All Hail Apatow!

Judd Apatow's 'Knocked Up' is the rarest kind of summer movie, a huge
hit that actually deserves to be one. Very funny & very warm, it's
a worthy follow-up to his last summer sleeper 'The 40-year Old Virgin', probably my favorite film of the last few years. As good as Apatow's latest is, I don't quite think it's up to Virgin's level. Seth Rogan's Ben is great but he isn't the original comic creation that Steve Carrol's Andy was. A bigger problem is the weakness of Katherine Hegel's character. It stretches a whole lot of credibility
that this gorgeous E! anchor would sleep with Ben, let alone keep his
child & try to strike up a relationship with him. The film's great
performances & good humor get you over the hump but it would be
nice to have a few more scenes with Hegel & the amazing Leslie Mann to flesh out our leading lady little more fully. Still, a minor compliant against an otherwise terrific movie.

The Pop Culture Moment of the Year

Everyone saw it. Everyone argued about. Now, everyone is starting the
parodies. The final few moments of 'The Sopranos' was one of those
sublime cultural moments that come along all to infrequently. The brilliantly maddening final scene most reminds me of late era Stanley Kubrick (ahh, if only the 'Eyes Wide Shut' orgy scene had been scored to REO Speedwagon) in it's cool distanced quality as if we are watching the frame through another frame. It was in almost every way the perfect ending. The myriad of fan endings (Tony whacked, Meadow whacked, Tony turns rat) were all too limited, a final page on a show that has never shown any instance in neat & tidy closure. Believe me, if Tony had gotten shot in that diner, no one would be talking about 'The Sopranos' finale two weeks later.