Movie Review: Waitress

Waitress

In Brief: What's Good

• Refreshingly funny.


• Sharp, witty writing.


• Good ensemble cast that includes Andy Griffith.


• Excellent acting, especially a surprisingly stellar performance from Keri Russell


• The always welcome Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity, Drive) also turns in an excellent performance that's quite different from his previous roles.


• The latter part of the movie contains one of the most genuinely & believably romantic scenes I've ever seen.


• Nice use of pies as both a visual and thematic element that ties different parts of the movie together.

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• Several subplots depend heavily on acts of adultery.


• Jeremy Sisto's role as an abusive husband is so unpleasant & distasteful, you wonder how someone could have married him in the first place.

Summary:

B+	Story
A	Acting
B+	Directing
B	Visuals

Waitress stars the surprisingly talented Keri Russell as Jenna, a southern waitress who works at Joe's Pie Diner where she also specializes in making a unique pie of the day, everyday. Jenna dreams of entering a pie contest so that she can afford to leave her physically and psychologically abusive husband Earl (Jeremy Sisto). Things get more complicated when Jenna discovers she's pregnant, the result of a rare night of drunkeness a few weeks prior in which she temporarily and uncharacterstically let her guard down against her husband.

Filling out a quirky and charming ensemble cast is the always impressive Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity, Drive), Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto (from the short-lived TV show Kidnapped), Eddie Jemsion (Ocean's 11/12/13), and the legendary and frighteningly shaky-handed Andy Griffith. I didn't realize this until I just looked at Wikipedia and IMDb, but Adrienne Shelly, the writer and director of the movie (who was murdered on 01 November 2006 before she could see her movie released), also played Dawn, the mousy waitress and friend of Keri Russel's character.

Nathan Fillion plays the town's brand new gynecologist, Dr. Jim Pomatter, who is in charge of looking after Jenna's pregnancy after the town's regular gynecologist goes into semi-retirement. Unlike his more manly roles on TV shows Firefly and Drive, Fillion plays Jim as slightly less confident and even a tiny bit bumbling.

Jenna and Dr. Pomatter gradually develop an attraction to each and other and eveuntually begin having an affair. This subplot provides the movie with a lot of romance and humor. Adultery is never a good thing, but you can almost justify Jenna's involvement in the affair because of how horrible her marriage is to abusive Earl. However, things are more complicated with Dr. Pomatter, and wondering whether he's justified in being with Jenna was always an uncomfortable question in the back of my mind.

There is one moment of genuine romance in the movie that is so well acted and so well directed, that you almost forget about the infidelity. I won't give away which scene it is, but surely you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it. It's not shot with alternating close-ups of two characters saying sappy things to each other, followed by a wide shot of the two people kissing as a pop song starts up on the soundtrack.


Instead, the camera is pulled back so you see the characters and the room they're in, and you feel more like you're there, invisible, invading these people's privacy. You see two people who are comfortable with other, who care for each other, who are gently affectionate with each other, and who say realistic things to each other as they share a nice moment, turning a mundane act into an oppotunity for comfort, peacefulness, and emotional initmacy. It's a moment when you *definitely* believe these two would be good for each other, even if being with each other wouldn't be good.

Despite being labeled a romantic comedy, Waitress also has a dark underbelly to it. Almost every scene with Jeremy Sisto's character is disturbing. Despite being verbally and physically abusive to Jenna, the movie makes it clear that he also deeply loves her. It's just a really messed up kind of love, a kind that's too self-motivated and smothering for anyone to appreciate. Adding to the disdain of the character is that there's at least one scene in the movie that *almost* makes you fell sorry for him, no matter how much you don't want to. At times you wish he'd get hit by bus; other times you feel that living a long life totally alone would be a more fitting punishment for pushing away someone great like Jenna.

On top of that, Jenna does not want her baby. She does not believe in aborting it, and she does conscienciously attend all her physicals and gynecological exams in order to take care of it. But, she also associates the baby with everything that is wrong with her marriage and her life. Throughout the movie, Jenna openly expresses some uncomfortably negative opinions about pregnancy and the baby itself.

One interesting aspect of the movie is how Jenna deals with her problems. She makes unique pies, but she does not work from recipes. She invents interesting pies in her head with plans to make them later. She associates certain ingredients with her current emotions. When she's happy, she may imagine a pie filled with chocolate or a bright fruit. When she's in despair, she may immagine filling a pie with meat or a dark fruit. When she's mad, she may imagine a flambéed pie.

Adding an extra layer of quirkiness to the movie is Andy Griffith as Joe, the cranky owner and patron of the pie diner named after him. Despite annoyingly detailed food orders and a generally fussy nature, Joe is basically a wise, caring old guy that befriends the troubled Jenna. Andy Griffith does an excellent job in the role. It is a bit distracting at times just how much Griffith's hands shake as he holds a newspaper in several scenes, but the sly smile and comforting voice of this legend makes his presence a welcome addition to the movie.

Waitress is a thoroughly witty and charming movie. It stands well on the strength of its script and performances. It would be easy for such a movie to take predictable turns and end on standard romantic comedy cliches, but the movie stays fresh even to the final moments.

This little independent film is probably in limited release in most markets. It's well worth seeing if you can find it and better than a lot of big budget summer movies out right now. And, if you're a guy, it's not quite as much of a chick flick as you might think.

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Sad Facts from Internet Movie Database

Waitress filmmaker Adrienne Shelly's last film. Shelly was killed at the age of 40. Her husband found her hung by a bedsheet from a shower curtain rod in her Manhattan apartment. Originally, her death was considered a suicide, but a 19-year-old illegal immigrant later admitted to the killing.

Sad Facts from Wikipedia

Waitress's writer/director Adrienne Shelly was murdered before learning that the movie had been accepted into the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Adrienne Shelly was also an actress and played the sweet, nerdy Dawn, another waitress at Joe's Pie Diner and one of the main character's two close friends.

More Jericho Details

According to Matt Webb Mitovich at TV Guide:

• Jericho could return as early as October depending on how quickly new fall shows get canceled to make room for it.


• A cliffhanger will mostly end the seven-episode arc, and yet, the makers of the show say they know how to wrap things up if they get canceled *again*.


• Due to a tighter budget, there will be fewer guest stars and road trips.


• Instead of exploring Cheyenne, Wyoming, which was revealed as the new U.S.A. capital in the season finale, "Cheyenne may come to Jericho now." (another money-saving method)

Jericho *Is* Saved

It's official. According to several sources, Jericho, the CBS drama about a Kansas town dealing with the aftermath of a terrorist nuclear attack on over 20 major U.S. cities, has been saved by fan support.

CBS has agreed to bring the show back for seven episodes at a time to be determined.

The slightly bad news is that the show will have a smaller budget, so there may be fewer characters around than before, and another TV show already got dibbs on the town set that Jericho used, meaning Jericho will have to share settings and schedule things carefully. So, the scope of the show might possibly be narrowed somewhat in characters and locations.

However, the good news is that the seven episodes are not necessarily intended to wrap the show up for good. CBS is keeping their minds open to extending the show's 2nd season and/or giving it a 3rd season. It all depends on how well the next seven episodes perform.

Ron Paul & Mike Huckabee Videos

Ron Paul on the Daily Show, Monday 04 June 2007


Ron Paul in 3rd Republican Debate, Tuesday 05 June 2007

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Mike Huckabee in 3rd Republican Debate, Tuesday 05 June 2007

3rd Republican Presidential Debate

Here we go again. Republican Debate, Round 3. I wonder if CNN will have audio problems again tonight.

Wolf Blitzer gave each candidate a chance to *briefly* introduce themselves, as he did with the Dems Sunday night. Brownback and Romney stretched their intros more than the others. Huckabee said he was from Hope, Arkansas (where Bill Clinton is from). Then he said, "You may have heard of it. I'm asking that you give us one more chance." That got a decent laugh from the audience. That's what I like about Huckabee. He has charisma and a sense of humor but without coming off looking clownish. Very dignified. Ron Paul concluded his introduction by saying, "I am the champion of the constitution." Sweet!

Well, so far no microphones are cutting out, but something has made a loud buzzing noise four times. Once during McCain's intro, once during the moderator's first question, once during Giuliani's first answer, and again between Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul's answers. ...And several more times. I'm going to stop keeping track.

Oh, okay, it's storming over the debate's location, and it's the lightning that's causing the buzzing noise over the sound system. What's funny is that Wolf Blitzer asked Giuliani about a Catholic bishop's quote in which he harshly compared Rudy's stance on abortion to Pontias Pilate being against Jesus's crucifixion but allowing it to happen anyway, and at several points during Rudy's answer, the buzzing noise from the lightning really kicked up. Rudy's microphone also cut out for a few seconds. People laughed about it, thinking the lightning was coincidental timing considering the Biblical overtone of the question. McCain and Brownback, who flank Rudy, even moved back away from him out of jest.

I'm not rating the question about Scooter Libby because I'm just not informed enough on that issue. Right after that question, they start moving out the podiums and moving in the chairs in preparation for the audience getting to ask questions.

At the halfway point, the three front-runners have had 7 or 8 questions each. Everyone else has had between 3 and 5 questions each. No one has had 6 questions. It'd be nice if they gave the 2nd tier candidates more chance to talk.

The first voter question of the night is about the Iraq war from someone whose brother died in the war. When it was McCain's turn to answer, he chose to stand up and walk near the edge of the stage to address the voter. So, now from this point, anyone who doesn't stand up may be criticized for not connecting with the audience well enough, but anyone who does stand up may be accused of copycatting McCain who did it first. On the 2nd question, Giuliani has already chosen option B and has stood up and has walked to the edge of the stage.

I'll bet a million dollars I don't have that Romney will definitely stand up when he gets a question, and I wouldn't be surprised if, from this point forward, everyone stands when they get a question. Who'da thunk we'd get the "Clinton Maneuver" this soon in the debates (no, not that "Clinton Maneuver").

Gilmore is next up on the third question. Yeap, he stands up. Huh, Tancredo didn't stand up. Hunter didn't stand up either. Thompson did stand up on the health care question. Romney did stand up; I'll take my million dollars in direct deposit, check, or $50 & $20 bills, thanks. Huckabee stood up on the question about the most pressing moral issue. He jokes that he's getting all the moral questions tonight which is better than getting all the immoral questions. Good one.

Yay, Ron Paul stood up on the moral question too. He says that our biggest moral issue is that we have now accepted the concept of pre-emptive war and using nukes against countries that haven't done anything to us first (he didn't say this, but isn't weird logic that we'd use nukes against a country because we think it's unacceptable for them to have nukes). Brownback stood up for the moral question too. So far, Tancredo is the only one who hasn't stood. Surely he will next time. Yeap, he's standing on the English-as-official-language question.

Hmm, McCain just answered one question standing up; now he's getting another question again but is sitting down this time. Either he's made his I-can-connect-with-the-people point or he's just tired.

Under my usual scoring system of 3 = excellent answer, 2 = good answer, 1 = fair answer, and 0 = poor answer, the averages really got turned around this time...

[2.000] Rep. Ron Paul (based on 8 questions)
[2.000] Gov. Mike Huckabee (based on 7 questions)
[1.833] Sen. John McCain (based on 12 questions)
[1.429] Gov. Jim Gilmore (based on 7 questions)
[1.429] Rep. Duncan Hunter (based on 7 questions)
[1.429] Rep. Tom Tancredo (based on 7 questions)
[1.333] Gov. Mitt Romney (based on 12 questions)
[1.308] Mayor Rudy Giuliani (based on 13 questions)
[1.250] Sen. Sam Brownback (based on 8 questions)
[1.000] Gov. Tommy Thompson (based on 6 questions)

Ron Paul had two excellent answers, one regarding the mixing of religion and politics, and the other regarding our country's biggest moral issue. Mike Huckabee had one excellent answer regarding creation by God vs. evolution. Tommy Thompson had one poor answer regarding how he would use George W. Bush as a former president. It was poor because he said he would use George W. Bush for motivation and speeches around the world. On the flip side, Tancredo implied he'd leave Bush out of politics altogether. If he hadn't butchered the deliver of his overly elaborate explanation, I would have counted Tancredo's answer as excellent rather than just good. Romney had one poor answer to the very first question about whether it was a mistake to invade Iraq (he basically dodged the question even after Wolf requested he get back on track). All other answers were only good or just fair.

Adding the averages from this debate to the two previous ones, we get...

[6.458] Gov. Mike Huckabee
[6.030] Rep. Ron Paul
[4.850] Sen. Sam Brownback
[4.816] Gov. Mitt Romney
[4.785] Rep. Duncan Hunter
[4.762] Sen. John McCain
[4.543] Gov. Jim Gilmore
[4.308] Mayor Rudy Giuliani
[4.150] Gov. Tommy Thompson
[2.985] Rep. Tom Tancredo

...Which works out to the following rankings:

 1st   2nd   3rd   Overall   Candidate
----- ----- ----- --------- -----------
 [1]   [1]   [1 tie]   [1]   Huckabee
 [4]   [2]   [1 tie]   [2]   Paul
 [3]   [3]   [9]       [3]   Brownback
 [5]   [5]   [7]       [4]   Romney
 [7]   [4]   [4 tie]   [5]   Hunter
 [9]   [7]   [3]       [6]   McCain
 [6]   [8]   [4 tie]   [7]   Gilmore
 [8]   [6]   [8]       [8]   Giuliani
 [2]   [9]   [10]      [9]   Thompson
[10]  [10]   [4 tie]  [10]   Tancredo 

Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul remain my two favorites. Brownback had a really bad night tonight, but his earlier high scores kept him in third place anyway. Romney maintains the fourth spot although I'm starting to like his answers less and less. Hunter is just barely hanging in the better half of the ten.

McCain is getting better. Even when I don't agree with him, I at least feel that he's starting to sound and act more "presidential." He and Thompson basically swapped the #6 & #9 spots in just one night.

Gilmore and Giuliani maintained their #7 & #8 spots, respectively. A smile might do some good for Gilmore, or else I'll continue to wonder if he really wants to run (or if the party drafted him to service). And, it would help Giuliani if he were actually a Republican. Despite coming out of the gate strong in the first debate, Thompson is slipping fast.

Tancredo, amazingly enough, redeemed himself some tonight with some decent answers and getting himself in a three-way tie for #4. He's still painfully inarticulate, but I'm starting to hear past the stammering and beginning to hear a good message--on some topics. He got burned by the others near the end of the night when he chose to attack not just illegal immigration but *legal* immigration too. I don't know if that was a verbal slip up or his actual stance, but I think it'll hurt him. His scores from the first two debates were still low enough to keep him in last place overall.

I'm guessing my opinions are fairly "alternative" in that I like the 2nd tier candidates better than the front-runners, but I really wish a few people would drop out so that other 2nd tier guys would have a chance of breaking into the upper echelon. If Tancredo and either Gilmore or Tommy Thompson would drop out, Huckabee, Paul, Brownback, or Hunter might actually have a chance. In my eyes Biden has the best chance of breaking through on the Democrat side, but somehow, despite being lackluster candidates, Giuliani, McCain, and Romney seemed to have the front-runner Republican status locked up amongst themselves.

Jericho Might Be Saved

The news is still unofficial, but according to a few TV industry sources, an overwhelming response to Jericho's unfair cancellation might have convinced CBS to revive the series for at least eight episodes, probably during mid-season.

This is great news. Jericho was probably my 2nd favorite new show last season. I'd love to see it return, even if it's only for eight episodes and only to wrap things up. That's better than nothing.

Who knows, maybe ratings will be better the next around, enough for it to get a full 2nd season and/or a crack at a 3rd.

2nd Democratic Presidential Debate

Okay, instead of getting way behind on Presidential Debate commentary, I'm actually writing about it while I watch on the night it first airs. I'm TiVo'ing it, so I'm starting it about 30 minutes into the debate.

This debate starts off a little differently in that the candidates are asked to *briefly* introduce themselves. Mike Gravel starts off with a non-brief quote that doesn't seem to lead in well to him just saying his name and profession. John Edwards says his name but doesn't even say what position(s) he's held. He's a former senator and former V.P. candidate. I guess right *now* he's, well, nothing, so maybe that's why he only said his name.

Clinton was just asked about her voting record on troop funding. She was answering the question well until she claimed that in two nights the Republicans will be up on the same stage and that they "all" support the war. Not true. *Not* "all". Ron Paul has voted against the war from the beginning and is about the only Republican who would bring the troops home immediately, and I'm not even sure the Democrats would or could bring them home immediately. If she hadn't so incorrectly and arrogantly generalized her answer, I would have counted this as a good answer; instead, I'm counting it as poor.

We're about 30 minutes into the debate, and Clinton has had the opportunity to answer about five questions. I really don't like her. *All* she seems capable of doing so far is pointing the finger at George Bush. I don't like George Bush either, but I think you have to run for President on more than the fact that you aren't George Bush. Her angry complaining, blaming, and finger-pointing is already starting to grate on my ears. I wish she'd talk more about what to do right rather than about what went wrong. When it comes to poise, charisma, and eloquence, I don't see much that is presidential in her. She's just an unpleasant-sounding angerball.

Huh. Interesting. They're going to switch around the stage, seats, podiums, etc. such that they can have audience members ask questions directly to the candidates.

While they're doing that, I'll agree with the commentators that this has been a lively debate with more back-and-forth action than the first Democrat debate.

The break is over, and candidates are now seated with no podium in front of them.

The rest of the debate involved questions from the audience with more flexibility in answering questions with more give and take between candidates.

With the debate over, my point average with 3 pts. = excellent answer, 2 pts. = good answer, 1 pt. = fair answer, and 0 pts. = poor answer, is as follows:

[1.700] Sen. Joe Biden (based on 10 questions)
[1.538] Former Sen. John Edwards (based on 13 questions)
[1.429] Sen. Barrack Obama (based on 14 questions)
[1.444] Sen. Chris Dodd (based on 9 questions)
[1.444] Rep. Dennis Kucinich (based on 9 questions)
[1.333] Former Sen. Mike Gravel (based on 9 questions)
[1.091] Gov. Bill Richardson (based on 11 questions)
[1.000] Sen. Hillary Clinton (based on 14 questions)

There were only four excellent answers. Amazingly enough, three came from lower-tier candidates, even one from Gravel. The four were: Dodd with the question about English as the official language, Edwards with the question about Iran, Gravel with the question about gas prices, and Kucinich with the question about fixing the deficit.

And, here are the totals of this debate's scores added with the those of the first debate:

[3.316] Former Sen. John Edwards
[3.300] Sen. Joe Biden
[3.029] Sen. Barrack Obama
[2.587] Sen. Chris Dodd
[2.466] Gov. Bill Richardson
[2.400] Sen. Hillary Clinton
[2.319] Rep. Dennis Kucinich
[1.621] Former Sen. Mike Gravel

And, here are the rankings for the two debates and overall (just like I did with the Republican's 2nd debate blog):

 1st   2nd   Overall   Candidate
----- ----- --------- -----------
 [1]   [2]     [1]     Edwards  
 [3]   [1]     [2]     Biden
 [2]   [3]     [3]     Obama
 [6]   [4 tie] [4]     Dodd
 [5]   [7]     [5]     Richardson
 [4]   [8]     [6]     Clinton
 [7]   [4 tie] [7]     Kucinich
 [8]   [6]     [8]     Gravel 

I'm shocked again that my scores work out so high for Edwards. I consistently maintain that he doesn't seem to have the experience necessary to be a presidential candidate now nor back in 2004. Earlier today, I watched a political focus group on C-SPAN in which 12 people from Maryland were asked a variety of political questions for two hours. At one point one of the focus group participants described Edwards as "smarmy" which is *exactly* the word I was thinking of at that moment. Despite his smarminess, I guess he's pretty good at these debates.

Biden is, far and away, my favorite Democrat. I like him and trust him more than any other. Obama has done well in both debates, but he doesn't always answer questions as clearly as I would like. I'm more impressed with both Dodd and Kucinich this time around. Richardson had a bad night. Gravel still came off as angry, but compared to the first debate, he was a little more articulate and a seemed a little less crazed.

Hillary, as I've already described, was horrible. Even when I agree with what she's saying, I find it hard to listen to her because she's so unpleasant. That problem was also brought up a few times during the focus group I watched this afternoon.

Dodd and Kucinich and, amazingly, even Gravel have redeemed themselves just enough for me to want to see them in a third debate, but I think the field needs to start narrowing down after that.

As far as CNN's job hosting and televising the event, let me say--they suck. They had horrible audio problems throughout the entire debate and during the commentary coverage afterwards. Certain microphones weren't working part of the time; a lot of time you could hear overlapping audio from multiple sources. After the debate, while the CNN correspondants were handling commentary, it sounded like several commentators were standing right beside a commercial-sized air conditioning unit. As far as the camera work, cameramen were in the shot half the time; some of the directing was bad. Has CNN not done this kind of thing before? They have been in the TV business for a few years now haven't they? I didn't see or hear these kind of technical problems in the 2nd Republican debate on Fox News.

Ron Paul Coming to Comedy Central; Mike Huckabee Debate Videos

According to his campaign MySpace site, Ron Paul will be on...

The Daily Show: Monday 04 June 2007 at 11:00PM on Comedy Central
New Hampshire Pres. Primary Debate: Tuesday 05 June 2007 at 7:00 on CNN
The Colbert Report: Wednesdary 13 June 2007 at 11:30 on Comedy Central

Just as a reminder, his links are:

Ron Paul Official Campaign Website
Ron Paul Congressman Website
Ron Paul @ Wikipedia
Ron Paul @ MySpace (Pres. 2008 page)
Ron Paul @ MySpace (Congressman page)
Ron Paul @ FaceBook (profile)
Ron Paul @ FaceBook (group 1)
Ron Paul @ FaceBook (group 1)
Ron Paul YouTube Channel

The video below is from Ron Paul's appearance on Bill Maher's show:

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And, in case Ron Paul isn't your cup of tea, I also like another Republican candidate, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Please give these non-frontrunners a chance. If you have problems with McCain, Giuliani, or Romney, they're not the only ones in the race.

Huckabee's links are:

Mike Huckabee Official Campaign Website
Mike Huckabee @ Wikipedia
Mike Huckabee @ MySpace (official)
Mike Huckabee @ MySpace (supporters)
Mike Huckabee @ FaceBook (profile)
Mike Huckabee @ FaceBook (group 1)
Mike Huckabee @ FaceBook (group 2)
Mike Huckabee YouTube Channel


The videos below are from Mike Huckabee's answers to six questions in the 2nd Republican debate (I think I may have miscounted him at five questions & answers in my previous blog entry):

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The 2nd Democratic Presidential Debate is tonight at 7:00PM on CNN and the 3rd Republican Presidential Debate is Tuesday at 7:00PM on CNN.

2nd Republican Presidential Debate

The 2nd Republican Presidential Debate aired on Fox News Channel in mid-May in South Carolina. I've had it on my TiVo for a while, and I'm finally getting around to reviewing it.

One difference from the previous debate is that they introduce each candidate in more detail. On the screen they show the age, religion, family, and career or each candidate. I'll list the candidate and each of their stats below. For family, I'll abbreviate w=wife, s=sons, d=daughters, sd=step-daughters, and c=children (no gender specified). For career, I'll abbreviate USS=US Senate, USHR=US House or Reps., USDoEo=US Dept. of Education official, fCHASC=former Chairman of House Armed Service Committee

• Sen. John McCain of Arizona: 70; Episcopalian; w/4s/3d; USS '87-now, USHR 2 terms, Navy '59-'81


• Rep. Ron Paul of Texas: 71; Protestant; w/5c; USHR 10 non-consective terms; Libertarian Pres. Nom. '88


• Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of NYC: 62; Catholic; w/1s/1d/1sd; NYC Mayor '93-'01, US Attorney '83-'91


• Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado: 61; Presbyterian; w/2s; USHR '99-now; USDoEo; former state legislator


• Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas: 51; Baptist; w/2s/1d; AR Gov. '97-'07, Baptist Minister


• Former Gov. Jim Gilmore of Virginia: 57; Methodist; w/2s; VA Gov. '98-'01, RNC Chairman '01-'02


• Rep. Duncan Hunter of California: 58; Baptist; w/2s; USHR '81-now, Attorney mid 70's-'81, fCHASC


• Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts: 60; Mormon; w/5s; MA Gov. '03-'07, ran 2002 Olympics, CEO Bain Capital Investments '84-'00


• Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas: 50; Catholic; w/2s/3d; USS '96-now, KS Sect. of Agr. '86-'93


• Former Gov. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin: 65; Catholic; w/3c; WI Gov. '87-'01, US Sect. of HHS '01-'05

I won't go into great detail on each candidate's answers, but I will keep stats of excellent, good, fair, and poor answers like I have with previous debates.

One thing I'm noticing is that there is less pause between questions, that all the candidates seem to be talking faster, and that all candidates seem to be making their points better. Maybe that first debate was a nice practice round, and everyone is more polished this time.

Mike Huckabee just had a line that almost brought the house down with laughter. In refering to outrageous spending by Congress, he said, "We've had a Congress that's spent more than John Edwards at a beauty shop."

Another great thing about this debate is that there is occasionally better follow up to a question. They asked Gilmore a question about a quote of his in which he implied the front-runners were not conservative enough. In his answer, he also got in a hit on Huckabee. Giuliani was given a chance to respond, but he kind of dodged the question. So, the moderator said that he'd give Giuliani another 30 seconds to answer the question he was actually asked.

Ron Paul was asked if he was out of step with his party or if the party was out of step with the world, since he's the only one that opposes the war in Iraq. His answer was very good, but a small part of it almost made it sound like we invited the 9/11 attack. He was able to finish his answer, as well as a 30 second follow up, but when he concluded, Giuliani interjected out of turn, and he seemed pretty angry about Paul's answer, calling the explanation for 9/11 absurd and even asking if the Congressman wished to withdraw the statement.

Paul had 30 more seconds in which he talked about "blowback," a concept in which countries hate and/or attack us for things we do to them first. Giuliani asked for 30 more seconds, and several others, including Romney asked for 30 seconds too. Paul obviously shook things up on this topic. However, the moderators chose to change the topic.

A new question from the internet for McCain was about whether Confederate flags should be flown from South Carolina state buildings. Before the question had even fully been asked, there were audible moans and boos from the South Carolina audience.

I could have sworn this debate was moving faster than the previous Republican and Democrat debates, but oddly, each candidate got less chance to speak. Instead of the regular seven to 13 questions each, this debate had about four to seven questions per candidate. Ron Paul and Tommy Thompson each had only four questions to respond to while McCain had six and Romney had seven.

I tallied the points for each question as usual with 3 points = excellent answer, 2 pts. = good answer, 1 pt. = fair answer, and 0 pts. = poor answer. The averages are as follows:

[2.333] Gov. Mike Huckabee
[2.250] Rep. Ron Paul
[1.800] Sen. Sam Brownback
[1.800] Rep. Duncan Hunter
[1.714] Gov. Mitt Romney
[1.500] Mayor Rudy Giuliani
[1.500] Sen. John McCain
[1.400] Gov. Jim Gilmore
[1.250] Gov. Tommy Thompson
[1.000] Rep. Tom Tancredo

Out of all the questions, I only thought there were six excellent answers: three from Mike Huckabee, two from Ron Paul, and one from Mitt Romney. I felt Gilmore, Giuliani, and Tancredo had one poor answer each.

Below are the totals of each candidate's averages from this debate plus the first one.

[4.458] Gov. Mike Huckabee
[4.030] Rep. Ron Paul
[3.600] Sen. Sam Brownback
[3.483] Gov. Mitt Romney
[3.356] Rep. Duncan Hunter
[3.150] Gov. Tommy Thompson
[3.114] Gov. Jim Gilmore
[3.000] Mayor Rudy Giuliani
[2.929] Sen. John McCain
[1.556] Rep. Tom Tancredo

And, here are the rankings from the two debates and overall...

 1st   2nd   Overall   Candidate
----- ----- --------- -----------
 [1]   [1]     [1]     Huckabee
 [4]   [2]     [2]     Paul
 [3]   [3]     [3]     Brownback
 [5]   [5]     [4]     Romney
 [7]   [4]     [5]     Hunter
 [2]   [9]     [6]     Thompson
 [6]   [8]     [7]     Gilmore
 [8]   [6]     [8]     Giuliani
 [9]   [7]     [9]     McCain
[10]  [10]    [10]     Tancredo 

So, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul are still my favorite candidates. Mike Huckabee does excellent in the debates, but his demeanor comes off as "soft" compared to the other candidates, which is beginning to worry me. Ron Paul has some great policies, but his viewpoint on "blowback" and 9/11 responsibility might earn him too much controversy. I'm surprised by how much I like Sam Brownback, and Duncan Hunter isn't bad either. Oddly, I'm not thrilled with Romney overall, but he does perform well in these debates.

My impression of Thompson plummeted since the first debate. Gilmore seems like a decent enough guy, but I don't think he's very presidential. He spouts out his resume too much, and he doesn't seem to be enthused about being in the race. Despite being two of the front-runners, I'm obviously not thrilled with Giuliani nor McCain. I'm also kind of shocked that I like Giuliani's performances in the debates slightly more than McCain despite the fact that I disagree with Giuliani more often. And, Tancredo is just a waste of time. As a favor and a boost to his party, Tancredo ought to just drop out now so that other candidates can have more time each at the next debates.

Ocean's 13 and Rounders Written by Same Guys

I just found out while watching Ebert & Roeper -- and confirming on IMDB.com -- that the writers of the upcoming Ocean's 13, Brian Koppelman and David Levien, were the same guys that wrote Rounders.

Rounders is one of my all-time favorite movies, so now I have a lot of faith in the script for Ocean's 13. Plus, Richard Roeper and his guest reviewer gave Ocean's 13 two thumbs up in an early review.

I was already looking forward to this movie, but now I'm looking forward to it even more.

Entertainment News

Battlestar Galactica's 4th Season Will Be Its Last

According to several sources, executive producers David Eick and Ron Moore have officially announced that Battlestar Galactica's fourth season will be its last. A while back, when Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama) said that season four would be the last, the producers announced soon after that that was not necessarily true. Now it is true, but I don't think it's been confirmed whether the producers intended to go for a fifth year too or if year four was also intended to be the natural end.

I like the current trend of shows deciding early when they are going to end. It keeps them from dragging on forever, gives them an "endgame" goal to work towards, and allows ample time to wrap up lose ends in the final season. Just a few weeks ago, there was a little of industry buzz when the producers of Lost announced that their show would have three and only three more seasons. Six total years is a good run, more than the expected five which had already been rumored earlier. However, to compensate for the extra year, each season will only have 18 episodes, rather than the usual 22 to 24.

Lost, of course, gets a lot of credit for making this groundbreaking decision to end their show so far ahead of time. But, this is not the first time such thing has been done. Back in the '90's, TV producer & writer J. Michael Straczynski firmly declared that his show Babylon 5 (my all time favorite TV show) would last only five years and no more than that, and he declared this before a single frame of footage was committed to film.

Changes to On The Lot

I like the show, but apparently, ratings have been too low for Fox's comfort. According to TV Guide, the competition show and the results show would be combined into the same night. If America is supposed to be able to vote by internet and phone, how is it even possible to combine both events into the same night? Perhaps the judges will make the selections instead of the home audience.

Picture of Speed Racer Movie's Mach 5 Released

The picture of the Mach 5 looks pretty good and remarkably similar to the old cartoon version. I'm surprised they did not change the design more.



According to Wikipedia, the live-action Speed Racer is being produced by Joel Silver; directed by the Wachowski brothers; and stars Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon as Speed's parents, Christina Ricci as Speed's girlfriend Trixie, Matthew Fox (probably) as Racer X, and a real chimpanzee (supposedly) as Chim Chim. It has a release date of 09 May 2008.

New Transformers TV Spot

There have been several TV spots for the forthcoming Transformers movie, but the newest seems to be the most different from the full-length trailers. The images flash by quickly, so this movie is being very protective of it's visual surprises. It's still pretty exciting. Check it out below.



Transformers' release date has been bumped early by a day to 03 July 2007.

My TiVo Plan for Fall 2007 TV (so far)

Now that all five networks are done with "upfronts" (announcement of fall schedules), I can now plan how I'll program my TiVo for the new 2007-2008 fall TV season.

Last season I gave a lot of shows a try, and many of them were canceled quickly (such as Smith on CBS and The Nine on ABC), tauntingly taken away then brought back then taken away again (Standoff on Fox and Six Degrees on ABC), or allowed a deserving full season and then canceled anyway despite ending the season finale on a cliffhanger (the beloved Jericho on CBS).

So, I'm keeping a lot of new shows on the back burner until I know whether they're worth it or not. I want to learn more about them and read more buzz from sources like TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly before I bother investing the time to watch shows that may last only a half-dozen episodes.

From the buzz I've read online, Pushing Daisies on ABC is supposedly the next big thing. I'm really looking forward to seeing if the remake of Bionic Woman on NBC works as well as the remake of Battlestar Galactica did on Sci-Fi Channel. And, Private Practice seems to have potential, thanks to having an impressive all-star cast and being a spin-off of Grey's Anatomy.

From the clips and previews I've seen at TVWeek.com, the show I'm now most anticipating is, shockingly, a reality show. CBS is premiering Kid Nation, a show about 40 kids from 8 to 15 years old inhabiting an abandoned Old West town and forming their own society without the help of adults. They have to have council meetings, they have to have leaders, their performance in challenges determines who is designated with certain societal class distinctions for the next three days, and the head committee of the council must decide every three days who gets a gold star--a heavy 5-point star made out of real gold and worth $20,000 (an excellent start to a kid's college fund). The preview alone looked intriguing, exciting, entertaining, frustrating, inspirational, and nearly tear-inducing, all in one. In my book, *this* show is the next big thing.

Going on just the information I have so far, the lists below show how I plan to program my TiVo in the fall. Things may change as I find out more about certain shows. Surprisingly, I have no three-way conflicts so far and very few two-way conflicts. Luckily, I have a dual-tuner TiVo, so a two-way scheduling conflict is a moot point, which is why some time slots have two shows divided by a slash.

Personal Interest Rating System
[5] = Established Favorite (will definitely watch)
[4] = Established Honorable Mention (will definitely watch)
[3] = New Show, High Curiosity (will definitely try)
[2] = New Show, Moderate Curiosity (will possibly try)
[1] = Low Interest or Need More Info (might watch if bored)

Bold: Returning Shows
Italics: New Shows
s#: # = Season Number

SUNDAY

08:00 PM -----
09:00 PM -----
10:00 PM [5] Battlestar Galactica (s4, Sci-Fi) / [4] Brothers & Sisters (s2, ABC)
Possibilities:
* 08:00 PM [1] Life Is Wild (CW)
* 08:00 PM [1] Viva Laughlin (CBS)

MONDAY

08:00 PM [5] Prison Break (s3, Fox)
09:00 PM [5] Heroes (s2, NBC)
10:00 PM [2] Journeyman (NBC)
Possibilities:
* 08:30 PM [1] Aliens in America (CW)
* 09:00 PM [1] K-Ville (Fox)
* 09:30 PM [1] Sam I Am (ABC)

TUESDAY

08:00 PM [4] Beauty and the Geek (s4, CW)
09:00 PM [5] House (s4, Fox) / [2] Chuck (NBC)
10:00 PM [5] Boston Legal (s4, ABC)
Possiblities:
* 08:00 PM [1] New Amsterdan (Fox)
* 10:00 PM [1] Cane (CBS)

WEDNESDAY

08:00 PM [3] Kid Nation (CBS) / [3] Pushing Daisies (ABC)
09:00 PM [3] Bionic Woman (NBC) / [2] Private Practice (ABC)
10:00 PM [4] South Park (Comedy Central)
Possibilities:
* 10:00 PM [1] Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)
* 10:00 PM [1] Life (NBC)

THURSDAY

08:00 PM [4] Ugly Betty (s2, ABC) / [4] Survivor: China (CBS)
09:00 PM [4] Grey's Anatomy (s4, ABC)
09:30 PM [5] Scrubs (s7, NBC)
10:00 PM -----
Possibilities:
* 10:00 PM [1] Big Shots (ABC)

FRIDAY

08:00 PM [5] Men In Trees (s2, ABC)
09:00 PM [2] Women's Murder Club (ABC) / [2] Moonlight (CBS)
10:00 PM -----
Note: Stargate: Atlantis automatically takes precedence over the other 9:00 shows if Sci-Fi Channel keeps it at 9:00 on Fridays and premieres its 4th season in the fall.

Brief Movie Recommendation: Waitress (full review forthcoming)

There hasn't been a lot out at the theater lately, but I was bored a few days ago and did go see the limited release sleeper hit Waitress.

Waitress stars the surprisingly talented Keri Russell, the always impressive Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity, Drive), Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto (from the short-lived TV show Kidnapped), Eddie Jemsion (Ocean's 11/12/13), and the legendary and frighteningly shaky-handed Andy Griffith.

A full review is forthcoming in the next day or two, but since this movie is in limited release (it's only at one theater in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, NC area), I thought I'd just give a very brief and definitive recommendation before it goes away...

Thumbs up. Four out of five stars. A-. Just a few flaws; otherwise, witty with a lot of charm and a decent amount of laughs.

More about it later...

The 22 Worst Place Names in the World

On The Cooper Lawrence Show (one of my favorite syndicated radio shows out of Charlotte's 107.9 The Link), Cooper just read the list of 22 Worst Place Names in the World. They're the worst place names because some of them are derived from cuss words or vulgar biological terms. Of course, Cooper had to censor certain words out of the list, and her producer Anthony Michaels was nervous about a potential FCC violation and had his hand poised over the "dump button" (censor button) the whole time.

It was a somewhat funny list. Making #5 on the list is North Carolina's own Horneytown, which just happens to be about 10 miles from where I live. It's at the far southeast corner of Forsyth County near both Guilford and Davidson Counties. What the list doesn't mention is that Horneytown is just 25 miles from Climax, NC, which is near the southeast corner of Guilford County.

Some of the names are also a little too "colorful" for me to re-list here, so I'll just provide the link that I found for it. Just in case anyone's curious, here it is...

The 22 Worst Place Names in the World

Fall TV Line-Up: ABC

Personal Interest Rating System
[5] = Established Favorite (will definitely watch)
[4] = Established Honorable Mention (will definitely watch)
[3] = New Show, High Curiosity (will definitely try)
[2] = New Show, Moderate Curiosity (will possibly try)
[1] = Low Interest or Need More Info (might watch if bored)
[0] = Zero Interest or Curiosity (no chance)

Shows in ALL CAPS are new shows in 2007-2008 season.

MONDAY:
08:00 PM [0] Dancing with the Stars
09:30 PM [1] SAM I AM
10:00 PM [0] The Bachelor

TUESDAY:
08:00 PM [0] CAVEMAN
08:30 PM [0] CARPOOLERS
09:00 PM [0] Dancing with the Stars the Results Show
10:00 PM [5] Boston Legal

WEDNESDAY:
08:00 PM [3] PUSHING DAISIES
09:00 PM [2] PRIVATE PRACTICE
10:00 PM [1] DIRTY SEXY MONEY

THURSDAY:
08:00 PM [4] Ugly Betty
09:00 PM [4] Grey’s Anatomy
10:00 PM [1] BIG SHOTS

FRIDAY:
08:00 PM [5] Men In Trees
09:00 PM [2] WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB
10:00 PM [0] 20/20

SATURDAY:
08:00 PM [0] Saturday Night College Football

SUNDAY:
07:00 PM [0] America’s Funniest Home Videos
08:00 PM [0] Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
09:00 PM [0] Desperate Housewives
10:00 PM [4] Brothers & Sisters

CASHMERE MAFIA [1], Notes from the Underbelly [0] and October Road [0] will premiere after Dancing with the Stars [0] and The Bachelor [0] conclude their fall seasons.

---

New Shows

• Sam I Am: Comedy starring Christina Applegate about a woman who has amnesia


• Cavemen: TV show spinoff of the cavemen from the Geiko commercials


• Carpoolers: Four office workers talk about life in the carpool lane


• Pushing Daisies: A guy can bring people back to life for one minute by touching them


• Private Practice: Spin-off of Grey's Anatomy about an L.A. wellness center


• Dirty Sexy Money: (not sure)


• Big Shots: Drama about four rich, male corporate CEOs dealing with life problems.


• Women's Murder Club: A lawyer, detective, medical examiner, and reporter work together to solve murders


• Cashmere Mafia: Four ambitious women balance work and life (starring Lucy Lui)