The Weather Man (DVD) Review
Ignored by the Academy Awards, The Weather Man struck a chord with certain critics and audience members. Pirates Of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski took the reins of this film which attempts to imitate American Beauty (1999) in its probing dissection of the emptiness of the American pop culture and its emphasis on materialism, fame, and artificially constructed measures of “success”. Writer Steve Conrad creates a world in which the title character lives in utter emotional depression despite having all the outward “success indicators” society craves. Oftentimes funny, The Weather Man is nevertheless a disappointment. The dialogue is often strained, and one leaves with the impression that the film tried too hard to exhibit the symbolism and depth of an American classic. It’s ironic, because the very societal acclaim it seems to condemn leads to its own downfall when the film tries to create memorable one-liners and symbolism that just don’t work… The Weather Man follows the life of local Chicago weather man Dave Spritz (Nicolas Cage) who lives an ideal life by traditional American standards of success. His salary is in the mid-six figures. He only works two hours a day, and his job requires no thought. He can be right; he can be wrong. It doesn’t really matter. Meanwhile, he’s been short-listed as a prime candidate for the most desirable weather man job in the world, lead weather guy for Hello America, a nationally syndicated mourning show on one of the major networks. By most people’s standard, Dave has it made. But reality is a totally different picture. In Dave’s world, he’s constantly haunted by his own father’s success and his desire to live up to expectations and gain fatherly approval. Robert Spritzel (Michael Caine) is a celebrated American author who won the Pulitzer Prize at age 33, a man respected by almost everyone in the world. But Dave’s inability to meet his father’s high expectations strains their relationship. In the meantime, Dave and his wife Noreen (Hope Davis) have recently divorced, his daughter Shelly (Gemmenne de la Pena) has taken up smoking and is enduring the pains of teenage adolescence, and his son Michael is the target of a child-molesting counselor. Throw in a bout of a depression due to lack of a substantive life purpose and Dave is really living the American nightmare. But the Hello America job gives Dave a reason for pause as he debates what course his life should take… Snubbed by critics, I’ll have to agree that The Weather Man is not the film it held the promise of being. It simply tries too hard to provide deep meaning where a little less flair will do the job. The dialogue is a perfect example. It oftentimes seems that the writers were trying to reverse engineer a sort of memorable dialogue situation similar to the famous “quarter-pounder with cheese” exchange from Pulp Fiction. The result is an awkward and tiresome display of such lines as What is that?... It’s a frosty… What’s a frosty? Why would they hit you with a frosty? The audience is left with the feeling that it’s supposed to be captivated by such linguistics, but the result is the exact opposite. Nevertheless, the film is saved by a number of hilarious scenes such as Dave’s pathetic attempt at a spontaneous moment when he pelts his ex-wife with a snowball, the innumerable moments when Dave is bludgeoned with fast food, and one exchange of dialogue which does work when Robert defines the term “camel toe” for his son. Overall, The Weather Man is a decent night’s entertainment, and the film is not completely without value despite its feeble attempt to follow in the footsteps of American Beauty. One just expects more from veteran actors like Cage and Caine…
Other Betting Exchange Articles
Never Bet on Big Soccer Underdogs As almost every professional bettor will tell you, backing heavy favourites is a sure fire way to the poorhouse. That’s common knowledge, right? Perhaps, but there’s one problem with that type of thinking: it’s dead wrong.The received wisdom is the linesmakers skew their odds on heavy favourites because the public love betting on the best ...Insurance and Ethics Insurance contracts are often seen as a form of gambling. That is because they appear as a type of wager that takes place over the lifetime of the policy. Basically the insurance company is willing to bet that you and your property will not suffer the loss insured against. In exchange for making this bet, and taking on the risk, they receive you ...Krrish– Has Left the Building! Some call it the world's largest film industry. Indian filmmaking has come of age. The latest blockbuster Krrish has laid the foundation for a new era in Bollywood.Just as Hollywood has been presenting movies that are sold as branded, marketed and well rounded products so has our own film industry finally learnt how to sell a movie ...3 Way Linking - The New Popularity Building Strategy For Your Website There has been a lot of talk over the past few months, even more so with the latest Google update, about the value of linking. What types of links are better, which types are still seen as value added to a website. Well if the truth be told, the only people who can tell us are not saying anything. I am speaking of the engineers at Google and the ...Online Poker Forums: Another Tool to Improve Your Game Almost any activity you can think of has an online forum dedicated solely for the discussion and exchange of information on that particular topic. Forums have been around in the form the dial-up bulletin boards and internet newsgroups that were popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The internet forum has since evolved into one of the most used tools t ...Is Being Rich Bad? Why do some believe it is bad to be rich and others do not? First of all it is a matter of perspective, what is rich? Materially speaking most Americans, when compared to the world, are rich. Most make more in a month than many make in a year. But most do not have the abundance that is commonly referred to as being rich. Most of these think that ...The Rise in UK Gambling I woke up this morning to the headline “UK gamblers spent over £42 billion last year”. Apparently we are spending more and more on gambling every year; the article went on to say that we are almost a nation of gambling junkies trying to bet at every opportunity, getting our fix wherever and whenever we can”. But is this fair? And is the problem ...Online Poker Betting: How Safe Is Your Money? Many people can become concerned when it comes to online gaming. This is especially true when money is involved over the internet. So when you combine these two elements, online gaming and money, people can become a bit nervous. Online poker betting is just such an arena where money, the challenge of a game and the internet meet.However, ...Charlie's Angels (Season 2) DVD Review Long before Magnum, PI put Tom Selleck on the map, Charlie's Angels owned the world of TV private eyes. Nominated for 4 Emmys and 7 Golden Globes, including 2 for Best TV Series - Drama, Charlie's Angels was a truly rare overnight sensation. The forerunner to modern day shows such as La Femme Nikita and Alias, creators Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts ..."The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" - Einstein Would Have Loved It! In the popular movie “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”, author C.S. Lewis created the imaginary land of Narnia, where 4 children encounter time travel and discover the forces of both good and evil, and take a much greater part in that battle than they had ever dreamed possible.Set during World War 2, four siblings Lucy, Peter, Susan ...Free Poker Games There are many sites that offer free poker games online and this number is increasing all the time. Online poker is an attractive pastime for many people that can be enjoyed from home. While some sites offer a variety of free poker games for you to play, yet other sites specialize in one certain type of poker. Some of the free poker games that a ...Internet Gambling Bill In the House of Representatives, there is a bill (H.R. 4777) that was introduced by Representative Bob Goodlatte, of Virginia. The bill, entitled “Internet Gambling Prohibition Act”, was introduced to the House of Representatives on February 16, 2006 and was sent to the Committee on the Judiciary on the same day. The bill is one that, if pas ...Honeymoon In Vegas (Movie Review) One romantic comedy often overlooked by fans of cinema is Honeymoon In Vegas, a light-hearted, feel-good movie about two lovers overwhelmed by the temptations of Las Vegas. A relatively early film in the careers of both Nicholas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker, Honeymoon In Vegas should have been early indicator to audiences everywhere that these ...Earn Risk Free Profits With Arbitrage Trading Arbitrage trading is a well-unknown thing. Not many people know about arbitrage trading or how amazing it is. Arbitrage trading can earn a very good stream of income. Imagine taking $200 and turning it into $1000 in a month. Sounds good doesn’t it. Well with arbitrage trading you can do exactly that.Arbitrage trading is taking two bookkee ...An Example Of What High Leverage Means In Forex Trading These days Forex trading has become one of the most looked after occupation for many persons around the world. This great interest in Forex trading is due to its great advantages over other capital markets and its high potential profitability; among these advantages we can find its extremely easy accessibility thanks to the widespread presence o ...Online Forex Q1: When you consider that the foreign exchange market has become the world's largest financial market, with over $1.5 trillion USD traded daily, where does it go from here?A1:The FX market is unique, in the UK there is no central exchange, we trade via the inter bank market. With more and more private individuals taking up margin trading ...Securing Risk-free Arbitrages on Betting Exchanges Most people have now become familiar with the concept of arbitrages, and the opportunities which betting exchanges create in order to secure an arbitrage.As a very brief explanation to those who may be unfamiliar to the term, an arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a state of imbalance between two or more markets. A combinatio ...Texas Holdem Rules Texas Holdem poker does not adhere to any universal or standard set of rules. But nonetheless, here are some rules that one of the most reliable sources for Texas Holdem Game Rules prescribes. This group meets mainly to update and elaborate the rules for poker.Some of the general rules go as follows: Games in the United States should use ...Understanding Online Casino and Poker Room Bonuses Casino bonuses are when a casino offers a bonus in the form of free money or chips to players. These bonuses are used to entice new players to come into the casino and play their favorite games of chance. These bonuses are also given to current players to thank them and to encourage them to return to play again at another time.Casinos off ...Bring on the New TV Dramas The 2005-06 television season is just a few weeks old, but there are some clear winners and losers amongst the new shows, both in quality and ratings. I took a bullet for y’all and sat down to watch just about every new show to come down the pipe this fall, sorted through them, and came up with a list of winners that are worthy of your precious ...Online Sports Betting Betting on the results of sporting events has always been a popular hobby. Now with the Internetand online betting facilities, placing a bet has become easier than ever before.A wager can be placed in the usual manner like with a bookmaker or through the bet exchange, a new innovation on the Internet. Through this, individuals can place b ...There's More to Poker than Texas Holdem! Texas holdem is taking over the world, but believe it or not there are many other poker games you can play. Most of them fall into one of three categories:- Stud Games (for example 7 card stud)- Draw Games (for example 5 card draw)- Shared Hand Games (for example Texas Holdem)There are also some other obscure games th ...Video Poker - Best Strategy The table below gives a basic drawing strategy for a Jacks or Better machine (the best kind). There is a perfect draw for every possible combination of cards dealt to you, but that strategy is far too complicated for this article and for the casual player.This basic drawing strategy only give up a few tenths of a percent over a perfect ...Astral Attack: It's More than Just Witchcraft Believe it or not most astral Attacks are not caused by curses or witchcraft. Half the time astral attacks are not intentional. They take place on the subconscious level and are the result of negative thinking, verbal abuse that goes round and round in the head, stale energy that has been left behind in a place and bungled rituals that may have ...Baseball Season Tickets Baseball season tickets allow the holder admission to regular season baseball games. Season tickets come in different packages, such as full- and partial-season plans, half-season ticket plans, weekenders, series plans and flex plans to suit your budget, schedules, and tastes. Seating assignments are available on the basis of location demand, av ...Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Movie Review) Jim Carrey's breakout role, Ace Ventura is one of the funniest films of the 1990s. Written by the former In Living Color writer himself, the film centers around an oddball kook of a lead character who investigates missing pets. If you enjoy Jim Carrey's brand of humor (and it's not for everyone), then you'll love Ace Ventura. A bit more mainstre ...Calling China's Taiwan Bluff Politics not economics is usually the first concern for most investors considering investing in Taiwan. For the next couple of years, both lead to a window of opportunity for investors with nerve and foresight.There is little doubt that for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, Taiwan is a bone in their throat - a constant irrita ...Going Against the Conventional Investment Wisdom First of all, I want to give everyone the disclaimer that I am not a registered financial advisor and I don’t play one on TV. Therefore, I cannot legally provide financial advice and I will not do so. This is for informational purposes only and I’m not recommending any of my personal investment strategies to anyone else. Now, with that being sai ...Odds Comparison - Increasing Your Winnings After being in sports betting for about 23 years you have come to see many things such as a hairy chimpanzee putting down the winner for a horse race 10 times in a row, leaving me with a severe insomnia problem. I have also experienced the amazing growth of the internet and especially seen the difference it made to the sports betting community. ...Understanding Negative Amortization and Your Mortgage Buying a property is a tremendous wealth building strategy for most Americans. If you are not careful, however, the strategy can go bad because of negative amortization issues.Understanding Negative Amortization and Your MortgageThe United States has a strong middle class, which makes the country one of the wealthier in the world. ...The Shawshank Redemption (DVD) Review Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, The Shawshank Redemption amazingly failed to win a single Oscar. It’s amazing because it’s probably one of the top ten best films ever produced. Based on Stephen King’s short story ‘Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,’ the film transcends the typical intellectually and spirituall ...Just What is Currency Option Trading Some people, when they hear about the currency market, they only think about the foreign exchange market. Rarely do you hear about the other side of currency trading which is known to some people as currency options trading.Currency options trading involve selling and buying the rights to buy and sell a certain fixed amount of a currency ...
|
