Written by Mitch Cyrus

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Though it will be a sad Sunday of TV watching in one regard; “The Pacific” miniseries has ended, it will be the start of two very interesting days as two iconic series come to an end.  “Lost” will bow out with a two and a half hour finale on Sunday, with nothing more than its entire place in history at stake.  Look at it this way; it’s always been a crazy show…but if the finale doesn’t wrap things up in a satisfactory manner, it could go down as a complete fake, with a finale that might finally overtake “St Elsewhere’s” as the most reviled of all time (if you remember, on the last episode of St. Elsewhere, we find out that the entire hospital and staff were just the imagination of an autistic child).

But if the finale is a success?  Then it will live on forever…and will especially be remembered as the one series that knew exactly when to call it quits.

Which brings us to Monday’s television series finale of “24”.  Depending on who you are, this dinosaur hung around for anywhere from three to five years too long, although I’m probably more in the camp of “one…maybe two years too long”.

That obvious fact aside, it has been a semi-enjoyable last few episodes for me, seeing Jack Bauer turn into Keyser Soze, so I’m interested in how they finish it up, knowing there will be a “24” movie set in Europe in 2012 (perhaps even 2011).

One final TV note:  I haven’t watched a bit of American Idol for the last few years…but this week’s finale may actually get my attention, simply because I think the two finalists are both such incredible singers (the others that have been voted off in the past several weeks?  Not so much).  Besides, Crystal Bowersox is a PROUD Clevelander who has worn Browns earrings on the show!  What’s not to love?

Mini Review  - Crazy Heart

Every now and then I find a movie on DVD that makes me regret that I did not catch it months ago at the theater.  “Crazy Heart” is such a movie.

I made the mistake of talking myself into thinking that this would be nothing more than a country music version of “The Wrestler”, a movie that I didn’t particularly care for, although I did love Mickey Rourke’s performance.

But this is something different, and very special, as Jeff Bridges is simply amazing as Bad Blake, a Waylon Jennings/Merle Haggard old school country singer who has seen better days.  In fact, as we open, he’s pulling into a bowling alley in Pueblo, Colorado for a gig.

There isn’t any real plot to speak of…it’s simply a character study as this chain smoking alcoholic with incredible talent looks to achieve some level of redemption after he becomes involved with a reporter who is a young single mother (an absolutely radiant Maggie Gyllenhaal).

Bridges is on screen for almost the entirety of the movie, and it as an absolute tour-de-force that made his Oscar win for Best Actor a foregone conclusion to everyone who saw it.  He is aided by the best performance I’ve seen from Gyllenhaal, as well as Robert Duvall as his bar owning best friend, and Colin Ferrell in a surprising performance as Bad’s former protégé, who has gone on to be an Alan Jackson level country superstar.  You would normally expect this character to be a snide antagonist, but that is not the case.  Tommy Sweet, Ferrell’s character, still cares immensely for his mentor, and wants to do whatever he can to help a man who either doesn’t want help, or doesn’t know how to accept it.

Then there is the music.  I’m not a country music fan, but the songs created by T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Burton, and ably sung by both Bridges and Ferrell were just perfect for this film, and the performances were incredible.  In fact, Bridges was so good and so natural that he might want to consider a part-time job on tour.

My Rating – Brian Sipe (3 ½ footballs)

News and Rumors

~ Megan Fox and Michael Bay.  I’m not sure which one I abhor more, so watching those two talentless hacks fighting about whether the airheaded Ms. Fox was fired from “Transformers 3” or quit is almost as amusing to me as watching the Steelers play the Ravens to a scoreless tie, with multiple season ending injuries on both sides.

~ While we are still awaiting the fate of Jason Bourne (the next Bourne project is in movie limbo right now), it gives us a chance at a different Robert Ludlum spy novel coming to the screen.  Frank Marshall, the producer of the three Bourne films, is behind the effort to bring “Covert One” to the screen.  This was a series of books that Ludlam launched in 2000, and has carried on since his death in 2001.  The plots follow a top secret American agency that battles corruption and conspiracy at the highest levels of society (I’ll leave my snide editorial comments aside at this point).

~ I think I made a blurb several months ago about the musical “Damn Yankees” being remade, with Jim Carrey staring as the devil.  Well, the other lead role has reportedly been cast, with Jake Gyllenhaal set to play Joe Hardy, the middle aged baseball fan who sells his soul to the devil to be transformed into the baseball superstar who can dethrone the Evil Empire.  Why isn’t this in the next category, you may ask?  It’s because I think this actually has a chance of not sucking, if done right.  Since the Washington Senators are no more, I’m all for making Joe a Cleveland Indians fan in this version.

~ Terry Gilliam is still planning on making the Don Quixote movie “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”, but since Johnny Depp has dropped out due to scheduling issues, Gilliam has tagged Ewen McGregor to play the role of a 21^st century advertising executive who travels back in time to meet Don Quixote, who will be played by Robert Duvall.  Prepare for weirdness.

Stupid Remakes and Sequels

~ Looks like the last book of the Wuss Vampires…aka Twilight: Breaking Dawn, will be breaking up into two movies, a la “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”.

This week's new movie releases: 

Shrek Forever After

Starring: The voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and some other actors who can’t get any real gigs.

Plot :  A bored and domesticated Shrek pacts with deal-maker Rumpelstiltskin to get back to feeling like a real ogre again, but when he's duped and sent to a twisted version of Far Far Away -- where Rumpelstiltskin is king, ogres are hunted, and he and Fiona have never met -- he sets out to restore his world and reclaim his true love.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: From the time I saw the first trailer, I’ve been under the impression that this is just a money-grabbing venture for the studio, and for Myers and Murphy, who have bombed in every live action movie they’ve made over the last several years.  The critics seem to agree, and this one may end up being even WORSE than Shrek the Third, which I thought to be awful.

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MacGruber

Starring: Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer

Plot :  Ex-special operative MacGruber is called back into action to take down his archenemy, Dieter Von Cunth, who's in possession of a nuclear warhead and bent on destroying Washington, D.C.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: Haven’t they learned yet that Saturday Night Live skits turned into movies don’t work? (The first Wayne’s World being the exception that proves the rule).  And don’t throw “Blues Brothers” out there…that wasn’t really a skit…just an excuse for Belushi and Akroyd to show that they could sing.  But this?  This is being held back from the major critics until the last minute…not a good sign, especially after seeing all of the trailers; none of which are the slightest bit funny.  I’d almost rather go see “Stuart Saves his Family”/”It’s Pat!”/”The Ladies Man” triple feature than watch this.  Luckily, I can choose “none of the above” as my preference.

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New DVD Releases for Tuesday, May 25:

The Road  – One of the most touching and yet disturbing movies I have ever seen.  Viggo Mortensen and young Kodi Smit-McPhee were robbed by not being nominated for an Oscar for their incredible performances in this dark, dark adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel about a man and his 10 year old son trying to survive travelling south years after (apparently) nuclear holocaust has destroyed almost every living thing on the planet.  I will review this next week in the Mini-Review section.

Dear John  – I really liked Amanda Seyfried on “Big Love”…in her relatively small role.  But since she’s become a “hot” movie star, she has appeared in some of the most god-awful movies I’ve ever seen (or will see, in the case of “Letters to Juliette” next week).  “Mamma Mia!, “Jennifer’s Body”, and now this sappy Hallmark tale of a young couple coping with their newfound love in light of the guy being shipped off to war after 9/11.  Ugh.

Calendar Watch  

Next Week: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Sex and the City 2

Upcoming Biggies (click on the hyperlink to view the available trailers).

The A-Team – June 11 – Based on the campy TV series…but the makers of this film are trying to sell it more as an action film with no camp.  With Liam Neeson playing Hannibal Smith as their leader, they may have a chance.

Toy Story 3D – June 18 -  It looks like a big year for 3D films in 2010.  In this one, Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the toys are dumped into a day care after Andy grows up and goes to college.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – July 2 – More Wussy Vampires!  I can’t wait! (sorry…sarcasmectomy isn’t scheduled for a few months yet).

The Last Airbender – July 2 – Can M. Knight Shyamalan continue his downward spiral of suck?  Or will this be the start of a redemption for him?

Predators – July 9 – Re-booting of the original Ah-nuld franchise.  Looks to be intriguing.

Inception – July 16 – Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page in a Christopher Nolan sci-fi mind bender that looks to be in the mode of “Momento”

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – July 16 – Live action remake of the Disney classic short, starring Nicolas Cage.

Salt – July 23 – Angelina Jolie as a CIA operative accused of being a Russian spy.

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps – September 24 – Oliver Stone brings Michael Douglass back as Gordon Gecko, teaming him with Shia LaBeouf in a film that looks to be quite different in tone than the last one.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I – November 19 – Part One of the final book about Harry, Hermione, and Ron.  This one (and I’m sure the last one) will be in 3-D.

Tron Legacy – December 17 – Might be the most anticipated Holiday release of this year.