Triple crown post

First thing, please go on over and check out my guest post on Linda's site. Linda is in the process of moving from Hawaii to Texas (Dallas area), and I posted 10 things to help her adjust to the culture change over there. I know many of you are in Texas (and even from the South), so please be sure to comment with anything that's important that I might've left out.

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Clerks 2: B-
If you're a fan of the original Clerks, then chances are that you'll at least be entertained by this latest installment -- 10 years later. The Quik Stop burns down, forcing Dante and Randal to make a huge leap to a ficticious fast-food place called Mooby's (complete with a burger called The Cow Tipper). It's Dante's last day of work, as he's about to jump ship to Florida with his far-out-of-his-league fiance' to go mooch of her parents and work at a car wash. Rosario Dawson is thrown in there as the Mooby's boss and third corner of a potential Dante love triangle.

The main drawback to this film is that most of the better lines/gags/scenes are in the trailer. Where it differs from the first one is that they actually try to resolve story arcs all in this one day. It just feels forced, rather than letting Randal and Dante realistically improvise and banter with the various people that come in and out of the store. The most entertaining character was Mr. Pillow Pants, Elias, as a naive 19-year-old co-worker of the Mooby twins.

If you've never seen a Kevin Smith film, this is not the place to start. You need to check out Chasing Amy, his best film by far. This film, like the first, is rather raunchy and crude, in case that isn't your cup of tea. Now bear in mind, this does not factor into my rating, for it was expected and it's not something that bothers me (as long as it's entertaining).

As an example of how disjointed this particular film is, Jay imitates the serial killer dress-up dance from Silence of the Lambs (which is hilarious) and then there's a cheesy dance number to the Jackson 5's "ABC." Here's another edict for filmmakers: no more high-school-looking group dance routines unless they are either: 1) skilled at it so we're impressed OR 2) funny with it so we can laugh.

The Heart of the Game: A
This documentary follows Seattle's Roosevelt High School girl's basketball coach and his team for six seasons as they try to win the state championship. Miramax picked this up, and it's in limited release, but if you like documentaries, I highly recommend this one. It's easily as good as any scripted "rah-rah" spirited sports movies, only it's the genuine goods.

You have to like a coach that has a theme each year for his team, including Pride of Lions, Pack of Wolves, Tropical Storms, and has rally cries for games like "draw blood." And as always, it's nice to see a bit of "girl power."