I'm Not There

She Said:

If you are a Bob Dylan aficionado and know every album, song, rumor, quote of Bob Dylan, you will probably thoroughly enjoy this movie. You will enjoy finding all the associations to Dylan-esque things and following the "plot" along with his "life." If you are are a Bob Dylan fan and enjoy his music and know a little bit about him, you may enjoy this movie. I am a fan BUT much more of a traditionalist when it comes to movie storytelling. This movie is not a bio-pic. This is an abstract compilation of very good actors doing some very good acting with ALMOST no transitional relation to each other.

There is no beginning, middle, or end. However there is somewhat of a conflict resolution which could be seen as an "end." Stylistically, it kinda sucked. Jumping back and forth from grainy black and white, to High Def. black and white. I'm not talking about sequences here either, I'm talking shot for shot back and forth in one of the opening scenes. Almost all of the outdoor shots had terrible color as well. Also it pissed me off that the last shot of the film is Bob Dylan playing the harmonica with a looooong fade to black. What does that have anything to do with anything related to the actual film itself?? Um, I didn't realize this was a tribute to Bob Dylan--did he die? no. is he done with music forever, no? Is he still writing, touring, and his normal shenanigans? YES.

Overall, it was a good concept that I personally think the director/writer/baby daddy over did in some areas and thoroughly lacked in others. It seemed to me he tried too hard to show/present too much and didn't do it well enough. The music was the best part and is why I think this would make a wonderful play. Having it on stage would make it more bare bones and get the viewer more involved. It would also prevent the director from overindulging TOO much and hopefully minimize the pretentiousness.

Also, there was WAY TOO LITTLE Christian Bale on the screen. If you're going put Christian Bale in a movie, f*king use him for all he is WORTH artistically. RARR!!!



He Said:

I agree with HER. I cannot dissect and analyze this movie nearly as well as SHE already did. I consider myself a pretty big fan of Dylan and I do know a decent amount of information about him and know a good amount of his songs. That said, I still found myself lost at times in the movie. All the jumping in and out of the "lives" of Dylan was ultimately too much for me to handle. I too loved the concept of it but the director/writer/obsessive Dylan fan was far too ambiguous and ambitious with this film. I have even seen Don't Look Back a couple times and still was unable to connect all of the Dylanisms. My first thought when the movie opened with the scenic forest/countryside was...Shit, did the movie theater F*ck up the projector? The color was horrible and made my head spin. The end of the movie really confused me as well. I thought the film ended with a motorcycle crash but then dragged on for an unfortunate 15 more minutes. I was saddened walking out of the theater. I really, really wanted to enjoy it but was mixed in my emotions that I found very little to like. My recommendation is to wait until it comes out on DVD and watch Don't Look Back a few times first, then listen to Dylans first album "Bob Dylan" and the subsequent albums until Blood on the Tracks. THEN watch I'm Not There like 3 times, you then might fully understand the movie. However, I don't think I am going to go through that trouble to unlock the mystery of this movie. Dylan is mysterious enough as is, I don't need this movie to beat a dead horse.

The Amazing Race

She Said:

I have watched 3 non-consecutive seasons of The Amazing Race. Every year at the Emmy's I am not shocked that The Amazing Race wins best competitive reality show EACH YEAR. This show is awesome. It's a great game--a competition around the world. As VIEWERS, we learn about cultures, we learn about relationships between the teammates, we might even learn about ourselves and how we communicate with others or how our behaviors may be viewed or judged by others. This show is ultimate entertainment. "I can do that" is OFTEN spouted from viewers of The Race. These stunts, (Road Blocks, Detours) are tasks that are common in this part of the world and the teams need to complete them. They also need to use the modes of travel that the residents of these countries use. Not to mention NO GPS system and Language barriers!!

This show , to me, is the ultimate test of compatibility, endurance and mental & physical strength. Also, there are 11 teams. That is 22 contestants that we get to know and learn and watch them at their truest most completive selves. It's just the best! The last time I watched this show was when the hippies won. I was rooting for the hippies from day ONE. Without them, I may have lost hope as the AMAZING RACE FAMILY, the previous season, was a great CONCEPT, but honestly was not as exciting or competitive as any other seasons.

With the GOTHS, SIBLINGS, BLONDES, and really badly paired couples who REALLY need to break up, this season looks good so far!!! Not to mention the over-bearing father/daughter team or the grandpa/teenager teams. I'm going to have to go with the Brother/Sister team of Azaria and Hendekea. They are intelligent, competitive, and most importantly--focused and not catty.

I'm so excited for next Sunday to relax and spend the last bit of my weekend with Phil Keogan around the world! :)



He Said:

I have also watched the Amazing Race for 3 non-consecutive seasons. This is a fun show to watch because we all THINK we can easily beat the other teams. I remember back in college my buddy and I would often say that we would dominate the field. We were going to make a tape and send it in but we were held back because I was not yet 21. Why did we think we could win? Well...we were both ultra-competitive, intelligent and knew we could push ourselves mentally and physically. My buddy was great with directions(my downfall) and I am a quick learner who would be able to adapt to the different cultures and be able to set up a strategy for us. Anyway, by the time I was 21 it was senior year and we were getting ready for graduation so that dream kind of fell apart. Who knows maybe I will try to get on in the future...

The RACE is usually filled with a very diverse group of contestants and ALWAYS brings out the worst in people. Probably because of the limits they push(mentally and physically). There really aren't too many people who have those two attributes perfectly balanced. This season I too saw something in the brother-sister team that made them obvious favorites. For some reason I root more for others to fail than for people to win. I think it's just the part of me that feels I could win with my team if I got on. This season has been pretty entertaining so far so keep watching and rooting for your team to win or fail!

American Gangster

She Said:

American Gangster opens and closes with the same imagery--a large steel door opening or closing. This door leads us into the life of Frank Lucas, and then at the end opens to let Frank Lucas back into the word while leading us out. He served his time--is his slate wiped clean? Will that same story repeat it self once he is released from jail?

For those of us who know its a true story and look things up on the internet--we know what will happen. But the film does not go there--it lets you decide what YOU want Franks life to end up as.

Frank Lucas, as played by Denzel Washington, is a cool, down to earth, intelligent gangster. His calm demeanor and non-threatening appearance makes him different than any other gangster or black man in Harlem during this time period in the film. Denzel is EXCELLENT as always and I believe he IS Frank Lucas. As for Russell Crow's character, whose time on screen was equal or more than Denzel's, Richie Roberts was a "honest" cop who is really trying to connect with the audience. I thought Russell Crow did a pretty good job acting, but I certainly did not connect with his character and I am one extremely empathetic film viewer. As for Josh Brolin (who I didn't even know was in it) he was scary and hot and sexy at the same time per usual.

This was a good movie, not a fantastic movie, but a good one. It was pushing 3 hours, but I bet the original cut was much longer--they pushed A LOT of information and characters and plot development into those 2 hours and 45 minutes. The BEST part in my opinion of those minutes were the shots and scenes of the drug addicts who were addicted to Frank Lucas' product, Blue Magic. Being a gangster and doing drugs seems so glamorous in most movies. We see Frank Lucas and his multi-million dollar dynasty--and the next SHOT we see is the junkies who are buying this 100 % pure heroin product, becoming addicted and OD'ing. We see the injections, we see the dead bodies, we see the blood and bodily fluids that come out of their bodies. It was pretty intense.

We also get some pretty graphic violence, mainly shootings. There isn't much sex, but there are naked ladies chopping up the heroin. This is not really a couples movie, unless the girl doesn't mind strong violence and drug use--there is not much BLATANT degradation of women so that is always good.





He said:



I thought this movie was really good. I guess I was expecting it to be great but I wouldn't say it disappointed me at all. Denzel played Frank Lucas, an innovative, intelligent and hardened gangster. I too did not connect with Russell Crowe's character. There was just something about him that didn't make him that appealing. Now to sum up the movie without spoiling it for you. It was based on a true story about Frank Lucas, who became the biggest heroin dealer in New York and maybe the U.S. in the late 60s-early 70s. We see him rise to the top and then see it all topple down in an instant. The movie had some pretty graphic drug-use scenes and some graphic violence as well. I don't think it really pushed the limit though (not saying it should have either). Denzel pulled off another stellar performance and though it ran fairly long, it got the job done, at least in my eyes. I would recommend you see this movie, maybe not on a date but at least when it comes out on DVD.

The Contender and The Ultimate Fighter

The Contender:


He Said:

Well Tuesday was the finale and it was the best Contender fight EVER and maybe one of the fights of the year. Sakio knocked Jaedon down about 20-30 seconds into the 1st round but Jaedon came right back less than 1 minute later and caught Sakio with a vicious upper cut and dropped him. The rest of the round was a total slugfest. This proceded into the next 8 rounds and into the 9Th, until Jaedon lost his legs and ultimately succumbed to Sakio's power and aggression. The fight ended with a TKO after Jaedon couldn't defend himself and was out on his feet. This was a great season and probably my favorite thus far. Looking forward I don't really see Sakio going much further because age and his wide and wild punches are working against him. However, I see Jaedon becoming a real contender in the coming years. He has great technique and is very explosive. I think under the right trainer and tutelage he can make it to a title fight.

She Said:

Although there was no slow motion or music scored to the fight, I did enjoy the finale of The Contender. I liked the way it was going back and forth and back and forth and of course HE had a lot of commentary to do. I did not like how they kept showing Jaedon's girlfriend and her deodorant ridden arm pits. Just show the fight dammit! I also loved Sugar Ray and his cute scarf--that man is a doll!



The Ultimate Fighter:



Tommy Speer V. Jon Kopenhaver(War Machine)



I knew this was going to be an explosive fight. Mathing up a great wrestler with an all around Lion's Den fighter. We got to look more into these two guys heads going into the fight. Both dudes are kind of out there. Tommy is kind of that robotic, emotionless fighter who you really can't get a read on what is going through his mind sometimes. War Machine is...as Matt Serra said.."Ah..uh...he..well...ah..I don..hmmm....he is just kind of a nutso." War is the classic fighter who has the physical tools to make it far but can't keep his own mental state stable. From we got on the show, he has had a really rough life and has nobody that is "waiting" for him. Tommy is a farm boy from MN. When the bell rang War came out swingin' and caught Tommy right in between the eyes and opened him up right away. He then shot in with the double(leg) take down and was able to get his hooks in. Most of us who are somewhat versed in the MMA game knows that the majority of wrestlers who wind up on their backs are very uncomfortable. We definitely saw that with Tommy, he was struggling and eventually gave up his back. War locked in the rear naked and just couldn't get off the fence to straighten him out. War tried everything to get him to tapout but ultimately, in his own words "blew his wad" trying to get the choke. After War got tired Tommy reversed the mount and pounded War for the next 2 min. 30secs. Tommy won the round with the vicious ground and pound. Round 2 started with War leading in with a weak leg kick and Tommy shot in with the single, getting him to the mat and then ground and pound the rest of the round. It was a good fight but Tommy had the better conditioning and overpowered War on the mat. I just hope that War is able to keep his head straight and take the loss with a grain of salt because it could have easily gone the other way. I think more ring experience would really make a big difference with him. That was fight 8 and next week we start the semi-finals. Serra leads 6-2 and has complete control of the Semis. I'm very excited because with only 8 fighters left we are now able to get a better look at what the final will look like. I am going to go with my gut and say Mac Danzig will fight George Sarotopolous in the final. Both guys are the most well-rounded and seem to have the right attitude and drive to make it all the way. Who really knows though? This is an explosive sport and even less predictative than all other sports. Everybody has a punchers chance. Just look at coach Serra who knocked off the seemingly unbeatable Georges St. Pierre. The rest of the season looks to be very entertaining so KEEP WATCHING! Weds. at 10:00PM EST on Spike TV.

House, M.D.

She Said:

There are tons of "hospital shows" out there--E.R. is the oldest and most respected, Scrubs is the funniest and least hospital-esque, Grey's Anatomy is somewhere in the middle. Then there is HOUSE. It doesn't seem to fit in does it? it's not REALLY a hospital show--even though it takes place in a hospital, in the Diagnostics Department and only has doctors as main characters. The key word there is characters. HOUSE is the only character driven hospital show out there. Hugh Laurie, the Brit who plays Dr. Gregory House, is absolutely brilliant in his portrayal. The writing is also impeccable and you have to be somewhat intelligent to watch the show--otherwise you miss half the jokes. The tone, the set up and delivery--everything in this show is great. It always starts with the patient--who is the patient and what happens to them to get them House. There again--character driven. The reality factor is a bit slighted because everyone who goes to see Dr. House has some crazy-ass diseases or something simple that no one can figure out, except House. This season is better than last because we have all these new characters vying for a spot on House's team (both on and off screen). House's former team is now split up in the hospital yet all on the show--last season was getting very old as these three supporting actors were not holding their own next to house. The romance between the real life engaged couple had NO chemistry---maybe thats why they are no longer engaged. House, in my opinion, is also the BEST show on FOX. And yes, that definitely counts American Idol, too!

He Said:

I'll spare you guys the background on HOUSE. SHE pretty much covered it already. I do agree that House is the best show on FOX right now. I was a huge Prison Break fan but the past 2 seasons were sub-par and often times boring. I finally decided to stop watching, as it was not able to keep my attention and seemed to take the route of LOST(the writers had to come up with anything to keep it going). I was a fan of 24 until last season. I saw a couple shows and again, lack of creativity from the writers. Soooo....House is excellent because it keeps me very interested in the development of the mysterious illness or disease that is afflicting the patient but also blends in witty humor that makes me LOL. I think this season really kicks a** with the whole game House is playing to get his new team. I'm hoping that the hottie and Kal Penn will be part of the team but really it's such a tough call because I can't see who the best chemistry would be with at this point. Hugh Laurie(House) is really a one of a kind and is my favorite character on TV. Let's see how this season unfolds and which characters make it to the end of House's own twisted reality show.