Andy Labis, Author at Entertainment Ave!

RIP Stephen Cannell, Goodbye Jimmy Johnson, The Karate Kid, and Organized Chaos!

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As this podcast episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” kicks off, I play “Name That TV Theme Song” with Stu Gotz in homage to the passing of Stephen Cannell, TV series creator extraordinaire. And as I start with some TV talk, Stu kicks right into his wondering more about “The Event” and its likeness to “Flash Forward,” and not liking “Nikita” that much. Me, I’m sad that Jimmy Johnson got booted from “Survivor: Nicaragua,” but I’ll get over it as “The Real Housewives of D.C.” is finishing up and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” comes back.

On the movie front, Stu, for reasons I still don’t understand, watched the original “Karate Kid” via Netflix, while I give a 5 star rating to “The Social Network” and agree with all of the Oscar buzz that is beginning to float around for the movie. The Gotz Children learned about fire safety, I learned the value of organized chaos at Nordstrom’s shoe department, Stu questions the proper way to pay for a magazine subscription, and with the Chicago Bears’ loss, Stu is laughing his ass off while I’m just wondering why anyone would want to take a snap with that offense sucking so bad.

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Fall TV Spectacular, Go Bears, Two Miles or Three, and Katy Perry has Boobs.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Even though Stu Gotz saw “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga”Hoole,” most of this edition of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast is about television and the return of the fall season. Yup, I’m all about “Chuck” and its various references to pop culture (Come on, who doesn’t like a Vandelay Industries or Drago from the Rocky movies reference?) as well as “Survivor: Nicaragua,” still cheering on Jimmy Johnson but glad the Shannon dude is gone, meanwhile Stu is nestling back in with “Medium” and “Hawaii 5.0,” sort of, while neither of us are buying into the hype of “The Event.”

Stu is proud of his little Gotz’s as one completed his black belt training and the other was a patient, little lad, and I’m proud of myself, patting me on the back for some cleaning I did on Saturday. And, oh yea, there is some wedding talk, this time about seating arrangements and how easy they are, and talk about Katy Perry and her boobs on Saturday Night Live. Lastly, sort of, Stu is addicted to the internet, and it’s not a porn site for a change – this time it’s some doodle cartoons on YouTube that have caught his fancy, and he tries to rope me in. But I’ll have none of it – I’ve got the Chicago Bears playing the Green Bay Packers on the TV tonight! Go Bears!

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Kid’s Parties, Parade Love, Butterflies, Survivor, but No Movies, sort of.

By: The Dude on the Right

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There could have been a wrinkle in my pristine reputation that I’ve been trying to build with my future in-laws, and during this episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, I tell Stu how a South Park song could have ruined it all! Okay, my reputation isn’t that pristine, but Cartman singing about Kyle’s mom probably wouldn’t be song neither my future mom-in-law nor dad-in-law would ever listen to, and would have probably garnered some looks, but during a cleaning Saturday, it could have happened. Stu, though, diverting the topic from dirty songs, sings the praises of the structure of “South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut,” much to my agreement.

Meanwhile, as weekends go, Stu’s was chock full of excitement and analysis with:

A trip to Chuck E Cheese
A trip to a butterfly festival
Eating oysters for the first time
and getting ready for the fall TV season

As far as me, I dissect to Stu my weekend of:

Being loved at a parade
Loving the new season of “Survivor: Nicaragua” with Jimmy Johnson
and seeing a gallon jug full of something that was probably pee.

Stu didn’t see any movies, I didn’t see any movies, we might see “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” next weekend, and neither of us will probably ever see “Waiting for Superman” even though Oprah seems to endorse it and tweeted that only we can stop the downward spiral. And let’s not forget, that in our 20 minutes, we also discuss the conflicting stories that the various trailers for “Megamind” seem to be telling.

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Here’s a bit from The Dude on the Right’s Blu-ray review of “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”

…I guess I hate to put it this way, but it seems that “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” is a dudette flick. I say this simply by viewing it with my fiancé, whom, after we finished the movie, simply said “It was under two hours. It had a happy ending. I liked it.” Yup, my fiancé has a pretty simple scale for her liking of movies, and yes, she does have to actually like the movie, but as the credits started to roll, and I looked at her and said “Ehh,” she stated her case based on her ratings scale, I said “Really, you liked it?” and she replied “Yes I did.” Hmm?…

Read the full review here.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:56 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley
MPAA Rated:	PG-13
Released By:	Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainnent
Kiddie Movie:	It’s better for the older kiddies.
Date Movie:	My BFF liked it, so go ahead and snuggle.
Gratuitous Sex:	The Princess wears some skimpy outfits is about it.
Gratuitous Violence:	There’s a lot of swordplay and people getting stabbed.
Action:	Lots of chasing and running around.
Laughs:	A chuckle here and there.
Memorable Scene:	Whenever the dagger gets used.
Memorable Quote:	Nothing.
Directed By:	Mike Newell
Blu-ray Cool Things:	The deleted scene is useless, but for film buffs the “CineExplore: The Sands of Time” is kind of like a visual commentary track.

I guess I hate to put it this way, but it seems that “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” is a dudette flick. I say this simply by viewing it with my fiancé, whom, after we finished the movie, simply said “It was under two hours. It had a happy ending. I liked it.” Yup, my fiancé has a pretty simple scale for her liking of movies, and yes, she does have to actually like the movie, but as the credits started to roll, and I looked at her and said “Ehh,” she stated her case based on her ratings scale, I said “Really, you liked it?” and she replied “Yes I did.” Hmm?

So let’s start with the story… Jake Gyllenhaal is Dastan. He’s a little kid in the land of Persia and in a showing of courage, the King decides to adopt him, making him that adopted brother, and Prince, of Persia. He has two other brothers and they actually seem to get along in that brotherly way, and all is well with the kingdom. As the story goes the soldiers come across the land of Alamut, a holy land pretty much left alone in the kingdom, but through a “spy” it seems the Alamutians might be running weapons to the enemies of the Persians. Looking to strike while the iron is hot, with a bit of surprise, the boys, and the King’s brother, Nizam (Ben Kingsley), decide to attack, and in doing so Dastan ends up with this dagger. There is much rejoicing, it is deemed that Dastan should marry Tamina, the Princess/rulerish dudette of Alamut, but then the King dies from a poisoned cloak thing.

Well, Dastan is framed for the King’s death, he runs off with Tamina and decides he has to clear his name and also finds out that the dagger has this magic sand that can turn back time a bit. He learns of the true nature of the sand from Tamina, how it came to be, and the resulting problem should the sand fall into the wrong hands.

And so, for the remainder of the movie, Dastan and Tamina go through adventure after adventure in their quest to prove the good name of our hero, and secure the sand from the bad people.

Look, the movie is grandiose in scale, looks beautiful, but for me just seemed to keep getting itself too complicated in the treachery, the mysticism, and the 3-D-ness effects that were there for the movie in the theater, and maybe will be there for the 3-D TV’s in the future, but for even the Blu-ray scenes it was like wasted screen time when we get it, snakes fly at you in 3-D but don’t do it on my current flat screen.

Jake Gyllenhaal is good enough as Prince Dastan, Gemma Arterton is snippy and pretty as the Princess Tamina, and the film looks great, but I just kept sitting there on my couch waiting for the movie get to its ending, an ending that I thought went too far back in time, but then again, I guess it had to in order for the happy ending. I can see the kids liking it, I can see the dudes being okay with it, but for me it seemed about a 2 star movie that wanted to be a lot more than it ended up being For my BFF, though, she liked the story, it was under two hours, and had a happy ending and felt it was about a 3 1/2 star movie. I’ll average them together and round up to finally give the movie 3 stars out of 5. What do I know?

As far as the Blu-ray kinds of stuff, I still am trying to figure out why the Blu-ray version has a deleted scene that does nothing, really, but show some cut off heads on a platter. It does, though, for movie buffs, give an interesting, kind of “commentary” track, where if you watch the movie via the “Bonus Features” menu, there will be this dagger that shows up every now and then that if you use your remote, you can get a boat-load of “making of,” “how did they do that,” and tidbits about the movie. It’s kind of cool, at least the first couple of times, but it does get a little tedious waiting for the “dagger” to do it’s magic every time – I suggest using the index to see the things you really want to learn about quicker.

All in all a decent film to watch with your more adult children, or go ahead, snuggle with your honey on the couch while she checks out Jake’s abs, but for me the movie got lost in a lot of grandioseness that actually took away from the story.

Movie Rental Mania, Bears Talk, Oprah Talk, Brad Pitt and Suits of Meat.

By: The Dude on the Right

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The Chicago Bears season opener came along, and during this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, I give Stu Gotz my excuse as to why I missed the most magical game of the season, at least so far. Sure, I blame my BFF (Get well my Love!), but what man doesn’t?

Blame-game aside, we dissect the Bears’ win that should have really been a loss, and we also dissect the MTV Video Music Awards, or at least wonder about music these days and who might still be around in ten years. Stu’s Little Gotz made a little movie, “Prince of Persia” passes my BFF’s movie test, Stu’s RV is stored for the winter, and I may mock it, but part of me wishes I were in Oprah’s studio audience today because who wouldn’t want a free trip to Australia!

All of that, I’m looking forward to Jimmy Johnson on “Survivor: Nicaragua,” and did Mama Gotz ‘mile high club’ Brad Pitt? I think part of Stu hopes so because then he can search out Jessica Alba.

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Chicago Bears, Machete, Weddings, Parades, Loneliness, and Flipping Off the Devil.

By: The Dude on the Right

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What a Labor Day weekend, and what better way to recap it than with a Stu & The Dude’s Weekend Wrap-Up! Podcast! Yup, my weekend was lonely, or rather spent many a time alone, while Stu was all over the place, and with people. Yup, my BFF had some things to take care of, so I tell Stu how I reverted to my old ways, catching a movie, by myself, namely this one being “Machete.” I let Stu know if it is any good (it was!), and how I was happy I went because it’s a movie my BFF would never watch.

Stu, meanwhile, loved “KickAss,” (as do I), but thought Cop Out sort of sucked. Also, the vacation destination that was set to rival the giant ball of twine, namely the teepee in Stu’s back yard, has come down following a summer of teepee-ness!

I’m looking forward to the Chicago Bears season opener for some reason, Stu liked a wedding with a brunch buffett, I forced my BFF to watch “The Fifth Element,” and Stu questions if it is okay for a preacher to flip the bird, if that bird flipping is aimed at the Devil.

All of that and more for this podcast, as we head into the fall, and wedding season!

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Allergies Abound, Sucked in at Sam’s Club, and a Smart, or maybe just big, Ass.

By: The Dude on the Right

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I got sucked into the sample folks at Sam’s Club, and during this podcast episode of our "Weekend Wrap-Up!", I tell Stu Gotz what me and the BFF came home with (it was yummy, and oversized)! Me, for the most part, had a non-eventful weekend, although I treated my BFF to a viewing of "Hot Tub Time Machine," and I let Stu know if he missed anything during last night’s Emmy Awards (How cool would it have been if they could have gotten Bruce Springsteen to show up?).

Stu, meanwhile, found out that he has a smart ass, or at least a big ass, and that story has nothing to do with the kicking shoes around at a Tae Kwon Do tournament. A lot of Stu’s weekend had to do with allergies, with his kicking his ass (I sense a theme), him wondering about the proliferation of allergies and kids, and him sounding a little disappointed in Mama Gotz who decided she wanted to bring nuts to a picnic where a lot of kids would be.

Stu is still stuck on Doctor Who and he saw "Casino Royale," I don’t think my BFF and I will be having a honeymoon under the sea, and I eagerly await Apple’s next media event on Wednesday where the rumors say they will announce a batch of new iPods and a new version of iLife, but we’ll find out later about that, and hey, I don’t really talk about it during the podcast, but I’m still always excited about an Apple event.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

21

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 2:02 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

21 Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Laurence Fishburne
MPAA Rated:	PG-13
Released By:	Columbia Pictures
Kiddie Movie:	Only if you to turn them into degenerate gamblers.
Date Movie:	If she likes to gamble in Vegas and doesn’t just go there for the shows.
Gratuitous Sex:	Ben and Jill get it on, but sadly it’s PG-13 so her arms cover her boobs. The group also meets in a strip club, but the girls have pasties on.
Gratuitous Violence:	Some some beating up of people.
Action:	Our heroes do find themselves running from casino goons through the belly of a casino.
Laughs:	A chuckle here and there.
Memorable Scene:	All I’ll say is the look on a dude’s face at the end of the movie.
Memorable Quote:	Micky to Ben: “I love a parade, don’t you?
Directed By:	Robert Luketic
Produced By:	Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Kevin Spacey

That’s it. I’m draining my bank account and heading to Vegas. Yup, I can count, too. Oh wait, they have that crazy facial recognition software now, don’t they? And, oh yea, I like to have a cocktail or ten while at the blackjack table. And, oh yea, they worked in teams. You know what, I guess I should scrap that idea and just go back to the lottery. “21” though, a movie loosely based on a group of MIT students who made a lot of dough in casinos by counting cards at the blackjack tables, is a lot of fun, if not somewhat preposterous.

In the movie we get Ben (Jim Sturgess), a student at MIT who wants to go to Harvard Medical School, only he ain’t got the money, and he’s banking on getting a free ride scholarship. When his professor, Micky (Kevin Spacey), notices that Ben is a math wiz, he figures Ben would make a good fit into his team of kids who take weekend trips to Las Vegas beating the casinos at their own game. At first Ben is hesitant, but since his dream-girl from afar, Jill (Kate Bosworth), is part of the team, Ben finds himself wrapped into a world he never came close to dreaming about (you see, Ben was the typical nerd at MIT, hanging out with his two, typical nerd friends, concentrating on school and a robot project instead of hitting on girls). Things are going well as Ben finds he is great at running a table, Micky loves him because he’s making him loads of easy money, but then, you can guess, the lifestyle starts to get to Ben’s head, he starts to gamble instead of remember the rules, and forgets that as easy as Micky can make his life in college, he can also make it miserable. Then of course there is Cole (Laurence Fishburne), a loss specialist for the casinos, hot on the trail of our college kids, realizing exactly what they are up to and probably happy because it means he gets to beat up somebody.

“21,” being the Hollywood take of the actual story, of course changes a whole bunch of things about the story, but it’s probably better because the actual story, while fascinating, would be pretty boring on the big screen. At its core, though, is the basic concept of using a team to gaining the upper hand at the tables, though I’m doubting any of the original team members found themselves running through the casino kitchen trying to get away from casino goons.

Jim Sturgess does a nice job of developing the nerdy Ben into a flashy Vegas high-roller, Kate Bosworth just needs to be on the screen to make me happy (although an R-rated version with her naked would be better), and Kevin Spacey is great in that “I am holier than thou so you will listen to me or be crushed” role. Some of the flashy effects make the film look better on the big screen, and the ending was “Hollywood calculated” for me, but if you’ve got an afternoon free and ever thought you could beat a casino at blackjack, the movie pretty much shows you that you have no chance, so go ahead and split that pair of tens even though the dealer has a nine showing (I’ve seen it done – the dude won both hands). It’s 3 ½ stars out of 5 for “21.”

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

15 Minutes

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 2:00 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

15 Minutes Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Melina Kanakaredes
MPAA Rated:	R
Released By:	New Line Cinema
Kiddie Movie:	Not at all.
Date Movie:	She might get scared and snuggle.
Gratuitous Sex:	More nudity than sex.
Gratuitous Violence:	Lots of it.
Action:	Some good chase scenes.
Laughs:	De Niro always gives some chuckles.
Memorable Scene:	I won’t spoil it.
Memorable Quote:	None stand out.
Directed By:	John Herzfeld
Produced By:	John Herzfeld, David Blocker

“15 Minutes” was one of those movies that as stupid, hopefully for a while, was its base story line, it still ends up enjoyable, I guess mostly because the characters are creepy and likeable, and there is one twist that I’m still surprised the filmmakers used. Here’s the story that hopefully never ends up on TV.

Robert De Niro plays Eddie Flemming. He’s a cop in New York who does his job well, even if he does let news-dude Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer) film a lot of what he does. With this Eddie has become sort of a celebrity in the town. Enter Emil (Karel Roden) and Oleg (Oleg Taktarov), two new visitors to the United States from Western Europe. Oleg dreams of being a film director and to help him achieve his dream he begins by stealing a way-cool video camera and then directing his first scene – Emil killing his buddy. Emil isn’t too hip to Oleg’s filming until he finds that documenting their assorted murders might land him a financial windfall when he sells the footage to Hawkins and plans to option the screen rights. In the meantime Jordy (Edward Burns), the fire marshal, hooks up with Eddie when both their jobs intersect investigating some of Emil’s handiwork. Eddie tries to teach Jordy a thing or two about being a celebrity and Jordy tries to teach Eddie a thing or two about being a little less intimidating when questioning scared suspects, in this case Daphne (Vera Farmiga) who witnessed Emil’s slicing work on his buddy.

So with our heroes on the trail of the killers, the movie turns to Robert Hawkins lack of scruples, or at least lack of caring about anything he shows on TV, when he airs one of the murders Emil committed. Upsetting everyone, especially young Jordy, it does make you wonder if there isn’t anything that might not end up on TV nowadays, but you sincerely hope, although you would probably still watch, that it doesn’t come to the likes of Grammer’s Hawkins showing the top story.

The story for “15 Minutes” is one that doesn’t seem too realistic, it has a few holes, but it is daring enough to pull off a couple of surprises which I won’t tell you here lest I spoil a major plot point, and I think that might be why I ended up coming out of “15 Minutes” saying to myself as well as hearing from others that the movie wasn’t that bad. De Niro is his usual great self and Burns plays Eddie’s puppy dog sidekick faithfully. You tend to hate Emil and feel kinda sad for Oleg, yet the one plot line that really didn’t fit was Eddie’s relationship with news reporter Nicki (Melina Kanakaredes) which just seemed a little out of place for Eddie’s personality. Oh well, I guess you can’t have it all.

So, for “15 Minutes” you get an entertaining movie containing well-played bad guys, well-played good guys, some quality kills, a little gratuitous nudity, and a feeling that it won’t be too long before some broadcaster really does show someone’s murder on TV. I’ll give “15 Minutes” 3 ½ stars out of 5.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!