Cars 2

If you have any knowledge of preschool kids (preferably legal), then you know that to them the original Cars is a certified phenomenon. And the reason, as far as I can tell through my diligent journalistic research, is simple: the movie is, well, simple. Sure, there's the required kids movie message about, I don't know, friendship or fitting in or something, but it is also about cars talking, joking, and most importantly, racing. There's really not much that even the most average child wouldn't understand (not that every child isn't special in his or her own way, or something).

Cars 2 suffers from the typical forced sequel ailment: it's too complicated. Good ol' Lightning McQueen is relegated to a supporting role, as are the race sequences (which are once again fabulously animated), in favor of goofy sidekick Mater falling into an international spy ring conspiracy involving a mysterious alternative energy source. That sounds more like Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon's next project than something for 4 year olds. And Mater, like most comic relief, is best served as a side dish. The movie is still loaded with the usual Pixar cleverness, though there is a lot more generic violence that seems out of place in one of their movies.

There are definite pluses, most of which involve the John Turturro-voiced Formula One racer, Francesco Bernoulli. And then there is the voice-cameo from none other than the man himself, Bruce Campbell. Okay, that was pretty cool. There is a lot to like here, but I think they missed the mark in following up the original. I'm sure I will see this numerous more times and my opinion may change, but for now I have to give it a heavy-hearted...MINUS.

The Green Hornet

Well, that's not what I was expecting. I watched this because it was directed by Michel Gondry and, yes, there are some creative Gondry flourishes, but overall it's your everyday formulaic action comedy. No, what sets this apart is, wait for it...the acting. Seth Rogan is in full Seth Rogan mode ( I mean that in the good way). Korean pop singer Jay Chou, while a bit hard to understand at times as martial artist and engineer extraordinaire Kato, shows good comedic timing and chemistry with Rogan. And then there's the great Christoph Waltz as the Bad Guy. His first scene (with James Franco is, well, watch it). And get this, 30 minutes in, who pops up but Cameron Diaz. I thought the same thing, but she's mostly harmless here. Don't worry.

Not sure why this got such poor reviews. I thought it was a lot of fun. PLUS

Lawyer Up

So, I came across this. What a great idea, particularly the title.

Why didn't we think of that first?

In completely unrelated news with no subtextual implications, here's the trailer for the film Warrior that VHL mentioned in the last 'cast.

Radicals, Dude

You know how it is, once you become interested in something you are hyper-aware of that something everywhere you look. As you know from my recent posts (here and here), I've had 70s era terrorism and the whole revolutionary counter-establishment movement and my mind. So, of course, I came across a very telling statement in a book I just completed (and highly recommend), Popular Crime by Bill James.

They were good people, intent on making the world a better place. But in their intense desire to make the world a better place, a few of them had trapped themselves in a paranoid fantasy about the world in which they actually lived. Few of them had never suffered anything very much, and, as they were focused on the suffering of the oppressed, they needed suffering to feel authentic.

...Some of the radicals had slipped inside a prism of unforgivable injustices, and they saw the world through that prism. The rays of the sun turned left when they passed through the radical rainbow, and nothing they said or did made any sense when you got outside their bubble. (284)

I think that's a pretty fair assessment. Not for the extremists and natural born troublemakers, but for the majority of the followers. Those dumb kids probably had noble intentions, or at least believed they did, but they weren't called radicals for nothing. Nothing good ever comes from extremism or fundamentalism. Except some films, of course.

You're A Big Boy Now

Just completed my Francis Ford Coppola collection with this his student film from UCLA. There is some debate if this really is his first film...he has other credits while working for Roger Corman and editing some 1960s soft core porn. But this as a student film is pretty inventive...very much from a different era...but you see plenty of glimpses of Coppola genius and genuine honesty, especially in the lost and longing love of the protagonist with his wanna be girlfriend, Barbra Darling. The soundtrack sounds like just an avenue for a full film music video for the Lovin' Spoonful...and the lead actor is pretty terrible and over the top...but this film is genuine, fun, and has some really great side characters, especially Rip Torn and Karen Black. This is a real sweet film, but again it has a lot of 60s in it. PLUS

SMTV: Preview

Check it: Sarah Michelle Gellar makes her triumphant return to television this fall.

Two things, obviously it's a little early to call it triumphant, especially since I have no idea what's going on in this trailer. And two, the CW is, well, it is a television network. Apparently.

So, there you go.

SMTV: 2010-11 Season Recap

The past nine months have been a war of attrition between me and the TV, a war which I either won or lost depending on how big a loser you think I am. By the time May rolled through, I was barely watching anything, tired of trying to find something to watch and exhausted by what I found. There is quality out there and I thank your god for giving me the fortitude to find it.

Best Comedy: Parks and Recreation
This had two things working in its favor when it first aired: a strong pedigree, and thus, high expectations; and a free-falling network in NBC. These factors combined to give the writers time to work out the kinks and find the right formula for success. At first, this was just a platform for star Amy Poehler to play Amy Poehler. The show revolved almost solely around her character, Leslie Knope, and more accurately, her wacky behavior. This may have worked at skit length on SNL (or not, as is their standard), but it got old before the first commercial break in a sitcom. So, the writers decided to expand the storylines to incorporate the talented supporting cast while at the same time toning down Knope's antics. The key, it turned out, was that while Poehler can play manic as good as anyone, her killer trait is a down-to-earth likeability. Her sweetness makes her fits of hysteria all the more fun to watch. This season, the full time additions of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe have given the show even more depth and made it something to look forward to every week. Bonus: Ron Swanson is the first civil service role model. At least mine.

Best Drama: Justified
The coolest show on TV thanks in large part to the coolest character, Timothy Olyphant's U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens. Olyphant is all charm and swagger and makes it cool to cheer for the good guy again (though one with an itchy trigger finger). Walter Goggins picks up where he left off on The Shield as the guy you love to hate (or in this case, love to hate to love). Highly recommend using the summer to catch up with this.

Around the...well no one has a "dial" anymore, do they? At least no one who would be reading this on the Intertubes. And remotes don't click anymore either, so "clicker" is out, too. Yet another way technology is ruining our lives. Thoughts?

30 Rock: Last year's best comedy is still on top of its game, but has plateaued. It was inevitable. It's usually as funny as it ever was, but it's just not going anywhere new. Expect a decline.

The Office: There's nothing more to say at this point. I think they messed up Michael's farewell episode (particularly his final scene with Pam...though the one with Jim was well done). Will Ferrell was a nice change-up, but his run was necessarily brief. Who'll be the boss next year? I can't believe how little I care. The better question is will I watch out of habit? (Also, Jim Carrey on the final episode? Well played. I know I'm not the most objective critic here, but his accent was pathetically laughable, though I hesitate to use that word as it may be misinterpreted that I actually laughed.)

Raising Hope: The surprise of last fall finished out a solid first season. I stick with my concern that it may fall down off My Name is Earl cliff, but for now I'll enjoy the excellent comedic work of Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt.

The Simpsons: For all the knocks on this show, it can still be pretty funny at times. Unfortunately, those times are about midway through every third episode. I hear next season they are going to have shows about Lisa not wanting to be smart anymore and Marge wanting something more out of her life.

South Park: Like The Simpsons in that it has been on so long that you tend to take it for granted. But unlike that other show, it is still relevant, and maybe more so than anything else on TV. And I still don't understand how they can turn around an episode to address the most recent news and celebrity stupidity so quickly. I think next year The Simpsons have an episode about Janet Jackson's nipple.

Workaholics: Vinny High Life recommended, Frank approved. This is one of those shows where there is no logical reason to like it other than it's funny. Good sign: it has steadily improved throughout the season, the finale of which airs this Wednesday night. Help VHL out. He can't figure out who the Adam character reminds him of. I suggested Jack Black meets Seann William Scott. Leave comment below.

Eagleheart: Did you watch this? You needed to have watched this. The closest anyone has come to recapturing the vibe of Get a Life. If you know me, you know that is the highest praise.

Bob's Burgers: Not much buzz about this show, but I really like it. H. Jon Benjamin (Bob, as well as TBS's Archer) has a voice that just makes me laugh, and outstanding delivery. But the kids seal the deal, especially Kristen Schaal as the wise-ass youngest daughter. The only drawback is the wife is from the Peggy Hill school of show killing. The less of her the better.

Community: An incredible turnaround from where this started last year. While still not consistently laugh aloud funny, it is the most ambitious and creative sitcom on TV, and honestly, one of the most ever. Most ambitious and creative. That wasn't the best sentence.

House: There is nothing left here. I'm giving it one more season and then it has to end one way or another. The season finale seemed desperate, a cheap visual stunt. I thought Amber Tamblyn had a very good run, but it sure is nice to have Olivia Wilde back in the mix.

Lights Out: Biggest disappointment of the season. Started out promising enough, but the storyline was stretched beyond credibility and the supporting cast (or maybe the writing) wasn't up to playing out a whole season. The climactic fight? Anticlimactic. It got canceled, so there you go.

What did I miss?

The Sicilian

Cool Classic Poster Right?...what a piece of crap this film is...first the cast is almost a joke...Chris Lambert as a Scottish speaking Sicilian?...John Turturro may look Italian but he sounds like a New Yorker of Jewish decent...the female lead is atrocious as an actress and American Dutchess?...The "Don" of Sicily is played by the bad guy from Lethal Weapon 2 (you know the South African guy with the great English accent...yes that guy is a Sicilian mob boss).

Mike Cimino is one of my favorite directors...I am slowly watching his later work post-Heavens Gate...the film that so called took down the auteur status of American directors...well to me Heaven's Gate is a classic American Western...it's great...post Gate..Cimino took time off and then made Year of the Dragon...which I think is pretty awesome...well then what?...what happened?...why did he agree to make this Mario Puzo red headed step child to the Godfather?...why...Puzo kinda sucks...Puzo's book is ok,,the film is great because of Coppola and the great cast...why make this second rate movie from a B grade author?...because the studio had a need for a Godfather type film and had this Puzo crap sitting on the back burner...there must have been a lot of film left over...the jumps in story and plot are alarming and they must have trimmed this film like crazy...since Cimino had no final cut the film is crap...I can't blame Cimino unless he decided to cast this film...maybe it was totally meta...maybe by casting terrible actors he was commenting on how a terrible cast makes a terrible film and this film really wasn't about a stupid guy living in the mountains and wanting to steal money to give to the poor people who could care less about him...maybe it really was just about terrible acting and a terrible story...Cimino made this for a 1987 release..in 1990 he would make another bomb with Desperate Hours...that film has some real good scenes and good actors....I have one film left...his last film The Sunchaser...staring Woody Harrelson as a doctor (yeah right..believable) and Jon Seda ...recently from Treme...I'll let you know and then we can distill Cimino...as of right now the pizza is so much better then this film

Sicilian Pizza - Plus
Sicilian Film - Minus

ZMC: The Purring Dead

Awww-dorable.

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Milla Jovovich is something else. And in the opening action sequence here, she is more than that, somethings else, as her character's genetically-enhanced clones throw down Matrix-style on the evil corporate stronghold. Actually, I don't know what this movie would have looked like if there had never been a Matrix, right down to Umbrella Chairman Albert Wesker, the Big Bad played by Shawn Roberts as Agent Smith--sunglasses, voice, movement. I know director Paul W.S. Anderson isn't exactly the other Paul Anderson, but he could have tried to be a little less obvious. Then again, Agent Smith is one of the best villains ever so it's not like he's paying homage to Arnold's Mr. Freeze. Plus, Anderson is married to Jovovich so what the hell does he care what I think. Particularly at night. About his wife.

So, what, this movie blows? Not at all. In fact, it's pretty damn good. Like I said, Milla is something else. She's in total kick ass mode throughout and, really, that's what this entire franchise is about. That and zombies, which are out in full force here as Milla's Alice has to break out of an undead besieged prison with a small band of fellow survivors that includes Wentworth Miller...from TV's Prison Break. Get it? His character turns out to be none other than Chris Redfield, the star of the original Resident Evil video game and brother of Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) who just so happens to be buddies with Alice. Anderson knows his audience.

And the zombie dobermans are back. And this giant killing machine known as The Executioner. It's a lot of fun.  PLUS

The Baader Meinhof Complex

With Carlos fresh in mind, I watched this true story of the RAF, or Red Army Faction to you acronym averse. Formed in Germany in 1970 by Andreas Baader, his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin, and journalist Ulrike Meinhof, the RAF was a violent left wing terror group, self-proclaimed "urban guerrillas" at war with world fascism. They were contemporaries of The Jackel, though much more active and bloody. The film covers their rise and the founders' eventual prison terms. It's an excellent companion piece with Carlos, if I do say so myself. (I did, just then.)

What an incredibly dynamic time the late 60s and 70s were and not for the usual reasons we associate with that era in this country. Europe was a hotbed of this kind of revolutionary spirit, the likes of which we have never experienced in America. That's not a bad thing because even at our worst we've managed to remain stable enough to counterbalance that kind of sentiment (ok, the Civil War, but I'm talking about once we got indoor plumbing). I'm certainly not romanticizing the misguided violence of these terror groups, but from a historical perspective, it makes for some exciting reading and viewing. PLUS

Carlos

This was at the top of many critics' 2010 lists, but I can't really consider it a "film" in the usual sense of the word. It was originally produced as a mini-series for French TV and I watched all 330 minutes of it as such. In installments, not in France. (The theatrical release was about 200 minutes shorter and, all circulatory and renal benefits aside, must have been a completely different experience.)

I was reminded of the early 80s when American TV actually aired quality movies and mini-series. That feeling was no doubt helped by the subject matter as that time period was rife with tales of hijacked planes and terrorism. While my tastes at the time tended toward the Chuck Norris worldview on homeland security, I remember being fascinated/frightened by the more realistic takes on people like Carlos, or as you may know him, Carlos the Jackel.

If ever there was a celebrity terrorist, this was your guy. Granted, he considered himself a revolutionary in the Che Guevara mold, though minus the lucrative t-shirt side business. He did build himself up into the world's most wanted criminal and Olivier Assayas's biopic covers that rise to infamy. The filmmaking is excellent and Assayas seamlessly weaves together action, politics and historic footage in eight different languages over nine different international locations. Holding it all together is a magnetic, versatile, and brave star turn by Edgar Ramirez. (By brave I mean he shows his dong a lot.) It's one of the best performances in years.

As for Carlos, he never got to be the martyr he seemed destined to be and rots away in prison today as the delusional thug he proved to be. PLUS