MOVIE REVIEW: The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is the most critically acclaimed movie of the summer (98% rating at rottentomatoes.com) although it is approaching the end of its run in movie theaters, having grossed just over $12 million dollars so far. Over Labor Day weekend the Other Half and I saw it at the Mann Theaters 10 in Glendale.

This is probably the first outstanding artistic venture inspired by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The movie is an intense experience, engrossing the viewer immediately and keeping you on the edge of your seats. The Hurt Locker has been called "the best action movie of the summer" and a "viscerally exciting, adrenaline-soaked tour de force of suspense and surprise" by A.O. Scott of the New York Times (who incidentally can now be seen every weekend taking over for Siskel & Ebert on ABC's At The Movies television show).

Although the film was written by Mark Boal and directed by Kathryn Bigelow it has the look and feel of an unscripted documentary peek at real life of soldiers working in an explosive detection and remediation unit. There are three main characters, played brilliantly by Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner and Brian Geraghty but the real main character is the war in Iraq itself and the frustrating, bewildering, terrifying predicament these soldiers (and our country) have found ourselves in.

Running Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes. MPAA Rating: Rated R for war violence and language.

OVERALL GRADE: A+.

ACTING: A.
IMAGERY: A+.
PLOT: A.
IMPACT: A+.

VIDEO: Obama Calls Death Panels "A Lie, Plain and Simple"

MOVIE REVIEW: District 9

District 9 is summer 2009's surprise late summer hit. Executive produced by Peter Jackson and directed by a surprisingly young wunderkind from South Africa named Neill Blomkamp on an incredibly small budget of $30 million, the film is surprisingly effective and entertaining.

MadProfessah and The Other Half saw the movie in its first week of release. He liked it more than I did; I felt that it got a little slow in the second act.

The basic story is about an alien ship which appeared suddenly above the city of Johannesburg a few decades. When humans explored the ship they found hundreds of thousands of malnourished and stinking aliens (who look like some kind of arthropod so that they get the nickname "prawns") who are then housed in horribly slum-like conditions. The movie has the form of a faux documentary covering the actions of a private corporation (Multi National United) who has received a contract to relocate the now 1.8 million prawns from their ghetto near the heart of a major South African city to a remote area hundreds of kilometers away which are a thinly disguised concentration camp.

The star of the documentary is a bureaucrat with clearly less-than-average intelligence named Wikus van der Merwe, played by the completely unknown actor Sharlto Copley.

The plot has a number of surprising twists and the visual effects are stunning.

District 9 is an excellent piece of film-making reminiscent of the original breakthrough hit 28 Days Later created by Danny Boyle (Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire) which is not perfect but is a significant innovation in the way action films are regarded. District 9 had a stunning marketing campaign (realistic signs on bus benches with "Restricted Area: For Humans Only") that raised the anticipation of the film to a fever pitch among fanboys and others, and then lived up to those expectations (89% on rottentomatoes.com).

Running Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes. MPAA Rating: Rated R [See Full Rating] for bloody violence and pervasive language.

OVERALL GRADE: A.

ACTING: A-.
IMAGERY: A+.
PLOT: A.
IMPACT: A.

VIDEO: Time-Lapse Video Of Fire Clouds Over L.A.

Time Lapse Test: Station Fire from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

This is the best video I have seen depicting what it is like to live in Los Angeles as we shift from one season (drought) to the next (fire). Hopefully we will be skipping the other two (flood and riot) in 2009! The video shows 90 minutes condensed in to 24 seconds.

hat/tip to LA Observed.

POLL: Obama Job Approval Below 50%

US OPEN 2009: Women's and Men's Seeds Announced

The seeds for the 2009 US Open have been announced. The women's seeds are:

1. Dinara Safina, Russia
2. Serena Williams, United States
3. Venus Williams, United States
4. Elena Dementieva, Russia
5. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia
7. Vera Zvonareva, Russia
8. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus
9. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark
10. Flavia Pennetta, Italy
11. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia
12. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland
13. Nadia Petrova, Russia
14. Marion Bartoli, France
15. Samantha Stosur, Australia
16. Virginie Razzano, France
17. Amelie Mauresmo, France
18. Li Na, China
19. Patty Schnyder, Switzerland
20. Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spain
21. Zheng Jie, China
22. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovak Republic
23. Sabine Lisicki, Germany
24. Sorana Cirstea, Romania
25. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia
26. Francesca Schiavone, Italy
27. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia
28. Sybille Bammer, Austria
29. Maria Sharapova, Russia
30. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine
31. Elena Vesnina, Russia
32. Agnes Szavay, Hungary

The men's seeds are:

1. Roger Federer, Switzerland
2. Andy Murray, Great Britain
3. Rafael Nadal, Spain
4. Novak Djokovic, Serbia
5. Andy Roddick, United States
6. Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina
7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France
8. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia
9. Gilles Simon, France
10. Fernando Verdasco, Spain
11. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile
12. Robin Soderling, Sweden
13. Gael Monfils, France
14. Tommy Robredo, Spain
15. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic
16. Marin Cilic, Croatia
17. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic
18. David Ferrer, Spain
19. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland
20. Tommy Haas, Germany
21. James Blake, United States
22. Sam Querrey, United States
23. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany
24. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain
25. Mardy Fish, United States
26. Paul-Henri Mathieu, France
27. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia
28. Victor Hanescu, Romania
29. Igor Andreev, Russia
30. Viktor Troicki, Serbia
31. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia
32. Nicolas Almagro, Spain

The draw will be announced on Thursday and the tournament starts on Monday August 31st.

The Dracaena Bloomed!

Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig' in bloom

Look what I woke up to find in my living room this morning!

Federer Defeats Djokovic To Win 16th Masters Title

Roger Federer completed his "2009 revenge tour" by defeating World #4 Novak Djokovic 6-1 7-5 at the Cincinnati Masters series tournament, to win his first hard court title of the year.

Federer followed up his 6-2 7-6(8) defeat of World #2 Andy Murray yesterday to win his 16th ATP Masters title, one behind the all-time leader Andre Agassi, and his 60th ATP Tour title overall.

Federer has an opportunity to win his 6th consecutive US Open and 16th major title overall, starting next week.

Federer Defeats Murray; Serena Loses To Dementieva

World #1 Roger Federer defeated World #2 Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters on Saturday 6-2 7-6(8) for the first time in 5 matches. Federer was very aggressive, especially on the forehand wing and Murray neither served nor returned serve at his typically high level. Federer will face the winner of the Rafael Nadal-Novak Djokovic match in Sunday's final. Federer improved his lifetime record to 3 wins and 6 losses against Murray.

World #2 Serena Williams lost to World #5 Elena Dementieva 7-6(2) 6-1 in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. The Russian avenged her 3-set loss in the semifinals of Wimbledon to the eventual champion, Serena Williams and improved to a lifetime head-to-head of 4 wins to 6 losses. Dementieva will face the winner of the Maria Sharapova-Alisa Kleybanova match in Sunday's final.

Usain Bolt Breaks 200M World Record (Again)!

Following up on his stunning 9.58s turn in the 100m dash earlier in the week at the World Championships in Berlin, 22-year-old Jamaican track and field sensation Usain Bolt broke his own world record in the 200m by running a ridiculous 19.19s, again .11s better than the previous world record.

Bolt humiliated the field, winning by .62s ahead of second-place Alonso Edward of Panama (19.81s) and the pulchritudinous Wallace Spearmon of the United States (19.85s).

In his last 5 championship races, Usain Bolt has set 5 world records.

Democrats Realize They DO NOT Need Republicans To Pass Health Care

Finally, the Democrats are beginning to realize that the Republicans are not honest partners seeking a common legislative solution to the health care crisis.

Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans’ purposely strident tone against health care legislation during this month’s Congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair.

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said the heated opposition was evidence that Republicans had made a political calculation to draw a line against any health care changes, the latest in a string of major administration proposals that Republicans have opposed.

“The Republican leadership,” Mr. Emanuel said, “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.

As OpenLeft says, this is basically like saying "water is wet."

In other health care reform news, there are now 46 votes in the United States Senate for the public option being included in the final bill!

Obama Gets Hot at Health Care Reform Forum

Whitney Houston Single "Million Dollar Bill"

The first single from Whitney Houston's comeback album, I Look To You, is called "Million Dollar Bill" and was written by Alicia Keys. The single will be released next Monday August 17th, the album comes out two weeks later on the 31st of August.
hat/tip to Wonder Man

Downtown LA HIV/AIDS Cuts Protest Tue Aug 11

MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released July 15th and MadProfessah and The Other Half saw it during the first weekend (at our usual movie house in Alhambra).

The Other Half hasn't read any of the books but has seen all of the Harry Potter movies with me, and I have read all the books. Unfortunately, although the 6th edition in the series is one of the strongest books, it is decidedly NOT one of the strongest of the film adaptations.

It's true that at this point in the series the main characters are now teenagers with the concomitant hormonally fueled obsessions but on film this seems to overwhelm any of the other multiple story lines that J.K. Rowling has packed into the penultimate book.

The Half-Blood Prince is an incredibly important part of the Harry Potter series, with an incredibly important plot development that I won't reveal here (it involves the death of one of the most important characters).

My point is that when the pivotal event occurs in the film instead of being emotionally overwhelmed by the significance of the moment one is simply unmoved.

It is surprising that this film is so bad because David Yates directed this one and the one before, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (read MadProfessah's review), because the two are so divergently effective. Yates is scheduled to direct the two films which the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (read MadProfessah's review) is being made into, for release in Christmas 2010 and Christmas 2011. Hopefully, he will do a better job with those film than he did with The Half-Blood Prince.

Running Time: 2 hours, 33 minutes. MPAA Rating: PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.

Plot: B.
Acting: B-.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: C.

Overall Grade: B-.

MOVIE REVIEW: Food, Inc.

Saw the movie Food, Inc. at the Regency Academy Theaters in Pasadena, my favorite second-run theater where matinee screenings cost $2 and all other shows are $3. For the first time I had to wait before going into the theater, because there was a significant line to get in to the theater, which I presumed was because they were also showing the new Star Trek film (see MadProfessah's review).

Food, Inc. is the most significant documentary that I have seen since two health care documentaries from 2007 called Salud and Michael Moore's Sicko.

Instead of health care, this year's amazing non-fiction film is about another of life's necessities: food.

Directed by Robert Kenner and featuring Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, two of the most influential talking heads on food issues in the public eye.

There are some hard to watch scenes in Food, Inc. as well as lots of very important information.

This movie will change the way you look at food, which will change the way you live your life. As with all important documentaries (and films, for that matter) the impact of spending time to watch Food, Inc. is felt for much longer durations than then event itself.

Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes. MPAA Rating: Rated PG for some thematic material and disturbing images.

OVERALL GRADE: A+.

ACTING: N/A.
IMAGERY: A+.
PLOT: A.
IMPACT: A+.

Obama Clarifies Remarks on Gates Arrest Incident

Pam Spaulding over at the Blend has the full text of remarks the President made at the Daily Press briefing clarifying his remarks from Wednesday on the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. incident from last week:

THE PRESIDENT: If you got to do a job, do it yourself. (Laughter.)

I wanted to address you guys directly because over the last day and a half obviously there's been all sorts of controversy around the incident that happened in Cambridge with Professor Gates and the police department there.

I actually just had a conversation with Sergeant Jim Crowley, the officer involved. And I have to tell you that as I said yesterday, my impression of him was that he was a outstanding police officer and a good man, and that was confirmed in the phone conversation -- and I told him that.

And because this has been ratcheting up -- and I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up -- I want to make clear that in my choice of words I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sergeant Crowley specifically -- and I could have calibrated those words differently. And I told this to Sergeant Crowley.

I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station. I also continue to believe, based on what I heard, that Professor Gates probably overreacted as well. My sense is you've got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been resolved and the way they would have liked it to be resolved.

The fact that it has garnered so much attention I think is a testimony to the fact that these are issues that are still very sensitive here in America. So to the extent that my choice of words didn't illuminate, but rather contributed to more media frenzy, I think that was unfortunate.
What I'd like to do then I make sure that everybody steps back for a moment, recognizes that these are two decent people, not extrapolate too much from the facts -- but as I said at the press conference, be mindful of the fact that because of our history, because of the difficulties of the past, you know, African Americans are sensitive to these issues. And even when you've got a police officer who has a fine track record on racial sensitivity, interactions between police officers and the African American community can sometimes be fraught with misunderstanding.

My hope is, is that as a consequence of this event this ends up being what's called a "teachable moment," where all of us instead of pumping up the volume spend a little more time listening to each other and try to focus on how we can generally improve relations between police officers and minority communities, and that instead of flinging accusations we can all be a little more reflective in terms of what we can do to contribute to more unity. Lord knows we need it right now -- because over the last two days as we've discussed this issue, I don't know if you've noticed, but nobody has been paying much attention to health care. (Laughter.)

I will not use this time to spend more words on health care, although I can't guarantee that that will be true next week. I just wanted to emphasize that -- one last point I guess I would make. There are some who say that as President I shouldn't have stepped into this at all because it's a local issue. I have to tell you that that part of it I disagree with. The fact that this has become such a big issue I think is indicative of the fact that race is still a troubling aspect of our society. Whether I were black or white, I think that me commenting on this and hopefully contributing to constructive -- as opposed to negative -- understandings about the issue, is part of my portfolio.

So at the end of the conversation there was a discussion about -- my conversation with Sergeant Crowley, there was discussion about he and I and Professor Gates having a beer here in the White House. We don't know if that's scheduled yet -- (laughter) -- but we may put that together.

He also did say he wanted to find out if there was a way of getting the press off his lawn. (Laughter.) I informed him that I can't get the press off my lawn. (Laughter.) He pointed out that my lawn is bigger than his lawn. (Laughter.) But if anybody has any connections to the Boston press, as well as national press, Sergeant Crowley would be happy for you to stop trampling his grass.

All right. Thank you, guys.

Hat/tip to DailyKosTV for the video.

Barack Obama Wants You To Watch Him Tonight!

Dear Friend,

As you read this, we are closer than ever to passing comprehensive health insurance reform that benefits American families and small businesses. Despite all the back and forth in the news right now, it is important to understand just how far we've come in this challenging process.

That's why I'm holding a press conference tonight at 8pm ET, and writing to let everyone know where we are, what's ahead, and why health insurance reform is so important.

Let me be clear: although Congress is still debating parts of the legislation we have achieved critical consensus on several key areas:

If you already have health insurance: reform will provide you with more security and stability. It will limit your own out of pocket costs and prevent your insurance company from dropping your coverage if you get too sick. You'll also have affordable insurance options if you lose or change your job. And it will cover preventive care like check-ups and mammograms that save lives and money.

If you don't have health insurance: you will finally have guaranteed access to quality, affordable health care, and you can choose the plan that best suits your family's needs. And no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition.

Now, I realize that the last few miles of any race are the hardest to run, but we can't stop now. There's no dispute about it: we cannot control our long-term fiscal health as a nation without health insurance reform. American families and small businesses understand that the health insurance status quo is taking away those things that they value most about health care. The stability and security that comes with knowing that you can get the treatment you need, when you need it. Without reform, we are consigning our children to a future of skyrocketing premiums and crushing deficits.

We have to seize this opportunity and pass health insurance reform this year. You can help by forwarding this email to your family and friends and letting them know what's at stake in this debate.

Thank you,
Barack Obama

P.S. Tune in to tonight's press conference on health insurance reform at 8pm ET on WhiteHouse.gov.

MOVIE REVIEW: Away We Go

Saw the latest movie directed by Sam Mendes called Away We Go starring Jonathan Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) written by the noted novelist Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida.

Although it is not the most highly rated film of the summer, it has recieved reasonably good reviews.

The Other Half and I saw the film at the Laemmle Colorado Theaters in Pasadena over the July 4th weekend and quite enjoyed it.

Krasinski and Rudolph play Burt and Verona, a couple of "possible f*ck-ups" (in their own words) who are clearly in love but also about 6 months pregnant.

Eggers & Vida's script has a very distinct format; it is split into numerous different segments, which take place in Phoenix, Tucson, Madison, Montreal and Miami.

The most successful of these are the Phoenix and Tucson segments thanks to some inspired cameos by Allison Janney (of the West Wing and Juno) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) as two completely insane mothers. Gyllenhaal plays an über-Earth mother who is terrified that strollers will emotionally scar her child. Janney plays a mom who has absolutely no sense of boundaries with her children or anyone else--she is constantly talking at the top of her voice in public about completely inappropriate topics.

Krasinski and Rudolph are have great chemistry together. The nature of Rudolph's racial identity as a very light-skinned biracial person is brought up in a typically abrupt (but amusing) way, towards the beginning of the film, and race doesn't play much of a role throughout the film.
Krasinski, wearing owlish glasses and a faux hipster beard to distance himself from his widely known "cute guy in the office" role on The Office, does well to play against the audience's presumptions of his previous TV and roles. Rudolph is of course most well-known for her apearances on Saturday Night Live and although Away We Go is definitely a comedy, it is also a drama, and she has some fine acting moments, especially the final scene, in the "Home" segment.

The theme of the film is that it is a journey into how couples lead their lives and realize their dreams. By showing us five different views on how life can be for different couples the movie makes a profound statement which the audience can relate to and reflect on long after the movie is over.

Running Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes. MPAA Rating: Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Plot: B.
Acting: B+.
Visuals: C+.
Impact: A-.

Overall Grade: B/B+.

WIMBLEDON 2009: Men's Final Highest TV Ratings Since 99

The win by Roger Federer over Andy Roddick was the most watched Wimbledon final in over a decade:

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick’s epic Wimbledon final last Sunday was the most-viewed men’s final at the All England Club in 10 years.

NBC said Thursday that an average of 5.71 million people tuned in to watch Federer win his record-setting 15th Grand Slam title. The number was the highest since Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in the 1999 final, attracting 5.85 million viewers.

The 3.8 rating and 10 share was the best for a men’s final since Sampras defeated Patrick Rafter in 2000, and surpassed last year’s classic between Federer and Rafael Nadal by 9 percent.

Federer beat Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 in a match that lasted 4 hours, 16 minutes. The fifth set was the longest in major final history.