Ananas

Yeah. If Jack was dead, there wouldn't be a cliffhanger. It will be interesting however to see how CTU operates with him incapacitated for a few episodes.

The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema Sufjan Stevens - Illinois James Taylor - Greatest Hits Les Miserables - Original Broadway Cast System Of a Down - Mezmerize, Hypnotize, Toxicity Reggie And the Full Effect - Songs Not to Get Married To, Under The Tray K-Os - Joyful Rebellion The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free M.I.A. - Arular Neil Young - Harvest, Prairie Wind Those are generally always represented in some way.

My Big Fat Independent Movie - 3.5/10 * My Big Fat Pot Calls Kettle Black. This film, written by Film Threat's Chris Gore, wants to be the indy Scary Movie. In fact, you might suggest that this is the most mainstream film ever made. There is however, one problem: Scary Movie was a satire. This movie tries to be, but in finding that the indy scene has produced some of the few films worth watching in recent history, it can only steal the original characters and place them in contrived situations hoping for laughs. It fails. And in fact, the situations these characters find themselves in are so ludicrious, they do the opposite of whatever point Gore was trying to make: even if some indy films find themselves outside the realm of common sense at some point, they're still a hell of a lot more grounded than this trainwreck. Thumbs down. * P.S. Don't fuck with Amelie unless you're going somewhere. Douchebag-facial-hair-havin'-motherfucker.

Failure to Launch - 5/10 * Failure to Launch? Truer words have never been spoken. This is a movie that never gets deeper than the shallow opening sequences rom-coms generally have, and everything else suffers as a result. We can't really get to understand the blossoming relationship between a 35 year old man and the woman hired to get him out of his house because the only real impression we get of these characters is that they are petty, shallow people who don't seem to think about the concerns of others for a second. We never understand the relationship between mother, father and son because we're caught between pitying their situation and deploring the way they go about fixing it. We also can't seem to understand McConaughey's character's relationship with his friends, because all of their sequences seem to get quickly interupted by lame comic gags (usually involving animals). It's a rom-com that shouldn't even succeed as a date movie because anyone really watching the film can't seem to find reason to cheer for any of the characters, save for perhaps Zooey Deschanel's Kit, who is at least open about her actions. * That's not to say there aren't endearing parts. The general jist of the film is that it is hard to make the leap from the familial unit to the single life. Or at least it seems to be. Those parts even seem to endear the characters to the audiences. That is, before a second act plot twist throws that entire dynamic off. This is a silly mess that may be enjoyable as a distraction, but little else. Thumbs down.

Date Movie - 3/10 * Looking for satire? Look somewhere else. This is b-level re-creation. If anything in their efforts to "mock" other films, they've actually cheapened the originals by taking all that humour and exaggerating it until it loses all edge. Only a few bits actually worked, and they weren't even all parody (bumfights, anyone?). * That said, the efforts are certainly, erm, spirited. Alyson Hannigan tries to make the best of a bad situation, and the supporting cast certainly know their roles (most of them have probably played the virtually the same role in other bad rom-coms). One sequence parodying the movie "My Best Friend's Wedding" was absolutely perfect satire (probably the only time that happened). And if you're REALLY looking for an excuse to see the movie, there's Sophie Monk's salacious charm. However, I doubt that telling you that "it's better than BloodRayne" is going to be interpreted as a strong endorsement, and that's about the best I can do. Thumbs down to a parody film that could have used more actual parody.

Citizen Kane - 9/10 * Not much can be said about Citizen Kane that hasn't been mentioned millions of time over. As such.. thumbs up.

Amelie - 8/10 * Audrey Tatou is a vibrant performer and is right at home in this vibrant comedy. A whimsical concept such as this is a filmmaker's playground, and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet takes full advantage, mixing in nuanced performances with creative flashback sequences and a tongue in cheek narrative. Think Scrubs in a foreign language. * The poet Wallace Stevens once said that sentimentality is a failure of feeling. Now this is all that I know about the man, but I think we can pretty much conclude that he was a miserable son of a bitch with none of the zeal that films like these have. Both realism and escapism have their places in cinema, and this is one for the dreamers. Thumbs up.

The Bicycle Thief - 9/10 * Not only is this a vividly directed and sincerely performed masterpiece, it also features a heartwrenching climax that, while not exactly out of left field, is certainly more impactful than any I've encountered recently. It's not the inspirational work of Italian-American Frank Capra, nor is it the escapist whimsy of Federico Fellini, but this film's serious neo-realist cred makes it a worthy part of the great works of Italian cinema. Thumbs way the hell up.

Kissed - 3/10 * I guess I'm just a "prude", but this film was just offputting throughout. I'd even be able to get past the queasiness associated with a necrophiliac love story if I felt it actually led to something, but it really doesn't. It's shock for the sake of shock, and is only made marginally tolerable by the performance of Molly Parker. Thumbs down.

Go Jays Go!

Syriana - 7/10 * I can't vouch for the book it is based on, but based on the overwelming detail, I'd feel safe in saying that this was a faithful adaptation. * The direction, screenplay and performances are all terrific. George Clooney really did stand out in his turn as Bob Barnes. * Only one major problem: too much information. Instead of invoking the important themes of the book it is adapted from, there is an overhwelming amount of facts and plot points. It makes for a rich story, but it can also bog the viewers down at points. In the end, the film runs about 10-15 minutes too long, but is rescued because of how well everything else is pulled off. Thumbs up.

Hustle & Flow - 7/10 * A strong vehicle for Terrence Howard with a redeeming plot, but may require a certain appreciation for hip hop music to be completely engaged in the story. The same things I said about Joaquin Phoenix apply here. Good movie, thumbs up.

Broken Flowers - 7.5/10 * Bill Murray is the driving force of this film. His deadpan charm certainly makes up for his character's obvious shortcomings, and makes for an interesting scope to put the lives of his ex-flames through. Don is neither good nor bad, but at the end of the film it's hard not to cheer for him, and this is Murray tipping the scales. * Jarmusch really does well to juxtapose the lead with the surroundings he finds himself in, and so we can really get a good idea not only of these ex's of Don's but also of Don himself, all of this through reliable narrators. He has an interesting use of colours to set the mood for each of these meetings, from the vibrant backdrop to his meeting with the free spirited Laura, to the dull whites and greys at Dora's home, the soft tones of veterinarian Carmen and the dark, dreary home of Penny. * The pacing of the film is a little slow, and there is a bit of a problem with the lack of any real emotional connections to Don. It's a flawed ride, but definitely one worth going on. It's like Lost In Translation with a less universal themes. Thumbs up, nonetheless.

Cake was an IT band like 5 years ago. People are just getting back into them now, but I've been a fan for a while. Their latest album isn't great, but there are 3 or 4 good songs. Sheep Go To Heaven, Goats Go To Hell > *

Show Me Love - 7/10 Here is a gay themed movie that isn't merely a straight romance with gay characters transposed. The filmmaking is audacious, the characters are sympathetic and the indie score serves to help this film stand out on its own.

Walk the Line - 8/10 Man, it's been a good day. Let's see: * Reese Witherspoon definitely earned her Academy Award with this film. The way she portrays Johnny through June Carter's eyes makes this film so much more impactful. * Joaquin Phoenix captures Johnny Cash perhaps better than Jamie Foxx did Ray Charles. Too bad for him that, as Laice pointed out, this was such a fantastic year for actors. * There's something really endearing about stories of people who are their own worst enemies. In real life the accomplishents of someone like Ray Charles, who overcame so many different types of adversity, are uplifting, but on film it just seems like a story that's been done time and time again. This is the story of someone who created most of his demons, messed up royally and through love and friendship, managed to pull through. * I also can't think of a better date movie made this year. It's an uplifting romance with real human stories, great performances and for the guys, the fantastic music of one of the industry's true greats. Thumbs up to a definite must see.

The Constant Gardener - 8/10 Political intrigue... check. Fantastic performances ... check. Sharp characterization ... check. Inspired direction... check. Rachel Weisz as the hottest pregnant woman ever... check. Thumbs up.

V for Vendetta - 8/10 As if The Wachowski Brothers' script, James McTeigue's directions and the lead performances of Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving weren't enough, Lord Melchett is in this film? That's dozens of different kinds of awesome. And even that is dozens less awesome than this movie. Seriously GoGo's right, this is the best film the Wachowski's have even looked at since The Matrix. The script is all kinds of fun and the themes are ones that hit home a lot more than a couple of the films it shares similarities with (Equilibrium and 1984 come to mind). Probably the first must see of 2006.

Yup, it isn't as intense as 24. Not an awful episode or anything, but certainly not on the same intensity level as the show it leads into.

The preview makes it hard for me to believe that Audrey is actually in on it. If you believe a Jack lookalike took out Palmer, an Audrey lookalike could have sold the info.

Maybe Abruzzi will die and a German auto engineer will take his place.

It sucks to see Tony die, but 24 didn't fall off at all in the early episodes of this season when he was unconscious, so I don't see why it would fall off now. Is it just me, or are the show's producers dropping foilers left and right? Originally someone listed Kim debuting on the show in the 1pm-2pm episode on IMDB.com, and with the story about Mia Kirshner and Carlos Bernard now apparently being impossible (unless Tony isn't dead), it seems like they're going to great lengths to throw would-be spoilers off. And it's a great thing, especially when they're doing a show that is most effective when it's twists aren't spoiled early. Good job boys, save us from ourselves.

I'd think it'd be fine if he'd just left the show and said he was uncomfortable with the treatment of Scientology on the show; I can certainly understand being oversensitive when it comes to ones own religion. But to go so far as to lash out at these creators who've been giving you a paycheck and writing this stuff you've been so willfully complicit in all these years, not to mention hinting at their being bigoted, is nonsense. If any of these people who are so upset about this really sat down and looked at the content of South Park, I'm pretty sure they'd realise that the tongue in cheek manner that everything else on the show is presented sets a pretty clear precedent that when they're poking fun at religion, they're hardly burning crosses and burning down mosques.

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS* One of the producers said this week that he'd like season 6 to be filmed in London with someone else running the operation. I can't imagine 24 without Jack, but if you're going to do it a complete break is probably the best way to go. */*