Author: coolpapae
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Footloose is tight as a coin in the back pocket of Julianne Hough’s pants
Footloose – 2011 Directed by Craig Brewer Starring Julianne Hough, Kenny Wormald, Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Miles Teller, Ser’Darius, Ziah Colon, Patrick John Flueger, Ray McKinnon, Kim Dickens Screenplay by Craig Brewer, Dean Pitchford It took me a while to learn to appreciate Kevin Bacon, and when the original Footloose was released, I was still in the warming up phase. The…
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CPE and Em: The Nativity Story offers a view of grace in dark times
The Nativity Story – 2006 Directed by Catherine Hardwicke Starring Keshia Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Ciarán Hinds, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Stanley Townshend, Shaun Toub, Alessandro Giuggioli, Hiam Abbass, Alexander Siddig, Eriq Ebouaney, Stefan Kalipha, Nadim Sawalha Much of the news surrounding The Nativity Story had to do with the personal drama of then 16-year-old Keshia Castle-Hughes announcing that she pregnant during the publicity tour of the…
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The Office: Episode 155 – Test the Store
The Writer – Brent Forrester Directed by – Mindy Kaling A brief synopsis – Dwight is put in charge of opening the store and things go about as well as expected. Andy gets beat up by a little girl, bringing up a need for Toby to give a demonstration about self-defense, which gets Andy in between Kelly and Toby.…
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The Thing is a good compliment to the classic
The Thing – 2011 Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Eric Christian Olsen, Jørgen Langhelle Written by Eric Heisserer So the word has it that this movie sucked. The box office receipts seemed to confirm this. Still, being a fan of Joel Edgerton (he of the wonderful move, Warrior) and so…
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The Rum Diary: Notes on a life full of exits
The Rum Diary – 2011 Written and Directed by Bruce Robinson Starring Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Giovanni Ribisi, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins I had always wondered whether I should read any of Hunter S. Thompson’s stuff. I had a quirky friend who had read him in High School and, before he went off…
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Hell and Back Again: Desiring only to serve
Hell and Back Again – 2011 Directed by Danfung Dennis Documentary regarding Nathan and Ashley Harris, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment in Afghanistan There is a moment in the midst of Hell and Back Again where Nathan Harris, while driving in his car, decides he is tired of hearing his wife’s joking around in the…
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Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is the kind of hillbilly horror we all can rally behind
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil – 2010 Directed by Eli Craig Starring Taylor Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss Written by Craig and Morgan Jurgenson There is a subtlety to the acting of Taylor Labine and Alan Tudyk, who as Dale and Tucker provide one half of the adversarial title of this film, that is…
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I Don’t Have A Vote: Cool Papa E Picks The 84th Oscars
2012 Academy Awards Please don’t let this be the year that the gimmicky French film wins. I would prefer that the real masterpiece that took place in Paris, France take home the gold. The rush to crown The Artist as Best Picture feels a little like the time we anointed Brokeback Mountain the movie of our times. If it…
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The Office: Episode 154 – After Hours
The Writers – Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein Directed by – Brian Baumgartner A brief synopsis – The staff still in Scranton stay late to catch up on the accounts of the folks who are in Tallahassee. Dwight and Packer fight for the affections and the VP Position offered by Nellie. Jim tries to resist the advances of Kathy,…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 