| More |
| Almost Famous (2000)-122 minutes Go see this film. That guy that did Fast Times at Ridgemont High made it. So what if there's tons of street buzz. So what if there's a line and you just know some woman's going to sit next to you and eat a bag of chocolate chips? So what? Go see this film. See it more than once. Marvel at Cameron Crowe's direction. Check out the actors. Don't they make the 70s seem far less lame? Doesn't that guy that plays the kid look kind of like that guy in Harold and Maude? Isn't he great? Isn't that woman from Fargo awesome as the mom? You know any moms like that? I do, but they wouldn't let their kids go on a freaking tour bus with a rock band. Forget that part.. Listen to the music. It's kind of cool to hear those songs again real loud, right? What about that guy that plays Lester Bangs? Great, huh? Who's Lester Bangs? Greil Marcus shmushed up some of Lester's stuff in a book. There's a new biography out, too. Read some Bangs. Lively up yourself. Dream of becoming a writer for Rolling Stone. Consider becoming an actor, a director or a musician for a few moments. Feel your heart break tenderly just a bit from some damned movie. Sit in the dark with your mouth open and just watch. Remember when you were alive with passion that stirred you up enough to make you sort of queasy inside? Enjoy. Ignore Bijou Phillips' squeaky voice. She's not on-screen long. Wonder at Fairuza Balk's lack of a punk look for the first time in many moons. Think about how long the film is. What would you have cut out? What might you have put in its place? Miss these characters when the film ends. Write Mr. Crowe a Thank You letter. CSO 9/28/2000 |
| Survivor I hate the Survivor TV show. I've watched both seasons a couple of times each. I just don't understand the point of watching it. I know there's no chance the producers will let anyone get eaten by a saltie in The Outback, so there's really no suspense. Everyone will get endorsement deals after the show's over and become well-known for embarrassing things. Idea: set Survivor in somewhere that's not a freaking RESORT! How about South Central? Make everyone try to get a job with no car, while trying to go to night school and keep you mother from spending the rent on drugs. Set it in rural Mississippi, among sharecropping families.... Set it in... Let's see some real survivors. CSO 2/24/2001 |
| Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football I have to admit: when I first heard that Mr. Miller got the job, I actually screamed out loud. Not for joy. The horror. The horror. What untapped market pushed this bizarre notion from the depths of some overpaid idea man? I mean, this is almost Jungian, with the pleadings of some unforgiving zeitgeist clashing against the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates of our beloved sport. Must everyone be drawn into the swirling maelstrom of the booth on Monday evenings? I mean, what did Canton, Ohio ever do to deserve this? *ahem* I mean, why do we have to have some brain-boy in the booth? Poor Al. I love you, Dennis. I really do. I even like to think that I occasionally understand your references, but... MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL? Home of the yelling, Cheetos-snarfing, beer guzzling Pop and Son audience? Having Dennis on makes me miss ol' Giff, even after his being caught in flagrante delicto with that Ms. Johnson Bit o' Honey... In flagrante delicto? On the other hand, I have found myself using words I last used on standardized tests. My Scrabble score has gone up. MENSA sent me a letter... Maybe I can have my brew (Plain suds for me, thanks. No microbrews.) and my intellectual workout all at once. Dennis does know a little sump'n-sump'n about ball. He made the right call on a reversal. Heck, I had to go to the tape and watch the replay a couple of times for that, but he got it right off. I have to give him that, too. Kudos, Dennis. And I don't mean the candy. CSO 8/29/2000 |