Posts tagged out of
“The Watch” Don’t Bother
Aug 4th
“The Watch” Don’t Bother
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Watch is a comedy that combines the subjects of a neighborhood watch group; a compulsive, obsessive, paranoid leader; and an alien invasion in the suburbs, and if you believe that concept is potentially funny, then this movie is potentially for you.
Otherwise, don’t bother.
The story takes place in Glenview, Ohio, and Ben Stiller plays Evan Trautwig, the manager of the local Costco store who forms a neighborhood watch group when his night watchman is mysteriously murdered and his body is horribly disfigured.
Evan wants to solve the watchman’s murder and find who did it, but Evan also has a history of forming clubs just so he can be a member of them and make new friends.
This time, however, Evan tells his wife Abby, played by Rosemarie DeWitt, “It’s not a club. It’s a task force.”
Only three people show up for the organizational meeting: Bob, played by Vince Vaughn; Franklin, played by Jonah Hill; and Jamarcus, who is British and has a funny haircut to go along with his funny accent.
The organizational meeting that Evan planned is too boring and so against Evan’s wishes, the meeting moves to Bob’s house, where they can have fun and drink some beers.
Bob has a teenage daughter named Chelsea who is rebellious and who will play an important part later on in the story.
The watch group’s stakeout on the first night doesn’t go well, as you can imagine, and not only do they have a run-in with the local police, but they also have trouble with some teenage boys.
The group finds a strange and mysterious globe with unusual powers which seems to be out of this world, because it is.
Evan also has a creepy and mysterious new neighbor named Paul who keeps inviting Evan to come to a party, but that turns out not to be what you expect, to say the least.
Eventually, the group discovers that there are aliens among them and that the aliens are using Glenview and even Costco as the sources of their invasion of Earth.
Now, don’t even bother counting the number of bullets fired in the final shootout at the end, which may or may not be satisfying, depending on which side you are rooting for.
The Watch may not be satisfying, either, so don’t even bother.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Savages” Bloody and Ironic
Jul 15th
“Bloody and Ironic”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Savages is the latest film directed by Oliver Stone, and it was also written by him along with Don Winslow, whose 2010 novel was the basis for the film.
The best-known members of the cast, but not necessarily the stars, are Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta, and Salma Hayek, and the story is about a Mexican drug cartel trying to move in on the successful marijuana business run by two best buddies in Southern California.
Lively plays Ophelia, a spoiled young rich girl who goes just by “O” and who is the girlfriend of both Chon and Ben, the successful marijuana growers and distributors who have been best friends since high school and whose pot is considered the best in all of California, if not the world.
O also narrates the story, and more than once she says, “Just because I’m telling you this story doesn’t mean I’m alive at the end.”
If she is alive at the end, that would be ironic, wouldn’t it?
On the other hand, if she is not alive at the end, that would also be ironic.
One day Chon and Ben receive an e-mail video from the Baja Cartel in Mexico that shows a bunch of bodies with decapitated heads and blood all over everything.
Then they receive an e-mail from the cartel wanting to meet the next day. Ben is afraid of the Mexicans, but Chon says he is not afraid of them. Of course, Chon is a former Navy SEAL who smuggled the marijuana seeds back to the U.S. from Afghanistan that got them started in the business.
Chon and Ben check in with Dennis, a DEA agent who is less than pristine in his duties, and Dennis advises them to take whatever deal they are offered rather than decapitation.
However, when Chon and Ben meet with the representatives of the Baja Cartel, they don’t like the deal they are offered and tell the representatives that they will think about it and meet again in 24 hours.
Ben wants to get out of the business altogether, but before they can do anything, the cartel kidnaps O and holds her prisoner, which forces their hand, because they will do anything to get O back safely.
And the rest of the movie is just about anything.
Savages is bloody and ironic.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Fort. Fourth. Fireworks. This is a no brainer!
Jul 2nd
Have a blast at one of the East Coast’s largest fireworks displays! The spectacular fireworks burst above the ancient Castillo de San Marcos and reflect in the waters of the Matanzas Bay. Admission is free with the best vantage points located along the bayfront between the Castillo and the Bridge of Lions. The fireworks blast off at 9:30 p.m.
Fireworks Over The Matanzas, St. Augustine’s annual Independence Day fireworks display, draws the largest single-event audience in the city’s very busy calendar year. While an exact count of all who see Fireworks Over The Matanzas is not possible, 100,000+ is not unrealistic considering that the show is watched from a 360° vantage point, including the Bridge of Lions, the Bayfront and the Castillo grounds; the grounds of the Mission Nombre de Dios; the Vilano Boat Ramp park; and Porpoise Point and Davis Shores.
The city’s web site, www.staugustinegovernment.com, has the information you and your audience need to make the most out of this grand event, including a schedule and description of the program, and details of road closures and detours with map-links to the city’s public parking facility and other locations. The primary story is available here: www.fireworksoverthematanzas.com.
Additionally, the site carries a reminder, available here, from city fire officials to keep the holiday safe and legal in particular as regards to the possession or use of personal fireworks. That story also includes an audio link to an interview on the same topic with John Rayno, City Fire Marshal from this week’s The Break Room.
Lastly, there’s a reminder that City of St. Augustine offices will be closed on July 4, but solid waste collection schedules will remain unchanged.
Address: 1 South Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, FL 32084
Phone: 904-825-1004