Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
  Morgan Spurlock
  3 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

Morgan Spurlock gained his fame - and a ton of fat - in "Supersize Me," the often amusing documentary that showed the dangers of a fast food "diet." Spurlock sacrificed his waistline so that we might hesitate to ask for fries with that. So searching for the bearded fiend who wants to put all infidels' heads on a pike is another, much more dangerously permanent matter. In his latest film, "Where In the World Is Osama Bin Laden?" Spurlock amps up the danger quotient by attempting to locate America's Public Enemy No.1. Last time I checked, being beheaded with a dull scimitar is a far more dangerous prospect than a Big Mac attack.

The film is billed as a comedy, but there are few belly dancing laughs. You'll definitely shake your head in disbelief, grimace, be temporarily amused, maybe even wish a few undesirables dead, but laugh? Uh-uh. Nevertheless, Spurlock's journey is one we all need to take. If you're one of those smug war hawks who drives around with your American flag decal on your bumper flipping the bird to foreigners, pining for the day we turn the Middle East into a parking lot, then Spurlock's documentary is sho' nuff gonna flatten the tires on your pick up truck. If you're convinced there are a lot of folks living in paralyzing poverty who hate the U.S., well, you probably need to double your estimate of how many there really are. The good news is they don't necessarily hate Americans - they just hate our buttinski government. What's really surprising is the number of people who are ambivalent toward America. No, the world doesn't revolve around you, George W. There are bigger concerns in the Middle East, especially for villagers with no drinking water who send their children to a bullet-riddled school with no roof or walls.    

Our intrepid filmmaker's search for Osama coincides with exciting, life-changing news -- Spurlock and his wife are going to have their first child. But Spurlock's Middle East odyssey could very well keep him from being by his wife's side when their baby is born.

Bringing a child into the post 9-11 world changes Spurlock's agenda. He wants to see Osama grovel in an American court, but he's also concerned for his child's safety in a die-Yankee-dog world. 

I Got the Feelin'
James Brown in the 60s
3.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

The scenario was a grim one. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the black community's spiritual and political leader, had been assassinated the day before. Rioting in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Detroit, and other major cities had turned them into funeral pyres. One of the cradles of democracy, Boston, was next. Enter James Brown, who was scheduled to perform at the Boston Garden the day after Dr. King's death. In the hopes of unifying his city, Mayor Kevin White announced the show would go on.

Shout Factory has released a three DVD set "I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the 60s," containing a documentary that chronicles the events leading to the historic concert, as well as two DVDs of live performances featuring Brown and his band of renown performing at the Boston Garden and Apollo Theater. You get every slide, shuffle, slip and spin, executed at a time when Brown was in his prime. Moonwalk? Brown's sweat-spraying dance steps put Michael Jackson's ballyhooed boogying to shame.

Vantage Point
Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

With a gravity defying car chase scene reminiscent of the thrilling twists and turns in "Ronin," tall in his seat belt heroics from Randy Quaid, single-minded (but oh so tech savvy) villains and enough flash backs to rival a Grateful Dead concert, "Vantage Point" is full of free-wheeling action. If you like "24" or enjoyed Clint Eastwood's die-imperialist-pig thriller "In the Line of Fire," then you'll appreciate Vantage Point's multi-layered and occasionally outlandish plots.

"Vantage Point" takes the same incident (the assassination of United States President Henry Ashton) and replays it through the eyes of eight witnesses and subversives. We see the assassination first through the eyes of Type A News Director Rex Brooks, (an annoying Sigourney Weaver), then through grizzled Secret Service Agent Thomas Barnes (watchful, heroic Dennis Quaid), who's returning to duty after being shot. The point of view switches to Spanish police officer Enrique (a tortured Eduardo Noriega), followed by right place, wrong time American tourist Howard Lewis (virtuous Forest Whitaker, who becomes the film's Zapruder when he films Ashton's assassination); then shoots to the punctured President himself (a determined William Hurt, who gets my vote for a job well done). The final and most intriguing piece of the puzzle is seen through the eyes of a trio of demolition happy terrorists -- Said Taghmaoui, as the diabolical Suarez, Edgar Ramirez as reluctant killing machine Javier, and Ayelet Zurer as Veronica, who has the allure of a succubus and the conscience of Joseph Stalin.

My Blueberry Nights Jude Law, Norah Jones 1.5 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

Nora Jones can't sing. In "Blueberry Nights" she proves she can't act either. Her performance is so stiff, so alarmingly flatlined that coroners must've trailed behind her on the set to check her for a pulse.

Writer/director Wong Ker Wai deserves a pie in the face for casting a novocained novice in the lead. He also signed up an impressive list of acting luminaries to support singer-songwriter (not actor) Norah Jones; including stars: Jude Law, David Straitharn, Rachel Wiesz, Frankie Faison and Natalie Portman. But Jones' ineptitude is contagious. Steely screen hunk Jude Law is hapless as Jeremy, the owner of a late night Manhattan diner that specializes in good food and few customers. His puppy dog performance is a mix of Leslie Howard at his most fey and the Galloping Gourmet. The usually reliable Portman deserves a booberry for her antediluvian assessment of an overblown trailer park trashette who has absolutely no sensible connection to the very reserved character played by Jones. Fortunately, the midpoint of the film focuses on Straitharn, Weisz and Faison, who remind us that good actors can overcome a padded, hackneyed script. Skip to their section and avoid the agita the rest of "Blueberry Nights" induces.

Genesis When In Rome 2007 4 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

I broke procedure in reviewing the new 3 DVD set by Genesis by starting out with the 1 hour 50 minute 'Come Rain or Shine' documentary, the third DVD that chronicles Genesis' 2007 reunion tour. I'd advise you to do the same. If you're Genesis fan, you know that after a 15 year-break, the Phil Collins-Mike Rutherford-Tony Banks triumvirate wasn't going to release any in-concert footage that's not note-for-note perfect, so the 2 DVDs devoted to their free concert in Rome in front of 500,000 fans are flawless. (Some of the song selections are heinous, but we'll get to that.). The final European concert was captured in incredibly crisp tones and hues by director David Mallet. The 'Come Rain or Shine' documentary, directed by film maker Anthony Mathile, will provide you with many insights (and inside jokes) that will further your enjoyment of the concert. You'll understand the epic saga of 'Conversation With Two Stools' for one, and appreciate the yeoman effort the design crew, lighting techs and stage minions put into erecting, testing and altering the monolithic, 10 million dollar special effects-laden stage.

The Air I Breathe Forest Whitaker, Sarah Michelle Gellar 3.5 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

The 2008 crime drama 'The Air I Breathe' has nothing to do with the Hollies 1974 song (That was 'The Air That I Breathe'), but it's just as big a hit.

The film breaks down into four segments focusing on four characters. 'Happiness' is played by Forest Whitaker, 'Pleasure' by Brendan Fraser, 'Sorrow' by Sarah Michelle Geller, and 'Love' by Kevin Bacon. None of the characters names are mentioned in the film (proving you can go through life calling people 'Hey You!' 'Buddy,' or 'Yo, Man!'). Geller's character is referred to by her stage name, Trista, and at least two characters, an ambushing interviewer and 'Pleasure' (Fraser), become fixated on trying to get her to tell them what her real name is. The film's unifying character is 'Fingers,' played with zeal by Andy Garcia.

Grace Is Gone John Cusack 3 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

I like John Cusack. I hate movies with kid actors. Imagine my dilemma when I received "Grace is Gone," a weeper in which Cusack suddenly finds himself the sole parent for his two young daughters. Taking a bullet for Cusack's sake, I tried to take in "Grace Is Gone" with an open mind. And guess what? Director/writer James Strouse tried so hard to make Cusack's Stanley Phillips believable he turned him into a lifeless zombie who's more bound up than a bar of government cheese. Cusack is too good an actor not to have an impact, even when he's starting from a deficit, but it's Shelan O'Keefe (who plays Stanley's oldest coming of age daughter, Heidi) who'll command your interest. Score one for the kid actors.

ASSSSCAT The Upright Citizens Brigade 3 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

Improvisational comedy is the equivalent of watching a blind man balance on a high wire greased with margarine with a group of famished lions waiting below. If you're not quick enough or smart enough, your ass belongs to the cats. That may not be how the Upright Citizens Brigade came up with "ASSSSCAT," the title for their latest DVD, but the same concept applies. The troupe performs skits suggested by members of the audience, a dangerous concept if your audience is primary college kids with tricked out bongs. Every line is made up on the spot, and as the ideas begin to flow, the comics move in and out of the sketches like wrestlers in a tag team match.

Cassandra's Dream Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell Director: Woody Allen 3.5 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

What would you do to help your brother, your favorite uncle, yourself? Lie? No problem. Scheme? It's my middle name. Kill? Well, that's gonna cost ya. Woody Allen's 2007 enjoyable suspense drama "Cassandra's Dream" follows the plight of two working class Londoners, brothers Terry (better than you may think Colin Ferrell) and Ian (Ewan McGregor cast as the level-headed sibling), who find themselves behind a financial eight ball. The brothers are offered a risky way out that could either fulfill their dreams or turn their lives into an ongoing nightmare.

Before the Devil Knows You�re Dead Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei 4 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" opens with one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever witnessed (and I've seen "Caligula"). Blotchy, bloated Phillip Seymour Hoffman, playing an emotionally bankrupt corporate accountant, is having sweaty monkey sex with Marisa "oh my" Tomei (who plays Gina, his love-starved wife) in a filmy bedroom in Rio. Tomei's obviously been to the gym more recently than Phil. It's like watching W.C. Fields ravage Ava Gardiner. It's very, very wrong, and it'll make you feel like you're going to need a shower with a high pressure hose and an exorcism in order to expunge the memory from your mind. The next time someone says there ought to be a more proportional split in screen nudity between men and women, remember this scene. Fortunately the film takes a quantum leap in quality and you're spared further views of Hoffman's pasty backside.