Category Archives: Review

These aren’t so much reviews as contemplations on the subject matter. What I loved, what pissed me off, what intrigued me, what I disliked, what made me think, what made me beg Google for answers.

Shoot ‘Em Up

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This movie is awesome. Highly violent and ultra slick, it follows the idea behind Urinetown: that nothing kills a musical quicker than too much exposition. As I sit here listening to the soundtrack (which is phenomenal as well), I can’t even remember the opening titles. All I remember is the New Line Cinema logo flying in, then the holes being gun shot in, and then Clive Owen sitting on a bus bench. 30 seconds later, the gun fire starts and it doesn’t stop for a good 5 minutes. There is a story going on that is really quite plausible (the only thing I really miss is confirmation of Owen’s real identity, but I can live without it) and I just enjoyed the heck out of it. A lot of the stunts were really spectacular (over 40 stunt men), but the thing that impressed me the most was the stunt coordination. … Continue reading →

Hairspray and Serenity/Firefly

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So yeah, I saw it on Monday, but I’m finally getting around to reviewing it…so sue me, sue me, what can ya do me? Hairspray was a lot of fun to watch, although I think I enjoyed the national tour production I saw more mainly because of the cross-dressing Edna Turnblad. On stage was Mr. Bumpo from The Punisher (2004) and I enjoyed him far more than Mrs. Travolta. Everybody else was fantastic though. And I swear I’m not on a West Side Story recognition binge, but a portion of Big Blonde and Beautiful choreography had bits and pieces of “The Dance At The Gym” choreography (The Blues) and I was kind of giddy….stupid, I know, but yeah. I really enjoyed James Marsden, Zac Efron and Elijah Kelley. Amanda Bynes I was iffy about just because the stage Penny is a lot dumber and a lot funnier. I missed “In … Continue reading →

A Weekend In The Country

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[Bonus points if you understand the title reference] So here it is…Labor Day Weekend 2007. I spent the weekend at the King Frederick Best Western in Solvang. The whole purpose of the trip was to see PCPA’s Urinetown, but I also ended up finishing Pearl Harbor by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen. The theatre ended up being less than a 1/10 of a mile from our hotel, and it felt really fun to walk to the theatre, see the show and then walk back to the hotel. I’ll have to make this Solvang trip more of a regular thing to see more theatre and walk back to my room. 😉 Urinetown…Not the Place, The Musical The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) presents Urinetown in Santa Maria and at Solvang’s TheatreFest. At first Officer Lockstock seemed a bit too over the top with his gay act, but after a … Continue reading →

War and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

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Luke Adams (fellow cast member from Torrance’s Joseph (2004) and Camelot (2005)) was cast as the Beast in Starlight Theatre’s outdoor production and did an incredible job. I was lucky enough to head down there for the closing performance. We left Orange County around 3:30 with the hopes of catching a movie before the show. Success on both fronts! War featuring Jason Statham and Jet Li This was a very exciting film, portraying the tale of Rogue, a Yakuza (Japanese mob) hitman who pits Yakuza members in San Francisco against the Triad (Chinese mob), and John Crawford, a member of the FBI’s Asian Organized Crime unit out to avenge his partner’s death (to the extent of all else – his marriage, his son, etc.). Aside from Jet Li and Jason Statham being incredible fighters, the story was really solid and really enjoyable. At least that’s what I can claim – … Continue reading →

Bill Handel 14th Extravaganza & A Salute To John Williams

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Political correctness is a disease that has a stranglehold on this country. That’s why I go to see Bill Handel’s live show…it’s politically incorrect and hilarious. Where else can you watch James Brown sing “I Feel Dead”, Michael Vick sing “Dead Puppies” and Kim Jong Il Yung sing “How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?” Just like the manatees who write Family Guy, if one thing isn’t funny, nothing is funny. A Salute to John Williams – featuring tons of movies you never heard of! Featuring the 501st Legion! Notice the incredibly tall Imperial Fighter. I admire these guys…. March from Superman This piece reminded me of how disappointed I was with Sky Captain…that main theme was so reminiscent of Superman and yet the movie let me down so much…. Harry Potter The Sorcerer’s Stone (actually The Face of Voldemort) Harry’s Wondrous World Sayuri’s Theme from Memoirs of a … Continue reading →

The Civil War, WW2, Simpsons, Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3

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So I recently finished reading a trilogy of books by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (Gettsyburg, Grant Comes East, Never Call Retreat). He calls them “active history”, although in my opinion it is in the same vein as historical fiction novels like those of Harry Turtledove (Guns of the South). As a passionate lover of the Civil War, the books were phenomenal. Predicated on a single changed decision (instead of continuing to attack the Union forces at Gettysburg on July 2nd, Lee executes a grueling flanking march and decimates them when they attack him on ground of his choosing), the books wove a tale of military strategy and political ideology that is as valid for our time as it was back when it was actually (but not really) happening. I was most struck by President Lincoln (especially since he makes A LOT of sense in his political thoughts … Continue reading →

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (no spoilers)

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At LAST! J.K. Rowling’s terrible grip on my soul is free! “What about the movies?” DAMN! Just read Harry Potter 7 and I keep seeing future moments from the movie popping into my head….”I’m so excited” (Atlantis: The Lost Empire). The book is really elegantly done, and if you haven’t kept up with the books, just the movies, I would applaud your lack of curiosity and/or your strength of character (not spoiling the future movies by seeing the books). And you know, that’s all I’m really going to say about it, because Harry’s quest is our own quest, and to “spoil” it for anyone with any little hint just isn’t fair. Although I was right about Snape…ha! “Insane theories one, regular theories a billion!” (Futurama). I will however dwell on something I read on Wikipedia regarding this whole Harry Potter thing. On July 18th, the New York Times posted an … Continue reading →

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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So I went to the 6:15 AM IMAX 3-D showing at the Irvine Spectrum with my dad and some of his friends and there were roughly 80 people in the theatre. Niiiice! I’m probably the most satisfied with this book’s adaptation because it’s the one I remember the least. When I first jumped into Harry Potter, books 1-3 were already out and by the time I had finished book 3, book 4 was available and I readily devoured it. But after that, it was a long wait for this one, and I was even slower in reading it. So bits and pieces of it flashed back to me while watching the film, but not as much as, say, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (see my movie review) The flame communication special effect was different this time around and I’m not sure why…. Didn’t the Thestrals (the invisible horses … Continue reading →

Live Free or Die Hard and Transfomers

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Live Free or Die Hard Bruce Willis is fantastic, although based on the trailers, I had to ask the question, “When did John McClane become a supercop?” But in the movie, what happens to him is very plausible within the Die Hard motif – wrong place, wrong time. Justin Long is very funny and very heroic. Kevin Smith is priceless as teh king of all internets hackorz. While ranting and railing against the PG-13 rating, I have to agree that the one “Yippee-Kay-Ay-Motherf*cker” was well placed and that the action and violence was about equal to the R ratings of the other Die Hard films. Which leads me to ponder what has happened to the MPAA’s rating system? Did violence just get more acceptable? Directed by Len Wiseman! Yay Underworld! And he’s married to Kate Beckinsale. The guy’s got it all…SO not fair 😉 There was a section in the … Continue reading →

Evan Almighty

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I got sick of the trailer for this movie way before it came out (I think because I kept going to movies and kept seeing the trailer and all those movie posters with Steve Carrel in the Marilyn Monroe pose ala Noah). I didn’t really have a problem with the concept at that point because I had enjoyed the positive Christian message in Bruce Almighty and expected the same from this one, but as the trailer/posters/etc. kept intruding in my life, I think I became so sick of it I tried to translate my annoyance at the promotions into genuine dislike for the movie based on the fact God saying He wouldn’t flood the Earth ever again. Through this transference of dislike I became convinced that this movie was just horribly wrong and that I would hate it. Well I’m glad to say that I enjoyed this movie very much. … Continue reading →