Friday, August 25, 2006
Movie Friday...
Beerfest (R); Wide release
When American brothers Todd and Jan Wolfhouse travel to Germany to spread their grandfather's ashes at Oktoberfest, they stumble upon a super-secret, centuries old, underground beer games competition--Beerfest, the secret Olympics of beer drinking. The brothers receive a less than warm welcome from their German cousins, the Von Wolfhausens, who humiliate Todd and Jan, slander their relatives, and worst of all, drink them under the table. Vowing to return in a year to defend their country and their family's honor, the Wolfhouse boys assemble a ragtag dream team of beer drinkers and gamers: Barry Badrinath, the consummate skills player with a dark past; Phil Krundle (aka Landfill), a one-man chugging machine; and Charlie Fink Finklestein, the lab tech with a PhD in 'All Things Beer'. With the inspiration of their Great Gam Gam and the support of her caretaker, Cherry, this Magnificent Five train relentlessly, using their hearts, minds and livers to drink faster, smarter and harder than they ever have before.
Starring: Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Jay Chandrasekhar
How to Eat Fried Worms (PG); Wide release
Mitch Forrester and his wife Helen have packed their boys into the family station wagon and are heading to a new town with a new job for Mitch and a new elementary school for their son Billy. It seems to Billy that everybody else, including his little brother Woody, easily adapts to the new surroundings. Billy's fears are realized in his first moments at the new school when the old adage ‘everybody picks on the new kid' appears to be true. Everybody except the tall, lanky girl named Erika Tanzy whose kindness simultaneously inspires gratefulness and humiliation in Billy. When the school bully Joe and his band of 5th grade followers put worms in Billy's lunch, Billy surprises them all when he stands up to and embarrasses Joe. This leads the two to make a bet: on Saturday Billy must eat 10 worms by 7PM. When his parents leave Woody in his care, Billy presses Erika into service to help keep an eye on Woody and to lend him some moral support in his gastronomic challenge. Joe's gang makes each worm more delightfully revolting than the last, beginning with La Big Porker, which is fried in pig fat. This odyssey through worm cuisine takes the boys all over town as they try to force Billy to throw up by dubbing each specimen increasingly disgusting names like The Burning Fireball, The Greasy Brown Toad Bloater Special, and The Barfmallow. When the adventure finally ends up down by the river for worms such as The Green Slusher and Radioactive Slime Delight, all of the kids learn the true meaning of friendship and bravery, as well as the difficulties and importance of doing the right thing.
Starring: Thomas Cavanagh, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Luke Benward, Philip Bolden, Nick Krause
Idlewild (R); Wide release
In the 1930s American South, there was one spot that served as a haven. All were welcome to come and find the Lord as they walked into church on Sunday mornings. When the good and righteous built these houses of worship, however, they did ask guests to leave a few things at the door, namely: cussing, liquor, fast women, gambling and guns. And that was the part of the sermon to which Rooster just didn't pay attention. Welcome to Idlewild, Georgia. Welcome to Church. Players gather nightly at the Church, with childhood friends--who grew up on opposite sides of the tracks--Rooster and Percival playing two key roles at the club. Soft-spoken and reserved mortician Percival sees playing piano at the nightclub as welcome respite from the doldrums of working in his overbearing father's funeral home. One night in Church, Percival meets the latest celebrity to tour the South, the ethereal Angel. Percival falls head over heels in love with the ingénue and is faced with a choice: stay or leave his oppressive father behind and pursue his dreams of becoming a song-and-dance man in the big cities of which he's only dreamed. Church's manager, Rooster, is the son of a moonshine runner, a man who has grown into his flashy clothes and role as a wheeler-dealer--juggling both his suspicious wife, Zora, and a cast of characters who make their money off the place's illegal dealings. But Rooster's problems multiply after he witnesses a shooting that places Trumpy--one of the mob men--into control of the influx of liquor into his juke joint. While on the run from the mob, the good-hearted scoundrel realizes his life of petty crime is taking him nowhere and must now fight his way back to his family while his best friend Percy tries to escape the hold Idlewild has on him--and start a new life performing in a faraway city.
Starring: Andre Benjamin, Paula Patton, Antwan 'Big Boi' Patton, Paula Jai Parker, Ving Rhames
Invincible (PG); Wide release
A sports drama inspired by a true story about a man who had nothing to lose, and pushed to make his dreams come true. When the coach of Vince Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time--no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way. Certainly no one like Papale--a down-on-his-luck, 30-year-old, substitute teacher and part-time bartender who never even played college football. But against these odds, Papale made the team and soon found himself living every fan's fantasy--moving from his cheap seats in the upper deck to standing on the field as a professional football player.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks, Kirk Acevedo, Lola Glaudini
Coming Attractions
-
Crank (R); Wide release; opens 9/1
Crossover (PG-13); Wide release; opens 9/1
Trust the Man (R); Wide release; opens 9/1
The Wicker Man (PG-13); Wide release; opens 9/1
The nearest way to glory -- a shortcut, as it were -- is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be - quoted in Cicero, 44 BC.
-- Socrates (469-399 BC) Greek Philosopher
The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to extraordinary success.
-- Vauvenargues
When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen.
-- Arland Gilbert ¶ 8/25/2006 04:39:00 AM
When American brothers Todd and Jan Wolfhouse travel to Germany to spread their grandfather's ashes at Oktoberfest, they stumble upon a super-secret, centuries old, underground beer games competition--Beerfest, the secret Olympics of beer drinking. The brothers receive a less than warm welcome from their German cousins, the Von Wolfhausens, who humiliate Todd and Jan, slander their relatives, and worst of all, drink them under the table. Vowing to return in a year to defend their country and their family's honor, the Wolfhouse boys assemble a ragtag dream team of beer drinkers and gamers: Barry Badrinath, the consummate skills player with a dark past; Phil Krundle (aka Landfill), a one-man chugging machine; and Charlie Fink Finklestein, the lab tech with a PhD in 'All Things Beer'. With the inspiration of their Great Gam Gam and the support of her caretaker, Cherry, this Magnificent Five train relentlessly, using their hearts, minds and livers to drink faster, smarter and harder than they ever have before.
Starring: Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Jay Chandrasekhar
How to Eat Fried Worms (PG); Wide release
Mitch Forrester and his wife Helen have packed their boys into the family station wagon and are heading to a new town with a new job for Mitch and a new elementary school for their son Billy. It seems to Billy that everybody else, including his little brother Woody, easily adapts to the new surroundings. Billy's fears are realized in his first moments at the new school when the old adage ‘everybody picks on the new kid' appears to be true. Everybody except the tall, lanky girl named Erika Tanzy whose kindness simultaneously inspires gratefulness and humiliation in Billy. When the school bully Joe and his band of 5th grade followers put worms in Billy's lunch, Billy surprises them all when he stands up to and embarrasses Joe. This leads the two to make a bet: on Saturday Billy must eat 10 worms by 7PM. When his parents leave Woody in his care, Billy presses Erika into service to help keep an eye on Woody and to lend him some moral support in his gastronomic challenge. Joe's gang makes each worm more delightfully revolting than the last, beginning with La Big Porker, which is fried in pig fat. This odyssey through worm cuisine takes the boys all over town as they try to force Billy to throw up by dubbing each specimen increasingly disgusting names like The Burning Fireball, The Greasy Brown Toad Bloater Special, and The Barfmallow. When the adventure finally ends up down by the river for worms such as The Green Slusher and Radioactive Slime Delight, all of the kids learn the true meaning of friendship and bravery, as well as the difficulties and importance of doing the right thing.
Starring: Thomas Cavanagh, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Luke Benward, Philip Bolden, Nick Krause
Idlewild (R); Wide release
In the 1930s American South, there was one spot that served as a haven. All were welcome to come and find the Lord as they walked into church on Sunday mornings. When the good and righteous built these houses of worship, however, they did ask guests to leave a few things at the door, namely: cussing, liquor, fast women, gambling and guns. And that was the part of the sermon to which Rooster just didn't pay attention. Welcome to Idlewild, Georgia. Welcome to Church. Players gather nightly at the Church, with childhood friends--who grew up on opposite sides of the tracks--Rooster and Percival playing two key roles at the club. Soft-spoken and reserved mortician Percival sees playing piano at the nightclub as welcome respite from the doldrums of working in his overbearing father's funeral home. One night in Church, Percival meets the latest celebrity to tour the South, the ethereal Angel. Percival falls head over heels in love with the ingénue and is faced with a choice: stay or leave his oppressive father behind and pursue his dreams of becoming a song-and-dance man in the big cities of which he's only dreamed. Church's manager, Rooster, is the son of a moonshine runner, a man who has grown into his flashy clothes and role as a wheeler-dealer--juggling both his suspicious wife, Zora, and a cast of characters who make their money off the place's illegal dealings. But Rooster's problems multiply after he witnesses a shooting that places Trumpy--one of the mob men--into control of the influx of liquor into his juke joint. While on the run from the mob, the good-hearted scoundrel realizes his life of petty crime is taking him nowhere and must now fight his way back to his family while his best friend Percy tries to escape the hold Idlewild has on him--and start a new life performing in a faraway city.
Starring: Andre Benjamin, Paula Patton, Antwan 'Big Boi' Patton, Paula Jai Parker, Ving Rhames
Invincible (PG); Wide release
A sports drama inspired by a true story about a man who had nothing to lose, and pushed to make his dreams come true. When the coach of Vince Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time--no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way. Certainly no one like Papale--a down-on-his-luck, 30-year-old, substitute teacher and part-time bartender who never even played college football. But against these odds, Papale made the team and soon found himself living every fan's fantasy--moving from his cheap seats in the upper deck to standing on the field as a professional football player.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks, Kirk Acevedo, Lola Glaudini
Coming Attractions
-
Crank (R); Wide release; opens 9/1
Crossover (PG-13); Wide release; opens 9/1
Trust the Man (R); Wide release; opens 9/1
The Wicker Man (PG-13); Wide release; opens 9/1
The nearest way to glory -- a shortcut, as it were -- is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be - quoted in Cicero, 44 BC.
-- Socrates (469-399 BC) Greek Philosopher
The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to extraordinary success.
-- Vauvenargues
When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen.
-- Arland Gilbert ¶ 8/25/2006 04:39:00 AM
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