Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty today in the involuntary manslaughter trial for the death of Michael Jackson. His sentencing will happen on November 29th, although the surprising part is that he was hauled off to jail immediately instead of being able to go home until the sentencing. The maximum sentence for his crime is four years although due to overcrowding in California jails he will only have to serve half of that and only at a county jail instead of a state prison. Michael Jackson’s family will get to speak out at the sentencing on the 29th, so it should be very interesting to hear what they have to say. The Los Angeles County DA’s office called Dr. Murray unscrupulous and corrupt, and mentioned how abuse of perscription drugs is now the leading cause of death in America.  The verdict gives the Jackson family a sense of justice, altough the sad thing is Dr. Murray was simply enabling Michael Jackson’s odd requests.

While filming a man getting a ticket for the Bay Area’s “People Behaving Badly” a reporter gets called a “fat ass:”

Listen to the Wake Up Call talk about the video:

Man Calls Reporter a Fatass

Director Brett Ratner is not known for comedy; he’s known more for action films like Red Dragon or X-Men 3.  Granted, the man did the Rush Hour series, but I’m not really sure if you can legally consider those movies comedies since they’re so unfunny.  But Tower Heist is a comedy compiled of a varsity team of laugh makers.  Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck (Oceans 11, Gone Baby Gone), Michael Pena (30 Minutes of Less, Crash), Judd Hirsch (Taxi, Independence Day) and Alan Alda (M*A*S*H, The Aviator) all star in this movie about the 1% stealing money from the 99%.  It’s funnier than Rush Hour but still not the great comedy it should be.

Tower Heist is a very timely plot.  The relevancy of a rich Bernie Madoff type stealing pensions and life savings from the people who work in his luxury Manhattan condo building he lives in is exactly the revenge story this country needs right now.  It’s fun to watch Alda get his vintage, Steve McQueen Ferari smashed by Still with a golf club.  It’s as if each strike is a victory for the Occupy Wall St. protestors.  In that respect, the film is a true success, but might have been better if it was handled as a thriller instead of a comedy.

Spicing up the comedic premises are some very talented actors.  Leading the charge is Murphy, who hasn’t actually appeared in a good movie since he was nominated for an Oscar in 2006’s Dreamgirls.  Him making bank off of the Shrek franchise, allowing him to go away for a while, is a very good thing.  He’s made a lot of very poor movie decisions and he saturated the market with Murphy.  Seeing him in Tower Heist though reminds us all of why he was one of the brightest shining stars in Hollywood once.  He crackles on the screen like Robin Williams did in his prime.  He pumps life into lines that otherwise would go insignificant, simply by being Eddie Murphy.  Of course he’s not breaking new ground or jockeying for accolades, but damnit, he’s really good.

Same can be said for the rest of the cast that do a fine job of supporting Murphy and allowing him to be the star.  Especially Stiller who has proven he can be the funny man but takes a backseat as the straight guy to Murphy’s wild card.  The only actor that gives Murphy a run for his money is Pena, who banks yet another winning comedic performance in his resume.  It’s almost getting to the point where I forget that he started and excelled at drama first.

I appreciate this film for what it is and what it attempted to do.  But sadly it falls short in quite a few ways.  The comedy stops around the beginning of the third act and the rest is allowed to be suspenseful action, albeit still fun.  The climax of the film though ventures into absurd when the entire success of their heist is dependent upon an absolutely impossible and stupid stunt.  I’m not sure if that was Ratner’s idea to show off how well he can use special FX or not, but it’s ineffective except in that it makes me laugh unintentionally.

Tower Heist is a fun movie that does no wrong.  Some of that is because heist films are always fun by default.  But allow Oceans 11 be an example of how it can be fun, funny and downright awesome by stylizing the look and tone and keeping us grounded in the plausible.  Go for the fun of it, stay for the Murphy but expect to get a little robbed of your expectations.
Tower Heist  (Rated PG-13)
Gavin Grade: B-

The last time I enjoyed a Shrek movie was in 2004 when the second one came out.  Ever since then it was Shrek overload and the franchise was toast in my opinion.  When I saw that they were making a Puss in Boots spinoff from the series, I groaned out loud in the theater and literally screamed out, “Dear Lord, let it go!  Stop trying to squeeze blood from this stone!”  And that’s from a cat lover too!  Although Dreamworks has made some very quality animated movies in the past, I had rock-bottom expectations for this movie and perhaps that’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed it as much as I did.

Yes, it’s true that Antonio Banderas is back voicing the titular character, but aside from that, there is nothing that links this film to the Shrek movies.  That might be a good thing.  It was almost as if the makers of Puss in Boots know full-well that the Shrek movies have run their course and making those characters show up again would be a mistake.  So what we’re left with is a totally separate movie about the origin of Puss in Boots.

Joining him in this new adventure is a fellow feline named Kitty Soft Paws and Humpty Dumpty; voiced by Selma Hayek (Dogma, From Dusk Till Dawn) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover films).  The three of them are on a mission to redeem their reputations among the citizens of their hometown by stealing the Golden Goose from the Giant at the top of the beanstalk.  We have all the makings of a fun (albeit familiar) adventure story though storybook land, but the action is quite lopsided with very few and disappointing sequences rounding out the ending.

Luckily, the film is funny enough to have that error keep you from being bored.  The same writing team are back with the same style of adult innuendo that made the first two Shrek films so enjoyable.  Unfortunately, there aren’t any characters that are as likable as Donkey and Shrek, but the cuteness of Puss and Kitty are adorable enough to offer a pass.

The animation in the film is also well done enough to keep you from glancing down at your watch.  It might be some of the best animation that Dreamworks has put out since How To Train Your Dragon.  The colors are vibrant and human characters look more realistic than ever.  (I can’t comment on the 3D aspect of it since it wasn’t offered when I saw it.)

There were some pleasant surprises in Puss in Boots that I didn’t expect.  First was that it was produced by director/writer Guellermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone) and he voiced one of the minor characters too.  It seems as if Del Toro is getting involved in more and more family animation entertainment, which is quite a departure from his fantastical horror that he does so well.  Another hidden enjoyment was the soundtrack.  The Shrek films also feature great songs by talented artists that you’d normally not pick for a children’s movie and Puss in Boots is no exception.  The end credits feature a great song by Lady Gaga and the movie features several selections by the very talented Rodrigo y Gabriella.

Director Chris Miller should be pleased with himself for what he created in Puss in Boots.  Sure he may be the guy that directed the Shrek films into the ground and over the shark, and Puss in Boots isn’t good enough to forgive him for that; but it’s enjoyable enough that I would consider it a good start…as long as I don’t see a Puss in Boots 2 coming soon.
Puss in Boots  (Rated PG )
Gavin Grade: B

Jason came up with a meal idea he thinks McDonald’s should add to their menu, he calls it the McCraving.

Listen to the Wake Up Call talk about the McCraving:

McCraving

Here is a picture Jason took of his McCraving:

Jason reveals the sex of his baby, using cupcakes…