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Fletch's Film Review: Paris, je t'aime
2007-06-22 07:05:00
I can hear the naysayers already."Paris ?? You better be talkin' 'bout Paris, Texas, cause I hate the French.""Love stories? I'm not into "love story" movies. Thanks, anyway.""A movie set in Paris about love stories? Hell no! And I hate subtitles."Well, your loss, if that's your thinking. Paris, je t'aime is easily one of the best movies of the year. With good reason, too - after all, this anthology of 18 short films, each set in one of Paris' arrondissements, counts some of the best actors and directors in the business amongst its participants. This is a demonstration in what movies are (or should be) all about - a range of emotions, terrific acting, a wide array of styles, good stories - it's got it all.To avoid this turning into a book (which it might end up being anyway, but stay with me here), I won't give a complete rundown of all 18, but here are some notes for each, given in the order they appear onscreen, with the title and director noted (with help from Wikipedia):*...
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Fletch's Film Review: Surf's Up
2007-06-21 16:54:00
If you read TGITDNMAR a couple weeks back, you saw that my chance of seeing Surf's Up in the theater was listed at 50%. However, Mrs. Fletch commented that hers was 80%. Well, average that out, and throw in a crappy week of new releases last Friday and that translates to us in the theater watching a surfing penguin movie.Let me tell you - if you see only one surfing penguin movie this year, make it this one. Surf's Up is an entertaining movie, with (as predicted) a bit of sentimentality, but more so, it's packed with great performances by its voice over actors, a soundtrack that doesn't rely on 60s surf tunes or established, overused pop hits (a few songs heard prominently are Green Day's "Holiday" and "Welcome to Paradise," and "Get What You Give," by the New Radicals), and a great mockumentary style that sets it apart from the rest of the animated "kids" movies out there.Much-seen-lately Shia LaBeouf stars as Cody Maverick, a runt of a flightless bird who lost his father youn...
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Fletch's Favored Five: Sin City Flicks
2007-06-19 17:05:00
And by that I mean movies that are set in or feature scenes in Las Vegas, not overrated adaptations of Frank Miller's work that star Mickey Rourke.After all, who doesn't love Vegas? Much like movies with bowling scenes (covered here), films that showcase Vegas in one way or another just add a certain zest and flavor that Sacramento just can't offer, much less Atlantic City (sorry, Rounders). With so many to choose from, it's damn near impossible to pick my favorites. So first, some honorable mentions:The GodfatherThe fact is, I haven't seen this in a long time and barely (if at all) recall any scenes that were filmed in Vegas. However, when doing research for this post, I saw The Godfather as one of the films associated with Las Vegas - as such, I knew omitting it from this list altogether would get me on some hated lists that I don't want to be on. So, here it is.BugsyAnother mob movie that can't be omitted, especially considering that the movie is about how Bugsy started La...
More About: Five , Flick , Favor , Sin City

Fletch's Film Review: Bug
2007-06-18 16:51:00
In general, I don't like movies adapted from plays or that feel like plays - they smack of low-budget desperation and a lack of creativity. If I want to see a play, I'll do just that. Its the same reason I don't want there to be explosions, credits or trailers at the local playhouse - genres should know what they are. Just look at the vast majority of music videos - the people involved should just stick to making music and leave the film out of it. Unless there names are Michel Gondry or David Fincher.But I digress (wildly).Anyway - play movies. A search for "based on play" on IMDb (here) returns over 10,000 matches, and it seems like about 9,000 of them are based on works of Shakespeare. Unfortunately, most movies based on Shakespearean works suck, with Much Ado About Nothing being one of the few exceptions. Watching Kenneth Branaugh act out Hamlet for four hours just doesn't sound like that good of a time to me. But maybe I'm just not cultured enough. As a "Gen X-er," I was s...
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TGITDNMAR* (6/15/07)
2007-06-15 15:48:00
If every week's new releases looked like the crop coming out today, no one would ever go to the theaters. Truly shocking, considering that this is one of the prime weeks - mid-June, all the kids are out of school, and with Ocean's being the big release last week and Evan Almighty being the biggest release next, the next mega-film doesn't come out for three weeks (Transformers)! Anyway, here's the major releases being, um, released today:Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferTime for another trip back in time: this time, let's go all the way back to 2005. You've just gotten out of the theater after seeing Fantastic Four.What's that? You didn't see it in the theater? No - you did, but you thought it sucked?Whatever the case, this trip back in time wasn't worth taking, as everyone who saw the original thought it sucked. But you know what the shocking, twister ending to this story is? The sequel looks much better - though I still thinks Ioan Gruffudd has the name of an Irish...

Programming Note #2
2007-06-14 17:09:00
It's pimping time again - a new column by yours truly is up at NFL Adam's The Hater Nation. The target this time? Some of Phoenix's star athletes and their Napa Valley tastes.It can be found here: http://thehaternation.blogspot.com/2007/0 6/smashed-grapes-entering-water-supply-in .html
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I am required by law to comment on The Sopranos finale
2007-06-13 05:55:00
Unless you've been sleeping under a rock and/or just came back to the future (Hi Marty!), you know that The Sopranos ended on Sunday. As much as I would have liked to let this come and go, as a member of The Pop Culture Media Conglomerate (a fictional entity created by me, as far as you know), I am required to post my thoughts on the subject matter.Again, in case you aren't aware, every critic alive, from newspaper to TV to the blogosphere to message-boardland has been trying to decipher what exactly happened to Tony Soprano when the screen abruptly cut to black. Did he get whacked? Did he simply have some pizza with his family? Did he get arrested? Did he go to Disneyland?I can tell you with some certainly that it is none of those things. Here's my take:
More About: Finale , Comment , Comm

Fletch's Film Review: Mr. Brooks
2007-06-12 16:47:00
One thing is obvious: if you aren't a rabid fan of Dane Cook's, don't go to see Mr. Brooks (aka the "Kevin Costner as a bad guy movie") at a theater near you. For despite the fact that Cook is playing a dramatic role in a dramatic film, the hordes of teens and twentysomethings at the showing I attended were obviously hanging on his every word, and laughing at all of them. Beyond annoying.The film as a whole fares better, but not by that much. When you get past the protagonist / antagonist nature of Costner's role, and imagine instead if it were played by another actor, you can't help but notice how generic the movie is. Look - there's Demi Moore as a hardened cop on the search for a pair of serial killers! She's even got some standard-issue Ray-Bans! Look - there's William Hurt hamming it up (nice for a change to see him genial for the large portion of a movie) as Costner's "dark side!" Look - there's Dane Cook being really funny, even when he's not! You get the idea. (It...
More About: Film , Review , Film Review , Rook

Fletch's Film Review: Ocean's Thirteen
2007-06-11 17:10:00
The Ocean's series are perfect summer movies. Say what you will about the second (I didn't care for it in the theater, but it has grown on me significantly via cable viewings), but all three do exactly what they are intended to do and more: they are mindless popcorn flicks that entertain without insulting your intelligence. Sure, there are unbelievable scams here and there, but the sheer volume of characters (and their respective talents) make most of it believable. Also, with a strong, confident director, and capable writers, you never feel like you're being left out to dry.Without saying too much (the trailer has said plenty already), the scam this time involves getting revenge on another casino owner, this time played by Al Pacino, who brings a lot to the acting table, and thankfully spares us the now-clichéd "Hoo-ah!" speech that he's become known for ever since Scent of a Woman (a rejuvenated Ellen Barkin is also on board, as Pacino's right-hand woman). Notably (and thank...
More About: Film , Review , Film Review , Thirteen , Etch

Sports Movie UMVPs
2007-06-11 17:05:00
Just for posterity's sake, and so that I can get double the mileage points for this column - here's the post I wrote last week for The Hater Nation.---------------------------------- --------When Adam asked me to write something for THN, I was honored at first, then excited, then a bit terrified. After all, even though I'm a sports fan, I'm nowhere near the fanatic (or writer) that many sports bloggers are. Also, I write a blog that is 94% about movies, 3% about other pop culture happenings, and 3% sports (maybe). So there was certainly a challenge to writing something in my strengths to a sports-demanding audience.Then again, there are a whole lot of movie fans out there, and there are a whole lot of sports films to admire and/or mock (and sometimes both at the same time).I thought I'd start by handing out some kudos to some of the unheralded sports movie characters (or actors). Sure, everyone talks about how Kevin Costner was great in Bull Durham and that Tim Robbins throws li...
More About: Sports , Movie , Spor , Ports