I’ve spent all year hating the Chicago Bears for denying the New Orleans Saints their first shot at a Super Bowl appearance. The 39-14 drubbing they laid on the Saints at Soldier Field during the conference championships back in January still stings. But now I’m starting to think the Bears did New Orleans a favor by sparing them an even more horrific beating at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts.  (more…)

The Simpsons Movie
David Silverman, USA, 2007
Rating: 3.5

Fans of The Simpsons – whether they’re diehards who can rattle off the names of writers and show runners across the program’s lengthy run or more casual, occasional admirers – expect a lot from a big-screen adaptation of the long-running TV show. How could they not? The Simpsons stands as pop-cultural high-water mark for its deft satire, exuberant sight gags, unabashed crudity and, above all, its sharp wit. Even accounting for a recent (and precipitous) decline in quality, its 18-season track record is in itself a remarkable achievement, one with which any 90-minute feature would be hard-pressed to compete.

Inevitably, then, that long-anticipated movie version will disappoint a percentage of its target audience. (How could it not?) But for viewers who can’t list every episode’s title or aren’t familiar with behind-the-scenes personnel like Ian Maxtone-Graham, that disappointment is likely to be minor.
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Interesting news this week regarding casting for 300 director Zack Snyder’s upcoming adaptation of Watchmen. If you haven’t heard: recent Academy Award nominee Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) is slated to portray the enigmatic vigilante Rorschach; Billy Crudup (Almost Famous) has been tagged for the role of the godlike Dr. Manhattan; relative unknown Matthew Goode (Match Point) takes on the pivotal role of Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias; Patrick Wilson (who also appeared in Little Children) will play the Nite Owl; Dean Morgan (Grey’s Anatomy) stars as the cigar-chomping Comedian; and statuesque actress Malin Akerman (Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, Entourage, the upcoming Invasion) steps into the stilettos of the comparatively plain Silk Spectre.  (more…)

Live Free or Die Hard
Len Wiseman, USA, 2007
Rating: 3.8

It’s been a pretty hectic couple of months. I was recently promoted to Editor in Chief at the weekly paper I’ve worked at for almost three years, and as you’ve no doubt noticed, Shaking Through has suffered as a result. I’m trying to get caught up with all the movies, books, comics and music I’ve experienced and meant to write about since May, but it’ll take awhile.

As busy as I’ve been, though, my average 13-plus hour day pales in comparison to the kind of overtime New York cop John McClane logs in the latest Die Hard installment. (How’s that for a segue?) (more…)

Good question.

It’s been a quiet few weeks here at Shaking Through World Headquarters for a number of reasons. The first and most important is that I recently changed jobs, leaping headfirst into a very demanding new role that has consumed pretty much every waking weekday hour (and quite a few weekends) since late May. The precious few free hours I’ve had have been spent with my wife, either catching up with each other or working to resolve a sticky home-repair situation.

Meanwhile, Laurence Station, my partner in Shaking Through, has had his own family issues to deal with, along with assorted things having to do with restoring his New Orleans home. Our frequent contributor The Gentleman has been around, doing whatever it is he does, and he’s even sent me a post or two for editing and posting on the site. But I just haven’t had the time.

Anyway, I’ve finally got a little breathing room: Some staffing issues have been resolved, and things are slowly settling down. I hope to be able to post content on a more consistent basis than has been the case lately; we’ll see how it goes. Meanwhile, thanks for your patience.

Transformers
Michael Bay, USA, 2007
Rating: 3.3

Let’s face it: Transformers is stupid. Always has been. Even during its heyday in the ‘80s, it was a hokey piece of pop-cultural flotsam designed to sell toys. The mythology, if you want to call it that, was/is bush league and amateurish. Sentient robots is one thing – call me a dork if you like, but I kind of like that idea. Sentient robots from a planet called Cybertron, who for some reason gather together under the banner of “Autobots” or “Decepticons” – sorry, but your average episode of Teletubbies is better thought-out than that.

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 If you’re into comic-book movies (and who isn’t these days?), you’ve probably already seen the clever “Hi, I’m a Marvel …” videos (parodying those increasingly annoying Mac/PC commercials) circulating around the Internet. They started a couple of months ago, but have been getting more and more attention lately, what with the release of Spider-Man 3. Anyway, it’s funny stuff.  

But the best humor always carries with it the cold bite of hard truth. To wit: Why is Marvel kicking DC’s butt so thoroughly in the superhero-movie sweepstakes?

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A poll conducted by ESPN and ABC News finds that 52 percent of baseball fans hope Barry Bonds doesn’t break the home-run record of 755 set by Hank Aaron in 1974. No surprise there — if there’s a more polarizing figure in any sport these days, I’d be hard-pressed to name him or her. The poll also finds that black fans are more than twice as likely as whites to root for Bonds — 74 percent to 28 percent. And 37 percent of black fans believe Bonds used steroids (compared to a whopping 76 percent of whites).

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The Watchman
Robert Crais
Simon & Schuster, 2007
Rating: 4.2

After years spent chronicling the exploits of wisecracking detective Elvis Cole, Robert Crais finally turns his attention to Cole’s enigmatic partner, Joe Pike. Just as Crais’ last two Cole novels, The Last Detective and The Forgotten Man, explored that character’s psyche and back story in illuminating detail, The Watchman peels back the curtain to provide a look at the inner workings of his tightly controlled friend. And just as those books (and non-Cole works like Demolition Angel and The Two-Minute Rule) did, it showcases Crais’ ever-evolving skill as a crafter of compelling character studies as well as urgently paced thrillers. In fact, after more than twenty years, it reveals Crais at the peak of his powers in both arenas.

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From the Baffling Ideas That Just Might Work Desk comes news that Antwan “Big Boi” Patton of OutKast is set to collaborate with the Atlanta Ballet for a work to be performed next April. According to the ballet company’s site, it will also include artists from Big Boi’s Purple Ribbon label. I’m sure it’ll be interesting (being an Atlanta resident, I’ll probably go).

But one shudders to think of the ramifications should this become a hip-hop trend. Anyone for ballet versions of The Blueprint or Kingdom Come – or even The Grey Album? An interpretive dance program based on Get Rich or Die Tryin’, a la the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp musical Movin’ Out? Or worse yet, a new reality show where Flavor Flav auditions dancers for his new modern dance troupe? “Hit me up with a pas de deux, boy-ee!”