Season 4, Episodes 18-19 (hulu updated)
And they stick the landing . . .
Michael’s hatred of Toby is my favorite of his idiosyncrasies. He’s delighted early on in this hour-long season finale because it’s Toby last day. He gets even giddier when he makes a connection with Toby’s replacement Holly (Amy Ryan). After Phyllis takes over the planning of Toby’s going away party, Michael and Jim give money to make it more elaborate, setting the stage for several abrupt turns, disappointments, and cliffhangers. The best running joke of the season has Holly believing that Kevin is mentally slow and she treats him as a special case. There were several other great moments: Mose looking through the bars, Phyllis agreeing to some antidepressants, and Michael bringing a security guard to escort Toby out. Even Michael singing Supertramp worked. Andy was scarcely used and I’m sure many fans wished he hadn’t shown up in this episode at all. I, for one, liked all the disastrous turns in the final 5 minutes. Anything less would cut the longevity and viability of the show.
Favorite lines:
Oscar: “The real crime, I think, was the beard.”
Michael: “You cheated on me? When I specifically asked you not to?”
Friday, May 16, 2008
The Office: Goodbye, Toby
Snap Judgments - a Quick Review of 5 Movies
Untraceable (2008)
The MILF-tastic Diane Lane plays an Oregon FBI agent in the cyber security unit who gets a tip about an internet site where people are murdered (streamed live) with elaborate set-ups so that the more people that visit the site, the faster the victims die. Director Gregory Hoblit lets the violence gets too grisly, but the film is never dull and it’s nice to see a straightforward film that doesn’t twist itself into a pretzel in the final 10 minutes. The message is a dubious one, though: it criticizes the viewing public for watching and enjoying horrible things online, but didn’t we just watch the same garbage in your movie? Now, I feel dirty. You should probably avoid this, unless you hate Tom Hanks and want to see his son Colin boil in sulfuric acid. C
Josh Hartnett is a sportswriter for a Denver newspaper stuck writing about second-rate boxing matches when he finds a chance to make the big-time. He meets an ex-boxer, a homeless, dread-locked Samuel L. Jackson, and decides to write a lengthy story about him for a magazine. After the article is published, Hartnett’s world falls apart. The themes about your hero disappointing you and forgiving your fathers for any perceived mistakes are handled well by director Rod Lurie. But Jackson has become a parody of his former great self, struggling mightily with a raspy voice and forced mannerisms. Hartnett fails yet again to catch fire on-screen, playing every scene the same (remorse = excitement = adoration?). But there are some nice unexpected plot twists and some nice supporting turns by Alan Alda and David Paymer. It would have worked better with 2 different leads. C+
Feast of Love (2007)
Once again, Morgan Freeman plays a gravitas-drenched, God-like character who others come to for advice and assistance. He plays a retiring college professor in this ensemble piece about friendship, love, and loss. There are teens in love, lesbians, adulterers, and cuckolds. The relationships between the characters are never believable or represent anything close to reality. Based on a book, the film wants to be about a human’s capacity for love and compassion, but there are too many ridiculous situations for any of it to work. The cast, including Selma Blair, Fred Ward, Radha Mitchell, and Greg Kinnear are fine, which is expected from director Robert Benton - always more interested in story and actors than the mechanics of film. And that’s OK when it’s a good story (Billy Bathgate) or a great actor in a great role (Nobody’s Fool). When you choose a story like this, anyone would go down the tubes. C-
In recent years, Jonathan Demme has turned to making documentaries. Here, he follows Jimmy Carter around in late 2006 during a tour for his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. That inflammatory title manages to offend almost everyone he encounters. Accusations of plagiarism also plague Carter as he conducts interviews with media sycophants. The presidential archival footage provides the most interesting moments in the film. But Carter maintains his incredibly naïve worldview, still insisting that his visit to North Korea in 1994 was the right thing. And his crazy ideas about Hamas had me agreeing with everything Alan Dershowitz said. For his part, Demme mostly stays out of the way, though his decision to put rap music over montages of Carter walking is curious. Your opinion of Carter will directly reflect your opinion of the movie. C+
Youth Without Youth (2007)
Francis Ford Coppola’s first film in 10 years is a decidedly mixed bag. It has stunning imagery with some of the most beautiful visuals in Coppola’s career. There is a great classical score by Osvaldo Golijov. There are terrific locations throughout Europe and Asia. And the sets and costumes are exquisitely recreated for the period (1938-1969). But, boy, is the messy story uninvolved and frequently lifeless. In 1938, a Romanian professor (Tim Roth) is struck by lightning and begins to get younger. He is brought back to society by a research physician (Bruno Ganz - Downfall) and becomes targeted by the Nazis. All the while Roth remembers the one love of his life who rejected him and died young. At the halfway point, the movie completely jumps off the rails when he travels to India to discover his girlfriend’s past lives. The metaphysical story lends itself well to discussing the nature of time and man’s inner compass/conscience. What would we do with immortality? What if those we loved got older and died? Coppola has sorta tried variations of this story and been sorta successful (Peggy Sue Got Married) and sorta not (Jack). Here, he uses devices he’s never relied on before: characters talking directly into camera, cameras flipped 90 and 180 degrees, stream-of-consciousness dream sequences. But none of it is particularly necessary let alone interesting. Frustrating – all dressed up with nowhere to go. C+
Note: The film is based on a 1976 Romanian novel so it can be forgiven for its “clichéd” ending.
2 beautiful frames from the gorgeous film, amazingly shot on Hi-def video:
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Last 5 Itunes Downloads
1. "Pork and Beans" - Weezer. 
The new single from the band's forthcoming (June 3) album is great. Classic crunchy layered power chords with great lyrics and vocals from Rivers Cuomo. Weezer songs really hit the spot. Best lyric: "Oakley makes the shades that transform a tool."
2. "Psycho" - Puddle of Mudd. This group had a decent hit with "Blurry", and they have a cool post-grunge sound. Lead singer Wes Scantlin has a Kurt-ish voice, and this song has a great "Maybe I'm the one" chorus and guitars. Worst video ever, though.
3. "So Cold" (Acoustic) - Breaking Benjamin. Not technically a download since this version isn't available, but I have been searching for this acoustic version forever and finally found it. Great song, brilliant in acoustic. Gets great at 3:22.
4. "Viva La Vida" - Coldplay. The first single from the band's forthcoming (June 1) fourth album. Not available to listen to yet unless you buy it, so go here for another song "Violet Hill" from the new album. Sounds a little hokey, actually -can't make my mind up yet. Relevant tour dates: 11/19 - Dallas; 11/18 Houston; 7/9 KC; 7/10 OKC (Tix on sale tomorrow).
5. "Supernatural Superserious" - REM. The biggest single from the 2008 album from the eponymous rockers. A rocker by REM standards. Haven't listened to it enough yet for full analysis.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Radiohead - May 9, 2008
[Guest Review - Dentist] 
[watch for reviews of this Sunday's Dallas show from Lawyer, Appraiser and Priest]
Radiohead — Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Charlotte, North Carolina May 9, 2008
Radiohead is somewhat of a paradox in the music industry. They barely registered a blip on the music radar in 1993 with the release of “Pablo Honey”, a perfectly drab album save a few standout cuts like “Thinking About You” and the career launching “Creep”, a song that on repeated occasions the band has publicly stated that they hate, but in all reality saved their arses from being relegated to the throwaway bin. Then they go on to release two stellar albums followed by a string of somewhat mediocre records that alienate all but their most ardent followers.
Click below for the rest of the review.
In addition, they haven’t exactly been a model of media darlings and oh, did I forget to mention that they didn’t prime the pump with regular tours to support the albums. Yet somehow they are consistently mentioned in the “best band/top record” discussions that constantly litter the music journals and have been namechecked as influences for loads of bands, including Coldplay, Travis, Doves, and Keane to name a few. How do they do it? In my opinion, by always staying unpredictable, consistently putting out solid, if not timeless, material and as I can attest to, putting on an unbelievable live show that truly lives up to the hype.
Friday night Radiohead played a long over-due show to a sold out crowd at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (I don’t know exactly how quickly the concert sold out, but on the day the tickets went on sale about 1-2 minutes into it, I was only able to score seats just in front of the lawn). The buildup for this tour has been immeasurable and the band currently have the #2 ranked tour in the land, according to Pollstar. Radiohead tour so infrequently that the generally held opinion among those who know anything about music is that you do everything you can to see them live. I had seen them only once before in 1998 at Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas when they toured in support of 1997’s “OK Computer”, so I knew tonight was going to be a real treat. The open-air amphitheater at venues like Verizon suits Radiohead and the music well, as it reminds me of the numerous festivals they have played in past years to glowing reviews (think Glasto 1997 and Bonnaroo 2006).
The band entered the stage with little fanfare and opened with “All I Need”, one of the standout tracks from “In Rainbows” that has a brilliant drum and bass backbeat and is properly accented by Thom’s lilting vocals. The band sounded spot on as they segued directly into “There,There” and “Airbag”, leaving little doubt as to why they command the respect that they’ve garnered as a top live band. The stage setup included an amazing arrangement of what looked to be hanging LED light strips and a horizontal screen spanning the width of the stage, split into five different segments, each one featuring a dedicated live feed focused on each band member. 
One of my favorite parts of the gig occurred when they performed “Sail to the Moon” early on in the main set. The threat of rain had been present all day and being in an uncovered area of seats, my heart sunk a bit when about three songs into the show, a light drizzle began to fall. However, the lights from the stage created an eerie effect on the haze of small raindrops and perfectly framed the beautiful song, complete with soaring vocals. The pace remained brisk, but not forced and Thom did interact with the crowd a bit, interjecting a reference to being in North Carolina and one particular phrase on at least three separate occasions that I don’t recall using since high school, if then: “Cool beans!”
One thing that struck me on retrospect is how well the material from the Kid A/Amnesiac era sounded live and kind of gave me a new respect for a couple of albums that, to be perfectly honest, didn’t really grab hold of me when they came out. Songs like “Idioteque”, “Morning Bell” and “Optimistic” all were delivered with unbelievable flair, complete with Thom flailing about like his head was on a string. That being said, I had hoped for a more proportionate offering from “The Bends” and “OK Computer”(I would pay good money to hear the lads simply play through either of those records, from start to finish). The only tracks from those albums were an amazing “Planet Telex”, complete with the sickest light show I’ve seen, changing between rainbow-colored and bright white, “Exit Music (For a Film)” and “Paranoid Android” (which Thom introduced by saying ‘This is a nasty little bastard, this one…Hope you like it.’). Other favorites included “Go Slowly” (Thom adding ‘This is a song after you’ve gotten laid…’), a song included on the extended album version of “In Rainbows” and the show closer “Reckoner”, my favorite track from the latest record.
Those of you who have tickets to see the band are in for a real treat, just don’t expect a nostalgic trip through the 1990’s. The lighting/visual effects were simply mesmerizing throughout the show , the band delivered on every level and most importantly I left wanting more. And in the end, isn’t that all you really want from a band? A
Click here for the setlist.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Alpha Dog - C+
Because of Emile Hirsch in this, Ben Foster in this, and Justin Timberlake in this, I decided to give this one a try. Hirsch plays Johnny Truelove, a drug dealer based on Jesse James Hollywood, who “allegedly” kidnapped and murdered Nicholas Markowitz in the year 2000 and became one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted. He was caught years later after being featured on Fox’s America’s Most Wanted. In the film, the names are changed to protect the guilty. The aforementioned 3 are believable as the drug-dealing and drug-taking ne’er-do-wells, talking tough and using more F-words than Joe Pesci in a Scorsese film.
(Click below and avoid Basic Instinct forever)
There are some nice directorial touches, like the freeze-framing of the future witnesses, but director Nick Cassavetes (son of John, who I just don’t get) is in over his head and lets things get out of control, allowing the whole thing to last 120 minutes, when it should have been 90. And while getting some tension during the murder scene, the movie stumbles toward the finish line (including a terrible Sharon Stone in a fat-suit). Still some strong performances and a nice naturalistic feel make this one sort of worthwhile. C+ 
Note: According to imdb, Nick Cassavetes directed The Notebook, the movie where McAdams loves Gosling.
Monday, May 12, 2008
DVD and CD Releases - May 13th
New DVD Releases:
The Great Debaters
Mad Money
Untraceable
Youth Without Youth
Click below for more DVD's and CD releases:
DVD - TV Box Sets:
The Backyardigans: High Flying Adventures
The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection: Volumes 1 & 2
Drawn Together - Uncensored!: Season Three
Incredible Hulk Double Feature
Mission: Impossible - The Fourth TV Season
Saturday Night Live: Season Three
Two and a Half Men: Season Three
DVD Special Editions/Other Releases:
A Good Man Is Hard to Find
A Raisin in the Sun
The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell
The Big Trail: Fox Grandeur Special Edition
Carve Her Name with Pride
The Cottage
Cover
Curious George: Takes a Vacation and Discovers New Things
The Day of the Outlaw
Fox Western Classics Collection
The Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly Collection
Frank Sinatra: The Early Years
Frank Sinatra: The Golden Years
Frontier(s)
The Gunfight at Dodge City
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Special Edition
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: Special Edition
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Special Edition
Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection
The Land Before Time: Through the Eyes of a Spiketail
Man of the West
Marvel Heroes Collection
The Morning Departure
National Lampoon's Cattle Call
Navajo Joe
Nora's Hair Salon 2
The One That Got Away
The Rat Pack Ultimate Collector's Edition
The Secret Invasion
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
Sinatra
Walk All Over Me
The Way West
The Westerner
New CD Releases:
10 Years - Division
The Architects - Vice
Joseph Arthur - [Title TBA] EP
Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Andrew Dost - Columbus
Duffy - Rockferry
The Explosion - Bury Me Standing Last record
Foxy Brown - Brooklyn's Don Diva
Hospital Bombers - Footnotes
Landmines - Landmines
Jason Mraz - We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things
Old 97s - Blame It on Gravity
Patti Rothberg - Double Standards
The T4 Project - Story-Based Concept Album
Toy Gun Cowboy - Big Blue
Flight of the Conchords - Life Imitates Art
Threesome offer confuses Conchords stars
A confusing offer has left Flight of the Conchords duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie red-faced.
An offer to attend a "spit roast" with a Scottish fan has left Flight of the Conchords duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie red-faced. Clement accepted the offer, made by a girl at a party in Scotland, believing he and McKenzie were being invited to a barbeque dinner.
"She said, 'I wouldn't usually ask. I'm a lesbian,' and I thought, 'Why would that stop you asking for a barbecue?'," Clement told the Sydney Morning Herald. Clement discovered a "spit-roast" was British slang for a threesome soon after and declined, mightily embarrassed, the Herald reported.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Josh Ritter in Concert, May 8, 2008, Little Rock, Ark. A
Josh Ritter, still touring behind his 2007 standout disk The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, made his way to my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, Friday night as part of his “Small Town” tour. The Rev Room, an interesting 500-person venue in Little Rock’s newly revitalized Farmer’s Market area, provided the location for his most recent victory as he won over the near-capacity crowd of slightly drunk rednecks with the good sense to know a $10 bargain of a show when they saw one.
Leading off with a pair of rockers from his most recent album, Mind’s Eye and To the Dogs or Whoever, Ritter and his band established a tempo and too-excited-to-be-cool style that would carry them through the next hour forty-five. Ritter’s exuberance, broadcast through his never-waining smile and white-man-fro, was palpable, immediately energizing the crowd. As contagious was bassist and long-time Ritter friend Zack Hickman. Hickman’s smile-inducing handle-bar mustache almost over-shadowed his driving bass lines and alluded to the Old West saloon piano player that certainly would have been his calling in an earlier day. But this was no earlier day, so Hickman entertained with rollicking background vocals, playing the stage and the audience with the ease of a man at home before a crowd. Ritter played lead and acoustic guitar. The balance of the band was a drummer, a pianist, and a second guitar. Together the quintet provided the backbone and flourishes for Ritter’s solid voice and phenomenal lyrics. And this is the thing about Josh. The guy can write. He started college as a neuroscientist before switching and crafting his own program in American History Through Narrative Folk Music. The five LP’s he’s churned out since graduation play like his senior project. His history in folk/rock.
But I digress. The show drew heavily on his last two albums, with standouts including Monster Ballads, Wolves, Here at the Right Time, and Good Man off The Animal Years. Historical Conquests saw Rumors, Right Moves, Real Long Distance, and Empty Hearts among others.. Along the way the audience was treated to a slow-dance, a disco-version of a song, a “switch” (in which the band got up, mid-song, and switched instruments for a rousing ending), and unflagging energy. The first song of the encore was just Ritter and his guitar playing my personal fav, The Temptation of Adam. This love song set in a missile silo works on more levels than Dostoevsky: as a love song, an homage to Doctor Strangelove (“I never had to learn to love her like I learned to love the bomb…”), and an examination of the male need to dominate and control in relationships. Slow and heartfelt, the rendition was perfect first-encore-material, a silent nod to its standing within his canon. The final encore alludes me, but suffice it to say the crowd was as generous in its applause as Ritter and company were with their genius.
In memory, this concert keeps growing. I think that’s because Ritter never forgot that, in spite of the thought-provoking lyrics and above-average band, it was a Friday night and half-drunk rednecks just want to be entertained. Entertain he did. It’s for this reason, if none other, that the comparisons to Springsteen and Dylan are not without merit. He knows that an audience can go to books for philosophy and poetry. They go to a concert to forget about life and sail on someone else’s waves for awhile. If you’ve got ten bucks and he’s coming any where close to you, I suggest you have the good sense to know a $10 bargain of a ticket when you see one. A
5 Great Movie Monologues
“You want get Capone? Here’s how you get him: He pulls a knife; you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital; you send one of his to the morgue. That's the “Chicago" way, and that's how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I'm making you a deal. Do you want this deal?"
The Untouchables (1987)
Sean Connery as Jim Malone
Screenplay by David Mamet
(Click below for the rest)
“Work hard? Why you little manipulative . . . Let me tell you something. I’ve worked all my life. I’ve built a firm, managed to keep it alive through lawsuits, injunctions, and evictions. I’ve survived a quadruple bypass, cancer, being born with one kidney, and having diabetes. I’ve personally managed to save a million dollars over 30 years of getting some clients 10 times that. Don’t tell me I don’t work hard. Don’t tell me I haven’t earned the right to stop, take a breath, and enjoy life. And what the hell do you know about any of this anyway? Huh? Something like this, Erin, could take forever. They’re a huge corporation. They could bury us in paperwork for the next 15 years. I’m just a guy with a small private firm.”
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Albert Finney as Ed Masry
Screenplay by Susannah Grant
“It wasn't him, Charley, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden, you came down to my dressing room and you said, "Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Wilson." You remember that? "This ain't your night" My night. I coulda taken Wilson apart. So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palookaville. You was my brother, Charley, you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so I wouldn't have to take them dives for the short-end money. You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, Charley, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley.”
On the Waterfront (1954)
Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy
Screenplay by Budd Schulberg
“Ray, people will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. “Of course, we won't mind if you look around”, you'll say. “It's only $20 per person.” They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it. For it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh. People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.”
Field of Dreams (1989)
James Earl Jones as Terence Mann
Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson
“Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country. Men, all this stuff you’ve heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is alot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball player, the toughest boxer. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Now, an Army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap. The bilious bastards who wrote that stuff about individuality for the Saturday Evening Post don’t know anything more about real battle than they do about fornicating. Now we have the finest food, equipment, the best spirit and the best men in the world. You know, by God, I actually pity those poor bastards we’re going up against. By God, I do. We’re not just going to shoot the bastards. We’re going to cut out their living guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We’re going to murder those lousy Hun bastards by the bushel. Now, some of you boys, I know, are wondering whether or not you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can assure you that you will all do your duty. The Nazis are the enemy. Wade into them. Spill their blood. Shoot them in the belly. When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that a moment before was your best friend's face, you'll know what to do. Now there’s another thing I want you to remember. I don’t want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We’re not holding anything. Let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly and we’re not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose and we're going to kick him in the ass. We're going to kick the hell out of him all the time and we're gonna go through him like crap through a goose. There’s one thing that you men will be able to say when you get back home. And you may thank God for it. 30 years from now when you’re sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks you, “What did you do in the great World War II”, you won’t have to say, "Well, I shoveled shit in Louisiana." Alright now, you sons of bitches, you know how I feel. Oh, and I will be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle, anytime, anywhere. That’s all.”
Patton (1970)
George C. Scott as General George S. Patton
Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North
Friday, May 9, 2008
NBC Thursday Night - 5/8
And 30 Rock wins by a country mile . . . (Updated with hulu links)
(Click below for 30 Rock, The Office, and Scrubs)
30 Rock: Cooter
Season 2, Episode 15 (Season Finale)
Jack meets Cooter Burger (Matthew Broderick) at his new job at Homeland Security and after multiple disappointments, they try to get fired. Back in New York, Liz has at least 5 positive home pregnancy tests and the ever-attention starved Jenna helps Kenneth get a job at the Beijing Summer Olympics. Another well-written episode by Tina Fey has early lines returning later to great effect. Great sight gags, too - with the car in the mouth and Tina’s reaction to the fact that her boobs will get bigger. The cell phone through-line also pays off beautifully at the end when Jack and Liz meet face to face.
Laugh-out-loud line: “It’s a guaranteed disaster. Like eating a burrito before sex.”
The Office: Job Fair
Season 4, Episode 17
Michael, Oscar, Pam, and Daryl try to recruit a summer intern at a job fair at Pam’s old high school and Jim, Kevin, and Andy golf with a potential customer. Michael is at his worst, grating, unfunny self as he botches the job fair. (He really needs an episode where he does something positive). Jim doesn’t fare much better by admitting several years of complacency (how noble). Jim and Pam’s romance has grown stale and Stanley continues to ruin every scene he’s in. On a positive note, Dwight and Angela's professionalism was done well - and Kevin and Andy are consistently amusing. I don’t have much hope for next week’s hour-long season finale.
Scrubs: My Princess
Dr. Cox tells his kid a bedtime story (set in medieval times) in a desperate, lame ripoff of the classic Moonlighting episode Atomic Shakespeare. Inexplicably, Dr. Kelso appeared to be back in charge. Nothing funny here, just a bunch of actors, desperate for attention. Directed by Zach Braff. This is the last Scrubs on NBC.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
5 Songs from my Pantheon
I have a hard time 'ranking' my favorite songs, but I have them loosely placed in different strata, the highest of which I'll call the 'Pantheon.'
The first set from my 'Pantheon':
1. 'Come As You Are' - Nirvana. This one seems connected to my cerebral cortex. The album version is the best, with the power of the guitar solo and the ridiculous production of Butch Vig on full display.
2. 'Stairway to Heaven' - Led Zeppelin. It may be so popular its become a cliche, but its still one of my favorite songs. The transitions in the song are genius, and I can't help but 'air drum' before "If there's a bustle in your hedgerow..." (at 4:16).
Click below for next three.
3. 'Supernatural' - Live (MTV Unplugged). 
Live's cover of this Vic Chesnutt masterpiece is haunting and shows why Live is one of the most underrated bands. (scroll down on that link to listen)
4. 'All I Want is You' - U2. Quiet and loud, this epic showcases brilliant guitar from the Edge and Bono's voice at its best. The guitar solo is in the same category as Hendrix' All Along the Watchtower for me. Great use in Reality Bites.
5. 'Sweet Child O' Mine' - Guns 'N' Roses. Best opening riff ever? Maybe. But no question that this is one of the greatest songs from the 80's. Genius.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Bruce Sprinsteen and the E Street Band - Charlotte, NC
[Guest Review - Dentist]
B+ - April 27, 2008, Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
I will readily admit that I am no Springsteen uber-fan. I can’t name all the albums or rattle off lyrics to obscure b-sides and if pressed, probably couldn’t even tell you all the names of the members of the E-Street Band (gasp!). What I do know, however, is that Bruce is an American institution and every time I hear his voice, something resounds within me that lets me know I’m listening to greatness. He can pull off blue collar/work-a-day and melancholy/introspection both with equal perfection. Click below for more on the BOSS.
Political musings aside, I, like many others, hear myself in the words of the songs and feel that certain degree of shared experience and empathy. And other than an aging Bob Dylan and Neil Young, he is one of the few remaining singer/songwriter/storytellers of the last half a century that is still relevant.
I had opportunities to see Bruce in the past, but sadly this was my first time to see him live (with or without his E-Street Band). So, the air was pregnant with anticipation when my chance finally came. Bruce and the E-Street Band came out onto the stage under the cover of darkness as the two large video screens on either side of the stage played a video montage to Danny Federici, the band’s keyboardist who had died just ten days earlier after losing a three year battle to melanoma, while Bruce sang “Souls of the Departed”. It would set the tone for the evening in a show that featured songs culled from 1973’s “The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle” to 2007’s “Magic” (it must be an arduous task to come up with an appropriate setlist, given the voluminous canon from which to choose, that doesn’t bore the band or the fans).
Highlights were “Livin’ in the Future”, “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”, “Devil’s Arcade”, and “Badlands”, all of which sounded brilliant. I was particularly struck with how tight and polished the band sounded and the sheer musicianship they all possessed. Bruce worked the stage and the crowd with a methodical prowess of a man on a mission, Max played drums like a man possessed, Little Steven wailed on guitar and Clarence proved that a sax does, in fact, belong in a rock-n-roll band.
The band played song after song after song, going directly from one right into the 
next, making them the rightful heirs to the “hardest working man in showbusiness” moniker held by Mr. James Brown all those years. Bruce did manage to tell a couple of really neat stories, mostly about Federici, including one involving some marijuana in the front seat of a car that was being towed and ended with him being incarcerated. The other crowd-pleasing moment came when a little girl held up a sign that read “I like you better than Hannah Montana” written on it. Bruce grabbed the sign and with a chuckle said, “My aspirations have been realized. We can all go home now!” It was a hilarious event, especially given the age of the person holding the sign and in light of the recent Vanity Fair photo debacle. The highlight of the evening was hearing “Thunder Road” as a part of the encore, a song that perhaps more than any other in the Springsteen repertoire resonates with me musically and lyrically (I love the “It’s a town full of losers and I’m pulling out of here to win” bit).
Negatives were few but bear mentioning here: 1) No Patti. Enough said. 2) The acoustics at the Time Warner Arena were terrible. As is the case with many arenas, the sound often comes through too heavy on the bass and the voices sometimes get lost. 3) I have never realized how many “whoo-hoo’s” and “sha-na-na’s” are attached to the choruses of Springsteen songs. In addition, in many ways, my experience suffered because as I mentioned before I have been more or less a casual fan and didn’t feel like I could fully enjoy the show like some of the “inner circle” aficionados.
That being said, Bruce Springsteen is one of those musical talents that you want to be able to tell your children and grandchildren someday “Yeah, I saw Bruce Springsteen and he was amazing!” Thankfully, I can now say that and I came away with a greater appreciation of the songwriting ability, showmanship, physical stamina and vocal range of Springsteen and his “house rockin’, pants droppin’, earth shockin’, hard rockin’, booty shakin’, love makin’, heart breakin’, soul cryin’, death defyin’ legendary E Street Band”. My only hope is that he stays around long enough for me to see him perform live again.
Favorite Scenes - Almost Famous
Lester Bangs: Aw, man. You made friends with them. See, friendship is the booze they feed you. ‘Cause they want you to get drunk on feeling like you belong.
William Miller: Well, it was fun.
LB: That’s ‘cause they make you feel cool. And hey - I met you. You are not cool.
WM: I know. Even when I thought I was, I knew I wasn't.
LB: That's because we are uncool. And while women will always be a problem for us, most of the great art in the world is about that very problem. Good-looking people – they got no spine. Their art never lasts. Well, they get the girls, but we're smarter.
WM: Yeah, I can really see that now.
LB: Yeah, that’s what great art is about: Guilt and longing. You know, love disguised as sex, and sex disguised as love... and let's face it, you got a big head start.
WM: I'm glad you were home.
LB: I'm always home. I'm uncool.
WM: Me too.
LB: You’re doing great. The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool.
WM: I feel better.
LB: My advice to you. I know you think these guys are your friends. You wanna be a true friend to them? Be honest and unmerciful.
Here's 2 more pics from different scenes in the film:
Comments welcome. I'm speechless. (Yes, that's a cigarette)
This is Conan O'Brien's replacement?
Monday, May 5, 2008
Jada Pinkett Smith's Hair
I love to pick on Scientologists, with the Smiths and the Cruises as my favorite targets. Below is a screenshot from today's Scientology nirvana, the Oprah 25 years of Tom Cruise salute, with a tribute from the Smiths. 
A few thoughts about Ms. Jada's 'do: 1. Why would you cover your eye?; 2. Do you have mange?; 3. That's a wig, right?; and 4. Billy Ray Cyrus + Perez Hilton = Cool?Click below for my favorite Tom Cruise picture, ever.
DVD and CD Releases - May 6th
New DVD Releases: 
Dans Paris
Delirious
First Sunday
The Hottie and the Nottie
I'm Not There (can't wait for Doc's review)
Over Her Dead Body
P.S. I Love You
Saawariya
Teeth
Click below for more DVD's and CD releases:
DVD - TV Box Sets:
'Allo 'Allo!: Season Eight
The 4400: Season Four
Avatar: Book III Volume 3
Bewitched: Season Six
Crossing Jordan: Season One
The Invaders: Season One
The New Adventures of Old Christine: Season Two
Speed Racer: The Next Generation
DVD Special Editions/Other Releases:
The 2007 Academy Award-Nominated Short Films
Ace of Hearts
Bella
The Bridges of Madison County: Deluxe Edition
The Business of Being Born
Hollywood Dreams
How to Cook Your Life
Mitch Albom's For One More Day
Serial Mom: Collector's Edition
Twister: Special Edition
Who's Your Monkey?
New CD Releases:
Clay Aiken - On My Way Here
Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime kids album
Elvis Costello - Momofuku
The Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols
Craig David - Trust Me
Gavin DeGraw - Gavin DeGraw
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark
The Dreamscapes Project - Pity In A Heartbeat
Fern Knight - Fern Knight
Tim Fite - Fair Ain't Fair
Firewater - The Golden Hour
IAMX - The Alternative US Release
Iron Maiden - Somewhere Back In Time Best-of
Ja Rule - The Mirror
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Millencolin Machine - 15
Mint Condition - e-Life
mr. Gnome - Deliver This Creature
No Age - Nouns
Rob GEE - Says
Setting Sun - To The Next Place
Keith Sweat - Just Me
Tokio - Hotel Scream
NBC Thursday Night 5/1
Better late than never. Back by popular (!?!) demand, this past weeks’ offerings:
Click below for The Office, 30 Rock, and Scrubs – kind of.
The Office: Did I Stutter?
Season 4, Episode 16
The second lackluster episode in a row has Stanley disrespecting Michael during a meeting, and Michael struggling and failing to discipline him. More dull drama here than laughs with only Dwight providing anything resembling comedy. It looks like Toby is leaving at the end of the season. Too bad they can’t get rid of Stanley and Ryan instead. See it, or not, here.
30 Rock: Sandwich Day
Season 2, Episode 14
Another of Liz’s ex-boyfriends (Floyd) returns and she tries to make him regret leaving her for a cushy job in Cleveland. Meanwhile, Jack tries to wake up his old boss from a coma when he gets demoted. The show moves at a breakneck speed and rips off the Punch-Drunk Love musical score beautifully. Lots of great lines, but my favorite: “I wolfed my Teamsters’ sub.” which Floyd misunderstands as a euphemism. See it here. And if you like the movie Amadeus, the terrific prior episode (Succession) is here. After the last 2 weeks, 30 Rock is back on top for the season. These last 2 episodes continue to improve with repeat viewings. Next week: Season finale where Liz might be pregnant.
Scrubs: My Waste of Time
Season 7, Episode 11
Regarding the title, I appropriately fast forwarded through most of this, but did like JD admitting he applies someone else’s wisdom to his own life every week. This felt like a set up for the season/series finale (because it was). One bad thing the writers’ strike did for many shows was have these long character arcs planned at the beginning of the season fall quickly to the ground after the usual 22 episodes becomes 12-18.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Iron Man - B
In theaters. Rated PG-13, 126 minutes. Trailer.
Superhero movies are hard to make truly interesting. There's always a flawed individual that obtains or creates a 'superpower' and has to come to terms with their new power and its impact on themselves and those around them. There's always a bad guy that has to be (barely) beaten and a pretty girl to be squired. With Iron Man, director Jon Favreau has carved out an enjoyable and slightly funny addition to the genre.
The film belongs to Robert Downey, Jr., who uses his off-screen persona to color the viewers' feelings about his character, pre-redemption. His jaded wise-guy attitude is perfect for his role as Tony Stark, billionaire genius weapons maker with no responsibility. Click below for more on Iron Man.
After his visit to a war zone to debut a new weapon goes bad, he finds himself a captive of a Taliban-type rebel outfit that demands he build them a replica of the 
new weapon. Instead, he works to construct a tiny power generator and iron suit that will allow him to escape and fly away. After it does, he changes his ways, renounces his weapons maker company and begins to develop the iron man suit in private. Trouble is, his partner in the company (and old friend of Tony's father) Obadiah (Jeff Bridges), doesn't share in his epiphany and only wants to keep developing weapons. Tony, of course, is successful in developing a supercool Robocop/Rocketeer suit that allows him to fly into space and be a general badass. Obadiah steals the technology and a typical fight ensues, with Tony coming out on top.
The love interest is a still foxy Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Stark's high level assistant. Her role is barely more than 1 dimensional and seems like an odd choice for her. Jeff Bridges is good as the bearded Lex Luthor character, using his booming voice and intimidating presence to strong effect.
The first half of the film works very well, with Downey's character as the centerpiece and his smarminess in full swing. Once he is emboldened with a mission, the film gets predictable and even boring in some patches. Favreau does a good job with the action and flying sequences, as well as the suit. This is the kind of movie that can turn into a Mystery Science Theater candidate without strong and smart direction. Overall, a decent movie and a good 'superhero' movie.
Recent DVD Releases
Click on the title for the original theatrical reviews.
Charlie Wilson’s War
Unfairly lambasted by critics, this wildly entertaining film contains some of the best dialogue this side of The Departed. Aaron Sorkin’s hilarious, thoughtful script is based on a novel which tells the story of Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) who is able to fund the people of Afghanistan with money to fight the Russians in the 1980s. A CIA agent (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a Houston socialite (Julia Roberts) feature prominently in helping him. There are some scenes that are so expertly crafted and executed, that they need instant repeat viewing. Specifically: Hoffman’s first 2 scenes with Hanks (in his office with the bottle of Scotch and in the park with the weapons expert).
(Click below for a PSH lovefest)
Unfortunately, the movie seems to go out of its way to restore some credibility to Dan Rather and take cheap shots at Rudy Giuliani. Near the end, however, it unexpectedly turns up pro-Iraq, nakedly encouraging America to support the rebuilding process. Director Mike Nichols never really finds a specific style, but is smart enough to let the story and script do the heavy lifting and keeps the tone just right. This is easily Hanks’s best performance since Cast Away and Hoffman deserved his Oscar nomination. Will this film find the huge audience it deserves on video and cable? We’ll see. B+
The Savages
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s third great performance of 2007 won him an Independent Spirit 
Award and Laura Linney received an Oscar nomination, though I’m not sure her character is any different than the one in You Can Count on Me (complete with an affair with a married man). As the brother and sister dealing with a dying father, the duo has great scenes together, but the story never really catches fire, mostly because every character is intentionally flawed or unlikable. And there are lots more confrontations than reconciliations, but some may consider that a good thing. Hoffman is the new master of versatility. His subdued and thoughtful performance is completely different than his hypercharged performance in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and his witty, hilarious turn in Charlie Wilson’s War. 2 years after his Oscar win for Capote, he has topped himself 3 times. B
Yes, I get it: Blair Witch meets Godzilla. Blair Witch works better since there were no fake monsters or fake action scenes and it was kinda all in your head. Godzilla (not the crappy Emmerich version) works better because it plays for laughs. In Cloverfield, we get a bunch of vacuous, godless Manhattan assholes failing miserably at comedy, drama, romance, action, sincerity, acting, and credibility. Did I leave anything out? Oh, yes – this movie sucks. D+
Friday, May 2, 2008
2 More DVDs to Avoid
The Hunting Party – (2007)
In the year 2000, 5 journalists (including 3 Americans) reunite in Bosnia 5 years after the war ended. They hear a rumor about a war criminal’s location and when they start asking questions, they’re assumed to be a CIA hit squad. For the movie, a stranger-than-fiction story is fictionalized to its detriment by creating a false backstory and changing the number and in one case, the sex of the characters. Director Richard Shepard found a nice balance of comedy and drama with his last feature (The Matador – B), but here the forced attempts at humor (by Richard Gere and Terrence Howard, no less) seem completely inappropriate upon the backdrop a bona fide war, complete with genocide, gang rapes, and torture. The special feature on the DVD that shows two of the real life journalists talking about their experience is much more fascinating. They should have stuck with the truth. C
(Click below to avoid the Full Langella)
Starting out in the Evening - (2007) 
The problems of 4 or 5 Manhattanites really don’t amount to a hill of beans in the this mundane, tedious film about a graduate student (Lauren Ambrose – Six Feet Under) who interviews a “great” writer (Frank Langella) for her thesis and delves into his past and how it affects his novels. Meanwhile, his 40 year old daughter (Lili Taylor) has relationship problems. Kill me now. Somehow, Langella received many critic acting award nominations last year (including a win with the Boston Critics). Also, somehow the Full Langella makes it into a PG-13 movie. Maybe the MPAA nodded off with boredom. Like most movies about “great novelists” (Finding Forester and Stranger Than Fiction come to mind), they’re assuming facts not in evidence. Admittedly, it’s difficult to prove a “great novelist” in a visual and auditory medium. C
