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West Side Story

MPAA Rated – Unrated
It’s 2:33 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

West Side Story Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris
MPAA Rated:	Unrated
Released By:	Twentieth Century Home Entertainment
Release Date:	November 15, 2011
Kiddie Movie:	There are a few killings, but and I doubt little boys would like it.
Date Movie:	Go ahead, snuggle with your honey on the couch and hum along.
Gratuitous Sex:	Nah.
Gratuitous Violence:	Some stabbings and a shooting.
Action:	There is chasing, but they’re dancing and prancing at the same time.
Laughs:	A chuckle or two.
Memorable Scene:	Every time the dude with the tight pants that accented his package was on the screen.
Memorable Quote:	Mostly just the songs.
Directed By:	Jerome Robbins

I was negative-six years old when “West Side Story” originally hit the theater, and believe it or not, in those fifty years, I have never seen the movie nor a stage representation of the story. I do find this somewhat surprising as I was a theaterish kind of guy in high school, and my mom loved a good musical, but alas, no “West Side Story” for me. That’s not to say I wasn’t familiar with the music, although I sometimes got things confused with “The Sound of Music” (yes, I’ll admit, I thought “Maria” was from The Sound of Music), but come on, who doesn’t sometimes hum the tune “America”? Feeling I was missing something in my life, and knowing the fact that my wife was a big fan of the movie, when the opportunity came to review “West Side Story,” being released in a 50th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray, I felt it my duty. And I must say, even with the dancing and prancing, I really liked it.

Let’s get to it…

“West Side Story” bases itself off of the classic Shakespeare concept of “Romeo & Juliet,” only this time lets’ make our competing factions be two rival street gangs in New York City, the Sharks and the Jets, and it’s set back in the late 50’s/early 60’s, so they aren’t like gangs we are really used to, well, almost. The Jets are pretty much the European immigrants, and the Sharks are the Puerto Rican immigrants looking to invade the turf of the Jets. Alas, Tony (Richard Beymer) is trying to grow up, get his life straight, and used to be the leader of the Jets. Maria (Natalie Wood) is the sister of the leader of the Sharks. As the Jets and Sharks plot their rumble, low and behold Tony and Maria fall in love, and yes, do their best to keep their love a secret.

But things are getting serious in rumble land, with the fighting escalating from talk of dancing and prancing (Okay, I kid, it’s a musical and the fighting is sort of ballet-ish), to knife wielding, and when things go horribly wrong with the knife fighting, well, it’s time for someone to get a gun.

People die, someone gets shot, it’s like “Romeo and Juliet” so it’s not really a happy ending, but even though set 50 years ago, it’s a great love story, and even though you know someone’s going to end up dead, you can’t help but hope that somehow are two lovebirds would be able to get away and live a full life in wedded bliss.

Yes, the movie is a musical, and it is from 50 years ago so it does look dated, and sure, the outfits might look kind of funny for us now (Someone I know really well couldn’t help but notice the bulge in one of the guy’s pants, and therefore, for the rest of the night, it kept being pointed out), but as a film it still looks great, from an era when great camera work had to take the place of green screens and CGI. And yes, the acting is great, at least on some fronts (Yup, Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer are great), although sometimes it drifts into over-acting mode as was prevalent at the time.

And yes, lastly, there is the music, where as I watched the movie, I kept finding myself saying “Hey, I know that song.” Even though 50 years old, it’s music that truly stands the test of time.

So, as movie, it’s 5 stars out of 5 for “West Side Story.” Yup, I liked it, even with the dancing and prancing.

Now, as far as the 50th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray, let me say it’s pretty fantastic, especially for the “West Side Story” fan. The movie itself looks great, as it should, but there is a 4-Disc set that includes a CD and collectable memorabilia, and for the basic 3-Disc set you get some pretty sweet extras as well. Do you want to get the inside scoop about how shots were made – you get that and more during a very detailed explanation of how the movie was made, the challenges the actors had, and the changes that were made in song ideas. There is also another segment of memories of West Side Story, and if you are a movie buff, a look at the storyboard progression of the film. You can also watch the movie in “Pow! The Dances of West Side Story” mode, and if you’re a dance buff it’s great because it will help explain how the dance sequences came to light. And don’t forget the music, as Stephen Sondheim the lyricist give a commentary for all of the great songs.

All in all, in the world of Blu-ray special editions, they did “West Side Story” right, as it should be for a movie that is a classic.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

The River Why

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:44 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

The River Why Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Zach Gilford, William Hurt, Amber Heard, Kathleen Quinlan
MPAA Rated:	PG-13
Released By:	Image Entertainment
Release Date:	Novermber 8, 2011
Kiddie Movie:	They’ll probably get bored. It’s kind of lovey-dovey.
Date Movie:	As long as you are both prepared for a lot of slowness.
Gratuitous Sex:	It’s all PG-13, just some partial stuff.
Gratuitous Violence:	Just some arguing mostly.
Action:	Nah.
Laughs:	Ehh.
Memorable Scene:	I did like the scene where Gus was “tiring” the big fish.
Memorable Quote:	Nah.
Directed By:	Matthew Leutwyler
Cool Stuff About the Blu-ray?	Nothing really, just some interviews with the cast and crew.

Gus’ dad (William Hurt) and mom (Kathleen Quinlan) like to fish. And I’m not talking about a leisurely trip in a boat to kill an afternoon, nope, they are career fisherpeople, with fly-fishing being their forte, and competition amongst each other in their life. Gus, though, is now 20 years old, wants to live his own life (which is actually just fishing, but on his terms), and after a blowout at home he moves out, much to the sadness of his parents. But young men must sometimes fly the nest to find themselves, and Gus finds himself living in a secluded cabin, by a river, and fly-fishing. Such is “The River Why.”

So, you would think things would be simple out in the middle of nowhere, wouldn’t you? Nope. Turns out living in the middle of nowhere brings out some odd characters, and a girl, Eddy (Amber Heard), whom Gus ends up falling for. Turns out she likes to fish, too. Go figure.

So where am I going with this review? Hmm? I guess the easiest thing I can say is that after watching “The River Why” it turns out it isn’t easy to make an entertaining movie centered around both fly-fishing and finding one’s self, but “The River Why” does give it a good try, and looks really good doing it. The thing with the movie, for me, was that as beautiful as it looked, and as great as many of the fishing scenes were shot, there wasn’t a lot of substance to the film, mostly a lot of “Ooh, isn’t this scenery beautiful. Oh, wait, lets try to get a little quirky with this new character who might try to help instill a life lesson to young Gus.” In a weird way the movie reminded me of the movie “Big Fish,” which like this movie, about half-way through the film, I just didn’t care that much about anymore. I really wanted to like “The River Why” more than I did, but it just seemed to drag too often, and not in a good way.

It is a nice, feel-good movie about a young man trying to find himself, and to do so he has to get out of the grips of his parents, and the story with Eddy is nice enough, but wow, I just kept waiting for some kind of payoff, and even with the ending, it just didn’t get there quick enough. Sadly it’s 2 stars out of 5.

Blu-ray wise, not too much is extra, which is fine, just some interviews with the cast, so get the movie for the story.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Barbies are Kissing, Chicago Bears are Fighting, Adele Causes Laughing, and Jewish People are Dancing.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Stu Gotz is back in town, and for this episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, he doesn’t have many tales about his trip to Mickey’s World, but he has seen a few movies and lets us know if “Bad Teacher” or “Puss in Boots” are worth the watch. Me, I saw “West Side Story” (which comes out on Blu-ray tomorrow, November 15th), and “Blue Velvet,” and give my recommendations as well, as well as give Stu a recap of my travels to see “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.”

Yes, we do talk about movies, but I also tell Stu about some risque Faith Hill and Tim McGraw Barbie moments during the CMA Awards, and that Saturday Night Live did have some funny in it, you just had to wait about an hour and twenty minutes. We analyze dancing Jewish people in the song “Marry Me” from Bruno Mars, discuss fighting during football games, and have a culinary discussion concerning turkey, capon, or cornish hens for Turkey Day. Yup, we’re all over the place, but what kind of podcast would it be if we weren’t?

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Blue Velvet

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 2:00 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Blue Velvet Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Isabella Rosselllini
MPAA Rated:	R
Released By:	Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date:	November 8, 2011
Kiddie Movie:	For the love of all things great and small, put them to bed before popping in the Blu-ray.
Date Movie:	Only if she likes twistedness.
Gratuitous Sex:	Dennis Hopper is a sadist, and Isabella Rossellini gets naked. It’s gratuitous and disturbing.
Gratuitous Violence:	Um, duh.
Action:	No real action.
Laughs:	Nope.
Memorable Scene:	Every time you see Dennis Hopper take a hit of Amyl nitrate you know bad things are coming.
Memorable Quote:	Too many sick quotes from Dennis Hopper’s Frank.
Directed By:	David Lynch
Cool Things About the Blu-ray?:	You get tons of bonus/lost footage, and a great documentary. And, a few outtakes.

“Blue Velvet” attempts to answer the proverbial question: “What would you do if you found a human ear in a field?” Okay, it doesn’t really try to answer that question, but it is the starting point for one of the most twisted, entertaining, and masterpieces of movie-making ever.

It’s been probably 20+ years since I’ve seen “Blue Velvet” and I have to say that I forgot how twisted of a character Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) is. It was only after seeing that initial scene of young Jeffrey being trapped in Dorothy’s room and Frank, inhaling Amyl nitrate, while terrorizing Dorothy, that it started to come rushing back to me.

The story basically goes like this: It’s the smallish town of Lumberton, and Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) comes across a human ear in a field. Okay, sure, this is after his dad ends up in the hospital, but who’s really keeping track? Anyway, what to do? Well, he takes it to the police. It is there he is put in the world of Detective Williams and his lovely daughter, Sandy (Laura Dern). As Jeffrey begins his own investigation into the ear, thanks to some help from Sandy, he finds himself breaking into the apartment of Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini), a messed-up, nightclub singer, and it is there that the disturbingness of Frank is truly witnessed. Now Jeffrey is getting wrapped into twisted feelings and trying to help Dorothy, he wants to get to the truth around Frank, and suddenly we find Jeffrey being pretty much kidnapped by Frank on a wild night on the town in Lumberton. Frank is a maniacal drug/prostitute guy, and Jeffrey is doing his darndest to put all of the pieces together, including corrupt policemen and conflicting feelings for both Sandy and Dorothy, to put Frank away and get him away from Dorothy. All of the mystery, intrigue, and twistedness of Frank continues until the fantastic end.

Yup, I forgot how twisted the movie is, as well as how much I liked it, and if you want the best of the best of Dennis Hopper being a crazy man, forget that “Speed” movie grabage, in “Blue Velvet” he takes twisted to an entirely different level.

So, all of the forgetting aside, I can’t help but give “Blue Velvet” 4 ½ stars out of 5. It holds up 25 years later.

As far as the movie on Blu-ray, let me simply say this – The movie looks fantastic. The press release says David Lynch supervised the transfer and color correction, and it shows as this is one movie where the color contrasts just pop. And as far as the other things on Blu-ray, for all of you uber “Blue Velvet” fans, it’s got nearly an hour of lost footage, some goofy outtakes, and the part I found most fascinating, the “Mysteries of Love Documentary” giving tons of insight into how this movie came to be, including why there was an ear in the field.

A great, twisted movie, it looks great on Blu-ray, and for a change it’s a release that has great, extra content without going overboard. Ah, screw it – 5 stars out of 5!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Supermarket Scooters, Bears v Eagles, Harold & Kumar Go 3D, TV Talk, and I Should Have Invited a Podcast Guest.

By: The Dude on the Right

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With Stu Gotz away I didn’t really get to play, but I did get to try out some supermarket scooters and I let you know, during this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, what store has the best ones so far. Gimpiness aside, I’m looking forward to the Chicago Bears tonight on Monday Night Football, even with some slight allegiance to the Philadelphia Eagles. I was also looking forward to “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” when, low and behold, there was some free time to see it, and somehow, low and beholder, my wife ended up seeing one of the greatest comedies of 2011 with me even though I thought there was no way in hell she would go and see a Harold & Kumar movie.

I give my take on how I think “Desperate Housewives” will end, I’m liking “Survivor,” another Herman Cain accuser is talking, I want to like “Chuck” more than I am liking it right now, and I really need to plan ahead when I’m going to have a solo podcast to try to get a guest. Oh well.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Joining the Occupy Movement, Not Joining the Illinois House, Joining Theater Goers, and Not Joining Fencebuilders.

By: The Dude on the Right

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As Halloween is here, with the help of an Occupy protester and Stu Gotz, I try to decide if I’m going to join the cause after this episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast. Maybe I should, especially since, as Stu says, I’ve joined the Pussification of America Army during my judging of a Halloween costume contest. To redeem myself I should have, at least, impersonated a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, but alas, I stuck to a bit of honesty when asked if I were Tom Cross. Stu, meanwhile, thinks he has found out how many workers it takes to put up a fence.

Neither of us saw the #1 movie at the box office, “Puss in Boots,” but Stu made it to the theater with Mama Gotz and thought “50/50” was a decent flick. Me, however, I preferred the safety and security of the Dude-Pad, really liking “Captain America.” We both are still fans of “The Big Bang Theory” and “Beavis and Butthead,” Stu is a new fan of “Grimm,” Stu is excited because the McRib is back (for a limited time), and we both recommend backing up important pictures and hope Apple’s iCloud will also do the job for us because sometimes we can’t remember crap.

Joining things, not joining things, and more!

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Here Comes Beavis & Butthead, Harold & Kumar, and Stu & The Dude!

By: The Dude on the Right

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Excitiment is in the air for Stu Gotz and me during this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast as we eagerly await the return of “Beavis and Butthead” this Thursday, and another Harold & Kumar movie in a couple of weeks! We also eagerly await the return of the TV season as a lot of shows are on hiatus for the World Series even though it’s having some of the worse ratings ever.

TV and baseball aside, Stu’s weekend was one filled with pumpkins and lacrosse, while I ate something called shawarma and liked it. Yup, The Gotz’s visited a fall festival farm, complete with pumpkin launcher, and I learned that his kids also play lacrosse, but not football. Me, thanks to my wife who likes to intruduce me to different foods, I tried this stuff called shawarma from a place called Naf Naf Grill, complete with fresh pitas, and I listened to most of the Chicago Bears trouncing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (which is what you put under you Buccenhat), and yes, I know, it was pretty much just a victory, but it was fun to hear them win. I also spent my weekend contemplating the new changes coming to the Catholic Mass that is supposed to get us closer to God, or at least spent my weekend wondering why the church was making said changes.

Stu witnessed a stupid janitor that I thought was a genius, I had a great experience with a Genius at the Apple Store, Stu thought Bridesmaids could have been a little better, and I explain to Stu to expalin to Mama Gotz how to make sure she doesn’t miss a minute of “The Good Wife” with her DVR, as apposed to watching episodes online, that seem to be here even though Stu said he couldn’t find them.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 2:16 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Keith Richards
MPAA Rated:	PG-13
Released By:	The Walt Disney Studios
Release Date:	October 18, 2011
Kiddie Movie:	Not too young, the mermaids are mean.
Date Movie:	Only if she is an uber-fan.
Gratuitous Sex:	Lots of boobs almost popping out of tops is about it.
Gratuitous Violence:	Lots of it – in pirate sstyle.
Action:	There’s a lot of chasing going on.
Laughs:	Not really, except for Jack Sparrow’s goofiness.
Memorable Scene:	The mean mermaids.
Memorable Quote:	Nothing really.
Directed By:	Rob Marshall
Produced By:	Jerry Bruckheimer
Cool things about the Blu-ray:	Unless you pop for the 5-disc set, which includes tons of extras, the only coolness for the basic version is it looks cool, and the Disney Second Screen . The 5-disc includes a 3D and a lot more.

I’ve generally liked most of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, what with Jack Sparrow bouncing around and acting goofy, so I was partly anticipating watching the “On Stranger Tides” version, but I was a little worried that the story might have been getting old. Sadly, for me, it has.

Let’s start with the story…

Back is Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, hoping to avoid jail time by escaping as only Jack Sparrow can. Alas, things are mysterious on the high seas again, with this time the quest being the proverbial Fountain of Youth. Yup, there’s a map, evil pirates, and let’s throw in Penelope Cruz as Angelica in the mix for good measure, and you pretty much get 2+ hours of the search for said Fountain.

Sure, there are dastardly deeds going on, and with any good pirate quest there are twists and turns, but other than Jack Sparrow searching for the Fountain of Youth, you don’t need to know too much more about this movie, especially since, after about 5 minutes, it turns into an action-fest where the story takes a back seat to the bombastic action on the screen, make that the storage area behind the back seat, to the action. Yup, there are people chasing, people being chased, fights between pirate ship crews, fights between, well, you know what, it doesn’t matter, because for me it got boring, tired, and old really fast.

Yup, Jack Sparrow clumsily waddles around, somehow he gets out of jam after jam, and maybe Angelica and Jack have a thing for each other, but this movie was really missing something, and I think that relates to the original movie with Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom being a great side story to that of Jack Sparrow’s antics.

Look, the movie will look great on your big screen, and will sound great through your audio system, but this one is all about the action and not about any story. And if you think you might want keep the kids awake for the ride, this is a hard PG-13 in my opinion, with some of the scariest mermaids I’ve ever seen (forget Little Mermaid love for this one), and the kiddies might end up with some nightmares and hate Ariel for life.

In the end it’s 1 ½ stars for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” Oddly enough I really wanted more of a story.

Get the Blu-ray for the action, and also, don’t worry too much about the extras. There is a blooper reel that is pretty lame in blooper reel standards, and the Blu-ray does have the Disney Second Screen feature which is kind of neat if you are really interested in how the movie is made, and, oh yea, I suppose maybe better for the kiddies than the actual movie is the LEGO Animated Shorts, but unless you go balls out for the 5-Disc Combo pack complete with 3D, you’re getting the Blu-ray to be blasted onto your back wall with action.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Losing in Las Vegas, Loving Storage Wars, Horrible Bosses, and iPhone Envy.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Both Stu Gotz and I were supposed to go to Las Vegas and this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast was supposed to be filled with stories of debauchery and missing memories, but sadly he was the only one to make it as a stomach flu sidelined my travel plans. From the sounds of it, Stu needed me out there to mix things up a bit, as everyone knows I am the party animal, but in any case, Stu gives his wrap-up of the Vegas fun, complete with the wedding of staff member The Dude on the Left to Trash. Me, on the other hand, spent way too many days catching up on everything from Ellen (nice little Glen Campbell interview) to The X-Factor (could Enrique Iglesias look any more disinterested), from Survivor: Somewhere Warm (the blind-siding has begun) to Storage Wars (a new favorite show, and a better watch than the last Saturday Night Live).

I have my new iPhone 4S and Boner doesn’t, I liked Horrible Bosses and Stu sort of liked Hall Pass, Stu is losing his fan-boy love for House and my new iPhone’s Siri knows where my house is – and it’s kind of scary.

All of that and yes, popsicles are still a good remedy for the stomach flu.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Kids at a Farm, Disturbing SNL, No Marathon Running for Us, One Last Carnival, and Assburgers.

By: The Dude on the Right

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I wish you could hear the original open for this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast because it was smooth, perfect, and I hit the post for a very fun Billy Currington song, but sadly there was a computer hiccup that messed up recording the perfect version, and you get this one. Oh well. it is a weekend wrap-up, and neither Stu Gotz nor myself ran in the Chicago Marathon, and that’s probably why both of us are functioning, but Stu wonders about the woman winner of the marathon and the use of these dudes called “Pacers.” He also wonders if Lady Antebellum’s singer blew out her voice, but then realizes it might be Adele and I have to fill Stu in on some Saturday Night Live and some disturbing skits they showed.

With the season of Autumn upon us, Stu had time for one last carnival, and we analyze little kid’s attention spans that I witnessed at Johansen Farms pumpkin patch/corn maze/hay ride/giant slides/petting zoo place in Bolingbrook, IL., and Stu is iffy on a couple of new TV shows.

The Chicago Bears are tonight so we didn’t have Bear talk, but South Park is back and Cartman’s got assburgers. Of course we both laugh.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!