http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/jmdobies Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:06:42 GMT Reviews by jmdobies http://www.viewpoints.com/Sesame-Street-All-Star-Alphabet-review-98e23 When searching for a new DVD for the kids, my wife and I came across this 2006 video and noticed the smiling face of Stephen Colbert on the cover, alongside Nicole Sullivan and various Muppets. Since we are big fans of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, we knew it would be a DVD that we would enjoy much more than the usual Dora the Explorer and Wiggles videos that torture us on a regular basis. — — Colbert, without his trademark wire-rimmed glasses, is pretty funny here, as the letter Z, who, as the last letter in the alphabet, suffers from a slight inferiority complex. Sullivan plays the letter A, and has a much healthier ego. Their bits were filmed at a mall in Jersey, and are pretty funny, if not as edgy as their work on The Daily Show or MadTV. — — The video runs through the letters of the alphabet with the usual blend of animation and Muppetry, with guest appearances from the Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Melissa Ethridge, and Larry... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:06:42 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Sesame-Street-All-Star-Alphabet-review-98e23 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Kiss-Kiss-Bang-Bang--139390-review-d7906 When I graduated from college back in '87, I took a break from "quality lit" to immerse myself in paperback crime novels of the '40s and '50s. Along with reading the acknowledged masters of the dime novel, Jim Thompson, David Goodis, John D. McDonald, Mickey Spillane, and James M. Cain, I also read many of the also-rans in the private eye genre, who churned out formulaic pulp novels featuring the bastard sons of Phillip Marlowe: Wade Miller's Max Thursday, Richard Prather's Shell Scott, and Brett Halliday's Michael Shayne. — — Although it takes its title from a book of film criticism by Pauline Kael, Shane's Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is based in part upon Brett Halliday's Michael Shayne mystery, Bodies Are Where You Find Them. Black made his name writing the screenplays of over-the-top action flicks like The Last Boy Scout and the first three Leathal Weapon films, and this film is his directorial debut. His hilarious script shows that he has developed into a much... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:32:55 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Kiss-Kiss-Bang-Bang--139390-review-d7906 jmdobies 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Mad-Men-Season-One-review-63395 I haven't watched AMC much in recent years, ever since they started added commercial breaks to their movies, and stopped showing classics in favor of '80s and '90s films. However, the channel scored a coup when they landed Mad Men, a drama set in the world of an early '60s advertising agency (on Madison Avenue, hence the title). Since creator/producer Matthew Weiner was part of the creative team behind The Sopranos, one would assume that HBO had the right of first refusal on this series, but passed. — — The first season of the acclaimed series has been collected in this DVD, and it is impressive indeed. I enjoyed watching the episodes without commercials, although after viewing the show on AMC, you can look at the ads with a different perspective. Last time I watched the show, one of the spots was for an aid in quitting smoking, which most of the characters on the show could really use. In capturing the look and feel of America circa 1960, the constant cloud of cigarette... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:53:04 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Mad-Men-Season-One-review-63395 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Rawhide-Second-Season-Vol-1-2-review-e1901 The complete second season of the long-running TV Western Rawhide presented on this 8-disc set collection demonstrates how a television series changes from its original conception to what it needs to be. Even though Eric Fleming got top billing as trail boos Gil Favor, it was his his young co-star, Clint Eastwood, who would become the face of the show. Fleming's taciturn grimace was certainly no match for the laconic presence and undeniable sex appeal of an icon in the making. By the second season, the production was firing on all cylinders, and it's all here, more than 25 hours of pure Western-watchin' enjoyment. Yee-ha! — Eastwood's portrayal of "Rowdy Yates" put him on the map, and was the launching pad for his film career, leading to his casting in Fistful of Dollars. At the time, there were a lot of people who thought Clint was crazy for giving up a high-paying TV gig to go to Europe to make Westerns, but we can safely say... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:01:43 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Rawhide-Second-Season-Vol-1-2-review-e1901 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/High-Plains-Drifter-review-27b42 The stroy goes that Clint Eastwood approached John Wayne about working together, not long after the 1973 release of High Plains Drifter, and was rebuffed. Apparently, the Duke took offense at Clint's ultra-violent vision of the Old West. While I hold John Wayne in the highest regard for his contribution to Western Movies, I've always loved this picture, Eastwood's second directorial effort. Contemporary critics branded him a fascist, but the years have been kind to this film, politics aside. — Clint plays as a nastier variation on The Man With No Name character, who rapes, pillages, and paints the town red exacting his merciless revenge upon cowardly citizens and bad hombres alike. The scene where he blows away several bad guys while getting a shave and a haircut is a brilliantly executed homage to the master, Sergio Leone, who directed Clint in the "Man With No Name" Spaghetti Westerns that made his name in the... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:06:56 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/High-Plains-Drifter-review-27b42 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Beguiled-review-587c4 Director Don Siegel made some great movies in his day, from tough film noir like 1949's The Big Steal and 1954's Riot in Cell Block 11 to the paranoid sci-fi of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and the original Dirty Harry (1971). He was Clint Eastwood's favorite director (besides himself), working with him on six films, of which The Beguiled was the third. It was Siegel's  favorite of all of his pictures, and one of mine as well. — Adapted From the novel by Thomas Cullinan, The Beguiled is a psychosexual gothic melodrama set during the Civil War, with Clint as John McBurney, a wounded Union soldier who takes refuge at a Southern girl's school, then proceeds to seduce various members of the faculty and student body. Jealousy and horror ensue. — Combining soap opera, eroticism, and grand guignol, it was released the same year as Dirty Harry and Play Misty for Me, but was unjustly neglected. The supporting cast includes... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:20:16 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Beguiled-review-587c4 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Hang-Em-High-review-c3552 Number nine on my Top Ten Clint Eastwood Westerns is Hang 'Em High, a 1968 United Aritsts release which marked Clint's first starring role in a Hollywood movie, after having become an international superstar in the Italian-made "Spaghetti Westerns " directed by Sergio Leone. — Hang 'Em High is essentially an American-made Spaghetti Western, about a man who survives a hanging to wreak vengeance on the men that strung him up. Eastwood's character, Jed Cooper, lacks the wit and otherworldly shooting ability of The Man With No Name, as he grimly goes about getting his bloody revenge on the hanging party. Instead of obscure Italian actors with dubbed voices, Eastwood's co-stars include such well-known character actors as Ed Begley, Pat Hingle, Ben Johnson,  Alan Hale Jr., Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, and LQ Jones, with Inger Stevens (The Farmer's Daughter) as Clint's love interest. — The film was... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:36:50 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Hang-Em-High-review-c3552 jmdobies 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-GOOD-The-BAD-The-UGLY-review-14be2 Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo a/k/a The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, from 1966, is the epic final installment in The Man With No Name Trilogy. Clint Eastwood stars as the Good, Lee Van Cleef is the Bad, and Eli Wallach is the Ugly. — With each film in the series, director Sergio Leone upped the ante, as well as the running time. In the second installment, For a Few Dollars More, Leone cast Lee Van Cleef opposite Eastwood with explosive results: bigger box office and double the body count. For the epic final chapter, Eli Wallach joined Eastwood and Van Cleef  as "Tuco," to chew the scenery wildly and provide equal parts skulduggery and comic relief. For all you Lord of the Rings fans, think of Wallach's character as sort of a Mexican Gollum. — There is some very funny repartee between Wallach's Tuco and Eastwood's "Blondie," and many memorable set pieces. Each of the three leads gets his chance to do his thing, and... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:58:13 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-GOOD-The-BAD-The-UGLY-review-14be2 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Whole-Foods-Austin-TX-review-41f00 First off, we shop at the Gateway Whole Foods Market at Research and Capital of Texas Highway regularly. Truth be told, Whole Foods was one of the reasons we came to Austin in the first place (the WFM World Headquarters are located at the massive 6th & Lamar location). Having lived in St. Augustine, Florida, where Native Sun, the only decent natural foods store in the area, was 25 miles away in Jacksonville, we looked forward to living in close proximity to a Whole Foods. — Having settled in NW Austin, the Gateway location is the Whole Foods where we most often do our shopping. However, due to a number of factors, we only buy meat and a few other items there, and the rest of our groceries elsewhere. — I'll let my wife explain: — "[The Gateway Whole Foods] is becoming a scary place to shop. Whole Foods has high prices, but they also have lots of organics, and non-polluted meats (no antibiotics, no hormones). I consider these essentials for my... Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:36:27 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Whole-Foods-Austin-TX-review-41f00 jmdobies 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Abbott-amp-Costello-Go-to-Mars-review-51175 Abbott & Costell Go to Mars, from 1953, directed by Charles Barton, stars Bud Abbott and Lou Costello as Lester and Orville, two morons working at a government missile base who accidentally launch themselves into space in an experimental rocket ship. Also in the cast are Horace McMann, Mari Blanchard, Jack Kruschen, Martha Hyer, and Anita Ekberg. — The movie was a takeoff on early '50s sci-fi movies like Flight to Mars, Rocketship X-M, and This Island Earth, combining space travel themes with the vaudevillian slapstick comedy of Abbott and Costello. Now, contrary to the title, Bud and Lou never actually make it to Mars, but eventually end up on Venus, but don't let that bother you. Those Venusian women are out of this world, lemme tell ya. Va-va-voom and a ring-a-ding-ding. Hubba hubba and so on and so forth. — Sharp-eyed fans of '50s sci-fi flicks will recognize certain props from other Universal space operas, like the bullet car from This... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:47:50 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Abbott-amp-Costello-Go-to-Mars-review-51175 jmdobies 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Casino-Royale-review-7c944 The 2006 film of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale is by no means a remake of the star-studded 1967 spy spoof of the same title. A fairly faithful adaptation of the first Bond novel, published in 1954, the plot concerns a younger 007, who has just gained double-o status, but has yet to evolve into the sophisticated persona we come to know and love. Daniel Criag, somewhat unhandsome but quite fit, is the young James, and he acquits himself admirably from the outset. — Dame Judi Dench is back as M, and though I initially thought making the character of M a woman was daft, Dame Judi is so good that it's actually an upgrade from Ol' BernardLee. Eva Green (The Dreamers) is ravishing as Bond's love interest Vesper Lind, and when she melts Bond's cold, cold heart, it is believable (unlike many other elements of the story). — As someone who loved the '60s Bond films with Sean Connery, but who skipped the last couple of Roger Moores, all of the Timothy Daltons,... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:14:57 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Casino-Royale-review-7c944 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Blue-Sky-Lite-Creamy-Root-Beer-review-eee78 Blue Sky Lite Creamy Root Beer is a new product from a company that has been making all-natural sodas since 1980. — This root beer is one of their new line of all-natural reduced calorie sodas, naturally sweetened with Lo Han fruit extract. According to the label, it contains "No Artificial Flavors or Colors, No Preservatives, No Caffeine, No Sodium, Kosher Certified and No High Fructose Corn Syrup." — With only 13 grams of sugar and 50 calories in a 12-ounce can, it offers root beer fans the option of enjoying their favorite beverage without packing on the pounds or poisoning themselves with aspartame. While it doesn't quite satisfy like IBC or A&W, you don't have to feel guilty about drinking it either. Also, unlike the majority of diet sodas, there's no annoying chemical aftertaste. —... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:54:29 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Blue-Sky-Lite-Creamy-Root-Beer-review-eee78 jmdobies 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Dr-Horribles-Sing-Along-Blog-review-8d476 I have to admit, I was no big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the movie or the TV show. When I happened to catch the all-singing, all-dancing episode of the Buffy series, I remember saying to myself, "This is bloody horrible," before switching it off. Since then, I have become a fan of Whedon's Firefly series and its big screen counterpart Serenity, thanks largely to my wife, who is a devoted "Browncoat." — So, when we heard about Whedon's latest venture, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, we were intrigued, to say the least. Concieved during the writer's strike, this comic musical fantasy stars Neil Patrick Harris in the title role as a lovelorn mad scientist, and Firefly's Nathan Fillion as his nemesis, Captain Hammer. — The songs are well-crafted little show tunes that are woven into the plot effortlessly, in contrast to what I rememeber of that Buffy episode. Harris is very funny in the role, and shows a nice singing voice. Fillion plays the role of... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:21:07 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Dr-Horribles-Sing-Along-Blog-review-8d476 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Top-Ten-Clint-Eastwood-Westerns-review-97d52 1. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966): The brilliant final installment in The Man With No Name Trilogy stars Clint Eastwood as the Good, Lee Van Cleef as the Bad, and Eli Wallach as the Ugly. Resist the edited, pan-and-scan versions, and revel in director Sergio Leone's jaw-dropping shot compositions and the brilliant score by Ennio Morricone in the uncut, widescreen edition. Available separately or as part of The Man With No Name Trilogy from MGM Home Video. — 2. Unforgiven (1992): At the 1993 Academy Awards, Clint copped the gold for Best Film and Best Director for this  revisionist Western. It was an acknowledgement that he was not just an icon, but also a great filmmaker. Not to mention a fine actor, as his portrayal of retired gunman William Munny will attest. Gene Hackman won Best Supporting Actor as the evil Little Bill. A Classic American Western. Available as a two-disc special edition from Warner Home Video.  3. The... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:19:22 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Top-Ten-Clint-Eastwood-Westerns-review-97d52 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Killer-Shrews-review-359e2 Here is a made-in-Texas horror movie called The Killer Shrews, directed by Ray Kellogg, and starring Ann Coulter and Nancy Grace. No, wait a minute, it stars James Best, who would go on to play Sherriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard, and Ken Curtis, who also produced the movie, who would go on to play Festus Haggen on the long-running TV Western Gunsmoke. You'll notice that in this movie, he doesn't talk through his nose, and his regular voice is nothing like ol' Festus. Co-starring is the lovely but cheesy Swedish starlet and 1957 Miss Universe Ingrid Gouda as "Ann Craigis." — Rounding out the cast are African-American character actor Judge Henry Dupree as Rook, the politically incorrect first mate who becomes shrew bait in the third reel; and as renowned shrew expert Dr. Marlowe Craigis, Baruch Lumet, who was a star of the Yiddish Theatre and father of film director Sidney Lumet. — Best plays "Thorne Sherman," boat captain and reluctant... Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:23:39 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Killer-Shrews-review-359e2 jmdobies 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Voyage-to-the-Planet-of-Prehistoric-Women-review-c5e13 1967's cut-and-paste job Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women, also known as Gill Women of Venus, stars blonde bombshell Mamie Van Doren, the road company of the Golddiggers, and a bunch of Russian guys with dubbed voices. If you think you've seen this flick before, it's not just déjà vu messin' up your mind. Roger Corman, a guy who knew how to stretch a buck, purchased the rights to a 1962 Russian-made space epic entitled Planeta Berg a/k/a Storm Planet, and then recut and redubbed the film to make 1965's Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet. Looking to maximize his investment, he hired fledgling filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich to shoot new scenes featuring cavewomen in clamshell bikinis and record some explanatory narration, and voila, he had a whole ‘nother movie. Bogdanovich would go on to direct several excellent films, but this sure ain't one of 'em, so the director credit goes to the fictitious Derek Thomas. — Efforts were made to disguise the... Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:18:42 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Voyage-to-the-Planet-of-Prehistoric-Women-review-c5e13 jmdobies 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Killers-From-Space-review-ae691 What we have here, people, is an atomic age science fiction docudrama from 1955, directed by W. Lee Wilder and starring Peter Graves, called KILLERS FROM SPACE, not to be confused with Wilder's PHANTOM FROM SPACE, made the year before. This movie is the one where the space aliens have ping pong balls for eyes. — Graves plays Dr. Martin, a scientist working on top-secret A-bomb tests who has a blackout that's not alcohol-related but in fact alien-induced. As you may have gathered from the title, the extraterrestrials in KILLERS FROM SPACE are not cute and cuddly like Alf or E.T., but more like the kind of alien life form that'll abduct you, lay you out on a slab, and probe you in ways that are most unpleasant, if you know what I'm saying. That's what's in store for our hero, and it's a fate even worse than watching this movie. — A lot of times, the science in science fiction is real, and sometimes it's complete gibberish. Guess which is true of this movie? When the alien... Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:53:00 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Killers-From-Space-review-ae691 jmdobies 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Walk-Hard-The-Dewey-Cox-Story-review-a2560 I looked forward to seeing Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story when I first saw the trailer last summer, but missed the opportunity to see it in theaters, as it came and went in a couple of weekends. Besides, the word of mouth wasn't great. — Essentially a parody of music biographies like Walk the Line, Beyond the Sea, and Ray, the opportunity for a truly funny movie was there, but unfortunately, Walk Hard is not that movie. While the film boasts a solid pedigree, with fine comic actor John C. Reilly (Talladega Nights, Chicago, Boogie Nights), director Jake Kasdan (Zero Effect, Orange County and the TV series Freaks and Geeks), along with producer Judd Apatow, whose recent run of box-office hits has earned a boatload of cash. — Reilly is fine in the part, although the script lets him down more often than not. An early scene involving the death of his brother (cut in half by a machete) may have a direct corollation to similar events in both the Johnny Cash and Ray... Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:37:41 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Walk-Hard-The-Dewey-Cox-Story-review-a2560 jmdobies 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Tell-the-Truth-Until-They-Bleed-Coming-Clean-in-the-Dirty-World-of-Blues-and-Rock-N-Roll-review-b67c0 Josh Alan Friedman, son of playwright Bruce Jay Friedman and brother of artist Drew Friedman, is a writer and blues guitarist based here in Texas. I have admired his work in his book Tales ofTimes Square, as well as his editing of Al Goldstein's filthy autobio I, Goldstein and Now Dig This: The Unspeakable Writings of Terry Southern 1950-1995. — Tell the Truth Until They Bleed: Coming Clean in the Dirty World of Blues and Rock 'N' Roll is a collection of Friedman's profiles of various old school blues, soul, rock n' roll, and country musicians, songwriters, and producers who have been marginalized in the years since the music business went corporate. The highlights include a previously unpublished profile of songwriter/producer Jerry Lieber ("Kiss My Big Black Tokhis!"), "Mr. Nobody," an account of his six-month relationship with Ronnie Spector, a heartbreaking account of Austin musician Keith Ferguson ("The Beautiful Loser"), and the title piece, about legendary... Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:32:14 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Tell-the-Truth-Until-They-Bleed-Coming-Clean-in-the-Dirty-World-of-Blues-and-Rock-N-Roll-review-b67c0 jmdobies 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Austin-Karaoke-Austin-TX-review-b7db3 Austin Karaoke, located at the corner of North Lamar and Justin Lane, is in the style of the Tokyo karaoke place from the movie Lost in Translation: a series of private rooms where friends can get together to belt out their favorites without fear of embarassment. Unlike karaoke bars where one must wait for long periods of time before getting the opportunity to sing, only to suffer public humiliation in front of a room full of strangers, the intimate private rooms at Austin Karaoke offer an environment where even the most tone-deaf vocalist can perform without feeling self-conscious. — — The atmostmosphere is authentically Asian, right down to the songbooks, which are mostly in Japanese. The backing tracks to the songs are of the cheesy, synthesizer-heavy variety, which would be a problem, if not for the fact that the cheese adds to the overall vibe of the place. The accompanying videos are also pretty durn cheesy, as pretty young Japanese girls act out campy, completely... Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:03:18 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Austin-Karaoke-Austin-TX-review-b7db3 jmdobies 5