Friday, 29 March 2024

Arts & Life

EAGLE EYE (Rated PG-13)


For positive proof that the fertile mind of Steven Spielberg does not always yield fantastic results, look no further than the cinematic disaster that is the quasi-technological thriller “Eagle Eye.”


Maybe the famed jet-setting director of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was spending too much time in London, where surveillance cameras on street corners are more omnipresent than the growing number of unwelcome “red light” traffic cameras popping up around our country. A palpable sense of being watched too carefully may have gripped Spielberg with some sort of dread. But acting as executive producer, at least he turned the concept into a ridiculous popcorn movie.


The thought of us becoming afraid of our cell phones after watching “Eagle Eye” was Spielberg’s intended effect as much as he made us scared of going into the ocean after seeing “Jaws.” Regrettably, “Eagle Eye” is total lacking this psychological fear factor, because the central premise of this high-octane action farce is that a massive surveillance system run from the bowels of the Pentagon is capable of controlling every phone, TV, camera, traffic signal, aircraft and construction crane in the world. I probably overlooked a few other things, but hopefully you get the idea that “Eagle Eye” is basically science fiction not even remotely fixed in current reality.


Shia LaBeouf’s Jerry Shaw, a slacker working at a Chicago copy store, is suddenly called home for the funeral of his identical twin brother, an Air Force officer killed in an auto accident. Returning to his grubby apartment, Jerry finds $750,000 in his bank account and enough weapons and bomb-making equipment to associate him with a terrorist cell. A disembodied voice on a cell phone warns him to run or be arrested, and before he can flee, he’s taken into custody by the FBI and interrogated by Agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton). Since this movie is an Alfred Hitchcock-type, falsely-accused-man-on-the-run story, Jerry ends up being freed by a swinging construction crane crashing through the window of his holding room.


Meanwhile, single mom Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) is sending her 8-year-old son, Sam, off on a train from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to play trumpet with his school band at the Kennedy Center. During a rare night out with her pals, Rachel receives an odd call on her cell phone from the same female voice, in which she’s instructed to follow orders or her son will die. The threat is made credible because the caller produces images of Sam on a wall of TV screens across the street.


Next thing you know, Jerry finds himself sitting in a Porsche next to Rachel, and the two of them are literally off to a competitive race with unseen forces to carry out a series of missions that will implicate them ever more deeply into serious terrorist acts.


Spinning wildly out of control, the plot becomes so unnecessarily complicated and convoluted that the notion of the mysterious caller orchestrating a series of suspicious moves is increasingly laughable. The strangely disembodied voice is able to track their every move, and has seemingly limitless control over their fates. Rational thought makes you wonder how any of this is remotely possible.


On a subway train, Jerry gets a call on the cell phone of a sleeping passenger sitting in close proximity. Later on, you marvel at the ability of two novices like Jerry and Rachel managing a holdup of armed guards transporting a briefcase under tight security.


If you’re a cinema buff, you might pass the time by counting the inevitable Hitchcock inspirations. All that is missing is a crop duster chasing Jerry and Rachel through a cornfield. But while the great master of suspense played on one’s fears with mental tricks, the director of “Eagle Eye,” D.J. Caruso (who had better results with “Disturbia”), seems to be auditioning for Jerry Bruckheimer’s next monster action picture. After all, Caruso works at a fever pitch to produce a nearly unstoppable run of chases, car crashes and explosions that leave a long trail of victims.


If anything, “Eagle Eye” is a slick production that may lull the most gullible into believing that it is a worthy entertainment. Don’t be fooled by this preposterous joke. The only saving grace to this film is the welcome presence of Billy Bob Thornton, amusing as a grizzled veteran unwilling to take crap from anyone.


DVD RELEASE UPDATE


Vintage TV series are increasingly being released on DVD, often with a few bonus features tossed in for good measure.


“My Three Sons: Season One, Volume One” is a classic sitcom starring Fred MacMurray as Steve Douglas, an engineer and widower who must deal with the trials and tribulations of raising his three sons – Mike, Robbie and Chip – with the help of their maternal grandfather “Bub” (William Frawley).


Guest stars during the show’s first season included Dick Van Dyke and Desi Arnaz Jr. Airing over 12 seasons, “My Three Sons” is a beloved iconic series.


Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.


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BURN AFTER READING (Rated R)


The Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel, are the merry pranksters of the cinematic world, having churned out such offbeat and funny films as “Raising Arizona,” “The Big Lebowski” and “Fargo.” They are capable of more serious work, including last year’s award-winning “No Country for Old Men.”


As the writers, directors and producers of “Burn After Reading,” the Coens have returned to the comfort zone of their comedic DNA, which includes wild strains of satire, sex farce and screwball comedy. “Burn After Reading” burns the spy world in ways that are broadly stamped with the Coen trademark of goofiness.


No one, least of all the Coens, would possibly argue that “Burn After Reading” is a brilliantly artistic cinematic achievement worthy of the A-list actors who are called upon to act as shockingly dumb people. The film is something of a lark, a full-blown prank loaded with endless shenanigans.


At the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in Virginia, analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) arrives for a top-secret meeting, only to discover that his bosses want to demote him to a meaningless job at another government agency because they recognize he has a drinking problem. The volatile Osborne doesn’t take the news particularly well and decides to resign from government service.


Meanwhile, Osborne’s ice queen wife Katie (Tilda Swinton), a medical doctor, is thoroughly dismayed that Osborne will be working on his memoirs at their Georgetown home, possibly because this may interfere with Katie’s illicit affair with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a married federal marshal. This turn of events accelerates her desire to divorce Osborne so that she can take up with Harry.


For his part, Harry is trying to decide whether he should divorce his wife Sandy (Elizabeth Marvel), a successful author of children’s books, even though he is building her a special, if oddly unorthodox, birthday gift in his basement workshop.


Elsewhere in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, and seemingly worlds apart, Hardbodies Fitness Center gym worker Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) is obsessed with obtaining extensive cosmetic surgeries, going so far as to ask her boss Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins) for large salary advances.


Ignoring the fact that the sad-eyed, wistful Ted is wild about her, Linda trolls the Internet dating services, which coincidentally happens to be one of Harry’s favorite things to do. Naturally, Linda and Harry become acquainted through an online connection, and are soon fitfully engaged in several liaisons.


Fixated on her life plan for surgical enhancements, Linda confides her mission to fellow gym worker Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), a gum-chewing, Gatorade-swilling, iPod-addicted bubble-brain. Delightfully idiotic, Chad is the type of numb skull who easily falls for Linda’s plan to take advantage of a computer disc that just happens to contain the memoirs of the former CIA analyst that seemingly exposes state secrets.


Ingenious but clueless, Linda and Chad presume they can blackmail the sarcastic, explosive Osborne to pay for the return of the disc. His hot-tempered, incendiary demeanor causes the nitwit duo to try instead to peddle the CIA secrets to the Russians.


As the plot unfolds, the worlds of physical fitness and the CIA, along with Internet dating, intersect and collide in ways that are just too weird for words. All the characters are middle-aged and undergoing professional, personal and sexual crises that touch on matters of national security. Aside from Osborne’s sarcastic brilliance, all the others are basically sad, moronic characters mixed up in situations that easily get out of hand.


Brad Pitt is hilarious as the clueless, idiotic conspirator. Yet, the funniest scenes may belong to JK Simmons and David Rasche, seen too briefly as the CIA bosses trying without any luck to make sense of what is transpiring with the amateur effort to peddle secrets to the Russians.


Not likely to be considered in the class of more superior comedies from the Coen brothers, “Burn After Reading” is nevertheless a subversively comedic spy thriller. As the plot deepens and thickens, the Coens unload more shocks and surprises that are alternately clever, amusing and outright funny. The first-rate cast helps immensely to make this film fun to watch.


DVD RELEASE UPDATE


Trekkies everywhere may want to take notice of the DVD release of “Star Trek: Alternative Realities Collective,” a five-disc collection featuring episodes from all five “Star Trek” TV franchises, including new interviews and commentaries.


Quick, name the five series. OK, I can’t do it without the cheat sheet.


This collection features “Star Trek” (the original series), “The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine,” “Voyager” and “Enterprise.” Twenty episodes in all are selected, with a lot of brand new bonus materials.


Coincidentally, arriving in my inbox recently was the “remastered edition” of Season Two of “Star Trek: The Original Series,” which is touted to have enhanced visual effects for standard DVD players. That’s a bit of good news, since I don’t have HD or Blu-ray.


Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.


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Sugar Pie DeSanto. Photo courtesy of Jasman Records.
 

 

PHILADELPHIA – At its 20 year reunion celebration this Tuesday, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation has chosen to present the San Francisco Bay Area’s own Queen of the West Coast Blues, Sugar Pie DeSanto, a distinguished Pioneer Award.


The grand gala will bring together the royalty of rhythm and blues, including past Pioneer Award Honorees along with a veritable “who’s who” of the entertainment industry. More importantly, the event provides an opportunity to support a compelling cause, as its proceeds will ensure the continuation of the doundation’s community outreach, education programs and emergency grants to rhythm and blues artists during their time of need.


Ms. DeSanto, who has performed in Lake County, joins a stellar group of awardees at this year’s ceremony including Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, Bill Withers, Kool and The Gang, The Whispers, The Funk Brothers, Donny Hathaway and Al Bell.


Hosts for the evening include Dionne Warwick, Bonnie Raitt and Jerry Butler.


Born Umpeylia Marsema Balinton of Filipino and African-American parentage, DeSanto was dubbed Little Miss Sugar Pie by the legendary Johnny Otis who signed her to her first professional contract in 1954.


In 1959 her first hit record, “I Want To Know,” was recorded on the Veltone label and produced by the Godfather of Oakland Blues, Bob Geddins Sr. The record rose to No. 3 on the Billboard charts springboarding Sugar Pie into a lucrative contract with Chess Records.


During her tenure at Chess she became the most prolific and highest-paid writer in their employ. Her songbook contains well over 100 compositions which have been recorded by the likes of Minnie Riperton, Billy Stewart, Fontella Bass, The Whispers, Little Milton, The Dells and Jesse James.


Also while at Chess, Ms. DeSanto recorded two historic duets with Etta James, “In The Basement” and “Do I Make myself Clear.”


For a two-year stretch, Sugar Pie opened for James Brown, pushing him to higher heights with her white hot, daring, dazzling, saucy stage presence. James Brown earned the moniker “the hardest working man in show business” legitimately. Anybody who follows Sugar Pie to this day has to work harder.


DeSanto’s career spans six decades. She is still a vibrant, multi-faceted performer. In the summer of 2008 she has performed to capacity crowds at Yoshi’s Jazz and Supper Club, The Chicago Blues Festival and the Poretta Soul Festival in Poretta, Italy.


For more information on The Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s activities and events visit www.rhythmblues.org.


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GHOST TOWN (Rated PG-13)


Tempting though it may be to label “Ghost Town” a romantic comedy, the designation doesn’t seem to fit comfortably, particularly when the lead character is a curmudgeon nearly incapable of redemption, let alone romantic conquest. But if you want to take a cynical, antisocial snob and overall self-consumed loner and turn him into something almost barely tolerable, then it helps that he has a British accent.


Well, the appeal is not so much the manner of speech, but British comedic actor Ricky Gervais, who became famous for playing the much-despised office manager in the BBC Series “The Office,” has a spot-on delivery for barbs and snide witticisms.


Making his first star turn in film, Gervais plays Bertram Pincus, a Manhattan dentist with the least friendly bedside manner. He’s known to stuff more cotton into a patient’s mouth, mainly to silence incessant chatter he wishes to avoid. Office parties are anathema to him, as he makes lame excuses to his colleague (Aasif Mandvi), and then slips out the door to shun interaction with the lowly office staff. Presumably, the good doctor is in a hurry to retreat to his nice apartment, where he slips into pajamas and works on crossword puzzles neatly arranged on a table. Dr. Pincus’ ordered life, though, is rudely interrupted in the wake of a near-death experience.


At the beginning of the film, Bertram checks into the hospital for a routine medical procedure, only to later learn from his surgeon (Kristen Wiig) that he was clinically dead for a period of seven minutes.


The funniest thing about his visit to the hospital was the way Dr. Pincus would refuse to answer some of the more standard questions posed by a nurse seeking to fill out lengthy personal medical history forms.


As for the not-so-funny business of short-term death, Bertram soon learns that he has acquired an annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, these undead spirits desperately want something from him, since they are unable to reveal themselves to other human beings.


The most irritating ghost of them all is Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), a handsome, debonair, tuxedo-wearing unfaithful husband who, after losing his life in a freak accident, decides to do the right thing by his widowed wife, Gwen (Tea Leoni).


Pushy and obnoxious, Frank pesters Bertram into helping him break-up Gwen’s impending marriage to Richard (Billy Campbell), a do-gooder lawyer thought to be a gold-digger anxious to get his hands on Gwen’s fortune. Unfortunately, Gwen lives in the same building as Dr. Pincus, and has often been treated rudely by the dentist, who won’t let her in the elevator, snubs her in hallways or steals her cabs. As ridiculous as it sounds, Frank thinks Bertram can somehow tempt Gwen away from her fiancé.


To get Bertram to do his bidding, Frank threatens to let all the other pesky poltergeists, still lingering on earth for some unfinished business, know that the dentist is able to see dead people. Soon enough, the waiting room at his dental office is full of people seeking something other than routine teeth cleanings.


Naturally, there are funny situations where Bertram is caught talking to the persistent spirits that no living being can see. The humor is reminiscent of the old “Topper” TV series in which a staid banker had to cope with the demands of his undead houseguests.


The difficult part of accepting “Ghost Town” as a romantic comedy is that Bertram is not even remotely close to a romantic character. While the leading man doesn’t have to look like Cary Grant, the pudgy, awkward and perpetually cranky Dr. Pincus doesn’t fit the mold for the conventional candidate.


Picking Ricky Gervais to work against type may be a bold move, but he’s too unlikely to be coached by a suave character like Greg Kinnear to step into the breach so as to sweep a gorgeous babe like Tea Leoni off her feet. And yet, there’s an odd, if uncomfortable, chemistry between the British crank and the American beauty.


“Ghost Town” may not fully succeed as a romantic comedy, but it has plenty of laughs that come almost exclusively from the offbeat, unorthodox performance of Ricky Gervais.


DVD RELEASE UPDATE


Speaking of guys who should be romantic leading men, Hugh Jackman stars in the sexy suspense film “Deception” being released on DVD and Blu-ray.


He’s not exactly the good guy this time around, considering that he’s playing a slick lawyer friend to Ewan McGregor’s naïve accountant. Jackman lures his buddy into an elite and clandestine sex club known as “The List.” The mild-mannered fool becomes enamored with this new lifestyle, but soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist. Let the fun begin.


By the way, I know next to nothing about this Blu-ray technology, except to know that these types of discs always cost more money. However, the studios are pushing this high-tech stuff more and more.


Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.


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MIDDLETOWN – Lake County's independent film festival – EcoArts' Coyote Film Festival – has arranged to bring “Sherman's Way,” a full-length feature film, to Lake County for three screenings so Lake County residents can see the beauty of Lake County on the big screen in this comedy/drama.

During the summer of 2006, this feature-length film, “Sherman's Way,” was filmed in Lake County.


The film premiered at the San Jose Cinequest Film Festival in February and has been on the film festival circuit. While shooting in Lake County, the producers filmed at several local businesses, including shops along Main Street in Kelseyville (including Studebakers Coffee House, Kelseyville Drug, and Affordable Travel); Library Park; Lampson Field; and the Ford dealership in Lakeport; as
well as on site at Langtry Estate and Vineyards in Middletown.

Following each screening of the film, director Craig Saavedra will answer questions from the audience. The lead character, Sherman, played by Michael Shulman, also may be in attendance.

The Coyote Film Festival is a fundraising program for EcoArts of Lake County, which produces the annual Sculpture Walk at the Middletown Trailside Nature Preserve Park in Middletown. The Sculpture Walk is free and open to the public June through October of each year.

Seating is limited to 75 people maximum per screening, so preordering tickets is recommended. The first showing will be Friday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m. with two shows on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. and
8 p.m.

The film will be screened at Calpine Geothermal Visitors Center, 15500 Central Park Road, Middletown. The cost is $10 for adults; $5 for youth 16 and under with an adult. The film has not been rated.

To preorder tickets, call 928-0323 and leave a message detailing the show date, time, and number of tickets. Tickets will be held for payment and pickup at the door.

For more information, visit www.coyotefilmfestival.org.


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DEATH RACE (Rated R)


Before we even get to the next summer Olympic Games in London, the post-apocalyptic world is upon us in “Death Race,” where senseless, mortal violence is a pay-per-view bonanza for a prison run by a private corporation.


The premise of extreme racing competition is inspired by Roger Corman’s classic B-movie “Death Race 2000.” Given false hope for early release, prisoners are fodder for reality TV bloodlust if they are willing to risk their lives to become road kill splashed across TV screens and the Internet.


Laconic action star Jason Statham, having established his bona fides wheeling fast cars in the “Transporter” series, is a natural candidate to race tricked-out cars. He could give Vin Diesel a run for his money.


At the opening of “Death Race,” Statham’s Jensen Ames is a steel worker getting laid off from his job, which is unfortunate because his prison days are behind him now that he has a supportive wife and baby daughter.


The fact that he was an excellent race car driver is not lost on the folks running the Terminal Island prison, where fatal car races are staged for the amusement of a bloodthirsty public hungry for increasingly violent TV programming.


On the same day he loses his job, Jensen is set up by masked men invading his home who intend to frame him for murder. Flash forward six months, and Jensen arrives at the bleak Terminal Island, an Alcatraz-like prison where escape is practically impossible.


The evil Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) runs the prison as if it were a caged ultimate fighting championship death match. Indeed, convict teams race customized vehicles that look like they were used in “Mad Max.” These cars are outfitted with more gadgets and weapons than James Bond’s Astin Martin.


Hennessey is raking in big bucks with her televised Death Race matches, where the winner is the only convict left standing. But she recently lost the most popular racer, the masked Frankenstein who racked up a series of wins with a souped-up Ford Mustang GT Fastback.


Jensen is picked as his replacement, only needing to don the rubber mask and stay alive by winning. Of course, the incentive for Jensen is that, by taking over Frankenstein’s place, if he wins the next race, he will be set free from prison and reunited with his daughter.


The proposition is fraught with peril, because Hennessey is untrustworthy and the race itself guarantees the death of all participants except the lone winner. Frankenstein’s nemesis is Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson), a sneering, brooding con who doesn’t know that Jensen is being substituted for Frankenstein. All that matters to Machine Gun Joe is that he permanently eliminates whoever is driving Frankenstein’s car.


In case you can’t see it coming, “Death Race” is all about high-speed violent chases where competitors meet gruesome death, by impalement, explosions, and highly dramatized crashes.


Clocking in at under two hours, “Death Race” spends most of its time running cars at full-throttle around gritty industrial areas, where booby traps await the unsuspecting. During the down times without racing, the action shifts primarily to the usual prison yard conflicts.


Some time is also spent with Frankenstein’s dedicated pit crew, including Coach (Ian McShane), the seasoned con who figures out the ultimate game, and Lists (Fred Koehler), the bookish crew member who delivers helpful intelligence reports.


Because a movie of this type demands an attractive distaff presence, Terminal Island allows female prisoners to become navigators. Naturally, Jensen gets the best looker in Natalie Martinez’s Case, a tough cookie who likely gets the assignment because she has the best cleavage and wears tight jeans. Keep in mind that we are dealing with a B-movie heritage that must be upheld at all costs.


Yet, the toughest female role belongs to Warden Hennessey, who borders on the comedic only because she’s called upon to spew profane threats to those impeding her path, while remaining rigid and uptight in crisp business suits.


“Death Race” is pure mindless entertainment that requires you to check your brain at the door. I enjoy slam-bang car chases and spectacular crashes as much as the next guy, but after awhile it becomes all too repetitive, losing its edge and impulsiveness.


As the crashes and explosions pile up, “Death Race” looks increasingly like a violent video game. Meanwhile, much of the dialogue is laughable and lame, while the acting is purely pedestrian. “Death Race” could have been a better action picture.


DVD RELEASE UPDATE


Morgan Spurlock, best known for exposing the perils of fast food consumption with “Super Size Me,” turns his investigate powers into a search for the world’s most dangerous terrorist, Osama bin Laden.


Now comes the DVD release of “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?”, which is billed as a tongue-in-cheek yet thought-provoking documentary.


Amazed by bin Laden’s continued success at evading capture, Spurlock set out to locate the terrorist by traveling through various international hotspots. I have not had the time to review this DVD, but I do know one thing: Spurlock does not answer the title of his documentary.


Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.


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Upcoming Calendar

30Mar
03.30.2024 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Lakeport Community Cleanup Day
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Lake County poet laureate inauguration
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