February 4, 2002
Aloha, America! Nope, I’m not reporting to you from sunny Hawaii today but that was a pretty good guess. I’m just in a sunshine and grass skirt kind of mood today; I can’t explain it. Maybe it was that Hawaiian Tropics commercial I saw the other day. Or maybe it was the Eskimo Pie I ate this morning. Actually the more I think about it, that Eskimo Pie bit doesn’t make a bit of sense. Some would argue that you can’t get any further away from Hawaii’s welcoming shores than to be huddled in a miserable freezing igloo, gnawing on whale fat. And they’re probably right, but nevertheless I link the two mentally. Maybe it’s those cute little pudgy babies. Come to think of it, Eskimos and Hawaiian Islanders sure do look a lot alike. Maybe a little too much. I’m beginning to think they’re running a scam on us, a complex ploy to secure more than their fair share of dancing puppets on the “It’s a Smallish World” ride at Disneyland. Interesting. You tend to the entertainment reviews below while I ponder this further over another Eskimo Pie.

In Theaters Now:

A Beautiful Mime
If there’s one thing this movie taught me, it’s that mimes are a lot more tolerable when they’re jaw-droppingly gorgeous and have the body of a porn star. I’d like to thank Jennifer Connely for expanding my cultural awareness and my BVDs for a solid two hours in this powerful film. There’s a lot of awards buzz surrounding Connely’s performance here, and I have to agree: she’s hot as hell! You can bet I’ll be keeping an eye out for her Golden Globes in the future.

Big Fat Liar
What’s funnier than Jim Carrey running around like he’s retarded and not being able to tell a lie? You guessed it, a 300 pound Jim Carrey running around like he’s retarded and not being able to tell a lie. They promised the sequel would be bigger than the original, but none of us dared to think they were talking about Carrey’s drooping leg fat. And yeah, it’s pretty funny, but I have to admit it’s the ultimate insult when Hollywood would rather dress up attractive people in fat suits than hire one of the many genuinely fat people available for the role.

Collateral Damage
Arnie’s latest meat-headed action flick casts him wholly unbelievably as a nerdy office drone who’s expertise in collating office files and Xeroxes somehow prepares him to be an awe-inspiring ass-kicker who cold-boots faceless terrorist booty, in triplicate. Wait until this one comes out on video, then put it back on the shelf and see if they have any decent soft-core in stock.

I Am Sam
The Dr Seuss classic takes a turn for the creepy in this dark psychological thriller starring Chris Kattan as the food-obsessed stalker who just won’t let Michael Douglas’ businessman be. Some might consider this re-imagining disrespectful to the original book, but I’m convinced that Dr Seuss himself would have done the train shoot-out scene just the same way if he’d had access to this kind of technology back in his day.

Rollerball
I know what you’re thinking. Cross the white-hot fad of rollerskating with the popular teenage dance movie, throw in Skeet Ulrich, and you’ve got a sure hit on your hands, right? Think again. Take a closer look at what you’ve got on your hands, and note it’s nutty texture and off-brown hue. Pretty nasty, eh?

Now on Video:

Captain Correlli’s Man-dolphin
I can’t honestly say I knew what the hell was up with this movie, or how they got Nicholas Cage involved, but to suffice it to say it was original. It was sort of like a cross between Buck Rogers, Powder, The Abyss and an Arco commercial, if that makes any sense. It wasn’t bad, but it was one of those movies that makes you wonder if you left the gas on.

The Curse of the Sade Scorpion
Another strange one to keep you scratching your head until you’re in need a band-aid. Imagine if they remade “Anaconda” in the desert, with Ben Kingsley instead of Ice Cube, and instead of a big snake eating people it’s a scorpion that sings “Smooth Operator” almost constantly. And believe it or not, this was actually the scarier movie of the two. Come to think of it, maybe that’s not so hard to believe.

Ghost World
The second feature from Nintendo Pictures follows the reasoning that if the original is good, throw in a egg-pooping dinosaur and it’ll be even better. I’m not sure what to think of the result, however. Whoopi Goldberg has some great lines as the wise-cracking dinosaur, but I just couldn’t get over how dumb Patrick Swayzee looks in that little plumber hat.

Kiss of the Drag Queen
Jet Li is back and this time he must face his toughest adversary yet: his own ambiguous sexuality! How will Li react when he finds out that the girl he just chop-sueyed a platoon of ninjas to save turns out to be a flamboyant drag queen from Frisco? S/he is Li’s perfect match, but will he risk the scorn of his ultra-traditional culture and his macho ass-kicking buddies to know her love? No chance, but he did kick a guy’s ass with a tuna fish in a scene that I thought was pretty cool.

Television:

The networks are rushing out new episodes of their biggest shows for what they call “sweeps” and that means it’s the best time to be a television fan! Here’s some highlights of the coming week:

Frasier (NBC)
The episode we’ve all been waiting for as the champ puts to rest old grievances with his longtime arch-nemesis Muhammad Ali. A tear-jerking episode, or something gets jerked anyhow.

Si, Esse (CBS)
I’ve been hearing everyone raving about this show about forensic science cops, but didn’t think it sounded appealing. Still, pretty ballsy move to have an all-Spanish cast. I managed to follow it pretty good and this week’s episode ought to be the best as that guy who seems to be in charge has an affair with the young girl with the sombrero, who I think might be his protogé or something. Hot Spanish chicks and possible nudity? Roland is there, compadré!

Everybody Loves Reagan (CBS)
Last I heard this guy was drooling all over his presidential bib in some nursing home, so I don’t know how he gets a hit sitcom. Then again, I still don’t know how he beat Mondale in a landslide. It’s their biggest episode yet this week as the current president (you know, the one with the dirty name) stops by to talk about his space station that blows up nuclear missiles. You won’t want to miss it. I will, though.

Video Games:

State of Emergency (PS2)
This flag-waving tribute to New York is long on sentiment and short on fun. Sure, I agree firefighters and cops and paramedics and all of them are the real heroes, yeah, I’d gladly look the other way if they wanted to murder somebody or rob a bank, but any game with more candle-lit worshipping-at-the-feet and less fighting and explosions just isn’t my idea of fun. Not that they aren’t walking gods among us, of course.

Rackless (Sexbox)
The boys at Microsoft are going all out to beat the competition. This game is truly a new frontier, as you’re a cosmetic surgeon trying to pump up the chest of a young hottie who just can’t attract the boys ‘cause of her natural flatlands. Keep adding on inches to turn her from Kate Moss to Jennifer Connelly and watch out you don't snap her spine in half. Success is its own reward!

Ninja Gayed In (PS2)
Wash-out of a game based on that Saturday Night Live gay ninja character that was only funny the first sketch. You play the ninja in sequined black commando gear and can stun enemies with glitter-laden throwing stars or your special move which I’ll save you the nausea of describing.

There are foul things afoot, Entertainment Policers. After a little cursory research on the “internet”, I’ve discovered that the Eskimos and the Hawaiian Islanders do in fact share a common ancestor! From everything I can tell, his name is Saul Worthington and he lives in the Bronx. Looks like I’ll be giving our Mr. Worthington a little phone call this afternoon to get to the bottom of this. Wish me luck, America!