WCBE 90.5 FM: "Rachel Getting Married," "The Duchess," "Religulous," "Eagle Eye-The IMAX Experience"

WCBE 90.5 FM: "Rachel Getting Married," "The Duchess," "Religulous," "Eagle Eye-The IMAX Experience"
Co-hosts, writers & producers: John DeSando & Clay Lowe
Recording Time: Wednesday, 10 am, October 8, 2008
Air Time: Friday, 3:01 pm & 8:01 pm, October 10, 2008On demand: http://wcbe.org

John

"Rachel Getting Married" is about surviving the family minefield . . .

Clay

"The Duchess" is about surviving British costume dramas . . .

John

"Religulous" is Bill Maher irreverent. . .

Clay"Eagle Eye - The IMAX Experience" is all about Big Brother and Big Sister . . .

HIT MUSIC ("Star Wars"), THEN UNDER FOR:

Richelle

"It's Movie Time" in Columbus with John DeSando and Clay Lowe . . .

MUSIC DOWN AND OUT

John

I'm John DeSando . . .

Clay

And I'm Clay Lowe . . .

MUSIC DOWN AND OUT

John ("Rachel Getting Married" )

Weddings are tough: resentments, secrets, lies, jealousies, and the king of them all–memories.

Clay

And don't you ever forget it.

John

Out in a couple of weeks in Columbus, Rachel Getting Married deftly navigates among the revelers of a Connecticut wedding that must deal with Anne Hathaway’s return from nine months in rehab.

Her sister Rachel tries to balance the joy of her own wedding against confrontation with memories of the past that Hathaway seems unable to stop from happening.As in Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies, the family that finally tells the truth may survive the hell that seems to accompany many family gatherings trying too hard to be happy.Anne Hathaway proves she’s not just an interesting face. She plays spot on the gifted but difficult one whose past continues to color their present.

Clay ("The Duchess")

Well, folks, Keira Knightly is a talented beauty whose character in "The Duchess" finds herself unhappily married to the Duke of Devonshire, chillingly played by Rayf Fynz.

Her problem seems to be that the Duke wants only two things from her: a male heir and her forbearance in his numerous marital indiscretions. Such a deal.

So what's a poor girl to do, but deliver him a baby girl, then indulge herself in affair with the lucky (and later to be ennobled) Earl Grey (played a bit dully by Dominic Cooper).

Set among the royal courts of late 18th Century England, "The Duchess" is everything a Brit period piece should be: colorful, genteel, a little bit naughty, and sometimes a little bit clever.

John ("Religulous")

Religulous, Ridiculous, whatever, but clever it is.

Bill Maher’s irreverent take on major world religions—Catholic, Jewish, Islam are the most prominent--makes no pretense of admiring religious devotees.As an interviewer of some well-known religious fanatics, and some ordinary believers, Maher can’t contain light disdain for their certainty when juxtaposed with his agnosticism. For instance, virgin-birth was not sufficiently important to be included in two of the four gospels. How could such a miracle be left out? Maher asks. The reason to him is obvious: It is probably made up.

Clay

Yeah, well, it worked for Joseph.

John

Tell me it ain’t so, Joe.

Maher is so good as an easy-going reporter with impeccable comic timing that he finds a Vatican priest to claim the bible as not history but morality tale. Maher’s purpose is to lampoon: Serious argument need not apply

Clay ("Eagle Eye")

Well, folks, I don't care that Roger Ebert hated the new would-be terrorist thriller, "Eagle Eye," although some of my favorite local critics also agree.

Sure, many of their points are well taken. "Eagle Eye" is often hard to follow. It IS full of plot twists that are hard to believe, and it DOES seem to overstate the ability of bad guys to turn our technological playthings (computers, cell phones, global positioning devices) into weapons to use against us.

Hey, that's like believing there'll be cameras prowling around all of the streets of the world's major cities; maybe even Columbus. Or that someone may be able to track us on our cell phones.

Who cares? It's still a well directed relevant film. (Pause)

But enough of family weddings, forced weddings, spoon fed religion, and snoopers with eagle eyes, John, because it's grading time.

HIT DRUMS, THEN UNDER FOR:

John

Holy fumbling families, Hooray!

"Rachel Getting Married" earns a “B” for its BARELY disguised delight in family dysfunction. . .

Clay

"The Duchess" gets a "B" BECAUSE of its BEAUTIFUL settings and costume design . . ..

John

"Religulous" earns a “B” for its BORAT director’s restraint in exposing religious BOOBS . . .

Clay

"Eagle Eye" gets a "B" because BOOBS as well as non-BOOBS will never again be able to hide . . ..

DRUMS OUT

John

Clay, the virgin birth business bothers me also because finding one is such a tiring task.I'm outta here.

Clay

As usual, John, the fun is more in the searching than in the finding.

I'm outta here too.

See you at the movies, folks.

HIT MUSIC AND CLOSING, THEN DOWN AND OUT

Copyright John DeSando & ClayLowe 2008