Rockstar: INXS Finals(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	Episode:	32
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Time Slot:	Wednesday 9:30 a.m.; Rerun at 9:30 p.m.

Due to time constraints I wasn't able to keep a running update on the Rockstar: INXS show. Ofcourse you know by now that the band picked JD Fortune as its lead singer. Marty was "second" and Mig "third".

JD managed to turn me off in some episodes, but I have to admit he fits the band better than the others.

Marty got a good deal with his lovehammers band being offered the slot to open the INXS concerts in their US tour.

I love this show. I will buy the DVD when it comes out.

Movie: The Brothers Grimm

	Distributor:	Miramax Films
	Release:	August 26, 2005
	Genre:	Comedy, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Suspense/Horror and Thriller
	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material.

The writer/s of this movie probably thought: "What were the Grimm brothers doing before they started writing those fairy tales?"

The answer the movie comes up with: They belong to a band of four scam artists. Two of the group would go to a town and dress up as ghosts at night to scare the people, who would then call up the Grimm brothers to ask them to exorcise the ghosts. One of the brothers keeps a large notebook wherein he jots down the stories they encounter from town to town and this is presumably the source of the book of fairy tales they will publish later.

The group runs into trouble when they are exposed for the fakes they are, and in order to redeem themselves and buy their freedom, the brothers must try to perform a real exorcism. They are sent to a town where children are disappearing, the brothers find out that the nearby forest is home to an ancient and powerful witch who plans to use the children in a ritual that will increase her power and turn her from a frightening skeleton to the sexy fleshy woman she once was before the plague conquered her.

After a series of setbacks and encounters that almost kill them, the brothers succeed, realize they have real talent after all, and decide to spend their remaining lives being legit.

Matt Damon plays the brother who collects stories, but then he usually plays the geek in most movies he's done. Heath Ledger plays the other Grimm, and the supposed masterminded of their scams. Although I recognized Matt immediateley, I wasn't able to recognize Heath Ledger in the first few scenes. I could say Heath is getting more adept at losing himself in a character, whereas Matt still manages to cling on to a part of himself.

The movie has good visual effects. I have mixed feelings about the story, however. It starts out as a comedy of sorts then it progresses to suspense/thriller. Those looking for comedy would have difficulty looking for laughs after the first few scenes are over, while those who love scary movies would wish the movie to be more haunting. If you are a fan of fantasy films, the movie will not invite you to imagine being transported to the story's world either.

Movie: Sky High

	Distributor:	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
	Release:	July 29, 2005
	Genre:	Action/Adventure, Comedy and Kids/Family
	MPAA Rating:	PG for action violence and some mild language.

It's hard for an adult to convince another adult to watch an obviously made for kids movie, especially if the only well known actors are Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston. This is what Sky High is. Kids will like it although I doubt it would be popular enough to have a TV series in the near future. The movie doesn't take itself seriously, which in my opinion adds to the fun.

The story starts with two superheroes, Commander (Russell) and Jetstream (Preston), whose son Will is entering high school. Not just any ordinary high school though, this is a school for superheroes in the making, as well as for kids of superheroes ... whether they are superhero material or not. For secrecy's sake, the school is on a floating platform which enables it to hide in the clouds. The students get there on a flying school bus.

Our young protagonist, Will, has a major problem which will cause him insecurity. Although his parents are two of the most powerful superheroes around, popular enough for the school bus driver to hold Will in awe because of his lineage, none of those powers have manifested itself in Will. In contrast, Layla, his best friend and neighbor, can already control trees and plants. Will does not know if he is just a late bloomer, or if he will remain an average human.

Unfortunately for Will's ego, there is a marked division in Sky High between students who have shown considerable power and students who have little or no power at all. You are either classified as "Hero" or "Sidekick" depending on your performance on a series of tests. Will ends up in the "Sidekick" program, and for bullies in sky high, his group is where the losers are. Will finds himself trying to survive the bullying with a handful of friends, mostly fellow sidekicks. It is during these attacks that Will's powers come out ... the teachers realize his potential and put him in the "Heroes" class.

What is a movie about superheroes if there are no villains? To complicate matters for Will, Sky High is attacked by his parents' worst enemy, who most people thought was dead. The villain attacks during a school dance, and turns everyone into babies, including Will's parents who are guests of honor.

It's a no brainer that the movie ends with Will and his sidekick/misfit friends saving the day.

It's not a monumental movie, but I enjoyed it enough that if they show it on cable, I'd probably watch it again.

Movie: The Dukes of Hazzard

	Distributor:	Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
	Release:	August 5, 2005
	Genre:	Action/Adventure, Comedy and Adaptation
	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for Sexual Content, Crude and Drug-Related Humor, Language and Comic Action Violence

I remember little of the TV series that inspired the creation of this movie ... I was too young to make sense of what I was seeing on TV although I do know that the episodes always involve two young guys who drive a fast car and are always getting in trouble. The series probably ran during the 1980s ... old enough for one of those guys to play Clark Kent's dad on TV's Smallville these days.

I don't know if they intended to make this a parody the way Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson made the Starsky and Hutch movie. It does have Sean William Scott, which I first noticed in the American Pie movies, and his character in this movie is definitely a funny, wild one. It's got Jessica Simpson playing the blond bombshell and wearing sexy outfits which is probably the only reason some boys would watch this movie.

Is the movie funny? It has funny moments, but not enough to have me rolling on the floor.