
Friday, September 10, 2010
Danny Gets Real With THE AMERICAN.

Thursday, September 09, 2010
Raise Your Sword for CENTURION - Neil Marshall's latest - reviewed!

Shana Tovah and Happy Jew Year: A Sermon from Rabbi Baram

Sometimes, like everyone else, I get frustrated with religion. All you have to do is read the news and see all of the crazy things being done in the name of religion, and you can’t help but feel a little jaded. Across the world, there are wars fought in the name of religion, acts of terrorism committed in the name of religion, and oppressive regimes who deny basic human rights and equality, all in the name of outdated religious beliefs. Here in America, we live in a country that was founded partly on the concept of religious freedom, including the right to have no religion or belief in God. And yet, we’ve been bombarded of late with people using a very specific view of faith and religion to push their own political agendas.
In Washington, Glenn Beck led a rally aimed at “bringing faith back to America” – and it was another example of the extreme religious right creating an unnecessary and dangerous atmosphere of fear and paranoia in our country. In Florida, we see that same mob mentality at work as church members prepare to burn copies of the Quran, exhibiting recklessness, ignorance, and disrespect. Here in LA, everyone loves to joke about crazy celebrities who somehow subscribe to the beliefs of Scientology - otherwise smart people who have convinced themselves that an alien dictator named Xenu brought billions of his people to earth 75 million years ago.
When you look at all of the abuses of religion that have and still do occur, it can be confusing to say the least. Some might simply dismiss religion as a whole and go the Bill Maher route of stringent atheism.
And yet, when I think of Rosh Hashanah, and what it stands for, well, it’s a great reminder of what makes Judaism in particular so viable and vibrant. To me, at its core, being Jewish is not about having all the answers, but about asking all the questions – and that’s what makes it so unique. I think it’s why so many of us here are able to embrace our Jewishness even as friends of other religious persuasions face serious doubts about their faith. On Rosh Hashanah, the focus is squarely on us and on what we can do to be better as people. How can we be nicer, kinder, more thoughtful, less judgmental? It’s an open-ended question, and not when with a simple or standardized answer. And it’s not just about apologizing for mistakes. It’s not like in the world of pop stardom where you can do something awful, say you’re sorry a few days later, and that’s that. That doesn’t fly on Rosh Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah is a time to be introspective, to forget about our daily routine and give serious thought to who we are as people. Day to day, we might be concerned with jobs, money, and other obligations. But Rosh Hashanah is when we think about things from a different perspective. Not just whether we’re happy with our social or professional status, but if we’re satisfied with ourselves as human beings.
And really, that to me is what makes religion, and particularly Judaism, a still-important part of life. It gives us a chance to ask the big questions and to focus on spirituality, mental well-being, and our larger place in the world. At the same time, it’s an active, participatory process. In Judaism, and here on Rosh Hashanah, we find community, tradition, and purpose.
We’re living in a time when religion can seem particularly scary and even harmful. But religion doesn’t have to be about imposing politics on others, or dividing believers from non-believers, or imposing mob rule via brainwashing. Here on Rosh Hashanah, it’s very simple – we take this time to step away from our everyday lives, to be part of a community, to embrace spirituality, to ask the big questions, and to think about how we can better ourselves and the world around us. It’s simple but important – and it’s a concept that we, as Jews, can be very proud of.
Thanks - once again, Shana Tovah!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
MACHETE don't text! A review of Summer 2010's final action epic!

Friday, August 27, 2010
Danny's EMMY Preview: aka: "Does Anyone Really Care About the Emmys?"

Getting My Feet Wet With PIRAHNA 3D ...!

Monday, August 16, 2010
Danny Chronicles the WEEKEND OF EPICNESS: Weird Al in Concert, OC Fair, and MORE!

Saturday, August 14, 2010
Going Over-The-Top With THE EXPENDABLES - Stallone's All-Star Action Flick ... Reviewed!

Friday, August 13, 2010
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD is Full of Epic Win!

The cast of SCOTT PILGRIM really nails it, and everyone seems to completely get the unique, slightly-left-of-reality tone that Edgar Wright is going for. I know, a lot of people like to just dismiss Michael Cera, for whatever reason. I get it, he plays pretty similar characters in a lot of his films. But people - what do you *want* him to do? If you need a scrawny, geeky, sort of quirky lead you go with Cera - not just because he looks the part, but because the guy has a ton of talent as well as pitch-perfect comic timing. We've known that since the Arrested Development days. That said, Scott Pilgrim is a much different character than Cera's played before. He's fairly self-confident and in some ways self-assured - his problem is more just that his head is in the clouds and he doesn't quite know what he wants out of life. But this movie is about Scott's journey, and the place he ends up by the film's end is a different one from where he started. It's a lot of fun to see Cera as Pilgrim get that added drive and determination, to see him man up and kick ass and take ownership of his life. Knock him if you want, but this is a great performance from Cera.
There are so many other standouts in the film. Ellen Wong makes a huge impression as Knives Chau, and steals every scene she's in. Knives is perhaps the movie's most fun character, and her transformation from sweet schoolgirl to badass, leather-clad asskicker is a joy to behold. You will geek out for Knives, that's a promise. Kieran Culkan has some of the movie's funniest lines as Scott's roommate, Wallace Wells. The relationship between the two is great - supportive yet antagonistic - and there are some classic dialogue exchanges between them. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is perfectly cast as Ramona. She's the kind of girl who has a past but may just be ready to move beyond it. She's sort of dark, sort of brooding, but you want to root for her to see the light and smile a little more. When she pulls out that giant hammer and fights her evil-ex-gf to save Scott, it's an awesome moment. You get why she just might be worth fighting for. Meanwhile, the Seven Evil Exes are all hilarious and a ton of fun. From Matthew Patel and his demon hipster Bollywood dance troupe to Lucas Lee and his army of stunt doubles. Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Mae Whitman, Jason Schwartzman - they all rock, and all seem perfectly cast as bizarro subversions of the types of role that each actor tends to be known for. Evans is the cocky action-hero-as-asshole. Routh is the preachy, too-perfect uber-Vegan who's now in a band with (and dating) Scott's scornful ex, Envy Adams. Mae Whitman is the rage-filled woman scorned, and she totally owns the part. And then there's Jason Schwartzman - hilarious as Gideon Gordon Graves (aka The G-Man), the sinister-hipster leader of the League of Evil Exes, lurking in the shadows as Scott's final boss battle.
It's funny, because as I was racking my brain trying to think of any flaws with Scott Pilgrim, I briefly wondered if the movie suffered from "adaptation syndrome," in which a lot of minor characters from the source material are included in the film, but become more clutter than anything else. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I loved how complete of a world the movie creates, filled to the brim with colorful characters who are so instantly interesting that you wouldn't mind seeing them in a movie all their own. I'm thinking in particular of the members of Scott's only-okay band, Sex Bob-Omb (Mario Bros. reference alert!) - Kim Pine, Stephen Stills, and Young Neil (gotta love those names). Each member has enough personality that Sex Bob-Ombs' battle of the bands storyline - and their clash with the Envy Adams-fronted Clash at Demonhead (extra points for their name being an awesome obscure Nintendo reference!) is almost a movie in and of itself. Anna Kendrick is also excellent as Scott's sister, Stacey - the voice of reason in Scott's dream-world of power-meters and one-ups. Aubrey Plaza is super-funny as acerbic scenester Julie Powers. Like I said, it's an incredibly talented cast that helps to create this whole entire world for Scott Pilgrim to inhabit. It's quirky, and it's fun, and it feels like a place you just might want to visit again.
The number one star of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World though? Edgar Wright and his team. The visual energy of the movie, the look, the humor, the pacing, the vision - Wright deserves a ton of credit for creating something wholly unique and wholly awesome. From the overall, comic book-like editing of the film to the great little touches (vintage videogame sound/fx, 60's Batman-style action balloons, comic book "secret origins" of the Evil Exes) that give the movie its sensory-overload aesthetic. This movie is absoluely packed with fanboy-friendly moments big and small that kept me giddily smiling throughout. Plus. the action is also just flat-out awesome. Rarely has a movie captured the visceral, frenzied feeling of playing videogames - or the mental reward of defeating them - with such acute accuracy. The movie often plays like a videogame meets rock video. In many ways, you could almost compare the magical realism, the pacing, and the music-heavy nature of the film to a musical. I should mention though that the music in the movie is a ton of fun - the songs are integrated into the action in funny and unique ways, and the songs from the movie's bands are catchy yet rough-sounding, like what you'd actually expect from an amateur battle of the bands.
Still, Wright makes sure to give Scott Pilgrim a hefty emotional core. Again, all of the little visual shout-outs and dialogue references add up to create this portrait of life-as-pop-culture and vice versa. We all go on the same sort of journey as Scott in our own way. But the movie challenges us to be the hero in our own story, to step up and "get a life." Hey, to me, any movie that can use the "Continue?" countdown screen from old arcade games as a giant metaphor for life is possessing of a certain degree of genius. Scott Pilgrim is smart, it's funny, it's a nostalgia trip, and it's not quite like any other movie you've seen. There's action, romance, humor, and heart. So, yeah, it's pretty much the bomb. Okay, the bob-omb. Seriously though, this is one of those films that may end up being divisive, but for my part, I can't recommend it enough. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World delivers a cinematic K-O.
My Grade: A
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Bustin' Heads With THE OTHER GUYS.

Monday, August 09, 2010
Bracing For Impact: Random Rants, TV Thoughts, Movie Ramblings, MORE!
