Matt Said, Jay Said...Memorial Day 2013

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHiVnx0gRZMk4VIjci3tP7c-4UU2DaVVCmQqq8BFVH_p_g7KeotB1zXcZUKmHZvZPYt7ore-7nQqWo_j1VgjuiC01sKud7PMIt3wfPeRfID5iJUsrhtBFoYgJ4DdfeLK_ddnkp-hJSuY/s1600/G.I.+Jane+Demi+Moore+Naked+Sexy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHiVnx0gRZMk4VIjci3tP7c-4UU2DaVVCmQqq8BFVH_p_g7KeotB1zXcZUKmHZvZPYt7ore-7nQqWo_j1VgjuiC01sKud7PMIt3wfPeRfID5iJUsrhtBFoYgJ4DdfeLK_ddnkp-hJSuY/s400/G.I.+Jane+Demi+Moore+Naked+Sexy.jpg" width="286" /></a>Matt bugles…Jay trumpets…You sing, Taps.<br /><br />Matt:  Bagwine residence, lady of the house speaking.<br />Jay:  Helloooo?  Helloooo?<br />Matt:  Helloooo?  Is this Jayman, the famous international internet radio star?<br />Jay:  You know it…Is this Matt-Man, the guy who prances around in Schmoop’s underwear?<br />Matt:  You had to go there, didn’t you?<br />Jay:  Of course, because not only is it funny…it’s HOT!!<br />Matt:  Word.<br /><br />Jay:  So…Memorial Day weekend, what should we talk about?<br />Matt:  The Joy of Mayonnaise.<br />Jay:  Y’know…I love how you are so damn topical. Maybe this Christmas we can talk about Labor Day. <br />Matt:  I’m kidding.  I’m kidding.<br />Jay:  Alright then.  Can we be serious here?<br />Matt:  Yes we can.  Memorial Day <i>HAS</i> to be the topic.<br />Jay:  I know, because if we don’t honor the military early and often, we are sub-par radio hosts.<br />Matt:  And Communists<br />Jay:  And Troglodytes<br />Matt:  Don’t you mean, Trotskyites?<br />Jay:  Of course, that too.<br />Matt:  Uh-huh.<br /><br />Jay:  So I was thinking we could honor those who gave all for our country.<br />Matt:  Sounds great, and as we should.<br />Jay:  But of course, do it in the light-hearted and jocular fashion that only IWS Radio can.<br />Matt:  Damn right.  Sometimes people take a person dying in defense of this country far too seriously.<br />Jay:  IKR?  It’s not like the fallen soldiers didn’t want to.  They were patriots and heroes; it’s in their blood.<br />Matt:  It’s in their DNA!!<br />Jay:  Exactly!!<br /><br />Matt:  This show sounds as though it truly needs comforting words of prose from Paul Piatt.<br />Jay:  And the calming tones of Bobby Kraft speaking on wars and heroes gone unnoticed.<br />Matt:  And perhaps a weather report from Kirk Douglas so Americans can plan their cook-out schedules.<br />Jay:  Kirk will soooooo be there.<br /><br />Matt:  We picked up a new sponsor for this week as well.<br />Jay:  Oh really?  Who?<br />Matt:  <span style="background-color: black;">Incestry.Com</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqlf62MhzERG_cLGisBG7Yy6_6dotuWturwOUBjmpYnVee5PkGEORTV38_hkj9GIlQBftiwJw3pGpAxbMuprfYTZy-MrfM9-tjdcjwM1Isc20c03BhnsCP8EsrGlo-1VB3Roj1tLEwLU/s1600/Memorial+Day+Graves+Flags+Decoration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqlf62MhzERG_cLGisBG7Yy6_6dotuWturwOUBjmpYnVee5PkGEORTV38_hkj9GIlQBftiwJw3pGpAxbMuprfYTZy-MrfM9-tjdcjwM1Isc20c03BhnsCP8EsrGlo-1VB3Roj1tLEwLU/s400/Memorial+Day+Graves+Flags+Decoration.jpg" width="400" /></a>Jay:  That’s fucking funny!!  That adds a smile to the bittersweet and heartfelt solemnity of our show.<br />Matt:  That’s what I thought as well, I mean…<br />Jay:  You mean, it is right and dutiful to grieve for our fallen soldiers, but…<br />Matt:  But man?  Two hours of that shit?<br />Jay:  Exactly!!<br /><br />Matt:  And speaking of fallen soldiers, we should also touch on exactly what Memorial Day is.<br />Jay:  Damn right.<br />Matt:  A day to honor those who died in battle.<br />Jay:  Yep.  Not those who came home alive…They have Veterans' Day.<br />Matt:  Nope, and not those currently serving.<br />Jay:  Oh hell no…Last Saturday was<i> their</i> day.  Armed Forces Day.<br /><br />Matt:  And certainly not a day to honor those who design tree looking clothing for the soldiers to wear.<br />Jay:  Oh hell no, we celebrate those people on Arbor Day!!<br />Matt:  Word.<br /><br />Jay:  So…I think we are ready for this week’s<span style="color: blue;"> <i>I<a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2013/05/26/some-gave-all" target="_blank">WS Radio Memorial Day Show</a></i>.</span><br />Matt:  Damn right.  We may even go, <i>A Bridge Too Far</i>!!<br />Jay:  Or end up cutting ourselves off, <i>Midway</i> through!!<br />Matt and Jay:  Oh Hell Yeah Baby, we’ll be talking war movies as well!!<br />Matt:  See you on the radio Sunday from Noon-2 PM ET LIVE.<br />Jay:  You know it big boy.<br /><br />To catch this Sunday’s moving, yet hilarious IWS Radio show LIVE from Noon-2 PM ET, click <i><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2013/05/26/some-gave-all" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">HERE!!</span></a></i></div><br /></div>

Matt Said, Jay Said...Memorial Day 2013

Matt bugles…Jay trumpets…You sing, Taps. Matt:  Bagwine residence, lady of the house speaking. Jay:  Helloooo?  Helloooo? Matt:  Helloooo?  ...

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Fast & Furious 6: Still accelerating

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>Fast & Furious 6</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/fastfurious6/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>3.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, and somewhat generously, for intense and relentless violence, action and mayhem, along with occasional profanity and sensuality</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a> • </b></span>Originally published in <i><a href="http://www.davisenterprise.com/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">The Davis Enterprise</a></i>, 5.24.13</b></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Longest...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...airport...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...runway...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...<i>ever</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <i>Fast & Furious</i> series has long been known for physics-defying stunts that strain credibility, while nonetheless inspiring well-deserved admiration for the way so many of these crazy chases and assorted skirmishes look (somewhat) authentic, as opposed to the obvious fakery of computer-enhanced sweetening. (Make no mistake: CGI plays an important role in these films, but much of the driving is real.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsUB1dlpuAXRAVDE9dCBQwb3p9pMvRLiaSs10cCVnCXKcFDQLVUdiVXNqZ0WPoui-9Q5p-oZqMnNlPToBCtUWOMzS050ULMxAKgEeLysqd-k0cDVW1u_eJBSZCL0MgaPsqqGgYv-NG0lY/s1600/Fast+&+Furious+6+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsUB1dlpuAXRAVDE9dCBQwb3p9pMvRLiaSs10cCVnCXKcFDQLVUdiVXNqZ0WPoui-9Q5p-oZqMnNlPToBCtUWOMzS050ULMxAKgEeLysqd-k0cDVW1u_eJBSZCL0MgaPsqqGgYv-NG0lY/s400/Fast+&+Furious+6+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">When a high-speed pursuit veers badly out of control, thanks to the bad guys wielding<br />a vehicle-crushing tank, Dom (Vin Diesel) realizes that one of his team is seconds<br />away from certain death. The only possible solution? An insane leap from his speeding<br />car, of course!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even by those standards, however, <i>Fast & Furious 6</i> boasts audacious, jaw-dropping set-pieces that are just plain nuts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But they’re also tautly edited, reasonably suspenseful and quite entertaining. As comic book movies go, this series delivers ingenious thrills ... even if they <i>are</i> guaranteed to make mechanical and aerospace engineers snort with laughter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Director Justin Lin and screenwriter Chris Morgan deserve considerable credit. They’ve collaborated on four of these films now — all but the first two — and they have the formula down cold. Take an ever-expanding “family” of familiar characters, grant them plenty of interactive banter, season with vehicular chases every 15 minutes or so, and blend with aggressive punching matches between good guys and bad guys, usually one on one, but sometimes two on two. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Toss in a James Bondian “head villain” with an equally malevolent sidekick, spice with babe shots — because under-dressed women are <i>such</i> an essential part of street-racing — and call it a movie.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yes, before you ask: Morgan already is scripting <i>Fast & Furious 7</i> for new director James Wan (<i>Saw</i>, <i>Insidious</i>), which will add Jason Statham to the mix when it roars into theaters next summer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s all absolute and utter nonsense, but thrilling and adrenaline-pumping nonetheless. No doubt responding to demands for bigger and better, Lin and Morgan have customized <i>6</i> with road-rage chases involving all manner of souped-up cars, not to mention a tank and a massive Antonov 124 cargo plane (!). And yes, the latter eye-widening melee, during which half a dozen four-wheeled vehicles try to prevent said plane from lifting off, occupies 15 climactic minutes, during which the accelerating plane magically never runs out of runway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heck, even allowing for the cross-cutting needed to show simultaneous action on the ground and inside the plane, I figure that runway must’ve stretched at least 20 miles. Land must be cheap in Spain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name="more"></a><br /> <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lin gets plenty of capable help from cinematographer Stephen F. Windon and editors Christian Wagner and Kelly Matsumoto, all series veterans; they definitely make a winning team. One also has to smile at the massive <i>thunk</i> sound designer Peter Brown inserts, every time a racing driver shifts up or down. This may be popcorn nonsense, but it’s slickly made nonsense.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With previous entries having exhausted locations in Los Angeles, Miami, Tokyo, Mexico and Rio de Janeiro, this time the action is based in the UK — London, Liverpool and Glasgow — with a few supposed visits to Spain (actually studio work). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following their successful heist in <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2011/04/fast-five-over-revved.html">5</a></i>, our crew of anti-heroes has settled around the world. Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) are new parents in the Canary Islands, with Dom (Vin Diesel) and Elena (Elsa Pataky) living close by. Han (Sung Kang) and Gisele (Gal Gadot) are enjoying Hong Kong; Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) is in Costa Rica; and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) jets to exotic locales when the mood strikes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All concerned are saved from succumbing to boredom when tough-as-nails federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) confronts Dom with an assignment he literally cannot refuse. A paramilitary-trained criminal mastermind — Luke Evans, as Shaw — has been committing high-profile thefts throughout Europe, aided by a most unlikely sidekick: Dom’s former main squeeze, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But wait, I hear you cry: Didn’t Letty die two films back?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, yes, but this series has a comic book habit of reviving characters deemed too popular to abandon. Sung Kang’s Han already enjoyed such a revival; he perished in the third installment (<i>Tokyo Drift</i>) but has reappeared in each of the subsequent films, a seeming impossibility explained by the fact that <i>4</i>, <i>5</i> and this new film take place before the events in <i>Tokyo Drift</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so, similarly, we may have <i>thought</i> Letty got killed in <i>4</i>, but it ain’t necessarily so ... as folks who watched the post-credits tag scene at the very end of <i>5</i> already knew, based on a photograph handed to Hobbs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The so-called plot here is incidental and perfunctory: Shaw needs to steal a whatzis — in order to combine it with other whatzises (whatzi?) he stole earlier, before this movie started — so that he can build a vile thingamajig capable of knocking out the electrical and computer grids of an entire <i>country</i>, which obviously would be a valuable item to have, were a neighboring hostile government planning to invade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because Shaw has accomplished his earlier heists with a team of skilled drivers, Hobbs decides to fight turbo-charged fire with more of the same, and hence our team is reassembled once again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One must take attempts at “serious dialogue” with a grain of salt, as when Mia “understands” that Brian must join the gang, despite his earlier promise to settle down and be a sedentary doting father. Morgan fills such moments with howler lines such as “This is what we do,” and of course that’s all the explanation we get.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some women are apt to scoff, however, when Elena generously insists that Dom has to find and confront Letty: certainly the most unselfish lover <i>I've</i> ever encountered in fiction. But, then, we don’t watch these films for credible relationship dynamics; we really just want sight gags, droll one-liners and wry double-takes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But only in between action shots starring a Who’s Who of new and old American and European muscle cars: a 1969 Dodge Daytona (Dom) a 1971 Mark 1 Ford Escort (Brian), a 1970 Jensen Interceptor (Letty), a 2002 Enzo Ferrari (Tej) ... not to mention a few motorcycles — a Harley (Han) and a Ducati Monster (Gisele) — not to mention a lethal “flip car” and even a 2012 Aston Martin DB9 (Shaw, who apparently stole it from James Bond).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The highest-profile human newcomer is mixed martial arts fighter-turned-actress Gina Carano, who turns up as Riley, Hobbs’ second-in-command. Carano might be remembered from her starring turn in director Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 spy thriller, <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2012/01/haywire-trust-nobody.html">Haywire</a></i>, but I must note that, two years further along, the term “actress” remains generous. Carano gets her lines out, but she hasn’t a shred of the easy, jocular presence displayed so effortlessly by everybody else.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that’s what it comes down to. Even the best-choreographed car chases would pale, if we weren’t enjoying the characters. Bridges and Gibson are a hoot as Tej and Roman, and I still chuckle at the veiled-brow, don’t-mess-with-me intensity that Diesel gives even an innocuous line, such as “Pass the salt.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Johnson continues his equally engaging, action-hero ascent, and his scenes with Diesel — Dom and Hobbs have a prickly relationship, at best — are quite droll. Rodriguez remains the baddest girl on the planet, with a sneer that could freeze blood at 50 yards, and Gadot is a spunky, perky yin to the yang of Kang’s more serious Han.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walker has the white bread contingent covered, while poor Brewster continues to play the token gal in distress ... but only sometimes. Push come to shove, Mia gets to drive just as aggressively as Letty and all the boys.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 130 minutes, <i>Fast & Furious 6</i> is one car chase too long; the third act, in particular, flirts with overkill. And speaking of that, I didn’t appreciate the casual collateral damage inflicted on scores innocent civilians who get crushed — inside their cars — during the tank sequence. That’s needlessly, unpleasantly callous for this sort of lighthearted fare, and certainly not funny, although Lin obviously stages the scene as if expecting laughs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the <i>Fast & Furious</i> flicks probably qualify as guilty pleasures, at best, but I can’t ignore the formula that keeps me coming back for more ... particularly now that Morgan’s post-credit bit in <i>this</i> film seems to have “caught up” with <i>Tokyo Drift</i>, therefore granting Dom & Co. the opportunity, in next summer’s <i>7</i>, to seek some anger-fueled vengeance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, <i>6</i> is guaranteed several victory laps at the box office.</span></span><!--EndFragment-->

2013 action Dwayne Johnson Gal Gadot Gina Carano Jordana Brewster Luke Evans Michelle Rodriguez Paul Walker Sequel Series Sung Kang Tyrese Gibson Vin Diesel Fast & Furious 6: Still accelerating

Fast & Furious 6   (2013) •  View trailer   3.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, and somewhat generously, for intense and relentless violence, acti...

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The Hangover, Part III: Out with a whimper

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>The Hangover, Part III</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehangoverpartiii/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>2.5 stars. Rating: R, for pervasive profanity and vulgar humor, some violence, a bit of drug content and some fleeting nudity</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a></b></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The third — and presumably concluding — entry in this franchise is nothing like its two predecessors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which is quite bizarre. And likely to irritate Wolfpack fans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6772uJqtdE4jXL6qZ6zOI6mCP6Z3QmJqnzYqEpc5IAtvPAwQlCxEJG6G9QJDIM7SVP63Hi9TMNuRtOoRLzJ6e-OEC0JbIrrGDd2QGHONRsJQANu4mvqhpT5PfslVOVcwJNzPKQZ-0s4/s1600/Hangover+3+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6772uJqtdE4jXL6qZ6zOI6mCP6Z3QmJqnzYqEpc5IAtvPAwQlCxEJG6G9QJDIM7SVP63Hi9TMNuRtOoRLzJ6e-OEC0JbIrrGDd2QGHONRsJQANu4mvqhpT5PfslVOVcwJNzPKQZ-0s4/s400/Hangover+3+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Having reluctantly agreed to follow Leslie Chow's (Ken Jeong, center right) scheme for<br />breaking into his own house, the Wolfpack members — from left, Phil (Bradley Cooper),<br />Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Stu (Ed Helms) — study an elaborate model and prepare<br />to add breaking-and-entering to their already checkered résumés.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I appreciate writer/director Todd Phillips’ desire not to do the same ol’ stuff yet again; in that sense, it’s refreshing to see him try something different. But this particular case of “something different” utterly abandons all the hallmarks that made the two previous films so popular with arrested adolescents.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No abandoned babies or monkeys this time. No out-of-control bachelor parties or Bangkok benders. No chipped teeth, no tattoos. Nothing, in fact, that embarrasses, humiliates, physically tarnishes or debases these guys to <i>any</i> degree.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what fun is <i>that?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nobody gets hung over, either ... not from booze, not from drugs, not from anything else.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I must note, in fairness, that a brief post-credits tag scene delivers everything that's missing from the film itself ... so don't depart too quickly. But that's much too little, far too late.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which makes this film’s title a betrayal, along with its plotline. Phillips and co-scripter Craig Mazin have slipped their characters into the parallel universe of a heist comedy: a detour that, ironically, probably will be viewed as more satisfying to folks who prefer not to wallow in sleaze.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But wallowing in sleaze is the Wolfpack job description. Phillips’ detour here is akin to discovering that one’s most disreputable local fraternity has transformed itself into the epitome of Christian civility.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, no; things haven’t gotten <i>that</i> pure. This film’s R rating is well earned for pervasive profanity, because these guys still drop F-bombs the way most of us use descriptive adjectives. And yes, there’s a bit of violence and drug content. And one burst of nudity at a rather unexpected moment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a ghastly incident involving a giraffe. And a low freeway overpass.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All that said, though, this still feels like Wolfpack Lite.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name="more"></a><br /> <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two years have passed since the events detailed in the previous film. Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Doug (Justin Bartha) are happily married and enjoying their blissfully uneventful lives. Disaster magnet Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) is half a world away, rotting in a Thai prison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, “calm” isn’t a satisfying state for the Wolfpack’s final member, the petulant, self-centered and eternally out-of-synch Alan (Zach Galifianakis). Once again off his meds and prone to ill-advised impulses — such as purchasing that giraffe — Alan has become even more of a loose cannon than usual.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Actually, the incident with the giraffe — and its tasteless climax — would have been right at home in the first two films. It’s almost as if Phillips decided to tease us with this cringe-worthy hiccup, before subsequently defying all expectations.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A family crisis sends Alan even further over the edge, at which point the rest of the gang stage an intervention. The proposed solution: a road trip, after which Phil, Stu and Doug will deliver Alan into the tender (?) hands of some well-staffed facility for the terminally bewildered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Craving any excuse for quality time with his best buds, Alan agrees. He doesn’t get an opportunity for second thoughts, because the guys get kidnapped by a highly irritated crime boss — John Goodman, as Marshall — who has his own history with the maniacal Leslie Chow. Millions of dollars’ worth of gold in history, in fact, which Chow apparently stole from Marshall, a few years back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cue a brief recap of events from the first two films, with this new incident involving Chow and Marshall’s gold deftly worked into the fringes of what we’ve previously seen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marshall is seriously angry. He wants his gold back, and word is that Chow has escaped from the aforementioned Thai prison. Wisely assuming that prior association should count for something, Marshall releases Phil, Stu and Alan, with orders to locate Chow and “detain” him. Doug will be held as insurance, and failure will result in a bullet to the young man’s brain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it turns out, finding Chow isn’t all that difficult. (No surprise there; we wouldn’t have a movie otherwise.) Recovering the gold proves harder; Chow knows where it is, but getting it will require an elaborate scheme, etc., etc. Naturally, things go awry, with subsequent events bringing our heroes back to Las Vegas, where their lives first went astray back in 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, they re-unite with Jade (Heather Graham), the escort with a heart of gold from the first film; they also meet a new friend, an irritable pawnshop dealer named Cassie (Melissa McCarthy). Irritable, that is, to everybody except Alan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The heist issues and complications with Marshall and Chow notwithstanding, this film’s core concerns Alan’s journey toward manhood. I’m not persuaded Galifianakis has the acting chops for this supposed personality shift, but Alan certainly becomes easier to endure. Indeed, his encounters with Cassie reveal a softer, smitten side. Galifianakis and McCarthy are quite funny together, and they have a great bit with a shared lollypop.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alan’s reunion with Jade’s son — the good-natured infant toted around, back in the first film — isn’t nearly as satisfying. Phillips and Mazin apparently intend this Zen-like encounter to be spiritually uplifting for Alan, but Galifianakis’ blank expression simply doesn't convey the necessary emotional subtlety. Rather than some sort of epiphany, this useless scene drags the film to a brief standstill. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually, personalities always have been a problem with this series. Cooper, so engaging and credible with the wild mood swings of his Oscar-nominated character in <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2012/11/silver-linings-playbook-heart-of-gold.html">Silver Linings Playbook</a></i>, still can’t get a handle on Phil. At times he’s thoughtful and kind; at other times he’s impatient and quite callous. Granted, Phil is the strong, handsome and outwardly polished member of the Wolfpack, but in terms of emotional stability, he’s just as unpredictable as Alan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From one moment to the next, Phil’s attitude toward his friends is completely random; we never know whether the next words will come from Nice Phil or Toxic Phil. Cooper obviously is capable of much better, so we have to blame Phillips for inconsistent writing and clumsy direction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Helms, on the other hand, has always been consistent with his handling of Stu, as the eternally put-upon victim. All the worst stuff typically happens to Stu, although “worst,” in this film, amounts to little more than verbal brow-beating from Alan. Even so, Helms’ exasperated expressions are marvelous, as are his frantic attempts to depict Stu as a Guy In Control, when in fact he’s almost <i>never</i> in control.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bartha is little more than a tag-along, as always has been the case. He depicts Doug as a pleasant guy, but spends most of his time here as an off-camera hostage. Very little chance for character depth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeong is fearlessly crazed, as always, as the loose-cannon Chow. A little of Jeong goes a <i>very</i> long way, though, and he wears out his welcome as this flick progresses. Spontaneous bits of nonsense — a tuneless karaoke performance, slurping up dog food from a bowl on the floor — aren’t nearly as funny as Phillips and Jeong seem to assume.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goodman, on the other hand, is memorably brutal as the vengeful Marshall, and Mike Epps makes a brief but droll return as “Black Doug.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This third <i>Hangover</i> clearly is an effort to bring closure to the Wolfpack, complete with the equivalent of a final-scene walk into the sunset, accompanied by flashbacks to earlier group strolls that took place under unhappier circumstances in the two prior films. But this is a flat and unsatisfying send-off: a clumsily plotted escapade obviously mandated by financial desire, and not at all by artistic necessity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a certain disappointment to fans who wanted more of the coarse behavior that put Phil, Stu and Alan on the map.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><!--EndFragment-->

2013 Bradley Cooper Ed Helms Heather Graham Jeffrey Tambor John Goodman Justin Bartha Ken Jeong Melissa McCarthy Mike Epps Sequel Series Vulgar Zach Galifianakis The Hangover, Part III: Out with a whimper

The Hangover, Part III   (2013) •  View trailer   2.5 stars. Rating: R, for pervasive profanity and vulgar humor, some violence, a bit of dr...

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WHY DO BROAD BASED COMMUNITY ORGANIZING IN A PLACE LIKE LAS VEGAS

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gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal">We have more social problems than we can count here in the Las Vegas Valley. But there is one core problem that causes or contributes to all of them. That same problem keeps us powerless to do anything effective about the other problems.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This is our core problem: We are disconnected. So many people come to Las Vegas intending to be here only a couple of years that they don’t make connections. They don’t join anything. They don’t know anyone very well and no one knows them very well. 20 years later, they are still here, but they still plan to move on in a year or two. So they still don’t connect. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">When people do connect, it’s in relatively small groups, like our congregations. But the congregations don’t cooperate with each other. They don’t cooperate across interfaith lines. They don’t cooperate across ecumenical lines. They don’t even cooperate with congregations of their own denomination. I won’t name any denomination other than my own. But even around Nevada, even around this state where fragmentation and alienation abound, they talk about Las Vegas. They say, “Those Episcopal Churches in Las Vegas don’t work together. They don’t even know each other.” Now I won’t name any other denominations that have this problem. But I do talk to your leaders and I can say this: We Episcopalians are not the only ones who are disconnected, living in our own little congregational silos.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">What comes of this? People here are disconnected from each there. Because they are disconnected, they are disempowered. Acting alone, they cannot change their environment. They cannot influence the government, the schools, the businesses. They have no influence over the forces around them that shape the quality of their lives. Because they are disconnected, they are disempowered. Because they are disempowered, they are in despair. Because they are in despair, they drink, drug, gamble, commit domestic violence, get divorced, drop out of school, run away, etc. etc. etc. Disconnection may not cause all of our social problems but it contributes to them. It exacerbates them. And it paralyzes us to do anything about them.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Nevadans for the Common Good is engaging some of the social problems. And that’s good. The issues are important and we are doing good, effective work. We are making a difference. But that’s not the main thing. The main thing is the relationships we are forming in the process of addressing particular problems.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Our core project is to build a network of relationships. We call them” public friendships,” which means we may or may not be personal friends, but we know each other and are able to work together for shared goals. We are building a network of relationships that will reconnect and re-empower people, lifting us out of our collective despair, our “what can I do about it?” sense of helplessness. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The human network of relationships we are building is like an energy grid to deliver power where it’s needed to make positive change for people living in this Valley. 20 years from now, when new social problems arise, problems we cannot now foresee, this network of relationships will be in place. It will be in place to share stories and identify the problems as the affect our members. And the network will be already up and running, ready to act constructively and creatively to improve the situation.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">But there’s more to be gained even than the building of a network among our congregations. There is strengthening the network inside our congregations. There are skills and methods we use to build the network, to construct this power grid we call Nevadans For The Common Good. The people we train can take those skills and methods back into their congregations to build relationships there. Congregations who engage in this work grow stronger within themselves. And that in itself will make a better community.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><!--EndFragment-->

WHY DO BROAD BASED COMMUNITY ORGANIZING IN A PLACE LIKE LAS VEGAS

We have more social problems than we can count here in the Las Vegas Valley. But there is one core problem that causes or contr...

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10 ways to End the School Year on an Up Note when You're Exhausted

<b>Today</b> is the last day of my 11th year of teaching. Today my <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2011/11/ripped-game-pants-and-school.html" target="_blank">oldest son</a> graduates.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGjfuIlBFNJ7vDzv09et_eAESuqho8LC3n0cki6oEnryisMEls1qYVmvwC-e8ahx6WdMnZVHKWJxn4VvUwITMfqdBiJd9Inr2YY0-YD5v6gesPubcOzqbUVzz382AXmixuD4LrO1h0MYO/s1600/cat_laptop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGjfuIlBFNJ7vDzv09et_eAESuqho8LC3n0cki6oEnryisMEls1qYVmvwC-e8ahx6WdMnZVHKWJxn4VvUwITMfqdBiJd9Inr2YY0-YD5v6gesPubcOzqbUVzz382AXmixuD4LrO1h0MYO/s320/cat_laptop.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes the struggles of teaching just have to come out.<br />Hope you finish the school year well even though<br />you're exhausted. Here's how.<br />YOU ROCK! -- Vicki</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Last night </b>at 9 pm or so I had my head down on my desk in my classroom, upset because my computer kept crashing when I tried to render the graduation movie. Usually, I'm done far before now but the workload at school this year has been tough.<br /><br />If I had one wish for myself, I'm guessing it would be that I could enjoy all of this more.<br /><br />But then again, it would be kind of like e<b>njoying a car wreck</b> because that is what the end of school is like for me. Things come at you. You try to respond quickly. You try to adjust. You start skidding and spinning, and suddenly it all stops and you see you're OK.<br /><br />I do love teaching. I do love being a Mom - my first calling. But it is so very evident to me why we are finite creatures, especially teachers. We just wear out.<br /><br />But if I'm going to wear out, <b>at least I'm not going to rust out.</b> At least it is in a worthy cause. I think one of the hardest things about doing things for kids and their parents goes back to something I mentioned last week in <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2013/05/start-punching-fear-in-face-and-escape.html" target="_blank">my review of Jon Acuff's book</a>, <a href="http://start./">Start.</a> Critics math.<br /><br /><h2>Critics math is: </h2>1 criticism + 1,000 compliments = 1 criticism<br /><br />At this point, I'm so very tired that when that movie plays tonight  and I get the inevitable comment here or there that aren't so positive - that is what I'll remember.<br /><br />So, here is what I do to combat critics math when I'm as vulnerable as I am right now. And remember, tiredness and emotional exhaustion always makes you more vulnerable. You are a sitting duck as the hunters will say for every malcontent parent or student that heads your way.<br /><br /><b>Protect yourself, educator.</b><br /><br /><h2><b>1 - Remember why you do it.</b></h2>You're not doing these things for glory.<br /><br /><h2>2 - Remember who you're doing it for.</h2>Look at the students who you love and do it for them.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><h2>3 - Don't let a few unkind people ruin it for all those who are not that way</h2>I had a few kids prank my room on Tuesday and waste my time this week. Honestly, I've never been pranked. It totally hurt my feelings.<br /><br />It came at a time when I was so tired that I almost gave up doing the graduation movie. Kids don't think, especially when they're about to graduate. I had to pick myself up and remember all the kids who I love and I know they love me. Those who have been frustrated with me and are passive aggressive - they will have a life without me and that is fine. I loved them anyway and if it is their choice to go out that way - they'll be lesser people for it.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MXDtKiSx8Qn9-DC-OcN7SZfuOAcGFV9UY44H5nSUNAbO9_ur8k7HTfOURI-sd5wI90gCIehJb8YgyZJxbK58cigTtUqJfgEhdJeKuXYQaSUiLK_3oc4qJGTdJnihj3J_dxoTh17_yYVH/s1600/zippity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MXDtKiSx8Qn9-DC-OcN7SZfuOAcGFV9UY44H5nSUNAbO9_ur8k7HTfOURI-sd5wI90gCIehJb8YgyZJxbK58cigTtUqJfgEhdJeKuXYQaSUiLK_3oc4qJGTdJnihj3J_dxoTh17_yYVH/s400/zippity.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can choose to see the joy and whistle through life.<br />I love whistling because I've never known an unhappy<br />person who did it. ;-)</td></tr></tbody></table><h2>4 - Don't expect to be thanked.</h2>It is nice to be thanked. Sometimes it happens. When it does, I save the notes and such and put them in a folder called "at a girl." I read them when I have rough days. On <a href="http://facebook.com/coolcatteacher" target="_blank">my Facebook fanpage</a> I have a picture of a dozen roses (shown below) sent to me by a student and his Mom. I want to remember that sometimes I do make a difference.<br /><br />My worth as a teacher is not determined by how many say "thank you" at the end of the year. So many parents and kids are exhausted and there is likely a bit of "you'll always be there next year" in it as well. <i>(Ever wonder why leaving teachers are showered by their students and parents - people know they have to thank them.)</i><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ql2pjyeJX0zx_H2Crtr4aJKNDaAcvdulOUL8IMxbLpt0Ljv8CjMvd4unYbq8fWpEIqU6kzla3fa-V1fUDDKZNZzf5TndyWrgfrqtQjgmIcvaSGX58YiNqwU1F39_Czb1WTVrasJy6Loj/s1600/IMG_1032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ql2pjyeJX0zx_H2Crtr4aJKNDaAcvdulOUL8IMxbLpt0Ljv8CjMvd4unYbq8fWpEIqU6kzla3fa-V1fUDDKZNZzf5TndyWrgfrqtQjgmIcvaSGX58YiNqwU1F39_Czb1WTVrasJy6Loj/s320/IMG_1032.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These flowers were sent to me 2 years<br />a go by a student who found his love of<br />writing in blogging. The kids made<br />fun of him, but he found his niche in<br />the D<a href="http://www.digiteen.org/" target="_blank">igiteen project</a>. I'll always<br />connect my classrooms because it<br />helps kids who don't fit in<br />get out of my small town virtually.</td></tr></tbody></table><i><br /></i><h2>5 - Find your joy</h2>I keep a joy journal. It is proven to be a permanent mood booster (more than winning the lottery - see 9<a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2013/04/9-fine-reasons-to-keep-journal-and-how.html" target="_blank"> Fine Reasons to Keep a Journal</a>).<br /><br />At the end of every school year, I <b>write down the best things that happened</b>. I don't even write down the worst. The worst things that happen I chalk up to the cost of doing an important jobs. Important jobs always have a cost to the person who holds the job. You're never paid enough to be a fire fighter, policeman, or teacher (principal, janitor, IT staff) and quite a few other jobs as well.<br /><br />This is your job. This is your life. If you're going to live a good one, it is up to you, my friend, to find your joy in your day and your profession. There are kids who loved you, I promise.<br /><br />When I was in business, I knew I had a good month because I got a big fat bonus. That doesn't happen in teaching so I should sit down and make my own bonus. I should document and pay myself with the memories that will stick with me. I make my own joy by counting the blessings and great things that happen.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcZEgQdkDw7rjsSgnGtKVrDwSsww-Mm41DraP2-bq0wqAGsUvE9LScyPpR9ynhPueIdPIah8Z14cMVa3GsJ4yQ-llLA7IjFxI3gwztyd4yzqGd0GxtBs9eByOGl5YtmC2pw_gpWw7wWIS/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcZEgQdkDw7rjsSgnGtKVrDwSsww-Mm41DraP2-bq0wqAGsUvE9LScyPpR9ynhPueIdPIah8Z14cMVa3GsJ4yQ-llLA7IjFxI3gwztyd4yzqGd0GxtBs9eByOGl5YtmC2pw_gpWw7wWIS/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this pic I took of a bird just hatched over at the<br />family pond. This bird doesn't care that he has bad hair -<br />he is just glad to be alive. Sometimes I've got<br />to adopt that attitude and feel the breeze even<br />if my  hair gets mussed.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2>6- Let the rough end drag</h2>My granny always said this and I quote it multiple times a week during the end of the school year. I could feel guilty about "Mount Laundry" in my room or that I haven't gone to buy milk and we ran out on Tuesday. But I'm not.<br /><br />Right now, it is just about making it through - one more day. Tomorrow, I can start to jackhammer Mt. Laundry and go buy milk - today I just gotta make it.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwT_YfxiPvgwsb4NwlnkXBzWl25xLJ2zC4Hc4iiogUv6oRGeWrajT0m1OV35bIm0V4OiStWVqFHP-7aCQ5F2YAKUQ1lq9P3w4gDFSxJhHsFAKa1-Qbjt9QlY1nJrhDUdhqdL_IaJKpHLC/s1600/never-never-never-give+up-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwT_YfxiPvgwsb4NwlnkXBzWl25xLJ2zC4Hc4iiogUv6oRGeWrajT0m1OV35bIm0V4OiStWVqFHP-7aCQ5F2YAKUQ1lq9P3w4gDFSxJhHsFAKa1-Qbjt9QlY1nJrhDUdhqdL_IaJKpHLC/s1600/never-never-never-give+up-jpg.jpg" /></a></div><br /><h2>7 - Don't take guilt trips</h2><br />The other thing that gets me about the school year is that I can - in my tiredness - start taking a guilt trip.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Mom says "You can't go on a guilt trip unless you pack your own bags."</blockquote><br />I didn't have enough time to do Lego Mindstorms this year and we didn't get in our last race. OK. I can say "you know what, we got to do a lot with them it is OK." or, I can start packing my bag and piling on the guilt.<br /><br /><b>When you see dog poop in the yard, do you go intentionally step in it?</b> NO! For goodness sakes, no! It is nasty and you know it will stay with you a long time as strangers back away from you and go get in another checkout line at WalMart and little children wrinkle their nose.<br /><br />Guilt trips make you repugnant. You've given all you have and now, my dear friends, THAT IS ENOUGH. Yes, that is worthy of a caps lock.<br /><br />Celebrate the great journeys and if guilt trips come knocking - make notes about what to do better next year. Every year, I work and change things around to make them better for the next year. Put the biggest guilt trips as your indicator something should change next year. If it isn't something that really needs to change and it is tiredness talking then just don't go there. Move on.<br /><br />No guilt unless you've done something unethical and if you have -- get help now. Liars make poor teachers because you teach with your life. For most of you, guilt is the tiredness talking.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbtuFF1gjN4lPFLWhyphenhyphenaFkr3mpOzLjbZdhGE0d90fN-DEU8JHre-5yAVoS2MeHpAT4PTzXkgmHr4hMXhiCCjfJQ82sAcbrgqTa6PabthVyAZCUzXuD0EF0hTv_wt3-uj-s3DqMm87RLkJIz/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbtuFF1gjN4lPFLWhyphenhyphenaFkr3mpOzLjbZdhGE0d90fN-DEU8JHre-5yAVoS2MeHpAT4PTzXkgmHr4hMXhiCCjfJQ82sAcbrgqTa6PabthVyAZCUzXuD0EF0hTv_wt3-uj-s3DqMm87RLkJIz/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">I leave post it notes for myself when I'm<br />struggling with a co-worker.<br />Decide who you want to be because<br />doing the right thing is most often a<br />decision NOT a feeling or<br />something you WANT to do.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2>8 - Let go of grudges and forgive.</h2>People are people. You've got some who are a pain in the neck and you are a pain in the neck to some people yourself. Like oil and water, some of us in schools just don't see eye to eye. We don't mix.<br /><br />For me, I have to let it go. Bitterness and unforgiveness will ruin your summer. You'll think you're better and BAM! you'll be sitting by the pool and someone will say something and you're right back to arguing in your head with your nemesis. When you are bitter, you take your enemy with you everywhere you go.<br /><br />Let it go. For me, as a Christian, I take it to God and ask Him to handle it. He always does by either showing me I was wrong or by helping the other person see it - usually it is a mix of both.<br /><br />If you're perfect, go ahead and seethe. But guess what? You're no longer perfect if you're steeping your life in the bitter tea of fury. You're poison.<br /><br />If it helps, write what they did one more time and burn it. Go talk to someone who will listen and not fan the flame. Take steps to help prevent a repeat next year (if you're at the same school.)<br /><br />When my husband was a child and got mad at his Mom, he would beat his head against a wall until he had blue lumps. <b>If you are bitter and begrudging you are just hitting your own head.</b> It is just as ridiculous as baby Kip trying to get even with Mom by hurting himself.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSp_5L2fQ7hdhmitQ0sa91pnUpGg8Y75i9OZQtVo-zO3EB_RZG9b7wYU6w40P2uSYqsipWmJDFz4ctf4HLtMDUg3V7_qO4SNGfKQdxjZjtlw5_U4r4Yh_1RtFKUzlVOwJxVoy98YOLLcf/s1600/IMG_2432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSp_5L2fQ7hdhmitQ0sa91pnUpGg8Y75i9OZQtVo-zO3EB_RZG9b7wYU6w40P2uSYqsipWmJDFz4ctf4HLtMDUg3V7_qO4SNGfKQdxjZjtlw5_U4r4Yh_1RtFKUzlVOwJxVoy98YOLLcf/s320/IMG_2432.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In my house we make "summer posters" with our goals.<br />This was my poster from 4-5 years back.</td></tr></tbody></table><h2>9 - Plan things you'll enjoy</h2>As a profession, we do 98% of the work  in 3/4 of the time each year. If you realize that some of those folks who are "feet up on desk-ers" and leave the moment school's out, you'll realize that some of us are way over the top - probably working 125%+ of the hours of other professions in 3/4 of the time each year. Cut yourself some slack.<br /><br />It is very hard for me to do nothing. In fact, I would say it is probably impossible. But sometimes, I need to veg out and be mindless.<br /><br />I love rafting. I love walks / runs and listening to books on tape. I love cooking (and eating) good food. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the mountains. (I also love to write. ;-) So, these are things I'll plan into my schedule.<br /><br />Take time to write 10 things you LOVE and make sure 5 of them cost little or nothing.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMTt0BbRxKqEQXAv6mfnWAwcas1Rz0fH_VCGSRq_leHMpf21cVD-hi-ccNJq3GfwNaIwXZTnREV4sxwWTvqiLJPVjW8oS3PW3UWRMvIOeXIEhrMYdVSfjhkQH546wEvrdHu3aH129_aY7/s1600/IMG_2847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMTt0BbRxKqEQXAv6mfnWAwcas1Rz0fH_VCGSRq_leHMpf21cVD-hi-ccNJq3GfwNaIwXZTnREV4sxwWTvqiLJPVjW8oS3PW3UWRMvIOeXIEhrMYdVSfjhkQH546wEvrdHu3aH129_aY7/s320/IMG_2847.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">Every summer we "collect" and explore waterfalls.<br />Here's my family - nephews, nieces, and Kip exploring one.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2>10 -Laugh</h2>So I decided to be intentionally about laughing and made <a href="http://flip.it/x92pJ" target="_blank">a flipboard magazine</a> of the stuff that makes me laugh. Collect things that make you laugh so you can share and look at them when you want. Plus, studies have shown that when promotions happen, people who are funny get promoted over the stick in the mud. (See Forbes Magazine: <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2013/05/06/want-to-get-a-promotion-be-funny/" target="_blank">Want to get promoted? Be Funny</a>.)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfU7ZRzCkZYuiUTH1_NvYsXhkwezpcOWxkFk6QBXzwvQ_ejW1A6t6KOOu2O8nXnugbC_vu5DzPBqdqfBDM9qbz89FV3tnX78x58WPnKh1i8egIhd2pUHqOsUUHTtCHqqAaoy3ViDToIOn/s1600/Photo+Apr+21%252C+10+42+10+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfU7ZRzCkZYuiUTH1_NvYsXhkwezpcOWxkFk6QBXzwvQ_ejW1A6t6KOOu2O8nXnugbC_vu5DzPBqdqfBDM9qbz89FV3tnX78x58WPnKh1i8egIhd2pUHqOsUUHTtCHqqAaoy3ViDToIOn/s320/Photo+Apr+21%252C+10+42+10+AM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Animals are some of the most hilarious companions<br />I know. These are the dogs running through the<br />pecan grove behind Mom's and Dad's house.<br />Love em - every one.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Good luck, my friends. I know I'm out quite a bit earlier than many of you and my friends down under in Australia are in mid-year. But take the time to end well, whenever the end comes.<br /><br />You rock, educators. I care about you and this profession very much. Next to my babies in the classroom, the professionals who connect in the places I frequent are one of my greatest joys.<br /><br />Now, off to school and on to graduation. The moment is here.<br /><br />

10 ways to End the School Year on an Up Note when You're Exhausted

Today is the last day of my 11th year of teaching. Today my oldest son graduates. Sometimes the struggles of teaching just have to come ou...

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/24/2013

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.wsdweb.org/page.cfm?p=1668">Wissahickon School District: WHS Graduation Project</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">I'll be spending time to AJ Juliani, Steve Mogg and Rosie Esposito from Wissahikon school district. Here's a copy of their Graduation project required to graduate from their school. I think all schools should have graduation projects. There is information and manuals if you want to look into this for yourself. I saw this in Evansvlle High school as well. This can be part of your genius work. "As part of graduation from Wissahickon High School, every senior is required to complete a graduation project.  The projects include research, writing and an oral presentation to assure that students are able to apply, analyze, synthesize and evaluation information and communicate significant knowledge and understanding.  This is culminating project in one or more areas of concentrated study under the guidance and direction of the high school faculty. "</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/graduation">graduation</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pbl">pbl</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href="https://www.diigo.com">Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher">here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/24/2013

Wissahickon School District: WHS Graduation Project I'll be spending time to AJ Juliani, Steve M...

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weekend plans

Who's ready for a nice long weekend?. School is officially out (cue Alice Cooper) so we are going to do some of this<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqFrwc56-2prFrb6QrPm_jd027i1zL0YjnKGXAiFe9Qafq-_Yl-s9zJYLgOJY41WweCKX0EUsoHmQArfWWHq2vypMBxXhBBE6MkNpV2YpoDJaps6nNe28ga_fES7Ycrks_7YUQV0WI1Bn/s1600/bbb3e09423018521f2baf94ee7936522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqFrwc56-2prFrb6QrPm_jd027i1zL0YjnKGXAiFe9Qafq-_Yl-s9zJYLgOJY41WweCKX0EUsoHmQArfWWHq2vypMBxXhBBE6MkNpV2YpoDJaps6nNe28ga_fES7Ycrks_7YUQV0WI1Bn/s320/bbb3e09423018521f2baf94ee7936522.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><br />a little of this<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYv8A_HBZj-QL-VrUDY9rywGPCcLgnWm49Jl7ytKWM5VmxPItn_1w9ifaC44FtZOTfeDfW2nJPFhRhZeJ9Iz_lV44g-ET6V64TvWMrvnTsK8yPtN1Ezv4cnkPVGdb3-l4l4o2HR-cLV56/s1600/7630db116e6ef9e07dfb79d8bf8411fa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYv8A_HBZj-QL-VrUDY9rywGPCcLgnWm49Jl7ytKWM5VmxPItn_1w9ifaC44FtZOTfeDfW2nJPFhRhZeJ9Iz_lV44g-ET6V64TvWMrvnTsK8yPtN1Ezv4cnkPVGdb3-l4l4o2HR-cLV56/s320/7630db116e6ef9e07dfb79d8bf8411fa.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><br />lots of this<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36iph4gpwdzH_i0WjkQGxatEBeydbVe7vZL6noArsjZFoIjbcz0370lAA2AqChIkehJtOFYC6yMhZ1EYD7c70f54FIWF1jM14IY0dww5TwJz7SOpApVwO55E84gVe0jkcU9_gNeu-XNY4/s1600/9bf1781b88395f068fb419a82c1da752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36iph4gpwdzH_i0WjkQGxatEBeydbVe7vZL6noArsjZFoIjbcz0370lAA2AqChIkehJtOFYC6yMhZ1EYD7c70f54FIWF1jM14IY0dww5TwJz7SOpApVwO55E84gVe0jkcU9_gNeu-XNY4/s320/9bf1781b88395f068fb419a82c1da752.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />and hopefully this<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagwYx7zj6kZ9cJJwDucAQhXT9aHUjhTxfbUY8ev7TY5LEYPCQEmGthjzk8lcTnJnzrYlEbbFOYpgT0dE9gSOBaBss_omXoEu7XoIpq-ZLjBsmqfVdrOgc3tSZ7pGD9uLFvzGgSLHIRUNC/s1600/584cd153f58216a181f6966cb597a185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagwYx7zj6kZ9cJJwDucAQhXT9aHUjhTxfbUY8ev7TY5LEYPCQEmGthjzk8lcTnJnzrYlEbbFOYpgT0dE9gSOBaBss_omXoEu7XoIpq-ZLjBsmqfVdrOgc3tSZ7pGD9uLFvzGgSLHIRUNC/s320/584cd153f58216a181f6966cb597a185.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />Ahh summer. I'm ready for you baby! What are your plans this weekend?<br /><br />And don't forget to check out <a href="http://blog.simplybabyfurniture.com/2013/05/23/2987/" target="_blank">Kelly's feature</a> over at the Simply Baby blog party!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAK0ou_ARhpIX2yGFFDlbnWKpHpEe3jy_8Z8lerVtbyCrU7ZDF7qM9vcPXAeWx-IEfAqLF7gSk5z198wwdyOlSm6AJ5-kLQ6vO7Y62sTUPTkkHKKZZoWPKv1q_j0nA5Uu969tFB1HU3m2/s1600/Mom-Blog-Party-Badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAK0ou_ARhpIX2yGFFDlbnWKpHpEe3jy_8Z8lerVtbyCrU7ZDF7qM9vcPXAeWx-IEfAqLF7gSk5z198wwdyOlSm6AJ5-kLQ6vO7Y62sTUPTkkHKKZZoWPKv1q_j0nA5Uu969tFB1HU3m2/s320/Mom-Blog-Party-Badge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />

weekend plans

Who's ready for a nice long weekend?. School is officially out (cue Alice Cooper) so we are going to do some of this a little of this lo...

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Epic: Wishful thinking

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>Epic</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox/epic/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Three stars. Rating: PG, and needlessly, for "scary images" and mildly rude language</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a></b></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a gorgeously produced animated fantasy, with opulent visuals and a color palette that cleverly reflects the story beats; I’d expect no less from director Chris Wedge and his Blue Sky Studios, the folks who brought us the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ice Age</i> series.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSdzjAk9xwzHLfc-2FY-SMot7M5busUJ_qvisgSGxloG51lDnGfN0z2k_TDuPODMriXmt1bjZzDhiezP0JkB8y6TnkfqyyA3KuJ5u1QdcRdnBantglOpvr5nEWYfE1gHhSuvI5nvt0tk/s1600/Epic+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSdzjAk9xwzHLfc-2FY-SMot7M5busUJ_qvisgSGxloG51lDnGfN0z2k_TDuPODMriXmt1bjZzDhiezP0JkB8y6TnkfqyyA3KuJ5u1QdcRdnBantglOpvr5nEWYfE1gHhSuvI5nvt0tk/s400/Epic+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">M.K. (voiced by Amanda Seyfried), suddenly responsible for the safety of a pod that<br />will help preserve the surrounding forest, fends off hilariously unlikely romantic<br />overtures from Mub (Aziz Ansari), a slug who fancies himself quite the chick magnet.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The impressive voice talent is well cast, with our primary characters granted personality and depth by Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Chris O’Dowd, Beyoncé and particularly Christoph Waltz, who makes a grand villain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dialogue is droll and snarky, with quite a few laughs coming from O’Dowd.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Narratively, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Epic</i> is curiously flat and uninvolving: far less than the sum of parts that should have worked better than they do. The premise is contrived and scattershot, with bits begged, borrowed or stolen from other, superior fantasy sagas. Waltz’s scenery-chewing malevolence notwithstanding, there’s never a sense of genuine peril: no feeling that our heroes are in any real danger, or that they’ll fail to save the day in the manner foretold in the first act.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The storyline is based loosely on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs</i>, one of imaginative author/illustrator William Joyce’s many delectable children’s books. Actually, “loosely” still overstates the case; 20th Century Fox has gone out of its way to distance this film from Joyce’s book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frankly, all concerned might have done better to follow Joyce’s template more closely, since this script — credited to Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember, James V. Hart and Daniel Shere — is a derivative, disorganized mess. Characters too frequently seem to have been granted screen time — and dialogue — based on the popularity of the star providing the voice, as opposed to reasons relating to plot continuity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s a bass-ackwards approach to filmmaking, and the awkward results are plain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name="more"></a><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seventeen-year-old Mary Katherine, who prefers to be called M.K. (voiced by Seyfried), returns to her childhood home after the death of her mother, hoping to re-connect with her estranged father, Bomba (Jason Sukeikis), who has buried himself in rather bizarre research. Bomba (weird name, that) has spent years seeking indisputable proof that a tiny civilization lives in the nearby forest, an obsession that has cost both his family and his professional career.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although delighted to see his daughter again, Bomba hasn’t the faintest idea how to relate to her; he also can’t tear himself away from his work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The irony, of course, is that Bomba is absolutely correct: The nearby woods <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i> shelter an advanced race known as Leafmen, the forces of light who constantly battle dark creatures of decay known as Boggans, ruled by the rot-inducing Mandrake (Waltz). One touch of Mandrake’s magical staff, and healthy vegetation withers and dies. Aside from the Leafmen patrols that prevent incursions by random Boggans, Mandrake’s desire to decompose the entire realm is checked by the Eden-like powers of Queen Tara (Beyoncé).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the time has come for Queen Tara to select an heir: a ritual that takes place only once every 100 years, during the convergence of a full moon and the summer solstice. A pod carefully selected from a special pond must bloom at that precise moment, in order to produce a new queen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mandrake, in turn, wishes to snatch the pod and force it to bloom in darkness, whereupon it will produce an evil prince who will plunge the realm into mold and putrefaction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The brave and stalwart Leafmen, who ride tamed hummingbirds, are captained by the chisel-faced, battle-hardened Ronin (Farrell). In addition to his tactical concerns, Ronin is constantly frustrated by the undisciplined behavior of Nod (Hutcherson), a rebellious free spirit who behaves like a typically arrogant and self-centered teen. This pains Ronin deeply, because he long ago promised to look after Nod, after the boy’s father perished during a battle with Boggans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ronin/Nod dynamic is totally clichéd and under-developed, with dialogue that could have been lifted from a TV soap opera.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Through a series of events that’ll raise eyebrows even under these circumstances, M.K. gets miniaturized — very <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alice in Wonderland</i>-ish — and charged with the all-important pod’s safekeeping. Cue flirtatious glances between her and Nod, who suddenly finds a reason to think beyond his own interests.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, though, this blossoming burst of young love develops along wholly predictable lines, with uninspired dialogue that does nothing to solidify their growing relationship. Indeed, M.K. has much more fun sparring verbally with Mub (Aziz Ansari), a slug who fancies himself quite the ladies’ man, his ick-inducing gelatinousness notwithstanding.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although Mub and constant companion Grub (O’Dowd) — a snail — are responsible for nurturing the pod with their moist slime, they’re actually this story’s tag-team comic relief. They’re quite good at this function: good enough, in fact, that the film grinds to a halt whenever they’re not around. O’Dowd and Ansari deserve considerable credit for their comic timing, but this slippery duo also benefits from numerous sight gags, many related to their hilariously dexterous eyestalks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plenty of giggles also result from the disconnect between their feisty attitudes and their spineless anatomical limitations; as far as Mub and Grub are concerned, they’re the strongest, most resourceful warriors in Queen Tara’s land. Grub sees no reason why he can’t wear the armor of a Leafman warrior, and his plaintive wails — each time he’s left behind — get funnier as the story progresses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mandrake, meanwhile, delivers Shakespearean pronouncements of doom over in his realm of Wrathwood. Waltz chews up the scenery with style, conveying a sense that Mandrake positively delights in his own wickedness. On the other hand, we barely get a glimmer of Mandrake’s relationship with his equally nasty son, Dagda (Blake Anderson), a character you’d think would be significant, but who checks out so quickly — and unsatisfyingly — that I can’t help wondering if the screenwriters simply didn’t know what to do with him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Contrast this with the buckets of screen time granted Nim Galuu, a woodsian elder statesman given to fortune-cookie bursts of wisdom ... that is, when he isn’t partying down. Credit that aspect of Nim’s personality to his voice being supplied by Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, which also explains why this satin jacket-garbed caterpillar bursts into this film’s only song: a jarring narrative disconnect that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">also</i> brings the film to a grinding halt.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As seems the case with Beyoncé’s Queen Tara, Nim Galuu’s frequent appearances exist solely to further justify Tyler’s presence; his character simply doesn’t make sense in this story’s grander scheme ... but, then, it too often feels like this film’s scripters operated without a grander scheme of any kind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Epic</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> frequently resorts to a make-it-up-as-we-go approach to plotting, arbitrarily allowing characters — good and bad — to be as weak, or as strong, as is required for any given scene. That’s a deeply unsatisfying approach to fantasy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Young viewers will enjoy this film for its colorful landscape and dynamic action scenes, and for the comic-relief chatter between Mub and Grub. Cinematographer Renato Falcão makes excellent use of the 3-D camerawork, which grants the Leafman/Boggan skirmishes a heady rush. Danny Elfman’s score is lively, although not his best work; I’m hard-pressed to remember any specific main or character themes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the day, though, <i>Epic</i> simply doesn’t resonate. (Just in passing, that’s also a truly terrible title.) It doesn’t invite repeat viewing, and I doubt it’ll have much of a home-video afterlife. Wedge should have known better; you can’t make a good film from an inferior script.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><!--EndFragment-->

2013 Amanda Seyfried Animated films Aziz Ansari Beyonce Chris O'Dowd Christoph Waltz Colin Farrell Family films fantasy Josh Hutcherson Steven Tyler Epic: Wishful thinking

Epic   (2013) •  View trailer   Three stars. Rating: PG, and needlessly, for "scary images" and mildly rude language By  Derrick B...

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