Appaloosa

Ed Harris helped write the screenplay and directs this latest homage to the way things where when men lived and died by the gun in the old West. Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen seem at home in the genre they both love but Jeremy Irons seems wasted as a murderous ranch owner. The pace is slow and the cowboy code of right and wrong is a line that never gets crossed. Unfortunately, if they crossed this line it may have been more of an enjoyable and engaging film. Wait for the edited for TBS or TNT version to hit the small screen - it may actually make for a better film.

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Broadway: Three Generations @ Kennedy's Eisenhower Theater

The Kennedy Center has finished the renovations of the Eisenhower Theater and it looks glorious. What better way to celebrate the grand re-opening of the theater then staging musical reviews from three great Broadway shows: Girl Crazy, Bye Bye Birdie and Side Show. I was amazed at the number of songs I knew and remembered but never knew what musicals they came from. My favorite musical performance was from Jenn Colella and Lisa Bresica as the conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton. I knew there was a musical based on Tod Browning's cult classic Freaks but never knew the name - what a discovery!

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Romeo & Juliet @ Sidney Harman Hall

Shakespeare's most well-known love story opens the 2008 - 2009 season for the Shakespeare Theatre Company. In the finest English old world tradition, this production is all male. The star of the play is James Davis as Juliette who is lovely I dare say, pictured to the right, and imbues Juliette with the energy and mania of a 13 year old girl. I was stunned by this performance and finally saw Juliette as the young girl the text implies instead of a mature teenager that every other performance seems to default to. This is a must see production for all lovers of the Bard!

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Blanche and Beyond @ Kennedy's Terrace Theater

Richard Thomas stars in this one-man show adapted by Steve Lawson from the personal letters of Tennessee Williams. The letters are between 1945 and 1957 and reveal the playright's sole as he comes to terms with his increasing fame. Thomas channels Williams on stage with his mannerisms, voice inflections and copious consumption of alcohol. A truly engaging performance that was followed up with a Q & A session with Thomas and Lawson on staging the production. A great night at the Theater for one and all.

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Burn After Reading

Joel and Ethan Cohen follow up their Oscar-winning film, No Country For Old Men, with this spy, comedy, murder farce. Casting regulars Frances McDormand and George Clooney are joined by Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich. As critics agree, Brad Pitt is the standout performer with his role as the energetic and dumb sports club trainer who finds John Malkovich's memoirs left in the locker room. With this film you are given the opening sequence and an intro to the characters and then the film's stew just comes to a simmer only like the Cohen brothers can do it. Who though murder could be so funny and ridiculous?

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Hamlet 2

Steve Coogan, whose last staring vehicle was 2004's Around the World in 80 Days with Jackie Chan, leads the cast in this comedy about a failed actor that is relegated to teaching acting at the local high school. I had high hopes for the comedy based on the trailers and was left wanting when I actually got to the theater on a well deserved break from the Republican National Convention. Outside of brief nudity gags and raunchy humor, there was nothing that made the film engaging. The sexy Jesus bit was funny and the highlight of the film. It is too bad that the video for sexy Jesus was the best the film had to offer.

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Star Wars is back on the big screen with this CGI animated film. The film is actually the first story arc from the soon to be released Clone Wars series for Cartoon Network. The film was ok but not great. I would have liked a continuation of the fantastic artwork done under Genndy Tartakovsky direction for the Star Wars: Clone Wars shorts that preceded the release of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. I plan to watch the series on Cartoon Network and hope that it hooks me more than the movie did.

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The House Bunny

Anna Faris is one of my favorite young actresses who previously starred in Scary Movie, 2, 3, 4 , Waiting, Just Friends and May. Outside of just being drop-dead gorgeous, she has great comedy chops and can do serious drama when given a chance. The premise is what happens to a Hefner bunny when other playmates get jealous and conspire against her to remove her from the mansion. She dusts of her bunny tail and goes to the local college to become a house mother to the "ugly" sorority on campus. Of course the girls are really pretty and rule the campus as always in these films - too bad they don't get up to the same shenanigans as in the old T & A classic H.O.T.S.

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Pineapple Express

Seth Rogan is the new go to comedy actor in Hollywood. His hits so far include Superbad, Knocked Up, and The 40 Year Old Virgin. This time out he brings along James Franco as his permanently stoned drug dealer as he is on the run from crooked cops he saw murder some one. The drug humor is funny and reminiscent of friends from college who could never move on past that phase of life. My friends and I differ on how funny the film actually is with me being on the less funny side of the equation.

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Death Race

Jason Statham of The Transporter franchise stars in the remake, or better yet re-imagining, of the 1976 Roger Corman cult classic, Death Race 2000. The campy dialogue and low budget effects have been replaced with a better story, great high octane action and CGI-enhanced special effects. Jason Statham movies are a guilty pleasure of mine and this one was all out balls to the wall fun. Great crashes, justified bloody revenge and a big FU to the man! This one is going in my collect ASAP.

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