Life in the Mind of a Modest Genius

"He's Just Not That Into You" Trailer

I think this would probably qualify as a chick flick.  If so, it is one of the first ones that looked appealing enough for me to want to check out in theaters.  A matinee, of course...

No Funny Business Here

Wasn't there a song talking about something like the day the laughter died or something like that?  Well there is definitely the Smokey Robinson song "The Tears of a Clown".  Songs like those and all the others that tap into the contrast of the joy that clowns are supposed to be bring would be very appropriate as it relates to today's news.

Larry Harmon, most famously known as the man who popularized the Bozo the Clown character, died today from congestive heart failure.  He was 83.

Exactly a week ago, I did a mini-tribute to Duane Ellett & Floppy and mentioned how every market had that one local show that was a staple.  That's how the Bozo Show was for Chicago.  It was another show that I remembered watching as a shorty because that would have been when cable was limited to just 36 channels.  We were able to watch Chicago's WGN on a regular basis.

Remember the bucket game?  Selected kids would stand behind a line and try to toss a ping pong ball into buckets for prizes?  The further away they scored a bucket, the better the prize.  Good stuff too.  Yet another show I wanted to get on, but in this case, it was only so I could get in that game and score my own precious swag.

Something else that came to mind when looking at his picture was clowns freak some people out.  That never was the case with me.  However, I can definitely see where there coming from.  Most of them do always have that bug-eyed look about them that does border on creepy. 

Still, Bozo brought many good memories for a lot of people.  Including those that grew up watching his show.  It didn't matter if he wasn't the original Bozo, Harmon was the one my generation knew. 

Rest in peace, Larry. 

Hancock

Happy Will Smith Day! 

Okay, it is a day early.  And technically, it's not an actual holiday, but by now, they might as well go ahead and make it one.  Will has made it a habit to become the king of the July 4th movie release.  It doesn't even seem like a real 4th of July holiday unless he has a new flim out.  Not to mention, it would at least make more sense to give him props on that day as opposed to a hypocritical Declaration.  I won't get on that soap box again.  And I'm getting WAY off topic...

"Hancock" is this year's Fourth of July weekend for Will.  The previews tell the story of a man with super powers who very reluctantly accepts the fact that he should be using those powers for good.  Hancock (Smith) has a foul-mouth, drinking problem and pretty much very little regard and/or respect for anyone but himself.

He happens to save the life of down on his luck public relations executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) who sees it as a chance for them both to come out ahead. Ray is confident he can improve Hancock's public image and help jumpstart his own career at the same time. The odd partnership doesn't sit right with Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), but for different reasons than you would expect.

This one started off a little show and had me worried for a bit.  Maybe slow isn't the best word for it.  There was action from the beginning; however, it was all things we had already seen in the trailers.  About the first 30 - 40 minutes contains footage you had seen from any preview for the film.  It led me to believe that this would be a rather two-dimensional story about a troubled hero.

That in itself would not have all been bad.  We keep getting inundated with superhero after superhero movie of good guys wanting to save the world.  What if there was a cat who had super powers and was obsessively selfish?  A profile of his psyche and what made him tick could be an interesting departure if done properly.

Something else that almost worked against "Hancock" was having Will in the lead.  We are so used to seeing him in positive roles that it makes it harder to buy him being a jerk.  He tried his best to come across as despicable, but his affable persona still managed to peak through. 

Once "Hancock" gets past all the scenes we have seen in the previews, it takes an unexpected turn.  The comedy lightens up as it gets more serious.  We finally get a glimpse at Hancock's past.  He didn't just appear from nowhere.  The alcoholism was just a manner for him to cope with the suppressed issues he didn't even realize he had.

I was particularly liking the way they ended it.  Not with the Mike Epps cameo, which probably was the funniest part of the movie, but with the intense drama they infused.  There was actually a very brief moment where I felt touched by the harrowing decision Hancock was forced to make. 

So Will is back to owning the Fourth again.  He can finally put the whole "Wild Wild West" mis-step behind him.  He may have been portraying a flawed hero with his turn as "Hancock", but he gets closer and closer to doing no wrong himself.  Just as long as that whole Scientology rumor about him isn't true.  And even if it is, "Hancock" still turned out to be great summer fun.

My rating:  B 

Thusday Throwback

Glam Slam

"Purple Rain" just came on TV1 again for the umpteenth time this past weekend.  Prince's birthday was a few weeks ago so why are they still showing the movie repeatedly like they're stuck in some Prince honorarium loop?  Anyway, the fact that most of it takes place in the club First Avenue had me thinking about my first, and so far only, trip to Minneapolis.

One of my frat brothers and I had often toyed with the idea of visiting Minneapolis.  Neither Yasan nor I had been there before and another friend of mine, who was living there at the time, had been extending a repeated invite.  I finally decided to take him up on it.  One random weekend, Yasan and I drove there from Ames to spend a couple of days.

I honestly can't remember what we did during the day.  I know it didn't involve visiting the Mall of America though.  We had the impeccable timing to choose the one weekend to visit Minneapolis the weekend BEFORE it was set to open.  We got a chance to drive by and look at it, but that was about it.

The highlight of the trip by far was our excursion to Glam Slam that night.  First Avenue was the club where Prince got his start (which was right around the corner), but Glam Slam was the club that Prince actually owned.  It was a known fact that he would frequent it and even occasionally give surprise unannounced performances.  Could we be so lucky?

Bill (the friend with the invite) had a hook-up that was able to get us VIP access.  That meant we would be able to be on the "members only" floor where it was rumored Prince hung out while at the club.  I knew it was a longshot.  I already had bad luck with the timing of missing the Mall of America so I'm sure I also chose the one weekend where Prince was probably out of town.

We were in that joint for a couple of hours with no sign of Prince.  It was approaching their closing time of 1am so it was not looking good.  Plenty of Prince music being played all night long, but no Prince.  I had finally accepted the fact we were not going to get a sighting as I walked from the main floor to the stairs of the VIP area.  That's when it happened.

A door to a side room opened directly in front of me.  Three regular-sized guys (meaning not a whole lot bigger than me) dressed in black exited.  In the middle of them was a tiny man in all white.  It was him.  And I do mean tiny.  He happened to walk past me well within arm's reach.  He couldn't have been any taller than my shoulder.

I began contemplating if I should approach him and ask for an autograph.  Maybe explaining that I was visiting from Iowa and was a fan.  Because I'm sure he never gets that.  I decided against it.  Instead, I just sat at the table next to him with only one bodyguard between me and him.  Therefore, I guess you could say that was my momentary brush with fame.

Yasan and Bill never did let me forget how I was acting at that time.  I did a fairly decent job of hiding the giddyness; however, I still probably looked a little starstruck.  It was worth it though just to say that I was that close to the Purple One.  Although admittedly, in hindsight, it does sound pretty idiotic now.

Charmed, I'm Sure...

Well this could not have been further from the truth.  I suppose it could have been, but as it is, it's a pretty far stretch to say this describes me.  Not even on my best day.  And I'm fairly certain I answered the questions correctly... 

You Are Extremely Charming

When someone talks to you, they feel like they are the most interesting person in the world. And for you in that moment, they actually are. You truly care about the people you're around, and it's obvious to everyone who meets you. You are open, warm, friendly, and welcoming. You epitomize charm.

Are You Charming?

One to Add to Your Collection - "Original Kings of Comedy"

I was trying to think of a documentary that I could put here for a change.  There were some good ones to pick from and I never have profiled one as a Vault Pick.  As I tried to mentally shuffle thru the choices, this movie came up.  Of course it doesn't qualify as a documentary, but it is more than worthy to make the selection.

People can say what they want, but "The Original Kings of Comedy" reinvigorated a couple of different things.  Most importantly, it brought back the whole concept of comedy concerts being a success.  It had been since the heyday of Eddie Murphy's "Raw" stand-up that a brotha could sell out an auditorium for a comedy. 

Some could argue that it took four comedians to make this possible.  That wasn't the case at all.  This film captured Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley and Bernie Mac at the top of their game.  Technically, any one of them could have been headlining and selling out top joints.  It just so happened they wanted to combine forces to give folks more bang for the buck.  And did they ever.

There could not have been a better emcee to guide us thru the night (or technically two since Spike Lee filmed it over two nights) than Harvey.  He had already proven his mettle with his stint on "Showtime at the Apollo" back when it was in classic form.  He knew how to bring folks out and keep a show moving.  What's more important, he was always able to segue one performance to the next with the perfect interludes.  I'm not gonna lie...it was because of one of his fillers here that I had to hunt down Earth, Wind and Fire's "Love's Holiday".

About the only fault I had with this one was D.L. Hughley's portion.  Ironically, it was because I was such a fan of his.  Most of the material that he did in "TOKOC" was stuff we had seen before in his other stand-ups.  That was rather disappointing.  He really could have worked on new material for a feature film. 

Cedric came close to stealing the show.  He was always second banana to Harvey on "The Steve Harvey Show" which was popular at the time.  Even without his name being in the title, he was always side-by-side with Harvey as far as being able to deliver the laughs.  Plus, his time as the host of BET's Comicview (back when it was still decent) was always hilarious.  As far as routines go, his was pretty much flawless from beginning to end.

The one dark horse in the group would have been Bernie Mac.  He was the only cat who didn't have his own show at the time this came out.  That didn't stop him from showing out though.  One of my favorite jokes of the night was his explanation of why he uses the "MF" word so much.  Very much adult-oriented humor, but extremely funny.

I remember watching this in theaters and setting myself up for disappointment.  I don't know why, but for some reason I just knew it couldn't have been as funny as the last comedy film I saw in theaters, which was Murphy's "Raw".  I could not have been more wrong.  I was laughing so hard I was crying and my sides seriously hurt.  Of course they were not REALLY the original kings of comedy, but they certainly ruled that show. 

Get Smart

It can't be an easy task trying to bring a television icon like Maxwell Smart to the big screen.  Not in the sense of translating a show into a movie because that's just a matter of getting funding.  However, the actors that are charged with portraying these television characters are in a tough spot.  Unless they were the character from the original show, they will always be faced with living in the shadow of the one who made it famous.

It's not always about finding someone that resembled the character either.  Although that does help.  Still, what the producers need is someone who can match the persona of the tv original without trying to be a cheap imitation.  It can be difficult, but someone like Steve Carell can handle such a daunting task.

Some might say to call the "Get Smart" series iconic would be a stretch.  They would be wrong.  This show created a new jaundre by making light of the spy genre.  No longer were the secret agents deadpan and always accomplishing missions with the greatest of ease.  Max was a flawed agent whose best weapon was his sarcastic wit.  The late Don Adams delivered impeccable timing that paved the way for other imitators like "Inspector Gadget" and even the "Austin Powers" series.

In the movie version, analyst Max Smart (Carell) has aspirations to one day move up in the ranks of CONTROL by becoming a field agent.  The problem is he is SO good at his job that it makes him unpromotable.  That is until CONTROL is infiltrated and the identities of several agents are compromised.  The Chief (Alan Arkin) then has no choice but to promote Max to field agent status to assist with thwarting KAOS' terrorist plan.

Although Max has had years of experience in counterintelligence, putting it into practical use in the field was an entirely new transition for him.  He gets assigned to veteran agent Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) who is bitter about the fact that she is stuck with the novice.   He does prove to be fairly inept, but his unconventional methods do occasionally work out for him and that help the two of them be somewhat successful.

What they got right from the very beginning was the tone of the film.  They could have fell into the crude humor format that plagues a lot of comedies today.  However, that would not have been staying true to the series.  A joke or two may come close to the proverbial line, but never cross it.  Okay...outside of the one moment where Max is trying to get an unconscious KAOS agent to use an eye sensor, but that was worth it.

The best part is that jokes are spread generously throughout the film.  Something else that is a tribute to what creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry achieved with the "Get Smart" show.  In fact, there were quite a few moments that were laugh out loud funny.  Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't always Carell giving the best lines either.  For instance, the Chief's response to what he was thinking was priceless.

Surprisingly, the stunts in "Get Smart" add another bonus to the film.  I went in thinking that the focus would be on the comedy.  So much so that the action would suffer.  That would have even been okay because they did such a good job at making it funny.  However, the climax with the plane and the SUV on the railroad tracks was executed nicely. 

The supporting cast was also on point throughout.  The Rock (yes, you will always be The Rock to me, Dwayne) does what's expected of him as Agent 23.  David Koechner as Agent 91 has proven yet once more that "Anchorman" was no fluke.  Plus, as Siegfried, Terence Stamp continues to re-invent himself, although he will still always be General Zod to me.

"Get Smart" turns out to be a relatively smart comedy.  It's a product that the late Don Adams would be proud of.  Sure, it's no "The Nude Bomb", but it's definitely worthy of igniting a franchise to introduce "Get Smart" to a new generation of viewers.  There was no "missing it by that much"...they hit the mark with this one.

 

My rating:  B+

 

BET Awards 2008

Somewhere I read that people over 30 don't watch BET anymore.  Not that they would mind it since they cater to a younger audience now anyway.  However, right now, BET late night is the only place I can catch my "Different World" reruns so that's one reason I stay tuned.  Plus, I had to see what type of atrocities would (or would not) be committed at this years BET Awards show.  So let's see what random thoughts I can stumble upon...

It's funny that Usher is showing his age by putting on some additional weight yet he still continues to sing about young adult subjects.  It's too bad because "Love in this Club" has a pretty nice track to it only to be ruined about its subject matter.

Terence Howard really can play the guitar?!  All this time I thought that was just some camera trickery in "The Best Man".  Now if he really did do the thing where he flipped it upside down and kept playing it then he gets even more props from me.

No way Kobe Bryant should have gotten Best Male Athlete over Chris Paul.  And no big surprise that Kobe wasn't there.  I bet you his sorry behind will be all up in the Nickoledon Teen Choice Awards though.

I notice not many people are still perpetrating that whole Keyshia Cole is the next Mary J. Blige talk.  I remember Mary used to a look a little ruffneck back in the day, but Keyshia just be looking TOO hard.  She keeps looking like she's fresh out of Cell Block C.

How are they going to have a "Boyz n the Hood" reunion with no Ice Cube or Laurence Fishburne?

I like this Ne-Yo kid.  He puts out good music without being all pornographic about it.  Of course, right after I say that, here he comes with back-up dancers wearing skimpy lingerie.  Speaking of dancers, I'm already getting sick of these Jabberwocky cats.

Nice touch with the girl group reuniting thing.  SWV need to work on walking and singing at the same time though. And it probably wouldn't have killed T-Boz to rehearse some before she came out.  Sounds like she hasn't sang in a few years.  Now that that's done, I want them to have a guy group reunion.  Let's see Jodeci, Boyz II Men (with Michael McCary), New Edition (yes, even with Bobby Brown) and Guy on the same stage.

Bout time Al Green got a tribute.  There could not have been a better fit to do "Tired of Being Alone" than Anthony Hamilton.  Not used to his new clean cut look though.  But wait...why did Maxwell get rid of his signature fro?  And how did he not get more applause? The brotha has been MIA for years and that's the welcome he gets?!

Quincy deserves all the accolades he gets and then some.  What is the name of that jazz song they keep playing for his intro though?  I've heard it before several times but never knew he produced it.  You go, original Q!

No Nelly didn't make a song called "Step on My J's" about someone stepping on their kicks.  I can't lie though, it is kinda catchy. Plus, the subject alone had me cracking up.  I remember when I used to get new sneaks, I used to HATE when they got stepped on.  And that was when shoes aren't near as expesnive as they are now so I KNOW kids today hate it when it happens to them.

And they close out the show with Lil Wayne doing a collection of his "hits".  Could that have been anymore anti-climatic.  He embodies everything that is wrong with the state of "hip hop" today.  DL Hughley should have mispronounced his name instead of Marvin Sapp's. 

Wanted

Once in a while a movie will come along that really strikes a chord with me.  Everyone has seen a movie like that.  One that you can really relate to.  It's all about timing.  You can be at a point in your life when the content resonates with you due to some things you may be going thru. For me, I just never figured it would be an action movie that would do it. 

In all actuality, "Wanted" was not entirely a high octane thrill ride.  Don't get it twisted though, just as the trailers advertise, it does not come up short in that department at all.  However, at it's core is  a film that turns out to be a twisted combination of "Office Space" meets "Hitman".  As strange as it sounds, they manage to pull it off rather masterfully.

Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is drudging thru life in a thankless job with a cheating girlfriend to boot.  He never gave much thought to the fact that he never knew his father until a sultry stranger named Fox (Angelina Jolie...PLEASE EAT SOMETHING) shows up.  She tells him a tale that his father was one of the top assassins in the world before he was murdered and now the organization that trained him, the Fraternity, wants to recruit Wesley to get his father's killer.

As with any hitman-themed movie, nothing is ever quite like it seems.  From the minute we meet the head of the Fraterntiy, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), something purposely does not sit right.  Wesley is faced with having to determine who can truly be trusted when his concept of "trust" has already become fluid.

Wesley's training to go from nobody to elite killer is one of the many highlights of the film.  Bearing in mind that the secret society of assassins is called the Fraternirty, one would expect there would be a bit of initiaon process even a legacy like Wesley has to go thru to get in.  I would gladly go thru Probate Week again with my frat rather than be subjected to what Wesley was.  To call it intense would be an understatement.

It's important to go into any action flick realizing that there is going to be certain level of absurdity with which you have to accept.  Many of the stunts will most likely extend beyond the realm of reality.  Such as the case with "Wanted" with cars flipping upside down into the air with the driver still able to deliver precision kill shots.  Or the whole thing about being able to curve bullets. 

Pretty sure many of the scenes delivered are not possible in the real world but they were exciting to watch.  The entire near the conclusion with the train has you on the edge of your seat, as if you are really there hanging by a thread with them.  That and Wesley's improbable slow motion trek thru the Fraternity's main floor will go down in cinematic lore.

Make no mistake, that there are some very noteworthy performances here.  First and foremost is McAvoy's portrayal as Ashley.  He never does make the complete turn from apathetic office drone to trained assassin.  There is always a piece of him permeating that shows he is uncomfortable in that skin.  Even after it is clear that he posseses the skill to be good at killing, we still see the fragile person he once was.

Then of course Morgan Freeman is just his normal incredible self.  In fact, this role is a different take for him than we are used to seeing him.  There's an edge here you probably would not expect from someone who played God just as convincignly as George Burns.

But as I mentioned, it is the underlying tone in "Wanted" that did it for me.  Wesley's job has him to the point where he is willing to do anything to escape.  It just so happens for him that the whole assassin gig fell in his lap.  Naturally, that's not for everyone; however, we all have moments where it would not take much at all for us to snap at worse.  When it happens, how far would you go to become a new person? 

My rating:  B+

Losing You

Despite all of their mainstream hits that everyone is more familar with like "My Girl" and "Just My Imagination", this one remains my personal favorite Temptations song...