes enchanted with Edward's storytelling, particularly telling how he wooed his wife-to-be, which by the way showed off the beauty of Alison Lohman, I became mesmerized by the stories Burton told which resulted in a very enjoyable film to watch. 3.5 stars
Edward Bloom (Old: Albert Finney, Young: Ewan McGregor) led a remarkable life. But you wouldn't know it if you talked to his son, Will (Billy Crudup). To him, the stories his father told blur the line between reality and fiction and he is confused on what is true and what is false. His father's failure to be up front about his past soured the relationship between the two, at one point not talking to each other for a few years. Soon, Edward is dying, a combination of old age and cancer, and Will tries one last time to communicate with his father and, with his journalistic mentality, searches for the truth and patiently waits for the real Edward Bloom to please stand up.
Director Tim Burton has always been a genius in using the screen to transform his imagination to reality for all the world to see. With the free-wheeling script he's been given, Burton runs wild with enthusiasm to create wondrous stories out of Edward Bloom, a man whose stories are truly unbelievable, but, with its scenes re-created, making us believe as well. Wondering about whether the events Edward goes through are true or what his motives were shouldn't be really important; the question to ask when listening to Edward is whether he can capture your attention. Like Will's pregnant wife midway through the movie when she becomes enchanted with Edward's storytelling, particularly telling how he wooed his wife-to-be, which by the way showed off the beauty of Alison Lohman, I became mesmerized by the stories Burton told which resulted in a very enjoyable film to watch. 3.5 stars
Paycheck
Not wanting to be known as an amnesiac man, Matt Damon passed on this role as a man who loses his memory to his friend Ben Affleck. And in his hands, you just know you're in for something action-packed. Whether that means the explosions of Armageddon or the bomb that was Gigli, we just have to wait to find out. In here, Affleck plays Michael Jennings, a reverse engineer who makes existing products better. The kicker is once he's done, his memory is erased from the time he started the project to protect the company's secrets. Once he finished his latest project, Jennings is contacted by his friend Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart) who wants to recruit him for a long-term assignment. With a stock option payoff, Jennings can't refuse. He succeeds in inventing a device that sees into the future, but with his memory wiped out, he's helpless as he finds his options forfeited and the FBI after him. Only 20 clues sent to him figure to be the only way to get out of this mess and prevent a catastrophe of worldwide proportions.
If you don't think about the movie's obvious plot holes, you're in for a real treat as director John Woo keeps the action high and Affleck gives a credible performance. (However, Woo's traditional dove should have been integrated into the movie a little better instead of flying out of thin air.) Uma Thurman also does well playing Affleck's love interest while kicking some butt. But as any science-fiction fan will tell you, messing around with a story about seeing into the future can be a tricky thing. The most important question raised is if you have 20 items that Jennings has provided, how do you know using one item won't render the other 19 useless? A device that only sees into the future can presumably be only based on current events, not future variables that can be changed at will. So say once he uses the glasses, how do you know he would need the paper clip in the next scene? A whole new future would have been created, right? Geez, I guess they hadn't thought this one through either. But the pacing is quick, except for its less-than-stellar ending which drags, especially the bullet, and I did enjoy how all the items were accounted for in Jennings' little quest to save the world. On a side note, it was funny to see how all the men either were balding or had my haircut, especially Eckhart's. 2.5 stars
Not wanting to be known as an amnesiac man, Matt Damon passed on this role as a man who loses his memory to his friend Ben Affleck. And in his hands, you just know you're in for something action-packed. Whether that means the explosions of Armageddon or the bomb that was Gigli, we just have to wait to find out. In here, Affleck plays Michael Jennings, a reverse engineer who makes existing products better. The kicker is once he's done, his memory is erased from the time he started the project to protect the company's secrets. Once he finished his latest project, Jennings is contacted by his friend Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart) who wants to recruit him for a long-term assignment. With a stock option payoff, Jennings can't refuse. He succeeds in inventing a device that sees into the future, but with his memory wiped out, he's helpless as he finds his options forfeited and the FBI after him. Only 20 clues sent to him figure to be the only way to get out of this mess and prevent a catastrophe of worldwide proportions.
If you don't think about the movie's obvious plot holes, you're in for a real treat as director John Woo keeps the action high and Affleck gives a credible performance. (However, Woo's traditional dove should have been integrated into the movie a little better instead of flying out of thin air.) Uma Thurman also does well playing Affleck's love interest while kicking some butt. But as any science-fiction fan will tell you, messing around with a story about seeing into the future can be a tricky thing. The most important question raised is if you have 20 items that Jennings has provided, how do you know using one item won't render the other 19 useless? A device that only sees into the future can presumably be only based on current events, not future variables that can be changed at will. So say once he uses the glasses, how do you know he would need the paper clip in the next scene? A whole new future would have been created, right? Geez, I guess they hadn't thought this one through either. But the pacing is quick, except for its less-than-stellar ending which drags, especially the bullet, and I did enjoy how all the items were accounted for in Jennings' little quest to save the world. On a side note, it was funny to see how all the men either were balding or had my haircut, especially Eckhart's. 2.5 stars
The Cooler
Ever wonder what causes the flunctuations between good luck and bad? Well, here's one: the cooler, a man filled with so much bad luck, he spreads it to all who is around him. In this case, Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) is the best among the worst. He's on the payroll of Shelly Kaplow's (Alec Baldwin) Shangri-La Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas as the cooler in order to cool off the hot winning streaks in the casino. Kaplow is an old timer when it comes to gambling, believing in some of the oldest tricks in the book such as the cooler and a casino without the glitz and wholesomeness of the new Vegas being built outside for the families. Profits are coming in, but the owners like the ideas of a new consultant (Ron Livingston) to make the Shangri-La more profitable and are trying to convince Kaplow, albeit unsuccessfully. Lootz meanwhile has caught the eye of Natalie (Maria Bello), a young waitress who grows attached to Lootz and it seems his luck begins to change. The effects he has over people now have the opposite effect. Kaplow soon begins to see his little empire crumble and begins to take steps to rebuild and the first thing to do is to put Lootz back into his bad luck streak.
While the film gets stuck in the usual cliches most gambling movies have been known for, you can't help but root for Bernie as his luck begins to get good and he works to stay there. This is helped along by the performance that Macy gives, one of his best to date in his storied career. Baldwin also gives in a good, dark performance for most of the movie but by the time he's done, his acting becomes a bit overdone. You seem to get a little bit of everything in this picture from the joys of winning to the lows of losing, from the euphoria of getting on a winning streak to the tough handling of cheaters wanting to take a few bucks. But in the end, seemingly all, for better or worse, craps out. 3 stars
Ever wonder what causes the flunctuations between good luck and bad? Well, here's one: the cooler, a man filled with so much bad luck, he spreads it to all who is around him. In this case, Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) is the best among the worst. He's on the payroll of Shelly Kaplow's (Alec Baldwin) Shangri-La Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas as the cooler in order to cool off the hot winning streaks in the casino. Kaplow is an old timer when it comes to gambling, believing in some of the oldest tricks in the book such as the cooler and a casino without the glitz and wholesomeness of the new Vegas being built outside for the families. Profits are coming in, but the owners like the ideas of a new consultant (Ron Livingston) to make the Shangri-La more profitable and are trying to convince Kaplow, albeit unsuccessfully. Lootz meanwhile has caught the eye of Natalie (Maria Bello), a young waitress who grows attached to Lootz and it seems his luck begins to change. The effects he has over people now have the opposite effect. Kaplow soon begins to see his little empire crumble and begins to take steps to rebuild and the first thing to do is to put Lootz back into his bad luck streak.
While the film gets stuck in the usual cliches most gambling movies have been known for, you can't help but root for Bernie as his luck begins to get good and he works to stay there. This is helped along by the performance that Macy gives, one of his best to date in his storied career. Baldwin also gives in a good, dark performance for most of the movie but by the time he's done, his acting becomes a bit overdone. You seem to get a little bit of everything in this picture from the joys of winning to the lows of losing, from the euphoria of getting on a winning streak to the tough handling of cheaters wanting to take a few bucks. But in the end, seemingly all, for better or worse, craps out. 3 stars
12/26/2003
It was a strong performance by the Golden Bears in a see-saw game that saw many lead changes and plenty of excitement. In the end, Cal won 52-49 over the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Insight Bowl. Beforehand, we knew it would be high-scoring and fairly close, but we didn't know how dominating each offense would be. Virginia Tech ran and passed with ease in the first half while Cal in the second half short played the Hokies defense to death while once in a while hitting them large with an opportune play. It was 7-0 Cal, then 28-14 VT, then 42-28 Cal. VT eventually tied it up at 49 with a special teams letdown on the part of Cal with a punt return TD from VT's Hall. But quarterback Aaron Rodgers, poised and brimming with confidence, led the team down to the 18 yard line of VT and set up Tyler Frederickson for the game-winning field goal. Great game by all.
12/24/2003
On this day before Christmas, I wish you and yours a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa, and in general, happy holidays.
I still have to buy one more present and if you're in need to get one too, I have one suggestion. Browsing through Toys' R Us recently, I stumbled upon the best DVD cover there is.
Surf Ninjas is the story of Ernie Reyes, Jr. who discovers he is royalty and tries to woo a teenage princess, played by a young Kelly Hu. But for some reason, with the help of Rob Schneider, Reyes must defeat ninjas led by Leslie Nielsen. And it all involves surfing! That's as great as Sylvester Stallone's touching tale of child custody set against the backdrop of arm wrestling.
Again, the cover tells the whole thing. It's hilarious. Sometimes I wonder why I haven't seen such quality films as this one. Was this up for Oscars?
Contributing to the Christmas spirit, it's front page news on Yahoo! that a reindeer tackled a new reporter in Alaska.
Poor lady. Too bad reindeer don't fly. It leads into a description of the job Santa does on Christmas night from the math/physics point of view. It's really old and distributed by many now. Some people have tried to disprove this, but come on, it's a fun read anyway.
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.
I still have to buy one more present and if you're in need to get one too, I have one suggestion. Browsing through Toys' R Us recently, I stumbled upon the best DVD cover there is.
Surf Ninjas is the story of Ernie Reyes, Jr. who discovers he is royalty and tries to woo a teenage princess, played by a young Kelly Hu. But for some reason, with the help of Rob Schneider, Reyes must defeat ninjas led by Leslie Nielsen. And it all involves surfing! That's as great as Sylvester Stallone's touching tale of child custody set against the backdrop of arm wrestling.
Again, the cover tells the whole thing. It's hilarious. Sometimes I wonder why I haven't seen such quality films as this one. Was this up for Oscars?
Contributing to the Christmas spirit, it's front page news on Yahoo! that a reindeer tackled a new reporter in Alaska.
Poor lady. Too bad reindeer don't fly. It leads into a description of the job Santa does on Christmas night from the math/physics point of view. It's really old and distributed by many now. Some people have tried to disprove this, but come on, it's a fun read anyway.
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.
12/20/2003
On this the date of my birth, I thought it'd be a good idea to see who was born on this day. Being just one day out of 366 in a year, I can't expect every famous person to be born on this day, but it seems they stayed away from December 20.
In historical terms, the most important it seems was Harvey Firestone. Firestone started the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1900 and was friends with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. The doctor who aided John Wilkes Booth after assassinating Abraham Lincoln was also born on this day.
Perusing the list of B-movie stars and porn actresses who share my birthday on IMDB, I came upon the name Dick Wolf as the most famous celebrity who was born today. I know you've never heard of him, but trust me, you know his work. Ever seen Law and Order? Yeah, he made that. And those distractions SVU and Criminal Intent. Really, there's too much of them going on at one time, many heads will explode if they watch all of them. He also created the new Dragnet, produced Miami Vice, and wrote Hill Street Blues.
Other actors include John Spencer, the chief of staff on one of the greatest shows ever made before being ruined this season "The West Wing," Michael Badalucco, fat Jimbo on "The Practice," and Nicole DeBoer who didn't do the character Dax much justice on Deep Space Nine. There were many more names, but I don't think they could be described as famous, celebrities, or famous celebrities.
The only other database I could find on the subject was a sports one and while such illuminaries as Rich Gannon, Aubrey Huff and Cory Stillman are mentioned, the name Jan Caloun stands out as a former Sharks player. He scored 4 goals on his first 4 shots in his career, a remarkable feat.
On this day in history, the Louisiana Purchase became official, the U.S. invaded Panama and captured Manuel Noriega (I actually remember that), Ho Chi Minh began to fight the French, and South Carolina seceded from the Union before the Civil War.
So as this list can tell you, my actual birthday isn't lame, but the date of my birthday is. Hopefully, your birthdays are much better than this one. At least a lot more people have December birthdays, like Jon (earlier in the month) and Alex (later in the month). Coincidentally, they seem to be the only ones reading this crap. So, umm, happy birthday to you both.
Thanks to all who have wished me a happy birthday, almost all suspiciously without gifts.
In historical terms, the most important it seems was Harvey Firestone. Firestone started the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1900 and was friends with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. The doctor who aided John Wilkes Booth after assassinating Abraham Lincoln was also born on this day.
Perusing the list of B-movie stars and porn actresses who share my birthday on IMDB, I came upon the name Dick Wolf as the most famous celebrity who was born today. I know you've never heard of him, but trust me, you know his work. Ever seen Law and Order? Yeah, he made that. And those distractions SVU and Criminal Intent. Really, there's too much of them going on at one time, many heads will explode if they watch all of them. He also created the new Dragnet, produced Miami Vice, and wrote Hill Street Blues.
Other actors include John Spencer, the chief of staff on one of the greatest shows ever made before being ruined this season "The West Wing," Michael Badalucco, fat Jimbo on "The Practice," and Nicole DeBoer who didn't do the character Dax much justice on Deep Space Nine. There were many more names, but I don't think they could be described as famous, celebrities, or famous celebrities.
The only other database I could find on the subject was a sports one and while such illuminaries as Rich Gannon, Aubrey Huff and Cory Stillman are mentioned, the name Jan Caloun stands out as a former Sharks player. He scored 4 goals on his first 4 shots in his career, a remarkable feat.
On this day in history, the Louisiana Purchase became official, the U.S. invaded Panama and captured Manuel Noriega (I actually remember that), Ho Chi Minh began to fight the French, and South Carolina seceded from the Union before the Civil War.
So as this list can tell you, my actual birthday isn't lame, but the date of my birthday is. Hopefully, your birthdays are much better than this one. At least a lot more people have December birthdays, like Jon (earlier in the month) and Alex (later in the month). Coincidentally, they seem to be the only ones reading this crap. So, umm, happy birthday to you both.
Thanks to all who have wished me a happy birthday, almost all suspiciously without gifts.
12/18/2003
Pieces of April
Yes, it's a little late to be talking about this, but this movie is about Thanksgiving dinner. Katie Holmes is April, a rebellious girl living in the Big Apple. With ties to her family severed, she thought the holiday of thankfulness would be a good time to see her family and let them see the new life she leads. The matriarch of the family, Joy (Patricia Clarkson), is suffering from breast cancer while her husband (Oliver Platt) and other children seem to suffer along with her. All of them are suspicious of April's invitation and try to find reasons not to go, but if Joy, as sick as she is, can wake up early and sit in the car and wait, by golly they're gonna go. Thanksgiving arrives and with a little jump-start from her boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke), April gets started on dinner. But a broken oven and last minute changes to the menu threaten a Thanksgiving where quite possibly, no one will show up at all.
This is a very top-notch movie. It's, well, a joy to watch with lots of funny moments as April prepares the dinner and her family try to get out of it, or at the very least, make up lines to describe how good the food will be. You can tell April is in the act of growing up further with her experiences with neighbors from different walks of life, but it's hard to tell if April's life was truly affected by this day. She smiles for the camera, but what's to stop her from not talking to her mom for a long period of time again? At 75 minutes, the film is awfully short and could have focused more on explaining what caused April so estranged from her family. Instead, we get some storyline involving Bobby getting new clothes. Okay, he gets beat up but his minutes on-screen seem to only serve the purpose of scaring the family once they arrive. By the end, the film is ultimately satisfying with a family that really needed something to be thankful for get it on the right day. 3 stars
Yes, it's a little late to be talking about this, but this movie is about Thanksgiving dinner. Katie Holmes is April, a rebellious girl living in the Big Apple. With ties to her family severed, she thought the holiday of thankfulness would be a good time to see her family and let them see the new life she leads. The matriarch of the family, Joy (Patricia Clarkson), is suffering from breast cancer while her husband (Oliver Platt) and other children seem to suffer along with her. All of them are suspicious of April's invitation and try to find reasons not to go, but if Joy, as sick as she is, can wake up early and sit in the car and wait, by golly they're gonna go. Thanksgiving arrives and with a little jump-start from her boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke), April gets started on dinner. But a broken oven and last minute changes to the menu threaten a Thanksgiving where quite possibly, no one will show up at all.
This is a very top-notch movie. It's, well, a joy to watch with lots of funny moments as April prepares the dinner and her family try to get out of it, or at the very least, make up lines to describe how good the food will be. You can tell April is in the act of growing up further with her experiences with neighbors from different walks of life, but it's hard to tell if April's life was truly affected by this day. She smiles for the camera, but what's to stop her from not talking to her mom for a long period of time again? At 75 minutes, the film is awfully short and could have focused more on explaining what caused April so estranged from her family. Instead, we get some storyline involving Bobby getting new clothes. Okay, he gets beat up but his minutes on-screen seem to only serve the purpose of scaring the family once they arrive. By the end, the film is ultimately satisfying with a family that really needed something to be thankful for get it on the right day. 3 stars
I took a final today and all I got was a lot of struggling and a huge headache. I don't think watching Lord of the Rings at midnite was such a good idea after all. Sure, it was a great movie, but I didn't get back until 5 am and I was on such a buzz, I wasn't down until seven. This after getting 3 hours of sleep the night before, and now another 4 hours Tuesday night. That was enough to get me through office hours for my last final on Thursday and Wednesday night would be full-blown cramming.
So I got home at 5, made dinner, checked my email, and started to read the material. As expected, I was fast asleep at I believe 8 pm. Not as expected was how long I'd sleep. I woke up at 8 am. Savvy math majors like myself can figure that was 12 hours of sleep. It led up to more cramming and a final at 1230. It wasn't too bad, but I didn't have a clue how to do part of the major essay question and there's the normal self-doubt one has after a test. And now I write to you, major headache killing my head and no Tylenol in sight.
I get home tomorrow. On Saturday, my age makes a blackjack. I don't feel that old, but I guess I certainly look the part. Thinning, greased-up hair while wearing polo shirts, and whatnot.
So I got home at 5, made dinner, checked my email, and started to read the material. As expected, I was fast asleep at I believe 8 pm. Not as expected was how long I'd sleep. I woke up at 8 am. Savvy math majors like myself can figure that was 12 hours of sleep. It led up to more cramming and a final at 1230. It wasn't too bad, but I didn't have a clue how to do part of the major essay question and there's the normal self-doubt one has after a test. And now I write to you, major headache killing my head and no Tylenol in sight.
I get home tomorrow. On Saturday, my age makes a blackjack. I don't feel that old, but I guess I certainly look the part. Thinning, greased-up hair while wearing polo shirts, and whatnot.
12/17/2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The third film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy finds the main characters in the same situations. Frodo and Sam (Elijah Wood and Sean Astin) are ever closer to Mount Doom to destroy the ring. However, their guide Gollum along with his alter-ego Smeagol have other ideas for the duo. Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin (Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd), fresh off their victory with the trees, are joined by Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), and the forces of Rodan. In a crystal ball containing the eye of Sauron, Pippin sees a vision of a burning Gondor. Gandalf afterwards decides to bring him along to Minas Tirith in Gondor to see what he could do to help. When there, they find an increasingly mad leader in Denethor still dealing with the loss of his favorite son Boromir, much to the chagrin of the other son Faramir. Gandalf soon begins to take control of preparations to fortify Minas Tirith and the men of Rodan begin to mass and march to Gondor.
Seeing that their force was small compared to the army of Orcs that lay ahead, Aragorn seeks the help of the dead, who will only be led by the king of men. They agree and all converge on Gondor. Hearing word that Frodo and Sam were close to completing their mission, our male leaders lead an assault on the Black Gates to distract the eye and the Orc forces to hopefully allow the hobbits to pass through the valleys and up the mountain and into the fire.
The other bally-hooed trilogy of the year was The Matrix, which ended by leaving fans awfully disappointed. In contrast, Lord of the Rings will also leave fans wanting for more, but only after sitting through the best movie of the trilogy and quite possibly the best movie of the year. Never before has a simple tale between good and evil been so exquisitely told with such epic storytelling and exhaustive detail. Its story, as long as it takes to be told, moves along with authority and passion as we learn the fates of our main characters. With so many to keep track of, it's amazing it strikes the balance that it did. But two characters stand out from the crowd: Gandalf, who refrains from using his powers as a white wizard to lead the forces of Gondor as a military wizard, and Sam, whose loyalty is tested to the extreme and never fails his friend Frodo on his trek to destroy the ring.
The battle is more amazing this time around with 3 battles to keep track of. The city of Minas Tirith was very pretty to look at, but to see it destroyed stone by stone was also an amazing achievement. The battles also take numerous cues from other famous cinematic battles including Aragorn's William Wallace speech complete with a moving horse and the takedown moves needed to stop the elephants were similar to the takedown moves of the walkers in the last two Star Wars films.
Director Peter Jackson still has a problem of his lingering camera, staying with shots that could easily be edited out and reduce the 200 minutes of airtime this movie gets. Case in point: on Gandalf's ride to Minas Tirith, a 7-level complex, we spend more than a minute watching Gandalf ride up the complex. OK! It's a big place! We get it! But this problem, and Jackson's obligation to detail that created the 6 or 7 endings for the movie are very minor points to a concluding chapter that stands as the best in a trilogy that stands among the great trilogies of all-time. 4 stars
The third film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy finds the main characters in the same situations. Frodo and Sam (Elijah Wood and Sean Astin) are ever closer to Mount Doom to destroy the ring. However, their guide Gollum along with his alter-ego Smeagol have other ideas for the duo. Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin (Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd), fresh off their victory with the trees, are joined by Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), and the forces of Rodan. In a crystal ball containing the eye of Sauron, Pippin sees a vision of a burning Gondor. Gandalf afterwards decides to bring him along to Minas Tirith in Gondor to see what he could do to help. When there, they find an increasingly mad leader in Denethor still dealing with the loss of his favorite son Boromir, much to the chagrin of the other son Faramir. Gandalf soon begins to take control of preparations to fortify Minas Tirith and the men of Rodan begin to mass and march to Gondor.
Seeing that their force was small compared to the army of Orcs that lay ahead, Aragorn seeks the help of the dead, who will only be led by the king of men. They agree and all converge on Gondor. Hearing word that Frodo and Sam were close to completing their mission, our male leaders lead an assault on the Black Gates to distract the eye and the Orc forces to hopefully allow the hobbits to pass through the valleys and up the mountain and into the fire.
The other bally-hooed trilogy of the year was The Matrix, which ended by leaving fans awfully disappointed. In contrast, Lord of the Rings will also leave fans wanting for more, but only after sitting through the best movie of the trilogy and quite possibly the best movie of the year. Never before has a simple tale between good and evil been so exquisitely told with such epic storytelling and exhaustive detail. Its story, as long as it takes to be told, moves along with authority and passion as we learn the fates of our main characters. With so many to keep track of, it's amazing it strikes the balance that it did. But two characters stand out from the crowd: Gandalf, who refrains from using his powers as a white wizard to lead the forces of Gondor as a military wizard, and Sam, whose loyalty is tested to the extreme and never fails his friend Frodo on his trek to destroy the ring.
The battle is more amazing this time around with 3 battles to keep track of. The city of Minas Tirith was very pretty to look at, but to see it destroyed stone by stone was also an amazing achievement. The battles also take numerous cues from other famous cinematic battles including Aragorn's William Wallace speech complete with a moving horse and the takedown moves needed to stop the elephants were similar to the takedown moves of the walkers in the last two Star Wars films.
Director Peter Jackson still has a problem of his lingering camera, staying with shots that could easily be edited out and reduce the 200 minutes of airtime this movie gets. Case in point: on Gandalf's ride to Minas Tirith, a 7-level complex, we spend more than a minute watching Gandalf ride up the complex. OK! It's a big place! We get it! But this problem, and Jackson's obligation to detail that created the 6 or 7 endings for the movie are very minor points to a concluding chapter that stands as the best in a trilogy that stands among the great trilogies of all-time. 4 stars
Stuck on You
The Farrelly Brothers, Peter and Bobby, were on their way to becoming one of the best comedy teams ever. They made "There's Something About Mary" and "Dumb and Dumber" plus they directed "Kingpin". Then there was dud after dud after dud. "Outside Providence", "Me, Myself, and Irene", "Shallow Hal" (okay, but nothing amazing), and "Osmosis Jones". The Farrellys probably hoped "Stuck On You" would mark their triumphant return, but alas, no.
The film stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins Bob and Walt. Successive burger joint owners, Bob and Walt were the talk of the town of Martha's Vineyard. But Walt has dreams of becoming an actor and convinces Bob to make the trek to Los Angeles to see if he can make it big. It was also an excellent time to meet Bob's penpal, May, who doesn't know about their condition. After moving in to a shady apartment and meeting a neighbor, namely Eva Mendes, they soon try to get to as many auditions as they can but are shut out. At the same time, Cher herself is trying to get out of a TV pilot and figures the only way to do it is to get Walt in as the star. She figures there's no way the network will let a conjoined twin be the star. But they do and it's a big success. With their diverging needs and wants, Walt figures it's time to separate, something Bob has been reluctant to do since it would harm Walt. But it seems Walt won't take no for an answer.
The movie is humorous but results in very few belly laughs, something the classic three had plenty of. By highlighting the condition of siamese twins, the jokes make it seem like we're laughing at them instead of with them, making it look mean instead of funny. However, Damon and Kinnear show excellent comedic chemistry together. Their timing is impeccable; ha, like their twins or something. If only they had better material to work with, it would have been even better. 1.5 stars
The Farrelly Brothers, Peter and Bobby, were on their way to becoming one of the best comedy teams ever. They made "There's Something About Mary" and "Dumb and Dumber" plus they directed "Kingpin". Then there was dud after dud after dud. "Outside Providence", "Me, Myself, and Irene", "Shallow Hal" (okay, but nothing amazing), and "Osmosis Jones". The Farrellys probably hoped "Stuck On You" would mark their triumphant return, but alas, no.
The film stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins Bob and Walt. Successive burger joint owners, Bob and Walt were the talk of the town of Martha's Vineyard. But Walt has dreams of becoming an actor and convinces Bob to make the trek to Los Angeles to see if he can make it big. It was also an excellent time to meet Bob's penpal, May, who doesn't know about their condition. After moving in to a shady apartment and meeting a neighbor, namely Eva Mendes, they soon try to get to as many auditions as they can but are shut out. At the same time, Cher herself is trying to get out of a TV pilot and figures the only way to do it is to get Walt in as the star. She figures there's no way the network will let a conjoined twin be the star. But they do and it's a big success. With their diverging needs and wants, Walt figures it's time to separate, something Bob has been reluctant to do since it would harm Walt. But it seems Walt won't take no for an answer.
The movie is humorous but results in very few belly laughs, something the classic three had plenty of. By highlighting the condition of siamese twins, the jokes make it seem like we're laughing at them instead of with them, making it look mean instead of funny. However, Damon and Kinnear show excellent comedic chemistry together. Their timing is impeccable; ha, like their twins or something. If only they had better material to work with, it would have been even better. 1.5 stars
Mystic River
Jimmy, Sean, and Dave were three Boston boys who did everything together. Yet when Dave was kidnapped and molested for a period of several days. Things were never the same after that. Sure, they lived in the same area but they never did get around to seeing each other as often as they once did. They each went on to lead different lives. Jimmy (Sean Penn) runs a small grocery store and has three daughters, his oldest, Katie, from a previous marriage. Sean (Kevin Bacon) is in the midst of a separation and is a homicide detective. Dave (Tim Robbins) became a handyman and has a son. Their lives became closely intertwined once again when Katie is reported missing and later found dead in a park. Sean becomes the lead investigator and is partnered with Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne). The wild-card here is Dave who last saw Katie in a bar and later in the night, showed up at home with a knife wound and blood on his hands.
The film is masterfully directed by Clint Eastwood who shows all the experience and appreciation to detail one can show with a number of award-winning films under his belt. But like any mystery, the story gets interesting when there are clues to quench our thirst to find the truth. And for a time in the beginning, clues are found few and far between, leaving the storytelling stuck in neutral as everyone gives their best sob performances. It isn't until all signs point to Dave when the story's true brilliance and conflict comes to light and presents us with a struggle of emotion. That being said, Robbins probably gives the best performance of the movie, balancing a cold demeanor with the potential truths he is hiding. Penn also gives a quality performance, but it's not something that he hasn't done before; same with Bacon. Underused in the film are the wives as they are barely seen; the exception being Marcia Gay Harden who does her best dealing with Dave through her facial expressions. It all ends poignantly, leaving you guessing what happens next. 3 stars
Jimmy, Sean, and Dave were three Boston boys who did everything together. Yet when Dave was kidnapped and molested for a period of several days. Things were never the same after that. Sure, they lived in the same area but they never did get around to seeing each other as often as they once did. They each went on to lead different lives. Jimmy (Sean Penn) runs a small grocery store and has three daughters, his oldest, Katie, from a previous marriage. Sean (Kevin Bacon) is in the midst of a separation and is a homicide detective. Dave (Tim Robbins) became a handyman and has a son. Their lives became closely intertwined once again when Katie is reported missing and later found dead in a park. Sean becomes the lead investigator and is partnered with Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne). The wild-card here is Dave who last saw Katie in a bar and later in the night, showed up at home with a knife wound and blood on his hands.
The film is masterfully directed by Clint Eastwood who shows all the experience and appreciation to detail one can show with a number of award-winning films under his belt. But like any mystery, the story gets interesting when there are clues to quench our thirst to find the truth. And for a time in the beginning, clues are found few and far between, leaving the storytelling stuck in neutral as everyone gives their best sob performances. It isn't until all signs point to Dave when the story's true brilliance and conflict comes to light and presents us with a struggle of emotion. That being said, Robbins probably gives the best performance of the movie, balancing a cold demeanor with the potential truths he is hiding. Penn also gives a quality performance, but it's not something that he hasn't done before; same with Bacon. Underused in the film are the wives as they are barely seen; the exception being Marcia Gay Harden who does her best dealing with Dave through her facial expressions. It all ends poignantly, leaving you guessing what happens next. 3 stars
12/14/2003
In breaking news sure to disappoint Jon, the Orioles have lured Miguel Tejada away from the A's with a 6-year $72 million contract. Talented he is, but probably not worth this much, no? With the prospect of signing Vladimir Guerrero and a star catcher (Ivan Rodriguez or Javy Lopez), the Orioles will be about 20 guys away from fielding a decent team to compete.
Meanwhile, the A's have lost Tejada and closer Keith Foulke to other teams with only high-priced but limited talent free agents and inexperienced minor leaguers left to fill their spots. The Giants are in the same boat, losing Rich Aurilia, Benito Santiago, and Tim Worrell while their only prized pickup is rumored to be...Darren Oliver? Whew, this looks bad.
Meanwhile, the A's have lost Tejada and closer Keith Foulke to other teams with only high-priced but limited talent free agents and inexperienced minor leaguers left to fill their spots. The Giants are in the same boat, losing Rich Aurilia, Benito Santiago, and Tim Worrell while their only prized pickup is rumored to be...Darren Oliver? Whew, this looks bad.
Saddam Hussein proved not to be as elusive as Bin Laden has been as Hussein has been captured after eight months of hiding. What a great day this must be for Americans, Iraqis, and the world. I don't know about you, but if I was dictator of a fairly large country, rich beyond my wildest dreams, yielding some major weapons (nuclear? chemical? biological? uhh, no comment), yet forcibly taken out of power by the most powerful country in the world, I would not stay in that country. Yet, that's where they found Hussein, right near his hometown too, sure, in a tunnel and with a fairly long beard. Judging by the picture, he may look old, but he looks healthy (he was smiling in the tape!) and all those news reports that he had plastic surgery were completely false. See, without an open media in Iraq, he couldn't get an Extreme Makeover, or at a lower level, not even a makeover with a queer eye.
Though most likely, Saddam would have executed the guy with a queer eye before allowing him to do anything.
Politically, it's a boon for President Bush, up for re-election in ten and a half short months. His administration has been getting dogged by doubts that the military can handle the escalating situation in Iraq, the rising death toll, the money being invested, the exclusive contracts to Halliburton and others, etc. This news should quiet the critics for at least a little while, especially his Democratic rivals, where this is their only issue they can effectively fight President Bush in the face of an improving economy. Sure, they could talk about the environment, and the new Medicare plan, and all those tax cuts, but the two major issues facing the country is the economy and Iraq. That being said, unemployment is dropping, albeit SLOWLY, GDP growth is lightning fast, Iraq is supposedly on its way to self-government according to its timetable, and the insurgents don't have a leader to look up to. Saddam has been captured. Now Bush must be dying to see what message his rivals will approve of next.
Though most likely, Saddam would have executed the guy with a queer eye before allowing him to do anything.
Politically, it's a boon for President Bush, up for re-election in ten and a half short months. His administration has been getting dogged by doubts that the military can handle the escalating situation in Iraq, the rising death toll, the money being invested, the exclusive contracts to Halliburton and others, etc. This news should quiet the critics for at least a little while, especially his Democratic rivals, where this is their only issue they can effectively fight President Bush in the face of an improving economy. Sure, they could talk about the environment, and the new Medicare plan, and all those tax cuts, but the two major issues facing the country is the economy and Iraq. That being said, unemployment is dropping, albeit SLOWLY, GDP growth is lightning fast, Iraq is supposedly on its way to self-government according to its timetable, and the insurgents don't have a leader to look up to. Saddam has been captured. Now Bush must be dying to see what message his rivals will approve of next.
12/10/2003
I'm coming to you live from the Doe Library as finals week has begun in earnest. Lucky or unlucky me, as the case maybe, I've got finals in the first group, the last group, and the one on Saturday. As a result, the first one was this morning, a deceptively easy one if I may say so. Deceptive since the professor's exams have always been easy but the class always seems to stumble on it.
It's been awhile since my last post that was non-movie related. But honestly, not much has happened since then.
I went to two new-age Asian restaurants. Those Americans trying to run Asian restaurants are the weirdest bunch. We heard they had decent food, so we decided to try it out. The first was P.F. Chang's. It's a Chinese bistro. The first thing that sticks out is the supposedly authentic decor, with statues of Chinese soldiers and lots of artwork. Too bad the waitress was not the same. Her first mistake was not noticing that we were Asian to begin with. Through her talk, you can tell she incorrectly assumed that we've never been to a Chinese restaurant before. She lectured us on their "unique" concept of family-style cuisine, what the dipping sauces were, etc. I'm surprised she didn't tell us how to use chopsticks. (Haha, no worries, there are forks galore.) The food, overpriced as it was, was not half-bad, though I wouldn't have minded going to a cheap dollar place instead.
Then there's the case of the Straits Cafe, located in SF and Santana Row. It's nearby that Asian decor shop where my brother likes to point out that crappy oil paintings that sit collecting dust in my grandfather's garage could probably sell for tens of thousands of dollars here. Straits serves Malaysian food, which is a collection of a whole bunch of cuisines in the Southeast Asian area. One difference between this and P.F. Chang's? The table has a lazy susan. Other than that, it was predictable fare. A combination of Indian and Thai food in my opinion. And a small amount of calamari for $10. In terms of decor, they don't even try to make it authentic. It seems utterly American. The music made it seem like one of Jeanette's online music shows.
In other news, I had the windows replaced on my apartment. My parents were afraid the contractors might come in and steal my credit card numbers or something, but that wasn't the case. The search for a roommate continues as my landlord has slashed the rent offered to $475 from $500 before and the $550 I'm currently paying. Now she calls almost every day wondering if I've found a person to move in. So now I have to make another ad. I sincerely hope no one responds. It's nice having at least a little privacy.
Finally, could someone explain to me how Steve, he of the Oakland bunch, has come to be president of the Berkeley VSA? I can see it now. No fundraising needed...they all should be able to make the money they need through trips to Cache Creek.
It's been awhile since my last post that was non-movie related. But honestly, not much has happened since then.
I went to two new-age Asian restaurants. Those Americans trying to run Asian restaurants are the weirdest bunch. We heard they had decent food, so we decided to try it out. The first was P.F. Chang's. It's a Chinese bistro. The first thing that sticks out is the supposedly authentic decor, with statues of Chinese soldiers and lots of artwork. Too bad the waitress was not the same. Her first mistake was not noticing that we were Asian to begin with. Through her talk, you can tell she incorrectly assumed that we've never been to a Chinese restaurant before. She lectured us on their "unique" concept of family-style cuisine, what the dipping sauces were, etc. I'm surprised she didn't tell us how to use chopsticks. (Haha, no worries, there are forks galore.) The food, overpriced as it was, was not half-bad, though I wouldn't have minded going to a cheap dollar place instead.
Then there's the case of the Straits Cafe, located in SF and Santana Row. It's nearby that Asian decor shop where my brother likes to point out that crappy oil paintings that sit collecting dust in my grandfather's garage could probably sell for tens of thousands of dollars here. Straits serves Malaysian food, which is a collection of a whole bunch of cuisines in the Southeast Asian area. One difference between this and P.F. Chang's? The table has a lazy susan. Other than that, it was predictable fare. A combination of Indian and Thai food in my opinion. And a small amount of calamari for $10. In terms of decor, they don't even try to make it authentic. It seems utterly American. The music made it seem like one of Jeanette's online music shows.
In other news, I had the windows replaced on my apartment. My parents were afraid the contractors might come in and steal my credit card numbers or something, but that wasn't the case. The search for a roommate continues as my landlord has slashed the rent offered to $475 from $500 before and the $550 I'm currently paying. Now she calls almost every day wondering if I've found a person to move in. So now I have to make another ad. I sincerely hope no one responds. It's nice having at least a little privacy.
Finally, could someone explain to me how Steve, he of the Oakland bunch, has come to be president of the Berkeley VSA? I can see it now. No fundraising needed...they all should be able to make the money they need through trips to Cache Creek.
12/06/2003
Runaway Jury
The widow of a murdered lawyer, shot by a madman with a semi-automatic weapon, does what any widow would do in this situation: sue the gun manufacturer of course. So she hires Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) and proceeds to sue Vicksburg Firearms. The company is obviously worried about the outcome of the case and hires a jury consultant led by Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman). But this is no ordinary jury consulting firm (Jeremy Piven seems to play this role for the plaintiffs). Armed with high-tech equipment, manpower, and unlimited sources of information, they can pick and choose jurors while manipulating the swing jurors their way through other means. Enter Nicholas Easter, played by John Cusack. By an unknown motive, he gets on that jury, allowing girlfriend Marlee (Rachel Weisz) to offer the jury to either side for a price of $10 million.
Based on the John Grisham novel and directed by Gary Fleder, this movie provides solid entertainment but nothing truly remarkable. While it has the addition of a juror's point of view and the tampering of said jury, "Runaway Jury" hits with the same level of impact of a "Practice" episode. Not even a good one, just an average one at that. It even got Dylan McDermott to cameo as the murdered lawyer. The plot holes in the beginning and the preaching at the end didn't exactly help. Hackman's scenes as a forceful manipulator, not as the helpless fool, really worked well. But other than that, the performances by some big name stars were underwhelming, especially Hoffman, who as a principled attorney, sticks to his guns and as a result, doesn't get the juicy scenes Hackman and Cusack get. So watch the first half for the interesting parts but by the time the case gets rolling, you know what exactly will happen. 2.5 stars
The widow of a murdered lawyer, shot by a madman with a semi-automatic weapon, does what any widow would do in this situation: sue the gun manufacturer of course. So she hires Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) and proceeds to sue Vicksburg Firearms. The company is obviously worried about the outcome of the case and hires a jury consultant led by Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman). But this is no ordinary jury consulting firm (Jeremy Piven seems to play this role for the plaintiffs). Armed with high-tech equipment, manpower, and unlimited sources of information, they can pick and choose jurors while manipulating the swing jurors their way through other means. Enter Nicholas Easter, played by John Cusack. By an unknown motive, he gets on that jury, allowing girlfriend Marlee (Rachel Weisz) to offer the jury to either side for a price of $10 million.
Based on the John Grisham novel and directed by Gary Fleder, this movie provides solid entertainment but nothing truly remarkable. While it has the addition of a juror's point of view and the tampering of said jury, "Runaway Jury" hits with the same level of impact of a "Practice" episode. Not even a good one, just an average one at that. It even got Dylan McDermott to cameo as the murdered lawyer. The plot holes in the beginning and the preaching at the end didn't exactly help. Hackman's scenes as a forceful manipulator, not as the helpless fool, really worked well. But other than that, the performances by some big name stars were underwhelming, especially Hoffman, who as a principled attorney, sticks to his guns and as a result, doesn't get the juicy scenes Hackman and Cusack get. So watch the first half for the interesting parts but by the time the case gets rolling, you know what exactly will happen. 2.5 stars
12/04/2003
The Last Samurai
This past Thanksgiving, I got reacquainted with the films of Akira Kurosawa, the master of Japanese cinema, by watching his best colorized film, "Ran", a Japanese version of Shakespeare's King Lear. His balance of still imagery and the realistic bloody scenes of the samurai truly describes the visionary he was. Kurosawa and a variety of other films influenced director Edward Zwick's latest creation, "The Last Samurai".
In it, Tom Cruise plays Captain Nathan Algren, a Civil War soldier now doing nothing in the year 1876 except for being a spokesman for the gun company Winchester for $25 a week. An opportunity arises to train the Japanese army into a modern fighting machine and Algren is forced to take it. Japan faces a civil war pitting the forces who want to modernize and plan ahead for the future with guns and trade agreements against the traditionalists, namely the Samurai. The emperor is loyal to both and is reluctant to commit to either side. With a couple of weeks training, the unprepared army is rushed into its first battle and is easily vanquished. Algren is taken prisoner by the leader of the samurai, Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). For the next 6 months, Algren is witness to a highly disciplined society and soon learns the ways of the samurai as well as the Japanese language. As compassionate as he is for them, he is returned to the other side as Katsumoto travels to Tokyo to try to negotiate peace. He ultimately fails and he and Algren return to the village to prepare for a fight that will decide the fate of Japan's military future.
One of the best movies of the last 15 years is Zwick's "Glory" with the similar storyline of a white man surrounded by a black army. And for the first hour, it seemed this would be the same, straight down to Algren forcing a soldier to shoot with the sounds of gunfire in the air. After Algren was captured, the movie grew into something more. We come to appreciate the Japanese way of life as Algren had. We see some in Japan turning into their American counterparts, technologically superior with money as their language of choice. And we see the distinguishing qualities of being honorable and being dishonorable.
The movie, though long at almost two and a half hours, moves quickly with a fast pace to its story. Even at its most tender moments, especially the culmination of the budding romance between Algren and his caretaker Taka, the pacing is just right, not too fast we would miss it nor too slow that it drags. Cruise is solid in his role but the real star is Watanabe, whose silence speaks volumes and otherwise does a lot with the words he speaks and the leadership he shows. The film though is guilty of placing a lot of 20th-century references into a 19th-century period piece, from some of the phrases being said to battles and situations we've seen in countless movies before. So what sets this movie apart with those countess movies? "The Last Samurai" is the complete package, full of emotion, action adventure, and a few moments of humor, including a small homage to Cruise's dance in "Risky Business".
No, it doesn't reach the level of Kurosawa, but, in this day and age, what can? 3.5 stars
This past Thanksgiving, I got reacquainted with the films of Akira Kurosawa, the master of Japanese cinema, by watching his best colorized film, "Ran", a Japanese version of Shakespeare's King Lear. His balance of still imagery and the realistic bloody scenes of the samurai truly describes the visionary he was. Kurosawa and a variety of other films influenced director Edward Zwick's latest creation, "The Last Samurai".
In it, Tom Cruise plays Captain Nathan Algren, a Civil War soldier now doing nothing in the year 1876 except for being a spokesman for the gun company Winchester for $25 a week. An opportunity arises to train the Japanese army into a modern fighting machine and Algren is forced to take it. Japan faces a civil war pitting the forces who want to modernize and plan ahead for the future with guns and trade agreements against the traditionalists, namely the Samurai. The emperor is loyal to both and is reluctant to commit to either side. With a couple of weeks training, the unprepared army is rushed into its first battle and is easily vanquished. Algren is taken prisoner by the leader of the samurai, Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). For the next 6 months, Algren is witness to a highly disciplined society and soon learns the ways of the samurai as well as the Japanese language. As compassionate as he is for them, he is returned to the other side as Katsumoto travels to Tokyo to try to negotiate peace. He ultimately fails and he and Algren return to the village to prepare for a fight that will decide the fate of Japan's military future.
One of the best movies of the last 15 years is Zwick's "Glory" with the similar storyline of a white man surrounded by a black army. And for the first hour, it seemed this would be the same, straight down to Algren forcing a soldier to shoot with the sounds of gunfire in the air. After Algren was captured, the movie grew into something more. We come to appreciate the Japanese way of life as Algren had. We see some in Japan turning into their American counterparts, technologically superior with money as their language of choice. And we see the distinguishing qualities of being honorable and being dishonorable.
The movie, though long at almost two and a half hours, moves quickly with a fast pace to its story. Even at its most tender moments, especially the culmination of the budding romance between Algren and his caretaker Taka, the pacing is just right, not too fast we would miss it nor too slow that it drags. Cruise is solid in his role but the real star is Watanabe, whose silence speaks volumes and otherwise does a lot with the words he speaks and the leadership he shows. The film though is guilty of placing a lot of 20th-century references into a 19th-century period piece, from some of the phrases being said to battles and situations we've seen in countless movies before. So what sets this movie apart with those countess movies? "The Last Samurai" is the complete package, full of emotion, action adventure, and a few moments of humor, including a small homage to Cruise's dance in "Risky Business".
No, it doesn't reach the level of Kurosawa, but, in this day and age, what can? 3.5 stars
Bad Santa
Christmas always brings a sense of joy to all who celebrate it. It's no different for Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) and Marcus (Tony Cox). Every Christmas, Willie plays a mall Santa and Marcus his elf and they go around to a different mall each year and robs them on Christmas Eve. One Christmas, Willie believed it was the right time to call it quits but with his empty pockets, he's forced to do it again for one more Christmas, this time in Phoenix with an inquisitive mall manager (John Ritter, in his final role) and a know-it-all security chief (Bernie Mac). It now seems Willie has hit rock bottom. Barely able to stand up straight with all the drinking he does, he barely gets through the day, just waiting for the holiday season to end. A few nights in, he meets a fat kid who truly believes he is Santa Claus. At first Willie exploits him, but soon a connection develops and he becomes a father figure in his life. As a result, Willie is forced to balance good and bad, leading to a showdown in the end.
I never saw "Crumb" but I did see Terry Zwigoff's "Ghost World" which I thought brought a fresh view of outcasts growing up in a new world. Zwigoff again brings his sense of style to change what we know about dark comedies, "Bad Santa" being one of the darkest comedies I've ever seen. Every minute is filled with something offensive and every minute is filled with a laugh, some out loud, others just a chuckle. But a comedy needs to have its limits and this one doesn't have any, which really turned me off. It hit rock bottom when Willie starts to beat up children. Sure, it's to defend his new friend, but come now, that's pretty low. There's also some missed opportunities. Ritter seems to disappear after the first half of the movie and Cloris Leachman is the grandmother who either sits in her recliner or makes sandwiches. Still, the movie's pretty damn funny. 2.5 stars
Christmas always brings a sense of joy to all who celebrate it. It's no different for Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) and Marcus (Tony Cox). Every Christmas, Willie plays a mall Santa and Marcus his elf and they go around to a different mall each year and robs them on Christmas Eve. One Christmas, Willie believed it was the right time to call it quits but with his empty pockets, he's forced to do it again for one more Christmas, this time in Phoenix with an inquisitive mall manager (John Ritter, in his final role) and a know-it-all security chief (Bernie Mac). It now seems Willie has hit rock bottom. Barely able to stand up straight with all the drinking he does, he barely gets through the day, just waiting for the holiday season to end. A few nights in, he meets a fat kid who truly believes he is Santa Claus. At first Willie exploits him, but soon a connection develops and he becomes a father figure in his life. As a result, Willie is forced to balance good and bad, leading to a showdown in the end.
I never saw "Crumb" but I did see Terry Zwigoff's "Ghost World" which I thought brought a fresh view of outcasts growing up in a new world. Zwigoff again brings his sense of style to change what we know about dark comedies, "Bad Santa" being one of the darkest comedies I've ever seen. Every minute is filled with something offensive and every minute is filled with a laugh, some out loud, others just a chuckle. But a comedy needs to have its limits and this one doesn't have any, which really turned me off. It hit rock bottom when Willie starts to beat up children. Sure, it's to defend his new friend, but come now, that's pretty low. There's also some missed opportunities. Ritter seems to disappear after the first half of the movie and Cloris Leachman is the grandmother who either sits in her recliner or makes sandwiches. Still, the movie's pretty damn funny. 2.5 stars
21 Grams
At first glance, the three people we get to know in this movie have absolutely nothing in common. One is a math professor who's facing heart failure with a wife who is desperate to have his baby before he dies. Another is a reformed housewife with a loving husband and two kids. She used to do drugs. She still does, but she used to too. Finally, there's the ex-con who has turned to Christianity for guidance in life and believes God has a hand in everything he does. Yet, a tragic accident brings together the lives of Paul (Sean Penn), Cristina (Naomi Watts), and Jack (Benicio Del Toro) and sends each of them on a journey through pain and pleasure, love and loss, and desperation and death.
Look closer and you'll find a wonderful film. The thing most people will notice is the non-linear format of the film, something that can blow up in the face of an inexperienced director. But even though the film really is directed (and written) by an inexperienced director Alejandro Inarritu, he shows off the skills of a professional, making us wonder about the characters while we know in the back of our minds what's going to happen though it's disorienting at first. But in fact, by the ending, it all hits us with equal, if not greater, impact than it might have been chronologically. The performances are also key to this film's success. Penn is his usual angry self and Watts is a sight to see, but the best performance comes from Del Toro. Though his character is the least featured of the three, you can really sense the passion he exudes in his role and the transformation he's forced to go through, from one who believes in the word of God to one who questions them; from reformed criminal to criminal; from a nice family guy to a loner forced to separate from his family. The jumbled scenes portray these characters on a downward spiral but in the end, we realize we all have our roles in society and there isn't much we can do about it. 3.5 stars
At first glance, the three people we get to know in this movie have absolutely nothing in common. One is a math professor who's facing heart failure with a wife who is desperate to have his baby before he dies. Another is a reformed housewife with a loving husband and two kids. She used to do drugs. She still does, but she used to too. Finally, there's the ex-con who has turned to Christianity for guidance in life and believes God has a hand in everything he does. Yet, a tragic accident brings together the lives of Paul (Sean Penn), Cristina (Naomi Watts), and Jack (Benicio Del Toro) and sends each of them on a journey through pain and pleasure, love and loss, and desperation and death.
Look closer and you'll find a wonderful film. The thing most people will notice is the non-linear format of the film, something that can blow up in the face of an inexperienced director. But even though the film really is directed (and written) by an inexperienced director Alejandro Inarritu, he shows off the skills of a professional, making us wonder about the characters while we know in the back of our minds what's going to happen though it's disorienting at first. But in fact, by the ending, it all hits us with equal, if not greater, impact than it might have been chronologically. The performances are also key to this film's success. Penn is his usual angry self and Watts is a sight to see, but the best performance comes from Del Toro. Though his character is the least featured of the three, you can really sense the passion he exudes in his role and the transformation he's forced to go through, from one who believes in the word of God to one who questions them; from reformed criminal to criminal; from a nice family guy to a loner forced to separate from his family. The jumbled scenes portray these characters on a downward spiral but in the end, we realize we all have our roles in society and there isn't much we can do about it. 3.5 stars
12/01/2003
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