Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Photo by UNL Publications and Photography.
Go for a walk and part of whatever you walk through rides back on your socks. Here Peter Everwine, a California poet, tells us about the seeds that stick to us, in all their beauty and variety.
The Sima Piano Trio will perform in Mendocino, Calif., on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Courtesy photo.
MENDOCINO, Calif. – The Fort Bragg Center for the Arts Music Series presents the Sima Piano Trio on Sunday, April 10, at 3 p.m. in Preston Hall, Mendocino.
From Carnegie Hall to the Shanghai Theatre the group has performed around the world and is quickly becoming one of the leading young trios of its generation.
Members of the New York based group include violinist Sami Merdinian, cellist Ani Kalayjian and pianist Sofya Melikyan.
All are winners of international competitions, and all share an Armenian heritage.
They will perform trios by Armenian composer Gayane Tchebodarian, plus works by Mendelssohn and Dvorak.
Fanboy, a word not found in the dictionary sitting on my desk, refers to those who appear to be obsessive about such things as comic books and video games.
As such, fanboys may rejoice at the arrival of director Zack Snyder’s so-called visionary “Sucker Punch,” because the film is an epic fantasy science-fiction thriller that straddles the universe created by comic books and video games.
But anyone who values meaningful characters, reasonably smart dialogue and a coherent story would be well advised not to get suckered into this incredible mishmash of cinematic junk.
“Sucker Punch” begins with the plausibly fascinating scenario of a young girl institutionalized by her evil stepfather on a false pretense.
Baby Doll (a pouty-lipped Emily Browning), dressed in tight blouses and short skirts that appeal to the fanboy’s ultimate fetish, immediately starts to plot her escape from the Lennox House asylum for the mentally insane.
In this endeavor, she provides encouragement to fellow inmates, all young hot females dressed like they were waiting for clients at a Nevada brothel.
Come to think of it, they are pressed into service by the wicked warden Blue (Isaac Oscar) and his henchwoman, Madam Gorski (Carlo Gugino), a teacher who preps the girls to use dance routines to entertain an assortment of creepy male patrons.
Until the action becomes increasingly repetitive and boring, it was fun to watch Baby Doll’s recruits.
There’s Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) and her sassy younger sister, Rocket (Jena Malone).
The dark-haired Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and the sensible Amber (Jamie Chung) round out the quintet of inmates who work up an escape plan, the execution of which relies upon Baby Doll’s mesmerizing trance during dance routines.
While dancing to techno music, Baby Doll conjures up visions of strange, distant worlds where she and her pals are engaged in battles with ancient Chinese warriors, fire-breathing dragons, armies of zombie Nazi soldiers, big snakes, and bomber pilots, just to name a few.
The only good thing about Baby Doll’s imaginary world is that Scott Glenn shows up as the guide to help the girls survive in the various alternate universes they happen to visit.
Still, even Glenn’s guiding hand helps not at all to make sense of these mind-numbingly dumb flights of fancy.
It’s really not worth mentioning, but Baby Doll sets in motion each dance routine for the sole purpose of acquiring items needed for an escape.
Because the action is like checking off a shopping list at the grocery store, that’s when it really feels tedious and repetitive.
Zack Snyder, who directed “300” with visionary zeal, appears capable of doing better than this trite, rote piece of work.
When Jon Hamm (Don Draper in “Mad Men”) shows up to perform a lobotomy at the film’s end, “Sucker Punch” has already succeeded in numbing the minds of the audience.
PAUL (Rated R)
Oddly enough, fanboys are front and center in the science-fiction spoof “Paul,” the story of two Brits visiting the geek’s celebration of the fanboy heaven that is the annual Comic-Con convention in San Diego.
The two British nerds on vacation are aptly played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who paired up so nicely in the comedies “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.”
Based on their previous collaborations, it is wholly within the realm of credibility that these two guys are perfect comedy fodder for a buddy road trip movie with an alien on board.
Attending the convention where the visitors dress up in character, Pegg and Frost are, respectively, aspiring graphic designer Graeme Willy and would-be sci-fi novelist Clive Gollings.
As first-time visitors to the United States, Graeme and Clive rent an RV so that they can take a road trip across the Southwest in search of the landmark sites associated with UFO sightings.
But ending up in the rural areas of Nevada and New Mexico causes them to feel like aliens themselves. Imagine their surprise at encountering a real space alien by the name of Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) on a deserted road late one night.
Though he has the huge head, wide eyes and skinny frame typically associated with our earthly vision of an alien, Paul is one strange laidback dude who fancies wearing tight shorts.
He’s crude and vulgar and has numerous bad habits, such as chain-smoking and constant boozing. His bad manners may be the result of the fact that he’s being hunted by the relentless agent Zoil (Jason Bateman) and two other goofy guys who look like wannabe Men in Black (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio).
Not surprisingly, in a fitting homage to other sci-fi movies, there are references to Steven Spielberg’s seminal work while Sigourney Weaver has a brief, but key role that should remain a surprise.
While Graeme and Clive are the kind of guys who dream of an alien encounter, as long as it doesn’t involve intrusive probing of body parts, Paul’s arrival on the scene creates unsettling tension.
Almost immediately, Graeme bonds with the space creature, while Clive remains aloof and jealous of the budding relationship between his old pal and Paul. But everything that happens in “Paul,” including a good share of profanity and crudeness, is designed to garner laughs.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are clever and funny, and it shows in their script for “Paul.” They also have fun with their secondary characters, from Jane Lynch as a wisecracking roadhouse waitress selling alien-related trinkets to Kristen Wiig as the eye-patch wearing religious zealot who falls for Graeme.
The tongue-in-cheek style of the two British comedians is very much in evidence in this very funny film’s spontaneity, resulting in laughs galore for “Paul.”
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
The premise that an experimental drug would allow someone to use 100 percent of the brain was explored in Alan Glynn’s thriller novel “The Dark Fields.”
Using one’s mental abilities to its fullest potential as the perfect panacea for coping in the Information Age was adapted by screenwriter Leslie Dixon for “Limitless,” a paranoia-fueled action thriller about a slacker writer whose life is transformed by a top-secret drug that acts like steroids for the brain.
We already know that enhancements for physical abilities lead to disastrous side effects. Imagine, then, the downside for the mental side of the equation.
In a nutshell, that’s the cautionary tale that is explored by “Limitless.”
Aspiring author Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is suffering from chronic writer’s block. Looking untidy and disheveled, Eddie can’t even work up a title for new his book. Meanwhile, his publisher, having provided an advance, is impatiently awaiting results.
Eddie’s life changes instantly when an old friend introduces him to NZT, a revolutionary but untested new drug that allows him to tap his full potential.
With every synapse crackling, Eddie can recall everything he has ever read, seen or heard, learn any language in a day, comprehend complex equations and beguile anyone he meets.
Complications arise because Eddie has to keep taking NZT, and while his brain power may be limitless, the drug supply is not.
Initially, the mind-enhancing substance turns the unkempt Eddie into a sharply-dressed wunderkind. He hastily finishes his novel and then parlays a small sum into highly successful investments in the stock market.
His nascent financial skills soon draw the attention of Robert De Niro’s mega-mogul Carl Van Loon (what a name!), who invites Eddie to help broker the largest merger in corporate history.
The new and improved Eddie even manages to win back his old girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish), who had become impatient and unforgiving about his previous indolence and disregard for professional advancement.
Meanwhile, Eddie’s newfound fame, fortune and ambition also bring him to the attention of people willing to do anything to get their hands on his stash of NZT.
With his life in jeopardy and the drug’s brutal side effects taking their toll, Eddie dodges mysterious stalkers and a vicious Russian mobster anxious to muscle in on what could be very profitable turf.
Watching Eddie’s journey from sloth and obscurity to wealth, fame and brilliance is an entertaining ride.
Effortlessly charming and charismatic, Bradley Cooper (notable for his starring performance in “The Hangover”) is well-cast in the role of turning a slacker into a smooth operator who can enthrall beautiful women and hard-charging tycoons with equal aplomb.
Similarly fascinating is watching Eddie, when things get hairy as bad people are after him, think and fight his way out of those situations with the help of a little pill.
Life gets more convoluted and thorny for Eddie when he gets embroiled in a police investigation of the murder of a young model. But his troubles with the pesky detectives pale in comparison to the threats posed by sinister forces eager to control the NZT product for themselves.
There is also the significant problem with the diminishing supply of NZT, upon which Eddie relies for staying on top of the world.
To what lengths will Eddie and others go in order to secure a hold on the black market drug? The answer to that question is what drives the suspense in this fantasy thriller.
Like most thrillers, “Limitless” has its limits when dealing with suspense. Unlike other movies in the genre, “Limitless” does not suffer pretensions about its greater meaning.
Not burdened with artistic or intellectual affectations, this suspenseful movie that just wants to deliver a fun time, and in that goal it succeeds very well.
Under the direction of Neil Burger, “Limitless” employs a number of visual tricks to suggest the unlimited potential of a brain firing on all cylinders. At times the imagery works; other times it looks more like gimmickry.
Overall, “Limitless” is enjoyable because Bradley Cooper is just as good at seducing the audience as his character is at doing the same to nearly everyone in his path.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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