Self High-Five: The Sixth Sense

six weeks going strong…bill bodkin’s self high-five returns

Mindless Self-Indulgence: Is anyone else looking forward to fall? Personally, I love the fall, my work schedule slows down, the uncomfortable Jersey humidity is replaced by crisp autumnal winds and in the pop culture world, things get real interesting. The new television season begins, Oscar buzz begins and most importantly, football season begins! (And most importantly, I get married this fall!). But until then, there are still some cool things going in the dog days of summer. The film reviews in this column are a little long, so I’ll keep everything as concise as possible.

Movies- Two Duds and a Hot Tub: The Runaways, Paris and Hot Tub Time Machine
Who knew a movie about a Hot Tub Time Machine could be better than two movies that received some pretty good critical praise — and one of them being French. Yeah, I should’ve known better — one of those movies starred Kristen Stewart and the other was French.

I had cared very little about the all-girl 70s rock band, The Runaways and after watching the movie about them, I actually care less about them. The film is an absolutely boring, uninspired and utterly predictable rockumentary. We’re supposed to be intrigued by the sordid story of a jail-bait rock outfit that we’re supposed to accept as groundbreaking rock visionaries; but guess what — the film focuses more on their jail-bit appeal, drug addictions and lesbian tendencies instead of their impact on music history. The film, directed by veteran music video “ace” Floria Sigismondi, is the equivalent of a film school student’s first effort — arty shots for the sake of arty shots, actors staring into space to convey sorrow, a weak overwrought with shallow emotion plot (she also co-wrote) and over the top shock value antics. The saving grace of this film is the performance of former ridiculously precocious child actor Dakota Fanning as Runaways singer Cherrie Currie. Fanning shows that she hang with the best serious actresses of her generation — something her co-star, the eternally melancholy and mediocre Kristen Stewart cannot. Yes, once again K Stew stares, hates and doesn’t care her way through another role. In summation, The Runaways is a prototypical band scores it big/does drugs and screws up story told and predominantly acted in a predictable and amateur way.

Another dud seen this weekend was the film Paris. For months I’ve been seeing the trailer for this IFC produced film before many an indie film I’ve rented. The fiancee, a sucker for romantic films, suggested we rent it and she’s been on a tear of picking sleeper films recently. However, the streak ended. This film is the French version of the amazing Love Actually — except no one is happy. Literally. That’s a line in the film! “It’s Paris…no one is happy…we grumble about it…we love it.” Guess who didn’t…THIS GUY. This film is ridiculously stereotypically French — overly existential questions about life, love and death clog this film from developing any likeable characters. Every character is either dying, a jerk, miserable or a miserable dying jerk. I thought that at least the usually solid Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) or Melanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds) could be a spot of hope, but even they couldn’t even this film from languishing in it’s own ennui. That’s the difference between this film and Love Actually. Love Actually wasn’t a completely happy-go-lucky film. It had it’s emotion, it’s tragedy, it’s heartbreak; but it was also filled with joy, love, comedy, romance and the Christmas spirit. In Paris, it’s all depression all the time and somehow this is supposed to reflect the spirit of the city of Paris. I know a lot of people who have been to Paris and enjoyed it — this film does nothing to show the beauty of the city of lights.

Luckily there was a silly bright spot of this cinematic weekend- Hot Tub Time Machine. I’ve heard nothing but positive reviews about this film, but I was still skeptical. This film revolves around a hot tub that sends a group of friends back to 1986. This plot sounds like something you’d see on Comedy Central at three in the afternoon. Yeah, that bad. Thankfully, HTTM is actually a very enjoyable, check-your-brain-at-the-door comedy. It’s very silly, but sometimes these are the types of movies you need to watch after a rough week. The comedic quartet of John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Simpson and Clark Duke are dynamite and I hope that some version of this group can work together in the future. They have a natural chemistry of a comedic troupe that had been working together for years. Corddry actually is the reason the film works portraying the “requisite asshole” of the group. He creates a character that you at the same time love, hate and feel sorry for — pretty good for a film about a hot tub that transports you to the 80s. John Cusack portrays his typical “I hate life but I’m still charming” John Cusack character and it totally works here. These two performances coupled with great 80s gags makes Hot Tub Time Machine a great escapist film that has a major rewatchable factor.

Music: “The High Road” – Broken Bells
New York’s 101.9 RXP is my bastion for new rock music. In college I was on top of the music scene; I knew everything that was coming out, who was collaborating with who, etc. These days, I barely know who the #1 album on the Billboard charts are. Luckily RXP plays a broad spectrum of music including the indie rock supergroup Broken Bells. Consisting of The Shins lead singer James Mercer and DJ/Producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton), this band has created one of the most infectious songs I’ve heard this year “The High Road.” This melodic, superchill song is a beautiful mixture of Mercer’s soulful voice and Danger Mouse’s top notch production skills. Just listen and enjoy it as it’ll be on repeat in your brain for quite some time.

Television- Top Chef DC: I Hate All Contestants
I’ve written a lot about my love for Top Chef on this blog. However, I have to admit that I really do not enjoy this current season. The reason? All the contestants are unlikeable. See, every year around the mid-season point (which the current season has hit) fan favorites tend to emerge. In the Chicago season, we were rooting for the faux-hawked culinary scientist Richard Blaise, in the New York season audiences fell in love with the charming Italian import Fabio Viviani and the quirky Carla Hall while in the Vegas season who couldn’t love the ginger beared pork aficionado Kevin Gillespie. This year, however, the cast is full with conniving, power playing, cut throat chefs, who honestly aren’t that good. Their food is nowhere near as creative as previous years and the constant bickering and backstabbing and “drama” is more annoying than captivating. Frankly, I hope the shows rights its course because with sagging ratings and an unpopular cast, the recipe can be ruined for this popular culinary show.

Food- Crazy (Good) Burgers
In the past few weeks, I haven’t exactly been the picture of calm. So one way that I channel my feelings is through the art of the burger. Yeah, I eat a lot of them. Recently, I’ve had some really, really dope burgers. The first was The Memphis Burger at the Cheesecake Factory — it was a cheeseburger topped with pulled pork. Wow. The combination of savory and smokey was absolutely fantastic. Who knew a place known for cheesecake could create such a phenomenal burger. Speaking of chains, TGI Friday’s serves up one of my favorite-o pig-out burgers: The Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger. Yes, it’s a bacon cheeseburger with a wafer of fried mozzarella on top of it. Not healthy? Of course. Delicious, T.G.I.F. indeed my friend. At The Bulkhead Bar & Grill in Keyport I had a marvelous pork roll-egg-n-cheese burger. Wow. I wish they had this everyday for breakfast at restaurant…then again I’d be dead from clogged arteries. Finally, I combined one of my all-time favorite meals with my new favorite dinner. Yes, at Bar Anticipation in Lake Como, I had their Cobb Salad Burger. Special to their Monday night burger night promotion, this burger is a thick cheeseburger topped with bacon, blue cheese, ranch dressing and avocado. Oh my sweet lord, it’s a mushy, delicious and out of this world burger experience.

Pop Culture- Football Season Begins!
Plain and simple- football is back! Seriously, how cool is it that the NFL is finally back. Oh yes, in a few short weeks, my New York Giants will begin their march to the Superbowl. Will it happen? There’s a good chance, but I’m just excited to see the pigskin being tossed around again!