New Movie Preview 8/7/09

This week's wide releases -
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Julie & Julia
A Perfect Getaway

The first full weekend of August (with a Friday) brings us a trio of films targeted at a trio of audiences, with a little room for crossover. As we move away from the blockbuster season proper and into hopeful blockbuster/sleeper territory, we will begin to see a wider variety of films. This weekend features one movie that has aspirations of being a blockbuster, another with more modest aspirations and a decidedly different target audience, while a third just hopes to make a dent. Are any of these films worth your time? That isn't an question I can answer for you, but I can say all three hold some interest for me.

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra. (2009, 118 minutes, PG-13, action) Following the success of Transformers it was inevitable that other products of the 1980's would be mined for the live-action experience. Of course, GI Joe is the logical followup, as it has an audience on par with the transforming robots. The problem is that I look at this thing looks nothing like the series I remember. It just doesn't feel right, it looks too much like Transformers blended with Iron Man with a decent amount of soul sucked out. I am hoping I am wrong, but I doubt that I am. Stephen Sommers is the man at the helm of the adaptation that looks to be big action and little brain. It will definitely be interesting to see if my reservations can be overcome.



Julie & Julia. (2009, 123 minutes, PG-13, comedy/biopic)This definitely looks interesting. It is a biopic that covers two related subjects who never knew each other. The Julie is Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a frustrated temp who has decided to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook and record her progress in a blog. The other side focuses on Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and her forays into the cooking world, and the troubles therein. The movie is directed by Nora Ephron and looks like a crowd-pleaser sort of film with modest aspirations. Should be enjoyable.



A Perfect Getaway. (2009, 98 minutes, R, thriller)I am looking forward to this. I am also curious how well it will do, as I am not convinced it will make much of a mark. The thriller follows a couple as the celebrate their honeymoon on a remote island, thinking they found paradise, then they meet another couple with a story of murder. Eventually others join them and they have to decide what to do, go forward, go back, try to survive, or other? The film is directed by David Twohy (Pitch Black, The Arrival) and stars Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich, Timothy Olyphant, and Marley Shelton.



Also opening this week, but not near me:

• Cold Souls
• I Sell the Dead
• Paper Heart

Box Office Predictions
Funny People won last weekend in rather easy fashion, despite not living up to expectations. That said, it will probably have a decent slip and allow GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra to slip into the top spot with ease. The question is where the other two releases for this week will land? Well, that and how big will the overall gross be? Last week seemed a bit soft, even considering the films and time of year.

Here is how I think it could play out.

Rank	Title	Box Office
1	GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra	$45million
2	Julie & Julia	$18 million
3	Funny People	$12.5 million
4	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	$11 million
5	G-Force	$10 million
6	A Perfect Getaway	$8.5 million
7	The Ugly Truth	$6 million
8	Aliens in the Attic	$4.5 million
9	Orphan	$4 million
10	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	$3.5 million

Iron Age - The Sleeping Eye

CD Revew. Hailing from Austin, Texas, you would think Iron Age would have a slightly more Southern bent, perhaps a Pantera-type influence than they do. Oh no, Iron Age is not a band bound by their physical location. Their sound, to my untrustworthy genre-ears, borrows heavily from sludge acts like Louisiana's Crowbar, crossed with New York City thrash and hardcore. The resulting sound is aggressive, heavy, and definitely puts some raw emotion back on the stage. I have not seen the band perform, but something tells me they are low on theatrics and stage shows and high on delivering high energy directly to the audience's blood stream and letting nature take its course.

Iron Age is yet another new experience for me, and I have to say that I like what I hear. There is something in this band's aggression that really gets under my skin and makes me want to bang my head and throw down in the pit. This despite my inability to defend myself properly amid the spin kicks and elbow throws that the kids like to do these days (I am a bit more old school in this regard, not to mention considerably softer than I was in my younger days).

The Sleeping Eye is Iron Age's second full length release, and they have seemingly matured in a very short period of time. Granted, I have not heard their debut, 2006's The Constant Struggle, but what I am witnessing here is pretty special. It stands out from the crowd, clearly has respect for that which has come before, and is not going to do anyone any favors. If you want to like this, you are going to work for it.

What exactly does that mean? Well, think about some of the more mainstream acts that you may like, genre notwithstanding, there is often some sort of calculation that goes into crafting those tunes that comes somewhere in between mainstream (even fringe genre mainstream like the flurry of -core bands that have ridden the coattails of the originators) success and artistic integrity. When it comes to Iron Age, I do not get the sense there was any compromise of artistic integrity, not to say this is the greatest album ever, but this is a band that is clearly traveling the path of their choosing, all others be damned.

The opening track, "The Sleeping Eye of the Watcher," takes the listener on a near six and a half minute excursion into raw, thrashy, sludge that takes you through a couple of tempo changes, a pair of nice solo breaks. I actually cannot recall the last time I heard an album open with such an epic track, usually this is the sort of thing you build up to. Iron Age puts their ambitions front and center.

The epic opening is followed by the very thrashy "Dispossessed." This puts the epic sludge n' thrash journey momentarily to the side in favor of straight up headbanging, pit churning thrash. Even as they do this, it does not reduce the skill. There are nice transitions and a wailing lead to take you through to the song's conclusion.

"Burden of Empire" sinks you back into the sludge by way of NYC sound that greeted us in the opening. The visit does not last too long this time as this is followed by a track that seems to be more or less filler. It is called "Masteria Prima" and is, essentially, two and a half minutes of atmospheric ambiance. I find it an easy call to skip this track.

From this moment on, The Sleeping Eye builds up a head of steam behind it as it thrashes towards its conclusion. This build takes us through "A Younger Earth" and the two track song "Arcana Pts. I and II" before concluding with the epic "The Way is Narrow."

This final song has a great slow burn opening before catching a full head of steam just before the 3-minute mark. It builds to a fevered pitch with driving guitars and drums, a nice fuzzy solo or two before fading out to the riff it opened with. It is followed by a minute or so of silence before we get some nice riffing and drums to put a capper on the album.

The album has a nice low-fi quality to it. It is not overproduced and has a crunchy, live recording quality to it that really fits it well. The guitars have a great sound that has not been processed to death, the drums and bass keep everything surging along. The vocals are raspy and live right in the mid-range where you don't hear a lot of guys these days, just helping them stand out from the crowd.

Bottomline. This album was a pleasant surprise. It has a sound that begs to be listened to more. The more you listen, the more you pick things up, things like the solo work that you may be tempted to gloss over, or the transitions between the thrashy and the sludgy portions. If you like metal, you will want to give these guys a listen.

Recommended.

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DVD Pick of the Week: Big Trouble in Little China

Welcome back! Well, to some of you, anyway. To the rest of you, glad you decided to stop by and I hope this humble column helps you navigate the stacks of new releases each week. My goal is to point you toward titles of interest and warn you away from those films that seek to do nothing but leech away your time and give you nothing in return.

Full disclosure: I have not seen many of these titles, and what follows are not necessarily reviews, but opinions based upon what I know of the titles I pluck from the new release lists I peruse. The opinions I give based on the new releases are my own, and my recommendations are based on my personal interest. In any case, I hope you enjoy and perhaps find something you like or a title to point me towards.

Big Trouble in Little China (Blu-ray). It has been a long time since I have seen this film, but I can imagine it looking great on the high definition format. That is so long as the transfer is a good one! The 1986 film was helmed by John Carpenter and made its big screen bow back in 1986. The tale centers on Jack Burton (Kurt Russell), a wisecracking truck driver who finds himself in the middle of supernatural intrigue in Chinatown. Special effects, make up effects, and one liners combine to make one entertaining movie and this week's top pick for yours truly.

Race to Witch Mountain (also Blu-ray). This movie is exactly what it says it is. It is not so much an adventure or a journey of discovery, self or otherwise. It is a race, pure and simple. On one hand, it is very well executed as a chase film; however, if you want something with any sort of depth beyond the surface, you had best look somewhere else. It is all about a couple of alien children trying to get their ship. This movie that will play well to the young, with its likable leads and their equally likable performances while the adults will be left wanting something a little bit more. Director Adam Finkman does a good job of keeping the action moving, all of it is well-executed and the audience is kept involved with the race, if nothing else. If only there was a little more meat to dig into.

The Soloist (also Blu-ray). This is a decent film. It is involving, but the narrative drags for stretches, letting a bit of boredom in. It is also a little on the incomplete side. We learn a lot about Ayers (Jamie Foxx), his childhood, the events leading to his current state, everything. The problem is with Lopez (Downey, Jr.). His half of the story is not nearly as well developed. Yes, he is the writer and he does plenty of that, but we need the information about what has made him the way he is. We get hints of a failed marriage, a troubled relationship with his son, but it never goes deep enough to make his change have much meaning. Still, it is a touching tale and the performances alone are worth seeing it for. Robert Downey Jr. does a fine job of playing the journalist with responsibility issues. The man is a joy to watch. Jamie Foxx also does a fine job as the mentally troubled Ayers. He disappears into the role, bringing genuine emotion to his character.

Obsessed (also Blu-ray). This film had a good run at the theaters, but I must admit to passing it by. I did not really have any interest in seeing the movie, which looked like a warmed over take on Fatal Attraction. The cast includes Idris Elba, Ali Larter, and Beyonce Knowles.

My Cousin Vinny (Blu-ray). This early 1990's comedy was always a fun one, and an Oscar winner to boot (Marisa Tomei took home Best Supporting Actress). It is the story of a college student, played by Ralph Macchio, who is accused of murder in a small town, only to be defended by his big city lawyer cousin, Vinny (Joe Pesci). There really is not a lot to it, but it really is a lot of fun. It is also a movie I have not seen in some time. It is also a member of this week's catalog Blu-ray class, although I have to wonder how much the added resolution will help it?

Stargate Atlantis: Fan's Choice (Blu-ray). This initial high definition offering for the Stargate: SG-1 spin-off features the series debut and finale for your viewing pleasure. Supposedly, the episodes were chosen by fans, as the title would suggest, I just find it a little odd that the episodes chose were the debut and the finale. Don't you find that strange?

Mutant Chronicles (also Blu-ray). I had hoped to seen this on the big screen, but that did not happen. I guess I will have to catch up with it on Blu-ray. This story is set in a future where the world is run by corporations. During a war a seal is broken, unleashing the Machine, which had been stopped centuries earlier. It has one job, turn people into mutants. Can it be defeated again? The cast includes Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, and Devon Aoki.

Box Office Update 7/31-8/2: Funny People Laughs All the Way to the Bank

As predicted, Funny People topped the weekend's box office grosses. The film proved to be popular, but did not live up to the expectations that had been heaped on it. Well, the quality was there, but the people did not come out as expected. I thought it would have no issue reaching the low $30 millions, but instead it seemed to struggle to its final take of $22.6 million. Hopefully the movie will show some legs as it is a quality film that displays the next step in Judd Apatow's growth as a filmmaker and his ability to deftly blend drama and comedy. This one seemed to be a bit more personal in nature, and that is what likely caused the dramatic bent the film took. If nothing else, it should be seen for the fine performance from Adam Sandler.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price leveled off in its third weekend in the wake of the IMAX opening. It slipped less than 40% and crossed the quarter million mark, I do not see it having a problem legging past $300 million. Unless this week is a fluke, that is. I enjoyed the sixth Potter-centric film, but it is by no means one of the best. Hopefully it will prove a good transition into the final two films.

Slipping from first to third is the latest live action feature from the House of Mouse. G-Force had a decent hold in its second week, probably better than it deserved. The funny thing is that it narrowly missed pushing Harry Potter to third place! There is less than half a million between them. Although I predicted it to finish in that order, I think it would have been interesting had it come to fruition.

Fourth place is home to the lone film of the top ten to slip more than 50% from last week. The Ugly Truth begins its slow journey down the chart. It will still end up with an admirable take, but it will be forgotten in short order. What was it about again? I kid, I kid.

Aliens in the Attic finished fifth this week, scarcely making a dent with its $8 million take. That cannot bode well for its eventual success, meaning it will have to wait for DVD to do better business. I cannot comment on the movie, not having seen it, but I cannot say it looked all that good. On the other hand, it looked perfectly fine for the younger set at whom it was targeted.

The biggest story in the bottom half has to be the continued success of The Hangover. This R-rated comedy is in its ninth weekend in the top ten, unheard of for a film of its type, still pulling down good numbers, and extending its record as the biggest R-rated comedy at the box office, and on of the top of any genre. I am certainly surprised and happy to see its success. It will likely kill when it reaches DVD.

There was one other wide release film to hit theaters this week, but it failed to crack the top ten. It will likely fade fast and disappear to DVD racks in short order. The movie is The Collector, and it is simply one of the worst films I have seen this year. Do not see this movie.

Next weekend will see new competition from GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which will likely win the weekend despite the high probability of being a bad movie. The biopic Julie & Julia, with Amy Adams and Meryl Streep, will also hit nationwide, and should pull nice numbers as it looks like a crowd pleaser. Finally, hoping to be a sleeper hit is The Perfect Getaway, a horror/thriller set in a vacation paradise starring Steve Zahn.

Two movies dropped off the top ten this week: Public Enemies (13) and Bruno (16).

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	N	Funny People	$22,657,780	$22,657,780	1
2	2	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	$17,909,385	$255,672,245	3
3	1	G-Force	$17,515,489	$66,918,912	2
4	3	The Ugly Truth	$13,187,433	$54,668,841	2
5	N	Aliens in the Attic	$8,008,423	$8,008,423	1
6	4	Orphan	$7,525,419	$27,066,812	2
7	5	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	$5,526,015	$182,068,804	5
8	7	The Hangover	$5,194,475	$255,890,892	9
9	8	The Proposal	$4,931,064	$148,964,741	7
10	6	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	$4,688,329	$388,189,320	6

Box Office Predictions Recap
Not a bad week, if I don't say myself. I made a couple of mistakes, but I did not do all that terribly. I got Funny People in the right place but I overestimated its take, but I think I can forgive myself. On the other hand, I also overestimated The Collector's opening, and I am glad I did. That movie doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the top ten. Overall, I was in the ballpark almost all the way down, so I cannot complain. Well, I guess I could, but why?

Here is how the field matched up:

Actual	Prediction	Title	Wknd Gross	Prediction
1	1	Funny People	$22,657,780	$31 million
3	2	G-Force	$17,515,489	$18 million
2	3	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	$17,909,385	$16.5 million
4	4	The Ugly Truth	$13,187,433	$14 million
5	5	Aliens in the Attic	$8,008,423	$12 million
11	6	The Collector	$3,576,296	$6.5 million
6	7	Orphan	$7,525,419	$6 million
7	8	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	$5,526,015	$5.5 million
10	9	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	$4,688,329	$4.5 million
8	10	The Hangover	$5,194,475	$4 million

Movie Review: The Collector

As the closing credits began to role, I heard a fellow down the row from me mutter: "Thank God." He proceeded to gather his belongings and quickly exit the auditorium. I think it is safe to say that he did not particularly care for the movie. His distaste was seemingly shared by many in the relatively small crowd, as most folks left quickly and quietly. Not many people lingered over the credits. I did for a little while, as that is my usual process. I want to allow at least some of the folks who worked on the film be recognized for their work, regardless of how good the movie is. Many of these non-star, behind the scenes folks are focused on doing their job the best they can with no one phoning it in and they deserve to be recognized for that. Otherwise, I agree with the first guy to leave the theater, The Collector is not a good movie. In fact it is pretty awful and one of the worst films I have seen this year.

This film sprang from the minds of the writers of Saw IV, V, and the upcoming VI. With that being the case, I have read their were thoughts of tying this into that long-running franchise as a prequel. I could see that being the case, although it would end up being a series low light. Man, i simply cannot believe how poor this movie is. It just fails to work on any level; well, any level aside the decent gore.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it is not like the Saw films are any sort of high art. Still, there is something to be said by the poorly executed grand ambition of the series. It is clear that, despite lacking one primary creative voice, anyone that comes onto those films works very hard to work on series continuity. Anyway, that is neither here nor there, this is about director/co-writer Marcus Dunstan and writer Patrick Melton and their excursion into torture-horror in a film that does not have the Saw branding.

Thinking back over the movie, I have to wonder just what the thought process was as they were writing it. I wonder because it strikes me as being cobbled together from leftover Saw bits. You know, ideas for Jigsaw traps that they could not find a way to work into the films proper, rewritten into a film that is a cinematic house of horrors (heh, that works on a few levels).

The tag team of Dunstan and Melton have taken their Saw cast offs and rewritten them into the horror version of Home Alone. That's right, but instead of a little boy running around the house protecting his domain from would-be burglars, a psycho in a mask is marking his territory while a would-be burglar attempts to avoid the traps and save the family he was going to rob from. I know, they took that classic family film and turned it into a cinematic abomination that does not make any sense. It is not a lack of sense you realize after going on the ride, it is the lack of logic that almost leaps of the screen at you and almost makes you scream out: "WHY???" or "WHAT??" Talk about frustrating.

All right, what is the story about? If you figure it out, please let me know.

The movie opens with a couple coming home at night, finding the power off and a mysterious box in the bedroom. The open the box, scream, someone grabs them from behind and the title card comes up. The story then picks up at a house undergoing some renovations and pest control. The family is getting ready to leave for vacation and are packing up the car, but it is not really them that we care about, at least not yet.

One of the handymen working there is an ex-con named Arkin (Josh Stewart). He gets his paycheck and heads off to meet his daughter and an upset wife. She needs money for a loan shark, and he doesn't have enough. Never fear, the family he was just working for has a massive gemstone in lockup that he has his eyes on. So, that evening he heads back, breaks in and sets about cracking the safe.

The quick in and out job is stopped short when Arkin hears someone else enter the house. The new guest is a man with weird, glowy eyes and a luchador mask. Arkin moves about trying to avoid being caught by the second interloper. It is during this sneaking around that he discovers two things. First, the house is riddled with blood-drawing traps, trip lines, knives, spikes, and bear traps. Second, the resident family that was all set to go on vacation is still there, tied up in the basement.

What follows is Arkin moving around the house trying to save the family and avoid the masked crazy person. The sad thing is that this is not a bad concept, you could probably make a good movie with this sort of story. Unfortunately, this is not it, there are too many lapses in logic to allow this to really be entertaining. Besides that, I did not care one iota about any of these characters. Why should I? The screenplay did not give me any real reason to.

If you want any sort of explanation, forget it. You will have to write that part of the story yourself. Someone he says he collects people, but what does that mean? Does he have a warehouse filled with chained up people? At one point the box is opened to reveal a tortured, but alive, person. When asked what he is, he says he is the bait. What? Bait for what? If he is already in the house and the power is cut, what is the point? Also, the family was just about ready to leave for their vacation, what kept them home? And why was the daughter out on a date? Then what is up with the killer's eyes? It makes no sense at all.

Then we have he traps. We watch Arkin enter the house, move through a few rooms and head upstairs to the safe. Moments later when he goes back through some of the same rooms and they are filled with complex traps. This had me a little confused. Not much time had passed, just when were these traps set up exactly? Also, the people were already tied up in the basement, what were the traps set to catch?

The Collector is a maddening experience whose only reason for being is to show some torture. It definitely needs some re-writing to give it a human factor. This thing just makes no sense. It seems to want to challenge the extreme horror coming out of France (like Inside or Martyrs), but it fails to do anything other than shed blood.

Bottomline. This movie is clearly built on Saw scrapings that someone did not want wasted. This is a movie devoid of story and character, a couple of elements that generally wanted in your movie. The overdone stylistic choices attempt to mask the hollow tale contained, but it doesn't work. It is a shame that movies like this get a wide release while something like Trick R' Treat gets relegated to DVD despite strong positive buzz. It boggles the mind. One more thing, when flagging down police at night, be sure to jump at the last moment right in front of the car.

I love horror movies, but this is not one worth wasting your time on.

Not Recommended.

Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer

When I first took those first tentative steps into true movie love, there were a few genres that I shied away from. The first few steps taken between the cinema and I were a little awkward as there were only couple of levels on which we could connect. You know, there was the initial attraction for science fiction, horror, and action, then comedy and drama, then the branches started to move outwards towards foreign films and martial arts. Those early years saw me avoid westerns and romances. I did not think those genres held much for me. Of course, like in many things, I was wrong. Westerns came first, with movies like Tombstone helping to win me over. The tango with romance went on a bit longer. I cannot quite tell you what title it was that cemented my enjoyment, but it is there somewhere.

However, like with any relationship, things have been rocky as the romance film (usually paired with comedy) proved to be as formulaic and predictable than your average slasher film, perhaps even more so. Now along comes (500) Days of Summer, and with it the potential savior of romance as a genre. All right, that may be a little melodramatic, extreme, and not terribly close to reality, but for me this movie carries a lot of weight. This movie has an original voice, a fresh feel, and is completely involving. I wanted to spend time with these characters, they felt real.

The early moments of the movie feature voice over introducing us to our two central characters, Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). We are also told that while this is a story of "boy meets girl," it is not a love story. This is not entirely true, it is just not a traditional love story. It is a great story of the search for love and the uncertainty related to whether or not it even exists. This is a movie that is not about giving you the answers, it is about giving you reason to think about what you believe and how there are no answers, that what happens will happen regardless of what you may believe or think to be true.

After our character introduction, we pick up Tom with the news that Summer has broken up with him. The turn of events has wrecked him. He is disillusioned with life, love, and decides to fight back. We are then launched into the series of events that led to this moment and beyond in a broken fashion. We jump around the 500 days in seemingly random fashion. Each stop gives us hints and clues as to where the relationship is headed as well as the changing feelings of our potential couple. A couple that is always a blend of potential and kinetic energy, never able to fully push the needle completely to kinetic, although they do get close on a few occasions.

It is fascinating watch these two danced around each other. Both are lost and vulnerable in different ways. They are attempting to find their way in the world with each other. They have such diametrically opposed outlooks that they seem to try and sway the other to their point of view, or at least meet somewhere in a comfortable middle. It is also interesting to note that the characters are written with characteristics that are usually given to the opposite sex. It is Tom that is ever the romantic, while Summer wishes to keep it casual with a getaway option (not that she necessarily sees it like this, but the implications are there).

(500) Days of Summer is an alluring one. It effortlessly draws you into the tale as it unfolds in non-linear fashion, pieced together from Tom's memories as he relates how everything happened. It is beautifully written by the team of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. They have a firm grasp on the story they want to tell and the reality in which they want to tell. Watching where the characters are and where they end up is fascinating, as some of their beliefs have migrated in the direction of the other, exactly what I think they each hoped for from each other from the start. What makes it even more surprising is that this duo was also behind Pink Panther 2.

The direction is handled by Marc Webb, making his feature directorial debut. He displays definite vision, helping breathe life into the film. There is a lot of visual inventiveness throughout, including a song and dance moment. It is great to see these visual flairs throughout, blending reality with flights of fancy as the tale develops.

As good as the writing is, as fine as the directing is, I cannot help but feel that Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deshcanel completely make the movie. They have fantastic chemistry and are a joy to watch on screen. Gordon-Levitt is not what you would call traditional leading man material, but he carries himself with great confidence, has definite charisma, and has proven himself to be a wonderful actor over the past few years. He portrays a sympathetic character who is easy to like, and is easy to identify with. On the other hand you have Zooey Deschanel who just lights up the screen with her smile and those blue eyes. It does not hurt that she is also a fine actress who carries herself well here as the independent woman.

Bottomline. I am in love with this movie. It works so well in telling its story of delivering the ideas it wants to impart on the viewer, the thought process behind the relationships, the chemistry of the couple, there is so much to like. I am not sure I could find a way to make this film better. Simply beautiful.

Highly Recommended.

Movie Review: Funny People

The news of a new Judd Apatow film is always a welcome one for me. He has only directed three films, but between that and his producing credits he has created a track record for himself. There is something about the way he brings characters to life, either through his words, or through carefully choosing and involving himself in the scripts he produces. Each of his three films have been uproariously funny, heartfelt and emotional, and utterly raunchy, not to mention his ability to draw out fine performances from his cast (including his own personal stable of actor friends). Funny People is no different. It feels distinctly like an Apatow creation, but there is something else to it that trying to nail down is like trying to hit a moving target.

Funny People is an interesting film. There is something about the way the film flows that makes it feel a bit different from either The 40-Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up. This one seems to be a bit more personal to Apatow and the people involved. You see, in addition to being about relationships and coming of age, it is also about dealing with the immediate reality of death and how brushes with it can change a person. Going even beyond that, this movie is something of an insider look at comedy as a profession, with looks at both ends of the spectrum.

The story attacks its topic from two perspectives. The primary thread follows George Simmons (Adam Sandler), a character whose life, in many ways, is not dissimilar to that of the man playing him. He is a superstar of the silver screen, a man who has worked his way up through the stand up crowd to become a man beloved by the masses for his goofy movies. From there, the similarities begin to wane, but I would not be surprised to learn there is more truth to it than we may think.

Anyway, we learn right off that Simmons has a rare blood disease, a form of Leukemia, that there is little hope of recovery from. This news hits him like a ton of bricks. He goes back to the stand up stage, but with considerably darker material. He is clearly having trouble processing the news and his efforts to do so lead him Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), an up and coming comedian who is starstruck when he first meets his idol. Simmons hires on Wright to pen some jokes and perform assistant duties, which makes him the de facto confidant to Simmons health issues.

The other side of the tale follows Ira and his struggles to make his way as a comedian while working in a deli. He is a timid, kind soul who has not truly found himself yet. He jokes about himself, he cannot talk to girls, and is a bit of a loser. However, George sees something in him and the two generate an odd friendship.

Funny People works on a couple of different levels. Watching Simmons take stock of his life, recognize what kind of person he has been, contemplating how he perhaps could have been different. To that end he seeks to fix his biggest mistake, which creates another issue that leads to an ending that happens the way it has to. It is fascinating to watch him go through the stages of sickness and recovery, followed by realizations.

Flip it around and it is interesting to watch Ira develop and mature as he is thrust into something bigger than him in rapid fashion. He essentially has to learn on the job, and there is no amount of training that could prepare him for what is about to come.

On a more technical level, the story is an interesting insider look at fame and the isolation it can bring, from fake friends to the inability to connect on any meaningful level. We also get to see what it is like to break into the business, the troubles it brings, and the hard work that must be put into it.

From start to finish, Funny People is an interesting movie that offers a good number of belly laughs while also tugging at the heart strings. Judd Apatow has a wonderful ability to blend the funny stuff and the serious stuff, cutting through to the heart of the matter, exposing these characters in all their glory where things are not black and white, where life is one shade of grey.

Just as good as the screenplay is, the performances are all first rate. I dare say this could be Adam Sandler's finest performance. There are moments where he plays George as the funny goofy guy, other times the comedy is clearly a mask for the public, then there are moments where the mask falls away and we see a hurt, confused, lonely man. It is a special performance. Then we have Seth Rogen, he does an admirable job throwing himself into the role, although there are moments where he looks like he belongs somewhere else. It is serviceable, but his acting chops need a little work. No doubt funny, just not always convincing.

The supporting cast is strong and helps bring the entire project up a level. Jason Schwartzman is great as the self-absorbed star of a sitcom, while Jonah Hill plays another up and coming comedian who lives with Schwartzman and Rogen. These two bring plenty of funny in their limited screen time. In the second half we have have Leslie Mann and Eric Bana (getting to use is real accent for the first time in years). These two are funny, but they also bring a good deal of emotional weight to Sandler's story.

Overall, this is a very good film that does not quite reach the heights of Apatow's first two films, but that is a very tall order to fill. Still, this movie does a lot of things right, is very funny, and contains much in the way of emotional depth and truth. It is told in a manner that is both over the top and real at the same time, it is a tricky balance that is met here.

Bottomline. This is most definitely worth seeing. It is a funny and digs at a variety of things like finding your way in the world, dealing with the isolation of fame, and personal issues when you put your feelings ahead of others. Very good.

Recommended.

CD Review: Battlestar Galactica - Season 4 Music Composed by Bear McCreary

After taking over the reigns from Richard Gibbs, who scored the Battlestar Galactica mini-series in 2003, Bear McCreary has been off to the races. Since the very first note of "33" you could tell that the music for this series was going to be something special. Of course, it took me until the release of season 3 for me to actually pick up one of the disks, but no mind. The important part is that I did. With that release, I could finally stop just thinking about how cool the music was and could take the time to listen to it. Now, having heard that, plus this two-disk season 4 release I feel pretty safe in saying that no one has composed television music like him before. Actually, there probably are not that many who equal him on the big screen either.

Listening to Bear McCreary's work for Battlestar Galactica is a near transcendent experience. His music takes you on a journey with recurring themes, a variety of styles and instruments, and the willingness to experiment. Even in what is essentially a "greatest hits" collection, it is very easy to get caught up in the flow. Whether it be the softer, emotion filled, contemplative pieces like "Lament of Gaeta" or "Diaspora Oratorio" or the more intense moments like "Roslin Escapes" or the later portions of "Boomer Takes Hera," it is very easy to get caught up in the music to the point of forgetting what you were doing.

With season 4, Bear is completing the circuit. What began with a more militaristic, percussive sound, the music has changed, evolved, morphed, and grown through a number of permutations. As the series moved into more philosophical ground and the characters began to find themselves (or lose themselves, as the case may be), the music changed with them, reflecting their state of mind, or the new surroundings they find themselves in.

This final season collection sees the bulk of the music turning inwards, reflecting the change from the early military sounds to this. Much like the characters, the music has gone through its own arc. An arc that has afforded its composer to experiment with a variety of sounds and instruments, never bound by any rules of composition, given free reign to wild. The end result is music that incorporates a large variety of influences from around the world into one cohesive work that is as epic as it is deeply personal.

When you listen to the first disk of this set, I encourage you to pay particular attention to "Gaeta's Lament" and its instrumental version, "Cult of Baltar," "Blood on the Scales," "Kara Remembers," "Dreilide Thrace Sonata No. 1," and every other track here.

As an added bonus, this release has a second disk. This disk is focused completely on the series finale, "Daybreak." Much like every other album of Bear McCreary's music, this is not to be missed. It may be the most focused of the Battlestar Galactica albums, aside from Caprica, as it is not a "Best of" collection it gives us the opportunity of taking the musical journey from start to finish.

This disk begins with the sorrowful "Caprica City, Before the Fall" before moving onto a slightly more hopeful "Laura's Baptism." This build continues through the next couple of cues, all building up to the album's centerpiece.

At the heart of the "Daybreak" score is a massive 15-minute epic called "Assault on the Colony." This is just a massive work that seems to incorporate everything that Bear has done over the series. There are quiet moments, in your face explosions, a regular climb and falls, recognizable themes, everything in one massive package.

One would think that a piece like this would sap the album of momentum by peaking too early. That is not the case hear, the momentum carries right on to "Baltar's Sermon" and the rest of the score.

This score works very well. There is some wonderful pacing throughout, it never gets boring or repetitious and is just as good listening apart from the show, always a sign of a good score.

Bottomline. I am sad to see this series end. Not only is it landmark television with a great story to tell with wonderful performances and great look, but it generated such wonderful music. It is sad to realize that we will not be getting anymore Bear Battlestar music. Sure, we have Caprica but it is not the same thing. Still, Bear is a wonderful composer who has done some great work and has nowhere to go but up. I look forward to seeing what happens when he gets a shot at a major film. You know it will happen and you know it will be great.

Highly Recommended.