Reeling Backward: "Wall Street" (1987)

With the sequel, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" arriving this week, I thought it time to take another look at the 1987 original. I hadn't seen Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning film (for Michael Douglas' bravura performance) since it came out in theaters.

Like the rest of Stone's oeuvre, it's about as subtle as a sledgehammer. But his filmmaking style is like heavy metal: When he hits the right chords, nobody plays with as much power or brash energy.

It's always fascinating what you remember from a film you saw once long ago. I had a clear memory of only two scenes: One is when slithery corporate raider Gordon Gekko (like I said, subtle) gives his "Greed is good" speech. That moment crystallized the perception of 1980s excess for decades to come.

The other involves Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), Gekko's ambitious young protege. Bud has started to become a high roller under Gekko's tutelage of insider information and manipulating stocks, and is looking at Upper East Side apartments.

The older real estate agent is quickly rushing him through a fabulous penthouse, registers his hesitation and decides the young man is out of his league. She calls him "kid," offers to show him something more downscale. Sheen has this great reaction where he tries to hide his resentment at her condescension, then casually orders, "Offer nine-fifty." Meaning, $950,000 (or about $1.8 million in today's dollars.) One senses he's buying the place just to impress her.

Other things slipped out of memory. Chief among those is Bud's affair with Darien, an ambitious interior designer played by Daryl Hannah. Despite her face appearing on the film's poster, I had completely forgotten she was even in it.

Watching the movie again, I see why: The Bud-Darien romance is the weakest thing in the movie, a totally flat and unbelievable pairing. Darien walks out the minute it appears Bud will no longer be able to support her lavish lifestyle, and we're happy to see her go.

The encounters between Charlie Sheen and his father Martin Sheen are as strong as I remember: Despite only a handful of scenes, the elder Sheen has a convincing, easy authority as Bud's father, an airline mechanic and union leader who sees right through Gekko's manipulations. He can't believe that his son makes more money than him, but is always borrowing cash to pay for lavish suits and a Manhattan apartment.

"There's no nobility in poverty anymore, Dad. One day you'll be proud of me, you'll see," Bud insists.
"It's yourself you gotta be proud of, Huckleberry," his dad advises.

I love that little nickname at the end, a combination of affection and paternal authority. Stone wrote the screenplay with Stanley Weiser, and if some elements like the portrayal of Darien don't measure up, it's still a thoroughly engrossing story with a lot of verve, sharp observation and smart dialogue.

Example: Gekko explains that he's just spent over $1 million to buy a seat on the New York Zoo board. "That's the thing you got to understand about WASPs: They love animals. They can't stand people."

Stone's timing with the original film was excellent, arriving right around the time of the big stock crash of '87. The sequel seems fortuitous as well, with the current economic downturn caused (in large part) by banks taking on too much bad credit.

I don't think "Wall Street" was an indictment of capitalism per se, but its excesses and the way unscrupulous people could cheat the markets. We're seeing that again today, where corporate executives accept -- demand, even -- lavish bonuses even as their companies are laying people off by the thousands.

The ideal of the meritocracy seems further away than ever, as long as people like Gordon Gekko are happy to game the system for their own benefit.

3.5 stars out of four

Review: "Robin Hood"

When I first heard they were making a new Robin Hood movie, I wondered whatever for. After 100 years of cinematic depictions, from Douglas Fairbanks to Errol Flynn to Kevin Costner, from heroic icon to revisionism to parody and back again, what more is there to add?

Later I saw trailers for this big-budget extravaganza starring Russell Crowe, and couldn't puzzle out its purpose. Based on the grimy world depicted in the preview, I guessed it was aiming for that whole vérité man-behind-the-legend thing.

Now I've actually seen the film, and I'm still having a hard time figuring out what the hell it's about.

Director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgeland deliver a befuddled fusion of Robin Hood mythology, history lesson and their own, mostly kooky, contributions. It starts out as a weary condemnation of war, briefly flirts with being a rowdy boys' adventure of looting and wenching (this is actually the most enjoyable part) and then grows bloated with Braveheart-esque self-importance.

"There's no difference between a knight and any other man, other than what he wears," Robin intones.

Instead of just "Robin Hood," you could have called it "Before the Hood," since it tells the story of how Robin came to be an outlaw, rather than what happened after. No robbing of the rich, and certainly no giving to the poor here.

(I have to add that Robin's looking a bit long in the tooth to be starting a new career. If I were feeling puckish, I might point out that Crowe is the same age Sean Connery was when he played the pathetic over-the-hill Robin in 1976's "Robin and Marian.")

Many other Robin Hood legends are given the boot. Instead of being the son of the poor but noble Baron Walter Loxley (Max von Sydow), our hero is an anonymous archer in King Richard the Lionheart's army named Robin Longstride. He only impersonates Robert Loxley, Walter's son, in order to escape to England after deserting from Richard's crusade.

Marian (Cate Blanchett) is no maid but Robert's wife, perpetually dour at having been abandoned a week after her marriage, now widowed and faced with a common yeoman usurping her husband's status.

Prince John (Oscar Isaac) is here, a preening metrosexual wannabe monarch, wearing an aura of luscious black curls and a perpetual pout, conspiring against Richard and flaying the people for their taxes. The Sheriff of Nottingham also shows up, but as merely a bit player. (This is actually a return to roots; over the years the character kept getting inflated into the main heavy.)

The chief evildoer is Godfrey, played by Mark Strong, who apparently has become to big-budget villainy what Sam Worthington is to protagonists: Everybody's go-to guy. Godfrey is a childhood friend of John's who's secretly conspiring with King Philip of France to foment trouble and soften up England for the Gallic invasion.

William Marshall (William Hurt), Richard's loyal regent, oversees an army of spies and may be playing the sides off each other. John's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Eileen Atkins), appears to be a major player, but then she abruptly disappears about halfway through the movie.

More frayed story threads abound. There's talk about the barons forcing John to sign a charter, which seems to be a reference to the Magna Carta (which the real King John did endorse in 1215). Walter entices Robin with knowledge about his long-lost father, but then a perplexing flashback throws his tale into higgledy-piggledy.

Oh, and Friar Tuck is raising bees to supply his underground booze trade, Walter asks Robin to impersonate Robert, and there's some unexplained feral boys running around the forest wearing masks and stealing food and generally acting as if they wandered out of the story of another guy in green tights.

When it comes to needless remakes of legendary heroes, Hollywood never wants to grow up.

2 stars out of four

Review: "Post Grad"

I actually feel kind of bad about not liking "Post Grad." It's got a great bunch of actors that I enjoyed spending time with. It's directed by a woman, from an original script by a woman, and lord knows we need more of that.

But this flick about a girl trying to figure out what she wants to be struggles with its own identity crisis.

It can't decide if it wants to be about the girl's loopy family, who are all a bit weird but share tender bonds, a la "Little Miss Sunshine," or about her romantic entanglements with the close friend who clearly wants more, and a Latin neighbor who's sexy despite being a cat owner.

(On a side note, I think we need to add to the list of annoying cinematic racial stereotypes. We had the Magic Negro, in which a black character exists solely for the purpose of enlightening the white folks. Now it's the Smokin' Latin, in which a guy who rolls his R's shows up to tempt the heroine.)

Alexis Bledel plays Ryden, who's just graduated from college and can't find a job. Her plan was to land a gig at Happermann & Browning, the top publishing firm in Los Angeles, and discover the next great American novel. But her arch-nemesis, who took the valedictorian spot from her, nabs the job instead (played by Catherine Reitman, who fittingly steals every scene she's in).

Ryden is forced to move back in with her family. The roster: Dad (Michael Keaton), who's always chasing one cockamamie scheme or another; mom (Jane Lynch), who's dealing with a young son with a head-licking fetish; and grandma (Carol Burnett), who's dying (maybe) and wants to stretch out the agony for everyone else.

The scenes with Ryden growing exasperated with her relatives are a bit contrived, but are the most enjoyable. Where the film runs off the rails is whenever romance creeps in.

Adam (Zach Gilford) is Ryden's best friend who's smitten with her. Adam is trying to decide between law school and singing, and based on the one song he has in the movie I'd say he should seek out a mountain of torts and burrow in.

The normal thing for a movie like this is for the guy to hide his feelings until the end of the film, when he declares his love and the music swells. Here, Adam openly teases Ryden about how she doesn't return his affections. I credit director Vicky Jenson and screenwriter Kelly Fremon with avoiding the most obvious route, but they end up making their main character seem heartless and/or stunningly unobservant.

The Smokin' Latin (Rodrigo Santoro) lives across the street and directs infomercials, but seems OK with it, which alone should be grounds for Saint Peter to deny him the Pearly Gates.

The movie bounces back and forth between family hijinks and awkward scenes with Ryden and her suitors, with no apparent bridge between them. At one point dad gets arrested for hocking stolen belt buckles, and the younger son enters a pink coffin in a boxcar race, and I think it's in these scenes where the movie's true heart lies.

If "Post Grad" had a resume, all the lovey stuff is filler that's supposed to make it seem more appealing, but which was better left out.

2 stars

Critics now squabbling over how much of their turf remains

There's a bit of a Web battle going on out there amongst movie critics. And the subject is: How many of us are there?

It's a sad state of affairs when we can't even agree over how many of us have lost their jobs, and how many are left.

A little background. For the past two-plus years, Sean Means at the Salt Lake Tribune has kept a definitive list of all the movie critics who have lost their jobs. I've helped him out from time to time with a comment or a heads-up:
http://blogs.sltrib.com/movies/labels/disappearing%20critics.htm

Now a new list has emerged that purports to show the number of remaining critics left. David Poland at MovieCityNews.com has compiled a list with 126 names on it, which sounds astonishingly high.
http://moviecitynews.com/voices/2009/090302_critics.html

People have jumped on his criteria, noting that he includes some names of people who have been let go in the last couple of months, as well as a whole lot of people who write for Web sites. As my friend Roger Moore at The Orlando Sentinel has noted, there's a big difference between a paid full-time critic who must adhere to professional standards, and some blogger who accepts free junkets and other swag from the studios in exchange for positive reviews. (Yes, it does happen.)
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2009/03/americas-movie-critics117-still-standing.html

I'm somewhere in the middle of all this debate. I was never a full-time critic, even though I've done movie criticism on a part-time basis throughout my 15-year newspaper career. Now I'm publishing here on the Web, but it doesn't exactly pay the bills. (Last time I checked, my Google AdSense earnings were up to about $4.) I write on a freelance basis for several newspapers in Florida.

It would seem that according to Poland's criteria, I should have a place on his list. But I disagree. For the same reason, I did not ask to be placed on Means' list when I got laid off, since I wrote lots of movie pieces but only occasional reviews for The Indianapolis Star.

Here's the part we hopefully can all get along on: The ranks of critics have been decimated by the downturn in the newspaper industry, and that's bad for us, bad for readers and bad for newspapers.

Update: Already more bad news to add. As my pal Bob Bloom at The Journal & Courier in Lafayette notes, Frank Gabrenya, the longtime movie critic at The Dispatch in Columbus, was part of a group of 45 people let go earlier this week. Sad times never stop.

Oscar LiveBlog!

This is Captain Critic's Oscar LiveBlog! I'll be posting all night until the last award is given out, so keep your browser pointed here and keep hitting refresh for the latest updates.

11:59 p.m. -- Well, it's been a great but exhausting night live-blogging this event. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!

11:54 p.m. -- "Slumdog" wins Best Picture in the least surprising event of the evening. It's a wonderful film, and I'm happy to see it honored.

I still don't know if people will realize until tomorrow or the days after what a huge event this film's win is. A film with an Irish director, English screenwriter, Indian cast, Muslim characters and Bollywood roots is now King of the World. It's astonishing to think about it. Will this mean more international stories and filmmakers will have a chance at mainstream success? Let's hope so.

11:47p.m. -- Sean's speech goes to all the expected places. Those who disagree with me are destined for the ash heap for history. Shout-out to Obama. Now we know why the crack about "You Commie, homo-loving sons of guns" works.

11:44p.m. -- Sean wins, and unlike Kate Winslet he makes a beeline straight for the podium. His wife even has to grab him to get a kiss in.
Great line where he says I know how I hard I make it for you to appreciate me.

11:43 p.m. -- Mickey or Sean? Mickey or Sean? Who will it be?

11:38 p.m. -- They did not make the 11:30 deadline. It was probably unrealistic to begin with. Looks like my 11:50 estimate is going to be pretty spot-on.

11:34 p.m. -- It's Kate Winslet!
Very classy move, giving hugs to all the other nominees and presenters.
"Well it's not a shampoo bottle now!" Some people may be put off by her forthrightness about having wanted to win an Oscar since she was eight years old, but I treasure her honestly. They ALL feel this way; she just has the guts to admit it.
Loved the shout-out to her Dad and the whistle!

11:31 p.m. -- Am I nuts or does Sophia Loren seem a little drunk?

11:28 p.m. -- OK, the people in the audience are going NUTS for the five past Best Actress winners giving tribute to this year's nominees. But I officially hate it. It's all the sappiness and schmaltz of the Oscar rolled into a single cringe-worthy moment. Blech.

11:22 p.m. -- Danny Boyle jumps up and down on stage after winning Best Director. It's a tribute to Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. They showed his face right before they announced the winner, and you could just see that he KNEW he was going to win. That must be a wonderful feeling. You deserve it, Danny.

11:17 p.m. -- Paul Newman, of course, got the most applause during the montage of those who have passed on. What a guy, what a career.
Btw, they didn't show Heath Ledger because he was shown in last year's Oscars. It goes by those who died in between the Academy Award ceremonies, not calendar years. So Ledger was included in the 2008 bunch.
The unfortunate contest for who can get the least applause was some publicist guy. A publicist? Sorry, they shouldn't be included in the roll call. Neither should the film critic they showed. They're involved in the hype surrounding movies, not the making of them.

11:11 p.m. -- As they get ready to do the "everyone who died" montage, here's my shout out to Austin, who correctly answered my trivia question of which two movies besides "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" swept the "Big Five" Oscar awards -- best picture, director, actor, actress and screenplay. The other two were "Silence of the Lambs" in 1991 and "It Happened One Night" in 1934. Good work, Austin!

11:09 p.m. -- Have you noticed that there hasn't been a single occasion this evening of the orchestra cutting off somebody during their acceptance speech? Either they've decided to be looser with the time restrictions, or they seriously cautioned everyone beforehand to keep it short. I have to say, it makes for a much classier show without some dolt standing there trying to thank his mother over the swelling music.

11:08 p.m. -- "Departures" upsets "Waltz with Bashir" for Best Foreign Language Film. I haven't seen the Japanese film that won, so I can't exactly critique the choice. But "Waltz" was wonderful.

11:03 p.m. -- Six wins for "Slumdog" now with "Jai Ho" taking Best Song. If it wins everything else it's up for, "Slumdog" should garner eight total wins -- quite an impressive sum.

10:58 p.m. -- By the way, Peter Gabriel refused to perform his Best Song nominee "Down to Earth" because he felt the 60-second clip they had allotted was insulting. He's probably right -- they usually do the full-length version of all the nominees. The live performance from "Once" was pure magic last year. This is what we had to cut down to make room for "Romance 2008?"
Btw, that was John Legend ably filling in for Gabriel.

10:55 p.m. -- A.R. Rahman wins for Best Musical Score. Don't go anywhere, A.R., since you're about to win in the Best Song category, too. That's five wins for "Slumdog" now.

10:46 p.m. -- Eddie Murphy kisses Jerry Lewis. Now I've seen it all.
Is Jerry OK? He seems to be having trouble walking and speaking.

10:43 p.m. -- They've given out seven awards in the last 45 minutes, with 45 to go and seven awards left. Could they actually make the 11:30 mark?

10:40 p.m. -- In response to a comment in the Comments section, Jean has Googled the green ribbons some people in the Oscar audience wearing. Apparently it has to do with Global Green, a pre-Oscar benefit party given by Leo DiCaprio and Sheryl Crowe to raise money for eco-friendly schools.

10:37 p.m. -- And just like that, "Slumdog" is up 4-3 over "Benjamin Button" after winning Best Editing and Sound Mixing. I don't foresee any more wins for Brad Pitt & Co.

10:31 p.m. -- Richard King, the Oscar winner for Sound Editing for "Dark Knight," says he grew up in the Florida suburbs. Where, I wonder? A fellow Sunshine Stater?

10:28 p.m. -- "Benjamin Button" wins Visual Effects. It is now up in the Oscar tally over "Slumdog" by 3-2, but don't expect that to hold.

10:24 p.m. -- HILARIOUS commercial with Tom Cruise and Jimmy Kimmel. Seriously funny stuff where they come busting out of a burning house.

10:17 p.m. -- "Man on Wire" wins Best Documentary, and tightrope artist Philippe Petit bounds to the stage and balances the Oscar on his chin! We've never seen THAT before at the Academy Awards! Amazing movie, btw ... rent it if you haven't seen it.

10:15 p.m. -- Interesting choice to show interviews with the directors and producers of the documentary feature nominees. And now they have Bill Maher as the presenter?

10:09 p.m. -- Look at the faces they're showing as Heath's father accepts the award. People are truly moved. I don't think anybody's this good of an actor. These are real tears. This man was loved. He was respected. His passing is a terrible loss to his loved ones, but also to his craft. What a triumph and a pity.

10:08 p.m. -- So who's accepting the Oscar for Heath Ledger? Oh... it's his entire family.

9:59 p.m. -- In the last 30 minutes, they've given out exactly one award. They still have 14 categories left to go with 90 minutes left to reach their goal. Don't think it's going to happen.

9:54 p.m. -- Surprise appearance by Beyonce in the big musical number with Jackman. Electric!!

9:49 p.m. -- Weird. They said they were going to do a "Comedy 2008" montage, but was Seth Rogen and James Franco riffing on their "Pineapple Express" characters. And they were watching "The Reader" and thought it was a comedy. It was OK, I guess, but again... this is what you needed to spend precious minutes on?

9:39 p.m. -- Seriously, the thing everybody's going to be talking about tomorrow is Ben Stiller in that fright wig. If you think he's over the top, then check out the YouTube video of Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman. Letterman put it best at the end of his appearance: "Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight!"

9:38 p.m. -- I think the cinematographer for "Slumdog" stole his haircut from Heath Ledger's Joker in "Dark Knight." It has like ... wings, or something. I think he could get airborne.

9:33 p.m. -- OMG!! BEN STILLER IS RAGGING ON JOAQUIN PHOENIX AT THE OSCARS!! LAWLZ!!

9:30 p.m. -- What the hell is "Romance 2008?" Other than an excuse to show clips of Meet Cutes and kissing from last year's movies? I can't believe they waste 5 good minutes with useless montages like this, then complain when the show runs long.

9:24 p.m. -- "Benjamin Button" wins Best Makeup, and it deserves to. Aging makeup is a tough thing; it almost always looks terrible. People forget that not only did they age Brad Pitt (backwards) believably, but that Cate Blanchett also spent about half her screen time as an 80-something woman. Splendid work.

9:22 p.m. -- "Duchess" wins Best Costumes, as I predicted. It's strange to think now how this movie was forgotten by the Academy. People were expecting "The Duchess" to be a major contender in the Best Picture and other top award categories, but it failed to make an impact. I don't know why; I thought it a very good film. Great-looking, of course, but splendidly acted. Ralph Fiennes was great in it in a role that could have been a one-note bastard, but had depth and layers. Pity.

9:17 p.m. -- "Benjamin Button" wins its first of the night, for art direction. It will probably do well in the "technical" categories, but I still doubt it'll score any major wins. Nor does it deserve to.

9:06 p.m. -- I can't believe Jack Black did the line about doing voice work for DreamWorks animated flicks and then using the money to bet on the Pixar movie to win the Oscar. But it's true! "Wall-E" wins of course, and shoulda been nominated for Best Pic.

9:04 p.m. -- Simon Beaufoy wins for Adapted Screenplay for "Slumdog" -- not much of a shocker there.

8:59 p.m. -- Great throwaway joke line from Steve Martin to Tina Fey: "DON'T fall in love with me."

8:57 p.m. -- Original screenplay winner is... Dustin Lance Black for "Milk," no surprise there. Black had endeavored for years to get this movie made. Black is really young! What, did he start working on this screenplay when he was 15?
And yes, he totally milks the Proposition 8 thing. Cheap, Black, cheap.

8:50 p.m. -- It's Cruz. I'm not so sure how I feel about the five previous winners presenting the award. I liked the tradition of last year's Best Supporting Actor giving away the prize to supporting actress, and the same gender reversal in the leading categories. Just a nice gesture.
I really wish Marisa Tomei won. But I think it was between Cruz and Viola Davis. I just wasn't that wild about "Vicky Christina Barcelona," so it's hard for me to pick an MVP from what I consider a mediocre Woody Allen flick.

8:44 p.m. -- Best Supporting Actress up first. I think this is one category I could have gotten wrong in my predictions. Word is Penelope Cruz made a late push. Let's see...

8:41 p.m. -- WHERE'S JACK NICHOLSON!?

8:40 p.m. -- Jackman's opening musical bit was pretty cool. I loved where he brought Anne Hathaway up onstage in a "surprise" appearance. She can sing pretty good! And of course I loved "I am Wolverine!"

8:35 p.m. -- What are "The Craig's List Dancers?"

8:25 p.m. -- Jack Black just cracked me up. He busted on the guy interviewing him for doing a double-take at somebody else walking by. Black claimed the interviewer was looking to ditch him to go interview somebody more famous.
Jean just commented that Seth Rogen looks much thinner. Do we want him as a non-schlub? I kinda liked him chubby.

8:15 p.m. -- 15 minutes to curtain. The Oscar honchos are swearing they're going to bring the show in under three hours. I'll believe it when I see it. That would be 11:30 p.m., which I seriously doubt. I'm betting on about 11:50 at best. What's your over/under on the runtime?

8:03p.m. -- I did not know that Josh Brolin and Diane Lane were married to each other. For my money, Diane Lane is one of the most beautiful women in the world. She looks great in her dark slim-fitting dress.
Now they have Sarah Jessica Parker on in some white silver poof thingee. People really think she's a beauty icon?

7:56 p.m. -- We're getting ready for 30 minutes of the red carpet stuff, usually the most boring part for me. I know a lot of people go ga-ga over the fashions, but unless someone's wearing a giant goose dress a la Bjork, I really don't care.

7:50 p.m. -- Hugh Jackman's on now, and he's doing a very slick interview. The guy is very "on" in his interview -- I'm not so sure how much of the real guy we're seeing. I think he's playing the well-adjusted superstar without a care in the world.
I absolutely cannot wait for "Wolverine" this May.

7:42 p.m. -- Mickey reveals that he stopped boxing because he failed a neurological test -- closely paralleling his character in "The Wrestler." The guy looks like hell in his interview ... I don't know what's up with the stringy hair and old lady glasses. And when did he get that silver capped tooth?
He also admits that he desperately wants to win the Oscar.

7:32 p.m. -- Mickey Rourke's up now. They showed clips of some of the stuff he's done since "Wild Orchid." A lot of crap I've never heard of. He was in an action flick with Jean Claude Van Damme? They also showed "Sin City." I thought that movie wildly uneven, but Rourke was great in it. His mini-story was probably the best of the bunch.
His signature line: "I didn't want to be here, but I was too afraid to kill myself."

7:25 p.m. -- Another great Hathaway line, about her being a rare sight in the tabloids: "I do terrible things all the time. I just have very discreet friends."

7:21 p.m. -- Magic are pwning the Heat. Good.
Anne Hathaway is on Barbara now. She said something I never heard a thespian say before: "I'm not going to lie. I was really hoping to be nominated." That's a pretty ballsy thing to say.
I was not a big fan of "Rachel Getting Married." Hathaway was a revelation in it, but parts of the movie just dragged in the dirt. She's such a lovely and talented girl; I hope to see great things in her career.

7:05 p.m. -- Ugh, the Jonas Brothers are up first. I think I'll swing over the Magic-Heat game until Mickey Rourke, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway are up.

7:03 p.m. -- I don't usually watch the Barbara Walters special before the Oscars where she tries to make big stars cry. But I figure since I'm working, I'll tune in.

Oscar countdown: Day 5

In case reading these countdown posts still isn't filling your Oscar jones, I'll be on the radio again this Sunday talking about my Oscar picks and predictions.

Once again, I'll be joining WIBC host and former Indy Star colleague John Strauss on the city's talk top radio station, 93.1 on your FM dial.

We'll be live at 9:10 a.m. or so, and then the sequence will be repeated during the 11 o'clock hour.

I enjoy appearing on the radio, and hope to do more of it. I've actually got quite a bit of radio experience. I made weekly appearances on the highest-rated radio station in Ocala, Fla., for four years, and then did the same here in Indy for two years on WFMS with J.D. Cannon.

I've also done a little bit of TV work, but as the old saying goes, I've got a face made for radio.

Plus, when you're doing radio, it's very easy to convince yourself that it's just you and the host chatting. After all, you're sitting in a little room with maybe just a producer on hand, and there's nothing to remind you that thousands of people are listening.

Please tune in!

Review: "Push"

There are super-heroes among us -- scuzzy heroes with amazing powers and bad hair.

"Push" is the latest in a line of movies not directly based on a comic book, but with a comic book vibe. In my preview of what I was going to review this week, I referred to "Push" as "this year's 'Jumper'" -- typical of my snarky sense of humor. Turns out I was pretty spot-on with my assessment. This movie starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning plays out in much the same style, and with about the same modest level of success.

The set-up is in the "X-Men" vein -- strangers walk among us who have strange and terrible abilities that they were born with. A shadowy government division -- named, simply, The Division -- hunts them down so they can experiment on them and exploit their powers. For some strange reason known only to Hollywood casting agents, all the heroes are under the age of 25 and really good-looking.

The interesting twist here (from screenwriter David Bourla) is that the super-powered fall into many specific categories. For instance, Chris Evans plays Nick, who is a Mover -- meaning he can move stuff around through telekinesis. His sidekick is Cassie (Fanning), a Watcher who can foretell the future, with varying reliability. Both have hair that looks like it hasn't seen any Pert in a few months, with Fanning's decked out in an array of pink and blue stripes.

A Pusher, by the way, is someone who can control other people's minds by pushing, or implanting thoughts in their head. For example, they can approach a total stranger and get their help by making them think they're old friends. They can even convince the weak-minded that they can put a loaded gun in their mouth and pull the trigger without any ill consequences.

There are two Pushers in the story: Kira (Camilla Belle), who escaped from The Division after getting injected with a power-boosting drug that killed all the other guinea pigs; and Carver (Djimon Hounsou), the Division chief who hunts her. Carver's right-hand man (Neil Jackson) is a Mover who's so talented he can even stop bullets.

This begs two questions. First: Since neither of the main characters is a Pusher, why isn't this movie titled "Mover" or "Watcher"? (Probably because they're not as catchy.) Second: Since The Division seems to be populated entirely by people who have the same powers as the people they're hunting, what is their ultimate aim? There's no talk about taking over the world, etc. All they seem to do is recruit or hunt other Movers, Pushers, etc. Are they just going for the biggest all-mutant list of Facebook friends?

The action takes place in Hong Kong, with Nick and Cassie trying to find Kira while avoiding Carver and a family of Chinese criminals who all have powers. It's a lot of chase-chase, with the future shifting as their actions do. Cassie keeps foreseeing their deaths, so they're trying to do something, anything, to keep that from happening.

At first I liked the idea of an underground society of mutants with different castes divided by powers. You've got Stitchers who can heal the wounded, Screamers who emit deadly sonic waves, Shifters who can temporarily change objects into other things; Sniffers who can track people by the things they've touched, and even Shadows who can keep people from being detected by Sniffers. It goes on and on.

But then I realized the limitless array of powers is essentially a storytelling crutch. It's like the ever-expanding list of spells and magical objects in the "Harry Potter" series. Whenever Harry & Co. encounter a new obstacle, there's always some new spell we've never heard of before, or some magical trinket, to solve their problems. There are no horizons on their abilities, which allows the storyteller to get into and out of sticky spots with minimal effort.

The same goes here. As soon as Nick and Cassie are in trouble, a new type of mutant is introduced to save the day. I half expected them to introduce a guy called The Plot Thickener whenever the action slows down.

1.5 stars out of four.