dino ex machina: a jurassic review

I was originally going to do this review as a part of a Dozen Movie Dash, which is a random post that I do giving quick reviews of a dozen recently seen films (which, until last night, I didn't realize how random, as I haven't done one since 2014)

As a part of the DMD, I figured I'd talk about "Tag" and "Action Point" and maybe Dolly Parton's "Nine to Five" that I just watched, and of course, talk about "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom", which I saw this weekend...

Then I realized my review was longer, so taking on 11 more films would make this an obnoxiously long post... not that that has stopped me -- I mean why say in 500 words what I can say in 1500, amma right?  Up top!

So I figured I would just give this it's own post...

The reviews for this have been all over the map -- it sits at 50% critics and 62% audiences scores on Rotten Tomatoes, and 6.7 on IMDb, and after watching it, I could see where someone would love this movie, and where someone would hate it.  If you wanted more of the same as "Jurassic World", then you get it -- if you wanted a different story, then you are out of luck.

Without giving too much away, the general story is the Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard, who I really like, though I'm more a Jessica Chastain fan in the "Pick one of the two actresses that are nearly the same") is recruited by the extended family of John Hammond (Richard Attenborough, from the first film, though he is only referenced -- Attenborough died in 2014) to go get the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar. The island is being destroyed by a volcano, and Claire, who has strong armed Owen (Chris Pratt) into coming along, is to assist in getting a least a few of each species onto a transport ship, where they will be taken to a new habitat to live in peace for the rest of their days. But, of course, not is all as it seems.  

Here's the thing... we love dinosaurs. And in "Jurassic Park", we got them... and they were amazing. They were incredible, unlike anything we'd ever seen.  With "Lost World Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic Park III", some of the luster was gone, as the story was sacrificed to show us more impressive dinosaurs.  So when "Jurassic World" came along, some 14 years later after JPIII, we were ready to be dazzled again, and we were. A new generation of teen fans were discovering the T-Rex and the raptor and other extinct creatures, with new characters and new story lines and more!

But something happened between "World" and "Fallen Kingdom".  They pulled the checklist out and made sure that what made the first one so good would also be in the second one... 

• Jerk military guy. Check!  
• Invented dinosaur creature. Check!  
• Claire's plucky and wisecracking assistants. Check!
• Kid involved. Check!

And, something I've dubbed Dino ex Machina.  Remember in the very first Jurassic Park, when Grant and Ellie and the kids are surround by raptors in the lobby of the main building of the park?  All hope was lost, they were about to get eaten... and suddenly, the T-Rex comes out of nowhere to save the day??  And then at the end of "Jurassic World", Claire and Owen and the kids are cornered by Indominous Rex, and are about to get eaten... and suddenly, a giant sea monster comes out and eats them??  

Dino ex Machina.

When the dinosaur pulls a deus ex machina and improbably saves the day. And there are several of these moments in "Fallen Kingdom", by the way. It's lazy writing and was a little irritating.

One of my favorite movie jokes ever

SIDEBAR:  The official term is "deus ex machina" and is from a Latin translation of a Greek term "god from the machine."  It's defined by Wikipedia as "a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and seemingly unlikely occurrence, typically so much as to seem contrived. 

My own personal favorite example of this is in the movie "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" where Peter, played by Vince Vaughn, has sold the gym to White Goodman - Ben Stiller - and despite winning the tournament, is still under threat of demolition by Globo Gym... until Peter wheels out a literal treasure chest, informing White that with the money he got from selling Average Joe's Gym, he gambled it into enough cash to purchase the majority stake in Globo Gym, thereby now owning both gyms.  And on the treasure chest?  "Deus Ex Machina".  It's a brilliant joke that I think a lot of people never notice.  Thus, when a T-Rex or other dinosaurs suddenly rescue our heroes... Dino Ex Machina.

Overall, despite the last several paragraphs, I enjoyed the movie. It was loud, it was a little tense (though the fate of the main characters were never in ANY question), and the CGI was good. The best part of the film is what takes place on the island, though we are done there by the first half hour, and its onto the rest of the movie.  It's nice to see Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) but he's completely under utilized in his bit parts. 

I guess you could say this movie is "Brain Candy", meaning, its loud and blowey uppy and roar filled and people in danger but the real people we love are never in real danger, and Brain Candy isn't a bad thing. Its a movie you don't have to think about, it's a movie you can just watch and not be encumbered by the thought process... but that pro is also a con, because the original "Jurassic Park" is a very smart film at it's core, even with it's absurd premise.

So go see it at the theater to get the full scope of the visual and audible... but keep your expectations lower than you want.

PS... I think you'll agree with me... the first one should have been called "Jurassic Island".  This one could have been called "Jurassic Kingdom".  The final one in this trilogy (and honestly, let's hope the final one for a long time) could have been called "Jurassic World"... and you'll see that in the 10 second blurb AFTER the credits. 

50/50: 100% Great

This review is written about two hours after the we arrived home from seeing the movie.  Its a little scattered, because I'm sleepy and I'm also distracting by watching ESPN's "Catching Hell", a documentary about the Steve Bartman incident in 2003, which by the way, this doc is cotton picking awesome.  Anyway, hope you get the sense of my thoughts of this movie, even though its all over the place. 

Adam works for Seattle Public Radio, working on a piece about a volcano, living a humdrum life, dating the quite stunning Rachael, best buddies with Kyle and is simply enjoying his life as is.

(cue screeching record needle on record)

Until, of course, he discovers he has cancer.  A serious, excessive, painful cancer that will kill him without chemo and ultimately major surgery that may not even work.

And so is the story of "50/50", a film written somewhat autobiographically by Will Reiser, a guy who had, and beat, cancer.  He is also good friends with Seth Rogen, who stars as Kyle, along side of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's portrayal of Adam.

Adam and Rachael are together, but Kyle hates her.  So things
go bad fast.

Adam tries to keep his life in some semblance of order after he gets his diagnosis, which doesn't help when his girlfriend Rachael, makes some pretty bad choices... I truly don't think I'm ruining anything, because from the very beginning, you get an uneasy sense that this isn't going to go well, and Bryce Dallas Howard's performance as Rachael is just great.

Another surprise in this film is Philip Baker Hall (Alan) and Matt Frewer (Mitch), two That Guys that join Adam in chemo, and add humor, warmth and even more heart as they compare cancer notes and issues.  Their scene in the backyard, perhaps off putting by the weed going around, is still awesome.

The Lovely Steph Leann and I procured free passes to a special sneak of this film, meeting up with my buddy Mikey and my other buddy Shawn, and I gotta tell ya, this film was absolutely fantastic.

Kyle (Rogen) has a hard time adjusting too, but turns it into a positive after learning the cancer helps both of them get digits from chicks, get dates and meet lots and lots of women.  Seth Rogen's last leading role was a disaster ("Observe and Report"), but here in a supporting role in "50/50", he's perfect.

The duo of Rogen and Gordon-Levitt works really well, you believe them as best friends, and though you really don't find out how they became friends or how long, there is a line that tells you they've been friends since high school, giving you the indication that its been a while.  When Adam finally has a realization of what is happening to him, and what might happen to him once that surgery happens, its some of the finest acting on Gordon-Levitt's part that I've seen in a while.  Seth Rogen is also brilliant here, because as the dorky, skirt-chasing but big hearted best friend, he doesn't know what to do, he's just speechless.

Anna Kendrick is awesome.  She's no Amy Adams (whom I'm in love with)
but she is still awesome.

The only two predictable moments in the movie to me really was that Adam's relationship with Rachael would go bad, and that when Adam's therapist, Katherine (played by the wonderful Anna Kendrick), enters the picture, you know there is a spark there.  I won't tell you how, or even if, that spark is played out, but you know there is a connection there, predictably.

Adam's father, suffering from Alzheimer's, is being taken care of by his mother, played well by Anjelica Huston, who goes all emotional when she finds out, and becomes the smothering mother that he has to deal with, amongst other things.

The iconic moment of the movie,
or at least the movie poster.
  As Adam starts to shave his
head, he asks Kyle, "What
do you use this for?"  Kyle shrugs.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in a fair world, would be sniffing an Oscar nomination, at the least a Golden Globe nod, because his performance is awesome.  I love this guy in "Inception", as his character is one of the coolest cats out there, but he tops himself in "50/50".  I enjoy Seth Rogen being goofy in any number of movies, but his semi-serious turn that he couldn't nail in "Funny People" is nailed here.  Bryce Dallas Howard doesn't have a huge role, but does it right, while Anna Kendrick shines as Katherine, just like she does as Natalie in "Up In the Air", a movie which is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites.

Loved this film, one of the best I've seen this year... however, this movie is not for kids, as the language flows pervasive and free flowing, and there is a few uses of the Mary Jane plant... there is one sex scene, though you really don't see anything, and it ends a little different than you would think, almost in a sympathetic fashion.  Its about an hour forty-five or so, maybe a little less, but it is paced really well and honestly, its one of those rare movies that I didn't want to end.

Memorial Day Movie Day

Three movies last week, two movies this past weekend, two movies today, plus another tossed in there... so here we go...

"NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN"
If you didn't like the first movie, you will not like this movie at all, as its really nothing more than a two hour extension of the first film, 2006's "Night at the Museum". This flick picks up about two or three years where the first one left off, as Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) has left his night guard job at the Museum of Natural History, becoming an inventor and owner of Daley Devices, making, among other things, the glow-in-the-dark flashlight.

Upon his return to visit his night-time museum friends, he learns that through renovations of the museum, Jedediah, Octavius and Sacajawea and the gang are being shipped to underground storage of Washington's Smithsonian. There's an issue with the golden tablet that brings them to life every night, Larry rushes to Washington to save his friends and runs face to face with Al Capone, Ivan the Terrible, General Custer (an always hilarious Bill Hader) and Kahmunrah, a [fictitious] Pharaoh hell-bent on taking over the world. And, Larry run into one Amelia Earhart.

Here's the thing... this is a goofy, silly, fun little movie. Besides the suspension of disbelief needed to believe in the whole "wax figures come to life at the museum due to this golden tablet", you also have to go a step further and believe some pretty outlandish coincidences, some pretty crazy situations and some pretty odd occurrences... but you don't worry about that. With this movie, you know what you are going to get... lots of historical figures making pop culture references, lots of funny action and Ben Stiller doing what he does best.

And in this particular film, there are two scene stealers, the first being Hank Azaria, who not only plays Kahmunrah to the hilt, leaving you convinced that he had a blast playing this part, but he also does the voice of the Brooklyn-accented Thinker sculpture and of Abe Lincoln, fresh out of the Lincoln Memorial.



And of course, Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with. She does her best Amelia Earhart with zest, gusto and all the energetic adjectives you can come up. In fact... she's put forth the biggest challenge to date for the crown of The Goddess. We shall see.

"TROPIC THUNDER"
Speaking of Ben Stiller, I saw this via Netflix a month or so ago. Its raw, its bawdy, its totally wrong, but it is oh so funny. Loved every second of it.

"TERMINATOR SALVATION"
I thought the first Terminator, as far as story goes, was the best. I thought the second Terminator, as far as visual effects, was downright stunning and amazing. The third, despite that pretty rockin' crane chase scene, was quite a letdown. The fact that Christian Bale was in the fourth was really the only reason I was giving it credibility.

Bale broods much like Vin Diesel in "Fast & Furious", and in fact, were I not d$ but Scott the Blind Vampire, I'm not sure I could tell them apart. He fires lots of guns, he blows lots of crap up, and he is trying to save Kyle Reese, who, if you think back, is Michael Biehn's character in the first Terminator... in that film, Kyle goes back to 1984, gets it on with Sarah Connor, and John Connor is born... in this current film, Kyle is a teenager, and an adult John has to save his teenage dad, so his teenage dad can grow up, become an adult, go back in time, get it on with Sarah and... well, the circle of time flimflammery continues.

If you like lots of explosions and robot violence, then this film is for you. There are very few curse words, there are very little scenes of people getting killed, its mostly just robots and humans duking it out. All in all, I enjoyed the film, I enjoyed the underrated Bryce Dallas Howard, and I enjoyed the random Terminator scene--you'll know what I'm talking about--towards the end when John is in Skynet.

"APPALOOSA"
This is an old school western that came out last year, directed by Ed Harris, who also stars along with Viggo Mortensen. They play Virgil and Everett, hired by the town to defend them against the villainous Randall Bragg, played in a DieHard With a Vengeance Sneer by Jeremy Irons.

The movie isn't bad, but it really doesn't work for me due to one thing... Renee Zellweger. She just doesn't fit in the movie, her lines are terrible, her acting is terrible, and really the only person who you really like in the entire film is Viggo, who is just always cool.

"THE WRESTLER"
As it happens, I'm watching WWE Raw, as we speak. This is the much heralded performance from Mickey Rourke last year that earned him a Golden Globe award and his first Oscar nomination. And let me tell ya, as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, Mickey Rourke is brilliant.

The Ram was a huge megastar in the 80s, but now he's doing nothing but low-attendance high school gym wrestling shows and crappy barn shows. His only daughter won't speak to him, and his only friend is an aging stripper, played to beautiful perfection by Marisa Tomei. Marisa, by the way, is like a fine wine... just getting better with age. You see lots of the wrestling, some of the behind-the-scenes scripting for matches, but mostly, you see a man who wants to be something he's just not anymore, just trying to do the one thing that he was at one time incredible at, but now is only pretty good at--though he still thinks he can be brilliant.

This movie is raw, there is a ton of language, and Marisa Tomei's boobies make a few appearances, along with a really random and possibly unnecessary getting-it-on shot between The Ram and some random bar chick. You decide.

"TAKEN"
Awesome. Just awesome. Absolutely awesome.

Kim is taking a trip to Europe with her friend Amanda, with the support of mother Lenore (when did Famke Janssen get so old??) and against the wishes of father Bryan. And when bad things happen to Kim, father Bryan springs into action.


Hey, hairy foreign dude... you're going to want to tell Mr. Neeson what he wants to know...

The beauty of Liam Neeson's character is that you are never really told what it is that he did for a living, you just know that he possesses one heck of a skill set. Perhaps by that omission, it allows Bryan Mills to do whatever the heck he wants under the canopy of "former job". Either way, he's bad-a and its freakin' cool watching him do what he does. Everyone I know that has come out of this movie has told me they liked it, and I admit the same. One of my favorite of the year so far.

"GRAN TORINO"
This is a movie that really, only Clint Eastwood could star in. Clint plays Walt, a gruff, tough widower who has been living in his house forever, and isn't too happy to see the Hmong Asian family move in next door. He warms up slowly, mostly due to the persistence of Sue, the teenage girl, and her brother Thao.

The family sees trouble when a local Hmong gang pressures Thao to join them, going to the point of assault and threats. Walt gets involved, against his better judgement, and a whole lot of bad things happen before the final scene of the movie, including one that made me sigh, and thank heavens that The Lovely Steph Leann didn't see what I just saw.

Excellent film, but full of language and violence.

"ADVENTURELAND"
Greg Mottola, same guy who did Superbad, did this flick, and it looked hilarious. Its got Bill Hader, its got Kristin Wiig, it takes place in a 1980s amusement park... what can go wrong? Plenty.

Though it has its funny moments, this movie isn't nearly as funny as I thought it would be... should be, even. Its really nothing more than a love story between James (Jesse Eisenberg) and Em (Kristin Stewart... yes, Bella from that movie "Watching Paint Dry"), and he looks dorky all the way through, and she whines a whole lot, and a great character turn from Ryan Reynolds is all but wasted and... well, I just was really disappointed.

Having said that, however, I'm looking forward to watching it one more time because I think now that those expectations have been lowered, I think I will appreciate the more personal aspect of this story...

In the next few weeks... Disney Pixar's "Up"... Nia Vardalos in "My Life in Ruins".... Denzel & Travolta in "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3"... and Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock end up together at the end of "The Proposal"...

Bryce Dallas Howard (and other reviews)

As I sat in the theater, watching Spiderman 3 at midnight on Thursday night, my emotions went from happiness to frustration to bewilderment, and back again. And, at 245am, I strode out of The Rave Motion Picture Theater at Lee Branch with only one thought on my mind... I wanted it to be better.

Before we get going, let me answer two questions that will pop up... yes, I am a comic book geek, which includes several Spiderman titles. And no, I don't get angry when movies stray from the comic book vision of a character, as long as it makes sense.

I've been trying for several days to pinpoint exactly what it was that made me not go crazy over this film much as I had after Spiderman 2 and the original. Maybe its a "3" thing... X-Men: The Last Stand, Superman III, Lethal Weapon 3, Police Academy 3, all inferior to the first two that make the series so great... I paid 8 bucks for it, and yeah, I'm okay with the fact that I did, but I wouldn't see it a second time.

The easiest way to do this is just list it... here's what I didn't like:
--It took forever to get to Venom. This was proably the most anticipated villian in a comic book movie in a long, long time, and though the payoff was great, the wait was maddening.
--Kirsten Dunst looks... well, crappy. Playing the gorgeous Mary Jane Watson, she comes across as someone who always has just rolled out of bed. She's sad, she's angry, she's impatient (yes, rightly so, but still). I file Kirsten under "The Angelina Jolie Memorial Chicks Who the Whole World Thinks Is So Hot But I Just Don't Get It Club"
--Harry Osborne is a dork. Plain and simple. The set-up from the last movie is that Harry wants to kill Spiderman for the murder of his father (who was also the Green Goblin). The payoff is like being teased with a steak from Outback and getting a hot dog from Sneaky Pete's.
--Another part that had the potential for being out of this world was Venom taking over Peter Parker. Venom, really an alien symbiote, is aggressive, and makes its host just as aggressive. Peter could have been vicious, crazy, out of control, almost like the Bad Superman vs Clark Kent kind of battle in Superman III (about the only decent part of that wretched piece of bile). What happens is he turns into a joke. Watch the dance scene, tell me I'm wrong.
--Emo Peter Parker. Read the above paragraph.
--Can we have one bad guy who isn't a result of an alien or an experiment gone wrong? Anyone?
--How 'bout they crammed what seemed like 1,633 subplots into this movie... you had Uncle Ben's death revisited, Flint Marko's dilemma, Eddie Brock, Peter loves Mary Jane, Peter likes Gwen, Harry is ticked off, Spidey vs. Venom, Spidey vs. Sandman, Spidey vs whatever Harry Osborne was calling himself (cause it sho' wasnt something cool like the Hobgoblin). I kept wondering if this is secretly a Robert Altman film and no one wanted to admit it.


Oh look, its an excuse to post a picture of Bryce Dallas Howard.

That being said, here's what is right about the film:
--Topher Grace, leaving all shades of Eric Forman behind, as Eddie Brock. Eddie is a journalist who is humiliated, and seeks revenge on Spiderman, and Topher plays him to the hilt. Even when he becomes Venom, Topher is totally cool and mean in the character. --Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy. She wasn't really given enough to do in this movie, but she was... uh... well, she's quite the attractive young lady there.
--The effects were astounding. I mean, just simply great. The final battle is pretty wicked-bad too.
--Character actor JK Simmons is perfect as J. Jonah Jameson, and I now cannot imagine anyone else playing the part. (speaking of JK, its surprising how much stuff you'll see him in... Steph and I watched the last 30 minutes of a underrated Kevin Costner movie, "For Love of the Game", only to see JK onscreen as the manager)
--Thomas Haden Church was also perfect as Flint Marko, who ends up being The Sandman. I kinda like how he wasn't played evil, just forced to do bad things to help his family. Reminded me of Ahnold as Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin. Okay, well, anything that reminds me of Batman & Robin probably isn't that good.
--Bruce Campbell plays yet another small cameo part. Bruce, a buddy of Raimi's, starred in Sam Raimi's classic Evil Dead series, and pops up here and there in various flicks. How can you not like a guy who is starring in a movie called "Bubba Nosferatu and the Curse of the She Vampires", and its not even a porn flick?

Should you go see it? Yeah, probably. I'm not telling you the movie is terrible, because it's not. It's actually pretty good. Not great, not very good, not amazing, just... pretty good. And that hurts me to say it, because when I come out of "Bug", the new Goddess & Global Ambassador Ashley Judd film, "pretty good" is a very good thing to say about it. For something like Spiderman 3, "pretty good" is a disappointment. I hope Harry Potter fares better.

By the way, it might have been only the midnight showing special, but we saw trailers for "Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End" (there's that "3" thing again), Live Free or Die Hard, Transformers, the new Harry Potter flick (you were right, Nikki), and The Bourne Ultimatum. All look great.

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Just finished a book called "Cell" by Stephen King. Now, you may not know I used to be an absolute Stephen King Junkie... I joined the "Stephen King Book Club" when I was a junior in high school, and every six weeks, I'd get a new book in the mail. By the time I left the club some five or six years later, I had about 30 of his books, and had actually read several of them... I enjoyed the heck out of "Pet Semetary", "Cujo" and "Christine", all keenly superb to the movies that tried model them. "The Shining" is perhaps the scariest book I've ever read, and my favorite turned out to be "It". Don't judge book by the silly miniseries.

The reason I say "had" 30 of his books is that I put them in The Deuce storage unit, and the Honorable Rev'rn Ty Coffey put two plastic bins of clothes atop of my book boxes, causing the closed box to rip and open... thus a year later, I've got 30 books covered in funk and mold. Thanks Senator.

I have yet to tackle the Dark Tower Series... frankly, it intimidates me. If I have trouble starting "The Stand", I know all seven volumes of The Dark Tower will kick my buttocks. And the only movies I can say are better than the stories that tell them are "Stand By Me" based on "The Body", and of coure "The Shawshank Redemption", based on "Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption". Both are from the King book "Different Seasons". Close, however, is "Misery".

Anyway, "Cell" tells the story of a man named Clay, who is estranged from his wife, but has good news to tell her--he just signed a comic book deal with Dark Horse Comics, and on his way to tell her the good news, stops off at an ice cream truck in Boston's Common area for a tasty treat.

A few minutes later, a "pulse" happens, though you don't know that's what it is at that second. Everyone who is or was on their cell phones at the time of the pulse goes crazy... they start killing people, biting into necks, running around grumbling gibberish. All this part I knew going into the story... I was not expecting the story that came to be after it, however.

Clay joins forces with a stranger named Tom, and together they work their way to the safety of a locked up hotel. Along the way, they meet and grab Alice, a 15 year old who had seen her mother get "pulsed" and go crazy, trying to kill her.

Clay's main concern is his son, Johnny G, who happens to own a cell phone, and the group sets off to work ther way up to New Hampshire, where Clay's residence is. Along the way, they make some startling discoveries... for one, the Phone-Crazies, as they are soon to be called, don't come out at night, only during the day time. Early in the morning and late in the evening, they are seen "flocking" in the same direction, all in lockstep with each other, all clearly moving with a common purpose. Another thing Alice picks up is that the Phone-Crazies are getting smarter.

Though never fully explained in detail, the cause of the pulse isn't as supernatural as you might think, and overall, the book is a fantastic story. There is an "out of the blue" death in the last 1/3 that left me rather empty, but after all their travels and meetings with strangers that become instrumental in what they are doing, the book draws to a satisfactory end.

It's classic Stephen King, with words written in such a manner that you can not just picture every character, but also the details of their face, the body langauge they give off and the personalities that you begin to either loath or enjoy, but at least you care one way or another.

I've just started reading "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon", and it's not bad so far either... but I can definately recommend "Cell" to anyone who's thought about buying it. Go for it.

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Watched a great flick called "The Holiday" last night as well... I've heard alot about this, reviews were pretty good, word of mouth has been good--and after seeing it, I can say it earned its praise.

Iris (the wonderful Kate Winslet) is an editor at a magazine, and she's been in love with her ex, Jasper, for three years. He has just become engaged to the girl he cheated on Iris with, and didn't even bother to tell Iris, even though they work in the same building.

Five thousand miles away, we meet movie trailer editor Amanda (a surprisingly cute Cameron Diaz), who is throwing her shoes at her boyfriend Ethan (Edward Burns). It seems Ethan has been out until 3 in the morning frolicking with his secretary. Amanda kicks him out, and now we have two miserable girls.

So Amanda gets online, discovers this "Exchange-a-Home" program, where you change homes (this type of program actually exists, by the way), cars and lives for 2 weeks with someone... and the house she finds is owned by Iris in England. They agree, they swap houses, and we watch two stories unfold... Amanda meets Graham, an charming Englishman played by Jude Law, and they begin a whirlwind romance, while Iris is trying to over Jasper (who keeps calling anyway), and ends up meeting Arthur (Eli Wallach), an elderly legendary movie director, and strikes up a meaningful friendship... then she meets Miles, a movie score composer, played by... Jack Black.


Kate Winslet was my excuse to watch this movie, and lo and behold, I enjoyed it

I really liked this film. It was fun, it was funny and it was sweet in all the right places. All four leads--Winslet, Diaz, Law and Black--were perfect in their roles. The romance between Amanda and Graham is believable, and honestly, I haven't seen Cameron Diaz really attractive in a role since she was Kimmy in "My Best Friends Wedding". The romance between Miles and Iris is more subtle, and for good reason... who wants to see a love
scene involving Jack Black?

Anyone who reads this knows I hold Kate Winslet with high regard, and it was awesome to see her play a modern day Englishwoman... no corsets, no American accents, no sinking ships, just... her character was just average, which made her gorgeous.

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The Amazing Race ended on Sunday night, with a whimper really. It's been an awesome season, mostly because of the teams that annoy everyone, that being Rob & Amber (who were booted in episode 5) and of course, Mirna and Charla, also known as Team Bats***.

Remaining was the aforementioned batty team, Eric and Danielle, and my reality show hall of famers, Dustin and Kandice. A few weeks ago, I was reading the review of the episode on Entertainment Weekly's site (one of many tv and movie sites you can find by going to the side links on the right -->) and for whatever reason, scrolled down to read some comments. There was some jerk who said something like "I read that Eric and Danielle win, D&K come in 2nd, and Mirna and Charla are in 3rd".

So with this in the back of my mind, I kept waiting for Team Bats*** or Eric and the Boobs to get eliminated (but of course, not Dustin & Kandice) just to prove the poster wrong, but when these made it to the final three, I knew who would win. Darn it. Darn it darn it darn it. I am the guy who actually will read the last chapter of a book before I start the whole thing, and sometimes will find out how a movie will end before I watch it, but darn it, let my Amazing Race unfold.

I wasn't alone though... here's what EW's Josh Wolk said to open his review: So the insistently rude spoiler posting on this site was right: Eric and Danielle won. Somewhere out there, our little suspense obliterator was grinning happily as the platonic duo hit the mat first, pleased with himself that this was no surprise to anyone. Now that it's over, how will he spend his summer? Attending birthday parties and shouting out what's in each present just as children are about to unwrap them?

Anyway, I almost felt bad for Team Bats*** in the end, because two of the last three challenges were so physically exhausting, there's almost no way to beat Eric & The Boobs, and even Dustin & Kandice. And they didn't, the poster was right, and I was left feeling let down, after all the good build up, I wanted a better finish, and I felt... well, like I was walking out of Spiderman 3 all over again.