TV Review: Who Wants To Be a Superhero?

Stan Lee, the king/father/godfather of comic books hosts the new SciFi channel series "Who Wants To Be a Superhero?" In which, uh, ordinary people compete and live together to win the chance to be immortalized in a comic book. The competitors came up with their own superhero identities and original costumes, and in what I think is the show's first huge mistake, the auditions were not really shown. Anyone who watches shows like American Idol or American Inventor knows that the bizarre people at the beginning are the best part. The characters had to have a costume, powers, a weakness and a catch-phrase, and you just know there were some people that were hilarious.

The Superhero candidates are tested for things like courage and integrity, instead of strength, etc. The first test appeared to be a race, with each hero-wannabe having to change from secret identity into hero and race to an assigned area - the twist was a small girl "lost" and crying near the finish line. The real test was would these "heroes" stop and help the child. Some did, some didn't. The ones who didn't got called on the carpet at the end.

It's an interesting show that could still go bad or get good. I'd say if you're a comic book fan, you might enjoy it. We're going to check out the next couple episodes, mostly because, you know - it's Stan Lee.

Music Review: Taking The Long Way - The Dixie Chicks

The Dixie Chicks latest album comes three years after the controversy that nearly destroyed the band. Natalie Maines words shattered the success of the Chicks. Radio stopped playing them, consumers destroyed their albums and lunatics made death threats. Now in 2006, the Chicks are not backing down. 'Taking The Long Way' is a solid collection of good songs. While not as fun as 'Fly', it is very listenable and will have you humming tracks in no time.

The album opens with the folksy 'The Long Way Around'. It's very much a 'story so far' song that establishes the Dixie Chick tone for the album. The harmonies are strong and it's ready-made for radio. Following that is 'Easy Silence', a track that mourns the loss of society's innocence and celebrates the comfort provided by someone (possible a husband, loved one, god). Next up is 'Not Ready To Make Nice'. Ballsy beyond measure, this track is the Chicks response to their critics. Musically, the song is a roller coaster as it slowly builds to the power chorus and plummets back to the sternly delivered verses.

"I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don't mind sayin'
It's a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Sayin' that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over."

'Everybody Knows' is the next track and it's very typical of a Dixie Chicks song: thoughtful lyrics and a good beat. Very much a country music song. On a side note, this song utilizes a country music trick I hate: a male backing vocal on a female lead. Shania Twain has done it and I, personally, find it hard to take. But that's just me. 'Bitter End' has a distinct Irish drinking song sound with that country twang added. It's a fine track, but doesn't stand out for me. 'Lullaby' is very aptly named. Delivered with simple accompaniment and vocal harmonies, it's very mellow. (Word of warning: do not listen to this track while sleepy and driving...I'm fine, but it was a close one.)

'Lubbock Or Leave It' is a re-hash of 'Sin Wagon' and my only real criticism of the album. It just wasn't my cup of tea. 'Silent House', 'Favorite Year' and 'Voice Inside My Head' are solid tracks and reminiscent of past Dixie Chicks albums. 'I Like It' is more of a rock track and less deep lyrically than earlier tracks on the album. 'Baby Hold on' showcases some great harmony work by the Chicks. It's more of a ballad. 'So Hard' is has a honky-tonk feel and rolls along nicely. 'I Hope' closes out the album and it's a bluesy number, but with a message. It's a hope for a better world, less misery, less pain. Right there with ya, Chicks.

My rating: 4 out of a possible 5.

TV Review: Psych

Poking fun at the current trend of shows about psychic detectives, USA network's new series Psych is fun and clever. Shawn Spencer (played by James Roday) was trained by his overbearing detective father (Corbin Bernsen) to notice and process all the little details, so he too could be a detective. Instead, he turned out to be a goof-off and after having a series of brief or dead-end jobs, was turned down by the police. In the pilot, he calls in a tip to solve a robbery after seeing a report on the news, and when the police decide the only way he could have known who did it is by being an accomplice, he instead convinces (some of) them that he's psychic.

Dragging his best friend, Gus, a pharmaceutical salesman with a nerdish streak, along with him, he begins to be assigned (and occasionally commandeers) investigations. The police chief especially isn't convinced of his "powers" but after he starts solving cases, assigns him more. He and Gus open their own investigations firm, which he cheekily names "Psych" - a ploy which opens up the series nicely to cover more than just police cases.

The conflict in the episodes have been provided by the standard incompetent grouchy cop who hates him and his own father who worries that he is going to be embarrassed by his son and that faking the psychic moments is mocking real police work.

The dialogue is fun and clever, and the relationship between Shawn and Gus is closer to partners than hero and sidekick, as Gus often provides the actual knowledge to help solve the crimes, while Shawn puts that together with the clues he can see. When Shawn spots something significant, the camera zooms in on it and it's highlighted, though not always explained immediately, allowing the viewer some time to make up his own guess.

If you can catch the pilot and the first few episodes as reruns, you should, and if not, you can still jump in now and easily catch on. This is a good series with a lot of room to grow.

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest

I had high hopes for this movie, since I love the first one, and of course, Johnny Depp. Mmmm, Johnny Depp . .. but I digress. I also tried to keep in mind that this is a sequel, which almost always means not as good.

Dead Man's Chest had many of the elements of the original - Johnny Depp's bizarre half-gay swaggering charming rouge, creepy bad guys, romance, action and some comedy. It doesn't live up to the first in silly comedy, though there were some funny moments. In this episode, Captain Jack is being pursued my more undead pirates out to end his life, this time it's the legendary Davey Jones (not the one from the Monkees) and his semi-immortal ick-i-fied crew. Elizabeth and Will from the first movie miss their wedding due to being arrested for helping Jack escape; only a deal made with a corrupt lord will offer any hope, and Will sets off in search of Jack to find the item required. Of course, there are lots of sword-fights, ship battles, mythical creatures, betrayals, twists and turns.

My brother and his wife felt that they missed some of the plot due to having not seen the first one in a long time. My husband felt it wasn't as funny as the first (I agree) and that some of suspense is ruined by the fact that they've already announced the third.

I'd recommend seeing it, though you might want to wait for the dollar theatre, or even DVD if you have a good set-up at home. I don't want to give away the ending, but the last minute makes me already excited for the next one. It ties the whole thing together and, IMO, was the absolute best ending they could have had.

3 1/2 stars out of 5

Movie Review: Wordplay

Paperback Writer here again. And as I promised I would actually write a review that isn't going to be related to food. Though, I will tell you, it's hard!! :)

Loki and I saw the movie Wordplay a few weeks back at the Manor Theatre in Squirrel Hill. I knew it was going to be a documentary about crossword puzzles, but I didn't know that it was going to be about the New York Times Daily Crossword puzzle.

You see, there are crossword puzzles and then there's the New York Times Daily Crossword Puzzle. I can do one, but not the other. Oh, sure I can do it the New York Times one...it just takes me several years. :)

It chronicles Will Shortz, editor of the NYT Crossword Puzzle as he picks and chooses the daily puzzle. I never knew that picking a puzzle could be such hard work! And never mind about picking it, but constructing a puzzle? I applaud you crossword puzzle makers!

Also included in the documentary are famous fans of the NYT Crossword Puzzle, from Jon Stewart (funny as ever) to the Indigo Girls to former President Bill Clinton. And you know what? Every single person puts me to shame about solving crossword puzzles. Three minutes to solve that sucker? Amazing. I feel like a neaderthal!

Anyway, I greatly enjoyed this documentary. Who knew that you could bring warmth, humor and suspense to a documentary about crossword puzzles?

Now, if they'll only do a documentary about the Rubik's Cube...

(To see what others have to say, go here.)

Restaurant Review: City Grille

Paperback Writer here.

Jami invited me and I accepted. I asked her if I could contribute restaurant reviews. She said that was fine. But the more I thought about it, the more it would be Pittsburgh local restaurants. So, please forgive me. I'll actually write a review that's not food related at a later date.

And yes, if you've been paying attention to me, then you will know that my husband Loki and I used to have a strictly food reviewed based blog called Pittsburgh Foodies. Unfortunately, due to our time constraints and me working on my own blog I decided to take it down.

Ahem. Shall I do this food review now? Yes, I believe I shall.

Atmosphere Like most places in South Side, this one is predominated by a bar. Which isn't a bad thing, but since I wasn't drinking that night I really didn't pay attention to it. Also, since the bar takes up half the place you'd think there would be more smokers in there - not so. Interestingly enough, we were almost the only patrons in there.

There's no theme to the restaurant. It's just a clean, quiet place with lots of brick and not a lot of seating. There were televisions on, but they did not dominate the sound of the room.

Actually, my friends and I dominated the sound of the room. :) I surprised that they didn't kick us out with how loud we were.

Food Your basic menu here. Appetizers, salads, entrees, and burgers. Loki got the "Ultimate Burger," which was a burger topped with Brie. Yes, I said Brie. Two nice pieces of Brie, I might add, nicely melted on top of a perfect medium burger. There were fries to it, but the piece I swiped I wasn't impressed by. Too soggy. Anyway, his burger was cooked over wood so it had that nice smoky flavor; and topped off with brie? Excellent! (I've had it, so I know what I'm talking about!)

I ordered the vegetable ravioli with marinara sauce. I liked it, but really nothing stood out about it, unfortunately. Hellcat, Chowderhead's wife ordered the same ravioli but with pesto sauce. I heard no complaints from her.

Chowderhead, himself, ordered the New Zealand Rack of Lamb. They looked goooood. They sat atop of mashed potatoes and came with an order of the vegetable of the day - in this case, it was green beans. He finished his meal, so I'm guessing that he enjoyed his food as well.

I didn't catch whatMichelle ordered, but it looked good as well. And since she also finished her entree, I'm guessing she liked it.

Oh, I should add the entrees came with a mixed green salad and nice crusty rolls. You can't beat a nice crusty roll.

Service The first time Loki and I were there our waitress was very much on top of her game. Promptly brining us water and whatever we needed. This time around...not so good. I mean, our waitress was nice and all and she brought us our food, but for the life of us we could not hear what she was saying. We all strained to her what the specials were but we did not catch it.

Desserts We were full and it was late - we arrived there at 8:00pm. So, we opted not to get any type of dessert. I don't know if they actually do serve dessert. But this restaurant was in the South Side. If we desperately wanted to have dessert all we had to was walk out and find a place that did serve dessert.

Price The prices were about average. Nothing that made us say, hey, that's a good deal or that's way too expensive. For our dinner (Loki and myself) we spent about $25.00, including tip. Not too bad, really.

Misc Here's what others had to say about the City Grill.

The City Grill is located on 2019 East Carson Street in Pittsburgh. It's next to the 1889 Cafe (another restaurant, that I'm sure I'll be reviewing) and a stone's throw away from the Tiki Lounge. The phone number is (412) 431-1770.

Oh! One more unusual thing. I'm not sure if they are still doing this, call ahead to make sure. But on Thursday nights they have a scaled down version of their menu with no prices. At the end of the meal you pay what you think the meal deserves. A quirky idea that I'm not sure really took off.

But wait, what rating am I going to give this? I'll give it a four out of five stars. The things that were wrong with it could have been attributed to being an off night (waitress, my not so stunning pasta).

So, go give it try.

Movie Review: She's the Man

Remember Just One of the Guys from the 80s? Same basic idea. Viola (play by Amanda Bynes) is distressed when her school cancels the girls' soccer team and won't let the girls try out for the boys' team. A bit unrealistic in this over-PC, lawsuit-happy society, but let's go with that. To prove she's as good at soccer as any boy, especially her suddenly chauvinistic boyfriend, Vi decides to take her twin brother's spot at a private school, join the soccer team and show them all. Oh, and of course, the new school is a boarding school, so she'll have to live (and shower with, and room with) the boys. Of course, this leads to awkward situations, especially when she develops a crush on her roommate and a girl starts crushing on her . . .

Bynes is somewhat passable-looking as a boy. They give her a wig instead of cutting her hair, so that she can still be a girl when she needs to. Her first attempt at talking like a boy are decent, but as the movie goes, it develops into this bizarre accent, a mix of Brooklyn and deep south, almost, that makes no sense and became grating and distracting to me.

Distracting to my husband were the many flaws in the soccer game - the makers of this movie aren't soccer players/fans and it shows to those who are.

The whole movie pushes past the standard suspension of disbelief. It has some funny moments, and Bynes handles the slapstick like a champ. As with many movies these days, the "teens" are actors in their mid-20s and look it (no one in MY high school looked like Duke!!). I'd say, watch this one if it's on TV and you've got nothing else to do, but it isn't worth renting.

Book Review: Key to Havoc, by Piers Anthony

Let me start out by saying, for those that don't know, that Piers Anthony has long been one of my favorites. I've read the Incarnations of Immortality series so many times my copies are coverless and falling apart. I've read every Xanth book, and that's not a short list.

This book begins a new series, one set 1000 years after humans have colonized another planet. They've lost most of their technology, it seems, but the planet has inherent magic that infests the people on it.

I really enjoyed this book, with this caveat - this book is full of sex. Some of it so graphic and disturbing that at one point I set down the book and spent a day deciding if I wanted to read any further. The problem is, Mr. Anthony spins a fantastic tale, as usual, but, as has been the case with his last several non-Xanth novels, sex is not only a part of the story, it almost becomes a character. I did decide to read on; I had to know what happened to the characters, and I am glad I did. Future revelations made the horrific sexual torture scene seem less so, though I still don't think it needed to be so explicit. For example, would it be enough to say "They raped her" or do you think there is value in describing the exact method used? I think the author went too far in several scenes, but that might just be my opinion.

I recommend this book, though, to those who enjoy the fantasy/murder mystery genres (though the mystery is only partially solved, the sequel is out and I will be reading it as soon as I get it). I also recommend skimming much of the detailed sex scenes as they don't add much to the plot and seem to be there solely for the purpose of being shocking or arousing.

Welcome to Circle of Friends Review

Hi Folks,

Here's my idea, inspired partially by the Movie Guys. . . .

When I read a book, or watch a movie, TV show, or whatever, I often want to share my thoughts on it. I don't want to bore my friends and family, and sometimes, I just plain forget.

We're all friends here, or friends of friends here, so let's just tell each other about what we're hearing, seeing and doing. A few ground rules, to keep it useful -

1. If you're reviewing something, take the time to actually review it - not "This movie sucked" or "this album is awesome". You might be right, but you gotta back that up.

2. Don't review every book, movie or whatever that you've seen in your lifetime. Let's try to keep it fairly recent. It doesn't have to be new, just new to you.

3. Disagreeing is okay, personal attacks are not.

4. Title the review in the format - "Thing review: Title of Thing", as in "Book Review: To Kill A Mockingbird" or "Event Review: Ozzfest"

Okay, so that's it. To become one of contributors, send me an email at jami_conn2001@yahoo.com and put "REVIEWER" in the subject OR just send the review there, and I'll post it with your chosen non de plume.