Entertainment Insider

January 31st 2010 23:05

The road to Wrestlemania is upon us and our first pit stop is the Royal Rumble match in which 30 WWE superstars will compete for a shot at the world title at Wrestlemania. Also included are several of the most intriguing title matches in recent memory.

Well...lets get on to the picks

WWE Womens Championship
Michelle McCool (c) vs Mickie James:

The storyline has been that Mickie James is being teased by Michelle McCool for her thickness...even calling her "Piggie James." I thought that this was stupid when I was in junior high...and its even stupider as a wrestling angle. I predict that Mickie James walks out with the title...and hopefully the end of the storyline.

ECW Championship
Christian (C) vs Ezekiel Jackson:

Christian has done a great job as the ECW champion for over 6 months. However, with news that ECW is beginning to be phased out, it is time for Captain Charisma to drop the strap...I fully expect Jackson to walk out with the strap and Christian to move on to better things.

WWE Championship:
Sheamus (C) vs Randy Orton:

Sheamus has "transitional champion" written all over him...but the question is...a transition to whom? Orton would be a logical choice, but I believe that Orton will become bogged down in a storyline involving the implosion of Legacy. I get the impression that Legacy costs Orton the gold, and the reign of Sheamus continues.

World Heavyweight Championship
Undertaker (C) vs Rey Mysterio:

It is mind boggling that over the past eight years, Undertaker and Mysterio have never had a PPV match against one another. With rumors that 'Taker is working through a debilitating injury and the build up to a rematch with HBK at Wrestlemania...I predict that Rey Mysterio becomes the World Champion again with an assist from Shawn Michaels.

Royal Rumble Match

This year is very intriguing with many people wanting to win for many different reasons. HBK wants to face the champion Undertaker, HHH, Cena, and Batista want to be the world champion...while CM Punk, and Chris Jericho just want to prove a point. When the smoke clears I see HHH victorious with Cena and HBK falling just short.

Those are my picks...take care and enjoy the show...seeing as how it is the fastest hour on television

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Fantastic Mr Fox is ...well..Fantastic ***1/2 stars out of 4

January 3rd 2010 00:17

I've never been a fan of Wes Anderson's work...Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, and Darjeeling Limited have all been very flat and ironically cute for the sake of being cute...which I have always found to be obnoxious. Turns out that the main problem was the fact that those films featured...people.

In Fantastic Mr. Fox, all of the things that make Anderson's films so irritating work wonderfully...for they give us a chance to look at the artistry of the stop motion creations of Mr. Fox (George Clooney...is he ever bad?), Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep...see Clooney description), and their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman...wonderful). These creatures are made with such vivid detail that its easy to get lost in the sheer beauty of them. Fortunately, Fantastic Mr. Fox has a wicked fun story for all ages.

Mr. Fox is an adventurer and hunter who settles down and writes a newspaper column when his wife announces that she is pregnant. Several fox years later, he gets the itch to adventure again...this time targeting the farms of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean who are as Mr. Fox's Badger Lawyer (Bill Murray) describes three of the "meanest, nastiest farmers in the entire valley." He ain't joking...they even shoot off Mr Fox's tail.

Eventually a full on war breaks out between the farmers and all of the underground critters.

Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and the crew in "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

No plot synopsis can accurately describe the fun that there is to be had in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Anderson decided to bring all of his voice actors to a farm in Connecticut to bring more of an authentic sound to the story...which serves the story for the better. It helps to capture the fast pace of the movie which is furthered by the terrific soundtrack featuring the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys.

Also there are the brief moments of hilarity that make this film more than terrific for adults...such as when Mr. Fox and his Badger lawyer growl at each other and circle each other in his office...or when Mr. Fox is forced to face off against a french guard rat (Willem Dafoe).

This is one of the winter's great surprises, with fun and adventure at every turn. It is very rare but Fantastic Mr. Fox is laced with the same spirit of its title character...without that...all you got is G-Force.

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Clooney, Reitman make "Up in the Air" Soar ***1/2 stars out of 4

January 2nd 2010 23:40

Here we thought it was Diablo Cody's over-stylized dialogue that made Juno a success, it turns out it was the man at the helm. Jason Reitman establishes himself as one of the new generation's best filmmakers with Up in the Air, a piercing dramedy that combines themes of the decline of Corporate America, over ambition, isolation, love...and finally finding yourself. It is quite an achievement...one that his accomplished primarily through the effortless performance of its leading man.

George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"

George Clooney in one of those roles that you can only imagine him playing stars as Ryan Bingham, a corporate down-sizer whose job is to fire employees for bosses who are too chicken to do the job themselves. Ryan's job puts him on the road 300 days a year and allows him to live an isolated, yet carefree and unattached lifestyle (hell, he even does speaking engagements where he talks about how his entire life can be fit in a backpack). All is well for Ryan until his company and his boss (slimy Jason Bateman) pull him off the road and decide that there is a better way to fire employees...online, an idea created by a young Cornell chipmunk in a business suit named Natalie (Anna Kendrick)

Wanting to protect his way of life as well as the dignity of which he carries out his duties Ryan decides to take Natalie on the road with him to show her how its done.

This is the plot of Up in the Air, but no plot synopsis can accurately describe the depth and feeling that Jason Reitman pumps through the veins of this 21st century classic. During Ryan's travels he meets Alex (firey Vera Farmiga) who is Ryan's female equal or as she puts it "I'm you with a vagina." Not to mention Ryan's quest to reach ten million frequent flyer miles.

However the heart of Up in the Air comes in the scenes of the actual firings. Jason Reitman invited actual laid off employees to come in and tell their stories for the film which breed a real authenticity that can't be denied. Even the fake firings featuring hilarious turns from Zach Galifianakis and JK Simmons are laced with true pain and make the process of firing palatable.

The most poignant firing scene comes when Natalie and Ryan go to an auto plant in Detroit where Natalie provides a demonstration of her new technological form of giving employees the ax on a 30 plus year auto plant employee. Its a hard scene to watch, as this old man breaks down into tears at the news that his life's work is being cut short. If there is any moment that can put a human face on our current economic failings...this is it.

What also gives Up in the Air its pop are the performances. All of the supporting players are solid. Vera Farmiga takes her breakthrough role and runs with it. Her verbal sparring with Clooney is classic and she oozes a sexual charisma that can be felt through the screen. Jason Bateman has a ball as a new definition of sleaze...and the most acclaimed supporting performance Anna Kendrick as Natalie is a tad overrated...but she does play her motormouthed overly ambitious note very well...even as her life comes unraveled when her fiance dumps her via text message.

Above all, this is George Clooney's show. It would be easy to dismiss this performance as simply Clooney being Clooney, but this is exactly what the film calls for. Ryan's world is changing in every possible way...from being forced to take Natalie on the road, to his connection with Alex, to his way of life being taken from him...Clooney remains his charming and debonair self which is what makes this acting of the highest caliber.

Clooney does take a break from the movie star persona when he takes Alex to Wisconsin for his sister's wedding and makes us forget the hypocrisy of his words when he convinces his sister's scared fiance (Danny McBride) that life is better with someone to share it with...despite his personal devotion to isolation. The fact that he is able to convince us of his sincerity just goes to show how good he really is.

The gold medal goes of course to Jason Reitman who isn't afraid to defy convention in order to make his points. The audience leaves the theatre without the classic Hollywood ending which we are all the better for. What we do leave with however is a greater understanding of current America which is difficult to achieve while still being so much fun. Its amazing what can be done with a little sharp writing and directing...oh and George Clooney doesn't hurt either. Those three elements make Up in the Air, not only one of the year's best...but in time perhaps a new classic.

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WWE TLC: A Geeks Predictions

December 14th 2009 00:05

Now this is the WWE niche pay-per-view that could have the brightest future. Everyone enjoys a good ladder match, so to wrap an entire ppv around the concept...as well as including the concept of a "chair match" or a "table match" could result in an incredibly fun and memorable event.

so on to the predictions

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Powerful "Precious" is one of the year's best ***1/2 stars out of 4

December 7th 2009 03:16

One of the rare and unbelievable joys in movies or life is when something is hyped up to a ridiculously high level...and then lives up to every single claim. That joy echos through every frame of Precious, the new gem from Director Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer). I didn't think that a film about a morbidly obese girl who is pregnant for the second time through incest with her father all while being abused by her horrid mother could uplift and cut to the core to the extent that Precious does...boy was I wrong.

It helps that this is one of the most well acted films in recent memories...especially when you look at the cast on paper. Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz...but they all deliver...though it should be added that some deliver more than others

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Survivor Series 2009: A Geeks Predictions

November 22nd 2009 22:03

For nearly a quarter of a century, WWE's annual "Survivor Series" has provided several memorable and controversial moments...(ahem Montreal ahem). However, this year provides one of the most intriguing cards in recent memories with unpredictable title matches and fun elimination contests.

Anyway on to the predictions

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Von Trier's "Antichrist" shocks and disturbs...but also captivates ***1/2 stars out of 4

November 17th 2009 04:08

It has the distinction of being the most shocking film in the history of the Cannes film festival. Antichrist, the latest demonstration in provocation from the notoriously off balance Lars Von Trier more than lives up to its reputation. It is shocking, barbaric, and disturbing beyond belief...yet it is also one of the most captivating films I have seen this year.

Antichrist starts in dark territory and keeps slowly delving into the black abyss of our own nightmares and dares the audience to follow. In the haunting prologue, a couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) screw like rabbits in the shower while their infant son falls out of their third story window to his death, all to the tune of a soft operetta

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WWE Bragging Rights: A Geeks Predictions

October 25th 2009 20:12

WWE continues its trend of giving each pay-per-view event its own identity with "Bragging Rights" which features a card containing a Raw vs Smackdown card (sorry ECW). It also features two world title matches and a 7 on 7 tag match. This is the one event that has the highest potential to be a lasting tradition.

So anyhow here are my predictions

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WWE Hell in a Cell: A Geeks Predictions

October 4th 2009 22:53

The WWE continues in October with a new concept...have three main event matches take place within "Satan's Structure"...otherwise known as the Hell in a Cell match. It may prove to be an exhausting endeavor...but certainly one that will be memorable.

So...on to the predictions

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WWE Breaking Point: A Geek's Predictions

September 13th 2009 16:51

WWE has decided recently to take slots normally reserved for bland, middle of the road pay-per-view events and create shows with a particular theme. First on the docket is "Breaking Point," in which all of the main event matches will be conducted under submission rules...the operative phrasing being that it will force wrestlers to tap out and reach their "Breaking Point" by saying "I Quit."

Acknowledging the potential tedium that could result...WWE has limited these rules to only apply to the Main Events on the card...meaning that only 3 matches will be conducted under submission rules

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January 2010

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