The Shy, Chubby, Socially Awkward Music, Movie and TV Blog

TV: WORST WEEK "THE BIRD"

2008-10-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

Sam tries a different method of winning Dick's approval: impressing his wife, Angela. However, Sam's well thought out plan backfires, when Dick's prize birds get involved in "Season 1 Episode 2" of "Worst Week".

The bad luck that comes to Sam continues in the second episode and I guess the second day of his visit to his future in-laws. I wonder if each episode will be a new day but then it can't be unless the show gets picked up for a full season and Sam is staying there for almost a month. Sam has so many moments where you just cringe and realize that he is getting himself into something way before he does. Those set-ups and Kyle Bornheimer, who plays Sam, play it out so well that it makes this show a quick 20 minute laugh.

WORST WEEK "THE BIRD": 7 OUT OF 10

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"Worst Week" airs Monday's at 9:30pm on CBS.

TV: ENTOURAGE "FIRE SALE"

2008-10-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

Ari shows interest in Eric's independent script; L.B. and Nick up their price on their script, believing they have a bidding war on their hands; Johnny Drama prepares to make an appearance on The View in "Season 5 Episode 4" of "Entourage".

It's pretty good to be Eric so far this season on "Entourage", where in the past it used to be pretty good to be Vincent Chase, who is going through a rough time not finding any work. This season has been pretty good but not the usual greatness of past "Entourage". It needs to get back on it's feet and so does Vinny.

ENTOURAGE "FIRE SALE": 7 OUT OF 10

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"Entourage" airs Sunday's at 10pm on HBO.

MUSIC: KELLIE PICKLER "KELLIE PICKLER"

2008-10-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Kellie Pickler is the self-titled second album of country music artist Kellie Pickler. The lead-off single, "Don't You Know You're Beautiful", has charted in the Top 30 on the Hot Country Songs charts.

Kellie Pickler also includes a re-recorded version of "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You", which was previously included on Pickler's 2006 debut album Small Town Girl. Pickler also co-wrote with fellow country singer Taylor Swift the track "Best Days of Your Life", which will be the released as the second single. Clips of each song were put up on hearsomethingcountry.com, with four full-length tracks on Pickler's MySpace.

"Lucky Girl" was previously recorded by Catherine Britt and was released as a single in Australia.

"Don't You Know You're Beautiful"
"I'm Your Woman"
"Rocks Instead of Rice"
"Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You"
"Lucky Girl"
"One Last Time"
"Best Days of Your Life"
"Somebody to Love Me"
"Makin' Me Fall in Love Again"
"Going Out in Style"

KELLIE PICKLER "KELLIE PICKLER": 5 OUT OF 10

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TV: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TIM "ANGRY UNPAID HOOKER / RODNEY'S BACHELOR PARTY"

2008-10-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

Tim tries to explain to his girlfriend and her parents, why a prostitute is in his apartment; Rodney tells Tim about his bachelor party, which Tim finds hard to believe in "Season 1 Episode 1" of "The Life and Times of Tim".

Not a good start to a show that I had high hopes for. Judging from the previews it looked like it was going to be a smart cartoon that was kind of in the same league with "Home Movies" or "Dr. Katz". Sadly though, most of the jokes fall flat and are extremely vulgar, but not in a funny way. The main problem is that Tim is not a likable guy. He doesn't even seem to care that he is caught with a hooker by his girlfriend and her parents.

The show does have a few good moments but not enough of them and Tim needs to stop kind of being an ass. I will give it one more episode until I decide if I'm going to stick with it or tune out.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TIM "ANGRY UNPAID HOOKER / RODNEY'S BACHELOR PARTY": 4 OUT OF 10

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"The Life and Times of Tim" airs Sunday's at 10pm on HBO.

TV: FRINGE "THE ARRIVAL"

2008-10-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

The team investigates a strange cylinder, found in a deadly explosion at a construction site in New York City. The cylinder was in the middle of the explosion and was completely unharmed. Olivia uncovers a correlation between different disturbing events in "Season 1 Episode 4" of "Fringe".

"Fringe" keeps us guessing while adding more puzzle pieces to the mix in this episode. The strange gets stranger with the addition of a creepy bald headed watcher guy. There is also a man who has a weapon that seems like it's from the future and a mind reading device that looks like it hurts. This episode was so out there that even in the end, the episode's story isn't explained and Joshua Jackson's character is now a believer in all this crazy stuff.

FRINGE "THE ARRIVAL": 8 OUT OF 10

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"Fringe" airs Tuesday's at 9pm on FOX.

TV: LITTLE BRITAIN USA "EPISODE 1"

2008-10-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

While on vacation to Mississippi, British tourist check into a motel; Ellie Grace heads to a summer camp; and a sheriff shows off his guns in "Season 1 Episode 1" of "Little Britain USA".

This series premiere to the popular British sketch comedy show takes a while to get used to. But after the first couple of sketches I became more comfortable with the weird characters and the guys playing women, as there is not a one woman in the cast, only two guys and lots of characters. Rosie O'Donnell does show up to poke fun at herself and there is a lot of poking. She is a great sport through it all and almost too great based on the jokes.

My main problem with the show is the laugh track which isn't too bad actually but, you know, it's a laugh track. Also, there is never a steady flow of funny jokes. With each sketch there is a few laughs and then a final big laugh, but the final big laugh is always a good one. That's how sketch shows go though, you have some that work and some that don't. Most of "Little Britain USA" works though. My favorite was the astronaut guy talking to the boy scouts and the most uncomfortable goes to the final sketch with the two guys at the gym.

LITTLE BRITAIN USA "EPISODE 1": 7 OUT OF 10

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"Little Britain USA" airs Sunday's at 10pm on HBO.

TV: CHUCK "CHUCK VERSUS THE FIRST DATE"

2008-10-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

Chuck, Sarah and Casey try to retrieve a vital component for the new Intersect: The Cipher.
At the Buy More, the search for the store's Assistant Manager begins. Chuck and Sarah go on their first date. Casey is again instructed to eliminate Chuck as soon as the new Intersect comes online in "Season 2 Episode 1" of "Chuck".

A good but not great season premier to one of my favorite shows on television last year. The show continues with it's awesome soundtrack. Any show that plays a Flight of The Conchords song, is okay in my book.

CHUCK "CHUCK VERSUS THE FIRST DATE": 7 OUT OF 10

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"Chuck" airs Monday's at 8pm on NBC.

MUSIC: JAMES TAYLOR "COVERS"

2008-10-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Covers is singer-songwriter James Taylor's first covers album.

The album was recorded over ten snowed-in days in January 2008, in a converted barn in Weston, Massachusetts. Some of the tunes Taylor had been performing off and on in concerts for years, while others were new to his repertoire. Altogether 20 songs were recorded.

"It's Growing"
"(I'm a) Road Runner"
"Wichita Lineman"
"Why Baby Why"
"Some Days You Gotta Dance"
"Seminole Wind"
"Suzanne"
"Hound Dog"
"Sadie"
"On Broadway"
"Summertime Blues"
"Not Fade Away"

JAMES TAYLOR "COVERS": 7 OUT OF 10

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TV: LIFE "FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE"

2008-10-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

We meet John Armstrong, a man who works at a stationary store with greeting cards, is suspected of murdering people by putting people in trunks and letting them suffocate. Also, an ice cream truck driver sells more than ice cream from his truck in "Season 2 Episode 1" of "Life".

This season premier of "Life" confirmed to me why I think it's one of the best shows ever. It's not like your regular cop show. Just look at the writing, the acting, the cases that are involved. Not to mention the fact that the main cop is a millionaire trying to figure out who framed him for murder. Good stuff.

LIFE "FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE": 10 OUT OF 10

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"Life" airs Friday's at 10pm on NBC.

TV: THE SIMPSONS "SEX, PIES AND IDIOT SCRAPES"

2008-09-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

Once Ned and Homer's bounty hunting partnership takes a turn for the worse, Homer becomes the hunted, as Ned is on the prowl for him after he skips bail. Meanwhile, Marge mistakenly takes a job at an erotic bakery in "Season 20 Episode 1" of "The Simpsons".

This season premier started off with a weird St. Patrick's Day parade and continued with rather obvious jokes. Some good lines here and there but overall, not the best.

THE SIMPSONS "SEX, PIES AND IDIOT SCRAPES": 6 OUT OF 10

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"The Simpsons" airs Sunday's at 8pm on FOX.

MUSIC: BEN FOLDS "WAY TO NORMAL"

2008-09-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Way to Normal is a 2008 studio album from Ben Folds.

Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)
Dr. Yang
The Frown Song
You Don't Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor) MP3
Before Cologne
Cologne MP3
Errant Dog
Free Coffee
Bitch Went Nuts
Brainwascht
Effington
Kylie from Connecticut

I enjoy Ben Folds and this was a really good album for him to come back with. Not too annoying and not too lame.

BEN FOLDS "WAY TO NORMAL": 7 OUT OF 10

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TV: AMERICAN DAD! "1600 CANDLES"

2008-09-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

The Smith family gets ready to celebrate Roger's big 1-6-double-0, but are sidetracked by Steve's horrifying announcement that he's going through puberty! With the wounds still fresh from Hayley going through "the change" in their minds, Stan and Francine use experimental medicine to try and bypass the growing pains of having another teenager with raging hormones in "Season 4 Episode 1" of "American Dad!".

All I can say about this awesome season premier of "American Dad!" is FIRE! Watch the episode and you'll know what I'm talking about.

AMERICAN DAD! "1600 CANDLES": 10 OUT OF 10

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"American Dad!" airs Sunday's at 9:30pm on FOX.

TV: FAMILY GUY "LOVE BLACKTUALLY"

2008-09-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Brian meets the girl of his dreams, Carolyn. However, Cleveland moves right in and sweeps Carolyn off her feet. Desperate to win her back, Brian must do anything he can, even if it means involving Cleveland's ex-wife, Loretta in "Season 7 Episode 1" of "Family Guy".

This season premier felt more like an episode of Cleveland's new show that he is getting instead of an episode of "Family Guy". We hardly see the usual gang at all except for Brian and Stewie. Maybe this was a teaser for Cleveland's show but if it is, then I can't say I'm looking forward to it.

FAMILY GUY "LOVE BLACKTUALLY": 6 OUT OF 10

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"Family Guy" airs Sunday at 9pm on FOX.

TV: PSYCH "GUS WALKS INTO A BANK"

2008-09-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Gus is taken hostage at the Santa Barbara Savings and Loan Bank while making a deposit for Shawn in "Season 3 Episode 8" of "Psych".

My current bank is WaMu which of course is not doing good right now but luckily I don't keep my paychecks in there so I have all of $2.73 in my account. When I drove by there yesterday, they had tape up like it was a crime scene where someone got murdered or something, so I don't think I will be going there in a rush anytime soon to take out my $2.73.

Anyways, that reminded me of this season finale episode of "Psych" which was good but not great.

PSYCH "GUS WALKS INTO A BANK": 6 OUT OF 10

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"Psych" returns this Christmas with a new episode.

MUSIC: TV ON THE RADIO "DANCING CHOOSE"

2008-09-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

"Dancing Choose" is a single off of Dear Science, the third studio album from New York's TV on the Radio.

"DANCING CHOOSE" MP3

MUSIC: PORT O'BRIEN "STUCK ON A BOAT"

2008-09-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

MUSIC: CHAD VANGAALEN "MOLTEN LIGHT"

2008-09-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

"MOLTEN LIGHT" MP3

MUSIC: COLDPLAY "LOST!"

2008-09-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

"Lost!" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay, and is the third track and third single on the band's 2008 album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.

An acoustic piano version of the song, re-titled "Lost?", was also released as the B-side on the CD single '"Violet Hill" and on the Japanese and iTunes Store editions of the album.

Upon the release of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends Coldplay revealed that "Sing", from Blur's 1991 debut album Leisure, was a source of inspiration in having provided a starting point for "Lost!".

"LOST!" MP3

MUSIC: HEY MONDAY "HOMECOMING"

2008-09-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

TV: REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER "09/26/08"

2008-09-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

An enjoyable episode with much talk about how stupid Sarah Palin is and about the economy. Chris Rock was pretty funny as he joined the show via the big giant screen. Ralph Nader basically proved throughout the show that he is completely batshit crazy now.

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER "09/26/08": 6 OUT OF 10

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"Real Time with Bill Maher" airs Friday's at 11pm on HBO.

TV: KITCHEN NIGHTMARES "BLACK PEARL"

2008-09-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

Chef Ramsay heads to New York, New York to help out a struggling seafood restaurant called the Black Pearl. The restaurant lacks communication because of the three very different owners and their styles of work in "Season 2 Episode 5" of "Kitchen Nightmares".

This episode was funny and interesting throughout because having three owners of a restaurant made it three times the usual crap we get from an owner of these restaurants. Especially one in particular who keeps giving Ramsay crap and being rude to just about everybody.

The restaurant actually looks really good to begin with but having the three owners makes this a little bit harder to run it. Ramsay changes things and makes them go with just one guy to run it and see how it works out. Even till the end though, when everything changes for the better, that one guy is still giving Ramsay crap. I can't wait for the catch up show to see how everything is going with the restaurants and we get to this one.

My girlfriend Kelly was appalled though by something they added to the restaurant which was one of those grab snatch machines but instead of stuffed toys and such, they had lobsters in it. I thought it was funny but she didn't.

KITCHEN NIGHTMARES "BLACK PEARL": 8 OUT OF 10

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"Kitchen Nightmares" airs Wednesday's at 9pm on FOX.

TV: KITCHEN NIGHTMARES "TROBIANO'S"

2008-09-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Chef Ramsay heads to Great Neck, New York to help out an Italian restuarant called Trobiano's. The owner of Trobiano's is running the restaurant on his girlfriend's parents' money, which is running out in "Season 2 Episode 4" of "Kitchen Nightmares".

Ramsay has to deal with a stubborn young kid who has his own restaurant and doesn't want to listen to criticism which makes this episode hard on our good chef but good TV watching for us. The kid refuses to taste his own food even though it looks pretty good. He doesn't want to change anything that he is doing but of course, he eventually comes around in the end. There is a nice little surprise in the end, that my girlfriend Kelly saw coming a mile away but she still cried and asked me when I was going to do that. If you don't know what the surprise is yet, just think about it.

KITCHEN NIGHTMARES "TROBIANO'S": 7 OUT OF 10

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"Kitchen Nightmares" airs Wednesday's at 9pm on FOX.

TV: LAW & ORDER SVU "TRIALS"

2008-09-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

The detectives investigate when a couple are accused of abusing their foster child in "Season 10 Episode 1" of "Law & Order: SVU".

"SVU" returns with a case that is kind of slow but plenty on one surprise after another. The kid in the episode reminded me of this kid that I take care of at work and let me tell you, this kid is the devil. I am not exaggerating when I say this kid has bitten people and turned over tables that are three times his size. So since this episode brought up work in my mind, during the weekend when I should be thinking of anything but that demon child, I didn't enjoy it as much.

I also didn't enjoy the new district attorney that the show has. She looks like she stepped out of a fashion shoot as a hot secretary or something. She has no personality at all but maybe she just has to be in a few more episodes to develop one or something, but as of right now, I don't like her. We need a good rape case.

LAW & ORDER SVU "TRIALS": 6 OUT OF 10

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"Law & Order: SVU" airs Tuesday nights at 10pm on NBC.

TV: PSYCH "TALK DERBY TO ME"

2008-09-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

Juliet goes undercover as a skater to solve a number of robberies that are linked to a roller derby team in "Season 3 Episode 7" of "Psych".

I've never been to a roller derby but I bet that I enjoyed this episode of "Psych" a lot more than if I was actually at one. A bunch of hot girls on roller skates committing a crime makes for some good TV watching.

PSYCH "TALK DERBY TO ME": 6 OUT OF 10

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"Psych" will return during Christmas for a new episode on USA.

TV: BURN NOTICE "GOOD SOLDIER"

2008-09-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hired by Fiona's boyfriend's friend Henry, Michael poses as a disgruntled bodyguard to thwart a kidnapping plot masterminded by a ruthless man named Lesher in "Season 2 Episode 9" of "Burn Notice".

This is the last episode of the season with more to come sometime during winter. It's a good enough episode to end on right now but this season has been very lackluster. There have been a few good episodes here and there but overall this season "Burn Notice" has been very corny with it's stories and camera work. None of this was an issue with it's first season which was great.

This finale's story is just alright but finding out more about Carla and Michael's burn notice is what fans want to know more of and we haven't gotten much of that this season. We get a little more info in this season finale and the ending cliffhanger is pretty good despite the whole episode. For "Burn Notice" to get me back as a fan, they need to shape up for their third season.

BURN NOTICE "GOOD SOLDIER": 6 OUT OF 10

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"Burn Notice" will return for it's third season this winter on USA.

MOVIE: SNOW ANGELS

2008-09-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

Snow Angels is a 2008 drama film starring Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It was directed by David Gordon Green, who also wrote the screenplay adapted from Stewart O'Nan's 1994 novel of the same title.

"Snow Angels" tells the parallel tales of a teenager named Arthur (Michael Angarano) and his onetime babysitter Annie (Beckinsale) -- whose turbulent relationship with her estranged husband, Glenn (Rockwell), leads the small-town waitress down a troubled path. Arthur is a high-school student from a dysfunctional family, and does everything in his power to avoid hanging around the house while mom and dad quarrel. When he's not practicing his trombone and performing with the high-school marching band, Arthur can usually be found bussing tables at the local Chinese restaurant and flirting with older waitress Annie. Annie used to be Arthur's babysitter, and is currently struggling to separate from her former high-school sweetheart, Glenn. But being a single mother isn't easy, especially since the troubled Glenn wants nothing more than to clean up his act and reunite his family.

Back at school, Arthur and pretty classmate Lila (Olivia Thirlby) have been bonding over their mutual love for all things geeky. Though the casual friendship shows promise of evolving into something more when Lila expresses her true feelings for Arthur, he can't help but becoming distracted by his chaotic family life: his father is moving out of the family home, and his mother is doing everything in her power to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Realizing that happiness is fleeting as his family becomes shattered and Annie experiences a series of distressing encounters with Glenn, Arthur gradually begins to fall for Lisa despite his growing cynicism concerning long-term relationships. Later, on a cold winter morning, Glenn and Annie's past catches up with them in a blinding flash, and the lives of everyone they know are suddenly and irrevocably changed.

"Snow Angels" is a cold looking movie and another masterpiece by David Gordon Green. I haven't seen "Pineapple Express" yet but I hear good things. If you can make a movie like this and then go on to do something like "Pineapple Express" and do it well, then you have got a gift of making movies. He fills his movies with actors that don't seem like actors but like normal people off the street. His more recent films have had more noticeable actors in them but don't let that fool you. Beckinsale and Rockwell give some of the best performances I have seen in a long time.

The film is filled with depressing scenes and shots of the cold hard winter. But it is also filled with scenes of tenderness and love. The Beckinsale and Rockwell story is the depressing one. The story with Angarano and Thirlby is filled with magic. Here is a couple that have just found each other and are falling in love while Beckinsale and Rockwell have fallen out of love long ago. Rockwell isn't taking their breakup well and they both argue about the care of their daughter.

The movie is filled with awesome scenes. Like the scenes with the marching band, Rockwell dancing in a bar in perhaps the most creepy dancing bar scene I have ever seen, the discovery of someone who has gone missing and the scene where Thirlby reveals her love. Thirlby gives her friend Juno a run for her money in a great performance. This might be a depressing film for a lot of people and it kind of is, but it is also a great film filled with love.

SNOW ANGELS: 10 OUT OF 10

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TV: FRINGE "THE GHOST NETWORK"

2008-09-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Roy McComb, a man who claims to receive visions from God, sees passengers on a bus caught in a gas attack that solidifies the air around them, asphyxiating them. Now the team must use Roy's visions to find the man responsible in "Season 1 Episode 3" of "Fringe".

"Fringe" continues to be good at what it does. It is still slick looking and the stories are still creepy enough to keep watching. This episode was a little slower than the two before it but John Noble as Dr. Bishop made me laugh numerous times throughout. I'm starting to think he might have a very good chance at an Emmy nomination for this role.

I've been trying to figure out what those things mean at the end of every episode. The little flash of something like a leaf or a frog. I think it might be useless to try and figure it out like some kind of puzzle and just go with the flow of the show, see where it takes us.

FRINGE "THE GHOST NETWORK": 7 OUT OF 10

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TV: THE OFFICE "WEIGHT LOSS"

2008-09-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

The summer activities of the Dunder Mifflin staff are highlighted, including an interbranch weight loss competition and following Pam at the Pratt Art School in "Season 5 Episode 1" of "The Office".

"The Office" has been one of my favorite comedy shows for the past couple of years. It's tradition in my house to quote lines from it, including "that's what she said". Bring up things Dwight does in topics of conversation. Every Christmas for the past three years my mom has sent me an "Office" calendar. Yesterday, my girlfriend Kelly gave her high school history classes a homework assignment that was to watch the season premier of "The Office" and then tell a joke from the episode the next day.

The season 5 premier was good "Office" but not great "Office". The weight loss storyline was funny throughout the show and Ryan coming back to fill in for Pam were the highlights of the hour long episode. Michael was acting like his usual offensive self throughout. Even when he had a chance to ask Amy Ryan's character out on a date, he does something that had me shaking my head.

There are some surprises throughout the episode and the one at the end, which I will not reveal, had Kelly in tears. Toby also makes an appearance and all I can say is poor Toby.

THE OFFICE "WEIGHT LOSS": 7 OUT OF 10

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MUSIC: PLAIN WHITE T'S "BIG BAD WORLD"

2008-09-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Big Bad World is the fifth album by Plain White T's. To promote the album, the Plain White T's launched a few webisodes, which together form the series Meet Me in California.

"Big Bad World"
"Natural Disaster" MP3
"Serious Mistake"
"Rainy Day"
"1, 2, 3, 4"
"That Girl"
"Sunlight"
"I Really Want You"
"Meet Me in California"
"Someday"

Plain White T's was an indie band before they became big money makers with that overplayed song that shall not be named but you know what it is. I liked them before the song that shall not be named but now they are popular and they set out to make popular music. "Big Bad World" is not a good album, mostly because it is trying too hard to appeal to their large fan base now. "Natural Disaster" is the only single that stands out from the rest but as a whole, this album is a miss.

PLAIN WHITE T'S "BIG BAD WORLD": 4 OUT OF 10

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TV: HEROES: (VOLUME THREE: VILLAINS) THE SECOND COMING

2008-09-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

After a look into the future, Nathan's shooter is revealed, while Hiro receives an important message from his father in "Season 3 Episode 1" of "Heroes".

It's not too much to ask for a show, that gave you a really good and interesting first season, to keep giving it to you. I guess for the producers and the writers of "Heroes" it is. After a long wait and promises that the third season would be better than the really bad second, "Heroes" is finally back and crappier than ever.

This episode had me bored to tears and it didn't even bring up story lines that weren't finished yet in the second season. Nothing exciting happens and the acting is horrible. Masi Oka as Hiro and his encounter with a girl quick on her feet is the only thing that got me through this episode. The scenes with Claire and Sylar were also well done but both of these stories were only a fraction of the episode. Everything else was filled with boring talk about the future and a future Peter looking very mad.

I also noticed that they stole an idea from the USA show "The 4400", which was also about ordinary people with superpowers. That makes me mad as hell because a crappy show like "Heroes" continues to be on the air while "The 4400" was a really good show but USA just canceled it, even though it had good ratings and it's last season was it's best. "Heroes" needs to think of its own crap to deal with and not steal from a show thats not on anymore.

I haven't seen the second episode yet, even though I know it's already aired, but I can't say I'm looking forward to it and maybe it will get better. All I know is, judging from this season premier, "Heroes" is not a good show anymore.

HEROES: "(VOLUME THREE: VILLAINS) THE SECOND COMING": 4 OUT OF 10

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TV: WORST WEEK "PILOT"

2008-09-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Sam and Mel intend to reveal her pregnancy to her parents after a quiet dinner. However, when Sam misses the train after having a drunk girl throw up on him, the dinner starts becoming increasingly unlikely in "Season 1 Episode 1" of "Worst Week".

I cracked up pretty hard at the previews for "Worst Week" and you know if you laugh at the stuff they put in the previews then it must be at least a pretty good show. It is a pretty good show and I see it getting even better if CBS keeps it around.

It's "Meet The Parents" for television but it has its own quirky humor that kept me laughing almost every minute. Kyle Bornheimer, the one having the worst week, is really good at trying his best not to look like an ass but failing every time. Kurtwood Smith is also good, basically playing the same role he had in "That 70's Show", but without that horrible laugh track.

My only major problem with the pilot is that it went a little too fast. I know it's only a half hour show but, as they do in most pilots, they tried to cram too much in so little time. I'm guessing that this won't happen in the next episode and it will run a lot smoother. In time, this could be my new favorite comedy show.

WORST WEEK "PILOT": 7 OUT OF 10

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TV: BURN NOTICE "DOUBLE BOOKED"

2008-09-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

An associate from Michael's past hires him to assassinate a woman named Jeannie, who is about to become a very rich widow. As Michael investigates, the situation grows more complicated in "Season 2 Episode 8" of "Burn Notice".

This season of "Burn Notice" hasn't yet lived up to the first season and overall it hasn't been very good. It's almost like the second season of "Heroes" was to its first. All the fun, action and comedy that was in the first season is gone. Well, its still here, it's just not as good.

In the first season, each episode ended with a cliffhanger that would torture you because you had to wait a week to find out what happens next. This season, each episode ends on a dull note, with Michael getting a little bit closer to finding out about the people who burned him. So far this season, the show hardly focuses on Michael's burn notice, and more on the lame plots of each episode. I could understand if the stories in each episode were as good as last seasons but their not.

This episode is another downer and probably the worst so far this season. Tim Matheson who is in the episode, also directs, and lets just say he should stick to his day job. The camera shots are horribly done and the editing makes "The Aviator" look like "Citizen Kane." The next episode is the last of the season, even though USA has more episodes, which they are saving for winter. I guess so we won't have to wait a whole year for more but if the next season is going to continue this way, I might not care to wait at all.

BURN NOTICE: "DOUBLE BOOKED": 5 OUT OF 10

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TV: ENTOURAGE "THE ALL OUT FALL OUT"

2008-09-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

To avoid bankruptcy, Vince agrees to make an appearance at a sweet 16 party. Drama is still devastated by his breakup with Jacqueline and Ari ups the ante with Adam Davies in "Season 5 Episode 3" of "Entourage".

I've been worried about "Entourage" lately because HBO made us wait over a year for another season and the first two episodes were really disappointing for me. They weren't so horrible that I thought about not watching the show anymore but they were some of the most uninteresting episodes of the show ever and not what is to be expected for a show that has been gone for a year.

Episode 3 however gets the show back on its feet. Most of the episode focuses on Ari and his rivalry with Davies which starts off kind of lame with a long car chase but ends badass. Vince continues to not get any work so he decides to make an appearance at a big sweet 16 party for some big pay. The best moments of the show are toward the end at the party where Drama does something that had me floored and Eric gets a call thats good for him and not so good for Vince. This episode got me excited for the show again and looking forward to the next.

"ENTOURAGE: THE ALL OUT FALL OUT": 7 OUT OF 10

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MUSIC: COLD WAR KIDS "LOYALTY TO LOYALTY"

2008-09-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

Loyalty to Loyalty is the second album by Cold War Kids. It will be released on September 23, 2008. The song "Something Is Not Right With Me" is available as a low-quality free download on Cold War Kids' website.

"Against Privacy"
"Mexican Dogs"
"Every Valley Is Not a Lake"
"Something Is Not Right With Me" MP3
"Welcome to the Occupation"
"Golden Gate Jumpers"
"Avalanche In B"
"I've Seen Enough"
"Every Man I Fall For"
"Dreams Old Men Dream"
"On The Night That My Love Broke Through"
"Relief"
"Cryptomnesia"

Cold War Kids has yet to impress me even with their second album. They seem to be almost there but never quite finishing in the really good category that they would seem to be in. Every song starts out great, only to end in just alright. The main single "Something Is Not Right With Me" is the best and "Dreams Old Men Dream" is a close second.

COLD WAR KIDS "LOYALTY TO LOYALTY": 6 OUT OF 10

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TV: REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER "09/19/08"

2008-09-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

This was a slow episode mostly because the panel was so dull. I like Andrew Sullivan but he spends the whole show complaining about things. will.i.am brings nothing to the table, not even a smile. The woman who wrote "The Shock Doctrine" basically says things that we already know.

The only good moment came when Maher started to talk about religion and Sullivan started to get really pissed off and defensive. It was funny to see Maher make fun of Sullivan and explain to him that he really isn't making fun of religion. They soon make up though and the ending of New Rules is a minor one, with a message to that kid Levi, the one who knocked up Sarah Palin's daughter. I also liked the addition of a new weekly feature that has Maher featuring a different country every week that you can move to if John McCain wins the election.

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MUSIC: VIVIAN GIRLS "TELL THE WORLD"

2008-09-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

"TELL THE WORLD" MP3

MUSIC: TEGAN AND SARA "CALL IT OFF"

2008-09-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

"Call It Off" is a single off of The Con, Tegan and Sara's fifth full-length studio album.

"CALL IT OFF" MP3

MUSIC: BJORK "THE DULL FLAME OF DESIRE"

2008-09-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

"The Dull Flame of Desire" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer Björk featuring Antony Hegarty from the band Antony and the Johnsons. The track will be released as the fifth single from her sixth full-length studio album,Volta, on September 29th. Björk has performed the song 12 times on her global Volta tour, often with Antony Hegarty onstage. The lyrics to the song are an English translation of a Russian poem by Fyodor Tyutchev, as it appears in the Andrei Tarkovsky film, Stalker.

"THE DULL FLAME OF DESIRE" MP3

TV: KITCHEN NIGHTMARES "GIUSEPPI'S"

2008-09-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Chef Ramsay heads to Macomb Twp, Michigan to help a father and son turn around their Italian restaurant, Giuseppi's, which is in much need of help before they have to close the doors in "Season 2 Ep. 3" of "Kitchen Nightmares".

This episode is more about fixing a family than a restaurant. The son cooks and is in line to run it, while his father and mother who are supposed to be retired by now, can't let the place go to their son that easily. The father doesn't think his son's heart is into it and doesn't yet want to give the place to him because he still wants to run it himself, even though he shouldn't be with his current medical condition.

Chef Ramsay doesn't have much to work with considering that the restaurant is located in a mini mall next to Wing Wong's. A tiny place that has bad looking food that one chef likes to nuke in the microwave a lot, Ramsay doesn't show them how to cook it better but gives them better recipes.

He makes over the place like usual and it's nice but just a new paint job would have been an improvement over the horrible 70's theme the place had before. Little time is spent on those things and more time is spent with Ramsay trying to get the father and son on good terms again. If I wanted to see a father and son cry while hugging each other, I would watch Dr. Phil, but things do get emotional toward the end and it is rather touching. I just wish that the next restaurant that Ramsay visits, he acts like a restaurateur and not a peer counselor.

KITCHEN NIGHTMARES "GIUSEPPI'S": 6 OUT OF 10

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TV: AMERICA'S TOUGHEST JOBS "MONSTER TRUCKS"

2008-09-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Now in the lower 48, the contestants take on the task of monster trucks in "Season 1 Ep. 4" of "America's Toughest Jobs".

Finally, the contestants are out of Sarah Palin territory and in California. For a while there I thought all the toughest jobs were just going to be in Alaska. The episode starts off with that guy who said he was homeless as a child talking about being homeless as a child and the only thing that got him through it was playing with his toy monster trucks. He weeps like a baby and tells the camera that he is going to kick ass in this episode. Of course he doesn't, and the ones who actually kick some ass, are the women as usual.

We find out that it's pretty easy to drive a monster truck. As long as you know when to stop and go, which is pretty easy since you have lights to tell you, then you can drive one. This seems to fly over the heads of all the guys who try to be tough including the crying guy. We learn a little bit more about Rie that puts the crying guy's story to shame. We also learn that a first year monster truck driver makes twice as more than a high school history teacher which made my high school history teacher girlfriend Kelly's mouth drop to the floor.

Mostly the guys who try to act all tough are the ones who end up in the bottom 4 and the one who goes home will not surprise you but will give you a good laugh, especially when you find out at the end what they are up to now.

AMERICA'S TOUGHEST JOBS "MONSTER TRUCKS": 6 OUT OF 10

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TV: TERMINATOR "AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE"

2008-09-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

Cameron and Sarah take the initiative to investigate a nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, John loses interest in academics, but becomes more popular at school with a new friend's help.

"Season 2 Ep. 2" of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" continues to make the show more watchable with interesting writing and acting. The first couple of episodes of the show were all about action and trying to look cool while being associated with the "Terminator" franchise. Towards the end of the first season and now in its second, "Sarah Connor Chronicles" is trying to do its own thing, away from the storyline of the franchise. Maybe its because of the upcoming new "Terminator" movie but the show is trying to make itself stand out now apart from the movies.

The show has really good acting, even by actors who you only see once in an episode. I've noticed that the show has had some really good character actors and I hope they continue that. This show has had some better acting out of its robot characters then any of the movies, and yes, that includes Arnold. The premise of this episode is all about the struggle for a power plant and if the robots will take control over it. More to do with the characters than the action is fine by me when it is done to great effect and this show does it right.

"TERMINATOR: AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE": 7 OUT OF 10

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MUSIC: DJ KHALED "WE GLOBAL"

2008-09-18T09:17:00.001-07:00

We Global is the third album by Miami based producer DJ Khaled. This will be the last album on his current Koch Records label deal. Guest appearances include The Game, T-Pain, Bun B, Rick Ross, Ace Hood, Plies, Akon, Trick Daddy, Lil Boosie, Nas, Kanye West, Fabolous, Fat Joe, Sean Paul, Brisco, Busta Rhymes, Pitbull, Casely, Flo Rida, and many more.

I will admit that DJ Khaled mixes a good tune but I think he is starting to wear on me. With all these guest artists on his new album, which isn't rare for a DJ to have them, it feels more like a let's make money project then a let's make some good music project. The album sounds like any other album that would come out of the Miami club scene with the exception of the single "We Global" (MP3) which is helped out by Fat Joe, who despite his name, is more talented then most give him credit for. Unless he changes his tune, I can't say that I will be looking forward to any more of his all star projects.

"DJ KHALED: WE GLOBAL": 3 OUT OF 10

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TV: FRINGE "THE SAME OLD STORY"

2008-09-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Olivia, Peter, and Walter Bishop investigate the strange death of a woman who had an even stranger child. The woman was pregnant for only hours, yet the baby she birthed was fully developed - and also aged eighty years in the span of a few minutes. Olivia asks Nina Sharp of Massive Dynamic for help.

"Season 1 Ep. 2" of "Fringe" is almost as good as the pilot, but for all the money that went into the pilot, they didn't spend as much on this one. The cool title effects are still there with the nice establishing shots but you can tell that the camera zooms are making up for something. "Fringe" can't be a cheap show to make and I didn't expect the high quality of the pilot to be like the whole series but as long as they keep up with the interesting plots and the chemistry of the cast, I will continue to tune in.

The premise for this episode is truly creepy which makes up for the lackluster ending. We find out a little bit more about Peter's history and that his father might have done some of his experimenting on him. John Noble continues to stand out as the doctor as he continues to get weirder and weirder. This cast fits really well together, even the mean FBI boss played by Lance Reddick is starting to become a favorite of mine. Let the weird continue.

"FRINGE: THE SAME OLD STORY": 6 OUT OF 10

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TV: FRINGE "PILOT"

2008-09-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

When all the passengers on a plane die, FBI agent Olivia Dunham investigates the events and while on the investigation her partner, John Scott, almost dies. A desperate Olivia looks for help and finds Dr. Walter Bishop, but he cannot help her because he has been institutionalized. The only way to even question him is with the help of his son Peter.

Olivia continues her investigations leading her to Nina Sharp, a manipulative executive. Olivia, Peter and Dr. Bishop will begin to discover what really happened on Flight 627 and begin to uncover a larger truth.

The pilot episode of "Fringe" is one of the best I have seen since "Swingtown". It is almost an hour and a half long so it's not too short to leave you hanging but it does end with you wanting more. It is well shot, well acted, and well written but time will tell if that will continue or if it was all just for the pilot. John Noble as Dr. Bishop stands out in the cast and the "X-Files" vibe keeps you interested when parts of the show start to slow down.

"Fringe" will not fail I suspect, mostly because it will be aired after Fox's most popular shows and the fact that it's another show from TV puzzle master J.J. Abrams. I hope it sticks around too and most importantly, stays with the same vibe that the pilot has.

FRINGE "THE PILOT": 7 OUT OF 10

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MUSIC: JEM "DOWN TO EARTH"

2008-09-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Down to Earth is the second album by Jem, the follow-up to her successful 2004 debut, Finally Woken. The first single, "It's Amazing," was featured on the soundtrack to the "Sex and the City" movie. In August, 2008, "Crazy" was released as a single on iTunes and other digital music outlets.

The press release states that Jem co-wrote the album with a variety of people including Jeff Bass, Lester Mendez and Greg Kurstin and sings in Japanese on the track, "Aciid!". The album also includes a collaboration with South African singer-songwrite and poet-activist Vusi Mahlasela on the track “You Will Make It” recalling 9/11, and dealing with the suffering of loss.

"Down to Earth"
"Crazy"
"I Want You To..."
"It's Amazing"
"Keep On Walking"
"You Will Make It"
"I Always Knew"
"Got It Good"
"Aciiid!"
"How Would You Like It"
"And So I Pray"
"On Top of the World"

I remember liking Jem's sound when I heard her cover of a Beatles song on one of the "O.C." soundtracks, a show that I never watched but will admit had some really good music choices. So I was interested in Jem's newest album. I was sadly disappointed because it sounds nothing like what I heard in that Beatles cover and more like a Mandy Moore album. "It's Amazing" is the only single that stands out but not by much.

JEM "IT'S AMAZING": 3 OUT OF 10

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MUSIC: BOB DYLAN "DREAMIN' OF YOU"

2008-09-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

"Dreamin' of You" is a single off of The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 - Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006 an upcoming compilation album by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and is the most recent installment of his official "bootleg series" of rare and unissued recordings. It is set to be released as both a double and (limited edition) triple album. The three disc version of Tell Tale Signs includes a 150-page book, and some editions include a 7" vinyl single with two tracks from the set.

The album spans the recording sessions for Oh Mercy, World Gone Wrong, Time Out of Mind, and Modern Times as well as a number of soundtrack contributions and previously unreleased live tracks from 1989 through 2006. Although Under the Red Sky, Good as I Been to You, and Love and Theft were all recorded during this time period, apparently no tracks from these sessions will be included on Tell Tale Signs.

"DREAMIN' OF YOU" MP3

Classic Dylan is awesome, new Dylan is just okay and rare unreleased Dylan is a treasure. "Dreamin' of You" is a fine song that isn't great but it's not as dull as some of his new stuff. You also can't go wrong with the music video that doesn't feature Dylan but awesome character actor Harry Dean Stanton.

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MUSIC: BEN FOLDS "YOU DON'T KNOW ME"

2008-09-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

"You Don't Know Me" is a single off of Way to Normal, the new studio album from Ben Folds. Although Folds originally said in an interview with Paste magazine that the album would be released on September 16, 2008, it is now set for release on September 30, 2008 in the United States and on September 29, 2008 in the United Kingdom.

I always enjoy Ben Folds but sometimes he can become a little too much with his comedy, which he has plenty of on "Way To Normal" but seems to have tone it down a little when compared with his other albums. "Way To Normal" has a better sound and the comedic lyrics are not as cheesy which is evident on "You Don't Know Me", a good song with Regina Spektor featured in the background.

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MUSIC: ELBOW "THE BONES OF YOU"

2008-09-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

"The Bones of You" is a single off of The Seldom Seen Kid, the Mercury Award winning fourth studio album by the indie rock band Elbow.

The album was recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester, and is the first Elbow album to be entirely self-produced, mixed and recorded without any outside help. The bulk of the record was written and performed by the band, besides a guest appearance from singer-songwriter Richard Hawley who contributes to guest vocals, lead guitar and co-songwriting on "The Fix".

"THE BONES OF YOU" MP3

I just recently discovered Elbow and I like how they mix things up. Every song doesn't sound like any of the other songs that come before it. Shortly after I first discovered them, I heard their song "Grounds For Divorce" in the trailer for the Coen Brothers movie "Burn After Reading". At first I thought it was them, but then I said no, it doesn't really sound like them. I knew I heard the song before and when I looked it up online and realized that it was Elbow I couldn't believe I thought it wasn't them.

"The Bones of You" is also a very different song that sounds familiar in a way, but is definitely worthy of your ears.

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MUSIC: COLIN MUNROE "SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY"

2008-09-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

"SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY" MP3

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" is one of my favortie U2 songs and any cover of it is a song I like,
even if the cover isn't that good. Thankfully, Colin Munroe does a fine job with it, even adding
a few of his own touches to spruce it up a bit and make it his own. The music video is also
very cool, with one long shot of things built out of legos and army men doing their thing.

MUSIC: TYGA "AIM"

2008-09-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

"AIM" is a single off of No Introduction, the debut studio album by American rapper Tyga.

I should be hating this kid and his song with a passion but it is very catchy despite the fact
that it's about him meeting a girl on MySpace and then chatting with her on AOL Instant
Messenger. Many young rappers his age make songs about things they can't even do legally
yet so I give Tyga a passing grade.

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MOVIE: THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM

2008-09-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

The Forbidden Kingdom (Chinese: 功夫之王) is a 2008 Hollywood martial arts-adventure film from Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company directed by Rob Minkoff. It is the first film to star together two of the best-known names in the martial arts film genre, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping.

This time-traveling take on the Monkey King fable finds an American teen transported back to ancient China after wandering into a pawn shop and discovering the king's fighting stick. Once there, the adventurous teen joins an army of fierce warriors who have sworn to free their imprisoned king at all costs. In addition to appearing as the mythical Monkey King, Li assumes the role of a silent monk, and Chan appears in the role of kung fu master Lu Yan.

I am always down for a movie that stars Chan that isn't called The Tuxedo, but for a movie that stars Chan and Li both fighting together, is not something that can be missed. Although, The Forbidden Kingdom is no Hero, House of Flying Daggers or Crouching Tiger, it is still a nice piece of work that stars two of the biggest kung fu guys in the game.

I have always enjoyed Chan, when he was at his best with Rumble In The Bronx to even Rush Hour 3. With The Forbidden Kingdom he kind of returns to his roots starring in a good cheesy kung fu movie with the only difference being that he gets a little help from special effects. Everyone has to come to grips now with the fact that Chan is just too old to do his own stunts anymore and computer effects have to help him out a bit. Even Buster Keaton had to stop doing all those crazy types of stunts at some point. I also enjoyed Li as the Monkey King, who I think is not as good as Chan kung fu wise, but is better at delivering English language lines. You would think Chan would be a little bit better at his English after all these years but he is still about the same.

Neither Chan or Li are the stars of The Forbidden Kingdom however. That role goes to Michael Angarano who does a good job at basically playing the same role that the kid in The Neverending Story had, as the two movies are mostly identical, right down to the bullies and the old man in the shop. Forbidden Kingdom has some nice kung fu thanks to Woo-ping, even though some fight scenes start to look the same and some computer effects are noticeable. David Buckley supplies some great music to go with the fight scenes and director Rob Minkoff does a fine job.

The Forbidden Kingdom is not a must see film for it's kung fu scenes. If it was ranked on a list with other movies as far as that goes it would be on the bottom. But it is a must see for fans of Chan or Li or both. The Forbidden Kingdom is a throwback to those cheesy kung fu movies of the past, updated with a few computer effects and our favorite kung fu guys not as quick as they once were, wrinkles and all.

THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM: 6 OUT OF 10

The DVD features deleted scenes; audio commentary; a behind-the-scenes featurette; a making-of featurette; cast and crew interviews and bloopers.

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MUSIC: GYM CLASS HEROES "THE QUILT"

2008-09-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Quilt is the fourth album by Gym Class Heroes released by Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance.

Half of the album's 14 tracks are produced by Patrick Stump with producers Cool & Dre, Tricky Stewart and Allstar producing the other half. Featured artists on the record include Busta Rhymes, Estelle, The-Dream and Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates. Additional background vocals on the album are also provided by Patrick Stump, Patty Crash, Andre Leon, and Lyndsey Ray. Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy is also credited as working on a track.

1. Guilty as Charged

2. DRNK TXT Rmeo

3. Peace Sign/Index Down

4. Like Father, Like Son (Papa's Song)

5. Blinded by the Sun

6. Catch Me If You Can

7. Cookie Jar

8. Live a Little

9. Don't Tell Me It's Over

10. Live Forever (Fly with Me)

11. Kissin' Ears

12. Home

13. No Place to Run

14. Coming Clean

GYM CLASS HEROES "THE QUILT": 7 OUT OF 10

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MOVIE: THE FALL

2008-09-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Fall is a 2006 film by Tarsem Singh, starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, and Justine Waddell. It is based on the screenplay for the 1981 film Yo Ho Ho by Valeri Petrov.

Unable to free himself from his sterile confines, the immobile patient's deepest fears form the basis of a dark story that he shares with his young companion -- a little girl who visits his room as she recovers from a nasty fall. As the eerie tale unfolds, reality and fantasy gradually merge to form a strange world in which anything is possible.

Tarsem took a lot of crap for The Cell, which I thought was a really good movie, but which I know has it's following of haters including my mom who walked out of the theater. However, even the haters can't dispute the fact that it is one of the best looking movies ever put to film. After 8 years, Tarsem is back with The Fall, a movie that took him most of that time to make. You can tell that he had full control over this movie and rightfully so since he put most of his own money into it. If you hated The Cell for it's really dark and depressing visuals, then you shouldn't have a problem with The Fall. Tarsem uses his same types of techniques for more beautiful imagery here.

The movie has a story within a story. The man and the little girl both in the same hospital is the real world. The other story is a fantasy which exists in the little girl's head as the man tells it to her. However, this isn't a Mother Goose story. A revenge fantasy that takes place in a world with vast deserts and palaces that float on water. This is where Tarsem uses most of his imagery that was created, although it may not seem like it, not with computer graphics but with traditional filmmaking techniques. That means the elephant swimming in the ocean is real, or seems like it is anyway. That means the scenes towards the end, with the unending labyrinths and explosions, are all real. It is a feast for the eyes and one of the best looking films ever.

However, if the two stories in the movie or even just one of the them weren't that good, then the movie would just be good based on its visuals. Some liked the story in The Cell but didn't like its visuals or vice versa. In The Fall, both of its stories are really well done. The best one and the most emotional is the one based in the real world. The man in the hospital wants to kill himself and the little girl with the broken arm just wants to listen to the man tell a story. No bad child acting here. Untaru, as the little girl, performs some of the best child acting I have ever seen. The fact that she is a 5 year old Romanian who speaks kind of good english in her first film role ever doesn't seem to be a problem. Pace is very good here also and there are scenes where Tarsem seems to just let the camera keep rolling while Untaru and Pace just talk to each other in dialogue that seems unrehearsed and natural.

Part of the reason why Tarsem doesn't seem to get a lot of respect is because he comes from a TV commercial and music video background. It is how he got his start and made his way into movies. He brings that background into the two films that he has made so far and I guess that bothers some people. Some people just don't want their movies to look like a TV commercial. I don't see whats so wrong with it though. After all, we have viewed many memorable commercials over the years and there are music videos that we will never forget. So why not a two hour movie with a really good story using those same elements? At the beginning of the film it says Spike Jonze and David Fincher presents. Just like it says Quentin Tarantino presents on all those cheesy straight to DVD movies at the video store. Some people seem to forget that Jonze and Fincher also got their start in commercials and music videos. Just like Tarantino got his start working at a video store.

THE FALL: 9 OUT OF 10

The DVD features audio commentary; deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.

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MUSIC: SIAN ALICE GROUP "THE DUSK LINE"

2008-09-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

"The Dusk Line" is a single off of "The Dusk Line EP" by Sian Alice Group.

THE DUSK LINE MP3

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MUSIC: TERRY LYNN "THE SYSTEM"

2008-09-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

"The System" is a single off of "Kingstonlogic 2.0", an upcoming album by Terry Lynn, to be released on September 23rd.

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MUSIC: CAT POWER "SPACE ODDITY"

2008-09-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

"Space Oddity", originally by David Bowie, is covered by Cat Power for a Lincoln car commercial.

MUSIC: APOLLO SUNSHINE "SHALL NOISE UPON"

2008-09-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Shall Noise Upon is an album by Apollo Sunshine.

"Breeze" MP3
"Singing to the Earth"
"666: The Coming of the New World Government"
"Shall Noise Upon"
"Brotherhood of Death"
"Happiness"
"We Are Born When We Die"
"The Funky Chamberlain (Who Begot Who)"
"Wolf Frog White"
"Money"
"The Mermaid Angeline"
"Green Green Lawns of Outer Space"
"Honestly"
"Coyote Hearing"
"Fog and Shadow"
"Light of the World"

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MOVIE: MARRIED LIFE

2008-09-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Married Life (working title: Marriage) is a drama film directed by Ira Sachs. The film is based on the 1953 John Bingham pulp mystery novel, Five Roundabouts to Heaven. The cast includes Chris Cooper, Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson and Rachel McAdams.

Set in the 1940s, Married Life tells the tale of Harry (Cooper) -- a man whose faithful but emotionally distant wife (Clarkson) has become all but impossible to love. Smitten by the beautiful Kay (McAdams) but ultra-sensitive to the shame associated with divorce, Harry opts to poison his wife as a means of allowing the marriage to end with her pride still intact.

Harry's scheme soon goes horribly awry, however, when after revealing the plan to his best friend, Richard (Brosnan), Richard too falls in love with the ethereal young beauty and sets into motion a cunning plan all his own.

From the plot description and the trailer you would think that you've seen something similar to Married Life before. Devoted husband tries to kill his wife to be with his mistress. Indeed that's how it all starts out and continues until halfway there. Then, something is revealed to Brosnan's character and to us that turns the story on its head. It's not so much about what we find out but what Brosnan does with this information. It turns the movie that we thought we had already seen into a suspenseful, interesting and thoughtful piece of work.

Brosnan supplies a narration throughout the movie to tell us whats going through his head and the other characters heads, although when you think about it, how could he know what they are thinking too or what they were doing when he wasn't around to know about it. Doesn't matter, his cool sly voice goes nicely with the film's soundtrack.

The four main leads all do a fantastic job with these characters. They all have pretty much equal screen time, except for McAdams who gets the role of the mistress, which could have been really dull but she makes the character into a really nice person who really doesn't want to break up a marriage. At times she seems a little too good to be true but McAdams carries it with what little screen time she has. There is no other actor as cool and calm as Cooper. Clarkson is gorgeous for her age and is believable as her character. Brosnan comes and goes throughout the film but owns every scene he is in.

When I said that the movie starts to become more suspenseful, I don't mean it in the way that a lot of false dramatics start to happen. The suspense slowly starts to build as we know what Brosnan knows and because he won't tell Cooper, even though he has a really good reason to. In the beginning we view three of the characters as being selfish, when actually, all they want to be is happy. I don't want to give anything away, but I'll just say that in the end, things might not work out for some people but everything is as it should be.

MARRIED LIFE: 8 OUT OF 10

The DVD features director's commentary and alternate endings.

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MUSIC: SAM CHAMPION "HEAVENLY BLENDER"

2008-09-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

"Heavenly Blender" is the sophomore album from Sam Champion. It is due out on September 9th.

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MOVIE: REPRISE

2008-09-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Reprise is a Norwegian film from 2006. It is the first feature-length film directed by Joachim Trier. The script was written over a period of five years together with Eskil Vogt. The leading roles are played by Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman-Høiner and Viktoria Winge. The film was the Norwegian candidate for the Oscar as best foreign language film in 2006.

Erik (Klouman-Hoiner) and Phillip (Lie) are close friends who have known each other since they were children. Erik and Phillip grew up sharing a passion for literature, particularly the work of novelist Sten Egil Dahl (Sigmund Sæverud) and they each dreamed of becoming writers themselves someday. Both Erik and Phillip completed their first novels in their early twenties, but while Phillip's book was accepted by a major publisher and became a best-seller, Erik's book instead earned a sheaf of rejection slips.

The harsh glare of the celebrity lifestyle and his obsessive relationship with his girlfriend, Kari (Winge), cause Phillip to suffer a nervous breakdown, and after a stay in a treatment facility he tries to resume his relationship with Kari and his friendship with Erik. Erik, meanwhile, is still struggling to join the ranks of the published, and his romance with Lillian (Silje Hagen) begins to fray as the frustrated would-be author spends more time with Phillip and his pretentious compatriots.

Reprise is about the troubles of a couple of young guys who are all rather successful. Two of them get their first books published and the movie mostly focuses on them. Every guy in the group seems to be troubled by something or has an issue with someone else. The movie tries to tell us what these characters are going through instead of showing us and that is just one of the problems with Reprise.

Throughout the movie there is a narration, like in Y tu mama tambien, that explains what the characters are thinking, doing and once did. It worked to great effect in Y tu mama tambien but Reprise uses it throughout the film and it becomes like one of the movies annoying characters. All the characters in Reprise are extremely annoying. None of them are likable in anyway and the one who comes close has mental issues along with suicidal thoughts. How can we care about these characters if they are not interesting or likable?

It is a disappointment because you can tell a lot of effort went into Reprise. Took 5 years to write and contains some nice direction. Maybe some things got lost from the page to the screen or just added for effect. For instance, the annoying narration or the jumping in time flash cuts that are similar to Run Lola Run. The fact that everyone in the movie but us knows what these guys' books are about.

I think it would have been a little better if we knew what the books were about. Also getting to know some of the other characters wouldn't have hurt either as you kind of need to develop characters to get the audience to give a flip what happens to them in the end. The ending could have also used a rewrite, but depending on how you analyze the movie, it does that already. Everything seems to tidy up nicely in the end and kind of become a little comical. Is it because thats how it happened or how someone wanted it to happen? The movie never explains it to us. If only the narrator guy had been a little bit better at his job. If only the writers knew how to write before investing so much time into this and my time as well.

REPRISE: 3 OUT OF 10

The DVD contains featurettes and deleted scenes.

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MOVIE: THE PROMOTION

2008-09-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

The Promotion is a 2008 American comedy film written and directed by Steven Conrad.

Doug (Seann William Scott) is a seemingly ordinary guy who works as the assistant manager of a supermarket near Chicago. When the owners of the market announce they're opening a new branch near Doug's neighborhood, he applies to become manager of the new store, and both he and his wife (Jenna Fischer) assume he's a shoo-in to get the job. But Richard (John C. Reilly), a gregarious recent hire at the store who has relocated to Illinois from Canada, announces he's also applying for the management position, and a keen rivalry develops between Doug and Richard even as they strive to act like friends on the surface.

As the competition grows between the two, their personality flaws become increasingly evident -- Doug's short temper, Richard's history of drug abuse -- and when Richard's wife (Lili Taylor) leaves him, the contest starts taking an uncomfortable turn. The Promotion also stars Fred Armisen, Gil Bellows, and Bobby Cannavale.

The Promotion looked to me like it was going to be a good one. It stars Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly, both really good comic actors. The trailer had me sold but then I started to read reviews for it and they weren't so good. I decided to watch it anyways based on the stars of the movie, as I do sometimes when I can't decide on if I want to watch a certain movie or not. After I had watched it, I came to the conclusion that The Promotion also hadn't decided on what it wanted to be.

It's filled with some of the best comedic actors around and with some funny dialogue. But it's also filled with uneasy and dramatic moments that keep the comedic elements from coming out. The movie has elements to make it funny, like Reilly's self-help tape that he listens to that says his own name. Then it has moments that start out to be funny and while you are waiting for the final big laugh, turns around and becomes weird. Like the scenes with the Teddy Grahams guy or the black kids who hang out in the store parking lot.

The movie doesn't know what to do with itself. There isn't a rule saying you can't have a comedic movie filled with bits of drama but you at least have to have some consistency with both of them and not have them all over the place. The characters in the movie change on a dime, mostly Reilly's character who is nice one second and mean the next for no reason. The movie also doesn't seem to know what great actors it has. Fischer just goes throughout the movie just listening to what Scott has to say and not uttering one funny line. Taylor has a horrible Scottish accent for no reason and is barely in the movie when she could have been used more. Armisen and Cannavale, both good actors, play roles that could have been played by pretty much anyone as they are not given much to do.

The movie also makes a big deal about Reilly's character being Canadian, however it never uses that fact for anything funny other than to stress the point that he must be a nice guy. Reilly's Canadian accent came and went so much that I wasn't sure if I should just leave the door open and forget about it. The Promotion is filled with great things that it doesn't know what to do with. Conrad would be the one to blame since he wrote and directed. Maybe he just had too much on his plate since this was his first time directing a film like this. He also wrote The Pursuit of Happyness and The Weather Man, so he knows how to mix light drama with comedy in the same movie.

Despite it's many flaws, The Promotion is not a waste of your time. It has some good laughs in it with Scott and Reilly doing the best they can. I'd say it makes a good rental on a Saturday night if your local video store doesn't have the movie you were actually there to get.

THE PROMOTION: 5 OUT OF 10

The DVD features deleted scenes; director's commentary; audio commentary; a making-of featurette and outtakes.

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MUSIC: FIRST AID KIT "TIGER MOUNTAIN PEASANT SONG"

2008-09-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

"Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" is a single off of the self-titled debut album by the Fleet Foxes, covered here by First Aid Kit.

MUSIC: THE DANDY WARHOLS "MISSION CONTROL"

2008-09-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

"Mission Control" is a single off …Earth to the Dandy Warhols… an album by alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols. It is their first recording after leaving Capitol Records. On May 5th, the band gave away the song "The World The People Together (Come On)" (later re-named to "The World Come On") as a free download on their website along with announcing that the album was available to play on over 10,000 AMI Jukeboxes.

"MISSION CONTROL" MP3

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MUSIC: KAISER CHIEFS "NEVER MISS A BEAT"

2008-09-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

"Never Miss A Beat" is an upcoming single by the British indie rock group the Kaiser Chiefs. It is scheduled for release on October 6, 2008, one week before the parent album Off With Their Heads will be released. The single has been produced by Mark Ronson and features backing vocals from Lily Allen and New Young Pony Club.

MOVIE: SON OF RAMBOW

2008-08-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Son of Rambow is a 2007 comedy-drama film written and directed by Garth Jennings.

Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) is a well-mannered schoolboy being raised in an ultra-religious community that deplores such corruptive distractions as television and seeks to maintain its purity by severely limiting contact with the outside world. In order to exorcise his creative inner demons, Will has taken to sketching imaginative drawings and complex illustrations. Lee Carter (Will Poulter) is the school terror, a rampaging hellion whose overaggressive behavior has made him an endless source of frustration to the faculty, and a source of fear to his fellow classmates.

As fate would have it, Will is in the school hallway avoiding exposure to the classroom television when a fed-up teacher ejects Lee from the classroom. Though at first it appears as if Lee is about to torment timid Will just as he does the rest of the student body, the two form a tight bond after Will convinces Lee to view a bootleg copy of Rambo: First Blood.

When Lee informs Will that he wants to shoot a homebrewed version of the violent action film for an upcoming amateur filmmaking contest, a sudden streak of rebellion prompts his sheltered classmate to readily agree. As the summer wears on the two boys set out to create the ultimate no-budget action movie, but their grand vision hits an unexpected hitch when a busload of French exchange students arrive at the school and the leader of the pack attempts to hijack the production.

I remember making movies all the time when I was a little kid. Using my dad's giant camcorder, my little sister and her dolls as different characters, anything I could find around the house to use as props and our backyard as the wild jungle because it did look like a wild jungle for a whole year when my dad decided he didn't want to mow it. The two kids in Son of Rambow are doing the same exact thing and having fun along the way.

The movie is very well made and light on the heavy subjects because a movie like this really doesn't need the dramatics of a Christopher Nolan film. The two kids go to the same school but are from two very different lifestyles which are shown to great effect. Lee Carter lives in a big house connected to an old folks home. His parents are always away so it's just him and his older brother who he loves but the feeling isn't shared. He has almost a warehouse of fun things at his disposal which is every kids dream but no friends to share it with. Will lives with his mom, grandmother and little sister in a Shaker like household. He doesn't get to watch TV or have any fun even though he has a great imagination that he puts down in drawings.

So when they meet up and decide to make the movie together, Lee Carter gets a friend and Will gets to have fun. The movie never crosses the line into making it more sappy, emotional or dramatic than it needs to be. I liked the other side plot of the movie with the French exchange student and his English prep school groupies. He is a fan of movies and Patrick Swayze, so he decides to help Lee Carter and Will with their movie. I liked the scene when they are all at party with a bunch of teenagers who are eating candy and getting wash off tattoos.

The second half of the movie mostly deals with the family drama and I think that's when it looses a little bit of its fun. It kind of forgets about the whole Son of Rambow movie and just mainly wants to deal with the drama that comes up between Lee Carter and Will. It is still an enjoyable movie to the end though. The two kids are really good actors and the cinematography is great. It feels like it would have fit better as a short film than as a whole movie but the extra hour is not a waste of your time.

Son of Rambow: 6 out of 10

The DVD features trailers; audio commentary; making-of featurette and a short film.

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MOVIE: REDBELT

2008-08-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Redbelt is a martial arts film written and directed by David Mamet.

When a respected jujitsu master (Chiwetel Ejiofor) eschews a lucrative prizefighting career in favor of opening a self-defense dojo, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, when he is manipulated into participating in ultimate fighting championships by a group of unscrupulous actors and fight promoters.

Later, as the master is being relentlessly beaten in a dirty street fight, he connects with a high-profile action star (Tim Allen) with serious marital problems. Realizing that the only way to regain his honor is to step into the ring, the jujitsu master reluctantly prepares for the fight of his life.

Mamet, that awesome master of dialogue, usually makes movies that revolve around a con. Usually every character has a part in it and everyone is a suspect, well, except for the main character of course. In most Mamet films we get the pleasure of following around the main character as they try to figure things and then become surprised, just as they are, when they do unravel the mystery. In Redbelt however, we are just as lost as Ejiofor is and when everything is finally revealed in the end he knows what their talking about but we are still stuck in the what the hell is going on stage.

I am sad to report that Redbelt just may be Mamet's least interesting movie ever. However, that doesn't make it bad. Mamet has everything set up to make one of his great signature movies. We have a lot of the same actors that have been in his previous films delivering the Mamet style dialogue that he is known for. We have the con that we must try to figure out along with Ejiofor in who is a who and what is what. This is all here, except for the fact that it all happens very uneventfully and the con itself just may be one of the most ridiculous cons ever.

The movie revolves around martial arts but the fight scenes are very sloppy and the direction doesn't help. Mamet shows nothing here of his great directing. His dialogue also doesn't have any power to it. Usually, you can tell a Mamet film a mile away just by hearing the dialogue but Jennifer Lopez could have written Redbelt and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

Now it seems like this review is headed for a bad rating but it is not. I have been giving Redbelt a mostly negative review so far but I guess I am just giving it a bad review based on the criteria for what a Mamet film should be. If I forget for a second that it was written and directed by Mamet, I come to realize that it is a decent movie. It features cinematography by the great Robert Elswit, has some of my very favorite actors which is pretty much every actor in the movie. It gives me a little hope that Allen will stop making retarded movies aimed for kids and turn to more dramatic fare. The first half of the movie is actually really good but its the second half that ruins it for everyone. That's when all is revealed in its cheesy glory and the very slow moving competition scenes at the end have you looking at the running time to see when it will end.

I hope that Mamet was just having one of his bad days with Redbelt and that with his next film he will get back on track. Let's just hope that it won't be 4 years again until we find out if will have our awesome Mamet back or the one who came up with the equivalent of a better version of Rollerball.

Redbelt: 6 out of 10

The DVD features a behind-the-scenes featurette and fighter profiles.

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MOVIE: WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?

2008-08-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? is a documentary film, conceived by Adam Dell and co-written, produced, directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker.

When Spurlock learns that he and his wife are expecting a baby, he decides that he wants the child to grow up in a safer world than we know today, so he takes it upon himself to track down the most dangerous man on Earth, Osama bin Laden. Spurlock hops on a plane and flies to the Middle East in search of his quarry, making stops in Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan as he keeps an eye peeled for the head of Al Qaeda.

When he isn't playing sleuth, Spurlock interviews people representing all walks of life, ranging from Orthodox Israeli enclaves and a mosque operated by rabidly anti-American Muslims to political moderates and ordinary folks at the supermarket, quizzing them about the nature of post-9/11 conflict and the need for peace.

Spurlock goes from McDonald's to Terrorism and with it a big leap from entertaining to serious. Where In The World's trailer and poster would have you believe that it's going to be just like Super Size Me. Filled with humor and an entertaining look at things. Indeed, Where In The World does start off with some humor. Watching an animated Spurlock fight Osama in a video game like environment while a theme song based on the title plays in the background is funny for about a second. Thankfully, the humor and animation go away after the first 20 minutes. The movie then switches to being serious.

When Spurlock was making Super Size Me, he made it as entertaining as possible since he himself was at the center of the movie and had free will of what to do. As over the top as Super Size Me was, it still worked as a documentary while still being entertaining. Michael Moore does the same thing to greater effect with much heavier subjects. Spurlock puts himself at the center again, along with his pregnant wife, but doesn't make himself the main attraction. After all, Osama is in the title and he should get top billing.

Where In The World isn't really about finding Osama and Spurlock knows that. I think he used it as a gimmick to get the film made and I'm sure he didn't have a problem getting financing for a documentary with that kind of title. Spurlock is more interested in the people of the middle east. Getting to talk to the people that Osama has affected in Osama's own turf. Spurlock asks a lot of basic questions but gets revealing and interesting answers from the people. Spurlock also doesn't use a lot of gimmicks like he did in Super Size Me, except for the ending of the film, which is really cheesy. Spurlock also goes through the film looking like a crazed mountain man and I'm not sure why.

Where In The World doesn't really tell us anything that we don't already know about the middle east but does show some revealing sides about the people that a lot of Americans think are the enemies when they are anything but. Where In The World would be a great film to show to a high school class that is just getting to know what the middle east is and to better understand peace in the middle east.

Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?: 6 out of 10

The DVD has no special features.

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MUSIC: SSION "A WOLVES EYE"

2008-08-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

"A WOLVES EYE" MP3

MUSIC: THROW ME THE STATUE "YUCATAN GOLD"

2008-08-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

"Yucatan Gold" is a single off of "Moonbeams", the debut album from Throw Me The Statue.

"YUCATAN GOLD" MP3

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MUSIC: AFGHAN RAIDERS "FUTURE THINKERS"

2008-08-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

"FUTURE THINKERS" MP3

MUSIC: RA RA RIOT "GHOST UNDER ROCKS"

2008-08-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

"Ghost Under Rocks" is a single off of The Rhumb Line, the debut LP for the Syracuse-based indie rock band Ra Ra Riot. Recorded in late 2007 with Ryan Hadlock in Woodinville, WA, the band released their debut album on August 19, 2008, through Seattle-based indie label Barsuk Records.

"GHOST UNDER ROCKS" MP3

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MUSIC: LYKKE LI "YOUTH NOVELS"

2008-08-19T17:38:00.000-07:00

Youth Novels is the debut album by Swedish singer Lykke Li.

The tracks with an * are the best.

"Melodies & Desires" *
"Dance, Dance, Dance"
"I'm Good, I'm Gone" *
"Let It Fall"
"My Love"
"Little Bit"
"Hanging High"
"This Trumpet in My Head"
"Complaint Department"
"Breaking It Up" *
"Time Flies" *
"Window Blues"

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MOVIE: STREET KINGS

2008-08-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

Street Kings (originally titled The Night Watchman) is a 2008 action-crime film, directed by David Ayer, and starring Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie and Forest Whitaker. The initial screenplay drafts were written by James Ellroy in the late 1990s under the title The Nightwatchman.

LAPD veteran Tom Ludlow (Reeves) has borne personal witness to the worst that the streets have to offer, and when his partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews), is killed the violence strikes a bit too close to home. Now Ludlow is on a mission to bring his partner's killer to justice, though Captain Walker (Whitaker) is concerned that the hotheaded detective is taking the case too personally.

Now, as Captain Walker attempts to convince Ludlow to work within the confines of the law, Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Laurie) begins following the vengeful lawman's every move. In order to accomplish his mission, Ludlow recruits fresh-faced Robbery Homicide Detective Diskant (Chris Evans) to trace Washington's killers through the winding streets of Los Angeles. Later, when Ludlow and Diskant come face to face with the remorseless cop killers, they must chose between upholding the law and seeking bitter vengeance.

Street Kings is like Training Day's little brother. It wants to be just as good but we all know that Reeves is no Denzel Washington. Street Kings is not that bad though and it is filled with really good actors. I had my doubts because even a 5 year old could tell that it is trying to be like Training Day and that the director also made the similar Harsh Times. Either he needs to step it up a notch with these types of films or just move on to something else.

The movie tries to tackle so many things but it just doesn't know how to. Reeves has a drinking problem but let's move on. Reeves has a dead wife but let's move on. There is a lot of cops looking suspicious but let's move on to the action. Some scenes even feel like they were stopped too soon, as if the camera ran out of film or something. James Ellroy has given us a lot of good stories and this is not one of them. He is listed in the credits as coming up with it and co-writing but I doubt he had much to do with the final product that we get.

Street Kings wasn't a waste of my time but I know I could have watched something better. I just got out of work, I was tired, it was dark and windy outside. I just felt like watching a cheesy corrupt cop movie. If you want to see something exactly like this movie but I know for a fact that you won't hate, rent or buy Dark Blue. It stars Kurt Russell and hey what do you know, it's by James Ellroy.

Street Kings: 6 out of 10

The DVD features director's commentary; screenwriter's commentary; cast commentary; deleted scenes; vignettes; training diaries (somebody's sucking up).

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MUSIC: BOWERBIRDS "IN OUR TALONS"

2008-08-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

"In Our Talons" is a single off of Hymns For a Dark Horse, the debut album from Bowerbirds, a nu-folk band from Raleigh, North Carolina. The band members are Beth Tacular, Phil Moore and Mark Paulson. Bowerbirds have toured in support of The Mountain Goats, with John Darnielle referring to the band as his "new favorite band in forever".

"IN OUR TALONS" MP3

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MUSIC: THE DANDY WARHOLS "THE LEGEND OF THE LAST OF THE OUTLAW TRUCKERS AKA THE BALLAD OF THE SHERRIFF SHORTY"

2008-08-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

"The Legend of the Last of the Outlaw Truckers AKA the Ballad Of Sherriff Shorty" is a single off of …Earth to the Dandy Warhols…, an album by alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, now available for download and streaming play.The CD version of the album will be released on August 18, 2008. It is their first recording after leaving Capitol Records. On May 5th, the band gave away the song "The World The People Together (Come On)" as a free download on their website along with announcing that the album was available to play on over 10,000 AMI Jukeboxes.

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MUSIC: LYKKE LI "BREAKING IT UP"

2008-08-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

"Breaking It Up" is a single off of Youth Novels, the debut album by Swedish singer Lykke Li.

"BREAKING IT UP" MP3

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MOVIE: LUST, CAUTION

2008-08-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

Lust, Caution (Chinese: Sè, Jiè) is a 2007 Chinese espionage thriller film directed by Taiwanese director Ang Lee, based on the short story of the same name published in 1979 by Chinese author Eileen Chang.

Lust, Caution is set in World War II-era Shanghai and details the political intrigue surrounding a powerful political figure named Mr. Yee (Tony Leung) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Spanning the late-'30s and early-'40s, the movie introduces us to Hong Kong teen Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei), a shy college freshman who finds her calling in a drama society devoted to patriotic plays. But the troupe's leader, Kuang Yu Min (Wang Leehom) isn't just a theater maven - he's a revolutionary as well, and he's devoted to carrying out a bold plan to assassinate top Japanese collaborator Mr. Yee. Each student has an important role to play, and Wong puts herself in a dangerous position as Mrs. Mak: she befriends Mr. Yee's wife (Joan Chen), and slowly gains trust before tempting him into an affair.

While at first the plan goes exactly as scripted, things suddenly take a deadly turn and Wong is emigrate from Hong Kong. Later, in 1941, the occupation shows no signs of ceasing and Wong is simply drifting through her days in Shanghai. Much to her surprise, the former actress finds Kuang requesting that she resume the role of Mrs. Mak. Now, as Wong again gains intimate access to her dangerous prey, she must struggle with her own identity in order to pull off the performance of a lifetime.

The film adaption and the story are loosely based on events that took place during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai. The film's explicit sex scenes resulted in the film being rated NC-17 in the US.

When you sit down to watch an Ang Lee film you know you are in for some good filmmaking. The man knows how to direct a movie and with Lust, Caution he doesn't disappoint. Although, it isn't much like his other films. Most of his films contain a lot of beautiful shots and Lust, Caution doesn't carry very many. The movie mostly takes place indoors and in close conversations. It doesn't give Lee very much room to move around but he really doesn't need to.

The film mostly involves the characters in discussions and quick glancing looks at each other. The writing and acting is what stands out the most. Although if this same material were in other hands, without Lee behind the camera, it wouldn't be as interesting. He manages to make quiet scenes stand out and loud scenes to happen quietly. There is a scene when someone gets stabbed to death quite a bit and it seems to happen in slow motion until you realize that it is not. It's just that there is no hyped up music or quick camera movements.

The film deserves its NC-17 rating as there is a lot of sex in this movie. The characters have sex in positions that I have never seen or heard of before. They are very graphic but Lee still makes them tasteful of enough so it never seems like you are watching a porno film. The sex scenes are very important in understanding the two main characters. Mr. Yee likes it rough and Lee isn't afraid to show how rough he can get.

Lust, Caution is very different compared to The Hulk or Brokeback Mountain. It is not as show offish as those two or most of his films. Even though it is not one of Lee's best, it is his most quietest and sometimes that can be a good change of pace.

Lust, Caution: 7 out of 10

The DVD features a Tiles of Deception, Lurid Affections featurette.

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MOVIE: SMART PEOPLE

2008-08-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

Smart People is a 2008 comedy film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church. The film was directed by Noam Murro and written by Mark Poirier.

Ever since his wife passed away, Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) has become overly acerbic and self-absorbed. He's alienated his son (Ashton Holmes) and transformed his daughter (Page) into a friendless overachiever. Now, at the precise moment Lawrence thought he had finally figured it all out, his life comes crashing down all around him as he falls for a former student (Parker) and his shiftless adopted brother (Church) comes knocking on the door in search of a place to stay. Though Lawrence always relied on his intelligence to get him out of life's little jams in the past, it's going to take quite a bit more than intellectual thinking to move past this sticky stage in his suddenly chaotic life. David Denman and Christine Lahti co-star in this romantic comedy drama.

Most of the time, I like to think of myself as being a smart person with a quick wit. The only problem is that most of the time this is not actually the case. I'm not saying that I'm not smart because I do think I'm just as knowledgeable as most people. It all depends on what is what. If I'm talking to a computer hacker, and I know nothing about computer hacking, then the hacker is smarter than I am in that particular discussion. If were talking about movies, then I'm probably the smarter person in that discussion. In my opinion, everyone is smart when it comes to something and no one is smart in everything.

Most of the characters in Smart People think they are smarter then everyone else and most of the time can only think about themselves. The movie plays out with an intellectual family trying to start over again. Quaid plays his character perfectly as he tries to start dating again with the disapproval of his children. His adopted brother shows up to annoy him and crash at his place because he has no where else to crash. He ties to get a book published and become head of his teaching department, even though he really doesn't want to. Quaid also nails the professor with the beard look as well.

There is a little bit of quirky humor mostly supplied by the banter between Page and Church. But the movie mostly tries to be a romantic and to get Parker to fall in love with her old professor. Parker is very good here and is always a talented actress when she is not in something called Sex and the City.

The type of people who only care about themselves are usually the type of people who call themselves smart or think that their shit don't stink. These types of people can overcome this way of thinking though and the characters in Smart People make an effort to which in turn supplies the ending of the movie. If you go through life only caring about yourself, then it is going to be one lonely life.

Smart People: 6 out of 10

The DVD features deleted scenes; outtakes; cast and crew interviews; audio commentary.

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MUSIC: LADYTRON "RUNAWAY"

2008-08-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

"Runaway" is a song written by the electropop band Ladytron for their fourth studio album Velocifero, and it is the second single following Ghosts.

"RUNAWAY" MP3

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MUSIC: BE YOUR OWN PET "BECKY"

2008-08-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

"Becky" is a single off of Get Awkward, the second album by Be Your Own Pet.

"BECKY" MP3

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MUSIC: AC "NEW SOUL"

2008-08-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

MOVIE: DIARY OF THE DEAD

2008-08-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

Diary of the Dead (also known as George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead) is a horror film by George A. Romero. Although independently produced, it is distributed by Dimension Films.

Jason Creed (Joshua Close) and his crew are shooting a mummy movie in the Pennsylvania woods when media reports begin pouring in about the dead rising from their graves to feast on the flesh of the living. While self-centered star Ridley (Phillip Riccio) beats a hasty retreat to his family's fortified mansion halfway across the state, the remaining cast and crew are forced to fight for their lives despite having no weapons to speak of, and only a wobbly recreational vehicle in which to seek shelter.

Immediately recognizing the gravity of the situation and outspokenly skeptical of the media, determined director Creed decides to use his own camera to capture the real story in a documentary entitled "The Death of Death." Now, as the group attempts to fight their way to safety, the skeptics will all watch as their greatest fears become reality, and the realists will attempt to process a nightmare that modern science would pass off as impossible.

There are lots of zombie movies nowadays. Most of them are not very good but once in a while you get one like 28 Days Later, which I think is the best zombie movie ever made but zombie fans will say that its not even a zombie film. Well, what do they think makes a good zombie movie? Certainly not whats in Diary of the Dead. This is one terrible movie and its surprising that it comes from Romero who created the zombie genre.

I liked Night of the Living Dead and his comeback film Land of the Dead, but I don't know what he was thinking with this one. I guess he was trying to make a zombie film that was hip in some way with teenagers uploading zombie movies to their MySpace pages and squeezing out the last drip of the Blair Witch Project style of filmmaking. The problem with Diary is that it isn't as scary and well put together as Blair Witch. I'm sick of these movies that try to rip off the Blair Witch style, yet still shoot on high definition cameras and it ends up looking like a real movie instead of real life, which is what they are trying to achieve. This didn't bother me in Cloverfield because it was well edited, had good acting and had frightening moments.

I know Cloverfield had a bigger budget but it wasn't that big and Blair Witch manged to pull it off with a lot less. Diary is full of cheesy editing techniques with footage of actual riots and stuff all throughout the film. Since the whole cast is filled with unknown actors, all do a terrible job of looking scared. Sometimes it doesn't even seem like they are trying. The film also uses special effects instead of the old fashioned way of make-up. Which is strange since the movie has such a low budget you would think that would be the way to go. Especially since it would have made the zombie scenes a little bit better. Instead, every zombie death in the movie happens really close-up and quick. I guess to get the crappy special effects across quick enough so you can't see how crappy it is.

The big problem with the movie is that it takes itself seriously. Most of Romero's zombie movies usually have a lot of humor and have a point to make in the process. Diary has a bit of humor like when they come in contact with a death Amish guy who is pretty badass with a scythe. It also tries to get the message across that we are all killing each other. You don't have to make a zombie film to tell me that the Amish are badasses and that we are all killing each other, most of us already know that. If it would have played the whole film like it did with the Amish guy scene, I think it would have worked better. It doesn't, so instead we get really crappy actors in a really crappy zombie movie.

Diary of the Dead: 2 out of 10

The DVD has no special features.

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MOVIE: DEFINITELY, MAYBE

2008-08-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Definitely, Maybe is a 2008 romantic comedy film from Universal Pictures, directed by Adam Brooks, that stars Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, and Abigail Breslin.

A political consultant in the midst of a bitter divorce attempts to delicately divulge the truth about his past relationships to his curious young daughter, who simply won't stop asking questions until she's satisfied with all the answers. Ten-year-old Maya (Breslin) is heartbroken to see her parents splitting up, but she's determined to find out precisely how it was that mom and dad came together in the first place. When Maya starts questioning her father Will (Reynolds) about his life before marriage, dad's memories soon drift back to the time when, as a naïve Wisconsin native and aspiring politician hoping to work on the presidential election, he first arrived in New York City.

As Will gradually became savvy to the ways of the big city, he gradually developed romantic relationships with three very different women: Emily (Banks) was the girl-next-door that he could always depend on, apolitical April (Fisher) was the best friend and confidante who was always there to listen, and free-spirited journalist Summer (Weisz) was both beautiful and ambitious. In order to prevent his perceptive little girl from predicting the outcome before his story is told, Will carefully changes the names of his three romantic interests, creating a hopelessly romantic puzzle that highlights both the joys and hardships of true love.

Relationships are a tough and complicated thing. If you've never been in a long relationship, you have no idea the true meaning of those words. If you're just starting in a relationship, you will find out soon enough. Instead of teaching us useless crap in high school, they should have taught us the ways of life and about the opposite sex.

Definitely, Maybe understands how relationships work and thats why the movie works. The way the characters speak to each other and the choices they make are believable. I liked how Breslin's character has to guess throughout the movie who her mom is in the story and so do we. Some viewers might figure it out sooner than others. I was guessing all the way to the end and even then my guess was wrong. Weird though that my girlfriend Kelly, who only watched the first half hour of the movie because she had to go to work, guessed who it was going to be and she was right.

Reynold's has been in some crappy movies and continues to be, which is unfortunate because he is a really good actor. After the disappointment that was Nim's Island, Breslin shows that she is still a good little actress. Banks is sweet as Reynold's high school sweetheart. Fisher is beautiful and charming as ever as the one that always gets away. Weisz, the more mature and serious woman of the bunch, radiates with warmth. There is not a single mistake in casting here, all the actors are perfect for the roles that they are in and all do a great job.

My girlfriend Kelly and I have had are ups and downs. We have been together for two years this month, well sort of, since we each broke up with each other twice during that time. There have been times where I just couldn't see myself with her anymore and times where she has felt like that too. We fight a lot and hard at that. One time she threw half my DVD collection at me and slapped me in the face. I have never physically hurt her and never will, but I have hurt her with words. I recently read a study that said fighting and disagreements in a relationship is a good thing. Being in a relationship where nothing ever seems wrong, probably means that something is wrong, its just that one of you are lying about it.

Reynold's character in Definitely, Maybe has to make a lot of relationship decisions that are tough to make. Like I said before, being in a relationship is tough, and you never know exactly what lies ahead. The movie knows this and deals with these situations rather realistically. I like where I am at now with Kelly and I have seriously thought of marrying her someday. You never know what will happen in a relationship down the road, but unlike the characters in this movie, I hope there are no speed bumps.

Definitely, Maybe: 7 out of 10

The DVD features include deleted scenes, audio commentary and bonus featurettes.

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MOVIE: NIM'S ISLAND

2008-08-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

Nim's Island is a 2008 American film directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin. The film stars Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, and Gerard Butler. The story is a adventure-fantasy film based on the book Nim's Island by Wendy Orr, a Canadian-born Australian writer.

A young girl, Nim (Breslin), seeks help from the author of her favourite adventure series when her scientist father (Butler) goes missing. Nim, though, lives on an island in the South Pacific. The author, Alexandra Rover (Foster), is an agoraphobic living in San Francisco. Rover overcomes her fears and sets out in search of Nim while Nim tries to overcome her fear of losing her father. In the meantime, a cruise ship company threatens to invade Nim's island with uncouth tourists.

I am always down for a fantasy adventure film that is aimed towards the younger kids. Just read my review of The Spiderwick Chronicles that I wrote last week. Like Spiderwick, Nim's Island has the heart but it's not in the right place, it's actually all over the place. The film takes a simple premise and stretches it for the entire film. Nothing that exciting is going on but the film seems to think so.

It takes forever for Nim to realize that her dad is not coming back when he said he would. It takes forever for Foster to leave her apartment. It takes her forever to get to the island. It takes forever for Nim to make the tourist ship go away. It takes forever for Nim's dad to get back home. This all happens in 4 days, when it feels like 4 years.

Breslin is cute and so are the animals that she befriends. Foster is good but kind of over doing it a bit and Butler is, well, Butler. The scenes with the tourist ship turning the island into a resort and Nim trying to kick them off is not exciting or funny, just there. That's how all the scenes in the movie feel. They all feel like they are just there and thats that. There is also so much waves knocking people off boats in this movie that I thought I was watching The Perfect Storm. Nim tries but doesn't succeed as a good family film.

Nim's Island: 4 out of 10

The DVD features the director's and writer's commentary, along with commentary from Breslin and Foster, deleted scenes and featurettes.

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MOVIE: THE COUNTERFEITERS

2008-08-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Counterfeiters (German: Die Fälscher) is an Academy Award winning 2007 Austrian/German film written and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky. It fictionalizes Operation Bernhard, a secret plan by the Nazis during the Second World War to destabilize the United Kingdom by flooding its economy with forged Bank of England currency. It won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 80th Academy Awards in 2008 for Austria.

Ruzowitzky explores the moral corrosion of Nazi complicity with this tightly wound adaptation of Adolf Burger's fact-based book The Devil's Workshop. Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) may be a talented artist at heart, but his desire for wealth has driven him to use his creativity for more nefarious means. Arrested by the police inspector Herzog (Devid Striesow) at the onset of World War II, Sorowitsch is sent to the notorious Mauthausen concentration camp. It's not long before Salomon's thinly veiled opportunism earns him a relatively comfortable position as the camp's resident sketch artist, and five years later he is mysteriously swept away to Sachsenhausen.

Upon arriving at the camp, Sorowitsch discovers that Herzog, now a commandant, is attempting to destabilize the economies of the Allies while simultaneously funding the Nazi war machine by assembling a special team of counterfeit artists to create millions in fraudulent pounds and dollars. As the operation gets under way, Sorowitsch finds the efforts of the team continually undermined by unyieldingly idealistic collotype specialist Adolf Burger (August Diehl). In the months that follow, the team wrestles with their consciences as Axis forces are gradually overwhelmed by Allied might.

I was surprised that The Counterfeiters won the Oscar for best foreign language film because I'm pretty sure I've seen a bunch of foreign films this past year that were way better. I'm surprised that it even got nominated to tell you the truth. Maybe Oscar voters just don't have good taste in foreign films. Take for example Amelie not winning the Oscar or A Very Long Engagement not even getting a nomination, losing out to The Chorus, which was a crappy film. Maybe Counterfeiters was up against some even worse movies, I don't know since I haven't seen any of the other ones that were nominated yet.

I am just shocked that a movie this bad even won an Oscar. It has all the setup to be an Oscar contending movie though. You have WWII, Nazi's, concentration camps and Jews fighting to survive. What more do you need in a film to be nominated for an Oscar? However, The Counterfeiters doesn't know how to use these things to make a good movie. The direction is horrible with hardly any establishing shots. Just a lot of close-ups of faces and shaky camera work. The camera shakes and zooms into faces so much that it makes The Blair Witch Project look like Lawrence of Arabia. The film quality is also very bad. It's almost like watching an episode of 24.

The acting is probably the only good thing in the movie. Markovics does a fine job, even if he is kind of hard on the eyes. His face looks like someone hit it with a sledgehammer and he has the personality of a marble. He has sex twice in the movie and you have to wonder if those women might have been mentally handicapped.

The movie begins, continues and ends very uninterestingly. The fact that the movie was based on a true story must have been lost on the filmmakers because they make no attempt to take that story and make it interesting in anyway. The writing is bad and uneventful. There is no way that this true story, set in a concentration camp, could have been this boring. I blame the filmmakers and not the true events or even the book it was based on.

The Counterfeiters: 3 out of 10

The DVD features director's commentary, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and interviews with the cast and crew.

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MUSIC: AMANDA PALMER "RUNS IN THE FAMILY"

2008-08-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

"Runs In The Family" is a single off of Who Killed Amanda Palmer, the forthcoming debut solo effort by Amanda Palmer, lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the "Brechtian punk cabaret" duo The Dresden Dolls.

The album was mostly recorded in Nashville, TN with collaborator Ben Folds and will be released on Roadrunner Records (also home to The Dresden Dolls). The name of the album is a reference to the series Twin Peaks, which revolves around events surrounding the death of Laura Palmer.

Certain tracks will also feature Folds on percussion and keyboards and former Rasputina member Zoë Keating on cello.

The magazine Alternative Press named this album one of the "Most Anticipated Albums of 2008".

On April 20, 2008, Amanda confirmed in an interview with Penguins in the Desert on WHRW, Binghamton University's radio station, that the release date would be September 16, 2008.

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MUSIC: M83 "KIM & JESSIE"

2008-08-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

"Kim & Jessie" is a single off of Saturdays=Youth, an album by French electronic group M83.

The album was recorded with Ken Thomas (known for his work with Sigur Rós, The Sugarcubes, Cocteau Twins and Suede) and Ewan Pearson (who has also produced for Tracey Thorn, The Rapture and Ladytron). The album is said to deliver the rich sonic textures for which M83 is well known, but with a more focused approach to song structure and form.

"Kim and Jessie" was the third single.

The album hit number 107 on the billboard 200.

"KIM & JESSIE" MP3

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MUSIC: DEVENDRA BANHART "CARMENSITA"

2008-08-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

"Carmensita" is a single off of Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, a Devendra Banhart album. This album features more instrumentation than the previous records, as well as more genre experimentation. The album was #19 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.

"CARMENSITA" MP3

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MUSIC: THE CARIBBEAN "TO GO FROM TACTICAL"

2008-08-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

"To Go From Tactical" is a single off of Populations, an album from The Caribbean.

"TO GO FROM TACTICAL" (MP3)

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MUSIC: CHROMEO "MOMMA'S BOY"

2008-08-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

"Momma's Boy" is a single off of Fancy Footwork, the second album by Canadian Electronic / Dance Pop group Chromeo.

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MOVIE: HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY

2008-08-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is the 2008 comedy film sequel to the 2004 film, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. John Cho and Kal Penn reprise their roles as the eponymous stoner duo, along with Paula Garcés as Harold's love interest, Maria. Neil Patrick Harris also returns as a satirical version of himself. New additions to the cast are comedian Jon Reep and former Daily Show correspondents Rob Corddry and Ed Helms. Other cast members include David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jack Conley, Roger Bart, Danneel Harris, Eric Winter, Adam Herschman, and Richard Christy.

The cannabis-craving twosome returns in this high-flying sequel that finds them labeled terrorists for attempting to sneak a marijuana-smoking implement on a flight to Amsterdam. Harold (Cho) and Kumar (Penn) have just finished gorging themselves on savory White Castle hamburgers when they return to their apartment and hatch a plan for Harold to win the heart of his crush, Maria (Garcés). Maria is going to Amsterdam, and if Harold can catch up with her overseas perhaps he can strike up a real love connection.

After a close call with airport personnel and a chance encounter with Kumar's ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Harris) -- who hadn't yet told Kumar that she's engaged to be married -- the pot-loving pals finally board their flight for Amsterdam. Unfortunately for Harold, Kumar isn't able to endure the lengthy flight without an innocent puff or two from his smokeless bong. When the plane hits some turbulence and the bong is mistaken for a bomb, the flight is diverted to Guantanamo Bay and our spliff-smoking heroes are detained by overzealous Deputy Chief of Homeland Security Ron Fox (Corddry).

Now, if they can just escape from the world's most notorious prison compound, perhaps this hapless duo can succeed in convincing the authorities that they aren't enemy combatants, and that Kumar made the mistake of his life by letting Vanessa go. But before they can prove their innocence and get the girls, Harold and Kumar will have to outsmart the dreaded Ku Klux Klan, contend with a particularly precocious Cyclops baby, and successfully elude everyone's favorite debauched former child star -- Neil Patrick Harris.

Stoner comedies can be good when they want to be and Harold & Kumar are one of the better ones, but thats not saying much. I enjoyed White Castle but was hesitant to watch Guantanamo Bay because I knew I was going to watch the same thing over again and I was right. Guantanamo picks up right where the first one left off and Harold & Kumar continue to get themselves stuck in crazy situations one after another.

The only problem is that Guantanamo is not as fun as White Castle. That movie had a lot of fun with its premise and the situations they got themselves into were funny. In Guantanamo they basically repeat almost the same gags and humor, but since we have already seen a crazy psycho Neil Patrick Harris and a redneck freak, its not as funny the second time around.

There was also a couple of uncomfortable scenes in the movie. There are scenes that are just horribly racist with no punchline. Most of them are brought on by Corddry's government agent character. I usually like Corddry but here he plays a guy who just throws out one racist joke after another and instead of making them funny, they come off as awkward. You can't have a racist character in a comedy who knows he is racist yet so stupid that he doesn't realize that he is being racist to the wrong people, its not funny, especially after the tenth time he does it in the movie.

There is also a lot of shots of naughty bits and when I say a lot, I do mean A LOT, in the unrated version I watched anyway. Now don't get me wrong, I think movies should be allowed to show as much nudity as they want and I don't mind looking at it, but only if its used in the right context. There is a scene where Harold & Kumar go to a naked bottoms party and carry on a conversation with someone while the camera cuts away to all the naked bottoms at the party. The thing is, Harold & Kumar hold this whole conversation off camera the entire time and you just hear them while looking at a different woman's poontang every three seconds. The camera just lingers on them like a creepy looking guy at a girls volleyball game. In a later scene, the camera does this again while two girls are kissing. Another second and this film would have been a porno.

I did find myself laughing a lot through the movie despite all the things that I did not like about it. Despite all the uncomfortable racist jokes, the uncomfortable lingering nudity waching camera, the voice off camera in every scene that always has something stupid to say and the final scene in the film where Harold & Kumar smoke pot with President Bush, played by a guy who sounds just like him but not even close in the looks department. This scene isn't funny for obvious reasons but there was a part of it that rang true. President Bush starts talking with the guys how his dad is always pressuring him to do things. Kumar tells him that he can relate because he feels that the only reason he is in medical school is to continue the legacy. This makes Bush think for a moment and that is a rare sight.

Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay: 5 out of 10

The DVD features audio commentary, the unrated and rated versions of the movie, a "Dude, Change the Movie" version, a whopping 36 deleted and extended scenes, a couple of President Bush anti-smoking PSA's, the theatrical trailer and an "Inside the World of Harold & Kumar: A Choose Your Path Experience" featurette.

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