Martin's Musings

Meryl Streep, Prime Minister

2012-01-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

Whether you liked her or didn't like her, Margaret Thatcher was an important political figure. So she rightly deserves any recognition she gets, and merits a bio-pic.

That said, watching The Iron Lady, you get the feeling that this is a film more about Meryl Streep playing Thatcher, than it is about Thatcher herself. Would the movie have been made without Streep? Who knows. But you know somewhere, a few years ago, some film producers were sitting around and came up with this brilliant high-concept idea. Thankfully, Streep delivers.

The film is told through the eyes of a late-in-life Thatcher, who is struggling with dementia and can't tell the difference between past and present. She also thinks her long-departed husband (Jim Broadbent) is still alive. Through flashbacks, we see Thatcher's rise to power, and how her firm, take-no-prisoners style of leadership did some good for England but also made few friends. Clearly, even in her old age, the price of power still weighs heavily on Thatcher.

The Iron Lady was directed, rather surprisingly, by Phyllida Lloyd, whose last film, the dreadful Mamma Mia!, gave Streep a rare chance to go slumming on screen. The Iron Lady proves that Lloyd may have a future in movies after all. (I guess that's a backhanded way of saying she acquits herself much better here.)

But as compelling as the film may be, it's hard not to be distracted by Streep. The whole time, despite a good performance, she hardly ever disappears into the role, and you're left marveling at how cool it is to see Meryl Streep play Margaret Thatcher. The film, then, comes off a something of a stunt, and it lessens the impact of the story. (I mean, Good God ... even Leonardo DiCaprio, wearing all that obvious makeup, was able to disappear into the role of J. Edgar Hoover in J. Edgar.)

So The Iron Lady proves not to be one of Streep's greatest films, even if she is good in it. But of course she is. Those producers knew what they were doing. I'm giving The Iron Lady a B.

Pal Joey

2012-01-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

In recent years, the proudly, blatantly self-important projects that Steven Spielberg has worked on (often with Tom Hanks) — ones like the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific — have been such a turnoff. They may be good, but who wants to sit through something out of a feeling close to obligation? So I'll admit, I was resistant to seeing War Horse, uncle Steve's latest prestige project, and pre-disposed to not liking it. This film, an adaptation of the Tony Award–winning play and children's novel, tells the story of boy gets horse, boy loses horse to World War I, boy enlists in army to find horse, boy and horse are reunited, and all is well. It's about as audience-friendly as can be, and with gorgeous photography, a predictably majestic score by John Williams, and decent performances, the film is a rousing one that will make you stand up and cheer.

But of course it will. That's the whole point. War Horse is so engineered to appeal to its audience, and doesn't even try to hide it. No one gives the horse any credit but the boy, who just knows he can train it to save his family's farm. And guess what? Then the horse goes from owner to owner to owner to owner, during wartime, and yet somehow, miraculously, the horse (whose name is Joey, by the way) survives. And then, when the boy and horse come together again, the music swells, your eyes begin to water, and ... well, yeah. I knew going in that I wasn't going to love this movie. War Horse is generally well made, it's a slick piece of audience pleasing entertainment, but I didn't love it like I think I was supposed to. So I'm giving the film a B.

2011's Movies Hit a Home Run

2012-01-03T06:30:00.001-05:00

If you haven't noticed, I see a lot of movies. As I sit down to write this blog post, this year alone, of the ones that are considered 2011 releases, I've seen 50. Last year I saw 60, so I'm a little off my game, I guess. But there are still a few movies that have yet to open in Boston that I'm sure I'll see, and that'll push the number higher. And yes, I know it's now a couple days into 2012. That's alright. Again, we're talking 2011 releases, the ones that are eligible for Oscars and all the other awards, no matter when they're in my local theaters.

Okay, enough excuse-making. 2011 was a pretty good year for the movies. Looking back on all the ones I've seen, there were a good number of them that I gave high marks to (i.e., a B+ or better). So what follows are my 10 favorite movies of the year.

1. Moneyball
An inside-baseball movie with a high-wattage star turn from Brad Pitt, who gives it the full Redford.

2. Hugo
Martin Scorsese's latest only looks like a children's movie. In fact, it's a 3D tribute to the earliest filmmakers.

3. Martha Marcy May Marlene
A heartbreaking, creepy, intimate, and intense film about a young woman who escapes from a cult but can't truly feel free.

4. Crazy Stupid Love
A romantic dramedy about how complicated love can be, featuring a sensitive performance by Steve Carell.

5. Super 8
J.J. Abrams' homage to his childhood idol. It's the kind of movie (almost exactly) that Steven Spielberg used to make.

6. The Descendants
Alexander Payne + George Clooney = A bittersweet story about a husband who learns things aren't as perfect as they seem.

7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
An imperfect but very cool adaptation of the worldwide best-seller, featuring a kickass performance by Rooney Mara in the title role.

8. Page One
Journalism is alive and well at the media desk at The New York Times, thanks to some dedicated, memorable reporters.

9. Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen's best film in years celebrates nostalgia and Paris, and nostalgia in Paris.

10. Win Win
An underseen gem featuring some great characters, well written by Thomas McCarthy and memorably played by a cast led by Paul Giamatti.

And the worst/most overrated films of the year? Well, thankfully, I see a bomb coming and I stay away — for the most part. That said, after 50 movies, there were bound to be a few that were torture to sit through or just underwhelmed me, despite popular acclaim. I don't have 10 of them, but here, in no particular order, are my least favorite films of the year.

Larry Crowne
Tom Hanks directs himself and Julia Roberts in a painful romantic "comedy."

Bridesmaids
I think I'm the only person who found this film totally overrated. Don't hate me for it.

Cowboys & Aliens
A sci-fi action film where the creators intentionally left out the humor. Big mistake.

The Muppets
Not the movie I was hoping for. The tone was off, the songs were largely forgettable, and Kermit wasn't the guy I remember.

Drive
I just didn't get this one. A cool performance by Ryan Gosling in a film that doesn't know what it wants to be.

What were your favorites and least favorites? I'd love to know. Leave a comment below.

Out of Control

2012-01-02T17:00:00.001-05:00

The Cold War–era spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy tells the story of a British intelligence officer who is pulled out of (forced) retirement when it's thought that a Russian mole is embedded within the Secret Service. Who is the mole? It's one of four gentlemen who are given the code names of the film's title. That's about all I've got. Despite an excellent performance by Gary Oldman (and his oversized glasses), I just wasn't invested in this one. It's stuffy, all-too-serious, and not exactly exciting to watch. No wonder my mind wandered throughout, and I couldn't wait for the film to end. Is it fair, then, for me to give the movie any review? I don't care; I'm doing it anyway. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy gets a B– from me.

I'd Like to Thank You for the Year

2011-12-29T06:00:00.005-05:00

Most people will tell you that Thanksgiving is the time to give thanks. After all, it's right there in the name of the day. But at the end of the year, as songs like "Step into Christmas" are on repeat play, I can't help thinking of one line in that song: "I'd like to thank you for the year." So in the spirit of showing even more appreciation, I'd like to say a few thank-yous to some (but not all of) the people, places, and things that made 2011 so much fun. This list is in no particular order.

Thank you to my fellow email geeks, Only Influencers members, and industry peers. I've truly enjoyed getting to know you all and debating the various email and social media topics, but also things like the merits of Google+, Klout, or Rebecca Black, or whether The King's Speech or The Social Network was a better movie, and doing so via email, on Twitter, or while sitting in a hot tub in Park City, Utah. And a special thanks to Ryan Phelan for including me in his Only Influencers version of Ocean's 11.

Thank you to Tim Burke and the staff at In a Pickle, not only for making some delicious food (mmmm ... Cookie Dough Pancakes ... Nutella Stuffed French Toast) but also for being a smart, kick-ass small business that I love supporting and advocating for.

Thank you to the staffs of MarketingSherpa and MediaPost, who, in their infinite wisdom, planned conferences this year in Las Vegas, Key Biscayne, Captiva Island, and Park City ... and thank you to my employer for letting me attend them.

Thank you to Andy Grammer, Coldplay, Kanye West and Jay-Z, James Morrison, Jessie J, Matt Nathanson, and yes, even you, Lady Gaga, who created some of my favorite music of the year.

Thank you to Roots, for making some of the most comfortable clothes I own.

Thank you to my friends, for being there, for cooking for me, for brunching with me, for sharing my love of steak and cupcakes, for trying to set me up on dates, for playing the role of cheerleader, and for being the best support system a guy could ask for.

Thank you to Twitter and Facebook, and all the people I'm connected with on those sites, for amusing and entertaining me, for keeping me informed, and for broadening my horizons on a daily basis.

Thank you to the staff at Johnny's Luncheonette, who see me sitting at the counter quite often, and who apparently know me so well that they've started to order for me because I tend to get the same thing (macaroni and cheese, with broccoli) way too often.

Thank you to Marc and Ian, my twin nephews, for being born and always having a smile on your faces. A year from now, you're going to get into all kinds of trouble (likely with my help), and I can't wait.

Thank you to Abby, my niece, for being silly, for being my buddy, and for growing into a young girl who is smart and so much fun to be around.

Thank you to Pippa Middleton. For obvious reasons.

Thank you to my coworkers, who make me laugh on an almost daily basis, sometimes on purpose and sometimes without intending to. You make me think, you challenge me, you fascinate and intrigue me, you inspire me, and you remind me of what's really important.

Thank you to Clarence Clemons, Amy Winehouse, and Steve Jobs, who, before leaving us this year, gave me lasting gifts of great music and fun-to-use, can't-live-without-it technology. Your contributions to my life will live on.

Thank you to Mike and Carla Levin, for naming me co–Salami King at MCJ42K11 (Michigan City July 4th 2011), an honor that means more than most readers of this post probably realize.

Thank you to the Bruins, for making me care about hockey again, even if it was only for a month.

Thank you to Matty, Billy, Lisa, Jim, Rich, Kendra, and James, whose antics help me arrive at work every morning with a smile, and keep me laughing (via podcast) most every night when I'm driving home.

Thank you to the writing and design staffs of Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, and Rolling Stone for your insightful, entertaining, and memorable articles.

Thank you to Fiorella's Express and Comella's, for your excellent Italian takeout; to U Burger and Sal's Pizza, for feeding me before my weeknight movie screenings; to Finagle a Bagel, for being my almost-every-Saturday lunch spot; and Lucky Wah, for serving me well for many years before you closed a couple weeks ago.

Thank you to my can't-miss TV shows Happy Endings, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Revenge, New Girl, The Amazing Race, How to Make It in America, Saturday Night Live, CBS Sunday Morning, and Modern Family.

Thank you to the me I used to be, who I became reacquainted with this year when I finally finished re-reading my 8+ journals from high school. You reminded me who I was, showed me who I still am, and encouraged me to make changes I said I would 20 years ago.

Thank you to everyone else I'm neglecting to mention here. 2011 was a great year (better than last year), and there are just too many people and things to thank for that. So rather than try to list everyone, I'm going to share this video slide show, so you can see just how happy I was throughout the year, and what kind of "Good Life" I led. (And thank you to Animoto for making this so easy and fun to create!)

Happy New Year, everybody! I hope 2012 is a great year for you all.

Quiet on the Set

2011-12-27T20:00:00.002-05:00

The next time someone says to you, "They sure don't make movies like they used to," you can direct that person to my review of J.J. Abrams' Steven Spielberg homage, Super 8. Or, you can tell that person to see The Artist, an affectionately made tribute to the early days of filmmaking, when the addition of sound changed the industry forever, that's made in the same style as one of those silent films from the 1920s. (Yes, 2011 is apparently the year of the throwback.) If you're thinking Super 8 + Hugo = The Artist, I guess you're not too far off. Just throw in a splash of Singin' in the Rain, too.

The Artist tells the story of George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), the biggest (fictional) movie star of his day. At the premiere of his latest film, he literally bumps into Peppy Miller (the adorable Bérénice Bejo), and when she's photographed with George, she becomes a tabloid sensation. Over the next couple years, as sound becomes a force in the movie industry, George's pride prevents him from changing with the times, while Peppy slowly rises in the industry, her roles growing larger and larger. Will Peppy melt George's heart and convince him to get on board?

That this film has nearly everything working against it — it's French, it's silent, it's in black and white, etc. etc. — and yet it still works, and does so beautifully, is something of a miracle. Dujardin gives an impressive, expressive performance, and Bejo, well, she's just a pleasure to watch. If you don't fall in love with her during the scene where she acts opposite a coat rack in George's dressing room, then you've got no heart. Writer/director Michel Hazanavicius uses conventions of those early days (a dog, the score) and mixes in some modern touches, like smart use of sound effects, to convey what a change it was. Like in Singin' in the Rain (which, by the way, is my all-time favorite movie), some of the films and elements of the industry are played for laughs (particularly the opening scene, which has elements liberally borrowed from Singin' in the Rain), but it's all done with love. And the final scene will just make you stand up and cheer.

That The Artist is so many people's favorite movie of 2011 is no surprise. But for me, it's not quite there. I think it's a little bit too long, and, well, I guess I found some of it a little hokey. But The Artist is certainly a wonderful film, a more than pleasant surprise, and it's well worth seeing. I'm giving it a B+.

Cold Case

2011-12-27T07:00:00.001-05:00

In just about two minutes, David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo announces its arrival with an opening credits sequence that's reminiscent of Fincher's Fight Club, except much, much darker (and a bit kinkier too). As the sounds of Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Karen O's take on Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" play, it's clear you're in for a distinctly ominous movie. And sure enough, with its story of murder, rape, violence against women, graphic scenes of torture, a plot involving Nazis, and a lead heroine who is so anti-social and prone to revenge that she's a ward of the state, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is no one's idea of a feel-good movie. And yet, it's a pretty damned good one.

If you're one of the millions of people who've read Stieg Larsson's novel or seen the original screen adaptation, then you know the story. I hadn't done either of those things, so it was all new to me. Here's the gist: Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a disgraced journalist in Stockholm, is hired by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), the head of a rich family, to investigate what happened to his granddaughter 40 years earlier. Needing help, Mikael eventually hires a young female hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), who, unbeknownst to him, conducted a background check on Mikael before he was hired for the job, and has a thing for getting back at those who've crossed her.

It's a cool story, featuring some interesting characters, a terrific screenplay by Steven Zaillian (his second great adaptation this year, the other being Moneyball), another strong score by Reznor and Ross, and expert direction by Fincher, who gives the whole thing a sense of menace that preys on the audience's worst instincts. Yes, the movie is graphic at parts, but you won't be able to look away for a second. For that, credit Fincher, but also give kudos to Craig, Plummer, and, as another member of the Vanger family, Stellan Skarsgard, all of whom give very good — and in the case of Skarsgard, creepy — performances.

And then there's Mara (last seen as Mark Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend in The Social Network), who makes a real bad ass, kick ass heroine. She's a walking contradiction — her look is a cry for attention, but her demeanor says "Stay away" — and Mara just disappears into this role, investing all of herself in it. She's awesome.

And yet, as great and gripping as it is, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is held back by its own source material. [SPOILER ALERT] The film seems to have three different endings, making it feel about 20 minutes too long, but even worse, the relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth goes to a place I just didn't buy. I get that the two would become allies and friends, and that she might develop a strong loyalty to him, but the fact that they would start sleeping together is unbelievable to me. And that took me out of the story a bit. [END SPOILERS]

For most other movies, those problems would derail my enjoyment. But most other movies aren't as well made as this one. And when the lights went up, all I wanted to do was see more. The second part of the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire, can't come out soon enough. I'm giving this film a B+.

A Cinematic Call to Arms

2011-12-26T12:30:00.004-05:00

Generally, when it comes to movies, I'm not a fan of the bait and switch. How frustrating it is to go to a movie expecting to see one thing, and having the film be something else entirely. But in the case of Hugo, I found the bait and switch a pleasant, and exciting, surprise. Yes, that's right: Hugo is not the children's movie it's being marketed to be. Rather, it's a film that celebrates filmmaking and makes a strong case for preserving the films of our past, the ones that laid the foundation for the movies of today. The filmmaker behind this cinematic call to arms is none other than Martin Scorsese, who has made one of the most beautiful films of his career, and surely one of the best of this year.

Hugo tells the story of a young boy (Asa Butterfield) who lives secretly in the walls of a train station in Paris. There, he takes care of the clocks, forages for food, avoids the station's manager of security (Sacha Baron Cohen), and steals mechanical parts that he needs to repair his late father's automaton. In so doing, he meets a mysterious toy shop owner (Ben Kingsley) and befriends his goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz). That's the children's-story part.

The other half of the story is that before he passed away, Hugo's father often took him to the movies, instilling in him a love of the cinema that Hugo passes on to Isabelle. When the automaton is fixed (no spoiler there; it's sort of not the real point of the movie), it draws a picture of a scene from a movie that Hugo remembers seeing as a child. After researching the scene and the movie, the two follow a trail that leads back to Isabelle's Papa Georges, whose early work has been rediscovered and is now appreciated more than he ever realized.

To tell this story, Scorsese uses 3D in the same way the early filmmakers used moving picture technology: To show the world like you've never seen it before. It's the same way the folks at Pixar do, the way they give each image extra depth and character, without being intrusive and showy. That said, with Hugo, you'll notice the 3D — if only because of the expert way it's been used. For example, the film begins with a scene-setting, sweeping shot through Paris and through the station that eventually swoops up and captures Hugo looking out through the clock, from the other side of the wall. It's a stunningly gorgeous image, one with real depth and dimension, the kind that's replicated (but not duplicated) throughout the movie. Scorsese also pays tribute to one of the earliest films in a scene where a train goes off the tracks and literally drives right through the station, coming right at the audience. It's awesome. What it comes down to, and there's really no other way to say it, is that you must see Hugo in 3D. It was made to be seen that way. You can't possibly get the full effect of the film in 2D.

But the really impressive thing is that while Hugo may be a visual feast, it's also a well made, heartwarming story — especially for anyone who loves movies. Kingsley gives a wonderful performance that's matched by the wide-eyed innocence of Butterfield and Moretz. As Hugo and Isabelle discover those early films and learn why Papa Georges' work should be saved and celebrated, we, too, begin to appreciate them. And what person wouldn't want to be recognized for the work he or she has done, especially if it's work that was long thought forgotten or worthless? The way Scorsese portrays this is just incredible, recreating the process involved in making those early films (look for him in a quick cameo as a photographer) and giving real insight into why the cinema became such a beloved art form. He humanizes the people behind it all and shows it with a child's sense of wonder and amazement. You can't help but be a fan (or a bigger fan) of the movies after seeing Hugo.

Sometimes, the only way to recapture our sense of wonder is to see things through the eyes of a child. In Hugo, Martin Scorsese makes us all feel like kids again, as if we're seeing the movies for the very first time. Hugo is being sold as a children's movie, but it's more than that. So much more. Hugo is an amazing achievement, a film that should be celebrated for years to come. I'm giving it an A-.

Skin Deep

2011-12-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

In the film Shame, Michael Fassbender plays a man with a real problem: He's addicted to sex. In all forms. Gotta have it. Each night he's with a different woman, never forming any emotional connection with them, and he's always on the prowl for his next encounter. In fact, the guy's so hungry he can seduce a woman just by looking at her the right way. Could be worse, I suppose. And yes, it could be better. But first, Fassbender's character, Brandon, has to realize that what he's doing is wrong. That happens when Brandon's sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), arrives and he begins to develop a conscience about what he's doing. Suddenly he has to hide his addiction (not to mention his porn magazines, videos, and web sites), or else he'll be exposed and he'll have to deal with it.

That's right: It's good, jolly stuff, just in time for the holidays.

Yes, there's a lot of sex in this movie. But the crux of Shame is how Brandon deals with his addiction. And Fassbender (perhaps best known for playing young Magneto in X-Men: First Class) portrays this challenge in an open and vulnerable way — both emotionally and physically. For one thing, he's naked often in the movie (no wonder Shame is rated NC-17). But he's also exposed because director Steve McQueen likes to shoot in long takes, with little to no editing. This really gives Fassbender nowhere to hide, and he responds with an impressively subtle performance.

McQueen has made a movie with a few titillating moments. Aside from the graphic sex scenes, there are scenes like one where Brandon is on a date with his coworker and the tension between the two is so thick it can be cut with a knife (yes, it's shot in a single, prolonged take). If only the whole movie was as exciting as that scene. Truthfully, it does drag at certain points. Shame is one of those character-driven, plotless dramas where nothing really happens, and with a running time of an hour and 40 minutes, that's a lot of foreplay before the climax.

When it comes down to it, Shame is just skin deep. It would have been nice to know more about both Brandon and Sissy, and why they've both turned out to be such damaged people, but we don't learn much about either of them, other than that they grew up in New Jersey (and yes, I realize that's enough to make anyone screwed up). These two have a pretty awkward relationship (did they once hook up?), but the film doesn't dive into that much at all. Perhaps that's for the better, though; as it is, watching Shame does make you feel kinda dirty. I'm giving the movie a B.

Psycho Prom-Queen Bitch

2011-12-19T06:00:00.008-05:00

In the new film Young Adult, screenwriter Diablo Cody, director Jason Reitman, and star Charlize Theron have created one of my favorite movie characters in recent memory. Mavis Gray is the girl you totally hated in high school but secretly wanted to be, and who surely hated you too (even if she barely knew you existed). She's the pretty girl who dated the hottest guy. The one who told you she was going to leave town the second graduation happened, and did. The one who got the big job as a writer — excuse me, author — and the condo in the big city (i.e., Minneapolis). The one who ruled the school and made your life a living hell.

And yet, as much as she may have hated everything about her small-town existence, for Mavis, high school will always be the the be-all end-all for her. Nothing will ever be as good as those days. So, realizing her life has passed its peak, Mavis decides to return to her hometown and reclaim what's rightfully hers: the high school boyfriend who got away. But of course, Buddy (Patrick Wilson) has moved on from high school and is now married with a child. For Mavis, that's just baggage. Something she and Buddy can overcome together.

Armed with her hot-chick wardrobe and caustic attitude, Mavis arrives in Mercury like she never left, and like things are exactly as she left them. She still looks down on everything and treats everyone with disdain because they're not as perfect and cool as she is. Or, more accurately, as she thinks she is. And it's in Mercury that she meets Matt Freehauf (the excellent Patton Oswalt), the schlumpy former classmate who Mavis spurned back in the day. Matt is also dealing with his own issues from high school, and he tries to tell Mavis to just give it up. Despite this reality check, she proceeds to try and steal Buddy away anyway.

Yeah, Mavis is a character alright. And as played by Theron, she's a spectacular mess. This is a hysterical performance, one of the funniest of the year. Cody has given Theron some choice lines of dialogue, and they're delivered with such a biting, sardonic tone. Everyone else can see right through Mavis, and they know what she's up to, even if she thinks they're all wrong. This isn't delusion. It's straight-up psycho. And Theron is just a force of nature. She owns this role like she has few others. Mavis isn't a sympathetic character at all, and yet I totally love her because she's so awesomely screwed up. Bravo, bravo.

Cody and Reitman, reunited here for the first time since their hipster-cute Juno, have made a stark 180 in tone and content. Young Adult doesn't have a positive message, or a lead character who will go through a profound change as a result of her experience. After all, what fun would it be if Mavis learned her lesson and became nice? And that's the movie's strength and its weakness. When the film comes to its end and Mavis gets a minor wake-up call, she basically just presses the Snooze button, and the movie ends. It's nice to see a movie do away with the saccharine, but it leaves Young Adult with an ending that feels abrupt, unfinished, and unresolved. And it's a shame, because this is such a satisfying movie for its first 90 minutes. It's a glorious f-you to everyone who still lives and dies by their high school existence. And then ... it's just over.

What will become of Mavis when she's back in the "mini Apple?" Probably nothing. But you might hope she would get a decent comeuppance or something. Instead, she just retreats and we all move on, back to normal. Oh well. So that's why I'm only giving Young Adult a B.

Where's Ethan?

2011-12-17T06:00:00.007-05:00

Here's what I know about Tom Cruise: You just can't count the guy out. He'll make an awful movie like Knight and Day, and you'll be tempted to say his career is over, but then he'll make a movie like Tropic Thunder that is so entertaining, and he'll be back without even skipping a beat. After Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the latter is true again. The film — a big improvement over the third Mission Impossible film — finds Cruise back at the top of his action hero game, effortlessly saving the world again, and looking like he's actually enjoying himself in the process.

In Ghost Protocol, which I saw in IMAX (and which you should too), Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team (now composed of Jeremy Renner, the gorgeous Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg, supplying the comic relief as always), are on the run (and on the DL) after a mission in Moscow goes bad and the Russians think Hunt has bombed the Kremlin. ("Ghost Protocol" is the term for a black-operation contingency that disavows the entire Impossible Missions Force.) Their travels take them to Dubai, where they attempt to intercept a deal to acquire the codes for a Russian nuclear launch-control device — and Hunt tries to outrun a sandstorm, among other derring-do.

And it's that "other derring-do" that is the key to why Ghost Protocol is as much fun to watch as it is. In Dubai, there is a sequence where Hunt must enter a server room on the 130th floor of the Burj Khalifa (the world's tallest building) from the outside. Which means he has to scale the building using little more than high-tech gloves that will allow him to stick to the windows. Yes, we've seen scenes like this before, but not one as suspenseful and impressively staged as this is. When Cruise attaches himself to the window, the IMAX picture gets larger, and it pans downward to show you just how high up he is; you can't help but get a little on edge too. Cruise reportedly did his own stunts, and while the whole thing is completely, ridiculously, um, impossible, if that's not him in every shot, you can't tell. There's not a false beat in the entire five minutes, not one move that makes you feel pandered to. Oh, and all this is happening while the aforementioned sandstorm is approaching. It's one of the best movie scenes of the year, and the main reason why you should see Ghost Protocol — especially in IMAX. It's totally worth it. (Still not convinced? Check out Patton's dress. Now imagine seeing that on a giant screen. Wow.)

Cruise is good, but kudos, too, must go to director Brad Bird, making his live-action directing debut here after such great work on animated films like The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Bird has a knack for staging action sequences and keeping the pace of the film moving. (There's another scene in a parking garage that is similarly impressive.) He directs with fluidity, and doesn't take it all so seriously (which was a problem that J.J. Abrams had with the last film; Abrams remained involved here as a producer). Heck, Bird makes it all look easy and real. He's directed the film wit and a whole lot of confidence, and as a result, Ghost Protocol is a slick, but not heavy-handedly so, piece of entertainment. (The only bummer? Josh Holloway, from Lost, is in the film, but only for a total of five minutes at the very beginning. I wish he'd been more central to the action. But that's just a Lost fanboy speaking.)

Ghost Protocol is a highly enjoyable return to form for the Mission Impossible series and for its star. When Tom Cruise is having fun — and isn't trying so hard to be Tom Cruise, action hero — then it's easy to have fun with him, as we do here. Willingly choose to accept this Mission. I'm giving it an A–.

OH! Need one more reason to see Ghost Protocol in an IMAX theater? The Dark Knight Rises prologue. The less said about it the better, but it is one AWESOME six-minute teaser for what is sure to be the best movie of 2012. If you're any kind of Batman fan, you can't miss this.

This Is Why I'm Lucky

2011-12-09T07:00:00.002-05:00

As I've previously written on this blog, I'm a lucky man. But I fear I wasn't specific enough. So ... now that I've returned from five days in Park City, Utah, where I was for a conference, I thought I needed to be a little bit more specific about why I feel so lucky ...

* Because I got to go to Park City two years in a row for this conference
* Because I got to stay at the St. Regis Deer Valley, one of the nicest hotels ever
* Because I learned I can stay in an outdoor hot tub in 15-degree weather for an hour or more and not freeze. Three days in a row.
* Because after more than a year, I was still mayor on Foursquare of the Roots Canada store on Main Street
* Because the St. Regis had the most awesome (free) hot chocolate bar, with crushed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and peppermint sticks, Red Hots, vanilla bean and orange whipped creams, marshmallows, chocolate shavings, and more mix-ins
* Because the weather in Park City in December may be cold, but it's a dry cold, so it's not all that bad
* Because I was asked to moderate a roundtable at the conference, again
* Because I learned some new things, and not just how to play Texas Hold 'em Poker
* Because I met some new people
* Because I had a TV in my bathroom mirror in the hotel
* Because I ordered something off the menu at the No Name Saloon and wasn't mocked for it ... too badly
* Because Monday night I stood in a fire pit and didn't burn myself
* Because for some reason, I enjoy riding in a funicular, and there's one at the St. Regis
* Because the showers at the hotel are awesome
* Because at the first day of the conference, we had delicious churros for dessert after lunch
* Because I had turn-down service every night. I love turn-down service
* Because during the conference, I passed 1,500 followers on Twitter
* Because I'm in an industry with so many smart, passionate, funny, interesting, welcoming, insightful, and just plain cool people, many of whom I'm privileged to call not only colleagues, but friends
* Because these people call me their friend too
* Because I had a great time in Park City

Yes, I did go on this trip for work; here's a link to my professional recap. That I have a job that allows me to do stuff like this makes me question how I ever got so lucky. But I do and I am. Lucky, indeed.

She's Got a Friend

2011-12-02T12:00:00.003-05:00

In 1956, Marilyn Monroe, then the most wanted woman on the planet, flew to England to make a film with Laurence Olivier called The Prince and the Showgirl. The hope was that the film would give Marilyn some credibility, but she was an insecure, nervous wreck and didn't feel up to the task. Reliant on drugs, dependent on her acting coach, and getting little support from her new, third husband (Arthur Miller), Marilyn frustrated Olivier and the crew, and nearly derailed the film entirely. That is, until she struck up a friendship with a production assistant named Colin Clark. The story of Clark's relationship with Marilyn, brief though it may have been, is the basis of the new film My Week with Marilyn.

It's worth noting before we go much further that this is not a film about Marilyn, per se. It's about, and told from the point of view of, Clark (Eddie Redmayne), an eager go-getter who longs to be part of "the circus." Clark is a 23-year-old dreamer, and based on this film at least (and the two memoirs Clark wrote in real life), it was he alone who held the key to Marilyn's sanity and confidence. I doubt that's entirely true, but then again, Marilyn did make men believe a lot of things. And it's not hard to see why; the Marilyn of this movie (played by Michelle Williams) is quite alluring. Sporting platinum blonde hair and exuding Marilyn's seductive charisma and playfulness (at times, anyway), Williams may not look or sound exactly like Marilyn, but she captures Marilyn's essence and creates a sympathetic portrait of the actress that's easy to fall in love with. Marilyn knows she has Clark in the palm of her hand, and she takes full advantage until he can serve her needs no longer.

Redmayne and Williams are surrounded by an all-star cast, including Kenneth Branagh as Olivier, Julia Ormand, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper, Judi Dench, and Hermione Granger herself, Emma Watson. As notable as that lineup is, though, this is Williams' film. And that's kind of the problem. She's the one we care about, not Clark. He basically spends the movie in awe of Marilyn, in awe that she even noticed him, and we feel the same. The only one who truly cares about Clark is Watson's character, and she disappears early on. It makes the film a bit lop-sided, because this is supposed to be Clark's story, and we're supposed to be excited for him that he got to spend the time with her (even if it likely meant more to him than to her).

If My Week with Marilyn was as compelling as Williams' performance, there'd be more to admire. Alas, the film has its focus on the wrong person. And that's why I'm only giving it a B.

It's Easy Being Red

2011-12-02T07:00:00.005-05:00

It may not be easy being green, but according to the new documentary Being Elmo, red isn't such a bad color. The film, a look at the man behind the second-most popular Sesame Street character of all time (after Kermit, of course), tells the story of how Kevin Clash grew up in Baltimore dreaming of being a professional puppeteer, and eventually made his dreams come true when he got a gig working on Sesame Street under the tutelage of Jim Henson and Kermit Love. Being Elmo uses archival footage and photography to show how Clash's skill and ambition were evident early on, and how he gained recognition working first on local television and later on Captain Kangaroo and other films before moving on to the Street.

Like the show Clash works on, Being Elmo presents a cleaned up version of what is likely a more difficult story. For example, it's glossed over that Clash sacrificed his relationship with his own daughter to instead be a friend to millions of children around the world. Here, that's treated as dedication to his craft rather than irony. And it's spin like that that prevents Being Elmo from being a truly insightful film. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. This is a completely enjoyable portrait of the man who took Elmo from random puppet to multimillion dollar enterprise, and one of the most valuable and beloved properties in the entire Children's Television Workshop family. It's a local boy makes good story that will have you smiling, and will make you appreciate Elmo as a character and an achievement in puppetry even more. Actually, I found Being Elmo to be more enjoyable than The Muppets movie itself. Now that is irony. I'm giving Being Elmo a B+.

10 Is Enough

2011-11-30T07:00:00.013-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge fan of Thanksgiving. Yes, I love me some turkey and gravy, a couple days off from work, time to see friends, maybe hang out in New York City and see a show, and just generally have fun. But one of the best things about Thanksgiving is that when it's over, that's when the coast is clear to break out the holiday music and play those songs on repeat for a month straight. That's basically what I've done since Friday, and thankfully, I've amassed quite a collection so there's a lot to listen to. Many of those songs have been included on my Very Marty Xmas mixes over the years.

Last year, I made one of my best Very Marty Xmas mixes, if not the best. I mean, it included the Puppini Sisters' cover of "Step into Christmas," Owl City's "Christmas Song," Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings' "Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects," Trijntje Oosterhuis' cover of "This Christmas," and Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart's "Can I Interest You in Hanukkah?" So when it came time to survey my remaining collection and see what was left — and what was new this year — a stark truth came to light: Nothing was ever going to be good enough as last year. It was my second-choice material, my remainders, the back-ups, the random novelty tunes ... plus new stuff from the likes of Justin Bieber. What a buzz kill that mix would be.

The 2010 edition of A Very Marty Xmas was my 10th anniversary edition. That means I've made 11 mixes, including a Best of. That's a lot of "Winter Wonderland," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "Sleigh Ride," and "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Yes, they're perennial favorites, but how many times can you hear the same old songs sung basically the same old ways?

So that brings me to a big announcement. My friends, to quote Boyz II Men: We've come to the end of the road. After 10 years of Very Marty Xmas mixes, I've decided to put away the Santa suit and stop making them. Last year's mix was the last. The time has come for me to pass the torch to a new generation. To step aside and maybe even grow up a little. To take a bow. To sit back and enjoy the season in full. And perhaps most importantly (as my family likes to remind me), to remember that, um, I am Jewish, after all.

I'm actually surprised by how easy the decision was. I had a great run and I'm extremely proud of the work I did. I can listen to my mixes (any of them) and they're still fun, what with their collection of songs and the interstitials I slid in for an extra je ne sais quoi. Those 11 mixes aren't going away, and I'd be more than happy to burn copies for anyone who wants me to. After all, I do still love the season and do still want to spread festive joy to all the good girls and boys. But I'm not going to make new mixes anymore.

When Jerry Seinfeld quit Seinfeld, he said you should always go out when you're on top so you leave people wanting more. After last year's mix, I can't think of a better time to walk away. Thank you very much for all the love and support you've shown me and the mixes over the past 11 years. They're what kept me going and what made it so much fun to make the mixes year after year.

I wish you and yours a very happy holiday season. I hope the A Very Marty Xmas mixes continue to liven up your tree trimming, parties, and other occasions from now until New Year's Eve, this year and for many years to come.

Previously:
A Very Marty Xmas 2010
A Very Marty Xmas 2009
The Best of A Very Marty Xmas
A Very Marty Xmas 2007
A Very Marty Xmas 2006
A Very Marty Xmas 2005

Success

2011-11-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

What can a guy like Harry Potter teach me about how to succeed in business without really trying? Well, maybe not a whole lot, but he sure can school me about how to succeed on Broadway. In the current revival of the musical, the boy wizard himself, Daniel Radcliffe, plays window cleaner J. Pierrepont Finch, who, with the help of Shepherd Mead's book of the same name, quickly rises up the ranks at a large corporation where no one really knows what anyone else is doing, and a smart, savvy, and charming guy like Finch can get ahead just by knowing the right people and saying the right things at the right time. The show was first produced in 1961, and was revived in 1995 with Matthew Broderick and a pre–Will & Grace Megan Mullally in the lead roles. This production opened in March, and I finally got a chance to see it over the weekend when I was in New York.

I'm a fan of the show (I saw the 1995 revival twice during that run, once with Mullally, and once when Sarah Jessica Parker replaced her), and while it's not perfect (the first act drags toward the end, for example), it can be good fun. Thankfully, this production is fun — lots of it. Directed (and choreographed) by Rob Ashford, it's colorful and lively, with bright costumes, an attractive set, and some appealing performances by an enthusiastic cast, including ones by Rose Hemingway (as Rosemary) and Tammy Blanchard (the daft sexpot Hedy La Rue), as well as fellow Brandeisian Mary Faber (American Idiot). Anderson Cooper supplies the voice of the narrator. And yes, John Larroquette is also in the show; he won a Tony Award for his performance as company president J.B. Biggley, but I was less impressed by him as I was with others in the cast.

It's really to Radcliffe's credit that the revival works so well. While not the strongest singer that's ever hit the Great White Way, the erstwhile Harry Potter brings an appealing quality to the role that no doubt has much to do with the fact that we've all watched him grow up and want him to succeed here. It's hard for "Ponty" to come off as slimy because Radcliffe portrays him as smart but not pushy, ambitious but not threatening (in any way other than a comic one, of course). Radcliffe's got decent comic chops and he throws himself into his choreography. The kid's got a future in musical comedy if he wants one. (Glee's Darren Criss takes over for Radcliffe in January, and Nick Jonas follows after that. It'll be interesting to see how different the show is with them in the lead role.)

Not all the songs in How to Succeed are classics (I could do without "Coffee Break" and "Paris Original," for example), but by the time the cast performs "Brotherhood of Man," you'll have a complete smile on your face. That the show has a happy ending is redundant after watching that number, but it does and you can't help but leave the theater singing.

Thanks

2011-11-23T07:30:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. Of course it is; what could be bad about a day off from work spent with family, watching football, and eating turkey covered in gravy?

But Thanksgiving is more than that. As the name implies, it's a day to reflect and give thanks for those things that make life special and/or worth living. So with that in mind, here is my annual list (in no particular order) of some of the things I'm thankful for:

* My niece, Abby, who is growing up way too fast but still finds a way to make me smile every time we speak
* My nephews, Marc and Ian, who have a lot of mischief behind their adorable eyes. Can't wait to encourage them once they're able to talk and walk (apologies now to their parents)
* The Nutella-stuffed French toast and Cookie Dough Pancakes at In a Pickle. Yum. Just yum.
* Coworkers and industry colleagues who have become friends — and not just the Facebook kind. I'm a very lucky guy.
* The fact that I was able to see Clarence Clemons perform live with the E Street Band a handful of times before he passed away earlier this year
* People who call this a "blog post" and not a "blog"
* Twitter, which allows me to meet people, build relationships, learn, share, and much more on an almost daily basis — and get free food too
* Argyle
* Content
* Interviews with George Clooney, such as the one in the November 24 issue of Rolling Stone
* The counter at Johnny's Luncheonette, at which I eat many meals on (too many) nights when I just don't feel like cooking
* Full-zip hoodies from Roots Canada
* My couch, which is so comfortable that many nights I find myself sleeping on it instead of my bed
* The TV show Happy Endings, which is funnier and more surprising than I ever thought it'd be
* My mojo. Welcome back!
* Great movies like Moneyball and Martha Marcy May Marlene
* Cupcakes from Crumbs — especially the Half Baked
* And of course, all of you out there, whether you're seeing this on the blog itself or on Facebook. I really appreciate that more than six years after I started writing here, people are still interested in reading what I have to say.

What are you thankful for this year? I would love to hear your thoughts. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

The Third Greatest Gift

2011-11-22T10:00:00.005-05:00

True story: I grew up next door to Jim Henson. One day, after I was scared by his family's cat (no kidding), a teenage Brian Henson "rescued me," and decided to cheer me up by bringing me nextdoor to see some of his father's things. I don't remember everything I saw, but I do remember a giant Ernie in the living room. To a child as small as I was, Ernie was literally larger than life, and I was so excited. The experience made this Muppet fan an even greater one.

But you didn't have to have an experience like I did to grow up a fan of the Muppets. You just had to be a kid once (though it would help if it was in the 1970s and 80s when Jim Henson was around, when The Muppet Show was a TV staple and The Muppet Movie was brand new). And that's why so many of us (and the Walt Disney Company, too) are excited about Kermit, Gonzo, and the rest of the gang's return to the big screen in The Muppets. Alas, I hate to break it to you, but the movie is ultimately a disappointment. (I'll bet you didn't see that coming, did you?)

In the film, which stars and was co-written by How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segel, the Muppets have all gone their separate ways. On a trip to Los Angeles, Gary (Segel), his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), and his brother Walter, a Muppet, discover that Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), a businessman, plans to demolish the Muppet Theater to drill for oil. (Mischievous laugh.) So Gary, Mary, and Walter reunite the gang so they can put on a show and raise the $10 million that will save the Theater. Insert songs (many of which were written by Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie), and lots of jokes, and you've got the gist.

For the first 10 minutes of The Muppets, the film is everything you could possibly want: It's nostalgic and sickeningly sweet. The opening number, "Life's a Happy Song," is a catchy, fun, head bopper that'll be stuck in your head for days. But then reality swoops in, and no amount of wisecracks from Statler and Waldorf can right the ship. Tonally, this movie is just off. In short: It's a bummer.

For example, Kermit lives alone in a big, gated house and he's lost his zip. When we meet him, he sings a lament about how he misses the old gang. The guy's got regrets ... about Miss Piggy, about how he's let his friends down, about how they've all lost touch. Even after he reunites with Fozzie, Scooter, Gonzo, and the others (finally, about a half hour into the movie), there's still something off about Kermit. This is not the same dreamer who is the emotional center and can-do leader of his troupe. Today, he's a bit of a loser as he keeps giving up at the drop of a hat whenever the times get tough. That's just not right.

Kermit (and the movie itself) get little help from the story and even less from McKenzie's songs. Other than that first one, McKenzie has written some real stinkers, most of which are downers or forgettable ballads. (That said, "Me Party" may be the greatest song Flight of the Conchords never recorded. But having Amy Adams sing it is painful. And the less said about Oscar winner Chris Cooper's rap, the better.) McKenzie and Segel missed a real opportunity to have the gang sing a fun, upbeat, goofy work song when they rally to restore their theater. Instead, the Muppets clean to the sounds of Starship's "We Built This City." These are definitely not the same characters who long ago sang "Can You Picture That" or "Happiness Hotel."

The whole film just smacks of a desperate reunion tour you'd see your favorite band put together. They can still sing the same songs (case in point here, "Rainbow Connection") but they look older, they don't sound the same, they try a little too hard, and the spark just isn't there. No wonder Modern Family's Rico Rodriguez mistakes Kermit for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

The Muppets doesn't fill you with hope or make you feel like a kid again. It's less a celebration of what we all love about the Muppets than it is a ploy to sell merchandise and theme park tickets. If only the movie could be a compilation of the great marketing efforts that have led up to the film's release. Those fake trailers and song covers and YouTube videos were the Muppets we know and love. The movie itself is not.

The Muppets is not completely awful (I did laugh a lot, particularly in the first half), but it's just not the inspirational, celebrational or — most important — Muppetational film I was hoping for. Last year, when Woody, Buzz, and the gang returned in Toy Story 3 after an 11-year absence, Pixar did it right. Kermit and the gang, and we fans, deserved something better ... something more like Toy Story 3. So I'm giving The Muppets a B–.

Perfectly Imperfect

2011-11-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite pastimes is reading magazine articles about (and watching interviews with) George Clooney. The man's a charmer who just does everything right. He's got the life, but he's not rubbing it in. He's enjoying where he is now, and he's comfortable in his own skin. And why wouldn't he be? For Clooney, life is just about perfect right now, as the great and highly amusing cover story of the latest issue of Rolling Stone discusses.

In a way, that's what makes Clooney's latest film, The Descendants, so nice. In it, Clooney plays Matt King, a man whose life is decidedly not perfect, despite the fact that he lives in the seemingly perfect state of Hawaii. For starters, he's got a troubled relationship with his wife and a barely-there one with his two daughters (Matt even admits that he's the "backup parent"). Then, when his wife is in an accident and rendered comatose, he learns (from his eldest daughter of all people) that she was cheating on him. Oh, and throw in a complicated real estate deal that involves his many cousins and relatives. No, things aren't at all perfect for Matt.

And yet, this is totally the wheelhouse for writer/director Alexander Payne, whose most recent films (Sideways, About Schmidt, and Election) have each featured a put-upon man at the center. The Descendants is another gem — a dramedy about real people and real problems that's keenly observed and delicately portrayed. The film could have been a downer, but Payne (with the help of strong performances from Clooney and Shailene Woodley, who plays Matt's 17-year-old daughter, Alexandra) manages to navigate the balance between comedy and tragedy with characteristic ease. (Payne is credited as a co-writer of the screenplay with Nat Faxon and Community's Jim Rash.)

Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael also deserves credit; he initially shows the less attractive side of Hawaii, busting the myth that all is a beachy paradise, and as Matt comes to terms with his situation and his relationships improve, so too does the image of Hawaii that Papamichael shows.

Is The Descendants a perfect film? I'd say no. But it's a damned good one that's worth seeing. I'm giving it an A–.

Johnny and Clyde

2011-11-14T07:00:00.014-05:00

Films like Clint Eastwood's latest, J. Edgar, really trip me up. You see, J. Edgar, which, yes, tells the story of J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is an ambitious, often well made film with some impressive acting. But it's also not one I felt much attachment to after the lights went up. Days later, I felt more obligated to write a review than compelled. When movies don't hit you on an emotional level after the fact, and don't drive you to go home and write about them, then that's kind of a bummer, even when they're good movies. That's the predicament I find myself in with J. Edgar.

Written by Dustin Lance Black (Oscar-winning screenwriter of Milk), J. Edgar tells the story of John Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio), whose appetite for power brought him to one of the highest positions in the U.S. government — one he held for 48 years. In that time, he elevated the power and ability of law enforcement officials to solve crimes, and he would go to any lengths to pursue what he defined as the right thing.

Feared by many, Hoover was in some ways like the Tom Ridge of his day; his agency was charged with preventing domestic terrorism, a term that had a wide definition as far as Hoover was concerned. That's because Hoover was paranoid, protective, suspicious, and jealous. He held grudges, kept watch on figures like the Kennedys and Martin Luther King Jr., and allegedly kept secret files with information he could use to blackmail officials when needed. And this was ironic because while Hoover knew everyone else's secrets, he was protecting a giant secret about himself: that he was a closeted gay man.

Eastwood, Black, and DiCaprio have created a portrait of a man with lots of contradictions: While professionally he doggedly pursued any threat, personally he was a mama's boy who was vulnerable, scared, and closed off. The film isn't graphic about his relationship with Clyde Tolson (The Social Network's Armie Hammer), Hoover's Associate Director, protégé, and supposed lover, but it makes a clear case that the two had a relationship that was more than professional.

And DiCaprio is excellent, affecting Hoover's mid-Atlantic accent and mannerisms. As Hoover ages, DiCaprio's face gets covered up with more and more makeup; it's a showy job by the makeup artists, but DiCaprio's gruff and forceful acting shows through. For a change, he seems like a man, and not a boyish actor playing a man, and his more rounded appearance here helps the cause. (Hammer's makeup, on the other hand, is less convincing; just try not to giggle when the elder Tolson first appears on screen.)

The parallels to modern times here are unavoidable, as Hoover goes after any alleged threats to American security, no matter how small, personal, and irrelevant. And we see how Hoover let others do his dirty work while he took the credit (and blame). While interesting, chances are good the film would be a lot less relevant had we not lived through the past 10 years that we did. Black's screenplay is certainly suspicious of Hoover and his motives; parts of the film could be transposed to 2004 with few adjustments.

Yet despite the attempts to show what drove Hoover, something still feels lacking about J. Edgar. It's a swiftly moving and often enjoyable film, even with a two hour and 15 minute running time. But it's essentially told from Hoover's point of view as he dictates his memoirs to one typist after another (including one played, amusingly enough, by Ed Westwick, from Gossip Girl), and maybe that's where it all gets tripped up. While he thinks he is, Hoover is hardly a noble, heroic figure, so it's hard to really invest much of yourself in his success. After a while, the bullying just gets to be a bit much. Who wants to root for a bad guy you can't feel much sympathy for? (And a screenplay that's weighted down with pithy, cliché-sounding statements about how power corrupts takes away from the overall effect too.) So that's why, in the end, J. Edgar is only getting a B from me.

Distance Makes the Heart ...

2011-11-07T07:30:00.004-05:00

Watching the new film Like Crazy, it's hard not to think that on at least a few levels, this is the movie (500) Days of Summer wanted to be. That is, a love story for young people, many of whom feel like they're too cool for conventional Hollywood romances, and that those films just don't speak to them. But whereas (500) Days had stars with indie cred (Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel), a hip soundtrack, and a contemporary aesthetic, it was just a little too self-aware to be as beloved as it so wanted to be.

On the other hand, Like Crazy tells a more realistic story of young love. Its stars are less well known (for now, anyway), the action unfolds without the hipster accompaniment of the Smiths, Feist, and Regina Spektor, and its natural aesthetic (handheld camerawork, completely improvised dialogue, etc.) make for an almost too obvious counterpart (despite a twee trailer that features music by Stars and Ingrid Michaelson). But is it a better movie?

In Like Crazy, two college students, American Tom and British Anna (Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones), fall for each other hard and fast. When the school year is over, and Anna must return to the U.K. (per the limitations of her student visa), she decides to disregard the law (and the advice of her parents and lawyer) to stay with Tom. This gets her barred from the U.S., and puts a real strain on the relationship (to put it mildly). Is the bond between these two strong enough to survive time and distance apart?

If you've ever been in a similar relationship, then you know just how challenging the situation can be, and how painful. Like Crazy doesn't shy away from this, focusing on all the minutiae that can eat away at a couple (missed calls, ignored or poorly timed text messages, etc.), and presenting more-available options for both characters (X-Men: First Class' Jennifer Lawrence and Charlie Bewley, of the Twilight movies). I won't spoil whether Tom and/or Anna remain loyal, but yeah ... over the course of four years, it's tough to be separated from the one you love.

Drake Doremus, Like Crazy's director, based the film on his own true life experience, and he's clearly rooting for these two to make it. If only I could root as hard as he is. After a while, the initial spark that burns so brightly (between our heroes and the film itself) fades. Watching Like Crazy, I felt like Tom and Anna themselves had given up, so as hard as they try to make things work is as hard as I had to try to believe that they actually wanted to be together. In the end, I just didn't buy it. And once I made the decision to not root for Tom and Anna to make it, I couldn't wait for the movie to end. Like Crazy only has a 90-minute running time, but its last third makes it seem even longer.

Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy parts of the film. Like Crazy is frustrating, but it features a totally likeable and winning performance by Jones that announces her as an actress to watch (just like Martha Marcy May Marlene did with Elizabeth Olsen). Adorable, modern, real, and almost the anti-Zooey (in that she doesn't have that dorky/cute thing going for her), Jones is a big reason why Like Crazy works when it does, particularly in the first third. Even though the film lets her down, Jones is someone viewers can easily fall for. Chances are good we'll have plenty of other occasions to do so in the future.

For now, though, Jones is in a film that, like (500) Days of Summer isn't as good as it wants to be. I'm giving Like Crazy a B–.

WaffleBot Saves Christmas!

2011-11-04T07:00:00.004-04:00

What is there to say about A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas? It's funny (I'd say funnier than the last film, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay), the 3D effects are generally completely gratuitous (and some are very cool and/or very funny), there's a jolly soundtrack, Neil Patrick Harris makes another amusing appearance, you may never watch A Christmas Story the same way again, it begins well and ends well but has some slower moments in the middle, and there's a must-have holiday gift called WaffleBot that I totally want. I'm 37 and not really the target audience for this film, but I still laughed a lot (probably more than I should have) and enjoyed it. Maybe I got a contact high from all that smoke blowing around in 3D. So I'm giving A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas a "not low" B.

Robbery in Progress

2011-11-03T13:00:00.003-04:00

If Law & Order, with its ripped-from-the-headlines plotlines, was ever made into a movie, it might be a bit like Tower Heist. The film tells the story of a bunch of luxury residence employees who plot to steal from the Bernie Madoff–like jerk who has defrauded them and left them without pensions. No doubt, the film will be like a wish-fulfillment fantasy for so many moviegoers. But here's my wish: I wish Tower Heist was a better, funnier movie. After all, the cast is top-lined by Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, and it also includes Casey Affleck (no stranger to funny heist films, having been in all three of the Oceans movies), Matthew Broderick, and Alan Alda.

Actually, if you want to see a robbery, then this is the movie you want to see, because it's Gabourey Sidibe (yes, Precious herself) who steals the thing right out from under Stiller, Murphy, et al. Playing a Jamaican cleaning woman, Sidibe delivers her lines with perfect deadpan and impressive comic timing. She's a hoot. What a difference a couple years makes in her choice of big screen roles.

Tower Heist does have its moments — the plan comes together and is impressively staged during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade — but the whole thing is far-fetched, even for someone like me who can typically suspend his disbelief pretty easily. Put simply: I expected more from the film overall. Like Madoff's victims (though to a much much much smaller degree), you may feel defrauded too. I'm giving Tower Heist a B–.

A Teacher and a Leader

2011-10-31T07:30:00.006-04:00

Creepy, unnerving, well acted, and just plain ole beautifully made, Martha Marcy May Marlene is a must-see movie that you won't soon forget. That's mostly because of the subtle, heartfelt, and heartbreaking performance by Elizabeth Olsen (who has the unfortunate luck — for now, anyway — to be best known as Ashley and Mary-Kate's younger sister). It's the same kind of performance that made Carey Mulligan a star in An Education two years ago. Thanks largely, but not completely, to that fine work, MMMM is one of the year's best movies.

In MMMM, Olsen plays Martha, a young woman who runs away from a cult in the Catskills after two years, and goes to live with her estranged sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), and brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy) in Connecticut. Over the course of the movie, we flash back to see how Martha — renamed Marcy May by the menacing and seductive leader, Patrick (John Hawkes) — found love and acceptance in the cult but eventually had to break free. (Whenever an outsider tries to contact a resident, the women identify themselves as "Marlene," thus the fourth name of the title.) Writer/director Sean Durkin and cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes skillfully turn this inviting setting into a nightmarish compound, a place no woman should ever be near. It's an abusive culture where having sex with Patrick is called a "cleansing," and where women are subservient and lower-class citizens.

In Connecticut, Martha keeps her thoughts and memories to herself, thinking she can deprogram herself. This is easier said than done, though; Martha's inner turmoil and painful memories are difficult to overcome. As a result, Martha never quite gels with her family, and Lucy feels increasingly challenged by the sister she barely knows anymore. Martha remains paranoid that Patrick and his minions will eventually catch up with her, and her fears make it nearly impossible for her to move on.

What makes the film so good, other than Olsen's performance, is that Durkin knows how to exercise restraint. He makes great use of silence in order to ratchet up the psychological thrills and haunting tone. All that needs to be said, in both words and music, is right there in Olsen's face. This results in a very personal and intimate film that you'll be watching closely. It doesn't take much to see how Martha or any of the other women could be sucked in to this cult life, and we feel every pain point that Martha feels along the way. It's barely a few minutes into the film when she calls her sister and asks to be picked up, and God damn it if you don't feel scared and helpless too, even though you don't know very much about the girl or what she's been through. Hawkes, too, is excellent. His cover of "Marcy's Song" will give you shivers.

Story notes that raise questions have unsettling answers later on, and the whole thing ends on a note that will leave you completely uncomfortable. You won't be able to look away from Martha Marcy May Marlene, and you'll be talking about it for a long time after the lights come up. I'm giving this one an A–.

Wegmans Is No Stew Leonard's

2011-10-30T08:00:00.003-04:00

According to some of my friends, the opening of a Wegmans store in Northborough was akin to the second coming, or the Cubs winning the World Series. Getting excited about the opening of a supermarket is not a foreign concept to me, but apparently, this was different. "It's not a supermarket," they said. "It's an experience." Cool, I thought. I grew up in New York, and shopped often at Stew Leonard's, where there are samples around every bend, and whimsical touches like singing/dancing food help make the shopping experience more fun for shoppers of all ages. So suffice it to say, I know what it's like when a store goes above and beyond to make grocery shopping different and a more enjoyable experience. Would Wegmans be anything like that?

The opening of Wegmans was such a big deal that when it opened, some friends and I actually made plans to go. And that day finally arrived yesterday. I woke up at 8 a.m. (Yes, 8 a.m. on a Saturday!) so I could meet up with my friends in Hudson and so we could get there at a decent hour. I expected trouble getting to the store, but two weeks after opening day (October 16), getting to the parking lot and finding a space was no sweat. Had the excitement died down already? Nope. Inside, this massive store was crawling with people. It was 11 a.m., and seriously, it was jam packed. That's a good sign, I thought.

We decided to start on the far end and work our way over to the prepared food and café section. That meant our first stop was the alcohol and beer area, which was impressive. A giant, diverse, and well priced selection meant we were tempted by the many craft beers and flavored drinks, like Chocolate Whipped Vodka. I had a party to go to last night, and was able to find a fun, seasonal brew to bring with me.

I was led next to the cereal aisle, and was told that the store-brand cereals were just as good as, but cheaper than, the name brand ones. So I stocked up on the Chocolaty Rice Crisps and Marshmallow Treasures (i.e., Cocoa Krispies and Lucky Charms), while my friends bought four healthier boxes. (Taste test still pending.)

Blah blah blah ... We shopped. I'm not going to go aisle by aisle telling you what we bought. But here's the thing: Despite the great selection of food, it didn't take me very long to be disappointed, and to realize — and say — that we weren't in some exciting, unique store like I'd been led to believe. We were just in a supermarket. So my mind turned pretty quickly to thoughts of what foods I actually needed while I was there. I picked up a few other Wegmans-brand items, but basically, it became less exciting as I walked up and down aisle after aisle, with promises of abundant samples not amounting to much, and hopes of something, I don't know, more becoming letdowns.

Wegmans is a nice store, but my experience shopping there yesterday didn't even come close to the first time I went to the new Star Market in Chestnut Hill, with its creatively named aisles and enthusiastic customer service people asking repeatedly if I needed help. And of course, it didn't compare with Stew Leonard's either. At Wegmans, there was very little whimsy, very little above and beyond, and not nearly enough to make the hype worth it.

What there was, however, there was a lot of. I'll say it again: This is one gigantic store. There's a lot of food, and a lot of people.

Here's what did impress me about Wegmans, though: Over the course of the day, I tweeted about going there five times, including a Foursquare checkin when I first arrived. Three of those times, the @wegmans Twitter handle responded to me, and did so within minutes. One time I simply retweeted what they said to me, and added that I was impressed with the customer service, and they responded to that. That's good stuff. The quick-on-their-feet Twitter response, even (especially!) on a Saturday, shows just how much Wegmans prioritizes a good customer experience. (I wouldn't be surprised if someone comments on this blog post too.) That's the "above and beyond" that I was hoping I would find in the store itself.

To be clear, I'm not saying I had a bad time at Wegmans. I just didn't think the store was all that, especially compared to places like Stew Leonard's. Sorry to all my devoted friends, but despite all the hype, Wegmans is just a supermarket — a nice, big, well-stocked one, with good online customer service, but a supermarket nevertheless.

The Smell of Bastards and Truth

2011-10-27T13:00:00.004-04:00

Attractive to look at but not particularly exciting to watch, The Rum Diary finds Johnny Depp in one of his more personal projects, one that won't likely find a large audience — and deservedly so. Based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson, a close friend of Depp's, the film tells the story of writer Paul Kemp (Depp), who relocates from New York to Puerto Rico, where he hopes the lifestyle will be less stressful and the drinks more plentiful. There, he meets Sanderson, a shady businessman (Aaron Eckhart), who involves Kemp in a deal of questionable legality. As if that's not enough, Kemp is distracted by Chenault, Sanderson's beautiful fiancée (Amber Heard, sexier and more alluring here than she ever was on The Playboy Club).

In development for more than 10 years, Rum Diary is like a lukewarm beverage: It's got some taste, but it's certainly not refreshing. Other than Heard, the only other notable thing about this overly long film is the often beautiful cinematography by Dariusz Wolski, who captures Puerto Rico in all its seedy and glamorous charm. Not even Depp seems all that interested in what's going on; it's almost as if he signed onto the film (and produced it) as a favor to his late friend, just so it would finally get made. If Depp's not interested in what's happening, then why should we be? And that lack of engagement is what helps makes Rum Diary, to borrow a line from Richard Jenkins' character, "vividly average." So I'm giving it a C–.

Clooney for President?

2011-10-17T07:00:00.002-04:00

That all in politics is not as it seems is hardly breaking news. Alas, in the film The Ides of March, that's exactly the theme. In George Clooney's latest writing and directing effort, Ryan Gosling plays Stephen, the junior campaign manager for Presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney). Over the course of the week leading up to the Ohio primary, Stephen goes from devoted fan and supporter of Morris to, well, let's just say he gets a reality check. Young but hardly naive, Stephen is a fast-rising player in the political arena, and his drive to get ahead and protect his candidate leads to some less than ideal decisions. As a result, Stephen's boss, Senior Campaign Manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), begins to question whose side Stephen is really on: Morris' or his own.

A taut political thriller, Ides of March doesn't tell a completely new story, but its twist on a familiar theme is told well, with a top-notch cast that includes the aforementioned actors, plus the always reliable Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, and Evan Rachel Wood. To his credit, Clooney (in his acting, writing, and directing) makes Morris a less than perfect candidate, but not a guy you can't support. (Also notable is the irrelevancy of his political party.) Morris is a complex character, but he is not the focal point of the film. That would be Stephen, and as the real lead of the film, Gosling gives yet another great performance, his third of the year (after Crazy Stupid Love and Drive).

As election season moves into high gear, Ides of March provides an excellent and entertaining complement. It doesn't make any grand statements about politics, or the people behind the scenes, but no matter. The action moves swiftly and the film overall is engaging. I'm giving the film a B+ ... and despite what we see here in the character he plays, I'm also giving Clooney my vote (but then, I'm already biased).

Gotta Dance

2011-10-14T07:00:00.004-04:00

I don't know who it was that asked for a remake of the seminal Kevin Bacon film Footloose, but it sure wasn't me. Nevertheless, we now have one in theaters. But before you all get your panties in a bunch and gasp in horror about how Hollywood could possibly do this to one of the greatest movies of our childhoods, I'll ask you to calm down, take a step back, and remember this one very important fact: The original film wasn't very good. It may have gained sentimental value over the years, and some people look back on it now with great affection, but Footloose won no awards in its day — not even for its soundtrack. (I know. This is a harsh truth. You'll thank me later.)

So it's a mixed blessing, then, that this new Footloose is in many ways a carbon copy of the original, from Kenny Loggins' title song playing over the same foot-focused opening credits, to the teaching Willard how to dance scene, to the choreography of the final dance, which takes place while Blake Shelton's countryfied cover of the song plays. Does that mean the film is short on creativity? Sorta. But does it matter? I don't think so in this case. I mean, like a decent cover version of a beloved song (Shelton's "Footloose," for instance), it's still a good song, even if it's missing a certain je ne sais quoi and doesn't sound exactly the same. And that's pretty much what this Footloose is: A decent cover version of a beloved movie.

If you grew up in the 1980s, then you know the basic plot of the film: City kid Ren McCormack (Kenny Wormald, bravely and gamely taking over for Kevin Bacon) moves to Bomont, Georgia, a town where dancing and rock music have been banned (in 2011, that a town could or would ban music seems a bit hard to believe, but oh well). Ren's rebellious spirit shakes up the town, and catches the attention of the Reverend's daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough), whose own rebellious spirit gets her into some hot water with her father (Dennis Quaid). Some of the details of the plot have been changed (for example, Ren is now from Boston, not Chicago, and his mother is dead), but nothing too significant. It's the same movie with a fresh, sexier coat of paint. Again, not necessarily a bad thing. (I'd rather watch Hough shake her tail feather any day than watch Lori Singer. Wouldn't you?)

Like the original, this Footloose is by no means a great movie, but it does have its moments of fun. Hough and Wormald make a very attractive couple, and those songs you loved in the original still sound great (I'll admit that my feet and hands were tapping during the opening and closing numbers, and at various other times too). Will you smile when Ren calls out those same bible verses in the city council meeting? Sure. Will you giggle with recognition when Ren throws up the confetti at the end and yells, "Let's dance!" Totally. If you answered "no" to either of those questions, then this new Footloose isn't for you. But if you can stomach some awkwardness and tolerate a whole lot of similarities, and if the original film occupies a sweet spot in your memories, then you may just have a surprisingly good time watching this remake. I'm giving Footloose a B.

Insanely Great Jobs

2011-10-06T08:00:00.010-04:00

Many, many people will write tributes to Steve Jobs today that will be better than mine, so I'm not going to compete with them. But I wanted to take just a minute to recognize his passing by recalling one of my most memorable Steve Jobs experiences, from January 2007, when the iPhone was first introduced to the world. I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, one of the coolest events I got to go to for work (I had a different job at the time), and rather than walk the convention floor looking at TV after TV, awesome new cell phones, and all kinds of other high tech gadgets, I was in the press room "watching" the live blog coverage of Steve's keynote.

Here's what I said about it back then:
But as cool as some of the products at CES were, none came close to the iPhone. I was in the press room on Tuesday when details first started to emerge about it, and as people were logging onto Engadget and other sites, you would hear about it all across the room. "Oh cool!" "Did you see that?" "Check this out." "Oh man, I so want one of those." "Oh wow." It was pretty exciting, as "you had to be there" kinds of things go. Microsoft might have used the tagline "Welcome to the Wow" to launch Windows Vista at CES, but the iPhone was the real Wow of the show — and it wasn't even there. (Apple has its own show, in San Francisco.) And of course, I totally want one.

Indeed. Despite everything else going on, the press room during that hour or so was the place to be. (I later learned that a future coworker, who I didn't know at the time, was there too.) The buzz in the room was palpable. I think everyone in there knew that with this keynote, Steve had essentially rendered everything at CES that year moot. Nothing in Vegas could compete with it. After that keynote, nobody cared about TVs or the suddenly lame cell phones on the show floor anymore.

But it wasn't just the iPhone itself that was exciting. It was Steve's confident, playful presentation of it. Steve Jobs' keynote speeches had a unique kind of power, whether you read the updates on Engadget or watched the video later that day (or listened to the remix). When Steve gave a keynote, you blocked off time on your calendar and were glued to your computer while it was happening. You hung on every word because the guy was such a great speaker and what he was talking about was always so cool. He knew how to captivate you, how to make you want something you didn't even realize you wanted. That's because Steve was a master showman and salesman. He loved the products he was introducing as much as you did, and that showed. That 2007 keynote was no exception. It was an instant classic. (It should be noted, by the way, in full disclosure, that it took me more than two years to actually get an iPhone. Talk about restraint.)

I'll miss the Steve Jobs keynotes, and I'll miss his new product introductions. I'm glad I got to experience that one in 2007, and will always remember it.

Oh, and one more thing ... As if the iPhone, iPad, iPod, Macintosh, iMac, Apple TV, MacBook Pro, and other devices weren't enough, Steve was also one of the founders of Pixar. Without him, we'd never have met Woody, Buzz, Nemo, Dory, the Incredibles, and so many other indelible characters. That alone would be significant. But Steve had Pixar and Apple. Wow. What a legacy.

For that day in 2007, and lots of great moviegoing experiences before and after, I just wanted to say, "Thank you, Steve Jobs." He was a true innovator. My life is better because of him and his creations.

6 Things I'm Not Going to Apologize For

2011-10-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

It's the week between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur. The custom is you're supposed to spend this time repenting for your sins and apologizing to people for anything bad you may have done to them during the year so that on Yom Kippur (which begins Friday night at sundown), you have a clean slate. But I'm not the apologizing type, so I'm not gonna do that. In fact, here are a few things I'm not sorry for:

I'm not sorry for giving up on the Red Sox last month. I'm no pink hat, but I know when something's a lost cause. And even though the team did win a few times in September, and always gave me a glimmer of hope when it did, I was never really fully on board.
That said ... I am sorry that the season ended with Terry Francona leaving the team. It wasn't his fault the team sucked this year.

I'm not sorry for eating that entire package of Triple Double Oreos all by myself. They were tasty, and downright addicting.
That said ... I am sorry that they weren't Triple Double Stuff Oreos. That would have made them really awesome.

I'm not sorry for playing my radio a little too loudly in the morning while I'm getting ready for work, not to mention the hour or so I spend hitting the Snooze button every nine minutes, which more than likely wakes up my neighbor upstairs before she'd like to be awake. I figure it's only fair after the annoyance she's caused me with her vacuuming and housework at odd hours.
That said ... I am sorry that the music playing is usually Britney Spears' "I Wanna Go," LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," or some other annoying song, because I don't like that stuff either.

I'm not sorry for liking a whole handful of female-centric new shows, including Ringer, Revenge, Pan Am, and New Girl. All are enjoyable and feature some very attractive women, and I hope they stick around. I'm also not sorry that I'm having second thoughts about choosing Person of Interest over Grey's Anatomy.
That said ... I am sorry that Rachel Bilson's show Hart of Dixie was really lame, 'cause I like me some Summer Roberts. And I'm also sorry I still haven't watched the first two episodes of Prime Suspect yet. One more missed episode and I just give up on it entirely. (That's the rule.)

I'm not sorry for putting out candy corn so early in the season. Yum.
That said ... I am sorry that ... no, actually, there's nothing to be sorry about here.

I'm not sorry for downloading James Morrison's new album The Awakening two weeks before it's released in the U.S., even though I knew it was illegal. As I've said before, if an album is going to be released in one part of the world, and I'm a big enough fan of the artist, then I'm going to find it. And now that I've heard The Awakening, I'm glad I did it. This is another very enjoyable album from the soulful British singer/songwriter, who I think is a mix of Ray LaMontagne and Paolo Nutini.
That said ... I am sorry that James Morrison hasn't found more fans here in the U.S. Maybe The Awakening will change that.

A Close Call for Me and Terry Francona

2011-10-01T08:00:00.006-04:00

Over the course of the nearly eight years since he was hired as manager of the Red Sox, Terry Francona gave fans lots of great memories, both large and small. There were the 2004 and 2007 World Series wins, of course, as well as the way he embraced Jon Lester after Lester's no-hitter in 2008, the way he would always give Dustin Pedroia a hard time, the way he stood by his players, his incessant gum chewing ... and so many others. But here's one of my favorite Terry Francona memories, a true story you may never have heard before.

In April 2005, a day before the home opener at Fenway, I was driving down Beacon Street in Brookline, probably a little bit faster than I should have been driving (what a surprise), and I made a right turn onto Webster Street. It was then that I noticed someone entering the crosswalk. So I slammed on the breaks, and thankfully, I was able to stop just in time so this person could cross. But this was not just anyone in the crosswalk. When the car stopped, I realized that this random, friendly looking, bald-headed guy was Terry Francona.

Tito lived in Brookline, so he may have been on his way home. Or maybe he was just out getting some fresh air and some much needed exercise (days earlier he had been rushed to the hospital after suffering chest pains). Either way, there he was, right in front of me, just out for a walk, one day before he was due to get his World Series ring.

And yes, I almost hit him with my car.

When I came to that realization, I let out a big "Phew!" and was completely beside myself. To think that if I was not paying attention, or had stopped my car a second later ... well, there could have been a very very very very bad scene right there in front of the Marriott Courtyard, one that would definitely have made me the most hated man in Red Sox Nation for years to come. (I'd surely not have been named the team's new general manager a few months later.)

Alas, Tito continued on unscathed, without even looking up at me or realizing what had happened, and he was present and accounted for at the ring ceremony the next day. Thank God.

While my memory may be a little more dramatic than the reality actually was, I still look back on the day knowing that I had the fate of Red Sox Nation in my hand. And now, with Tito officially out as the manager of the Red Sox, it gives me the chance to tell the tale once again.

Thank you very much for everything, Tito. You will definitely be missed. And yes, I'm sorry for almost hitting you with my car.

Decent Odds

2011-09-29T13:00:00.004-04:00

Cancer isn't funny. Anyone who's been touched by the disease knows this. And yet, sometimes the only thing you can do to cope is laugh. That's the crux of the new movie 50/50, the story of Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who at 27 learns he has cancer. The film was written by Will Reiser, and is loosely based on his own experience — both with the disease and with his best friend Seth, who had a hard time dealing with it too. Seth is actually Seth Rogen, who costars in the movie as Kyle, and who attempts to bring much of the comic relief to the film. That pretty much tells you what kind of "cancer movie" 50/50 is; it's not one that wants to make you cry. Instead, it's a buddy movie that shows how hard it is for guys to communicate real emotion, even when the emotions they're dealing with are so very real.

Which is not to say the movie doesn't have emotion. As Adam, Gordon-Levitt gives a nice, sensitive performance that captures his inability to understand what's happening to him. And as Adam's mother, Anjelica Houston gives a brief but realistic performance that avoids cliche. But Rogen, real and awkward though his experience may have been, is a bit much. I found him overbearing and unfunny. Given that there's a lot of Rogen in the film, that's a real shame, because Gordon-Levitt's quieter and more restrained performance is just about the polar opposite. (Anna Kendrick also costars as Adam's barely-out-of-med-school therapist.)

No tears are shed and Adam does beat the odds (no spoiler there; Will did write the movie, after all), but thanks to Rogen, the movie unfortunately remains a bit unwell. So I'm just going to give 50/50 a B.

Play Ball

2011-09-22T09:00:00.008-04:00

For baseball fans, especially Red Sox ones like me, the new movie Moneyball couldn't have arrived at a better time. That's because Moneyball reinstills a love of the game, one that can't be tarnished even by a losing team. It's a top-notch Hollywood entertainment, featuring an old fashioned star turn at its center, and it instantly became my favorite movie of the year (so far) as soon as the lights went up. Batter up, indeed.

Moneyball is based on the (supposedly great) book by Michael Lewis (who also wrote The Blind Side), and tells the story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), a once-promising baseball player who in 2001 was general manager of the Oakland A's and still felt like he had something to prove. Oakland, you see, is not one of the rich teams like the Yankees or Red Sox, and doesn't have the deep pockets those teams do to "buy" good players. So attracting big names is always a challenge. Young upstart Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) turns Beane on to the then-radical approach of Bill James, which focuses more on stats like on-base percentage than home runs, and costs a lot less to execute. So Beane adjusts his (and the team's) priorities, shunning the name-brand players and instead seeking the undervalued, overlooked ones. And wouldn't you know it, the strategy works. (No spoiler there; this is a true story.)

If you're not a baseball fan, you may enjoy Moneyball. But it sure does help if you have a love of the game and appreciate the "inside" talk and statistical minutiae that forms the basis of much of the dialogue. Of course, when you have a guy like Pitt delivering that dialogue, the film gets infinitely easier to watch. That's because as Beane, Pitt gives one of the most deceptively good performances of the year. It's so good that it looks like he's not even acting — just coasting on his charm. And Pitt sure does make it look easy. (Then again, when you're speaking dialogue that was written by both Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, that has to raise your game.) More so than in many of his other performances, Pitt has the same All-American aura that Robert Redford once had. Watch for Moneyball and The Natural to be shown as a double feature soon.

Pitt and Hill have a nice chemistry together as they bounce (and explain) concepts, ideas, and mathematical formulas off each other. It's great banter in the trademark Sorkin style. You may not follow all the details, but it sure is fun to listen to — and it's often very funny, too. Director Bennett Miller (Capote) knows better than to interfere with stylish camerawork and other filmmaking tricks, so he pretty much gets out of the way, letting the screenplay and the actors do all the work. The result is an inside-baseball story with grit and class, one that shows the best teams aren't always the ones with all the money.

Moneyball is a tale of underdogs for the dirt dog in all of us. If you can't root for your own hometown team (or even if you can), you'll surely root for Moneyball. I'm giving it an A–.

Lots to Watch

2011-09-19T07:00:00.003-04:00

Many people look forward to the fall. They enjoy the cooler weather, the chance to start anew, and the return to normalcy after a vacation-filled summer. But not me. Each year around this time, the fall TV preview issues of Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide arrive in my mailbox and I'm reminded that for at least a couple weeks, I'm not going to have much of a life as I struggle to watch all kinds of new shows. And if I do try to have a life, then my DVR is going to get a workout and I'll be up late as I time-shift my TV watching.

I know, woe is me.

So allow me to continue an annual tradition of sharing which shows I'm going to try and watch this season. Thankfully, a couple shows have already debuted, so I've already previewed them. One made the cut (Ringer) and one was knocked off my list (Up All Night). But plenty of others remain.

Here's the list:

Monday: How I Met Your Mother, Two Broke Girls, Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie (welcome back, Summer Roberts!), The Playboy Club

Tuesday: Glee, New Girl, Ringer

Wednesday: The X Factor, Modern Family, Happy Endings (so happy this show is coming back), Revenge

Thursday: Community, The X Factor (results), Charlie's Angels, The Office, Person of Interest, Grey's Anatomy, Whitney, Prime Suspect

Friday: Thankfully, this is a night off (until Shark Tank comes back, that is)

Saturday: Saturday Night Live

Sunday: The Amazing Race, Pan Am

And of course, I also want to watch at least the first episodes of Two and a Half Men and CSI, just to see how Ashton Kutcher and Ted Danson do. Then there's Hawaii Five-0, which will feature John Locke himself, Terry O'Quinn, in a recurring role. So I know I'm gonna give that a shot too.

I know I'll never watch all of those shows, and believe me, I don't really want to. But for now, I'm overcome by curiosity, so I know I'm going to try to watch as many as I can. As with seasons past, the rule of three applies: If I miss three episodes of any one show, then I give up. So come November, I know I'll be watching only a fraction of the shows I listed above. Until then, I hope I have enough room on my DVR.

What about you? What shows are you making room for on your DVR?

He's Got a Fast Car

2011-09-18T07:00:00.002-04:00

What is Drive? From the font treatment used on the poster and in the opening credits, as well as the songs on the soundtrack, you might think it was either an '80s movie or a throwback. With a star like Ryan Gosling, and a cast that also includes Albert Brooks and Bryan Cranston, you might think it would be an award-worthy, must-see movie. And with a plot that centers around a movie stunt driver who is a getaway car driver in his spare time, you might think Drive would be an exciting action film. Wrong on nearly all counts.

Drive does feature Gosling as a movie stunt driver who drives a getaway car for criminals in his spare time. One day, he meets a neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her son, and his involvement with them, and her just-home-from-prison husband, spirals into a messy situation. Lots of potential there, especially since Gosling generally gives a cool, smoldering performance. He doesn't say much, but his look and his actions say a lot. Ultimately, though, Drive is a bit of a confusing mess. I'm not quite sure what kind of movie it's trying to be, and in the end, it left me cold. So I'm giving Drive a C+.

All Paid Up

2011-09-12T07:00:00.003-04:00

If you were to make a mashup of Munich and Inglorious Basterds, you would have The Debt. Like Steven Spielberg's Oscar-nominated film, this movie explores the toll revenge takes when Israeli agents seek to even the score with enemies of their people, and features a cast that includes Ciarán Hinds. And like Quentin Tarantino's also-Oscar-nominated film, it features Jews kicking ass (specifically, a strong female Jew kicking ass), and a revenge plot involving Nazis. With direction by Oscar-nominated John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) and a cast that also includes Oscar winner Helen Mirren, The Debt takes a rightful place with those other films.

The Debt flashes back and forth between two time periods: 1966 and 1997. In that later year, we meet retired Mossad agents Rachel (Mirren), Stefan (Tom Wilkinson), and David (Hinds), who are brought together because of a new book about their mission in 1966, when the trio (played, respectively, by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington) tracked down and kidnapped Dieter Vogel, the former Surgeon of Birkenau (Jesper Christensen), in East Berlin, and killed him. Or did they? In 1997, developments call their successful mission into question, and send one of the three back into secret duty.

A tense thriller, The Debt is carried by strong performances across the board. But it's the ethical and moral issues that left the greater impact on me. The trio's mission is simply to kidnap Vogel and bring him home to stand trial. That is how it is decided they will right the wrong. But when things go awry, the trio has other options, ones they don't want. As at least one character says, they are not murderers, they are people of peace. No matter how many deaths Vogel caused during World War II, how great must the crime be to merit an equal response? As noted, this is a similar issue covered in Munich, and here it is no less an intense conflict, especially as Vogel, now held prisoner and a witness to the interactions and frustrations between the trio, begins to exploit the situation, playing anti-Semitic mind games with any of the three who listens.

Chastain, whose Rachel is not just caught between right and wrong, but is also the focal point of a love triangle, shows how challenging the dilemma is. Her simultaneously tough and fearful performance is a mile away from the ones she gave in The Help and Tree of Life. And in Rachel's later years, Mirren communicates less through words than by facial expressions how that answer never gets easier.

Right and wrong is not as simple as black and white. And in The Debt, our "heroes" earn your support and your sympathy. That doesn't make what they do any easier to watch. I'm giving the movie a B+.

Ten

2011-09-11T04:30:00.007-04:00

Until I was 22, I was a New Yorker. The plan was that after I graduated from college, I would move back to New York, and get a job and an apartment in the city. But things don't always go as planned. In February 1997, I made the decision to leave New York and move to Boston. And it's at least partly due to that decision that I consider myself one of the lucky ones. As we observe the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I can look back on that day and know I was nowhere near the World Trade Center. Instead, I was in Boston, on my second day at a brand-new job, being told about the benefits package, when the first tower was hit.

Of course, this all is not to say that I wasn't affected by the attack or the events of 9/11. It's just that I know that I didn't lose any friends or family members that day, and however my life was changed, it's nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands of people who were there, or who lost someone close to them, and who have never been the same since. Today, more than most days, those people are on my mind and in my heart. I may never have met those we lost, but through the moving tributes I've heard and read, it's hard not to feel a real sense of loss. And I do know many people who were in the World Trade Center area, were close, or who lost someone on September 11, 2001. So my heart goes out to them, because I'm sure today won't be an easy day.

Ten years later, the world is a very different place. If you can read this, then consider yourself one of the lucky ones too. We must all band together to celebrate life and never forget.

This Movie Is Sick

2011-09-08T13:00:00.002-04:00

If you're anything like me, you're gonna need to take a long Purell shower after seeing Contagion, Steven Soderbergh's thriller about a mysterious airborne illness that wipes out a significant portion of the world's population. And that's just for starters. You won't be able to touch a glass or piece of silverware in a restaurant, put your hand on a subway pole, or pass along a folder in your office. You won't want to eat bacon, or give another person a hug, either. Heck, you may as well just stay home and contain yourself so you don't incur any risk of catching a similar virus.

Of course, I'm exaggerating there, but only a little. Contagion is a completely alarmist movie, one that'll make you uncomfortable from the first sound of a cough on screen. That cough comes from Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow), who arrives home from a business trip to Hong Kong not feeling quite right. She infects her son, and within days, they're both dead — to the shock of her husband, Tom (Matt Damon), who is somehow (and unexplainably) immune. The quickly spreading disease affects others both in China and the United States, as well as in Europe and other parts of the world, and soon members of the CDC and WHO (played by Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, and Marion Cotillard) are on the case trying to find the source and create a vaccine. Oh, and there's also a conspiracy theorist (Jude Law) who believes the government is not really doing the best it can to help those affected and stop the spread of the disease.

Scared yet?

An effectively made movie, Contagion moves as quickly as the mysterious disease, helped along by some strong performances (Fishburne in particular imbues his role with a whole lot of gravitas) and a score by Cliff Martinez that's reminiscent of the techno/industrial sound in The Social Network. Some of the dialogue and plot devices (oh my God, he just touched that!!) are a bit corny, and Soderbergh loves to linger over things like a bowl of peanuts sitting on a bar, but overall, you can't watch Contagion without feeling like you'll never go to the bathroom and not wash your hands again, and you won't be able to scold someone who doesn't cover his mouth when he coughs. Oh, and just a warning, you're gonna see more of Gwyneth Paltrow than you ever thought you would. Good times, for sure.

If this review seems a little over the top, that's because it's in keeping with the tone of the movie, which is similarly heightened. But it's a good movie, all things considered — much better than Outbreak, anyway. I'm giving Contagion a B+.

Oh, Brother

2011-09-06T07:00:00.003-04:00

Contrary to popular belief, the new film Our Idiot Brother was not written or directed by my sister and brother-in-law. In a way, that's a shame because Ned Rochlin, the character at the heart of the movie, is such a good-hearted, lovable guy, that it would be nice if he actually was modeled after me. But no matter. Ned (Paul Rudd) sees the good in everyone and everything, telling the truth and doing it all with good intentions. For example, he really believes a cop has had a bad day when he traps Ned into selling him marijuana. This nice streak runs counter to his siblings, who each have their own problems and live their own deluded lives. When the sisters welcome Ned into their homes and lives, he leaves each one of them changed.

As you might assume, this dramedy is the latest in a long line of summer indies featuring quirky families (see Little Miss Sunshine, among others). Like the others, it features a likeable cast, a handful of laughs, and a not-too-challenging plot. Our Idiot Brother, like its lead character, grooves along easily, and delivers its simple message of treating everyone with love and honesty in enjoyable fashion. An award-winner this is not, but Our Idiot Brother deserves to be welcomed into your family. I'm giving it a B.

Join Us in the Twitter Break Room

2011-09-02T08:00:00.015-04:00

Yesterday, my friend Ann tweeted that it was her four-year anniversary of being on Twitter. "See you in the break room for cake this afternoon!" she said. And that got my mind spinning about how cool a Twitter break room would be, because it would be there that you could hang out with all the cool people you are connected with on the social network.

If you use Twitter as actively as I do, then chances are this concept sounds cool to you too. Over the past two years, I've met lots of people on Twitter. Many of them I don't know offline, but they add value to my life because they're either funny, insightful, or they tweet solid information (sometimes all three). A handful of them wished me happy birthday this year from as far away as Australia. Others have made watching the Lost finale, the Oscars, or the Super Bowl more fun. Celebrities and famous people (B- and C-level ones, typically) make me feel like I'm part of the "cool kids" crowd (even if I'm waaaay off on the periphery of the crowd, looking in).

People I have met offline I've gotten to know more through their tweets. I can say I've even dated people I met on Twitter. Others have made business trips and conferences more enjoyable. Speaking of which, industry colleagues I tweet with have made me feel a part of a great community of smart, fun people. And that's just part of it.

On any given day on Twitter, I laugh and I learn, and I share the laughs and insights with my own network of followers. In short, my Twitter experience includes a wide range of interesting, informative, amusing, and friendly people. It's a great mix of people who've gotten to know me and who've allowed me to get to know them, making all of our lives better in the process.

Again, I know I don't know the majority of the people I follow on Twitter offline, but that's not always the point. It's about connecting, interacting, and engaging. Being open to dialogue, not just a pusher of content. It's about using information and personality to bridge barriers and find commonalities. I've used Twitter to expand my knowledge and broaden my network. Making actual offline friends — those that I've made as a result of or with the help of Twitter — has been both inevitable and a great bonus.

As Andrew Dubber once wrote, Twitter's not stupid. You just have boring friends. Allow me to second that: If you're on Twitter and you don't enjoy it like I do, then it has to be because you're not following the same people I am (1,312 at current count). If you'd like to meet any of them, we'll be in the break room, having cake with Ann. Come join the party!

Six Years Later, Still Blogging

2011-09-01T07:00:00.004-04:00

September 1 means different things to different people. I have a handful of friends who call it their birthday. Here in Boston, it's moving day (and holy hell, there are a lot of people moving today). For others, it's the start of a new school year. But for me, September 1 will always be the anniversary of the day I started this blog. This year marks six — count 'em, six — years I've been blogging, and I like to mark the day, not just to look back on what I've written, but to pat myself on the back for my dedication. It's no secret that I'm lazy and easily distracted. When I started blogging, I hardly thought I'd keep this blog going for one year, nevermind six. But I have, and I'm really proud of myself for that.

Of course, a lot has happened in those six years. For one thing, the rise of social media. Count me among those who say Twitter and Facebook have siphoned off the interest in and patience for blogging. That's why my posts this past year have been overwhelmingly devoted to movies I've seen, and not other things I've been up to. My thoughts on other topics and experiences often get doled out in 140-character tweets and quick status updates. (Lots of them, but still.) And yet, time and again, I come back to my blog to share longer-form thoughts, whether they be about my nephews, travel experiences, or, ironically, Twitter itself. I may have written my last blog post this year, but thankfully, that wasn't literal.

So ... Six years in, this blog may not be the active one it once was, but it's still alive and well. And I'm going to keep on writing. Happy blogiversary to me, and as always, thanks for reading.

Americone Dream Come True

2011-08-24T07:00:00.005-04:00

I did it again.

As you may recall, last summer, I successfully led an effort to get Ben & Jerry's to come and give free ice cream to my coworkers. In fact, it was exactly this week that the ice cream truck rolled up to our building and gave out servings of tasty Ben & Jerry's ice cream to all who wanted it.

Well, Ben & Jerry's is at it again this summer, and so was I. All month long, I've been tweeting at @benjerrystruck to get them to come to our office, and Monday, when I saw that they'd be in Waltham and Lexington a day later, I really stepped up my efforts, enlisting the entire office to tweet and get the truck to come our way.

Late Monday evening I received confirmation that our efforts would be rewarded, and Tuesday afternoon, the truck arrived. Hundreds of my coworkers enjoyed delicious Americone Dream scooped fresh from the truck, and others got cups of Cookie Dough, Cherry Garcia, and other flavors. It was a perfect day: Meeting-free (for some folks, anyway), gorgeous weather ... and free Ben & Jerry's. What could be bad?

And I'll remind you, this all came about because of Twitter. For the small "price" of a few tweets saying how much I (and others) love Ben & Jerry's, we got lots of free ice cream. Ben & Jerry's got lots of "free" marketing and exposure, and generated lots of goodwill for its brand. It was a win-win for everyone involved.

Between the ice cream and Pretzel Crisps, plus good relationships I've developed, plenty of connections I've made, lots of information I've learned, and fun times I've had, I'd say Twitter's been very good to me. If you're not using it, I still say you're missing out.

Lost and Found

2011-08-19T10:00:00.005-04:00

I got lost yesterday. Again.

My company had its annual summer outing at the Nashoba Valley Ski Area, and on my way home, I decided I didn't like the route the Google Maps app on my iPhone was suggesting (i.e., Route 2). So, I opted to go back home the same way I got to Westford: By driving past Walden Pond and through the 'burbs, by my office, and then onto 128 and the Pike (or up Trapelo Road, if there was traffic on the highways).

I thought I knew where I was going. I was wrong.

After I passed Walden Pond, I made a wrong turn or two and ended up God knows where. Frustrated, I kept refreshing the route on my app, thinking I knew where I was and in what direction I was headed, and each time, it told me I was headed in the wrong direction and the time it would take to get to my destination was longer. So, I decided finally to trust in my app, and follow the now-new route it suggested, which required me to turn around and back-track a bit.

Eventually, after driving through Concord, Wayland, Weston, and some other towns, after passing by a farm (cows!) and some stores and places I wouldn't mind returning to on purpose, I arrived in a most familiar place: the intersection of Main Street and South Street in Waltham. How I got there, I have no idea. But knowing exactly where I was at that point, I made the turn onto South Street, drove by my alma mater (Brandeis U), and headed for home. In the end, a drive that should have taken me just under an hour took me about 75 minutes. Not so bad. I wasn't in a rush to get home anyway.

It occurred to me as I was driving that the situation I found myself in, aside from being all-too-regular, was a significant (and not exactly subtle) metaphor for my life — and maybe yours too.

In life, we often know what our destination is, and we think we know the best way to get there, no matter what anyone else is telling us. So we divert from a prescribed route, ignoring advice and guidance, and as a result, we get lost. Being lost can be a scary proposition for some because you're out of your comfort zone. But being lost gives you a new sense of perspective. It produces opportunities to see new places and things, ones you might not have experienced otherwise.

Getting lost on the way to a destination, while it can be frustrating, is not a bad thing. Yes, it may take longer to get there, but the experience can make you stronger and more confident, as you learn you can find your way, and can get there on your own.

Getting lost is humbling, because at some point you have to admit that you are wrong, and have to go back to where you came from (at least part of the way, anyway).

And it must be said: Not everyone gets to the same place in the same way. This is okay. There are multiple ways to get somewhere.

It's nice to know that help and guidance is always there, in the form of Google Maps or other resources (and people), but sometimes, if I find myself lost (due to my own wrong turns), I like to embrace it, and try to figure out my own way to the destination.

Caesar Is Home

2011-08-12T06:00:00.004-04:00

So here's how the apes came to rule the planet, according to the new film Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Sometime in the present day, a scientist (James Franco) develops a cure for Alzheimer's Disease — one that not only restores normal brain function but improves upon it. Tests on chimps have the expected result: They get more intelligent. So these already strong beasts are now smart as well. And while the scientist is kind, and he takes good care of one chimp in particular named Caesar, he's the only human who does, so Caesar eventually gets mad. Sharing the drug with his fellow primates, he leads a rebellion against humankind and, well, anyone who's seen the other Planet of the Apes movies knows the rest.

This prequel chapter is a pretty cool addition to the saga, mostly because it's a movie about chimps and apes that features no actual apes and chimps. Instead, actors like Andy Serkis (Gollum in the Lord of the Rings saga and King Kong in the 2005 version), "play" the chimps (digital effects were added in post-production by Weta Digital, the folks behind Avatar). And that's impressive, because it allows these primates to give actual performances, ones with genuine emotion (sadness, menace, etc.). And in the final third of the film, when the chimps and apes go on the attack, it's awesome. Until then, though, Rise sort of plays like I Am Legend, with its similar premise of a medical advance that has adverse effects. (In the case of Legend, the end of the world was Emma Thompson's fault. Here, it's Franco's.)

Franco and his costars Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, and Brian Cox, do decent jobs. But actually, it's Tom Felton who provides the biggest thrill. Playing a bad-seed guardian of the primates in an animal shelter, you wait and wait for the chimps to have their way with the erstwhile Draco Malfoy. And when they do, it's rather satisfying.

Of course, that's kind of the odd thing about the movie: You never really know whose side you're supposed to be on. You know the humans won't "win," and it's not exactly like the chimps (cute though some of them may be) are "the good guys," so the film comes to a rather unresolved conclusion. Between now and when Charlton Heston crash lands on the planet (or Mark Wahlberg, if that's your preference), a lot happens. But for now, like the apes themselves, we're just left hanging. I'm going to give Rise a B. Damn, you dirty apes.

Not My Piece of Pie

2011-08-10T06:00:00.003-04:00

The premise is cringe-worthy and racially-charged: In the early 1960s, a white young woman in Jackson, Miss., interviews black housekeepers to learn what it's really like to work for such cruel and racist families. And yet, The Help tells its story with a fair amount of love and respect, so it is not as offensive as it could have been. Much of that is due to the dignified and heartfelt performance of Viola Davis, and of course, much credit also goes to writer/director Tate Taylor, a childhood friend of Kathryn Stockett, on whose book this film is based. (Octavia Spencer, another longtime friend of Stockett's who inspired one of the characters, also gives a notable performance.)

But love will only take you so far. While much care may have gone into the making of The Help, the movie itself will not be a winner for all audiences. It's a "women's picture" — which is to say not a dumb romantic comedy "chick-flick" — and I'm definitely not the target audience. I also didn't really dig yet another story about an idealist young white woman who redeems the persecuted black community. I'm just not sure Davis or Spencer's characters would ever have told so much to fresh-from-college Skeeter, even if she is played by the in-demand Emma Stone. So The Help, while not an awful movie, gets just a B from me. No doubt it will be beloved by many who've read the book, but it's not my piece of pie.

Guns Hot

2011-08-04T13:00:00.004-04:00

Dave (Jason Bateman) is a married man, the father of three kids, and a lawyer. Suffice it to say, he's settled, but with lots of obligations. His best friend Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) is perpetually single and unemployed, with all the time in the world to enjoy his life. So of course they each want each other's life. That's the premise of The Change-Up, a body-switching comedy from the creators of Wedding Crashers and The Hangover that actually is about as funny as you might hope it would be, given that pedigree.

Yes, you've seen movies like this before. But I can't remember one that was R-rated or this funny. Credit that to a screenplay that doesn't take itself too seriously, and a performance by Bateman that's more fun than anything he's done in recent years. For a change (no pun intended), he gets to loosen up and not play the straight man (as he does in movies like Horrible Bosses), and he's great. Also, um, Olivia Wilde is in the movie and that's a very good thing. To be sure, The Change-Up is not a smart, sophisticated comedy. It's got its token share of poop jokes and other broad, crude humor. But it's also got lots of laughs, and it's easy to like. So I'm giving The Change-Up a strong B.

All for Love

2011-08-01T06:00:00.009-04:00

When I say that they don't make movies like Crazy, Stupid, Love very often, I'm serious. Yes, there are plenty of romantic comedies out there, some involving adults, and yes, a plot about a wimpy, broken-hearted man who seeks counsel from a cooler guy isn't new, but too infrequently is the movie as good — as smart, as funny, as warm-hearted, as alive — as this one is. And that's why Crazy, Stupid, Love is one of the best movies, not just of the summer, but of the year so far.

In CSL (no relation to Eat Pray Love, by the way), Steve Carell plays Cal, who is told out of the blue one night that his wife (Julianne Moore) has been sleeping with a coworker (Kevin Bacon) and wants a divorce. Reeling and broken hearted, Cal begins spending time in a hip bar, where he meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a slick ladies man, who takes Cal under his wing and schools him in the ways of wooing women. Jacob, however, meets and eventually falls for Hannah (Emma Stone), the only woman to resist his advances. Simultaneously, Cal's 13-year-old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) tries to woo Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), his 17-year-old babysitter, who has a crush on Cal.

Despite its mildly slapsticky premise, CSL treats its subject (and the audience) with respect and care. Jacob may be a cad, but he's not a stereotypical bad boy. Cal may be down on his luck, but he doesn't spin out of control in a pathetic way that's inconsistent with who he is. And yes, Robbie may be a bit precocious and smarter than the average kid his age, and yes, all those plot threads (and others) do come together in a slapsticky scene late in the movie, but outside of those exceptions, screenwriter Dan Fogelman and directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have created a world you can believe and characters you root for from start to finish.

Carell as Cal is as sweet and likable as he was in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Despite his makeover and what he's been told by Jacob, and as much as he tries to move on, he knows he's still in love with his wife, who he's loved since they were in high school. He still sneaks back to his house to tend to the plants and lawn, and he picks up a woman (Marissa Tomei) by telling her he wants to show her off to his wife (in this case, that works). This sensitive performance has Golden Globe nomination written all over it. If anything, it's proof that leaving The Office wasn't a mistake.

And Gosling shows a side of himself that has heretofore been hidden in films like Half Nelson and Blue Valentine. You'd have to go back to Lars and the Real Girl to see him play a role this light and fun. Gosling's seduction scene with Stone is one of the sexiest things you'll see on screen all year, and I don't say that because they're both not wearing much clothing. Let's just say that like in the trunk scene in Out of Sight, sometimes dialogue, when written and acted well, can be really hot.

I could say more, but to do so would ruin the pleasure of seeing the movie and discovering it for yourself.

In lesser hands, CSL could have been like Date Night, a subpar Carell-starrer about a bored couple that finds the spark to continue. And CSL isn't exactly a date movie. That doesn't mean it's not romantic. It's just that it shows how complicated love can be, and how rewarding. No, CSL is not a movie you see very often. And that's what makes it a must-see. I'm giving it an A–.

Don't Cowboy Up

2011-07-29T06:00:00.004-04:00

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine, the creators and cast of Cowboys & Aliens explained that to them, the whole joke of the movie was in the title, so they consciously decided to play the rest of it straight and serious. (Actually, they say it was producer Ron Howard's idea not to make the film like a western version of Men in Black.) Big mistake. This action film, about an alien invasion in the late 1800s, is so serious that it's not very fun.

Cowboys & Aliens had all the makings of a good-time summer flick. Aside from its title, it stars James Bond and Indiana Jones, it was directed by Jon Favreau, and it was written by the guys behind Star Trek and Lost. But unfortunately, Harrison Ford just ain't the star he used to be; that cranky, cantakerous act of his gets old here in a hurry. Daniel Craig fares a little better, but the script doesn't really make you care all that much for the plight of his character. And, well, the movie just kinda wastes the rest of the cast too, by not giving them the chance to loosen up and make light of the concept of an unexplainable attack from above (the characters never once use the word "aliens," instead calling their invaders "demons").

As a result, Cowboys & Aliens is a real disappointment. That's why I'm only giving it a C.

Can They Kick It?

2011-07-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

A documentary for fans, and made by a fan, Beats Rhymes & Life tells the story of the rise and fall and rise and uncertain future of A Tribe Called Quest, one of the best rap/hip hop groups of the last 20 years. Through interviews with group members and others (including The Beastie Boys, Monie Love, De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers, and Common), we learn how the group was formed, how it found success with a unique sound, and how eventually, differences, miscommunications, pride, and ego led to the group's breakup in 1998.

Actor Michael Rapaport (Friends, Prison Break, Mighty Aphrodite) set out to make his movie in 2008, when A Tribe Called Quest reunited and went on tour. The film captures not a triumphant return to the stage but a fractured and tenuous relationship among the band, with unresolved issues that threaten any long-term reunion plans. In this footage and the accompanying interviews, Q-Tip is presented as ATCQ's brains and leader, and Phife Dawg as its heart. And those two just can't seem to see eye to eye. It's a love-dislike relationship, with wounds that cut deep. And the film, in natural, not augmented ways, helps you see the discord is very real and heartfelt.

The rest of the movie is like that too. Neither a slick documentary, a PR puff piece, or an amateurish home video, Beats Rhymes & Life feels instead like an affectionate tribute to an influential music group, warts and all, made by a guy who really likes them. It's filled with great music and well shot interview footage. I wouldn't say the movie was essential viewing, but it's a fun documentary and worth the hour and a half if you're a fan of hip hop and rap. I'm giving Beats Rhymes & Life a B.

For the Kids

2011-07-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

When my niece, Abby, was born, my sister and brother-in-law told me they were committed to visiting Boston twice a year so that I could be more a part of her life, and so she could see where I live. They've done just that. Now that I have two nephews, the same philosophy holds true. And this weekend, the boys — and their sister and their parents — came to visit me. Like Abby's first visit, it was a low-key weekend, but that doesn't mean we didn't have fun.

We took Abby — and her friends Quackers and Quackers' Big Sister — on a Duck Tour (one item that was on my Summer 2011 To-Do List). We took Abby to In a Pickle, where she had M&M Pancakes (and her mommy and I had yummy Nutella Stuffed French Toast). We ate marshmallows (because that's what you do on vacation, apparently). I showed Abby my office and introduced her to some coworkers. We went to a BBQ. We walked around downtown, and Abby rode a carousel on Boston Common. And the boys? They rode everywhere in their stroller, sleeping often (and sometimes not often enough), attracting attention and smiles from all who passed them by. I think they enjoyed themselves. I know I enjoyed showing them off.

One day not long from now, Marc and Ian will be a bit more engaged in the trip to visit their uncle, like their sister is. For now, it's still a good time. I look forward to their next visit, a few months from now.

She Told Ya She Was Trouble

2011-07-24T04:00:00.007-04:00

When news broke yesterday that Amy Winehouse had died at the age of 27, the news was less shocking than it was just sad. After all, Amy was a singer who burst on the scene in 2007 and created an immediate buzz with "Rehab," a song that would later go on to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year (she won four other awards that year). And that song seemed to tell you everything you needed to know about Amy, a troubled singer who had problems with drugs, drinking, and the law. "They tried to make me go to rehab," she sang, "and I said 'No, no, no.'" Ultimately, that's what derailed her career and now seems to have ended her life as well.

But while Amy was best known (and often mocked) for that song, she was much more than a one-hit wonder, and deserves to be remembered less for her troubles than for her awesome music. In fact, the entire album "Rehab" came from, Back to Black, was brilliant. And it wasn't even her debut album, as many people think. That would be the 2003 release Frank, an album less well known in the U.S., but still notable for tracks like "Fuck Me Pumps," "Stronger Than Me," "Cherry," and "I Heard Love Is Blind."

When I first discovered Amy's music, in December of 2006, it made an immediate impression. Over the next year, I would go on to write nine blog posts about her. More than four years later, my appreciation for Amy's music has not subsided. Back to Black is simply one of my favorite albums of all time. It's on the desert island top 3. There's hardly a bad track on it: "Rehab," "Me and Mr. Jones," "Tears Dry on Their Own," "Wake Up Alone," "You Know I'm No Good," and the title track are just the ones I've played most often.

On Back to Black, Amy (with the help of producer Mark Ronson) perfected a blend of Motown soul and hip hop, with a sound that was a cross between Lauryn Hill and Ronnie Spector. Amy fueled heartbreak and pain into songs with hooks and melodies that were anything but painful. There's attitude — so much attitude — and self-confidence, coupled with an awareness of her own failings. "I told you I was trouble. You know that I'm no good," she sang on one track. It's an incredible album — one that should be in every music fan's library. No wonder she won those five Grammies for it (and I still say she should have won Album of the year too).

So many times in recent years I've hoped that Amy's troubles were behind her, and that she'd return to making music. Instead, those two albums (and one-off tracks like "Valerie") will be her legacy. And that's a damned good legacy, if you ask me. It's great to hear that in the wake of Amy's death, Back to Black has shot to number one on iTunes. I hope more people will check out her music, and will realize just what a talented singer/songwriter we've lost.

When Dylan Met Jamie ...

2011-07-22T06:00:00.005-04:00

Among the many things we can thank When Harry Met Sally... for is the not-breaking news that try as they might, men and women just can't be friends because sex always gets in the way. If they could, then many, many, many movies would never have been made. Among them: Friends with Benefits, a new film in which two impossibly good looking, single, emotionally detached people decide to sleep together but not date. (Yes, it's pretty much the same plot as No Strings Attached.) Will these two eventually get over themselves and fall in love? What do you think?

Alright, you know going into the movie that the plot isn't exactly suspenseful. So is the rest of it enjoyable and worth the 105 minutes? Eh. The film starts out with one of the squarest sequences, in which corporate recruiter Jamie (Mila Kunis) tries to convince hot-shot L.A.-based designer Dylan (Justin Timberlake) to take a job in New York at GQ magazine. In one night, the pair go from Rockefeller Center to lower Manhattan to a busy, bustling Times Square — by subway, apparently — where a flash mob, of all things, seals the deal. (There's another flash mob at the end of the movie. What is this, 2009?) And then you still have to wait about 15 more minutes till these kids start sleeping together. Talk about delayed gratification.

Thankfully, when they do, it's worth it. And no, I don't mean that in a sketchy, pervy way. Timberlake and Kunis look like they sure had a good time making the movie (wouldn't you, if this was your job?), and they get along well on screen. After impressive dramatic performances in The Social Network and Black Swan, it's fun to see these two back in lightweight roles. We're not talking Hepburn and Tracy here, or even Crystal and Ryan, but I could stand to watch these two for a bit longer.

Unfortunately, the film itself just isn't as hip and cool as it wants to be. The dialogue tries a little too hard, the characters aren't terribly believable, and much as the film tries to be ironic in its attitude toward romantic comedies in general, some of it just comes off as lame. As charming and enthusiastic as Timberlake and Kunis are, it's possible they're a little too "stary" (Timberlake especially) to make the story even remotely plausible.

Granted, I'm not the target audience here; I'll admit that the 20somethings who sat behind me when I saw the film were laughing and enjoying it more than I did. Plenty of stuff could have been cut to make FWB a tighter, better movie. (Woody Harrelson's gay sports editor could have been excised completely, for example.) I kinda felt sorry for Richard Jenkins, who plays Dylan's Alzheimer's-afflicted dad, because this great actor deserves better. It all adds up to a less than beneficial moviegoing experience. So I'm giving FWB a B–.

It Doesn't End Here

2011-07-18T06:00:00.001-04:00

For some reason, I never did get into the whole Harry Potter phenomenon. I only read the first book from start to finish, and have only seen the first and third movies. On a 1-10 scale, with 1 being muggle and 10 being wizard, I'd probably be a 3. But being a pop culture junkie and a sucker for hype, not to mention an avid reader of Entertainment Weekly, I felt not just obligated to see the final film in the series, but mildly prepared — no matter what my more obsessive fan friends said. And I've gotta say, even without all the background or emotional investment, I still thought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was great. So there!

Epic, intense, and really violent, HP7.5 is all about what the entire series has (apparently) been building to: The showdown between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, who has grown into a very nice actor) and Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), the evil wizard who killed Harry's parents. Nearly the entire staff and student body of Hogwarts is on alert, and ready to defend the school and stand beside Harry. Talk about loyalty under difficult circumstances. This is no ordinary children's movie.

I can't pretend to appreciate HP7.5 on any level other than as a self-contained film, but on that level, it succeeds wildly. The story builds nicely, the stakes feel real (even if the whole thing's a fantasy and we know who will win), the effects are convincing, and the acting all around is impressive. I can't say I feel compelled after seeing HP7.5 to go back and watch the other five films I missed, but I didn't feel lost during this movie either. This one is satisfying on its own, and definitely worth seeing, even if you're like me and haven't seen all the others.

Harry Potter is the boy who lived (no spoiler there), and based on how good the final film in the series is, I'm sure he'll live on a whole lot longer. I'm giving Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 a B+.

Front Page

2011-07-12T06:00:00.008-04:00

Despite the fact that I work at an online company producing online content, and I'm a blogger and a tweeter, and I certainly spend more than my share of time tooling around the web, truth be told I still consider myself an "old media" guy. It's certainly convenient and easy to find information and read articles online, but that doesn't compare to the tactile feeling of holding a newspaper or magazine in your hands and flipping through the pages. Reading an article online often doesn't come with the same design and layout, and it's certainly not as permanent as an actual printed piece of media. So the new documentary Page One is a movie right up my alley.

The film shows us about a year in the life of the New York Times, with its ups and downs, big stories, and personal dramas. (And beautiful office, by the way.) These are dark days for the newspaper business, what with many big-city dailies shutting down or moving completely online, budgets tightening due to a less lucrative advertising climate, other businesses whose model is to aggregate content from others, and the focus more on making money than on telling good stories. (As Sam Zell, chairman of the Tribune Company, says at one point, "I'm not a newspaper guy. I'm a business man.") But at the Times, the lights aren't out just yet. The film shows us a handful of reporters and editors — among them, David Carr, Brian Stelter, Tim Arango, and Bruce Headlam — who nobly continue to fight the good fight in the name of respectable journalism.

You might think a movie with the name Page One would focus mainly on what it takes for a story to make it on page A1 of the Times. You'd be wrong. And indeed, we never do get to see any real conflict between the editors about what stories will get top placement. Instead, the film's real focus is the Times itself, and whether it's still as essential a publication as it used to be. There are lots of talking heads who discuss how relevant a print newspaper is in this day and age, and what a significant role the Times had — and continues to have — in society. Much of the film focuses on how the Times decides to cover the Wikileaks story, and it proves to be a nice metaphor, what with the way Julian Assange just put his info on the web for all to see, rather than giving it to the traditional media (compare that with the Pentagon Papers in 1971).

Director Andrew Rossi certainly picked some interesting folks to follow — Carr especially. The gravelly voiced media desk reporter is one of the best ambassadors the paper could have (despite being a former drug addict). He's insightful, determined, funny, smart, passionate, hard working, and fiercely loyal to the Times. Carr is a real old-school newspaper guy. Compare him to the much younger Stelter, who was an independent media blogger before the Times hired him, and now "embodies everything about new media," according to a colleague. True enough, Stelter is a blogging, tweeting, tech-loving, writing machine. (Carr says he's convinced Stelter is "a robot, assembled to destroy me.") The juxtaposition of these two makes up the inner heart and soul of the paper.

For journalism junkies, Page One is terrific fun. It's quick moving, funny, great looking, and provocative. Of course, one of the questions the film doesn't raise intentionally is: Why aren't there more women at the Times? Ninety-five percent of the film is male-driven, and given that the Times recently named Jill Abramson its executive editor, that seems a bit curious — especially since Rossi had a sense that then–executive editor Bill Keller was about to leave his post. Rossi also chose to put the spotlight on media reporters, rather than "hard" news reporters, so that adds an extra layer of self-centeredness to the film's "story."

At the end of the film, Keller declares that "journalism is alive and well, and feisty" at the New York Times. And how. Page One makes you want to go out and buy a newspaper, to keep this national institution running strong. I'm going to keep on reading, if only because I want to know what stories David Carr and Brian Stelter will report on next. I give Page One an A–.

Not Horrible At All

2011-07-11T06:00:00.005-04:00

Apparently, there are some people in the world who don't like their job. Imagine that. These people are either going to really love Horrible Bosses, or cringe because it just hits too close to home. In the film, three friends played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day, plot to kill their bosses because, well, those bosses are horrible people. They're overbearing, they're abusive, they stifle growth, they demean, they're disrespectful, they sexually harass, they insult ... and that's for starters. To avoid getting caught, Nick, Kurt, and Dale (Bateman, Sudeikis, and Day's characters, respectfully) take a cue from Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train and plot to murder each other's boss. But nothing goes as planned, of course.

The film is great fun, and well made. Each of the actors — the aforementioned leads as well as their bosses, played by Kevin Spacey (worse here than in Swimming with Sharks), Colin Farrell (in an absurd but hysterical comb-over), and Jennifer Aniston (eat your heart out, Angelina Jolie), plus Jamie Foxx, as the guys' "murder consultant" — turns in a solid performance, and the script by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Michael Markowitz has a bunch of quotable lines (including a Good Will Hunting reference that I am not going to include here). I even love how in one scene, a Muzak version of the Gnarls Barkley song "Crazy" plays in the background. Nice touch.

After a smart, well plotted first half, the film does start to sag a little about two-thirds of the way in, but it pulls itself together in the end to leave you smiling. That is, if your mind isn't racing with ideas. I'm giving Horrible Bosses a B+.

Chicago, I Love You

2011-07-05T13:00:00.001-04:00

It's official: I love Chicago. I mean, I love Boston a little bit more. But in a head to head competition, these days I may have a tough time picking between the two cities. If I ever left Boston for good (and I have no plans to do that), I'd make a beeline to Chicago. That's just how I feel after a fantastic long (and yet still too short) weekend in the Windy City. It was my annual July 4 trip to Chicago, which means I also spent time in Michigan City, Indiana. Combined, it was just awesome. Some highlights:

For the first time in a while, I hung out on Michigan Ave. with people, and that made for a more fun day (and better pictures too). Typically I get a day on my own because, you know, folks have to work. While that's fine, and I can very easily (too easily) amuse myself downtown, it was so much better to spend the day wandering around with friends.

In Michigan City, I was crowned Drunken Salami King — an honor I shared with Sporkful podcast co-host Dan Pashman. What's Drunken Salami? That's a secret. But suffice it to say, it's a salami that's been marinated for months (seriously) in scotch and Russian dressing (and maybe some other stuff too) and then cooked on the BBQ grill. It's delicious. (Really.) Every year there's a king or queen crowned, and suffice it to say, it's a very big honor.

Other highlights? I don't know ... It was all good. I'm not going to go on and on about my awesome Blizzard from Dairy Queen, or my first trip to Sprinkles, or the ominous-looking clouds over Chicago on Friday that passed right over, or the great conversations, or the Sporkful meetup, or the fact that I got a sunburn but not really, or the awesome fireworks pictures I took Saturday night, or the great flights on Southwest Airlines. The whole trip was a highlight.

Best of all was that I was out of Dodge, I was happy, I relaxed, I laughed, and I really enjoyed myself. Just sitting on the beach Saturday afternoon, listening to the waves crash on the shore ... That didn't suck. I needed this trip, and it delivered. If only I'd stayed longer.

So now I long for my next trip to Chicago, and look forward to the next time I'll be able to see the people, the buildings, the Bean, my friends, the whole scene. Damn, I love that city.

4th of July Pops Concert Could Be Better

2011-07-05T06:00:00.006-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy few things more than watching the Boston Pops and the fireworks on July 4th. Which is why it's a shame that I hadn't been down to the Charles in so long to see it live. Last night I corrected that, and got a chance to introduce my friends Justine and Nick to the awesomeness as well. Seriously, no city in America (as if the "in America" part really needs to be said) does July 4th festivities like Boston does. None. I've seen the New York fireworks. They're big, but that's all they are. And they don't have the Pops. So there.

But here's the thing: While I love the fact that the whole country gets to watch some of the show, I do think the national broadcast is what's wrong with July 4th in Boston. And being there to watch live brought this home for me. National audiences see so little of the Pops concert. In essence, they see the Pops play "backing band" for whoever the special guest is. They see the lame patriotic sing-a-long. And yes, they get the "Stars and Stripes Forever," including 3 of my favorite minutes of the year, but because the whole night now is geared around this national broadcast, it sorta ruins the rest of the concert.

Used to be that the "1812 Overture" was the penultimate number. Now it's in the middle, with only a small section replayed for the whole country, and it's anticlimactic. The headliner gets more attention, with the Pops playing second fiddle. And the commercials — the excessive commercials — cut into the flow of the concert, and kill the momentum.

Or so it seems. During the commercial breaks, that's when the real Pops music is played. Last night we heard the Pops' versions of "Sweet Caroline" and "Shipping Up to Boston," plus the theme from E.T., among other numbers, during the commercials.

Don't get me wrong: I really enjoyed last night's concert and fireworks. The Pops were good, Martina McBride sounded great, and the fireworks were incredible. Song choices may have been obvious (Katy Perry's "Firework?" Owl City's "Fireflies?"), but some of the fireworks themselves — like the ones during "Firework" that burst and then burst a little bit faster — were very cool.

Why can't the national broadcast be extended by 30 minutes so the rest of the country can see and hear more of the good stuff? It does a disservice to the Pops and to audiences, both at home and along the Charles. Sure, there's nothing that compares to being there to watch the Pops and see the fireworks live. Watching on TV is never a close second choice option. But it could be better, and I hope some day it is.

Mercy Mercy Me

2011-06-30T13:00:00.006-04:00

In Larry Crowne, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts team up to save the world from an invasion of alien robots. And it's all in 3-D! No, not really. In this modern-day dramedy, Hanks stars as the title character, who gets laid off from his job at a Target-like big box retailer because his lack of a college degree makes him unpromotable (he opted for the Navy when he was 18). To right the wrong, and help his future prospects, he enrolls in a community college, where he meets (and falls for) his speech professor, played by Roberts.

I call Larry Crowne a "modern-day" dramedy because the film has a plot that reflects the current reality of so many people who've been laid off from their jobs. And yet, Larry Crowne also feels like "The Bad Economy for Dummies," because it is such a feel-good, accessible film that you don't really worry about the main character because you know everything's gonna be alright. As if that's not enough, there are lame references to "new media" and use of terminology like "knockers." Plus, you've got Hanks and Roberts in the leads (and on a motor scooter) and a soundtrack that's heavy on boomer-favorite Tom Petty. Oh, and there's a happy ending too where (spoiler) the two main characters fall in love. Suffice it to say, this isn't Up in the Air or The Company Men.

I know I'm not exactly the target audience for Larry Crowne. The film's definitely geared more toward people like my parents, and they will love it. That's not a bad thing. I mean, despite all I just said, this isn't exactly a bad movie. It's definitely better than the trailer made it seem. Hanks exudes a winning charm, as always, and even though the love story between him and Roberts' character (whose name is Mercy, by the way) seems forced and contrived, the two have a nice, easy chemistry together. It's always enjoyable to watch Tom and Julia on screen, despite your resistance, whether they're alone or together (as with Charlie Wilson's War).

Still, as noted, the film just feels so middle of the road and safe that it's hard to get too engaged. And for God's sake, hide your eyes during the totally ridiculous, cheesy, and unnecessary closing credits. Larry Crowne may not be "spectacular" entertainment, but it's a pleasant (if long) 90 minutes. I'm giving it a B–.

Conan the Destroyer

2011-06-27T06:00:00.009-04:00

Last year, when Conan O'Brien was (unfairly) fired as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show, he didn't take it very well. Viewers saw that in the days and weeks leading up to his last show, as he piled on the jokes at his soon-to-be-ex-employer's expense. And those of us who saw O'Brien's Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour got a taste of that too, as each show included a few jabs at NBC and a bunch of self-deprecating jokes about the situation. But behind the scenes was an even angrier person, and in the new documentary Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, we get a chance to see a little more of that side.

Thankfully, though, Conan — who says at one point early in the film, “Sometimes I’m so mad I can’t even breathe" — decided to funnel his emotions into something positive. As it turned out, the 32-city tour was not so much about Conan venting and getting his fans to rally behind him (unlike a certain former Two and a Half Men star's tour was). It was more like live therapy in front of his fans, and a way for Conan to laugh and exorcise his frustration and disappointment (in himself as well as NBC). In Can't Stop, we get to ride along as Conan's mood and outlook change, and he sees just how much love there is for him across the country.

Of course, like any comic, there's a constant need for approval. That's nothing new. But in Conan's case, there's also a never-ending need to entertain. Here, we watch as Conan and team put together the tour, and then take it from Eugene, Ore., to Atlanta, going practically nonstop for those few months. He does his show. He doesn't take actual days off. He greets hundreds of fans along the way, even at times when making pleasant chit-chat is the last thing Conan feels like doing. No, Conan doesn't stop, and the film seems to imply that he just doesn't know how to stop.

You may get whiplash from the speed and quick editing employed here; there are lots of quick cuts and no long scenes. That means you get to see a lot, but you don't see much of each thing. Thus, as a document of the tour, this is hardly comprehensive.

On the other hand, there are some really nice, and revealing, backstage moments. I particularly enjoyed watching Conan interact with his assistant, Sona. Despite her being constantly put-upon, and often the butt of Conan's jokes (including when he makes her speak into a banana during a meeting), it's clear there's a great deal of mutual affection there, and that's really fun to watch. And it's cool to see Conan give so much of himself to his fans, even when they turn him off (as in the anti-semitic fan who drove for hours to a casino to see Conan, only to be told he was too young to get in).

Conan deals with nearly every situation with a laugh — after all, that's the best defense. That means that even though Conan's quips often do carry more meaning, there's maybe not as much of the "off" Conan as we may want. But I'm not complaining: This entertaining collection of raw footage shows a man going through a real professional rough patch, and coming out smiling. As someone who's been through similar (though not identical) frustration, I felt a kinship with Conan at the time, and watching Conan O'Brien Can't Stop I have to say I like the guy even more now. This is a film for (and in many ways, a tribute to) the fans, but I suspect those who don't watch his show will like it too. I'm giving Conan O'Brien Can't Stop a B+.

The Big Man Was a Friend of Mine

2011-06-19T03:00:00.012-04:00

Clarence Clemons was known as the Big Man, largely because at 6 feet, 5 inches tall and 270-plus pounds, he was literally a big man. But the nickname was appropriate because on stage, Clarence had a presence that was bigger than life. He wasn't showy or over the top like some other rock stars — including his bandleader and friend, Bruce Springsteen. But he was always cool, always just to Bruce's right, waiting to pick up his sax and do his thing. And when Clarence got up to play ... Wow. This man of few words, this gentle giant, let his instrument do all the talking. When Clarence took center stage for one of his solos, it was a transcendent experience. Every time you heard "Jungleland" live, it was awe-inspiring. Stunning. Powerful. An out-of-body experience. One of my favorite parts of any Springsteen show.

So it goes without saying that the loss of Clarence Clemons Saturday night, due to complications from a stroke one week earlier, was a huge loss — for the music world and for me personally.

I'll never forget the first time I saw Springsteen and the E Street Band live. It was the 1999 reunion tour, in Boston, at what was then known as the FleetCenter. Somehow, my friend Holly and I were able to score third-row center seats. (I'm still not sure how we did it.) Even though I was not as huge a Springsteen fan then as I am now, the show was incredible. Of course, any show would be incredible from those seats, but a Springsteen show? You have no idea.

At the end of the concert, as everyone was applauding and cheering wildly, I stood there directing my applause in Clarence's direction, and mouthing the words "thank you." Clarence looked right back at me, put his hands together, and gave me a sort-of swami salute, slightly bowing in my direction. It was his way of saying "you're welcome." And sure, he was doing this a lot, and in different directions, to acknowledge everyone in the arena. But it didn't feel that way to me. At that moment, Clarence was connecting with me, and me alone. There was no one else in the FleetCenter. It felt special, even if it was hardly unique. How cool is it that Clarence made me feel this way in a room full of thousands of other people. I was a changed man after that concert.

No wonder fans feel such a deep connection to Springsteen, the E Street Band, and Clarence himself. The Big Man wasn't just a musician, or a performer. He was a friend. There's a reason that when Bruce was introducing the band in concert, Clarence was always last — even after Patti Scialfa, Bruce's wife. There's a reason that when Bruce played "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" with the Band at his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, he said, "This is the important part" before he sang the "Big Man joined the band" section. Clarence was someone we rooted for, cheered louder for, felt loyal to. He gave as much to us in his performances as we gave to him. Clarence was not just the Big Man, he was the man. The foundation. A rock. He was irreplaceable.

When I remember the Big Man that was Clarence Clemons, I'll remember his soulful contributions to songs like "Jungleland," "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out," "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)," and others. But I'll remember that hot August night more, and how that one concert experience turned me into an E Street fan for life.

Thank you, Clarence. I'll miss you.

Those Good and Crazy People

2011-06-16T11:00:00.008-04:00

The truth is, I'm not anti-marriage. One day I hope to find someone I love enough to want to spend the rest of my life with — and hopefully she'll feel the same way about me. But until that happens, I'm a perpetual third- or fifth-wheel. And admittedly, I go back and forth between being alright about it and yes, being lonely. Kind of like Bobby, the lead character in Stephen Sondheim's Company. The classic musical, one of my all-time favorites, was recently revived in New York with a cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, Patti LuPone, Jon Cryer, and Christina Hendricks, and for a brief time, you can watch a recording of those performances on the big screen.

Company has no real plot. It's basically a collection of anecdotes strung together as 35-year-old Bobby (Harris) goes from couple to couple, each of them either doting on him or too wrapped up in themselves to notice Bobby's not comfortable being around them. None of the couples presents a real good example of why Bobby should want to be married, and yet they all feel sorry for him because he's not married. What does Bobby himself want? He doesn't seem to know, nor does he seem to be in any rush to figure that out. As a result, he continues to be emotionally detached, watching everyone live their lives while he is essentially watching from the outside. As one friend tells him on her wedding day, "I'm afraid to get married, and you're afraid not to."

The show is awesome for a number of reasons, one of them being Sondheim's songs, which at times have such a contemptuous attitude toward married people, and at times hit the single person's conflicted attitude toward settling down right on the nose. The show is funny, thought provoking, insightful, and not the typical "jazz hands" kind of musical. And as a 37-year-old singleton, I can identify with a lot of it.

The last time I saw Company, five years ago, the show left a real impression on me. So any future productions get measured against that one. This one just didn't have that same effect. Produced by the New York Philharmonic, the draw here was certainly the cast. However, the talent across the board was mixed. Harris makes for a truly charming Bobby; it's not hard to see why all these people would love him. He's more than capable of carrying the show, and his performance is eager to please. The problem is that while Harris has a fine singing voice, it's just not as strong as the character requires. For example, "Marry Me a Little" was fine, but "Someone Is Waiting" sounded like it was more of a challenge.

Among his co-stars, the acting was good, but again, singing was the real problem. Songs like "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" sounded off, and, well, Cryer, Colbert, and Hendricks aren't known for their singing anyway. Better were Martha Plimpton and especially Kate Finneran, whose "Not Getting Married" was one of the show's highlights. And then there was LuPone, whose performance was the best of the lot, not surprisingly. "The Ladies Who Lunch" was definitely the show's peak.

In addition, the show felt long and it dragged at times. I seem to recall the 2006 revival using an abbreviated book, and this production had no such tweaks. Also, the recording was basically a video of the show and not a high def film, which made watching the show on screen instead of live less engaging and fun. It wasn't exactly a home video, and it wasn't a film either. I never knew if I should be applauding, even though that seemed to be the natural reaction.

So is it worth finding a theater showing Company in the next couple days? Perhaps only if you're a devoted fan. Otherwise, check out the well produced DVD from the much more elegant 2006 revival.

Six Degrees of Mutants

2011-06-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

The superhero prequel X-Men: First Class imagines a reality in which mutants, led by Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), played a critical role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Fascinating stuff, and a pretty cool concept. It's the execution here that's the problem, and I hold Kevin Bacon to blame. Cast in the role of scientist and fellow mutant Sebastian Shaw, Bacon is worse than a villain; he's someone you don't even like watching. Oscar nominee (for Winter's Bone) Jennifer Lawrence has the opposite problem; she doesn't make much of an impact as Mystique, the shape-shifter who will grow up to look like Rebecca Romijn. The action and special effects here are cool, and I did like the revisionist history angle. But the metaphors were less a turnoff when they were more subtle, like in the second X-Men movie (seems no one learned from the last X-Men film). So I'm giving X-Men: First Class a B.

Super, Indeed

2011-06-13T06:00:00.005-04:00

The next time you hear someone say, "They sure don't make 'em like they used to," tell that person to go see Super 8, a throwback movie so retro that you may think it was made 25 years ago (even the poster gives you that impression). That's intended as a compliment, of course, as is the fact that writer/director J.J. Abrams has made a movie reeking with old fashioned Spielberg-ian charm, in the best way. After all, as the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

In Super 8, it's 1979 in Ohio, and Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and his friends are spending the summer making a horror movie. One night, while shooting at the train station, the kids witness a crash of epic proportions, a crash that has a strange effect on the town. When the U.S. Air Force arrives, that only raises more questions: What was the train carrying, and is there a connection between the crash and the strange phenomena (pets running away, microwaves disappearing, car engines vanishing, people being abducted) that have become commonplace? Joe's dad (Kyle Chandler), the sheriff's deputy, butts heads with Air Force Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich) until he gets answers. Meanwhile, the kids try to solve the mysteries on their own, while hiding that they know so much about what happened.

Yes, there's a creature, and no, you won't see it until very late into the movie. But that's not the point of the film. Super 8 is a story about innocence lost, about friends discovering something bigger than their wildest imaginations, about an alien creature that just wants to go home, about a father and son who don't see eye to eye ... In other words, it's a movie with all the classic Steven Spielberg themes (no wonder Uncle Stevie signed on as the film's producer). Abrams has expertly crafted a movie that pays tribute to the movies of his youth while adding a modern twist, just like he did with Star Trek two years ago. Super 8 is full of wonder, it's exciting, and it's a perfect movie for summer (except that it's way smarter than the average summer movie).

To spoil any of Super 8 surprises or to tell too much about the movie would spoil its charm. You want to go into this film knowing as little as possible, so your eyes can be as wide as the young stars'. And yes, you want to stay until the very end; the kids' film unspools over the end credits. From start to finish, Super 8 is a film you can't take your eyes off. It's one of the year's best so far. I'm giving it an A–.

Life and Death, and Dinosaurs Too

2011-06-08T13:00:00.000-04:00

You know the classic Burt Bacharach song "Alfie?" Well, after seeing Tree of Life, you may be asking, "What's it all about, Terrence?" The film, written and directed by Terrence Malick (Badlands, The Thin Red Line), is a meditation on fathers and sons, the meaning of life, what it means to be a man, and probably a whole lot of other stuff too. (You get that sense from the poster.) Actually, instead of a movie, it's more like a two hour and 15 minute tone poem: There's little dialogue (no kidding, two characters never speak to each other for the entire first hour of the film), lots of atmospheric shots, little to no plot, short monologues (delivered in a whispery voice over as if they're a prayer to God), and a whole lot of choral and swelling orchestral music on the soundtrack. Throw in Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and some dinosaurs too (yes, really), and the whole thing feels like an exercise in filmmaker indulgence. (Or hubris, depending on your preference.)

It's not that I'm against such things. After all, in characteristic Malick style, the film is gorgeous to look at and listen to. It's just that I really don't know what to make of Malick's films. While I liked The Thin Red Line, The New World left me baffled. And Tree of Life left me similarly impressed but also kind of cold. I know that's a cop-out, so oh well if you're looking for a more thorough and thoughtful review here. Pitt, as a mercurial Texan father in the 50s, and Penn, as his grown-up son in the present day, are both fine, though it's worth noting that Penn's barely in the movie, and he spends nearly all his time looking pensive and thoughtful. Which is probably what you'll look like after seeing Tree of Life too. I'm giving this one a B–.

A Very Good Birthday, Indeed

2011-06-08T06:00:00.010-04:00

Not to get all girly or anything, but ... not being married and not having kids, I've always put a bit of a special significance on my birthday. My thinking goes that my birthday is the one day when it's all about me for a change, so people should show me a little attention. I mean, is that really asking so much? And truth be told, I've kind of kept a tally over the years; each year, I remember who didn't call or email or somehow get in touch. I joke, and I know it's petty, but I do.

So believe me when I tell you that there's no such tally this year. That's because, to put it simply, there were many, many people who did acknowledge the day. I had more than 175 posts and comments on my Facebook wall. Nearly 20 tweets. Lots of emails (personal ones, not just the many "special offers" from businesses whose mailing lists I'm on). Some phone calls. Text messages. I had birthday cake. Cupcakes — lots of cupcakes. Lunch. Dinner. And much more. Honestly, I was overwhelmed by all the love and attention. There were times during the day when I was struggling to keep up with the email notifications and messages.

The in-person drive-bys, the personal emails, and phone calls were great, don't get me wrong, but it was the Facebook and Twitter posts that left an impact. I know some people don't put a whole lot of weight on social media relationships, but let me tell you, when you're getting told every couple of minutes that someone else has said "Happy birthday," it's pretty cool. After all, it's not just Facebook that notifies you these days, Twitter does it now too. When people you don't even know — people who live halfway around the world — feel a connection and want to wish you happy birthday, that's really neat. (And it just goes to further prove the point that Twitter can be worth it if you put in the time and use it correctly.)

Let this blog post serve as my thank you to all who acknowledged my special day, the so-called Day of All Days, in all the different ways that you did. I really appreciate it because, well, maybe you read my post yesterday about how I wasn't exactly in a celebratory mood. And you probably didn't know this, but I had woken up prematurely, so I was tired and cranky, and I really wasn't feeling social (in the conventional sense) when I got to work in the morning. But somewhere between 6 a.m. when I woke up, and the arrival of 150 cupcakes from Baked by Melissa at 11:00 a.m., my mood changed and I began to feel good about the day. What a difference a few hours and a ton of emails made.

Someone once said to me that a good birthday is defined as "having people that care about you take the time out to recognize that." So by that measurement, my 37th birthday was a very good birthday, indeed. (That's one item done off my summertime to-do list.) Thank you for making it such a great day.

Happy Birthday?

2011-06-07T05:00:00.007-04:00

Here we are again. It's my birthday. Number 37. The Day of All Days. Let this blog post serve as my traditional "taking stock" blog post, even though this year, truth be told, I'm not all that sure how I'm doing on this most special of days. I know I'm doing better than I was last year, and I think I'm happy — but you shouldn't think you're happy, right? You should know. This year, I just don't know how I feel.

The truth is, I'm tired. Tired of being complacent. Tired of being lazy and inert. Tired of feeling frustrated, disappointed, and let down. Tired of being irritated, bitter, and angry. Tired of being fickle. Tired of settling. Tired of dealing. Tired of rolling with the punches. Tired of waiting. Tired of being patient. Tired of letting life happen without me. Tired of not caring enough to do anything about it. I'm 37. This is not how things are supposed to be. This is not how I used to be.

So today, I find myself in need of a major kick in the ass. A jump start. A hitting of the restart button. A refresh. It's kind of like when I turned 30 and decided to throw myself out of a plane. I need to make change happen, and I need to start with myself.

But forget all this. Today is my birthday. Today I want to be happy. Today I will be happy. There will be celebration, and much merriment will be made. There will be friends and laughter and good times. And cupcakes — I suspect that today there will be lots of cupcakes.

Then tomorrow I will wake up and start the task of finding real happiness, so that I can say definitively that I am happy.

And on that note, happy birthday to me. Here's to a great year ahead.

After Midnight

2011-06-06T06:00:00.005-04:00

I've always been a sucker for nostalgia — looking through old photos, rereading old journals, watching old home videos, remembering "good ole days" gone by. And it's this time of year when I get especially nostalgic, what with my birthday just days away, the anniversary of my college graduation just passed, and me taking stock of how my present compares to my past, and if I'm better off now than I was. So you might say that it was more than appropriate timing for me when I saw Woody Allen's very enjoyable new film, Midnight in Paris, a modern-day fable that celebrates nostalgia.

In Midnight, Owen Wilson stars as Gil, a frustrated American writer visiting Paris with his fiancee, Inez (Rachel McAdams), and her family. Gil is right at home in Paris; he loves the architecture, the romanticism, and the entire atmosphere of the place. The only thing that could make it better is if it could be Paris in the 1920s. Inez, however, would prefer being back in California in the present (she calls Paris "corny"). One night, Gil is out walking and he's magically (and unexplainably) transported back to the 1920s, where he meets and parties with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Pablo Picasso, and Gertrude Stein. Suffice it to say, he's reborn, reenergized, and happier than he's ever been.

Woody Allen has always been a guy who lives in the past; nearly all his films employ the same old-timey title sequence and music, despite the setting of the film itself. Here, he's confronting the question of whether those so-called good ole days were indeed better than the present day. A character played by Michael Sheen dismisses nostalgia as a denial of a painful present. And indeed, we often see the past as a less challenging time. Our troubles, what little of them there were, had to be less troubling then. Those earlier days are always romanticized. Who wouldn't want to live in another time?

Here, as lovely as modern-day Paris is, the Paris of the 1920s is better. The people are more interesting, more attractive, and more glamorous. Things are new, fresh, and exciting ... more fun. In the roles of some of those 1920s personalities, Woody has cast such actors as Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Alison Pill, and the always radiant Marion Cotillard, who all bring a fun energy to the film and make that period more attractive. And yet, as Woody shows, for those whom the 1920s represents the present, the 1920s aren't as attractive as Gil thinks they are. Does everyone long for the past, no matter what time period it is?

It's not just the aforementioned people who are well cast. Owen Wilson does a nice job, giving one of his better performances in recent years. Even though he's playing a Woody surrogate, Wilson makes the character his own. McAdams (Wilson's co-star in Wedding Crashers) is also good, representing the modern sensibility that Gil doesn't buy into. The film is light and breezy, totally charming, with a witty and engaging screenplay. Midnight is a very Woody Allen movie; aside from the distinctive titles and music, and standard 90-minute running time, you can hear his voice in much of the dialogue (especially Wilson's, of course). I dare say it's one of Woody's best films of the past decade, my favorite since Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

In Midnight, Woody makes an undeniable statement that there's nothing wrong with living in the past. Since it looks like he has no reason to change his ways, I'm looking forward to what he does in the future. For the present, I'm giving Midnight in Paris a strong B+.

A Reunion I Could Watch

2011-06-02T06:00:00.004-04:00

It may be hard to believe — I know it is for me — but this year marks 15 years since I graduated from Brandeis University. In less than two weeks, members of my class will gather on campus for our 15-year reunion. Of course, if you're a longtime reader of this blog, then you won't be surprised to learn that I have no intention of attending any of the events. Not after the great time I had at our 10-year reunion (munch munch munch).

Still, I'm a sucker for nostalgia, so over the Memorial Day weekend, I got out my home videos from senior year and watched them, start to finish. That's right: I have video footage (shot on a hi-8 camera that I got for my 21st birthday) of those so-called "good ole days." It includes orientation, graduation, some BBQs and parties, random wandering around campus, lots of silliness in my mod, midnight buffets, and much more. I watched as my modmates cleaned out the refrigerator in our messy kitchen, as my classmates celebrated Labor Day, as folks reflected on how the year was going, as friends came over for a Friends season-two premiere party, as my fellow editors on The Justice worked hard, as my roommates went on a run to the grocery store, as people grew increasingly frustrated that I always had my camera out, etc. etc.

At some points while I was watching, I found myself wondering if I actually experienced senior year for myself ... or if, like Mark Cohen in Rent, I just spent the year documenting the whole thing. (No wonder people were getting annoyed with me — I was really annoying!) Sometimes I watched and felt embarrassed for the people on screen; other times I was embarrassed for myself (and not just because of my oversized round tortoise-shell glasses). There were lots of people I hadn't seen or thought about since the last time I watched the videos (at least 10 years ago), some of whom I was happy to see again and others I had forgotten about completely. It was both amusing and disappointing that the people I am tight with now are barely in the videos, and the people who are all over the videos are barely in my life now (with a couple exceptions).

And yet, it was also pretty cool to be able to dig into that time capsule. I didn't watch everything, but I played the tapes in their entirety. (Some clips I had to fast-forward through.) My senior year was a lot of fun (or at least, the camera wasn't rolling when things weren't fun), and I had some good times with some good people — even some people I don't think of too fondly today. One day I'd like to edit together this footage into something more watchable. There's certainly some interesting material to work with. But in their current form, the tapes serve as a nice memento from days gone by. Like my high school journals, these videos remind me of who I was and show me how much I've changed. And at the very least, it was worth it to see the clip where one friend told me, "I don't know when you're going to watch this, but know that you were loved here."

Watching the videos didn't make me want to go to Reunion any more than I already did, but they provided me with a reunion-type experience. This year, that's enough for me.

Living Here in Alan Town

2011-05-31T07:00:00.005-04:00

In the classic Murray Head song, there's the lyric "One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble." That's the basic plot of The Hangover Part II, in which the Wolfpack, in Thailand for Stu's (Ed Helms) wedding, wake up in Bangkok and can't remember anything that happened the night before. If you're thinking, "Isn't that basically the same exact plot as the first Hangover movie? How could that happen again?" then you're right. But if you like the characters and the movie's funny, then the plot's not exactly important. So let's move on, then, shall we?

Full disclosure: I'm not the world's biggest fan of the original Hangover. It had its moments, but to me, it's just not the instant classic it's been hyped up to be. This sequel is of similar quality. The novelty of the situation's gone, so the filmmakers have no choice but to ratchet up the raunch and take it to new extremes. Of course, that's after the guys wake up. For some odd reason, it takes a long time to get to that point. Why the filmmakers spend so much time establishing the film's premise this second time around I don't know, but it's a bummer.

To be sure, Hangover 2 has its moments too, but some of them you'll feel like you've seen before. There's a bit involving Stu and a stripper (again), and while you can predict what's going to happen a mile away, the payoff (if you can call it that) is both gross and hysterical. That scene is an exception; there's nothing quite as funny in the entire rest of the film. In fact, Hangover 2 has stretches where there aren't many laughs at all. Thankfully, Zach Galifianakis brings the awkward funny throughout the film. It's his lines that you'll be quoting all summer (that, or the lyrics to Stu's song — yes, that's another bit that carries over to the sequel).

So in the end, is The Hangover Part II worth seeing? It's less enjoyable than the first film, it's predictable, and Bangkok ... well, let's just say you won't want to travel there any time soon. But it's still funny at parts, and the Wolfpack is fun to hang with for two hours. So I'm giving The Hangover Part II a B–.

My Summer 2011 To-Do List

2011-05-30T07:00:00.009-04:00

Last week, one of my Twitter pals published her summer to-do list, and I thought to myself, "Self, that's a great idea. Why didn't I think of that?" So, in the spirit of "Memorial Day is the first day of summer," here are some things I'd like to do before the weather turns cold, in no particular order:

Walk a whole lot. Specifically, around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, but anywhere I can get my legs moving is fine with me. And if, by the end of summer, the walk should turn into a jog, then all the better. (What? A guy can dream, can't he?)
Take a day off from work and totally disconnect. Better yet, spend that day relaxing by a pool or on a beach somewhere.
Read two books (including Tina Fey's Bossypants, which I've already started). Given the pace at which I read, this is what you'd call a "stretch goal."
Spend time on the Cape. I've lived in Boston for 14 years (18 if you include college). How is it that I've never gone any farther down the Cape than the airport?
Take a Codzilla ride around Boston Harbor.
Have a very happy birthday. (Hint: It's one week away!)
Take my niece on her first Duck Tour. (My nephews will have to wait till they're older.)
Find somewhere I can go swimming regularly. Invitations and suggestions are welcome.
Compete in a pancake eat-off at In a Pickle. No kidding.
Eat Dairy Queen in Michigan City, Ind., and in Boston.
Not get sunburned. Again, this may be a stretch goal, given how easily (and frequently) I burn.
Go to at least one game at Fenway. Right now I have no tickets to any games. I'm open to invitations.
Eat as much corn on the cob and drink as much lemonade as possible.
Drive up to New Hampshire to visit my old summer camp. This is something I've wanted to do for years but have never actually done.
Enjoy. It's just that simple.

What's on your summertime to-do list?

Livin' Aqua de Vida

2011-05-23T07:30:00.005-04:00

You always hope it's great when beloved characters return to the big screen after an absence. Remember how good it felt to see Woody and Buzz again last summer in Toy Story 3? Well, when Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow — excuse me, Captain Jack Sparrow — reappears on screen at the start of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the first Pirates film in four years, you can't help but smile. His creation is so full of whimsy, style, and swagger, and while Depp's performances in the series have always been fun, the movies themselves have been hit and miss, with none able to recapture the delight of the first, The Curse of the Black Pearl.

So the good news right up front is that On Stranger Tides is more in line with At World's End, the third film, than it is with Dead Man's Chest. This latest film is less bloated, less filled with special effects (obvious ones, anyway, like characters with fish faces), and more fun and exciting than these films probably should be at this point. Credit, yes, Depp for another enjoyable performance, but also credit the creative team (led by producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Rob Marshall, and screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio) for making the decision to streamline the story and excise distractions like Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley's Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann — but not Geoffrey Rush's still-fun Captain Barbossa.

In Stranger Tides, Captain Jack goes in search of the Fountain of Youth. Along the way, he reunites with Angelica (Penélope Cruz), his former lover and the daughter of the ruthless pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), who forces Jack to join his crew. Also on the quest are the Spanish and British monarchies, with Barbossa heading up the latter's efforts. And yes, there are mermaids thrown in too.

Marshall shows a competency for directing a big film of this type, with one thrilling sword fight or chase after another. The action moves swiftly, and the film clocks in at a long but not overly-so two hours and 20 minutes. The screenplay isn't challenging, but it's not silly either, and Depp's now-routine schtick doesn't feel tired. In fact, with new characters to play off, and a new obstacle to surmount (i.e., his romantic feelings for Angelica), he gets some welcome brand-new material. Oh, and the film's in 3D too — and IMAX, if you wish, as I did. Those effects largely are there to add depth to the pictures, but there are some fun, though gratuitous, effects.

Still, it's the familiar elements that make Stranger Tides worth seeing: The chemistry between Depp and Rush, the rousing theme and score by Hans Zimmer, the gorgeous cinematography, rousing action scenes, the return of Keith Richards as Jack's father, and Johnny Depp's performance. Fork over your $10 and officially kick off your summer. Stranger Tides is a great time at the movies. It made me say, "Yo ho!" so I'm giving it a strong B.

Maid of Dishonor

2011-05-12T13:00:00.002-04:00

Like going to a friend of your girlfriend's wedding, the movie Bridesmaids goes on too long and it's filled with all kinds of jokes that she may find funny, but at which you barely crack a smile. Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by star Kristen Wiig, the film tells the story of Annie, a single woman whose luck only gets worse when her best friend from childhood, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), gets engaged. Forced to deal with a motley group of fellow bridesmaids (including an ultracompetitive one who wants to be maid of honor), Annie finds herself and Lillian drifting apart. Chick flick? You betcha. And as noted, the film just goes on waaaaaay too long. Thankfully, this review will keep it short. I'm giving Bridesmaids a C–.

Leave It to The Beaver

2011-05-11T06:00:00.003-04:00

It would be tempting to see The Beaver and want to draw parallels between the film's plot and star Mel Gibson's last couple years. After all, the film tells the story of a man who reaches bottom and finds an unusual method of snapping out of it and reconnecting with friends and family. But that would be too easy ... and perhaps more importantly, I'll bet even Mel Gibson, crazy as he is, wouldn't go so far as to talk through a hand puppet. Yes, that's the plot here: Walter, a depressed husband and father (Gibson), finds a beaver hand puppet in a dumpster and adopts it as his sole means of communicating with those around him. (Yes, really.)

Indeed, The Beaver tells a fascinating and sometimes amusing story. And for the first two-thirds of the film it's actually quite endearing. Gibson's tender performance is so good that you can forget about his troubled recent past. Jodie Foster, who also directed the film, Anton Yelchin, and Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence also turn in some nice work. But then, just as you've started to really sympathize with Walter, the film takes a bizarre turn that just about derails it. Will Walter ever be cured enough to rejoin society without the aid of the puppet? Will Gibson ever shake his own issues? Neither answer is clear. Let's just hope The Beaver is Gibson's first step toward recovery. It's a better-than-expected first step that I'm giving a B–.

Lucky Man

2011-05-10T06:00:00.004-04:00

The truth is, life is pretty good for me these days. I've got two young nephews and a niece who just turned 3 years old. I've been busy, I'm happy, and the weather is turning nicer. Oh, and last week at this time I was in Captiva Island, Florida, on another trip for work. Already this year I've been to Las Vegas and Key Biscayne for conferences. And this was the second time I've been to Captiva for this particular conference.

If you want to know what I learned at the conference in Captiva, then go check out my work blog. What I want to say here is that the trip reminded me of just how lucky I am ... to have a job I like, in an industry with such great people that I really enjoy spending time with ... smart people who are also very funny, who have tremendous passion for what they do, and who genuinely care about their customers and doing right by them. It's an industry that's fascinating and interesting, and on the cusp of technology and communication trends. All that, sure. But as I sat working by the pool, enjoying the sunny, 90-degree weather, and as I rode on a gorgeous sunset cruise ... as I posed for pictures with my colleagues, and as I made plans to see some of them again soon, I felt lucky that I have a job that affords me the opportunity to go on trips like these, with such fun people, where I can represent my employer and be productive, and also enjoy myself. It was a great trip. Perfect weather, engaging and provocative conference sessions, really nice accommodations, good food, great people, and well worth my time. No complaints from me, other than the fact that I had to go home after three days.

When things get a bit stressful or annoying, I just need to look back on my trip to Captiva and remind myself that yes, I'm a pretty lucky guy.

It's Mission In-Freakin'-Sanity

2011-05-09T06:00:00.005-04:00

It's the rare film series that makes it to a fifth entry and still manages to entertain. And who'da thunk it that the Fast and Furious series would be a series that did both? Fast Five reunites original cast members Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, and (the gorgeous) Jordana Brewster, and shifts the action to Rio, where the team schemes to pull off a heist involving the city's largest crime lord. New to the series is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as an FBI agent hot on their trail. (No wonder Walker and Diesel's characters bring back other former F&F stars, including Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Tyrese Gibson, who both appeared in the second film).

Fast Five starts out with a bang, as the gang rescues Diesel's character, Dom, as he's bussed off to prison. It hardly slows down from there, with car chase after car chase, lots of running through the favelas, and plenty of gunplay. To call the whole thing a testosterone fest would be putting it mildly. In fact, given the film's location and the target audience, I'm surprised there's not more action that takes place at the beach, so we could see some scantily clad women. Oh well. But despite that, and an often silly screenplay and wooden acting, Fast Five keeps humming along in entertaining, fun fashion, and climaxes with an impossible and exciting chase through the streets of Rio that keeps you on the edge of your seat. If Fast Five is, in fact, the first "summer movie" of the year, then we're in for a very enjoyable season. I'm giving this film a B.

P.S. Be sure to stay through the end credits. Looks like there's going to be a sixth film sometime soon.

Sell Out

2011-04-25T05:00:00.006-04:00

It's not exactly breaking news that advertising and marketing is everywhere. Anyone who's visited Times Square knows this, as do the millions of viewers who watch American Idol every week. (Seriously, who hasn't cringed multiple times when seeing the judges drink from their Coca-Cola glasses or the finalists perform in another Ford commercial?) So Morgan Spurlock's latest film, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold doesn't exactly shock. Nor does it present new revelations. However, it does entertain. Like his previous film Super-Size Me, Spurlock handles his topic with humor and self-awareness.

Did I tell you the film's title yet? Sorry, I missed the most important part. It's actually called POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. The "plot" of the movie is that Spurlock wants to illustrate the absurdity of the current commercial climate by having his movie funded entirely by sponsors — who eventually include such brands as Hyatt, JetBlue, Old Navy, Merrell, and Sheetz (POM bought the rights to be an above-the-title sponsor). Will doing so, and including their products in the film in various obvious and not so obvious ways, make him a sell-out, or will he be able to subvert the concept enough to maintain his integrity? Interviews with Ralph Nader and other consumer experts are peppered throughout as counsel to Spurlock and commentary to the audience. Spurlock also travels to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where outdoor advertising was recently banned, Coral Springs, Fla., where advertisements are hung on high school ball fields and in school buses, to make his point.

But what is that point? Other than the laughs and the digs at Spurlock's sponsors (and those who spurned him), there's not much to be gained by seeing Greatest Movie. That brands are hungry to put their name and logo wherever it'll get eyeballs isn't exactly revelatory. And it's not exactly ironic that in satirizing how blurry the lines are between content and marketing, Spurlock becomes a marketer himself. After all, money talks. When he plasters his image around Coral Springs High School because the school is short on funds, it's both amusing and sad. What are we, the viewers, to take away from all this? Resignation, at best. Advertising isn't going away any time soon. As Nader says, the only way to escape it is to sleep.

The tragedy for me is that lost in the film's larger message is the insightful answer a shop owner in Sao Paulo gives Spurlock when asked how he's marketing his store differently now that he can't put up advertisements. He says he relies on a great product and word of mouth, and that it's working. That's because those concepts and a notable customer experience are what cut through all the advertising and marketing noise these days. So on that note, I'm going to tell you to disregard all the TV commercials you may see for this film and listen to me. I give Greatest Movie a B; it's entertaining, but not as insightful as it could have been.

You're Sleeping Your Lives Away

2011-04-04T04:00:00.007-04:00

Dear Marc and Ian,

I know how tough it must be to be two months old. After all, I was a baby once too, and I lived through it with your big sister, Abby. All you do is sleep, eat, cry, and poop, over and over again. Without even saying what you want, people pamper you and attend to your every need. Yes, I know. It's very hard work, and that's why you're always sleeping. But I have to tell you, boys: sleeping all the time means you're missing out on some really cool stuff.

For example, yesterday your mommy and daddy threw you a big "welcome to the world" brunch party. All kinds of people came to meet you — more than 100 relatives, friends, other children (lots of other children), and politicians were there. Yes, politicians. "Uncle" Joe, the senator, and "aunt" Hadassah were actually in the building (I saw them). There was a delicious spread of food: Cinnamon swirl French toast, blintzes, mac and cheese, lox, etc. There was even a tasty cake from Crumbs, your mommy's favorite cupcake place (mine too). Your big sister wore such a pretty dress, and she was beaming with pride whenever people asked about her little brothers. The place was decorated so well, with fancy tablecloths (you can thank your grandma for those), and balloons, and a personalized chocolate bar at every seat. Some beautiful things were said about where you got your names from. There was a lot of love in the room. People were happy and seemed to have a really good time. It was truly a special day. Your mommy and daddy did such a nice job putting it all together.

And because you guys slept through most of it, I just wanted you to know that you really missed out. Thankfully, I ate enough of the brunch food for the three of us, so don't worry about that. And I took a bunch of pictures for your mommy and daddy, so there's documentation of how great it all was. But next time, you're gonna have to be more involved.

Wake up!

Love,
Uncle Martin

No Man Can Walk Away from His Own Story

2011-03-29T05:00:00.002-04:00

From out of the desert, a man with no name arrives in a run-down town in the Old West. And though that sounds like the plot of a stereotypical western, Rango takes the cliches and tweaks them. For one thing, this is no ordinary man; in fact, it's not a man at all. The title character is a chameleon who can't blend in because he has such a penchant for sticking out. And his eccentricities lead to him becoming the sheriff of and savior for a town called Dirt, where the residents are down to their last drop of water.

With a voice by Johnny Depp and direction by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean), Rango is, unsurprisingly, a whole lot of fun. But it's also an affectionate tribute to other films that clearly served as inspiration, including High Noon, Chinatown, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. There's even a "cameo" by Clint Eastwood (though he's voiced by Timothy Olyphant). The colorful, vibrant animation by special effects powerhouse Industrial Light & Magic (this is the company's first full-length film) is nothing short of spectacular. We're talking Pixar-level detail and quality. Rango features some distinctive, albeit unattractive, characters. It's also got an enjoyable "Greek chorus" of birds, and music by Hans Zimmer. Good fun, indeed.

Is Rango for kids? Well, despite all the color and humor in the film, the kids around me were fidgety when I saw it. Could have been the 1:45 running time. The references definitely went over their heads, and the plot couldn't have been very relevant to them. But I enjoyed the film, and walked away impressed and amused. I'm giving Rango a B+.

Accurately Named

2011-03-28T05:00:00.003-04:00

The difference between average movies and very good ones usually comes down to one word: characters. If the filmmakers can't make you believe that the people on screen are real, that they have actual emotions and feelings, and if you don't care what happens to them, then chances are good that they're overcompensating with high-concept gimmicks, lame jokes, or special effects. There's no need for such things in Win Win, a film that's special because it's got great characters you can't help but like and root for.

Paul Giamatti stars as Mike, a sad sack New Jersey lawyer, who is struggling to make ends meet. Through some questionable actions, Mike becomes the legal guardian for one of his clients, which nets him $1,500 a month. When the client's grandson, Kyle (Alex Shaffer), runs away from home, Mike takes him in and lets him practice with the local high school's wrestling team, for whom Mike is a volunteer coach. Turns out, Kyle is a skilled wrestler, and soon the team's losing streak is turned around. But will Mike's changed fortunes last, or will his choices catch up with him?

Win Win is just that: It's a well written, well acted dramedy that rewards the viewer from start to finish. Performances, from Giamatti (playing the type of role he does best), Amy Ryan (as his wife), Bobby Cannavale (earning laughs as Mike's best friend), and Melanie Lynskey (as Kyle's drug-addict mother), are all good. And director Thomas McCarthy's screenplay is authentic and tight.

These are characters we know, and who we want to see do well. Thankfully, the movie does right by them, and that's what makes Win Win a real winner. I'm giving it a B+.

He Can See Clearly Now

2011-03-21T06:00:00.002-04:00

Nancy Reagan and South Park's Mr. Mackey would not be fans of Limitless, the new movie in which Bradley Cooper takes a drug that makes him smarter, faster ... better. Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a struggling writer in New York, who is introduced to the aforementioned smart pill, and is instantly able to write, predict stocks, outsmart others, dress better, and more. I'd let you predict what happens from there, but to its credit, the film's plot is not entirely predictable. Limitless is fast-moving and generally enjoyable, but I've gotta admit that it feels a bit too self-aware, like it's trying too hard to be a hip and cool version of Flowers for Algernon or something. There are worse ways to spend your time, but I'm only going to give Limitless a B.

More Free Stuff Thanks to Twitter

2011-03-01T05:00:00.003-05:00

You may recall that last summer, I used Twitter to get my entire office free Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Aside from it being a great marketing program for Ben & Jerry's, it was lots of fun for me. To this day, I use the story as just one reason why I think Twitter is worthwhile. I mean, how can you argue with getting free stuff?

Well, guess what: It's happened again.

Last Thursday, I tweeted that an article on Esquire.com made me want to host an Oscar party. A few minutes later, I got a random reply back from the folks at Pretzel Crisps: "You host the party we'll bring the snacks!" All I had to do was send them my address and they'd make a delivery. After a couple tweets back and forth, and a little bit of skepticism from me, I confirmed that the offer was legit. Turns out Pretzel Crisps (which are yummy, low-fat chip/cracker-style pretzels) are monitoring social channels and are swooping in when they see someone in need of a snack. It's a great way to spread the word and get a little buzz for the product. And hey, it worked for Ben & Jerry's. So with all that in mind, I arranged to have a delivery a couple days later; as Jacqueline wrote, "We really want to help u kick the case of the Mondays!" And sure enough, that's what happened.

Mid afternoon yesterday, Jacqueline arrived at my office with a shopping bag and a box of Pretzel Crisps. All different flavors, too: Original, Buffalo Wing, Everything, Sesame, and Garlic Parmesan — about 20 bags total. (No Cinnamon Toast, though. What a bummer.) It was plenty for me, and plenty for me to share with my coworkers — many of whom were impressed that I was once again able to use Twitter for personal gain.

But it's not all about me getting free stuff, is it? I mean, after all, Pretzel Crisps is getting a bit of mileage too. I tweeted about it on Thursday, so my more than 1,000 followers saw. Then, after the delivery, I took a picture and tweeted and posted to Facebook. I'm sharing some of the bags with people who want to try, and they'll tell others. And now I've written a blog post, which I'll tweet and post to Facebook. So as far as Pretzel Crisps is concerned, they've gotten a bit of "free" marketing from me. All it cost them was a few bags of crisps. Point is, everyone's happy and it's all because of Twitter. Oh, and did I mention how good these crisps are? Really, they're quite tasty. I recommend them. Seriously.

Of course, now I'm really curious about how far I can take this "free stuff thanks to Twitter" thing. Apple, are you out there? What are the chances I can score a free iPad ...

All kidding aside, though, gotta give kudos to the folks at Pretzel Crisps. Great campaign, nice execution. I'm happy to help spread the word.

Movies I've Seen (2010 Releases)

2011-02-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

(click on the link for my review)

1. VALENTINE'S DAY

2. SHUTTER ISLAND

3. ALICE IN WONDERLAND

4. GREEN ZONE

5. SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE

6. HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

7. GREENBERG

8. THE GHOST WRITER

9. DATE NIGHT

10. IRON MAN 2

11. PLEASE GIVE

12. GET HIM TO THE GREEK

13. SOLITARY MAN

14. TOY STORY 3

15. KNIGHT AND DAY

16. GROWN UPS

17. JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK

18. CYRUS

19. DESPICABLE ME

20. INCEPTION

21. SALT

22. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

23. WINNEBAGO MAN

24. DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS

25. THE OTHER GUYS

26. THE EXPENDABLES

27. EAT PRAY LOVE

28. PIRANHA 3D

29. THE AMERICAN

30. GOING THE DISTANCE

31. EASY A

32. THE TOWN

33. WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

34. CATFISH

35. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (3x)

36. BURIED

37. WAITING FOR "SUPERMAN"

38. SECRETARIAT

39. IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

40. RED

41. JACKASS 3D

42. WELCOME TO THE RILEYS

43. DUE DATE

44. 127 HOURS

45. MORNING GLORY

46. LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

47. BURLESQUE

48. THE FIGHTER

49. BLACK SWAN

50. I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS

51. TRON: LEGACY

52. THE KING'S SPEECH

53. LITTLE FOCKERS

54. THE TOURIST

55. SOMEWHERE

56. TRUE GRIT

57. RABBIT HOLE

58. HOW DO YOU KNOW

59. BLUE VALENTINE

60. THE COMPANY MEN

Will Oscar Voters Get Social?

2011-02-26T18:30:00.006-05:00

A little more than a month ago, this year's Oscar ceremony was looking like it'd be a big snooze. Again. Not including the unpredictability of hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco, we knew what was going to happen awards-wise: The Social Network had taken all the major critics prizes and the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture (Drama). It, along with director David Fincher, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, and composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, seemed assured of cruising to the Oscars knowing they'd be winners that night too. Same goes for Colin Firth and Natalie Portman, and David Seidler, screenwriter of The King's Speech.

But then The King's Speech received 12 Oscar nominations and started winning major guild prizes — including the SAG and DGA — and the tide was turned. But when Social Network won the editors' guild award, that may have turned the tide back; the editors are a reliable predictor of industry leanings for Best Picture. Now there are fewer sure things, even though pundits everywhere are predicting King's Speech to win Best Picture. Other races have gotten much closer as well, including Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. That's going to make for what I hope is a fun and exciting ceremony.

If you still haven't cast votes in your own Oscar pool, Firth, Portman, Sorkin, Seidler, Toy Story 3 for Best Animated Feature, and Inception for Best Visual Effects are all good, smart bets. My money's still on Social Network (my favorite movie of 2010) to win Best Picture, and I'm still pulling for Fincher, Reznor, and Ross to win their categories too. Want to know what else I'm picking? Here's my ballot:

Yes, I'm really excited about this year's Oscar show. I saw 60 movies last year. My hopes are high. I wrote a blog post about the Oscars for work. I'm planning to sit in front of the TV starting at around 6 p.m. for all the pre-show coverage, and I'll likely stay up to catch some post-show action too. (Yes, I'm expecting to be tired on Monday.) Want to know my reactions to what's happening? I'll probably be tweeting my thoughts during the show. Oscar night is my Super Bowl, my Election Night, and I'm looking forward to a real prize fight — hoping that The Social Network comes out on top, of course.

Who are you rooting for?