No beer for you!

I’ll leave it to Steve to set up one night’s events at the everyone’s favorite local East Aurora haunt, Riley St. Station:

no beer for youDannyboy ordered 8 shots of Jager….and the bartender poured out 3. So I said “Came up a little short in that pour huh?” She then proceeded to give me a dirty look and said that I’m cut off. I shook my head, and did the shot once she poured out the rest. 3 minutes later Andy bought 4 beers, and gave me one when the girl turned around to make change. When she came back Andy said he needed another one…for who she asked? He said it was for him since he was a fast drinker. genius! So she told me to put my arms up…I said, are you a cop? So I put my hands up in the air after I put the beer between my legs. Then She told me to stand up. While I was questioning her sanity I was leaning down and putting the beer on the ground…and she didn’t buy the performance. She told me to get out….and started yelling for the bouncer.

So Steve decides to walk all the way home instead of waiting about 30 seconds for a ride. Andy, it should be mentioned, also got cut off because of the dastardly bartender. He stuck around for a bit, or maybe his outrageous turtleneck sweater had taken control of his mind by that point and forced him to stay (more on that coming soon). A short time later, I found Andy near the door of the bar, having somehow obtained two beers (one for his beer, one for his symbiotic turtleneck) despite his illegal alien status at Riley’s. No sooner had I started talking to him than the other bartender chick darts out from behind the bar and zeroes in on Andy like a heat-seeking missile. She yanks the beers out of his hands and says “get out!” before motioning to the bouncers. I should point out that said bouncers were two high school-looking kids who probably couldn’t beat down a drunk paper bag, let alone a drunk guy in an outrageous turtleneck sweater. But Andy, gentleman and scholar that he is, left under his own power. He had his sweet revenge outside, though, hurling insults at the brick wall out behind the building. I think I saw him shake his fist in the air in defiance as well.

Coming soon: more on that turtleneck; and the harrowing tale of Dannyboy’s up-close encounter with the dreaded small mammal attack.

Munich | A+

director: Steven Spielberg
starring: Eric Bana, Ciaran Hinds, Geoffrey Rush

If I were in the cliche business of writing movie poster taglines, I’d call Munich a “taut, edge-of-your-seat thriller.” And it is just that, though I think it does a disservice to the movie to try and pigeonhole it into the “action thriller” genre, as it is much more. The basic plot follows an Israeli Mossad agent and 4-man team’s functioning as a covert cell sent by the Israeli government to exact revenge for the deaths of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Along with all of the movie’s exciting action and drama, Spielberg clearly was trying to send a message with the flick, about the futility of the seemingly endless struggle between Israeli Zionists and the Arab Palestinians hellbent on destroying each other so they can simply have someplace they call “home.”

But as history has shown us, violence only begets more violence; and revenge against the terrorist group that killed the Israeli athletes at the Olympics, in this case, only begets more revenge. It’s a cautionary tale-of-sorts, but it still has significance today, as the conflict between the Arab world and Israel continues to rage. In terms of the film itself, from the superb acting (Eric Bana in particular) to John Williams’ score to Spielberg’s deft directorial hand, there’s never a false note here. Absolutely one of the best films of 2005, Munich will be sure to garner a lot of attention for the Academy Awards next year.

Cold Creek Manor | D-

director: Mike Figgis
starring: Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, Stephen Dorff

This one’s a real winner. It’s hard for me to remember the plot, so I can’t really summarize it, but I think it had something to do with Dennis Quaid’s family moving into some old mansion in Hickville. But Stephen Dorff used to own the house and wants it back after getting released from jail. Hilarity ensues.

I think this movie’s worth seeing, if only for the unintentional comedy factor. You can play drinking games centered around the number of times Quaid gives a “what the hell is that smell?” face during the movie. The music is also hilarious–it sounds like a squirrel is being chased by a cat over a piano. And this music comes at the most dramatic points of the movie. The written word can’t quite do it justice, so I recommend you tivo the movie, then fast forward to the last 10 minutes. Enjoy.

King Kong | B-

director: Peter Jackson
starring: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black

Peter Jackson’s epic remake of Kong lives up to its namesake with a beefy 3+ hour runtime, loaded with special effects and action sequences. I’m normally a fan of any movie that goes a bit longer, as long as it’s good. King Kong is certainly good, but it would’ve been a much better film with a lot of bloated material cut off, maybe even as much as 45 minutes’ worth. Another couple of months in post-production would have done this film wonders, as there is some spotty FX work at times, and the pacing of the overall film is a little herky-jerky. The other minor quibble is with the soundtrack. I’m not sure why Howard Shore (LOTR’s composer) was let go from the project, as the score by James Newton Howard fails to provide any consistent tone, and it often appears mismatched with what’s actually taking place onscreen.

All that being said, this is absolutely a film worth seeing, if for no other reason than to take in the unbelievable effects work on the giant gorilla himself. King Kong should give Revenge of the Sith a run for its money come Oscar-time next year. It is easy to get past the film’s flaws while watching it, as there is plenty about the film to love.

Mel Gibson is a crazy bastard

Alright, I was going to go on hiatus until after the new year, but I’ve come upon two items that are too good not to make everyone aware of.

The first has to do with Saturday Night Live, which has been on the decline since Will Ferrell left, seemingly along with all of the show’s good writers. So, color me surprised when I saw what is likely one of the ten best bits in SNL history this past week (Jack Black had the hosting duties). I give you: Lazy Sunday.

Second, Mel Gibson seemingly lost his mind a short while ago, after traveling down to South America to shoot his new Mayan/Aztec/Putanjabi epic, Apocalypto. I offer the following as evidence of his insanity:

psycho gibson

Regardless, the trailer for said film has just been released and it looks pretty decent. You can check it out here. Now, about 1:45 into the trailer, a bombshell is dropped as Saddam Hussein is revealed as having a cameo appearance in the film. I sh*t you not. I have no idea how he got time off from his trial, but I’m guessing he threw that hissy fit a while back because, dammit, he had a scene to do and he’s a dedicated professional. Watch the trailer first, and then–ONLY THEN–click here.

Merry Christmas, and baba booey to all of you.

School of Rock | A-

director: Richard Linklater
starring: Jack Black, some kids

If you’re a Jack Black fan and want to see him at the pinnacle of his powers (which include the ability to kill a yak from a hundred yards away…with MIND BULLETS!), look no further than School of Rock. I think Black is in just about every scene, and he dominates the movie, as he should. He sings/dances/plays guitar a dozen or so times in the movie, and each could easily find a place on a Tenacious D album. School of Rock is hilarious, and actually has some decent music in it, as well as a decent story (but the story is far from important here). There’s something for everyone, young or old. Absolutely worth your time, whether you’re familiar with Black or not, but fans of him will be happier than a pig in shit. Yeehaw!

Seek the Codes

One of the most popular books of the last few years, The da Vinci Code is nearly upon us in film form. The trailer just debuted a day or two ago, and it looks damn good. Much like the trailer for A.I.: Artificial Intelligence way back in the day (I think there’s a log entry back in my archives somewhere), there may be some hidden codes within the trailer itself, though they seem relatively banal.

davincitrailer

davincitrailer

You can check out the trailer here: http://www.sodarktheconofman.com/

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe | C+

director: Andrew Adamson
starring: Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, some British kids

My opinion on this movie may suffer because I haven’t read the C.S. Lewis series of books, but it seems to be a kind of mess of a movie, though it still manages to entertain. Narnia starts off well in World War II-era London, quickly moves to an estate in the country (where the titular Wardrobe is found). Once it gets to Narnia, the movie tends to bog down a bit, focusing a bit too much on the scenery instead of developing the characters. As the story moves onward, events get pressed together, actions don’t make a lot of sense, and there’s never any real emotional attachment to our heroes. There’s no real emotional payoff at the movie’s conclusion, because I wasn’t really invested in the characters. Narnia will suffer in its inevitable comparison to the Lord of the Rings films, but despite all that, I think it’s still worth seeing.

The CGI is, for the most part, very good; and the action sequences are well done. The scenery is quite good as well, and I think readers of the novels will find it pretty much faithful to its source material. Kids will most likely find this more entertaining than an adult audience, but it’s worth a matinee at least, for everyone else.