I recently saw the movie "New In Town" starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. on DVD. As far as romantic comedies go, it was very average- a few funny moments, very predictable plot, etc. and doesn't have much for me to reccommend. However, I strongly encorage you to rent or buy the DVD just to catch the Special Features section on the making of the movie. For anyone who thinks of the movie business as nothing but a glamorous cushy gig, this featurette will put those notions to rest.
The movie, a fish out of water tale about a big city Florida girl being forced to relocate to a small town in Minnesota, was shot in Winnipeg Canada. The stars are well-known, and some well-respected character actors are also in the cast. The featurette talks about- and shows - what they went through, literally shooting some scenes in temperatures of 50 below zero! To have that kind of dedication in shooting what can best be described as a light piece of fluff is to show what kind of a work ethic most actors have for their craft. No matter what you think of the movie itself, this Special Feature makes it worth at least the rental investment!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
One of my guilty pleasures is "American Idol". I'm usually pretty good at predicting who's going home (although Allison's departure May 6th was disappointing beyond words).
No, I'm not going to start posting weekly "Idol" updates. I can't do better than EW's Michael Slezak and won't even try. No, what prompts this missive is something I've seen at least three times this season on the "Idol" results show and it's become a pandemic in the pop/hip-hop music industry. My question is this: Does anyone just sing anymore for us to listen to? First it was Flo Rida. Then Jamie Foxx. And now most recently none other than "Idol" judge Paula Abdul has treated us to a "song" on the "Idol" results show in which their sterling pipes are processed through the device known as a vocoder. I didn't mind this piece of equipment when it was used as a device to augment a song (such as Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" or Cher's "Life After Love"). Now you can't turn on a hip hop station without hearing almost every vocal delivered through the vocoder.
I find it especially egregious when it is used on a show like "Idol", which is supposed to be about singing talent. When one of the people judging the contestants and another who is acting as a "mentor" resorts to using a special effects device to deliver a song, what does that tell these pop-star hopefuls about how far true vocal talent will get them in the music business?
Please, let's cut down on the use of the vocoder. And if we can't, someone please convince the producers of "American Idol" to book only guest stars who actually can sing without trickery.
No, I'm not going to start posting weekly "Idol" updates. I can't do better than EW's Michael Slezak and won't even try. No, what prompts this missive is something I've seen at least three times this season on the "Idol" results show and it's become a pandemic in the pop/hip-hop music industry. My question is this: Does anyone just sing anymore for us to listen to? First it was Flo Rida. Then Jamie Foxx. And now most recently none other than "Idol" judge Paula Abdul has treated us to a "song" on the "Idol" results show in which their sterling pipes are processed through the device known as a vocoder. I didn't mind this piece of equipment when it was used as a device to augment a song (such as Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" or Cher's "Life After Love"). Now you can't turn on a hip hop station without hearing almost every vocal delivered through the vocoder.
I find it especially egregious when it is used on a show like "Idol", which is supposed to be about singing talent. When one of the people judging the contestants and another who is acting as a "mentor" resorts to using a special effects device to deliver a song, what does that tell these pop-star hopefuls about how far true vocal talent will get them in the music business?
Please, let's cut down on the use of the vocoder. And if we can't, someone please convince the producers of "American Idol" to book only guest stars who actually can sing without trickery.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Quickie Review of a Movie Now on Video
Just watched "A Good Year" with Russell Crowe. Beautiful scenery of Provence France. Other than that, let it be said here that Ridley Scott should never attempt to make another movie in the romance genre. I can't even call it a romantic comedy, because it was barely funny in places and Crowe's character was unlikeable enough to even make the romance angle not that enjoyable. All in all, I think I would've rather gone to work on a Sunday night than watched this movie.
Opening Day 2009
I can't let Opening Day go by without doing my annual Texas Rangers report. Last year, I posted after a week had gone by and mentioned my guarded optimism. The negatives I pointed out came to fruition but despite that, the Rangers still finished in second place, albeit with a losing record at 79-83.
For 2009, I'm going to state it right here- I am even more optimistic about Texas this season! Strange I know- there doesn't seem to have been any appreciable change in the league worst pitching staff or the league worst defense. And yet I think both those areas will improve- maybe not dramatically, but they will improve. The starting rotation seems to be healthy for a change and if one goes down, there are at least two options before having to go down to the farm for a replacement (Jason Jennings and Scott Feldman). Plus, free agent Ben Sheets is still looming as a possibility come July or August. At the back end of the bullpen, CJ Wilson appears to be healthy this year and Frank Francisco continues looking good as the closer. I can see the staff ERA coming down. Even if it only goes down half a run a game and is still over 5, that still translates to 81 less earned runs a game.
Defensively, gold glover (yes the Rangers did have a Gold Glover with their defense) Michael Young is moving to third. He may not win a Gold Glove there, but will still probably be an improvement on Ramon Vasquez, who manned that corner most of the time last year. Elvis Andrus, who is projected as a future Gold Glover will now be the shortstop, but if he doesn't work out, future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel is there for back-up. Pitchers accounted for way too many errors last year and a rigorous off-season session put together by Nolan Ryan stressed fielding the position. I'm not as sure about the outfield strength defensively, but I figure if the Rangers can cut down their errors by only 10-15 on the year (only 1 less error every 11-16 games), that could translate into ten less runs or more.
That brings us to the offense. Gone are Milton Bradley and Gerald Laird (Ramon Vasquez too, but he played many different positions). I don't see much drop-off from those two, as their replacements are Nelson Cruz and Jerrod Saltalamacchia. Cruz was a monster in Triple-A last year and has been projected as a future All-Star. Saltalamacchia should be able to do at least as well as Laird, but if he doesn't, Taylor Teagarden has a lot of potential as his back-up. Add to that a full year from Chris Davis, hopefully an injury-free year from Hank Blalock and the same consistent performance from Hamilton, Byrd, Murphy, Kinsler and Young and the offense should be as good if not better than last year. If they score less runs than last year, it won't be by much.
In conclusion: Equal offense plus slightly better defense plus slightly better pitching and I can see this team winning ten more games this year. 89-73 might not make the playoffs but it will put my Rangers strongly in the mix and make for an exciting year.
For 2009, I'm going to state it right here- I am even more optimistic about Texas this season! Strange I know- there doesn't seem to have been any appreciable change in the league worst pitching staff or the league worst defense. And yet I think both those areas will improve- maybe not dramatically, but they will improve. The starting rotation seems to be healthy for a change and if one goes down, there are at least two options before having to go down to the farm for a replacement (Jason Jennings and Scott Feldman). Plus, free agent Ben Sheets is still looming as a possibility come July or August. At the back end of the bullpen, CJ Wilson appears to be healthy this year and Frank Francisco continues looking good as the closer. I can see the staff ERA coming down. Even if it only goes down half a run a game and is still over 5, that still translates to 81 less earned runs a game.
Defensively, gold glover (yes the Rangers did have a Gold Glover with their defense) Michael Young is moving to third. He may not win a Gold Glove there, but will still probably be an improvement on Ramon Vasquez, who manned that corner most of the time last year. Elvis Andrus, who is projected as a future Gold Glover will now be the shortstop, but if he doesn't work out, future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel is there for back-up. Pitchers accounted for way too many errors last year and a rigorous off-season session put together by Nolan Ryan stressed fielding the position. I'm not as sure about the outfield strength defensively, but I figure if the Rangers can cut down their errors by only 10-15 on the year (only 1 less error every 11-16 games), that could translate into ten less runs or more.
That brings us to the offense. Gone are Milton Bradley and Gerald Laird (Ramon Vasquez too, but he played many different positions). I don't see much drop-off from those two, as their replacements are Nelson Cruz and Jerrod Saltalamacchia. Cruz was a monster in Triple-A last year and has been projected as a future All-Star. Saltalamacchia should be able to do at least as well as Laird, but if he doesn't, Taylor Teagarden has a lot of potential as his back-up. Add to that a full year from Chris Davis, hopefully an injury-free year from Hank Blalock and the same consistent performance from Hamilton, Byrd, Murphy, Kinsler and Young and the offense should be as good if not better than last year. If they score less runs than last year, it won't be by much.
In conclusion: Equal offense plus slightly better defense plus slightly better pitching and I can see this team winning ten more games this year. 89-73 might not make the playoffs but it will put my Rangers strongly in the mix and make for an exciting year.
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