Best of the Decade: The Strokes-This is it (2001)

We're Back Baby!

After a long long time the blog is back. Honest to Blog to borrow from Juno.

I wanted to start by looking back this decade. It seems like this decade's theme was fear.

Of course we are still in it. The future seems uncertain, but I think there was some good stuff there, and I wanted to focus on that for a little while.

I can't help thinking about the decade, the 00's, if you will, without thinking of the Strokes first album This is it.
In hindsight it doesn't seem that great, but it really did back then. It was the first time I had heard the word indie music, before it was called Alternative.

The strokes came in at that last part of the 70's nostalgia scene and proclaimed "The 80's are back" And so they were, and it started with the late 70's -early 80's sound that was The Strokes.

It was somehow refreshing to here a very rough recording of a band that would probably sound the same live as they did on the record, and without special effects. These guys were young and fresh. The were super big amongst college and young adult , usually white, scene.

These were the people who had never heard Tom Petty and The Cars loved them. In truth, The Strokes literally lifted that sound and put in on their record without so much as putting their own take on it. It is more of a copy than a derivative.

Tracks like 'This is it' and 'Last Night' are still good to listen to every now and then.

These guys made being a rich kid from New York City with a Jew-fro cool, which hadn't been done since the early 1970's .
After this record they have declined in popularity, but they had their fifteen minutes.

Bedtime Stories(2008)

I think this was one of the best films of 2008. If you have kept up with my blog you know that I have seen a lot of movies this year, and to be completely honest I haven't written about most of the movies I have seen.

I know there has been a lot of talk about Bedtimes Stories not being so good. I respectfully disagree. I loved it.

I think it is harder to do clean comedy. In the heady times of the Apatow era that we are living in, the audience might be looking for 'adult' comedy of sex jokes, bad words, and gross-out humor. Bedtime Stories stars Adam Sandler who appeals highly to the 10 to 13 old boy crowd, and now the age range just got lower. This movie seems to be made to try to recreate the magic of Night at the Museum of a couple years ago, which was a wonderful movie that put adult comedy stars to make a clean kids movie, and somehow came out with really good family.

The story is quite simple. Adam Sandler finds himself working as a handyman in a Los Angeles hotel. His estranged sister asked him to babysit her two children while she goes to a job interview in Arizona, because the school, which she is the principle, is being torn down. She raises her kids without such good things as T.V. and sugar.

In Sandler fashion, he plays a blue-collar hero that doesn't get along with the snobby people he encounters. He takes on his new job as baby-sitter without qualms. He likes the kids and the kids feelings are mutual. The conflict comes in two folds. The owner of hotel sets up a competition with the snobby villain to see who will run the next big hotel in his company. The next conflict is that he doesn't get a along with his sister's pretty friend who is also looking after the kids, who is a bit of perpetually exasperated eco-enthusiastic, Felicity. I mean Kari Russell.

Sandler starts telling bedtime stories to get the kids to go to bed, and he finds out that stories come true the next day. Of course, his stories are narcissistic self involved hero stories about himself.

Sandler is helped by his friend Micky who is played by Russel Brand; who you might remember from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Bedtime stories is a charming comedy. Totally clean,and totally funny.

Fanboys(2009)

Well worth the wait! Fanboys was suppose to be released in September then later in the fall. I am really not sure how long this movie has been pushed back. It's out now!

This is one of the greatest nerd movies of all-time. This is movie made for Star Wars fans by Star Wars fans. All general sci-fi fans can appreciate it this. I haven't laughed so much at the movies since Zach and Miri make a porno.

Fan Boys is a period piece; set circa 1999. The first new Star Wars movie has yet to be released. For four Star Wars geeks who have spent more time of their lives arguing Star Wars than Shakespeare there is no greater event in their mid-twenties of life. Except one of them is terminal Ill and will not live to see the new movie.

Our young rogues set out on a across country pilgrimage to nic a copy of the new Star Wars movie. Along the way, they battle Star Trek fans at the birthplace of Kirk, a pimp played by Seth Rogan. They run into Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith,and many of the Judd Apatow crew. The movie stars Jay Baruchel ( Tropic Thunder, Nick and Norah's Infinite playlist, Undeclared, Knocked up) and Kirsten Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshal). Let's not forget William Shatner, who can score anything.

When they do break into the Skywalker Ranch in Modesto California, they want into a Lucas Film fantasy film props from Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The best part is when they enter a room with Darth Vader, R2D2 and C3PO, Indi's hat, and other treasures. Well, before they the get caught. However, the guards who include the actor who played Darth Maul eventually let them go after administering a nerd test to see if they know more about Star Wars than they do about sex. They all pass.

The ends with the start of the Phantom Menace, when one remarks "What if it sucks?"

I can't imagine that all people will get this film. It would not surprise if many critics have trashed this film. Maybe because they are not nerds or maybe because they are Star Trek fans; who knows! Not everyone will get this joke when a doctor played by Carrie Fisher is kissed by one of our hero's who tells her that he loves her, and she responses with "I know." Not everyone will remember that Han Solo and Princess Leah interaction, but those people shouldn't be watching this film. For the rest of us,we'll laugh our off through out the film.

Bryan Sarkinen at the Westminster Dog Show

A Note from Bryan:

"Wanted to let you know that a show that I shot for CNBC is airing at 9PM tonight. It's called "American Originals" and is about the Westminster Dog Show."

Frost/Nixon(2008)

Nixon/Frost is another nice guy Ron Howard history movie. Much like Apollo 13 and is others there is no real bad guy. In fact, this may be the kindest representation of Richard Nixon that I have ever seen. Frank Langella gives a brilliant performance as Tricky Dick, but he lacks, in his performance, the Nixon's Redneck quality. It is easy for another from Southern Californian to spot the Okie in Nixon; as he is our son from Whittier, California. Langella gives Nixon a statesman like quality only befitting the great Ben Franklin. Likewise Michael Seen seems too sweet and nurturing than the real David Frost who always seemed a bit crass to me. You can catch the Real Nixon and Frost interviews on DVD, and David Frost was on the Daily Show last month taking about it.

As a film, it is very enjoyable, but it lacks any real drama that will truly gets you sucked in. It seems like there might be some good drama coming at times, then movie pulls back.

The story of the movie, tells the tale of talk show host David Frost, a Brit. He is an entertainment television host in the 1970's with funny hair and shirts to go along with it. He wants to interview Richard Nixon after Watergate. It is the holy grail of interviews. So, they offer Nixon a truck load of money. The Nixon camp thinks that they can just walk all over Frost and take his money.

Frost has the opportunity of a life time, in fact it was the big break of his career. The only problem is nobody else can see the potential, so he has problems getting funding. Everyone turns him down and he and his friends finance the project alone.

He does hire a couple of solid investigators, but they need to Frost to really sell it hard to Nixon. Nixon being an old pro and a quick mind walks all over him. In the end, Frost gives it his college try and has a show down with the former owner of Checkers, the dog. The loser of the in 1960 Presidential elections does admit to wrong doing in Watergate.

Frost/Nixon is the perfect medium brow film to make you feel like an intellectual when you are not. I should mention that it has a terrific cast that make the movie very watch-able of Rebecca Hall, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, and Kevin Bacon.