4 Razors

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
  • tv.com: link

“I don’t even know what the sides are in the culture war.”
“Well, your side hates my side because you think we think you’re stupid, and my side hates your side because we think you’re stupid.”

In many ways Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was Aaron Sorkin‘s most ambitious project to date.  Returning to the show within a show concept he used to craft Sports Night (read that review) Sorkin also brought in weighty issues to balance against the behind the scenes sketch comedy.  The merging of the two doesn’t always work in every scene, but every single episode contains some magic and something not just to enjoy but to savor and discuss as well.

Studio 60 takes place behind the scenes of a late night sketch comedy similar to SNL.  After the producer and creator of the show Wes Mendell (guest star Judd Hirsch) loses a final battle against Standards and Practices and interrupts a live feed to rant against the state of television (watch that clip).  The new head of programming for NBS (the National Broadcasting System) Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet) brings in two of the show’s most popular alumns, Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford) and Matt Albe (Matthew Perry) to produce and write the show.

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A Coward and an Outlaw

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
  • IMDb: link

“He was born Jesse Woodson James on September 5th, 1847, and was named after his mother’s brother, a man who committed suicide.  He stood five feet eight inches tall, weighed one hundred fifty-five pounds, and was vain about his physique…he was missing the nub of his left middle finger and was cautious lest that mutilation be seen…he had a condition that was referred to as granulated eyelids and it caused him to blink more than usual, as if he found creation slightly more than he could accept…he could be reckless or serene, rational or lunatic, from one minute to the next.  If he made an entrance, heads turned into his direction; if he strode down an aisle store clerks backed away; if he neared animals they retreated.  Rooms seemed hotter when he was in them, rains fell straighter, clocks slowed, sounds were amplified.”

 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Based on the novel by Ron Hansen the film tells the story of the famous outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and his friend who shot him in the back, Bob Ford (Casey Affleck).  The film is filled with supporting characters and events too numerous to mention here.  Plot divergences, threads, and events that work both with and against the main tale.  But at its core this is a film about two men and how their destinies became intertwined during their lives and long after their deaths.

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The Hunting Party

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Hunting Party
  • IMDB: link

“Awards are like hemorrhoids; eventually every asshole gets some.”

Based, in part, on true events, The Hunting Party tells the tale of a small group of newsmen who do in hours what the C.I.A. can’t do in months – track down the number one war criminal is Bosnia. Filled with humor, drama, and packed with emotion, the film is about friendship, glory, revenge, and the freedom of the press.

Duck (Terrence Howard) is a camera man with the cushiest and highest paid job in the business.  Traveling to Bosnia for a report he encounters his old friend and former partner Simon (Richard Gere) down on his luck and doing whatever he can to survive.  Simon offers Duck a chance to relive the glory days and scoop the biggest story of the year by finding the number one war criminal in Bosnia – the Fox (Ljubomir Kerekes).

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It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

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  • Title: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Seasons 1 & 2
  • tv.com: link

“You assholes are going to hell.”
“We’ve thought about it; we’re willing to roll the dice.”

Imagine the worst people you know.  Now imagine they own Paddy’s Irish Pub in Philadelphia, hang-out together, and get themselves in wacky situations every week.  That, in a nutshell, is the premise of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

>“The Gang” consists of Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Deandra “Dee” Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson), and their friends Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Charlie (Charlie Day).  Frank Reynolds (Danny Devito), Dee and Dennis’ father, joins the cast in Season Two.  Their misadventures are always properly titled (such as “The Gang Gets Racist,” “Charlie Wants an Abortion,” “”Charlie Got Molested,” “The Gang Goes Jihad,” “Mac Bangs Dennis’ Mom,” and “The Gang Exploits a Miracle”).

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The 11th Hour Approaches

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The 11th Hour
  • IMDb: link

The 11th Hour

Well, it’s not An Inconvenient Truth (read the review), let’s get that out of the way first.  This new documentary on the increasing problems with the environment doesn’t have the jau de vive, the heart, or the spirit of Al Gore’s documentary from last year.  Though it may not live up to the Gore standard there is plenty to watch (especially in the film’s second half) and more than a little to discuss.

The documentary focuses our attention on the changing climate of the Earth due to a variety of factors including global warming, pollution, over population, and man’s destructive effect on the environment.  Leonardo DiCaprio narrates the film which is filled with interviews from scientists from many fields and countries including Stephen Hawking.

The documentary breaks down into two parts.  The first showcases the increasing dangers and causes and foretells of a dangerous and disastrous future if real change isn’t embraced soon.  This part of the film comes dangerously close to the scare tactics many wanted to, falsely, lay at the feet of An Inconvenient Truth.  This first section of the film comes off as part lecture and part blame instead of the imploring and instruction Al Gore utilized to much better effect.

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