John Mayer / Sheryl Crow
Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver
September 22, 2006


I have been a John Mayer fan since the moment “No Such Thing” hit my eardrums. His music connects with me (not unusual since I am about the same age as him) and it never fails to entertain me no matter how many times I spin his CD. The last time John visited Vancouver was on Valentine’s Day of 2004 -- a day I will never forget. He began “our date”, as he referred to it, with “Bigger Than My Body” and proceeded to “pet” and then “pound” us throughout the evening and right into the encore.



On his latest visit however, John was not alone. When I first heard that Sheryl Crow was touring with John, I must admit that I was kind of disappointed. I don’t dislike Sheryl Crow, but I don’t love her work as much as John’s either. I wanted John Mayer and only John Mayer. When I found out that John was opening for her in Vancouver, I was even more disappointed.

Then she sang. Sheryl Crow can now add another fan to the millions she already has. Physically she is tiny, but presence wise -- she can pack ten full sized stadiums and rock them to their knees. She is awesome. She has overcome breast cancer and now is back to share her singing/songwriting talents with the world -- and boy oh boy are we glad she has.

So, at the end of the evening I was not only thrilled about the fact that I just watched John Mayer perform some new singles from his latest album, Continuum -- but I was also thrilled that I had become a Sheryl Crow fan as well.

Come back soon John and Sheryl!!!



“JOHN MAYER SET LIST”

Belief
Bigger Than My Body
Vultures
I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)
My Stupid Mouth
Why Georgia
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
Daughters
Good Love is On the Way
Gravity
Waiting on the World to Change
In Repair



“Sheryl Crow Set List”

CHANGE
HARD TO MAKE
FAVORITE MISTAKE
FIRST CUT
MISSISSIPPI
GOOD IS GOOD
IT DON’T HURT
REDEMPTION
HOME
STRONG ENOUGH
REAL GONE
STEVE MCQUEEN
SOAK UP THE SUN
WINDING ROAD
**********************
(encore)
HAPPY
ROCK N ROLL

Clerks II
Starring Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson
Written & Directed by Kevin Smith


I’ll be honest with you, when I first heard that there was going to be a sequel to Clerks -- I freaked out. How could Kevin Smith do this?! Why would Kevin Smith do this?! Clerks II was one of the best indie films of the early 90s and is loved by film geeks around the globe for its hilarious dialogue and insightful look at guys in their early twenties and how they would rather slack around than face growing up. Clerks was cheap, it was dirty, it was wildly creative -- and now it is going to get a sequel and be in color?! God forbid! I refused to watch it. Then I saw it.

On a very recent road trip to Portland with my friend Norm, he introduced me to a theatre called Bagdad where you have tables in front of your seats so you can drink alcohol and munch on food as you watch a film -- this is where it would happen. This is where I would watch Clerks II. I knew it would happen eventually, but I didn’t expect to see the film until it was at least a seven day rental at Blockbuster. But it happened and I am so, so, so, so, relieved to say that it didn’t stink at all. It was good. Not great -- but good.

Dante (Brian O’Halloran) wakes up as usual and opens the doors of the local convenience store where he and his buddy Randal (Jeff Anderson) have been working for the past ten years, however this particular morning the place is engulfed in flames due to Randal forgetting about the coffee pot as usual. This leads them to find new jobs at Mooby’s, a chain restaurant similar to McDonalds with a friendly cartoon cow as its mascot. They are thirty year olds working at jobs meant for teenagers... This is sad stuff. But of course this has not stopped Randal and Dante from enjoying themselves. Randal loves the job because it allows him to hit on teenage girls and mess around with geeky co-workers and Dante has developed a really close friendship with Becky (Rosario Dawson), the attractive manager of Mooby’s. All would be fine if not for the fact that Dante has a fiancee and he is going to be moving away to Florida with her where his in-laws have a cushy car-wash management job waiting for him. Doesn’t sound too bad, but add the fact that he loves Becky, who is pregnant with his child after a passionate romp in the restaurant one night, and his best friend Randal has nobody to turn to but him and you’ve got some high stakes drama on top of all the immature laughs.

Being part of the 25 to 34 year old age bracket, I am proud to say that Kevin Smith has always used his “view askew” to provide us with hilarious and heartfelt films that take on life from our point of view and with Clerks II he does the same, regardless of the fact that it is a sequel. Clerks II makes us laugh with its rude and crude antics, but it also makes us face our anxieties regarding love, work, friendship, and growing up. Besides the names of the main characters and appearances by our buds, Jay and Silent Bob, Clerks II actually has very little to do with the first Clerks. Clerks II could have been titled something else (the film is actually quite similar to Waiting with Ryan Reynolds, so I am told by Norm) and it still would have been a good film, but titling it Clerks II I felt automatically set the bar too high. A bar it could never surpass. But I will tell you this -- it does come close. Clerks II is like meeting up with an old college buddy for some drinks after years of separation -- it is familiar, a little different -- but always nice to see.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: Clerks II is rude, crude, and as funny as you would expect. Surprisingly it is also filled with quite a bit of heart and maturity.

The Bad: It is in color.

The Law: Don’t let the “II” beside “Clerks” stop you from seeing this film -- it is a good time and won’t disappoint, especially if you are a View Askew fan.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
Starring Uma Thurman, David Carradine, lots of supercool actors
Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino


You wanna be like Tarantino? Go read a bunch of books. That’s right -- go read a book! Yes, Tarantino has an encyclopedia-like knowledge of films, but more importantly he knows how to tell a story. In numerous interviews, Tarantino has made it very clear that his non-linear style of storytelling may seem fresh to the world of cinema, but it has been used in books for ages. In Kill Bill (Vol. 1 & 2) he uses that technique and his knowledge and love of martial arts and western films to provide us with one hell of a story.

From Uma Thurman’s yellow track suit to the appearance of Sonny Chiba -- Kill Bill is full of homages to some of Tarantino’s favorite flicks of the past. It is a simple story: Uma Thurman’s character, The Bride, wants revenge on all the SOBs (Bill and his gang of deadly assassins) who shot her and ruined her wedding day. She wants blood and she finds it in the bodies of all those responsible for her misery. With that being said, we get Kill Bill volumes 1 & 2 -- two films full of great stylized action, razor sharp dialogue, and surprisingly some sensitivity from Mr. Tarantino. I don’t want to give away too much else about the story, but I promise you, watch the film and you will love each unfolding layer of the story and its characters.

The films are epic. Intended to be one long film, Kill Bill volumes 1 & 2 separated are as good as they are together. After being split, the first film seems to be the in-your-face half, while the second film is much more psychological. Both great, but depending on your cup-of-tea, you probably will enjoy one more than the other. I happen to like the second half, primarily for a great monologue that Bill performs on why he loves the mythology of Superman. It’s hot. What I recommend is watching both parts back-to-back for the best experience.

As usual, Tarantino has gathered an impressive group of performers to act out his life size action figure fantasies and some of those names include Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Vivica A. Fox, and Daryl Hannah. With Kill Bill being Tarantino’s fourth film, Tarantino has not really grown-up -- but his talent has definitely matured.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: Razor sharp action and dialogue and what we have come to expect from Tarantino. It doesn’t disappoint.

The Bad: Ridiculous amounts of blood, which is actually a good thing in a Tarantino flick.

The Law: Kill Bill is one for the ages.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan
Written and Directed by Shane Black


I believe a good film is one that makes you believe that you could have wrote and directed it. A film that you are so comfortable with that you truly believe it came out of your very own head. I felt this way with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang -- which means Shane Black did a great job of writing and directing it.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a smart film, it is a funny film, it is a thrilling film -- it is actually a lot of things, which is why it is so good. Shane Black is one of the Godfathers of the screenwriting world and with this film he shows us why. The story he tells is one of a boy named Harry (Robert Downey Jr.) and a girl named Harmony (Michelle Monaghan) who are destined to be together, who both end up in Hollywood, wrapped in a twisty Hollywood tale of sex and death. The film reeks of noir and it knows it. Black uses and acknowledges all the cliches of the genre, giving us a noir for the current times. We have the attractive girl that comes into the man’s dull life suddenly, we have the mysterious murder, the questionable suicide, and now the gay private investigator played by Val Kilmer.

So now that we’ve talked about how great the script is -- let’s not forget that filmmaking is a team game and that without players like Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer -- this film would have actually come off a little cheesy, to tell you the truth. But lucky for us we do have those kinds of players in the play and lucky for us they are at the top of their games here. Downey shows real emotion and character, while Kilmer shows us how funny he really is. Wow, who would have thought that Iceman could be so versatile.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang marks the return of Shane Black after a long hiatus (who wouldn’t take a long hiatus after being held responsible for making The Last Action Hero) and it also marks the return of a great Hollywood screenwriter. Welcome back, Shane, or sorry, Mr. Black, aka Mr. Screenwriting God.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: A great film full of laughs, action, and noir.

The Bad: The film was not promoted enough by Warner Bros..

The Law: Shane Black is back and shows is why he is a screenwriting legend.

Ultimate Avengers
Starring Justin Gross, Michael Massee, Nan McNamara
Written by Greg Johnson, Boyd Kirkland, Craig Kyle
Directed by Curt Geda, Steven E. Gordon, Bob Richardson

I am a diehard fan of the DC Universe, but that does not mean I don’t like a little Marvel now and then. DC is much more fantasy based as Marvel tends to try and make everything scientifically plausible -- but that is cool I say. Animated comic book films are always fun and I am glad to say Ultimate Avengers is no exception.

Ultimate Avengers is a straight-to-DVD release from Lions Gate Family Entertainment, but don’t let that fact turn you off. Yes, the production value is a little lower, but the story of the return of Captain America and the reformation of the classic Avengers Team (Iron Man, Giant Man, The Wasp, Hulk, Thor) is good fun. If you happen to be a comic book geek and fan of The Avengers, you will love it, but if you just happen to like action cartoons -- you will love it too. The animation is not great, but good enough and the story is your basic heroes versus aliens invading Earth plot -- but like I said, it all works and it is fun to watch. Now, what more could you want?


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: Good fun entertainment.

The Bad: May be a little too simple and straightforward for fans of the genre.

The Law: It’s simple. It’s fun.