The Stab: Funnier than you might think with potentially good intentions and a duo of charming leads, but the humor is furiously forced and misses more than it hits, before the narrative concludes in complete disarray.
The film opens on a scrawny, squirmy guy speaking directly into the camera. He presents a silver heart-shaped box to an unknown party in a lame attempt to convey his affection. His plea is pathetic, his image slimy and sleazy, and the overall effect is uncomfortably repulsive. Sure, we feel sorry for him, but God save whoever is on the receiving end of this display. This is Kirk, our protagonist and the one whose causes we’re supposed to champion in this film. Thankfully, Kirk redeems himself on the nerdy charms of his awkwardness and good-natured demeanor, ...Continue Reading
Spoiler alert! There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq! Believe it or not, this bit of knowledge immediately dispels more than half of the intrigue found in Green Zone, a severely misguided excursion that ultimately delivers on none of its expected fronts.
Matt Damon plays Roy Miller, a U.S. Army officer on the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in the wake of the U.S. invasion. After following verified intelligence to abandoned toilet factories and empty warehouses, he begins to suspect that something is not right—that our intelligence sources are, perhaps, not all they’re cracked out to be. Miller begins his own investigation of sorts, ignoring orders from his superiors and cooperating with competing intelligence officials on his quest for the truth.
But the “truth” he is searching for comes as no surprise ...Continue Reading
It was a night fit for getting out and about and listening to the world-famous Charlie Zahm bring his unique brand of Celtic music to Harford County Saturday evening at the Amoss Center on Thomas Run road.
Zahm is one of the most popular soloists performing incredible Irish, Scottish and Australian music in America and abroad.
The famed singer with his baritone voice that’s been described as ‘a resonant sounding trill’ totally compliments the Celtic tunes he sings and plays accompanied by his acoustic guitar. His performance Saturday has been long awaited, by throngs of contains who follow this gifted and talented performer.
Word has it for the fans in this area, Zahm will appear sometime in April at the historic Jerusalem Mills.
Throughout the evening Charlie along with the versatile fiddler Tad Marks and internationally famed percussionist Cheryl Prashker performed two sets to the total delight ...Continue Reading
The Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra will perform an American Music concert Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at Bel Air High School, 100 Heighe Streeet, Bel Air, MD 21014.
Sheldon Bair is the Founder and Music Director of the SSO.
The concert will include the following:
*John Philip Sousa- “The Fairest of the Fair”
*William Grant Still- Symphony No. 1 “Afro-American Symphony”
*Patrick Burns- “Remembrance”
*Benny Russell- “The Little Gift” from “The Darfur Chronicles”- Conductor: Brian Folus
*Tracey Rush- “Spirit of Freedom”
*Sheldon Bair- Variation on “Be Thou My Vision”
*Stacey Zyriek- “I Choose the Mountain” Soprano: Emma Zyriek
Tickets available on TicketLeap at www.ssorchestra.org
For a film that tackles such an emotionally weighty topic—namely, the rape and murder of an innocent girl—there is little genuine emotion to be found in The Lovely Bones. Director Peter Jackson, the master craftsman behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy (arguably the greatest filmmaking triumph of the aughts), fills every frame with visual splendor and an unmerited sense of gravitas, suffocating the story’s sensitive subject matter.
His interpretation of the “in-between,” the purgatorial world that victim and protagonist Susie Salmon inhabits through most of the film, is a frequently awe-inspiring amalgam of girlish fantasy, immortal bliss, and paranoid pipe-dream; though its immensity engulfs the accompanying tale of humanity and grief in the wake of inexplicable tragedy. Even the renderings of reality are delectably pungent, from rich lensing and lighting to vibrant character and set ...Continue Reading
During the movie-going doldrums of January, a teenage rom-com emerges a cut above the schlock. It’s not a prolonged stint of anarchy as you might be—as I was—expecting. Instead, it’s got a quirky pulse and, for awhile at least, a deliciously nerdy vibe.
Michael Cera is his typical pillow-pasty self—only this time there’s no will to conform or even, for awhile at least, to reform. Of course, he’s still not “getting any,” even as his screen mother (Jean Smart) beds a revolving door of greasy guys and her ex-husband (Cera’s screen father, played by Steve Buscemi) enjoys a busty young blonde.
When Cera’s love-starved Nick Twisp meets the wistful Sheeni Saunders, played by ravishing newcomer Portia Doubleday, a wonderful depiction of young love and a delirious celebration of geekdom commence. They share in high-brow hobbies and ...Continue Reading
Athletes are the biggest role models on this planet. As a comic, the chances of me getting millions of dollars in endorsements to advertise a shoe, a soft drink or aftershave are practically slim to none. I even doubt that I will be making money as I mention that I’m writing this while wearing my Rockports and drinking Canada Dry ginger ale after having splashed on some Aqua Velva. As someone who is not in the least bit athletic, I feel it is my duty to be able to keep up to date on events that anybody can enjoy, regardless of the fact that they played no sports in high school and college and share them with you, my readers.
The ESPN Zone is best known for serving food to patrons who take their families there not to spend time with them, but to watch the various televised ...Continue Reading
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon
• An Education
• The Blind Side
• Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit)
The Stab: A satisfying second chapter to the Twilight saga, improving on its predecessor in every way possible. Even with a scant narrative, the film gushes with dark romance and flights of fancy.
New Moon brings a new beginning and a major upgrade to the Twilight franchise. Director Chris Weitz fills in the critical cracks of the first film created at the clumsy hands of Catherine Hardwicke.
The first entry’s restricted perspective and seasick framing are replaced by expansive lensing and an epic scope. Effects are sharper, clearer, and more convincing. Instead of cheesy baseball montages, we get chiseled boys transforming into massive wolves.
The writing is more rhythmic and intuitive, expunging the improvised ramblings of the first installment. The actors also prove more proficient. ...Continue Reading
The Stab: A poor excuse for filmmaking lacking in virtually every department. Even sequences of grandiose Earthly devastation are dim and dull. With a two-and-a-half hour runtime, this isn’t a movie: it’s torture.
2012 is just as the ancient Mayans predicted: an earth-shattering, cataclysmic event unleashing untold horror and agony upon the entire human race. I hope my creative license to use hyperbole is appreciated, even if I won’t be using it here.
In the year 2012, solar flare storms bombard the Earth. The core melts, and the Earth’s crust begins to shift. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis abound, destroying the world as we know it.
The film alternates its focus between diplomatic preparations before the coming crisis, and one family’s struggle to survive the global disaster. One perspective is just as stupid as the other.
As patriarch of the fleeing family, John Cusack wears his embarrassment over ...Continue Reading
The Stab: Visually spectacular, then some more—to the point of monotony. A scary story more than a Holiday moralistic tale, with emotional resonance suffocated by its showy display.
Stuffed fuller than a Christmas goose, Disney’s animated adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale is overlong, overstated, and overindulgent. We all know the story: the greedy and grouchy Ebenezer Scrooge learns the importance of benevolence while guided by spirits through his past, present, and future.
There are new interpretations to be found here, but I wouldn’t consider them all improvements. Scrooge is constructed on a foundation for his miserly ways. He was ostracized as a child. He hails from an abusive home. The animation efforts along with Jim Carrey’s voice work portray Scrooge not as a villain, but as the broken-down remains of a miserable life. We feel sympathy for Scrooge.
