Aaron Spelling dead at 83

LOS ANGELES - Aaron Spelling, a onetime movie bit player who created a massive number of hit series and highly acclaimed television movies, from the vintage “Charlie’s Angels” and “Dynasty” to “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place,” died Friday, June 23, his publicist, Kevin Sasaki, said. He was 83.

Spelling died at his home in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke on June 18.

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'Nacho Libre' is comedic take on epic plot

Nacho Libre (2006)
Starring: Jack Black, Hector Jimenez, and Ana de la Reguera
Director: Jared Hess
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Nacho (Black) is a friar and cook at an impoverished Mexican monestary and orphanage... with secret dreams of being a professional wrestler. A chance encounter with an impoverished street thief (Jimenez) gives him the inspiraction to start a double-life and earn money to purchase better food for the children: The bum will become "The Skeleton" and Nacho will be a mysterious masked wreslter--together they will be a tag-team that will rise to the very top of the wrestling world!


This was not a movie that looked interesting to me until I saw Jack Black offering to kick Steven Seagal's ass with his fabulous wrestling moves. I still went in not knowing much more about the film than it featured Jack Black as a wanna-be professional Mexican wrestler.

I'm really surprised at the way critics are mostly panning this movie. Not only is "Nacho Libre" a hilarious comedy, but it's got a script that even the most snobbish intellectual (even well-read psuedo-intellectuals!) should be able to enjoy. Pay attention while watching, and you'll see that the storyline pretty much follows to exactly "The Hero's Journey" as outlined by Joseph Campbell. How can a well-read person NOT love a movie that takes a clownish figure through the entirety of archetypal hero's tale (even giving Black's character his own Enkidu?) in the context of bush-league Mexican wrestling and a run-down orphanage.

Jack Black once again appears as his standard loveable loser character, but most of his shtick is limited to his appearances in the wrestling ring, and a disastrous attempt to show off his fighting prowess to the lovely Sister Encarnacion (de la Reguera) without revealing his secret. Because it's in small doses, it becomes some of the most hilarious parts of the film.

Black is supported by an able cast, a well-paced script, and a story that's too subtly clever for the majority of American film critics. These elements all add up to a film that will end up standing as one of the best comedies of 2006.

I highly recommend this movie, especially if you're walking around with a B.A... and I recommend it even more highly if have any interest in seeing how "the hero's journey" is being used in yet another great bit of storytelling.

Oh, and I recommend it even if you're just looking for a damn funny comedy. It's been a while since a film had me laughing so hard my eyes were tearing.

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Val Guest dead at 94

Science-fiction moviemaker Val Guest has lost his battle with prostate cancer in a Palm Desert, California hospital. He was 94.

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Critics worried about hidden camerapedophile busts... are they worried on a personal level?

Over the past couple of weeks, I've seen journalism professors and TV critics express concern about a series of "Dateline" reports that feature the luring and busting of child-rapists (or maybe just would-be child-rapists).

The reasons for why they're upset has mostly been because "Dateline" supposedly paid those who set up the sting, although some have also been bent out of shape over the lengthiness of the reports.

It seems to be that ANYTHING that raises awareness of the sort of sub-human scum that are out there intent on raping kids, and ANYTHING that gets these creatures into the justice system where they belong, is a Good Thing.

I can't help but wonder... is the real reason these professors and critics are upset is that they're nervous if they're going to head to a house for a little under-age nookie only to find TV cameras and cops waiting for them?

NBC Draws Fire for "Dateline" Pedophile Reports

NBC plans to air four special editions of its magazine show "Dateline" on Wednesdays beginning tonight and continuing through the May sweeps.

The specials show "stings" in which alleged pedophiles operating in Internet chat rooms are lured to houses in several cities, only to be confronted by "Dateline" correspondent Chris Hansen and then arrested by local police -- all captured by hidden cameras.

The new broadcasts follow three similar ones that aired during "Dateline's" regular time period earlier this year. TV writers could not recall any previous television news magazine devoting eight entire programs to a single subject.

While drawing praise from groups like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the programs have also been roundly criticized by several journalists' groups, particularly, the Poynter Institute, the respected journalism school based in St. Petersburg, FL. Kelly McBride, ethics group leader at the school, told today's (Wednesday, April 26) "Los Angeles Times", that colleagues were particularly concerned about tonight's episode in which members of the group Perverted Justice, who are paid by NBC to pose as juveniles and lure marks to the house, were also deputized by the local sheriff.

"By working with a group that has been deputized, "Dateline" is essentially partnering with local law enforcement," McBride said. "Even if the outcome is a desirable outcome, in the long run it undermines their ability to serve as a watchdog."

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Dan Curtis dead at 77

Television producer/director Dan Curtis has died. He was 77.

Curtis was diagnosed with a brain tumor four months ago and passed away at his home in Brentwood, California on Monday, March 28 - 20 days after his wife Norma Mae Klein's death from heart failure.

The director/producer was best-known for his Emmy Award-winning mini-series War And Remembrance, and horror movies including "The Night Stalker", "Burnt Offerings", "Trilogy of Terror", "Shadow Of Fear" and the hit supernaturally themed soap opera "Dark Shadows".

Curtis leaves behind two daughters, Cathy and Tracy.

(On a personal note, my brief dealings with Curtis and his staff in 1997 were some of the most enjoyable of my career. I'll always be a little sad that the "Dark Shadows Roleplaying Game" never came together.)

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Isaac Hayes speaks for himself,says Isaac Hayes spokeswoman

It's official. Isaac Hayes has replaced Tom Cruise as the Biggest Scientology Clown.

In what is probably the last gasp of the 'South Park'/Chef/Isaac Hayes controversy, Mr. Hayes has come out to deny rumours that he is a stroke-ridden vegetable and that he does the bidding of his Scientology overlords in all things and that he speaks for himself.

Actually, he didn't really say that. A spokeswoman did.

Here's a free tip to Mr. Hayes: If you want to show that you make your own decisions and speak for for yourself, don't do it through a "spokeswoman."

"Isaac Hayes Speaks For Himself," Says Isaac Hayes Spokeswoman

Isaac Hayes has denied a report by FoxNews.com gossip columnist Roger Friedman that he suffered a stroke in January and that his current condition was the actual reason for his decision to quit the animated series "South Park".

Through a spokeswoman, Hayes also denied that Scientology "handlers" were behind his sudden departure. She declined to comment on the opening episode of the series, which aired last Wednesday, in which his character, Chef, appeared to be killed off.

The spokeswoman acknowledged that Hayes did check into a hospital earlier this year because of high blood pressure and exhaustion but that he is now doing well.

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'Find Me Guilty' is okay, but not great

Find Me Guilty (2006)
Starring: Vin Diesel, Peter Dinklage, Ron Silver, and Alex Rocco
Director: Sidney Lumet
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

When life-long gangster Jackie Dinorsio (Diesel) is offered a chance to escape a 30-year prison sentence by turning state's evidence against his former Lucchesi Crime Family associates, he refuses to turn on those he considers his friends. Instead, he turns the biggest organized crime trial in American history into a vehicle to express his view of family values within the Family.


I like lawyer/court room movies. I like Vin Diesel, and I really liked him in "The Pacifier". I walked into "Find Me Guilty" really wanting to like the movie alot. Unfortunately, I found it a little lacking.

Some critics have complained that the movie turns morality upside down--the mobsters are basically the good guys here (with one exception--mob boss Nick Calabrese, played by Alex Rocco), while the federal prosecutor is a complete rat bastard--but I really didn't mind this aspect of the film, because the character of Jackie Dinorsio is the point of view from which the story is told, and he is truly convinced that all his criminal associates truly are "good fellas." The weakest point in the movie to my mind was the lead prosecutor was portrayed as so over-the-top that he brought down the rest of the movie. (Why did he have prison guards harass and beat up Dinorsio on the night before the Big Final Trial Witness was to appear in court?) Every other lawyer portrayed seemed believable, but the prosecutor did not. (Being that "Find Me Guilty" is based on the real-life 21-month RICO trial of a dozen or so New Jersey mobsters, perhaps the real-life prosecutor really was such a over-dramatic jerk... but he should have been toned down, because he was out of step with the rest of the performances in the film.)

"Find Me Guilty" is definitely Vin Diesel's show, and he manages to truly get the audience to feel sympathy for the wise-cracking Dinorsio, who, in the face of all the facts around him, continue to cling to his notion that there truly is love and respect shared between mobsters. To the very end, Dinorsio hangs onto this idea and continues to espouse it as he mounts a defense of himself and his buddies as his own attorney. In fact, the only friends that Dinorsio seems to have is the lead mob attorney (expertly played by Peter Dinklage) and the presiding judge (Ron Silver) who seems to develop some affection for Dinorsio as the trail unfolds; but Dinorsio never notices. If he does, he doesn't let it show.

There are plenty of chuckles in "Find Me Guilty", but I would have liked for more belly-laughs in the film. I recommend it if you enjoy mob movies or court-room dramas. I don't think it's a great movie, but I think my time watching it was well-spent.

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