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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
FLICK PICKS
By Matt Soergel
Morris News Service
THE ANT ' BULLY
3 stars: There are many
imaginative visual jokes
packed into this fine, excit
ing children’s story about a
boy shrunk down to the size
of an ant. Rousing adventure
and narrow escapes await
him. Lessons are learned
too although they aren’t
crammed down our throats.
PG.
SCOOP 3 stars: Woody
Allen’s remaining fans should
enjoy his latest, a breezy
comedy set in London, where
student journalist Scarlett
Johansson goes investigating
a charming rich guy (Hugh
Jackman) who may just be a
serial killer. Allen is a bum
bling magician who poses as
her dad. PG-13.
A SCANNER DARKLY
3 stars: Richard Linklater
adapts Philip K. Dick’s
paranoid novel of a drug
addicted future, animating
his actors (Keanu Reeves,
Robert Downey Jr. and
Woody Harrelson, among
others) to make a moving
painting. Adventurous types
only should apply. R.
MONSTER HOUSE 3
stars: Three kids check out
the malignant and haunted
house across the road in this
computer-animated story.
Children with chills on their
mind should love it, though
it’s so scary it could send
others ducking under their
seats. PG.
CLERKS II 3 stars:
The aging guys from Kevin
Smith’s 1994 indie smash
are back, still engaging in
ear-blisteringly raunchy con
versation and hilarious pop
culture commentating. It’s
more sentimental than the
original, with an honest-to
goodness romance (thanks
to radiant Rosario Dawson).
But the good news for fans:
It’s still plenty juvenile. R.
LADY IN THE WATER 2
stars: M. Night Shyamalan’s
newest is one of the nutti
est movies you’ll ever see,
though it’s funnier and more
watchable than you might
think c even as the story,
about a strange woman from
a parallel world, spins way
out of control. Has a couple
of horror jolts, but it’s chief
ly a mystical and earnest
fairy tale.
PG-13.
PIRATES OF THE
CARIBBEAN: DEAD
MAN’S CHEST 2 stars:
There’s one scene, featur
ing Johnny Depp as a giant
shish kebab, that’s a zesty
chunk of comic genius. The
rest of the movie? You do
get your money’s worth of
motley pirates, sea monsters
and duels, but it’s overdone
- way too long, too frantic,
too dark and nowhere near
as charming or funny as that
wonderful first one. PG-13.
YOU, ME AND DUPREE
1 1/2 stars: Owen Wilson is
amusing in spots in this good
natured comedy, playing a
roommate who won’t leave
the home of his newlywed
friends (bland Matt Dillon
and Kate Hudson). But the
humor never catches fire -
- it keeps getting doused by
goopy sentimentality, com
plete with sensitive acoustic
guitars on the soundtrack.
It’s no Wedding Crashers,
that’s for sure. PG-13.
SUPERMAN RETURNS
3 1/2 stars: Planes fall from
the sky, fire comes up from
below and a very bad man
attacks the planet. Brandon
Routh plays the most power
ful character in movie his
tory with a casual freedom,
serious and intense with
out being angry. (Robert
McGinty, The Times- Union)
PG-13.
CLICK 3 stars: You’ll get
plenty of everything Adam
Sandler is known for, but
you’ll also find a heartwarm
ing lesson about priorities.
(Erin Trauth, The Times-
Union) PG-13.
CARS 2 1/2 stars: The
visuals are beyond gorgeous,
the movie’s generally upbeat
and the scenes over the end
ing credits are a blast. But
the story and characters are
bland, the humor often mis
fires and the film drags on
for too long. It’s a service
able family film, but we’ve
come to expect much more
than that from the happy
geniuses at Pixar. G.
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Actor Will Ferrell, left, and actress Leslie Bibb.
’Talladega’ slapdash but funny in spots
By MATT SOERGEL
Morris News Service
Will Ferrell’s newNASCAR
comedy isn’t as funny as his
Anchorman, but you still
have to like any movie in
which one of the characters
brags about his wedding:
“We had a Styx cover band
and a nacho fountain.”
Or one that begins with a
hitherto unknown Eleanor
Roosevelt quote, circa 1936:
“America is all about speed.
Hot, nasty, bad-ass speed.”
Or one that features two
hellion sons named Walker
and Texas Ranger.
“(ID we wanted us some
wusses, we woulda named
“Dr. Quinn and Medicine
Woman,” their mother rea
sons, not unreasonably.
Talladega Nights: The
Ballad of Ricky Bobby is
chock full of such nuggets,
along with the big absurdist
streak that goes with the
territory when you allow
Ferrell to run all over it
in his big white bunhugger
undies.
Poking great fun at
America’s NASCAR-lov
ing population, specifically
those of the Southern vari
ety, Talladega Nights often
feels like little more than
Making smart teen comedy tough, but not impossible
By STEVEN UHLES
Morris News Service
Teen comedy is easy.
Pepper a simple story say
boy-meets-girl or underdog
achieves success - with ran
dom scatological references
and an occasional incident
of unexpected nudity, then
watch the box office blos
som.
Making a smart teen com
edy is a different story. Sure,
the requisites of drugs, sex
and rock ‘n’ roll might still
be incorporated, but they
represent the spice, not the
substance, of the film.
Whether it’s the girl power
of Gidget or the overplayed
underwear dance of Risky
Business, the best teen
moments are unearthed
when a filmmaker finds a
way to channel the exuber
ance we all feel as we move
into adulthood.
Here are a few favorites:
BETTER OFF
DEAD (1985)
Were teen angst and
anxiety allowed to esca
late unfettered, the result
might be Lane Meyer,
John Cusack’s quirky take
on a young man in exis
tential crisis. In true teen
comedy fashion, our hero
discovers that he is not
better off dead. It takes a
classic Chevrolet Camaro,
a lovely French exchange
student and some heroic
skiing to drive that point
home.
ENTERTAINMENT
TALLADEGA NIGHTS
■ Tut BmiAß Of mcKr Bobby
At A Glance
Talladega Nights:
The Legend of Ricky
Bobby
3 stars out of 4
Who’s it for? It isn’t
great, but Will Ferrell’s
fans will laugh; all others
should skip this ride.
Credits: Starring Will
Ferrell, ‘ Sacha Baron
Cohen, Gary Cole and
John C. Reilly. Directed
by Adam McKay.
Running time: 1 hour,
47 minutes.
Family guide: PG-13.
Some crude humor, pro
fanity, comic violence.
an extended riff on the You
Might Be a Redneck If rou
tine. But that’s fine: It’s
worked for Jeff Foxworthy
for umpteen years, after
all.
Ferrell is Ricky Bobby,
a NASCAR legend and
“big, hairy American win
nin’ machine.” He’s got it
all: A McMansion, a close
relationship with the baby
Jesus, a bunch of com
mercial endorsements and
REEL RELEASES
FERRIS
BUELLER’S
DAY OFF
(1986)
Smart, suave and lucky
with the ladies, Ferris
Bueller (Matthew Broderick)
is the kid a generation of
men wanted to be and a
generation of women, well,
you get the idea. Although
an almost constant cable
presence has robbed this
charming film of much of its
power, it remains an enter
taining, innovative teen
comedy.
ORANGE
COUNTY
(2002)
This film is both a clas
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both a loyal best buddy/
fellow racer and a blond
trophy wife (John C. Reilly
and Leslie Bibb, both very
funny).
But then - cue the dis
cordant jazz on the juke
box down at the bar - he
encounters his nemesis:
Jean Girard (Sacha Baron
Cohen, a.k.a. Ali G) a French
“Formule Une” driver spon
sored by Perrier.
Ricky Bobby and his good
ol’ boy posse don’t know
what to make of Jean and
his tortured accent (“Did
you eat some peanut but
ter or something?” says a
puzzled Reilly). Besides, he
drinks little cups of mac
chiato, reads Camus and
listens to classical music -
while racing. He hangs out
with groovy hipsters Elvis
Costello and Mos Def.
And he has a loving hus
band named Gregory (Andy
Richter), with whom he
raises horses who, we’re
told, are also gay.
Ricky Bobby’s long run at
No. 1 is clearly doomed.
While Ferrell is combining
once again with Anchorman
director Adam McKay,
Talladega Nights isn’t as
satisfying as that movie. Its
sic coming-of-age tale and
a ruthless satire of callow
California lifestyles. Colin
Hanks stars as a young
scholar who has pinned his
existence on studying with
a famous writer at Stanford
University. Jack Black
appears as his pharmaceuti
cally enhanced sibling.
FAST
TIMES AT
RIDGEMONT
HIGH (1982)
Based on writer Cameron
Crowe’s experiences posing
as a California high school
student for a Rolling Stone
story, this film is less a tra
ditional narrative than a
surprisingly cohesive snap
shot of a particular time,
Sony Pictures
targets are more obvious.
It’s not as quotable. And it’s
pretty slapdash - many of
the scenes were improvised,
and they often come to
sudden stops before lurch
ing on to another setting.
Think of it as dozens of
little sketches, loosely con
nected, with some going on
way too long.
In fact, it all feels loose:
Many of the highlights fea
tured in the trailers didn’t
even make it into the fin
ished movie, which seems as
if it was all made up at the
last minute (it does promise
an extended DVD version,
however).
Still, many of the film’s
sketches are .worth a look:
Ricky Bobby’s downfall and
subsequent comeback have
some amusing moments,
especially when he’s given
unconventional help from
his absentee hillbilly father
(Gary Cole). Along the way,
it parodies feel-good sports
movies, subverting their
sentimentality at every
turn.
That joke about Tawny
Kitaen and the Whitesnake
video’s not bad, either.
place and collection of young
characters struggling to find
their place in the world.
Sean Penn’s star-making
performance as the stoned
surfer Jeff Spicoli always
makes me wonder why
the earnest actor doesn’t
attempt more comedy.
DROP DEAD
GORGEOUS
(1999)
This black-hearted - but
very funny mockumen
tary stars Kristen Dunst as
a would-be Diane Sawyer
wanting to leave her low
income existence behind her
with the help of the Sarah
Rose Miss Teen Princess
Pageant. To her dismay, the
competition for sash and
tiara becomes so pitched
that competitors actually
begin to, well, drop dead.
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WEB WATCH
By Rich Ray
Morris News Service
TV Squad
Want to know about
promising new shows
scheduled for the upcom
ing TV season? Looking
for a few nuggets in the
dismal summer TV view
ing landscape? TV Squad
bloggers and contribu
tors provide insider tips,
rumors, opinions, behind
the-scenes information
and TV-oriented infor
mation here. Click to the
weekly contribution titled
Spoilers Anonymous for
dirt about some of the
more popular shows on
the air. Recent TV Squad
headlines include “Mel
Gibson has played an
L.A. cop before,” “Regis
Philbin’s plan for world
domination put on hold”
and “Vanity Fair article to
document Spelling’s last
days.”
www.tvsquad.com
Games, etc.
If you’re looking for
puzzles, riddles, brain
teasers, games or opti
cal illusions, you’ll want
to visit Brainßashers.
com. Find crossword
puzzles, stereograms, jig
saw puzzles and Sudoku,
plus classic games such
as backgammon, chess
and solitaire. Puzzle fans
will revel in the array of
offerings, from math and
language puzzles to cryp
tograms and “gotchas,”
where there’s some sort
of trick to finding the cor
rect answer. Make sure to
check out arcade games
such as Pong, Asteroids
and Snake Jump.
www.brainbashers.com
Hybrid Cars.
com
As fuel costs continue
to increase, more of us
are seriously consider
ing hybrid cars. Part Web
journal, part online com
munity and part market
research organization,
this site shares informa
tion about hybrid cars and
their impact. Scroll down
the home page to the Gas
Pump Scoreboard, which
compares current prices
in different areas of the
country to prices from the
past week and a year ago.
www.hybridcars.com
JumpTheSharfe.
com
Remember the moment
your favorite TV show
reached its peak? The
moment where you knew
it’d be all downhill from
that point forward?
That’s what site creators
here have deemed to be
the “Jump the Shark”
moment. Vote for the best
Jump the Shark moment
from your favorite show,
review those posted for
current and past shows,
review top vote getters,
and more.
www.jumptheshark.com
Going gourmet
Promoted as “The gour
met food and cooking
resource,” the goal here is
to help inform and educate
people interested in food,
cooking and eating. The
Gourmet Sleuth offers a
hefty serving of culinary
articles on various foods
and cooking topics. Find
recipes that take a “how
to” approach to food prep
aration and search the
database of food and bev
erage-related sites, www.
gourmetsleuth.com
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