I have been betrayed. The one thing in my life that I though I could count on to be honest with me has done the unthinkable. I have been lied to by a movie trailer. Well, maybe not lied to as much as I was misled. Will I ever trust what I see again? Maybe. All I know is that the trailer for “The Invisible” presents a completely different movie than what it is.
Nick Powell (some actor whose name is not even worth looking up on IMDb) is close to graduating high school. One day he is attacked by Annie (an actress who will fade into oblivion) because she thinks he told the cops that she robbed a store. He is beaten within an inch of his life and left to die in the woods. The next morning Nick walks into school like nothing happened. He soon learns that no one can see him and realizes that he is dead. Later he figures out that he is not dead and that he is still alive. He then desperately tries to get someone to find his body so that he can live again. 
I’m just going to skip the normal stuff of how the acting was, how the plot unfolded and all the other boring, technical crap and skip right to the good stuff.
I was duped. If you watched the trailer for this, then this is the story you may get; Nick Powell is beaten up and left for dead. The next day at school he realizes that no one can see him. Eventually after talking to a creepy old guy, who is also dead, he learns that if he can solve the mystery of his own death that he could live again. So he goes to his girlfriend, Annie, to get her to save him.
Most of that is true. Except for a few things, the most insignificant of these is the creepy old man. He is not in the movie at all. Nick figures out that he is still alive and that he needs to have his body found. That is fine, I can accept that. I understand that the trailers are made months before the movie is finished. Things change and I have come to except cut scenes making their way into trailers.
One thing I will never understand is Annie’s transformation from trailer to movie. She is not his girlfriend, good friend, or even someone who likes him. SHE’S THE ONE WHO KICKS THE CRAP OUT OF HIM! How do you ignore that in the trailer and even show a clip of him and her lying on a bed with the word “Boyfriend” on screen. She goes from someone who cares for him to the very person who attempted to kill him. Can someone explain that to me? Why does he choose the girl who tried to kill him as the one to help him? Not really sure about that plot point. It is just one of many things not explained or even investigated.
Contrary to the trailer, he is not a perfect kid. He sells completed assignments to other students and he is at odds with his mom who thinks she knows what is best for him. So why include that in the trailer? Because if you tell the audience that the guy they are supposed to like is a cheater who hates his mom for being too smothering then you risk him not being a hero, thus keeping people away from your mediocre movie.
This was billed as a mystery. Nick has to solve the mystery of his death in order to live again, yet we know how it happened, and who did it. The only real suspense in the movie is will the cops find the body and will Annie do the right thing before it was too late. Even then the suspense is short lived because they try to wrap it all up in a short amount of time. The movie spends way too much time developing weak characters and very little time investigating the mystery.
In the end even movie trailers can lie. They are there to sell you something and most of the time they deliver on what they promise. There are those that know that if they told you the truth that there is no way you are going to see it, so they trick you and sometimes you fall for it. When that happens you find yourself sitting in a theater and wondering why you were so easily fooled.
4 out of 10
PG-13, for violence, criminality, sensuality and language - all involving teens
1hr 37min
How do you top a zombie comedy? Take the action movie genre and turn it on its head. Make it ridiculous by showing just how similar all action movies really are. In short, make it original while playing to all the action movie clichés. “Hot Fuzz” is how you top a romantic comedy with zombies.
Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is so good at his job that he gets reassigned because he is making all the other police officers look bad. They place Nicholas in the small town of Standford. A town where everyone knows everyone else, where there has not been a murder in over 20 years and where the biggest problem seems to be the swan getting loose. When a series of “accidents” start happening, Angel is the only one to suspect there may be something more sinister going on.
In “Shaun of the Dead” America got its first glimpse at what the British had know for years; Simon Pegg is hilarious. “Hot Fuzz,” continues his streak of quality comedies. Comedy is an art. I have heard it said that of the two styles of acting (comedy and drama), comedy is the harder one. Shaun was a loser who was forced into an extraordinary situation. Nicholas Angel is a man who craves action and will do what ever it takes to be the best; to play two very different characters in two very different comedic roles takes talent. Nicholas’ co-workers are cops who have never had to deal with real crime. They refuse to acknowledge they these are anything more then accidents. Nicholas’ only ally is Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), a fellow cop who is fascinated by action movies. 
This movie does not mock action movies as much as it pays tribute to them. Much of what Danny thinks police work is comes from his large collection of action movies. He is constantly asking Nicholas if he has done any of the things from the movies. The corny lines right before the good guy beats the bad guy, the over the top shootouts and the hero prevailing over insurmountable odds are all staples of the action movie. “Hot Fuzz” takes these elements and utilizes them as comedic devices and pokes fun at their uses in action movies.
Too many movies take themselves way too seriously. It is good to see a movie that embraces the absurd and the unusual. There are so many moments that are beyond odd that they become normal for this movie. These moments come so often that by the time you see Nicholas kick a lady who is attacking him in the face, you cannot help but appreciate the lengths this movie will go for a laugh. 
While so many movies want to be the next great action movie, “Hot Fuzz” strives to honor its predecessors. In doing so it is one of the most original and best action movies to come out in a very long time. Not everyone will understand or appreciate the British humor, but if you were one of the many who loved “Shaun of the Dead,” then this is a movie for you.
8 out of 10
121 min
Rated: R, for violent content including some graphic images, and language
Firefly
Joss Weadon’s short lived, critically acclaimed series about the crew of the spaceship Serenity. Captain Malcolm Renyolds (Nathan Fillion) and his crew take jobs (legal or illegal) delivering all sorts of items to those who will pay. When Dr. Simon Tam and his sister River arrive on the ship the crew gets more then they bargained for. Simon broke River out of a government “academy” (or experimental lab) and now the Feds what her back. Did I mention there are space hookers?
It was funny, smart, and action-packed. It lasted 13 episodes, but gained a devoted following called Browncoats who never gave up hope when it was canceled. To this day Firefly lives on in the are conventions, podcasts, fan-produced documentaries and plenty of message boards where the fans meet and form a bond over this amazing show
Serenity
The Browncoat prayers were answered in 2005 when they got Serenity, or “ The Big Damn Movie.” The movie deals with the crew of Serenity being hounded by a government assassin who has been sent to get River back. The situation with River gets more dangerous as the crew gets closer to discovering a horrible government secret locked deep within her brain.
The movie brings back all the characters from the show and only leaves the Browncoats wanting more.
Dead Like Me
For two seasons on Showtime, “Dead Like Me” focused on Georgia “George” Lass (Ellen Muth) a college dropout who is killed by the toilet seat of a space station as is reentered the Earth’s atmosphere. She becomes a grim reaper. She and her other reapers are responsible for collecting the souls of those who are about to die.
Dark comedy was never as good as this. The characters were really well developed and they touched a lot on the issue of life and death. It had some slow points, specifically George’s family coping with her death. Should have gone on longer, but alas it too had its soul taken and has gone to that television show in the sky.
Freaks and Geeks
Another show based on solely on the characters that was canceled before it’s time. After the death of her grandmother, high school senior, Lindsey Wier (Linda Cardellini) abandons her old image of “Math-leate” and starts hanging out with the “freaks” of the shool. Her parents are hesitant at first and do not appove. Meanwhile her brother Sam (John Francis Daily) is in his first year in high school and is struggling to fit in.
This is what high school was like. Life was not like it was at Bayside with Zach and the gang. Things sucked. People struggled to fit in. That was high school for most of us and this show delivered it. There is no telling where this show would have gone if it had been given the time to grow and mature.
Scrubs
John “JD” Dorian (Zach Braff) is a doctor at Sacred Heart Hospital. Between trying to make his mentor Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) and daydreaming, he finds time to help patients.
The funniest show on television that you are not watching. They film in an abandoned hospital and not on the NBC lot.
This has allowed the show to do what they wanted and grow into something completely different. The show has some ridiculous moments as well as some really heart wrenching moments. It can turn emotions on a dime and that is why it is one of the most underrated shows that is still around, but who knows for how long.
Rounders
Matt Damon and Edward Norton star as two friends with a love of poker. When “Worm” (Norton) is released from prison, he finds that Mike (Damon) is now a law student who gave up poker when he lost everything. “Worm” still has debt to pay off and tries to get Mike to help him win some money.
Damon and Norton shine in this movie. It is a look into the life of a rounder, one who plays poker for a living. They struggle to get the money needed to pay off the debt and it strains their friendship. The must get the money or Teddy KGB (John Malkovich), the Russian, Oreo eating poker room owner who was the one who cleaned Mike out so many years ago, will take it from them.
Friday Night Lights
Football is what the town of Dillon Texas is about. The entire town gets behind the Dillon Panthers on Friday nights. The boys grow up believing that to play for the Panthers is the greatest thing one can aspire to. Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is the new head coach and is pressured to win. His job hinges on winning a state championship. When star quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter) goes down in the first game of the season, Taylor’s job is made all the more challenging when he is forced to put in untested second-string quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford)
Yet another show with great characters that are well developed. The show has found critical acclaim, yet has failed to get the ratings. The show ended its first season lest week, but it may be back for a second season. It is not about football. It is about the people of the town and their passion for Dillon Panther football.
I got to see two movies for the price of one. These days I wish it would happen more often. Then again seeing as how 90 percent of the movies that come out today are complete pieces of garbage, maybe I don’t. But if Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez did them, it would be worth it.
“Planet Terror” and “Death Proof,” or as they are better known, “Grindhouse,” are the new movies from two of the best directors working today. The double feature is a tribute to the grind house theaters of the 1970’s. These theaters showcased the 2 B-movies back to back with trailers in between. These movies were known for being overly gory, sexual and violent. In short, just the films these two directors would love.
“Planet Terror” is first up on the bill. In a small town in Texas, after a deal gone wrong, zombie like creatures called “Sickos” get looses and begin infecting the rest of the town. Now those not infected, including El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) and Cherry Darling (Rose McGowaen), must fight their way out of town and to safety.
In the stronger, and less disgusting of the two, “Death Proof,” Kurt Russell plays Stuntman Mike. He is a man with a car that is death proof. The only problem is you have to be sitting in his seat to get the full effect. He stalks and kills attractive women. He uses his car to kill them by any way necessary.
Those are the movies, plain and simple. Here is where I would normally turn to the acting or the directing, but not this time. I want to talk about the film its self. The coolest thing that they did in the 3 hours and 11 minuets of this movie was mess with the film. They added scratches, color drains and even had missing reels, all to get the grind house feel. Just as El Wray and Cherry Darling are about to start a sex scene, the reel cuts out. Up pops a message announcing the missing reel and that the theater management is sorry for the inconvenience. Next thing we know the bar is on fire, the police sergeant has been shot and the Sickos are advancing. Now only was it hilarious, but it is something that would happen at a grind house. A reel would go missing and a chuck of the movie would be left out.
One of the highlights of the movie were the fake movie trailers. “Thanksgiving,” a take off of “Halloween;” “Don’t,” a movie that highlights all the don’ts of horror movies (don’t open the door, ect..); “Werewolf Women of the SS,” where the Nazi’s experiment with werewolves and women. Horror directors like Eli Roth and Rob Zombie directed them. They were hilarious and some looked like they might actually be good movies. 
This was the most fun I have ever had at a movie. I was grossed out, shocked, awed, disturbed, scared, over and over during this film fest. Where other movies are long and feel like it (cough cough Zodiac), this felt like it could have gone on longer. Not once was I wishing the movie would just end. I was having way too much fun to feel like I was sitting there for three hours.
Tarantino and Rodriguez love film. They love filmmaking and it shows in the movies they make. If more directors would put so much passion into their movies, maybe I would not be as jaded as I am. They are not in it for the money. They are in it because they love what they do and don’t care what the critics say. If only more directors would put as much love into their movies.
9 out of 10
Rated: R for strong graphic bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity and drug use
USA:191 min
Where were you? I waited for you by the box office and you never showed up. How could you pass on the chance to see the best a cappella group in the world? There were plenty of seats left, but it was your loss. You missed one hell of a show from true musicians.
On March 23, the group that has been at the forefront of a cappella music, for over two decades, Rockapella, came to Buffalo State. Everyone in attendance found out why these five guys are the best out there in any genre.
These guys are the best pure musicians in the world, and I dare you to prove me wrong. They use no back up singers and no digital manipulation, with the exception of the “guitar pickups” on Jeff Thatcher’s neck to pick up the “bass drum.” They have nothing to hide behind and that makes the fact that they can do a two-hour show all the more impressive. No matter how many times I listen to one of their songs, it blows me away that it is nothing but their voices. This was the second time I had seen them live and I still sat in awe at what I heard. To hear Scott Leonard, Kevin Wright, George Baldi and new member John
K. Brown sing in perfect harmony as Jeff provided the “drums” is a stunning thing to see in person.
The performed a mix of original songs as well as some very good covers and in between shared stories about their lives and the history of the band. They sung the obvious choices like “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Stand By Me” as well as some interesting choices like “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” and “Up A Lazy River,” songs from their childhood and from artists they respected. They brought one lucky woman on stage and serenaded her with a song using her name and “Pretty Woman.”
They also did what I will call “The Songs of Sell Out.” They sang a collection of songs from the various commercials and other projects they have done over the years, including “Where in the World is Matt Lauer” and the theme for the Today Show. They even threw in the Folgers coffee song from a commercial they did a few years ago. The highlights were the songs for a ringworm treatment and Perpetration H; the low point of selling out as described by Scott Leonard.
If you want to know how dedicated these guys are you need to look no further then George Baldi, the “bassist.” Just a few hours earlier he had, as Scott put it, “a partial root canal” and was numb. Despite this, he still did an amazing job. At one point, he told the audience that he was often asked how what his range was. He then proceeded to show just how low he could go (which is really low) and how high he could sing (higher then a man who can sing that low should be able to)
“There’s only one more thing you have to do. You know what it is.” “DO IT ROCKAPELLA” (yes, I yelled it) As one would suspect “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?,” was the big finale. Taking me back to when I would come home form school and watch as kids answered questions and then got to place lights on stick on a big map of the country where Carmen Sandeigo was hiding before winning a trip to anywhere in the U.S.
And if performing for two hours with nothing but their voices and a microphone was not enough they came back for two encores, one of which ditched the microphones. The last song they sung was “Up on the Roof/What a Wonderful World” and they left the microphones in the stand, walked to the front of the stage and sung. Even those in the back, of which I was one, could hear them perfectly. It proved once again why these guys are the best out there and that no one can even touch them when it comes to raw, unfiltered talent.
Nostalgia. As weak a reason as it may be, it is my defense and I’m sticking to it because it is the only reason I would ever go see “TMNT.” It’s that damn inner child who made me do it. 
“TMNT” or to those who grew up before everything was abbreviated, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” brings back a classic cartoon from 1987. The “heroes in a half shell” are back after being gone for a very long time. The team has split up. Leonardo is in Mexico learning to become a better leader. Meanwhile his brothers are still in New York City and are struggling to get by. Michelangelo is a children’s party act, Donatello is a computer helpline operator and Raphael has developed a secret alter ego named “Nightwatcher” and he roams the rooftops of the city at night looking for criminals to catch. April O’Neil and Casey Jones (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chris Evens) are dating (for some odd reason.) April has left her job as a reporter and, as near as I can guess, goes around the world picking up artifacts for rich people. When strange creatures are unleashed on New York, the Turtles must come together and save the city before it is destroyed. 
Even my inner child was disappointed by this movie. I can remember sitting down in the living room on Saturday morning, watching the show and loving every minute of it. You do not get the same effect 10-15 years later. Predictable plot, jokes that everyone over the age of 15 would groan at and characters that seem more like parodies of the original cartoon, make this a disappointing adaptation. At least the animation is enough to keep you entertained.
The saddest difference between the movie and my memories of the cartoon is Michelangelo. He went from pizza loving jokester to a complete moron. I used to love Mike, he was easy going, funny and had some good ideas every now and then, but now he is riding his skateboard into grates in the sewers. Sad to see what happens when a memory is destroyed to make it marketable to today’s youth. 
I will give the filmmakers credit for the animation. It was better than anything I watched when I was a kid. Computer animation has gotten to the point where it can almost replicate reality. “TMNT” has a realistic feel to it, but it still looks like animation. Some of the coolest animation in the movie comes when Raphael and Leonardo get into a fight on a rooftop. A lot of “camera movements” are something not normally seen in an animated movie. It looks like they actually filmed the scene as opposed to digitally making everything in the scene. 
Looking around the theater I got the strangest feeling that my friends and I were the only ones there who were not dragged to the movie by our kids. It could be that my memories of Saturday morning have distorted how I remember the Turtles, but this was not very good. The plot was almost non-existent and the characters were dumbed down. It was sad to see all that I loved about the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” gone. Then again, maybe nothing has changed but my taste in movies.
5 out of 10
Rated PG for animated action violence, some scary cartoon images and mild language.
87 min
Following the lead of that guy from Grey’s Anatomy and the former Mrs. Federline, Hollywood nice guy Tom Hanks has admitted himself to a California rehabilitation center. His drug of choice is public approval.
It all started during “Bosom Buddies.” Hanks said at Tuesday’s press conference, “I got a taste of the public’s love and I could not get enough. Public approval became my drug. I was determined to be the ‘nice guy,’ the one the public loved adored no matter what because I liked the way it made me feel, ”. He went on to say that many of his roles were based on what he thought the public would want. Hanks has been beloved his entire career and there is no one in Hollywood who seems to have a bad thing to say about him. It was this public and professional love that led to his addiction.
Jeopardy answer and “Bosom Buddies” co-star, Peter Scolari said that he wishes his friend all the best. “Life has been easier for me. After the show I was able to fade into obscurity, but Tom gained the stardom. Poor guy could never catch a break.”
At one point Hanks attempted to break the addiction “Bachelor Party” would. He knew that the public would be shocked to see him go from a PG role in “Splash” to the R rating that “Bachelor Party” received. “I just knew that this would finally allow me to live without their undivided love.” It was not to be as Hanks next few roles only fueled his habit. “It was subsequent roles in ‘Big’ that doomed me,” Hanks recalled. It was then that he embraced his addiction and chose roles that he would be loved in.
Friend and director Steven Spielberg has worked with Hanks on many occasions and said he did notice the problem and begged his friend to seek some help. “When we were working on ‘Band of Brothers’ I noticed something was wrong. He would sweat profusely and shake at times. He told me it was nothing to worry about.” He urged his friend to get some help, a request that was ultimately ignored.
“ ‘Band of Brothers’ was my low point. I was trying to find a new way to get my fix. I knew that if I had kept taking the same role over and over again, I would have to admit I had a problem. Producing and directing was the cover I needed to keep this addiction a secret.”
Dr. Robert Gooddude, the head of the rehabilitation clinic, says that Hanks’ problem is a common one. “A young actor gets their first taste of public acclaim and they become addicted to it. Soon they are so dependent on the public’s approval that they play the same role in every movie out of fear of being not loved anymore.” Hanks was able to recognize his problem before it got out of control. Hanks added that he hopes his decision to seek help for his problem will inspire others to do the same.
The center is known for their cutting edge research in alternative addiction rehabilitation. In the past they have helped numerous celebrities with unknown addictions. Most recently they helped Daniel Craig get over his obscurity addiction and he was able to land the starring role in “Casino Royale.” The center can also claim Leonardo DiCaprio’s recent success as they pointed him in the right direction and away from roles where he chose to be underutilized.
Gooddude said the program will take up to six months to complete followed by one year of monitoring to avoid what the clinic has come to call “an Affleck,” referring to their most famous failure with former actor Ben Affleck.
Once his six month program is over, Hanks hopes to play Dr. Hannibal Lector in the way, way, way-off Broadway production of “Hannibal! The Musical.”
