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A MOVIE REVIEW AND SOME OTHER STUFF

By Jim McAllister

Just when it looked like Hollywood was going down for the count, they had a great summer. The summer of 2006 showed an increase of $200 million in box office receipts over 2005. A big part of that success has to be attributed to the continuing success of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.....QUICK MOVIE REVIEW...Have you seen "Little Miss Sunshine"? It’s a great little indie film about Olive, a young, plain, and minimally talented little girl (Abigail Breslin) who wants to attend a beauty and talent contest for girls in California. The winner of the contest will be crowned "Little Miss Sunshine" which is kind of ironic at the time of the re-emergence of the JonBenet mystery. Most of the little girls in the contest eerily remind one of JonBenet. Olive is a member of a dysfunctional Albuquerque family which includes father Richard (Greg Kinnear), a loser trying to sell a motivation program that nobody wants, mother Sheryl (Toni Collette) who strives to keep the family together, brother Dwayne (Paul Dano) who won’t speak as he dreams of entering the Air Force Academy, gay uncle Frank, (Steve Carell), and Grandpa (Alan Arkin), a heroin snorting, foul mouthed, old man. The family decides to head to California in a beat up VW microbus and that is where the fun begins as they endure a series of mishaps along the way. The movie is funny and also injects some pathos as this family is so pathetic. This film is funny, sad, and heartwarming with fine performances by the cast. Greg Kinnear continues to improve since his days on "Talk Soup." It has been out a while and you may have to look for it at the art houses but it is worth it. Run time 1:42, Rated "R".....

The cast of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE....L-R
Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Toni
Collette, Abigail Breslin. A funny little road
movie, worth seeing. (Fox Searchlight Films)

Baseball season is basically over for me as the Diamondbacks are finished after being swept by Washington this past weekend and the Reds are circling the drain. Are you ready for some football? I’m excited about the Cincinnati Bengals again this year. I know pre-season games don’t mean much as half the guys on the field will be cut by the season’s opener but I am still impressed by the way the Bengal’s romped through their 4 games. I haven’t lived in Cincy since 1967 but I never lose my home town loyalty for the sports teams, GO BENGALS!.....Speaking of Cincinnati, I recently had the privilege of interviewing Former University of Cincinnati and ten year NBA player Connie Dierking for the sports page of THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Connie played in the 1950's and ‘60's and was a great interview.....Good-bye to Andre Agassi. He had quite a career and was good enough to stay competitive in big time tennis until age 36. I’m sure we will see more of him, probably in a color analyst role for tournaments....

WILLIAM H. MACY in THE COOLER (2003)
Macy is a pro and knows that Lindsay Lohan isn't
(Lion's Gate Films)

This in from Suzanne Condie Lambert. William H. Macy, a true professional and a fine actor, comments on the work ethic of actress (actress?) Lindsay Lohan: "You can’t show up late. It’s very, very disrespectful. I think what an actor has to realize is that when you show up an hour late, 150 people have been scrambling to cover for you. There is not an apology big enough in the world to have to make 150 people scramble. It’s nothing but disrepect." Right on William H.! The thing that amazes me is that Lohan is such a non-entity in films. She is not good looking, she has no charm, and she can’t act worth a damn. Have you heard anyone clamoring to see a Lindsay Lohan movie lately? It’s the same old story, it’s not what you know but who you know and she has enough clout to keep her in the mix. She couldn’t carry Katharine Hepburn’s handbag. Kate was asked once what she thought of tardiness. Her reply? "There are no excuses"......

MITZI GAYNOR....One of the queens
of babedom from the 1950's is 75. What
a dish she was as Nellie Forbush in SOUTH
PACIFIC (1958)! (Boomer Pinups)

Can you believe Mitzi Gaynor just turned 75 and little Macaulay Culkin is divorced and 26? I don’t want to admit where that places me!.....Now we will have the "morning after" pill. I wonder what the Republican right thinks of that little morsel.....In case you need further proof that there are weird people in the world department: A guy in Kingman, Arizona started shooting at firemen who refused to rescue his cat that was stuck in a tree. He called the fire department and reported that the tree was on fire because he knew that the firemen would not respond to a cat stuck in a tree. When they arrived and saw the situation, they started to leave telling the guy to call the animal welfare folks or wait until the cat came down on its own. The man went in the house, got a gun, and came out shooting. Luckily, no one was injured and the fool was arrested by the Mohave County Sheriff’s department.....

STEVE and TERRI IRWIN....The
host of THE CROCODILE HUNTER
is dead at 44. (Greg Barrett)

Recent deaths: Actor Glenn Ford, 90, Olympic champion and former congressman Bob Mathias, 75, Jazz great Maynard Ferguson, 78, and Australian host of "The Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, 44....A couple of months ago, I did a column about my favorite mystery writer, John Dunning. John is a great writer and author of my favorite mystery, "Two O’Clock, Eastern Wartime" along with the Cliff Janeway series of mysteries. John has experienced some health problems this year that required several surgeries but is slowly convalescing. I am sure he would appreciate some "best wishes". If you get a chance you may drop him a line at books@oldalgonquin.com. Thanks a lot, see you next time. JM (Comments? azjimmcallister@cox.net.)