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Planning the Podcast
Well, we couldn’t decide on which movie to review:. go for the easy film, Déjà vu, or the comedy, Tenacious D, or the complex film, The Fountain. Since this was our final Podcast of the season, we decided to do it our way and review The Fountain. With Thanksgiving weekend being the same weekend that The Fountain was released, it would make for an interesting show.

Day of Podcast
So I picked up Mike so to watch the film. We didn’t have any interruptions this time, unlike Casino Royale. After we finished, we headed over to John’s place to start recording the show. I had bought a new laptop, so I was excited to use it for the final show. However, Z installed new software and it was kind of difficult to figure it out. I also think my laptop wasn't handling the new software the best either, which is probably why the sound quality is different than the past episodes. There was still a show to do and we were going to deliver! (even if it meant producing bad quality sound.)

Post Production
Well, this was the final show to edit for the season; of course, it would be the hardest, because while recording, for whatever reason the sound cut in certain parts of the show. So I had to go in and fix each one manually. It was not an easy edit for Mike either, but we always manage and pull through. Hopefully you guys enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. I’d just like to thank everyone who helped support the show. I really appreciate all that you have done, thanks again and we’ll be back next year in January with better shows. Tune in!

Reviewed by- John Hang

Remember as a child, watching Saturday morning cartoons, in your P Js, cross-legged, holding onto your blanket and your pet chicken Bangkok…okay, that last part might have just been me…but remember those Power Wheels commercials? Well, several years ago engineers made a grown-up version of them and now they are all gone. Director Chris Paine gives you the tragic story of the electric car.
Who Killed the Electric car? Is a documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future.

STORY: we are starting to see a lot more environmental documentaries circulate, a sign there is a strong interest and concern of what is happening. The story of the electric car is a tragic one, the reality of our government, car manufactures, oil companies, and consumers failing to support a vehicle with zero omission of gases. We all saw those re-chargeable stations at convenient stores, yet there was not a strong enough demand at the time to convince manufactures, supposedly, and now we’re experiencing the retribution of global warming. This documentary shines light on exactly how the electric car was killed and why all electric cars were destroyed.

STYLE: clever graphics and animation has become a staple in documentaries, thereby causing their budgets to sky-rocket. There is also a good amount of footage depicting the environment and what our factories are doing to our o-zone. The film builds to this great scene of a news piece by PBS that visited a recycling center and the reporter notices an entire lot of brand new vehicles in the lot. Well the recycling manager admits to his shock as well, for these were brand new electric cars that were tagged to be destroyed immediately. The two puzzled looks from the men were enough to make me understand what kind of travesty this image was.

SUMMARY: is this film biased? Yes. Are both sides properly represented? Probably not. But consider this documentary more as a debate environmentalist are making to stake their claim your government does not care enough about our health. The electric car provided a vision of the future, the equivalent in my mind to a Lego car, but it wasn’t given a chance to succeed. Hybrids and Hydrogen gas stations might be the future, but electric cars was an alternative to where oil was not dependent, and now it is just part of car history.

Planning the Podcast
There was much anticipation for the film Stranger Than Fiction with us Movie Menu guys. Will Farrell playing a serious role? We had to be there! So much planning was created to not miss this movie. However, there were some twists and turn when we decided to have Russhelle on the show again. So all that planning went out the window. Luckily for us, we have no lives anymore, so we were able to change some things around so Russhelle could be a part of our show. So we actually saw the movie the day before the recording of the Podcast.

Day of Podcast
Since we saw the movie the day before, we decided to Podcast at night. Which was perfect for me because I was able to watch Volver, a Spanish film starring Penelope Cruz, which I will do a written review on soon. So after getting lost, Mike and I found Russhelle’s house and got to work. We went through the banter once, though the intro look longer than expected because we had some script issues…. Okay I couldn’t get it right. Though it was late, and our energy was low, we still were determined to provide an entertaining show, no matter what the cost.

Post Production
Things seemed to be going better for Mike’s computer since we used it to record the show, we could only hope that it would work while recording the music for the intro. The banter took a little longer to edit than expected but that’s Movie Menu for you. However of course we are successful at spitting out another episode that you’ll enjoy and wonder, what would I do without MOVIE MENU?!

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Shadowboxer – reviewed by John Hang

Cuba Gooding Jr. sure does like to box. He once was an underground fighter in Gladiator…before there is any confusion, I’m not talking about the Russell Crowe film. Although Russell would have been great in both. Hey! You wanna fight!
Rose, a female assassin, decides to finish her career with one final job. But the job isn’t completed, so it’s up to Rose and Mikey now to find a way out.

STORY: Helen Mirren a British actress better known for her recent portrayal of Queen Elizabeth, plays Rose the terminally ill assassin who wants out now. Cuba Gooding Jr. is the boyfriend Mikey, an assassin who trains like a boxer, but fights no one. Like a Shadowboxer. How clever. Well the two assassins couldn’t bring themselves to kill a pregnant woman, so the trio flee with the baby and go into hiding. The story focuses heavily on Mikey and how he got into the profession. Cuba Gooding Jr. shows how bad you can make a bad movie worst with bad acting. Clearly Cuba proves his best role was a retarded water boy in Radio. Director Lee Daniels used so many flashbacks to tell Mikey’s story, I easily guessed the ending and everything in between. Although, they do remind us Stephen Dorff is still alive and acting, giving him a chance to play the mad boss man chasing Mikey and Rose.

STYLE: Think of the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, starring Angelina Jolie- Brad Pitt okay, now add a hip hop/ gangster rap soundtrack, and have it romantically star a British actress pushing 60 and a black actor who can also be seen in Snow Dogs. Every shot is bland, no aesthetics worth mentioning, and a lot of shots of Cuba Gooding’s ass. One scene that was memorable was the wife’s infatuation with Cuba Gooding’s ass while he was showering, and she decides to start masturbating.  Well they changed the shutter speed so on film her hand trails in slow motion. Masturbation in slow motion. Yup. That was new, found it pretty funny, but I give director Lee Daniels credit for trying something different.

SUMMARY: I was pretty disappointed in my rental choice, because I chose Shadowboxer over Totally Awesome, a new film starring Chris Kattan. Let me repeat that, I was disappointed in myself for not renting a Chris Kattan film. Just a bad-bad-bad film. Supposedly LL Cool J and Mos Def rejected the film, shouldn’t that be a sign to someone to not make this film? So go watch it! Movie Menu pick of the month! Kidding. Your hour and a half is better spent thinking of joining Flavor Flav’s posse. Chicken and waffles for everyone!