AdVANTAGE: POINT -- Movie Review

Friday night I saw what just might be the best movie of 2008: Vantage Point.

What is Vantage Point you might ask? It is the directorial debut of television auteur Pete Travis who brought us-- what else-- television show episodes. Travis clearly honed his skills on the small screen because Vantage Point delivers up compelling, up close and personal drama in figurative spades.

Vantage Point is a taut political thriller that takes major risks. Told through multiple perspectives, the film centers itself around an attempted assassination of the American President, played wonderfully by Tom Skerritt. Where Vantage Point differs from similar cinematic offerings is in it's poignant and topical conclusion when the villains, a group of ambiguous Spanish terrorists, receive their comeuppance at the hands of a wayward little girl in search of her possibly exploded mother. The terrorists, having single handed annihilated hundred of U.S. government secret service officers, try to avoid hitting the girl with their stolen ambulance (an obvious geopolitical allegory) and roll the vehicle multiple times, killing it's evil occupants. The president, however, emerges the twisted wreckage unscathed (possible symbolism?) where he reunites with Denis Leary, a down and out former bodyguard, in tender embrace. The chilling, foreboding final words"Podus is in the hand" send theatre patrons back to their homes with a broadened perspective of the terrible plight of the peoples of the Sudan and some regions of the arctic.

All in all, Vantage Point was a fantastic experience and one that I easily and whole-heartedly recommend to anyone with a love for timely political drama.


President Skerritt delivers a rousing address to a heathen nation

Product Recommendation

I found a great new piece of software yesterday while perusing the shelves of a local Apple computer reseller (the computers of champions). It's called Animations Plus 3D 125,000 Animated Clipart (or quite possibly Animations Plus 125,000 3D Animated Clipart-- it's difficult to tell), brought to us courtesty of Animation Factory. Basically, Animations Plus 3D 125,000 Animated Clipart is a collection of over one-hundred thousand and another quarter of a thousand high quality animated pieces of clipped artistry and allows you, as the box promises, to "start using right away in popular software such as "Outlook", "Outlook Express", "FrontPage", Powerpoint" and "AOL".

The wide array of applicable uses isn't Animations Plus 3D 125,000 Animated Clipart only selling point. In fact, there are possibly dozens of legitimate reasons for purchasing a copy of Animations Plus 3D 125,000 Animated Clipart, many of which may in fact make you a better person or lead to you a life of sanctified religious devotion. For me, I like Animations Plus 3D 125,000 Animated Clipart because its crunchy. And it demonstrates some of the best three-dimensional computerized models and "animations" I have ever seen. One look at the exotic, beautiful woman dancing some exotic, beautiful dance on the box (containing the software) will have you shouting in a agreement: "Animations Plus 3D 125,000 Animated Clipart delivers on it's lofty promises and then some!"



I plan on returning to the store and purchasing Animations Plus 3D 125,000 Animated Clipart very soon.

The Meatball Cometh

A friend and I went out to eat last night. We wanted Italian, so we stopped by a local restaurant just before closing. The eatery appeared questionable (filled to the brim with unsavory family-type characters) but our waitress was fantastic. Not only did she accommodate our eccentric behavior, but she went the extra mile to make our dining experience that much more exciting. Case in point: this restaurant (which shall remain unnamed so as to protect a certain bonkers automobile/entertainment mogul) had an item on the menu that promised a supposedly monstrous meatball (the size of a small child). Given our somewhat contemptible history with falsely advertised meatball proportions, we were suspicious. Lo and behold, the waitress-- that good angel of the supper-- swooped down from her heavenly perch and provided respite by, get this, offering to take a picture of the purported giant ball of meat with my iPhone. Truthfully, we asked her to, but she went and did it nonetheless.



So great was this act of benevolence and unselfishness on the part of our dear and kind waitress that I promptly ordered the meatball and ate part of it and the spaghetti upon which it was nestled. Was it good? It was meatball.

The moral of the story: when thou art in great need and the powers of shadow and darkness conspire to ruin thy meal, thy waitress, good matron of the kitchen, shall set thee free from all foul menu hesitance.

Indiana Jones and OMG.

In case you haven't heard, the first trailer for Lucas/Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been unleashed on the unexpected, yet feverishly dreaming masses.

In case you have been living under a rock, or even worse, eating rocks, Indiana Jones is the ongoing serial adventure franchise that follows a charismatic professor/adventurer on his daring exploits the world round in search of mythical ancient artifacts. Indiana Jones carries a whip and wears a fedora. He also kills Nazis. If you had to read this paragraph in order to familiarize yourself the character... then shame on you.

As for the trailer itself, it proves to be a slightly awkwardly edited reintroduction to the series we all know and love. I happen to love in ways more inappropriate, but that is besides the point. This film had better be fantastic or I'll have Lucas' head on a lightsaber.

Forget that; the head on the lightsaber thing would be kind of sick, seeing as it wouldn't stay. I'll just have a Gamorrean guard break his legs. Holy hellfire, I am such a nerd.

You can see the HD trailer here.

Writers Strike to end this week?

With regards to the ongoing writer's strike in Hollywood, this weekend has been a tumult of rumors and leaks that things are on the up and up. Supposedly the strike will end with the first of the week and writers may be back on duty as early as Wednesday.

Please, for the love of all that good and pure in the world-- like a newborn baby or a soft and cuddly lamb or kitten-- be true. Please be true.

The strike has been a frustrating necessity as the WGA has sought to negotiate fair dealings concerning online content profits and the like, and we the viewers have suffered greatly because of it. I mean, it had to happen, but when we get classy shows like Fat March and an American Gladiators comeback (Hulk Hogan in tow) we pray with earnest hearts that things are settled as quickly as possible and with a minimum of casualties. Hell, with some of detritus on the menu this year I'd practically beg for new episodes of Heroes. And that show stinks more than Ethan Hawke after a fun run. Maybe if we all hold hands and lift our voices to the sky in a unified chorus of desperate couch potatoes we can work some magic and ensure an end to the strike. Or at least annoy the neighbors (who just love the Singing Bee so they have it coming).

Now if they did a Fat American Gladiators, I might buy into that.


Meet TITAN, Fat Gladiator X-TREME... CHEESEBURGER!

The boat just became smaller.

Film and television actor Roy Scheider passed this weekend after a long and difficult bout with cancer. He is perhaps best remembered police chief Brody from director Steven Spielberg's sophomore blockbuster, Jaws. His filmography was varied and interesting and we have certainly lost a solid talent in the industry. Rest in peace, Roy.

Mom and the Carnage Monster

I took my mom to see Cloverfieldd today. I told her it was a romantic comedy.

Here's the strange thing: even after seeing the movie she still believes it is one.