Observe and Report Never Quite Gets There

Laremy Legel, Apr 10, 2009

"The fact that this slips away like greasy spaghetti isn't the fault of anything more than a directionless plot."

Dark comedy is a difficult genre. The road is littered with failed attempts, and for every Cruel Intentions there are a few dozen Pushing Tin and Cable Guy efforts convincing studios not to fund them. Regardless of what the trailers tell you, Observe and Report wants very desperately to be a dark comedy. But it doesn't quite get there, as it's not funny enough to hit the comedy dismount and not clever enough to go fully dark. It's much more like pudding, actually -- soft, free of structure, and not very filling.

Seth Rogen is a mall security guard. To the film's credit the title is never used. Also to the film's credit is that this is just a story about a crazy dude. Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt is a slightly stupid, partially mentally ill, and fully delusional fellow who can only be taken seriously in that he has moderate amounts of power to lord over consumers and fellow mall employees. He's joined in the cast by Anna Faris, playing a ditzy blonde, and Ray Liotta, as a hard-boiled detective. An essential cameo is turned in by Parks and Recreation's Aziz Ansari (who really should be a bigger star by now) while Collette Wolfe is also eminently watchable as a girl with a broken leg working at the donut shop. Every day she gives Rogen free coffee -- small scenes that work well at building both character and providing awkward laughs. The other highlight is the soundtrack, although it's used as an expository feature a bit too often. Still, as a standalone offering I'd recommend a listen. It's got a solid Bob Dylan cover, a good Pixies Cover, and a righteous 40-year-old track called "Brain" from '60s Brit band the Action that acquits itself well even against today's modern rock offerings.

The film falters when Observe and Report goes for the big laughs. It's not clear whether we should be sympathetic, horrified, or entertained. Vonnegut recommended having characters who wanted something so the audience could take the journey with them. What does Ronnie Barnhardt want? Well, he clearly wants to get laid. No surprise there, but that joke predates the written word. He kinda/sorta wants to be a police officer, and the script makes a halfhearted effort to show that side too. He'd like to be made fun of a little less, but this too comes in fits and starts. Unlike say, the clarity of 40-Year-Old Virgin (older gent wants to get laid!), Knocked Up (layage has happened, consequences ensue), or Superbad (young gents want to enjoy sexual relations!), Observe and Report has no real throughline, which creates distance from Rogen to the audience. It creates a situation where it's easy to check out from the material. I'm not advocating more sex comedies, mind you, just a bit of focus where writer Jody Hill is concerned (as his other theatrical project, The Foot Fist Way, had the exact same issue).

So then, should you see this film? It's not tremendously disappointing if you haven't seen a comedy in a while and just need something to tide you over. But you're not going to get great quotes or belly laughs out of this action, and in two years this won't be mentioned at all. Ideally it will be considered one of Rogen's lesser works because I have high hopes for him. He's a convincing everyman, and in the right hands he gives an audience a ton to latch on to. The fact that this slips away like greasy spaghetti isn't the fault of anything more than a directionless plot.

Grade: C+

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Ayah Rihanna Kecam Pembelaan Chris Brown

Rabu, 08 April 2009 11:26

Setelah Chris Brown mengajukan pembelaan bahwa dirinya tidak bersalah dalam pengadilannya Senin (06/04) lalu, ayah Rihanna langsung mengecam musisi berusia 19 tahun itu.

Brown sendiri menghadiri sidang di Pengadilan LA untuk mengajukan pembelaan tak bersalah atas tuduhan penganiayaan yang dilakukannya pada mantan kekasihnya itu 8 Februari silam. Dan Ronald Fenty mengaku merasa tidak senang dengan keputusan Brown untuk membantah tuntutan yang diberikannya.

"Jadi apa yang terjadi kalau begitu? Ada orang lain yang memukuli Rihanna?" katanya pada majalah Us Weekly. "Aku ingin sekali keadilan bisa menunjukkan jalan yang benar. Aku tidak ingin karir Chris berantakan, tapi karirnya memang sudah berantakan."

"Aku rasa dia memang pria yang bertalenta, namun semuanya harus membayar apa yang mereka lakukan. Saat kau melakukan kejahatan, kau harus membayarnya. Aku tidak ingin melihatnya terpenjara dalam waktu lama, aku cuma ingin dia sadar dan mendapat pertolongan," terang ayah pelantun Umbrella itu.

"Jadi siapa yang melakukannya, itu pertanyaannya sekarang. Jika Chris tidak bersalah, lalu siapa? Dia harusnya bilang bersalah saja dan biarkan pengadilan yang memutuskannya dan memberikan keringanan padanya. Kita lihat saja, apa dia akan terkena denda di situ," katanya penuh dengan kekecewaan.

"Sekarang dia melangkah terlalu jauh dan bisa jadi kasus ini akan menjadi panjang, lama, dan bahkan menjadi lebih buruk. Ini bisa menjadi hal yang buruk baginya dalam jangka panjang," pungkas Fenty.

Brown akan kembali menghadapi meja hijau untuk mendengarkan keputusan sementara pada 29 April mendatang. Jika terbukti bersalah, Brown terancam hukuman maksimal empat tahun delapan bulan penjara. (ss/npy)

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Tom Cruise Keluarkan US$1 Juta Untuk Pendidikan Suri

Rabu, 08 April 2009 17:32

Demi anak, Tom Cruise rela mengeluarkan uang berapapun. Kabarnya, untuk pendidikan putrinya Suri Cruise (2), Cruise rela mengeluarkan US$1 juta. Menurut sebuah sumber, Cruise ingin putri kecilnya ini mempelajari segalanya.

Sumber yang dikutip National Enquirer mengungkapkan kalau Cruise ingin Suri jadi yang terbaik. "Tak peduli apa yang Suri lakukan, Tom ingin dia melakukannya dengan lebih baik dari anak-anak lain. Semua orang tua berpikir anak mereka istimewa, tapi Tom dan Katie yakin kalau Suri adalah hadiah."

Bocah yang 18 April nanti berusia 3 tahun, katanya sudah belajar bahasa Perancis dan Spanyol seminggu sekali. Karena anak ini suka menari, Tom dan Katie mendukungnya dengan les balet, tap dance dan tari modern selama beberapa jam, setiap harinya. Menurut sumber ini, Tom juga akan memasukkan pelajaran musik dalam pendidikan putrinya.

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'DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION', Misi Mulia Menyelamatkan Dunia

Pemain: Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, Joon Park, Eriko Tamura, Randall Duk Kim, Texas Battle, Ernie Hudson, Chow Yun-Fat

Sebelum meninggal, kakek Goku (Justin Chatwin) meminta Goku untuk mencari Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) dan mengumpulkan tujuh 'bola naga' (Dragon Ball) sebelum didahului oleh Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) yang bermaksud mengumpulkan ketujuh Dragon Ball tersebut untuk menguasai dunia.

Menurut legenda, barang siapa berhasil mengumpulkan ketujuh Dragon Ball memiliki kemampuan membangkitkan sang naga yang akan mengabulkan semua permintaan mereka. Lord Piccolo bermaksud mengumpulkan membangkitkan sang naga untuk memenuhi ambisi jahatnya menguasai seluruh dunia. Dalam perjalanannya memenuhi permintaan terakhir kakeknya, Goku kemudian bertemu Bulma (Emmy Rossum) yang setuju bergabung dengan Goku dalam misi menyelamatkan bumi ini.

Setelah menempuh perjalanan panjang yang berbahaya, akhirnya Goku berhasil menemukan tempat tinggal Master Roshi. Sayangnya perjuangan Goku belum berakhir di sini. Ia masih harus bertempur melawan Master Roshi yang ingin menguji kemampuan Goku. Namun setelah mengetahui bahwa Goku adalah cucu dari Gohan (Randall Duk Kim), Master Roshi sadar bahwa ia harus segera mempersiapkan Goku untuk sebuah pertarungan besar melawan Lord Piccolo yang sama sekali tak bisa dianggap enteng.

Berawal dari serial manga karya Akira Toriyama, sutradara James Wong berusaha 'menghidupkan' tokoh komik Jepang ini dan memasang nama besar Chow Yun-Fat sebagai jaminan larisnya film ini. Sayangnya, trik ini agaknya tak terlalu banyak berpengaruh karena banyak hal lain yang membuat film ini jadi tak sebagus versi kartunnya.

Sebagai contoh, banyaknya 'penyesuaian' yang harus dilakukan sang sutradara membuat para fans manga ini jadi kecewa lantaran visualisasi sang sutradara telah menyimpang jauh dari visualisasi dalam komik. Misalnya saja rambut Goku yang tak mirip dalam versi komik atau tokoh Bulma dan Picollo yang juga menyimpang dari versi komiknya. Meski ini terlihat sepele, namun buat para fans berat serial ini, jelas ini jadi masalah besar.

Situasi jadi lebih tak menguntungkan lantaran buat para penonton yang bukan penggemar manga ini, film ini juga tak memberikan sesuatu yang 'jelas'. Artinya buat orang yang sama sekali tak tahu tentang kisah Goku, film ini tak akan memberikan penjelasan yang cukup kuat atau setidaknya motivasi di balik tindakan para tokohnya. Alur cerita juga terasa terburu-buru mencapai klimaks dan meninggalkan detil-detil penting yang seharusnya ada.

Tapi setidaknya dari sisi visual, film yang semula hanya berjudul DRAGONBALL ini cukup memuaskan. Visual effect dan CGI yang digunakan cukup meyakinkan dan enak ditonton. Akhirnya, hanya itulah yang bisa diberikan oleh film yang masuk kategori leave your brain at the door ini.

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'UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS', Bangkitnya Kaum Serigala

Pemain: Rhona Mitra, Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, Kevin Grevioux, Shane Brolly

Awalnya, kaum vampire adalah penguasa sementara kaum serigala jadi-jadian atau yang dikenal dengan nama Lycan adalah budak mereka. Tak ada yang bisa mengubah itu semua sampai muncul seorang pemuda dari bangsa Lycan yang mengubah hubungan tuan dan budak itu menjadi dua musuh bebuyutan selama berabad-abad.

Lucian (Michael Sheen) sadar bahwa ia berasal dari bangsa Lycan. Namun rasa cintanya pada Sonja (Rhona Mitra) membuatnya berani menentang semua aturan yang telah digariskan para leluhur mereka. Mungkin kisah asmara ini tidak akan jadi masalah seandainya Sonya hanyalah seorang vampire biasa. Celakanya, Sonya adalah putri dari Viktor (Bill Nighy) raja kaum vampire yang ditakuti.

Karena tak ingin darah bangsawan para vampire ternoda oleh darah budak Lucian, Viktor pun kemudian menangkap dan menyiksa Lucian dengan maksud memisahkan Lucian dari Sonja. Semula ide ini terasa sederhana, namun karena satu kesalahan, ini malah membuat kaum Lycan berontak dan menjadi musuh bebuyutan kaum vampire.

Bagian ketiga dari trilogi UNDERWORLD ini sekarang dipercayakan penggarapannya pada Patrick Tatopoulos. Ini adalah film pertama yang disutradarai Patrick yang sebelumnya adalah seorang production designer. Dan latar belakang itu juga yang membuat film ini jadi terasa hambar karena tak memiliki kedalaman cerita. Malahan bisa dibilang tak ada hal yang baru dalam film ini bila Anda sudah mengikuti dua film sebelumnya.

Dalam dua film sebelumnya, kisah di balik permusuhan antara kaum vampire dan lycan pun sudah jelas diceritakan, meski dalam bentuk kilas balik saja. Dan kisah itulah yang jadi topik bahasan film sepanjang 92 menit ini, nyaris tanpa ada 'sentuhan' apa pun yang membuatnya jadi lebih menarik. Hasilnya, sepanjang film kita memang hanya disuguhi tontonan khusus buat mata saja.

Dan soal tontonan buat mata, Patrick Tatopoulos jelas tahu benar apa yang harus dilakukan. Dari sisi produksi, film ini memang hampir tak punya cacat. Kualitas gambar, sudut pengambilan gambar, dan pewarnaan film ini memang cukup mengagumkan. Kesan 'dingin' ditampilkan sang sutradara dengan menggunakan warna kebiruan yang menjadi warna tema dari film ini.

Soal special effect dan make-up pun tak terlalu banyak masalah karena tampilan masing-masing pemain dan proses transformasi para lycan menjadi manusia serigala juga cukup meyakinkan. Yang patut disayangkan mungkin adalah koreografi tarung yang terkesan biasa-biasa saja. Namun untuk sekedar hiburan tanpa harus membebani pikiran dengan jalan cerita yang rumit dan berbelit-belit, film yang berhasil menembus jajaran sepuluh besar box office ini cukup bisa menghibur.

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spacer 17 Again (2009)

Watch the Trailer

What would you do if you got a second shot at life? Class of 1989, Mike O'Donnell is a star on his high school basketball court with a college scout in the stands and a bright future in his grasp. But instead, he decides to throw it all away to share his life with his girlfriend Scarlett and the baby he just learned they are expecting. Almost 20 years later, Mike's glory days are decidedly behind him. His marriage to Scarlett has fallen apart, he has been passed over for a promotion at work, his teenage kids think he is a loser, and he has been reduced to crashing with his high school nerd-turned-techno-billionaire best friend Ned. But Mike is given another chance when he is miraculously transformed back to the age of 17. Unfortunately, Mike may look 17 again, but his thirtysomething outlook is totally uncool in the class of 2009. And in trying to recapture his best years, Mike could lose the best things that ever happened to him.

Also Known As:	17 Seventeen Untitled (New Line Cinema/Jason Filardi Project)
Production Status:	In Production/Awaiting Release
Logline:	A middle-aged father wakes up to find he's seventeen again. So, he enrolls in the same high school as his children to be close to them.
Genres:	Comedy and Teen
Release Date:	April 17th, 2009 (wide)
MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for language, some sexual material and teen partying.
Distributors:	Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
Production Co.:	Offspring Entertainment
Studios:	New Line Cinema
Filming Locations:	Los Angeles, California USA
Produced in:	United States

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Simulations And Ancient Magnetism Suggest Mantle Plumes May Bend Deep Beneath Earth's Crust

ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2009) — Computer simulations, paleomagnetism and plate motion histories described in the journal Science reveal how hotspots, centers of erupting magma that sit atop columns of hot mantle that were once thought to remain firmly fixed in place, in fact move beneath Earth's crust.

Scientists believe mantle plumes are responsible for some of the Earth's most dramatic geological features, such as the Hawaiian islands and Yellowstone National Park. Some plumes may have shallow sources, but a few, such as the one beneath Hawaii, appear to be rooted in the deepest mantle, near Earth's core.

Such deep plumes have long been thought to be so immobile that the motions of continental and oceanic plates were measured against them, but University of Rochester geophysicist John Tarduno and his colleagues at Ludwig-Maximilians, Münster, and Stanford universities have combined magnetic evidence from the Pacific sea floor with computer modeling to show how the plume beneath Hawaii likely bent—its root barely moving while its top moved nearly 1,000 miles across the underside of the Pacific Ocean.

"In 2003, we showed that the hotspot—the plume—that created the Hawaiian chain of islands must have moved. We suggested that mantle motion was involved, but the cause of the change in motion remained a mystery," says Tarduno.

Tarduno cites five possible mechanisms in Science, but one in particular, he says, stands out as a likely explanation for the way the Hawaiian chain of islands and seamounts formed. "We know from theory and from models, including work by Ulrich Hansen and Norm Sleep, that a plume can move slightly near its base, potentially contributing to motion of the Hawaiian hotspot and hotspots elsewhere," says Tarduno. "But a key observation came from a numerical simulation resulting from Hans-Peter Bunge's models, which show how the upper end of the plume, starting at 1500 depth, can drift like a candle flame drawn toward a draft."

The draft in this case, he says, is an ancient oceanic ridge in the Pacific where the seafloor spreads, allowing magma to bubble up through the ocean crust. The ancient ridge is now lost to subduction, but its past presence is recorded by a few magnetic lineations in oceanic crust south of the Bering Sea. The ridge was active around 80 million years ago but extinguished completely by 47 million years ago. Those dates correspond very closely with the motion history Tarduno detected in the Hawaiian hotspot.

In 2001, Tarduno and an international team spent two months aboard the ocean drilling ship JOIDES Resolution, retrieving samples of rock from the Emperor-Hawaiian seamount chain miles beneath the sea's surface. The team started at the northern end of the chain, near Japan, braving cold, foggy days and dodging the occasional typhoon to pull up several long cores of rock as they worked their way south. Using a highly sensitive magnetic device called a SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device), Tarduno's team discovered that the magnetism of the cores did not fit with the conventional wisdom of fixed hotspots.

The magnetization of the lavas recovered from the northern end of the Emperor-Hawaiian chain suggested these rocks were formed much farther north than the current hotspot, which is forming Hawaii today. As magma forms, magnetite, a magnetically sensitive mineral, records the Earth's magnetic field just like a compass. As the magma cools and becomes solid rock, the "compass" orientation is locked in place, preserving a precise record of the latitude of origin.

If the Hawaiian hot spot had always been fixed at its current location of 19 degrees north, then all the rocks of the entire chain should have formed and cooled there, preserving the magnetic signature of 19 degrees even as the Pacific plate dragged the new stones north-westward. Tarduno's team, however, found that the more northern their samples, the higher the samples' latitude. The northern-most lavas they recovered were formed at over 30 degrees north about 80 million years ago, nearly a thousand miles from where the hot spot currently lies.

"The only way to account for these findings is if the hotspot itself was moving south," says Tarduno. His magnetic readings leveled off at a latitude of nearly 19 degrees, suggesting that the magma plume ceased moving in the area it resides in today.

In addition to the "draft" created by the upwelling of magma into the paleo-ridge, Tarduno says that theory and computer simulations suggest that the most a plume can bend under such conditions would result in about 1,000 miles of movement across the crust—matching what he sees as the distance between the start and stop points of the Hawaiian hotspot. He points out that the bending of a mantle plume helps reconcile the evidence of mobile hotspots on the Earth's crust with the theories that suggest plumes originate in the deepest mantle where high viscosity limits rapid motion. He points out that the plume-ridge capture mechanism may also help explain seemingly anomalous volcanic features on the seafloor, and help geoscientists to use ancient volcanic tracks to understand the past flow of Earth mantle.

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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