Reviews

Others have pointed out the coincidence of the bullies running into Mike and Dustin in the canyon, and the uncomfortable fight between Jonathan and Steve. Both bothered me, too contrived and I think the bully story line should have died after the school assembly.

But the thing that bothered me most was "dumbing down" the episode by showing flashbacks of Elle using her powers during the scene in the bedroom of Terry's home. Was there anyone watching this episode that didn't make the connection between Terry's "miscarriage" and Elle? The writers showed a lack of trust in the intelligence of viewers....what's next, voice-over? But even with those three complaints still a high quality, well acted and produced episode, and a necessary exposition episode to set up the final two chapters.

This entertaining and informative documentary provides a fairly complete picture of Bill Nye, including his childhood, education, the creation of "Bill Nye, The Science Guy" television show, and his current activities. The filmmakers were given tremendous access and also given final cut on content decisions, and this leads to several personal revealing moments that were obviously uncomfortable for Nye.

In addition to the personal moments there are a number of fascinating sequences. We get a nice peek behind the scenes at his two interactions with Ken Hamm from Answers in Genesis. We also get to see his work with the Planetary Society on the design and launch of a solar sail propelled space probe, and we follow Nye as he takes a trip to a glacier and talks to scientists about ice core research.

Nye and the filmmakers confront the climate change controversy head-on which leads to some uncomfortable moments. The film definitely promotes the scientific consensus that human activity is contributing to climate change, but it also gives opponents a decent amount of screen time.

Bottom line, an entertaining documentary that covers both personal and professional sides of Bill Nye and lets us see the man behind the bow tie and lab coat.

This episode of "Live From The Artists Den" documents a live Damien Rice performance recorded at Greenpoint Loft in Brooklyn NY. Rice performed solo except for choir backing on the final song (Trusty and True). The TV episode includes performances of:

The Professor & La Fille Danse, Elephant, My Favourite Faded Fantasy, Delicate, The Greatest Bastard, The Blower's Daughter, Amie, I Rememer, Trusty and True.

I attended the taping, so my review may be skewed a bit. The performance space was an old loft in an industrial section of Brooklyn, and it was a perfect space for this intimate show. Damien was in fine voice, and the TV episode captures the performance with high quality HD audio and video. The song selection covers his career pretty well, with a focus on the most recent album. If you're a fan of contemporary folk then don't miss this episode.

I would have given a 10 except for three very minor quibbles. First, they cut six songs that were performed, probably due to time constraints for the broadcast. Second, while Damien usually banters with the audience and tells stories there is none of that in this show. Finally, the final song "Trusty and True" was recorded with a lapel mic. Live at the taping it sounded fine since the audience could hear his full voice without amplification (it's a VERY small space). On the TV episode the mic lends a tinny feel to his vocal on the track.

Based on the prior films in the Cornetto trilogy (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) I had high hopes the The World's End. When I left the theater after viewing World's End I felt a little let down, both because of the script as well as the execution. Since I've indicated the review contains spoilers then I will assume that you have seen the film or that you don't mind knowing about the film in advance.

SPOILERS!

The film starts pretty well, good voice-over from Simon Pegg to give us the history and then a nice montage to bring us up to present day and start us on the adventure. The film drags a little bit in the first third but gains momentum as they start the pub crawl and kicks into gear when they first battle the robots.

From here it moved really well for a while, funny, action packed, entertaining, and with some humanity as well. The old gang started to gel, and it was quite entertaining.

The last third of the film mostly fell apart for me. The best moment was when they met up in the old shack and verified their identities by checking old scars. Other than that the rest of the film had several problems for me.

1: I thought the fight scenes were a bit long, and I was less than impressed with the robots and their abilities.

2: Two key members of the pub crawl are killed by the aliens, and very little is made of that. Added to the fact that the robots appear kind of incompetent initially it feels mean-spirited.

3: The scene in the base below The World's End was too long, and too dumb. The alien arguing with two drunk humans just seemed silly, but without being funny.

4: And what exactly was up with the final scene where Simon Pegg shows up at a pub with "empties" and demands water for all of them. Is he now hanging with empties?

So, for the first two thirds and bits of the final third I give the film a 6. It could have been better, and I was disappointed as I wanted it to be great.

I'm probably one of the last people in the world to see this movie, and I'm glad I didn't spend $10+ to see it in the theaters. Technically, the effects are amazing, and Heath Ledger does give a very good performance as The Joker (though crazy people are the easiest characters to portray IMHO).

My issues with the film are:

• Batman resorts to physical torture in several scenes. The Batman I know would scare criminals, mostly through the fear of the mysterious "bat man". However, dropping a crime boss off a building to break his ankles is pretty extreme, and even his treatment of The Joker in the interrogation room is over the top.

• The film has too many plot lines...romance triangle, Two Face, both add extra baggage. The "Two Face" story line (coupled with a love triangle) could be a film on its own. And how about the Wayne Enterprises employee who was going to reveal Batman?

• Plot holes galore....I can suspend my disbelief and let Batman "fly", but how can the Joker sneak explosives into hospitals and ferry boats in MASSIVE quantities without anyone noticing?

• Too long by about 30 minutes. If they had trimmed a few plot lines it might have worked better.

So enjoyable to watch, and probably a 7 rather than a 5, but I feel I need to vote down a bit to offset all the crazy 10 ratings.

I had read both positive and negative reviews prior to seeing the film so I went in with an open mind. However, I had high expectations because of the three earlier films (well, two out of the three) and the money and talent being put into the film.

The positives: Harrison Ford was excellent, LeBeof was pretty good, Karen Allen was good after her initial scene. The effects were quite good, not a distracting as the CGI in many films from the past few years. Good chase scenes, disturbing nuclear blast, and one cool over-the-top scene with ants (doesn't every Indiana Jones film have at least one over the top gross out scene?)

The negatives: Cate Blanchett was wasted, the alien plot line was convoluted, Indie's associate was annoying (don't just break his nose, please KILL him), and there were many plot problems (escape from soda shop, then go back to house and read the letter?)

So if you're a fan of the Indiana Jones films then you'll probably find #4 enjoyable. Considering how much talent and money was thrown at this film, you'd expect a better product on the screen. However, films like Pirates 3 show that money and talent doesn't guarantee great movies. At least this film clocks on at only two hours.

If you're looking for a stylish and technically interesting film then Children of Men is worth your time. The cinematography, editing, sound design, art design, and other technical visual and audio elements of this movie are outstanding. There are a two amazing extended scenes shot as one continuous take, although my guess (haven't watched supplemental materials) is that the scenes were digitally stitched together. No matter how it was done, what matters is how it looks on the screen and IMHO they look amazing.

However, that's really all the film has. The plot is simplistic and the acting mediocre. Michael Caine brings the screen to life a bit when he's on screen, but the rest of the cast phones it in. Regarding the plot, here are two examples of laughable elements (and I haven't read the book so maybe I should blame the author):

• We learn that the main character's son died....from pandemic flu! So 1/3 of the way into a film about how humanity is dying out due to worldwide sterility the writers feel the need to heap another catastrophe into the mix. I laughed when it was revealed the son died from pandemic flu.

• There's a "bad guy" henchman right out of James Bond films. He guns down a character in one scene (amazing long scene #1), shows up a few scenes later at a hideout, and then shows up again to try and kill the main character in the second amazing long scene. He's almost a caricature of screen villains...evil yet mildly incompetent.

I must admit that I'm a film geek when it comes to technical style elements, so the long steadicam shots were a bit distracting to me. However, they were amazing to watch, and the film was entertaining in an escapist sort of way.

Sometimes the challenge for a documentary filmmaker is to make the subject matter interesting, but in this case it's a piece of cake. The "Slasher" refers to a used car sale specialist who travels to dealerships around the country to run weekend events and move lots of cars. He brings along a DJ and occasionally an additional car salesman, but the film is truly centered around him. He's a bundle of energy, chain smokes, drinks Heineken to excess, visits strip clubs, and yet still manages to elicit some sympathy. He's just another working slob trying to earn enough to make a better life for his family (wife and two daughters) even though he barely spends time with them.

The documentary covers about a week, from the pre-sale preparations through the end of the sale and the Slasher's return home. Along the way we also meet customers searching for the perfect used car deal, car salesmen and dealership managers looking to hit their goals, and assorted other folks involved in the weekend sale. The film has a good pace and linear storyline, and it was nice that the filmmakers followed a few of the customers home with their "new" used cars. Highly recommended as a window into the world of used car sale events.

This is the best of the Harry Potter films thus far, but as other have pointed out it's a bit dark and scary for younger children (10 and younger). Some of the scenes are pretty intense, especially the scene where a man transforms into a werewolf.

The actors all seem to be growing into the roles, especially Harry (Daniel Radcliffe). The special effects are impressive and are well integrated into the film. The film runs long (2-1/2 hours) but it's fast paced and doesn't drag at any point.

My one complaint is that the plot is a bit confusing at times if you haven't read the books. My daughters helped answer some of my questions as I watched, and maybe the target audience is readers of the books, so it's a minor complaint.