New DVDs reviewed in this column will be released June 10, 2013
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Section B - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 The Montmorency County Tribune 7B
PREVIEWS
"Oz the Great and Powerful" (PG) -
Years before Dorothy and Toto landed
over the rainbow, another Kansas yokel
went on an adventure down the yellow
brick road. Oscar Diggs (James Franco) is
a small-time magician and part-time con
man who hatches a silly scheme to attain
greatness. He winds up in a colorful world
where he befriends a flying monkey
(voiced by Zach Braf0 and meets three
charming witches (Rachel Weisz,
Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis).
Of course it's not going to measure up to
the original. I'll get that out of the way first.
There's no music, for one. James Franco
acts like he's not supposed to carry the
movie. Franco can give a real perfor-
mance, but the guy isn't convincing when
he's talking to computer-generated crit-
ters.
"Snitch" (PG-13) - When Jason (Raft
Gavron) is busted for receiving a ship-
ment of ecstasy, the teenager faces a man-
datory minimum sentence of 10 years.
Fortunately, his father, John (Dwayne
"The Rock" Johnson), is an enormous and
caring fellow. To make a deal to get his son
out of trouble, John volunteers to go un-
dercover and to take down a drug ring. It's
a distressed-dad action flick with an overt
message about the War on Drugs: It's bad.
Johnson puts in the effort, and you can
see his skill here. He's still a miscast -- an
action-hero type charged with playing an
everyman -- but it's an entertaining rental
and somewhat unique for an action flick
of its class.
"Wrong" (R) - Do not expect this movie
to make sense ... at all. It's funny. But it
won't let you enjoy it as a casual experi-
ence. In "Wrong," a man (Jack Plotnick)
searches for his lost dog. Palm trees de-
cide to be pines, office cubicles are sub-
ject to torrential weather patterns, and
people are jflst strange. There's nothing
really to "get" besides the idea that this
movie wants to breakthe mold of the slice-
of-life film genre. It might frustrate some
viewers. Scratching your head and going
along with the absurdity on screen is the
best-case scenario for such an out-there
flick.
James Franco in
"Oz the Great and Powerful"
DOG OF THE WEEK
,'Hansel & Greteh Witch Hunters" (R) -
Hollywood seems to be under the impres-
sion that you can take any fairy tale, make
it sexy and action-packed, and there you
have a recipe for box-office success. That
is, unless the execution is dim and boring.
In this pointless exercise, Hansel and
Gretel (Jeremy Rennet and Gemma
Arterton) grow into vigilante witch hunt-
ers. Somehow, they discovered the secret
to building shotguns, automatic weap-
ons and stale one-liners well before the
technology existed. If only cool props,
costumes and sets could make a movie
good. Too bad for this flick that script and
its cancellation.
by cJ ndy elavsky
Q: I am so glad "Bum Notice" is back,
but I heard this is its last season.
True? - Ronald P., via e-mail
A Yes, USA recently announced that
eason seven will be its last. Jeff
Watchel, co-president of USA Network,
wha :,,I'vebeenwatch',,mgoldepisodesof teased: "(We) will raise the stakes even
Melrose Place' and wondered higher, leading up to a spectacular series
amie Luner, who played Lexi Ster- finale."
ling, has been up to lately? - Polly R. in
Indiana
A : The gorgeous and talented actress
2 ]kmost recently starred in Lifetime
Movie Network's original movie, "The
Perfect Boss," which aired in late May
(check local listings for possible re-
airings, or you can wait for the DVD). In
"Boss," she reunited with her former
"Melrose" co-star Linden Ashby, who
played her husband on the show, and
played her fall guy in the Lifetime movie.
]amie looks back on her time on
"Melrose" with affection, telling me: "I'm
so fortunate to have been on such iconic
shows that are so memorable. That time Jamie I_uner
was such a chapter in all of our lives --
television was so different than it is today.
It was such an impactful show on so many
people. I get a little nostalgic about it, and
I'm definitely recognized for it by a lot of
people who have enjoyed it."
Jamie does have a few more projects in
the works, which she can't tell me about
yet, but she promised to keep me in the
loop as they arise. And I promise to let
YOU know as soon as I know. -
READERS: As promised, I am going net-
work by network, listing the fate of all
2012/13 network shows. Clip and save
this column, and also visit
www.celebrityextraonline.com for the
complete list. This week I'll tackle the
CBS shows.
On the renewed list is: "2 Broke Gifts,"
"The Big Bang Theory," "Blue Bloods,"
"Criminal Minds," "CSI," "Elementary,"
"Wedding Band" is one of my fa ','The Good Wife," "Hawaii Five-O,"
vorite shows, so as soon as the'HowIMetYourMother,' TheMental-
DVI .wasavailableforpreorder, Iordered ist," "Mike and Moiler," "NCIS," "NCIS:
the first season. However, in the Amazon
ad it was labeled "The Complete Series."
Please tell me that this is a mistake, and
that TBS has renewed the show for a sec-
performances matter a lot more. ond season! - George]., Fort Worth, Texas
! Well, George, you might want to
z hang onto that DVD set, as it might
become a collectors' item. TBS has in-
deed canceled the comedy starring Brian
Austin Green after only one season. The
old standby of low ratings was blamed for
Los Angeles," "Person of Interest" and
"Two and-a Half Men." On the canceled
list is: "CSI: New York," "Golden Boy,"
"Made in ]ersey," "Partners," "Rules of
Engagement" and "Vegas."
Next week, I'll cover CW and Fox.
Write to Cindy at King Features Weekly
Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL
32853-6475; or e-mail her at
l etters@cindyelavslcy.com.
1. Name the group that wrote and released "Mr. Blue Sky."
2. Which singer was born Ezekiel Christopher Montanez?
What's his most well-known song?
3. Where did the phrase"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" come from?
4. Who was "Sir Duke" written about?
5. What song contains this lyric: "A fine little girl, she wait
for me; me catch aship across the sea, I sailed the ship all
alone; I never think I'll make it home."
Answers
1. Star Trek Into Darkness (PG-13) Chris Pine,
Zachary Quinto
2. Iron Man 3 (PG-13) Robert Downey Jr.,
Gwyneth Paltrow
3. The Great Gatsby (PG- 13) Leonardo DiCa prie,
Joel Edgerton
1. The Electric Light Orchestra, in 1977. In the beginning, 4. Pain & Gain (R) Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne
this English group was more popular in the U.S. than in the Johnson
U.K. ELO released 11 studio albums in its first 15 years. 5. The Croods (PG) animated
2. Chris Montez of "Let's Dance" fame (1962). The song
was heard in the 1978 film "National Lampoon's Animal
House,"
6. 42 (PG-13) Chadwick Boseman, Harrison
Ford
3.AJamaicanfriendofPaulMcCartneyusedtoanswerthe 7. Mud (PG-13) Matthew McConaughey, Tye
Sheridan
question "What's happening?" with "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life 8. Oblivion (PG-13) Tom Cruise, Morgan Free-
goes-on, bra."
man
4. Duke Ellingtan. Stevie Wonders 1977 hit also mentions
other jazz greats like CoOnt Basle. 9. Peeples (PG-13) Craig Robinson, Kerry Wash-
5. "Lauie, Louie," the song that caused so much parental ington
angst in 1963. Concerned about rumors of alleged filthy 10. The Big Wedding (R) Robert De Niro,
lyrics, even the FBI got into the act and launched a 30- Katherine Heigl
month investigation. Truth: It's a sailor's lament.
"Dirty Wars: The
a Battlefield"
By Jeremy Scahill
Reviewed by Larry Cox
World is
Award-winning journalist Jeremy
Scahill's latest book is a sober as-
sessment of how our country has
changed since 9/11. Disturbing, in-
sightful and illuminating, it rips the
scab offpolicies started by President
George W. Bush's administration
and continued by President Barack
Obama -- policies that have turned
our modern world into a perpetual
battleground.
As one veteran of multiple Special
Ops task forces put it, "The military
can go wherever they please and do
whatever it is they want to do, in
order to achieve the national secu-
Recommende(
Reading
fields and mounting death tolls.
One of the more disturbing as-
pects uncovered by Scahill is that
despite 0bama's vow to ban tor-
ture and discontinue the use of
secret prisons, the CIA continues
these policies by outsourcing ren-
dition and imprisonment. For ex-
ample, the CIA has used notori-
ous Somali warlords to hunt down
suspected militants and execute
them.
Scahill thinks our country has
embarked on a national policy of
rityobjectives ofwhateveradminis- killing our way to victory using a
tration happens to be in power." combination of SpecialOps night
Is this the type ofcountrywe want raids, cmise-missil attacks and
to be? drone strikes. As he points out,
Scahill arguesthatinsteadofmak- you can't surrender to a drone.
.ingourwofldsafer, our"dirtywars" Our new post-9/ll world trig-
are creating the very terrorists we gers enormous destabilization
seek to stop in countries that have andblowback, makinguslesssafe
not even been declared war zones, and less secure. This is the true
such as Yemen and Somalia. Many nature of the dirty wars that the
averagecitizensintheMuslimworld United States government
were supportive of the United States struggles to keep hidden, andwhy
after 9/11, but have since been we are involved in conflicts that
"turned" by our expanding battle- have no end.
O
