Urban and Rucker

Rucker's Review of Disney Pixar's UP

2009-05-29T10:12:00.004-05:00

Check out my review of Disney-Pixar's latest masterpiece, UP. I went to a midnight screening and pretty much couldn't contain my excitement for the rest of the night. URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

Twitter.com/AdamRucker
E-mail Us! UrbanAndRucker@gmail.com!
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Rucker Review: 17 Again starring Zac Efron

2009-04-20T15:28:00.000-05:00

This past Friday night I forked over $9.50 (ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, AMC?) to see the new ZACEFRON (pronounced as one robotic-sounding word (thanks, Heike for the nickname)) flick, 17 Again. Me and 400 million teen aged girls.

I was more than a little skeptical going in to the film. After all, I had spent the equivalent of 1 hour of time filing papers in a doctor's office on the ticket so I didn't just want to see High School Musical 4 (except secretly that would not have disappointed me at all). Luckily I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually a very entertaining movie worthy of my dinero!

So we all get the gist: Matthew Perry is about to get a divorce from his wife, he remembers the good old days when he was Zac Efron, cool and popular, and he gets transformed back to his 17-year-old self by a magical old janitor.

Zac Efron goes back to his high school, where his son and daughter currently attend, and gets to have all those great father-daughter/father-son moments with his kids, as a creepy 17-year-old classmate named "Mark" who is oddly interested in their lives. Sure, there were the token "Who do you think you are, my FATHER?!" moments that you would expect from any movie where a young girl's dad has transformed into her teen aged classmate who still disciplines her as if he were her father (it's funny because WE know, but SHE doesn't know that he IS her dad! Hee hee), but this cheesiness didn't cancel out the otherwise entertaining portions of the film.

Sidenote: the daughter was played by Michelle Trachtenberg, who apparently never ages because she's still playing teenagers in movies, and I was under the impression that she was like 30 by now. (She's 23.)

Zacefron also gets close to his wife who, though he is 17, is still 37. These scenes tend to be a bit creepy. At least for the younger viewers in the audience. But I definitely noticed the, let's say, "more mature" women in the audience get a little excited at the thought of slow dancing with the Zacefron. These scenes were reminiscent of the creepy scenes with Jamie Lee Curtis and Chad Michael Murray in Freaky Friday when Lindsay Lohan had overtaken Curtis's body.
I should also add that throughout the movie I almost never thought of Troy from High School Musical. Well, except for in the first five minutes of the movie when Zacefron played basketball, did a choreographed dance on said basketball court, and then said "We're in this together!" But other than that, there was almost no Troy in this movie.

Overall, the Zacefron did a great job as a 37-year-old in the body of a 17-year-old. His ability to escape the High School Musical trap pleasantly surprised me. There's also a dramatic scene at the end of the movie that I'm pretty sure had 2,000 girls surrounding me reaching for the Kleenex.

So all in all the verdict for 17 Again is: Go see it!

PS: One of my favorite lines in the movie was at the very beginning and spoken by one of the extras to a friend who had just gotten a promotion: "But it gets better- because we're going to T.G.I. FRIDAYS!"

I don't know why that was so funny to me, but it was.

What did YOU think of 17 Again? Leave your thoughts in the comments or @reply me on Twitter at Twitter.com/AdamRucker

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

E-mail Us! UrbanAndRucker@gmail.com!
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We Like Dizney!

2009-04-20T13:47:00.022-05:00

If you're reading this blog, you probably know that Urban & Rucker love everything about Disney. With that in mind, I penned a little song for us based off one of my favorite videos, "We Like Sportz" by The Lonely Island. Here's the source material:

And now, here's the world premiere of the Urban & Rucker version, "We Like Dizney:"

(phone rings)
SAM: Hello?
ADAM: Hi. Do you want to walk to class with me?
SAM: No, “Hannah Montana’s” on.
ADAM: Oh, I almost forgot. I'll be right there.

BOTH:
We like Dizney; we don't care who knows!
From the ears on our heads to the socks on our toes.
We like Dizney; we don't care who knows.
ADAM: Miley (Miley, Miley) !
SAM: Jonas!
ADAM: Pixar!
SAM: Bolt.

SAM: The movie is starting, everyone is here.
I got my snacks, my friends and my ears.
ADAM: Just two normal adults hanging out, having fun.
Right, Mouseketeer Number 2?
SAM: Yeah, Mouseketeer Number 1!

ADAM:
M to the I to the L-E-Y
It’s fun for us. Don’t ask why.
SAM: If you say that we’re lame we’ll call you a hater.
Now shut your kid up. We’re in a theater.

ADAM: Watching Disney movies is always fun.
Miley and the JoBros are number one.
SAM: Efron, Hudgens, Tisdale, Grabeel
After the movie, we’ll grab a hot meal.
ADAM: Confusing us with Dreamworks makes us mad.
“Kung Fu Panda” wasn’t Pixar, but it wasn’t bad.

BOTH:
We like Dizney; we don't care who knows!
From The Little Mermaid to Direct Videos.
We like Dizney; we don't care who knows.
ADAM: Miley (Miley, Miley) !
SAM: Jonas!
ADAM: Pixar!
SAM: Bolt.

ADAM: Now when I say Lasseter, You say “rules.”
LASSETER!
SAM: RULES.
ADAM: LASSETER!
SAM: RULES! When I say Nickelodeon, you say “sucks.”
NICKELODEON!
ADAM: SUCKS!
SAM: NICKELODEON!
ADAM: SUCKS!

SAM: We go to Disney World because it’s cool.
It’s totally better than being at school.
ADAM: We get Fast Passes to save us time.
Why, you ask?
Check the line!

SAM: We're grown ups and we like Disney.
If you disagree, then we’ll give you the business.
ADAM: I'm dance captain and I choose you.
SAM: I'm the other dance captain and I choose you, too.

ADAM: We watch the DVD and the special features.
SAM: We learn the moves ‘cause Zac’s our teacher.

BOTH: Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance.
Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance.

BOTH: We like Dizney; we don't care who knows!
From the awesome concerts to the super cool clothes.
We like Dizney; we don't care who knows.
ADAM: Miley (Miley, Miley) !
SAM: Jonas!
ADAM: Pixar!
SAM: Bolt.

ADAM: Print off the tickets.
SAM: Let’s go to the movie.
ADAM: Now burn me a CD.
SAM: Now burn ME a CD.

Next time we're in the same city, we should probably make this into a video.

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

E-mail Us! UrbanAndRucker@gmail.com!
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All Time Greatest: Comedy Movie!

2009-02-14T17:57:00.012-06:00

We've been pretty lousy bloggers lately. You know it. We know it. We've gotten caught up in schoolwork... and Twitter. So to make it up to you (and to give us something to post about), we're starting a new feature called "All Time Greatest."

We'll choose a category and Adam and I will pick our personal "all time greatest" of that category.

Today's category: All Time Greatest Comedy

Urban's Pick: "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." It's a recent choice, I know. I'm surprised, too. I thought about this for awhile. At first, I wanted to pick something showy, like a Buster Keaton silent film. But then I got honest with myself... and "Anchorman" makes me laugh more every time I see it.

It's my opinion that "Anchorman" is to the 2000s what "Dumb and Dumber" was for the 1990s. It's easily quotable and has a cast that just works incredibly well together. It's delivered a number of phrases that have seeped into our collective consciousness and become catchphrases unto themselves: "I'm kind of a big deal." "Stay classy." "I love lamp." Okay, maybe not that last one, but it's still a great line.

It's got goofy 1970s costumes, outdated sexist jokes, a great soundtrack, an epic battle, and even pandas. I think "Anchorman" is the all time greatest comedy.

Rucker's Pick: "Dumb & Dumber." This was a no-brainer for me. It's easily the most quoted film in my movie quote repertoire, though "Mean Girls" occasionally gives it a run for its money. D&D is smack in the middle of classic Jim Carrey movies-- after "The Mask" and before "Liar Liar." Carrey plays "Lloyd" opposite Jeff Daniels's "Harry." Plus I also feel a personal connection to this movie since nearly every time I get a haircut, I am called "Lloyd" by more than one family member because of my resemblance to Mr. Carrey.

The number of quotable lines in D&D is nearly infinite, including, but not limited to, such classics as:

"We got no food, we got no jobs, our pets' heads are fallin' off!!"
"Uhh, Harry, I took care of it!"
"So you're telling me there's a chance!"
A) "Don't go dieing on me!"
B) "I was robbed by a sweet old lady on a motorized cart. I didn't even see it coming!"
After seeing hitchhikers: "Pick 'em up!"
"Pretty bird, pretty bird."

It wasn't just the outrageously ridiculous lines, but Carrey and Daniels's ability to deliver them hilariously without making them seem over the top. D&D is one of those movies that I will watch over and over (as I did last week when TBS showed it 4 times in a row), and that is why it is my pick for all time greatest comedy!

What Do YOU Think? Agree/Disagree with Urban&Rucker? Leave your thoughts and picks for All Time Greatest Comedy in the comments!

And for and endless flow of entertainment or to get in touch with us, follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/adamrucker and Twitter.com/samanthaurban!

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

E-mail Us! UrbanAndRucker@gmail.com!
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U&R's opinions on OSCARS 2009

2009-01-23T11:00:00.007-06:00

Check out Urban&Rucker's thoughts on the 2009 Academy Award nominees on their respective blogs, Life on the Couch and Can I Please Just Say.

Leave your thoughts on the nods in the comments!

Follow Us on Twitter, Please! It'll make our days.
Adam's Twitter + Samantha's Twitter

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

E-mail Us! UrbanAndRucker@gmail.com!
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Benjamin Button: Super or Snoozer?

2009-01-04T12:03:00.002-06:00

Rucker's Take: I went into this screening with a good amount of curiosity, and rightfully so, curiosity is built into the title, but I also didn't want to like this movie that much either. The trailer was terribly creepy, what with an old Cate Blanchett leaning down to kiss a toddler that she was in love with, and I'm not the biggest Brad Pitt fan. But I couldn't help but walk away thinking that this was a wonderful movie.

The film is a chronological retelling of Button's life by his daughter (who doesn't know she's his daughter, but come on it's not that hard) by way of his diary. Caroline (the daughter) is reading the diary to her mother, Daisy, played by a ridiculously old-looking Cate Blanchett.

The portion of the movie with Caroline and Daisy is set in nearly-present time in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina was just about to strike New Orleans, where the film is set. I didn't really understand the importance of placing the film at this time as the hurricane really had nothing to do with the story. I guess the filmmakers were just wanting to make some sort of statement since they were one of the first films to begin production in New Orleans following the storm. And that's fine and all, it just had nothing to do with the story, and the story was already nearly 3 hours long, and time is money folks.

There were a couple of parallels between BB and some other very popular stories. The old lady remembering everything from her life kinda reminded me of Titanic, except she didn't throw the Heart of the Ocean into the ocean at the end. Ohhhh- I just got the symbolism there! The beginning of the story was also kinda Wicked-ish-- a giant clock playing a significant role in the birth of a terribly deformed baby... But whatever, I'm probably the only one who noticed that.

Queenie, Benjamin's adopted mother, is my life. I loved her and I want to meet her. You will love her too, and that's all I have to say about that.

The movie was filled with great quotes, which now fill up the "favorite quotes" portion of my Facebook page:

"We're meant to lose the people we love.. How else would we know how important they are to us?"

"You never know what’s coming for you."

"We are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss."

My favorite part of the movie was a sequence in which Button recounts a series of events that lead to his precious Daisy being hit by a car. I always think about stuff like that, the whole Sliding Doors thing. Way interesting.

The visual effects and makeup in this movie were ridiculous. As the girl walking out of the theater in front of me said, "They are like, totally gonna win some award for best makeup or something."

I heard they used some sort of psycho technology to put Brad Pitt's old-looking face on different bodies to create Button when he was young/old. They did a fantastic job of aging and de-aging him. Also Cate Blanchett looked flawless throughout the movie. Well, except when she was lying in bed dying. Then she looked pretty bad.

The worst part of the movie, that I couldn't stand, were the voices. And I suppose if they were authentic accents to New Orleans there's nothing I can do about that, other than not be friends with people from New Orleans. But I didn't like Button's voice at all, which was unfortunate because he is the main character and narrates the whole film. And I also didn't like Daisy's voice when she's in the hospital because it's all accenty AND scratchy.

All in all though, this was a fantastic film.

Just go prepared to sit for almost three hours. That means NO drinks!

Enjoy!

Rucker's Rating: Soo Good

Urban's Take: I love love love this movie. I saw it yesterday and it's still weighing on my mind, as quality movies are prone to do. Rucker gave you the long and short of the plot, so I'll just provide you with my own opinions.

What I liked: Pretty much everything. I loved Taraji P. Henson, who plays Benjamin's adoptive mother, Queenie. I thought Brad Pitt did an excellent job throughout the movie and wouldn't be surprised to see his name on the Oscar nominations list, released January 22.

I adored all of the funny little things like the drunken sea captain or the elderly man who recounts having been struck by lightning seven times. In fact, the concept and execution of Benjamin growing up and growing old in a retirement home full of colorful characters never failed to make me smile. The supporting characters in this movie are what pushed it over the edge for me and set it apart from most dramatic fare this season.

Director David Fincher crafted a wonderful film - and though it's long, I can't think of much I would want to cut out. Mostly, I'm amazed that they took such a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and fleshed it out to be a beautiful opus about life, death, and the delicate dance between the two extremes.

What I didn't like: Cate Blanchett. I'll be honest and say that I'm not a huge fan of hers unless she's playing Queen Elizabeth. But especially in "Benjamin Button," she seemed to stick out. Her scratchy "New Orleans" accent she used when she's lying in a hospital bed is near impossible to understand. When I get the DVD, I'll have to use captions for every scene in that modern-day setting. And I didn't think that Cate and Brad really had any chemistry together whatsoever. Or rather, I always felt Benjamin's love for Daisy, but Cate always played Daisy as very cold, even during the parts where the two were supposed to be blissfully happy and in love. I enjoyed Brad's screen time with Tilda Swinton, who plays an English ambassador's wife, much more than his time with Daisy.

Overall, this was a magically wonderful movie about the importance of every day and what you make of your life. I think that's why the modern-day portions of the movie took place during Hurricane Katrina - like Queenie says, you never know what's coming for you. The same could be said of that horrible storm and it's aftermath. "Benjamin Button" is likely to clean up at the Oscars and it will become one of my personal favorites, despite Blanchett. Many have made comparisons between this film and "Forrest Gump," and I can see how they would get there - but I thought "Benjamin" was a much more powerful film than "Gump," with more stunning visuals, interesting characters, and a more stirring plot than the 1995 Best Picture. (Although it's interesting to note that Eric Roth had a hand in writing both films.)

Urban's Rating: Sooo good

Rucker's Response: OK THANK YOU for also hating Blanchett's accent! I couldn't understand ANYTHING she said in the hospital either. I also agree that she never really seemed to connect with Button in their scenes together. I liked Swinton's part too, even though I had to keep reminding myself not to yell at the screen "It's the White Witch! Don't hook up with her!"

OK hear me out on this and see if you agree: did you, like me, look at this film almost like it wasn't just a movie, but like an entire miniseries condensed into one movie? Meaning, it had so many aspects to it, with the different characters and settings and times that we almost got 3 movies in one. Does that make sense at all?

Urban's Response: Honestly, Blanchett's accent was a huge drawback to the movie. Someone near me in the theater said, "If this chick doesn't start speaking English soon, I'm out." And I will always think of Tilda as the White Witch - but I only think I would have warned Benjamin if she had offered him Turkish Delight instead of caviar and vodka.

I DO agree about the miniseries thing! There were even parts where I was like, "that would make a good commercial break stopping point." (I'll try not to give anything away here...) The most noticable one is after Benjamin's experience with WWII, before he returns home for the first time. The next logical part would probably be when he returns home the second time with Daisy. So yeah, that definitely makes sense!

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

E-mail Us! UrbanAndRucker@gmail.com!
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Something to look forward to: Angels and Demons

2009-01-02T22:19:00.005-06:00

Though it is still nearly 5 months away, I'm REALLY excited about the upcoming Angels and Demons. The movie, based on the novel by Dan Brown, is the prequel to 2006's The Da Vinci Code. Now, I totally admit that was not a great movie, but I still have high hopes for this one. Good news: they changed Tom Hanks's creepy/weirdo haircut for this movie, so it's already a step up.

If you haven't read A&D yet, READ IT NOW! You have time. It's a long book, but the pace of the story makes you race through it. I read it in just a few days. I even like it better than Da Vinci Code.

See you May 15th, Angels and Demons!

-Rucker

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

E-mail Us! UrbanAndRucker@gmail.com!
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Marley & Me!

2008-12-28T00:15:00.001-06:00

Rucker's Take: Rucker family Christmas tradition has never included the apparently very popular practice of taking the family to see a movie. Typically we spend the morning eating breakfast, then opening presents, then having extended family over and repeating the process of eating food and opening presents. It's worked out pretty well for us.

This year however, was different. I mean we still ate all that food in the morning, but instead of stuffing our faces with more food in the afternoon, we went to a movie with the family instead. And the movie we chose was the Labrador retriever-starring Marley & Me, with Jeniffer Aniston and Owen Wilson.

Having already read the book, I knew that the story would resonate with my family, considering there were 5 dogs at my house on Christmas and 3 of them were labs. One of the pups, my brother's dog, Ripley, even reminds me a lot of Marley because of his.. "energetic" ways.

So first things first: thank GOODNESS we ordered the tickets online because this was definitely the movie of choice for families this Christmas. The movie was sold out and the line to get in the theater wrapped throughout the entire building. It would be no easy task to find all 11 of us seats. But instead of trying to find an empty row of 11 seats, we ended up sitting in several small groups of seats scattered around the theater, which ended up working out fine.

I was really excited about this movie. And I was EXTREMELY pleased with the final product. A journalism professor of mine once said, "You can never go wrong with a good dog story," but I think you can- by taking a good dog story and translating it poorly to the screen. Luckily that didn't happen with Marley & Me.

The movie is based on the book, Marley & Me, by John Grogan. The (true) story centers around Grogan, playing in the film by Owen Wilson, and the love he and his family develop for their rather mischievous dog, Marley. Wilson did a fantastic job as Grogan, the main character (besides Marley) in the story. I was glad to see Owen pull off a slightly more dramatic role than we're used to seeing him in.

Jennifer Aniston also did a great job as Grogan's wife Jenny, who has many emotional ups and downs throughout the story (which is told from the beginning of their marriage, through raising three kids). There were only a couple of occasions where I thought "Rachel!" but then again, who wouldn't? It's Jennifer Aniston.

Most dog movies use cheesy chase scenes and ridiculous scenarios to provide the entertainment, and don't get me wrong, M&M had some of these, but these types of gags weren't relied upon to carry the movie.

M&M is a movie with true heart that will no doubt have you laughing one minute and crying the next.

After it was over and we all took a moment to compose ourselves, the 11 Ruckers regrouped and all agreed: Marley & Me was a fantastic. Everyone, whether they had read the book or not, really loved the film.

You definitely owe it to yourself (and Jennifer Aniston) to go see Marley & Me this weekend.

You'll be glad you did!

Rucker's Rating: Sooo Good!

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

E-mail Us! UrbanAndRucker@gmail.com!
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Golden Globes Predictions!

2008-12-11T18:43:00.022-06:00

To start, we should just let you know that the Golden Globes are the sketchiest honors in Hollywood.

Just ask Sharon Waxman of The Los Angeles Times:

"The Globes have long been the entertainment industry’s dirty little secret. At the heart of the con is the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., the tiny, cliquish group of foreign entertainment journalists – and I use each of those terms liberally – whose votes determine the winners.

The members of the association are not, generally speaking, film experts (like the people who judge the National Society of Film Critics awards) nor are they members of the creative community (like those who give out the Oscars). They’re not even representatives of prominent foreign publications, like Le Monde or the Guardian or Haaretz.

Only a handful are full-time journalists; the rest are freelancers for mostly obscure publications, and some are simply hanging on for the parties and movie stars. To maintain their status in the organization, they need only write four articles a year."

Thanks to AICN for posting the article, which you can find here.

That being said, here are this year's nominees for the Golden Globes, as well as Urban & Rucker's picks:

FILM

BEST FEATURE - DRAMA
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"The Reader"
"Revolutionary Road"
"Slumdog Millionaire"

Urban's Pick: WHERE IS "THE DARK KNIGHT?" Where is it? It deserves to be on this list. Aside from that, I'm predicting a win for "Benjamin Button." (It's hard to pick when none of these have been released here in Dallas yet. They should release nomination lists later so we can properly make predictions.)
Rucker's Pick: Wait, can I first just say that WE write at least for articles a year for an obscure publication- I propose that we should therefore be allowed to vote for the Golden Globes! With that being said, I'm gonna go with "Revolutionary Road" for this one, based solely on the whole Kate Winslet/Leonardo DiCaprio reunion, since I know nothing about the story or quality of the film.

BEST FEATURE - COMEDY
"Burn After Reading" - Working Title/Releasing Company; Focus Features in association with Studio Canal
"Happy-Go-Lucky" - Summit Entertainment, Film4, Ingenious Film Partners, Miramax Films; Miramax Films
"In Bruges" - Blueprint Pictures; Focus Features
"Mamma Mia!" - Relativity Media, Playtone, Littlestar; Universal Pictures
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - Mediapro; The Weinstein Company

Urban's Pick: Why is "Mamma Mia!" on this list? That's insulting. C'mon, it's a category just for comedy - they don't have to seem prestigious or indie-like. I'd have liked to see "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Pineapple Express," or "Role Models" make this list. Still, I'm going for "Vicky" - that was yet another great film from Woody Allen, largely thanks to the performances - which were appropriately nominated.
Rucker's Pick: "Mamma Mia!" is the only film on this list that I've seen, and I totally agree Urban, what the heck? I won't go any further into it though as I'm pretty sure we made our opinion of that film loud and clear in our first post. And since I haven't seen any of the other films and none of them contain Kate Winslet, I am going to decline to choose a winner. HFP will probably go with "Burn After Reading" though.

ACTOR - DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio - "Revolutionary Road"
Frank Langella - "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn - "Milk"
Brad Pitt - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rouke - "The Wrestler"

Urban's Pick: Brad Pitt for "Benjamin Button." I just get the feeling that this movie is going to knock people on their butts. The trailers look remarkable.
Rucker's Pick: The "Button" trailer actually kinda freaks me out. It sort of reminded me of that movie where Nicole Kidman falls in love with the little boy who she thinks is her recently deceased husband reincarnated. I don't know WHY it reminds me of that, but it does. I think the award will go to Langella for this one. I mean, he's REALLY old, so why not?

ACTRESS - DRAMA
Anne Hathaway - "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie - "Changeling"
Meryl Streep - "Doubt"
Kristin Scott Thomas - "I've Loved You So Long"
Kate Winslet - "Revolutionary Road"

Urban's Pick: Kate Winslet for "Revolutionary Road." It's between Kate and Meryl, I think. My money's on Kate.
Rucker's Pick: I seriously hope Kate Winslet wins. She's ridiculously talented. So is Meryl Streep, but everyone already knows that. Kate could use some affirmation every once and a while.

ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Javier Bardem - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Colin Farrell - "In Bruges"
James Franco - "Pineapple Express"
Brendan Gleeson - "In Bruges"
Dustin Hoffman - "Last Chance Harvey"

Urban's Pick: Long shot, but JAMES FRANCO. His performance MADE "Pineapple Express." Without Franco, that movie would have been mediocre, at best. Franco took his stoner character to an amazingly lovable level.
Rucker's Pick: I've decided I officially have no business picking winners for these awards since I haven't seen any of the movies. But then again, the actual voters apparently don't have much business choosing the winners either. Bardem.

ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Sally Hawkins - "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Frances McDormand - "Burn After Reading"
Meryl Streep - "Mamma Mia!"
Emma Thompson - "Last Chance Harvey"

Urban's Pick: Frances McDormand for "Burn After Reading." Her chemistry in that movie with every character she encountered was brilliant and hilarious.
Rucker's Pick: Just anyone BUT Meryl Streep. Please. Her getting paid to make this movie should be reward enough for her.

DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry -"The Reader"
David Fincher -"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard - "Frost/Nixon"
Sam Mendes -"Revolutionary Road"

Urban's Pick: People seem really keen on Danny Boyle right now, but I have to go with Ron Howard. I think it takes a talented director to move something from the stage to the screen successfully. But the Globes might pick Fincher just because the movie's effects are so complex, so it might seem like he did more work.
Rucker's Pick: I would WANT Opie to win this one, but I'm gonna guess that Fincher will win for "Button," just cuz it's so freaking weird. Those award people like that stuff.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise - "Tropic Thunder"
Robert Downey Jr. - "Tropic Thunder"
Ralph Fiennes - "The Duchess"
Philip Seymour Hoffman - "Doubt"
Heath Ledger - "The Dark Knight"

Urban's Pick: It'll be another Hoffman/Ledger faceoff. You may remember that Hoffman beat out Ledger in the 2006 Oscars for Lead Actor when he won for "Capote," beating Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain." I can't compare the performances because "Doubt" isn't out yet, but I don't know if anyone can top the depth and nuance of Heath's "Joker." (And I have to ask: was it really necessary to pick two guys from "Tropic Thunder," esp. Tom Cruise? I would have rather seen Aaron Eckhart's performance as Harvey Dent in "The Dark Knight" get some recognition.)
Rucker's Pick: If Heath Ledger's insane joker performance weren't in this category, I would seriously want Tom Cruise to win this cuz that movie and his performance in it were the most hilarious things I saw on a screen this year. But I mean, Ledger will take this one. Not just because he died, but because he actually deserves it. That Joker STILL creeps me out.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis - "Doubt"
Marisa Tomei - "The Wrestler"
Kate Winslet - "The Reader"

Urban's Pick: Penelope Cruz for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Like I said earlier, this movie was made great by its performers, especially Cruz.
Rucker's Pick: I really liked Amy Adams in "Enchanted," and I know I shouldn't award an award based on a different movie than the one she's nominated for, but I think she's a good actress and a good person. So, you go Amy Adams!

SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Simon Beaufoy - "Slumdog Millionaire"
David Hare - "The Reader"
Peter Morgan - "Frost/Nixon"
Eric Roth - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
John Patrick Shanley - "Doubt"

Urban's Pick: Again, I ask, where is "The Dark Knight?" This is especially hard to judge without having seen the movies. I'll go with Peter Morgan for "Frost/Nixon," since it obviously worked well enough on stage that they made a movie out of it.
Rucker's Pick: Why am I even still doing this? "Slumdog Millionaire." Why not.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" ("Der Baader Meinhof Komplex")(Germany)
"Everlasting Moments" ("Maria larssons eviga ögonblick") (Sweden)
"I've Loved You So Long" ("Il y a longtemps que je t’aime") (France)
"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)

Urban's Pick: Seriously? Um... the French one.
Rucker's Pick: I picked "Baader Meinhof" because it's "COMPLEX!"

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Bolt" - Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
"Kung Fu Panda" - DreamWorks Animation SKG; Paramount Pictures
"Wall-E" - Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Urban's Pick: WALL-E. No question. I want it to win and it will win. If there wasn't an animated category, I'd be complaining about it not being nominated in the Best Picture category. I'm 100% sure that Rucker and I will be unanimous on this one.
Rucker's Pick: Wall-E. Duh. I only wish it were possible for Wall-E to be nominated for Best Actor cuz seriously he was awesome. I mean, the emotion he conveyed without saying any words definitely deserves the highest honors. (I'm not joking.)

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat - "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
Clint Eastwood - "Changeling"
James Newton Howard - "Defiance"
A. R. Rahman - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Hans Zimmer - "Frost/Nixon"

Urban's Pick: Another one that's hard to judge without seeing the movie. So, going on body of work, I vote for Zimmer for "Frost/Nixon."
Rucker's Pick: "Changeling" cuz Clint Eastwood did it and that just seems weird to me.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Down To Earth" from "Wall-E" - Music By: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman; Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel
"Gran Torino" from "Gran Torino" - Music By: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens; Lyrics By: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
"I Thought I Lost You" from "Bolt" - Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele
"Once In A Lifetime" from "Cadillac Records" - Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott Mcfarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
"The Wrestler" from "The Wrestler" - Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen

Urban's Pick: "Down to Earth" by Peter Gabriel from "Wall-E." That song gets stuck in my head for the rest of the day whenever I listen to it. Plus, I can always picture the great closing credits sequence from the film to go with the song.
Rucker's Pick: MILEY CYRUS!!! I'm one of the few in the country apparently who still likes Miley and I think there would be nothing better than for her to win this award and shove it in Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez's faces, which I'm 99% sure would ACTUALLY happen if she wins.

TELEVISION

TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
"Dexter" (Showtime)
"House" (Fox)
"In Treatment" (HBO)
"Mad Men" (AMC)
"True Blood" (HBO)

Urban's Pick: Excuse me, but where is "Lost?" (Haha. It's lost. LOLz.) But honestly - "Lost" had its best season since its debut. I don't watch any of the nominated series, so I'll go with my Emmy knowledge and say "Mad Men."
Rucker's Pick: "Mad Men." Dexter is too creepy and I don't watch any of the other shows.

TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
"30 Rock"
"Californication"
"Entourage"
"The Office"
"Weeds"

Urban's Pick: You all know my love for "The Office," but this has been Tina Fey and "30 Rock's" year!
Rucker's Pick: I THINK "30 Rock" will win, but I'd be completely satisfied if "The Office" won as well.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne - "In Treatment
Michael C. Hall - "Dexter
Jon Hamm - "Mad Men
Hugh Laurie - "House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers - "The Tudors

Urban's Pick: Again, I don't watch these series. But Jon Hamm won me over with his performance on SNL this season. He's a talented guy.
Rucker's Pick: I'm gonna go with Hamm. He is a freaky actor in that I actually believe that he's from the 60s, or 50s, or whatever time he's supposed to be from, both in his television performance and in real life. I refuse to accept that he is actually from our time. Probably because he isn't.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Sally Field - "Brothers And Sisters"
Mariska Hargitay - "Law And Order: Special Victims Unit"
January Jones - "Mad Men"
Anna Paquin - "True Blood"
Kyra Sedgwick - "The Closer"

Urban's Pick: Sally Field for "Brothers and Sisters." She's the anchor of that show, from what I've seen. Also, I can't stand Kyra Sedgwick's accent.
Rucker's Pick: Kyra Sedgwick's accent is just a half notch lower on the annoyance scale than Charlotte's accent on "Private Practice," if you've ever seen that show. I hope Sally Field wins cuz she seriously is awesome on B&S, but Mariska kicks it on SVU too and would please me just as much.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate - "Samantha Who?"
America Ferrera - "Ugly Betty"
Tina Fey - "30 Rock"
Debra Messing - "The Starter Wife"
Mary-Louise Parker - "Weeds"

Urban's Pick: Again with the snubs! Where is Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and Jenna Fischer for "The Office?" Debra Messing should not be nominated... I feel like the voters were just thinking, "Hey, I liked her in 'Will and Grace'..." My vote, of course, is for Tina Fey: Entertainer of the Year.
Rucker's Pick: Tina Fey, completely. Though if there were some sort of honorable mention ribbon awarded, I would give it to Christina Applegate because she and "Samantha Who?" always surprise me with how funny they are.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
Steve Carell - "The Office"
Kevin Connelly - "Entourage"
David Duchovny - "Californication"
Tony Shalhoub - "Monk"

Urban's Pick: Ugh. I think Tony Shalhoub will still be nominated for this when the show's done and he's dead. Every year... sheesh. It's hard to decide between Baldwin and Carell, but like I said, it's the year of "30 Rock." I'm going for Alec Baldwin.
Rucker's Pick: Steve Carell, come on! He IS "The Office" and I think he should be rewarded for his efforts. I mean he's already been through enough this year, what with losing Holly and gaining back Toby. Cut him a break.

MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
"A Raisin in the Sun"
"Bernard and Doris"
"Cranford"
"John Adams"
"Recount"

Urban's Pick: I didn't watch any of these. I don't have movie channels and I don't watch cable made-for-TV movies, unless they're on Disney Channel or they feature Nikki Blonksy scarfing ice cream while crying. So I vote for "John Adams" because I love Paul Giamatti.
Rucker's Pick: I watched "Raisin in the Sun"! So I vote for that! It was good!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ralph Fiennes - "Bernard and Doris"
Paul Giamatti - "John Adams"
Kevin Spacey - " Recount"
Kiefer Sutherland - "24: Redemption"
Tom Wilkinson - "Recount"

Urban's Pick: What did I just say? I love Paul Giamatti. And since he never gets Oscar love, he can at least get this runner up award.
Rucker's Pick: Kiefer! 24 is awesome! Though I'm not really sure his performance in it merits a Golden Globe, but whatever! 24 is awesome!

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench - "Cranford"
Catherine Keener - "An American Crime"
Laura Linney - "John Adams"
Shirley Maclaine - "Coco Chanel"
Susan Sarandon - "Bernard And Doris"

Urban's Pick: Um... Laura Linney or Catherine Keener... because I can't imagine them being bad in anything.
Rucker's Pick: If Judi Dench wins just because she's a "dame," I'm seriously gonna kick some Hollywood Foreign... nevermind. I shouldn't say that. Who knows if there will come a day that I need the support of the HFP. Laura Linney is my pick. I feel like I could have her over for dinner and she'd just be like "Oh hey, what's up!" and not be all stuck up and "dame"-y about it.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins - "Cranford"
Laura Dern - "Recount"
Melissa George - "In Treatment"
Rachel Griffiths - "Brothers And Sisters"
Dianne Wiest - "In Treatment"

Urban's Pick: This is a pretty broad category, don't you think? I think it's kind of unfair to sandwich all the supporting roles together like this. I pick Dianne Wiest... because "Wiest" is fun to say.
Rucker's Pick: I vote for Rachel Griffiths, but not because I think she should win, but because I think Calista Flockhart should win and since she wasn't nominated and is on the same show, I cast my vote for Rach.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother"
Denis Leary - "Recount"
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage"
Blair Underwood - "In Treatment"
Tom Wilkinson - "John Adams"

Urban's Pick: Jeremy Piven will probably win it, as usual. And I'm fine with that because he's incredible - and the only reason "Entourage" is worth watching. But I'd love to see it go to Neil Patrick Harris, who is one of the world's most hilarious guys and least messed-up child stars.
Rucker's Pick: OO- that'd be awesome for NPH to win. "How I Met Your Mother" is a seriously under appreciated show and deserve some love from the good old HFP.

See who's the most right when the Golden Globes air live on NBC Sunday, January 11. (And just guessing based how intelligent our answers sound, it's probably totally gonna be Urban.)

Also, just a general statement to all the losers: Don't feel bad if you lose. The Golden Globe is one of the more ugly trophies that you could receive and also the least-identifiable so it's all good if you lose.

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007: Quantum of Solace

2008-11-29T10:45:00.006-06:00

Rucker's Take: So I finally joined the crowd and went to see the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace last night with my dad. First thing's first: we decided to go to Galaxy 10 (which is only relevant to Dallas movie-watchers), but just know that it is one of the older theaters around here and therefore not "cool" for the middle schoolers to go to. Excellent choice. There were no cell phone/texting annoyance issues to speak of.

Moving on to the movie: it was really good. I can't remember Casino Royale too much since I haven't seen that since I saw it in theaters, but I think I liked that one a little bit more than this one. But that's not to say this one is bad.

QOS is chock full of action sequences, beginning with a long car chase at the open of the movie. There's a boat chase, a foot chase, a plane chase and really any other type of chase that exists-- except a dog chase. There is NO dog chase in this movie. Sorry guys. See: BOLT if you're looking for that sort of thing.

Because I hate spoilers and I have a pretty terrible memory, I have no tick-tock recap of the film for you. What I will say is that one of the girls dies covered in oil. It's a little reminiscent of those ducks dieing on Saved By the Bell when those big bad oil guys started drilling at Bayside.

I did not like the opening song by Jack White and Alicia Keys. First of all, Alicia Keys was big stuff several years ago. I'm not really sure why she's on the main track all of a sudden. Except for the fact that Amy Winehouse was supposed to do it and, well, she's crazy, and they had to replace her. Still, I think crazy Amy might have made a better song...
The actors, Daniel Craig and Judi Dench, among others, did a great job of making the ridiculous things they do seem legit and not over the top, though I would have liked to see Dench kill a few more people (she killed none, sadly).

I also enjoyed the scenery from around the world, Italy in particular was nice. Oh and they have this ridiculous computer system that, had I not already seen it in CSI: Miami would have mesmerized me. Still, it was pretty cool.

I would definitely recommend seeing QOS, if only for one extremely memorable moment involving an ax and someone's foot..

Though I would go soon because it's slowly getting shafted to the smaller theaters with each passing day.

Rucker's Rating: Soo Good.

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U&R Review: Casa Gracias

2008-11-07T14:30:00.001-06:00

Urban's Take: Casa Gracias shouldn't have been a surprise, being a Mexican food place in Austin, but it was! The humble exterior belies the awesome Tex-Mex waiting for you within. The comparison that was made throughout the meal was that it was Austin's version of El Fenix, my faithful standby for traditional Tex Mex in Dallas.

The restaurant was clean and the service was friendly and really fast. The chips were good, not great, and the salsa was a little too tomato saucey. Adam and I both ordered enchilada combo plates that came with tacos- and I liked that they brought the taco out before the enchiladas. It made the meal less overwhelming and easier to digest.
The cheese enchiladas I had were some of the best I've had in a long time. They absolutely rank right up there with El Fenix. Some places make their enchiladas with too much grease and so they get soggy really quickly, leaving you with a flat tube of cheese. But Casa Gracias' enchiladas were far from flat. I would have liked more cheese and chili con carne sauce atop mine, but that's a small complaint.

I should also add that their tortillas were very similar to Taco Cabana's in consistency and taste- therefore, they were awesome. (Awesome enough that I was willing to take the below picture with one, even though I knew I looked gross after being outside at the UT/OSU football game in a million degree weather all day. Yeah... that awesome.)

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Casa Gracias and I would definitely go again... that is, as long as I wasn't going to the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse nearby. Because then I would eat there, watch a movie, and enjoy the greatest popcorn and milkshakes on earth.

Urban's Rating: Soo good
Rucker's Take: I should admit that Casa Gracias was not even on our list of Mexican food restaurants to eat that night. First was Matt's El Rancho, a GREAT Mexican food restaurant in Austin (Dallas as well, in the Lakewood shopping center). After Matt's had what looked like a 2-hour-long wait, Urban & I decided we would shop around for a different Mexican restaurant, which, in Austin took all of 2 minutes.

We stumbled upon Casa Gracias, a humble Mexican restaurant which seemed inviting in nature and authentic in cuisine. After all, how could you not feel welcome in a restaurant that's name translates into "Thank You House."

I was just as satisfied with my meal experience as Sam was. I too liked that the taco was brought out prior to the rest of the meal. It sort of primed my stomach and said, "Hey dude, get ready cuz there's lots more delicious Mexican food on the way."
There was an ample amount of shredded cheese on my taco, which is ALWAYS a plus. A restaurant that isn't stingy with cheese=a restaurant that cares about its customers.

I will say that Sam and I were a little turned off by seeing our salsa refilled from a drink pitcher- meaning they have a pitcher of salsa that they walk around with to refill empty salsa cups. This was something we quickly got over though after realizing that the pitcher had no effect on the salsa's consistency or taste.

It was just weird, you know? Like wine in a box- just doesn't seem right.

I ordered my combo plate with one cheese enchilada and one beef enchilada (for 50 cents extra), and let me tell you: it was worth it. I never like when you can see actual pools of grease on your plate from the enchiladas so I was especially happy that this was not the case at Casa Gracias. I liked the cheese used in the enchilada; it wasn't at all Velveeta-y which is not something I like in restaurant enchiladas (Velveeta is acceptable in homemade instances). The beef enchiladas contained finely ground beef and good, spicy flavor that I love. Both enchiladas were hunger-satisfying without giving you that over-stuffed feeling of "OH MY GOSH- I'LL NEVER EAT FOOD AGAIN."
Overall the experience at Casa Gracias was one of satisfaction. Because of the quick service and great food, I would definitely return and recommend you eat there.

After all, at Casa Gracias, "Mi casa es su casa."

Rucker's Rating: Soo Good

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
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The Office: Employee Transfer

2008-11-03T09:27:00.000-06:00

Urban's Take: I felt “Employee Transfer” was a step up from the past two weeks of little humor and a lot of plot moving.

In the cold open, after showing our favorite Dunder Mifflin Scranton employees in their Halloween costumes (which I'll list below), we see Pam embarrassed when she is the only person at corporate wearing a costume. Meanwhile, CFO David Wallace did as I predicted and transfered Holly back to the Nashua branch. Darryl helps out and the three set out on the eight hour trip to take Holly back to her old home and office. Michael searches in vain for a good halfway point for the two to meet up for a romantic rendezvous. After some talks that Darryl desperately tries not to listen to, Holly and Michael decide to break up. Good bye, Amy Ryan! We'll miss you!

Back at the office, Dwight torments Andy by pretending to apply to Cornell, Andy's alma mater (as if you didn't know). Jim takes the day off and has lunch with his brothers and Pam. Pam wanted to play a prank on Jim by pretending to have lost her engagement ring, but Jim's brothers had a "better" idea: to tease Pam about wanting to be an artist. Their comments hit a little close to home before the prank breaks up, leaving Pam in doubts about her art but confident in her place in the Halpert clan.

The Michael/Holly story had a good resolution, and a few fun moments in this episode. The Dwight/Cornell plot was the funniest thing Dwight's done in weeks, so I was glad to see him back in full form. HOWEVER, I can't help but notice that the writers are recycling old gags again. The whole Dwight/Andy Cornell/Beet farmer thing is eerily similar to the episode in Season Three when Jim dresses as Dwight and Dwight dresses as Jim at the episode's end. Are they seriously out of jokes?

The Jim/Pam storyline was painful to watch this week. Attention to "The Office:" get Pam back in Scranton a.s.a.p. I'm sick of the calls and the halfhearted attempts to create drama. Get our favorite couple back within 50 feet of each other again, please.

Halloween Costumes:

Stanley... a fish man? He's wearing a fish mask so he can sleep at his desk.
Kelly: Carrie Bradshaw from "Sex and the City."
Phyllis: Raggedy Ann
Ryan: Gordon Gekko
Oscar: Uncle Sam
Angela: cat... the same exact cat costume she's worn in the other Halloween eps.
Andy: a Jellicle cat from "Cats," the musical... though he says he's a kitten.
Jim: "Dave." He just wears a nametag that says "Dave."
Pam: Charlie Chaplin
Creed, Kevin, and Dwight: Heath Ledger's Joker

Best quotes:

Ryan: You look amazing.
Kelly: Inappropriate. Thank you. Who are you, Larry King?
Ryan: Gordon Gekko.
Kelly: Oh, from the insurance commercials!
Ryan: ... Yeah.
Pam: So apparently no one dresses up for Halloween here. I wish I had known that before I used greasepaint for my mustache. And I can't even take off my hat, because then I'm Hitler.
Dwight: Well if somebody who barely out-sells Phyllis, can get in, I should be fine.
Phyllis: I'm sitting right here Dwight.
Dwight: I meant that as a compliment to you Phyllis, as well as a slight to Andy.
Pam: They came up with that idea really fast.
Michael: You know what I want to do, I want to pull over and find little bed and breakfast for when we meet in the middle. Emphasis on the bed. And the breakfast.
Michael: Holly thinks that this relationship is over. Well, you know what? I am not gonna give up that easy. I'm gonna make this way harder than it needs to be.
Michael: I'm not strong! And I'll go back to Jan, and I hate Jan! Oh God!
Andy: If I had to put Dwight's chances into a percentage, I would say he has none percent chance.
Pam: Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we prank Tom about being bald?

And there are some brilliant moments that can't really be quoted, like Jim's reaction to pretty much everything in this episode as well as Darryl trying to teach Michael how to sing the blues. Darryl is rapidly becoming my favorite character on the show. So... question for next week... is Toby coming back?!

Urban's Rating: Sooo good

Rucker's Take: Well since Urban recaps so magnificently well, I will just assume that you either watched the episode or read her recap and share with you my comments on the episode:

1) I was EXTREMELY disappointed that the only Halloweeny part of this episode was the portion before opening credits. I was hoping to see the costumes play out into the entire show, but whatever, I guess it's OK.

2) Is Holly seriously gone already?! I liked her so much! I mean, surely she'll be coming back, but what's with all the long distance relationships on this show? Can't anyone just be together and stay together at the office?

3) It was weird/hilarious to see Dwight take over the role of Jim-the-prankster whilst Jim was out of the office. Andy then became Dwight, the receiver of all the pranks, and I loved it- even if some of the pranks and the outcomes of said pranks were very similar to those that Jim has played on Dwight- which I think may have been the point? (To show how all the characters had switched places.. just a thought.)

4) I wish Kelly had a more prominent role in this show. I know that Mindy Kaling, the actress that plays her, does a lot of work behind the scenes as a writer and co-executive producer, but she's so funny when she's on the screen! Her Carrie Bradshaw was awesome...5) And Sam, my guess is that Toby will come back, much like Oscar came back after being absent from a few of the first episodes of the following season after he left... How horrible will it be for Michael to both lose Holly and gain back Toby? So horrible that it's HILARIOUS.

I was pretty much pleased with this episode too, except the whole thing with Jim's brothers and Pam made me extremely uncomfortable, and I agree with you Sam, GET HER BACK TO SCRANTON ASAP!

Rucker's Rating: Soo Good.

Check out a deleted scene from last week's episode: Holly saying goodbye to the branch.

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High School Musical 3: Senior Year Review!

2008-10-27T12:09:00.005-05:00

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The Office: Business Ethics

2008-10-12T17:57:00.006-05:00

Urban's Take: It feels like an eternity since the season premiere of "The Office!" You'd think there was some kind of important thing going on in our country that sometimes uses up prime time to promote itself. Weird.

I'll just throw this out there: every time I say the title of this episode, I say it like Adam Sandler does at the end of "Billy Madison." "BUISNESS. ETHICS." What a classic.

Anyway, thanks to Ryan's fraud charges at corporate last season, Dunder Mifflin is having each branch go through an ethics seminar, to be performed by their respective HR reps. So Holly is faced with the task of running her first meeting - and, since she's the only person in the office who doesn't think Michael is insane, she asks Michael for help. This leads to Michael and Holly dancing into the meeting in sweatbands, singing "Let's Get Ethical" to the tune of Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical."

Holly has some trouble in the meeting, what with Ryan admitting that what he did was wrong but that it might have been worth it because of all the hot chicks he met in New York and everyone admitting to wasting company time (except Dwight, which we'll get to later). Finally, Michael initiates an immunity time where everyone can say whatever they want, and Meredith reveals she's been sleeping with Bruce Myers, the Scranton rep for Hammermill, in exchange for discounts on supplies... and Outback Steakhouse gift certificates. (Good call, Mere. Back when I wasn't allergic to fish, I'd have maimed someone for their Shrimp on the Barbie.)

Naturally, Holly was horrified, but Michael (and Meredith) didn't see what the fuss was about. Michael took Holly to a "business romantic" seafood restaurant, where he tried to explain that they might punish Meredith, but she wouldn't be fired because she's part of his family- to which Holly replied that employee/employer relations should be nothing like a family. That's sacrilege to Michael Scott. That's basically what he bases his entire management methods on. So he and Holly don't quite get along until Holly gets reamed out by the corporate HR rep for not just blandly going through the seminar and getting the required signatures. Michael feels bad and the two reconciled for now... I really hope they end up together.

Meanwhile, Jim calls Dwight out for claiming that he's never wasted company time by using a stopwatch to time every yawn and conversation that Dwight has. This led to one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen on "The Office:" Dwight peeing into a two liter bottle and putting it on his desk for all to see. However, Jim's stopwatch didn't stop Dwight from continuing his warehouse rendezvous with Angela- which caused Dwight to admit to Jim that he might be a little unethical.

This was a really fun episode- but I felt like it was a little inconsistent. For example, last week, Ryan was pining over Kelly again- this week, he's bragging about sleeping with someone who looked like a "Survivor" contestant. Last week, we got to see Pam at art school- this week, we only heard her over the phone. I miss her glances at the camera and interactions with Michael. However, I'm glad Amy Ryan as Holly is still around, because it's allowing us to see a new and different side of Michael. We're getting further into his head, which is scary but hilarious.

Favorite quotes of the week:

Holly: Today is ethics day. After they finish their quiz I'm going to run my first ethics meeting here. It's gonna be insaaaaane. No, it's not. I have to read from the binder.
Holly: Recently, without mentioning any names, there has been some misconduct at corporate and we have a very strict ethics policy and that employee has been fired.
Kevin: Oh come on! He's right there. [points at Ryan] He was hired. [to Jim] Oh check it out, "Hired Guy."
Michael: People expect a lot from these meetings. Laughter, sudden twists. Surprise endings. You need to be Robin Williams and M. Night Shyamalan. You need to be Robin Shyamalan.
Andy: I'll drop an ethics bomb on you. Would you steal bread to feed your family? ... Boom!
Dwight: It's a trick question. The bread is poisoned. Also, it's not your real family. You've been cuckolded by a stronger, smarter male.
Michael: When I discovered YouTube I didn't work for five days. I did nothing. I viewed Cookie Monster sings Chocolate Rain about a thousand times.
Angela: I once reported Oscar to the INS. Turns out he's clean, but I'm glad I did it.
Michael: I just don't want my employees thinking that their jobs depend on performance. I mean, what sort of place is that to call home?

And the award for best quote of the night (it's a long one... that's what she said) comes from when Jim is baiting Dwight by incorrectly discussing "Battlestar Galactica" in the hope of Dwight engaging in a non-work-related conversation:

Jim: By any chance, did you see Battlestar Galactica last night?
Andy: No, I did not. Was that any good?
Jim: Actually not. It was really so-so.
Dwight: Ok. [Dwight turns around, but Jim holds up the stopwatch, threatening to start it]
Jim: I mean I like all the crazy monsters and stuff. You know, like klingons and wookies and all that but... [Dwight begins to turn around again, Jim holds up the watch] Sorry, was there something you wanted to add, Dwight?
Andy: Is that anything like the original Battlestar Galactica?
Jim: You know, it's weird. It's practically a shot for shot remake.
Andy: Really? [Dwight closes his eyes, crumples the paper in his hands] Huh, that's cool.
Jim: Story's kinda bland. It's about this guy named Dumbledore Calrissian who needs to return the ring back to Mordor.
Andy: Really? That doesn't sound right.

One of the best exchanges ever held on "The Office."
Urban's Rating: Soo good

Rucker's Take: No doubt about it: this episode was hilarious. Back to the golden days of "The Office."

My favorite part from this episode was the aforementioned "Battlestar Galactica" conversation with Jim and Andy.

I also loved Michael asking the camera after Holly was told by corporate that she had mishandled her ethics meeting, "How do you tell somebody that you care about deeply, "I told you so." Gently with a rose? In a funny way, like it's a hilarious joke? Or do you just let it go, because saying it would just make things worse? ... Probably the funny way."

But quite possibly some of the BEST parts of this episode are parts you didn't see. Each week NBC usually posts deleted scenes from the episodes and yall, these things are hilarious.

To begin, a heated exchange between Kevin and Ryan following the ethics meeting:
Did Phyllis KILL A MAN?!:

Also, check out Angela&Andy's wedding website!

Man, this is just such a great show. Such a great cast. Here's to hoping none of them, including Steve Carell, get too big for their britches and leave to pursue exclusively movie careers *COUGH-Katherine Heigl- Not that I think any of them COULD sustain a movie career besides Steve Carell, but still. They're all essential to the flow of the show.

Rucker's Rating: Sooo Good

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BOLT: Early Response=Good!

2008-10-03T12:58:00.004-05:00

Massawyrm at Ain't It Cool News got an early look at some footage from Disney's upcoming CGI/Disney Digital 3D release, BOLT, featuring the voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus. His writeup is rather spoiler-filled so you can choose to read it HERE or not, but the bottom line is: he thinks it looks really good! He even goes so far to say that BOLT may be "the beginning of a new golden age of classy, classic Disney animation."

Can't wait until November 21st!

-U&R

BOLT's Official Website

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Inside Pushing Daisies with the Stars

2008-10-01T12:25:00.005-05:00

An inside look at Pushing Daisies with stars Lee Pace and Swoosie Kurtz.

Pushing Daisies season 2 premieres tonight at 8/7c on ABC.

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Don't miss Pushing Daisies TONIGHT!

2008-10-01T07:30:00.008-05:00

The second season of Pushing Daisies, a favorite of Urban&Rucker's, premieres tonight! If you haven't yet caught on to the Daisies craze, check out ABC's starter kit for a quick rundown of the show:
The show stars Lee Pace as Ned, Anna Friel as Chuck, Chi McBride as Emerson, Kristin Chenoweth as Olive and Jim Dale as the narrator.

Here's a sneak peak from the season premiere airing tonight:

Urban's Take: Pushing Daisies is like a storybook come to life. It's a really magical show with fast-paced dialogue and action. It's filmed and scored beautifully... and narrated by the great Jim Dale, making it seem even more like a televised fairy tale. Any show that has the ability to make me laugh and cry in a single episode is worthy of your time.

Rucker's Take: I agree with Urban. I also like that each of the characters brings a unique personality to the mix (my favorites are Olive and Ned). There's a certain genuine-ness with each character that makes you like them even if you don't really like them-- does that make sense? Yes. They frequently take advantage of Kristin Chenoweth's background in musical theatre with hilarious musical numbers featuring Olive. Another thing I like about the show is that it doesn't rely on gratuitous violence or graphic romantic encounters to entertain its viewers, which is refreshing considering all the shows out there that do. Basically it's just a lot of fun-- and I wish I was Ned.

So don't miss out! (It's OK to jump on the bandwagon). Check out the season premiere of Pushing Daisies tonight at 8/7 central on ABC.

Season one is also available on DVD and Blu-ray at Amazon.com

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Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden

2008-09-28T13:00:00.002-05:00

Rucker's Take: It's been a good long while since I've watched Survivor.. seven seasons actually. But for some reason I decided to pick up the habit again this year for Survivor Gabon, the 17th season of Survivor (YES, SEVENTEENTH season).

First things first: this is definitely the most BEAUTIFUL season of Survivor. We can thank HDTV for this, as this is the first season of the show to be shot in HD. It's incredible how much of a difference it really makes. It looks like a movie... And I guess Gabon itself should be given some credit too. It's pretty nice. If you're unaware (as I was prior to just Wikipedia-ing it): Gabon is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea. The show also dubs Gabon as "Earth's Last Eden" in their promos because so much of it has been untouched by human hands-- until now when they decided to shoot a television show there... So far the scenery has definitely been b-e-a-u-tiful and I expect that to continue.

The tribes this year are "Kota" and "Fang" (pronounced FONG) but could be better known as "Winners" and "Losers." CBS showed two episodes on premiere night and in both cases the Fang tribe had to send someone home. But that wasn't really a terrible thing in my opinion; both people that went home were REALLY annoying. The first: the most negative girl in the tribe, second: the most positive girl in the tribe. Gillian, the latter, tried at first to be the tribe mother by encouraging everyone at all times; her persistent positivity is what eventually led to her demise. That and her oldness.Winning both of the first two immunity challenges may have gone to Kota's head though: Jacquie (or possibly Kelly) said "I don't envision us losing-- ever," during one of her post-challenge interviews. That my friends, is never a good thing to say. Look for that coming back to bite her very soon.

Even though they lost every challenge, I think our Fang tribe should be given some props for craftiness as they somehow fashioned a fishing hook out of glasses rims and successfully caught dinner with it!One of the best things about Survivor, and a lot of reality competition shows for that matter, is a little something called Dramatic Irony: when we the audience know something the people in the show don't know-- making the people on the show look like idiots. It happens a lot in Survivor. Nearly every Tribal Council someone is completely knocked off their feet when the entire tribe votes them out and they never saw it coming (as was the case for both Michelle and Gillian).

A great example of dramatic irony from this week's episode was after Dan returned back from Exile Island. Dan's tribe was convinced that he had found the hidden immunity idol on Exile Island, but we knew he didn't have it and his tribe refused to believe him when he said he didn't have it. So at Tribal Council, Crystal tried to force it out of him by flat-out saying she thought he had it. Of course the audience knew that Dan didn't have it, so Crystal just ended up looking like an idiot. When it came time to reveal the idol, Dan showed he didn't have it. Crystal was not too thrilled.I should also add that for some reason Dan wore a button-up shirt and tie to tribal council. He looked like someone dressing up for Halloween as Jack from LOST.These people must have been plucked straight from their jobs or something because most of them arrived wearing business attire. Or maybe someone told them they were going to be on the new season of The Apprentice and decided to throw them for a loop.

I look forward to the rest of this season as well as the new season of my favorite reality competition show, The Amazing Race, which premieres Sunday (Sept. 28) on CBS!Rucker's Rating: Soo Good

If you missed this week's episode of Survivor, catch it for free online HERE.

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The Office premiere: "Weight Loss"

2008-09-26T16:37:00.008-05:00

A favorite show here at Urban&Rucker, The Office, premiered last night on NBC. The series kicked off its fifth season with an hour long episode entitled "Weight Loss," in which (among other things) all of the Dunder Mifflin branches' employees are attempting to lose weight for a company-wide contest.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Urban's Take: This episode was a great way to kick off the season. We got a lot of answers to questions leftover from last season but we also got a taste of what's in store for our favorite paper company. I really liked the way the episode was divided in weeks of the summer. Normally, the hour long episodes of The Office can get a little drawn out or just seem like two closely related episodes crammed together, but this felt like an appropriate amount of time to tell this particular narrative. The episode was written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who have written some of the truly great episodes, including last season's "Dinner Party." They're currently at work writing a script for a proposed third "Ghostbusters" movie- which excites me to no end. (Go ahead. Make fun. I'm not embarrassed. Those movies are genius.)

Anyway, though I was thrown off by the absence of a cold open, I loved the organization of the episode and how it allowed us to jump back into the fray of the office. I guess the big news of the night was that Pam was leaving for New York to attend design school for three months, and even though Jim said he wasn't proposing until she returned, the two met at a halfway point in a rainstorm for a lunch and Jim finally popped the question. So everyone's favorite couple is engaged, but since it happened so early in the season, I'm betting we'll see some struggle before these two finally get hitched.

To replace Pam, Michael first hires "weird" Ronnie, an elderly blonde woman. Ronnie is soon replaced with none other than former DM temp-turned-corporate Ryan Howard. We last saw Ryan getting hauled off to jail for fraud- he is obviously no longer with corporate at Dunder Mifflin. (By the way, I'd love to see Karen, Jim's ex-girlfriend from Season Three, take over the corporate position. That would make for great tension.) So now he's running the reception desk in Scranton at the request of Michael, who grows a goatee just so he can match Ryan (who is obviously not diminished at all in Michael's eyes, even though Ryan treated him like crap last season). Ryan also seems to be showing an interest in Kelly again, which was definitely unexpected.

Speaking of Kelly, everyone's desperate attempts to lose weight in order to win the contest were hilarious- but none topped Kelly's swallowing what she believed to be a tapeworm bought from Creed. Stanley legitimately ate less and exercised, accomplishing his personal goal- but everyone else had trouble. This led to Michael holding a meeting as "Michael Klump," emphasizing that fat people should be respected in society. I'll say this: Michael Klump is nowhere NEAR as funny as Prison Mike from Season Three's "The Convict."

Michael, though still at Jan's beck and call (thanks to her sperm-donor baby), is continuing to pursue Holly, who obviously returns Michael's affections. I can't wait to see where this plot line goes- there are so many possibilities. And Holly finally discovering that Kevin is not mentally disabled was a highlight of the episode for me, as was Dwight and Angela's secret rendezvous in the warehouse, despite Angela continuing to plan a wedding with Andy.

Favorite quotes of the night?

Jim: "I don't really know Ronnie. But I have a feeling I will get to know her very well over the next few years, and eventually declare my love for her."
Kelly: "I am on the third day of my cleanse diet. All I have to do is drink maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and water for all three meals. Um, I just bought some bikinis online, size 2. So ... gonna look amazing."
Andy: "Ang. Ela. [sings] Ella, ella, ella. Under my Angerela. Ella, ella, ella. Ay, ay-"
Michael: "What is wrong with these people? They have no willpower. I went -- I once went 28 years without having sex. And then again for seven years."
Dwight: "Happy Birthday, Stanley!" [kicks cake onto Michael]

Urban's Rating: Sooo good

Rucker's Take: I definitely agree that the separation of the summer into segments of weeks was a good way to go with this hour-long episode. Like Sam said, the hour long episodes tend to feel like normal episodes with 20 extra minutes of should-be Deleted Scenes.

I was skeptical last season when they introduced Holly as the new HR person for the office, but she definitely grew a lot on me in this episode. Her thinking that Kevin was mentally challenged was something I would have liked to see go on longer, but it was hilarious while it lasted. Her whispering "Math is hard," to him on the scale was awesome.

Favorite Moments:

The queso cheese fountain in the office's conference room for their "last meal" before the weight loss competition.
Dwight removing all the snacks from the vending machine and replacing them with fruit and vegetables-- and the vending machine getting filled with flies and rotten food as time went by. Also, Dwight spraying everyone's food with roach spray when he felt that they should stop eating was pretty hilarious.
Pam telling the camera "I'm in the wrong class..." when she sits down in what she believes to be her first class in design school.
Ryan using "I never really processed 9/11," as an excuse as to why he was rude to Kelly in the past. (And just to be clear, I don't think that not-having-processed 9/11 is funny, but I do think that using it as an excuse for treating a girl badly is.)

Can't wait for next week's episode!

Rucker's Rating: Sooo Good

Remember: if you missed this week's Office premiere, you can catch for free on Hulu!

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U&R Webcast #3! Emmys, The Hills, Nickelodeon and more!

2008-09-26T13:41:00.005-05:00

We discuss all the wonderful happenings this week in entertainment including the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards, the crazy people on The Hills, and the amazing Nickelodeon shows we used to love...

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The Duchess

2008-09-25T16:36:00.002-05:00

Urban's Take: The plot of “The Duchess” is nothing new. The twists and turns of European high society were already extensively covered in Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette,” albeit with much more whimsy. In fact, dozens of films have dealt with the exact same subject matter.

Still, there is something not to be ignored in “The Duchess,” the new picture from Paramount Vantage, Pathe Films, and BBC Films starring Keira Knightley (“Atonement,” “Pride and Prejudice”) in the title role and directed by relative newcomer Saul Dibb.

The film, which chronicles the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire, is a beautifully orchestrated period film that hits all the right notes at all the right moments. Though it’s predictable, it’s still thoroughly enjoyable thanks to its powerful cast and gorgeous sets and costumes.

It’s easy to notice that Keira Knightley tends to gravitate towards period pieces, or anything in which she can wear a corset and have big hair. I had intended to call her out on that lack of versatility in this review, but after seeing “The Duchess,” I simply cannot. The fact is, Knightley is always divine in period films, even if she’s always playing the same character. If she plays that character well, why shouldn’t she stick to what she’s good at?

Indeed, Knightley will surprise no one with her performance as Georgiana, a woman in a passionless marriage with a duke (Ralph Fiennes, “In Bruges,” “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”) whose only desire for his wife comes from his intense longing for a male heir. (Like I said, there’s nothing new here in terms of story.) But Knightley portrays the strong-willed Georgiana with conviction, as she does with all of her girl-powered heroines, such as Elizabeth Swann in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series or Elizabeth Bennett in 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice.”

The real standout performance in “The Duchess” is Ralph Fiennes’ paunchy Duke of Devonshire. Fiennes once again proves himself a master at playing the villain, although his performance here is much more subtle than his infamous turn as Lord Voldemort in the “Harry Potter” films. Here, each facial expression from Fiennes conveys more than his dialogue ever could. Though his every motion is small and calculated, Fiennes’ presence on screen is enormous.

Dominic Cooper (“Mamma Mia!”) plays Knightley’s other love interest in the film, the future Prime Minister Charles Grey. Cooper’s performance fits well within the confines of the movie. He’s not the most interesting choice for a torrid love affair, but Cooper and Knightley have enough chemistry to pull it off.

Hayley Atwell (“Brideshead Revisited”) also stars in the film as Georgiana’s close friend and confidante, Bess Foster. Atwell should be appreciated as a constant kind face in this frequently depressing film. Her somewhat mousy character creates a lovely contrast to the vivacious Georgiana. Knightley and Atwell portray their conflicted friendship with ease. In fact, Knightley has better chemistry with Atwell than she does with Fiennes or Cooper.

However, the movie wasn’t entirely without fault. Though the costumes and set pieces were beautiful, I felt “The Duchess” paid too much attention to fashion. It is often mentioned in the film as the only way for women to express themselves. While that may have been true within the time period of the movie, it felt like a condescending way to point out how great the costumes looked.

Georgiana’s character is often described by other characters in the film as fashion-forward, making her seem like the Carrie Bradshaw of the 18th century. (Georgiana has feathers and corsets while “Sex and the City’s” Carrie has Manolo Blahnik shoes.) The characterization of Georgiana as a “fashionista” felt out of place, as though it was a cheap ploy to get modern female audiences to identify with the character.

Although the focus on fashion was a distracting and patronizing theme, “The Duchess” manages to use its depiction of 18th century English society to convey themes of freedom, both in government and in the home. It’s not an issue that has been untouched in cinema, but the film adeptly discusses the themes without being heavy-handed or cheesy.

Overall, “The Duchess” will stand as one of the first films of the season that is undoubtedly Oscar-worthy. Knightley does what she does best, the sets and costumes are exquisite, and the film is a treat, even if it’s a decidedly familiar one.

“The Duchess” opens in Dallas on Sept. 26 and opens everywhere Oct. 3.

© Copyright 2008 Daily Campus

Urban's rating: Soo good

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Choke

2008-09-25T16:24:00.002-05:00

Urban's Take:Let’s play a game called “Name That Film!” I’ll describe a plot and you try to guess what movie is being described. Here’s we go: A man struggling with his unsatisfying life finds an alter-ego within himself, acts out violently, has a number of sexual escapades, and learns a lesson about who he really is and what it means to live. If you guessed David Fincher’s 1999 film, “Fight Club,” you’re really close!

I was actually referring to “Choke,” the new film from first-time director Clark Gregg starring Sam Rockwell (“Matchstick Men,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”). If you’re wondering about the similar stories, both “Fight Club” and “Choke” are based on novels by Chuck Palahniuk.

Several of Palahniuk's books have distinct similarities. The main characters are often people who feel marginalized by society and react with self-destructive aggressiveness, a kind of story that can be described as “transgressional fiction.”

Transgressional fiction focuses on characters that feel confined by the expectations of society and find unusual ways to break free of those constraints. Since they are rebelling against rules of society, the “protagonists” of transgressional fiction can seem mentally unstable or nihilistic. The genre deals extensively with subjects like sex, drugs, and violence.

That’s Palahniuk’s work in a nutshell. But if you want to delve deeper into the actual movie, “Choke” focuses on the life on sex addict Victor Mancini (Rockwell). By day, Victor works at a historical theme park, playing the role of an indentured Irish servant in colonial society. By night, he goes to restaurants and pretends to choke on food so that wealthy people will save him and give him money.

All of this “work” is for Victor’s mother (Anjelica Huston, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” “The Darjeeling Limited”), who suffers from dementia and is being cared for in an expensive private hospital. Victor is content to let his mother die, due to the trauma she inflicted on him as a child, but thanks to his mother’s new doctor, Paige (Kelly Macdonald, “No Country For Old Men”), he comes to suspect his heritage may be more “divine” than he previously realized. Dealing with the potential goodness within him proves to be more than a challenge for the jaded sex addict.

Sam Rockwell’s performance is what makes this film worth watching. Even though the rest of the film seems all too familiar, Rockwell brings freshness to his portrayal of Victor. He is an anti-hero in every way, so watching him trying to become an actual hero is captivating. Rockwell’s comedic timing is dead on and his dramatic scenes carry the perfect amount of gravitas. Each of Sam Rockwell’s roles is touted as his “breakout role,” but this one might actually do it for him.

The performance of Brad William Henke proves to be a pleasant surprise. Henke plays Victor’s best friend and fellow sex-addict, Denny. It’s easy to see someone like Seth Rogen (“Knocked Up,” “Pineapple Express”) in this role, but Henke brings an air of innocence to the role of a man inspired by love (with a stripper, naturally) to clean up his act and take control of his life.

Angelica Huston plays the same “quirky mother” role she’s been doing for a while, but the addition of dementia to the character really allows Huston to shine. She is alternately pitiable and unforgivable. Conversely, Kelly Macdonald is less memorable, though quite likable.

“Choke” is far from a perfect film. The story and its twists are predictable (even if you haven’t read the book) and the editing is too reminiscent of “Fight Club.” It’s certainly possible that director Clark Gregg intentionally did that as an homage to the more well-known Palahniuk-based film, but I doubt it.

Still, “Choke” is a dark comedy that is actually both dark and funny, a feat that few in the genre actually achieve. Parts of the film are hopelessly depressing while others are genuinely hilarious- and some scenes manage to be both at once.

It’s also a welcome intellectual film after a summer that was mostly devoid of intelligent thought. Though they were excellent fun, “Iron Man” and “Step Brothers” didn’t exactly get those gears in your head turning. Watching “Choke” is like having a very simple home cooked meal. It may not be as satisfying as Thanksgiving dinner, but it sure feels good when you’ve been eating nothing but fast food all summer.

“Choke’s” essential message is that anyone, even a sex-addict who fakes his death to get money, is redeemable. The labels of a “good person” or a “bad person” are determined by society. “Choke” suggests we should evaluate ourselves based on our actions and our relationships.

It’s no “Fight Club,” but who can argue with a moral like that?

© Copyright 2008 Daily Campus

Urban's rating: So good

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CBS's Worst Week - Rucker's Review

2008-09-23T18:59:00.008-05:00

So I just watched Worst Week, the new half-hour single-camera sitcom (?) from CBS. Basically it's a weekly version of Ben Stiller's Meet the Parents. Except not funny. WW stars Kyle Bornheimer as Sam, the extremely unlucky boyfriend/babydaddy of Melanie Clayton, played by Erinn Hayes. The only recognizable faces in the show are those of Melanie's parents, played by Earl's mom from My Name is Earl and the dad from That 70's Show.

The show is altogether not very good. In any way. All of the "funny" scenarios were highly implausible, beginning with Sam urinating in a pot in Melanie's parents' kitchen when the power was out because he somehow could not distinguish the difference between a huge kitchen and a cooking pot, and a small bathroom and a toilet, in the dark (scene pictured above).

As a result, Sam's urine spills onto the floor, which Melanie's father then slips and falls on, giving him a concussion. Now that Melanie's father has a concussion he has trouble walking and lays down on the sidewalk right outside a funeral home. The funeral directors take him inside and allow him to take a rest in the back room. A call is made by the undertaker to Melanie's home, which is received by Sam who misinterprets the message as being that Melanie's dad had died. He then relays this misinformation to the rest of the family who is of course as a result devastated. Sam is then sent to the pharmacy to refill Melanie's depressed mom's Valium prescription, when he gets in a head-on collision with someone who turns out to be Melanie's dad on his way back from the funeral home. Sam excitedly drags the dad's now-unconscious body into the home exclaiming that her dad is indeed alive. Melanie's mom thinks this is a cruel joke because he still appears to be dead, until the dad suddenly wakes up and says "What's going on here?" which then causes Melanie's mom to freak out and collapse on the floor as well. AFTER all that, all is well because everyone's alive and happy, but the power goes out again. Sam volunteers to flip the breaker switch in the basement and in the process starts a fire that burns, you guessed it, the painting of Melanie's father that Melanie's mother had just received back after commissioning a world-famous artist to create it.

Sound insanely ridiculous? It was. Way too much was happening.

There are many successful single-camera sitcoms: My Name is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock, but Worst Week just isn't as funny as them. It isn't really funny at all. There's no "Joy" (Jaime Pressly's character on Earl) or Dwight (from The Office) that make you laugh no matter what they say. All the characters in this show are pretty blah.

Worst Week was filled with one implausible situation after another and never really stopped until time just completely ran out. Also it was just too quiet. Without a laugh track, (which this show DESPERATELY needs because otherwise no laughs will ever be heard) the show gets awkward at moments and kinda boring.

Also, I still don't understand the title. Does "worst week" imply that this is a series based on one specific week in this guy's life? Or what? If so, didn't they pick up on the fact that sitcoms with specific time elements don't always do particularly well? (Big Day, Notes from the Underbelly, Watching Ellie...)

Rucker's Rating: Sooo Bad

PS: I don't know what the ratings were for the premiere but I give it a max of 4 episodes.

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Luckily No One Has to Die...

2008-09-21T23:28:00.009-05:00

And now Urban&Rucker share with you a "private moment" for your entertainment pleasure: a text message conversation we had before the Emmys aired tonight...

(Rucker's words are in green, Urban's are in white).And there you have it! Luckily America Ferrera didn't win the Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy (Tina Fey did, woohoo!) and some lucky person in the world gets to live at least one more day!

Be sure to check back this week for Urban&Rucker's Emmy wrap-up!

Until then, check out Urban's Live-Blog of the Emmys at Life On the Couch!

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Urban&Rucker's 2008 Emmy Predictions!

2008-09-21T13:19:00.019-05:00

So this is less about who we THINK will win and more about who we WANT to win because really, that's all that matters, right?

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama:
- William Shatner, 'Boston Legal'
- Michael Emerson, 'Lost'
- Ted Danson, 'Damages'
- John Slattery, 'Mad Men'
- Zeljko Ivanek, 'Damages'

Rucker's Pick: Hands down: Michael Emerson. Have you SEEN Ben on LOST? That dude is all kinds of crazy. "You guys got any milk?" still haunts my dreams.
Urban's Pick: Ditto times ten. After every LOST episode that features Ben, I ask myself out loud, "WHEN are they giving Michael Emerson an Emmy?!"

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama:
- Chandra Wilson, 'Grey's Anatomy'
- Sandra Oh, 'Grey's Anatomy'
- Candice Bergen, 'Boston Legal'
- Rachel Griffiths, 'Brothers & Sisters'
- Dianne Wiest, 'In Treatment'

Rucker's Pick: Chandra Wilson... I haven't seen Grey's in a while and she probably won't win, but I really like her.
Urban's Pick: Sandra Oh, please! But an acceptable winner would be Chandra Wilson as well. Those two are the best females in the cast and it's about time someone gave them credit.

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy:
- Jon Cryer, 'Two and a Half Men'
- Neil Patrick Harris, 'How I Met Your Mother'
- Rainn Wilson, 'The Office'
- Jeremy Piven, 'Entourage'
- Kevin Dillon, 'Entourage'

Rucker's Pick: I love HIMYM and I'm not convinced that Rainn Wilson isn't just playing himself on The Office, so I would give this one to Neil Patrick Harris.
Urban's Pick: I have to go with my boy Dwight, Rainn Wilson. His performance this season after Angela broke up with him showed us that he was much more than the office dork. His broken sobs that night at Schrute Farm and his forlorn glances towards the Accounting desk were incredible. Incredibly hilarious. (That being said, Jeremy Piven is always a great choice.)

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy:
- Amy Poehler, 'Saturday Night Live'
- Holland Taylor, 'Two and a Half Men'
- Vanessa Williams, 'Ugly Betty'
- Jean Smart, 'Samantha Who?'
- Kristin Chenoweth, 'Pushing Daisies'

Rucker's Pick: This is easy: Amy Poehler. But has anyone from SNL ever won an acting Emmy? I didn't even know that was possible. I wouldn't hate Jean Smart winning this though either. She's hilarious on Samantha Who?
Urban's Pick: I'd love Amy Poehler to win, but I think it's a long shot just because it's so rare for a performer from a variety series to get nominated. Even though I've only seen half of the season of Pushing Daisies, I'm going with Kristin Chenoweth.

Best Actress in a Comedy:
- Tina Fey, '30 Rock'
- America Ferrera, 'Ugly Betty'
- Christina Applegate, 'Samantha Who?'
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 'The New Adventures of Old Christine'
- Mary-Louise Parker, 'Weeds'

Rucker's Pick: If Tina Fey doesn't win this one, I'M gonna go on strike. YA- TAKE THAT writers!
Urban's Pick: Are you kidding? I AM Liz Lemon. Tina Fey, all the way! (If America Ferrera wins, I will be supremely bitter and angry about it. Everyone in this category is more deserving than her, especially Julia Louis-Dreyfus.)

Best Actor in a Comedy:
- Charlie Sheen, 'Two and a Half Men'
- Steve Carell, 'The Office'
- Tony Shalhoub, 'Monk'
- Alec Baldwin, '30 Rock'
- Lee Pace, 'Pushing Daisies'

Rucker's Pick: Alec Baldwin is great on 30 Rock, but in my opinion he plays the exact same character in every show that he's on. This is why I would love to see Lee Pace of the wonderful Pushing Daisies shown some Emmy love.
Urban's Pick: What a stacked category! I'm happy as long as it doesn't go to Shalhoub (because he's won enough awards) or Sheen (because he doesn't deserve to be nominated). I pick Carell, just because his acceptance speech would be most entertaining. (Although Lee Pace and Alec Baldwin are equally deserving.)

Best Actress in a Drama:
- Kyra Sedgwick, 'The Closer'
- Sally Field, 'Brothers & Sisters'
- Mariska Hargitay, 'Law & Order: SVU'
- Holly Hunter, 'Saving Grace'
- Glenn Close, 'Damages'

Rucker's Pick: Take out Sedgwick and Hunter and I'd be happy with any of the rest winning. If the world's survival depended on me picking just one though, I'd have to go with Glenn Close. Damages was freaking awesome.
Urban's Pick: I've never seen any of these shows. So I have to go with my gut favorite and say Glenn Close.

Best Actor in a Drama:
- Hugh Laurie, 'House'
- James Spader, 'Boston Legal'
- Michael C. Hall, 'Dexter'
- Jon Hamm, 'Mad Men'
- Gabriel Byrne, 'In Treatment'
- Bryan Cranston, 'Breaking Bad'

Rucker's Pick: The only show I watch out of these is Mad Men so I guess Jon Hamm... Can I just write in Matthew Fox as my vote?
Urban's Pick: What a boring category. If James Spader wins again, I'll throw the frozen pizza I will be eating while watching the show at the television. Let's hear it for Hugh Laurie.

Best Comedy:
- 'Two and a Half Men'
- 'The Office'
- '30 Rock'
- 'Entourage'
- 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'

Rucker's Pick: Let me see, I'll have to think about this one. Oh wait, no I won't, 30 ROCK.
Urban's Pick:Considering this from a show standpoint, I think The Office is a better show than 30 Rock. But last season of 30 Rock was absolutely brilliant, while The Office slipped up by making too many episodes an hour long, which doesn't really work within the format of the show. So.... goooo 30 ROCK!

Best Drama:
- 'House'
- 'Boston Legal'
- 'Lost'
- 'Mad Men'
- 'Dexter'
- 'Damages'

Rucker's Pick: LOST LOST LOST LOST LOST -- PLEEEEASE LOST. LOST has been amazing from the get-go and this season was no different. They really deserve it this year. Come on Emmys! Don't pick Mad Men just cuz it would be the trendy thing to do. Follow your heart. And your heart says LOST.
Urban's Pick: LOST really picked it up this season and proved itself just as good as it was in its pilot episode. Mad Men is definitely too trendy right now, just like Heroes was too trendy last year. Boston Legal can't be that good. So c'mon and give it to one of the consistently best shows on television, if not in television history: LOST.

Watch the Emmy's TONIGHT at 8/7C on ABC! And stay tuned to UrbanAndRucker.com for a post-Emmy wrap-up later this week!

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Ghost Town

2008-09-18T19:18:00.007-05:00

Urban's Take: Ghost Town isn’t inventive. It won’t knock your socks off with special effects or make you wet your pants with laughter. But it will warm your heart and make you smile. That sounds incredibly cheesy, but it’s true. Is that the wrong way to describe this film if I want you to go see it? Probably. But it’s true: Ghost Town will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Ghost Town tells the story of Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais, Extras, UK’s The Office), a man who doesn’t exactly have the warmest heart or the best people skills. When he unexpectedly dies and is revived after seven minutes, he discovers that he can (to borrow a phrase from The Sixth Sense) see dead people. Bertram finds this pretty irritating, especially since the ghosts all seem to want something from him- particularly Frank (Greg Kinnear, Baby Mama, Little Miss Sunshine) who wants help breaking up the upcoming nuptials of his widow (Téa Leoni, Fun With Dick and Jane, Spanglish).

This movie has so much heart that you can’t help but have a smile on your face the entire movie. From beginning to end, watching Bertram deal with his problems, both with his newfound ability and with his personal issues, is a delight. The phrase “feel-good movie of the year” gets thrown around a lot, especially when studios are talking about some Nicholas Sparks-inspired chick flick crap fest that is only meant for women over the age of 50 to enjoy. But I don’t hesitate in saying that Ghost Town really is a feel good movie- for men and women of all ages.

But that’s not to say that Ghost Town isn’t funny. It’s hysterical. Sometimes you might miss a one-liner or two because you’re still laughing so hard from the previous joke. A large part of the film’s comedy comes from Gervais, who never once phones it in or resorts to simply acting like his famous characters from Extras or The Office. (Well, that’s not true. There is one scene where Bertram assumes that his Indian co-worker knows torture techniques for getting information from people. That assumption and the way Gervais plays it out is pure David Brent, pictured, from the UK Office.) His comic timing is that of a master and Gervais carries this film on his slumping shoulders.

Greg Kinnear is generally appealing as a dead man who was about as nice at Bertram in his previous life. There are no surprises from Kinnear, though. He plays the role exactly as you would expect him to: the same suave and dry way he plays most of his roles. Still, it works for his character and Kinnear comes off looking good. Téa Leoni, however, provides a wonderful shock as Gwen, Kinnear’s still-living wife. Leoni is more likable in Ghost Town than she has ever been. She makes playing the slightly neurotic but kind-hearted Gwen seem effortless. And, no surprise here, Kristin Wiig from SNL is incredibly funny in the film as Bertram's doctor.

Ghost Town is not only hilarious, it’s also genuine, which is a rare quality in films. It never panders or becomes overly saccharine. Though it seems like the type of film you might pass over in favor of something flashier, maybe you should reconsider in favor of this enjoyable movie.

(© Copyright 2008 Daily Campus)

Urban's Rating: Soo good

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U&R's NEW Webcast! SNL, The Soup and More!

2008-09-17T15:34:00.006-05:00

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U&R Entertaining Links

2008-09-16T15:42:00.006-05:00

Will Mad Men change the Emmys forever?
Variety's review of Lakeview Terrace, since U&R won't be seeing it to write our own...
IMDB.com to start streaming TV and movies for free. They'll also have the season premiere of 30 Rock before it airs..
I'll take it!
Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill gave CW its Best Monday Ever.
TRL's been cancelled... Wait, TRL was still on?
SNL without Amy Poehler??? Noooooo.
Speaking of Amy Poehler, check out her sketch with Tina Fey from last weekend's SNL. The perfect Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. If you've already seen it, watch it again! It's that good.

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Kung Fu Panda

2008-09-14T01:42:00.020-05:00

Urban's Take: I saw Kung Fu Panda right after it came out with my younger sister and instantly loved it. (I even saw it again last week with my fiancé, who had yet to see it and equally enjoyed it.) Sure, the animation and story aren't Pixar quality- but, for the first time in a Dreamworks animated film, I didn't feel like I was being condescended to. I feel like the other Dreamworks animated movies (Shrek, Shark Tale, etc.) just throw BLAND celebrity voices in your face, make a couple of pop culture references, and expect everyone to rave about it. Their films usually lack substance and heart- something that "Kung Fu Panda" has in spades, as Po the Panda tries to become a kung fu master in order to save his village.

It definitely wasn't short on the celebrity voices, but they were well utilized AND used sparingly. I found myself forgetting that Jack Black was voicing Po the Panda or that Jackie Chan was Monkey (I honestly couldn't even tell on that one... how much did he get paid?). The biggest props go to Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu and David Cross as Crane. They hit every joke just right and pretty much nailed their characters. The weakest link in the cast, surprisingly, is Angelina Jolie as Tigress. She seemed even less interesting than her character in Shark Tale, if that's possible.

At times, the movie felt like Mulan with Animals, but my favorite moments were when it felt like it had the comedy chops of The Emperor's New Groove, the funniest and most often underrated Disney 2D animated film. The jokes are really goofy and irreverent- and sometimes you have to be quick to catch them all through your laughter. My favorite parts were Po trying to enter the palace, the character of Master Shifu in general, Po noting that Mantis is the same size as his action figure, and the entire opening sequence- which, for me, has made a personal catchphrase of "There is no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness."

Urban's Rating: Sooo good

Rucker's Take: I'm not gonna lie: I waited to see this movie until there was a situation where I could see it and not have to pay for it. (Legally, of course). That time finally came this week when my school had a free showing for students. Score. I got to see the movie everyone's been talking about, and I didn't have to put anymore money into Dreamworks's pockets in the process.

And I have to agree with the majority of people that reviewed Kung Fu Panda when it came out many months ago: it was really good! I was legitimately entertained and there were several occasions where I laughed out loud (that's "LOL" for you web talkers). Overall the story was pretty basic and the moral very straight-forward, but the movie itself was hilarious.

I personally am not a huge fan of Jack Black, but I think he did a good job of voicing Po the panda. I did feel, however, that unlike most Disney movies (which must be mentioned because they created this genre), I wasn't really pulling for the main character. I mean, sure, he was really funny, but a majority of the laughs he provided were from their exploitation of his fatness. It was actually kinda sad looking back. There just wasn't as close of an emotional connection to Po in this film as you feel to other main characters from other movies such as Dori, Marlin and Nemo in Finding Nemo, Wall-E in.. Wall-E, or Buzz and Woody in Toy Story (all Disney-Pixar films, just in case you didn't know). I completely agree with you though Urban; Dreamworks really toned down their overtly celebrityness in this movie and focused on actually having a story. *COUGH* Shark Tale.

I should add though, Dreamworks's actual animation can't hold a candle to Pixar's. There's just no comparison between the two. Pixar takes a much more realistic approach with their animation whereas Dreamworks animation is much more cartoony. Which, there's nothing wrong with that; it just is what it is.

My favorite parts of the film were these:

Oogway, the old kung fu master turtle beginning to slowly blow out all those candles one-by-one.. Hilarious.
Po making that crazy face in reaction to his acupuncture, right after Angelina Jolie's character says "And he's stuck with you, a big, fat panda who treats it like a joke."
And of course, the opening 2D-animated dream sequence was amazing-- though it was done by James Baxter Animation, and not Dreamworks themselves. (JBA was also the studio that did the opening animation for Disney's Enchanted).

Overall though, I loved it. And I'll probably buy it on DVD.

Oh, and Sam: we should have an Emperor's New Groove watching party cuz I love that movie. And A Goofy Movie. We could call it
"A Goofy New Groove Party."

Rucker's Rating: Soo Good.

Opening Credit Sequence We Loved:

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Urban&Rucker's FIRST PODCAST !!!

2008-09-12T09:15:00.005-05:00

Our very first audio/visual podcast/webcast is now up for the world to see/hear!

Check it out! We discuss popular topics from the blog and more!
And best of all, there's no reading involved! Just watch and listen!

Enjoy! It's soooo good.

-Urban&Rucker

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Burn After Reading

2008-09-11T18:34:00.003-05:00

Urban's Take: “Burn After Reading” is one of those rare films where it’s almost impossible to describe the plot. The best I can give you is that the Coen brothers present a satire about intelligence gathering and information trading in the U.S., complete with some jabs at internet dating and exercise facilities.

The film mainly focuses on a former CIA analyst played by John Malkovich and his frigid wife, played by Tilda Swinton, who’s having an affair with a neurotic State Marshall played by George Clooney. Add two bumbling personal trainers played by Francis McDormand and Brad Pitt into the mix and you’ve got comedy gold. The film plays on the interweaving relationships between all of these characters and the chaos that ensues gives new meaning to the famous phrase, “Oh, what tangled webs we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”

I thought this movie was really clever and funny. The audience I saw it with was laughing for a majority of the movie. And of course, since it’s a Coen Brothers product, it’s extremely well made, although I’ll admit that the film has some problems with pacing. Sometimes it moves too slowly, and other times it moves at a break-neck speed. Overall, it doesn’t quite live up to “Fargo” or “The Big Lebowski” in terms of classic Coen comedies… but it could gain that status over a few years, just like those movies did.

John Malkovich is brilliant here, as are Tilda Swinton and Francis McDormand. But the real standouts are Clooney and Pitt. Clooney is no stranger to Coen comedy and the brothers always get a great performance out of him. “Burn After Reading” is no different as Clooney twitches and jogs his way through the portrayal of a seriously messed-up government worker.

Pitt is a newcomer to the Coen canon and he hits it out of the park from the first moment we see him to the very last. There’s no question that he’ll be audiences’ favorite character- he was certainly mine. He plays a bonehead gym employee named Chad, who’s one of those guys that thinks he knows a lot about government workings, but is actually completely clueless. From the skunk-like blond streaks in his hair to his idiot savant manner of conversation, Pitt embodies this character without thinking- which is perfect.

Now, it must be said… “Burn After Reading” is no “No Country for Old Men.” The Coens have a much higher profile now that they’ve won the Oscar and people will check this out just to see what they’ve done with themselves since last year. But comparing the two films is more ridiculous than comparing apples and oranges- it’s like comparing kites and staplers. As a Coen comedy, it doesn’t quite live up to high expectations. But even a slightly less amazing film from the Coens is better than what the majority of writers and directors out there can do. This movie is hilarious and worth every cent that overpriced movie theaters will charge you to see it.

Urban's Rating: Sooo good

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America's Got Talent ???

2008-09-10T21:04:00.011-05:00

Rucker's Take: For years, I've tried to deny that it even existed by just changing the channel and pretending I didn't see anything. But Tuesday night, I didn't look away. I faced the issue head-on. And let me tell you people: it wasn't pretty.

Before we get too far, let's start with the basics:

This is a show called America's Got Talent that has 2 judges that are British, and one judge that is David Hasselhoff (the two Brits are Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne). By its title and judge selection alone, AGT already shows that they have no idea what they're looking for. But the fact that none of the judges seem capable of assessing talent is oddly enough the least of the show's problems.
The first season of AGT brought us the wildly popular child singing sensation, Bianca Ryan. What did you say? "Who's Bianca Ryan?" Exactly.
Finally, the show is hosted by Jerry Springer, who actually used the line "He's an insurance broker that's just got one policy: singing his heart out," to introduce someone...

AGT will allow ANY kind of talent, which means that many of the acts are completely ridiculous, including but not limited to: ZOOperstars! (a group of dancing inflatable mascots),
the Wright Kids (a trio of folksy kids with an attitude),and this Elvis impersonator.This show is just completely out-of-control. It's basically a poor man's American Idol, and I think AI is terrible, so that says a lot. The judges treat pure mediocrity as if it's incredible and even add "YOU CAN HEADLINE VEGAS WITH THIS!" (a "headlining show" in Vegas is one of AGT's prizes).

Sure, they can headline as much as they want, but that doesn't mean anyone will come.

Even though I think the judges' opinions are utterly ridiculous, I understand that they're getting paid for what they do. If I was getting paid millions of dollars to "judge" talent, I would throw around expressions like "You could take down Whitney Houston with that performance!" too.

What I don't understand is the audience. Are they pumping nitrous oxide into the air conditioning systems? Something must make these seemingly normal people turn into rabid fans of these, sorry-but-I-have-to-say-this, near talentless performers. Like their TV audience cousins over at American Idol, they BOO!!! at every negative word from the judges, and YAAAY!!! at everything else.

America's Got Talent is by no means hurting anybody, except for maybe the contestants it convinces that they may have a future in show business.

OH MY GOSH IF I SEE KID ROCK ON TV SINGING "ALL SUMMER LONG" ONE MORE TIME I'LL SCREAM! Sorry, I just flipped onto Fashion Rocks for 4 seconds.

In conclusion, I just don't think we need all these "talent" shows anymore, for all the above reasons.

Rucker's Rating: Soooo Bad

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90210 Part 2

2008-09-10T10:47:00.001-05:00

Rucker's Take: I was more than a little skeptical coming into tonight's episode of 90210. I really liked the first episode(s) they showed last week for the series premiere, but you just never know if it'll continue to work as time goes on. And I believe it did.. work, that is...

I was happy to see more Aunt Becky this week, but not as happy to see less (and by "less" I mean "none") of Lucille Bluth, aka Annie's grandmother.

This episode, titled "Lucky Strike," relied heavily on caught-you-in -the-act moments (*SPOILER ALERT*) such as : DEEP BREATH- Naomi catching her dad in the middle of an affair that her mom knows about but isn't gonna do anything about because she likes the life she lives and doesn't want to mess that up even if it means she has to pretend like she isn't aware of the more than 2-year-long affair that her husband's been having, GASP, Ty catching Annie with Ethan while they were "catching some air" outside the bowling alley and having those awkward-laugh/"I think I like you" moments, GASP, and Dixon finding Silver while he was taking out the trash, camped out in her car outside his house because she can't stay at her house because her mother's a raging alcoholic and because she can't stay at the women's shelter because her friend that works there said she didn't have room.

I'm beginning to like the characters more and I really just like the overall feel of the show so far, music included. There's a lot going on here and I'm glad they don't feel it necessary to address every character and all their issues every single episode, which I think is something that will definitely help the show keep its viewers as time goes on.

Rucker's Rating: Still Soo Good

Rucker's Mini Take: I also caught the premiere of Privileged, and I'm pretty sure it won't become a regular series of mine to watch (with 90210, The Hills, and an older sister, I think I have quite enough girl drama to observe). But I do think that the show's main character, played by Reba's Joanna Garcia, is pretty funny and genuinely believable. I really liked her line at the end "Oh and, Uncle Ben is Spiderman's uncle, not mine, I just wanna make that clear," after quoting Uncle Ben's famous line: With great power comes great responsibility.

I also loved the show's use of the song "Pony," by Erin McCarley, an alum of my high school and fellow ex-Showboater! Holla Erin! Urban's Take: I was equally impressed with this week's episode's ability to keep the big audience they scored last week. Well, they kept ME watching, anyway.

Like Adam, I was disappointed in the lack of Jessica Walter. Having her completely absent from this episode was really weird and made her seem like a mere plot device to get Annie, Dixon, and the rest of the family to move to America's Favorite Zip Code.

Once again, I found myself bored whenever the younger members of the cast weren't around. I'm sure that fans of the original 90210 adore the scenes with Jennie Garth and are just salivating to know which original cast member is her baby's daddy. But I personally could not care less. Not when Silver's out on the streets and Naomi is having a personal crisis! (Speaking of which, Naomi finding out about her father's infidelity at the office happened in an eerily similar way to how it happened on "Degrassi" when Jimmy found out that HIS dad was cheating on his mom. And "Degrassi" used to be Shenae Grimes' old stomping grounds... I'm just sayin'...)

The real crux of the episode that wasn't mentioned earlier was the MANDATORY FAMILY NIGHT imposed on Annie and Dixon. They are humiliated that their parents would make them do something so uncool, so naturally they invite everyone they know to come along. Of course. Still, we were treated to fun bowling scenes, more Lori Loughlin, and even a "Hills" reference! (Although Ethan should know that no one can out-Spencer Spencer Pratt. He might be Satan. See this week's "Hills" for more info.)

In short, it looks like I'm here to stay! (There's nothing else really interesting to watch on Tuesdays, anyway. But Dancing With the Stars is rapidly approaching... I am ready to watch Kim Kardashian literally shake what her momma gave her. Also, Lance Bass. Enough said.)

Urban's Rating: Soo good

Rucker's Rebuttal: If it helps, Sam, CW posted like 30 pictures from next week's episode, "The Bubble," on their website. From the looks of them, Jessica Walter is all up in that Ep. Also, I totally forgot about the "Hills" reference that happened. It was truly a highlight of the night. I'm pretty sure Ethan and Annie will be 90210's "Ross and Rachel." Oh and I too hate Spencer. That is all.

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Gossip Girl: You Know You Love It

2008-09-08T20:11:00.006-05:00

Hey there, Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here. ...wait, sorry. It's just Sam. But that voiceover gets in your head when you watch a lot of Gossip Girl, which I do.

If you don't know, Gossip Girl follows the lives of Manhattan's wealthy (and beautiful) elite and their progeny. So far, this season has been just as salacious and decadent as last season- and we're only two episodes in. (A word to the wise: if you want to remain spoiler free, back away now.)

Like I said, this season has been amazing so far and the characters haven't even gone back to school yet. GG has been focusing on the characters' summers spent overseas and in the Hamptons. This season's structure is a lot stronger than last year's. The plots are more intertwined and the characters have much more depth, which has come with getting to know their inner workings more and more with each episode. The acting is still believable, even if the ages of the actors and the high school characters they're supposed to be portraying don't quite match up. Everyone is almost overwhelmingly eloquent, but what else can we expect from students of the best private schools in New York?

As far as tonight's episode goes, tensions were high. Sexual tensions, that is! Each scene between Serena (Blake Lively) and Dan (Penn Badgley) had hormones flying as the two couldn't keep their hands off of each other, despite being broken up all summer. Chuck (Ed Westwick) and Blair (Leighton Meester) were equally engaging, but in a very hands-off way. I'm not going to lie, their love/hate relationship/rivalry is what keeps me coming back each week.

Per usual, the fashions of the show were part outrageous, part stunning. I think the real kicker of the night was Chuck's squash attire. Ridiculous and delightful. The music is also still killer, giving each scene the right amount of intensity or whimsy, as needed.

And of course, the drama was in full swing as the Archibalds discovered that they were soon to be penniless and Nate (Chase Crawford) essentially became a male prostitute in what used to be an "innocent" May-December relationship with a cougar who just happens to be a wealthy duchess. Yes, the same wealthy duchess who is the stepmother of the lord that Blair, Nate's ex-girlfriend, is currently courting. Oh, the tangled webs we weave...

In short, Gossip Girl is back with a vengeance and it's gunning for ratings. We even saw Blair utter last season's tagline ("OMFG"), when she walked in on Nate and The Duchess. That alone merits the episode sooo good. Welcome back, GG. We missed you-
XOXO,
Sam

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THE 2008 MTV VMAs LIVE BLOG!

2008-09-07T19:46:00.061-05:00

(7:52- RUCKER): Hello all! Welcome to Urban&Rucker's live blog of the 2008 MTV VMA's. We've got about 10 minutes until the craziness begins. Sam (Urban) will be joining us in just a few, but Sam, don't worry, you haven't missed a whole lot. There have been a few notable things though: Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus arrived to the awards together in an effort to squash rumors that they hate each other, T-Pain came to the awards on a huge elephant, and a ginormous, pregnant Ashlee Simpson just showed herself to the world... Goodness, another Simpson in this world.... And Ashlee Simpson will be its mother..... AHHH.

(7:55- RUCKER): I've gotta say, Taylor Swift is really good at her red carpet correspondent job. Very natural.

(7:58- RUCKER): TWO MINUTES! I'm kinda skeptical of Britney's "comeback to the MTV stage" because that doesn't really tell that she's necessarily performing. What if she's just presenting or something? Or just eating a chicken wing on stage or something. That would be such a ripoff!

(8:00- RUCKER): BRITNEY LOOKS NORMAL!!!

(8:04- RUCKER): Britney pretty much got through her "opening" of the VMAs, which was really just her speaking one line of text. Her only stumble was on the word "anniversary" when she said "anniversity." But who cares. She's back!

(8:05- RUCKER): The venue for the awards, a sound stage at the Paramount Studios lot, is shockingly small. At least for the VMA's. But no one asked for my opinion.

(8:06- RUCKER): My friend Logan just asked if Rihanna's performance was really just Festival of the Lion King (a show at Disney's Animal Kingdom), referring presumably to Rihanna's entrance on some sort of giant Pride Rock-looking contraption.

(8:08- RUCKER): I have NO clue who "Russell Brand" is, other than the apparent male version of Amy Winehouse...

(8:11- RUCKER): Oh, Russell has now pleaded with us to elect Barack Obama... for the good of the world. Thank you Russell. Yes, let's please take our political cues from this cracked out man.

(8:14- RUCKER): This is REALLY classy so far MTV! Good job with this "Russell Brand!" He's also mocked the Jonas Brothers about 400 times for their commitment to remain pure until marriage.

(8:19- RUCKER): Britney just won her first Female Video of the Year award for "Piece of Me."

(8:25- RUCKER): I was just more entertained by that Schlotzsky's commercial than I have been by the VMAs so far.

(8:29- RUCKER): Chris Brown won Best Male Video for "With You." Ehh- I agree.

(8:36- RUCKER): The Jonas Brothers just performed "Love Bug" on the backlot and it was pretty good, which is more than I can say for this Seinfeld/Bill Gates Microsoft commercial... I don't get it.

(8:39 - URBAN): I'm here! And can I please just say that I DON'T like Katy Perry's song but I LOOOOOVE Russell Brand. Also... Michael Phelps... what a stud.

(8:41 - URBAN): I love this song ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"), but not this cover. Boo on this woman whose name I didn't catch. ... I should probably know more about music to be allowed to live blog the VMAs...

(8:44 - URBAN): Um, when every other word is bleeped out, my enjoyment of the song is hindered. You see, I enjoy hearing words. Call me crazy.

(8:48- RUCKER): What is with these CA-RAZY graphics for the nominees?

(8:50 - URBAN): I know... the graphics are nuts. Also, has anyone pointed out the irony of still having an awards show for music videos when MTV doesn't show them anymore?

(8:51 - URBAN): Having people accept awards in the aisles is as ghetto as it was when the Oscars did it a few years ago and everyone said it was lame. VMAs, you are not the Oscars.

(8:53- RUCKER): I know right? It is pretty ghetto. And apparently the Pussycat Dolls thought they were receiving an Academy Award cuz they thanked like 4,000 people.

(8:56 - URBAN): Well, I'm okay with them getting their moment in the limelight. It's not like they're going to win many more awards ever again.

(8:58- RUCKER): Why does the Twilight girl look like she wants to kill me?

(8:59 - URBAN): Probably because she wants to kill everybody because she is attacked by insane fan girls on a daily basis. Poor kid. And... um... I loved Russell Brand in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," but he's not a great host. His humor doesn't suit the gig- he just seems NUTS.

(9:02- RUCKER): I'm just gonna get it out there that I'm really excited for Rock of Love Girls Charm School AND Paris Hilton's My BFF. I'm not ashamed.

(9:05 - URBAN): That being said... I'm appalled that Paris Hilton can't even convey talent or emotion in the commercial for her own television show.

(9:09- RUCKER): Agreed. But I think she was actually kinda funny in this video she did for Funny or Die...

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

(9:11 - URBAN): Linkin Park wins Best Rock Video for the least Linkin Park-ish song ever. But at least they liked "Transformers."

(9:14 - URBAN): Pink is still around? Huh. I remember rocking one of her albums in high school. Flashback to AwkwardSam!

(9:15- RUCKER): Do you think this is a statement to her ex husband? Or am I just looking into it too much..

(9:19 - URBAN): I don't think that's out of the question. On another note, I like this buffer around the commercials reminding us that we're watching the VMAs and telling us what's coming up next. Is the younger generation so ADD that they might forget what they're watching and change the channel? What else is on for teens on Sunday nights? 'Cause I don't think they go crazy for "Extreme Home Makeover."

(9:22- RUCKER): All I know is that the cast of High School Musical is coming up soon. Finally something to look forward to.

(9:25 - URBAN): Yeah, except for the Disney related acts appearing on the show, I'm kind of shocked about what's been going down, especially considering MTV's younger audience these days. If I were a parent watching this, I'd be very concerned for the future. McLovin getting trashed? What's next?! (P.S. Jordin Sparks totally just dissed Russell Brand for making fun of promise rings. Get it, girl.)

(9:27- RUCKER): I KNOW! GO JORDIN SPARKS! I'm really confused by the content of the show too. Especially considering they were advertising it on The N earlier today with the cast of iCarly, a show aimed at young kids. It's kinda sad. And embarrassing.

(9:31 - URBAN): Since when was the Numa Numa song allowed to be cool again?

(9:38- RUCKER): Notice "the cast of High School Musical" almost never includes Lucas Grabeel or Monique Coleman at appearances? Shout out to them tonight as they're probably watching from their bedrooms! My girlfriend Ashley was looking good though.And now we're treated to a mega-mix of Christina Aguilera lip-syncing. This just keeps getting better...

(9:42 - URBAN): As Russell Brand apologizes in his charming accent, I must note that the Christina performance was amazing. Soooo... final score? Britney: 15. Christina: 1,000,000.

(9:44- RUCKER): OK- I have OFFICIALLY checked out of this "awards show" now. WHO IS TOKIO HOTEL?!?!?! I voted for Miley about a trillion times. There is no way they are the Best New Artist. And could the looks on Chace Crawford and Lauren Conrad's faces been any more completely confused as they mumbled out the words "The award for best new artist goes to... Tok..io... Hotel????" Insane.

(9:50 - URBAN): Oh, Adam. We're hopelessly out of touch. I think my younger sisters know who they are. But now Paris Hilton speaks... and doesn't disappoint as she is unable to find the teleprompter.

(9:58- RUCKER): Oh Paris... speaking of people who probably shouldn't be famous, how excited is Mario Lopez that Dancing with the Stars revived his "career"???

(10:00 - URBAN): ATTENTION EVERYONE: Drake Bell looks like a young Adam Rucker with glasses. Also, when will Kid Rock go away? We get it. You love "Sweet Home Alabama." So do drunken sorority girls, but that doesn't mean it sounds good when they sing it.

(10:10- RUCKER): I have NO idea what you're talking about.(10:12 - URBAN): THEY'RE COUSINS, IDENTICAL COUSINS! Aaaand Britney kinda makes a comeback by winning Video of the Year and making a classy and short acceptance speech. Kanye, take us out.

(10:18-RUCKER): Well that was fun. I wonder if Tyra's proud of her ANTM, Kim, holding hosting duties here at the VMAs.

(10:19 - URBAN): Kim looks sooo good. But what of the show Adam? I give it a So Bad. Not enough of what I wanted to see (Miley, Jonas Bros., HSM kiddos, and bands I've heard of). And Russell Brand, though he has a charming accent, was a pretty awful host. Your take, Rucker?

(10:24- RUCKER): I'm actually gonna give it a Sooo Bad. Could you imagine if some alien planet somehow linked into one of our satellites and only caught the VMAs, what they would think of us? I know that's a way out-there analogy (literally, out in space), but seriously. I'll probably just stick with the Kids Choice Awards from now on.. BUT it's been a blast having Urban&Rucker's first LIVE BLOG together! Let's do it again sometime!

(10:33 - URBAN): Absolutely! Thanks for reading, everybody!

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
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2008 MTV VMAs LIVE BLOG TONIGHT!

2008-09-07T16:35:00.010-05:00

Get your mouse-clicking fingers ready to refresh the night away as Urban&Rucker LIVE BLOG the 2008 MTV VMAs!

When Britney, Kid Rock, Pink, and Lil Wayne are all in one room, and that room ALSO contains the Jonas Brothers, there is absolutely NO telling what could happen. And Urban&Rucker will be here the whole time to guide you through the night and make clever comments about it all.

Be HERE at 9/8Central!

(If you don't know what a live blog is, basically we'll be updating our blog constantly while the awards are going on with our comments and opinions, so you'll want to refresh the page frequently to see the newest comments added).

SEE YOU THERE!

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Premiere Week Ratings Wrap-Up

2008-09-05T16:22:00.011-05:00

It's the end of the first of many premiere weeks for the fall 2008 TV season and the ratings are in. Let's see how everyone did:
(in millions of viewers)

Bones: 9.69
Prison Break: 6.48
America's Most Wanted: 5.21
90210: 4.91
America's Next Top Model: 3.48
Gossip Girl: 3.38
One Tree Hill: 3.14

Who knew America's Most Wanted was so popular???

And though this isn't a premiere, it was pretty amusing and totally necessary to post:

High School Musical: Get in the Picture's second-to-last episode on ABC gained only 2.15 million viewers...

When every show on the CW AND America's Most Wanted beats you, that is generally not a good sign...Nick Lachey is crying in a corner somewhere thinking about what he'll do next to sustain some sort of career...

Dancing with the Stars?

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
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The New 90210

2008-09-03T23:20:00.031-05:00

ONE LINER: Beverly Hills, 90210 is back.. that's it, really.

Rucker's Take: I have no recollection of the original 90210 other than I wasn't allowed to watch it. But I was like, 5, so who cares. All the hype surrounding this new, hip version of the show did pique my interest though. So I watched, and I've gotta say, I was sufficiently entertained. It's the typical fish-out-of-water story ala The O.C. and, from what I've heard, the original B.H. 90210. Annie, our fish, seems to be pretty easy to identify with, as she isn't a complete out-of-control dramatic teenager quite yet. But give her just a couple more private jet trips to San Fran and that could quickly change.. I also thought that Annie, at times, bore a STRIKING resemblance to none other than my co-blogger Samantha Urban. Didn't you think so Sam? It was actually kinda freaky to me..

Anyway, moving on.. I was pleased with this pilot. I thought it was dramatic enough without being TOO dramatic, though they did rely on the typical high school standbys: underage drinking and rival high school pranks. I was very happy to see Arrested Development's Lucille Bluth cast in a lead role (Jessica Walter as Tabitha Wilson). I was also thrilled to see Aunt Becky, Lori Loughlin, but I felt she was terribly underused. Didn't you?! Seriously guys, WE WANT MORE AUNT BECKY! Oh, and how weird was that "Silver" girl? I mean, what kind of person has a website that they post videos of themself on all the time... Weirdo.....

All in all, it wasn't perfect, but it definitely has potential.

Rucker's Predictions:

Annie goes bad (ala Mean Girls)
some sort of inappropriate relationship involving the young teacher
extreme family tension with the whole dad/principal has a 20 year old baby we didn't know about, thing
someone gets hit by a bus.

Rucker's Rating: Soo Good

Urban's Take: I have never watched an episode of the original Beverly Hills 90210 in my life. I'm familiar with the names of a few characters only because of an old Saturday Night Live sketch. But I like Gossip Girl, so I was relatively interested in what is essentially Gossip Girl on the West Coast. (Both shows involve rich kids doing terrible things and a gossip blog that everyone seems to know about. Coincidence? I think not.)

And I ended up liking 90210 quite a bit! I'll say this: I didn't really need to see two episodes in one night- that was overkill. But the experience wasn't entirely unpleasant. I love Shenae Grimes (Annie), who was previously known as Darcy on my absolute favorite teen drama, Degrassi: The Next Generation. (So über thanks to Adam for the monumental compliment!) And it's great to see Jessica Walter sticking to her strengths and basically playing Lucille Bluth again.

The plotlines were fun and not too confusing or convoluted (a trap so many teen shows fall into). I found the drama to follow nicely in the footsteps of its wealthy Cali kids predecessors like The O.C. or Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. I thought the scenes with characters from the old show were pretty uninspired, but I don't think I can properly appreciate them anyway.

I'm concerned that episodes are being shot out of order due to script rewrites, but the pilot scored amazing ratings on Tuesday night, even beating out Gossip Girl's numbers from the night before. So even though I need more episodes to convince me to stay, it looks like we'll be hanging in "America's Favorite Zip Code" for a while.

Urban's Predictions:

Dixon's biological parents come to claim their lacrosse star son.
I agree with Adam - DEFINITE student/teacher relationship involving scruffily handsome young English teacher
Someone will come out as a homosexual (Possibly the journalism guy?)
The purse-stealing girl overdoses on drugs

Urban's Rating: So Good

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

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Meet ISIS: America's Potential Next Top Transgender Model

2008-09-03T15:46:00.006-05:00

ONE LINER: America's Next Top Model always has a controversial casting choice and Cycle 11, which premieres tonight on The CW, is no different. This time around, one of the contestants was born male. Isis Tsunami is a young transgender model and will be a contestant on the show.

Urban's Take: Well, last season, a "full-figured" model won the competition, so I'm sure Tyra has spent the past few months wracking her brain with ways to top herself. Whether Isis wins or not, Tyra will inevitably make it all about herself and how enlightened and open-minded she is for selecting a transgender contestant. Snaps for Tyra.

That being said, I welcome Isis to the ANTM family. She will undoubtedly cause controversy within the house, probably with the stereotypical Christian model that always gets cast so she can be offended by everything.

The fact that Isis used to be a dude intrigues me and I'm looking forward to learning more about her- just like Amanda taught me about blindness, Heather taught me about Asperger's syndrome, and Bre taught me about being absolutely insane.

Urban's Rating: Soo interesting...

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
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New Kids On the Block

2008-09-02T17:54:00.015-05:00

ONE LINER: The newly reunited New Kids on the Block performed on Tuesday morning's The View to promote their first album to be released after being broken up for more than 14 years.
Rucker's Take: You know, just to be clear, this blog isn't just about knocking things that are bad. It just so happens that the last three things I've seen were really bad... Which brings me to this performance by New Kids on the Block, or NKOTB as they are more affectionately known.

Now, I have no recollection of them from childhood, but I guess a modern day comparison would be to say they're like the 90's version of the Jonas Brothers? Apparently they were rather popular. Anyway, I wanted to give them a chance. After all, it's 5 middle aged guys whose post NKOTB careers may not have panned out like they'd wanted. They need this to happen. Maybe. Or maybe they're just "doing it for the fun of it." Ya, whatever.

I'll just say I was flabbergasted by this performance all around. First, Donny for some reason had to lip sync what was probably the simplest part of the song, his mini rap at the very beginning. Yet Joey didn't lip sync his solo, which was actual singing, and the results were less than desirable. I'm not completely positive the five ever really came together and agreed on one exact key. I mean, I don't have to give you a play-by-play, you can see it all for yourself.

The overall emotion this video left me feeling was extreme sadness. Watching them try to do all the dance moves and relive their teenage years was just a little too much to take. It's kinda like when you watch a 98-year-old try to play golf. "I'm just as good as I ever was in my 20's!" they say. And you just smile and nod, pretending like you agree but you just don't have the heart to tell them the truth.

I'm not saying these guys should quit, but instead they could maybe just suspend their musical efforts and pursue other opportunities, together or separately.

Rucker's Rating: Soooo Sad

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
RUCKER'S BLOG: Can I Please Just Say...

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Beverly Hills Chihuahua

2008-09-01T20:20:00.015-05:00

Beverly Hills Chihuahua doesn't hit theatres until October 3, but don't worry, Urban & Rucker have already formulated opinions about it.

One Liner: While on vacation in Mexico, Chloe, a ritzy Beverly Hills chihuahua, finds herself lost and in need of assistance in order to get back home. (via IMDB.com)

Rucker's Take:
I didn't hear a peep about this movie until I saw the preview before Wall-E, and goodness gracious, I'm pretty sure I know why. After the preview all I could think was "HUH?!" I mean, I know every Disney movie isn't destined to be a huge hit (College Road Trip, The Haunted Mansion, Home on the Range, just to name a few) but I at least thought they'd upped their standards a bit lately. But no, we have coming toward us a movie unofficially based on Paris Hilton's dog. I thought, OK- maybe I can give this a shot. After all, if it has a bunch of musical numbers like this preview, it may at least be funny. But no, I've since found out that the large chihuahua production number that takes place at that Aztec temple isn't even in the movie... So what's the point of even going? Not to mention, the movie's original release date of September 26 was pushed back to October 3, and that's never a good sign.

So I know that you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, or a movie by its preview, but uhh-- I'm gonna just go out on a limb here and guess on this one...

Rucker's Anticipated Rating: Soooo Bad

Urban's Take: Unlike Adam, the first time I saw the teaser trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua was in front of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. As soon as the song in the trailer started, my fiancé began to freak out. Apparently, the song Disney has the chihuahuas sing in the trailer is a song that was made by/for a radio station in Chihuahua, Mexico, where my fiancé's brother lives/works. So right off the bat, props to Disney for being unoriginal.

I actually heard several elderly women in the audience laugh or say things like, "Cute!" or "I would see this! Dancing and singing dogs! Whoo!" But bad news, you old biddies. Like Adam said, early screening reports are showing that the musical number isn't even in the movie. Even worse, we have to be subjected to the voice "talent" of Drew Barrymore and the theatrical stylings of Piper Perabo and Jamie Lee Curtis. Sounds more like a winner every second.

What makes me really mad is that Disney's live action arm used to be something pretty great. Sure it had a lot of misses. But it also had some classics like Cool Runnings, Blank Check, Freaky Friday (BOTH versions), The Parent Trap (again, BOTH versions), Hocus Pocus, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, The Princess Diaries, Newsies... I could go on and on! But now we get crap like The Pacifier and Snow Dogs. Maybe now that the Pirates franchise appears to be done for awhile, they can pour some money back into making other enjoyable/tolerable family films.

Urban's Anticipated Rating: Soooo Bad

URBAN'S BLOG: Life on the Couch
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Mamma Mia!

2008-08-29T18:41:00.022-05:00

ONE LINER: The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father, told using hit songs by the popular '70s group ABBA. (via IMDB.com)

Urban's Take: I am still livid over the fact that Mamma Mia broke Hairspray's record for best opening weekend for a musical. I know ABBA music is a draw. (I practically wore out my ABBA Gold CD in middle school and high school.) But this adaptation of a stage musical was just awful, as opposed to Hairspray which pretty much nailed the feeling of the stage show. But this movie did NOT make me want to see the musical. The script was terrible (How about those left field plot twists?), the numbers were poorly choreographed (at best... can you consider guys in flippers kicking like a chorus line "choreography?"), and the singing was off-putting for the most part. Watching every male performance in this movie was awkward and painful, while every female performance was just embarrassing. The only person who came off as halfway sane was Amanda Seyfried. Not worth $10... not even worth the gas money I spent driving to the theater.

Urban's Rating: sooo bad

Rucker's Take:
Well first let me say how appropriate it is that our first review is of a movie that we saw together. It was also a movie that, as far as I know, our opinions of were completely the same. I would describe Mamma Mia as our parents' generation's High School Musical... So by that description I guess I can sort of understand the adult women's love of it. But good grief, the "Over-the-Top" store called and wants all their merchandise back*. I will give credit where credit is due though and that is to ABBA for creating such catchy tunes. This movie is not their fault. The fact that some weirdo casting director chose ex-James Bond, Pierce Brosnan for a singing role is also not their fault. It had lots of energy and parts were really funny, but overall the movie was just way too out-there for my taste. The sporadic singing, Meryl's screaming Mrs. Weasley friend, and the song "Does Your Mother Know" were just all too much for me. I should add though that it was recently brought to my attention that a sing-along version of the film was released this past weekend and that it was "The most fun ever," according to our (Urban and my) mutual friend Logan.

*see "Money Money Money" sequence

I don't know Sam, maybe we're just too serious? I feel as if we gave it a fair chance. I mean, we freaking spent $10 each on seeing it and I would sure as heck consider that a fair chance...

Rucker's Rating: soo bad

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