Shoot 'Em Up

View Date: 6/27/09

This movie stars Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti in an action flick. Clive Owen is trying to protect first a pregnant woman then her newborn child from Paul Giamatti and his gang, who are trying to kill her.

I found this movie to be a lot funnier than I think it was meant to be. Clive Owen's main waepon is a raw carrot, which he uses for everything from a killing weapon to an extra (non-broken) finger. Some of Paul Giamatti's lines are just hilarious. The scenes with the lactating hooker are some of the best.

10 words or less: Funny even if it wasn't supposed to be.

Hamlet 2

View Date: 6/27/09

Hamlet 2 is the story of an untalented high school drama teacher who' typically miniscule class ireceives an influx of minority students. When he goes to talk to the administration about it, he finds out that the drama program is about to be cut and he will be out of a job.

Rather than doing any of the standard repertoir of high school plays and musicals, the teacher poorly rewrites or reimagines recent movie successes to disasterous results. After several variations and alterations, he develops the musical Hamlet 2. He and the students have to fight tooth and nail to make sure the show goes on.

A subplot involves the drama teacher and his wife trying to start a family. They go to a fertility clinic where the actress Elisabeth Shue is now working as a nurse after leaving show business behind. This subplot, and appearances by Ms. Shue, thread through the entire movie.

I eventually liked this movie. I found the beginning rather tedious, but once the details of Hamlet 2 start being revealed, and the show is performed, I was more invested. After that, I couldn't stop watching. Excellent acting and a fabulous cast round out the movie.

10 words or less: Funny once the show goes on.

Top Chef: Masters (Bravo)

Contestants: Douglas Rodriguez, Anita Lo, John Besh, and Mark Peel

Quickfire Challenge: The competitors have to cook eggs with one hand behind their backs, and they have 25 minutes to cook. Gail Simmons saying that she tastes burnt grease in your dish is never a good sign. With the help of another contestant, Anita was able to pull

Elimination Challenge: Create a delicious dinner for Neil Patrick Harris and his friends with a magic theme. Each contestant had to pick a card from a faceless deck in various ways from a magician. The dish has to be inspired on one of the four qualities of magic: mystery, spectacle, surprise, and illusion. Anita categorically won the elimination challenge, which was well deserved.

10 words or less: Only a few weeks left of this.

SYTYCD

View Date: 7/8/09

The top 12 are dancing tonight, and Cat just announced that each couple will be doing two dances tonight. Cat is wearing a lovely LBD tonight. With her picking her own outfits this year, I think her wardrobe has improved dramatically. She also looks adorable with the pinned-up hair. Tyce DiOrio is the guest judge this week, which should be enjoyable. He's a lot like Adam Shankman in that he tells it like it is, but he also sticks up for the dancers. His comments are very constructive, if he likes it or if he doesn't.


Melissa and Ade:

This couple's first dance was a Doriana Sanchez disco routine. He looks like he's straight out of the 70's with the way he moves. Those dance steps are executed perfectly. (Mom- They should have put her in tights. It looks weird for some reason.) While the lifts were stunning feats of strength for Ade and flexibility for Melissa, the transitions into the lifts looked somewhat awkward. It was a fun routine for the first dance of the night. I seem to be liking the disco routines this year much better than ever before.

This couple's second dance of the night was a Ron Montez waltz. She is such an amazing dancer, as he is, but she just seems to float across the floor. You can totally see the trust between the two with the way she just throws herself at him. It was a very beautiful number. It will be very sad to see this partnership separate next week, but it will be interesting to see them with different partners.


Kayla and Kupono:

This couple's first routine was a Mia Michaels contemporary routine with a backstory of addiction. Kayla is playing the addict, and Kupono is her drug. (Mom- This one gives me goosebumps.) I could actually really see the backstory come through in this routine. I thought that this was a lovely routine, and Kupono can portray an evil little smile/smirk. I really like Tyce's description that the best dancers are the best actors, because it really seems true on this show.

This couple's second dance of the night was a Joey Dowling broadway routine about love at first sight. Gotta love West Side Story any time or way it is performed. I thought is was lively, but it felt like it needed a bigger group. They danced the steps very well, but it didn't grab my attention like other routines did tonight.


Caitlin and Jason:

This couple's first dance was a Tony Meredith foxtrot number. I generally really like the foxtrot. I just think it is such a classy dance, and it usually reminds me of old Hollywood. I realize that I am biased against this couple because of Caitlin, but something just seemed a little off with the dance. (Mom- It was better than I thought it would be.)

This couple's second dance was a Mandy Moore lyrical jazz routine. The judges will be expecting a lot out of these two because this is very close to their own style. (Mom- He does good gloor work.) This was a very pretty routine. My biggest problem with is is that, for being a lyrical number, I didn't really see the story come across.


Jeanine and Phillip:

This couple's first dance of the night was a Russian folk dance. She did very well, but he almost looked like a dancing scarecrow or rag doll during his actual steps. Now, when he was doing the tricks, he seemed much more comfortable, but he probably shouldn't have smiled so much or had quite as much blush on. I agree with Nigel that it looked rather like a couple of kids dancing a very folky dance. I also agree with him that, compared with Josh and Twitch's number last year, it was no comparison. (Mom- I wonder if they had to tone down the choreography because the dancers couldn't get the steps, or if it was really meant to be that simple.)

This couple's second dance of the night was a Tony Meredith jive. The first dance that popped into my head when I heard that was "uh-oh". He looks really awkward when he smiles. (Mom- he has a Jerry Lewis smile.) I thought this was a lot of fun, but he does look awkward in some of these other dance styles, which is most likely due to his lack of training. I thought it started off really well, but he seemed to lose steam toward the end. However, this was the best review that Nigel has given him in a long time. All that said, I was impressed with the routine, Phillip in particular. (Mom- He was really kicking strong and high tonight, much better than before.) They reminded me of the dancers at the wedding in Steel Magnolias, or even a little of Benji.


Randi and Evan:

This couple's first dance was a Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop number. The characters they were given was a young couple in love that just found out they were expecting a baby. I thought the story really came out through the dancing, and they were amazingly in sync. I thought they did really well, especially considering this is totally out of their style. I think they did a lot better this week than they did last week. I also actually agree with Mary in that I was kind of expecting a train wreck once I heard they were doing hip-hop, but I really liked the routine. I am liking Tabitha and Napoleon more and more every week as choreographers.

This couple's second dance of the night was a Pasha and Anya samba. She does embrace her tasks. I think this really does have a Pasha feel to it with the wrist flicks and arm movements in particular. I thought the choreography was very good. It did seem kind of funny seeing Evan try to be sexy in a ballroom dance kind of way. I thought they did a reasonable job, but I see Evan as more cute than sexy, and he needed to be sexy in this routine.


Brandon and Janette:

This couple's first dance of the night was an Argentine Tango. (Mom- She has the look.) Gorgeous. Stunning. And they got a standing ovation from the judges, and you really got to see how short Tyce is. The lifts were divine. Both of their kicks, but especially his around her waist, were phenomenal. Amazing. They juiced the whole orange, and got every bit out. (Mom- Well, the orange juice goes with the tamales.)

This couple's second dance of the night was a Wade Robson jazz routine about two thieves. This was a fun and bouncy (Mom- and weird) routine. These two are absolutely amazing, and Nigel is right that they showed it tonight. Totally synchronized, brilliantly choreographed, and fabulously danced. It is going to be very hard to see these guys split up as well.


Another night of great dancing, and I don't really know who might be in trouble. I think the safe couples should be Brandon/Janette and Ade/Melissa. That said, who really knows at this point. Next week should be very interesting, and hopefully they'll be able to bring back some of the people already eliminated for the tour.

10 words or less: Tomorrow will be a sad night with two going home.

Make It or Break It

This is a new show on ABC Family about the lives of a series of elite gymnasts. The circumstances in one gym are turned completely upside-down when a new gymnast, who happens to be on scholarship and was discovered at her local YMCA, beats out one of the usual girls for a spot on the Nationals team.

I'm really not sure about this show. I realize I've only watched the first two episodes, but it really isn't drawing me in. Last night, I was more compelled to take a phone call and watch a movie than tune in to this show.

Perhaps I expected more humor from this series. Unfortunately, the only funny parts of the show aren't actually meant to be funny. And the parts that are meant to be dramatic only make me want to smack one of the girls for being so selfish and snotty. In the first episode, this particular character had failed in her own routines and purposely sabotaged the new girl. Now I realize that this is only a TV show and that it is a work of fiction, but these types of things happen in real life and have killed young girls. Not the kind of thing I would think this channel would want to air.

10 words or less: Make It or Break It? Definitely broken.

The Smokers

View Date: 7/6/09

This independent film starring Dominique Swain and Busy Phillips is about a small group of girls at a boarding school known as the smokers. They are having a difficult time dealing with guys during their senior year, and are glad they are so close.

After visiting the home of one of the girls during a school break and being exposed to a gun, one of them gets the idea to start attacking the guys in their lives so they know what it feels like to be attacked. Hence, the start of the downward spiral.

This movie was pretty good, and had a nice little twist at the end. For me, the circumstances at the end surprised me quite a bit for two of the main trio and one of the guys. And the very end had a wrap-up of what each of the characters di with their lives after leaving school, which I always enjoy.

In summary, it was a decent movie. I'm glad I didn't pay to see it, but it was good on video.

10 words or less: Good flick with a nice ending twist.

Decisions That Shook the World

Completion Date: 7/1/09

This History Channel documentary series provided an interesting look at three crucial presidential decisions that changed the course of American history.

LBJ signed into motion several key civil rights laws that progressed our society on a national front. Kennedy is remembered as the Civil Rights president because he had planned to enact these laws prior to his assassination. LBJ made the crucial decision to proceed with Kennedy's plans, even though his record indicated that he would generally not support them. Unfortunately, LBJ's legacy is overshadowed by our entrance into Vietnam and the aftermath. However, even months before his death, LBJ continued to work for civil rights.

Reagan's support of the Star Wars program, however underfunded, was a decisive offensive stance toward foreign policy. Even though the program is remembered as a failure, it did provide other countries the opinion that the US would attack if provoked. The program also intimates that the Star Wars program was key in the fall of communism and the breakup of the USSR.

Finally, the program discussed FDR's decision to arm England prior to the US's entry into World War II. Doing this outright was illegal, so he found ways, such as bartering, to provide support to England. Even with the loopholes he found, much of what he did was borderline illegal, and thus he did not notify the American public until after he did them. His ultimate goal was to support another nation to delay the US's entrance into the war as long as possible. He knew that if England fell, the US would have no other choice but to enter the war. Once Pearl Harbor happened, the American public did not have a problem in general declaring war on Japan, but still had issues declaring war on Germany. FDR did his best to protect the interests of the US, and to protect the US's position in the world.

This, like many other History Channel productions, was very well produced. It helped remind me about moments in our country's history that are sometimes forgotten because they are overshadowed by other events taking place around the same time.

10 words or less: Well-produced and educational.