When a sequel to a much loved movie comes out many years after the original, the chance is always there for it to suck, and for the characters to fall victim to too much nostalgia.
For every Toy Story 3, for example, there’s a Rocky Balboa.
Thankfully, 23 years after the original, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps falls mostly in the first camp.
Yes, Gordon Gekko is back in business, and does he ever make greed look good. Continue reading
It’s Wednesday, which means we’re halfway through one of my least favorite weeks of the year.
What? You thought I’d actually be happy about the start of the new TV season? Well, you’re wrong.
This is the time of year when there’s too much on, and my DVR gets an extra-good workout.
It’s the time when I have to make some really tough decisions about what to watch, what to commit to, and what not to bother with.
Most every year I post something here about which shows I’m going to try and watch, but it’s always with the expectation that I won’t stick to the plan. Which is fine, of course; there are movies, and sports, and, well, life to keep me busy otherwise.
So that’s why I generally have a two-strikes rule: If I fall two episodes behind, chances are good I won’t catch up on that show, so I don’t even bother.
Unfortunately, I’m already behind: I forgot to record Lone Star Monday night, so I’m hoping I can watch the pilot before episode two is on (thankfully, the pilot’s re-airing over the weekend).
What else am I planning to watch this fall? Here’s my week at a glance: Continue reading
It’s been pretty well documented on this site that when it comes to music, I’m no expert.
However, like any fan, I know what makes my ears happy.
This week, it’s Maroon 5’s new album, Hands All Over.
I was able to download the album more than a week ago, and have had it on constant “rotation” nearly ever since.
Notable about the album — other than its provocative cover — is that while the band’s funk/rock sound is still present, it’s almost overtaken by a more overt pop sensibility that results in Maroon 5’s most enjoyable studio album yet. Continue reading
Proving that Gone Baby Gone was no fluke, Ben Affleck’s The Town is an excellent addition to the Made in Boston canon of films.
Mr. Jennifer Garner — who co-wrote, directed, and stars in this Charlestown-set story of a bank robber trying to go straight, even though he’s in too deep — may get criticized for only making movies that are based here in Beantown, but hey … why mess with success? Clearly, the guy knows the town and he makes movies that have a real sense of place and look, sound, and feel authenticious (to use a great made-up word from this film). Continue reading
I’ll apologize in advance.
The new film Easy A marks the big-screen return of one of my favorites, Ms. Amanda Bynes. Here she plays Marianne, a devout Christian high school student who likes wearing short, short skirts and argyle sweaters.
Alright fine, and she is the antagonist of Olive (Emma Stone), who lies about her sexual activities and brands herself a modern-day Hester Prynne — minus the Demi Moore part.
(Full disclosure: the movie’s really about Olive, and how she goes from nobody to somebody based on those lies.)
Thankfully, Amanda is not just nice to look at in the movie, she’s also genuinely funny. So take that all you Chicky haters. (I’m hoping a few other positive reviews will convince Amanda to stay unretired from acting for a while longer.) Continue reading
Minnesota has them. Doublemint has them. Jennifer Lopez has them. The Olsen family has them too. And in March, so will my sister and brother-in-law.
That’s right: I’m going to be an uncle again — and again — because my sister is pregnant with twins! Identical ones. Continue reading
I finally finished reading Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires last week.
I say finally because it only took me, oh, about a year to do so. That’s not indicative of how much I enjoyed the book. Rather, it’s just that the book fell victim to my lack of reading time and my laziness about finding time to read.
Actually, this summer, as I got more and more excited about seeing The Social Network, I made the time to read, and I spent a number of Sunday afternoons outside reading the book.
And I’m glad I did. Continue reading
Six weeks before she’s due to move back to San Francisco, Erin (Drew Barrymore) meets Garrett (Justin Long) in a New York bar, and instantly they hit it off.
They promise not to get too attached, but of course, they can’t help it, and when Erin crosses the country to go back to journalism school, the two decide to give the whole long-distance thing a try.
And that’s what gives the new rom-com Going the Distance its double entendre title.
Real-life on again/off again couple Long and Barrymore have a warm, believable chemistry, and they make this challenged relationship (and film) worth rooting for. Continue reading
They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but if you ask me, there’s only one word that comes to mind when I see this photo: Happiness, both in front of and behind the camera. Continue reading
Not much happens in The American, and for a while, that’s alright.
George Clooney’s Jack, in Italy to take care of one last job, is a man of few words and even fewer personal connections. We watch as he befriends a priest and a prostitute, and builds a customized weapon for a client, but so little is known about Jack, and about his assignment as a whole, that it’s hard to know exactly what’s going on. Continue reading
Martin's Musings 