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The Real Kato
About Me
Frozen Lunches
Links
Kottke
Daring Fireball
Amalah
Secret Agent Josephine
Dooce
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2024 October
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Recent Comments
| On College Football 2022: Week 6 Recap and Week 7 Pre... Ken said: |
| Yeah, we've both had our share of hope and disappointment in this game. Let's just hope for a good b... |
| On College Football 2022: Week 6 Recap and Week 7 Pre... Dan* said: |
| I'm not sure how I feel about this game. On one hand, I feel pretty optimistic that we have the tale... |
| On College Football 2022: Week 1 Preview Dan* said: |
| Glad to see you'll be back writing football again, Ken! Congrats on the easy win today. You didn't ... |
| On College Football 2021: Week 10 Recap and Week 11 P... Ken said: |
| Yeah, sorry one of our teams had to lose. I've come to appreciate Penn State as a classy and sympath... |
| On College Football 2021: Week 10 Recap and Week 11 P... Dan* said: |
| Hey Ken, congratulations on the win yesterday! Some really odd choices by our coaching staff in that... |
Articles: movies
Page 1| Movies: The Dark Knight Rises | Thursday, 2012 July 19 - 10:49 pm |
| I was fortunate enough to get to see an early screening of "The Dark Knight Rises", so I figure this is a perfect time to bring back movie reviews to this blog. Chris Nolan's final (well, presumed final, I guess) interpretation of "Batman" has been heavily hyped and anticipated. Hopefully this review will actually be helpful to people thinking of seeing the movie. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies |
| Avatar: something for everyone | Monday, 2010 January 11 - 11:12 pm |
| Yes, James Cameron's "Avatar" is chock full of 3-dimensional in-your-face creamy goodness for everyone! For the 18-year-olds: lots of explosions and whooshy flying scenes. For the 14-year-olds: lots of loincloths and alien side-boob. For the 10-year-olds: a valuable lesson about white male imperialism. For the 6-year-olds: a plot you can easily understand and an ending you can predict. For adults: ... Well, almost everyone, I guess. |
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Posted by Ken in: movies |
| Star Trek | Tuesday, 2009 May 12 - 8:57 am |
| Star Trek 11? Star Trek Zero? Whatever it's called, this movie is clearly the start of a new franchise, with a hot young cast and a clean slate for future story lines. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| The Dark Knight | Sunday, 2009 March 29 - 4:57 pm |
| I really don't see what all the fuss about "The Dark Knight" was. I finally got around to seeing it and I thought it was predictable and dull... and definitely too long. (Javi had dubbed this movie "The Long Dark Knight", and I can see why.) I found Christian Bale's acting to be wooden. Maggie Gyllenhall was utterly wasted in her role. Heath Ledger was passable as the Joker, but let's be honest: Jack Nicholson was the one who re-invented that character, not Heath. And while there was plenty of action, it was never all that gripping. To be sure, this generation of Batman movies is a vast improvement over the previous Kilmer/Clooney/Keaton generation, but that's not saying a whole lot. Rating: 2.5 / 5.0 |
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Posted by Ken in: movies |
| Movies: Waitress; Atonement | Tuesday, 2008 December 30 - 4:27 pm |
| In our household, I'm the one that ends up putting "chick flicks" in our rental queue, simply because I try to see movies that have received good reviews or award nominations. Amy doesn't particularly care for these sorts of movies; she's more of a fan of horror or action movies. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies |
| Overheard | Tuesday, 2008 December 30 - 2:04 pm |
| Overheard (by Amy) in the women's restroom after seeing The Day the Earth Stood Still at the IMAX theater: "That was just too far-fetched to be believable." Oh really? You mean, you didn't believe that the earth was invaded and nearly destroyed by super-powerful aliens, or you didn't believe that Keanu Reeves was really an actor? ("Whoa.") My criticism of this movie wasn't its lack of believability. My criticism is that it feels like the movie just ended when the producers ran out of money. (I kinda had the same feeling about The War of the Worlds.) The ending was unsatisfying and devoid of tension, and the intended environmentalist message was drowned out by special-effects self-indulgence. And speaking of invasion-disaster movies, we recently watched Cloverfield on DVD. My feeling is that it could have been a far better movie if not for the handheld-camera gimmick. Half the time I was questioning, "why would someone film this part?" And of course the answer was, "A character in a story wouldn't film this, but a film producer would," and that ruined the suspension of disbelief for me. Ratings: The Day the Earth Stood Still: 2.0 / 5.0 Cloverfield: 2.5 / 5.0 |
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Posted by Ken in: movies |
| Movie Reviews In Brief | Monday, 2007 December 17 - 8:57 pm |
| "I Am Legend". Um, I saw this movie before; it was called "28 Days Later". If not for Will Smith, this might have gone directly to DVD. There are as many plot holes as there are "scare you with loud noises" moments. 2.0 / 5 "Pan's Labyrinth". A beautiful, complex fairy tale woven into a story about the Spanish civil war. It's downright poetic. Ivana Baquero is brilliant. Only downside: I was turned off by some gratuitously gory scenes. 4.0 / 5 "Apocalypto". Interesting premise, but also gratuitously gory. At its core, the plot was fairly simple; I expected a bigger story, something more epic. A lot of action; not much character development. 2.5 / 5 "Wild Hogs". A cute middle-age-crisis movie; kind of a teen movie for the 40-something set. Worth seeing once; not worth seeing again. 2.5 / 5 |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| The Golden Compass? | Wednesday, 2007 December 12 - 9:16 am |
You know, I really didn't have any desire to see "The Golden Compass" until church leaders started warning people not to see it.The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh has issued a letter warning parish pastors about the subversive, atheistic themes in the new movie "The Golden Compass" and the book by the same name. I'm all about subversion. |
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Posted by Ken in: commentary, movies |
| Movies: Reviews in Brief | Sunday, 2007 October 14 - 9:08 pm |
| "Syriana"; "The Station Agent"; "Munich"; "300". Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| The Simpsons Movie; Superbad; Balls of Fury | Tuesday, 2007 September 4 - 10:18 pm |
| Quick reviews of the goofy fun movies of the summer. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Ocean's Thirteen | Thursday, 2007 June 21 - 11:00 pm |
| The whole gang is back for another caper. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Pirates of the Caribbean 3 | Thursday, 2007 May 31 - 9:49 pm |
| Just enjoy the ride. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| All Your Movie Are Belong to Us | Tuesday, 2007 May 15 - 9:20 pm |
| A web site of free movies. How can this possibly be legal? Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, techwatch |
| Movies: Babel | Tuesday, 2007 April 10 - 10:22 pm |
| Art film? Social commentary? It's a stunning film, but what's it all about? Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: The Departed | Tuesday, 2007 April 10 - 10:02 pm |
| Martin Scorsese's first Oscar-winning film is gritty and interesting. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Little Miss Sunshine | Wednesday, 2007 March 28 - 8:18 am |
| So have I mentioned that we got the Blockbuster Total Access thing? The thing that everyone calls Blockbuster's NetFlix (much to Blockbuster's chagrin, no doubt)? Well, we got that, and now I'm starting to catch up on several years' worth of missed movies. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Summer Blockbusters | Wednesday, 2006 June 7 - 11:56 pm |
| "The Da Vinci Code" and "X-Men: The Last Stand". Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: On Cable This Month | Wednesday, 2006 June 7 - 11:55 pm |
| "National Treasure" and "Batman Begins". Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe | Monday, 2005 December 19 - 8:38 am |
| No, it's not another Lord of the Rings movie. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| While I Pondered Weak and Weary | Sunday, 2005 June 19 - 11:59 pm |
| So tired... must blog... Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: life, movies, sports |
| Today's Dogginess | Monday, 2005 May 30 - 11:20 pm |
| If Paris isn't the most self-obsessed person EVER, I'll eat my hat. Read more... |
| Permalink 1 Comment
Posted by Ken in: commentary, life, movies |
| Movies: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | Thursday, 2005 May 19 - 4:05 am |
| Yeah, I saw it. You probably should see it too. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: The House of Yes | Sunday, 2005 April 24 - 1:18 am |
| This is an OLD movie, but I'm just getting around to seeing it. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Sin City | Friday, 2005 April 22 - 11:42 pm |
| So, I finally saw this movie. No doubt you've all seen it already, or at least heard about it, but I'm going to offer my thoughts anyway. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle | Wednesday, 2005 April 13 - 11:42 pm |
| You'd think this was just another "American Pie" clone, but there's some surprising depth to this movie. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Finding Neverland | Wednesday, 2004 December 29 - 3:49 pm |
| Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet give thoughtful and nuanced performances in this sleeper gem. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: The Incredibles | Monday, 2004 November 29 - 11:56 pm |
| Just goes to show, animated films really can have interesting stories and characters. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: The League of Extraordinary [Bad Movies] | Friday, 2004 November 19 - 11:07 pm |
| This week I spent a lot of time lying on the couch watching movies on cable. There was a lot of nausea and coughed-up mucus, and not all of that was attributable to the flu. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Garden State | Monday, 2004 November 8 - 9:52 pm |
| Zach Braff, known mainly for his role on the NBC show "Scrubs", wrote and directed this heartfelt film. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: American Splendor | Sunday, 2004 September 26 - 12:10 pm |
| "American Splendor", based on the life of comic book icon Harvey Pekar, is both grim and uplifting. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Hero | Wednesday, 2004 September 1 - 1:28 am |
| Jet Li leads an all-star Chinese cast in a theatrical and intense action movie. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Sex and Lucia; Swimming Pool | Sunday, 2004 July 11 - 11:31 am |
| I bought both of these movies on DVD, only partly due to prurient interest. The overt sexuality aside, the movies have some similarities, but they make their points in different ways. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Saved! | Monday, 2004 July 5 - 12:20 am |
| This movie is a spot-on indictment of pseudo-Christian hypocrisy, and it's quite funny to boot. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Fahrenheit 9/11 | Saturday, 2004 July 3 - 4:48 pm |
| Michael Moore's latest movie has shattered previous box-office records for documentary movies. It's also garnered heaps of both criticism and praise. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Analysis: Deconstruction of a "Chick Flick" | Sunday, 2004 April 25 - 5:40 pm |
| There are many movies which have been tagged with the not-so-flattering label "chick flick". Sometimes people think a movie is a chick flick because it features women in strong leading roles. But I'm not sure that's really what it is. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies |
| Movies: Lost In Translation | Monday, 2004 April 5 - 1:12 am |
| This Oscar-winning movie from rookie writer/director Sophia Coppola is warm, subtle, and touching. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Monday, 2004 April 5 - 12:44 am |
| Jim Carrey again shows that he's better as a dramatic actor than a comic actor, and Kate Winslet is breathtaking in this remarkable movie. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Welcome to Mooseport | Wednesday, 2004 March 10 - 10:56 pm |
| Although clearly made to be a vehicle for Ray Romano, "Welcome to Mooseport" succeeds as charming romantic comedy. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Big Fish | Friday, 2004 January 23 - 12:15 am |
| This is a charming movie, kind of a "Forrest Gump" meets "O Brother Where Art Thou". It has no great revelations or statements to make, but it's a feel-good experience. Sometimes, that's all you need. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Love Actually | Monday, 2004 January 5 - 1:01 pm |
| Charming and fluffy, "Love Actually" is a romantic comedy about a series of interconnected relationships. There's definitely an "awwww" factor in this movie; that will appeal to some people, but make other people roll their eyes. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Return of the King | Monday, 2004 January 5 - 12:44 pm |
| The final installment of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is true to the book in most respects. Is that really such a good thing? Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Mystic River | Thursday, 2003 November 27 - 12:30 pm |
| Gritty and intense; this movie is a sure-fire Oscar candidate, but not one for the kids. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
| Movies: Matrix Revolutions | Thursday, 2003 November 13 - 12:39 am |
| For "Matrix" fans, most will find something to like in the final chapter of the trilogy. But don't expect to leave feeling satisfied. Read more... |
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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews |
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