Notes and Thoughts in a Virtual World

Adams, Scott: Thriving on Vague Objectives. 26th Dilbert collection. Dilbert on-line. Due Out: 10/01/05

Baldacci, David: Official website.

Birmingham, John: Designated Targets. 2nd book in the alternate history series (following Weapons of Choice). - Random House page. Due out: 10/25/05

Coben, Harlan: Official website.

Connor, Beverly: Dead Secret 3rd book in the Dr. Diane Fallon series. Author homepage
(this book). Due Out: 11/xx/05 (or 12/06/05 according to Amazon.com).
Connor, Beverly: Kill Site. 6th Lindsay Chamberlain novel. Author page for this book in progress. Due Out: unknown.

Crichton, Michael: Official website.

Drake, David: Some Golden Harbor. 5th RCN book. Official website. Due Out: 2006.

Elkins, Aaron: Official website. Next Gideon Oliver mystery: 07/xx/06.

Flint, Eric: Author official website.

Griffin, W.E.B.: The Hostage 2nd book in the present day series (following By Order of the President). - excerpt. Due Out: 12/xx/05

Haig, Brian: Official website.

Huston, James W.: Official author website.

Martin, George R.R.: A Feast for Crows. 4th book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Chapter excerpt. Explanation of this book and the series. Due Out: UK: 10/17/05; US: 11/8/05.
Martin, George R.R: A Dance with Dragons. 5th book. Due Out: ?.
In Martin's own words: "And before anyone asks, yes indeed, this development means that Parris was right all along. It will now probably require seven books to complete the story."
Martin's non-blog (1 entry so far).

McDevitt, Jack: Seeker. 3rd Alex Bennedict book. Author website. Due Out: 11/01/05.

Reilly, Matthew. Official author website. (Hover Car Racer. - author page - originally offerred free at www.hovercarracer.com).

Ringo, John: Ghost. Not sure, realy, what it is about, despite a description on the official author website. Free sample. Due Out: 10/xx/05
Ringo, John: Princess of the Wands. Not sure what this book is about. Official website does not help. Due Out: 01/xx/06

Rollins, James: Official website.

Saylor, Steven: Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome. Epic history of Rome, the first 1000 years. Author website, book page. Due Out: 2006/2007.

Stirling, S.M.: The Protector's War. 2nd in the "Dies the Fire" trilogy. Author website. Maps and links. Due out: 9/01/05.
Stirling, S.M.: A Meeting at Corvallis 3rd in the "Dies the Fire" trilogy. Due Out: ?.

Turtledove, Harry: Settling Accounts: The Grapple. Fansite. Due Out: 2006.
Turtledove, Harry: Settling Accounts: In at The Death. Due Out: 2007.

Varley, John: Mammoth. Solo-novel. Official website (includes movie reviews written by him). Book page. Due Out: Already Out (7/7/05).

Weber, David: At All Costs. 11th Honor Harrington book (not including Honorverse books). Author's official website (information about this 11th book, and a link to Weber's books at an offsite website are the only things on this website). Due Out: 11/xx/05 (or you can buy an Advance Readers Copy right now for $15; and/or Chapters 1-5 here for free).

Woods, Stuart: Iron Orchid. 4th Holly Barker book. Author official website. Due Out: 10/25/05


Baen Schedule.

I wrote a play in 1995 for my Theatre class in college. A total of three people had the chance to view this 10-year-old play until today. I'm not a professional writer and this is the only play that I've written. I'll just post Act I for now (the second Act becomes rather surreal; and I've suddenly now decided to include it anyway).

---

The Second Semester Freshman
By Michael S. Briggs (April 13-16, 1995)

Characters:
Dave
John (Dave's friend)
George (Dave's roommate)
Dim Figure (RA) (person that keeps things in order when the fire alarm goes off)
Woman (Cafeteria cash register attendant)
extras (crowd effect in scene II act I; and in scene II act II)

Act I
Scene I
(Note: because of the design of Act I, there are not any breaks between the scenes, since the stage is re-set while the darkened endings of the scenes are being performed; Act II involves some break between scenes)

At the beginning of act I scene I, a mildly dark room is set up on the stage. Two wooden loft beds are against the far wall, with a window next to the left loft (the audience's left), a door next to the right loft, and a refrigerator is along the wall on the other side of the door from the loft. Clothes, books, trash, and many other odds and ends are strewn around the room.

Place: A dorm room in the tallest coed hall on campus (any campus, though originally set in an Eastern USA University)
Time: Spring 1995
Set: see attached scene I design (? not sure what happened to that)

As the curtain (or lights come on if there is not a curtain available) rises, a semi-dark room is revealed that contains two sleepers on two different loft beds. Suddenly a loud fire alarm bell is heard, which awakens both sleepers in different ways. George, in the loft to the audience's right, hurriedly springs from his bed, grabs some clothes and other needed things and hurries from the room. Dave, in the other loft, springs up at the sound of the bell and crashes his head into the ceiling, and then reaches over to grab an alarm clock lying next to him.

Dave: (while, rubbing head, he mutters) Who was the idiot that lowered the ceiling while I slept . . . (he pounds on the alarm clock but the sound continues (the sound has been gradually softened)) stupid alarm clock won't stop, the same idiot that lowered the ceiling must have rewired the alarm clock . . . (he looks up and then glances around the room and the situation finally hits him). Some stupid moronic idiot has obviously decided that right now is the correct time for everyone to get up. (he mutters) Stupid fire alarm (as he carefully, since he still feels his meeting with the ceiling, drags his weary body to the loft ladder at the foot of the loft and gingerly edges his feet down the 2X4 loft ladder to the step-ladder. He attempts to walk down the step-ladder but nearly falls onto his nose after he takes the first step down, and a loud crash is heard . . . He stares at the ladder for a second and exclaims) Dang it, who was the moronic toad that put the step-ladder backwards. Some idiot needs to be told that with the steps on the inside and the supporting bar on the outside, a person that climbs down a ladder will naturally walk down the outside, and end up killing his foot if he tries to use the supporting bar as a step, when he actually expected a real step.

Dave hurriedly grabs some things and runs out of the room. The door is just about to shut when he storms back in, grabs his keys and rushes back out, and locks the door from the outside. The stage darkens.

The stage remains dark as the sounds of many people hurrying down stairs can be heard . . . (new set is set up while the sounds of people running downstairs is being heard)

End Scene 1

Scene 2 (new set)
place: outside the dorm
time: a couple of minutes later
set: see attached design for scene 2 (?)

Dave bursts from the building and pushes his way through the crowd (around 5 extras are sitting/standing around to represent a crowd; extras softly murmur during the following scene, and some smoke) until he reaches the outskirts of the crowd. He hurries over to a bench and sits down. People are sitting/standing all over the place, on the walls, on the ground, everywhere (oddly enough, they seem to avoid the benches). After a couple of seconds, Dave spots John and rushes over to him.

Dave: Hello John . . . I would have to say, that judging from the various states of undress, and the surprisingly freezing weather, I would hazard the guess that the R.A's (resident advisers, they monitor the hall) will decide to keep us out here for a while, suffering, as they check everybody's room, like they have done before, looking for "contraband". What do you think?

John: Probably will . . . (looking annoyed and staring at the "sky" mutters under his breathe, loud enough for the audience to hear) and the last blasted fire alarm was yesterday night around 1:30 am . . . when do they expect us to sleep?

Dave cuts into John's ramblings to ask: By the way, out of some odd desire to know how long until I actually have to get up for the day, do you know what time it is?

John continues looking around and remarks: Oh, I don't know, though it is probably after1:00, since me and Ed were finishing up some school work until then . . . (He wabbles over to the wall and takes a seat)

Dave (mutters to himself): Working on school work? Nah, you and Ed were probably up till after 1:00 but not because of school work . . . (he starts to follow John to the wall when a dim figure comes to the door of the building and announces)

Dim figure (R.A.): A . . . . bomb . . . second floor . . . everyone on that floor . . . see me . . . check your room . . . (the distance and the crowd drown him out).

Dave: What the heck did he just say?

John: Oh, something odd like everyone on the second floor has to come forward and that they're going to use their keys to examine someone's room . . .

Dave (baffled, and not completely figuring out what John meant replies): Ah . . . good . . . another 20 minutes standing out here freezing to death . . . this fire drill must be the worst one . . .

John (leaps up and grabs onto Dave's shirt, tearing it in the process): Hey, weren't you here last week . . . (Dave nods, but John continues without noticing) We were here standing around freezing for over an hour . . . (John loses some of his excitement and mutters) that was the worst one . . .

Dim figure (RA) is at the door and he waves everyone in.

Everyone rushes inside . . . stage becomes dark and sounds of people running (or dragging their weary little legs) up the stairs . . .

John's voice, sounding exhausted: Why in the world would you always choose to travel six flights of stairs instead of just using the comfortable, relaxing elevator?

Dave's voice, also exhausted: Well . . . I don't want to join the 200 . . . (breaks are from exhaustion) people on the elevator . . . I always think that the thing will get stuck, like it used to in the first semester, and then I'd be stuck in a cramped smelly space with 200 other people breathing my air and crushing me . . .

Sound of a door opening

Dave: Well, this is my floor, goodnight

John: Sixth floor? Blasted stupidity, I'm on the second floor, why'd I just climb up this many flights . . .

Scene ends, set changed during the darkness.

Scene III
Place: same as scene I
Time: a couple of minutes latter
Set: same as scene I

The door opens and Dave stumbles into the slightly light room, and mutters:

Dave: The doors unlocked. I locked it, my roommate must have already returned . . .

Dave wanders into the room and sees all of his stuff that had been on the top of his bookshelf has now taken up residence on the floor, which includes his fan; all of which were knocked down when Dave tried to climb down the ladder.

Dave shrugs: I'll take care of that in the morning . . .

He carefully climbs up the ladder and crawls into his bed.

End Scene III
End Act I

---

Now I recall why I made that second act. This was quite boring and short. Rest of the play adds another three pages and . . . I suppose I'll also include that act, though I'd advise against reading it, or the first act for that matter:

---

Act II
Scene I
Place: same dorm room
Time: mid-afternoon, the next day
set: same as in Act I Scene I

The curtain rises and the audience is presented with a view of the room that looks similar to Scene I, with mess all over the place and two sleeping forms, except for two things. One is the new stuff knocked over by Dave, and the other is the sun light coming in through the window. The light of the sun shines through the vertical blinds and brightens the room to the point in which turning on the lights would not cause the room to become any brighter. A ray of light shoots its way through the vertical blinds and finds its way to the sleeping form of Dave. He rolls around in bed looking for an area of the bed not in the light. He grumbles and reaches his hand over to his alarm clock, causing his head to start to hurt again. He grabs the alarm clock with one hand and his head with the other hand. He sleepily examines the clock. The time, not visible to the audience, visibly startles the young "hero".

Dave mumbles: What the . . . 10:00 AM! (He examines the clock some more, playing with some of its buttons and mutters) The alarm is set at 6:00 am, so . . . Dang it, that stupid fire alarm has messed up my day. I banged on the stupid alarm clock trying to shut it up, and now I have found out that, in reality, that's what I've accomplished. I've succeeded in turning off the alarm and succeeded in missing my first two classes, and am in the process of missing a third class. (He stumbles around in the bed and then carefully climbs down the ladder and very carefully feels his way down the step ladder, and safely reaches the ground, causing him to smile and take a step forward, which then causes him to trip over some of the things that were earlier knocked over, and he lands into his rocker, bounces off of that and ends up on the floor sitting up).

Dave mutters: Luckily the room is so small that I am able to trip over trash, while at the same time am able to land on my butt, instead of my nose, (his roommate glances down at the fallen Dave and mumbles:

George: I'd give you a 10, but you messed up in the style category, so I'll have to give you a 7 (with that said, George rolls over and falls back to sleep).

Dave mutters: very funny . . . (he suddenly gets a odd look on his face and jumps up) if George is still in bed, then maybe the clock is wrong, or I have the wrong day in my mind . . . (he grimaces from pain as he drags his body over to his messy desk and begins a long and labored search for his watch; after making a lot of noise, and generally making his desk messier, he finally finds his watch and happily holds it over his head, then frowns when he jams his hand into the overhanging loft, he drags his now sore hand out of the loft and stares at the watch. He sees that in the spot of "Day" is the word "Mon", and in the spot of time is "10:15" (Note: unless produced as very surreal, with a huge watch that can be seen by the audience, then Dave needs to mutter)

Dave: This stupid watch must be wrong, it has the audacity to bluntly state that today is "Mon" and that the time is "10:15", and since the sun is out, I'll assume that it means 10:15 am. That means that my luck is continuing to . . . (Dave turns around and glances at the bare top bookshelf and gasps) Great, I forgot about knocking everything over last night . . . ok, either I'll sit around here cleaning it or I'll try to make my already started class. (Dave hurriedly flings on any article of clothing that he can lay his hands on, and starts to rush toward the door, but stops and grabs the junk that he normally puts into his pocket. He again starts to rush to the door but stops himself right before he is about to trip over the trash can. He grabs his bookbag. Without combing his hair, or making sure that his clothes actually adequately protect him, he runs out of the room, leaving his roommate in an unlocked room).

end Scene I

Scene II
Place: on a path supposedly leading from his dorm to his class
Time: somewhere around 10:26
set: see Act II Scene II design

Dave runs at top speed along the path and suddenly stops.

Dave thinking aloud: Why does everyone keep looking at me? I could have sworn that the last two people even laughed. (Dave looks down to what he is wearing and what might be funny about it) Ok, I didn't comb my hair, so that's all messed up . . . I appear to be wearing two completely different style shoes, both of which are killing my feet . . . the long johns are covering my socks so . . . LONG JOHNS! what happened to my pants? (Dave quickly glances around and then studies his watch) Well, they'll have to do, I've seen women wandering around in similar leg wear, and I don't have time to change, even though I am also wearing a super small Mickey Mouse pajama top. (Dave continues to hurry to class when he is stopped by John).

John: Whoa there . . . ah . . . insane asylum escapee, don't you think that you need some clothes?

Dave: Yes, I realize that I look stupid, but I need to get to class . . . wait a second, aren't you in my 10:00 class?

John: Sure, but we don't have it today, you ignorant slob, don't you remember? Today's class was canceled for conferences . . . you know, so that people can talk to the teacher about their papers . . .

Dave: And that's just for this class right (John nods his head) Ok then, I also have an 11:00 o'clock class and I haven't eaten yet, so I'll eat breakfast and go to that....

John (sarcastically): I always pick food over appearances . . .

Dave: I can tell, what is that any way? it looks like you have a pizza stain from the top of your shirt down to your belly . . .oh well, off I go to enjoy the wonderful breakfast food . . .

Dave runs off of the stage heading for food, and John exits going the other direction.

Curtain falls, or the lights go out
End of Scene II of Act II

Scene III
Place: Cafeteria
Time: 10:31
set: see Scene III (of act II) design

A large oldish woman sits behind a cash register as Dave appears at the (audience's) left door. A large Clock hangs on a wall next to the cash register and in view of the audience. On the clock is 10:31.

Woman (wearing a hair net and a blue outfit): You do know that we stopped serving breakfast, don't you?

Dave (glances over to the clock, then at the woman, back to the clock and then back to the woman): But breakfast ends at 10:30, it just now turned to 10:31, can't you let me in?

Woman: I would probably under different circumstances, but not this time, we have policies you know. I can't let you in looking like you do, you'll scare and sicken the customers.

Dave (glances around the empty room and sighs): Yep, a lot of your non-existent customers would be terrified to see me . . . (Dave backs up and catches himself as he begins to trip down the stairs) stupid shoes, how did I end up with two different kinds of shoes, neither of which I can actually wear?

Dave stops at a vending machine outside of the entrance to the cafeteria and grabs some food and drink, he then sits down against the wall and slowly eats the food. He figures that he is close enough to his next class that he can rest a second to eat.

End of Scene III

Scene IV
Place: on the path again
Time: 10:55
Set: see act II, scene II design

Dave continues his search for his next class through horribly stormy weather (lights, fog, and sound effects create the effect, don't need a sprinkler system). Thunder and lightning flash and boom in the background, and Dave's hair finally looks combed, though that's only because of the water pushing it down.

Dave: This is great, just great. If it weren't for this stupid weather I'd have gotten to class already. (Dave looks up and sees a pack of "wild" dogs coming towards him) Ah, I knew that the weather wasn't enough to slow me down. Yep, I needed some dogs to tangle with. Well, one thing at least gives me hope. I'm wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt, and all the cartoons I've seen have the dog helping the mouse.

Pack of Dogs start growling when they see Dave and immediately stop and stare at him. Dave tries to keep from staring back, but he can't help it. He can't stop staring at the dogs.

Dave: What, a pack of wild wiener dogs? Ya got to be kidding . . . (lighting strikes in the distance could use wiring along the wall and this scares the dogs, who all decide to run away, though not all of them go in the same direction highly trained dogs) Well, I was doubting there for a minute. Yes, after all of the humiliation and annoyance of the past day, I knew that I could count on . . . (darkness descends on the stage, and a huge noise, along with a scream, is heard . . . )

(Note: ending open to interpretation of the producing company. Though I have set it up as ending with a lighting strike. Producing company might change ending on different nights/showings)

End Scene IV, End Act II, End of Play

---

I probably should edit this more (or at least read the second act) . . .

Opening this Weekend:

Sources: IMDb.com, Yahoo.com, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic.com, Amazon.com, Epinions.com

Wide:
The Brothers Grimm
Fantasy, Adventure
Rated: PG-13, for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material
Starring: Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy), Heath Ledger (The Patriot, "Roar"), Monica Bellucci (Irréversible), Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean), Lena Headey (The Cave), Peter Stormare ("Prison Break"), and Roger Ashton-Griffiths (Gangs of New York)
Writer: Ehren Kruger (14 credits including The Skeleton Key, The Ring, Scream 3.
Director: Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys, "Monty Python's Flying Circus")
About: The Grimm brothers wrote a bunch of fairy tales (which are darker in their original German, than many might recall from edited verisions they might be aware of from their childhood). This film follows the two brothers as the wander around killing demons and monsters for money.
1 hour 58 minutes
Tagline: Eliminating Evil Since 1812

Note: This is one of those movies that were "dumped" on the market to clean out Miramax's film pipeline.

Official Website: The Official The Brothers Grimm Site

Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - Rotten: 40% liked the film (23 out of 57 liked the film)
Critic Collections: Metacritic - Mixed: weighted average score: 55 out of 100 (what this means)
Critic Collections: Epinions.com - no reviews yet (anyone can submitt reviews)
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - 11 reviews - overall C+; Yahoo users rating: B- (36 users)

Christian Science Monitor: David Sterritt: "Gilliam has rarely been more inventive, energetic, or just plain funny. " - a 100 out of 100 score.
Chicago Sun-Times: Roger Ebert: "A work of limitless invention, but it is invention without pattern, chasing itself around the screen without finding a plot." - a 50 out of 100 score. (Ebert gives the film 2 stars, out of 4 I believe).
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "Not terrible so much as terminally silly." - a 30 out of 100 score.

The Cave
Horror/Thriller/Science Fiction
Rated: PG-13, for intense creature violence.
Starring: Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly), Morris Chestnut (Ladder 49), Cole Hauser (Paparazzi), Lena Headey (The Remains of the Day, The Brothers Grimm), Marcel Iures (Layer Cake), Eddie Cibrian (TV Series: "The Young & The Restless," "Baywatch Nights," "Sunset Beach," "Third Watch," 2005-"Tilt," "Invasion")
Writer: Michael Steinberg (also wrote 1994's Sleep with Me) & Tegan West
Director: Bruce Hunt (first film directed)
About: An American team explores a mile-deep cave in Romania and find never-before-seen creatures (many sources, most saying different things about what this movie is about).
1 hour 37 Minutes
Tagline: There are places man was never meant to go.
Official Website: The Official The Cave Site

Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - 27% of 22 reviews liked the film (6 liked, 16 disliked)
Critic Collections: Metacritic - scored a 33 out of 100 - overall - 33 reviews.
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - 5 reviews - average of a D; 25 Yahoo users - average of a D+

Los Angeles Times: Kevin Thomas: "It's increasingly hard to work up a fright on the screen these days, but even if The Cave doesn't exactly terrify, it's fun and looks great." - 70 out of 100
Variety: Robert Koehler: "Refreshing strokes of science-fact in the early sections give way to action strictly from the Ridley Scott-James Cameron playbook, but without a powerful helmer behind the camera or a memorable cast in front." - 40 out of 100.

Undiscovered
Comedy/Drama/Romance
Rated: PG-13, for sexual material including dialogue, partial nudity, language and drug content
Starring: Steven Strait (Sky High), Pell James (Broken Flowers), Kip Pardue (Thirteen), Carrie Fisher (Star Wars), Ashlee Simpson ("Saturday Night Live"), Fisher Stevens ("Early Edition"), Perrey Reeves (Old School), Peter Weller (RoboCop), and Shannyn Sossamon (40 Days and 40 Nights).
Writer: John Galt
Director: Meiert Avis (Far from Home)
About: Another one with vastly different summaries on different websites, I'll just say that it seems to be about a bunch of young entertainers trying to make it.
1 Hour 37 minutes
Tagline: They Know Each Other By Heart.
Official Website: The Official Undiscovered Site

Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - 0% of 15 reviews liked the movie.
Critic Collections: Metacritic - score of 33 out of 100. based on 10 reviews.
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - Critics (6) - C-; Users (25) - D+

New York Post: Kyle Smith: "It isn't a really good movie, but there's real talent in it." (63)
Variety: Robert Koehler: "As a cautionary drama on the price of fame, Undiscovered could not tread on more exhaustively discovered territory, and the result is a reel-by-reel trail of cliches. " (40)
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "Tailored for the readership of Teen People magazine and about as thought-provoking as the average 500-word celebrity profile." (30)

Limited:
The Baxter (Metacritic page for The Baxter - 53 out of 100 based on 8 reviews)
Breaking News (Dai si gein)
Dirty Deeds (IMDb.com page for Dirty Deeds; Metacritic page for Dirty Deeds - 29 out of 100 based on 4 reviews)
Eternal (Metacritic page for Eternal - 47 out of 100 based on 8 reviews)
Games of Love and Chance (L'Esquive)
Matando Cabos (Metacritic page for Matando Cabos - 42 out of 100 based on 5 reviews)

Technorati Tags: Movies

Wired has an interesting article with Jon Stewart and Ben Karlin (Executive Producer of The Daily Show). The article is titled: "Reinventing Television: We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a Special Report from Jon Stewart" and is by Thomas Goetz.

From the introduction:
"Between blog links and BitTorrent downloads, hundreds of thousands of people watch clips online each day rather than on TV. In other words, in form if not in tone, Stewart's Daily Show offers a glimpse of what all TV may one day become: something we can consume in many distillations, at a time, place, and device of our choosing."

The article is: "a conversation about television: where it might go, and whether Stewart will get there first."

Plus, a related article on "Six new ways to watch" television.

Great, fun, website found recently named: Blogshares. A simulated stock-exchange based on buying and trading shares in blogs (and other activity).

Unfortunately, I do not see anything that notes when I first started, but I believe that it was this week. I currently have 24.89 fake dollars to my name. On the other hand, that particular stat is not the most important one - at the moment, my total worth is: $11,249,721.57. I started with $1000 (I believe) and 2000 shares ($500 and 1000 shares for each of my two blogs). I was also gifted 100 shares of another blog, which gave me about $100,000 (after the shares were sold over time).

A rather fun little diversion.

Note: Regardless if you know of this website, your blog (if you have one), could very well be in the system. If you "claim" your blog, you receive $500 dollars and 1000 shares in your own blog.

Technorati Tags: Movies 40 Year Old Virgin Red Eye Valiant El Crimen Perfecto Forumla 17 Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Opening this Weekend:
Wide:
The 40-Year Old Virgin (wide)
Comedy Romance
Rated: R: for pervasive sexual content, language, and some drug use.
Starring: Steve Carroll, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann
Writer & Director: Judd Apatow (of "Freeks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" fame).
& Writer: Steve Carroll.
About: Steve Carroll plays a man that is a 40-year old virgin. His friends try to change that fact.
116 minutes
Official website: http://www.the40yearoldvirgin.com/

Critics: Good collection: Rotten Tomatoes: 58 reviews count - 52 liked the film (fresh), and 6 disliked the film (rotten).
Hollywood Reporter.com: Kirk Honeycutt: "Sticking to one joke in an unconscionably long film makes for a very stale, witless and repetitive comedy. . . .Bottom line: A weak comedy with a provocative title."
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "Filthy, funny, and sweet in equal measure."
Roger Ebert: "The 40-Year-Old Virgin is surprisingly insightful, as buddy comedies go, and it has a good heart and a lovable hero." 3 1/2 stars.

Red Eye (wide)
Horror/Suspense
Rated: PG-13: for some intense sequences of violence, and language
Starring: Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy.
Written by Carl Ellsworth.
Directed by Wes Craven.
About: Thriller at 30,000 feet. Murphy (playing Jackson) is nice enough off the plane, but when McAdams (Lisa) finds herself sitting next to him on the plane, she learns that Jackson isn't as nice as he seems. Jackson, it is quickly revealed, is part of a plot to kill the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (Lisa's father will be killed if she doesn't help).
Sounds quite contrived, but . . .
85 minutes
Official website: http://www.redeye-themovie.com/

Critics: Rotten Tomatoes: 83% of 63 reviews liked the film (fresh; 52 liked, 11 disliked - rotten).
Hollywood Reporter.com: Kirk Honeycutt: "It pulls just about every nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat trick imaginable, yet gets away with it through what is, admittedly, a clever and original gimmick." "Bottom Line: Gripping melodrama of the old-fashioned -- that's a compliment -- sort."
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "A movie that, like its heroine, is lithe, limber and quick-thinking. Like a triple latte from the airport Starbucks, Red Eye will keep you awake, jittery and perched on the edge of your seat for pretty much the entire flight."
Roger Ebert: not reviewed.

Valiant (wide)
Animated: Action/adventure
Rated G
Starring: Ewan McGregor, John Cleese, Tim Curry, Ricky Gervais, John Hurt, Ben Kingsley, Olivia Williams.
Directed by Gary Chapman.
About: A pigeon (McGregor) dreams of joining the Royal Homing Pigeon Service. He gets his chance during WWII.
109 minutes
Official website: http://www.valiantmovie.co.uk/

Critics: Rotten Tomatoes: 26% of 43 reviews liked the film (11 liked, 32 disliked).
Hollywood Reporter: Not reviewed?
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "Too dependent on a knowledge of RAF-inspired cinematic derring-do like '633 Squadron' (or at least Hogan's Heroes) for the average tyke, yet too tepid for their taller counterparts, Valiant is ultimately one strange bird."
Roger Ebert: Not reviewed.
Times of London: Wendy Ide: "Valiant is the plucky little outsider with a lot of heart" 3 out of 5 stars.

Limited Release:
El Crimen Perfecto (limited) NYC (August 26 - LA)
Comedy
Not Rated
Starring: Guillermo Toledo, Enrique Villen
Director: Alex De La Iglesia
About: Manager of the Ladies Department and Manager of the Men's Department in a department store compete against each other.
1 hour 45 minutes
Official website: http://www.crimenferpecto.com/

Critics: Rotten Tomatoes: 100% of 5 reviews liked the movie.

Forumla 17 (Shi qi sui de tian kong) (limited)
Originally Released in 2004. Released on August 19, 2005 in NYC.
Not Rated.
About: 17 year old boy meets male playboy "Will the two boys meet and fall in love?"
1 hour 33 minutes.
Official website: http://www.strandreleasing.com/in_Theaters_Details.asp_Q_id_E_178

Critics: Rotten Tomatoes: Not enough people have reviewed it.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Boksumeun naui geot) (limited) - NYC, NY; Irvine & LA, CA
Originially released in 2002.
Drama/Action
Rated: R: for strong grusome violence, strong sexuality, language and drug use.
Staring: Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Du-na Bae, Ji-Eun Lim, Bo-bae Han, Se-dong Kim, Dae-yeon Lee.
Director: Chan-wook pak
Writer: Jae-sun Lee & Mu-yeong Lee
About: A deaf mute is laid off work right when his sister needs a new kidney. Going to some outlaws, he exchanges 10 million won and one of his kidney's for a kidney that would not be rejected by his sister. The outlaws take the kidney and the money and leave without providing another kidney. A kidney is now available through legitmate means, but the kid doesn't have the money now . . .
Country of Origin: South Korea
129 minutes.
Official website: not available.

Critics: Rotten Tomatoes: 35% of 17 reviews liked the movie (6 liked, 11 disliked).
Entertainment Weekly: Owen Gleiberman: "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is so badly told that it ends up dissecting a corruption that exudes from nowhere but itself." Grade: D.
BBC: Jamie Russell: "Brutally nihilistic, this is one of the best Korean films to have hit these shores in a very long time." 4 out of 5 stars. BBC users rating: 4.5 from 125 votes.

Technorati Tags: National Mall Weekly Standard Washington, D.C. Andrew Ferguson


A great article about The Mall in Washington DC that stretches from the Washington Monument to the Capitol and beyond. All about how pretty much hostile the experience is now days and how "The Mess on the Mall" needs to be cleaned up (that section in quotes is the title of the article by Andrew Ferguson).

Here's a link to the article that appears in the August 15/22 print edition of "The Weekly Standard" and is currently available free on-line (free for the time being, next week the link will probably not work as old issues of "The Weekly Standard" are only for subscribers).

Technorati Tag: Movies

Opening August 12th:
The Great Raid (wide)
True Story. Action/Adventure, war
Rated R: for strong war violence and brief language
Starring: Benjamin Bratt, Joseph Fiennes, Connie Nielsen
Directed by John Dahl
About: 1945 Philippines. Raid by the 6th Ranger Battalion, lead by Lt.Col. Henry Mucci.

Rotten Tomatoes: Score: Rotten, 50% liked, 50% disliked the film out of 12 reviews. The featured critic calls it boring.

The Skeleton Key (wide)
Horror/Suspense
Rated: PG-13: for violence, disturbing images, some partial nudity and thematic material.
Starring: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt
Director: Iain Softley (K-Pax)
Writer: Ehren Kruger (The Ring)
About: Set in New Orleans. Live-in nurse cares for an elderly man in a haunted mansion in the Louisiana delta.

Rotten Tomatoes: Rotten, 33% liked, 67% disliked the film out of 6 reviews (gee that’s a huge sampling).

Four Brothers
Drama/Action
Rated: R: for strong violence, pervasive language and some sexual content.
Starring: Mark Walhberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard
Directer: John Singleton.
About: A mother dies and four foster brothers decide to take revenge.

Rotten Tomatoes: Not enough reviews yet. Only have two reviews so far, both negative ("easily one of the worst films of 2005" by Stefan Halley of "Hero Realm")

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (wide)
Comedy
Rated: R: for pervasive strong crude and sexual humor, language, nudity and drug content.
Starring: Rob Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Jean Reno, Til Schweiger, Jeroen Krabbe
Directed by: Mike Bigelow
About: Schneider goes to Europe as a gigolo and must help Griffin, a pimp accused of murder.

Rotten Tomatoes: Not enough reviews, currently have 5 (from that Halley critic: "a guilty pleasure if you’re not easily offended").

A State of Mind (limited - for those folks in NY)
Documentary.
About: Documentary about 2 young North Korean gymnasts.

Rotten Tomatoes: So far 2 of 2 reviewers liked the documentary.

Note: Title links to official website. Note 2: I’ll try to update the above (include links to actors/directors/writers, find and include writers), and below before the movie actually opens

Opening August 17th:
Supercross (Wide)
Starring: Mike Vogel, Steve Howey, Sophia Bush, Cameron Richardson, Aaron Carter.
Director: Steve Boyum.
About: Motorcycle racing.
Yahoo.com’s page.

Reel Paradise (limited)
Yahoo.com’s page.

Opening August 19th:
The 40-Year old Virgin (wide)

Red Eye (wide)

Valiant (wide)

El Crimen Perfecto (limited)

Forumla 17 (Shi qi sui de tian kong) (limited)

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Boksumeun naui geot) (limited)

Opening August 29:
The Brothers Grimm (Wide)

The Cave (Wide)

The Constant Gardner (Wide)

Undiscovered (Wide)

The Baxter (Limited)

Breaking News (Dai si gein) (Limited)

Dirty Deeds (Limited)

Eternal (Limited)

Games of Love and Chance (L’Esquive) (Limited)

The Memory of a Killer (The Alzheimer Case) (Limited)

Three Dancing Slaves (Le Clan) (Limited)

Wall (Mur) (Limited)

We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minuteman (Limited)

Note: The title is linked to an official website, if there is one; and I linked the actors/writers/directors names in my previous efforts, but too much work this time, maybe I’ll update later; also I used to link to IMDb.com

News: Scrubs Season 2 will apparently be released November 15, 2005.

August 2:

Hearts Afire: Season 1 (22 episodes). The Markie Post, John Ritter, Billy Bob Thorton political sitcom.

The Cosby Show: Season 1 (24 episodes).

Note: There are others being released, mostly just including noteworthy releases.

August 9:
T.J. Hooker: Seasons 1 & 2 (27 episodes). The William Shatner cop show (with Heather Locklear).

Profit: Complete Series. I believe this is that short-lived Fox series (7+ episodes (+=pilot)).

August 30:
As Time Goes By: Complete Series 8 & 9; Complete Series. The Judi Dench, Geoffrey Palmer British series.

Chef!: Complete Collection; Complete 1st season; complete 2nd season; complete 3rd season.

Technorati Tags: DVD Scrubs Hearts Afire The Cosby Show T.J. Hooker Profit As Time Goes By Chef! Judi Dench William Shatner Television