8 / 04 / 06

At the Movies


SCOOP
Woody Allen proves he's still one of the funniest men alive in his role as a magician turned sleuth on the trail of a serial killer in London high society. His new muse Scarlett Johansson adds glamour and poise to this movie which is much like his recent thriller Match Point, only this time played for laughs. Hugh Jackman is elegant as the murder suspect and Deadwood's Ian McShane adds to the fun as a reporter returned from the afterlife. Film of the week.

BARNYARD
I like to think that this animated comedy about farm animals partying like rock stars whenever humans aren't around is really what happens when our backs are turned. Barnyard features a fine cast of creatures led by Otis the carefree cow whose skills include stage diving, singing, and driving stolen cars. It continues a recent run of top notch animated movies. Is this a new golden age?

CLERKS 2
There's a thin line between genius obscene humor and puerile filth, and this complete waste of time comes down clearly on the wrong side of the divide. It's the tiresome story of two thirtysomethings working in a New Jersey fast food restaurant and filling their days with smutty, moronic conversations. It was so bad that I asked for - and got - a refund.



The Mel Gibson Scandal

I can't say I was surprised by Mel Gibson's off-color rant against Jewish people. After all, he's often made offensive comments in the past. Even when it comes to his own devout faith of Catholisism, he still thinks that some followers don’t get into heaven unless they do things his way. Yuck. Sounds like a few other judgemental Catholics I know. You would think that he would have at least some respect for his own religion as a whole, and not just his hypocritical interpretation.

Mel said back then he worried that people might think he was gay because he was an actor.
His quotes were: "What happens is when you're an actor they stick that label on you. But with this look, who's going to think I'm gay? It would be hard to take me for someone like that. Do I sound like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them?"

When later asked by another interviewer about the gay and lesbian group GLAAD's protest over his statements, Mel said: "I'll apologize when hell freezes over. They can f--- off."
Now that’s a superstar that doesn’t use his god-given gifts of fame and fortune to make the world a better place. Take a lesson from Angelina Jolie and get some class. If you put your money and your mouth in the right place, you wouldn’t be in this mess.


Sports Update

Did you know that the richest sports team in the world had been staying in Beverly Hills for the past week?

Probably not because the local press has completely ignored the story the rest of the world is covering - the US tour of English soccer giants Chelsea.

Just a month after the World Cup revived American interest in soccer, the LA media has chosen to turn their back while these global superstars are in their backyard.

The Chelsea team are owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich who has used his fortune to buy many of the world's greatest players for his all-star team. But even he can't buy US press attention, and superstar players like Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Andriv Shevchenko have been in training at UCLA in relative anonimity.

I recently saw the movie Once in a Lifetime about the brief period in the 1970s when 75,000 fans would regularly fill US stadiums to watch soccer games. Those days may never come again.