Hey, you know what I liked? (no spoilers)

[Tom Chick]

Charlie's Angels. No joke. What a big dumb colorful ride! I watched it almost reluctantly, but was hooked from the moment it started and practically giggling with delight all the way through the bloopers in the end credits.

And just to keep my snobby cinemaphile cred, I also really liked 25th Hour. It's uneven, and Spike Lee forces some issues that don't really fit, but it's powerful. It's also an effective portrait of life in New York after 9/11. There's exactly one moment where Lee's strident tone works its way into the movie and both Lee and Norton handle it beautifully.

Barry Pepper, who most of you guys will know as the sniper from Saving Private Ryan, is a real surprise. Philip Seymour Hoffman, on the other hand, is almost completely wasted. And the whole thing is wrapped up with a glorious Brian Cox sequence.

-Tom

[Dirt]

Yeah, I am unabashedly a fan of the movie too. Anyone who goes to watch a Charlie's Angels movie and expects cinematic art needs to wake up. Watch the TV series; the movie is a logical jump.

[Brad Grenz]

Yup, the first one was awsome... err, I mean, fun. Crispin Glover was really cool. I too was reluctant, but some friends came over and popped in the DVD and won me over.

I'm worried they'll blow the sequel, though.

[Desslock]

Barry Pepper, who most of you guys will know as the sniper from Saving Private Ryan, is a real surprise.

The only thing that was a surprise is that he thought it was a 'great idea' to star in Battlefield Earth.

[Gordon Cameron]

Yeah, I am unabashedly a fan of the movie too. Anyone who goes to watch a Charlie's Angels movie and expects cinematic art needs to wake up. Watch the TV series; the movie is a logical jump.

I haven't seen the movie, but I rather doubt anyone who didn't like it disliked it because it failed to be "cinematic art." There are good action movies and bad action movies, same as any other genre.

[Bub, Andrew]

Color me a reluctant Charlie's Angels fan as well. In fact, I liked the movie so much it led me to respect Drew Barrymore's career savvy. I remember hearing she lobbied hard to get that film made as a vehicle for her. Good call.


Crispin Glover was really cool.

I loved the way he smoked. Good to see that weirdo again.

Guess the film:
"I'M MAKING MY LUNCH!"

[voltaic]

It's uneven, and Spike Lee forces some issues that don't really fit, but it's powerful.

Am I the only person in America who is tired of this guy?

[Wholly Schmidt]

Tom or Spike?

[Ron Dulin]

Am I the only person in America who is tired of this guy?

I doubt it.

I've liked Original Kings of Comedy, She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, X, and parts of Summer of Sam, but I re-watched Do the Right Thing the other day and it hasn't aged well, at least visually. But the interesting thing about Spike Lee is that while I generally get really angry at his films, I still feel compelled to watch them. There's is no living film maker who is so adamant about making large, often half-baked, points about social issues at the expense of characters and logic. He's a very talented guy, but maybe a little lazy these days in terms of story. Bamboozled, for instance, was just a mess, but still fairly funny and interesting. I really want to see the 25th Hour. (As a side note, I haven't seen Clockers or that documentary he made.)

Back on topic: I liked Charlie's Angels, and not just because I'm a huge Sam Rockwell fanboy.

[Ron Dulin]

Guess the film:
"I'M MAKING MY LUNCH!"

The best line from a Crispin Glover film wasn't even said by Crispin Glover. It was Keanu Reeves in River's Edge, yelling at his mother's boyfriend: "All you do is eat my food and fuck my mother. Mother fucker! Food eater!"

[Bub, Andrew]

River's Edge was a good one.... but Ron, you didn't guess the film my quote came from. Here's a hint. He's wearing a Santa suit when he screams it.

I like Spike Lee too. X, Jungle Fever (mainly for Samuel L. Jackson), Mo Better Blues, Do the Right Thing, and didn't he do Get on the Bus, too?

[Anonymous]

Wild at freaking Heart, Bub.[/b]

[Jason Lutes]

Yeah, I thought Charlie's Angels was gonna suck, too, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable. All three of them ladies seemed to have a great sense of humor about themselves and the subject matter. I heart Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore for flouting the standard starlet route. And for a frenetic, MTV-style exercise in flash, CA was well-edited and coherent for a change.

[Tom Chick]

(As a side note, I haven't seen Clockers or that documentary he made.)

I haven't seen Get on Da Bus, Y'all!, or whatever it's called, but Clockers is his finest movie and completely separate from everything else he's done, with the exception of 25th Hour.

You really should see it before coming to any decisions about Spike Lee. It's a whole other side of him. Much more tender and heartfelt. And it's Delroy Lindo at his finest.

Moving on to some camp:

The great thing about Crispin Glover in Charlie's Angels is that he didn't talk, so you didn't know what a freak he was. With his hair slicked back like that, fiercely pulling on his cigarette, he actually looked pretty regal. Even handsome. And I say that in a completely non-gay way.

I guess this is where I should point out that my gaze was relentless fixed on the absolutely gorgeous freckled Lucy Liu throughout the movie. In fact, I'm going to go add that Ballistics Ecks vs. Sever thing to my Netflix queue right now. Then I'm going to create a Lucy Liu fan site and play through SSX Tricky as Elise just so I can hear her voice.

-Tom

[Ben Sones]

Lucy Liu is definitely easy on the eyes--even my wife agrees. But Ballistic? Doesn't that film have, like, a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes? The DVD came out so fast, it must have already been sitting on trucks waiting to ship to stores on the movie's opening night.

I haven't seen Charlie's Angels yet. I guess I should.

[Lunch of Kong]

I'm going to go add that Ballistics Ecks vs. Sever thing to my Netflix queue right now.

This is a great movie to watch if you're into the "so bad, it's good" thing.

[wumpus]

Lucy Liu is definitely easy on the eyes--even my wife agrees.
The asian ladies don't do anything for me, personally.

I am currently watching the DVD set of 24-- all at once is the way episodic shows should be watched, rather than in tiny little 1-hour increments doled out over the course of six months. Anyway, that Elisha Cuthbert chick is definitely good lookin'!

[Murph]

Another movie that Tom and I agree on!! Yeah, Charlie's Angels was pretty good. A fun movie, and nice-looking girls. :-)

[Ron Dulin]

I am currently watching the DVD set of 24-- all at once is the way episodic shows should be watched, rather than in tiny little 1-hour increments doled out over the course of six months.

I think maybe you don't understand television.

[voltaic]

I am currently watching the DVD set of 24-- all at once is the way episodic shows should be watched, rather than in tiny little 1-hour increments doled out over the course of six months. Anyway, that Elisha Cuthbert chick is definitely good lookin'!

I have MPG rips of every episode (EVAR!) of "Scrubs" and I have kept up, so far, with every episode of this season's "er". I totally agree that watching it all in a row like that is fun as hell.

[Gordon Cameron]

Hmm, sorta like when they used to run "My So Called Life" marathons on MTV. *sigh* Claire...

[wumpus]

I think maybe you don't understand television.
I understand TV, I just refuse to be subjugated by its limitations.

Anyway, the episodic nature of the broadcast really hurts a show like 24 where the plot develops continuously over the entire season. Much more than, say, Scrubs, or Friends, where each episode is pretty much a standalone experience; you don't need to see any of the other episodes to "get it".

Edit: of course, watching 16 hours of television in two sittings also hurts a little. Mainly my ass.

[wumpus]

Hmm, sorta like when they used to run "My So Called Life" marathons on MTV. *sigh* Claire...
Ooh, it's funny you bring that up. I was just mentioning to my wife that the mother on 24, for some reason, reminds me of the mother on My So Called Life. Holy cow was she ever annoying-- and that butch, ultra-short haircut! Ugh. To be fair, Mrs. Bauer is getting more interesting now that she has more to do than hysterically worry about her daughter in every episode.

One thing we were wondering about 24. If the show really happens in real time, when do they use the bathroom, exactly? Is the last hour going to be a split screen montage of every character, grimacing on the toilet as they poop? That really would be must-see tv.

[Gordon Cameron]

Holy cow was she ever annoying-- and that butch, ultra-short haircut!

She was sort of a Sandy-Duncan-from-hell type. The B plots involving the parents were always the worst part of that show.

[Anonymous]

and that butch, ultra-short haircut!

I was flipping the channels one night and saw her in a made-for-TV movie on Lifetime with the exact same haircut, playing another mom. Poor typecast woman...

[Gordon Cameron]

Hey, at least it wasn't Meredith Baxter Birney. Talk about typecast... :)

[Jupiter Jones]

It's uneven, and Spike Lee forces some issues that don't really fit, but it's powerful.

Am I the only person in America who is tired of this guy?

"Clockers" grabbed me by the balls and never let-go. It gave me new respect for Spike Lee.

I saw "Charlies Angels" in a packed house of silent teenagers. My wife and I laughed uproariously at times, while the rest of the audience sat dumbstruck. Crispin "I'm Strong And I Can Kick" Glover was perfectly cast, as was Cameron Diaz's behind, and Drew Barrymore's chest...

[Anonymous]

"Clockers" grabbed me by the balls and never let-go. It gave me new respect for Spike Lee.

Now that we know how to earn your respect, I think it's time you buy a new athletic cup.

[dannimal]

Well, each episode of 24 covers one hour of real time, but you only see 42 minutes of it (or 44, whatever number is left once the commercial time is accounted for). That's over 15 minutes an episode you don't see. While I'm sure in some episodes there's time you're not seeing a character AND they couldn't also be using a bathroom, I bet there's at least 1 or 2 moments during the season where they could have off camera. It's not like people need to go to the bathroom 5-10 times a day, after all.

[Ergo]

It's not like people need to go to the bathroom 5-10 times a day, after all.

You've never met my wife.

[Gundaliro]

I haven't seen Get on Da Bus, Y'all!, or whatever it's called, but Clockers is his finest movie and completely separate from everything else he's done, with the exception of 25th Hour.


Dude, you're insane. Clockers was a mess. One of those not-so-rare instances where the original novel was lightyears better than the film which it inspired.