November 20th, 2009 by admin

One of the more popular “reality” dramas on prime time TV, ER follows the lives of several of emergency room doctors and staff personal working a bustling Chicago ER. The makes a concerted effort to reveal the true details of the inner-workings of an emergency room. From the high point of saving lives to the boring minutae of paperwork, the highs and lows of hospital ER work are examined. The initial years see several characters appearing regularly. Among them are doctors Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), Douglas Ross (George Clooney), and Susan Lewis (Sherri Stringfield); Lead Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) and resident intern John Carter (Noah Wyle)… Read the rest of this entry »

November 18th, 2009 by admin

This Christmas, discover your inner elf… At least, that’s the tagline for Elf, one of the funniest films of 2003. Packed with a cast of Hollywood all-star talent, Elf is guaranteed to make you laugh. The touching story about an adopted elf who discovers he’s really a boy is sort of a bizzaro-Pinocchio story that opened to such widespread critical acclaim that it unanimously swept zero Oscars at the 2004 Academy Awards ceremony! Nevertheless, Elf is worth the price of admission. Although Christmas Vacation still holds the title as the top Christmas comedy, Elf is still a great night’s entertainment…

Buddy (Will Ferrell) is an oversized elf working away at the North Pole. Always wearing a smile, he dwarfs his comrades and never seems able to find his niche in the toy-making arena. Eventually, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) is forced to reveal the truth to Buddy. He’s actually a human. He’s not really an elf at all. The elves love buddy just the same, but Buddy feels the need to strike out on his own and try to find himself – and maybe even his family too…

Scouring the streets of New York City, Buddy must learn the urban rules of life. In due time, he manages to track down his biological father, a successful publishing executive named Walter (James Caan). But despite the prodding of his wife Emily (Mary Steenburgen), Walter is reluctant to start a relationship with the over-eager grown-up child…

In the meantime, Buddy spends his days working at Gimbel’s department store where he stars as a department store Santa’s elf and a Christmas season decorator, creating a magical wonderland that thrills customers and employees alike. Striking up a relationship with fellow employee Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), Buddy’s life is slowly transitioning from elf to human… But will he be able to survive in the big city? Will he be able to rekindle a relationship with his father? Elf thoroughly entertains us while we find out…

With a great cast of writers, Elf manages to keep the laughs rolling throughout the entirety of the film. Although lacking in some areas (it’s not one of the greatest comedies of all-time), Elf is a hilarious movie in its own right. Will Ferrell turns in an amazing performance as Buddy. Like Tom Hanks in Big, he’s actually believable as the innocent man-child roaming the streets of New York City. It’s this farcical innocence that provides Elf with the charm necessary to keep the audience involved in the story beginning to end. Because of its laugh factor, and the surprisingly small number of decent Christmas-themed movies, Elf is a definite must-see film… Check it out this Christmas!

October 4th, 2009 by admin

Nominated for six Academy Awards, and winner of Best Picture, Crash is more than deserving of the critical acclaim surrounding its release. Probing the deepest recesses of racism, prejudice, and discrimination in modern day America, the film forces viewers to examine their own tendencies to create and foster stereotypes. More importantly, it does so in a way that doesn’t accuse, blame, or pursue a political agenda. In fact, Crash even touches on the shortcomings of political correctness and how some people have allowed outside perceptions to affect personal judgment, often to their own detriment. Written and directed by Paul Haggis, author of the Million Dollar Baby screenplay, Crash is a thoughtful piece of social commentary wrapped in a storyline ripe with conflict and suspense.
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October 1st, 2009 by admin

Nominated for 16 Emmys and 4 Golden Globes, Coach delighted fans of all ages during its celebrated nine-season run. One of the most underrated sitcoms of its era, the series covers the exploits of fictional Minnesota State Screaming Eagles college football coach Hayden Fox (Craig T. Nelson), the quintessential male chauvinist pig. But unlike many of his politically-incorrect brethren, Hayden has a heart of gold. It’s this softer side that appeals to successful anchorwoman and girlfriend Christine Armstrong (Shelley Fabares). In the locker room, Hayden is joined by assistant coaches Luther Van Dam (Jerry Van Dyke) and Dauber Dybinski (Bill Fagerbakke), the perfect compliments to the coach’s oftentimes sketchy logic. Between his estranged daughter Kelly (Clare Carey), her less-than-manly boyfriend Stuart (Kris Kamm), nagging athletic director Howard Burleigh (Kenneth Kimmins), and ladies basketball coach Judy Watkins (Pam Stone), Hayden is always dispensing sarcasm, trading barbs, or being aggravated by someone.
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September 30th, 2009 by admin

Based on the best-selling John Grisham novel titled Skipping Christmas, Christmas With The Kranks resembles the book in almost every facet save for the title. Starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, Christmas With The Kranks is an instant Christmas holiday classic. Although not in the same league of Yule tide comedy gems Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story, this film ranks high on my list of holiday laughers. The supporting cast (led by perpetual funnyman Dan Aykroyd) turns in a superb performance, making Christmas With The Kranks an easy film to relate to and one you’ll want to see many times in the years to come…
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September 25th, 2009 by admin

One of the funniest TV comedies ever produced, Cheers is essential viewing for anyone who’s ever frequented a hangout “where everyone knows your name”. The shows focuses on a friendly neighborhood Boston bar named Cheers (the Bull & Finch Pub in real life). Owned by former Boston Red Sox reliefer Sam Malone (Ted Danson), Cheers has three employees other than Sam: Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), Carla Tortelli (Rhea Pearlman), and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). Celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammar) and his wife Dr. Lilith Sternin Crane (Bebe Neuwirth) are regular customers of the bar (with Dr. Crane later playing the lead role in his own series, Frasier). Norm Peterson (George Wendt) and Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger), regular barflies, round out an excellent supporting cast of characters.
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September 21st, 2009 by admin

One of the most popular television sitcoms ever, Cheers is the perfect series for anyone who’s ever been to a regular getaway “where everyone knows your name”. The show revolves around a friendly neighborhood Boston bar on Beacon Street named Cheers. Owned by former Red Sox relief pitcher Sam Malone (Ted Danson), the bar is frequented by a host of regular customers and has three employees: bartender Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), waitress Carla Tortelli (Rhea Pearlman), and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). Celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammar) is a common fixture at the bar (and later stars in his own award-winning series, Frasier). Barflies Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) Norm Peterson (George Wendt) finish off a strong supporting cast of zany characters.
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September 17th, 2009 by admin

One of the most beloved TV sitcoms in American history, Cheers is the perfect show for anyone who’s ever frequented a place “where everybody knows your name”. The series follows the lives of the workers and patrons who inhabit a friendly neighborhood Boston bar named Cheers. Cheers is operated by a retired Boston Red Sox relief pitcher named Sam Malone (Ted Danson). Sam has three people on his staff: Ernie “Coach” Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto), Carla Tortelli (Rhea Pearlman), and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). Regulars Norm Peterson (George Wendt) and Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) round out a strong supporting cast of eccentric characters. Most notably, season three provides viewers with their first glimpse of Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammar), a psychiatrist who would later have his own series, Frasier…
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August 15th, 2009 by admin

Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Beauty And The Beast is one of Disney’s greatest animated achievements. Its massive success reinvigorated the Disney animation juggernaut which had been dormant for decades, launching the release of smashing blockbusters such as Aladdin, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo. Taking home two Oscars for Best Music (Original Score and Original Song), the film launched a trend in Disney animation by blending musical numbers (with cartoon choreography), an aspect that would become a staple of film after film for the remainder of the decade. In short, Beauty And The Beast is a landmark production just as remarkable today as when it was first released…

Following the Disney tradition of transposing well-known fairy tales from the pages of a book to the sparkle of the big screen, Beauty And The Beast follows the life of Belle (Paige O’Hara), a beautiful bookworm maiden who captivates her town’s most eligible bachelor, Gaston (Richard White). Dissatisfied with life in her small French villa, Belle grows especially tired of the conceited and self-absorbed Gaston, who is unable to fathom the idea that Belle does not welcome his affections.
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August 10th, 2009 by admin

Nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Music – Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Bambi is a true animated classic of the silver screen. Long before the public’s introduction to Aladdin, The Lion King, or Finding Nemo, Walt Disney single-handedly conjured the full-length animated feature film out of nothing and into an enduring, well-respected genre – creating one family classic after another, starting with Snow White (1937) then Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), and Dumbo (1941) before creating this gem in 1942. Directed by David Hand, a longtime Disney animator and supervising director of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Bambi is a masterpiece of color, motion, and the beauty of life. Its relative simplicity harkens to a time long past when such movies focused on symbolism, emotional breadth, and challenging the boundaries of artistic creativity, instead of catering to a perceived audience demographic. The result is a truly remarkable and memorable family experience…

Bambi begins with the forest birth of a young fawn (Bambi) who comes into the world surrounded by an anxious crowd of admirers. Hailed as the “great prince of the forest,” Bambi is thrust into an exotic world of animal and plant life, complete with all the highs and lows experienced in the world of reality. One of the film’s most powerful scenes (and the one most often referenced in regard to Bambi) is when the dreaded “man” (i.e. a band of hunters) enters the forest and kills Bambi’s mother. Although the scene takes place off camera, Disney manages to convey all the emotional trauma of the event in the brevity of a few bold and powerful brushstrokes.
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