In Zac Efron’s latest movie Charlie St. Cloud, in which he plays the title character, we get to see him brood, sail, play with his dead brother Sam (Charlie Tahan), romance a pretty girl named Tess (Amanda Crew) and take his shirt off (a lot). At the start of the film, Charlie and his brother both die in a car accident, but a paramedic (Ray Liotta) is able to save Charlie and bring him back to life. This brief crossover to the other side leaves him with the ability to intimately connect with people who are caught between this world and the hereafter. Intimately.
LAist Interview: The Cast of Charlie St. Cloud
DVD Tuesday: Clint Ascendant!
I was a big fan of Gran Torino when it originally dropped in theaters last year. The one complaint I constantly heard from those who didn't like it was that the young Asian actors weren't very good. My reply to them was that within the universe of the film, these kids had a less than perfect grasp of English so naturally they would struggle to speak. At any rate, Gran Torino was a great flick that you should definitely catch now if you missed it last year. The International and Crossing Over belong on the endangered species list of "Expensive adult dramas that don't make much money." The future of these movies is on DVD, I think. Too bad.
DVD Tuesday: Yep, Jessica Biel is nekkid!
Large swaths of red-blooded American males have been waiting for this moment since March of 2000 (NSFW) and today that moment finally arrives -- Jessica Biel is nekkid in a movie (unbelievably NSFW)! Of course, by all accounts Powder Blue is a terrible film, but why let something like that stop you from buying it, right? It surely can't be any worse than the week's "big" release, New in Town. What has happened to Renee Zellweger? Not every notable 70s movie was actually good. Zabriskie Point will make you laugh but not in a good way. Forever Strong has two things going for it: it's about rugby and it stars the amazing Gary Cole.
Weekend Movie Guide: Han Solo Returns, Still Gruff
I'm a big fan of Wayne Kramer (and my childhood devotion to Harrison Ford lingers) so Crossing Over is clearly at the top of my list. Anyone else getting a strong Traffic feel from this picture, though? Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience was the natural follow-up to last year's Miley Cyrus 3D concert film. I'll say now what I said then: Pedophile alert! Pedophile alert! Watch your kids, parents! Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li has only one thing going for it: the almost alien beauty of Kristin Kreuk. Not quite enough to get me into the theater, however. Whither the charming Eddie Burns of the mid-90s? Echelon Conspiracy is the latest in a long line of paycheck films. The best thing about Bob Funk is probably the title.
Weekend Movie Guide: Uwe is Back!
After a busy holiday season, there's a pronounced lull in the film distribution business this weekend. The lazy plan is just to go wide with a few films that have already been playing in Los Angeles for a few weeks ( is only a week away.
TV Junkie: Thursday
Baseball was fun last night since there wasn't much else on. Tonight we have more choices, except for late night which only offers us Kimmel. If you have the Sundance Channel you really ought to check out the series Iconoclasts, which pairs up incongruous individuals from sometimes completely disciplines to see what kinds of discussions result. Weird and fascinating. 5:00pm World Series: Game Deux FOX - For all you non-Francophiles or non-Naked Gun fans, Deux...
The Police @ The Staples Center - 6/20/07
No stadium show experience is complete without a snafu at Will Call. And this is how this story begins. Sure it was nice to see Ray Liotta standing next to me at Window 4, but not even the loop of Henry Hill voiceover playing in my head could soften the blow of a forty minute wait at Window 5. Eventually security arrived and ushered us to our seats. That’s a first. After a twenty...
A Smooth Operator Operating Correctly: Ocean's 13
Believe it or not, Ocean's Thirteen actually out-Grindhouses Grindhouse. Not in violence or cursing or explosives per se, (it does have a PG-13 rating), but in hearkening back to the good ol' days when movies were fun, dagnabit, Clooney and co. have Tarantino beat. Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Thirteen is the most kinetic and most fun of the Ocean series, and there are far worse ways you could spend two hours...
Ducks Win! Win... win... win... (Echo of apathy)
James Caan, Ray Liotta, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Lucas, Jerry O'Connell, "Snoop Dogg", Jerry Bruckheimer and Mark McGwire. Is this the cast for next summers biggest blockbuster?
TV Junkie: Workin' for the Weekend - Chloe on Conan, 'Network' on TCM; New SNL Tomorrow
I'm Tivo-ing Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe from 24) on Conan tonight because it's the only new TV worth watching. Did you know Mary Lynn used to be David Cross' girlfriend? Did you know she's starring in a full-length comedy show at the Steve Allen Theater? Go see her Sunday, Apr. 15 @ 8:00pm, it's like $5 or $10 or something, pocket change.
TV Junkie: Toga! Toga! Toga! Also Andy Richter's Back w/Andy Barker; An Hour of 'The Office', plus 'Ugly Betty' and Others...
A Word Or 37: Lotsa new episodes and shows on NBC tonight. ABC is also stepping up with new episodes. I wish I felt more positive about Andy Barker, P.I. but it didn't look so great on Conan. Raines looks apalling. Tonight - Thursday - March 15th, 2007 College Basketball: UCLA vs. Weber State (CBS, 4:00 p.m.) Narc (IFC, 6:00 p.m.) Jason Patric and Ray Liotta team up as cops in this thriller from...
TV Junkie: 'Swinging' Debuts; Bob Woodruff-orama; Korn on Leno
Today - Thursday - March 1st, 2007 Ducks @ Kings (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) College Basketball: UCLA @ Washington State (PRIME, 7:30 p.m.) Survivor: Fiji (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) Someone has a tantrum on the island. Swinging (ABC, 9:00 p.m.) Series premiere Scrubs/30 Rock (NBC, 8-9:00 p.m.) New episodes. Larry King Live (CNN, 9:00 p.m.) Reporter Bob Woodruff Ace of Cakes (Food Network, 10:30 p.m.) Off to Baltimore. If only this show had the balls...

