Results tagged “reviews” from jsstudios.com

What's a mom to do when her husband dies of an unexpected heart attack leaving her to care for their two son's? How can she possibly maintain their lifestyle of driving leased Land-Rovers and sipping cappuccinos in the upscale, Southern Californian neighborhood of Agrestic? The answer is simple . . . you start selling pot. That's the basic premise of Weeds, a series on Showtime. I don't subscribe to Showtime, but browsing through some TV series DVDs I came across season 1 and watched it. I'm hooked on it. It is irreverent, disrespectful and completely hilarious.

Mary-Louise Parker, as Nancy Botwin, is a woman who suddenly finds herself a single, widowed mother of two sons. Her husband, an engineer, had previously been the breadwinner and provided for an upscale lifestyle in the upper-middle class, Californian neighborhood of Agrestic. As if being a widowed mom isn't enough, her fourth-grade son, Shane ( Alexander Gould ), has his own problems growing up. He has a bit of an emotional side but tries to find outlets like writing gangsta' rap music, making mock terror videos and shooting mountain lions. Her teen age son, Silas ( Hunter Parrish ), is not only sexually active but also enjoys smoking pot and going to his fair share of parties where he meets his deaf girlfriend. But life for the Botwins wouldn't be quite right without a fine, upstanding father figure like Andy ( Justin Kirk ), Nancy's brother. He's drifted in from Alaska and decides to step up and invite himself to be Nancy's partner in the business. He teaches Shane how to better cheat on his homework, seduces Silas' girlfriend via IM, screws Shane's friend's mom, and watches porn while getting high with Nancy's CPA. When he gets busted trying to help Nancy sell her pot, he then decides to bang his NA sponsor. But it's ok in Agrestic to be a bit odd.

Her best friend, Celia Hodes ( Elizabeth Perkins ) isn't without her fair share of faults. She sends her daughter away to boarding school after finding out that she is sexually active ( and Silas' original girlfriend ). Later she finds out that she has cancer and has her breasts removed after having an affair with Nancy's supplier, Conrad ( Romany Malco ). But it isn't just her desire to be young and beautiful that drives her to Conrad. She also learns that her lawyer husband, Dean ( Andy Milder ), is doing the local tennis pro and lets her shove her tennis racket up his ass. But Nancy doesn't let that stop her from using his legal skills combined with the local CPA, Doug Wilson ( Kevin Nealon ), help her to set up a front for her budding ( pun intended ) "bakery shop". After all, not only are they experts in their field, they are wonderful customers of hers.

But it isn't all fun and games. She's learning a little at a time about the drug dealing business. She faces angry, territorial dealers, the trials and tribulations of raising her kids, and the grief of losing her husband who she loved very much. There are times when the world is spinning out of control and she fears she just might lose it. How's a woman supposed to bring home the bacon, maintain a successful, expanding marijuana-dealing business while still being a good mom?

The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, is by far the best book I have ever had the pleasure reading in recent memory.

I wandered across it totally by accident reading Nathan Bransford's ( he's a literary agent ) blog. This book is quite amazing. It is a ghost story, but it's not spooky. It's a murder mystery, but you already know who did it. It's a love story. It's all those things and much, much more.

The Lovely Bones is a book about a young girl, Suzie Salmon ( like the fish ) who is raped and murdered on her way home one night. Her body is never found. Her murderer, a man who lives down the street from her, is also never caught. But that's really not the story. This is a story about dealing with grief, about the impact of the young girl's murder on her family and friends.

This book is unique as it is told from Suzie's perspective. She watches people. Her friends, her parents, her sister and brother. She watches as the devastating news is presented to her parents that the police cannot find her body. She's there when her dad tries to explain to her brother that Suzie will never come back home again. She's present to share the joy when her sister announces that she will soon be married.

Evidently this book was quite a hit. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year. But the book was not accepted without criticism. When Suzie dies she goes to what she calls, "her heaven." However, there's no reference to angels, God or Jesus. Evidently there were quite a few people that didn't really appreciate this. Personally, I'm glad there's no reference to religion. I think that it presents heaven in such a light that anyone, regardless of their religion, will be able to enjoy the story.

It also appears that this novel is going to come out on film. Evidently it is currently in production and slated for release in 2008. I'm not entirely sold on the cast with the exception of Susan Sarandon as her grandmother and Rachel Weisz as her mom. One last note . . . at serious risk of losing my man-card . . . my eyes glistened over several times while reading this story. Have a box of kleenex handy.

I just finished reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld the other day. Under normal circumstances, this book is a pretty far stretch from my normal reading habits. But this book caught my interest as I was browsing through Hastings. It also came highly recommended by the girl working that day. I'm not one to turn a blind eye to recommendations. So naturally I decided to give it a try.

Uglies is a book about the future. In the future people will undergo extreme plastic surgery at the age of 16 that will dramatically alter their bodies. Everyone will become pretty - or at least the definition of pretty that is imposed at the time. Everyone will want to be pretty. It is everyone's rite of passage, the defining event that marks the passage from youth to adult. Once you are pretty you are brought into mainstream society. Until then, you live with all the children - the Uglies, play tricks and get a basic education. You learn about the rusties. The culture that drove metal cars, raped the environment and wasn't concerned with everyone being different.

The story is about a young girl about to turn 16 and can barely wait until she is to be made pretty. Her boyfriend, who is a few months older, has already been made pretty. She sneaks out of her dorm and goes to the community where all the pretties live to see him. While avoiding trouble along the way she meets another girl who shows her how the rusties lived. Before her birthday ( she shares her birthday with her new friend ) she is invited to go away and avoid being made pretty. Her friend, being quite satisified with the fact that she is different, has no intention of conforming to the status quo and would rather live on the fringes in a society called the smokies. The smokies, or at least a handful of them, know the evil secrets about what else happens when you are made pretty. Twists and turns are abundant and you're left wondering how things will turn out. I'm not going to ruin it for you. Uglies is a good read in the first of a series of at least three books that I know of.

I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical when I picked up this book. Even though I read the reviews stating that this series was very good, perhaps even a "Harry Potter killer", it's just that I've just never been into vampire books. But, I was pleasantly surprised.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, is about a young girl, Bella, living with her mother in Phoenix, AZ. She's nothing special; not exceptionally pretty or athletic, but smart. Her mom has a relationship going on with a minor-league baseball player and wants to follow him as his career is perhaps starting to take off. She decided to make the decision easier for her mom to handle by moving to Forks, WA, a quaint little town where it rains a lot and seeing the sun through the clouds is a bit of a surprise, with her father. There she falls for a guy whom she believes is perhaps the most beautiful guy she's ever seen. One drawback - he's a vampire. He reluctantly falls for her too since in reality, young, defenseless women are generally on the menu for vampires. But he fights his urges.

The book is a pretty quick read with a few slowdowns until excitement ensues as a rival clan of vampires makes an attempt to not only avenge a historical spite, but also to provide the thrill of the hunt one vampire in particular. The story is told from the perspective of Bella. There's a bit of a twist on the legend of vampires in this book, so be ready to have your conventional wisdom of vampire lore tested.

This book is the first in a series of three books so far. The next in the series is New Moon (Twilight, Book 2) followed by Eclipse (Twilight, Book 3). I haven't started New Moon yet as I'm looking at another author currently, however I'll probably read it in time.

I just finished reading Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation into Civilization's End. Before you get all, "Oh . . . he's one of those people," on me I'll have you know it's a really good book. I first learned of the book when I was watching some documentary on either The History Channel or Discovery or something like that. The show was presenting the topic of how the Earth could possibly end in a variety of scenarios like asteroids, comets, volcanoes, etc . . . and the book was cited for some reference. As the title suggests, it is a scientific exploration of the concept. It's not meant to scare the hell out of you by merely proclaiming that the world will end without any substance to back it up.

The author, Lawrence E. Joseph, is a scientist and a published author ( besides this book ). He starts out with background on the Mayan prophecy and significance of the 12/12/2012 date. In a nutshell, the Mayan calendar ends on that date and a new age will begin to bring both catastrophe and revelation. While there is plenty of speculation as to why, the author provides all kinds of scenarios that could provide a reason our world would cease to exist or be drastically changed.

For example, there could be a cataclysmic, volcanic eruption that would make our species extinct. Yellowstone is overdue. Solar activity could bombard the earth with deadly rays that literally cook our atmosphere and render it unsuitable for life to exist. Our world could be pummeled by asteroids or comets that cause such widespread destruction that we are essentially thrust backward into the stone age. And, of course, there's always that global warming thing - but thank goodness our current administration has assured us there's nothing to worry about there.

Lawrence consults with a number of highly renowned and respected scientists to explore and discuss the scenarios. He doesn't pull any punches. If there is a likelihood that a certain scenario could unfold by 2012, he makes it known. For example, many scientists believe that Yellowstone is overdue to erupt. According to evidence they have it seems to erupt at fairly regular intervals. However, that time has come and gone ( give or take ) and therefore the probability of an eruption exists in the near future. That doesn't necessarily mean that the eruption will occur exactly on 12/12/2012. But it doesn't guarantee that it won't either. Since there is no actual statement of what will positively happen on 12/12/2012, it's pretty easy to suggest that any possible scenario is likely.

There's no shortage of people who have their own agendas to fill and the Mayan prophecy is a likely scapegoat. For reasons such as this the author cites religious substance that also suggest the 12/12/2012 timeline as accurate. We've all heard of Armageddon. Could that be the prophecy of the Mayan end? It's not difficult to speculate what will ultimately happen - or if anything will happen at all. In reading this book, I didn't expect to finish it and have all the answers.

The author's style of writing the book was very conversational and at times, rather light hearted. It's not one of those, "run for the hills" kinds of books that will send you outside like Chicken Little to proclaim, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" It's an interesting read that will leave you a lot smarter and better able to decipher the bullshit that a good number of people would be happy to pile on your doorstep.

I just finished reading, Nation of Secrets: The Threat to Democracy and the American Way of Life by Ted Gup. I imagine it's quite possible that I've already been branded un-American if I'm reading something like that. That's not the case. I assure you. The other distinct possibility is that this book is just one more of those "Bush bashing books" that have been on the market. It's not necessarily one of those either. However, it does point out that over the last six years our habit of hiding and classifying information has increased dramatically.

Nation of Secrets does an excellent job of painting a portrait of how our society is being shrouded in secrecy. This doesn't just occur at the highest levels of government - it is becoming an everyday occurrence in many other institutions. From academia to law enforcement to everyday business there are secrets everywhere. While some of these secrets, and the process by which they are kept under tight control may be necessary, the end result of maintaining the confidentiality of the information is a disservice to the American public.

For example, consider the case of product recalls that are kept secret in closed-door legal scenarios in which the plaintiff signs a confidentiality agreement for a settlement offer over a faulty product that caused serious injury or death. Should that be a secret? better yet, consider the sexual assault on a college campus handled in a closed-door session. No information reaches the public. The assailant gets a slap on the wrist. All records are sealed. No one ever finds out that this is happening so the college doesn't have to report that sexual assaults are on the rise on their campus.

And what of the people who try to bring these secrets to the public? While there are laws to protect whistle-blowers it's a uphill battle for even the highly connected. This book further explores the emergence of new types of classifications of levels of secrecy that are quickly becoming innumerable. It's as if "classified", "top secret" and "secret" weren't enough. To make matters worse, there are even people who are assigned a task of going over publicly available and re-classifying it as top secret. Ted Gup's collection of several case studies explains how obsessive our nation has become in keeping secrets, the long-lasting effects of confidentiality and the negative effect it is having on our nation.

We had a nice family evening together watching Charlotte's Web tonight. You'll probably remember the story, from E. B. White, about the little girl who saves a runt pig from certain death. The little pig befriends the other farm animals, including a spider who again saves him from being the main course at Christmas dinner, and goes on to win hearts and minds at the county fair.

My daughter just loves this story, so we had to get he latest version of it. This 2006 features Dakota Fanning as Fern, the little girl who saves Wilbur ( The Pig ) and gives him a home in her uncle's barn. The cast also includes the voices of many stars including Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi, Robert Redford, John Cleese and Kathy Bates.

It's packed full of funny and entertaining scenes that follow the original story. If you loved the original book or the animated version, this remake with live action and computer generated graphics will certainly provide for an entertaining evening.

My favorite author is Stephen King. During a point in his career he began writing books under the pen name Richard Bachman. According to his website he did this because he could put out more than one book a year in a business that would only allow one book a year. Another of Bachman's novels hit the shelves recently. As soon as I found out I got it and read devoured it. The novel is named Blaze.

Blaze, the main character, is a large man who was left disfigured and mentally challenged after he was physically abused by his father when he was a young boy. After being institutionalized in various foster homes and boy's homes, he grew up enduring his fair share of cruel adults as well as brief moments of happiness with friends and others. Old enough to be on his own, he made his way down the east coast and was drawn to labor that generally required more physical labor than intellectual power. However, for spare pocket money, he ended up being involved with shadier dealings like armed robbery and eventually swinging to con jobs under the guidance of a man named George.

George's aspirations involved one big con that would take care of him and Blaze for life. After George dies Blaze decides to carry out the big job - kidnapping the infant of a rich couple. A suspenseful storyline ensues as the reader follows Blaze ultimately being pursued by the FBI and state police. I couldn't help but develop a liking for Blaze, thanks to King's ability to draw in the reader and paint a portrait that demands constant attention.

I managed to sit back the other night and watch this DVD. I've seen the movie before - just never from start to finish and almost never the complete, un-edited version.

Several of the actors are some of my favorites. Even my wife ( who isn't really a big fan of watching TV and movies at home ) decided to watch it with me. She was dozing off from time to time about two-thirds of the way through, but woke up in time to see the end. I find it difficult to express how I really feel about Fargo. It's a bit of a strange one in that, for me, it has real appeal besides the excellent character acting. I imagine that this movie is one that you either really like or really hate.

A good friend of mine, Aleah, asked me to review this DVD. I admit, this isn't a movie I would have originally put into my queue. I've watched a couple movies this week that I would have been more likely to review.

For example, I watched Freedomland. Now that was a strange movie. I also watched Lady in the Water, an M. Night Shyamalan movie. More than likely, I would have selected Lady in the Water to review. But, the way I see it, if you're going to review DVDs you need to step out of your comfort zone and expand your horizons.

So, it is with mixed emotions that I must reveal that I secretly enjoyed this movie. Read on to find out why.

Friday night I finished watching Failure to Launch. In keeping with my goal to review one DVD a week, I ( for lack of another DVD to review ) decided this movie would suffice for my weekly review. I had originally planned on reviewing another movie, but I had some problems with three out of the four I received in the mail.

I imagine they are using some sort of machine to clean their DVDs. Only one of the DVDs was watchable in it's entirety. There were scuffs, or something, that caused the movie to freeze up terribly. Being the reliable service I previously mentioned, DVD Avenue sent replacements within a couple days.

Failure To Launch is about a thirty-something guy, Tripp, ( Matthew McConaughey ) still living at home with his mom ( Kathy Bates ) and dad ( Terry Bradshaw ). He has everything it takes to move out from under his mother and father's roof, but appears to lack the ambition to move out on his own without a push. After mom and dad go to a friend's backyard bar-b-que, they learn that their neighbor's son had recently moved out - with a little help.

Enter Paula ( Sarah Jessica Parker ), an entrepreneur, an . . . interventionist . . . if you will. She specializes in convincing young, capable bachelors that it is high time they vacate their parents' homes. With a few simple steps, like becoming their girlfriend, creating an emotional situation to draw out sympathy, and allowing them to teach her something, she gains their trust and builds their confidence. Little does Paula know, but she is falling for Tripp and the two fall in love.

In a simple twist, one of Tripp's thirty-something, slacking friends catches Paula with one of her other clients. Tripp eventually finds out that Paula was hired by his parents and is not the true love he thought she was. However, the two are re-united with the help of Tripp and Paula's friends and the two live happily ever after - but no longer at Tripp's parent's house. Failure to Launch is definitely a date movie. The corny, predictable humor was funny at times, but not all the time. I truly prefer Matthew in other roles such as Contact and Two for the Money.

Something new - something different . . .

Since I really don't want to make this place of mine specific to any single topic, but yet, I want any loyal visitors to be able to rely on me doing something regularly. And as you may know . . . regularity is something us old folks really favor. I get DVDs from a service called DVD Avenue. They're a great service and they rent movies from all genres ( including adult ) as well as games ( Playstation, Xbox ).

I think their rates are very competitive and have no complaints about turnaround times between movie return and getting a new one in the mail. They work just like Netflix. Since I have this stream of movies coming and going I thought it would make for a great opportunity for regular posts in the form of movie reviews. Some of the movies you might have heard of - or seen - but I'm going to do it just the same. With that said . . . on to the first review of Idiocracy . . .