"Music & Lyrics" review

We watched the new Hugh Grant/Drew Barrymore rom/com last night, and overall enjoyed it. Hugh Grant is basically playing a variation on the same role he plays in every romantic comedy--quick-witted, well-dressed, slightly neurotic, mostly charming--and is quite funny at it. As a former member of an 80s pop band who has been recruited by a Britney Spears-esque pop star to compose her new song, Grant gets to do a fair amount of singing and dancing, which is pretty funny. Drew Barrymore plays the plant-watering lyricist--yes, a plant-watering lyricist--who falls in love with Grant while helping him compose the song.

While the movie has its charms--the music, in particular, is almost annoyingly infectious--it does fall victim to some of the unfortunate cliches that plague today's romantic comedies. For example, Barrymore's ex-boyfriend, whom she has successfully avoided for months, just happens to be dining at the same restaurant as she and Grant right after she reveals how horrible he was to her. I also get really bugged when the two main characters sleep together the moment they share their first kiss, like that is just the obvious next step right after a kiss (doesn't anyone "neck" anymore?).

That said, it's a breezy 90 minute time-waster, and cute enough to justify one viewing. You probably won't remember the movie's story longer than 2 hours, but its songs will likely lull you to sleep (and still be in your head in the morning...). **1/2 (out of four)

"Help me"?

Forgive another Lost-centric post, but I just have a few comments about last night's mind-boggling (but fascinating) episode (read no further if you haven't watched the episode yet!):

• First, a fascinating equation: Uncle Rico + old man makeup - mustache = Roger Work Man
• Next: how creepy was it when Ben took Locke into that creaky old shack and started talking to...a chair! It was only through some very meticulous slow-mo (thanks, DVR) that Wendy and I were able to ascertain that there really was someone sitting in that chair--someone that looked, in my mind, suspiciously like a shadowy, long-haired version of Locke himself. WEIRD. (Watch the video in slow-mo here.)
  
• Speaking of Locke, did anyone see that ending coming? Looking back on it, I guess if Ben really did what it looks like he did, at least poor Locke got some closure and answers over the last couple of episodes before he checked out. But come on, Lost without Locke? I'll believe it when I see it.
• Finally, tortured youth or not, Ben is one crazy, buggy-eyed freak.
  

I'm not wrong to be LOVING this show again, am I? What did you all think of the episode?

"Lost" to get lost in 2010!

As you may have seen reported this morning, the producers of Lost have signed an unprecedented new deal with the network to continue producing the show for three more years, bringing the show to a final conclusion in May 2010. Here are a few of the details:

• Each of the next three seasons will run without interruption or repeats from February through May (meaning that we'll have to wait until February to get any new episodes after this month's season finale...).
• The remaining three seasons will be fairly abbreviated seasons, with only 16 episodes each (the previous seasons have produced 24-25 episodes each).
• The show will be moving to an earlier timeslot to try to bring back the family audience. (Does that mean that we'll see less of Sawyer & Kate alone in their cage/tent?)

You might have remembered me saying that the producers and network were negotiating about whether or not the show would remain on the air for two more seasons (the producers' wish) or three more seasons (the network's wish). Looks like they both got their wish, since the show will be around for three more TV seasons, but will only have to make 48 more episodes, the equivalent of what the show produced during the first two seasons.

I think the news is welcome, since it gives us a bit more hope that they are really moving toward a definitive conclusion. It's also nice to know that we won't have to wait weeks between new episodes or have to deal with reruns. As much as I love Lost, I now know that only have to wait three years for some definitive answers. Bravo!

"Spider-man 3" review

Let me start out by answering the big question: is Spider-man 3 as good as Spider-man 2, the series’ standard for geeky greatness? The answer is no, unfortunately. The newest sequel doesn’t have near the pitch-perfect emotional complexity of the last. That said, Spider-man 3 is not a total disappointment...

Picking up not long after where Spider-man 2 left off, we finally see Peter Parker in a happy place. His relationship with M.J. is going better than ever, he’s found balance in work and school, and the entire city is in love with his superhero alter-ego. Of course things go awry fairly quickly, as Spider-man is introduced to not one, not two, not three, but four enemies. And therein lies the big problem with Spider-man 3: with so many villains, so many stories, so many conflicts, there is little time to devote to developing any one of the arcs very well. The movie has, in a sense, a bad case of villain-itis.

I think I can see why the filmmakers wanted to involve more villains and more stories: they wanted to give it a different feel from the other two movies, each of which had one major villain. I suppose they also wanted to be able to create varied areas of conflicts for Peter Parker: guilt/revenge (Sandman), competition (Venom), friendship/loyalty (New Goblin), and our internal struggles between right and wrong (Black Spider-man). Sadly, only two of these villains really gets much development, and the others (Sandman and Venom) seem to exist only to appease the comic-book’s fans and provide flashy, loud action sequences.

There are things to recommend for the movie, though. The acting is good, especially from the three main leads (Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco), who seem more natural and at-home in their roles than ever. (Dunst’s performance is particularly refreshing, since I can’t stand her in most everything else she’s done…). The quiet moments between Peter Parker and M.J. are especially welcome, and serve as a nice break from the chaotic, sometimes clumsy action scenes. I also really liked the internal struggle of good and bad that Peter Parker observes in himself; there just wasn’t enough of it to say that it was really thought-provoking or meaningful.

I feel about Spider-man 3 roughly the same way I felt about last year’s X-Men: The Last Stand: so much potential, so many interesting stories, so little time to explore any of them very well. In a world where so many of our popcorn movies are devoid of any complexity, you still wish that Spider-man 3 wouldn’t have tried to be everything for everyone. Overall, though, it is a fun way to spend two and a half hours, with a few genuinely funny and thrilling moments. Expect it to break all sorts of box office records. (*** out of four)

Bloodsuckers and Widowers: A Love Story

I'm sad to report that yesterday, Wendy reported to me that she was falling in love with another man. It's true: his name is Edward (the tramp!), and he just so happens to be a vampire.

Yes, that's right, Wendy is the latest to fall victim to the charms of Stephanie Meyer's vampire romance, Twilight. Since last month, I've watched not one, but four of my family members (all female) find themselves debilitated and distracted by the apparent page-turner. Here are a few other examples of the book's power (with only the slightest of exaggeration):

• Jennie found herself glued to the book in a window seat while flying over the Hawaiian islands. "Are we there already?" she asked, oblivious that we had just crossed four time zones.
  
• Katie couldn't bring herself to come to the phone to talk to me about my wife's then-secret pregnancy because she was "more interested in vampires right now."
• Kristen purchased and finished Twilight and its sequel, New Moon, within three days time. She then promptly gave Jackson three days worth of neglected bottles.
  
• Most recently, Wendy bought or borrowed two pregnancy books, and quickly cast them aside for the more romantic persuadings of Edward and his infernal fangs. "I don't even remember that I'm pregnant when I'm reading about my hunky vampire!"
  

I'm pretty sure that if we husbands don't put a proverbial stake in the heart of Ms. Meyer's witchcraft, we'll promptly be served with divorce papers (signed in blood, of course). Brethren, unite!

I...CAN'T...WAIT!!!

It's really the mother of comic-book movie franchises. The Mona Lisa of superhero flicks. And it's rebooting again, coming up on May 4. Yes, I'm talking about Spider-man 3, and if I sound a little excited, well...that might be understating it a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not really a comic-book movie nut; there have been more stinkers (Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four) in the genre than real winners. But when moviemakers get one right, man do they make me feel like a 10-year old boy all over again. I mean seriously...fast-paced action, killer special-effects, teen angst, romance...Spider-man movies have it all. And Spider-man 2 was even cooler than the first; here's hoping that Spider-man 3 will continue that trend!

Watch a trailer here, and then go buy your tickets here; I've already bought mine. Isn't it time we all revisited our youth?

Is "Lost" good again?

I really hope my sentiments aren't premature, but right now the answer to the question is YES, "Lost" has been really good in recent weeks. True, the Nikki/Paulo episode was morbid, but in a very logically-satisfying way. But at least the recent Locke and Kate episodes felt relevant and moved the story along. This pleasing trend was magnified tonight in the very intriguing, very smart, very revealing Juliet-centric episode. Why was it so satisfying? Probably because it gave us some good answers, and restored a bit of our waning faith that the producers aren't just making it up from week to week. It feels really good to say it: "Lost" is finally worth talking about again!

I wish I could say the same for "24," which, after starting the season strong, has lagged in recent weeks under the heavy burden of a boring White House, Jack's unconvincing family history, and an interminable nuclear bomb/terrorist plot. I was pleased, though, with this past Monday's finale, which at least promises to bring us back to a character whose past was left up in the air, and which will bring Jack Bauer back into the forefront of the show. I hadn't given up complete hope, but the prospect of a new direction for the remainder of the season brings some promise to an otherwise lackluster "24" season.

Man I love my DVR!

Miscellaneous Movie News

Here are a couple of mildly interesting tidbits of information about some upcoming movies. I don't know how I feel about a few of them, but I'm interested to know what you think:

• Variety has reported that Shia LeBeouf ("Holes") has been cast as Indiana Jones' son in the upcoming sequel. (Indy has a son? Will he also be named after a dog?)
• Maggie Gyllenhal ("Stranger than Fiction") has taken over Katie Holmes' role in the upcoming "Batman Begins" sequel, "The Dark Knight." This is the latest in the previously announced cast additions of Heath Ledger as the Joker and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey "Two-Face."
• Disney formally announced this week that "Toy Story 3" is in production for release in 2010. Both Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are confirmed to be returning.
• Disney also announced its return to 2-D traditional animation for the upcoming "The Frog Princess," to be set in New Orleans. They also announced that the film's heroine is Disney's first African-American princess and will be added to the company's ever-lucrative group of princesses at its worldwide parks. The film will be released in 2009.
• Finally, M. Night Shyamalan has announced that his next film, "The Happening" (his first R-rated movie) will be "a paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity." What do you want to bet that the large-scale threat will be defeated by a few errant glasses of water?

Though I'm so over Shymalan's ego, I'm curious to see what Pixar and Disney are up to, and hope Pixar can help Disney start making consistently cool movies again. Any thoughts?

Justin's 10-Word Reviews

Since I have gotten behind with my reviews but know my readers demand to know what I have seen lately, I'm going to experiment with 10-word reviews (starting after the title) for the movies I have seen lately. Let me know what you think:

• "The Bridge to Terabithia": Not a fantasy, but touching coming-of-age family drama (*** out of four)
  
• "Ghost Rider": Silly, nonsensical, clumsy comic book adaptation. "The Mummy" meets "Constantine." (*1/2 out of four)
  
• "Stranger than Fiction": Thoughtful, breezy & unique comedy-drama with a sweet gooey center. (***1/2 out of four). ("&" doesn't count as a word)
  
• "The Illusionist": Moody, mysterious, enchanting score, slightly frustrating but overall satisfying conclusion (***1/2 out of four)
• "Flushed Away": Mildly clever moments sprinkled throughout a noisy, crude, "family" mess (** out of four)

I'm also anxious to see "The Prestige" and "Music and Lyrics," but I'm secretly saving my movie bucks for the upcoming May movie binge that I'm planning. Can you believe that we're just over two months away and still haven't seen a trailer for "Pirates 3"?!?!

"Lost" on life support

OK it's official: "Lost" is starting to bug the crap out of me. While last week's time-travel episode was unique and intriguing, as part of the larger story all it did was frustrate me. Add to that last night's dreadful episode featuring a clairvoyant (and nearly naked) Thai tattoo-artist, and I'm seriously starting to wonder if the folks behind "Lost" have lost it themselves. ABC's promos kept touting last night's episode as answering "three of Lost's biggest questions"; all I was able to find out was that Jack's tattoos mean absolutely nothing of interest. No insight into why the Others are creepy child-kidnappers. No interesting revelations about the Dharma Initiative. NOTHING from our favorite characters back on the beach.

The whole time I just kept asking myself, why aren't Kate and Sawyer grilling this kid about his origins and everything happening on the other island? Why doesn't Jack ask something meaningful of his captors, instead of blindly just going along with everything they do and acting mad about it? WHY DON'T PEOPLE JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF GIVING EACH OTHER PAINFULLY "MEANINGFUL" GLANCES OVER AND OVER AND OVER!?!?!

Judging by the show's dwindling ratings (the last episode didn't even hit the top 20 shows for the week and received its lowest numbers ever for a new episode), it's clear that I'm not the only viewer that is losing interest. So there it is: "Lost" is on my endangered list. I'm still watching, but I'm finding little joy in it as I once did. And it makes me enormously upset to see that my once-favorite show is now flying off the hook.

What would save "Lost"? One suggestion I have would be to bring back J.J. Abrams, who co-created the show but has gone on to direct "M:I:iii" (and tonight's episode of "The Office"). Or simply decide that they'll tell the story that has yet to be told and get it over with. Don't get me wrong--when "Lost" is good it's SO much fun, but it has become tedium as of late. So my simple request to producers (who I'm sure frequent my blog) is to just make the show good again. Is that so much to ask?

Napoleon vs. Ricky Bobby

One of my faithful readers (Clay) requested that I give a little blog-love to the upcoming Will Ferrell/Jon Heder ice-skating comedy, "Blades of Glory." To be honest, when I first saw the trailer, I wasn't overly excited about the movie: Will Ferrell and Jon Heder have some pretty uneven track records (Ferrell in "Bewitched," Heder in anything but "Napoleon Dynamite"). That said, when they get it right, they knock it out of the park (Ferrell in "Talladega Nights" or "Elf" and Heder in, well, "Napoleon Dynamite"). Plus, it's getting some online buzz that has at least a few people excited. So here's hoping that the movie is silly perfection. Check it out here.

More "Indy" news

Here are a few interesting tidbits of speculation (meaning unconfirmed) about the upcoming "Indiana Jones" sequel. From RottenTomatoes.com,

• Three of the leading ladies from the series (Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, and perhaps even Alison Doody) will be returning for cameo roles.
• John Rhys-Davies is likely to be back in the sidekick role.
• Sean Connery seems to be returning to play Indy's dad.
• The flick will take place in the 1950s.
• The movie will make a huge truckload of money.

One bit of information was confirmed this week, however: Paramount announced that the movie will be released on May 22, 2008. (PLEASE don't let this movie suck!)

Am I getting "Lost"?

Well thanks to the holidays and some other TV distractions, I hardly felt those three months of abstinence from "Lost." Last night I reviewed several of the most recent episodes in preparation for tomorrow's episode; as I was trying to fall asleep, I mentioned to Wendy that the most recent episodes of "Lost" represented both the best and the worst of the frustratingly addictive show:

The Best

• Sawyer's pace-maker
• Ben Linus/Henry Gale vs. the white bunny rabbits
• There are two islands?!?!
• Desmond the Clairvoyant

The Worst

• Colleen's hubby taking out her death on Sawyer (who had nothing to do with her death)
• Colleen's hubby insisting that Kate confess her love for Sawyer
  
• Sawyer and Kate getting it on against the bars of a bear cage (I mean really, right there in the open, in a cage!)
• Ignoring the show's original stars/stories
• Occasionally redundant/irrelevant flashbacks (a.k.a timekillers)

Having said all this, I don't want anyone to think that I've bailed on my formerly favorite TV show (recently dethroned by "24"): when it is good, "Lost" is REALLY good. I mean seriously, just thinking about how great Season 1 was makes me think that I owe it to producers to let them crank out a few stinkers (including the most recent, DREADFUL episode with the aforementioned cage-love). So I am cautiously optimistic that a few more months of planning will help the show be what it once was; I would gladly put it back in a two-way tie for my favorite show if it could prove its worthiness to me...

Harry Potter 7 coming on July 21!!!

Well the news is finally official: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be released in bookstores around the world on July 21, 2007.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660191984,00.html

While I initially resisted the HP book-phenomenon, I think I was finally convinced to get into them in 2000. My enjoyment of them has only increased with each excellent movie adaptation, to the point that Wendy and I have actually chosen to join with the crowds at midnight for the past two book releases. Now I've never dressed up like a wizard, nor would I consider myself as well-versed in all things "Potter" as some, but I get a little chill when I think about holding the last Harry Potter book in my hands. I'm not sure I want it to end...

Oscar Nominations

The Oscar nominations came out today, and seemed for the most part to include no big shockers. The biggest surprise, however, is likely to enrage my sister-in-law, Kristen: the musical "Dreamgirls" led in total nominations (8), but was shut out of the major categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. It did, however, receive nominations for Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson's supporting roles.

The Best Picture nominees include the Brad Pitt drama, "Babel," Martin Scorcese's "The Departed," the independent favorite, "Little Miss Sunshine," the Royal Family drama, "The Queen," and Clint Eastwood's Japanese-spoken war epic, "Letters from Iwo Jima." For a complete list of the other nominees and plenty of commentary from people who know better than I, click here.

Since I haven't seen any of the Best Picture nominees (and likely won't), I can't say I'm terribly excited for this year's awards. I am, however, looking forward to seeing Ellen DeGeneres as the host; $10 says she'll wear a pant-suit instead of a gown...

The Amazing Race: All-Stars

CBS just announced the teams for the upcoming Amazing Race: All-Stars, coming on Sunday, February 18:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race11/
Wendy and I got into the race around season 4 or 5, so I don't know a few of the teams, but of those I know, I can't decide who I'm more excited to see: Charla & Mirna vs. the coal-miners or the beauty queens vs. Rob & Amba. This is going to be GOOD!

Masochists, Unite!

Well, it's that time of year again: smoggy air, after-Christmas sales, and the return of Fox's winter schedule. What that means for some is a sudden bounty of DVR-clogging programming, perfect for these long winter nights. Yet for me, the return of Fox's "24" and "American Idol" signifies America's delight for (and absolute obsession with) pure, unadulterated pain.

"American Idol" represents the best and worst of our society: We rejoice in the discovery of new talent, embrace the show's finalists, and devote two of our precious weekday evenings to the talent competition. But no less pleasurable (or disturbing) is our unhealthy obsession with horrific, embarrassingly bad "singing." Why do we enjoy seeing people utterly destroyed in front of terribly insensitive judges? Why are we absolutely entranced by impressions of the cowardly lion? Or black, male, talentless Celine Dion wannabes? Why does it make us so ridiculously happy to see nerve-wracked Idol-hopefuls understandably forget lyric after lyrics? Because we're masochists, that's why.

Skeptical? Look no further than the fictional, terrorist-heavy world of my Fox favorite, "24." Where else is behavior that by any other standard would be reprehensible (if not criminal) is not only permitted, but encouraged? Witness a few examples from this week's season premiere: two separate shoulder-stabbings, numerous bloody shootings, a freaky vampire-ish Jack Bauer-escape, and one casualty-heavy nuclear explosion. And yet through all the gory mayhem, those who give it a chance find themselves utterly addicted, and with the simple snap of a neck, we're pulled into another stress-filled 24 hours. Masochists, I tell you...all of us. At least until May...

What were your favorite cringe-worthy moments from the "24" and "American Idol" premieres?

"Night at the Museum" review

Ben Stiller's latest is a whimsical family-friendly adventure akin to other PG-rated adventure-comedies like "Jumanji" and "Zathura." It's fast-paced and inoffensive, and quite often very funny. While Stiller plays the same put-upon, unlucky fellow he plays in nearly every movie, here the typecasting works in the quirky context of a museum-come-to-life (and-run-amok). Though the concept is fairly silly and decidedly far-fetched, Stiller and the rest of the cast (filled with comedy vets old and young) keep things light enough that the time passes pleasantly enough. While I knew that I would laugh at Owen Wilson's cowboy, I was surprised to find myself smiling at nearly everything spoken by Mickey Rooney's grumpy old night guard and Ricky Gervais' communication-challenged curator. (Robin Williams and Dick Van Dyke also get a few laughs.) It's not a classic movie that I'll need to watch over and over, but it was breezy enough to make for a decent holiday diversion. (*** out of four)

Delta, Delta, Delta may I help ya, help ya, help ya?

I don't really know much about this potential merger between US Airways and Delta, I just know I don't want to lose my SkyMiles. If you want to sign a petition to voice your opinion, click here.

"Indiana Jones 4" coming in 2008!!!

Can't tell you how excited I am that this is finally going to happen.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ied0764c52ea0c6b79e5a439cf257d65d

Only about 18 months to go...