Wednesday, September 25. 2013 The Montmorency CourtLy Tribune ' 15
(c) 2013 King Features Synd., Inc.
New DVDs reviewed in this column will be released Oct. 7, 2013
PREVIEWS
the bluest of the Monty Python movies.
Across several bizarre vignettes, the film
ponders the meaning of life through an
absurdist lens. Most of the bits can't be
discussed in much detail here, just know
that this movie is the most offbeat and
ridiculous film in a franchise of weirdos. It
also has the catchiest songs.
PICKS OF THE WEEK
"Much Ado About Nothing" (PG-13) -
Shot on a shoestring budget in less than
two weeks, the best romantic comedy of
the summer almost looks like a home
video project. It sort of is: Joss Whedon
(yes, the director of "The Avengers") di-
rected this Shakespearean adaptation
around his California home. The modem
setting, costumes and black-and-white
filter give the story a film-noir feel, which
goes perfectly with the pithy back-and-
forth of Shakespeare's original text.
The plot follows an evil scheme to dis-
credit a fair young lady and stir up chaos
between families. However, two attrac-
tive singles who outwardly hate each
other, all while being oblivious to the
sexual tension between them, hijack the
plot. You don't have to pretend to like this
just to make your English teacher happy;
it's actually enjoyable.
"The Purge" (R) - In a dystopian future,
far far away, society has gotten so screwed
up that we give a free pass to all crimes for
one night every ye.ar. This night is called
the Purge, and only rich folks have the
means to protect themselves from the
chaos. Or so they think. Ethan Hawke's
Fran Kranz & "Much Ado About Nothing"
DOG OF THE WEEK
"After Earth" (PG-13) - In this father-
son snorefest, Will Smith plays the coolest
Space Ranger in space as Cypher Raige
(cool name, brog, while his 14-year-old
son Jaden plays the less-talented Space
Ranger, Ktai Raige. It's been 1,000 years
since humans migrated off the earth for
the welcoming embrace of space. Smith
and son's spaceship crash lands on the
now-hostile planet earth, leaving audi-
ences with daunting task of watching Wilt
Smith remotely guide his son through a
Family is targeted by a-particularly persis-- tedious jungle adventure.
--The-m0'ie is pi:oduced, written and
tent bunch of masked bandits who want funded by Will Smith, his family and
to lynch a man they let into their fortified friends. So nobody was around to tell
home. The movie takes that odd little
premise and tries to load a lot of social themhowlamethiswas.Theonlyoutside
commentary on top. It's just not sturdy talent they got was the director: M. Night
enough to hold. Shyamalan. Yeesh.
"Monty Python's the Meaning of Life"
(R)- Now making its Blu-ray release, it's
1. What was the name of the cantina in Marty Robbins'
1960 song "El Paso"? And who was the girl the gunslinger
fell in love with?
2. Name the two albums released in 1970 by blues-rock
group Ten Years After,
3. Which group released "Walking on the Moon"?
4. Who released "Hungry Like the Wolf"?
5. Name the song that contains this lyric: "For six long days
and weary nights they tried to find her trail, Churchill told
the people 'Put ev'ry ship a-sail.'"
Answers
1. Rose's Cantina, and Felina.
2. "Cricklewood Green" and "Watt." They charted at No. 14
and No. 21, respectively.
3. The Police, in 1979. The song's video was filmed at
Kennedy Space Center, even though it didn't even chart in
the U.S.
4. British new wave band Duran Duran in 1982. The song
was ignored until the video got heavy rotation on MTV,
which shot it to the top of the charts.
5. "Sink the Bismark," by Johnny Horton in 1960. The
Bismark was a German battleship (more correctly known
as Bismarck), the largest ever built. When the Bismarck
sank the British battlecruiser HMS Hood in 1941, the
Royal Navy went after her with a vengeance.
by cindy elavsky
anyQc u: One of my favorite shows is AMC's
"Hell on Wheels." Can you give me
es about the season finale? - Holly
F., via email
Well, I don't want to give too much
ay and spoil the surprise! But I did
speak recently with series regular Kasha
Kropinski (who plays Ruth), and she gave
me a little tease as to what to expect as the
season winds down. The South African
beauty (who is a total sweetheart!) told
me: "People are going to be totally and
utterly shocked by what happens in these
last few episo des. It is totally left field what
transpires. I think that people already
have created an idea of what they think is
going to happen. But I don't think anyone
could come up with what actually tran-
spires.
"Some new relationships develop; some
unexpected relationships come to frui-
tion. Expect some death and destruction,
as usual -- it is ,Hell on Wheels,' after all. I
don't think that's a spoiler at all. Just hold
onto your socks because they might blow
off."
: I was heartbroken when you an
nounced that TNT had not renewed
"Monday Mornings." I spent 46 years as a
registered nurse, mostly in a hospital, in
various areas. This was the only hospital-
based showlhave been able to watch past
the first episodes. I appreciated the doc-
tors being challenged about decisions
and outcomes. - Elizabeth B., via ernail
I have received quite a few letters
xpressing dismay over the cancela-
tion of "Monday Mornings." This series
hit home with a lot of viewers, but appar-
ently not enough for the numbers people
at TNT. I miss the days when networks
gave shows longer that one season to
build an audience, and gain momentum
and a following. Imagine if "The Office"
had debuted this season instead of 10
years ago: With the low numbers the
show's first season brought in, it would
1. Insidious: Chapter 2 (PG-13) Patrick
Wilson, Rose Byrne
.2. The Family (R) Robert De Niro, Michelle
Pfeiffer
3, Riddick (R)Vin Diesel, Karl Urban
4. Lee Daniels' The Butler (PG-13) Forest
Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey
5. We're the Millers (R) Jennifer Aniston,
Jason Sudeikis
6. Instructions Not Included (P6-13)
Guillermo Rios, Leticia Lopez Margalli
7. Planes (PG) animated
8. One Direction: This Is Us (PG) Liam
Payne, Harry Styles
9. Elysium (R) Matt Damon, Jodie Foster
10. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (PG)
Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario
"Kindred and Wings"
By Philippa Ballantine
Reviewed by Ealish WaddeU
Centuries ago, the Valaeri race on
the world of Cahaero was nearly
wiped out by a genocidal ruler.
Talyn, a displaced and desperate
Valaeri survivor, accepted a life of
exile and hatred to became the
ruler's pet assassin. After 300 years
of butchery, she thought she _was
deadened to all emotion ... until
she met Finn, and had to cast him
away.
Finn himself is finding out at
he's not the simple orphan bard he
always thought he was, and is much
more vital to this world's future
than he ever could have imagined.
• Now he is on a journey to locate his
captive brother and uncover his
own buried past, but he can't seem
to forget about Talyn.
Theirs are but two of the paths
soon to converge in a momentous
confrontation that will become the
stuff of legend, when long-buried
secrets of past and present come
together to not only reveal the truth
of that terrible day long ago, but
also to prevent an even worse ca-
tastrophe from destroying them all.
Ballantine has a talent for subtle
have been canceled in a flash. Just imag-
ine all the great television we'd have
missed out on!
: I feel like I've been waiting forever.
%When will "Awkward" remm with
newpisodes? - Nicole F., Athens, Ca.
MTV's hit comedy returns from its
ummer hiatus on Tuesday, Oct. 22,
at 10:30 p.m. ET/PTwith 10 new episodes
to round out the third season.
Kasha Kropinski
READERS: It's time for another con-
test! In honor of "China Beach" finally
being released on DVD, I'm giving away
four copies of the first season to four
lucky readers. There are four ways to
win, and you can enter once via each
method. You can send me a letter. Cindy
Elavsky, King Features Weekly Service,
P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-
6475; or you can also enter at
letters@cindyelavsky.com; follow mon
Twitter at twitter.corn/celebrity_extra to
get details; and like my FB page for de-
tails http:l /www.facebook.com/pagesl
Celebrity-Extra/152752278792. All those
who enter are eligible for the grand-prize
drawing to win a box set of the entire
series! Get your entries in and/or post-
marked by Oct. 31.
Write to Cindy at King Features Weekly
Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL
32853-6475; or e-mail her at
letters@cindyelavsky.corn.
Recommended
Reading
world building. Rather than
dumping all the elaborate
backstory at once, she reveals it
piece by piece in ways that feel
organic and natural. And this is
truly an excitingly unusual
world. Gods and monsters walk
Cahaero and the spaces around
it, manipulating mortal and im-
mortal residents alike for their
own hidden purposes. Uncer-
tainty and chaos lie in the very
bones of the constantly chang-
ing earth, but they are to be wel-
comed and celebrated as much
as feared.
"Kindred and Wings" cont-
ues the epic tale begun in
"Hunter and Fox," which to-
gether make a compelling,
imaginative fantasy duet. This
satisfying sequel puts a period to
one chapter of this world's his-
tory, while leaving the door open
for new adventures.
