Programming note

In case you were wondering, I didn't neglect or forget about SGC today, I am just out of posters currently and didn't have the time to send Mrs. Fletch any new ones to create for me just yet. I'll get one up as soon as possible.

And then...

TGITDNMAR (2/26/10)

It's that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released.

Cop Out
I was dead set against seeing this Kevin Smith-directed buddy cop comedy (OMG, you didn't know that he was directing? WTF is wrong with you? After all, it's apparently totally not being hyped as a Kevin Smith Joint, yet I don't know anyone that doesn't know that Smith directed it.). Then I read this review from the New Times, a publication I usually give much credence to in terms of their movie reviews, which almost paints its loving hommidge [sic] to cop movies of the past as Hot Fuzz-y. So now I'm torn. I'm still thinking "avoid theater, TV will suffice," but I suppose I'll leave largely up to the hordes on this one; if the general impression is good, I may give it a shot.

Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 44%

The Crazies
Get the f*ck outta here - a remake of a horror film! I don't believe it for one second. I like Timothy Olypant as much as the next guy, but I just have zero interest here. And even if I did, this was directed by Breck Eisner, he of Sahara fame, and I was under the impression that that flick was supposed to kill his career despite the slight strain of nepotism that may be going on here.

Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 0%

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: The 2010 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films

Despite living in the 12th most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and being a mere six+ hours from Los Angeles, independent, foreign and/or art films aren't much easier to see in Phoenix than they are in Fairbanks, I'd imagine. In his last Matineecast, the Mad Hatter and guest lamented the not-much better situations in Toronto and even Los Angeles, destinations clearly more cosmopolitan, diverse and populous than the desert Southwest; if art house cinemas are closing there, what hope is there for rural Texas?

So it's with great joy that I can once again thank the ever-present Scottsdale, AZ-based Harkins Theaters for not only bringing in the two Academy Award-nominated Shorts Programs (Live Action and Animated), but showing them at their restored (in 2001) Valley Art Theater, a gorgeous one-screen former hole-in-the-wall now a shimmering example of what movie going should be. No, it doesn't have a monstrous screen or speakers so loud they'll blast your ears off - instead, what the Valley Art peddles most is charm, a chance to go back in time (to a time long before I was born even) to the days before multiplexes. The lobby can't hold more than 20 people without feeling cramped (as it was on Sunday), and the outdoor single-stall box office (the type you seen in the movies) is for show only, but the art-deco interior is gorgeous, the staff is courteous, and there's that whole "you can't see the movies they show anywhere else in town" thing going for it. So far as I know, the Valley Art is the only single-screen commercial theater in the Valley of the Sun, and it's most certainly the oldest.


Situated on Mill Avenue in the heart of downtown Tempe (aka Arizona State University central), the Valley Art has seen the street around it change even more than it had prior to restoration. Once a bustling road packed with hippie students, street preachers and more Mom-and-Pop businesses than you could count, Mill started its transformation to Gentrification Lane in the mid-90s, to the dismay of many a local. These days, while still bustling, the street is dominated by Urban Outfitters, Gordon Biersch, Hooters and other chains, but the Valley Art, which was built in 1940 (back when Tempe had a population well under 5,000), has managed to endure. This is thanks largely to Harkins' commitment to the art house crowd, being the only outfit able to keep such theaters in business for more than a blip over the last few decades. Ironically, the only other theaters dedicated to bringing such non-commercial fare to town these days is the upstart Madcap Theaters (which has screened The Room in the past), which is ironically housed in a recently closed Harkins multiplex just a few blocks away (Harkins moved that multiplex to a newer outdoor mall a few miles away).


Here are some capsule reviews of the films shown in the Animated Shorts program. I hope to catch the Live Action ones before Friday (since, being single-screen, most things last but one week). The first five are the Academy's nominees; the latter three, which come as a show-lengthening bonus, are labeled as "Highly Commended" and were on the Academy's short list for a nomination, yet didn't make the cut.

French Roast
As with most of the shorts in this program, this French production (shocker) clocks in between 6-10 minutes. It's practically a silent film, with no audible words spoken outside of a random "Monsieur" or "cafe" here or there. It centers on an uptight businessman who's settled down for a latte or three, only to discover he's come up short when it's time to pay. From there, it's a comic study on how looks can be deceiving, done with excellent digital animation that's reminiscent of stop-motion, but isn't. One of my favorites, though I think a long-shot to win the Oscar.


The Lady and the Reaper
This Spanish short hits you with a big name right in the credits - produced by Antonio Banderas. That's quickly forgotten, though, as we're greeted with a very Up-ish intro about a lonely old woman who misses her departed husband and wants little more than to reunite with him in the afterlife. However, her trip there with the Grim Reaper is interrupted by a vain (why?) doctor intent on saving her life (the bastard!). Quickly devolves into Scooby-Doo slapstick (the in-one-door-and-out-another is used, for chrissake). Far and away the worst of the group.


A Matter of Loaf and Death
This Wallace and Gromit-starred felt the most out-of-place in the bunch, for a few reasons. For starters, it clocks in at about a half-hour, with the second-longest film being less than twenty. Second, of course, is that most people (especially those with kids) are familiar with the lead characters and possibly even the filmmaker (Nick Park), while the rest are (right now) anonymous. But mostly, it's everything else - the style (claymation) and tone make Loaf and Death feel more like a lost episode to a Saturday morning cartoon than an Oscar-nominated short film. A good time, to be sure, but (possibly for all the wrong reasons) the one I'd least like to see win outside of Reaper.


Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
The shortest film not surprisingly has the least story: a deranged grandmother tells the story of Sleeping Beauty to her adorably scared-to-death granddaughter. Yet this was one of the more interesting shorts by virtue of its mixed-media, employing both state-of-the-art computer animation with a more vibrant, colorful-yet-rudimentary version, making for a beautiful film. Pretty funny as well, and the grandmother's hair (it looks to be made of sticks, in case you can't tell) is priceless.


Logorama
Not unlike Daybreakers, this film starts off with an interesting premise...and then quickly goes downhill. And yet I'd still highly recommend watching it. In case neither the title nor image shown give it away, the setting and characters all are entirely made up of corporate logos/icons. It's as if the imagined Planet Starbuck's from Fight Club have become a reality. It makes for a kitschy movie, and while the juxtaposition of brands with their alternate movie realities is fun (and funny - Ronald McDonald a criminal?), the fun ends when the "story" begins - the action and mayhem are as epic and nonsensical as anything Roland Emmerich could dream up.


Partly Cloudy
Though I enjoyed this short that was shown before Up, I thought it was a little bit weird back then, and I still kind of think so. Something about giving identities and emotions to clouds just doesn't sit with me as well as it does for rats, bugs, etc. It's charming, witty, and poignant, though, just like seemingly every other piece of work that Pixar puts its stamp on, and the stork cracks me up, so it gets a pass.


Runaway
Mrs. Fletch's favorite. The highlight of this hand-drawn piece for me was the music - an upbeat, jazzy score played by low-fi characters in goofy hats. The movie plays to its slapsticky strengths, yet still manages to make some commentary about class economics. How many other sub-10-minute cartoons can say that?


The Kinematograph
I couldn't believe that this Polish film wasn't on the Academy's short list, as I found it to be the best all-around film up and down, telling the story of a man who invents a machine that can capture moving pictures, only to learn too late that he regrets not spending his time elsewhere. Sure, it's a story that we've seen told time and again, but not often as beautifully as this. Director Tomek Bagiński has quite a future ahead of him, I'm sure.


Information about the the Shorts International program (and where you might be able to catch it) can be found here. Whaddaya know - it's even playing in Yakima, WA!

Overall grade:
Fletch's Film Rating:

	"Darn tootin!"

Shaky Cam Rating (details):	LAMBScore:

And then...

Programming note

With LOST recaps on Wednesdays and Survivor on Thursdays, Thursday's Things to Click On will be moving (possibly temporarily) to Tuesdays.

And then...

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 3 Recap/Live Blog

I'm curious - by the end of this episode, will we all hop on to the Hate James bandwagon, or will redemption be his? The man's proven to be a fan favorite for years now, so I'd think that if even a smidgen of his charm returns, he'll be back in our good graces, but last week's preview of this episode didn't exactly paint that picture. I suppose it's irrelevant somewhat anyway, since as we all know, the Grave Digger ain't exactly the best strategic player in the game, so he won't be around all that long anyhow.

Off we go...

7:00: So far, so good for James. Pleading his case, but not overbearingly so. Tom makes for a pretty good peacekeeper and team leader, which comes as no surprise.

7:01: Colby...thinking about quitting on Day 6? After a few days of turmoil and a couple challenge losses, the Golden Boy is ready to throw in the towel? Color me shocked. And disappointed. Larry David would not approve.

7:05: Wow...Boston Rob wins the Survivor Farm Tan Showdown 2010 by far. It's as bad a tan as Shambo had a hairstyle. Oh, and he makes some good points about tribal alliances/sleeping arrangements. Common sense, but still smart.

7:07: That's a lesson for all you future managers out there: if ever you need to bring up morale and/of diffuse an ugly situation, get your team involved in a game of Catch the Chicken(s). Works like magic.

7:08: "People are allured by [Parvati's] charm," says Coach. Well, that or her minuscule bikini and constant flirting.

7:11: Prepare yourself, I'm about to say something nice about Randy: It looks as though Oscar the Grouch has actually lost quite a bit of weight. Nice job (asshole).

7:15: Thinking back a few minutes, does it bother anyone else that when the players return from Tribal Council, the first thing we see them do is set down their torches...and yet their torches are not engulfed in flames? I thought fire represented life on the island - does this mean they're all dead? Stupid, I know, but it must be asked.

7:16: Yes! Nonsensically evil Russell is back!

7:17: So, how much you wanna bet that the Villain tribe loses at the Immunity Challenge? We suuuure are seeing a lot of them, specifically of Russ and eternal idiot Coach (god love him).

7:19: Oh, poor Randy! It's just like high school all over again! He's pissy because Parvati is supposedly getting by in the game on her looks and not via the kind of brilliant hard work that he encapsulates. Tough titties, Grouch.

7:22: It's too bad Russ and JT aren't on the same team - I wonder how much they'd get along. they seem like opposite sides of the same coin, kinda like Harvey Two-Face (yea, I know, his coin had the same thing on both sides, but you get the picture).

7:22: Wow - Cirie just totally threw JT under the bus. That was cold-blooded.

7:24: Russell gets his ass handed to him by Tom. So much for having an advantage by being short and squat.

7:26: Nice to see that James shared some of his PEDs with Colby, who's positively way too fired up for this challenge, flexing and screaming like The Incredible Hulk. I'm scared.

7:28: Did Tyson just steal a kiss from JT? Okaaaay.

7:30: Super Colby wins!

7:31: Ahahaha - Randy has to face James! I love it.

7:32: If I knew Danielle in real life and didn't like her for whatever reason, you can bet I would get my hands on the highest resolution video I could, freeze frame it on that image of her with mud covering so much of her face that if even looked as though some of her teeth were missing, and then blow it up poster size and post it outside of her office or cubicle or whatever. Pointless, sure, but it would give me some sort of satisfaction, I'm sure.

7:34: Told you the Villains were headed to Tribal Council. My psychic powers are progressing nicely.

7:35: I've gotta believe Parvati is either going home tonight or will be the major player in getting someone else booted tonight, if only because she's easily the focal point of the episode. Seems odd to think that her number will come up, but it also seems inevitable. Also, up until Sandra was allowed to speak just now, she was practically the only female heard from on the Villain tribe tonight.

7:37: Okay, it's seeming less like a prediction and more like a guarantee that Poverty is gone. Not sure if she has any friends (despite all the talk of her having so many friends) outside of Russell.

7:40: Parvati with a burn on Jeri. That stung from here.

7:41: "There's nobody out there that's honorable out here...anymore...except for me." - Coach. Mrs. Fletch with the great call this time, blurting out "except for me" mere seconds before the buffoon had a chance to. This was followed by the honorable dragon slayer quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. Beautiful - it's as if he knew the episode would be airing in February. What a lovely man.

7:45: Tactless question: Did Danielle have those monstrously massive breasts the last time she was on the game? I think not, since I would imagine I'd remember those...

7:47: OMG - Courtney speaks!

7:48: "It grew legs and walked away," says Sandra of the now missing machete. Sandra cracks me up, though her pinpointing Coach on his weaknesses seemed a bad idea; what was the upside of calling him out right there? Stay under the radar, woman.

7:50: What are the chances we can get Coach to co-star in Tommy Wiseau's next movie? I smell a blockbuster.

7:51: Oh sahnap! Parvati sticks around and Oscar the Grouch is gone. Might not have been the smartest move by the Villain team, but I certainly can't complain. The guy's an asshole, and I take pleasure in his misfortune. Schadenfreude FTW! Nice move tossing the buff in the fire, though. I can't say Randy's not clever.

7:55: And like that, James is back in America's good graces. Next week: A CRYING COACH! Must See TV is back, Dwellers, and thy name is Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.

7:57: There's a link below, but it deserves another mention: Travis over at The Movie Encyclopedia has been doing interviews with the castoffs on the Friday after each show. Wow, do I look forward to this one with Randy. My official Question Request for Travis is this - please ask him if he would play Gary Busey in a biopic were he offered the part. Thanks.

Survivor news at Survivor.com
Survivor homepage at CBS.com
Interviews with the castoffs at The Movie Encyclopedia

And then...

LAMBcast #13 (for real this time)

A skeleton crew (compared to recent episodes) was on hand for the latest LAMBcast, with just three geeks sitting around talking movies instead of the usual four or five for episode #13, hosted by Nick Jobe of Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob and supported by Travis McCollum of The Movie Encyclopedia and myself. The feature discussion was Shutter Island, and of course we topped that off with a couple games of Last LAMB Standing (could Nick win a game - or even make it past the first two rounds...on his birthday...with the subject being his favorite actor?) and some Trailer Talk.

As usual, the music, as provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website, is the bomb. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service.

You can find us on iTunes; just go to the Podcasts section and search for "LAMBcast." And hey - while you're on iTunes, who don't you go ahead and either rate the LAMBcast or write a review of it. Better yet, do both! It'll help us get noticed by the overlords at Apple and earn worldwide fame...or something like that.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, we'd love to hear them - you might even get a mention on a future show.

And then...

LOST Episode 4

All right, back for episode 4, I appreciate all the kind words everyone had to offer my breakdowns thusfar; they really are the best Lost theories, criticisms, and tidbits on the world wide web. And as Blog Cabins superfan Nick stated, settle down with the grammar police fellas, we’re blogging on a free blogger website, none of us is going to win a Pulitzer. If you want great writing take a page from our boys Desmondo or Nick and stick to exclusively reading Charles Dickens or internet porno stories, respectively; now there are two sources with great storylines. And hey, I’m as big a Lost fan as the next guy, it was great watching back around Season 3 and 4. Let’s not kill the messenger, it isn’t my fault the writers painted themselves into a corner with all their bizarre mysteries that have no explanation and are subsequently submitting a turd final season.

Now let’s delve into this episode, they finally decided to move the plot forward a little in an episode that was shockingly almost decent!!!! Plus the “flash sideways” actually served a purpose this week. Amazing… I’m still not sold on these, I probably would have rather seen a flashback from the original timeline where Jackie was getting it on with the prom queen after the dance and then Jacob knocked on the car door and offered him a rubber, but the point was made, apparently Jacob has been watching and interfering in Jack’s life for decades. Jake somehow prevented Jack him from having a kid originally, and I guess he has Jack pegged as the #1 seed in the candidate bracket. It looks like they are shaping up to have one of the candidates take over the reins in the season finale, I think they are down to five left. Here are some more notes on the episode, in bullet form:

-They just couldn’t resist a random appearance from an Islander in Jack’s bizarro world, with samurai dude having some phenom piano playing kid also, absolutely terrible as seems to be par for the course. Obviously Samurai’s not getting his own “flash sideways” ep, but do we really need to know what he’d be up to if the island hadn’t imploded back in the 70s?? Also if he was an Other back then wouldn’t he have been blown up, I’m a little iffy on his timeline, but we at least know Ben was on the Island when the h-bomb was detonated, yet he seemed fine last week as a random school teacher. We’ll just write it off as one of the hundreds of plot holes I guess.

-That was pretty funny how they had Hurley rattle off the enduring Lost nerd theory that the two skeletons were actually some of the plane crash survivors stuck in the past from time traveling, then had Jack look at him like he was a complete retard. At least they put that “mystery” to bed.

-I kind of enjoy the psycho Claire, I haven’t seen a solid axing to the chest that good since Scatman Crothers got his in the Shining

-Nice also to see Claire aligned with “Locke”, and now having a grudge against Kate, this could lead up to my hope of an all out Island war with Team Jacob facing off against Smokey/Locke, Claire, Sawyer and Jin, and the winner gets the Island

-Lastly, here are the top five “mysteries” we hope they wrap up before the show’s conclusion:

5. What is the deal with this alleged sickness that is afflicting Claire, and possibly Sayid? I guess it’s supposed to be the same sickness that took out Rousseau’s team. How is this related to the smoke monster?

4. Why did the writers think it would be a good idea to create an alternate reality? Was there not enough sci-fi-iness with all the time traveling, monsters, magic, and super-powers? And why couldn’t they make an alternate reality that didn’t suck, and mainly sticks to showing us lame uninteresting things we already knew?

3. Will Ben finally get his chance to ice Charles Widmore? And why is Chaz such a dick?

2. How did Jacob, Smokey, and Alpert come to the Island?

1. Why would they completely write off their best character, yet keep his name in the credits just to taunt us? Come on what does it take to get some Desmondo up in this piece?? I wouldn’t even mind if they had another gaping plot hole to get him into the mix; hell, have him develop another superpower and fly onto the Island Superman style for all I care. It’s getting to the point where I almost wouldn’t mind seeing him pop up randomly in someone’s “flash sideways” doing something stupid that makes no sense at all to the plot… I just miss his face…

And then...

Initial Thoughts #5

Last Time Out: JSR dominated the field with 9 points, earning his 3rd victories in 4 tries. Gonna try another shot at this game, though I'm not sure if anyone is having fun besides him.

I'm going to give you the initials of a number of characters from a movie. It won't always be the same number of characters, and the initials won't always stand for a proper name. You name the movie. Simple enough? I thought so.

The Movies
1. DP, HWP, PS, ES
2. JL, MG, CS, GG, WG
3. JT, WT, DT
4. LK, JC, SB, ST, PK, LR
5. DN, TW, AC, JS, CS, TD
6. B, TSQ, B, R, S
7. C, D, T, J, M, A, T, E
8. BF, GG, CF, DT
9. AS, AH,
10. PV, RS, ES, WZ, DB, LT
11. AW, JW, D (PD), BM, S
12. JP, EL, RC, BM, KE, BW

Good luck!

Standings:
Jack's Smirking Revenge - 3
Arjun - 1

Correct answers so far:
1. There Will Be Blood (JSR)
2. Fargo (JSR)
3. The Shining (simoncolumb)
4.
5. Caddyshack (JSR)
6. Mallrats (JSR)
7.
8. Wall Street (simoncolumb)
9.
10. Ghostbusters (JSR)
11.
12. Road Trip (JSR)

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: Daybreakers

1. There exist beings called "vampires."

This is probably the largest leap of faith that Daybreakers asks you to make, and since we're all pretty damn familiar with the various tropes and shackles of the genre, it's a leap that I'm sure everyone in the audience is more than willing to take (otherwise, why would they be there?).

2. Due to the existence of said vampires and the nature of their "transmittal" illustrated in this piece of fiction (i.e. a vampire bites another person, thereby making them a vampire as well; no reciprocation is necessary, though it all begins as a pandemic of sorts), the world soon counts vampires as the vast majority of the population, with but a few remaining human counterparts.

This point is not only believable, but one that makes you wonder why it is that this idea had yet to be seen in modern vampire stories, much less the dominating set-up. It makes too much sense not to have surfaced previously. This is where someone tells me that is showed up in a comic book in 1984 or something; that's not what I mean necessarily - why haven't we ALL seen this premise and multiple variants of it? All (or at least many) vampire stories should have this built-in and work from there.

3. Due to the dwindling number of humans (read: food sources) available, steps have been taken to ensure the future of life (vampire life, that is) on the planet. This is done via a) the farming of humans, similar in style to the battery model used in The Matrix, and b) attempts at producing synthetic blood, suitable for stable consumption by the world's population.

All of the major conflicts radiate from this point, as well they should, since it's the one that provides the allegory for the impending drying up of the real Earth's oil supply. It's handled strongly if a bit heavy-handed.

Most vampires are content to continue drinking human blood at their everyday rate of consumption, assured that the power structure will come up with something to sustain their survival. A minority exists, however, that drive Priuses does not/has not/will not ever enjoy the indirect cannibalism that they're asked to participate in, instead imbibing in "lesser" bloods, coming from animals like rats or rabbits (see, Vampire, Interview with the). Naturally, our protagonist fits into the latter category (played by Ethan Hawke yet voiced by the Dark Knight - er, also Hawke, who must believe that whispering makes his voice seem less whiny). By the way, so far, so good as far as the movie's concerned.

4. Should a vampire abstain from drinking blood for an extended period of time or drink the blood of another vampire or drink their own blood, they will devolve into a non-humanoid, bat-like creature devoid of intellect and somewhat immeasurably stronger.

This is where Daybreakers began to go off the rails. As I said, though I'm able to make the much larger leap of faith in buying into the existence of vampires in the first place, something about these creatures getting stronger and more fierce as they should be withering away discombobulates my Spock-like logical mind. That and it seems as though this element was added purely for shock/scare value, of which little was added. The film would have been vastly better without this element added; while it's understandable that something needs to happen when they go without blood (food), I could have reconciled it much easier had they merely melted away or imploded or some other such nonsense.

5. (Thus begins the spoilerific stuff, if you care) Vampires can be transformed back into humans through a process that includes them entering the sun's harsh UV rays, thus setting them afire, combined with dousing said fire immediately. Think of it like the paddles you see in a hospital setting, essentially jolting their insides back to "life."

Yeah. Sure. Whatever.

6. If a "normal" vampire drinks the blood of a "former" vampire (not human via the sun trick), said vampire will him/herself mutate back into human form.

This was a nifty plot device, but one that ultimately led to Daybreakers' demise. Rather than dealing with it a single ounce (get it? Ugh.) of restraint, the appearance of any humanoid form to the now-starved population led them to act like the scarabs from The Mummy movies, tearing apart anyone within their immediate vicinity in seconds flat. So much for conservation of resources. In effect, this turned the film from an interesting vampire/sci-fi study into an out-and-out splattery gorefest, which was mind-numbingly boring more than shocking.

To top it all off, we're given a Matrix-y overly serious voiceover ending. Heck of a job taking a perfectly good concept and flushing it down the toilet.

Fletch's Film Rating:

	"Whatever"

Shaky Cam Rating (details):	LAMBScore:

And then...

Stained Glass Cinema Sunday (#81)

No one has gotten the Expert-level poster for a couple weeks now; I think that'll change this week.

BEGINNER


















EXPERT



















Standings:
J.D. - 18
Fletch - 14
Nick - 6
Wendymoon, Clive Dangerously - 5
Dreamrot (smacdonn) - 4
Jason/Daniel, David Bishop, Rachel, JLG - 3
Evan Derrick, Jason Soto, BD79 - 2
Steel11Kane, TonyD, Luke Harrington, Adam Ross, Justin, Anders, Dave, Big Mike Mendez, Nic Cage, CaptainRon19, TJMAC510 - 1

Here are the altered/actual posters from last time:

And then...

TGITDNMAR (2/19/10)

It's that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released.

Just one wide release, but keep an eye out for your local arthouse theater - with any luck, you might be getting a chance to see the Oscar-nominated shorts in the coming weeks. Thanks to local (and ever-expanding) chain Harkins for playing the live-action and animated ones this weekend. We hope to catch at least one of the programs.

Finally, there seem to be more movies I have at least a passing interest in seeing then we might have time for. On the potenial docket: The White Ribbon, The Wolfman, The Last Station, the shorts, and the two listed below. Also, if you happen to see Saint John of Las Vegas, I'd like to hear your thoughts - I've seen mostly rotten reviews for the Steve Buscemi-starring character piece, but in today's paper, there was a 4-star one. Color me confused.

Shutter Island
This sub-genre doesn't exactly thrill me, and I'm not near the Scorcese nut that some people are (don't get me wrong, he's great and all, I just don't worship the ground he directs on), but I must admit that as this has gotten closer to opening, my desire to see it has ticked up a bit as well. Helping matters (a lot) is the neverending list of great (mostly character) actors involved (Levine, Lynch, von Sydow, Kingsley, Clarkson, Koteas). It also helps that there's apparently a shocker ending that must be seen to be believed. Even more incentive - it's the topic of the next LAMBcast, to be recorded tomorrow.

Well, all that and I just love the part where Sir Ben holds his palms opposite each other, spreads them apart slowly and states, "It's as if she evaporated, straight through the walls."
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 81%

The Ghost Writer
Though I was aware of it, I hadn't even watched the trailer for this until earlier today. All I knew previously was Roman Polanski and Ewan McGregor were involved. So obviously not much interest overall. Then, just before seeing the trailer, I saw that Kim Catrall was prominently involved. Ugh.

That's all changed. Though he seems to rarely display much range, I'm a big fan of Pierce Brosnan, especially when he does step out of the "suave guy" role (though he perfected it not in any Bond flick, but the excellent caper remake The Thomas Crown Affair). See The Matador and then tell me he wouldn't be great in pulpier fare. Here, he's playing a possibly murderous writer, and I relish the chance to see him play a villainous character. Also on board is the always-excellent and underused Olivia Williams, last seen being underutilized again in An Education.

But even after just one viewing, the thing that got me the most was the look of the movie; sharp, clean, modern, and just a tap creepy. I have high hopes for this being a memorable thriller.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 70%

And then...

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 2 Recap/Live Blog

I said it before, I'll say it again: Boston Rob is not going home tonight, and if he is, then the people in charge of making the previews for future episodes are idiots. Why would you give away what is (to date) the most important aspect of the game? It's a tease, plain and simple - a scare, but rest assured, the most compelling player in the game is not leaving just yet.

And if he is, then the Villain tribe just got a lot less interesting.

Let the show begin.

7:06: It's a cheap shot, but it must be said: does Courtney really need to wear a swimsuit top? It's like a security system for a car on blocks.

7:09: Here it comes...

7:09: Interesting that Rob is talking to us from the confessional seemingly after his passing out session. What might that indicate?

7:11: I loved this from the previews last week. This is a reality show, right? I don't see cameras on the contestants' heads, so how is it that we have POINT OF VIEW footage from Rob's fall exactly? Lame. No need to amp up the drama, producers. There's enough already.

7:18: Thank you. I told you so. Good for Rob - turns into a flu-ridden crybaby, but can easily make fun of himself.

7:21: Some people in the world desire food. Others desire money. Even more desire love and compassion. Never thought I'd see a group of people so happy to see some rope, a blanket and nails. I know we've seen that kind of reaction to the prospect of winning everyday items before, but something about the joy displayed made me chuckle. Those poor saps.

7:23: Who else wants to see James just pick up his crate and run with it?

7:25: Villains are gonna win this one. It's a little-known fact that evil people rule at puzzles.

7:27: Ok, now who else really, really wants to see an Angry James? *raises hand fervently*

7:28: Kill 'em, James, kill 'em! You can do it!

7:35: Big moral dilmena for my mom right there - she loves Tom and James, so when the former called the latter a loser, I had to pause and asked her who she sided with. Of course, she chose Tom - what an ageist, right?

7:36: Uh-oh, the whole "Don't be a leader" scare tactic has worked its way back into the game, as the big-headed children at the Villains camp are feeling awfully threatened by Boston Rob's legendary greatness. Watch your back, Rob.

7:38: Meanwhile, as much as I like James, he is talking sh*tloads of trash, and probably to the wrong people, too. I feel your pain, and I understand that Steph was on a losing team, but broadcasting that to the world probably isn't going to be enough to get people to vote for her, and only makes you look like a jerk.

7:39: "We're the three on the outs," says Tom to Stephenie and Colby. Uh, Tom - I don't think Colby's going anywhere, at least not until he retires. Golden Boy Favre-clone tells you when he's ready to leave the game, not vice-versa.

7:43: Candice, you're right - you are on the bottom of either camp, you are the swing vote, and the person that's in the swing vote is only temporarily in a position of power. But once that choice is made and the hammer comes down, you immediately go to a position of weakness, since then (as you know) you're back to being on the bottom on whichever team you choose.

7:44: Of course, none of that bothers me, since I barely know who Candice is and wouldn't mind seeing her go anyway.

7:45: There's something being lost in the translation here between the other players and me when it comes to Stephenie. I don't even understand why she has a target on her back; the only thing I can conclude is that it's about relationships, and she's on the outs with this group.

7:47: "I'll be damned if there's anybody named "y'all" up in here." Awesome line by James.

7:49: How beautiful is it that the HERO tribe, the tribe made up of supposedly "good guys" (and gals) is the one that's 100% at each other's throats? Villains living in harmony (mostly); Heroes pointing fingers and bickering. CBS couldn't have asked for better drama this early in the season. It also demonstrates why all-star type seasons have the potential to be so much better overall, at least for the viewer: we already know all these people (to an extent), so we don't have to waste 4-6 episodes wondering where everyone's head is at. Good stuff.

7:50: Can Amanda please, just for once, not look like she's about to cry when at a Tribal Council?

7:51: Kind of a shame. I like Stephenie, and didn't like seeing her and James fight with each other.

7:52: That's right, folks - next week...on Survivor: James flips alliance and joins the Villain tribe! Yes!

7:55: Ha! I said that before I saw the preview. I'm a damn psychic. Maybe James is suffering from a light case of roid rage? I hate to say it, but if 90% of baseball players (100% of which are smaller than James) can be presumed guilty, why not him? He does seem a bit...prickly. Probably not too good for his long-term prospects, though I can't imagine any tribe voting a guy that big and strong off any time soon.

Survivor news at Survivor.com
Survivor homepage at CBS.com
Interviews with the castoffs at The Movie Encyclopedia

And then...

Thursday's Things to Click On (2/18/10)

It's been nearly two and a half years since the last time I did one of these posts, but it's high time I brought it back. Though I still do a fair bit of movie blog reading, I've found that being the so-called shepherd of the LAMB has taken some of the fun of discovering new sites and great posts away from me - it's much harder to discover things when they're always brought to you first, and I have less and less time to read (and write) posts these days. Those aren't complaints, but mere facts mixed with a smidge of nostalgia, I suppose.

This re-introductionary post (sure, 'cause that's a word) is somewhat ironic in that I'm not exactly going outside the box. All are from friends and LAMB members (though that's likely to be increasingly harder to avoid, not that I mind), and they're also even readers of this site, but a) it's a good place to start and b) I enjoyed all of these posts greatly:

* First, how often is it that you have the chance to have a truly great time at the theater (quality of the film you're seeing notwithstanding). Here, Plus Trailers' Tom Clift regales us with the "greatest cinema experience of his life."

* Rachel of Rachel's Reel Reviews says "I Love You" a lot on Valentine's Day.

* Travis over at The Movie Encyclopedia is also a Survivor fan. Here, he steps outside his movie-reviews-only realm to interview the first Survivor: H vs. V castoff.

* Finally, a total cheat, as this one is directly from the LAMB. I probably shouldn't specifically call anybody out, as I don't want to offend anyone else, but Jason's writeup on District 9 illustrated why he's one of the funnier movie writers I get a chance to read, even if most of the time he's writing about movies I don't care about. Maybe you could start up an "A Movies" website, Jason? C'mon, we know you've got the time.


And for those that care, have no fear: the Survivor live blog is still coming in a few hours.

And then...

LOST Episode 3 Breakdown

Oh yeah, I guess I am supposed to put together a Lost breakdown for last night’s episode, that crapfest last night didn’t exactly inspire me, so between that and Fletch’s minions disparaging my grammar last week (ripping on my grammar… that was really hitting me where it hurts, sniff), let’s just go with the top 11 reasons that John Locke/Smoke Monster centric episode blew:


11. I liked how they casually mention that the Monster can’t change form anymore, a nice little homemade loophole to keep Terry O’Quinn on the show. Besides who’s going to question this retarded Island rule they made out of convenience, when they make up an average of about 20 an episode.

10. Wow, so John Locke would have still been paralyzed if they hadn’t landed on the Island?? Who’d have guessed? We get it, things would have different if the plane had landed in LA, I don’t think I can stand a season worth of these “flash sideways” (as the Lost nerds are calling them).

9. I had almost forgotten how annoying Ilyana was until last night’s episode, plus she’s not that attractive either, how did she manage to seduce a multi-millionaire Sayid back in the day… curious.

8. Their plan to do two retarded storylines and just rotate them every other week that they started last season (with the 1977 past plotline one week, then present day plotline the next week) and continued into this season (with Team Locke one week, and Team Temple the next) is really annoying me. Its fine if you’re churning through a season on hulu in a week, but when you can barely remember their retard plots anyway and then they switch to a completely different one next week, it just takes us out of it, by next week I will have forgotten that Claire is back and allegedly psycho.

7. Oh my god, so Rose is working in Temp office and still has cancer!!! I’m beginning to think things might have played out differently for the characters if the plane hadn’t crashed on the Island…

6. Wait I thought Ben was just bs-ing with his story about Jacob’s list, apparently Jake really does have a list, and his chosen people all correspond to a number. Whatever, I think everyone got over all that number/list hoopla back in season 2, they better have a hell of a resolution if they’re reintroducing it.

5. Holy cow, Hurley would have still been rich if the plane hadn’t crashed!! This strange new world frightens and confuses me, it’s too different from my reality. At least Hurley is still fat and still a douche, otherwise my head would have surely exploded!!!

4. I knew something was missing this season, a weird looking kid who couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag, hopefully this ghost kid follows around “Locke” for the rest of the season. Better yet maybe he and Walt will get their own spinoff next season.

3. Apparently Alpert doesn’t know as much as we hoped he did, too bad, if he and “Locke” had been able to just have a candid discussion about what was happening on the Island, they could have wrapped up a good chunk of their retarded “mysteries “, and put this season out of its misery early.

2. What does it take to get some damn Desmondo up in this piece? The guy appeared in like two episodes last season, and only made one 5 second cameo this season. I guess you can’t fault the producers, anytime you can completely write your best character out of a show, you have to do it.

1. Benjamin Linus, alternate reality history teacher?!?! But, but he’s an Other leading, good guy killing psycho, how could he be an ordinary history teacher?? It must be some sort of secret plan of going undercover to kill John Locke again, because if he was just an ordinary teacher that would mean Jack blowing up the Island somehow changed things… and if that were the case, surely they would have found a subtle way to let us know things were different in this reality.

And then...

Poll results; new poll

All you "other" responders in the last poll need to speak up and tell us what your most anticipated movie of 2010 is, because seeing Iron Man 2 and Shutter Island as the two winners pretty much depresses me. Then again, the rest of the choices aren't all that impressive, but I expected a better showing from Harry Potter 7.1, and a much better showing from Chris Nolan's Inception.

Speaking of Chris Nolan, these poll results and other discussions got me to thinking about all of the fantastic directors (and even some that just started out great but flamed out) that broke out in the 90s. New poll wants to know which you think has had the best overall career (interpret that as you like). Seems like an easy choice...until you see all the choices.

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: Avatar and Sherlock Holmes

These are the last remaining movies that I have yet to review from 2009. They also just so happen to be (in case you forgot) the biggest box office hit of the year and the #12 entry on that list (soon to be #10, no doubt). In other words, you might have heard of them.

Since I'm more than a month removed from viewing either, and since I more or less drained my supply of Avatar thoughts in LAMBcast #9, I'll spare myself the exercise in giving it a proper review and spare you the need to read too much more about the most written-about movie of the new millennium, no doubt. Holmes, meanwhile, will just be the victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, so to speak, though really, it's not all that deep of a film, so any thorough analysis seems like a waste of time anyway. Instead, some good and some bad about each and my ratings for them.

Avatar
Good:
* The most visually interesting film yet created, I dare say. I'm envious of the folks that got to create a world from scratch - they probably didn't realize it at the time, but I'd imagine they had more fun making it than anyone did watching it, and that's saying something.

* Stephen Lang makes a hell of a villain, even if said villain is paper thin.

* The USB connectivity between the natives and their world. This felt to me like the only original element added to this story, though I'm sure someone will come along and tell me that it, too, was swiped from another piece of pop culture (FernGully, perhaps? Haven't seen that, so I wouldn't know all of the minutiae).

Bad:
* All the talk of Avatar being this generation's Star Wars is bullsh*t; for all that people might like to trash Lucas (myself included), at the very least, that film had characters that were memorable beyond three days of seeing the film. I can scarcely name three characters from Avatar.

* Unobtainium. It comes off as a joke either way you interpret it, but it's equally bad no matter what. They should have just called it MacGuffin and got it over with.

* Its place on top of the (fake) box office list and granting of a Best Picture nomination. I won't go so far as to trash the movie, but things like that really, really, make we want to. I wasn't exactly thrilled with Titanic's spot on top of the b.o. list, either, but it sat better with me for some reason.

Fletch's Film Rating:

	"Darn tootin!"

Shaky Cam Rating (details):	LAMBScore:

Sherlock Holmes
Good:

* The banter between Downey, Jr. and Law is what makes the film. Without it, my early dreaded Wild Wild West feeling from the film seems pretty accurate. The period, the emphasis on new technology in the mid-19th century, the silent giant, the nobody-cares love interest - it's all there. But Holmes and Watson have one of the best buddy non-romances we've seen in an action flick since Top Gun, and Guy Ritchie's tough guy charm was a great way to un-stuff the place.

* Speaking of Ritchie, I enjoyed his touches (the slo-mo stuff) and the overall mood he brought to the table. An excellent match of source material and director.

* Eddie Marsan - the excellent character actor and future FF-UN has a mostly unmemorable role, but is always a welcome addition to any cast.

Bad
* The Scooby Doo ending. It's understandable that a film like this needs to have an element of Scoobyness, but this one left a bad taste in my mouth. We all know that Holmes is a genius and all that, but having a series of clues that might only be guessed by a brilliant chemist (and even then, probably not) takes the fun out of a mystery movie, if you ask me.

* Along the same lines, the script was written in such a way that the characters - all of them - were too comfortable with whatever situation they were in, regardless of the situation. Everyone was always multiple steps ahead of the audience, and were somehow steps ahead of each other, even when they weren't. We get it - they're all light years ahead of the rest of the peons that were inhabiting their world.

* Rachel McAdams. I felt bad for her more than anything. Just a pointless role, or a badly written one. Maybe they should've gotten Salma Hayek to reprise her Wild Wild West role.

Fletch's Film Rating:

	"Darn tootin!"

Shaky Cam Rating (details):	LAMBScore:

And then...