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Inspired by a true story (to my knowledge, a pretty unknown one), it actually just a character piece. And who’s your go-to guy if you want a real character actor ? No doubt most critics will point out Sean Penn (who deservedly has 4 Oscar noms under his belt). You could say with the handful of movies he has made in the past years (21 Grams, Mystic River, I am Sam), it’s a real come-back (from the eighties) with a vengeance.
So, even the most clueless will understand this whole movie is pretty much a one man show, focusing on his character, and what drives him to his final act (though you will understand a little bit more, some things are still unclear). Even if the subject isn’t interesting for everyone, the acting alone is enough not to fast forward any bit of this movie.7½.

And another one goes down. Still the king of all procedural shows, this season has held its high standard all the way to the end. Strong writing on new cases, and only a bit of personal stuff gets mixed in (could have been a lot more though). With continuing strong ratings, it’s one of the few shows this year to get a 25 episode order (the other one being Lost), but that’s not all. Of all the episodes, only the last two will stand out.
The most notable guest spot is actually behind the cameras. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, it’s probably the most intense, the best written, the best directed episode of the whole run till now. Dynamically directed with strange quirks we’ve come to expect from him, using music in the same strange way to transfer the drama into the living room as only he can, he elevates it to a cinematic experience. What a way to go out and start a sixth season with confidence.

No surprise as a certain Dark Side dominated the box office this week. Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith took in $108.5 million in the weekend (right under Spidey’s $110 million record). The four day total stands at a record-breaking $158.5 million though, and it also holds the one day opening record of $50 million.
The rest of the theatres seemed almost empty (and no other film company dared open a new movie this week), as a distant second is last week’s number one, Monster-in-Law takes in $14.3 million. A lacklustre performance rounds the top five: at three Kicking & Screaming, with $10.5 million, at four, Crash, with $5.5 million and at five, Unleashed, with $3.8 million.

We know the ordinary thief movies, there have been quite a few lately (Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve, The Italian Job), but most of them have nothing much to offer, story-wise. This one is a Pierce Brosnan starrer, and has even less to offer. Most notably, he played one before (The Thomas Crown Affair), and that was quite boring. This one is evenly boring, with a predictable storyline (retired thief can’t resist another job. Oh and throw in a personal vendetta, why don’t you), and uninteresting characters. Cheesy dialogue finishes it off, with no spectacle to be seen on screen, unlike the bigger budget caper movies. It’s a continuing genre (with a Thomas Crown sequel and The Italian Job II on the way), but for me, it’s all the same.5½.

And another freshman series ends. This one also for good, which isn’t such a terrible thing. Series was always on the mediocre side, and had a repetitive and dull direction. With nothing new to offer, let’s hope UPN’s new schedule will cater for something more exciting.

More and more movie stars are trying out the small screen (and even more coming up for the 2005/2006 schedule), and for NBC’s limited series, it’s Bill Pullman heading a spiritual religious thriller mini series.
Produced and written bij David Seltzer, who has done previous thriller/horror stuff close to this series’ subjects, it actually amounts to totally nothing at the end (but that could also be that it’s written with a second season in mind, which will not come as per NBC’s revelation of the new fall/midseason schedule).
The first three episode seem to build the characters and story to what might seem interesting, with Indiana Jones like flying around the world relic hunting. But with all the prophecies and biblical quotes, the latter part seems utterly boring. Gearing towards the end of the world which of course doesn’t come, will leave you feeling quite disappointed, especially with all the not so subtle symbolisms and non-meaningfull intermezzos filling the cavities of the story. If Bill Pullman’s brooding scientist character wasn’t there, I’d never make it till the end. As it stands, even if a second series would return, I’d probably skip it.

And another show finishes conveniently in May, clocking in at 13 episodes. As a mid-season replacement, it proved successful enoough (ratings-wise) to have a season renewal under its belt. Quality-wise, it could go up a few notches. It’s not bad at all, but if it doesn’t improve, I might leave it for the same reasons I don’t watch NCIS anymore. Losing a team player will be another downer, so let’s wait and see who’s going the replace Sabrina Lloyd in season 2. I don’t think I could hold on much longer without a co-starring hot chick.

With any conclusion of a prequel, expectations rise exponentially, and goals get hard to meet (even single movies have a hard time, think of disasters like Blair Witch Project, Twin Peaks, The Exorcist, and in lesser extent Hannibal). George Lucas however, nails this one, finishing his life work almost flawlessly (especially if you forget Episode I).
Right from the start we drop into the story with the same fast pace we’ve grown accustomed to with all the previous SW movies. More obvious is how much looser all the characters are and acted, giving them more heart and soul. Around them are more grand and spectacular special effects than your eyes can feast on for countless re-views to come. Difference with the overabundant special effects from the first (and slightly regarding the second) episode is, it’s more realistic and fluid. It also doesn’t serve as the main attraction, but it’s more a backdrop for the main story to develop, hence a greater effectiveness.
Then there’s the story, which might not come as a surprise if you’ve seen the old movies, but it still has enough surprises left, while tying the knots to Episode IV: A New Hope. Packed in nicely compacted chapters, as before, the 140 minutes actually feels too short. But that’s probably because you can’t keep track of the time between the oooh’s and aaah’s that comes with the excellent scenery on-screen, the ferocious light-sabre fights and the agony and tragedy that comes along with the descent to the Dark Side.
So, what has George accomplished with all this ? Well, the excellent conclusion of this tri-quel, which fits like a glove, is a feat that’s hard to beat for decades, if not centuries, to come. The Force is very strong in this movie. Trust me.9.

Rob Thomas entered the Billboard album chart at the top spot last week, as the only solo artist ever coming from a band to pull that feat off. But what was he competing against anyway ? Well, Mariah held the number one spot till then, so I had to hear if it was a worthy adversary or not.
After her failure with Glitter (the movie, the biggest bomb of 2001, just in case you forgot) and an accompanying nervous breakdown, she pretty much disappeared from the Earth’s surface. Her first single was of the same R&B crop that’s currently polluting the airwaves, nothing special there. Mariah though, said in interviews the album would be a vocal explosion, stretching it to the limit. So at least I had something to look forward to. She already earns extra points putting forth 14 songs instead of the industry’s standard 12.
First thing, she is correct about the vocal part of the album. The dynamic strong voice draws your attention now and then. The songs themselves though, are another cup of tea. A handful of duets (Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Dupri, etc) is the same as those songs you hear on the radio everyday. Nothing new there. The other hand seems to be filled with Destiny’s Child’s left-overs, and the slower less melodious ones at that.
In the end, it’s not a total disaster, but it’s not that exciting either.6-.

And so comes an end to a series with four not so remarkable years. While I let the bigger part of this season go by me, I decided to drop back in for the last few steps. And again, quality-wise, I was not impressed. The only episode where my finger was twitching above the fast forward button was the last episode, with a personal touch by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, giving it a TNG feeling and quality. Who knows, if they’d done it more often, the series might not have died (hahah, who am I kidding). While there are a few years coming with no Star Trek on screen (which hasn’t ever happened from 1987 till now), the end of this show doesn’t leave me crying out with tears. When they muster enough creative power to make a show as cutting edge as TNG or DS9 was, I’m more than willing to pick it up again. For now, finally let the recycle bin be a trash bin.

Jane Fonda’s return to the big screen was enough to push J. Lo’s ass up to the top spot, as Monster-in-Law takes in $24 million. Second place was another comedy, starring Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall, Kicking & Screaming takes in $20.9 million.
At three, not a really big opening for Jet Li starrer Unleashed. All his previous movies (Hero, Cradle 2 the Grave, The One, Kiss of the Dragon, Romeo Must Die) have opened better.
At 4, we have something that might be a Kingdom of Financial disaster, as the second week for this Heaven takes in only $9.6 million. Rounding off the top 5 is Crash with $7.2 million.

Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !). Only rate the latest picture, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 1271 out of 412 votes > Average is: 3.085

Jumping in on Pringles’ success as of lately, Lays tries to copy almost all the details with slight modifications. First is of course, the chip itself. Having the same rounded curve so they stack up nicely. Then there’s the flavour, nothing special there either (regular, paprika, cheese-onion). The design of the can is probably for extra convenience (curved outward), as if to hold the chips when you slightly tilt the can. That might be handy indeed, but the plastic used for this new design is thin, and won’t protect the potato chips under pressure.
Finally, the texture is the first thing you really notice. While it is crispy, it’s much more dense than Pringles, making it harder to chew on. For this alone, I can assure you it won’t be as addictive as Pringles (maybe a good thing, for the weight watchers among you). Pringles have this magical crispy and light texture where it seems it’s almost melting inside your mouth, and it seems this is a mystery not uncovered yet by their competitors.
In the end, it’s not bad, but it ain’t perfect either.7½.

It’s May, time for shows to end. First one up is Jack and Bobby. After a few dips after the winter hiatus, it did get back to the highest level of writing, making this one of the few pilot seasons to make a mark in history like this. And maybe because the big word on a next season is still out there, the last few episodes were fast-tracked to an admirable series ender, but still leaving a lot of interesting stuff open for a possible second season. Now it’s waiting for the big bosses to decide if ratings (continuous last (6th) place on the Wednesday nights) are more important than a specialty show no network can compete with.

A Kingdom of Heaven could not prevent a further slump at the box office, taunting it for several weeks already. With $20 million though, it does end up at the top spot, but on a $150+ million budget, it’s just not on par.
Second place is House of Wax, also doing worse than the previous horror flicks opening this year. The happy prospect of seeing Paris Hilton slashed into a bloody mash still couldn’t lift it above $12.2 million (I for one, would definitely pay double for that).
A tie at three for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Crash, a new drama from Million Dollar Baby writer Paul Haggis, with $9.1 million.
Rounding off the top five, is third week-er The Interpreter, with $7.5 million.