Tom Cruise confirmed to play Jack Reacher in 'One Shot'

According to Hitfix:



Tom Cruise to play ex-cop-turned-drifter-vigilante Jack Reacher in "One Shot," based on the best-selling novel series by Lee Child (the pen name of Jim Grant), according to Deadline.com.

In "One Shot," Reacher is on the tail of an elusive sniper, only to find out there's more than meets the eyes once the gunman is captured.

The film will be directed by Christopher McQuarrie (The "Usual Suspects" scribe who also wrote the Cruise film "Valkyrie" a few years back).

Don Granger and Cruise will produce for Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions. "One Shot" is expected to shoot in Pittsburgh in the fall.

Cruise is currently shooting the musical "Rock of Ages," and also recently signed on to star in the Joseph Kosinski-directed sci-fi film "Oblivion" at Universal.

He'll next be seen in "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol."

Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol gets a Teaser Trailer!

Take a gander:

-Joey's Two Cents: It does appear to be catering to more of the 'Transformers' and 'Fast Five' type of crowd, but I must say...I dig it. Thoughts?

First Look at Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages!

From Deadline:

Tom Cruise is Stacee Jaxx, a 1980s glam rocker, in Adam Shankman’s upcoming musical Rock of Ages. Cruise will be joined by Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige and Paul Giamatti. The film is due for release next year.

Tom Cruise is circling a few more blockbuster projects...

...according to Deadline:

Tom Cruise has committed to star for Universal Pictures in Oblivion, the science fiction film that will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, who last helmedTron: Legacy. Production will begin in October. Cruise had been loosely attached to the Radical Publishing graphic novel adaptation when Disney let it go and Universal committed to finance and distribute the $100 million film, which came with a William Monahan script that was being rewritten by Karl Gajdusek. Kosinski hatched the idea for the project and set it to be published by Barry Levine's graphic novel imprint as a calling card for a movie when Kosinski was busy for so long directing Tron: Legacy, which topped out at $400 million worldwide gross.

Disney acquired the graphic novel in a heated auction last summer, and Universal was one of the studios that also chased it. It takes place in an apocalyptic future where most of the population lives in clouds above an earth surface that has been rendered uninhabitable. Cruise will play a soldier who's stuck alone on the planet, repairing the drones that patrol and destroy a savage alien life form. He encounters a beautiful woman who crashes in a craft, and their experience together forces him to question his world view. Disney allowed Kosinski to shop it because it didn't fit its family-film mold and attempts to rein it in to a PG rating was creatively strangling the project. It will be PG-13.

Cruise has just begun shooting the Adam Shankman-directed Rock of Ages, the adaptation of the Broadway musical for New Line. Cruise plays the decadent rocker Stacee Jaxx, and gets to belt out the Bon Jovi hit Wanted Dead or Alive and duet with Malin Akerman on the Foreigner hit I Want to Know What Love Is. Cruise will follow with Oblivion. Less clear is what happens after that. Cruise had been mentioned as circling Pacific Rim, the Legendary Pictures-hatched monster movie that will be directed by Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro expected to be working with Cruise at Universal this year on At the Mountains of Madness, but the studio put the brakes on that adaptation of the HP Lovecraft horror tale because the film has its R-rating. While del Toro and Cruise could wind up making Pacific Rim at year's end, the actor's participation in that one isn't certain, though they are talking. CAA-repped Cruise's next film is Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, the Brad Bird-directed fourth installment of the Paramount Pictures series that opens Dec. 16. Cruise is also in the center of a script pitch by Crazy, Stupid, Love scribe Dan Fogelman that sold to Warner Bros last month in a bidding battle. Cruise will play a politician whose pristine reputation is shattered when he gets caught having an affair. With his reputation in tatters, the pol retreats to his hometown to lick his wounds, repair relationships and confront his past. Talk about a timely premise.

-Joey's Two Cents: I must say, I'm most excited about the politician project, but they all sound interesting...thoughts?

Tom Cruise to play a politician again?

Perhaps, according to Collider:

Warner Bros. beat out Fox, Paramount, MGM, and other studios to win a bidding war for an untitled pitch by screenwriter Dan Fogelman (Tangled). Tom Cruise is attached to star as a politician who is caught having an affair: “With his reputation in tatters, the politician retreats to his hometown to lick his wounds, repair relationships and confront his past.” The deal pays $2 million upfront, with $3 million promised if the movie gets made. This is the latest in a series of impressive spec script paydays for Fogelman. WB paid $2.5 million for his Crazy, Stupid, Love screenplay which led to a summer comedy starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone. Fogelman will reunite with Carell for his directorial debut, Imagine — that script netted the writer $3 million. In addition to a story credit on Cars 2, Fogelman set up My Mother’s Curse at Paramount. So basically, start preparing for the imminent Fogelmanization of your local theater in the next couple years. More on the story after the jump.

The movie is about a man who has never made a mistake in his life and becomes a politician. His first mistake — an affair — causes his perfectly constructed life to fall apart and he returns home to rebuild.

I’m not sure how literally to treat “never made a mistake” — is this hardcore allegory? Anyway, there are obvious parallels between the virtuous public figure with a sudden image problem and the recent tribulations of Tom Cruise.

Up next for Cruise is Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, scheduled for release December 16. After that, he’ll film the adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages. Cruise was recently linked to Horizons, slated to begin shooting in October. Fogleman still needs to write the script, which should provide Cruise the opportunity to line this film up after Horizons.

-Joey's Two Cents: As one of the few people who loved Cruise in Lions for Lambs, this is exciting to me...thoughts?

The 68th Annual Golden Globes

This is a week late, but I did want to post it finally... our computer was down until mid-week, and because American Idol came on, I never got it up.  So, here is the running diary of the Golden Globes...

So, this is being typed on a Word Document, while nibbling on some Papa John’s. The lovely Steph Leann is on the other couch, also nibbling on pizza, and we are set to watch the whateverth annual Golden Globes Awards… 68th, as Ricky Gervais just said!

7p… Ricky Gervais is out, and onto his monologue, which is usually all about the celebrities, with zingers and jabs tossed freely. First up, Charlie Sheen, of course. And now its onto “The Tourist”, insulting it, as Johnny Depp looks on from the audience. Next to “Sex in the City 2”, and then to gay Scientologists (I can only assume he is jabbing Tom Cruise and John Travolta)… yeah!

705p… The first award, presented by Scarlett Johansson!  I’m not a ScarJo loyalist, but she looks great tonight. The award is Supporting Actor in a Movie. Noms including Chrisitan Bale, Edward Garfield, Geoffrey Rush, Mike Douglas and someon else I didn't catch before the winner was announced.

The winner is? Christian Bale for “The Fighter”… this is the first award out of many he’s going to get from now until Oscar season, when he wins the Supporting Oscar actor. Its weird hearing him talking in his regular British accent, cause I’m so used to hearing him be deep and throaty Bruce Wayne, and loud and obnoxious in The Fighter. It also stars Amy Adams, whom I’m in love with.

709p… Here’s LL Cool J and Julie Bowen for lead actress in a TV Drama. And the winner? Katie Segal for “Sons of Anarchy”. Never seen the show, but I’ve heard its intense, awesome and manly. Camera cuts to Ed O’Neill who is clapping and smiling for Katie’s win. Very cool.

716p… And now here’s Julianne Moore and Kevin Spacey… Julianne has a horrible dress, and likely no bra. Shame. Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. The Pacific is nominated and I’m guessing its going to win.. though “Temple Grandin” is also nominated. Tough. And the winner? “Carlos” wins, whatever the heck that is.

While the Hispanic director is talking in the broken English, I’ll point out that every year, the person who helps present the awards is called “Miss Golden Globe”, and it’s a chick who is the daughter of a prominent actor or actress. This year’s Miss Golden Globe is Gia Mantegna, who is the daughter of actor Joe Mantegna… she looks a lot like him, but she’s beautiful, so go figure.

720p… Ricky is back up. There is confusion on stage, as the Mexican crew scatters, unsure where to go from there. Ricky then says, “you know this next actor from such films as…” and he goes on to name some horrendous films like “Hudson Hawk” and “Mercury Rising”… Ricky says, “And here is Ashton Kutcher’s dad, Bruce Willis!”

Bruce walks out with a smirk, introducing a film nominated for Best Comedy or Musical, that being “Red”… which was a fun, fun movie.

722p… From “Country Strong”, which is a movie I have no desire to see, here are two people that I don’t care about… Best Supporting Actor in a Series/Mini-Series/Movie. I’m rooting for Scott Caan, but I’m thinking the Extremely Gay Chris Colfer from Glee will get it.

And the winner is? The Extremely Gay Chris Colfer. And to me, its because he’s as gay as a football bat. The Lovely Steph Leann defends him, saying, “Well, maybe, but its also because he’s so awesome!”. No, its because he’s a flamer. Matter of fact, I’m surprised he’s not kissing a guy right now.  Lea Michelle is crying, which is actually kinda sweet.  Not as sweet at Chris Colfer, mind you, but still...

My prediction? You’ll hear some magazine, website or the like tell us that Chris Colfer’s win was important for the gay community.

Here is Michelle, circa 1989, from "The Fabulous Baker
Boys"... by the way, an absolutely fabulous drama.

729p… Michelle Pfieffer comes out… let me tell ya, back in the day, she was The Stuff. Back in the late 80s, early 90s, she was everything that Angelina Jolie is today, and more. Michelle was amazing. She still looks great. She’s introducing the next Best Comedy Movie nominee, “Alice in Wonderland”.

731p… Eva Longoria, sans Parker, almost fell. She usually looks great, but tonight she looks especially classy. Its like he was saying “Hey Tony… check this out. You had this. But you lost it. Sucka.” Tony, you’re a friggin’ idiot.

The president of The Hollywood Foreign Press comes out, and his name is Philip Berk. I immediately think of the obnoxious guy I knew in college named Philip Burke. He was a Lambda Chi Alpha, and I think student body president at one time. But this guy is not that Philip Burke—though that would be funny.

733p… Kevin Bacon and Milla Jovavich is giving the award for Best Drama Series. Actors from Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Dexter and House are nominated as usual, along with Steve Buscemi from “Boardwalk Empire”… and Steve wins. I thought that show was great… but it’s a little too much. Too much sex, too much violence, the language is horrible, and I just couldn’t get into it. But it’s a well done show, and its cool to see That Guy Hall of Famer Steve Buscemi get himself an award. He says, “Im going to talk fast, before that sad music comes on!”

737p… And here’s are the Best Drama nominees… Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, The Good Wife, Mad Men, The Walking Dead… and the winner? Boardwalk Empire. I do eventually want to see Dexter, The Good Wife and The Walking Dead, which are all on the list to watch on DVD. And I’ve got Mad Men coming on Netflix.

Can’t believe they are doing the Best Drama already! And Mark Wahlberg is on stage? He is in this show? What did I miss?

743p… Andrew Garfield, himself a nominee for “The Social Network”, is out to introduce… well, “The Social Network”… he stumbled over the teleprompter, eliciting a few laughs. By the way, “The Social Network”? One of the five best movies of last year, I gotta say.

745p… Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Lopez are out to present Original Song, after some horribly written banter that they awkwardly read from the teleprompter. Burlesque is nominated twice—I’ve been hearing that is a awful movie. The song from Tangled is nominated, but doesn’t win. “You Haven’t Seen The Last of Me” from Burlesque wins, and The Lovely Steph Leann is disappointed it wasn’t “See The Light” from "Tangled".

749p… And Alec and J-Lo comes back up to give out Original Score. Danny Elfman’s “Alice in Wonderland” is nominated, and I thought that music was brilliant. Inception is also nominated, and that movie’s music is fantastic. The winner? Trent Reznor for “The Social Network”, and I can’t complain, because it did set a great tone for that film. Nine Inch Nails now has a Golden Globe.

755p… The young chick from "True Grit" comes out—she was amazing in that film—and Justin Bieber—I’ll refrain from the jokes—comes out with her to give out the award for Best Animated Film. I’m guessing "Toy Story 3" will take this, but I’m fearful that “How to Train Your Dragon” will be the dark horse. I wouldn’t have a problem with "Tangled" winning this, but I don’t know how "Toy Story 3" can’t win.

And the winner? "Toy Story 3", in one of the least shocking wins of the whole night. The director comes up, and takes the award, and turns to Hallie Steinfeld and The Beebs and says, “Were you two even born when the first one came out?” to which they both just smirk at him.

759p… Ricky says, “I love this guy, star of 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang', 'Two Guys and Girl', 'Bowfinger'… I’m sorry, are these porn films?”  Then he makes the obligatory "RDJ spent time in prison" joke that always comes around when RDJ makes an appearance.

And of course, its Robert Downey Jr! He has gone from cool to jerk to cool again in his career. And he gives a hilarious monologue on the nominees about how, in his career, he’s gotten with everyone one of them… and when he gets to young Emma Stone, its fantastic. Award for Best Actress Comedy or Musical. I’m afraid Annette Bening or Julianne Moore will get it for The Kids are Alright, because that movie was horrific. Annette Bening gets it.

Chris Colfer is somewhere in the back shouting “Hooray For Gay!”

I haven't done a review yet, but "The
Fighter" was a great film.  Great story, great
acting, and Amy Adams, whom I'm in love
with.

809p… Sylvester Stallone comes out. Lets see how much we can understand. He’s here to introduce a film for Best Movie Drama, “The Fighter”, starring Golden Globe winner Christian Bale, Marky Mark sans Funky Bunch and Amy Adams, whom I’m in love with.

811p… Tilda Swinton comes out with Geoffrey Rush, and I gotta say, Tilda Swinton is one of the most unattractive chicks ever, with an eccentric fashion style. Eccentric means terrible. Heres the award for Best Actor in TV Movie/Mini-Series. Winner is Al Pacino for the Jack Kavorkian story, “You Don’t Know Jack”. Wanted to see it.  And Al talks.  And talks.  And talks.  Aaaand talks.

815p… My guess is the guy starting the Wrap Up Music is about to push the button, and someone who makes more than him says, “Dude! No! That’s AL PACINO! You don’t wrap up Al Pacino!” And they didn’t.

Up next, Actress for TV Movie/Mini-Series. Claire Danes wins for “Temple Grandin”, which she won the Emmy for as well. I’ve never seen the film, and really don’t expect to either—not that I don’t think its great, but it just doesn’t interest me—but its supposed to be an awesome film. Its right up The Lovely Steph Leann’s alley, so she can see it, and I’m sure she’ll tell me how great it is when she sees it on The Hallmark Channel or The Hallmark Movie Channel.

823p… Zac Efron is out now to introduce “The Kids are Alright” as a nominee for Best Comedy or Musical. I’m thinking this will win. Why? Because its gay.

825p… Ricky tells us that Tina Fey and Steve Carell are coming out, but not before dissing on Steve for leaving The Office after this season, “killing that cash cow for both of us!” The award is Best Screenplay. Tina: Here’s a movie that ruined our ability to interact with one another… Steve: I heard about that film on Facebook from a friend I’ve never met.

The winner? Aaron Sorkin for “The Social Network”. Its based on a book called “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich, who also wrote “Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions”, which was made into the Kevin Spacey movie called "21".  Book is good, "21" was okay. I plan on downloading The Accidental Billionaires next month as my Audible.com selection.

829p… Chris Helmsworth, the new Thor, and Chris Evans, the new Captain America, are giving out the award for Best Actress in a TV Series, Mini or Movie.   Their banter is terrible.  Why am I not a writer at one of these shows?   Take me, Scotty Latta and Hurricane Rhett, and I guarantee the jokes would be funnier than anything you've ever heard in your life.  Ever.

And the old lady they cut to when announcing Julia Stiles for “Dexter” was NOT Julia Stiles. The winner, though, is Jane Lynch for Glee… she also won an Emmy for this last September.  And Lea Michelle is crying.  That's... well, it is kinda sweet again, I guess.  Not as sweet at Chris Colfer, but still...

836p… Ricky introduces Olivia Wilde and Robert Pattinson, saying, “Here to present an award that no one in America cares about, the Best Foreign Film!” He’s right. Denmark’s “In a Better World” wins, and I really could care less.

838p… Out comes the most attractive 93 year old in America—no, not Betty White—it’s Helen Mirren! She’s out to announce the nomination of “The King’s Speech”, starring the president of The Colin Firth Club, that being Colin Firth himself…

Okay, so what is The Colin Firth Club? We’ve discussed this before, but I feel like we’re getting new readers all the time (wishful hoping?) so I thought I’d explain again… It’s a small group of actors and musicians that The Lovely Steph Leann finds herself a little hot for. Whilst I have my Amy Adams, whom I’m in love with, The Goddess, Reese Witherspoon, Kristen Chenoweth, Martina McBride, Lesley Mann and Kate Winslet, she has The Colin Firth Club.

The Lovely Steph Leann would never cheat on me. If Jake Gyllenhaal ever propositioned my wife, I am positive she’d say, “Yeah, thanks, I’m honored, but no. I gotz a man.” Then he’d say, “What yo’ man got to do with me?” and she’d say, “I ain’t try to hear that, see!” I’m Positive (K)!

However comma

If Colin Firth propositioned The Lovely Steph Leann, I’m pretty sure she’d say no. She’d hesitate. She’d probably give it a few seconds, and maybe flush and stammer, but ultimately she’d say no. Other guys that would elicit this reaction include Hugh Jackman, Bradley Whitford (in West Wing days, not so sure now), Patrick Dempsey, Hugh Grant and Jon Bon Jovi. Thus, The Colin Firth Club.

840p… Vanessa Williams and Blair Underwood, two extremely attractive people no matter the color, are here to announce the award for Best Actress in a TV Series. The winner is Laura Linney for The Big C… what can top gaydom? Cancer! If there was movie with a gay guy with cancer, its sweeping these awards.

846p… Here comes Jane Fonda! Screen legend! Have you ever seen any of her movies? She doesn’t have much on her resume. Yet, she’s a screen legend. And she’s here to show off “Burlesque”, a nominee for Best Comedy or Musical.

847p… Two people I don’t know are announcing Best Actor in Comedy or Musical Series… the winner is Jim Parsons from “The Big Bang Theory”, which is a show that I’ve never seen, but I’m hearing that this show is getting better and better as the years go on.

850p… Jeremy Irons is giving out the Best Supporting Actress in a Movie, and sounds almost like a Jeremy Irons imitation, though he’s actually him. Amy Adams, whom I’m in love with, is nominated for The Fighter, but it goes to the other chick in the film, Melissa Leo. And really, she kinda deserves it, because her part was great.

Just saw a McDonald’s commercial that features a guy coming through the drive thru, whispering his order, and continuing to lap the building without stopping. The somewhat attractive and seemingly smart young chick behind the drive thru mic is confused. He whispers into the speaker again as he drives by slowly. The young chick glances in the backseat as he rides by and sees a baby. The third time he rolls around and whispers, she whispers back his order, and its all sweet and cute and such. Do do do da doooo… I’m lovin’ it.



There are a number of falsehoods in this commercial.


First, I’m sure there are pretty people that work at McDonald’s, somewhere, somehow, so that’s not an issue. But the fact that she’s understandable is unrealistic.


Secondly, no one whispers in that drive thru. Right off the bat, you get a really clear voice that says in a perky voice, “Hi, would you like to try (insert whatever they are promoting at the time)!?” You think, “Ah, someone understandable!” and you say, “No thank you, but I would like to get (insert what nutritional combination you actually do want)".  A pause.  Then you get some chick who can barely talk intelligently, and has a tendancy to start speaking before she hits the drive thru mic button, and then turns the mic off before she's done talking... you hear "...getta number four and what you want to dr..." in a loud voice.

What happened to the pleasant voice you heard first??  Ah... it was a recording.  It was a a tease, thinking you'll have an understandable drive thru experience.  Then you realize... this ain't Starbucks.

So that commercial is full of crap.   

858p… Matt Damon is out to give the Cecil B. DeMille Award to Robert DeNiro… gotta tell ya, Robert DeNiro IS a screen legend. Who cares about Jane Fonda? DeNiro has done some incredible films, but has also done some real, real crap.

My favorite Bobby DeNiro films include “Midnight Run”, #56 on The Dave100… “Heat”, #87 on The Dave100… “Goodfellas”… “Casino”… “Untouchables”... and yeah, he was pretty funny in “Analyze This”. And no, I didn’t like “Analyze That”, or any other feature where the characters are named “Focker”.

Like all actors, he’s made some turkeys, including “The Fan”, “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle”, “A Shark Tale” and “Showtime”. And I tried to watch “Ronin” three different times… couldn’t get into it. The car chase was spectacular, as its been hyped to be, but the movie couldn’t keep me interested after that.

Robert DeNiro is an actor that everyone loves, and there’s a huge ovation that lasts for several minutes. He quips that “I’m glad this award was announced two months ago, well before you had time to review ‘Little Fockers’” which gets an uncomfortable laugh from the audience. He also says that “Awakenings” was one of his favorites. Anyway, I’m glad it went to Bobby DeNiro instead of someone I'm barely aware of.

913p… Megan Fox comes out, and I’m still unimpressed. Someone is who is completely overrated and overhyped is fittingly announcing an overrated and overhyped film, “The Tourist”.

914p… Annette Bening comes out to give the Best Director Award. As I thought, David Fincher for “The Social Network” takes the prize. Its kinda of surprising, though, that such a mainstream film has been taking so many awards and such. Fincher is also the director of The Dave100 film “Se7en”, as well as “Benjamin Button” and “Fight Club”.

917p… Jimmy Fallon and the smoldering January Jones come out to give out the award for Best TV Series Music or Comedy, in another bit of awkward banter. And The Lovely Steph Leann squeals in delight as Glee picks up the award for Best TV Comedy/Musical Series. At least the show has Jayma Mays, who I kinda think is pretty… not tonight, but usually.

923p… And here’s Alicia Keys to tell us about “Black Swan.” I am not sure if I want to see this movie or not… part of me does, but part of me figures it will be like “Brokeback Mountain”, that is, I should see it because of all the nominations, but once Oscar time rolls around and passes us by, I can skip it.

925p… Halle Berry comes out to give the Best Actor in Comedy or Musical Award, to which Johnny Depp is nominated twice. Paul Giamatti gets the award for “Barney’s Version”, a film that I know soooo little about.

932p… Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who might be the coolest cat in any movie in 2010, is out to tell us about “Inception”, which to me was the best movie of 2010. I loved every single thing about this movie. The fight scene in the hallway with JGL was amazing.

933p… Jeff Bridges, who Hollywood loves like crazy right now, comes out to give out the Best Actress in a Drama Movie. Right before they announce Natalie Portman’s name, I say it out loud. And then Jeff Bridges says, “Natalie Portman, Black Swan.”

937p… Wow, we haven’t seen Ricky Gervais in like, an hour. He spends 45 seconds introducing Tom Hanks, then says, “the other guy is… Tim Allen…” Here’s the award for Best Comedy or Musical… and The Kids are Alright is probably going to win.



Julianne Moore and her offending dress

The winner is? The Kids are Alright. Yep. Its Award Day To Be Gay.
The Lovely Steph Leann pipes up, “Her [Julianne Moore] dress is horrific! I cannot get over that!”

946p… Ricky comes out and introduced Sandra Bullock… with quite an intro. Funny stuff. Here is the award for Best Actor Movie Drama… The Lovely Steph Leann is rooting for her Colin Firth… and when he wins, she shouts “YEESS!!!!”, with her arm in the air.

So, I expect Colin Firth to win the Oscar, though a Jesse Eisenberg win for “The Social Network” wouldn’t shock me… though I’m guessing that Colin Firth will get the one award given to recognize The Kings Speech, so The Social Network can pick up everything else… and Jesse Eisenberg loses out.

953p… During the commercial break, I looked up at The Lovely Steph Leann and asked, “What’s left?” She thinks, and says, “Drama TV?” I replied, “Boardwalk Empire.” She says, “Wow, I guess that’s it then.”

954p… And cancer free Michael Douglas comes out for the Best Movie Award, and gets a standing ovation. He even says, “There has to be an easier way to get a standing ovation…”

The winner, en route to an Academy Award for Best Picture in February? “The Social Network”.

Gotta tell ya… though I hate that its taking away all the momentum that Inception was getting, if this wins the Oscar I won’t be bothered… it was a great film. It was an amazing film, from the acting to the story to the effects to the music… and its so much more than a movie about Facebook… its about friendship, its about loyalty, its about betrayal, its about business. Its great. I know that Amarylis By Morning (up from san antone) didn’t like it, but I’m hoping that she at least appreciated it.

So there’s your Golden Globes. Your Oscar nominations will be announced in a few weeks or so, and I’ll be right here, doing my annual running diary during the awards show!

Stronghold

Another entry into the d$'s Random Emails of Encouragement series...

I'm working on my Disney blog, telling a few stories of note, but this afternoon, I kinda (re)stumbled onto this via the iPod.  After listening to the song for like, four times in a row, noticing it was getting a bit dusty in the room, I thought it might be good reading for you, Coffee Drinker.  Perhaps someone out there might get some use out of it. 

The band Watermark is one of the Top Five most influential artists of my lifetime.  The lyrics of Nathan Nockel and the voice of his wife Christy have done so much to my Spiritual Walk that I was brokenhearted when they announced their breakup.  In fact, the track "Welcome to Delaware" is not only the title of the soon-to-be-never-forthcoming soundtrack to my own life, but thoughts of changing this site to be called "Welcome to Delaware" have crossed my mind... but its too complicated to do so.  Anyway, Watermark, you are missed. (I have Christy Nockel's solo CD, its just not the same..)

If I’m not mistaken, this was written for Laura DeGarmo, a friend of mine who is now in Nashville. Her cousin is actually Diana DeGarmo of American Idol fame, and her uncle is the DeGarmo of DeGarmo and Key (for you old-schoolers out there). I’m guessing if your name is DeGarmo, somehow you are a) musically inclined and b) related to Laura.  


Stronghold
This one is for my dear friend who needed a Stronghold last night…

One of my all time favorite movies is A Few Good Men. No sex, not a whole lot of language, only a few f-bombs, violence is minimal… featuring stellar performances from Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson and of course, Kevin Pollak, one of the truly great “That Guys”. (That Guy is a one of those actors or actresses in movies you see all the time but you don’t know who they are… That Guy Hall of Fame would include William H. Macy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Baker Hall, Don Cheadle and my favorite, Joe Pantoliano… you may not know any names, but you’d see them and say “Oh, That Guy!”… wait, I’m babbling)

Sidebar: Okay, so the most famous part of the A Few Good Men is Jack Nicholson’s “you can’t handle the truth” speech. Remember that one? Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) asks him about the incident, and Col. Jessep (Jack) says, “You want the truth?” and Kaffee says, “I want answers!” and Jessep says, “You want the truth?” and Kaffee says, “I think I’m entitled to it!” and then Jessep yells, “You can’t handle the truth!” and the proceeds to rant on about “we use words like honor, code, loyalty, we use those words as the backbone of a lifetime spent defending something, you use them as a punch line… who’s gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?... I’d rather you say thank you and be on your way, either way, I don’t give a darn to what you think you are entitled to…” After that incredible, powerful speech, you would think Kaffee would address it. No, he just skips it. His next question is, “Did you order the code red? “ After all that talking from Jessep, it could have been left out entirely, and it wouldn’t have mattered, because Kaffee’s line of questioning had nothing to do with his speech. Amazing.

  (warning, you might find these Non Emmy Turnbow Safe:  one illegitimate child reference, one d-word, one GD, and its on DIVX...)
Back to the point…

In this movie, two Marines are charged with the murder of a fellow Marine, a weaker guy who no one liked. Defending them is amateur lawyer Daniel Kaffee, and his partners are Lt. Sam Weinberg and Lt. Com. Jo Anne Galloway. There is a scene where Kaffee, Weinberg (Pollak) and Galloway (Moore) are standing in the courtroom, and Galloway asks Lt. Weinberg why he hates the defendants. He replies, “Because they picked on the little guy. They killed him. Why? Cause he couldn’t run fast.” Then he asks Galloway, “Why do you like them so much?”

“Because they stand on a wall. They say you can sleep tonight, because no one will harm you… not on my watch.”

That’s a powerful line. To know that someone is standing over you, saying, “It’s okay, you can relax. Nothing is going to harm you. Not while I’m here. Nothing.”

And it’s that way with God. He stands firm in front of us, and declares, “Child, no harm will come to you. Not while I’m here. Not on my watch.” And the most awesome, comforting thing to know is that, it’s always His watch. He’s always there. It’s not as if He’s going to go on break, so we have a few minutes we have to worry, until He comes back… He stands there like an ironclad Warrior and says, “I dare anything to come against you.”

Of course, things do come. He sometimes lets things go by Him. He allows things to happen to us because He knows it will glorify Himself in the long run… but those things go by with His knowledge. They don’t slip past Him undetected, where they can destroy us without Him even knowing about it. He stands and sometimes allows things to come, but then cautions those things, saying, “Don’t get cocky… I will protect my child.”

During worship, I often scribble in my notebook just whatever is in my head. Sometimes it’s the beginning of an encouragement that I feel I should write later, sometimes its just a thought I think I should remember later, sometimes its just whatever… last night it was a song lyric. There is a song by Watermark called Stronghold, and I began to write down the chorus…

Oh Lord, You’re my protection from my enemies
You set my high upon the rock and defend my soul
When their waves advance against me I am confident
They cannot make me less for You have made me whole
You are my Stronghold


You are my Stronghold

Then I began to realize how powerful this is… He is our stronghold. Stronghold. Two words, one meaning strength, power, might, the other meaning grasp, grip… Stronghold.

God then gave me a name to share this chorus with, so I did. She asked me to write it down for her, and I did. Some time later, I glanced over at her, and noticed she sat, notebook in hand, just stared at the words that I had written on the page. It was as if she were soaking it in, telling herself over and over that she had a Stronghold… reminding herself of that very fact. And the cool thing is we both have Strongholds in God. He is a rock that is our protection from all enemies. When the enemies advance, threatening to tear us down, they may succeed… but only with provision from the Stronghold.

There are some reading this that are being torn down right now. They are falling apart, no matter how great they look on the outside, on the inside they are in tatters, in pieces, in doubt that God is even listening to them… they know God listens to them, but only because its been drilled in their head from a lifetime of church, not because of recent experience. You feel sick, you feel weary, you feel disappointing, you feel that by now you should be so far ahead spiritually than where you are, but yet, you aren’t… Right now, you may feel less than worthy, right now you may feel less than anything God wants of His children…

But no matter what the enemy does to us, they cannot make us less than what we are, and that is complete in Christ. As a Christ-follower, we have been made whole in Him, and that cannot be taken away, no matter what is done to us, no matter how hard we crash on our knees, no matter what presses us… He has made us whole. He is your Stronghold. He has promised to make us everything we are to be. He is your Stronghold. He has promised to lift us up, He has promised to hug us, hold us, allow us to crawl in His lap, rest our head on His chest and just be. He is your Stronghold. His hug, his embrace is unlike that of anything that will ever diminish, unlike that of anything that is less than forever… for He is our Stronghold. He is your Stronghold. Our Father is so powerful, powerful enough to obliterate those that would hurt His children, gentle enough to calm us with a touch when we feel obliterated. He is our Stronghold.


Lord, You are my Light and my Salvation
Whom shall I fear if You are near?
Lord, You are my peace when there is war all around me
Even here inside me I will have no fear

Lord, You are my strength so let my head be lifted up
So that I may glory in the ways You’ve overcome
Lord, You are my hope, cause You created in me
A heart that lives the victory that You’ve already won

Oh Lord, You’re my protection from my enemies
You set me high upon the rock and You defend my soul
When their waves advance against me I am confident
That they cannot make me less for You have made me whole
You are my Stronghold, You are my Stronghold

A heart that lives the victory that You’ve already won. I just wiped a tear from my eyes as I read that line… A Victory You’ve Already Won. Wow. My Stronghold.

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear, though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling, he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me. Psalm 27: 1-3, 5-6

Written July 9th, 2002

Knight & Day

Speaking of Tom Cruise, and his 25 best movies...

...The Lovely Steph Leann and I just got home from dinner, as we met up with MZ and her reality show.  We came back to The Cabana, and both of us just collapsed into our comfy leather couches. Flipped on the television, and scrolled through the endless parade of channels, all showing the same program:  "nothing on".   And what's on CMT?  "Days of Thunder".  And its just as bad as I remember it being. 

Anyway, as promised, here's Tom Cruise's latest...

Saturday morning, I flipped open the newspaper and scanned the movies.  Found out that The Rave Motion Picture Theater at Patton Creek was doing a sneak preview of "Knight and Day", the latest flick with Tom Cruise, also starring Cameron Diaz.  Cruise and Diaz were together one time before, and that was in "Vanilla Sky", which would be Tom Cruise's worst movie ever, were it not for the existance of "Eyes Wide Shut".

Sent The Lovely Steph Leann a text, asked her if she wanted to go and she gave an enthusiastic "YES!"   We had both been seeing the previews to this one for a month or two now, and had added it to our list of films for the summer we were intending on seeing... so I got off work, headed home, we left a few hours later for dinner at Dale's Southern Grill, and then around 7 walked into a half-packed theater.  By the 730 showtime, the theater was almost completely full, albeit it was one of the smaller theaters.



The movie starts, and right away we are sucked into something that we'd been missing for a while, as mentioned in my previous post... we saw Fun Tom Cruise.

"Knight and Day" is a film with Cruise as a secret agent who has gone rogue, stealing something that is not only wanted by the government, but also terrorists.  He runs into Diaz, though from the beginning of the film you can tell that he's been scoping her out for whatever his purposes are.  Its a typical "things are not what they seem" movie, but really, you kinda know pretty quickly what things are.  Its not a particularly hard-to-predict kind of film and much of the action is formula driven and cliches...

...however comma...

..this film was a winner for me based on the strength of Fun Tom Cruise and Quirky Cameron Diaz.  Cam is not an actress that should ever try drama, she works better when she can be silly, stupid and let her freak flag fly... see "There's Something About Mary" or "Charlie's Angel".

They have good chemistry, and Fun Tom Cruise looks like he's actually having a great time making this movie.  Cameron seems as if she's having a ball just being there, being relevant again (did you see "My Sister's Keeper"?  Exactly.)  The script is a little hokey, but The Lovely Steph Leann and I couldn't help but laugh through much of the movie.  Yes, yes, its a fantastical premise, and some of the stuff that happens makes you think, "Uh... yeah... right..." but go with it.

Now, the critics aren't kind to this one.  Its averaging a "C" score, or perhaps 2 out of 4 stars in some reviews, and its opening day (Wednesday, June 22nd) didn't do it much good either--it only came up with about $3.8 million, compared with the $13.4 million that Toy Story 3 did on the same day.  (source: Box Office Mojo).

Anyway, this kind of reminds me of The A-Team, in that its just a fun popcorn movie.  Don't take it seriously, catch it on a matinee, laugh and enjoy yourself and welcome back Fun Tom Cruise.  

When Tom Cruise Was Fun

I had every intention on reviewing "Knight and Day", Tom Cruise's new film... but I never got around to it in this post... so I'll do it in a day or so.  Until then... enjoy the Tom Cruise discussion...

Its been a long time since Tom Cruise was fun, I'd put it at least four or five years.  His recent movies have been less than stellar... The Lovely Steph Leann liked "Der Mavericke" a lot more than I did, and both of us thought "Lions for Lambs" was a snoozefest, and I thought Mission Impossible III was absolutely a waste of time.   I mean, let's be honest... ever since the whole "jumping off the Oprah's couch for Katie" debacle, he's been nothing but a bad press garnering, Scientology spewing, Paramount fightin', Brooke Shields accusing, Katie Holmes Brainwashin dork... (Cruise responded to this post by saying, "d$.  d$, d$, you don't even-- you're glib. You don't even know what Ritalin is.")

And flipping through his IMDb page, I realized something... he's done 33 movies that have been released, and I've seen 32 of them, with only 1983's "Losin' It" to be seen.  Tom Cruise, like him or not, is an icon of Hollywood culture, and an actor that I've practically grown up with.  You can count me on Team Nicole over Team Katie (or Team Mimi, if we're going to go back all the way), but let's rank Tom Cruise's films...

First, we lose "Losin' It", because I've never seen it.  Then, let's knock out the ones I've seen, but really don't remember enough to make any sort of sensible judgement on... that would take out "The Outsiders"... "Taps"... and "All the Right Moves"...

Now, let's cut out the films where he made either uncredited appearances, or cameos, no matter how memorable... that takes out "Endless Love"... "Young Guns".... "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and "Tropic Thunder" (were it not for Robert Downey Jr, Cruise would steal this movie)...

Next, let's remove his latest film, "Knight and Day", which I'll review on my next post, but its still too new to compare to his other films. 

25... "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999).  I wanted to kill myself. 
24... "Vanilla Sky" (2001).  I wanted to kill myself.
23... "Far and Away" (1992).  The Lovely Steph Leann was delighted.  I, however, wanted to kill myself.
22... "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989).  I probably should have liked this movie more.  I would have killed myself, but I was too bored.
21... "Lions for Lambs", (2007).  Cruise trying to make a political statement.  It failed.
20... "Legend" (1986).  I used to love this movie as a kid.  I watch it now and its a reminder of how easily amused I was at 12 years old. Tim Curry is creepy cool.  Everything else in the movie just sucked.
19... "War of the Worlds" (2005). I really wanted to like this movie, but just couldn't do it.
18... "Valkryie" (2008).  I wasn't a huge fan when I saw it, but I want to see it again.  I think it might grow on me.  However, every time Tom Cruise says "Der Fuhrer", I laugh.  Can't help it.
17... "Mission Impossible III" (2006).  It has some promise, but fails to deliver on several levels.

16... "Magnolia" (1999).  Frank Mackey is probably one of my top five Tom Cruise characters.  Not for everyone, but I liked the large cast, and the odd storytelling.  And Julianne Moore.  I'll watch her in anything.  And I have, because I saw "The Forgotten".  That movie was terrible.
15...  "Days of Thunder" (1990).  Tom Cruise's most Craptastic role, portraying NASCAR driver Cole Trickle (no mention as to any relation to Dick).  Enjoyable guilty pleasure.
14... "Mission Impossible II" (2000).  A pretty good follow up.  It helps that Dougray Scott is so cool.
13... "Interview with the Vampire" (1994).  Saw it when I was 18, enjoyed it.  Not one I'll see over and over.  Cruise's hair is hilarious.
12... "Rain Man" (1988).  Dustin Hoffman is brilliant in this film, and Cruise really just plays sidekick, but still without him, it doesn't work nearly as well.

Which brings us to my Top Cruise Top Ten... we're at 11, you say?  Well, the next two movies, I couldn't decide which I liked more, so they tie for 10th...

10-tie... "Risky Business" (1983).  Tom Cruise's iconic scene where he slides into the living room in his tighty-whiteys, lip-syncing "Old Time Rock and Roll" sent sales of Wayfarer sunglasses through the roof... rightly so, and the entire movie is a great time.  To save money for college, he opens up a house of ill repute in his own home, and Rebecca De Morney is the Woman of the Night with a heart of gold.

10-tie... "Cocktail" (1988).  If "Days of Thunder" is Cruise's most Craptastic film, THIS is his "so-bad-its-awesome" film.  Everything about this movie is terrible, from the hair to the dialogue to Bryan Brown mailing it in.  But it has three things going for it... first, an awesome soundtrack, which I own on vinyl.  Second, Elisabeth Shue, who was so darn cute in "The Karate Kid" a few years before, is all growed up and hot.  I miss her.  Finally, the bartending moves in this flick are just awesome.  Makes me want to toss coffee shots at Starbucks.

9... "Top Gun" (1986).  What about this film isn't dated?  The hair, the sunglasses, the lines, the oiled up, homoerotic volleyball, the disturbing neck licking love scene, Val Kilmer being thin (seriously, in "MacGruber", Iceman looks like he ate Jester AND Viper).  Back then, it was as cool as you could get.  Now?  The Unintentional Comedy Scale is through the roof.

8... "The Firm" (1993).  My favorite of the Grisham novels, my second favorite Grisham adaptation (I dig "The Pelican Brief"), it varies from the novel in several ways, but Cruise shines here, surrounded by an always great Ed Harris, a charming Holly Hunter and Gene Hackman, who seems like he's having fun here.  It does freak me out that the Quaker Oatmeal Man drops the F-bomb.  The fact that Jeanne Tripplehorn can't act her way out of a Band-Aid commercial is inconsequential.  This movie was also the basis for a popular blog written while on missions in 2008, called "Its Not Sexy But Its Got Teeth".

7... "The Color of Money" (1986).  This movie rocks.  Flat out rocks.  Cruise and his poofy hair actually stand tall with Paul Newman, no small order, and the pool playing is outta sight.  Along with Lizzy Shue, another 80s goddess for me was Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and she is awesome too. 

6... "Mission Impossible" (1996).  I watched this movie a few weeks ago for the first time in a long, long time, and I gotta be honest with ya... it holds up.  I mean, we're all spoiled now with the movie technology that has come along in the last 15 years, but MI is a pretty good film.  The security room scene where Ethan Hunt is hanging from a few wires over a floor that he can't sweat on is still fantastic, and being older, I kinda understand the film better than I did when I saw it at 20 years old.

5... "The Last Samurai" (2003).  Perhaps I'm in the minority, I thought this movie was brilliant.  Cruise almost seems miscast here, but somehow he makes it work (better him than Costner), and Ken Watanabe is amazing.  The battle scenes are great, the story is great, and I wonder why more people don't discuss this film, as its pretty much forgotten.  Not "The Forgotten", however.  That was a terrible film.

4... "Collateral" (2004).  Probably on The Dave125, somewhere in that 101st to 125th favorite movie of all time.  Tom Cruise is a bad guy (!) here, and its just a solid film over all.  Michael Mann directed, and its shot in dark tones, dim lighting and Cruise and Jamie Foxx mesh really well together. 

3... "Jerry Maguire" (1996).  My 90th favorite film of all time, I have to stop and watch this movie.  Cruise hasn't done a ton of chick flicks... really, there's this and maybe "Far and Away".  Is this a chick flick, or a sports movie?  Who knows.  Who cares.  He's surrounded by a solid cast, and shines as the troubled sports agent stuck with his only client, an egotistical football player.  And his chemistry with Renee Zellweger is solid too.  Was "you complete me" before "you complete me" was a punchline.

2... "Minority Report" (2002).  Wow.  The opening of this movie is one of my top five movie opening sequences of all time... just the sheer spectacle of the video screens in the air, and moving the pieces with his fingers in the air, just fantastic.  There's nothing about this movie that I don't like, which is why its my 38th favorite film of all time.

1... "A Few Good Men" (1992).  When doing The Dave100, 2010 edition, it was difficult choosing where to put this movie.  I've seen this movie at least three dozen times--three times in the theater when it came out--and its just one of those movies I could watch from any point to the end, and be happy. 

I met Kevin Pollak (Lt. Weinberg) some years ago, and asked him about some of his movies, and he chalks this up to one of his favorites, and rightly so.  The acting is superb, its just language and some violence that gives it the R, and not a gettin-it-on scene to be found anywhere, which was quite refreshing to me.  By far, its Demi Moore's best film, and though he's done several that I like, this is indeed my favorite Jack film... and of course, my favorite Tom Cruise movie, and it ranks as my 24th favorite film of all time. 

  Warning:  Some of the langauge is not Emmy Turnbow Safe... another warning.  This is in Divx.  Beware the inferior video quality.

So there is a run down of Cruise movies.  Like Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts, they are Hollywood Legends to you and me, making movies since we were just old enough to understand movies, all during our childhood, our teen years and now our adult lives.  We've grown up with them. 

Next up... my review of "Knight and Day"...

Idol Four (with results)

Casey James... Big Mike Lynche... Crystal Bowersox... Lee DeWyze... who will join the next Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, David Cook, Kris Allen, Taylor Hicks, Fantasia, Jordin Sparks, or Ruuuuuben Studdard as the next American Idol? 

THIS IS

AMERICAN

IDOL

Its worth noting that at no time have I attached "My Next American Idol" to any of these guys, an honor bestowed upon dignitaries as My Girl McPhee, Alison Iraheta and Brooke White... and no one has the honor of being the second "The Lovely Steph Leann's Next American Idol", much like The Lovely Steph Leann's Next American Idol Kris Allen. 

Why?

No one deserves it.  Let's face it, neither one of us are buying any of the albums put out by any of the Idols this year.  And you probably aren't either.

Tonight, the mentor is Jamie Foxx, star of such hits as "Ray", "Miami Vice", "Stealth" and "Booty Call".  The Lovely Steph Leann comments on "The Man Hug" demonstrated by Jamie Foxx and the guys in the group. 

Favorite Jamie Foxx movie?  "Collateral".  Also starring Tom Cruise, Jada Pinkett Smith and Mark Ruffalo, it features Foxx as Max, a cab driver who picks up Vincent (Cruise), a hitman who forces Max to drive him around to do his dirty work.  Fantastic film, directed by Michael Mann, its dark, its smart and its great to see Cruise in a bad guy role.  Rated R for language and violence.   I'm trying to decide if this is an addition to The Dave100 as I rethink those last few movies for presentation this summer...

Jamie is giving each contestant a shirt--it is black and either says "CONTESTANT" or "ARTIST".  You want the latter, not the former.  Jamie gives Lee the "ARTIST" shirt, but that was in the rehearsal video.  Tonight?  He's hit a few pretty rough notes. 

Lee DeWyze is singing "Kiss From a Rose."  By the way, love this song, the original that is.  Seal was the man back in the 90s... "Kiss from a Rose", "Crazy" (not the Gnarls Barkley one, but the one that goes "Yeah I'm never gonna survive... unless... we get a little crazy..." which was like a college anthem for me my freshman year), "Prayer for the Dying"... rock on.  Not sure what most of them means, but awesome stuff.

Randy the Dawg suggested he should have done "Blaze of Glory" from Bon Jovi, because he didn't like the song this time.  Ellen DeG gives him a compliment anyway.  Kara the New Hotness says that everyone loves Lee, but the song is just too difficult tonight.   Simon the Cowell says that there are so many brilliant songs to choose from, but this version was verging on karaoke. 

Not good, Lee, not good tonight.

Seacrest says something ominous before sending it to commercial.  "Coming up, Michael Lynche sings Michael Jackson!"  And so I rack my brain to come up with MJ songs in the movies... I came up with two... "Ease on Down the Road" from "The Wiz" and "You Are Not Alone" from "Free Willy".  And both are bad ideas.  Bad, bad ideas.

Tonight he's singing "Will You Be There?"... what is that from?  Big Mike forgets the words in the run-through, and Jamie gives him a "CONTESTANT" shirt.   I stand corrected... I Wiki'ed it, and this is the song from "Free Willy".  Not as bad of an idea, then.  Not a bad song... and not bad tonight for Big Mike.

Randy the Jackson says it was just "aight" for him.  America's Favorite Lesbian Ellen DeGeneres says it was from the great, classic film, "Free Willy".  Then she says the song was predictable.  Kara the New Hotness didn't care for it, and Simon the Cowell is having a hard time connecting "A whale called Willy and that song".  Insert obligatory "willy" joke here, which they do.

Tonight begins the duet portion of the season.  C'Bosox and Lee DeWyze are doing "Falling Slowly" from the movie "Once", which is the song that defeated the nominated songs from "Enchanted" in the 2008 Academy Awards.  Personally, I think its because "How Do You Know" and "Happy Working Song" split the vote.  That awards show featured both Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with, and Kristin Chenoweth (ahh)... good times.

This song tonight?  Pretty good.  Both on guitar, singing to each other, and it was very well done.  Randy the Dawg loved it.  Ellen DeG called them "the new Captain & Tennille".  Kara the New Hotness said it was one of the best moments of the season.  Simon the Cowell says it was fantastic. 

Seacrest teases us and says ,"Up next, Casey James with a song from 'The Graduate'!"   I am predicting "Mrs. Robinson", The Lovely Steph Leann is going with "Sounds of Silence".  And like usual, I'm right.  Jamie Foxx pulls an Usher and says, "Sing to me.  Seduce me."  Then hands him an "ARTIST" shirt.

Sitting on stage, CJ busts out a mandolin, tones it down a little and plucks out "Mrs. Robinson".  I do like this song... its not one of my favorites.

By the way, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced.--"The Graduate"?  Overrated.  Pretty good film, but shouldn't be ranked in the Top Ten Best Film Ever In The History Of The Entire Earth and Hollywood Combined! lists that come out from time to time.  Also terribly overrated?  "Shrek" and its sequels, "Meet the Parents" and its sequels and "Gone with the Wind".  Just keepin' it real, yo. 

Randy the Dawg asks him what made CJ choose the song, and immediately points to Kara the New Hotness, which embarrasses CJ and Kara the New Hotness at the same time.  Says it was pretty good.  Ellen DeG liked this week, and how different it was.  Kara the New Hotness says this performance is him fighting to stay in the competition.  It was a good choice.  Simon the Cowell didn't think the song had much substance and a little lazy for CJ.

The Lovely Steph Leann points out that we've already heard "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" and "I Believe I Can Fly" this year, so those are out. 

Crystal Bowersox is doing the "Caddyshack" classic, "I'm Alright".  What?  Seriously?  This could either be fantastic or horrible, much like the new A-Team movie.  Jamie Foxx is talking about the song, and it might be the first time the words "Kenny" and "Loggins" have ever passed through the lips of Jamie Foxx. 

And as 80s sounding as the original song, C'Bosox does it almost rock to rockabilly... and it sounds great.  I would think to fully appreciate this song, you'd have to be very familiar with the original... and if Simon Cowell was struggling with what "Free Willy" and "The Graduate" was, this song might be beyond his comprehension.

Randy the Dawg says it wasn't his favorite performance, but liked how she changed it up.  Ellen DeG says the song is better now.  Kara the New Hotness says Ellen DeG is right.  Simon the Cowell says she's back in the game. 

One more duet, and its "To Really Love a Woman" as done by Casey James and Big Mike.  Though it starts out pretty good, CJ is a little breathy.  And then Big Mike kicks in... and to me, brings the song to another level.  On this classic Bryan Adams song, Casey James sounds good.  Big Mike sounds great.  I'm digging this song performance.

Randy the Dawg says they sounded really good.  Ellen DeG says, "As a matter of fact, yes I have loved a woman".  America's Favorite Lesbian, everyone!  Kara the New Hotness says the duets tonight were incredible.  Simon the Cowell agreed. 

Seacrest says that tomorrow night, Daughtry and Fantasia come home to Idol, and then says that Bon Jovi is performing, to which The Lovely Steph Leann throws both hands up and screams "BON JOVI!!!".  Looks like there is at least one song we won't be fast forwarding through.

For me tonight... Crystal & Lee's duet... Big Mike & CJ's duet... Crystal Bowersox's "I'm Alright"... Big Mike's "Will You Be There"... Casey James' "Mrs. Robinson"... Lee DeWyze's "Kiss from a Rose".

Aaaaaaaaaand.....

We're back for some results

Our top four, singing songs from the movies. This is what they were born to do.  This is so important to them.  This is what they have been dreaming about their whole lives, and it means everything to them, to heal the world with their music. 

THIS IS AMERICAN IDOL RESULTS!!!!

Seacrest is out onstage, telling us that 37,000,000 votes came in last night.  And tonight, Bon Jovi is onstage, plus Fantasia is here, and Daughtry is here to sing too!  Erin the Marine Wife is squealing in her corn flakes right now.

So let's get it started, right?  And how do we do that?

The Lovely Steph Leann is deliberating on whether I can fast forward through Fantasia

She gives the okay

Fast forward through commercials

Fast forward through Ford commercial

And here we are, seeing Big Mike, C'Bosox, Lee and CJ sitting upon the Silver Stools of Safety.  We get a quick recap of how big of a deal it is to have the Idols go home, as we see The Widower Danny Gokey, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, Carrie Underwood, Kris Allen and more in their seasons as they are in their hometowns.

The camera cuts to the families of the Idol Four, sitting on the Big Blue Couch onstage, as Seacrest is continuing to kill as much time as he can.   Dim the lights!  Big Mike and CJ are announced first.  Then C'Bosox and Lee.  After the nationwide vote, Casey James is.... safe and in the Top Three!  He heads to the Big Blue Couch and joins his family.

Fast forward through commercials

Now, for my prediction to come true, with Crystal Bowersox beting eliminated two weeks from the finals, putting Casey James and Lee DeWyze eventually into the finals, C'Bosox would have to go home tonight.

Daughtry comes onstage... if you just cocked your head a little and flinched from an ear piercing scream, that was Erin the Marine Wife seeing this.  That girl loves loves loves her some Chris Daughtry.  Then again, who doesn't?

Not fast forwarding through Daughtry, as commanded by The Lovely Steph Leann

Halfway through, she gives the okay

Fast forwarding through Daughtry

Fast forwarding through commercials

Back to results... dim the lights!  Big Mike stands up.  Lee DeWyze stands up.  And then to Crystal Bowersox.  After the nationwide vote... Lee DeWyze is in the Idol Three with Casey James.  He goes to the Big Blue Couch with DeFamily.

Fast forward through commercials

And we're back... and who's rocking the stage?  How about Bon Jovi.  I don't even try to fast forward through this one... Jon Bon Jovi is a card carrying member in good standing in The Colin Firth Club and probably one of the longest tenured members to boot.

Seacrest (on screen):  So you guys have been around 25 years!
Jon Bon Jovi (on screen): We've crossed generations at this point
The Lovely Steph Leann (on couch, in a whisper):  That's right. That's right.

Fast forward through commercials

Now, let's get to results.  Dim the lights.  The person in the Idol Three is... Crystal Bowersox.  Big Mike goes home tonight.  The Lovely Steph Leann is "awwww...."ing at the camera focused on Big Mike's babymama in tears.

So next Tuesday, its Lee vs Casey vs Crystal... the Idol Three.

Tom Cruise Burned By Scientology - Videotaped In Secret By The Church

It looks like L. Ron Hubbard and his expensive Church Of Scientology may have just bitten off more than they can chew.

It has become clear that current cult leader David Miscavige is everything people outside the Church believe him to be, and nothing like how the people inside perceive him.

Mark Rathbun, who runs an anti-scientology blog, is reporting that ten years ago he audited Tom Cruise on multiple occasions where the sessions were both audio taped and video taped at the Celebrity Center International without the actor's knowledge.

Rathbun then provided the video directly to cult leader David Miscavige saying:

I have recently learned from a very reliable witness that Miscavige regularly held court with others in his personal lounge in the roadside Villas at the Int base, and while sipping scotch whiskey at the end of the night, Miscavige would read Tom's overts and withholds from my reports to others, joking and laughing about the content of Tom's confessions.

Considering Tom Cruise is only one many celebrities involved with Scientology, it doesn't take much to assume that others were recorded also.

Related Story: Top 10 Celebrity Scientologists

While details of Tom's audit session are not made public in the article, it is a huge blow to the hated Miscavige and his beloved moneymaker.

What we found fascinating were the thousands of comments left by readers who both confirm and expand on the misguided actions of the church.

It is some of the most fascinating reading we have ever seen.

The more you listen to people who have left the church, or who have been thrown out, you begin to see the sheer size of the con job and control placed on cult members.

You can read Rathbun's full article here.

We suggest after you read it, you stick around and read some of the other articles. You will be fascinated and proud that there is somebody out there taking on this huge crime and exposing it for what it really is.

TMZ is also running with the story so we suspect next week things will explode.

Wake up, Tom Cruise. It is not too late.
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Eight Doses of John Grisham

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Don't ask me why, but I've managed to read 7 John Grisham books this year. Officially, I've read 5, and re-read 2, and because its the weekend and there aren't many people reading right now, and its my blog site, I figured I'd talk about them...


I find his books titles to be boring and predictable nowadays. I am expecting "The Indictment", and maybe "The Pardon" and perhaps "The Litigate". Name your legal term, chances are its a John Grisham book.

Let's discuss the bad...

"The Appeal"
So, there's a big verdict against the the fictional Krane Chemical company, a la Erin Brockovich, and the company CEO is determined to do whatever he can do get the courts to overturn the verdict. Aside from the CEO's tactics, the book has parallel plots concerning Wes and Mary Grace Payton, who are realistic in the fact that even though they won the case, its going to take a lot more money (that they don't have) and a lot more time (that they are out of) to get the money awarded.

The book has a great start, and is filled with suspense and intrigue, but the ending? Sucked. Absolutely sucked.

"The Summons"
Law professor Ray Atlee and his deadbeat brother Forrest are called home to Mississippi to discuss their dying father's will and estate. Ray arrives first, finding his father already dead, and boxes containing over $3 million dollars in it, money that he has no idea of the source. He assumes he is the only one who knows of the money, but as he discovers later, someone else knows he has it... and wants it.

The book has a great start, and is filled with suspense and intrigue, but the ending? Sucked. Absolutely sucked.

"The Last Juror"
This book isn't necessarily long, but it takes place over 10 or 12 years, but it seems like 50. This guy named Willie Traylor goes home, buys his hometown newspaper, and ends up turning it into a respectable paper. Well, there's a high profile murder in the town, Willie becomes friends with one of the jurors, some stuff blows up and so on and so on. It feels like there are 187 characters to keep up with, and 185 aren't even remotely worth remembering.

The book overall is not bad. The problem is, it goes in about fifteen different directions... the book has a great start, and is filled with suspense and intrigue, but the ending? Sucked. Absolutely sucked.

Let me say this... fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I probably voted for Obama. Well, we know the truth on that, so after reading the first two books and getting all into the stories, only to have the last chapters of each practically yell at me, "SUCKAAA!!!!" I stopped reading "The Testament" after 50 pages. It has a very, very good beginning, one that got me in the bookstore, and I purchased on impulse.

I put it down, then went to Wikipedia, and read the entire synopsis. I'm not one of those who will just die if I already know the ending before I read it (see "Leann, The Lovely Steph") and I wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting my time... and sure enough, according to the Wiki synopsis, the ending sucks. Absolutely sucks.

How about we go back to the early stuff?

"Runaway Jury"
A jury is needed to try a case where a widow is suing a tobacco company, because she holds them at least partly responsible for the lung cancer death of her husband. The defendants hire Rankin Fitch, a rough and tough jury consultant with just the right amount of sleaze in him, and they work on that jury selection, taking in particular a guy named Nicolas Easter. Easter then begins to flex his muscles as he shows to both Fitch and to prosecuting attorney Wendall Rohr that he, along with an outside associate, can guarantee a verdict... for the right price.

Thought it was great. The characters are interesting and different, the mystery and motivation behind Easter's power over the jury is slowly revealed through a series of revelations. And the ending? Very well done. Skip the movie.

"The Firm"
Ah, well, you've probably seen the movie, but if you haven't, its a simple book about a young lawyer named Mitch, who accepts a position at a Memphis based firm based on its focus of family values and morals. But of course, all is not as it seems, as Mitch finds out that some of the firm's clients aren't on the up-and-up, and some of them are downright... well, deadly.



This book is brilliant, and is not only my favorite Grisham book, but sits among my favorite 10 or 15 books ever. I re-read this one every few years, and this year's read was my 4th. It just moves fast, tells the story, the bad guys are bad, the good guys are good and its a great read all the way around. The movie is good, but there are several elements changed. The Quaker Oatmeal Man drops the F-bomb though, and its rather scarring.

"The Pelican Brief"
Two Supreme Court Justices are murdered in the span of a few hours... one was much hated, and surprised no one, the other perplexes everyone. Everyone has a theory, no one gets it right until... Darby Shaw puts together her own theory that has a far fetched suspect and a way-out-in-left field conspiracy based on the Louisiana wetlands and the pelican's habitat. Its ridiculous... and when it finds its way into the wrong hands, she finds out its right on point.

When I read this book for the first time in 1993, I didn't notice how liberally biased it was written, and didn't really realize how left-wing John Grisham is. Its probably because in 1993, I didn't really pay attention to much, I watched CNN alot, and thought Clinton was a great guy--in short, I was a uninformed liberal (oxymoron?)

Anyway, in this book--and in his others as well--the word "Republican" and "Conservative" are dirty words, and all the rotten, evil jerkfaces in this book fall into those two categories. The good guys, the ones who are compassionate and care about people and such are the Democrats and libs... so, if you can get past all this (or, depending on who you are, relish this), the book is all kinds of awesome, and runs a very close second to "The Firm" to being my favorite. The movie is pretty good, but after seeing it, its hard to see Grey Grantham as anything other than Denzel. In the book, he's a white guy who hits on Darby, alot.


This trailer is so dated--it made me laugh how cheesy the narrator sounded back in the day...

The Verdict is Still Out On...

"The Broker"
Joel Backman has been in prison for a long, long time because of stolen satellite software and charges of treason. The outgoing president (who Grisham refers to as "..an idiot... but a clean one...") delivers him a pardon on the urging of some of consultants. The idea is, pardon him, take him overseas and see which country kills him because of the satellite software he still possesses and has hidden.

I'm usually not big on novels that take place primarily on foreign soil--this one pretty much takes place in Italy--but I kinda liked this. The book is light and breezy, it goes fast (I finished it in a two days) and though only the main characters are remotely interesting, the story is kinda fun. The ending isn't all that great, but it isn't terrible.

"The Innocent Man"
This is John Grisham's first work of non-fiction, and if you are a Investigative Discovery/Dateline/truTV junkie like I am, I ate this book up. In the morning of December 8, 1982, the body of Debra Sue Carter, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in resident of Ada, OK, was found beaten, raped and suffocated in the bedroom of her garage apartment. After five years of false starts and shoddy police work by the Ada police, Ron Williamson—along with his "drinking buddy", Dennis Fritz—was charged, tried and convicted of the rape and murder charges in 1987-1988. Williamson was sentenced to death. Fritz, meanwhile, was given a life sentence.

The book centers around said shoddy police work and its failure to interrogate much more likely suspects (including the guy who actually turned out to be the real killer), the claimed incompetence of the lawyers surrounding the case on both sides and the efforts to free both Williamson and Fritz from The Innocence Project.

It is very obvious from the first 1/3 of the book that both guys are wrongly accused (if the title didn't give it away) but I had to definitely take some of Grisham's criticisms of our legal system and death penalties with a grain of salt. I did a little background Googlation on the subject, and came up with a few sites disputing much of the facts in the book, including a site from Bill Peterson, the prosecuting attorney in the case. Grisham does a bang up job of blasting Peterson through most of the book, and Peterson's site retaliates. Peterson has a huge write up contradicting much of the book, and a fun little webpage where he and Grisham exchange heated letters.

Also, in my looking around the interweb, I think I've discovered that as talented as he is, John Grisham may be a real tool in real life.

Just picked up "The Chamber", and I'm hoping it will be good, since its one of his early novels... however, knowing Grisham now as I do, I have a feeling since much of it revolves around a death row inmate, it will be a scathing indictment on the death penalty.

Either way, its my final Grisham for the year. Nine is enough.