Season 4 Premier
Producers, screenwriters and directors of Grey's Anatomy clearly felt some heat from the anticipation of the fourth season premier. At this point in the series, the old cast of interns are now residents in charge of educating more interns, forcing the familiar cast to create rough facades for their characters. While trying to balance this new duty with their emotionally challenged undersides, the mature disposition appears extremely contrived. Character's temperaments were either too hot or too cold. Izzie's decision to devote time to resuscitating a deer wasted her interns' and audience's time. Lexie Grey's character, fluffier than a marshmallow, relies on a constant deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes, detracting from any poignant reveations she might have made. Only Sandra Oh distinguishes herself from the rest of the cast in her ability to carry a dynamic character.
This episode continued the Grey's Anatomy tradition of featuring strange, fantastic medical challenges for the doctors to correct. However, a cute child requiring sympathy accompanied every case to rush into the hospital, exhausting the pathos card. The trademark floaty, emo music served as an almost distracting addition to the final scenes of the episode.
Paris, Je T'aime
There are more than 18 reasons to love Paris, Je T'aime, a movie comprised of 18 vignettes (one for each arrondissement of Paris) from an array of talented directors. An $8 ticket stub doesn’t seem so stiff when realizing that proceeds don’t contribute to mass marketing or contrived plots. The movie constantly challenges the theme of love, so often diluted by the cinema and advertised as a condition only between certain types of people without problems.
Scenes range from love between mimes to unreciprocated gay love to a teenage boy learning to properly court women. In "Tuileries," an American tourist glances at a girl across the metro tracks and receives a battering from her boyfriend in return. The situation calls for sympathy, but when the tourist realizes the girl has an STD, and the boyfriend scatters souvenir postcards on his victim, guilty laughter emerges. After a jolting 2-hour-long ride through the city of lights, the final vignette reinforces that love need not be returned by another individual to be cherished.
Not only is this movie innovative in concept, but the relaxing phonetic
characteristics of the French language highlight Paris’ romantic allure.
Whether it be confusion, shock,sorrow, or laughter, the peculiar emotions evoked from the culmination of each scene reflect the many facets of love. Overall, the movie excels in stirring up the contrasting emotions involved in racial, generational,cultural and linguistic buriers and love.
A welcome deviant from ABC's fall lineup of raunchy and shallow shows,
Pushing Daisies allures to the primetime TV audience with surreal and
bright scenery, though the quirk of the main character--turning people from dead to alive to dead again--follows the medical drama trend, only
in a less critical and serious manner. This fanciful premise presents a
more playful plot than the sadly realistic story lines of Desperate Housewives and Dirty, Sexy Money, for example. While the trailer tantalizes the viewer with colorful imagery, the question remains if the writing will follow through with a parallel tone.
"The Bean"
How does a remarkably simple blob of silver earn the fascination of
tourists and the designation of a nouveau Chicago landmark? While it lacks
the technological touch, it is nevertheless a ersonal and interactive experience.
Once the explosive size of "The Bean" is acknowledged, the reflective
property must be dwelled on. It shows the visitor collaged against the fantastic Chicago skyline, though this
tourist may be more mentally and emotionally removed from it than Britney Spears from her kids.
The bean makes hours of exploration possible, though it relies entirely on its visitors for its success. Moving and meandering to stretch and skew one's body, the
distorted figures provide amusement even when Chicago winds render faces raw.
A Year In The Merde
Stephen Clarke
Approximately half of this novel is spent in the merde (that is, by the way, a more vulgar term for "poo" in French) of character Paul West's romantic life. While West's portrayal of the French is humorous, witty, and at times downright irreverent, his objectification of women is somewhat offputting. What audience is expected to read this book? Author Stephen Clarke may have qualified for a passport to visit France, but his extensive female putdowns are unauthorized.
Tension among coworkers, especially the conflicts created by linguistic misunderstandings, and analyses of the French lifestyle raise eyebrows and cause smirks. Unfortunately, West's keen eye renders the reader ready for any scenario to arise, therefore causing the book to rely on ephemeral moments of humor and insightfulness. His overall pessimism causes a disparity in perspective and reality, eventually leading to a monotonous mound of merde. Perhaps Clarke's sequels will persevere.
Wikipedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/34/Merde_.jpg/200px-Merde_.jpg
Accessed on October 2, 2007
Pita Pete's Healthy Eats
An Evanston restaurant serving healthy, hearty meals with a sense of humor. Equate it with a calorie-reduced version of Chipotle. The expansive selection of of fillings, from Chicken Gyro to Philly Cheese Steak to Falafel, offer something to please even the pickiest eaters, and homemade pitas and hummus uphold their devotion to fresh, healthy fare. A variety of fillings feed in to the "have it your way" fast food fad (which is certainly one of the better fads out there). Reasonably priced and and served efficiently, Pita Pete's has the quality to
persist among the many gastronomic choices in Evanston.
HairsprayA majority of modern musical movies identify as a cheesy, weak attempts to bring
theatre mainstream. Ironically, Hairspray's slapstick comedy, outrageous wigs and flamboyant choreography unite to produce what will be aired on TV for years and years to come, succeeding in becoming a musical classic.
The corny nature of the film induces laughter while dealing with the touchy subject of racial bias in the 1960's. Audiences composed of both blacks and whites laugh at comments that could stir racial tension, uniting a theatre of unsuspecting viewers.
Harvey Fierstein's original interpretation of Edna Turnblad would have boosted the film's appeal to hardcore theatre followers. Casting newcomer Nikki Blonsky as lead girl Tracy Turnblad proved to be a strong choice. Her energy shines through and her voice incorporates character, but not to a bothersome extent. Zac Effron's vocal skills and charming persona personify Link Larkin spot-on, but the name appeal of Amanda Bynes fails to recover for her poor singing. On the other hand, the producers of the movie didn't attempt to turn Bynes into a virtuoso, which would have been more unbelievable than Travolta's fat suit.
The real clincher: though Hairspray carries a PG rating, those looking for more mature innuendo will find it hidden in the screenplay.
From Under The Cork TreeFall Out Boy
For being categorized under the "Alternative Rock" genre, Fall Out Boy falls short of some musical enthusiasts/snobs.
However, the long song titles and catchy rhythms appeal to a broader audience.
Completely random (and usually incomprehensible) lyrics present a detached listener-singer relationship. Though the listener can't personally relate to any of the lyrics, it makes for thought-free listening pleasure. Lead singer Patrick Stump's voice is neither too nasal nor
"100 Homicides cry out for protests"
Regina Brett
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Sept. 28 2007
Regina Brett's column in the PD's Metro section retains the explicit
style of the News section, but simply forms it around one subjective
element. Contrasting the overwhelming support of Clevelanders in the
Jena Six controversy versus the brittle backup for black homicides in
their hometown, Brett fails to crumble a strong racial divider. She
encourages the Cleveland community as a whole to stop homicide, but
really aims to focus on the African-American community. The problem is that her
article is written from the withdrawn standpoint of a white woman,
positioning her as an outsider. Brett elucidates the desensitized
feelings towards of death, but it is still evident that, for black
Clevelanders, raging attitudes towards racial injustice and inequality
prevail.
This article can be found at http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion-0/1190971799108200.xml&coll=2
"I just don't want to end up like Katie Couric.
I want people to take me seriously."
Rachel Smith, Miss USA, on her journalistic aspirations.
Couric's spokesman said that if Smith "continues to offer such profound insight, she will not have to worry about anyone taking her seriously."
Time Magazine, October 8, 2007
Though Miss South Carolina completely butchered her response as to why American children can't locate the United States on a map, Rachel Smith made her remark outside of the intense pageant atmosphere, contributing to the dumb-pageant-girl stigma. Her position as such hardlygives her authority to judge the career of someone outside of her field.
The word "seriously" misinterprets the reason for Couric's slightly disappointing performance as an evening news correspondent. As if her remark wasn't already diluted and uninformed, criticizing a leading figure for feminist frontiers in the media won't earn Smith any fans or advantages.
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