Vacation in Reviews

Someday soon (I hope) I'm going to take a vacation that includes some type of relaxation. While last week definitely wasn't that vacation, I did watch a movie...actually, I think I watched 2 but hell if I can remember what the second one was. So I'll just review the one I remember.

Public Enemies - Well it's based on the true story of the bank robbing years of John Dillinger's life and takes place in the 30s so right off the bat, you know it's probably not going to end well. I hope I'm not giving anything away to tell you that nearly all of the famous "public enemy era" criminals (Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger and most of his gang) were killed by law enforcement. So this movie has some bullets.

It isn't a great movie, but it was good. There are some directing choices I kind of wanted to slap Michael Mann for but the acting certainly elevates the proceedings considerably. The film is chock-a-block with Hey, It's That Guy's and smaller stars making cameos. The supporting players are great and Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard are both equally fantastic and beautiful.

I believe I'd recommend the movie but I would say it's one that could wait for DVD. And be warned that every so often (particularly early in the film) Mann over-uses a hand-held camera to the point of nausea. Popping a Dramamine prior to watching wouldn't be the worst idea.

So You Think You Can Dance - Several of the dances were flat for me but, like everyone else, I loved Tyce's breast cancer piece and I cried like a baby. I also thought that Shane Sparks's zombie routine was his best ever but was slightly disappointed that he didn't have a bit more hard-hitting dancers for the performance. It was good but I think it could have been even better.

The group routine was a bit of weak sauce on Wednesday, the cha-cha and rhumba were both too slow...it was kind of an off night. I though Jeanine was the weakest link for the girls and Jason for the guys. Then when it came time for someone to go JANETTE went home. I don't even know what to say about that. Other than "SHIT!"

It was certainly nice to see The Park Bench again, and of course Ramalama and the Hummingbird but I wished they'd have made that a 2 hour show and packed in more past performances. Even if they had to just show the originals on tape. The less said about Katie Holmes's "singing" and "dancing" the better.

On a side note - I have been on a waiting list for tickets to see them tape a SYTYCD episode for two months. I finally got my tickets but they're for the taping tomorrow and I JUST got back from California so now I can't go. My luck sucks!