Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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The Return of the Dude Tron: Legacy (Rated PG) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS I don’t have many memories of the original Tron. I know the film focused on the fluorescent neon segment of the color spec- trum. I vaguely remember that the hero rode one kind of fast bike, and the villain rode another kind of fast bike, all on a com- puter grid. I couldn’t even tell you for sure if the red rider was good or bad … but I’m betting on bad, because red is the color of communism, bleeding hearts, and the most evil of all candy: atomic fireballs. Anyhoo, Tron: Legacy (125 minutes) left me unimpressed. Normally this is the type of movie I totally geek-out for, but I just couldn’t generate the necessary enthusiasm to suspend my disbelief. Although some rocking cheesy ‘80s pop power ballads get me in the mood for love, the promising atmosphere melts away into dance/house/electronica enjoyed by people who are not me. A quick intro retells/reveals some backstory. In 1989, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) big cheese and software engineer disap- pears. He leaves behind his young son, forever traumatized by the creepy Tron Dolls used to tell his bedtime stories and the waxy plastic face of his father. Twenty years later son Sam (Garret Hedlund) is a controlling shareholder of the wealthy video game company. He plays an annual joke on the shareholders because he … thinks they suck? Make him money? Try to increase profits? Is an immature jerk? After his latest stunt leads to him diving off the roof and employing sophisti- cated parachute technology presumably paid for by the profitable company he is dying to destroy (?), he gets a visit. His father’s friend Alan (Bruce Boxleitner) appears at his luxurious open-air bachelor parking garage (with river view) to lecture him on something or other. He winds up his pitch with a cryptic reference to his father’s office … where Sam immediately heads. Because riding your bike on studio sound stages intended to resemble the rough streets of inner-city U.S.A despite their fresh appearance and lack of trash is the funnest thing a rich, attractive, irresponsible, young man can think to do late at night. He wanders through a suspiciously well-kept arcade that has not been broken into or vandalized. Since someone has paid up on the power bill, even after 20 years, not to mention the cur- rent depressed economic climate. He winds up trapped in The Grid (duh), a virtual world where the inhabitants are programs. After a series of almost cool battles and races where Sam gets to showcase his suddenly acquired ninja/boxing/fighting/clever- one-liner giving skills, he is rescued. His rescuer, Quorra (Olivia Wilde) escorts him to the totally zen lair of his long lost father, The Dude (Jeff Bridges). Sadly, they do not share White Russians or bond over how the rug to- tally pulls the room together. Instead, Dear old Dad spends some time discussing how his dream for a utopian digital paradise was subsumed by Facebook and is now controlled by a younger, fitter, waxier version of himself, Clu (Digital Jeff Bridges). For some reason, instead of basking in the glow of a world where to think it is to have it appear, Sam decides the real world, where he is an unemployed slacker, is way better. He further decides that he knows more about digital poli- tics based on the hours he has spent in The Grid than his father (who not only created The Grid, but has spent 20 years there). The three split up and reunite a few times as the climax approaches. Unfortunately, the climax rips off key plot elements for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Overall, the film was bright and energetic. Too bad it was also filled with clichés and plot holes. HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com The Kardashians Conquer All The Kardashian sisters are taking over our country, and we’re just letting it happen. I don’t mean to point fingers, because I’m just as complicit as everyone else. The Kardashians emerged on the national scene as a stun- Don’t say you weren’t warned TV by DEAN ROBBINS ningly irrelevant reality-TV family from Los Angeles. But those were the devil-may-care days of 2007, so we let it pass. Slowly, the Kardashian sisters began showing up everywhere, from awards shows to talk shows to commercials, despite having no talent and nothing to say. Did we sit up and pay attention when E! premiered Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami, even though the title made the goal of conquest explicit? No, we didn’t. In the new Kourtney & Kim Take New York (Sunday, 10 p.m., E!), a different configuration of Kardashian sisters is dispatched to Manhattan to “take” it, too. Will we be sorry when E! premieres Kourtney, Khloe & Kim Take the White House, Suspend Your Civil Liberties and Require You to Buy All Their Products? Yes, we will. But by then, it will be too late. American Idol Wednesday, 8 pm (Fox) The producers seem to think that American Idol is nothing more than a format: A few judges pick a few amateur singers out of the crowd. But it’s much more specif- ic than that. American Idol is Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul joking, bickering and finding stars like Kelly Clarkson and Fantasia Barrino. As we learned last season, it has nothing to do with Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi. And it has nothing to do with this season’s new judges, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez, who will preside over the series’ further decline. Advance clips suggest that the cur- rent judging panel has none of the original’s chemistry. The recast American Idol reminds me of other recasting catastrophes through- out TV history, such as the new Darrin on Bewitched. The producers were the only 18 UCW JANUARY 19-25, 2011 ones who didn’t realize that the party had ended. Perfect Couples Thursday, 8:30 pm (NBC) The irony begins with the title: the three romantic pairs in this new sitcom are not “perfect couples.” One (Kyle Bornheimer, Christine Woods) is completely messed up, one (Dave Walton, Mary Elizabeth Ellis) is moderately messed up, and a third (Hayes MacArthur, Olivia Munn) is so obsessed with creating the therapy- approved version of an ideal union that it’s just freakish. “And by revealing our needs we forge a bond toward becoming one!” the part- ners chant in unison. “I feel heard and validated!” The writing is strong, as is the acting. And the series has that magic Friends number of attractive and talented young stars: six. Perfect Couples is not at the Friends level, by any means, but it’s got tons of promise. So far, it definitely makes me feel heard and validated. Parks and Recreation Thursday, 9:30 pm (NBC) On Saturday Night Live, Amy Poehler established herself as one of our greatest comedians with a wide range of colorful characters. Parks and Recreation has never seemed like the right vehicle for her, since it confines her to one character, and a colorless one at that. Leslie Knope is an earnest bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, Ind., the sort who takes her pathetic job too seriously. (Think color-coded binders.) Thanks to a strong cast, the series itself is pretty funny. Not as funny as its model, The Office, but funny enough to warrant a “yippee!” as the third season premieres. Leslie’s budget has been slashed, so she decides to revive the once-popular Pawnee Harvest Festival as a way to attract more funding. This plotline will unfold over several episodes and, if I know my Parks and Recreation department, end in di- saster. Like The Office, this sitcom bases its success on failure. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM