Eastern Promises

Eastern Promises, the latest film from director David Cronenberg, uses the Russian underworld as a starting point for exploring family and loyalty, involvement and indifference, and ultimately life and death.

The film opens with two significant events: a killing at a Russian barber's in London and a 14-year-old Ukranian girl, Tatiana, giving birth then dying. Midwife Anna (Naomi Watts), a little fragile after losing her own baby, is determined to find the newborn's relatives. Tatiana has a diary written in Russian, so she enlists her Russian Uncle Stepan (a sometimes comic, sometimes racist character played by Jerzy Skolimowski) to translate the diary, which leads to the Russian mob.

The head of the mob is Seymon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a man who appears familial and a follower of tradition in public, but lethal and unforgiving in private. (His attempts to appear casual while finding out where Anna lives and works are unnerving.) Seymon's son Kirill (Vincent Cassel) is a borderline psychotic drunk on power he inherited rather than earned. Kirill is watched over by Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), a largely silent chauffeur who cleans up Kirill's messes and quietly suffers the abuse and lack of respect from those above him.

Nikolai finds himself helping Anna, while urging her to let it go and warning her of the danger. As Anna learns more about Tatiana's incredibly rough life, she finds her situation becoming more perilous for herself, her family, and the baby she tries to help. Meanwhile Seymon has more and more difficulty because of Kirill, while Nikolai is torn between protecting Kirill, helping Anna, and obeying Seymon.

Eastern Promises is a bleak look at a world where public respectability masks private horrors. Cronenberg directs his cast with a steady hand, leading his actors to combine their desperation and their convictions. This is a very unglamorous look at crime and a hard look at ethnic culture in a foreign land -- Seymon's success is in stark contrast to Tatiana's horrors -- and Eastern Promises is finally a powerful, thoughtful film.

Overall Grade: B+

Reviewed by James Lynch

Kiln People - David Brin (2002)

David Brin is a consistently entertaining and thought provoking author, one who is not afraid to tackle the big issues. In Kiln People he takes on race, religion, immortality, what it means to be human and the nature of the soul. No small task, that, but Brin accomplishes it with great aplomb and very nearly no missteps.

The book is set in a moderately near future world, albeit one that has been completely transformed by "dittotech" the ability to literally imprint the psyche, or perhaps the soul, onto a clay golem which can then go and perform for a day, returning to "inload" the experience into the organic original. In this world, people can live their lives in parallel. Brin clearly spent time and effort speculating what effect this would have on society and culture, with the result that the world is internally consistent and believable, once that initial postulate is accepted. One central shift is that with cheap(ish) mass duplication possible, second best is obsolete. If you want to hire the best, say, carpenter, you can. So can I, and so can everyone else. All at the same time. Most people therefore are on the public dole in one way or another. Those with unique skillsets are the only employed.

One such is Albert Morris, a private detective (or "ditective") who brings his unique talents to his specific niche. Drawn into a spiralling conspiracy by his pursuit of a "ditnapper" and copyright violator, he finds himself facing off against crazed idustrialists and mad scientists in up to five or six bodies at a time, each of whom wrestles in his own (one can't say its own, even if they are clay) way with issues of individuality and mortality - and morality.

The plot swoops and turns diving into corners of a society which isn't ours, but mirrors it in many ways. The final resolution is suitably epic, if faintly unsatisfying in one or two small ways. The journey, however, is eminently satisfying.

One of the great things about science-fiction is that by positing worlds which can be as "unrealistic" as the author wishes, he or she can look at deeper truths from a different perspective and without some of the emotional baggage that accompanies more realistic fiction. Sure, in Kiln People the underclass is artificial and explicitly non-human, but that non-human argument has been used many times before (and is to this day) to excuse the oppression of races or religions or nationalities. By twisting issues from their normal orientation, prejudice is avoiding, allowing tolerance to slip in undetected. That is why science-fiction, good science-fiction at least, is almost always subversive - it challenges the status quo by changing the perspective.

And this is good sci-fi.

Overall Grade: A-

Paperweight - Stephen Fry (1992)

Stephen Fry may be most familiar to American audiences as Jeeves in the recent Jeeves and Wooster series (also featuring Hugh Laurie, now famous from and as House) or his many appearances on various Britcoms, notably Blackadder, but he is also a writer of no little skill. This book is a collection of essays originally written for newspapers or periodicals and transcripts of short pieces aired on BBC radio. Fry himself describes the collection "a kind of literary guacamole into which the reader may from time to time wish to dip the tortilla chip of his curiosity." While admirably phrased, I suggest the book is more like a box of assorted, unlabeled chocolates where one may find an orange cream of delightful whimsy or a firm caramel of social commentary both wrapped in a smooth chocolate coating of persiflage. Sometimes however, beneath that some coating one finds the disgusting nutty-nougaty stuff of a "clunker" or the stale, unidentifiable goo of an overstretched metaphor.

Having said that, the bits that are good are very good indeed, and outnumber the poor bits by a huge margin. There are a few turns of phrase that are positively brilliant, and the short play Latin! or Tobacco and Boys is an obscene riot. The essays are all short, which does reward the sort of intermittent reading-style Fry himself suggests. I find that I prefer his novels, but the jewels in this collection are well worth the overall unevenness.

Overall Grade: B

Vieux Farka Touré (World Village, 2006)

Before his untimely passing last year, Malian singer/guitarist Ali Farka Touré was one of the most widely revered musicians on the African continent. Now his son Vieux Farka Touré is carrying the torch, with the release of his self-titled debut CD. Vieux Farka Touré is a promising work from a young performer who certainly appears capable of making his own mark on the music of his homeland.

The nation of Mali has produced its share of fine guitarists. Habib Koité could hold his own trading licks with any other acoustic guitarist on the planet, and Amadou Bagayoko of Amadou & Mariam possesses a mastery of the electric guitar made all the more remarkable by his blindness. In terms of technical proficiency, the younger Touré is not quite a match for those two. However, he makes up for it with a strong sense of rhythm. On songs like the opener "Sangare" and "Ma Hine Cocore," Touré cranks out some grooves that are hard to resist. He gets some high profile help on his debut as well. His father contributed some guitar on a few tracks, in what turned out to be some of his final recordings. Toumani Diabaté, a mentor to Vieux and a virtuoso on the traditional African instrument called the kora, plays on a pair of instrumental duets, of which "Touré de Niafunké" is particularly good.

Certainly fans of Malian guitar music will want to give Vieux Farka Touré a listen. For those who aren't familiar with the style, there are plenty of performers worth checking out -- I've already mentioned Habib Koité and Amadou & Mariam, and of course there's always Vieux's father -- but Vieux Farka Touré has already earned the right to be mentioned in that group, and seems likely to get better from here.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

Cane, CBS, Season One, 2007

Probably the most anticipated show this season (I use that term carefully because I've heard that phrase on several networks, all for different shows!) is CBS' "Cane." This show is an hour long weekly drama that is a continuing series. In my view, CBS has needed a good continuing drama since "Dallas" went off in the 80's. With "The Sopranos" finally coming to an end, of some sort, the time was ripe for them to offer something to fill the void.

The plotline revolves around a Cuban family, the Duque's, that have sugar fields (hence the title), which they manufacture into rum. With our increasingly Hispanic demographic, and the success of the show "Ugly Betty, " it makes sense for the show to be so culturally rich with a Latino bent. The setting is in Southern Florida, with the clubs of South Beach, Miami already figuring into scenes. I could also picture a side trip or two into Havana, Cuba before the series concludes.

In the series opener, the family's patriarch, Pancho, played by Hector Elizondo, is told that he has six months left to live. He decides to step down from running the company to enjoy the time he has left. He has three children: Frank, Isabel, and Henry.

Frank, the eldest, wants to follow in his father's steps, and to focus on the more lucrative rum business. Unfortunately, with his playboy lifestyle, he is less than focused to run the family business.

Isabel is not directly involved in the day to day family business, but her husband, Alex Vega is. Alex is a Cuban immigrant who was brought to the states as an orphan. He is resourceful, and appears to have a Machiavellian philosophy of life, and the Tony Soprano/JR Ewing rulebook. In a surprise move, Alex is made the CEO of the company, passing over Frank. Can we see the seeds being sown for a conflict?

The youngest child is Henry. He has little interest in sugar, but much in running the family nightclub in Miami. He has more ambition than business sense, but there will be plenty of storylines as he learns the ropes of the family business. I relate him to Cousin Christopher of the Sopranos, or Bobby Ewing of Dallas.

My one criticism of the show, is that I recorded it, but on the playback, I had some issues understanding what they were saying. Maybe it was my machine, but I hope that the sound editing was good, because several of the scenes were in Spanish, or heavily accented English. It's good to get the flavor in, but I shouldn't have to struggle to understand what's going on. Then again, maybe it was my new recording device.

After watching the series opener of "Cane," I will say that I'm hooked, and this is probably the best new drama of the Fall season. I think that while the drama is formulaic, there are enough timeless themes like family and power to keep viewers engaged for at least a few seasons. I'm predicting that "Cane" will do very well in the ratings, so join in at 10 pm on CBS on Tuesdays, or online.

Preliminary Grade: B+

--Jonas

In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)

America's race to reach the moon is an inspiring one; it is also a pretty familiar story. These two elements are present in In the Shadow of the Moon, a documentary about the Apollo preparation for, and journeys to, the moon.

In the Shadow of the Moon is composed of two elements: footage from the times and events around the moon missions, and interviews with the surviving members of the NASA program. Director David Sington lets the material speak for itself, not asking questions or injecting himself into the material. He may be a little too much in awe of the actual missions, as the world around the mission -- the social upheaval of the 1960s, the rivalry with the Russians to reach the moon -- is treated very briefly, as if he's rushing back to the details of NASA.

The people interviewed range from famous astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong to the ground crew and engineers who worked tirelessly to make sure the astronauts reached the moon safely -- and made it back alive. They are a varied bunch, discussing their work and the program with gravity, interest, and often humor, and they all convey a sense of certainty in the goal of the space program.

In the Shadow of the Moon is a little long -- a line near the end suggests the documentary was ending, yet it went on for 20 more minutes -- and much of the story is familiar, whether to the folks who lived during the Apollo missions or fans of the film Apollo 13. It also offers a detailed look at the space program from the inside.

Overall Grade: B

Reviewed by James Lynch

Gossip Girl, Season One, The CW

Television has certain recurring genre of shows that periodically get updated, like the police drama, and the family comedy. Following in the lineage of "90210," and more recently, "The OC," is the CW's latest attempt at the genre of the teen drama, "Gossip Girl."

The idea is reportedly to take what was to take the stereotypical teens of fox's "The OC," and to move them to the East coast, and give them even more money. They all attend a preppy upper end and exclusive high school, (which thankfully is coed as firstly, it would remind me too much of my own high school, and secondly, it really wouldn't make for compelling television. Alas, I digress). Anyhow, much of the conflict comes from two rival teenage fems, better known as Serena and Blair who both want to be "leader of the pack," and the relationship with their boyfriends.

I'm just about the antithesis of a Manhattanite, but with that disclaimer made, I must say that compared to the sunny beaches and BMW convertibles of California, at least as presented on "Gossip Girl," the city just doesn't compare. For example, if these kids are so seriously rich, would they really be taking a dirty city bus to this exclusive school? I'm sure Trump's youngin's go first class in a stretch limo, and not with a pocketful of tokens jangling in their school uniform pockets.

The title of the show comes from the blog that the students all are glued to that discusses the going ons of the top social tier of students. It's not clear who the blogger is, and I suspect that it will be quite a while before that piece of info gets revealed, if ever. Technologies like cell phones, and instant messaging have changed our world, and urban teenagers have heavily embraced these technologies. I'm pleased to see a show that tries to incorporates this experience into the drama.

It remains to be seen how compelling "Gossip Girl" will be as the season develops. I plan on watching at least a few more episodes. Of note, it is filmed on location in NYC. Check it out on Wednesdays at 9 PM, EST, on The CW ( formerly known as channel 11 for those with an antenna), or online here.

Grade: B-

--Jonas

Georgia Rule (2007)

I always enjoy a movie directed by Garry Marshall, because first and foremost, this guy knows how to tell a good story. His typical film is a tight, character driven drama, and Georgia Rule is a prototypical example of this type of film.

Complementing this director are three generations of Hollywood's leading ladies: Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, and Lindsay Lohan. Rounding out the cast are Dermot Mulroney, and Garrett Hedlund (who I first saw in Eragon). Certainly more than enough talent to make a good film.

The drama focuses on the three generations of women, and the conflict between Grandmother, mother, and granddaughter. Fonda plays Georgia, a domineering matriarch who lives life according to a strict protocol, hence the title Georgia Rule. This has driven her daughter, Lilly (Huffman) off from the family homestead in Idaho, to California where she is married to a high powered attorney. For the summer, Lilly decides that her daughter, Rachel (Lohan) has become too much to handle, and the plan is to drop her off for a while before she packs up to go east for college.

The film goes from conflict to conflict. We begin with Rachel walking outside her mother's car as they approach the town in Idaho as she prematurely parts ways with her mother. Lohan is perfectly cast as the rambunctious "rebel without a clue," as she personifies in real life. Next, Rachel and Georgia have different ideas of a summer vacation when her grandma signs up her to work at the local vets office. It's kind of funny to see the townspeople getting their medical care from the local vet, Simon, played by Mulroney. (As an aside, while this may seem ridiculous at first, the town is kind of small, and the nearest doctor may have been miles away. I also know more than one MD that was fed up with their vet bills and got meds for their animals, so while not encouraging this, I could see it happening the other way). We also have the makings of a love triangle as Rachel attempts to seduce the local Mormon teen, Harlan (Hedlund).

Lest you think the entire film is formulaic, and just small town idyllic Idaho living, we next take a turn into the more serious. Rachel blurts out that she has been sexually abused, by her father. This shocking revelation, coming from one so rebellious and not exactly reliable, then forms the basis of the rest of the drama. Her mother returns from California to get to the bottom of things, followed by the father. Marshall expertly directs this so that for the rest of the film, it's purposely fuzzy if the allegation is true or not up until the very end.

Georgia Rule is a tight drama, that kept my attention throughout. The dialogue is well done, and each of the characters is multidimensional- there are no stereotypes here, even among the lesser characters. This film takes on the difficult subject matter of child sexual abuse by a family member, and gives it a dignified treatment, which is far more common than many would want to admit. While this is not exactly "family friendly entertainment," it does make for a moving motion picture. Check it out when you get a chance.

Overall Grade: A

--Jonas

The Smithereens, Meet The Smithereens (Koch, 2007)

The Smithereens gained a considerable amount of attention in the late eighties and early nineties for their ability to make quality modern rock while remaining true to their classic rock roots. They had a run of radio-friendly rockers like "Blood and Roses," "Behind a Wall of Sleep," and "Only a Memory," but eventually the hits dried up. Now Pat DiNizio and the lads have re-invented themselves, for an album at least, as a Beatles tribute band. Meet The Smithereens! reproduces in its entirety, from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to "Not a Second Time,", the 1964 Capitol LP Meet The Beatles! which brought Beatlemania across the Atlantic for the first time.

Remaking an album song for song seems like an odd concept, the same way that remaking a classic film came across as odd before it became commonplace. I think you can make it work, though, if you hold on to what was good about the original and show it the proper respect as you present the material to an audience that won't all be familiar with it. I think The Smithereens have succeeded in that regard here. The band members are old enough to have seen the first appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show when they were kids, and their collective destiny was probably set right then and there. The purpose of Meet The Smithereens!, then, appears to be to capture some of the spark The Beatles instilled in them and bring it into the present day.

Despite DiNizio's vocal limitations relative to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the musical performances throughout Meet The Smithereens! are solid. And of course, the selection of material is impeccable. Given that The Beatles' recorded output only got better as the sixties progressed, it's easy for somebody too young to have lived through it to forget that their early music was really good too. I suppose I should thank The Smithereens for the reminder.

Will Meet the Smithereens! make anybody forget the original versions of the songs? No, but I really don't think that's their intent. Like fine performers of traditional music, The Smithereens are putting their own stamp on the music that inspired them, in the hopes of directing the attention of younger listeners not just to them, but to The Beatles as well. So I think there's a place for recordings like this one if they at least do the originals justice, which Meet The Smithereens! does.

Overall grade: B+

reviewed by Scott

Blood and Honor (1996)

After enjoying WEB Griffin's Honor Bound, I moved on to the second novel in this series of three, Blood and Honor. This novel continues the plotline in a highly parallel fashion. Once again, it is set in 1943, in Argentina at the height of WW II. The Germans are coming to the realization that they probably are not going to win the war, and are preparing for the worst- that there will be serious reparations like at the end of the first World War. The plan is to secretly smuggle out some serious cash, and hide it for later use.

The main protagonist is Clete Frede, the almost retired Marine who has a fortune in both the US as the heir apparent to an oil fortune, and in Argentina as the heir apparent to his father's fortune which includes sizable land holdings. Once again, the Germans are sending in a supply ship to aid their Southern Atlantic submarine fleet that has menaced British and American shipping (apparently both Axis & Allies were trading with the Argentinians for wool, beef, and other staple products during the war).

While much of the storyline sounds very similar, this is a completely different novel. In a major (WARNING: Plot Spoiler!) twist, Clete's father gets assassinated very early on, giving Clete a huge inheritance, and a struggle as he delves into his father's life and gets the know the man he barely knew. Also, his girlfriend, Dorotea, announces she is pregnant. Much of the middle of the novel focuses on the pomp, circumstance, and ritual surrounding the funeral, and the planning of the wedding (an interesting point/counterpoint of life and death). It turns out that the father was also involved in planning a coup d'etat, and this comes to fruition in Blood and Honor as well (it would appear that Argentina has more regime changes than most other countries...).

Don't think that this book doesn't have any military content. Clete still works for the OSS, and is involved with planning and executing the mission of finding the disguised sub tender. To that end, he needs a plane. In typical military fashion, the hardware he wants (this) isn't available, but he gets something "just as good," (this, which you can see is a lot bigger) which ends up presenting its own set of challenges as he has no experience in the larger plane, and it's too big for the improvised dirt runway. Finally, at the end, just when I expected the sinking of the ship, this novel goes off in a Godfather direction, and goes for revenge in a matter of fact way.

This longish novel did take me a while to get through. It's also a little confusing as there are several lengthy formal names both of Spanish and German derivation that did slow me down at times (especially the German ones). It is an enjoyable break from the traditional war novel genre, yet it incorporates some of the essential elements and quite simply defies a neat category.
The prose is especially strong, with crisp details that paint a descriptive picture in a concise fashion which is one of Griffin's signature items. This author also incorporates, in italics, the individual characters thoughts that combine in both the third person, and first person point of view simultaneously, which few other authors even attempt, and even fewer successfully pull off. At times I feel like this Honor Bound Series is like reading a script for a television mini series, and I can't wait to read the conclusion, Secret Honor.

Overall Grade: B+

Reviewed by Jonas

Unaccompanied Minors (2006)

I remember two things about a childhood airplane ride to California. The first is that I was shocked to see a child flying all by their lonesome for one coast to the other. It was explained to me that for a surcharge of an adult fare, the child would be shepherded through the process to reach their destination. The second was that on this transcontinental flight, they actually had a buffet for the passengers to dine from. Wow, how the airlines have changed in our current era where they're charging for a soda or pillow!

This phenomenon of children flying without adults, coupled with the increasing use of the hub system by airline necessitating layovers become the basis of the film Unaccompanied Minors. Basically, a bunch of kids traveling at Christmas time end up in a Pennsylvania airport, and get snowed in. The airline's plan is to keep the kids together and safe in one location-the equivalent of a kid's warehouse with concrete walls and no windows. The children plot an escape from their overwhelmed chaperon, and end up running amuck among the airport buried in snow. It reminded me of Home Alone as the kids run off on their own and have side adventures in places like the unclaimed baggage center. There is also a side story of an environmentally conscious father who tries to take on the snow in a biodiesel car that is no match for the snow.


I found Unaccompanied Minors to have some humor value, but mostly on a tween level. The kids will enjoy this one a lot more than the adults as there is no higher level to the comedy, and the plot is too simplistic. If you've ever been stuck in an airport, (and who hasn't at this point?) there are some chuckles, but this was far from outrageously funny to me.

Overall Grade: C+

--Jonas

Prison Break, Season 3, Fox Television

I've been a big fan of Prison Break, FOX's sleeper hit that is now entering their third season. To recap, the first season focused on getting Lincoln out of the Fox River State Penitentiary. The second season was a wild chase across the US, and into Central America, concluding in Panama as the convicts fled from the long arm of American law.

For the third season, this time its Micheal Scofield that starts off behind bars, and Lincoln on the outside, the visa versa of how we started off this whole journey. He's in Sona, where only the worst in the Panamanian prison system go to. Even the guards are afraid to enter the anarchy inside. They basically exchange some food and water once a week for the bodies of anyone that died, and shoot any prisoners that try to make a run for it. Whatever goes on inside, their only mission is to keep it contained.

Additionally, in the prison are two previous pursuers: Alex, the drug abusing FBI agent, and Bellick, the former Captain of the prison guards back in Fox River. Also, T-Bag, the deranged rapist/pedophile/mass murderer is lurking around, and regular viewers know that it's just a matter of time before he gets bloodthirsty, and the bodies start piling up behind him.

The conflict starts to come as Lincoln's son, and Dr. Sarah get conveniently kidnapped down in Panama. Hmmmm. That seemed a little too convenient to me, but I guess we needed it to get the plot going. The condition for the release you ask? Scofield has to break someone else out of this Sona prison. Again, rather convenient, but I'll grant them some dramatic plot license as they probably never thought the show would make it this far.

It's too early to tell how this season will play out. On one hand, compared to the breakneck speed of the end of the second season, I felt like there was a lull in the action. However, I can see the stage being set for good things to come. Of course, I'm thinking that a civil engineer locked in a prison with no guards would just dig a tunnel out, but I doubt it will play out that way. In the meantime, catch the third season of Prison Break on Mondays at 8 PM, EST on the FOX TV network, and stay tuned for K-Ville afterwords.

Preliminary Grade: B

--Jonas

The New Guy (2002)

The New Guy is a simplistic teen movie. DJ Qualls plays Dizzy Harrison, and his father Bear Harrison is acted by Lyle Lovett. He's the prototypical nerd that is entering his senior year of high school. He gets an idea after a chance encounter with an advice giving prisoner, Luther (Eddie Griffin), that he should get some serious attitude and start again.

How can one start again in their senior year of high school? By going to another school of course. He accomplishes this feat by getting himself expelled from his first school, a task that is harder than he thought it would be and fertile ground for some sophomoric humor. At the next school, he changes his name to Gil Harris, takes down the toughest guy using some prison yard fighting technique, and becomes "king of the hill." He finds a new romantic interest in Danielle (Eliza Dushku).

All of this comes to a crashing halt when his former past catches up to him just as he is at the height of his popularity. At that point, he gets to see who is friends really are.

The premise of The New Guy reminded me of another TV film, Student Exchange from a while back. In that film, two students make a break with their past by pretending to go to Europe, and returning to their school as Italian exchange students. Student Exchange had far more depth and better characters. In The New Guy, the characters are all typical teen film unidimensional affairs- the jock, the tough guy, the cheerleader, so on and so forth with all of the depth of a Hollywood movie facade.

While The New Guy does have its moments, the film is too simple for my taste. Best suited to a teenage audience, it lacks more widespread appeal.

Overall Grade: C

--Jonas

Peaceful Warrior (2006)

Dan Millman (played by Dan Mechlowicz) is a college gymnast that would appear to be at the top of the world in the film Peaceful Warrior. At USC Berkely he is vying to be "lord of the rings," has the respect of his teammates, and the eye of most of the females on campus. Of course, he is the life of every party. However, at the same time, his life is seriously lacking on a spiritual level.

One night he can't sleep, so he wanders down the road to the local gas station's "quickie mart" in the middle of the night. There he has an encounter with Socrates, a wise oldster portrayed by Nick Nolte. This Socrates clearly has great wisdom, and young Millman is more curious than in awe at first of the years of knowledge that Socrates possesses. Amy Smart ably plays Joy, another Socrates follower on the path to enlightenment, and the only female not interested in Millman, which of course makes him only more interested in her.

Conflict gets created when our young gymnast experiences a devastating motorcycle accident which just about ends his career. Now under Socrates' tutelage, we have Millman acquiring wisdom in a slow and painful process. This part of the film reminded me of the relationship of Luke Skywalker and Yoda in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, or the master & apprentice in The Karate Kid. The tasks seem inane at some points, but wisdom never comes without a price.


Millman is ready to retire, but Socrates encourages him to return to his passion- gymnastics. He faces an uphill battle as his coach has already written him off and put him out to pasture. Through persistence, he manages to make a comeback of sorts and makes it to the nationals. Unfortunately, the film just kind of ends there, and we're not told what happens afterwards to his gymnastics career, but I think it's safe to assume that Olympic gold wasn't in the cards.

One notable aspect of this film is that the entire thing is based on a true story. Millman is now an author, and he writes self help books about being the "peaceful warrior," and his spiritual quest towards enlightenment. Not having read the books, I'm not sure if this is an "only in California" thing or not.

In summary, I enjoyed the acting of the film, but like any good Mythbuster, found the plot itself to be quite implausible, except that gymnasts shouldn't be riding motorcycles. How did Socrates get on the roof of the garage again?

Overall Grade: B-

--Jonas

Funny Money (2006)

Funny Money is a comedy film starring Chevy Chase. While I've always enjoyed Chase's humor, this time out he's just not that funny.

The premise is that Chase plays Henry Perkins, a middle aged accountant, just ripe for a midlife crisis, but he's too mundane for even that. His wife Carol is played by Penelope Ann Miller. Through a subway switcheroo he inadvertently trades his briefcase with a gangster, and innocently returns home with a cool five million in cash. His initial plan to beeline for Barcelona that night before anyone catches up to him is thwarted when a series of both invited and uninvited guests appears on his doorstep.

Unfortunately, from this point on, things disintegrate from implausible to downright zany and confusing. Additionally, very little of it has any humor value to it. The one exception is Chase doing a short bit impersonating being a visiting Australian cousin. However, it's hard to justify watching a whole movie for a mere handful of humorous lines. Even die hard Chase fans will likely be disappointed with this one.

Overall Grade: C-

--Jonas