Movie Review- "Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel"

Wow. This is my first movie review in quite some time. Let's see if I remember how to do this.

Regular readers of this blog might be surprised that I am reviewing this film. You wouldn't think that this would be my type of film. And, you'd be mostly right. Regular readers know that my genre of choice is heavy drama. But, I saw it. So let's get to it:

This film is CUTE. That's not a bad thing. It really is adorable. I wasn't feeling bad before I saw, it but it certainly put me in a good mood after.

The plot is pretty much what you'd think it is. It follows the Chipmunks as they try to navigate through "normal" life as rock stars. This includes mostly living with another guardian, as David Seville is in the hospital and going to high school. Along the way, they encounter the normal travails of life in high school. They also find an end to their isolation. By that, I mean they also come across other singing chipmunks, specifically of the female variety. These fellow rodents are an all-girl trio called The Chippettes.

I'm not really an actor by any stretch of the imagination (having been in only a couple plays). But you have to remember that, acting, despite what you may think, is actually hard work. Think about that! Even the worst film you've ever seen, a whole team of people worked hard on that. This is not to say that the end results may not be terrible, because they sometimes are. All I'm saying is when watching a film like this, you should probably know what you're getting into. That's a long, drawn-out way of saying the acting is adequate for a film like this.

So, that leaves 2 things left to mention. The "That Guy" factor is decent here. Jason Lee, of course, plays David Seville. The bigger "that guy" is actually a woman in this film. It's Wendie Mallick. She's well-known for her work on TV. Many of my dear readers will remember her work on "Just Shoot Me". She plays the principal. A principal who has a tattoo of Alvin and the Chipmunks on her forearm. That'd be so rad if she had that in real life. Maybe a bit creepy as well. Still cool, though. Besides, according to imdb.com, she's from Buffalo, NY!

The discussion factor is good if you have kids. You can explore issues of family, friendship, school, etc.

This is a great film for kids, and a good way to kill an hour-and-a-half. It's cute. Not much else needs to be said.

Acting: B
Directing: A-
That Guy: A-
Overall: B+

Johnny Cash- Yes or No

Does this look like Johnny Cash to you? It's supposed to be a drawing of him, but i just don't see it. And I don't wanna hear about how I would recognize him if I was really a fan.

image- http://www.teefury.com

Oscar Picks- Pre-Awards Edition

Since the Academy Awards are on this evening, and since I have made it my personal mission this year to see all of the best picture nominees, I guess I should probably weigh in on tonight awards.

I'm only picking the so-called "Big 5": Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress. I will give my pick of what should win (SW), and what I believe will win (WW). Much of this is moot, since "Gran Torino" got the shaft. I'll report later on my scorecard.

Best Picture:
SW- The Reader
WW- Benjamin Button

Best Director:
SW- Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
WW- same

Best Actor:
SW- Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
WW- Sean Penn (Milk) or Brad Pitt (Benjamin Button)

Best Actress:
SW- Kate Winslet (The Reader)
WW- same

Best Supporting Actor:
SW- Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
WW- Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)

Best Supporting Actress
SW- Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
WW- Taraji P. Henson (Benjamin Button)

Check back later to see how well I scored.

Play Pics- Immanuel, Gowanda, NY

We took the play on the road (see previous post regarding the play). We had the second performance at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Gowanda, NY. These are the pics from that night.

The play was titled, "The Great Geek Tragedy". It's about a guy who has had all sorts of terrible things happen to him in his life, but has always had his faith to get him through them. As the play unfolds, he begins to have a crisis of faith. And he is helped along in that crisis by a number of the people whom he has touched throughout his life.

Enjoy the pics!

Play Pics- Dress Rehearsal

As some of you may or may not know, I was in a play recently. A friend, and fellow pastor in my circuit, has a real gift for storytelling. He wrote and directed it. He's also the big guy in 2 of the pics. These are the pics from dress rehearsal.

Enjoy!

Movie Review- "Frost/Nixon"

I was very much looking forward to seeing this film. I finally got an opportunity on Saturday. I gotta say, the film left me a bit confused. Not as to the plot or to the message, mind you. I am confused as to why it was nominated for Best Picture, while Gran Torino was snubbed.

This is not to say that "Frost/Nixon" is not a good movie. It is. It features some strong performances by the actors. In fact, these performances (specifically Frank Langella as Nixon) are probably what got the film the nomination. Actually, that's not really a fair statement. Let me explain why.

See, the Academy Awards, in addition to honoring the art of film making, serve as a good cultural barometer. In other words, it's possible to gauge the general mood of the populace by observing what the Academy chooses to honor. (Or, at least, it's possible to gauge the mood of the previous year.) This, I believe, is at the heart of the reason for the nomination.

There was, prior to the November presidential election, a tense mood in the United States. There was also a great deal of anger and anxiety. And a large portion of that anger and anxiety was assigned to the previous administration. Many, including myself) felt the administration was corrupt, and arrogant in its corruption. Many also, including myself, we upset because the administration seemed to be getting away with it. Essentially, we wanted some sort of comeuppance.

This was the way many people also felt about and during the Nixon administration. This is best demonstrated in the line from the film, "I want to give Richard Nixon the trial he never had." A good summation of the times. What I'm getting at here is that there is a sense (or was a sense) of needing a similar event from George W. Bush. I'm not so sure of the necessity for that now. After all, he had approval ratings lower than Nixon's, and gave much more incriminating testimony in our modern 24-hour news cycles. Plus, we are already seeing the results of that administration's policies both domestically (economic crisis) and internationally (America's terrible reputation in most of the world).

But I digress. The point is, you cannot stop the people from making such parallels. Let me share 1 thing which highlights this. The big, climactic line in the film is when Nixon says, "When the president does it, it's not illegal." When that line was aid, several people in the theater around me whispered, "That sounds like Bush." Take that for what it's worth.

One good thing about this movie is that it weaves in archival footage from the times. But, as I said before, without the strong performances, this probably wouldn't have garnered the Best Picture nomination. But the best word to describe this film is "effective".

The discussion factor is high. Not only for the parallels I mentioned above. Other issues mentioned include, but are not limited to the distinction between power and authority, the limits of presidential power, the use of media in all aspects of life, as well as others.

The "that guy" factor is fairly high as well.

Acting: A-
Directing: B
That Guy: B
Overall: B+

The Artists List

I've been watching a fair amount of the Ovation channel as of late. So, I decided it was probably time to publish a list of my fave artists. Most are painters, but not all of them. I don't really favor one style over another. I just know what I like. The list, as always is in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. Paul Cezanne
2. Piet Mondrian
3. Alex Ross
4. Henri Matisse
5. Josh Agle
6. Richard Serra
7. Edward Gorey
8. Christo
9. Dale Chihuly
10. John Caldwell
11. John James Audobon

The Poets List

To be honest, the idea for this list came to me in the shower yesterday morning. I don't know why I was thinking about poetry and poets at that time, but, apparently I was.

As many of you dear readers know,I was an English major in college. I loved literature (and still do). I always tell people that English is the best thing to major in. Why? because when you tell people that you major in English, a good many of them will think you are a sensitive poet. A smaller faction will assume you are lonely and angst-ridden. I was not, but I knew people who were.

I even fancied myself a poet and tried my hand at it. I published a chapbook. It was a book of haiku. Maybe I'll put some of those poems on the blog. The book was called "Haiku Fuel".

Anyway, here's a list of my fave writers of poetry. As with all my lists, they writers are listed in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. Langston Hughes
2. Adrienne Rich
3. Anne Sexton
4. Denise Levertov
5. James Wright
6. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
7. Jim McWilliams
8. Anne Bradstreet
9. e.e. cummings
10. Kevin Coval

I've actually met 2 of the poets on this list. Jim McWilliams, at last check lives in Columbia, MO. He and I met when we both worked for Vitamin World back in the late 90's. He inspired me to put my chapbook together and even helped me publish it. I lost track of him, but I'll always be grateful for his friendship, inspiration, and help.

Celeb Jesus

I could not pass this up. I found this in the Fall 2008 catalog for Concordia Publishing House, on page 2. I'll also post the link at the bottom. It's an art print called "The Seeker." But doesn't the face of Christ look a heck of a lot like Gene Wilder? Or possibly Nicholas Cage.

I about fell out of my chair. Have fun, dear readers!

http://www.cph.org/cphstore/product.asp?category=&part%5Fno=900002&find%5Fcategory=&find%5Fdescription=&find%5Fpart%5Fdesc=the+seeker

Movie Review- "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

This movie put me in a weird mood when I saw it. Here again, it was another film that I would have liked to have seen with someone. However, trying to get people in my age bracket to come with you when you say, "Let's go see the new Woody Allen movie" is pretty difficult. But what can you do?

The movie is about 2 friends who go to Barcelona for a summer. To make a long story short, they meet an artist, and both of them fall in love with him. However, they deal with their love for him in very different ways. Throw in a neurotic ex-wife to the mix along with a beautiful backdrop in Spain.

Let me put another bias on the table: I'm a big Woody Allen fan. Ever since college, I've liked his work. Oddly, I came to know his work through his prose rather than his films. But I digress.

In the film, Woody goes back to exploring relationships, boundaries in relationships, morals and ethics, and the like. Additionally, he addresses the issue of passion, and the consequences of acting according to said passion. This, however, has another side. Just as there are after-effects of acting on passion, so there are consequences for not doing so. Allen addresses this quite matter-of-factly. It seems as of he is not making value judgements here, but I believe he is.

The artist is played by Javier Bardem. He won an Oscar for his performance in last year's "No Country For Old Men." And he deserved it. (That film was also last year's Best Picture.) Another good job by this actor. That's pretty much all I can say about his performance.

The bigger story, for me, is Scarlett Johansson. She makes a great muse for Allen. they seem to work very well together. I've enjoyed their other collaborations ("Match Point" and "Scoop"). She plays a free spirit, and plays it well. I've known people like her character, and she pretty much portrays them nearly flawlessly.

Like I said before, this movie put me in a really weird mood. I wasn't exactly sure what to make of it. Actually, I had the same reaction when I saw Allen's "Melinda and Melinda". I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, and I wasn't quite sure how I felt about the outcome. This movie raises some quite profound questions (listed above). I have definite ideas about relationship boundaries, and I consider myself to be a fairly passionate person. Allen is a master at making me think. I don't find myself agreeing with him and his worldview often. But he does make a great point at the beginning of the film when he introduces the character of Cristina (Scarlett Johansson). Her character believes that suffering is simply a part of living passionately (a paraphrase).

This film, like the others I've seen recently is worth seeing, if only for the dialogue factor. That is the great conversations that will emerge as a result of seeing the film. The that guy factor does not disappoint either (Kevin Dunn, who played John Candy's brother in "Only the Lonely").

Acting: A-
Directing A
That Guy Factor: C+
Overall: B

The Movie List

This is the first of many lists that will be forthcoming on this blog. I discovered I like making lists.

This first one if my favorite movies. Note: Favorite. Not the best movies ever made. Some are classics. Some are awful. They run the gamut genre-wise. But for whatever reason, they evoke great emotion in me. And they are listed in no particular order. I will watch these whenver. I will interrupt other things to watch these movies.

Without further ado:

1. Billy Jack
2. Annie Hall
3. Hannah and Her Sisters
4. Lady in the Water
5. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
6. Batman (1989)
7. The Seventh Seal
8. Beavis and Butt-head Do America
9. Patton
10. As Good as it Gets
11. The Godfather
12. Pulp Fiction
13. No Country For Old Men
14. The Mask of Zorro
15. Dances With Wolves
16. In the Heat of the Night
17. The Black Cauldron
18. Private Fears in Public Places

Review- The Man They Could Not Hang

I guess I should explain why I'm reviewing a movie form 1939, and not a current flick. So let me start at the beginning:

Tonight was a wonderful experience. I found out that this place in North Tonawanda called the Riviera Theater is showing films from 1939 this summer as part of a series. I was thrilled! I love old movies, and if I can get the chance to see them on the big screen, that just sweetens the deal.

So I eventually get there. North Tonawanda is quite a hike from Silver Creek, as is just about everything in the Buffalo area, except Dunkirk and Fredonia. Anyway, I get there with time to kill. Fortunately, there's an Irish pub right next to the theater. I stop in for a quick Labatt Blue to kill time.

I bought my ticket and was transported back in time. The Riviera's interior is old-school and gorgeous! It made me think of this now-defunct movie house in the STL called the Avalon. Being there reminded me of some of the good times I had at the Avalon. Plus, it was on $6 to get in, and the snacks were moderately priced. But, the proceeds to go benefit the Riviera restoration efforts. Before the film started there was a brief intro by the director of the Buffalo International Film Festival. Then there was an old-school Popeye cartoon from that era. A real treat all the way around.

Now, onto the main event: I tend to view old movies through a set of rose-colored glasses. Thus, I give them breaks that I don't give to newer films. You have to remember the context of the audience at the time. You have to ask what was going on in American culture at the time? Was there a war? What were peoples' attitudes regarding race relations, politics, etc? But I digress. That said, this movie certainly fits into that mold.

This film is technically classified as a horror film (also, its a B-movie). However, that depends on what people think is scary. In this movie, Boris Karloff plays a mad scientist (go figure). he invents an artificial heart which can reanimate the dead. he tries an experiment, but it goes wrong, and the subject dies. He is charged with murder, tried, and convicted. He is sentenced to death by hanging. After the execution, his former assistant tries the experiment on him, and it works. So, he decides to wreak vengeance on those who sent him to the gallows.

The plot moves pretty fast,a s it's quite a short movie. Film snobs and other pretentious folks would probably find a lot to dislike about this film. But, I must disagree. I've already stated my biases. I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, there was really no "that guy" factor for me. But this may simply be due to my lack of familiarity with the character actors of that era.

As I drove home, I reflected on the movie, as I saw it alone. I came to the conclusion that even though Boris Karloff played a lot of the same character (the mad scientist) he really was quite an underrated actor. I've seen his 2 biggest films, Frankenstein (1931) and The Mummy (1932). Granted, I haven't seen all that many of his movies. But from what I have seen, my 3 favorite performances were in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), where he reprises his role as the monster, and Isle of the Dead and The Body Snatcher (both 1945). I will definitely be seeing more of this great artist's work.

Here's the link to the Riviera: http://www.rivieratheatre.org/

Movie Review- The Happening

So, tonight I saw M. Night Shyamalan's latest film "The Happening." I was left kinda confused. But more on that later.

This was the kind of movie that I really wish I could have seen with somebody else. It cries out for post-screening discussion (preferably with wings and beer). Like I said, I was confused by the film.

I couldn't figure out what exactly "the happening" was supposed to be. I guess it's just some natural/supernatural force which cannot be explained. That's what they allude to in the movie anyway.

So, what exactly was the message? Is it environmental? Is it spiritual/religious/quasi-spiritual & quasi-religious? Is it political? Is it scientific? Perhaps it is all of the above, since all of them intersect at some point.

As to the film itself: M.Night has gotten a bit weaker over the years. Is he this generation's Hitchcock, as some called him a few years back? That remains to be seen, after he builds up his body of work. I still think his best film to date is "Signs," though many disagree and make a good case for "The Sixth Sense." Plus,I actually loved "Lady in the Water." To be perfectly honest, Shyamalan is my 2nd-fave director (behind Woody Allen). But a true fan is always critical, not blinded.

The performances, I felt, were a bit weak. I've seen what Mark Wahlberg can do. If you doubt, check out "The Departed" for the performance he gives in that Scorsese-helmed dynamo. Maybe he just shot his load with that one. I don't know. I thought John Leguizamo's too-short performance was really good. He conveyed a sense of fear and intensity that should have permeated the whole movie. the little girl who portrays his daughter did a fine job of reflecting this as well.

I felt that Zooey Deschanel's performance was OK. But, she, like Wahlberg, demonstrated a clear lack of intensity, except for the climactic scene after "the event." That was actually a great scene in my book.

The cinematography and camera work was very good, as Night's films usually are. Especially good were the rural scenes.

One other thing which took away from the film for me was a personal thing. I got it from ESPN's website a few years back, when they rated sports movies. It's called the "That Guy Factor." It actually makes a lot of sense. It's the character actor who has a part in the film, either major or minor. They are actually and actively involved in the plot. Basically, it's more substantive than a cameo. It's the character who makes you go "Hey! That's uhh...that's uhh..that guy! What's his name?" Great "that guys" in movies today include Bob Balaban, Will Patton, etc. Long story short, there's no "that guy" in this movie.

It's worth seeing, if only for the discussion factor. Not for the squeamish (which I usually am), as it is graphic (but not gory) and intense in that regard. Overall, probably a C+ effort. Good writing and directing, but a better casting would have made this a much better picture.