Reviews and More

Iron Man was once again the top movie at the box office, even though its gross receipts dropped by about 50 percent domestically. After opening with a huge $100 million weekend last week, the Marvel Enterprises production held on to its title as the No. 1 movie in America with $50.5 million in ticket sales this week despite strong competition from a couple of new films.

One was the highly anticipated Speed Racer from the Wachowski brothers, a movie that was blasted by critics and viewers alike as it sputtered to a $20.2 million opening — good enough for second place.

The other was What Happens in Vegas…, a comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. This movie was similarly panned by critics and audiences, but still managed to sell $20 million worth of tickets.

Last week’s No. 2 film, Made of Honor, dropped a couple places to No. 4 with just $7.6 million in sales. The only other new entry on the list was Redbelt, which slipped into the tenth spot at $1.14 million.

Here’s the complete Top 10 for the week ending 5/11/08:

1. Iron Man, $50.5 million
2. Speed Racer, $20.2 million
3. What Happens in Vegas…, $20 million
4. Made of Honor, $7.6 million
5. Baby Mama, $5.77 million
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $3.78 million
7. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, $3.15 million
8. The Forbidden Kingdom, $1.9 million
9. Nim’s Island, $1.32 million
10. Redbelt, $1.14 million

We like to take a family vacation every summer, so we’re always looking for interesting new places to go. We’ve been to all of the good theme parks, tourist attractions, historical sites, and museums in a 300-mile radius (give or take), which means that we now have to travel a bit farther away from home to hit someplace worthwhile. When a friend of mine recently suggested Branson, I initially dismissed the idea since we’re not country music fans. But after doing a bit of research, I’ve learned that there’s far more to Branson than just music and shows.

I checked BransonGetaways.com for activity ideas, and found plenty of options that my family would love. For example, we’re all big on roller coasters and rides, so Silver Dollar City would definitely be tops on our list of Branson attractions to visit. This 1880s-themed park has 25 rides (including several for smaller children), tons of restaurants and specialty shops, and of course a bunch of fun shows to help keep us entertained.

Other Branson-area activities we’d be interested in include Go-Karts, miniature golf, natural caves, and shopping.

BransonGetaways.com makes it easy to put together a complete fun-filled family vacation from beginning to end, including special packages that feature lodging, shows, meals, and more. From useful maps telling us how to get around the area to discount tickets and affordable accommodation, everything we need is right on the website. Plus, if we have additional questions, helpful staff members are standing by to share their knowledge and expertise.

The more we look at what Branson has to offer, the more we want to drop everything and go there now!

These days, I mostly fill my reading time with lighter fare from the likes of Agatha Christie, John Grisham, Stephen King, and Michael Connelly. There’s nothing wrong with that, as I’ve read more than my fair share of classics over the years and need a break from the heady stuff once in a while.

Nevertheless, I occasionally feel guilty about the lack of substance in these reading materials, and force myself to read something from The Guardian’s list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. That’s why I decided to tackle Benjamin Disraeli’s Sybil, the No. 15 entry on the list, a couple weeks ago. (And in case you’re interested, I’ve now read the top 25 novels on the list and 61 of the titles overall.)

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Written in 1845, Sybil, or The Two Nations (the full title of the novel), deals with hot-button political issues of the day. Specifically, Disraeli, who was Prime Minister of the UK in 1868 and again from 1874-1880, wrote about the extreme differences between Britain’s rich and poor. The wealthy landowners enjoyed excesses beyond all imagination, while the poor working class endured squalid conditions that were barely able to sustain human life.

Disraeli couches his opinions in the form of a novel with two distinct storylines. The first is a basic love story between Charles Egremont and young Sybil Gerard. Sybil is the daughter of Walter Gerard, man of modest means who has aligned himself with Stephen Morley and others in an attempt to unite workers and bring British industry to a screeching halt until workers start receiving fair wages for their efforts.

Egremont, an aristocrat whose family owns a great deal of property, first meets Morley and Sybil when he poses as a reporter under an assumed name and goes to live among the regular folks to get the lay of the land, so to speak. Egremont immediately falls in love with the kind, innocent, angelic Sybil, but he doesn’t dare to reveal his feelings or his true identity.

Disraeli intertwines the Egremont/Sybil story with passages detailing Morley and Gerard’s work, as well as with depictions of daily life of the rich and poor. Eventually, both storylines mesh as the major players cross paths with one another and the novel proceeds towards its optimistic conclusion.

My Reaction: I thought Sybil started off very slowly. It was hard to get into the flow of the novel because Disraeli kept jumping back and forth between Egremont and the Gerards. Since these people lived in totally different circumstances and since I didn’t know enough about the novel to expect these scene shifts, I was extremely confused by what was going on. This confusion soon led to boredom, which led to me putting the book down after every couple of pages, etc.

But once I got past the first quarter of the novel or so, things started to pick up. Sybil was an interesting character, as was Egremont, making it easy to become invested in their love story. I wasn’t quite as interested in the struggles of the working class, however, so those parts remained slow for me. Things might have been different if I knew anything about that period of England’s history, but as it was, none of the things Disraeli was writing about seemed all that relevant anymore.

Overall, I had mixed feelings about Sybil. Parts of it were good, but this is not a novel that I can envision myself reading again and again — as I do with several other favorites. As such, I have to quibble with The Guardian’s high placement of the book on the Top 100 list. Obviously I’m no literary scholar, but I certainly wouldn’t rank Sybil as the 15th greatest novel ever written. Oh, well… de gustibus non est disputandum!

With the strike-shortened prime time TV season set to wrap up in the next couple of weeks, it’s time for me to pick out a few shows that I want to watch over the summer. Last year I went with House and Ugly Betty on DVD/DVR, which turned out to be a mixed bag. I ended up LOVING House and consuming all three seasons within a few months, but Ugly Betty wasn’t really my style (no pun intended), so I didn’t even finish Season 1.

This year, I’ve had the following recommendations from friends, and have done a bit of reading about the shows to see if they sound interesting:

Veronica Mars — This show has been recommended to me for years, and I even have the DVDs sitting on my shelf right now (on loan from a friend for, oh, about 8 months now). But for some reason, I can’t get into the series. I started watching the pilot, but quit with about 10 minutes left and haven’t gone back since then. But sooo many people have said that this is a great series that I want to give it another chance. Just maybe not this summer….

The Biggest Loser: — I’m not sure why this was recommended to me, as I usually can’t stand reality shows. But Robin insists that this one is a lot of fun and that I’d like it. Personally, however, I can’t see myself getting excited about watching people try to lose weight in order to win $250,000. The contestants should just be given a list of best diet pills and sent home!

Ghost Whisperer — Believe me, when I first heard about this Jennifer Love Hewitt series, I thought for sure it wouldn’t make it for a full season. It just seemed far too sappy, sentimental, and, ultimately, repetitive. But here it is completing its third season and doing pretty well still, so who knows? Maybe I’m the one with no taste!

Gossip Girl — I watched two episodes of this series but gave up on it because I still hadn’t finished The O.C. yet, and there was no way I could handle two teen series in my regular viewing rotation. I’m finished with The O.C. now, but don’t know if I’m ready to dive back into a big ol’ pool of teen angst.

30 Rock: — I need another good comedy to add to my lineup, and I’ve heard awesome things about 30 Rock, so this one is a real possibility. With my luck, however, it’ll be canceled as soon as I start getting into it!

Well, I’ve still got plenty of time before my decision needs to be made. Oh, and don’t forget I’ll still be watching Entourage and Burn Notice, my two regular summer series.

If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them!

Last night’s all-new episode of Grey’s Anatomy was called “The Becoming”, and dealt with a whole bunch of different storylines. I actually felt it was one of the better efforts this season. It was fast-paced, enjoyable, and not at all eye roll inducing. That’s progress!

Since I am pressed for time today and am already late getting this post up, I’m not going to write an entire recap. Instead, I’m just going to list a few of my thoughts/reactions for this episode.

– I liked Mark Sloane’s storyline, right up to the point where Dr. Bailey was addressing the nurses on his behalf. When she called him a “whore” in front of all the nurses, my jaw literally dropped at how inappropriate and unprofessional that was. Imagine the scene if the gender roles were reversed. What if it was a roomful of male doctors addressing a problem with a female colleague. If the authority figure in that situation had called the female doctor a whore, that would open up the hospital to a HELL of a lawsuit. I hate double standards like that, no matter which way they go. Bailey was wrong to call Sloane a whore, even if the shoe fits.

– Meredith and Derek were tolerable for the first time in a very long time. I like them together when they’re not a couple and they’re not flirting. Yes, they’re both thinking about each other and probably want to get back together, but when none of that stuff is out in the open, when they’re just doctors, then they’re ok in my book. More of this, please!

– George is annoying. No matter what he does, he’s annoying. I think it’s the way T.R. Knight has turned him into a stumbling, bumbling loser. Has George always been like that? Wasn’t he just a bit more confident in previous seasons? I know he has never been as arrogant or assertive as Karev, but jeebus, he was normal at one point, wasn’t he?

– Izzie is frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the character last night, but her decision not to tell Alex about Ava’s fake pregnancy was frustrating. After all the moral and ethical lines Izzie has crossed in the past 4 seasons, she’s just now deciding to honor doctor-patient confidentiality? Ugh. I guess it’s better this way in the long run. If she told Alex herself, he would probably end up resenting her in some way. At least now he’ll be able to focus all of his wrath on Ava when he does find out.

– Cristina finally let it all out (as much as is possible for that character, anyway). Wow, that was fantastic! I particularly liked two things about her storyline last night: first, the way she refused to use the Burke thing to finally get “in” with Hahn. Hahn is a bitch through and through, so I’m glad Cristina didn’t sink to her level of Burke bashing.

Second, I’m so glad she FINALLY told the chief what’s going on with Hahn. Everything she said was right on the money: She was the one who performed Burke’s surgeries when his hand shook too much to get the job done. She was the one who helped preserve his reputation and allowed him to subsequently go on to win the prestigious award. And for Hahn to keep her out of surgeries for stupid reasons is absolute bullshit, so the chief better damn well address this problem ASAP.

— The scene where Alex was filling out his sex partner survey and forgot to include Lexie (even though she was sitting RIGHT THERE) was hilarious!! Her reaction to it was pure gold as well, and I loved how she said she called a few past boyfriends just to make sure she wasn’t as forgettable as Alex seemed to think.

– The chief and Adele were kind of boring. Their personal lives have never been a huge part of the show, so I didn’t think it was necessary to start up now.

– I liked the gay soldiers, and have to admit that I teared up when the one guy didn’t make it through his surgery.

– The prospect of Callie and Hahn getting it on? Gross. I just find Hahn unattractive on so many different levels that the last thing I want to see is her in a sexual relationship. Blech!

At any rate, I think there are two more eps left this season. Let’s hope they’re good ones!

I have to admit that one of the reasons I don’t watch many horror films is because I can’t stand the sight of copious amounts of blood and gore. I can handle psychological fare such as The Silence of the Lambs, but when filmmakers go for graphic kill scenes… well, all bets are off with me.

That’s why I’m convinced I would pass out if I attempted to sit through a screening of the French horror flick Frontier(s). I just viewed the official trailer for the film, and that was enough to turn my stomach! Let me tell you, it looks very intense!

In fact, this film is so utterly brutal in parts that it has apparently stirred up quite a bit of controversy in several countries. Of course, that will probably just serve to make Frontier(s) all the more attractive to potential viewers, including my husband who can’t get enough of films like Saw and Hostel. I’m sure he’s going to want to see this one as well!

Frontier(s) was originally supposed to be screened at Horrofest 2007, but was ultimately pulled because of the NC-17 rating that the MPAA slapped on it. So instead, an unrated and uncut version will play in limited cities this weekend, with the DVD scheduled to be released on May 13th. I just checked the select theater listings for the film, and saw that the closest one is Detroit, which obviously means we’ll have to wait a few extra days for the DVD.

At any rate, if you think you can handle extreme, over-the-top, and utterly sadistic violence, then check out Frontier(s) this weekend if it’s playing in a city near you or buy the DVD on May 13!

With a plethora of much newer releases to choose from, I usually don’t reach back nearly 15 years to watch a film that wasn’t a Best Picture winner (or even nominee), but that’s precisely what I did when I recently rented The Madness of King George, which was released way back in 1994. There were a couple of external factors that prompted my decision, so this wasn’t entirely out of the blue. For one thing, I’m currently reading the biography John Adams by David McCullough, and of course King George III is mentioned in that work. Second, I just got done listening to a series of lectures about some great historical figures in Europe that also made mention of George III’s “madness”, so my curiosity was piqued.

However, despite the fact that the film received some pretty good reviews when it first came out, I found it rather slow and uneventful. To be sure, I wasn’t expecting a shoot ‘em up action flick, but at least a few interesting events would have been welcome.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The story begins in the year 1788 and proposes to show the rapid decline of King George III’s (played by Nigel Hawthorne) mental powers. A few opening scenes show George III as a monarch still respected by members of his family and court, as they jump to with every “Wot, wot!” that he utters.

Clearly, George III has a few eccentricities of character, such as the fact that he flies off the handle at any mention of the American colonies having won their independence and that he likes to make everyone listen to extremely long renditions of “Greensleaves” rung on bells, but for the most part he seems pretty functional. Queen Charlotte (Helen Mirren) and several of the king’s valets are indulgent, but the Prince of Wales (Rupert Everett), who is next in line to the throne, is anxious to show that his father is not fit to run the country.

Indeed, as the film progresses, George III’s outbursts become more frequent and more serious. He wakes in the middle of the night to accost women in the palace and he runs through the fields in the morning wearing nothing but his nightshirt, all while failing to grasp the extent of his improprieties. Finally, Dr. Willis (Ian Holm), a man known for successfully dealing with mental infirmities, is called in to see what he can do about George.

The rest of the film then deals with Dr. Willis’s attempts to cure George III using the primitive diagnostic and treatment techniques available in the 18th century. In addition, significant time is given to the way prominent members of Prominent jockeyed for position after sensing that the king was seriously ill.

My Reaction: To be honest, it was very hard for me to get involved with any of the characters in this film, which made the whole thing hard to watch. First of all, since everyone was wearing 18th-century costumes and wigs, it was very difficult to keep track of who was who. Yes, I know I can’t fault the filmmakers for using period costumes, but it was still a real problem for me. The least the filmmakers could have done was make sure that the characters addressed each other by name to help viewers keep the characters straight!

Another issue I had with this film was the fact that George III’s improprieties seemed rather tame — at least by today’s standards. So he inappropriately grabbed women and ran around in his underwear? Sure, those actions by a modern monarch would cause a scandal, but I doubt anyone would declare him “mad”. I was hoping to see how the king’s mental state impacted his rule of the country; however, that never happened. It could be because Parliament had a lot of control in those days or something, but again, it would have been nice if this had been made clear in the film.

Really, I don’t have much else to say about The Madness of King George. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but that surely has more to do with my personal tastes than anything else. Nevertheless, I give this film just 5.0 stars out of 10.

Although I usually love any kind of sports-related movie, I had serious reservations about watching The Benchwarmers. I’d read some terrible reviews about the film, and the whole premise of three grown men playing baseball against Little League teams seemed too preposterous even for a silly comedy. I wasn’t planning on watching this, but when my husband brought it home from the video store a few days ago, I decided to give it a try.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Gus (played by Rob Schneider), Richie (David Spade), and Clark (Jon Heder) are three friends who one day witness some kids getting picked on by a baseball team full of bullies. The not-so-cool kids were just trying to have some fun on the public baseball field, but the bullies kicked them out. Gus didn’t think that was fair, so he stepped in to help.

The bullies wouldn’t listen to him, though, so he decided to challenge them. He, Richie, and Clark would play the bullies for the right to stay on the field. One look at the obviously uncoordinated Richie and Clark was enough to get the bullies to agree to the deal.

Gus turned out to be good enough to carry the team, belting home runs over the fence every time he stepped up to the plate and striking out nearly every batter he faced. Richie and Clark were predictably terrible, but thanks to Gus they end up winning.

The billionaire father of one of the not-so-cool kids hears about what happened, and comes up with a great idea. He will hold a tournament between all the local Little League teams and Gus’ team, with the winners getting to play in a state-of-the-art baseball stadium that he’s building.

The rest of the film then deals with the tournament and its typical sports movie outcome, with a few minor subplots along the way.

My Reaction: I love baseball, so I tried my best to like The Benchwarmers but it was damn near impossible for me to do so. I don’t understand how Gus’s team won even a single game, let alone made it all the way to the tournament finals. I mean, remember how they had to let Richie’s brother play in the end when the bases were loaded? If they didn’t send a batter to the plate it would have been an automatic out or whatever. Well, why weren’t other teams doing that all along? They could have easily walked Gus, Richie, and Clark intentionally to start getting automatic outs.

Better yet, other teams could have just walked Gus intentionally, and then pitched to Richie and Clark for two automatic outs. No pitcher in his right mind (not even a 12-year-old) would continue pitching to a guy that hits home runs every single time he steps up to the plate. Hell, they do it in the Majors to Barry Bonds, so why not in these games? Oh, that’s right: because there wouldn’t be a movie if this happened.

I didn’t really like anything about this film, and thought Richie was a particularly annoying character. Does Jon Heder have any range at all as an actor? He seemed like he was playing a mentally handicapped version of Napoleon Dynamite. Can he doe anything else? Why did his character have to wear a bicycle helmet the whole time? Was he really supposed to be handicapped??

Overall, I can’t imagine how anyone over the age of 12 would find either the jokes or the plot entertaining. As a result, I give The Benchwarmers just 3.0 stars out of 10 and recommend that you skip it.

I try to remain unspoiled about the television shows that I watch, but some rumors are so big that they reach me despite my best efforts to plug my ears and cover my eyes. One of the most intriguing ones I’ve come across recently is that Desperate Housewives is going to undergo a major transformation — in the form of a time jump!

Producer Marc Cherry has confirmed that there will be a time jump at the end of this season, but hasn’t said whether the jump will go forward or backwards. Either way, though, there will be significant changes to the cast and storylines once this occurs. No, the action won’t shift to a different location like Chicago or New York City; things will still happen on Wisteria Lane in fictional Fairview. But a couple of characters could be gone, with Edie Britt being the forerunner in that department.

Personally, I’m looking forward to a shakeup on Desperate Housewives. That show has been stale for quite a while now, so changes are definitely in order. I hope they go back in time because I would rather just learn more about the characters I’ve already grown accustomed to in the last four years. Plus, they could undo some mistakes, like making Carlos blind and killing off Rex.

I mean, wouldn’t it be great to see Gabby during the height of her modeling career? She’d be worrying about buying designer duds and cheap Phentermine instead of renting out rooms to drug dealers. Oh, and they could bring Mary Alice in as a new main character instead of just having her do the voice-over narrations. And how awesome would it be to see Bree and Rex together again, not to mention Karl and Susan? I can’t wait for the finale!

Last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother was called Rebound Bro, and had two main storylines. One focused on Barney trying to find a replacement wingman for Ted, and the other focused on Ted and Stella moving their relationship forward. Personally, I was far more interested in the Barney storyline, but still didn’t think it was anything great. I think I only smiled a couple of times during the entire 30 minutes, so this was pretty much a letdown for me.

Barney/Randy: Ted is holding firm to his resolve not to be friends with Barney anymore (though he still answers Barney’s phone calls), so Barney is forced to search for a new bro/wingman. He calls up a bunch of guys he hasn’t talked to in a long time, only to learn that they’re either married or already bros with someone else. So he ends up taking on a loser from work named Randy (played by Will Forte).

They go to MacLaren’s, but it’s clear that Randy has next to no experience in talking to women. He freezes up, doesn’t know what to say, hides under tables, and even gets nosebleeds (signaling his, um, excitement). He seems like a lost cause until Barney calls Robin in for help. Through their interaction, Barney learns that Randy used to be a cop with the NYPD, so he convinces Randy to use that as his angle. Randy soon hooks up with a girl, and leaves, but Robin points out that it’s not as satisfying for Barney as when he helped hook Ted up.

Ted/Stella: Ted and Stella have hit the two-month mark in their relationship, and things are going great. Ted seems genuinely happy, so he wants to take things to the next level. In other words, they haven’t had sex yet, and he’s going crazy!

Stella reveals that she hasn’t been with a man in 5 years, which Ted has trouble wrapping his mind around. They arrange for a special night at a hotel, and leave it at that. Ted then goes to Marshall and Lily for help, but they don’t know what to say since they still have sex all the time.

When the big day arrives, Stella drops by the apartment where she runs into Lily and Marshall. They make a few comments about her drought, which understandably embarrasses her. She gets mad at Ted, calls the date off, and leaves. A few days later, however, she comes back, apologizes, and says that she is ready for more. Stella then takes Ted to meet her daughter. Later that night, Stella and Ted have sex for the first time.

My Reaction: I’m sorry, but I’m just not feeling any chemistry between Ted and Stella. I’ve read a lot of message forums where most other fans seem to think that Stella is the best thing since sliced bread, but I don’t see it. Maybe it’s just that I’ve kind of started actively disliking Ted this season, so I’m no longer interested in anything the character does.

Oh, and am I the only one who thinks it’s incredibly creepy that FutureTed talks to his kids about all of his past sexual exploits? I know I’ve mentioned this before, but that element was again present in this episode, so I started thinking about it again. Way, way too much information for parents and their teenage kids.

The Barney storyline was just ok. I thought Randy was annoying, not funny at all. I only smiled at the way Barney acted or reacted to Randy, not to anything Randy said or did. Hopefully that character won’t be back anytime soon. I do have to say that it was good to see Robin not completely shunning Barney like Ted is doing, but again, I wish they would talk about their one-night stand a bit more or, hell, just do it again already!

I’ve heard the season finale is supposed to be awesome, so I can’t wait. Has this show been renewed for another year??

By now, most everybody has heard that there’s an extra Iron Man scene at the very end of the credits. Personally, I hate when filmmakers do this (isn’t it pretty much a given that today’s audiences don’t really care who the key grip was?), but I guess that’s beside the point right now. Suffice it to say, I missed the much talked about scene, so had to track it down on YouTube.

Basically, Samuel L. Jackson makes an appearance as Nick Fury and mentions something to Tony Stark about the Avenger Initiative, whatever that means. I’m sure people who are familiar with the comic books know exactly what that’s all about, but I don’t.

Anyway, this scene serves as a lead in to the sequel, which is already scheduled to be released in April, 2010.

Here is a YouTube video of the scene, shot on someone’s cell phone, I guess. The quality is terrible, but at least it gives you an idea of what happens. Since I know YouTube will pull the clip as soon as Marvel complains, I’ll also post a transcript of the dialog:

Tony Stark (enters room): Jarvis!
Jarvis: Welcome home, m… (voice fades out)
Nick Fury: “I am Iron Man.” You think you’re the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.
Tony Stark: Who the hell are you?
Nick Fury: Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.

Enjoy!

I have a somewhat expensive mobile phone that has a lot of great extras, such as a 4 megapixel camera and video recording capabilities. These features are perfect for those times when I forget to bring my regular digital camera with me, and have already helped me preserve some fun family moments.

The only problem was that if I set my cell phone camera settings to the highest quality, the file sizes of the images became far too large to send by e-mail, which essentially meant that my pictures were stuck on my phone. In order to get around this issue, I would have to buy a microSD card to transfer the data from my phone to my computer, where I could then deal with my photos as usual. But most microSD cards I saw at stores were too expensive for my limited budget, so I simply let my phone fill to capacity with all my photos and videos and put microSD cards out of my mind.

But as I was browsing through the weekly deals at Buy.com over the weekend, I came across an amazing offer for a Kingston 2GB microSD kit. The kit contains two 1GB Kingston microSD cards, plus two full-size adapters. The microSD cards can be used in mobile phones, and then the adapters allow the microSD cards to be read in desktop and notebook computers. That’s exactly what I wanted, and best of all, the kit was on sale at Buy.com for just $11.95 with free shipping! How can anyone pass up a deal like this?!

Anyway, I’m excited about ordering this Kingston microSD card kit and can’t wait to start enjoying increased functionality from my mobile phone!

Last night’s episode of Desperate Housewives was called “Opening Doors”, and served to inch a couple of the season-long storylines forward while also starting a few new ones. I had mixed feelings about the ep, as I thought some parts were interesting but found the entire Scavo/Kayla plot completely tiresome. In fact, I think Kayla is superfluous and should just be sent away a la Danielle. But I digress.

Tom/Lynette/Kayla: Tom and Lynette are punishing the twins for setting fire to Rick’s restaurant by making them do dishes and mow the lawn. Tom also suggests taking the twins to see a psychiatrist, but Lynette balks. They just made a mistake, she says. There’s no reason to overreact.

Later on, Lynette overhears the twins saying that it was Kayla’s idea to start the fire. Lynette then confronts Kayla, who readily admits to everything in that flat, expressionless, dare-you-to-do-something tone of hers. Gah, I can’t stand that character! Lynette insists on taking Kayla to therapy, but Tom refuses this time. So of course she just goes behind his back, at which point Kayla says that if Lynette makes her talk to the shrink, she’ll also talk to the police and tell them what the boys did. Kayla wins again.

As if her victory at the shrink’s office wasn’t enough, Kayla also gets the incredibly gullible twins to believe that she jumped off the roof with an umbrella and landed with nary a scratch. So one of the twins tries it, and ends up with a broken arm. As Lynette and Tom drive off to the hospital, Kayla gives Lynette a wicked look.

Susan/Mike/Karl/Marisa: Susan goes to the first day of her new Lamaze class only to learn that Karl is in the same class with his new wife Marisa, who happens to be a young, beautiful lawyer. After getting sick of hearing how perfect Karl’s life is, Susan brings Mike to the next class and attempts to make it seem like their life is totally fantastic as well. But then Mike mentions rehab, and blows their cover. Susan later has heart-to-heart chats with both Karl and Mike, and realizes that things in her life aren’t so bad either.

Gabby/Carlos: Gabby and Carlos continue to find themselves in a financial crisis, so they decide to take in a boarder. It’s a woman named Ellie, who claims to be an art student. She has a good credit score and seems decent enough, so Gabby says she can have the extra room. Ellie pays for the first and last month’s rent up front, and signs the lease.

Then, Gabby sees a couple of different men going in and out of Ellie’s room on the first night, and also sees Ellie counting out some cash after the guys leave. This makes her think Ellie might be a prostitute, so she gets Lee to proposition Ellie in the hopes of catching her in the act (so to speak). Ellie soon discovers what’s really going on and is indignant at the supposition. But later when she’s in her room, we see that she’s actually a drug dealer.

Katherine/Dylan/Wayne: Dylan comes clean and reveals that she’s been seeing her father for the past couple of weeks. Katherine had followed Dylan, so she knew this was coming. She tells Dylan to invite Wayne in, and then sends Dylan away. Katherine tries to bate Wayne into getting angry again, but he doesn’t bite. Later, we see that Katherine had a gun ready just in case Wayne slipped into his old habits.

Bree/Orson/Edie: Bree still hasn’t forgiven Orson for trying to run down Mike. She says the only way she’ll accept him back is if he turns himself in. Orson refuses, so Bree won’t let him stay at the house. Edie offers to give a drunk Orson a ride back to his motel, but he stars whining and complaining, so Edie lets him sleep on her couch. This gives Bree the wrong idea, and she tells Edie that the situation is absolutely unacceptable. That just goads Edie into pushing things even further, so she kisses Orson the next night, but then stops him and says it would be a mistake to carry on. Unfortunately, Bree saw the kiss.

My Reaction: First, I have to harp on the Scavo storyline some more. What is the point of any of that? To show that Kayla is evil? Yeah, we knew that from the beginning. I don’t understand why this plot is even necessary unless it’s going to lead to something major, such as Kayla being sent off to juvie or Tom and Lynette getting a divorce. And as for those boys: gee, I had to wash dishes and mow the lawn on a regular basis when I was a kid, and I wasn’t being punished for anything. They Scavos are not exactly laying down the law, are they?

I thought the Bob and Lee stuff was funny, but call B.S. that those guys simply accepted Gabby’s numerous stereotypes about gays. Remember how up in arms they were over Susan’s many missteps? Not very consistent there, huh?

I couldn’t believe that was Justine Bateman playing Ellie! I thought the actress looked very familiar, but I didn’t catch the opening credits, so I missed the guest star listing. I had to check IMDb.com to find out who it was. Wow, she didn’t look all that great here… I hope it was just makeup for the role. Also, I had a hard time figuring out why this 40+ year old woman was in art school? Not saying that people that age can’t make a career change, but that just seemed like an odd choice. She doesn’t exactly scream student, you know.

Katherine, Wayne, Dylan… still couldn’t possibly care less about these people. Please, just wrap up that “mystery” and be done with it! Not interested in another triangle involving Edie, nor did I care about Susan/Mike, though it was nice to see Karl again.

I think I’m ready for this season to wrap up. I need some new storylines here!

Iron Man blew away the competition at the box office this week, with huge domestic and worldwide debuts. The superhero flick starring Robert Downey, Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jeff Bridges opened on Wednesday in many countries in South America, Europe, and Asia before premiering in the U.S. on Thursday night. Thanks to great reviews, a tremendous performance by Downey, Jr., and excellent CGI, Iron Man grossed $100.7 million in the U.S. and about $96.7 million worldwide, ensuring that Marvel Entertainment’s first production effort will be a financial success.

Way, way, way behind in second place was the Patrick Dempsey romantic comedy Made of Honor, which sold $15.5 million in tickets. Last week’s box office champ, Baby Mama, slid down to No. 3 after doing $10.3 million in business, while Forgetting Sarah Marshall held on to the fourth spot with $6.1 million tickets sold.

Here’s the complete Top 10 for the week ending 5/4/08:

1. Iron Man, $100.7 million
2. Made of Honor, $15.5 million
3. Baby Mama, $10.3 million
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $6.1 million
5. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, $6 million
6. The Forbidden Kingdom, $4.2 million
7. Nim’s Island, $2.8 million
8. Prom Night, $2.5 million
9. 21, $2.1 million
10. 88 Minutes, $1.6 million

Although I usually like Agatha Christie’s recurring characters (Poirot, Hastings, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppenece), I can’t really say the same about Scotland Yard’s Superintendent Battle. He has appeared in several of Christie’s novels, mostly as a secondary character in a Poirot mystery, but I’ve never gotten a specific feel for what he’s like. I can’t remember his physical description, so I have no definite picture in my mind whenever the character appears.

As a result, I haven’t enjoyed past Battle books, such as The Secret of the Chimneys and The Seven Dials Mystery, and was therefore skeptical about how much the 1944 novel Towards Zero would appeal to me. But after a slow start, I found this book to be a surprisingly enjoyable read.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The novel opens with lengthy descriptions of two separate events that seemingly bear no connection to each other. First, we read about the botched attempted suicide by a man named Andrew MacWhirter. We get very few details about the circumstances leading up to his attempt, nor is there really a follow-up before Christie cuts to a scene at a private girls’ school. There, we learn that Supt. Battle’s daughter has been accused of a series of petty thefts at the school, and that she has actually confessed to the crimes despite the fact that she never stole anything. Again, there’s no follow-up before Christie gets to the main plot.

Wealthy old Lady Tresselian is having an annual September gathering at her sprawling Gull’s Point estate. Her guests include family members as well as acquaintances, and chief among them are Neville Strange, her late husband’s ward; Neville’s first wife Audrey Strange; and Neville’s current wife Kay. The presence of Neville’s ex as well as his current wife makes everyone uncomfortable, and causes a lot of tongues to wag, but there’s definitely a reason for this, so the careful reader would do well to pay attention.

Anyway, after a slow build-up, Lady Tresselian is found brutally murdered in her bed. Because she was wealthy and left nearly everyone in the house a substantial amount of money, there are plenty of suspects with the good old-fashioned motive of sheer greed. Superintendent Battle, who was vacationing nearby, arrives on the scene to investigate, and soon discovers that all of the evidence points to Neville Strange as the killer.

The only problem is, the case seems too easy. The killer appeared to be sloppy and careless, leaving behind clues that any amateur detective could follow. That’s when Battle gets suspicious and thinks that perhaps there is more to the case than meets the eye.

The rest of the novel then deals with the continuing investigation, and all of the different theories that Battle tests out. Christie gives the reader plenty of red herrings, making it difficult to guess the real answer before everything is revealed in the end.

My Reaction: I found Towards Zero a bit difficult to get into at first because Christie started out with those two scenes that (seemingly) had nothing to do with the main plot at all. Of course, by the end it all made more sense, but still….

Once the action shifted to Lady Tressilian’s estate, however, I soon became engrossed in everything that was going on. I couldn’t quite figure out what was up with Neville Strange and his two wives, but I knew that one (or all) of them would be involved in the crime, so I tried paying extra-close attention whenever they were around. Even so, I couldn’t guess the outcome of the mystery.

I thought this was one of Christie’s better novels, though I wouldn’t put it in my personal top 10 simply because I thought some of the characters’ actions were a bit hard to believe. I do have to say, though, that the whole idea of the murder victim not being the intended victim at all was a nice twist, and I loved the reasoning behind the obvious framing of Neville.

Overall, I thought Towards Zero was a worthwhile read. If you have the patience to stick with it through the slow beginning, then you’ll be treated to an interesting murder mystery with a unique solution!

I am not a big fan of comic book films, so I haven’t exactly been thrilled with the modern tendency of churning out multi-million dollar blockbuster adaptations year after year. We’ve had how many comic book movies in the past decade or so? Batman & Robin, Batman Begins, the three Spider-Man flicks, the two X-Men movies, Superman Returns, Daredevil, and Hulk, not to mention the upcoming The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight. Whew!

Out of all of those, I’ve only seen a few and have only enjoyed Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2. So what made me want to go see Iron Man — yet another adaptation from Marvel — even though I’d never even heard of the character before? Because of all the rave reviews it received from critics across the country, and because I like me some Robert Downey, Jr.!

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Downey, Jr. stars as billionaire genius Tony Stark who has made his fortune developing and selling advanced weapons to the highest bidder without regard to how, where, or by whom those weapons are actually used. He’s also a womanizer and a drunk, and he doesn’t mind showing off how wealthy he is. Because of his less than stellar personality, the only people who can stand to be around him are Pepper Potts (played by Gwenyth Paltrow), his personal assistant; Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), Stark’s friend and connection in the military; and Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), the man who helps Stark run his company.

Early in the film, Stark is kidnapped in Afghanistan by a militant group called the Ten Rings after traveling to that country to demonstrate his latest weapon system. During the kidnapping attempt, Stark is injured by shrapnel, which compromises his heart. Fortunately, he’s placed in captivity with a man named Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub), who rigs a device to help keep Stark’s heart going. Later, the two of them build a more permanent solution using technology developed by Stark’s company years ago.

The leader of Ten Rings, Raza (Faran Tahir), orders Stark to build them a replica of the new weapons system using components that Ten Rings has on hand. Raza then locks Stark and Yinsen in a cave together, monitors them on closed circuit TV, and doesn’t seem to notice that Stark seems to be working on a massive iron suit instead of a weapons system.

When the suit is ready, Stark and Yinsen plan to make their escape. Yinsen is killed while running interference for Stark, and tells the billionaire not to go on wasting his life. Stark takes Yinsen’s words to heart after he returns home, choosing to hole himself up in his basement lab until he perfects the Iron Man version 2.0 suit.

From that point forward, the film follows Stark’s trial-and-error approach to building the Iron Man suit, his resolve to change his company’s focus to something more positive, and eventually, his fight to save everyone from the evil Iron Monger.

My Reaction: I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised by Iron Man. As I mentioned before, I’d never even heard of this character before the movie promos started going out, so I didn’t know what to expect. But I think going in with a clean slate helped me appreciate the origin story a lot more than I would have if I’d known all about the comics, and made for an enjoyable 2-hour show.

My favorite part of the film, by far, was Robert Downey, Jr.’s performance. He was very believable as a genius billionaire without a conscience, and his transformation into a superhero didn’t stretch the bounds of credibility all that much either. He was funny throughout, and seemed very comfortable in the role. Moreover, it was such a refreshing change to come across a superhero who embraces his role. Usually these guys are very reluctant to give up everything for the sake of their alter egos. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the film was the scene at the end when Stark just admits at the press conference that yes, he is Iron Man. How cool was that?

I also appreciated the fact that the storyline in Iron Man was pretty straightforward and easy to follow. The bad guys wanted to get their hands on Stark’s weapons so they could rule their little patch of the mountains. Stane was a traitor. No problem understanding any of that stuff!

Overall, I thought Iron Man was a very strong film from beginning to end. You don’t have to be a comic book fanboy to enjoy this one, so go out and see it in theaters. It’s definitely worth the price of admission, and I give it 8.0 stars out of 10!

Last night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy was called “Pieces of My Heart”, and featured the much-hyped return of Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery. Addison was one of my favorite characters on Grey’s before she left and I’ve been watching Private Practice just because of her, but I have to say that I was pretty disappointed with her appearance here. It’s as though the writers used her return as an excuse not to advance any of the main storylines, so I was bored for most of the ep.

Meredith/Derek: Their patient Philip (the same guy from last week who was attacked by a bear) is worsening, so they have to move up his surgery and experimental treatment. Derek tells Meredith not to get too hopeful or involved with the patient (who does he think she is, Izzie?) because the surgery probably won’t work. It doesn’t. Philip dies on the table, leaving both Meredith and Derek feeling a bit saddened by what happened. At least they’re able to work together without bringing up Rose or their failed relationship.

Addison/Callie/Hahn/Cristina: The reason Addison came back was to assist in a neonatal surgery for a baby whose heart is growing outside his body. Before performing the procedure, however, she has a chance to talk to everyone and get a general idea of how things are going at Seattle Grace. After seeing Callie and Hahn interacting, she asks Callie if she and Hahn are a couple now. Callie freaks and screams, “I’m a huge fan of penis!”, and then spends the rest of the ep acting awkward around Hahn before finally hooking up with Sloan again.

Meanwhile, Hahn still refuses to teach Cristina anything and continues to treat her like absolute dirt. Cristina gets in on the heart surgery, but is only allowed to do something minor before being told to step back. When she finally works up the nerve to confront Hahn, Hahn says that it’s not her job to teach or heap praise upon Cristina.

Izzie/George: George is now hanging out and partying with the rest of the interns, which makes Izzie jealous. She invites herself to a dart tournament they’re planning to have, but Lexie (speaking on behalf of everyone else) tells George to tell Izzie that she can’t come. After all, no one wants to go out with their boss after work. George does so, which upsets Izzie at first. But then she realizes that he needs some space, so she backs off.

This week Izzie dealt with an HIV-positive patient who got the news that she was pregnant. The woman wanted to schedule an abortion right away, but Izzie intervened and said that the woman should at least think about it. This causes the patient to fly off the handle. She accuses Izzie of meddling and demands another doctor. At first Izzie just meekly accepts this, but later she talks to the woman again, this time with some solid information. After hearing that there’s a 98% chance her baby will be HIV-negative, the woman decides not to terminate the pregnancy.

Alex/Ava: God, have I mentioned how much I absolutely HATE the Ava character??? Why does she keep coming back? Please, please, please get rid of her! She shows up this week to say that she’s pregnant. At first Alex doesn’t really care and is actually hostile, but after working on the baby in Addison’s case, he comes around. By the end of the ep, he even rubs Ava’s belly, which totally made me want to gag. Too bad Izzie found out that Ava is NOT pregnant after all.

My Reaction: There were a few funny moments in this ep, like the elevator scene in which Derek was surrounded by Meredith, Addison, and Rose before Mark walked in and just started cracking up, but for the most part, it felt like too much fluff. None of the storylines progressed at all. so I feel as though nothing is going on.

Derek and Rose have just had six dates. George and Izzie haven’t discussed their future. Hahn is still treating Cristina like dirt. Izzie still gets yelled at by patients for not doing what they want. How many times have we seen this before?

I swear to God, the presence of the Ava character on this show makes me want to turn my TV off for good. I know this is shallow, but I think the actress is not very attractive, so I have a hard time believing Karev would choose her over, say, Addison, Izzie, or even Lexie. I mean, come on! Plus, she just comes off as so needy and demanding that I can’t believe Alex hasn’t kicked her to the curb already.

Oh, and I have to say that in one of the closeups of Izzie smiling, I noticed that Katherine Heigl’s formerly stray tooth has been fixed! I Googled it, and sure enough, discovered that she used Invisalign to straighten out her teeth. She looks great!

Anyway, I don’t know how many eps are left in the season, but I hope some of the storylines from this year get resolved one way or the other before the summer hiatus. This is getting to be ridiculous.

Tonight’s episode (that’s right, tonight’s — I’m actually writing this on time!) of CSI was called “The Theory of Everything” and was one of those way out there plots that don’t really keep my attention on this show. Basically, several seemingly random deaths and murders end up all being connected together in some way, leading to a Grissom lecture about how there’s no such thing as coincidence.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The ep begins with Brass and Nick questioning an obviously intoxicated guy who is suspected of animal cruelty (for shooting a deer and then putting a cocktail dress on it). As Nick passes over a breathalyzer for the suspect to blow into, the guy bolts out of the interrogation room and plows through half a dozen officers in the halls in an attempt to escape. Finally, another officer is able to pull out his pepper spray, and on Brass’s command of, “Light ‘im up!”, sprays the suspect — who then bursts into flames and burns to death.

As Grissom and Nick try to recreate the scenario to find out where the flames came from, a homeless woman dressed in a tinfoil suit (who saw the whole thing go down) is run over by a truck driver after she carelssly dashed across the street. The unusual thing about her death was that she had green blood. Apparently, this was NOT because she was a Vulcan, but rather because she had a high concentration of sulfur in her bloodstream.

It doesn’t take long for Greg to find another dead homeless person. This time it’s a man, and he too has green blood seeping from a gaping head wound, making the previous case all the more puzzling.

Meanwhile, Catherine and Warrick are investigating the strange deaths of an older married couple who were found in their bed. The apparently died at the same time, though there was no sign of foul play or suicide. Catherine can’t believe that their hearts would give out at exactly the same time naturally, so they start questioning the neighbor, an obnoxious artist who doesn’t seem to care what happened. This wasn’t one of those artists who wear vegan shoes and tie-dye shirts and preach about peace and love. No, she was a welder who killed the old couple’s cat — and used to date the guy who went up in flames at the police station.

Anyway, the CSI team eventually figures out what happened to everyone, and none of the deaths turned out to be as unusual as they seemed at first glance.

My Reaction: As I said, this isn’t the kind of CSI episode that I like. It was far too quirky for my tastes, and really isn’t what I tune into this show for. I know the writers have given us similarly strange eps in the past (like the Halloween episode called The Chick Chop Flick Shop or whatever), so this isn’t a complete departure from form, but still. I don’t like it.

That being the case, I don’t really have much to say about the ep. It was fun to see Don Swayze acting like a crazy man in there, and I thought the green blood victims could have been interesting, but not much actually materialized from those cases. It’s almost as though the writers collected death ideas that weren’t strong enough to merit an entire episode, threw them together here, and then tried to justify it by adding the Theory of Everything tag.

Overall, I thought this episode was extremely boring, just like most of Season 8 has been for me. I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be buying this season on DVD anytime soon!

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see the new film Iron Man, which opens nationwide tomorrow. It features an all-star cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges, and is directed by Jon Favreau. Iron Man, which has already opened in a few other countries, currently boasts an 8.3 average user rating on IMDb.com (after 740+ votes) and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. You better believe I’ll be going to see it in the theater!

As I was checking for some more info on the film, I came across a sweepstakes tie-in that looks incredibly cool. It’s called Become Tony Stark for a Weekend, and will give one lucky winner a chance to experience L.A. like billionaire Tony Stark would. The prize package includes:

• First class airfare from anywhere in the 48 contiguous states to Los Angeles
• 3 nights at the Beverly Hills Hotel
• A helicopter tour of L.A.
• $1,000 to spend on Rodeo Drive
• Dinner and spa treatments

I can’t think of another movie promo that included a prize package worth this much, so I think you’ll agree that this is pretty amazing!

What do you have to do to enter? It’s easy. Simply visit the Official Contest Page, verify that you’re 18 or older, and submit a valid email address as well as your home phone number. The sweepstakes is sponsored by MTV, and they guarantee that they won’t use your info for anything other than to notify you if you win, so there’s nothing to worry about on that front.

Anyway, check out this quick video clip about the Become Tony Stark for a Weekend sweepstakes, and enter by May 12, 2008 for your chance to win!

BECOME TONY STARK FOR A WEEKEND

It would seem to be pure folly to base an entire movie on a cliché, especially one as constricting and limiting as “always a bridesmaid, never a bride”; but somehow 27 Dresses manages to rise above its banal basic premise to become a rather entertaining romantic comedy.

Yes, it is riddled with predictability, and yes, anyone who has ever seen a romantic comedy in the past will be able to foresee every single plot “twist” well before it comes up. However, thanks to strong performances by Katherine Heigl and James Marsden, the end result is not as bad as you might expect.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Heigl stars as Jane Nichols,a 20-something who has been looking forward to her wedding day since she was a little girl. Jane has plenty of experience with planning weddings, as she’s been a bridesmaid 27 times. However, she’s never been close to walking down the aisle as the bride — especially since her boss George (played by Edward Burns), the man she’s in love with, hasn’t noticed her years of pining for him.

One night, Jane juggles two simultaneous bridesmaid commitments by hiring a cab for the evening and shuttling back and forth between the two ceremonies, changing dresses on the ride. After being trampled during the bouquet-tossing portion of one ceremony, Jane catches the attention of Kevin Doyle (Marsden), a guest at the wedding. Doyle is a writer for the Commitments column of a major New York City Newspaper, one that carries a different byline (to ward off stalkers) and that Jane reads religiously. Kevin helps a woozy Jane back home, and then notices that she left her planner in the cab they shared. He picks it up and reads it.

When Kevin sees all of the weddings Jane must attend, he forms an idea for a story that will help get him off the Commitments page and covering real news. He’s going to write a feature about Jane, taking the angle that she must be a pretty pathetic person to be a bridesmaid 27 times. But as he’s researching the story, Kevin finds himself falling for Jane. Jane, too, feels a connection with Kevin, particularly since her sister Tess (Malin Akerman) came into town and “stole” George away.

The rest of the film then deals with Jane and Kevin’s blossoming relationship, the betrayal Jane feels after reading Kevin’s story about her, their ultimate reconciliation, and of course, their wedding when Jane finally gets to walk down the aisle as bride.

My Reaction: I know this wasn’t classic cinema or anything like that, but 27 Dresses was definitely entertaining enough to excuse the predictability factor that I mentioned above. All of the credit for this goes to Heigl and Marsden, who were not only good on their own, but also had tremendous onscreen chemistry as a couple — a crucial element that seems to be missing from a lot of rom-coms these days. After all, if viewers don’t believe the two main characters belong together, what’s the point?

I’ve been watching Heigl for four years as Izzie Stevens on Grey’s Anatomy, and have long felt that she’s one of the better actors on the show. Sure, her character is annoying as hell sometimes, but Heigl sells just about every scene she’s in, so she’s enjoyable to watch. I think she does a great job in romantic comedies as well (like this one and Knocked Up), and predict that she won’t last on GA for much longer, as she’ll likely make a full-time jump to the silver screen soon.

Anyway, Heigl was a terrific choice to play Jane Nichols, bringing a perfect balance of sincerity and romanticism to the part. She wasn’t cloying or overly sweet in her many onscreen defenses of love, marriage, and weddings, which is something that would have doomed the film for me.

I thought Marsden was excellent as Kevin Doyle, and feel that being a rom-com lead is right up his alley. I recently saw his work in 10th & Wolf, but had a hard time buying his portrayal of a Philly tough guy. He was much more genuine as the cynical writer with a romantic streak of his own in 27 Dresses. Plus, he’s funny and easy on the eyes, which is a great combination for these types of films.

Overall, 27 Dresses doesn’t have much of a plot going for it, but it definitely provides a fun time thanks to Heigl and Marsden’s work. I give the film 6.0 stars out of 10 and recommend that you check it out the next time you’re in the mood for some light entertainment.