Welcome back to Simple Man Entertainment today my friends. Today I am going to talk about a movie called Corky Romano, which is a stupid funny kind of movie that I normally wouldn’t watch. However this one took my by surprise it was really funny and a great way to relax and enjoy myself with my wife. By the way my wife recommended that I watch the movie and as usual she was right, because I laughed my butt off.
The movie is about the son of a mobster who has nothing whatever to do with the family business, but gets pulled in at the behest of the family consigliore. His job is to infiltrate the FBI and get the evidence against his father before it can be used against him at trial. What follows is an outrageous series of screw ups by Corky (The Son) that never the less work out for him.
There are a lot of great actors in this film that you may recognize as well. Chris Kattan has the title role of Corky Romano. Peter Falk plays the father Francis Romano. Chris Penn and Peter Berg play the brothers Peter and Paulie respectively. Fred Ward plays the consigliore Leo Corrigan, Richard Roundtree plays the top fed, and Vinessa Shaw plays the love interest agent Kate Russo. As you can see this movie has a great cast of characters.
Another good thing about this movie is that it is family friendly too. You can show this to your kids and not have to worry about the content being to adult for them to enjoy the movie with you. Also since the movie came out in 2001 you don’t have to worry about spending a fortune to see it. Corky Romano will make a great family night movie, or even just a movie to help make you laugh when the day has been rough.
That is all for now from Simple Man Entertainment, but we will be back again soon with more films, shows, and stuff for your entertainment pleasure. Have an awesome day, and CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Welcome to Simple Man Entertainment. I'm back with another interesting movie review, and instead of something funny (which is my movie of preference) I'm going to talk about a movie that delves into some history - The Other Boleyn Girl.
I've been planning to watch this movie for months. I don't even remember how long it's been there on my DVR waiting for me to watch it, but finally, my husband and I got the chance to watch it, so I thought I'd give it a review.
Who's Who? The Other Boleyn Girl stars quite a few names that you'll definitely recognize. Playing the two main roles, as the Boleyn sisters are Natalie Portman (Anne Boleyn) and Scarlett Johansson (Mary Boleyn). Playing the king, Henry Tudor, in the movie is Eric Bana, and he definitely does it well. Some of the other names you may recognize include Jim Sturgess, Kristin Scott Thomas, David Morrissey, Ana Torrent, Eddie Redmayne, and Mark Rylance.
Kid Rating: For you parents, you may be wondering if this is a movie to show the kids. Personally, I don't think so. Yes, this movie is definitely historical, but remember that history isn't always very pretty or family friendly. This is a movie with adult themes, and although it is rated PG-13, it's not one I'd show the kids. Of course, you can view it and decide for yourself.
The Story Line: If you remember your history lessons at all, I'm sure you've heard the Boleyn name. This movie tells the story of the Boleyn family. Since Catherine of Aragon, the current queen of England, is not able to have a male child to be the heir to the thrown, The Duke of Norfolk along with his brother in law (father of the Boleyn girls) decides to try to get Anne in as the mistress to the king, trying to gain riches and political power for themselves. This doesn't go according to plan though, and King Henry ends up being infatuated by Mary, who was already married. The king gives Mary's husband an offer of a court position, which means Mary must go to court as well, and she is basically forced into being the mistress to the king. Although not put in this position of her own will, she falls in love with him along the way.
Anne of course is angry that she didn't get the king, and runs off with another nobleman, who happens to be already betrothed, and they are secretly married. The family is afraid that Anne is going to ruin the family reputation, and she is exiled off to France.
Mary gets pregnant with the kings child, but ends up becoming bedridden for most of her pregnancy. So once again Anne is called back to gain the attention of the king so he won't stray to "greener pastures" ( now there's a stretch…). This time Anne is able to seduce the king, withholding herself from him and convincing him to never speak to her sister and never to sleep with his wife. Although Mary has a son, the king will not speak to her, and she is sent away, heartbroken by betrayal by the king and her sister.
Even though he sends her sister away and refuses see his wife, Anne demands more. She wants the queen divorced and sent away so that she can legally become the king's wife. During this time, the news of Anne's previous marriage to the nobleman comes to light, but Mary assures the king that it was not consummated, which ends up reconciling the two sisters, so Mary stays in court with Anne.
Finally Anne is married to Henry, she gets pregnant, but has a daughter. Then she miscarries her second pregnancy and things that her brother should impregnate her, to avoid the wrath of the king, although they both cannot go through with it. The only problem is that her brother's wife sees them together and goes on to testify that they did have incestuous relations with each other. Both Anne and her brother are found guilty, even though they weren't, and are supposed to be executed. Marty comes back to plead for the life of her sister, since she misses her brother's execution, but she is not successful and is warned not to come back to court. Mary leaves taking Anne's daughter with her and raises the girl with her own son.
In the end, it becomes ironically clear that it is actually Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne, that does take over the throne.
My Thoughts: The Other Boleyn Girl was definitely an interesting movie, and based on historical facts. It found it a tragic story and was horrified to see how an entire family was torn apart, and ultimately two of them killed, all because of greed and pursuit of power. The father of these girls was willing to basically sell away his daughters to get more money and political power, which actually is quite sickening.
As I mentioned, this is not really one for the kids, but it is an interesting historical movie that was well done. It's not one I'd watch again, but definitely one I won't forget!
Welcome back my friends to another installment of Simple Man Entertainment today. I finally got a chance to watch Fast and Furious 4, which is a movie I have wanted to see since it came out in the late spring/early summer of this year. I am a big fan of the original Fast & Furious as well as the third movie Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift, but I was not as much of a fan of Fast & Furious 2.
F&F4 reunited four of the original cast members from the movie that started it all Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Michelle Rodriguez. The only two original cast members missing in this movie that survived were Johnny Strong, (Leon) and Matt Schulze (Vince). However I think Dom, O’Connor, Mia, and Letty were sufficient for this F&F4 2009 film production.
Fast & Furious 4 just like all of the other movies in this series have these things in common. F&F4 has fast cars, beautiful girls, great music, and high tech gadgetry. Unfortunately I think the film lacks a really good plot and is very shallow on character development. However if you like speed, action, adventure, clubbing, and gorgeous girls, this film will not disappoint you.
The plot is very straight forward though. Eventually Dom leaves Letty in order to protect her because he is a marked man. Letty ultimately returns home and is murdered while trying to clear his name. Mia tells her brother Dom what happened and Dom promptly returns home to take revenge against Letty’s murderer once he finds him. Along the way Dom and O’Conner reunite for the same cause and the rest you have to watch yourself.
After watching Fast & Furious 4 I have come away from the movie with these things in mind. If I have a couple of hours to kill I would watch this movie, but I wouldn’t pay to. This is also not a movie that I will watch again although the first Fast & Furious or Tokyo Drift I would watch again. I guess in the end I was not a big fan of Fast & Furious 4. That’s all from Simple Man Entertainment for now; see ya all later, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
This weekend I had the good fortune to sit down and enjoy a true escapist movie. The movie I got to watch was a western called Appaloosa. I have always been a big fan of the genre of western films. Unfortunately there have been a lot of western films made in the last ten or twenty years that I thought cheapened the genre, however I do not think that this movie is one of those.
As with most excellent and classic western movies this one is also about the classic battle between good and evil. Appaloosa also happens to be a great love story as well, which I believe will make this movie a good viewing for both the guys and gals. The makers of this film have also seemed to have gone out of their way to keep the wardrobe, speech, and living conditions of the west as authentic as possible too.
There are also a lot of well known actors in this movie who have had experience in performing as western characters. Ed Harris plays the main character of Virgil Cole a lawman. Viggo Mortensen plays Virgil’s partner Everett Hitch. Jeremy Irons plays the evil rancher Randall Bragg. Lance Henriksen plays hired gunman Ring Shelton. Renée Zellweger plays the love interest Timothy Spall of Harry Potter fame also plays a roll.
The setting for this film is a small western town named Appaloosa. The town’s people and businesses have been terrorized for some time by the evil rancher Randall Bragg to the point that the town council is finally ready to do something about it. Their answer to the problem is to hire Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch to protect the town, because the towns marshal Jack Bell was killed by Randall Bragg. Unfortunately for Bragg marshal Bell was a friend of Virgil Cole, which motivates Virgil to accept the job.
While all of this is going a widow named Allison French played by Zellweger arrives in town on the train and grabs the interest of town marshal Virgil Cole. To Virgil Allison French appears to be a refined, educated, and attractive woman, which she is. They spark up a relationship almost immediately and Virgil starts to court Mrs. French. Unfortunately Mrs. French also shows an interest in Virgil’s partner Everett Hitch, which goes no where fast.
Ultimately Virgil Cole gets a witness to marshal Jack Bell’s murder, makes his arrest, and gets a murder conviction at trial on rancher Randall Bragg. While transporting Bragg to the county seat for his hanging Bragg is rescued by hired gunman Ring Shelton and his brother who have taken Allison French as a hostage. While trailing Randall and the Shelton brothers Virgil learns that Allison is fooling around with Bragg. Both Bragg and his crew and Virgil and Everett run into some renegade apaches at this time too.
What follows is a shootout with the renegade Indians and an unlikely partnership between the Shelton Brothers, Cole, and Everett. Ultimately a gift of a horse to the Indians in exchange for safe passage is performed by Everett, which allows the unlikely partners to reach the town Bragg was running to. Inevitably there is a shootout between Cole, Everett, and the Ring brothers, which enables Randall to escape and results in both Cole and Everett sustaining injuries and the Ring brothers dying.
Some time later after Virgil, Everett, and Allison return to Appaloosa where Virgil and Allison rekindle their relationship Randall returns with a full pardon by then President Chester A, Arthur his friend and former boss at the customs house in Washington D.C. What follows after Randall’s return to Appaloosa is nothing less than what you would expect, although not in the manner that I expected at least. I think though that you should watch the movie, because I will not give away the ending and the ending is poignant.
I hope you have enjoyed his review here at Simple Man Entertainment This movie is rated R for violence an language so I would definitely not show movie to young children. However if you like westerns jut as I do I would highly recommend that you watch this movie, because you will not be disappointed. I hope you all have a marvelous day and I will be back again soon with more here at Simple Man Entertainment CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Last night was the So You Think You Can Dance season finale and it was a smokin hot from start to finish. They had some of the judge’s favorite routines from this past season and they were all awesome performances. The also had the Rage Boys Crew back as guests along with So You Think You Can Dance Australia winner Sonya Talia. This 2 hour show was nonstop entertainment I enjoyed every minute of it.
The show even had seven experts on dais last night instead of the usual three. Last nights panel of experts in addition to Nigel and Mary included Adam Shankman, Tyce Diorio, Mia Michaels, Debbie Allen, and Lil C. Like I said I thought they picked some great routines for us to watch on the finale, and did an even better job of staying quiet and letting the dancers have their night in the spotlight.
I won’t go in to all f the routines that they picked for last nights show, but I will tell you that they picked my Top 4 favorite routines of the season. These four routines are Mad with Phillip and Jeanine, The Butt with Evan and Randi, Kupono and Kayla in Addiction, and Ade and Melissa in This Woman’s Work. I was very happy to see these routines performed with the pressure off I think that made them better.
As I mentioned The Rage Boys came back for the finale to perform to “Feel It”, which was choreographed by Tiffany Burton and recorded by Colby O’Donis and Maui B. The other guest that performed was from So You Think You Can Dance Australia Sonya Talia. Sonya ballerina performed a stunning routine to “Shot You Down” by Audio Bully’s.
Of course what we are here for today on Simple Man Entertainment is to discuss who won the competition so here we go. Kayla took 4th place in the competition, which I felt was right. Evan secured 3rd place throwing off my prediction by a 1/3. Brandon nailed down the 2nd spot easily. The winner of the competition was none other than the incomparable Jeanine who ultimately earned the title Americas Favorite Dancer and validating 2/3 of my prediction.
Well my friends this puts Season 5 in the history books. I have to tell you that I enjoyed this season even more than I did the last season. I had my ups and downs with some judge’s decisions and critiques as well as some of the dancers who got cut earlier. I also had some serious doubts about some routines that were performed. However I never had a doubt that these talented performers would shine.
I hope you all have a great day and Simple Man Entertainment will be back with the new So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 in just a few short weeks, man I can’t wait until September. We will also see you all again very soon with more entertainment info soon. We have been looking at some movies and even a few books as well that we think you guys might like. So keep an eye out for us CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Last night was the first night of the finale for So You Think You Can Dance, and of course we have to write about that here at Simple Man Entertainment. It was an interesting night, with the show getting moved to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and the final four dancing all night long.
The judges for the night were Nigel, Mary, and back from the first week - Adam Shankman. It was good to have him back on the panel of judges again.
The first routine of the night was the top four dancing together and they did a Wade Robson routine, danced to "Boys Boys Boys" by Lady Gaga. It was about two cheerleaders and two football players, and the cheerleaders were too much for the football players to handle. It was okay, but it didn't start any fireworks on the show.
Tonight everyone was dancing with everyone else, so the first couple dance was done by Evan and Jeanine. I'd been waiting all season for these two to get together. They did a routine choreographed by Sonya, dancing to "Heartbreaker" by MSTRKRFT ft. John Legend. Adam called it "great," Mary said it was a "good partnership," and Nigel felt that the two were "well loved."
Brandon was up next with a solo piece that was excellent. Adam called him an "extreme dancer" and Mary said he "gave me goose bumps." He got great reviews and the judges felt that this dance was definitely competitive.
Brandon and Kayla danced together as a couple next, with a Broadway routine by Tyce Diorio. They danced to "Bye Bye Love" from the All That Jazz soundtrack. Adam felt it was "so good," Mary called them "rock stars" and Nigel called it "superb."
Jeanine did her solo next, and it was beautiful. Adam thought it was "risky" but he felt he was a "beautiful woman" and that she "fought Brandon back" with this solo. Mary said it was a "standout" and Nigel called it "brave" and "brilliant" predicting she'd at least make it to the final two.
The two guys, Brandon and Evan took the stage next, dancing together to a Pop Jazz routine, choreographed by Laruieanne Gibson. They danced to "Nasty" by Janet Jackson. Adam felt "Evan got a little dusted," Mary felt that Brandon was a "little bit sharper," and even Nigel felt that Evan got "outdanced." However, they all alluded to the fact that the piece was not one well suited to Evan (after all he's not really a Nasty boy) which was not Evans fault at all.
Kayla and Jeanine then danced a Mia Michaels contemporary routine together, to "The Four Sections IV" by Full Orchestra Steve Reich. Mary called these two the "strongest two women ever on the show" and Nigel felt that it was Jeanine who has really "peaked" at this stage in the game.
Evan danced his solo next, and of course it was well loved by the crowd. Adam said he was "fascinated" and Mary gave him "kudos" saying that "Evan is unique." While Nigel felt that Evan "brings the Ahhhhh factor" he didn't think this solo was as strong as solos done already by Brandon and Jeanine.
Dancing as a couple, Evan and Kayla hit the stage, dancing a Jive by Tony and Melanie. They danced to "T.R.O.U.B.L.E." by Travis Tritt. It was definitely a different Jive routine. Adam said he was "not sure that was a finale level routine" but of course that wasn't really the dancers fault. Mary felt that it was "phenomenal" but then said they "faked it," but then flip flopped to say that "Kayla stole the show." Not sure she really had an idea what she was talking about at this point. Nigel felt that "Evan was there the whole time" and wished that Kayla would have shown this personality earlier in the competition.
Kayla danced her solo next, and I agreed with what Adam said: "This solo was fine, but didn't show who you are." Personally, I think this has been her problem throughout the competition.
The last couple to dance was Brandon and Jeanine, dancing a Pasa Doble, choreographed by Louis Van Amstel. They danced to "Tetsuyin" from the Matrix Revolutions soundtrack. This was the best pieces of the night in my opinion. Adam felt that they "shredded" with "so much strength and power." Mary screamed, called it "phenomenal" and "spot on" than screamed again. Nigel even screamed, and said he felt that these two dancers were "in the front."
At the end of the show, the judges were asked if they had predictions for tonight's final show and who would win. Adam said he "had no idea," Mary said "no way" did she have a clue, but Nigel did weight in. He felt that Brandon and Jeanine would be in the top two and one of them would be crowned America's Favorite Dancer.
Now we already know that Tim has made a prediction that it will be Jeanine and Evan, with Jeanine winning. We also have a prediction from top judge Nigel now. No matter who else ends up in the top 2, I know Jeanine will be there, so that's as far as I'm going to go.
The dancers have danced. They've laid their heart and soul on the floor. What matters now is tonight. I hope you watch the show. If you don't, we'll give you the results in tomorrow's post.
We're back with another movie review here on Simple Man Entertainment. Over the weekend I got a night to kick back with my husband and watch a movie - Fool's Gold. After I watched the movie, I definitely thought it was worthy of a review, so here it is.
Who's Who? There are a lot of names you'll recognize in the movie Fool's Gold. The leading man, Benjamin Finnegan is played by Matthew McConaughey and the leading lady, Tess Finnegan, is played by Kate Hudson. This isn't the first time these two have been in movies together, and they do a great job once again. Playing Nigel is Donald Sutherland, another big name, and playing his daughter Gemma is Alexis Dziena. A couple other names you may recognize are Ewen Bremner, Ray Winstone, and Kevin Hart.
Kid Rating: Is this a movie you want to show the kids? Well, that depends on the age of the kids. It's not really a kids movie, although it is rated PG-13. If you have younger kids, this isn't a movie really for them, not because it's a bad movie, but more because the story plot is more adult. So is this a family night movie? Probably not, although some older kids may enjoy it. My advice…watch it first and then decide for yourself.
The Story Line: The story line is exciting, with Benjamin Finnegan looking for treasure in the sea, only to have his boat blow up. He finds something he thinks is important, only to be captured by the henchman of a man he owed money too - Big Bunny. Meanwhile Tess, his wife is trying to get a divorce. He escapes, only to arrive seconds after the divorce is final, in which she is awarded everything. The only problem…the boat, the only thing they owned, was blown up. She gets so mad she smacks him with a cane - truly hilarious.
Benjamin is still convinced there is treasure out there to find. While Tess is working for a multi millionaire on his yacht, Ben spots the yacht, and thinking about the fact he needs money, comes up with a plan to get on that boat. He ends up on the boat after a chivalrous deed, shocking Tess as she serves dinner to the yachts owner and his daughter. Three smashed plates later, the two end up telling Nigel, the millionaire (played by Sutherland) about the search they have done in the past and the likelihood that they know where the Spanish treasure, known as the Queen's Dowry, is located.
Nigel is willing to fund the adventure, and off they go to explore the sea to find the treasure. Along the way, newly divorced Ben and Tess begin to reignite their old love. As they search for treasure, they are thwarted at every turn by Big Bunny, surviving capture more than once, and eventually finding the treasure in a dangerous place. Do they get the treasure? You'll have to watch it and find out.
My Thoughts: Personally, I found Fool's Gold to be an exciting and fun movie to watch. It has plenty of humor, and a love story back dropped by search for treasure - what could be better? This is definitely what I call a feel good movie, and it's not so sappy that the guys won't like it. My husband actually enjoyed it too, so this is one that is great for both the guys and the gals. This is definitely a movie I'd recommend.
Yep the family I and finally did it, we went and saw the new HP flick Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The kids have been going crazy wanting to see this movie since they first learned the release date. Of course the kids have been to see every Harry Potter movie in the theater so why would they see this one be any differently.
However we did wait until after the opening day to go see the movie, because I hate large crowds. We also went to a matinee, which worked out because it is the hottest part of the day and a movie theater is air conditioned, and it is better than spending all day in the house too. Any way I digress so let’s move along to the movie.
I also had been really looking forward to this film also especially after the way The Order of the Phoenix had ended. At the end of that film everyone was finally confronted with the reality of Lord Voldemorts return. You also get to see who the Deatheaters are as well as the members of the order. You also see the death of Sirius Black Harry’s god father.
I really did expect The Half Blood Prince to answer some of the questions that had arisen from the 6th movie. Unfortunately you don’t really get all of the answers you are looking for, but you get more questions that need answering instead. I found this to be maddening, but with film #7 still in the works and an 8th film rumored I understand why.
What you do get though is a great piece of cinematic entertainment. You get all of your favorite characters like the Weasleys, the Malfoys, the Order of the Phoenix, and Hogwarts players. You also have plenty of action/magic in this film. Another thing you see is a more clear definition of some of the characters relationships with each other.
I would have to say that all in all The Half Blood Prince was definitely worth going out to see. It was also worth every penny we spent for four including what we spent at the snack bar. If you haven’t seen this movie yet and you find yourself with a couple of hours to kill during the day it is well worth the time and the money to go see it.
That is all I can say about this film, because I don’t wish to give away the ending. As for those of you who have already seen it, well you already know how it ends. I will tell you that I have already read all of the HP books so I know how it all should end, so we will see won’t we.
Have a great day my friends and I will see you all again soon. So long from Simple Man Entertainment and CIAO4NOW!!!!!
My daughter Tyler says about the new HP: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was a well done movie. It wasn’t exactly the greatest thing to come out of WB, but it was still watch-able. The cast was great and you can definitely see an improvement in the acting skills, but they should have added more to the plot and at least answered a few questions. For example: Why didn’t Draco just kill Albus or why didn’t Minerva look more upset when Albus died? In my opinion, there are only a few good things that came out of this film, such as couples Ron and Hermione or Harry and Ginny. The cliffhangers were a great thing to add in too. A few interesting cliffhangers - Harry and Ginny won’t be returning to school… neither will Ron and Hermione. Overall, it was a great film.
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