Christmastime For the Jew: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - Reviewed! Plus: Prison Break and More!

He-llooo holiday vacation. Okay, so the holidays are a bit weird this year for me ... I'm kind of sticking around and laying low here in LA for the time being, but also prepping for the big Israel trip in January. So even though I'm enjoying the string of vacation days I'm currently in the midst of, I've also been carefully mapping out my time from now until January 6th, making sure I schedule in time for fun but also for shopping, packing, etc. But really, for right now, I'm just happy for the opportunity to relax a bit, kick back, and take in some holiday cheer.

Of course, I've seen a couple of movies over the last week or so. The big one is THE WRESTLER. Ever since I heard about the movie way back when, I'd been curious about Darren Aranofsky's latest. On Wednesday, I even planned a full-fledged Day of Glory (to borrow my brother's term), as me and the G-Man took in a couple of old-school vintage wrestling matches on DVD followed by the main event - Mickey Rourke as "The Ram," in what very well could be up there as one of the year's best films, if not the very best. Also, last weekend I caught up on a couple of recent releases that I'll be talking about today as well. One's a big-budget blockbuster remake - THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. And the other is a buzzworthy foreign film that is already scheduled to get the Hollywood remake treatment - LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. I'll be reviewing the latter two flicks right here in this very post. As for The Wrestler, I think I will dedicate a post just to discussing that one, so stay tuned for that much-anticipated write-up.

First off though, want to mention some of the stuff I've been up to over the last several days. I have to mention last weekend, which was of course highlighted by a celebration of Seth E's big 25th b-day. Good times, and happy birthday to the one man who agrees with me that SPEED RACER kicked major ass (even if he disagrees with me on almsot everything else ...). It was a short work week this past week, so on Tuesday I was able to brave the madness of the Glendale mall in order do some last-minute Israel-trip shopping. On Wednesday, as mentioned I finally caught The Wrestler, and then later that night I attended my first-ever Schmooze-a-palooza, basically the ultimate Jew-party here in LA on Christmas Eve, held at no less than Hollywood's own House of Blues. It was definitely quite the party, although the crowd wasn't exactly that into the whole schmoozing thing. Ah, LA, you've got to love it. Yesterday, I drove down to Brentwood to visit my great aunt and uncle, and took in a traditional Hanukkah dinner of latkes and sufganyot (basically jelly donuts). And that brings me to today - getting a bunch of errands done - renewing my apartment lease, making sure that my driver's license doesn't get cancelled ... you know, the usual.


Anyways, some quick TV STUFF for ya' ...


- As always, I've got to talk about PRISON BREAK. Specifically, this past Monday's Fall Finale ... hmm, I just don't know about where this is all going. For several weeks in November and December, PB was on an unbelievable streak - week after week, it was a rollercoaster ride of nonstop intensity - kicking ass and taking names. But after what seemed like a natural endpoint a couple of weeks ago, the show, well, it just kept going. And an already labrynthine mythology just kept getting more and more complex and further-removed from where we were at the beginning of the season. I mean, the show has always had the elemnt of conspiracy as part of its mythology, but now that we're seeing more and more of The Company, you can't help but wonder if we're getting so far off the track that it's now like a balloon quickly deflating. Don't get me wrong, last night's ep had some great moments of intensity and action, but the chess pieces all felt almost arbitrarily moved on the board. I mean, take Mahone. After his daring escape from custody last week, he now suddenly reappears in the Company's stronghold looking to reteam with Lincoln and co. Why? How? When the show really started to gel this season, it was partially because every character felt tlike they had a real arc and a real purpose. Now, almost everyone, from T-Bag to Mahone to Gretchen, seems like they are sticking around just for the sake of having oddball character dynamics, but not for any real plot reason. Even worse, the once-sadistic T-Bag is now a second-rate goon, once-vile Gretchen has now awkwardly tried and failed to seduce her teammates two weeks in a row, Self quickly went from main-event villain to B-list tag-along, and Mahone seems to be just along for the ride. The show needs to quickly sort through these different characters when it returns in '09, and make sure each one's arc gets the proper closure and focus they deserve. I want to see Gretchen be the femme fatale she once was, Mahone deliver one last revenge-driven dose of whup-ass, and T-Bag lose his $#%& and have one last epic showdown with Scofield. With all of the Company stuffin the last few weeks, these characters' arcs have definitely taken a backseat. Meanwhile, the Company's plans to recruit Michael just seem ridiculous. Are we really to believe that Michael is going to throw away his entire life's purpose and join with his enemies? If there was some truly compelling reason for him to do so, I could buy it. But instead, we got an out-of-nowhere twist with Michael's barely-mentioned mother turning out to be alive and with the Company. It seems VERY late in the game to introduce a potentially pivotal character like this, and it seems like a somewhat unnecessary twist. The Company was fine when it was a clandestine secret society, but the more we find out about the nefarious group, the less intriguing they become. Up until now, they've been portrayed as essentially evil incarnate - I'm sorry, but I think it's simply too late to convincingly make them into a moreally ambiguous organization that Michael would actually consider joining up with, or even one that Lincoln would trust to make good on their word. That being said, I'm still excited to see how things wrap up for Michael, Lincoln, and the rest. My sense is that the writers are kind of trying to stall for a little bit before they can refocus and deliver a proper sendoff. I remain hopeful that, when all is said and done, Prison Break will go out on a high note.

My Grade: B

- I'll also mention a show which I am now all caught up on, and that's TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. I felt like the show really picked up steam about midway through the season, but over the last few weeks, the show seems to have really gotten off-track. Monday's Fall Finale had to be considered a bit of a disappointment - I felt like I was watching a really bad episode of The X-Files most of the time, with Sarah palling around with a UFO conspiracy theorist in her neverending quest to find the meaning of the mysterious "three dots" that she keeps seeing. The whol three dots thing has been kind of a drag for a while now, and this episode's cliffhanger, in which Sarah appears to be abducted by some kind of spacecraft was a giant WTF moment if ever there was one. Maybe I'm just missing something here, but I don't quite get how this ties into the Terminator mythos at all. Much more interesting was the Riley storyline. I enjoyed the flashes to her futuristic past, and was actually becoming more and more intrigued by her character. Suffice it to say, I was pretty shocked by the big suicide-attempt (?) reveal. But even more shocking was that the episode never cut back to Riley to show what happpened to her! Whaaat?! Um, note to writers, you can't have a major cliffhanger with half an hour still to go in the episode! Also, I have to agree with some other reviews I've read that Ellison has not only become one of TV's most boring characters, but geez, his attempts to "teach" the cyborg Cromartie about morality were just plain lame and stupid. Yes, let's make sure these robots don't turn evil by giving them nonsensical talk about how men are God's children. That will surely compute in their logic algorithms. Oy. The one huge bright spot in all this continues to be Summer Glau as Cameron. Always intriguing, Cameron is certainly the breakout star of this show and the one character who I'd love to see make a cameo in the upcoming Terminator movie. Still, with an underwhelming Fall Finale, and a set of previews for February that seemed to promise a lot of potentially shark-jumping moments (Kyle Reese is alive!), I am a little skeptical of this show's chances to get on-track and really kick some ass.

My Grade: C+

Alright, onto the movies ...

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL Review:

- The first word that comes into my head when I think about this movie is "lifeless." The cast is solid, the premise is proven, but the movie just feels so bland and lacking in heart and intellgience that it never once proves emotionally affecting or intelectually engaging. It's Hollywood warmed-over sci-fi at it's worst.

Of course, the movie is a remake of a science fiction classic from another era, when high-concept speculative fiction driven by atomic fears and paranoia was in a creative golden age. What made sci-fi of that that time so compelling was that the stories served as hyper-relevant morality plays. Science fiction was one of the few genres that dared to put humanity's sins on trial, that had the balls to dream of apocalyptic futures and self-inflicted destruction. And that creative urgency was driven by the very real fear of atomic war, of an age when science seemed to be running amok and becoming too dangerous too quickly. So it stands to reason that we may be in a an age that parallels that earlier time. But to be clear - it's an age that demands it's own stories, it's own parables. To simply take the premise of a movie from 1951 (and one that is inextricably tied to 1951), and half-heartedly transplant it into 2008 reeks of a cheap ploy for box-office dollars.

Because really, this movie stands as a sad commentary on Hollywood's general inability to produce intelligent science fiction. There is absolutely ZERO intellectual backbone to this movie. An alien comes to earth and decides that, because humans are ruining the planet, the humans must be destroyed for the greater good of the universe. Science be damned, that is pretty much as deep as the alien Klaatu's reasoning goes. But, dammit all, when good ol' Klaatu realizes that, yes, humans are beings who maybe aren't all bad, he (Giant Spoiler Alert!) decides to spare us all. Yep, because that Klaatu us really just a big softie, and when he sees Jennifer Connelly hugging her stepson Jaden Smith, gosh-darn-it, he realizes that maybe us humans don't deserve to be wiped out afterall.

To which I say: are you freaking kidding me? That's your movie? That was the movie that was worth remaking a beloved sci-fi classic for? So that we could get Keanu Reeves to play Klaatu and switch out "nuclear war" with "climate change?"

It might work if the movie ever had any great moments of thought-provoking dialogue or of true emotional heft. But it doesn't. It mostly just has Jaden Smith acting incredibly annoying. In fact, in a year filled with strong performances in moves from kids - from SON OF RAMBOW to ROLE MODELS, this was one of the worst, most grating child acting jobs I've seen in a long while. You start to root for Klaatu to proceed with wiping out humanity just to put us all out of our misery from having to watch Jaden Smith be so obnoxious. Keanu is fine here. Jennifer Connelly is fine. But that's about it, they are both just okay, if not completely stock characters. Keanu Reeves is probably one of the best out there at acting alien and inhuman, but his pretty-decent performance here is about all that can be said for this one.

Most of the other actors just seem wasted. Kathy Bates, Kyle Chandler, John Cleese, Jon Hamm - all great, but not here - they're just window-dressing. Robert Knepper, aka T-Bag of Prison Break fame? Enjoyably over-the-top, but pretty much useless nonetheless.

The direction is pretty nondescript. During the few times when the movie tries to have an epic feel, all we really get are ultra-stock shots of countries like Egypt to indicate that the mysterious alien spheres are landing elsewhere aside from the USA. The whole movie has a dark and muddy and static look to it that seems like a poor compromise between the stage-play aesthetics of the 1950's and the big glossy blockbusters of today. From the fanboy's perspective, the obvious geek-out potential lies in Klaatu's giant, robotic guardian, Gort. Gort looks kinda retro-cool, but the movie as a whole lacks the style to really make us buy into a 1950's-style robot existing in its otherwise-bland universe. It almost feels like they are embarassed to include Gort in the movie, but did so just to appease the geeks and throw in a little action. In a year that saw movies like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk embrace the fun of the older characters on which they are based, it was pretty disappointing to see a movie that seemed so ashamed of its own campy roots.

Similarly, the script never really gives us the proper sense of scope and scale that you want in a movie about an alien making contact with earth. We never really see the President or any other world leaders play an active role, and poor Kathy Bates has to serve as the surrogate hardass authority figure. I think that the old Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" was more epic, memorable, and told a better story in 22 minutes than this movie did in two hours.

In the end, this is just one of those movies that makes you shake your head and wonder about how and why certain movie get made. I mean, for all it's over-the-top cheesiness, at least something like Independence Day (which sure, I love) took the old alien-invasion movie tropes and updated it for a modern audience. This one was just utterly pointless. Even Keanu would be hard-pressed to give it a "whoa ...".

My Grade: C

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN Review:

- I think my intital reaction to this movie was just one of "wow, that was freaking *weird*." So much of this movie is foreign in every sense of the word, that I think even a veteran indie movie fan is going to go through a process of just, well, digesting it. The movie is ultra-slow-paced and incredibly deliberate. It's Swedish, and looks every bit of it, filled with actors and accents that immediately come off as rather strange-seeming. Haircuts, clothes, music, mannerisms - all very different, and, um, to be blunt, those Swedes just have some oddball taste in apparell. But this is a movie that slowly but surely sunk it's teeth in, so to speak. It grabbed and grabbed and didn't let go, until even after a week it's embedded in my subconcious, and I can't help but think back to its imagery, its story, and its ambiguous and ponderous messages. Because, I guarantee you, Let the Right One In is the craziest and creepiest Swedish coming-of-age vampire story you'll ever see.

The story concerns a young boy named Oskar, who is essentially a loner and an outcast. His parents are divorced, and he shuttles back and forth between his rather cold mother and his friendlier but vice-prone father. In the apartment complex in which Oscar lives with his mother, the residents tend to be a pretty close-knit group, almost a surrogate family of sorts. So when a new man and his young daughter (about Oskar's age) move in, everyone wonders why they keep to themselves and don't seem to embrace their new community. Oskar, however, makes frends with his new neighbor, a sullen 12 year old girl named Eli. The two form a unique bond of friendship, and Oskar even begins to like Eli in a first-childhood-love kind of way. There's only one giant problem - as Oskar soon finds out, Eli is actually a blood-sucking vampire - long trapped in a 12 year old's body despite being many years older.

As Oskar begins to come to terms with what Eli is, and with the fact that it is she who's responsible for the string of murders in his community, we begin to see a very complex morality tale at work. Oskar has a special bond with Eli, and she with him, but how does he reconcile that with her tendency to kill for blood when she gets hungry. It's a disturbing, haunting concept, and the movie never hits you over the head with any of it, but instead plays out in subtle, ambiguous tones. I've heard people call this the first legit reinvention of the vampire genre in years, and there is some truth to that. Because as silly as the comparison is, this is almost like Twilight's dark, intellectual, foreign cousin. Okay, the movie is absoultely NOTHING like Twilight, but there is that similar theme here of forbidden love - except here, the movie makes no bones about the fact that the cherubic little girl - who also happens to be an ancient vampire - has a side that is vicious, scary, animalistic, and cruel.

The way this story is told takes some getting used to - the pace is slow and lingering. Often there are shots that are seemingly random, as the camera lingers on a snowy field or a barren tree before returning to our principal characters. But it adds to the movie's naturalistic quality. The setting is so stark, realistic, and natural that it makes the moments of violence and horror that much more shocking. The same goes for the acting. I would often become frustrated with the young actor who plays Oskar - to put it one way, he makes the character into a total wuss and something of a weirdo. As a longtime camp counsellor, Oskar is like that kid who you know is kind of alright but who is just so strange and semi-creepy that you'd rather not have to deal with him. The lingering camera does him no favors either, dwelling on each odd facial tick and awkward expression. But as with the movie as a whole, what I first just thought was strange eventually stuck with me - after seeing this movie, it's hard to stop thinking about the odd couple of Oskar and Eli - the oddness of their characters both visually and conceptually is hard to shake.

I won't say too much more about the plot for fear of spoiling it, but suffice it to say, there are a number of intense scenes and images here that have been rattling around in my head since I saw the film. Again, it's strange because at times while watching the movie I'd become restless, even bored. But at the same time that methodical pacing is what gives Let The Right One In its staying power. And there are times when the weirdness, I think, simply overpowers good storytelling instincts. There are moments that are just nonsensical, and some dialogue that just didn't ring true. Sometimes, the movie is ambiguous to the point of slight frustration - in fact, one major twist didn't register with me at all until I looked into it online and got some clarification. But all of these oddities are also what made this such a unique film. Make no mistake, even aside from the sheer foreignness of the characters and aesthetics, this truly is one $#%&'d-up movie. Like I said though, it's memorable, unforgettable, disturbing, and thought-provoking.

My Grade: A-

Get Off My Lawn! - GRAN TORINO Review, STELLA Recap, and MORE!

Back from a great weekend, and ready to roll into what should be a busy week. I'm counting down - not just to 2009 but to my upcoming trip to Israel in early January courtesy of Birthright. That's right, after years of never having visited the holy land, this former Hebrew School teacher, Solomon Schechter grad, and distinguished Camp Shalom counsellor will finally be touring the Old City, taking a dip in the Dead Sea, and getting down Jew-style in Tel Aviv. In facr, coming up soon is actually my group orientation, which should be exciting, and then throughout the next couple of weeks I'll be focused on making sure I'm well-equipped for the trip, and nailing down all the details of what is sure to be a memorable adventure.

Anyways, aside from planning for Israel, as always I'm trying to see all the big movies I can to close out the year, all the while, of course, mentally adjusting my Best of '08 list while I weigh one film over the other. As has been the case the last few years, so many of the big releases are jam-packed into the last few weeks and even days of the year, with many of those only even out in limited release. But I think the trend that's starting to emerge is that, in the absence of many truly classic prestige films this year (on the level of, say, No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood), critics and fans are really starting to fill up their Best-Of Lists with the big summer blockbusters - from The Dark Knight to Wall-E to Iron Man. And in some cases, I find myself leaning in that direction as well. Still, I can't freakin' wait to see THE WRESTLER, and I'm intrigued by several yet-to-be-released '08 movies including Seven Pounds, Benjamin Button, and Valkyrie. Now, this past weekend I did get the chance to see what had been one of my most-anticipated movies of the year, that being GRAN TORINO. So stay tuned for the review in a bit.

- First, I do have to mention that this weekend I had the good fortune to get tickets to see a STELLA comedy show, which was freaking amazing. As has been well-documented here on the blog, I was completely obsessed with The State when it ran on MTV back in the day - my friends and I made videos inspired by the show's hilarious comedy sketches, and we endlessly quoted the show - and I still remember it fondly to this day. In fact, if there's one show that I would kill to see on DVD, it's The State, which somehow has still yet to see the light of day on the home video market. But anyways, I've continued to follow and enjoy projects from ex-State members, from the sublime Wet Hot American Summer to Reno 911 to The Ten and most recently Role Models. But the members of the State splinter-group, Stella, have been the trio that has perhaps done the most to carry on the spirit of random humor and subversive stylings of The State. I think I was a little slow to pick up on the fact that Stella even existed, but I loved their short-lived Comedy Central series, and, suffice it to say, I was psyched when I heard they'd be doing a show in LA.

The show, held at the Orpheum theater in downtown LA, was awesome. Despite being in a terrible area of the city, the theater, from the inside, had the look of a grand, old-fashioned opera house. The energy level inside was huge, as tons of excited comedy fans had come from all over to see the show. It was clear that as big a fan of Stella and The State as I am, there were plenty of hardcore devotees present who made me look like a casual fan by comparison. The show opened with special guest Thomas Lennon (a State alum and best known as Lt. Dangle on Reno 911) doing a short stand-up routine that was a bit rough around the edges but ultimately pretty hilarious. Then, we got to the main event - Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain - aka Stella. For those who don't know, the absurdist comedy of Stella revolves around random banter between the group's three members, who riff on various topics, with conversation that just keeps spiralling deeper and deeper into a strange, surreal world of crazy humor. There's wordplay, word associations, and tons of twists, tangents, and moments that are just plain weird. But all I can really say is that these guys are comedic geniuses - they have a style of humor that is all their own, and that is just twistedly brilliant. During the show, they even had another special guest in former State member Joe Lo Truglio (recently of Role Models fame), who came in and did an energetic bit of so-bad-it's-awesome stand-up, in character as a washed-up New York Post humor columnist.

Overall, the show was completely hilarious - these guys are truly originals, and I don't know if there are any other comedians out there who are so proficient in this style of random, absurdist humor. It was truly awesome to see a group of guys who are some of my all-time comedy idols live and in person - definitely an evening for the record books.

Now, for the love of Zots and Crambles, get THE STATE out on DVD, already -- dammit all.


- Anyways, onto one of the biggest guns (sort of literally ...) of the 2008 holiday-movie season ...


GRAN TORINO Review:

- For the past several years, Clint Eastwood has been associated with a certain pedigree of movie; methodically-paced, serious-minded, Oscar-baiting affairs that are typically bleak, humorless, and solid-but-rigid productions. We saw the latest example of this just recently with CHANGELING, which to me ended up being somewhat underwhelming. Like many, I was more than ready for a movie that harkened back to the Clint Eastwood of old - Clint Eastwood: the director who made one of the most badass Westerns of all time in Unforgiven. Clint Eastwood: the screen icon who personified the idea of the man's man. Clint Eastwood: the screen legend who brought to life the likes of the Man With No Name and "Dirty" Harry Calahan ... the pulp icon who is as quick with a one-liner as he is with a .45 magnum. Well hold on to your hats, kiddies, because with GRAN TURINO, that Clint Eastwood is back with a vengeance.

Because really, this is a B-movie posing as a prestige pic. This one is rough around the edges. It has some shoddy acting, some stilted dialogue, and a hefty dose of comic book characterization. But you know what? It's the best, most badass, most entertaining and stand-up-and-cheer-worthy Eastwood flick in a long, long time. This is the classic tale of the old man who can still unleash some whupass and whip young punks into shape. This is Eastwood as your 80-year-old grandfather if he were crossed with one part Batman, one part Stone Cold Steve Austin, and yeah, one part Dirty Harry. And also, Clint's character happens to be a foul-mouthed, racist, stubborn, and bitter sonofabitch. But don't worry, by movie's end you'll be rooting for the old man, because this is Clint Eastwood, dammit, and you know that underneath that ugly exterior beats the heart of a real American hero.

Like I said, this is Eastwood at his most over-the-top. And it's awesome. Old Man Clint punctuates his sentances with snarls and growls. He squints his eyes and stares through people with a steely gaze that reaches in, grabs your heart, chews it up, and stomps on it. He points his fingers and gestures as if he's shooting a gun, and pulls a make-believe trigger in a gesture so stone-cold that it could kill a man in and of itself. When he's pissed off, Old Man Clint unleashes gravelly threats, punctuated just right with venemous curse-words that would make the Devil himself get wobbly-kneed. When he drops an f-bomb, it's with a seething fury, as if he just stuck a knife in your gut and twisted. This is Clint f'n Eastwood at the height of his powers - it's not Oscar-baiting acting, it's not prestige picture fare, but it is the stuff of cinematic legend - an aging icon who only got badder and meaner and tougher the closer he got to the end of the line.

So, yeah, put Gran Torino's Walt Kowalski up there with the other Eastwood icons. If this is in fact Clint's final performance, then it's a great capper on a legendary career. And it's great to see Clint in one last role that is both a summation of and reflection on his body of work. Because Walt is a character who knows violence, who is inclined to pick a fight, who isn't prone to friendship or personal connections. His wife has died and he's left with children and grandkids who are spoiled rotten and are practically foaming at the mouth for him to kick the bucket too so the can get their inheritance. Walt finds himself essentially alone, still living in his old neighborhood, which is now filled with Asians, African-Americans, and Latinos, and rampant with gang violence. Really, aside from his dog, the one thing he loves in life is his old '72 Gran Torino car, which he keeps in mint condition but never drives. Yeah, it's a metaphor, and sometimes a heavy-handed one at that. But it's effective, and appropriate, and mostly, it works.

Of course, not only is Walt bitter with his yuppie family, but at first, he's equally weary of his culturally-diverse neighbors. But, when a shy local kid is dared by gang members to try to steal Walt's car, Walt foils the robbery and eventually takes the misguided kid under his wing. Before long, Korean War vet Walt befriends his once-hated Hmong neighbors, and finds he has more in common with some of them than he does his own family. Soon, the still-tough SOB takes up their cause, and not only does he teach his young charge Thao a thing or two about being a man, but the octogenerian vows to put a permanent dent in the neighborhood's gang violence problem, armed with nothing more than a shotgun and a scowl.

The story takes a number of interesting turns from there, even if a lot of the tropes are well-worn. But there are plenty of kickass moments and quotable lines - it's all a bit over-the-top and comic book-ish at times - but that's part of what makes the movie so fun.

But, where things falter is in the fact that while Eastwood chews up the scenery like the old pro that he is, most of the rest of the cast is not quite up to snuff. When they're interacting with Eastwood, it's not as noticeable, but when asked to carry the weight of the script on their own, the mostly non-professional cast of younger actors and actresses tends to drop the ball, delivering some truly cringe-worthy line readings that make some of the trying-too-hard gangsta' dialogue sound ultra-lame. Also, the actor who plays the young priest who tries to comfort Walt after his wife's death is just sort of weaksauce. It's a key part, so I wish they had gotten someone better for it. I'm not saying they should have cast name actors who might oversahdow Clint, but some solid character actors sprinkled throughout the film wouldn't have hurt. Again - when it's Eastwood interacting with some of the more mediocre actors, the movie maintains its entertaining B-movie feel. But when Eastwood is off-camera, things tend to devolve from cheesy awesomeness to just plain cheesy.

In general, the movie walks a fine line in that regard. Most of the time, the broadness of the drama works well and makes for some great, badass moments. But sometime, things do go a little too far. I mean, without spoiling anything, I will say I mostly loved the movie's interesting and gripping ending ... but, my appreciation for it was then ALMOST ruined by the ridiculous closing-credits theme-song, titled "Gran Torino," which actually has a husky-voiced Eastwood SINGING the opening lines. I'm sorry, as entertainingly campy as it was, it was just too much.

I think there are a few other instances where the movie is too heavy-handed. I think Walt's family was so irredeemably, cartoonishly obnoxious that it hurt the movie's credibility a bit. I would have liked them to be a LITTLE more fleshed out by movie's end. Also, Walt's racism is mostly handled in a funny, complex manner - we clearly see that for him it's a defense mechanism and a shield - since he doesn't really know how to interact with others he communicates the only way he knows how - with insults and put-downs. But I thought it was weird that a couple other characters in the movie, who are all portayed as essentially good, on-the-level guys, use equally racist language. I don't know, it just rubbed me the wrong way - it felt like the movie was saying that it was okay for these guys to use bigoted language because they used it to everyone equally. I think that kind of missed the point of why Walt resorted to racism in the first place. It would have been cool, for example, for Walt to try to use some racist jabs with one of his "buddies" only to get shot down.

Few complaints aside, this was one hell of a movie-going experience. The story arc is the stuff of classic movie drama, and the iconography of an aging Eastwood out to pick one last fight is enough to send any film fan into fits of cheering, smiling, and shouts of approval. Again, in many respects this isn't technically a great movie. But like Rambo, Rocky, Dirty Harry, and the like, it's a movie that pushes the right buttons, that makes you smile, that makes you look up at the man on the screen and wonder how you can be half as badass as he is. Gran Torino is surely one of the biggest movie "events" of the holiday movie season - it's Clint Eastwood: old, grizzled, and mean - teaching some punk kids a lesson and kicking some ass - one more time. In a lot of ways, it doesn't get much better than that.

My Grade: A-


- Alright - made it through Monday! Back soon. So go ahead, punk: make my day!

THUNDERSTRUCK: My AC/DC Concert Experience.

What a week it's been. When we last left off, I was hours away from seeing the concert to end all concerts, that being AC/DC. I had hoped to write down my post-concert thoughts ASAP, but fatigue, work, and other stuff got in the way. Because although I don't even know how I made it through work on Tuesday following the concert - I barely made it through despite ringing ears and off-center equilibrium. I was hangin' on by a thread, but had to be at my best and sharpest on Wednesday for our annual holiday party at work. I was indeed wined and dined at the outdoor, poolside patio of the fancy-schmancy Mandrian Hotel in West Hollywood. As always, I didn't make it through our annual gift exchange without a certain degree of drama. I kept picking gifts from the pot onl to have them stolen by coworkers over and over again, losing out on such appealing yet practical booty as Target and Best Buy gift cards. In the end, I came away with a somewhat cool coffee-table-style book on the history of film, which was not a bad takeaway. But man, as has been previously documented here on the blog, those holiday gift exchanges get intense. And tiring. By the time I got back from the lunch early Wednesday evening I was ready to drop. And that meant that yesterday was another crazy day at work, catching up on stuff I had gotten behind on during the week.

But anyways ... who cares about any of that ... it's time to get THUNDERSTRUCK!


AC/DC Concert Recap:

- There is every other Rock & Roll band, and then there is AC/DC. To me, no other band personifies the fundamentals of rock moreso than AC/DC. Because in all their years of performing, they've kept it simple, stayed true to their mission, and never wavered in their effort to kick ass and take names. They've never written a love song, a power ballad, or hip hop song. Every song of theirs boils down to crunching guitar licks, fist-pumping, scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs vocals, and lyrics about kicking ass, rocking out, and gettin' it on. Like I said, rock & roll to the core - nothing fancy, nothing complicated. And that's what's made the band absolutely legendary - larger than life icons who, as I found out on Monday, still rock just as hard as ever.

As I've previously talked about, I got the tix for Monday's concert months in advance, and ever since that purchase was made, the anticipation had been building. I had seen the likes of Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Kiss, Van Halen, and Guns n' Roses in concert - I've been lucky to see some of the all time great bands live - but AC/DC was most definitely on that list of need-to-see bands - one of the few bands who, if and when they toured, I would drop almost everything to see live and in person. AC/DC hadn't toured since I was in high school, and from what I've read, there's no guarantee that there will be that many tours still to come. And if there's one rock band to see live, while you have the chance, it's AC/DC.

So even though it was a Monday, even though I was braindead from a long day at work ... I knew that when I was called upon to rock and/or roll by the real-life guitar heroes in AC/DC, I would have no problem standing up, no problem being counted, for what I was about to receive.

And so it was. The Axe-Man drove down to LA from San Diego, and we met up with Kyle O. After a quick bite the three of us drove down to The Forum in Inglewood - past sketchy restaurants and shady video stores. Past guys hawking bootleg AC/DC T-shirts on street corners on the road to the arena. Past throngs of honking cars and eager fans. Finally, we parked in one of the Forum's massive lots and made our way inside. The place was a zoo - the narrow, falling-apart corridors were packed to the brim with people. It literally took almost half an hour just to walk to the other end of the stadium to get to our seats. There were aging hard-rockers, punk kids, geeky teens, families, women in torn fishnets, guys who looked like they wanted to pick a fight. Most of all, there were thousands of people ready to get their socks rocked.

And get their socks rocks they did. AC/DC came out with the fury of a thousand burning suns, and lo, it was a sight to behold. I've seen a number of "aging" rock acts in concert, and all have been able to perform up to expectations with varying degrees of success. I've seen Tom Petty look a bit lethargic, Steven Tyler deal with a voice that can't always hold up, David Lee Roth with creaky joints ... but there was ABSOULTELY NONE of that with Brian Johnson and Angus Young. Especially Angus. Holy hell, that man is an absolute freak of nature, an otherworldly guitar hero who is truly a rock n' roll deity. The man is insane.

Every time my focus turned to the man called Angus, I couldn't help but smile ear to ear. First of all, he's the definition of icon and legend. To see him don the trademark schoolboy uniform and jump around like a man possessed ... it was surreal to see it in person after singing along to AC/DC's songs for so many years. But I emphasize that this was not some mere fascimile of Angus Young up on stage - this was a guy who still had it, who still gave 200%, who didn't stop running, jumping, spinning on the floor, speaking in tongues, and shredding on the guitar in ways that would make Satan himself cower in primal fear. At one point midway through the show, Angus gave singer Brian Johnson a much-needed break, putting on a roller-coaster ride of a performance that absolutely tore the house down, laying down a blistering guitar solo that saw the ageless Angus running up and down the stage, onto a rising, monolithis platform that ascended towards the ceiling, and then onto a platform that sat below a giant video wall, magnifying the larger than life nature of the man, the myth, the legend. It's hard to think of any other rock guitarists who are as iconic - the full-of-mischief Scottish smile, the one-legged strut, the on-the-floor spin, and of course the schoolboy outfit. If a spirit of rock n' roll exists, it may live inside the body of one Angus f'n Young.

But all of AC/DC came out to play. The concert opened with a cartoon video that took an R-rated turn and got the crowd amped with anticipation. In the video, AC/DC boarded a runaway locomotive captained by some devilish women, and soon enough, a steaming train crashed through the stage and AC/DC took the stage, blasting their newest hit, Rock N' Roll Train, and working the capacity crowd into a frenzy. One other new song followed, and then, when the instantly-recognizable intro of BACK IN BLACK blasted across the Forum, it was clear that business had just picked up.

From there, some new songs off of Black Ice were mixed in with the hits. DIRTY DEEDS was a highlight. Seeing Malcom Young growl "dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap" into the mic was awesome incarnate, and Brian Johnson gave that one his all. Kick ass. And before I could even fully absorb it all, the opening riff of one of my all-time favorite songs, THUNDERSTRUCK, echoed throughout the arena. Perhaps the ultimate adrenaline-pumping rock anthem of all-time, Thunderstruck brought the house down, and we all pumped our fists and chanted "Thunder" along with the war-like sounds of the drums. We were "shakin' at the knees" indeed. Soon after that, we got a double-shot of the classics with the tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale known as THE JACK and then one of my personal favorites - HELL'S BELLS, which saw Brian Johnson rapell from the rafters clinging to a giant, clanging bell. Have I used the word "awesome" too much?

After that, the crowd once again was hanging from the rafters when AC/DC broke out SHOOT TO THRILL. Next up came a pretty cool new song in War Machine, and then, one of the classics - YOU SHOOK ME (ALL NIGHT LONG). I can't count the number of times I've rocked out to that song, but it was even more amazing to hear it up close and personal. In a way, it was almost cool to be kind of far back in the Forum, because you got the full effect of a giant stadium full of fans united in the power of rock. And we were amongst the AC/DC faithful, nto some yuppies who scored comp tix via industry connections. In fact, in front of us sat a father and mother with their young son, who must have been about 10 years old. The kid was gettin' down harder than anyone else in our section, jumping on his seat and positively thrilled to be seeing such a cool concert. To see the father passing on the ways of rock n' roll to his son, it was a sight to behold indeed.

But the hits didn't stop there. TNT was next (I'm dynamite!), and as usual AC/DC had the crowd in the palm of its hand. With pyrotechniks going off left and right, balls of fire erupting from the stage, and Brian Johnson wailing in his trademark straight-outta-hell rasp, it was as if we were on some post-apocalyptic rock n' roll utopia. As if that wasn't enough, for WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE, a giant-sized blow-up Rosie inflated before our eyes and danced and pranced above the stage like the most perverted Macy's Parade balloon ever seen. After one more song, Let There Be Rock, the band left the stage, and the crowd came alive, chanting the band's name and demanding more ...

... and the band was happy to oblige, returning to the stage for a double encore. First was HIGHWAY TO HELL, one of the most cannonical songs in the history of rock. Speaking of cannon, the band then wheeled out a line of cannons to put the final exclamation point on the night, as their booming shots punctuated the call-to-arms anthem that is FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK (WE SALUTE YOU), which is, of course, the perfect song with which to end an AC/DC concert.

And it made me think. After having been rocked for the better part of two hours, were we really then to be counted among those *about* to rock? I thought about it, and the answer was, yes, we were about to rock. Because while an AC/DC concert is a compressed ball of rock n' roll energy that can only be sustained for so long, it's up to us to take that energy, that momentum, that spirit of rock n' roll, and bring it with us into our every day lives. Because really, aren't we all just schoolboys who want to break out, stand up, jump up, spin around, and rock out? Is there not a little AC/DC in all of us - that inner wild-child that wants to get back in black, get thunderstruck, and board a rock n' roll train with a one-way ticket for the highway to hell? AC/DC is that timeless urge to break free and rock out, and it's therefore no wonder that, even though they're past 50 and weathered many long miles, the Angus Youngs of the world can still channel some inner demon and defy space and time and logic itself.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime concert, and even amongst the chipped walls and cavernous corridors of the forum, it was clear that we were peasants in the High Court of Rock n' Roll, paying tribute to the Kings. I left much as I thought I would: thunderstruck.


- And with that I head out into the big wide weekend. ROCK.

From a Man About to Rock: FROST/NIXON Review, AC/DC Countdown, and MORE!

Yeaaaooowww! It may be a Monday, I may be tired and wanting to curl up in my bed and sleep, and I may be facing a busy week of work ... but, DAMMIT ALL ... I am ready - to - ROCK! Yes, I shall stand up and be counted, for what I am about to receive ... that being, AC FRIGGIN' DC, live, tonight, in concert!

I don't think the reality of this momentous event will fully hit me until the legendary band actually takes the stage tonight at The Forum, but suffice it to say, this is one of my all-time dream concerts to attend. Ever since I was first introduced to the likes of "Highway to Hell," "Back in Black," "TNT," and "(You Shook Me) All Night Long", I have been a devoted disciple of AC/DC. I remember for a time feeling like a lost soul in my classic rock fandom - while my peers only had eyes for the latest hip hop tunes or pop-punk it-band, I was delving into the world of Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Led Zepellin, and yes, AC/DC. But purchasing their "Live" album circa freshman year of high school was a revelation. One of my all-time most-played albums, songs like "Thunderstruck" are absolutely essential for those times when you just need to get pumped-up and ready to rock. True, I couldn't always be sure exactly what lyrics were being sung, but regardless, there was no ambiguity as to the subject matter: kicking ass. AC/DC never wrote a love song, never got sentimental, and never slowed down - every song of theirs is simply designed to rock as hard as humanly possible - no if's, and's, or but's.

And truly, this has been the year that AC/DC hit back. Out of the spotlight for several years, the band never faded from the collective conciousness of would-be rockers everywhere. Whereas I, as a kid in the 90's, found few others my age who shared my passion for hard rock, now it seems like people who share in my appreciation for the classics of the rock n' roll cannon are a dime a dozen. Even before their latest album became a #1 hit, the last several years have seen a full-blown rock n' roll rennaisance. Thanks to iTunes, Guitar Hero / Rock Band, etc., a new generation is growing up learning from a young age learning about the joys of rock n' roll, and hey, few bands personify rock in its purest form moreso than AC/DC.

So tonight, I will finally get my chance to get back in black, get thunderstruck, strike hell's bells, and take a ride on the highway to hell. For those about to rock, I salute you.


- I had a fun weekend, and I should mention that on Friday, as part of Seth E.'s holiday movie marathon, some friends and I witnessed what surely has to be one of the most gloriously awful movies ever made - SANTA'S SLAY. This is one of those movies where it's hard to believe that it even exists at all. For one thing, it stars former wrestling champion Bill Goldberg (known in many circles for being an uncharacteristically badass Jew), as ... a homicidal, demonic Santa. Yes, Goldberg as a murderous Santa. It's a movie that in one fell swoop probably killed any chances that Bill Goldberg had for Hollywood stardom, and yet guaranteed him immortality by starring in one of the most godawful B-movies ever made. Also, Santa's Slay features one of the most surreal opening scenes I've ever seen in my life ... in which, for some unknown reason, Fran Descher, James Caan, Chris Kataan, Rebecca Gayheart, and a couple of other (all Jewish?) celebs are sitting around eating a nice dinner, only for Goldberg's evil Santa to crash through the chimney and brutally off each of them in hilarious fashion. WTF. Also, the movie features some of the strangest / most classic one-liners ever heard in a B-horror movie. At one point, our teenaged hero, cornered in a hockey rink by a zamboni-riding Goldberg inexplicably shines a pocket flashlight in Goldberg's face, in some last-ditch attempt to ward off the crazy Santa. At this, Goldberg replies: "Who the $#%& do you think I am, Dracula?" Amazing ... ly bad.


TV STUFF:

- A few quick TV thoughts, as over the weekend I was able to catch up on a couple of series I had fallen behind on ... one thing I missed though was THE SIMPSONS, which was listed as airing at 8:30 pm yet actually aired at 8, therefore causing me to recored a rerun of King of the Hill instead. Lame - I will have to catch up on last night's ep soon.

- So for a couple of days now everyone's been telling me about how great FRINGE was last Tuesday. And after finally seeing the episode, I have to agree that this was a pretty intense hour of television, involving all kinds of cool pseudo-science, from walking through walls to time travel. Plus, the mystery over Walter Bishop's past continues to deepen - and yeah, John Noble continues to be absolutely phenomenal in this role. With Olivia having been abducted in an episode-ending cliffhanger, business has just picked up as we head into the second half of the season.

My Grade: A-

- Also, I absolutely loved Wednesday's episode of PUSHING DAISIES. This was perhaps the best overall episode of the season to date, with several great character moments, some big plot developments, and a scene-stealing performance from Kristen Chenoweth as Olive Snook - certainly one of her most memorable episodes to date on the show (I mean, she sang "Eternal Flame", for crying out loud - pretty awesome!). Between the visually-astounding, imaginatively-constructed mystery at the comfort food bake-off, and the drama with Chuck secretly reviving her long-dead father, there was a ton going on here, but all of it crafted with the usual intelligence, wit, and care that Pushing Daisies brings to the table week in and week out. I know there's little if any hope for PD to get a shot at continuing on, but at the least ... this show deserves a proper finale. Do the right thing, ABC!

My Grade: A

- I can't say I felt quite as positive about last week's CHUCK. I've been loving Chuck this season, overall, but this week's was just not up to par. The writing highlighted just how annoying the character of Chuck can be when the show makes him too neurotic and sappy, and this was definitely Chuck at his worst. Chuck's desire to emotionally connect with Casey was way overdone, and as a whole the episode just felt like it was trying too hard to be melodramatic - it just came off as sappy. Meanwhile, I thought there was a lot of unrealized -potential with the story of Casey's old sensei returning as a villain. We never really got the sense of who this guy was or what he was after. Finally, Chuck's sister continues to be kind of an annoying, overbearing character. Basically, this episode felt like it was leaning too hard on some of the formulas that have been prevalent to date. I hope from here on out we can get back to fun but out-of-the-box episodes like the great Missile Command ep from a couple of weeks back.

My Grade: B-

- Alright, I did see a movie this weekend that I'm excited to talk about, so, here we go ...

FROST/NIXON Review:

- It's been a landmark year for politics, and a similarly interesting year for political movies. In W., we got a strange but fascinating portrait of our current president's political rise and fall. In Milk, we got a look at the 1970's-era political scene in a way that eerily parallels our own times. And now, in Frost/Nixon, we see politics as sport, as a means to play to a crowd, to establish a win/loss record, to win people over or make them hate you. The boxing analogy is there throughout the movie, and it fits - this is the story of two men who are poised for one-on-one combat, each one trying to use the other as a stepping stone to their own ends. There's David Frost - a cheery British chat show host who wants to prove that he's good for more than just frivolous TV entertainment. And then there's Richard Nixon, a fallen and broken man - but still proud and stubborn - who wants to finally conquer the medium which has dogged him throughout his career - television - and close the final chapter in his political life on his own terms. Both men go into battle with their own agendas in mind, but both soon realize that they may have underestimated their opponents.

It's with this framework that director Ron Howard shapes what turns out to be a pretty fascinating movie. The film is based on a stage play of the same name, and it tends to wear that fact on its sleeve. Frost/Nixon has that staged feel to it - long monologues, a flair for the melodramatic, and a deliberate pace. But given the subject matter, the style fits - particularly when you have actors of this caliber in the spotlight.

Because first thing's first - Frank Langella is absolutely phenomenal as Richard Nixon here. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, as photos of Langella didn't seem to bear much resemblance to the former president. And yet, he knocks it out of the park, delivering an eerily accurate interpretation of Nixon - his posture, his mannerisms, his manner of speech - all spot on. But more than that, Langella isn't just doing an impersonation, he's crafting a character. And the character he screates is completely fascinating - an old dog who doesn't learn new tricks but who is a master at the ones he knows. His Nixon is a guy who bears the burden of wrongdoing but almost feels worse that he got caught than that he did it to begin with. He's an angry person, a lonely person, and yet possessing of a strange, droopy charm and a formidable intellect. Langella is amazing in this role - certainly amongst the elite acting performances of 2008.

Still, Langella isn't the only one here who delivers a memorable turn. Michael Sheen, also reprising his role from the London play, is similarly great as David Frost. Sheen plays Frost as someone who is capable of coasting along on charm, but who has bigger ambitions than just being an empty television personality. Sheen makes Frost likable and someone you want to root for, but someone who you fear may simply take the easy way out and stay within his comfort zone. Again, it makes for a great dynamic between Frost and Nixon - each celebrities, yet each having achieved their biggest bout of fame for reasons other than what they would have liked.

There are also nice supporting turns from reliable actors like Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, and Sam Rockwell. Bacon is excellent as Nixon's overprotective stooge, and Rockwell is also really good as a crusading writer who serves as a consultant to Frost. It was really entertaining to me to see Oliver Platt as Robert Zelnick - Zelnick is currently one of BU's most prestigious journalism professors and someone who I saw speak a number of times during my time in Boston. I got a real kick out of seeing a well-known BU faculty member brought to life on the big screen, and I'm sure Zelnick did too. Here, he's cast as the more level-headed guy on Frost's team, and is often the straight man to Rockwell's more hot-headed idealist.

One of the criticisms against Ron Howard is that he lacks much style or vision, and I agree that a certain blandness has prevented a couple of his movies from crossing over from "very good" to "great." But, I don't know if that complaint is really valid here, as the movie's stage roots lend themselves to the director simply sitting back and letting the actors do their thing. That being said, the movie can drag a bit at times, and it seems to never fully commit to the stylistic choice of having older versions of its characters reflect, documentary-style, on the events that we're watching. Those segments feel almost thrown-in at the last minute, and don't contribute much to the narrative. But really, this is Sheen and most especially Langella's movie, and makes their small battle into a fascinating and surprisingly epic confrontation. In the end, this is one of Howard's strongest movies to date, and a tour de force from Langella as Nixon.

My Grade: A-


- Okay ... it's getting hard to focus because I am oh so ready to ROCK. The time is here, baby. Stay tuned for the full report soon!

"Wanna Go For A Ride?" SMASHING PUMPKINS Concert Thoughts and MORE ...

- So Wednesday night I had the chance to see SMASHING PUMPKINS in concert. It's a concert that only a few years ago, I thought I might never see, given that the band had broken up and seemingly become one of the long list of great 90's bands that didn't quite make it intact into the new millenium. But as fate would have it, SP reunited a little while back, albeit with only half their original lineup, released a new album that was surprisingly really good, and is currently on an ambitious 20th anniversery tour.

But man, to me the Pumpkins were such a huge part of my childhood MTV-induced education in the ways of rock n' roll. In an age marked by classic music videos, SP had some of the era's best - from Zero to 1979 to Tonight, Tonight. If you turned on MTV anytime in the mid 90's, you were guaranteed it wouldn't be long before the latest avant-garde Pumpkins video went into rotation. The band's success probably reached its peak with their epic double album, Melancholly and the Infinite Sadness. It was one of the defining albums of the era, and an instant classic - making the Pumpkins unique brand of grunge-meets-goth one of the defining sounds for people growing up during that time.

So yeah, I was psyched to see the Pumpkins play last night, but also slightly weary of the fact that each stop of their latest tour consisted of two back-to-back shows, with no songs repeated between the two. I don't know ... in these tough economic times you have to admit it seems slightly pretentious to expect fans to go to two shows to get the full experience, and to not necessarilly give people the biggest bang for their buck. Suffice it to say, when I saw the setlist from Tuesday's show, and realized that key songs like Today, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, and Tarantula were now off-limits for our show, it was a bit annoying. Finally getting to see the Pumpkins after so many years, and NOT getting to hear Billy Corgan wail "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage?" I couldn't help but feel a bit letdown.

But hey, after meeting up with the crew and taking our prime-time seats only several rows away from the stage, I had mostly left my trepidation behind - I was ready to get rocked.

And I will say, the Pumpkins' entrance was pretty darn spectacular. Corgan came out wearing one of his trademark weirdo goth leather manskirt-suit things, brandishing a plastic jack-o-lantern and looking like a real-life Jack Skellington. Some kids in Halloween costumes followed him and they acted out a trick or treat ritual, before Corgan and his band broke into a kickass rendition of a classic Pumpkins tune - Ava Adore - that had the crowd going off and singing along.

The momentum continued with hits like 1979 - perhaps the quintissential Pumpkins tune and certainly one of the iconic music videos of MTV in the 90's. But then, things really slowed down as Corgan broke out the accoustic guitar for several "slow jams," as he put it. A lot of the energy was drained from the crowd, and while the hardcore fans may have enjoyed the change in pace, things definitely began to drag a bit ...

... that is, until the Pumpkins let loose with an insanely rocking trifecta of some of their most hard-rocking hits. To me, this trio of head-bangers was the highlight of the show by far, with Cherub Rock building perfectly into the awesomeness that is ZERO. To me the highlight of the night, the classic SP anthem had us pumping our fists and jumping up and down and convinced that, yes, the Pumpkins still rocked and rocked hard. The sequence ended with Bodies, and at that point things took a turn for the weird ...

At this point, Corgan seemed intent on proving to us that Smashing Pumpkins was more than just a 90's-era rock band. He began breaking out all kinds of more experimental tunes from a number of different SP albums, many of which really lost me - especially when Corgan donned a top-hat and began dancing around the stage to some very un-Pumpkins-like dance beats. Scattered amongst this looong stretch of randomoddity were a couple of winners, like Corgan's cover of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide, the hokey but endearing Song For a Son, as well as one more genuine SP classic in Disarm ("the killer in me is the killer in you!") - but mostly, this was the section that made you really lament the fact that a lot of the hits were conspicuous by their absence.

Still, the Pumpkins eventually won me back over with the throbbing, hard-rockin' chords of As Rome Burns, which kept building to false finish after false finish until you couldn't help but be caught up in the sheer epic nature of the song. But that was probably the last real highlight of the show ... after closing out without much of a bang, Corgan and co. returned for a two-song encore that failed to make much of an impression. I think we were all hoping for something special to end the night (part of me was really wishing Corgan would somehow work in a tune or two from ZWAN, like Honestly ...), but unfortunately, things went out on kind of a whimper.

That being said, overall it was a fun show and it was great to see The Pumpkins in concert. Corgan was in fine form, his voice sounded on, and he was positively shredding on guitar when called upon. I don't quite get why, as a band, the Pumpkins seem so intent on having so many offbeat / experimental songs in their setlists. When the band focuses on its bread and butter - shredding rock music mixed with grungy-gothic melodies - there are few groups that are better. But yeah, seeing them play was definitely a ride worth taking.


TV STUFF:

- Just wanted to quickly touch on last night's episodes of THE OFFICE and 30 ROCK. Both were pretty hilarious, making for a great night of comedy. The Office had a potentially divisive episode, in that I know some people get annoyed when the show includes really broad comedy like it had last night. But personally, I thought last night's ep was one of the flat-out funniest Office's in a while. The stuff with Andy and Angela on Dwight's farm was just insane - the priest who only spoke German, the random manure in Dwight's house, the cameo from cousin Mose - so funny. Meanwhile, the in-office stuff was equally entertaining, with a great story about an office surplus and the battle over how it should be spent - on new chairs or on a new copier. I loved the weird, bizarro-world version of the office where everyone kissed up to Michael to lobby him for their surplus choice, with Michael content to be blissfully ignorant and just enjoy the fact that people were acting towards him exactly as he'd always dreamed they might. When an indecisive security guard was called in to weigh in with his nonpartisan verdict, it was a moment of absurd hilarity.

On 30 ROCK, we got another excellent episode that had a fun Liz Lemon / Jack plot as well as an absurdly comedic Tracy/Jenna/Kenneth subplot. On most shows, a high school reunion story would be cause for much groaning, but here, 30 Rock brilliantly played with the idea that while Liz thought of herself as a tormented high school geek, everyone else saw her as a mean-spirited antagonist who scarred many a teenaged soul for life. This, combined with Alec Baldwin as Jack's decision to pose as high school hero Larry Braverman made the whole high school reunion angle funny and memorable. As usual, there were a ton of classic, quotable lines in the episode - just further proof that 30 Rock is TV's best and funniest comedy.

My Grade - The Office: A- / 30 Rock: A-


- Alright - I am about done here. Time to enjoy the weekend, baby. Rock on.

Slumdog Millionaire - Reviewed! Plus: LOTS MORE!

What's up, loyal readers? I'm back, and I'm psyched, as tonight myself and a few fellow rock n' rollers will be hitting up the Gibson Ampitheater to take in a show from one of the greatest rock bands of the last few decades - the Smashing Pumpkins. Sure, the Pumpkins' lineup isn't quite intact from it's 90's peak, but it should be a cool show nonetheless. And in only a few days, I'll be taking a ride on the Highway to Hell, aka going to one of my all-time dream concerts, AC/DC. Hell's bells, it's time to get thunderstruck!

But yeah, it will be interesting to see what songs are played tonight - the Pumpkins are doing two shows on each stop of their tour, and are apparently not repeating any songs from one show to another. This means that whichever songs got played at last night's LA show will be MIA at tonight's. I'm hoping we still get a lot of the classics (I've yet to check out the setlist from last night ...), so, we shall see. But yeah, last night I gave myself a refresher course on the Pumpkins' illustrious catalogue, from Ava Adore to Zero, so I'm primed and ready for tonight's show.

TV STUFF:

- Sorry guys, I did not see last night's FRINGE yet and still haven't caught up on Monday's CHUCK. Laundry, shopping, and other randomness put a damper on my TV consumption, although I did take in one episode from the DVR ...

- That episode being Monday's TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. It's weird, despite this one being a pretty unusual episode in a lot of ways, it also exemplified a lot of what's been good and bad about the show. On one hand, there's no doubt that this was a smartly-written episode. It presented an intriguing mystery, in which Cameron investigates evidence that a Terminator cyborg had actually time-travelled to the 1920's, where it went on to integrate into society and become a wealthy landowner. Of course, all of the Terminator's moves in the past were, as per their modus operandi, designed to plant the seeds for all kinds of nefarious future plans. We've never really seen the Terminators do much time-travelling with a purpose *other* than to kill John Connor, so this was an interesting new element added to the mythos, and opens up all kinds of possibilities for Terminator tales set in different time periods. In addition to some intriguing ideas on that front, the episode also presented a pretty nuanced examination of Cameron's slowly-expanding understanding of humanity. We see that she has a night-life of sorts outside of the Connor's home, and that she's even made a "friend," who in an odd way she seems to value as a companion and ally. I really like the slow build they've done with Cameron, it's really amazing how deftly her evolution has been handled. But here's the thing - as much as there was a lot I admired about this episode, I couldn't ignore the fact that it was slow - really, really slow. The Cameron segments were at least interesting on a number of levels, and Summer Glau is really doing an awesome job in this role (Emmy anyone?) ... the John / Riley stuff though ... there is pretty much zero chemistry when those two are together and the scenes in this episode just had a generic teen-angsty feel to them. Again, the show needs to overcome that feeling that it's just a placeholder between movies, and balance out its more contemplative side with some BIG ideas and even bigger action. It'd be one thing if this episode was just the quiet before the storm ... but the show still has a marked lack of momentum and intensity, where one doesn't necessarilly get the feeling that all of this buld-up is actually going somewhere exciting. I really do admire how this show comes out each week and defies expectations by being so smart, nuanced, and deliberately-paced, especially when it comes to Cameron. But at the same time, it's desperately in need of some forward momentum and sense of urgency to its storytelling.

My Grade: B


- Alright, I've reviewed 2 of the 3 movies I saw this past Thanksgiving weekend, so it's about time I completed the trifecta. Take heart though - I've saved the best for last ...


SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE Review:

- After a summer movie season that managed to make history, with a slew of giant-sized blockbusters that set new standards for the action movie genre, the Fall and Winter movie lineup thus far has been, well, a bit underwhelming. Sure, there've been some great movies so far - but after last year's Winter season, which brought us cinematic titans like No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood, this year's lineup can't help but look a bit thin in comparison. Now, there are still some heavy-hitters yet to come, and this year is top-loaded, with lots of the biggest prestige flicks packed into the last couple of weeks of December. But, with SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, I think we may have gotten the first 100% legit-extraordinary film of the Winter.

Slumdog works on a number of levels, and part of its brilliance is that it keeps defying your expectations and turning into something other than what you thought it would be. The movie shifts from coming-of-age parable to modern-day fairy tale to gritty crime drama to star-crossed romance with amazing effortlessness, and its this potent combination of genres and themes that makes the movie such a loaded narrative and intense viewing experience.

It's funny, because describing the movie's plot doesn't quite do the film justice. On the surface, the tale doesn't even sound especially compelling. Basically, it's the story of a young slumdog in India who comes from a life of poverty, violence, and constant danger. However, a strange series of fateful events lead the boy, Jamal, to become a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Remarkably, the shell-shocked Jamal answers question after question correctly, and inexplicably wins the million-dollar (well, rupees, in this case) prize. But even though his victory makes him an instant national icon, Jamal's victory is soon declared suspect, and because of his lower-class origins and lack of education, Jamal is accused of cheating. He's arrested, taken into police custody, interrogated, beaten, and tortured - all because the authorities were skeptical that a random "slumdog" could win on a popular gameshow. But while this is the plot in a nutshell, it isn't *really* what the movie is about. Because where the magic of Slumdog Millionaire unfolds is in the fact that the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire thing is only a framing device by which to tell us Jamal's life story. And this is where the movie becomes a modern-day fairy tale - in flashback, Jamal recounts how by some luck of fate, the key events that shaped his young life also, as if by magic, gave him the knowledge to answer each of the gameshow's questions.

And in this way, director Danny Boyle zips and weaves through Jamal's formative years, showing us how he and his brother, Salim, deal with crime, poverty, and the struggles of adolescence. Boyle's direction is as sharp and kinetic here as it's ever been - he immerses you in this world of magical-realism with the same force and visual power as he had in Trainspotting. The location-shooting in India is often breathtaking - there's an authenticity to this movie that you wouldn't have gotten if it were filmed in a studio. Instead, the world of Slumdog is living and breathing. And that's further augmented by the kickass soundtrack, which blends Indian rythms with modern beats to create a musical playlist that's both memorable and a vital part of the movie.

And somehow, Boyle keeps the movie feeling coherant despite its shifts in tone. This is a movie that in a span of two hors has you cringing at acts of violence, laughing at childhood antics, and rejoicing along with Bollywood-esque song-and-dance numbers. On paper it shouldn't work, but it does, in a sleek, ultra-modern package that gels in the same way as the clashing cultural influences on the soundtrack.

It helps that the acting is superb. The cast of Indian actors, including the children who portray Jamal, Salim, and Jamal's eventual love interest, Latika, are all amazingly great. Same goes for the various villainous and shady characters whom they encounter. When Jamal sits in the darkened TV set of who Wants to Be a Millionaire, risking his fortunes before the fake-smile and menacing demeanor of its host, it's as if Jamal is holding court with the Devil himself. The power and intensity of these potentially-hokey scenes speaks to the many levels on which this movie works - as fairy tale, as metaphor, as a tribute to the Indian culture and spirit, and as a reflection of a new world of global culture and a universal presence of the American Dream.

This is a movie that sweeps you up with the sheer force of its momentum and doesn't let go. And it may just be among the best movies of 2008 thus far - filled with numerous breakthrough performances by a cast of great yougn actors, and brought to life by one of Danny Boyle's best directorial efforts to date, if not his very best. A must-see film that everyone should make an effort to check out, I can't recommend Slumdog Millionaire enough.

My Grade: A

- Alright, PUMPKIN time!

The Blog Gets MILK'd - MILK Review + PRISON BREAK Thoughts!

What's up, everyone? Hope you all checked out yesterday's back-from-break post, in which I reviewed Transporter 3 and had a ton of other news, views, and reviews for your reading pleasure.

PRISON BREAK Review:

- As for today, as is customary, I've got to start out by talking about last night's PRISON BREAK. PB, I'm sorry for doubting you. After last week's slightly suspect twist ending, in which the seemingly altruistic Agent Self was revealed as a traitor and villain, I just wasn't sure how Prison Break could keep the momentum of the last few episodes going. It seemed like last week's ep hit upon a natural ending point, only to pull out one last twist that felt a bit too gimmicky for my tastes. But again, I admit that my doubts were mostly unfounded, as last night's ep pretty much KICKED MY ASS. Because, sure, Michael Rappaport had been pretty convincing as an asshole with a heart of gold, but it turns out that he was nearly as convincing as a plain old asshole. While I still find it slightly hard to swallow Self in his new role as unabashed killer and ruthless crook, I am way more sold on it now than I was a week ago. But PB wasted no time in playing Self off of the other characters, creating a couple of great, fun moments between Self and T-Bag, Self and Gretchen, etc. Meanwhile, there was a lot of nice drama with Scofield and co trying to figure out their next move - flee and once again go on the run, or try to see thrings through and take down Self and then the Company once and for all?

This episode just had so many memorable, dare I say gravitas-infused moments - the General shooting MIKE NOVICK point blank and asking his troops if they had "any further questions?", T-Bag asking Self if he was into the "rock candy," and of course the classic ending, in which we get vintage Scofield, coolly telling Self that if he wants Scylla he should come and get it. Hmm ... at least the actor who plays Mike Novick on 24 is now free to make a glorious return to aid Jack Bauer in his time of need. Dammit all.

Anyways, I'm psyched to see next week's Self vs. Scofield showdown, and curious to see how this all plays out. My one complaint is this: GET MICHAEL TO A HOSPITAL, ALREADY! It's been about five episodes in a row now where he's supossedly been on the brink of death, and unless there is some big twist coming here other than the inevitable "Michael-collapses-and-is-near-death" cliffhanger, just get this long-festering subplot over with already.

Other than that though, PB remains the reigning king of TV drama. Once again, the intensity in last night's ep was off the charts.

My Grade: A-


- Alright, since I still have a couple of movies I need to review, here we go.


MILK Review:

- Especially relevant following the passing of Prop 8 here in California, MILK is a powerful, superbly put-together movie that is the type of film that can win over hearts and minds. With a stellar cast, highlighted by a transformative and memorable turn from Sean Penn in the title role, Milk is certainly one of the most important and timely movies of the holiday season.

The film details the life and times of Harvey Milk, who moves to San Francisco's Castro Street during a period in the 70's when the area was becoming a haven for gay castoffs and the center of an emerging gay community, one which was actually becoming somewhat of a force in terms of influencing the local business and political scene. Harvey quickly meets and strikes up a romantic relationship with Scott Smith (James Franco), and the two open a camera shop on Castro Street, although the shop eventually becomes a hangout for the local gay community, to the point where Harvey becomes known as the unofficial "Mayor of Castro Street."

Harvey's rising stature as a community organizer, combined with his anger at the treatment of homosexuals at the hands of the local police, eventually thrusts Milk into the political arena, where he ultimately becomesa rising celebrity in California politics. Milk's commitment to his progressive social and political agenda not only puts him at odds with rival politicians (such as Josh Brolin's Dan White), but also costs him a number of personal relationships - his romance with Smith fizzles, for example, when Milk begins devoting all of his time his work and his cause. But at the same time, Milk's work as a charismatic politician and community leader helped inspire a new generation of activists. In the film, we see Milk take a young, cynical kid (Cleve Jones - played by Emile Hirsch) under his wing, eventually molding Cleve into a great leader in his own right.

The story of Milk's rise and fall is pretty brilliantly told here. Director Gus Van Sant makes judicious use of actual news and archival footage to really give the movie a sense of time and place. In fact, one of the movie's main antagonists, conservative spokeswoman Anita Bryant, is not portrayed by an actress but inserted into the movie solely via archival footage of her actual speeches and TV appearances. It lends the movie an immediacy that would have been hard to achieve otherwise. The fact that this movie is really documenting very recent history is all the more evident when familiar faces like Walter Cronkite and even Tom Brokaw show up via old news clips. It's amazing to see how strikingly similar some of the news headlines of 30 years ago were to those of today.

Again, the acting here is across-the-board great. Sean Penn truly transforms into Harvey Milk here - everything from his speech to his mannerisms to his posture - it really is like watching another person on-screen. I have to think that Penn will be on the shortlist for Best Actor come Oscar time. But the rest of the ensemble is similarly great. After turning in an Oscar-worthy performance of his own just recently, in W, Josh Brolin turns up here and is really great as Dan White - a politician who slowly loses it as he faces mounting political pressure. We're never quite sure what exactly makes Dan White tick, but Brolin does a masterful job of making us feel on-edge whenever he's on-screen. James Franco does a nice job as Scott Smith, Milk's confidante and the object of his affections, and Emile Hirsch is also a real standout as Cleve Jones - you really see him morph from kind of a young punk at the beginning of the movie into a real leader and activist by movie's end.

As many biopics tend to do, Milk can drag a bit at times, and the movie sometimes feels uneven in terms of focus. Personally I wish Van Sant had focused a little more on the story's broader social-political context, especially given that some of the scenes delving into Milk's personal life were some of the film's weakest. One of the movie's most annoying characters, for example, is Jack Lira, played by Diego Luna - an artsy guy who falls into a relationship with Milk after Harvey parts ways with Smith. Because Lira is such an over-the-top oddball, it's hard to get especially invested in his character.

But overall, the movie builds up to an intense and heart-wrenching ending that leaves you sad, contemplative, but also inspired at the life of a guy who dared to be different and also to make a difference. It's an effective bio, but at the same time an eduacational and enlightening look at some of the biggest social and political issues that have and still affect our country. With a number of stellar performances and an important and timely message at its core, Milk is a movie well-worth watching and deserving of the highest recommendation.

My Grade: A-


- Alright, I'll be back soon to talk about SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, Chinese Democracy, Smashing Pumpkins, and lots more. Leave your comments as always - peace out.