D*ck Pics (#1 in a Series)

 Welcome to a new weekly series of computer generated images that will be feature dames and d*cks! This may or may not  revive this blog, but there'll be a new image every Wednesday until I get bored (or y'all tell me that you not entertained.)

For d*ck pics created by human hands, check out this entry in the NUELOW Stock Art Collection series, Strange Things: D*ck Pics by clicking on the link! (You must be logged into the DriveThruRPG site to see the listing and previews of D*ck Pics, since it is considered "adult content" (but not necessarily mature content.)

'Mr. Sycamore' is the tale of a man who wants to make like a tree...

Mr. Sycamore (1974)
Starring: Jason Robards, Sandy Dennis, Jean Simmons, Robert Easton, and Brenda Smith
Director: Pancho Kohner
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

A mail carrier and discouraged poet (Robards) decides to escape his dreary life by transforming himself into a tree.

There are a rare few bad movies that still manage to hold your attention, even though they are dull and made duller by the fact that 45 minutes of material had to stretched to fill feature-film length. "Mr. Sycamore" is one such picture.

This could perhaps have been an interesting episode in a television anthology series, or perhaps as one of several episodes in an anthology film, but there simply wasn't enough substance to fill a feature. So, the audience is subjected to a pointless slapstick sequence involving two milk trucks, an almost as pointless dream sequence, and a storm as the film reaches its climax that is drawn out to the point where it blunts whatever impact it may have had.

It's a shame that the screenwriters and director didn't manage to translate the play they were adapting more effectively to the screen. Perhaps they could have done so if they hadn't hewn so close to the source material -- most scenes feel like they are were transcribed directly from the play and the actors likewise seem like they are doing a play rather than a movie. I don't mean that in the sense that they are "playing to the back rows" but rather that there is a formality and a "I say my line, you say your line, I say my next line" to their performances.

With a more effective script, "Mr. Sycamore" could have been a fabulous--if odd-- picture. It is consistently visually interesting and it features a powerhouse cast of actors that are all perfect for the roles they play. The visuals and the performances will keep you watching, even as you realize that this picture will ultimately make you wish you have those minutes of your life back. 

For your edification (or "Who the f%ck builds a Stonehenge?!")

Ylvis... a pair of brothers from Norway have produced some videos for the hippy-hoppy slutty Hannah Montana generation. These songs are like School House Rock, only with more hip-hop and Autotune! (And even old folks with a sense of humor and an understanding of how songs are structured will get lots of enjoyment out of then. And perhaps even learn something.)

Sit back (if you can stay seated when these mad beats start pumping!

That last one seems like the craziest of the bunch--and it is--but it's not quite as insane as you might think. The second "what does the fox say" sound made me say, "what a sec!", so I did a Google search to check a faint memory of a very old nature show. And apparently someone else had the same reaction I did:

For the record, foxes are one of my favorite animals. I've found them fascinating since I was a kid. One of my favorite book was even about a kid who was from a family of werefoxes called "My Friend Giles" or "Pure Magic,"

Oh.... and then there's this...

The Brothers Ylves

Day of the Turkey: Community College

It's Thanksgiving Day here in the United States... and at Cinema Steve, we celebrate with turkeys, just like everyone else. (It's just that these are turkeys that may not be worth giving thanks for..)

Community College (2012)
Starring: Jordan McSorley, Tim Dean, Jon Dean, Tommy Avallone, Brian Hagan, and Mike Hadfield
Director: Tommy Avallone
Rating: Three of Ten Stars

 Four friends (Avallone, Dean, Dean, and McSorley), drunken slackers who are eternal students at their local community college, decide to pull themselves together and graduate so they can get enough money to buy their favorite bar so it doesn't close.

 "Community College" is one of those low-budget comedies that will keep you watching because the cast is so enthusiastic about what they're doing and because there are just enough jokes that work you keep thinking the film is on the verge of coming together and turning out for the better. But, as is usually the case, you will, when the end credits roll, find that your hope was in vain.

The biggest disappointment with "Community College", though, is that I have the sense it could have been a much better film if parts of it hadn't felt as if it was created by someone as lazy as its heroes. There is an inconsistency in tone throughout the movie, as it keeps flipping back and forth between a semi-realistic comedy (ala "Back to School") and bizarre comedy (ala "Animal House" or even "Airplane"); the first time it happens, you think one of the characters is hallucinating... but no--there really is a guy in bar dressed like an octopus.

Further, there are numerous plot-threads and joke set-ups that are either left under-developed or so badly exploited that you wish writer/director/co-star Tommy Avallone hadn't bothered. The worst of these manifests itself in the much-vaunted bowling ability of Jonny-300, as when we finally get to the point where he goes bowling, there isn't even a real shot of him doing so. In fact, the only jokes/plot elements that felt fully realized in the film was the strange environment of the friends' favorite bar, and the rivalry that develops between them and a little girl and her father over lemonade stands. Everything else has a half-assed, half-baked feel to it.

Near as I can tell, "Community College" has had a six-year journey from its filming (in 2006), through screenings at festivals and direct DVD sales by the producers (around 2009), until it was finally picked up and released by distributor Chemical Burn in the summer of 2012 -- a step that may have been prompted by the critically acclaimed comedy series "Community."

"Community College" isn't a total loss. If you are desperate for entertainment, there are worse ways you could spend your time. Also, the Chemical Burn DVD is crammed with bonus features, such as music videos and some seriously twisted cartoons which you may find more worthwhile than the main feature. As such, while the main feature may only rate Three Stars, the overall package gets a Six for bonus features that are quite extravagant when compared to what is offered on most discs.

Note: This review was based on a preview DVD provided by the distributor, Chemical Burn.

'Nacho Mountain' is an underdeveloped comedy

Nacho Mountain (2009)
Starring: Jay Larson, Kevin Interdonato, and John Charles Hunt
Director: Mitch Csanadi
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

When Keefer (Larson) is fired from his job and catches his girlfriend cheating on him with a transvestite, his best friend Meegosh (Interdonato) suggests that he uses his gift for consuming mass amounts of food to make a living. They set up an underground eating competition--Food Wars--and soon every big eater in the area is gunning for the champ. Including born-again health food nut Mayor Fingstahl (Hunt), whom Keefer must face in the do-or-die challenge of Nacho Mountain!

"Nacho Mountain" is a throwback to the 1980s and early 1990s to the sort of comedies that you could find on USA Up All Night and as every third release in the video store. It's raunchy, silly, and turn-off-your-brain dumb. It was actually just the sort of comedy I was hoping for when it showed up in my mailbox recently.

Unfortunately, just like the majority of those comedies from the 1980s, "Nacho Mountain" cannot be described as very good.

Basically, this is a sort-of "Extreme Fighting" parody infused with as many bodily function jokes as possible. It starts strong with Keefer's hilarious dismissal from his job, but aside from the isolated gag, the film never quite gets that funny again. The main flaw is with the weak script and flabby editing. Actually, I hope that aside from the eating competition scenes--which are generally very funny--that most of the scenes of the scenes were ad-libbed from loose a loose outline, because if they weren't, then this was a script that needed a second draft before shooting started. Too many of the jokes have kernels of something very funny buried within too much babble, crudeness, or literal bathroom humor. Examples that stand out as scenes that could have been very funny but just drag on is the one where Meegosh hits on a deaf girl at a bar, the one where Mayor Fingstahl and his cop henchman are in a sauna, and the one where Meegosh and Keefer are chatting while taking dumps in a public restroom. All of these had lots of potential, but they were in dire need of refining and condensing.

I also think that if a little more effort had been put into the script, the "Footloose"-style subplot lurking beneath the surface would have been  more fully developed to great benefit. There was also potential with Keefer's ex-girlfriend and her transvestite lover that was left unrealized.

As for the cast, stand-up comedian Jay Larson gives the standout performance in the film, and his supported nicely by Kevin Interdonato. I think if they have been working within a tighter script, they would both have been excellent, and I would be raving about this film instead of shrugging my shoulders with disappointment. Larson is a talented actor, and I hope to see him again in something better.

"Nacho Mountain" may be a movie worth checking out if you looked forward to "USA Up All Night" back in the day, or if you are having a seriously bad day and can do with a little cheering up--it is silly and stupid enough that it will brighten your mood if you have an appreciation for low-brow humor. I also think it deserves consideration for its outrageous central concept. It just isn't the movie it could have been.

Note: This review was based on a screening copy given to me by distributor Chemical Burn.

Something to get you in the Halloween mood....

In honor of the 2012 Democratic National Convention

Sometimes I think that Peace Prize Winners shouldn't have a kill list.
But you dumped Bin Laden in the sea so maybe it's all good.

Saturday Matinee: The Laundromat

Greetings thrill-seekers... I'm actually showing a movie at Cinema Steve today! It's a short little item, one you can watch right here and now. It's even educational! (Read on after watching the film for why I say that.)

Photo by Sporto

The Laundromat (2010)
Starring: Zoe Simpson and Tom Proctor
Director: Drew Daywalt
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars



Horror films and comedy often rely on reversal of expectations for their impact. "The Laundromat" manages to both be funny and frightening at the same time by playing on horror movie tropes and the expectations they arouse in the viewer.

'The Dictator' is like Cohen's apology for 'Bruno'

The Dictator (2012)
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Jason Mantzoukas, Bobby Lee, and Ben Kingsley
Director: Larry Charles
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

The crazy dictator of a North African nation, Alladeen (Cohen), is thrust from power during a coup attempt while he is visiting New York City. He must rely on the kindness of an all-around Leftist who's never seen a cause she wouldn't protest for or against (Faris), and a scientist he once ordered executed (Mantzoukas) if he is to prevent his corrupt brother (Kingsley) from being democracy to his nation and selling out its oil reserves to China and international oil companies.

After the mostly unfunny and completely gross "Bruno", I had given up on Cohen, writing off as another Tom Green whose talent for comedy had rotted through celebrity. I wasn't going to waste any more time on him.

But when the previews came out for "The Dictator", I found myself laughing. What's more, I found myself curious as to whether the film would compare to Charlie Chaplin's great movie with the same title.

It comes close, but, unlike Chaplin, Cohen pulls his punches when it comes to the targets that Hollywood studio chiefs and Cohen's fellow filmmakers are either too scared of, or too wrapped up in some multicultural fantasy version of reality... the targets that wrap themselves in the cloak of Islam.

In the end, Cohen doesn't quite live up to Chaplin's legacy. He skewers the American political machine and international businesses dead-on, but he dances around the edges of the rot and corruption infesting the other side. Unlike Chaplin, he doesn't have the courage to buck the politics prevalent in the film industry and attack all sides of the most burning and deadly problems in geo-politics.

And it's too bad, because he might as well have attacked all sides equally, because those who sympathize with the unifying factors in the governments and organizations that Cohen treads somewhat gently around--Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Egypt and their proxies like the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah, and whatever Muslim Brotherhood-sponsored North African Terrorist Group of the Month hasn't been blown to bits yet--are starting to cry as if he HAD done the right and brave thing. But, unlike Chaplin, Cohen ultimately chickens out.

But that failing aside, this is a very funny movie. I don't think two minutes didn't go by where I wasn't chuckling or outright laughing. From the "Dedicated to the Memory of Kim Jong Il" through the extra footage and bloopers during the end credits, it's non-stop funny.

I feel a big reason this film succeeds where some of Cohen's other films have failed is because Alladeen, the dictator, isn't a total idiot like Bruno and Ali G.; he's just ignorant. And when he starts to realize how ignorant he is, he actually tries to change. A little. He remains the same generally mean-spirited character he was when the film started, but his horizons have been broadened and he has learned from his experiences, something which other Cohen characters have been too stupid to do.

It also helps that Cohen plays nicely off the supporting cast members like Faris and Mantzoukas. When it seems like the burgeoning romance between Alladeen and Zoey is going to fail, viewers actually feel for both of them, which is unexpected in a Cohen film.

Unless you're one of those people who secretly think it's A-OK for governments to oppress and massacre their citizens but too chicken-shit to come out and express your beliefs (and therefore will cry and scream about how this film is "disrespectful to Arabs", despite the fact that Cohen went as far as he could to coddle your sensitivities), you'll find much in this movie to laugh about... it runs the gamut from the lowest of the low humor to borderline sophisticated. It's a lot of fun.

'Dummy' is a feel-good flick

Dummy (2002)
Starring: Adrian Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, and Jared Harris
Director: Greg Pritikin
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Pushing 30 and still living at home with his parents, Steven (Brody) finds inspiration to give direction to his so-far aimless life in an old movie and sets out to become a professional ventriloquist. Along the way, the lives of his best friend (Jovovich), his sister (Douglas), and unemployment adviser (Farmiga) are transformed and improved as well.

"Dummy" is one of those smart, arty comedies that in my experience are either completely miss the mark and become either boring or depressing, or are very, very entertaining; I don't recall ever seeing one of these films fall into a middleground... although given the number of films I see, it's possible that one was just so mediocre it has faded from mind.

"Dummy" is neither boring, nor depressing, or mediocre. It's an excellent film is every possible way, with quirky characters that never feel artificial or forced, even when each and every one of their lives turn around from miserable states of loserhood to successes. In just about every way, this film feels like a modern version of some of those 1930s and 1940s comedies where everyone is struggling or is miserable in one way or another, but by the end everyone is happy. It's a great fantasy flick that way, a very uplifting, feel-good picture.

Everyone of the stars is excellent in the film. Adrien Brody in particular is remarkable in the way he manages to play a weak and milquetoast character and still commands the center of the picture at all times. And this is no small feat, because he's competing for our attention with a flamboyant and hilarious character portrayed by Milla Jovovich--Fangora, his life-long, socially maladjusted best friend who hasn't progressed much emotionally or socially since high school and is even still trying to make a go at being a rock star with an awful garage band.

As a character, Fangora is far more interesting than Steven, her character arc has a lot more comedy to it, and Jovovich is great in the part; if you've only ever seen her in "Resident Evil" and similar recent action films, you don't know what she's capable of as an actress until you see one of her more offbeat pictures like this one. But, despite everything pointing to the audience wanting her to be the center of the film--and wanting to get back to her story thread whenever were dealing with Steven and his romantic struggles with his single-mother employment adviser, or his attempts to shield his sister from her abusive ex--Brody is equally great in his part... infusing the whole movie with such humanity that his character remains the focus of our attention, despite it all. (Although I must say that when it came to the film's climax, it was Jovovich's Fangora and her band that I found myself more interested in, just because their path to possible success was so fun and outrageous. And to say any more would be a major spoiler and would ruin some of the film's funniest jokes.)

Much credit for this, of course, goes to writer/director Greg Pitikin for crafting the movie so perfectly, and for the excellent cast supporting Brody and Jovovich were surrounded by. Every right note is hit at the right moment, and everything is constantly clicking.

Except for the very last moment of the film. Literally, those final few seconds cost "Dummy" a full star, knocking it down from a high Nine rating to an Eight.

Earlier, I mentioned that this film a great piece of fantasy, and I meant that in the sense that it's one of those stories that makes one wish real life worked like this... where everything works out in the end for everyone, even the bad guys. Unfortunately, Pitikin took the fantasy aspect just one step too far at the very end, appearing to imbue Steven's dummy with some sort of magical quality. It's a move that seems out of step with everything that has gone before.

Despite one stumble at the end, this is a film that's well worth seeking out and checking out.





The Jovovich fans out there may be interested in taking a look at the Milla Jovovich Quarterly series at Shades of Gray.

Vignettes from The Lonely Island

I think the point at which I decided that rap was, generally speaking, a moronic stripe of popular music was when 2LiveCrew starting spewing garbage into the air during the late 1980s/early 1990s... and it's not gotten any better since.

That said, I am always amused when I come across comedy groups like The Loney Island. I first became aware of them with their "Jack Sparrow" single where they teamed up with Michael Bolton to skewer parody the rich fantasy life of many rappers and hip-hoppers by contrasting it with a different kind of fantasy life.

Here are some of The Lonely Island's best parody songs and videos, including ones where they team with famous performers who are so game that they make fun of their own styles and pop music genres. Great stuff... especially the ones mocking rap and hip-hop.

(I probably don't need to mention this, but these videos are NOT safe for work.)

First, let's meet the boys of The Lonely Island...

And here's one of the most honest songs and videos ever recorded. Jessica Alba is now officially forgiven for the crime of appearing in "The Love Guru."



This one carries with it a very important message. It should be heeded by all.



And their greatest hit so far... it almost tops "Jack Sparrow" as far as skewering rap songs and their videos.

The coming of the Brothers Barbarian!

Here's the premiere episode of a web-series written by and co-starring a former co-worker of mine, Ken Whitman. It also features fantasy artist Larry Elmore in what I assume is his screen debut... in a role where he's dressed (and barely dressed) like many of the characters he's painted over the years.



I'll have to see if I can get permission for a "ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters" tie-in! :)

Now back to the good part!

Michael Bolton gets a guest shot with The Lonely Island for some cutting-edge hip-hop and reveals his true love in the process...



"Jack Sparrow" is included on The Lonely Island's second album of spectacularly goofy songs. Check it out. (And for more Jack Sparrow fun, come back on September 19 for our celebration of "Talk Like a Pirate Day"!)

"You complete me!"

Celebrate the U.S. deciding to honor its obligations by stimulating the economy!

Well, our so-called leaders here in the States kinda-sorta did something about addressing the economic issues facing the United States of American, and they FINALLY got around to doing their Constitutionally mandated duties and made sure that all of the financial obligations of the Federal government will be met.

At least for a little while longer, since no serious effort was undertaken to address the more serious long-term problems.

But, I suggest you all out there celebrate by stimulating the economy and buying an eBook from NUELOW Games... I'd REQUIRE you to do so, but then I'd have to be a President, a member of Congress, or perhaps a character in "Alice in Blunderland."

Although written over 100 years ago, the jokes in "Alice in Blunderland" are distressingly fresh. John Kendrick Bangs might as well have been poking fun at today's political leaders, right down to how they deal with debt and government spending in the perfect town created by the Mad Hatter.

This PDF-format book--ideal for reading on laptops and iPads--is going to be on sale for $0.99 for the rest of this week. Check it out... you'll get a great read, and you'll help the U.S. economy by giving my distributor and I a few pennies!

Click here to see all the currently available eBooks and roleplaying game products currently avaliable from NUELOW Games. (It amuses me to no end that our current best-seller is a Christmas release. :D )

The Best of Epic Rap Battles of History' Vol. 2

As we head for the weekend, here are three more of the greatest "Epic Rap Battles of History."

Abe Lincoln vs. Chuck Norris


Bieber vs. Beethoven


Benjamin Franklin vs. Billy Mays

'Almost Hollywood' is almost funny

Almost Hollywood (1994)
Starring: Don Shot, Greg Scott, Rachel Dyer, India Allen, and Scott Apel
Director: Mike Weaver
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

Tony (Shot), a sleazy producer of direct-to-video "erotic thrillers", finds himself under increasing pressure when an angry starlet (Dyer) reveals their affair to his wife, and the owners of his studio decide they want to make "classy" movies and hire a Playboy Bunny with pretensions (Allen) to be the lead in their next three pictures. Things go from bad to worse when the starlet is murdered after a wrap-party, and everyone is willing to believe Tony killed her because they all dislike him so much.

This film is a misfire from beginning to end. While it's conceptually a decent satire about low-budget exploitation film-making in 1990s L.A., with the expected assortment of stereotypes and all the usual digs and truisms about the industry you find whenever low-budget filmmakers turn the a fictitious and satirical eye on themselves, it's not funny enough during the humorous bits, its not suspenseful enough during the scary bits, and it unfolds at a pace that is for the most part far too slow. Frankly, there's nothing here that's all that good; the film is mostly a collection of jokes and characters that are used to much greater effect in other movies (like in "Hollywood Boulevard" and the more recent "Shoot or Be Shot"), and by the time the film reaches its conclusion and offers up a curious little coda, you get the feeling that the creators of the movie knew there was nothing here that's all that good.

The only thing that makes this movie interesting to watch is the character of Tony, the sleazy producer. This character is usually the villain in pictures like this, and he starts out that way here, but as the film progresses, I found myself rooting increasingly for him. He is the only character in the film who is honest with himself and others about who he is (excluding any actor he happens to be talking to--he considers lying to actors just part of the job, something he's not shy about explaining to any non-actor who will listen), and he's the only character who is happy with what he does in the movie business. "I like my movies," is a line he says several times during the film, not to convince himself that they're good, but just stating the fact that he likes them and that he enjoys his role in making them together and getting them to market. Every other character in the film is either a hypocrite or a self-deluded windbag and/or hack... Tony, in the end, emerges as perhaps the most moral character of them all. A desire to learn his ultimate fate was the only thing that kept me engaged with this movie, because, even though he was the creator of the mess he was in, I wanted to see him get out of it. (The identity of the killer became obvious early on, and it will be to all but the most dense viewer; and director Weaver must have thought he was making a movie for some REALLY dense viewers, because he telegraphs the killer's identity even before the second murder happens. And if anyone but me cares why I put reviews on the blogs I do, this approach to the film's murder mystery aspect of the film is why I'm covering it here instead of at Watching the Detectives.)

As the low rating implies, I can't give this movie a strong recommendation. It is carried almost entirely by the fact that Tony is a different sort of character for this type of movie, with even the funniest of jokes being predictable and the plodding pace at which it unfolds making it even harder to sit through. However, if you can't get enough of filmmakers and actors making fun of themselves of the public's perception of them, or if you have REALLY fond memories of the kind of fare that was typical on "USA Up All Night", it might be worth seeking out. If nothing else, you can consider it a "bonus feature" if you pick up one of the several DVD multi-movie packs in which it is present.

'Entry Level' is a well-tuned comedy

Entry Level (2007)
Starring: D.B. Sweeney, Missi Pyle, Kurtwood Smith, Cedric Yarbrough, Taylor Negron, Dan Southworth, and Steve Ryan
Director: Douglas Horn
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Frustrated over the failure of his restraunt, Clay (Sweeney) decides to abandon his career as a chef and start over in the workforce. But can a man whose pushing 40 really start over again at the bottom?

"Entry Level" is an excellent comedy that satirizes the interview and hiring processes at large companies and the American Employment Security system while delivering a well-stated message about the importance of finding one's talent and sticking with that throughout life, particularly if one enjoys doing whatever it is the talent is.

"Entry Level" is a character-driven comedy that has as its prime focus the above-mentioned Clay (who is in search of a fresh start, but who continues to prepare gourmet meals, only now he's making deliciously creative sandwiches for his fellow job-seekers) and the fellow unemployed people he befriends while making the rounds from job interview to job interview. The sandwiches are one of the film's funniest running jokes, as well as the plot element that leads to the film predictable but still very satisfying happy ending.

For most part, the film draws its comedy from absurd but-all-too-realistic-seeming situations in corporate waiting rooms and job interviews, remaining mostly low-key. It strays into two bouts of over-the-top, comic excess that feel like they might be comedy sketches and out of place in the overall movie. One of these--where Clay triggers a burned-out HR executive to flame out and quit his job in a rather spectacular fashion--the film recovers from because a new character gets added to the story as a result, while the other--featuring the worst job interview from the worst possible boss ever--feels out of place and, while funny, ends up detracting more from the movie than strengthening it.

However, even those two scenes I feel don't quite match the rest of the film's tone, are very well done. The film has an excellent script with great dialogue and well-honed jokes, giving its cast of very talented actors the material they need to shine in every shot.

'For Your Consideration' is a shaky mockumentary that can't maintain a tone

With the 2011 Oscar Awards ballots being mailed to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today, this seems like the perfect time for a review of this movie.


For Your Consideration (2006)
Starring: Catherine O'Hare, Harry Shearer, Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, Christopher Moynihan, Jim Piddock, and Christopher Guest
Director: Christopher Guest
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

When a rumor gets started that three stars in "Home of Purum", a third-rate, low-budget art film (that is still in production) are going to nominated for an Oscar, the Hollywood dream machine and egoes kick into high gear. Can there be a happy Hollywood ending for once?


"For Your Consideration" is a real step downward for Christopher Guest, a writer/actor/director who has turned in some of the best mockumentaries ever made. But his magic formula--which involves a group of actors he works with on movie after movie ad-libbing scenes based on a story outline and that worked so well in Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show", and "A Mighty Wind"--doesn't quite click in this case.

The fatal problem with "For Your Consideration" is Guest doesn't seem to have a firm handle on the film's tone and style. The film doesn't have a convincing documentary feel to it, and the story is too loose and rambling to be a good "traditional" movie. It occupies a middleground between Guest's mockumentary style and his 1989 film "The Big Show", a straight movie that spoofed the Hollywood establishment and delivered much the same observatiions and messages as this latest film. But, although "The Big Show" had its problems, it was secure in its style. "For Your Consideration" is not, and it ultimately fails, because it feels phony as it unfolds.

The movie features all the faces we've come to expect in one of Guest's mockumentaries, but no one manages to be quite as funny as they were in "Best in Show" or "Waiting for Guffman". Stand-out cast members are Catherine O'Hare (who portrays a Hollywood has-been who comes to believe "Home for Purum" is her final shot at stardom), but she is remarkable here because her character is more tragic than funny and Parker Posey (who plays an obnoxious up-and-coming actress with devastating perfection).

Despite the good performances, this film is only of interest to the biggest fans of this troupe and Christopher Guest. Because the director failed to create a convincing tone--Guest utterly fails at making the film feel like a documentary--the film is shot through with a sense of fakeness and hollowness.

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' is an epic comedy

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Starring: George Clooney, John Tuturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Chris Thomas King, Charles Durning, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Wayne Duvall, Michael Badalucco, Ray McKinnon and Daniel von Bargen

Director: Joel Coen

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Three convicts (Clooney, Tuturro and Nelson) escape from a chaingang and embark on a quest across Great Depression-era Missisippi in search of buried loot from an armored car heist and a reunion with family.

"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is perhaps the cutest comedy from the chaemeleon-like Coen Brothers who have not yet made a movie I've seen that has resembled any of the other movies i've seen from them. This one has the feel of a 1940s musical and/or road picture, complete with a spirit-lifting ending that will leave you feeling cheerful no matter how glum you might have been when you sat down to see the movie. Even better, they've used the plot Homer's "The Odyssey" as the framework for this story, and the way they have it manifesting itself in 20th century America is surprising, smart, and very funny.

There is much to love about this movie, but commenting on it would ruin the surprise. This is a movie it's best to come to cold, without anyone having rambled on about about the funny twists and turns of the plot. I will say this: The way they work in fate, prophesies of doom and glory, Circe, the Sirens, the Cyclops, the Ulysses' wife and her criminal, two-faced suitors are not at all going to be what you might expect.

The film is also worth seeing for a very funny performance by George Clooney as the dapper, smooth-tongued leader of the band of adventurers on the quest. I've come to the conclusion after watching this film that no living actor does the "Did I just see what I think I saw?" face like he does... I now understand the comparison between him and Cary Grant, something I've dismissed up to now.

If you're in the mood for a clever comedy that's going to leave you feeling happy and upbeat about life, I can't recommend "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" strongly enough.





For another comedy that makes great use of the under-pinnings of ancient literature, check out "Nacho Libre". Reviews at the time showed a serious flaw in the American education system, as critics focused on the film as a "sports comedy," but completely missed the fact that it's also a step-by-step retelling of "The Epic of Gilgamesh". Or maybe it just showed that even some Jack Black comedies are too intellectual for most movie critics.

'Home Alone' is an excellent holiday flick

Home Alone (1990)
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern
Director: Chris Columbus
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

In "Home Alone", Kevin (Culkin), the youngest child in a large and chaotic family goes to bed one night shortly before Christmas with an angry wish that his entire family would just vanish. When he wakes up the next morning, everyone has indeed disappeared, and Kevin happily goes about his new life as an "emancipated minor." (His family hasn't magically vanished; they simply forgot to wake him for the Christmas trip to visit far-away relatives... much to the mother's shame and horror when she discovers what has happened.) Kevin's is enjoying his total freedom... until two house-prowlers (Pesci and Stern) targeting homes that are empty for the holidays mark his house for break-in. What follows is a battle of wits and skill between a bratty--but creative--kid and two less-than-sharp criminals.


Some reviewers and critics pan "Home Alone" as not being dark enough and too silly. These are commentators who truly don't get this movie. and who fail to recognize that they are NOT the target audience for the film. "Home Alone" is a kid's movie and its target audience are kids. And kids LOVE the idea of being independent, and kids love the idea of fending off criminals with bizarre traps and slapstick.

Personally, I spend the climax of "Home Alone" wincing because the cartoon violence visited upon the hapless burglars trying to invade Kevin's home makes my bones ache, but I guarantee that kids will love it. The messages that the film works in about Christmas and the value of family also make the film worth seeing.

I think "Home Alone" is an excellent Christmas movie, and I think that the critics that panned it need to remember that kids really aren't just mini-adults. Or maybe they just need to try to remember what it's like to be a kid.