Posts tagged right
“Confessions of a Shopaholic” Pretty Lame
Mar 11th
Pretty Lame
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC starts off bad, goes downhill from there, and then manages to redeem itself just enough that all in all it is not good, not bad, but just okay.
This says something about a movie that, after all, is making fun of what is a serious problem for some people.
No, I am not talking about compulsive behavior that causes some people to spend money beyond their means. I am talking about the compulsion that some people have to search for romantic love.
Isla Fisher plays Rebecca Greenwood, a young and attractive magazine writer in New York City who discovered the power of shopping when she was a little girl and the fact that you didn’t have to pay money for anything if you had a “magic card,” which is what she called a credit card.
Now she has 12 of them and the bills to prove it.
To explain her compulsive behavior, Rebecca says, “When I shop, the world gets better, and then it’s not anymore and I need to do it again.”
When the magazine that Rebecca works for fails, she buys an expensive green scarf that she cannot afford for an interview with a fashion magazine for a job that she believes will make her happy forever if she gets it.
Then through a series of ridiculous setups and even more ridiculous payoffs, Rebecca is hired to be a columnist for a financial magazine and to write about how to save money.
Hugh Dancy plays Luke Brandon, the editor of the magazine whom Rebecca lied to about her credentials, and so now she is in serious trouble, right?
Wrong. Rebecca’s even more serious problem is that she has a bill collector after her who she tells Luke is an ex-boyfriend who is stalking her.
So, Rebecca is advising people about debt and she is up to her eyeballs in it, she lied about herself to her editor to get the job, she has a bill collector after her, and what else could go wrong?
Well, for one thing she attends a meeting of Shopaholics Anonymous and when she talks about shopping, she causes all the other members to relapse.
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC is pretty lame from beginning to end, but if you’re a sucker for romance–and who isn’t–it redeems itself.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Skyguy – DISPATCH: It’s a Comet!! It’s a Comet!! Now!
Feb 24th
Comets don’t come along every day. There’s one you can see RIGHT NOW!! Check it out!
Here are the links I mention in this video. You can find astronomy clubs hear you here:
http://www.astronomyclubs.com/1/190/0/0/select_state.aspx
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/organizations
“Taken” An Exciting Thriller
Feb 4th
An Exciting Thriller
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
TAKEN is a nonstop action thriller that does its job very well, but its job is just to make you enjoy it while watching and then forget about it after it’s over.
In other words, it has no lasting value other than what appears on-screen for 91 minutes.
Liam Neeson plays Bryan Mills, who is divorced, who has a 17-year-old daughter, and who gave up his career in order to live close to his daughter in Los Angeles.
What was his career? Well, we aren’t told explicitly, but it kept him away from his daughter, Kim, while she was growing up, and he was probably an agent for the C.I.A.
However, what he tells Kim is, “I was a preventer. I prevented bad things from happening.”
And, Boy, does he ever! With all the gadgets and know-how he needs to prove it!
Bryan reluctantly agrees to let Kim go to Paris with her friend, Amanda, but only if Kim will follow all the rules he lays down for her.
And, sure enough, their very first day in Paris, Kim and Amanda are kidnaped out of the apartment they are staying in, which causes Bryan to leap into action and show his stuff.
Through his expertise and contacts, Bryan figures out that he has only 96 hours to rescue Kim or else he will never find her, and so Bryan is off to Paris.
Right at the Paris airport, there is a good chase with a fantastic ending. Then that night at a construction site, there is a big shoot-out and escape. No, there is not quite an escape. Wait, yes, there is.
Bryan knows lots of tricks, and the action is very good.
No, it is outstanding!
Bryan proves to be one ruthless, hard-nosed “preventer,” but the movie might remind you of the 1988 FRANTIC, starring Harrison Ford and directed by Roman Polanski, only this one has more testosterone.
The action is nonstop and is just chase after chase after chase with no depth, but only horizontal action.
Then there is a coda at the end which wraps everything up in a nice, heartwarming bow.
TAKEN should be taken with a grain of salt–no, a spoonful–no, a cup– no, a pound of salt, and then you can enjoy it for what it is, an exciting thriller.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”