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From the work of their hands
Haiti | In Haiti, entrepreneurs who've learned hard lessons about charity handouts instead are launching business startups
"From the work of their hands" Continued...
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—It's 8:30 in the morning and Papillon Enterprise is a hive. The gift shop has customers and two cashiers at the counter, the café is thrumming with smoothie and espresso preparations. But these are just window dressing. The real industry is in backroom workshops, where Papillon employs about 200 artisans, many of them already bent over tables, busy with their craft.
Ceramic bead makers—all in soft brown T-shirts—are working outdoors at picnic tables, shaping bits of clay they pull from large blocks on the ground. In another workspace men and women are cutting flattened cereal boxes into thin strips, not more than one-eighth inch wide, each measured then sliced precisely to be wound into paper beads.
Room after room, the workers are assembling beads into strands, checking the work of others, measuring and mending, forming over time and careful process out of elemental paper and clay and tin beautiful jewelry and housewares. Walk through Papillon with a shopping basket, and you'll want one of everything.
The work to achieve an attractive product line looks repetitive, tedious, eye-wearying—but the workers are talking, listening to music on their iPods, and enjoying a breeze through an open doorway that lets onto a small courtyard draped in bougainvillea.
And this is Haiti.
HAITI IS SYNONYMOUS WITH POVERTY. It's the place where white people go to do good deeds—and penance for the African slave trading that birthed this island nation. Its economic successes historically have been mostly for the benefit of others, while its failures have stayed on the island. And among the world's doomed ideas, Haiti has long been an early adopter: from sugarcane slave plantations and voodoo religion to UN stabilization missions, rampant deforestation, and corruptible foreign aid.
If Haiti's low standing on just about everything in the Western Hemisphere is legendary, so is its present status as an incubator for ever-more foreign aid—and particularly since the 2010 earthquake that left more than 150,000 Haitians dead and 1.5 million homeless.
Western charities—buoyed by the short 90-minute flight from Miami to Port-au-Prince and the no-boundaries way of doing business with a power structure run one minute by elected officials, the next by the Clinton Commission, or the UN—have experimented here. Notable projects that looked too big to fail, with millions of dollars in donations to back them, notably have failed anyway.
One of the most recent boondoggles: a housing village built as part of a $20 million aid package from Canada that sits empty just off Route Nationale #1 about 10 miles north of Port-au-Prince. Rows of two-story duplexes with carports line level paved streets, all solar-powered and intended to resettle some of the thousands of Haitians who've been living in tent camps since the quake. But the village sits on a vast empty plain, far removed from business areas and shops, and out of reach of public transportation. Most Haitians designated to live there have moved elsewhere.
Other examples are longer standing. The United States and other countries ferried so much rice into Haiti after the quake, they put out of business most of Haiti's rice growers. One farmer told me imported rice sells on local markets for about one-tenth the price of locally grown rice.
Millions of bottles of Fiji water (shipped in mostly by the U.S. military from 8,000 miles away) also left unintended consequences: As the empty plastic containers littered the streets, filtration and purification systems that before the quake served two-thirds of Haitians fell into disuse and disrepair. Cholera and other water-borne diseases once uncommon in Haiti have proliferated.
Not surprisingly, donor nations haven't spent what they promised on post-quake Haiti. According to the latest UN report available (from 2012), those who pledged $4.5 billion in 2010 had delivered only $2.3 billion. The United States pledged $3 billion via USAID but has actually obligated $1.3 billion. Of that, the majority has gone toward funding the operational costs of nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, rather than directly to Haitian quake victims and consumers, say analysts.
"Sixty percent [of USAID funds for Haiti] goes to firms operating inside the [Washington] beltway, disappearing in a black box," said Jake Johnson of the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), a Washington think tank, on the fourth anniversary of the quake Jan. 12.
"There is no doubt the international community saved lives in Haiti following the earthquake," said James English of Texas Christian University, who serves as an adviser to Haiti's secretary of state for the disabled. But "the international community continues to spend millions of dollars on airline tickets, hotel rooms, SUVs and salaries to put people on the ground in Port-au-Prince," he said in a Miami Herald op-ed last month. NGOs have created in Haiti what English calls "a complex and dysfunctional dynamic."
Global aid advocates and economists like Jeffrey Sachs won't be let off the hook for the dysfunctional economies created by aid regimes. The UN's long-touted Millennium Development Goals, that include cutting global poverty by half, come due in 2015. Already critics like New York University's William Easterly (author of White Man's Burden and Tyranny of Experts due out next month) are pointing out that "raising enough money to pay for the right combination of known technical solutions" to poverty hasn't proved the answer.
Sachs has been the darling economist for financiers like George Soros and celebrity philanthropists. But a 2013 book by Nina Munk, The Idealist, examines up-close and in-depth Sachs' vaunted Millennium Villages Project, a dozen model villages set up across 10 African countries with Soros millions—and chronicles their failure to thrive.
In all the world there's no better example of the failure of big aid and formulaic poverty-fighting than Haiti: For more than a decade, donor nations have spent per capita more than double the world average on aid here—more even than in places like Somalia and Sierra Leone—without seeing measurable reductions in poverty.
BUT THERE CAN BE A SILVER LINING to making so many mistakes: savvy entrepreneurs watching and ready to learn from them. One is Shelley Clay, who founded Papillon Enterprise in 2008 after quickly surmising the worth for Haitians of business startups versus charity handouts.
Shelley and her husband, Corrigan, traveled to Haiti in 2007 hoping to adopt. "I soon realized most of the 'orphans' I was seeing had parents," she said. They simply could not afford to care for them.
Clay also realized that the thousands of dollars going to adoption fees would end up in government officials' hands and the bureaucracy, not with poor Haitian families. The more urgent need, she decided, was to help poor mothers earn money so they could afford to keep their children rather than turn them over to orphanages.
Nine months later Clay moved to Port-au-Prince with her husband and went to work in an orphanage. She started classes making bead necklaces with four women. "The necklaces were ugly but people were buying them anyway," she said. "There's so much guilt purchasing, and more with the earthquake, but with it we were employing moms."
Starting Papillon as a nonprofit, Clay used grants—including one from the Clinton Foundation that helped expand her present facilities in Petionville, a hilly suburb of Port-au-Prince—to leverage what's become a for-profit business. At the end of 2010 she sold $100,000 in jewelry, mostly overseas, through her nonprofit overseas exchange, the Apparent Project. In 2013, Papillon had an estimated $1 million in sales.
In that time the company has grown from 40 workers to about 250 today. Many of them Clay hired as she visited orphanages and then tent cities following the quake. Her employees also now include 30 inmates who are rolling beads for two hours a day and getting paid for it. "It's huge," she said, "because in Haiti you can't go to trial without money." She hopes to expand job opportunities in prisons, including a nearby women's prison.
It didn't take Clay long to learn what leads to success. "Our products have to be beautiful," she said. And raising the standard and dignity of work for Haitians is key to that. Most Papillon employees earn $15 a day, an above-average wage, plus they receive health insurance, something unheard of. "I would never be able to buy enough rice to feed these people," she said. "They feed themselves with the money they earn."
Several single mothers who work at Papillon have progressed from having their children in orphanages to owning their own homes and paying the fees to send their children to school.
Clay came into the business with no design training or art-school background, but has learned on the job with the often-underestimated expertise of Haitian artisans. She's also taken advantage of local ingenuity at using materials recycled from the street. With the company's growth, her current challenge is finding upper management: "People coming out of accounting school don't know how to do a spreadsheet here."
Given Haiti's dysfunctional economy, Clay is persistently threading her way through a landscape of NGOs, government entities, and private overseas customers. Papillon goods sold through the Apparent Project are now carried by leading designers like Donna Karan and Chan Luu. Large-scale vendors (including Walmart) want to contract for the company's Christmas ornaments (in 2013 Papillon sold 50,000 of them).
At the same time, Clay partners purposefully with smaller NGOs and faith-based nonprofits like The Global Orphan Project more in line with her own philosophy. This spring the Kansas City, Mo.–based Global Orphan Project (GO) will carry necklaces and bracelets made by Papillon through its GO Exchange, which sells locally made clothing and accessories from Haiti, Uganda, and Ethiopia.
IN MANY WAYS GO's learning curve in Haiti has paralleled what Clay and other entrepreneurs have discovered. Initially working as C3 Missions, the organization set up its first orphanage a decade ago and now has church-based orphan care in 20 countries. But GO officers quickly learned that providing "24/7 residential care" wasn't sustainable and shifted to what they call market-based funding for orphan care. Providing housing for orphans, GO CEO Joe Knittig told me, was "attractively simple and exciting to givers," but "naïvely simplistic."
Perpetual financial charity led to dependency and what Knittig calls "the dignity drain." Better to partner with churches, who make up a vast community-based network in Haiti, provide structural support, but require that orphan care find ways to sustain itself. Using this model GO supports churches and church projects while eschewing its own buildings, a fleet of Land Rovers, or even signs bearing its logo.
Beyond that, GO learned that by focusing on care facilities, "We unintentionally created an incentive for hurting parents and relatives—particularly poor, single mothers—to quit on parenting in the hope that their children could be placed in residential care with the church," said Knittig. By instead focusing on "local church-based communities," the priority became keeping families and communities together to prosper.
"We started as an orphan care ministry. We have become an orphan care and orphan prevention ministry," said Knittig.
Pastor Claude Mondesir is an example of a GO partner. Over the course of 30 years the Haitian, who became a Christian through an American missionary in Cap Haitien, has planted at least four churches and started a school at each. One month after the quake GO partnered with him to open Eben Ezer, a village in Leogane, the quake epicenter. It now houses and schools 95 children, and has one of the only churches in the area.
Mondesir also has developed a knack for spawning business enterprises to support the church-based orphan care. A chicken farm supplies food for the orphanages, but also sells to local markets. It and vocational training with courses in animal husbandry, sewing, and business provide opportunities for orphans ready to "age out" and enter the job market. And when GO needed a place for missions teams to stay in Haiti, it bought property about 10 miles outside Port-au-Prince, but Mondesir built on it a modest hotel now staffed and run by Haitians. It's housed more than 100 overseas missions teams (who pay to stay there).
"Whatever we do has to serve orphan care in some way. It has to feed kids or provide income for them or their caregivers," said Jake Barreth, field director for GO. Another dividend of developing community and enterprise around the church—Mondesir's churches are growing, along with those of other pastors who partner with GO.
Knittig, who left a law practice in Kansas City to become The Global Orphan Project CEO in 2008, said it's important to embrace "organizational sanctification" to work in a place like Haiti. "We don't stick our heads in the sand to avoid the pain of mistakes, or hide mistakes in order to raise more money. We actively look for bad facts in the process of what we do, as these are opportunities to learn, change, and serve children and families better."
The "aid versus economic development" issue to Knittig is "not about how to best guarantee the illusory outcome of ending physical poverty. It's all about dignity in the process of how we serve the poor; about how to best champion family and community with all of the spiritual, intellectual, and financial capital that we can bring to the table."
—For the complete interview with Global Orphan Project's Joe Knittig, see below.
Stepping inside the world's 'orphan window'
An interview with The Global Orphan Project's Joe Knittig
By Mindy Belz
Joe Knittig was a trial lawyer when he made his first trip to Haiti in 2005. But in 2008 he left the legal world to become chief executive officer for The Global Orphan Project (GO). It currently partners with 17 projects, including villages dedicated to orphan care, in Haiti as well as other projects around the world. Knittig travels extensively from GO's home base in Kansas City, Mo., and when GO sponsors a run in Haiti or other adventures, he joins in that too. Knittig authored The Global Orphan Report (Booktango, 2012) to shed light not only on children who've lost parents but what Knittig calls "capital 'O' orphans" both overseas and in the United States—children "whose family care networks have catastrophically failed them." In an email interview following a recent trip to Haiti, I asked him to describe some mistakes from helping in these catastrophe zones, and what his organization has learned from them.
Among non-governmental organizations, GO seems transparent about what works and what doesn't in Haiti. Would you say that GO has learned from its own mistakes, or the mistakes of others, and could you give an example or two? Absolutely. We have a ministry culture within GO that embraces organizational sanctification. We don't stick our heads in the sand to avoid the pain of mistakes, or hide mistakes in order to raise more money. We actively look for bad facts in the process of what we do, as these are opportunities to learn, change, and serve children and families better. And we actively look to share our mistakes with others, to help other ministries improve in shrewd ways. This is the very reason that I wrote The Orphan Report—to share with other ministry leaders learning points from our mistakes in the "orphan window."
Can you amplify that? First example: When we first started in orphan care ministry, our single intervention for children was to help our local church partners provide 24/7 residential care to hurting children in their communities. While attractively simple and exciting to givers, our approach was naïvely simplistic.
Without question, children who suffer catastrophic family failure need the protection of 24/7 care in a safe environment. However, by just focusing on children's homes, we unintentionally created an incentive for hurting parents and relatives—particularly poor single mothers—to quit on parenting in the hope that their children could be placed in residential care with the church. That was wrong. God is not for dividing families.
We learned from our indigenous partners and our mistakes, and broadened our platform to better reflect the realities of hurting children and families in the communities where we serve. We now work through the indigenous local church to:
- Help keep vulnerable families together (economic development and school access for children on the brink have become "big rocks" of our ministry).
- Provide 24/7 residential care in culturally relevant, family-based safe homes for children who truly need such care (there are many such children, unfortunately).
- Support reunification of such children with extended family members if/when possible (helping in the redemption of broken families is a major "win").
We started as an orphan care ministry. We have become an orphan care and orphan prevention ministry. And we expect this process of broadening our services to better support family through the local church to continue, including in the area of domestic adoption.
Here's the second example: When we first started, we overly emphasized a simple "rescue" message to the donor world. In other words, "give to save the life of a child." This was a huge mistake. While this was really effective in terms of raising money, it significantly limited our true mission: to facilitate inside-out life transformation of all who step into the world's orphan window.
Our simple "rescue" message didn't fully align with what we see God doing, it was laced with pride, and it elevated clinical marketing over messy reality. We have changed our messaging. We still encourage and celebrate the hearts of givers to help, serve, and change the lives of children. But now we do better in sharing the full mess and beauty of what's happening in the orphan window, trusting that deep transformation from the Lord comes from deep truth.
This change in how we communicate what we see the Lord doing has been a critically important—and positive—course correction in our ministry. This "depth over breadth" course correction is not necessarily the most effective in terms of fundraising. But we'll take more transformation over more money any day of the week, and trust the Lord to grow us financially as He wills.
The aid debate rages in this country, but it seems clear that what works better than charity are income-producing and job-creating enterprises run by locals with outside help in some way. Can you elaborate, agree, or disagree with that? I don't believe there is some magic "model" that will end poverty. To me, this "aid vs. economic development" issue is not about how to best guarantee the illusory outcome of ending physical poverty. It's all about dignity in the process of how we serve the poor, about how to best champion family and community with all of the spiritual, intellectual, and financial capital that we can bring to the table.
On the one hand, the Big Aid purists insist that aid is best and more aid is the answer. On the other hand, the free market purists insist that economic development is best and aid kills. So who is right? From our experience serving in the orphan window, both are. Both sides need to bring some humility and objectivity to the table, and stop recklessly tearing down others to promote self.
Without pure, unadulterated charity, we couldn't get out of the blocks in helping our local church partners provide the basics to children who've lost it all. And with too much dependence on pure aid, our efforts to "help" would get swallowed up by the dignity drain from all aid and no production within a community.
We've all heard the saying, "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime." We believe that both givers and teachers are needed. And we believe that in our über-connected world, we've reached an exciting point where an addendum to this saying is appropriate: "Invest in a man's fish business and become his customer, and he will feed others."
In sum, we need pure givers, teachers, and investors. All of the above. And we need a constant check to ensure that the process promotes not our pride, but the dignity of the people we're privileged to serve.
If there is one thing you want Americans to understand about how best to approach helping Haitians and others in poor nations what is it? The process is the point. Open up to the possibility that Jesus intends way more in the rich-poor connection than one side "fixing" the other through money and intellect. He intends two-way life change in the process of connection.
The world's orphan window—whether in Haiti, East Africa, or right here in the United States foster care system—is a particularly powerful life change zone right now. Step into the lives of these kids with even a part of your heart, and see what happens.


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Blackhawk Technical College has created a new one-year technical diploma program at its Beloit Center for individuals interested in becoming a Pharmacy Technician.
Pharmacy Technicians assist registered pharmacist in dispensing medications and other health care products to patients. Job duties include working with third party and doctor's offices in resolving adjudication of patients' insurance or state funding programs. Pharmacy Technicians often do the routine tasks associated with preparing prescribed medication and providing drugs to patients. They may also compound medications, process verbal prescriptions, respond to doctor calls, coordinate expense and medication orders, handle returns and expired credits, and oversee non-licensed pharmacy management.
This three semester diploma requires 29 credit hours to complete. To enter the program, you must have a high school diploma or equivalent with transcript, an entry assessment (COMPASS or ACT), completed the college admission process, consent to a criminal background check and be in good health.
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The Vice President for Administration and Fiscal Affairs is responsible for the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the University of Wisconsin System institutions. The Vice President advises and provides leadership to the Board of Regents, the President of the UW System, and UW institutions in formulating, interpreting, and implementing policies related to sound business operations, oversight, and strategic planning. It provides leadership for system wide projects to ensure highly functioning services consistent with best practices. The Vice President supports the President in developing recommendations to assist the Board of Regents in fulfilling its responsibilities to maintain and advance public trust; engage campus leadership in strategic planning and consensus-building to develop campus facilities, IT infrastructure, and human capital.
David Miller
Vice President for Administration & Fiscal Affairs
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Telephone: (608) 262-4048
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Executive Staff Assistant
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Office of Administrative Services
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When I make 30min. appointments, Zimbra puts as much of the title as it can in the time banner because the rest of the window is not visible. When I make a 60min. appointment, it treats it normally -- placing the information in the body of the window and the time in the banner portion. This is all fine as you can see at least one line of the body in a 1 hour space.
But, when I make a 45min. appointment, it treats it like a 60min. except the body is cut off, so you can't read what the appointment is at all.
Anyone know of a fix for this?


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-NRA Life Member
Last edited by HuntWYODon; 08-21-2012 at 06:03 PM.
Perhaps Disney Griz was not very hungry in that clip. I have heard that when our California Fish and Game Commission President got flack for shooting a mountain lion out of state in Idaho he is quoted saying, Its like a pork loin. Its white meat and its really good," Richards said. In frontier times, it was a delicacy.
I guess Disney Griz does not know what it's missing.
Hate to say it but it is going to take one of those cats getting ahold of a liberals child before they will think differntly. All game needs management
[QUOTE=Shaun;34210]Hate to say it but it is going to take one of those cats getting ahold of a liberals child before they will think differntly. All game needs management[/QUOTE
I agree. I've always said If I or my son got attacked by a mtn. lion in Ca. I would file a law suit on the state of Ca. and sue for negligence and failure to manage wildlife and endangering life. Something in that order. Take Moonbeam Jerry to court !
California Fish and Game Commissioner president ousted last wed, six months after legally shooting a mt lion in Idaho
The law passing to delist mountain lions has failed more than once now here in California. My hope is with increased sightings, attacks and encounters with mountain lions and with the right spokesman and proper education it will pass one day. Managing wildlife without also managing it's super predators is insane!
News flash, Humane Society of the United States. With the existence other folks like Dan Richards it negates the insane assumption that the HSUS speaks for all citizens of California.
Ok rant over
Last edited by Kevin Root; 08-22-2012 at 08:10 AM.
Thanks for the link Kevin !
It's good to rant or vent sometimes and not let it build up. Especially when you are ranting about the correct thing ! Mis-management of lions and this lib state for that matter !
I agree I vent constantly about this issue. I even had a game warden at my house shooting the other night venting about the same issue and he let me in on some interesting information regarding the lions and ca. It still blows my mind that alot of liberals say that it is a circle effect with predators. Being that they will eventually get back to a normal population with out any management and just run out of food (Deer) and die of starvation. I kno this lion thing has been preached and preached and it looks like it will never change. Sad but true


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Tickled pink to be guesting in April. Thanks a bunch to SeaTrout Scraps CT.
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May 30, 2016
A Fire and gas leak force some Lansing residents out of their home Tuesday morning.
Firefighters were called to the 900 block of Eureka Street just before midnight for a fire.
They were able to contain the flames to the outside of the home but say the fire was near a gas line.
Consumers energy was called out to handle that.
The residents were able to get out safely, and we're told they are staying with neighbors.
There are reports the fire was deliberately started.
Lansing fire authorities tell us an arrest was made, but lansing police have not yet confirmed that
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Video: The TSPLOST Debate | Part 3
Video: The TSPLOST Debate | Part 2
WXIA -- On Tuesday July 31 we face one of the most significant votes our community has ever faced at the polls.
Should we approve a one cent tax on every dollar we spend to fix traffic problems?
Brenda Wood hosted an 11Alive News special Thursday evening, answering your questions on the transportation vote.
If you have any additional questions regarding the transportation vote, please click here to send us your question. We'll work to get an answer to your questions and provide them on air and online prior to the vote.
Here are the proposed plans for every region across the state and the counties affected. (Click on the region for the lists)
Atlanta: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale
Central Savannah River: Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Taliaferro, Warren, Washington and Wilkes
Coastal: Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh and Screven
Georgia Mountains: Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union and White
Heart of Georgia: Appling, Bleckley, Candler, Dodge, Emanuel, Evans, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Wayne, Wheeler and Wilcox
-Local Project List
-Regional Project List
Middle Georgia: Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Twiggs and Wilkinson
Northeast Georgia: Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Walton
Northwest Georgia: Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker and Whitfield
River Valley: Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor and Webster
Southern Georgia: Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Turner and Ware.
Southwest Georgia: Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas and Worth
Three Rivers: Butts, Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, Troup and Upson


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Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Friday's game between the Boston Red Sox and
Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park has been postponed to support the efforts of
law enforcement officers due to the ongoing manhunt for the second suspect in
the Boston Marathon bombings.
A makeup date has not yet been announced.
The first suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was confirmed dead early Friday morning,
while his brother, Dzhokhar, remains at large.
MBTA's entire network of commuter rail, bus, and subway services have been
shutdown, while state authorities have asked people who live in Watertown,
Waltham, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge, and Allston-Brighton to stay home and for
businesses in those cities and towns to remain closed.
The Sports Network


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Perfect Downloader ???? Universal Download Manager 2.5.3 iPhone iPad and iPod touch
Application Details
Category : Utilities
Current Version : 2.5.3
Language : English, German, Italian, Japanese
Requirements : Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
Rating : You must be at least 17 years old to download this app.
files, Download, download, Sharing, formats, video, Video, Manager, touch, iPhone, Supports, Convert, Downloader, format, Perfect, audio, their, Other, Ability, between


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I've got a user that is reporting an error as follows when sending mail:
etc.Debug Assertion Failed!
Program: <snip>Outlook.exe
File: C:\src\frank\mapi\src\sharingadding\addin.cpp
Line 1605
Expression g_pAddinInstance
What is the best way to go about debugging what could be going wrong here? I've recreated the outlook profile and the error still comes about. It is only when sending mail via the normal procedure, but if you hit ignore on the debug box you can actually get mail to send out. He also states that if you initiate the mail from, for example, Excel doing a mail spreadsheet, it works fine. I did grab some debug logs from a clean login, send attempt, program close.


text:
AllModern: Modern, Designer Brand Furniture, Lighting & Accessories
Store Profile
- Location: online only
- Specialty: Online retailer with vast selection of modern designer, plus free shipping on any order over $65.
- Price range: ($) Budget - ($$) Mid-Range
- Website: allmodern.com
Store History
- Founded: 2006
AllModern launched in 2006 with the goal of making modern design more accessible. The site has since grown to be a single destination boasting the most comprehensive online collection of original modern design. AllModern believes that geography, budget and time should not be barriers to enjoying modern design. Their fast and reliable shipping program, covering all 50 states and Canadian territories, delivers to your door -- and better yet, all orders over $69 ship for free. The AllModern catalog brings together products from all price points to fit your budget and style without compromising authenticity. And, upholding the fundamental design principle, "form follows function," our aesthetic and user-friendly site helps you find the look you want in the time you have.
Online retailers are quickly becoming the best way to shop for furniture. More and more online only stores are offering free shipping, even on large pieces. The recently redesigned AllModern.com ships all orders over $69 to all 50 states and Canada for free.
AllModern's recent site redesign is an effort to make the shop more user-friendly. In addition to streamlining the style with more visible white space, the redesign moved the product categories from an awkward sidebar to the top of the site. From there it's easy to browse by category, brand, or, if you're like us, skip straight to the sale section. (You can compare the designs by looking at AllModern from last month via Way Back Machine.)
The Brands page of Allmodern.com reads like a who's who of modern design brands. Alessis, Gus*, Herman Miller, Knoll, to name a few. But the e-commerce site also works with emerging and independent designers, like Dario Antonioni, who designed the Orange22 Natural Bench. Pricing is competitive, especially when factoring in the free shipping. Plus, the site often runs month-long sales, which are advertised in splashes on the front page.
Shown Above:
• dCOR design Laurel Bed in Ebony Pecan, $399.00
• Aquatica Group Oval AquaStone Soaker Bathtub, $2,990.00
• Orange22 Natural Bench, $399.50
• So-Ro Contemporary Cradle in Walnut, $790
• Artemide Eclisse Table Lamp, $240
• Herman Miller Goetz Sofa, $3,949.00
• Naked Decor Doggie Style Reversible Boston Terrier Pillow, $49.95
• Knoll Womb Chair, $2929.50
(Images: AllModern)


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Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - Washington Capitals star forward Alex
Ovechkin will miss his second consecutive game on Friday night against the New
Jersey Devils.
Ovechkin, who sat out Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators with an
undisclosed lower-body injury, was unable to finish the team's morning skate
at Prudential Center on Friday.
"He went out onto the ice, and then came off," said Capitals coach Adam Oates
after the morning skate. "I still haven't found out why he went out so fast.
I don't know if it was because it was more serious than he thought or didn't
think it was healing."
Ovechkin's status going forward now seems to be in doubt.
This will be the fourth time this season the Capitals have played without
Ovechkin. He also sat out two games in early November with a right shoulder
The 28-year-old Ovechkin has 35 goals and 14 assists in 47 games this season.
The Sports Network


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I create an appointment in Zimbra for November 10th 9 am.
In Outlook, it shows up as being at 10 am.
What am I doing wrong?
Outlook timezone is (GMT -5:00 Eastern Time) with adjust for Daylight Savings Time checked off.
This happens both from a Zimbra client in Mac OS X -- Eastern / US timezone and a Zimbra Client in Win XP SP2 -- Eastern timezone, both running Firefox 1.5.7.


text:
Do No Harm
Home > Television > D > Do No Harm
Steven Pasquale
Alana de la Garza
Ruta Gedmintas
John Carroll Lynch
All Cast & Crew >>
Summary:Dr. Jason Cole (Steven Pasquale) is a highly respected neurosurgeon who has it all - a lucrative career, confident charm, the gift of compassion. But he also has a deep, dark secret. One morning when he wakes up disoriented in a wrecked hotel room amidst several near-naked women he's never seen before, he knows one thing: it's happening again. Every night at the same hour, something inside Jason changes, leaving him almost unrecognizable - seductive, devious, borderline sociopathic. This new man is his dangerous alternate personality who goes by the name of 'Ian Price.' For years he's battled Ian, keeping him in check with a powerful experimental sedative. But now his - their - body has deve... Full Summary >>


text:
NAACP leaders all across the state are spreading the word about what they say is a "high-jacked" general assembly.
The Forward Together movement stopped in Greenville Thursday as it continues to tour the state, mobilizing local communities to fight back against the state government. They say 158 North Carolinians were arrested during four weeks of "Moral Monday" demonstrations in Raleigh. Some of the senate and house votes the group disagrees with include medicaid and voter ID Requirements. They say poor people are being specifically targeted.
"We need more, not less, when you have people who are hungry. When we close all the doors and we demonize them for needing food stamps... we need more food stamps for hungry people," said NAACP N.C. Representative Rev. Curtis E. Gatewood
The Forward Together movement is scheduled to make 17 more stops across the state between Friday May 31st and Friday June 7th.
Previous Story
RALEIGH (AP) -- The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP is launching a 25-county tour targeting the policies of the Republican-led General Assembly.
The civil rights group heads Tuesday to Wake, Wilson, Nash and Edgecombe counties for public events featuring legal and policy experts, grassroots organizers and people arrested during weekly protests at the state legislature.
The state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will also release a mid-session report card assessing each legislator's votes for their effects on behalf of the state's poorer residents.
The NAACP has criticized Republican action on economic policy, social programs, education and voting rights. More than 150 people have been arrested in the group's protests at the General Assembly.
The next demonstration in the group's Monday series comes June 3.


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WHEELING - Tyler Consolidated brought its powerful, high-flying volleyball team to the Northern Panhandle on Tuesday night and Coach Richard Summers' crew wasted little time showing why it is among the top Class A teams in West Virginia.
Frontline seniors Allison Wable, Torrye Cline and Haylea LeMasters controlled the net and the Silver Knights were never really threatened by youthful Linsly in a quick, three-set, 25-7, 25-5, 25-14, victory against the Cadets at Steifel Fieldhouse.
The victory moves Summers' squad to an impressive 20-1 on the season while Coach Rebekah Newell's Linsly teams dips to 2-16.
While Linsly managed to score early in each of the first two games, it did not score very often. With the Knights recording the initial point of the opener, Torrye Cline rattled off four points to begin a nice run that eventually led to an 11-1 Tyler Consolidated lead.
The Cadets could not get any closer than 15-6 the rest of the way and an eight-point service from Megan Carpenter all but put the hosts away in a 25-7 victory.
Game 2 was more of the same as Linsly managed an early 1-1 deadlock, but quickly found itself in a hole again on a Tyler point and eight service points from Sydney Reed that made it 10-1. With the score 21-5, Carpenter finished things off this time with the final four points, including a pair of aces.
But while the young Cadets went easily in the first two, they managed to stick around a little longer in the third game. Linsly's first lead of the night came at 4-3 on a Hannah Wagner ace.
Newell's team led by a pair at one point, and still at 8-7 before the visitors ran off eight straight points, including seven from Kerstyn Cline to turn the one-point deficit around.
It was still 17-10 when Carpenter ran off eight more service points to make it 24-10. The Cadets did not go down easy, but eventually succumbed by a 25-14 margin.
''We have a veteran front line led by three seniors in Allison Wable, Torrye Cline and Haylea LeMasters and some pretty good juniors as well, so we expect to be good up there with that experience,'' Summers said. ''We have played pretty well and been fortunate enough to overcome some adversity as well.
''One of our seniors had a bad ATV accident and broke her back and another girl was injured in a car accident, but these girls have really bonded together and taken this thing to another level.
''I also want to say that Linsly has really improved a lot since the first of the year, they hit the ball decent and serve the ball well and they are doing a fine job.''
Newell, herself, was almost in awe of the Silver Knights in paying them the highest of compliments.
''They are very good and just pretty to watch play,'' Newell said. ''But we are a very young team with just three girls that had varsity experience coming into the season and the rest are all pretty new.
''This was a good challenge for us, I think it is a learning experience to play a team like Tyler Consolidated and it helps newer girls learn to move and anticipate.
''We do not have a whole lot of height, so it is not easy to overcome the things they do at the net. But when you have a girl like Jasmine Shah, she is the kind of kid that really makes up for the lack of height with a lot of heart and hustle and she leads our team.''
Wable finished with 16 kills while Carpenter had 20 points and 6 kills, Sydney Reed chipped in 13 points, Kerstyn Cline had 11 points and Torrye Cline added 18 assists for the victors.


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2011 Q4Q Winners: NATIONAL LTL
August 01, 2011
Source: Logistics Management, Peerless Media Research Group
Tough road to the top
When all is said and done, history may reveal that the Great Recession was cruelest to the carriers that make up the national less-than-truckload (LTL) category. As our John Schulz has been reporting over the past year, the overall LTL market has been less than profitable for many of the top carriers in this $27.5 billion sector, which has been plagued by overcapacity, high overhead costs, and staggering losses from its largest players.
Our daily coverage of the market reveals that parent companies of the two largest national, unionized LTL carriers—YRC Worldwide and Arkansas Best Corp.—continue to bleed red ink even as the U.S. economy maintains a slow and sluggish recovery. As shippers will read in this month's news section, however, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for YRC as the ailing carrier has completed a new $500 million restructuring that includes a new $400 million lending agreement.
But while it's been tough going, the eight carriers on our list below have received word that shippers believe their service is second to none despite myriad operating challenges. In the National LTL category we find FedEx National LTL (45.83) and Con-way Freight (44.18) taking highest honors this year. As it did last year, FedEx National just slightly edged by Con-way in every attribute category to post the highest weighted average.
In the Multiregional LTL category, we find that FedEx Freight (47.15), Old Dominion Freight Line (44.32), and UPS Freight (43.98) ring in as repeat winners this year in the same order as the 2010 results. Estes Express Lines (43.21) joins the list this year after missing the cut in 2010.
It was nearly a toss up in this year's Surface Package category. In perhaps one of the closest categories we measure, FedEx Ground (49.67) and UPS (49.51) came in above the weighted average. FedEx took top marks in Value and Customer Service, while UPS posted highest scores in On-time Performance, IT, and Equipment & Operations.
2011 Quest for Quality Winners Categories
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entire logistics operation. Start your FREE subscription today!


text:
UW Health Services
Status Epilepticus
National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc.
It is possible that the main title of the report Status Epilepticus is not the name you expected. Please check the synonyms listing to find the alternate name(s) and disorder subdivision(s) covered by this report.
General Discussion
Status epilepticus (SE) is considered a neurological emergency. Left untreated (or undertreated), prolonged seizures can cause permanent neurological injury or death. Rapid treatment must be initiated. If initial agents fail, it may be necessary to induce an iatrogenic coma. In any case, the person in status epilepticus must be closely watched, and often requires continuous EEG in order to confirm that the seizures have stopped not only clinically but electrically as well.
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
1275 Mamaroneck Avenue
White Plains, NY 10605
Tel: (914)997-4488
Fax: (914)997-4763
Internet: http://www.marchofdimes.com
Epilepsy Foundation
8301 Professional Place
Landover, MD 20785-7223
Tel: (866)330-2718
Fax: (877)687-4878
Tel: (800)332-1000
Email: email@example.com
Internet: http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org
PHP - Parents Helping Parents, Inc.
Sobrato Center For Nonprofits San Jose
1400 Parkmoor Avenue,
Suite 100
Santa Clara, CA 95126
Tel: (408)727-5775
Fax: (408)286-1116
Tel: (866)747-4040
Email: email@example.com
Internet: http://www.php.com
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
P.O. Box 5801
Bethesda, MD 20824
Tel: (301)496-5751
Fax: (301)402-2186
Tel: (800)352-9424
Internet: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
AED Pregnancy Registry - Massachusetts General Hospital
121 Innerbelt Road, Room 220
Somerville, MA 02143
Tel: (617)724-9550
Fax: (617)724-8307
Tel: (888)233-2334
Email: email@example.com
Internet: http://www.aedpregnancyregistry.org
American Epilepsy Society
342 North Main Street
West Hartford, CT 06117-2507
Tel: (860)586-7505
Fax: (860)586-7550
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Internet: http://www.aesnet.org
Epilepsy Canada
2900 John St., Suite 402
Ontario, L3R 5G3
Fax: 9055139461
Tel: 8777340873
Internet: http://www.epilepsy.ca
Organisation For Anti-Convulsant Syndrome
23 Morriston Close
South Oxhey
Watford, WD196UB
United Kingdom
Tel: 4402083869271
Email: email@example.com
Internet: http://www.oacscharity.org
New Horizons Un-Limited, Inc.
811 East Wisconsin Ave
P.O. Box 510034
Milwaukee, WI 53203
Tel: (414)299-0124
Fax: (414)347-1977
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Internet: http://www.new-horizons.org
Genetic and Rare Diseases (GARD) Information Center
PO Box 8126
Gaithersburg, MD 20898-8126
Tel: (301)251-4925
Fax: (301)251-4911
Tel: (888)205-2311
Internet: http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/
PO Box 217
Afton, MN 55001-0217
Email: email@example.com
Internet: http://www.dravet.org
LGS Foundation, Inc.
192 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (718)374-3800
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Internet: http://www.lgsfoundation.org
Matthew's Friends
St. Piers Lane
Surrey, RH7 6PW
United Kingdom
Tel: 01342836571
Fax: 07884054811
Tel: 07884054811
Email: email@example.com
Internet: http://www.matthewsfriends.org
Child Neurology Foundation
201 Chicago Ave, #200
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Tel: (952)641-6100
Fax: (952)881-6276
Tel: (877)263-5430
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Internet: http://www.childneurologyfoundation.org
CURE: Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy
430 W. Erie
Suite Suite 210
Chicago, IL 60654
Tel: (312)765-7118
Fax: (312)255-1801
Tel: (800)765-7118
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Internet: http://www.CUREepilepsy.org
For a Complete Report
This is an abstract of a report from the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). A copy of the complete report can be downloaded free from the NORD website for registered users. The complete report contains additional information including symptoms, causes, affected population, related disorders, standard and investigational therapies (if available), and references from medical literature. For a full-text version of this topic, go to www.rarediseases.org and click on Rare Disease Database under "Rare Disease Information".
The information provided in this report is not intended for diagnostic purposes. It is provided for informational purposes only. NORD recommends that affected individuals seek the advice or counsel of their own personal physicians.
It is possible that the title of this topic is not the name you selected. Please check the Synonyms listing to find the alternate name(s) and Disorder Subdivision(s) covered by this report
This disease entry is based upon medical information available through the date at the end of the topic. Since NORD's resources are limited, it is not possible to keep every entry in the Rare Disease Database completely current and accurate. Please check with the agencies listed in the Resources section for the most current information about this disorder.
For additional information and assistance about rare disorders, please contact the National Organization for Rare Disorders at P.O. Box 1968, Danbury, CT 06813-1968; phone (203) 744-0100; web site www.rarediseases.org or email email@example.com
Last Updated: 1/3/2007
Copyright 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007 National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc.
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


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AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER -- (Grade: D) The loudest laughs come in the first few minutes of Austin Powers in Goldmember, the third and least creative film starring Mike Myers' time-warped British secret agent Austin Powers. Goldmember's opening joke revolves around a movie-within-a-movie gag involving a Hollywood version of Powers' life story. Each of the blockbuster's surprise celebrity cameos is worth a few chuckles. Afterwards, Powers offers some on-set advice to the film's uninterested director, then breaks into one of his groovy, group dance numbers that's as loony as anything in India's "Bollywood" musicals. Goldmember's downward slide begins after its gag-heavy plot involving Powers' larger-than-life dad, Nigel Powers, played by larger-than-life veteran actor Michael Caine, and a disco-obsessed villain named Goldmember (also Myers), kicks into gear. This time, Powers' comic missteps outnumber his slapstick hits. A relentless parody of long-time Brit spy James "007" Bond, Goldmember faces the same challenges that confront all movie sequels. Basically, it's hard to come up with something original and better than what's been seen before. Like Bond himself, Powers is looking worn and uncreative in Goldmember. The one person who makes Goldmember worth watching is Powers' new girl Friday. As Foxxy Cleopatra, a blaxploitation baby pulled straight out of 1975, Beyonce Knowles flashes a winning smile and firecracker personality that matches perfectly with her long legs and towering Afro. In fact, Cleopatra is the only Goldmember addition that's an improvement on past Powers characters. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
BAD COMPANY -- (Grade: D) Veteran director Joel Schumacher returns to the screen with the type of formulaic action movie that's derivative at best. Bad Company stars Anthony Hopkins as a seasoned CIA agent paired with Chris Rock, playing a CIA agent and his punk twin brother. In Bad Company, high-concept storytelling means guessing every plot surprise before it happens. Its overly slick photography turns bland and familiar. Supporting player Peter Stormare provides Bad Company with some brief thrills as the creepy Russian villain, but his on-screen time is too short to salvage the movie. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
BARBERSHOP -- (Grade: B) Who would have guessed that rapper Ice Cube would have gone on to a successful movie career. Barbershop finds Cube mixing up laughs and life lessons with Cedric, Eve and Sean Patrick Thomas as just a few of the neighborhood barbers who trade custom cuts and wicked barbs until this little community is threatened by a local loan shark (Keith David) who buys the place and plans to convert it into a sleazy gentlemen's club. There's not a single surprise in the whole movie, but the relaxed story settles into a enjoyable groove. -- ttc (Rated PG-13.)
BEARS -- (Grade: B) In Bears, a likable OMNIMAX film from the production team at the National Wildlife Federation, the popular myth of the bear meets Mother Nature. The three species of bears found in North America (Black, Brown and Polar) are given the spotlight. The educational focus clarifies some common misconceptions, but the moving images of playful cubs, protective mother bears and the hungry predators fishing for salmon provide a more complete understanding of a bear's complex life. Bears tells an engaging lesson, complimented with low-key humor and the music of Lyle Lovett. -- ttc (Unrated.)
BLOOD WORK -- (Grade: B) One of the most efficient, matter-of-fact suspense dramas you're likely to see this year, Blood Work is further proof of Clint Eastwood's status as one of American film's great directors. Eastwood writes, directs and stars in this adaptation of Michael Connelly's suspense novel. He tackles all three tasks with equal skill. Eastwood plays Terrell McCaleb, a retired FBI agent who returns to work in order to catch a serial killer who has eluded him for years. A heart ailment forced McCaleb's early retirement. With a transplanted heart beating inside him, McCaleb struggles to find the strength to resume his work and catch the killer. Eastwood's gravely voice and gruff demeanor matches perfectly with McCaleb. Unfortunately, Wanda De Jesus, who plays McCaleb's love interest, fails to match Eastwood's screen presence. Blood Work loses a beat whenever she's on-screen. Better support comes from Jeff Daniels, who plays McCaleb's deadbeat neighbor, and Anjelica Huston, who plays McCaleb's cardiologist. My main complaint about Blood Work is that Huston doesn't have more time in the film. In fact, she would have been the better choice to play McCaleb's girlfriend. -- SR (Rated R.)
BLUE CRUSH -- (Grade: B) The one positive surprise in an otherwise predictable summer belongs to director John Stockwell's likable surfing drama Blue Crush. Kate Bosworth is both pretty and believable as surfer girl Anne Marie. More importantly, Anne Marie's relationships with her younger sister Penny (Mika Boorem), and fellow surfers Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and Lena (Sanoe Lake), are emotionally honest and engaging. The film's core drama revolves around Anne Marie's decision to compete in the Pipe Masters surf competition, a macho contest that's unfriendly toward female surfers. Actually, Blue Crush's drama focuses on Matt (Matthew Davis), a visiting football player who complicates Anne Marie's life with unexpected romance. Blue Crush loses some steps whenever it shifts its melodramatic story in an Officer-and-a-Gentleman-like direction. Bosworth and her surfer costars are too tough for Cinderella labels. Luckily, Stockwell keeps Blue Crush moving with acrobatic camerawork, honest dialogue and plenty of action. Despite an ending filled with clumsy clichés, Blue Crush creates a trio of female heroes who are strong-willed, courageous and exciting to watch. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
THE BOURNE IDENTITY -- (Grade: B) Here are a few key plot points in director Doug Liman's (Go) smart adaptation of Robert Ludlum's spy novel. There is a body floating in the Mediterranean with two bullets in the back. A top secret safety deposit box contains international currency, fake passports and a gun. At the center of this mystery is a man reborn with no memory. But he has a killer instinct that will aid him on his run across Europe with a beautiful girl (Franka Potente) and her vintage Mini Cooper. What a life. But the question is: Who is Jason Bourne? In The Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne is none other than Matt Damon. The Bourne Identity never gets lost in overly plotted techno-thrills thanks to stellar support from Chris Cooper, Brian Cox and Clive Owen, an actor who should be at the top of every budding spy franchise wish list. Damon's blank, all-American face and intelligent eyes make his Bourne a man audiences will be content to see finally come in from the cold. If this outing is successful, maybe Bourne will get the chance to warm up a bit more in a movie sequel. -- ttc (Rated PG-13.)
CITY BY THE SEA -- (Grade: B) We've accepted Robert De Niro as a comedic force in his recent hits, but it's refreshing to see him chew scenery as a heavyweight thespian again. He plays everything pretty close to the vest as NYPD cop Vincent LaMarca, who's investigating a murder for which his estranged son Joey (James Franco) is the prime suspect. De Niro focuses on his character's quieter side. Director Michael Caton-Jones tells an intriguing story based on actual events. De Niro is infinitely watchable and his supporting cast -- notably Frances McDormand as LaMarca's girlfriend and Franco as the troublesome son -- is also good. -- RP (Rated R.)
THE COUNTRY BEARS -- (Grade: D) Actors in radio-controlled bear suits are the stars of director Peter Hasting's family comedy. While I admire The Country Bears for skipping digital effects for a more low-budget presentation, there is little to recommend about its story. Beary Barrington (voice of Haley Joel Osment) is a teen-age bear who leaves home after figuring out that he's adopted by his human family. He travels to Tennessee to meet up with his musical heroes, The Country Bears, a Country Western band that broke up years ago. Beary believes reuniting the County Bears for a special concert will bring purpose to his life. It will also stop a villainous banker (Christopher Walken) from tearing down the bears' concert hall.
A pint-sized version of The Blues Brothers movies, The County Bears comes briefly alive during its musical numbers. Unfortunately, there aren't enough jokes to sustain its flimsy story. Walken is only worth a few laughs. Before long, the bear suits also begin to wear thin. -- SR (Rated G.)
EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS -- (Grade: D) Director Ellory Elkayem's clumsy homage to B-horror movies is filled with giant spiders yet fails to pack one credible scare or loud laugh. David Arquette twitches admirably as an Arizona mine owner battling mutated spiders. He mumbles his dialogue and stumbles his way through scenes yet his slackerish persona fails to hold the movie afloat. Two scenes hint at the film's pulpy potential. Early on, a group of boys escape from jumping spiders on their motocross bikes. Later, the spiders attack the townspeople in an abandoned shopping mall. Like many would-be blockbusters, Freaks has more visual effects engineers than
screenwriters. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
FEAR DOT COM -- (Grade: D) The film is the hackneyed mess it sets out to be. A growing trend of online surfers are logging onto a killer Web site and then checking out a few days later. Stephen Dorff stars as a detective who must download the evil to solve it. Director William Malone makes a thriller that's disturbing in all the right ways with a slight mid-budget sheen that most slasher films can't boast. But it's a little too sick for its own good and not very fun to watch. -- RP (Rated R.)
THE GOOD GIRL -- (Grade: A) After a season of predictable summer blockbusters, director Miguel Arteta's small-town comedy, The Good Girl offers its share of surprises. In the film, Jennifer Aniston plays a frustrated housewife who tries to boost her life through an affair with a young man (Jake Gyllenhaal). In fact, the film's best surprise lies with Aniston's easygoing comic performance. She brings to Arteta's low-budget film a jolt of real-life drama and heartache. In another movie, Aniston would be the focus of a conventional farce. There would be slapstick gags and broad comedy. But Arteta, reuniting with his Chuck & Buck screenwriter Mike White, makes Good Girl into a human drama with its share of emotional challenges and lifelike storytelling. Good Girl makes you laugh and that's one of the best responses a film can hope for. -- SR (Rated R.)
HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION -- (Grade: F) Director Rick Rosenthal manages only one good scare in this uncreative follow-up to 1998's Halloween: H2O. Part of the problem is that screenwriters Larry Brand and Sean Hood offer nothing original to the long-running horror series. In Halloween: Resurrection, the latest batch of slasher mayhem, bogeyman Michael Myers returns to terrorize a group of teen-agers who win the chance to spend the night in Myers' childhood home and be part of a live Internet broadcast. The film's use of shaky video footage comes from The Blair Witch Project. Its plot about surviving a night in a cursed house borrows heavily from Thir13en Ghosts. Yet, Halloween: Resurrection pales in comparison to either film. Halloween veteran Jamie Lee Curtis makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the film, which means she fares better than the remaining cast members. -- SR (Rated R.)
INSOMNIA -- (Grade: A) A riveting break from teen-friendly blockbusters arrives courtesy of director Christopher Nolan's remake of the 1998 Norwegian thriller Insomnia, a riveting suspense movie that's as tense as they come. Al Pacino is LAPD detective Will Dormer, who's on the hunt for a killer in a remote Alaskan town. Robin Williams plays Dormer's prime suspect. Pacino and Williams shine in the film's large, action sequences. Still, the film thrives on Nolan's storytelling skills. After only three features, I already consider him one of the significant filmmakers working today. -- SR (Rated R.)
INTO THE DEEP -- (Grade: A) A screen that's six stories high by eight stories wide plunges audiences into an undersea forest of kelp that sways and teems with far more life than could be imagined in still photos or in other televised media. Two huge projectors achieve the 3D effect. And thanks to Newport IMAX Theaters' stadium seating, the images stream along above the heads of those in front of you. Curiously, as the beautifully exotic ecosystem expands before your eyes, the sensation is similar to being suspended in a deep-sea diving tank with your face pressed close to the glass. It may take supreme exertion of will power to not reach out to touch the fish or plant life that passes before you. Submit to the visual pleasures first. The commentary can be informative, but Into The Deep is, foremost, a feast for the eyes. -- ttc (Unrated.)
K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER -- (Grade: B) Director Kathryn Bigelow gives her compelling Cold War story, K-19: The Widowmaker, a boost by allowing Ford to step away from his All-American persona. The soul of Bigelow's military thriller revolves around Vostrikov's tendency to put the glory of Mother Russia above the safety of his own crew. Liam Neeson gives ample support as Vostrikov's kindhearted executive officer. K-19 comes to dramatic life after Vostrikov's submarine faces the possibility of a nuclear meltdown while on patrol. An accident could jump-start a nuclear war. Bigelow emphasizes human drama over action pyrotechnics, and K-19 is a better film for it. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
LIKE MIKE -- (Grade: D) A pint-sized teen orphan Calvin Cambridge (Lil Bow Wow) is given a mysterious pair of old Jordans with the initials M.J.
written on the tongue, gets struck by lightning and becomes an NBA sensation for the Los Angeles Knights. This isn't some twisted post-draft story, just every kid's dream since No. 23 laced up his first signature pair of sneakers. Director John Schultz makes routine use of supporting performances from Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Crispin Glover and Robert Forster, and a who's who of NBA talent, Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitski, Steve Nash and Allen Iverson. A couple of lazy bricks in the story and special-effects departments prevents Like Mike from being a nice basketball fantasy. There's enough solid talent to tell a simple, entertaining tale. That is, if Schultz would only skip the fancy storytelling dunks and just put the ball in the hole. -- ttc (Rated PG.)
LILO & STITCH -- (Grade: B) Bright watercolor backgrounds of Hawaiian life and expressive 2-D images qualify Disney's latest animated feature as one of the more beautiful cartoon features in recent memory. Lilo (voice of Zoe Caldwell) is a 6-year-old Hawaiian girl who adopts what she thinks is a small dog. What she's actually brought home is a six-legged creature from outer space. Lilo is experiencing a hard time adjusting to life without her parents. Meanwhile, her older sister (voice of Tia Carrere) struggles to assume the role of the mother. Stitch, Lilo's pet, adds to the chaos. Director Chris Sanders' Lilo & Stitch is more painterly than recent CG animations Ice Age and Monsters, Inc. Still, its best attribute is a heartfelt story that balances screwball laughs with likable characters and an engaging lesson about the importance of family. Lilo is also an Elvis fan and the six Elvis tunes scattered throughout the film match perfectly with Lilo & Stitch's playful spirit. -- SR (Rated G.)
LOVE AND A BULLET -- (Grade: D) Malik Bishop (Treach) lives the gangsta life. He's a hard thug who steps up to the challenge of joining a crew of professional killers. The money, clothes and action he enjoys are straight-up hardcore. When Bishop develops feelings for a female contract killer and his boss' girlfriend who just might be his next target, it's time for him to give up the gangsta life before he loses his. Love And A Bullet could easily be mistaken for a hardcore Hip Hop track where the best raps are nothing more than the voiceovers of B-movies that play on late night TV. First-time writer/directors Michael McCants and Ben Ramsey try to poke fun at gritty "hood" dramas by flashing plenty of Matrix-style wire-fu effects and showing hired killers going through whole gun clips without hitting a damned thing. The problem is McCants and Ramsey never go completely over the top with the humor or surreal touches. If they had, Love And A Bullet could have been a thug fantasy with a chance to ascend into ghetto heaven. -- ttc (Rated R.)
LOVELY & AMAZING -- (Grade: B) Lovely & Amazing, the new comedy from writer/director Nicole Holofcener (Walking and Talking) provides a welcome escape from a summer season of computer-generated images of heroic figures and the prestigious sheen of beautifully clean gangster fathers. The truly special effects in Holofcener's second feature effort are the fragile emotions of the enormously insecure adult Marks sisters, Michelle (Catherine Keener) and Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer), their black adopted sister Annie (Raven Goodwin), and their mother Jane (Brenda Blethyn). Love, body image, race and age factor into this tragicomic examination of their less-than-perfect lives. Keener shines as the eldest, and possibly most brittle, sister, whose loveless marriage and arrested development leads her to seek comfort in the arms of a geeky teen-ager (Jake Gyllenhaal). Mortimer draws far more attention for submitting to a very naked post-sex evaluation of her body by a shallow, but surprisingly gentle, movie star (Dermot Mulroney). Small wonders never cease to amaze, but the true wonder of Lovely & Amazing is that none of the women's stories feel like a secondary plot line. In fact, there is no plot at all. Just an independent look at the sometimes plain ugliness of real life. Lovely & Amazing, indeed. -- ttc (Rated R.)
MARTIN LAWRENCE LIVE: RUNTELDAT -- (Grade: D) Runteldat is not the most compelling argument in Martin Lawrence's case for his inclusion in the Black Stand-Up Comedy Hall of Fame. The miss-and-hit Runteldat won't secure a spot for Lawrence alongside the likes of Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, and his Life co-star Eddie Murphy, or the reigning clown prince Chris Rock, who has achieved a level of crossover appeal. Black audiences remember Lawrence fondly from his days on the Def Comedy Jam circuit, his television series Martin, and the hit films Bad Boys and Big Momma's House. Unfortunately his current reputation with the mainstream is based on his celebrity mishaps and his recent lackluster efforts (Black Knight and What's The Worst That Could Happen?). The first half of Runteldat, which includes bits about Sept. 11 and the anthrax mail scare, has no bite. But when Lawrence cuts loose with his own E! True Hollywood Story, he is able to mine hard lessons and laughs with his broad brand of humor. If Lawrence had taken this tough self-love approach from the beginning, Runteldat might have helped him leapfrog past the Original Kings of Comedy, who have overtaken him on the comic radar. -- ttc (Rated R.)
MASTER OF DISGUISE -- (Grade: F) Audiences leaving ex-Saturday Night Live comic Dana Carvey's juvenile, unfunny comedy will have a new appreciation for veteran slapstick comic Jerry Lewis. In "Nutty Professor" fashion, Carvey unloads goofy accents, Mission:Impossible-inspired masks and outlandish costumes in a tireless attempt to generate some laughs. In director Perry Andelin Blake's Master of Disguise, Carvey plays Pistachio Disguisey, an Italian waiter whose quiet life turns upside-down after he discovers he comes from a family of disguise experts. Pistachio leaps into action after his parents (James Brolin and Edie McClurg) are kidnapped by an oily villain (Brent Spiner) who's intent on stealing the world's most treasured artifacts for an Internet auction. Brolin matches Carvey's bad Italian accent. The normally funny McClurg is completely wasted as Pistachio's mother. Jennifer Esposito, who plays Pistachio's pretty sidekick, stands around and shrugs her shoulders at the mess. As the film's star, Carvey earns the lion's share of the blame for the awful Master of Disguise. He dresses like a "Turtle Man," bounces around in a fat suit and wears a schoolgirl uniform to laughless effect. Toddlers will probably howl at Spiner's villain, a man with flatulence problems. Everyone else will squirm with boredom. -- SR (Rated PG.)
MEN IN BLACK II -- (Grade: B) Director Barry Sonnenfeld's eagerly anticipated sequel, MIB2, shines with the same comic book-style flair and visual fandango that made MIB so successful. Sonnenfeld creates a shiny New York City playground and fills it to the brim with bizarre creatures and colorful characters. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones star as intergalactic crime fighters entrusted with keeping the peace on Earth. Sparks fly as agent Jay (Smith) coaxes agent Kay (Jones) out of retirement and the duo nails the straight man-funny man routine that made the original so funny. MIB2's supporting cast provides great comic reinforcement. Back for a second go-round are Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub and David Cross. Newcomers Johnny Knoxville, Lara Flynn Boyle, and the understated Patrick Warburton also add some spice to the soup. Still, the film really belongs to Smith as he makes MIB2 well worth your entertainment dollar. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)
MINORITY REPORT -- (Grade: B) The science-fiction thriller, Minority Report, has all the trappings of a blockbuster film, yet its dark, deliberate nature make it anything but a typical summer adventure. Steven Spielberg directs Tom Cruise as John Anderton, the head of a futuristic Washington, D.C., police unit. A clairvoyant trio, the Pre-Cogs, help them eliminate murders within the city. Anderton's loyalties are tested when the Pre-Cogs show him murdering someone he insists he doesn't know. Only a minority report -- questioning the Pre-Cog's validity -- can prove his innocence. Spielberg perfectly executes the details of his latest fast-paced action flick while still not straying from the classic film noir structure guiding Minority Report. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
MR. DEEDS -- (Grade: D) Adam Sandler's most recent attempt at being not funny is an uncreative remake of Frank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). The story of Longfellow Deeds (Sandler), a small town guy who inherits $40 billion, is too sentimental for Sandler's teen-age fans and too mindless for everyone else. Screenwriter Tim Herlihy fails to capture the physical humor and childish charm that served Sandler well in his earlier films. A few good gags saves Mr. Deeds from complete disaster. Winona Ryder generates her own laughs as Babe Bennett, a street-savvy TV producer who wants to get some dirt on Deeds. The film's biggest laughs belong to John Turturro's screwball performance as Deeds' eager-to-please butler, Emilio. If Turturro had played Longfellow Deeds instead of Sandler, Mr. Deeds would have been a much funnier movie. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING -- (Grade: A) Forget the standard boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back premise. How about girl meets boy, they fall in love, and boy meets girl's family. That director Joe Zwick ends My Big Fat Greek Wedding with a wedding is no surprise. The surprise will come if Hollywood can avoid prostituting this well-made, boisterous indie film about the marriage of two cultures. When unassuming Greek girl Toula (Nia Vardalos) meets the very non-Greek Ian (John Corbett), you know it's love. The laughs ensue as he will do whatever it takes to make not just Toula, but her large, boisterous family, happy. -- ttc (Rated PG.)
MY WIFE IS AN ACTRESS -- (Grade: B) Actor/director Yvan Attal turns the camera on himself and his real-life wife Charlotte Gainsbourg for a light-hearted and likable comedy about a French sportswriter (Attal) and his ongoing jealousies over his actress wife (Gainsbourg) and her on-screen love affairs. Except for some stumbling, second-half melodrama, the movie tells a brisk, funny tale. Attal and Gainsbourg are comfortable playing dramatic extensions of themselves. Terence Stamp, as himself, brings the film an added boost of levity. His scenes with Gainsbourg are believable and engaging. While Attal breaks no new ground here, he compensates with a warmhearted romantic comedy. -- SR (Rated R.)
ONE HOUR PHOTO -- (Grade: B) In writer/director Mark Romanek's riveting thriller One Hour Photo, Robin Williams sheds his comic sass to play Seymour Parrish, a middle-aged bachelor who runs the photo-processing section at a discount store. Parrish is obsessed with one particular family, the Yorkins, Nina (Connie Nielsen), her absentee husband, Will (Michael Vartan), and their little boy, Jakob (Dylan Smith). Nina and Jakob are in the store regularly to process their family photos, and Parrish begins to see them like extended family. It's not that Parrish covets the Yorkins' affluence: He just wants to be known as their Uncle Sy. I don't know if audiences are ready to watch Williams in such an unsentimental role. I do know he delivers one of the year's best performances in One Hour Photo. You won't see one glimpse of his funnyman persona, and that's bound to bother people who only want him to play the clown or act in feel-good fluff like Patch Adams. Still, moviegoers willing to accept Williams acting against type will stumble across one of the year's best thrillers.
I don't know if the last scene in One Hour Photo is meant as a homage to Psycho, but it feels that way. Chill for chill, Williams' Parrish is every bit as creepy as Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates. -- SR (Rated R.)
POSSESSION -- (Grade: A) Possession is an intelligent and zesty romance that flits from present-day London to 19th-century England. A.S. Byatt's novel tweaked the boundaries of fiction with its collection of letters, diaries and fairy-tale stories. Director Neil LaBute's Possession is more straighfoward, but no less satisfying. American scholar Roland Michell (Aaron Eckhart) and English professor Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow) uncover a secret love affair between Victorian poets Randolph Ash and Christabel La Motte, a lesser-known fairy poetess. A stack of hidden love letters sends them on their academic journey. Along the way, they will uncover their own long-repressed feelings about love, life and relationships. The backstabbing world of academic research comes alive with plenty of verve to spare but LaBute saves his best moments for the romance. As a result, a classic novel becomes the source material for one of the most heartfelt screen romances in a very long time. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
REIGN OF FIRE -- (Grade: D) Let sleeping dragons lie. Reign of Fire takes place in the not-so-distant future (2020) in the English countryside, an ideal setting for this medieval/post-apocalyptic fusion. The sci-fi/fantasy premise promises a low-rent summer escape along the lines of Dungeons & Dragons meets Mad Max, but it lacks the necessary B-movie energy and humor for a truly campy ride. Christian Bale and Gerard Butler are the dour British local heroes protecting a ragtag group of survivors from rampaging dragons. Their lone, spirited act is a re-enactment of the Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader lightsaber battle that shows the power of pop mythology. The best and brightest of the American cheese comes from Matthew McConaughey, a military leader and self-styled dragonslayer. Think Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now or Patton with abs and tattoos to die for. McConaughey chews up the film's comic book storytelling, but you never get the sense that he's hungry for action. Neither are the dragons. There's no real fire in their bellies. Thanks to Bowman's (The X-Files) lack of action ingenuity, Reign of Fire claims few suspenseful sparks. -- ttc (Rated PG-13.)
ROAD TO PERDITION -- (Grade: A) Every piece of director Sam Mendes' glossy 1930s gangster epic comes together perfectly. As a result, Road to Perdition, Mendes' second feature film after his 1999 Oscar hit American Beauty, is a film that audiences will remember for years. Tom Hanks is appropriately solemn as hit man Michael Sullivan, who aims to avenge the murder of his wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Paul Newman crackles with menacing charm as Irish mob boss John Rooney, a man who's acted like a father to Sullivan. Newcomer Tyler Hoechlin, is believable as Sullivan's oldest son, Michael Jr., who comes to understand his father better. Intelligent, powerful and engaging, Road to Perdition is the one Hollywood film worthy of its epic tag. Inevitably, there will be other notable films released before year's end. Still, I can't imagine them being anymore entertaining than Road to Perdition. -- SR (Rated R.)
S1MØNE -- (Grade: A) Writer/director Andrew Niccol makes the most of his star "synthespian," a long-legged blonde who seems too beautiful to be real. The guessing games over the starlet's true identity are part of the fun. Al Pacino is Victor Taransky, a flailing Hollywood director, desperate for a new lead actress after his star walks off the set of his last-ditch movie. S1MONE, short for Simulation One, is the artificial actress who fills the role. As is always the case with Faustian bargains, Taransky gets more than he can handle when the dazzling S1MONE becomes a worldwide star. S1MONE may get all the stares, but Pacino earns all the laughter. Together, they're responsible for one of the summer's best films. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
SCOOBY-DOO -- (Grade: F) The idea of someone dumbing down the animated Scooby-Doo for a live-action film sounds redundant. However, director Raja Gosnell does just that. The mystery-solving antics of Scooby-Doo and his human friends aren't meant to be Shakespeare. Still, the TV adventures were never as moronic and unfunny as Gosnell's big-screen adaptation. The cast, including Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar, cannot save the laughless jumble of a movie. Scooby-Doo has been on television for 33 years, and its reruns remain as funny as ever, yet the live action film drowns in a sea of unnecessary special effects and inappropriate violence. -- SR (Rated PG.)
SERVING SARA -- (Grade: C) The great Friends movie experiment continues. The cast members from the hit show have tried to break away from their NBC alter-egos by dabbling in the film business. More times than not, they've failed. Chalk Serving Sara up as another poor showing. It's not that the film itself is bad, although it's certainly not great. It's just that Matthew Perry (as Joe Tyler) never is able to lose his TV character's well-known Chandler-isms. Playing a scummy process server, Perry still softens the hard edges and makes the guy too likeable too early. Elizabeth Hurley plays his target-turned-accomplice Sara Moore, adding little to the film's conventional revenge plot. Director Reginald Hudlin (The Ladies Man) spends a little too much time on the lowbrow humor and hangs on to the intercalary scenes with Cedric the Entertainer a tad too long. Otherwise, the movie moves pretty well and offers a few good laughs. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)
SIGNS -- (Grade: C) Director M. Night Shyamalan fails to provide the sufficient jolts and surprises one expects from a successful supernatural thriller. But that doesn't mean Signs is without redeeming qualities. Shyamalan's story of an ex-reverend (Mel Gibson) who tries to figure out the origins of the mysterious crop formations on his rural Pennsylvania farm combines alien invaders paranoia with Alfred Hitchcock-inspired suspense. To the film's benefit, Shyamalan substitutes elaborate alien spaceship battles with a claustrophobic story set around an isolated farmhouse. The effect is creepy and effective. Gibson is appropriately solemn as the widowed father trying to protect his two children from whatever might be hiding in the cornstalks. Joaquin Phoenix adds some zip as Gibson's younger brother. Still, Signs revolves around Shyamalan's filmmaking. Working with cinematographer Tak Fujimoto, Shyamalan creates one stunning scene after another. Signs never ceases to dazzle. With the exception of its final moments, Signs never manages to scare us as often we'd like. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
SPIDER-MAN -- (Grade: C) As the boy hero of director Sam Raimi's sloppy blockbuster, Maguire is getting all the attention. Still, actioners like Spider-Man are all about its villains, and Dafoe is the best thing in an otherwise disappointing film. The best scene occurs early in the movie, when Parker loses control of his newfound super powers in his high school cafeteria. Later in the film, Spider-Man's origin story breaks down while Raimi crams in as much action as possible. Stylish images turn cluttered. Making dramatic matters worse, Maguire's emotional depth plummets every time he puts on his Spider-Man mask. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON -- (Grade: B) Director Kelly Asbury tells the story of a mustang (voice of Matt Damon) who comes of age in the American West of the late 1800s. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is one of the more gentler of recent animated features, recapping Spirit's life from birth, his relationship with a tribe of Lakota Indians (Daniel Studi is the voice of one of Lakotas), an encounter with the U.S. Cavalry (James Cromwell is the voice of the Calvary leader) and a climactic adventure at the construction site for the Trans-Continental Railroad. I admire Spirit for intentionally walking away from the Disney method, choosing to tell a straightforward story free of comical best friends and musical extravaganzas. As a result, its story remains lifelike and heartwarming. More importantly, the painterly qualities of Spirit's hand-drawn images are beautiful. A high-tech hybrid of traditional hand drawing and computer-generated effects, Spirit dazzles when a bald eagle swoops through canyons. Later in the film, when Spirit outruns an out-of-control locomotive, the images leave you breathless. -- SR (Rated G.)
SPY KIDS 2: THE ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS -- (Grade: D) Less rousing than the first Spy Kids movie, adolescent spies Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) and his big sister Carmen (Alexa Vega) are the highlights of writer/director Robert Rodriguez's haphazard sequel. Sabara and Vega are likable as junior James Bonds intent on regaining their spy parents' (Carla Gugino and Antonio Banderas) good reputations with an undercover mission to a secret island. Steve Buscemi offers few laughs as a nerdy scientist responsible for the island's strange monsters. Alan Cumming, the first film's villain, makes a meaningless cameo as crazed kids TV host Fegan Floop. Veteran actors Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor are underused as Juni and Carmen's grandparents, who, of course, are also spies. Spy Kids 2's best scene occurs early in the film, when Juni and Carmen race to save the president's teen-age daughter on an out-of-control amusement park ride. Their array of spy gadgets and underwater submarines are as clever as ever. The letdown occurs when Spy Kids 2 begins its chaotic plot about double agents and a plot against the president. By the time Juni and Carmen figure out their island mystery, Spy Kids 2 loses much of its sense of adventure. Filled with fast-paced stunts and flashy special effects, Spy Kids 2 is more polished than its predecessor, but it's half as much fun. -- SR (Rated PG.)
STAR WARS: EPISODE II --ATTACK OF THE CLONES -- (Grade: B) Attack of the Clones stays close to the pulpy spirit of 1930s space hero serials like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, and is better off for it. Free of the extended setup that bogged down the recent blockbuster Spider-Man, Attack of the Clones dives straight into its boy's life adventure, set 10 years after the most recent Star Wars film, The Phantom Menace. Two stories divide Attack of the Clones equally. One is the growing romance between Jedi-knight-in-training Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Queen-turned-Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). The other is a more straightforward adventure where Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) discovers a plot by enemy forces to attack the Republic with a clone army. To say anything more would give the impression that Attack of the Clones is more Robert Louis Stevenson adventure than a collection of lavish cliffhangers. Like most Star Wars movies, in-depth storytelling is not Attack of the Clones' greatest asset. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
STUART LITTLE 2 -- (Grade: C) The meeting of humans and a mischievous mouse named Stuart Little (voice of Michael J. Fox) is as eye-popping as ever in director Rob Minkoff's sequel to his 1999 family adventure. What's missing is a solid enough story to connect the action sequences and special effects. Stuart drives a miniature sports car to school, flies a toy airplane and plays soccer with the big kids. In-between, the plucky house mouse befriends an injured bird named Margalo (voice of Melanie Griffith) and battles a vicious falcon (voice of James Woods). Hugh Laurie and Geena Davis provide flesh-and-blood support as Stuart's worrisome, human parents. Stuart Little 2 is a busy movie, intent on holding the attention of its child audiences. Still, it's clear that Minkoff has substituted action effects for the fairytale-like whimsy found in E.B. White's classic Stuart Little stories. Some tweaks are expected when a children's story is adapted to film, but Stuart Little 2 possesses even less heart than his first screen adventure. -- SR (Rated PG.)
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS -- (Grade: B) Few films are as closely aligned with world affairs as director Phil Alden Robinson's fast-paced adaptation of Tom Clancy's 1991 military suspense novel. Disbelief is no longer a factor for a film about terrorists smuggling a nuclear device into the United States, because anything is possible in today's chaotic world climate. Ben Affleck's engaging performance as CIA hero Jack Ryan turns out to be The Sum of All Fears' best surprise. Morgan Freeman keeps the storytelling intelligent and credible as Ryan's politically connected mentor, Bill Cabot. Still, the film's newfound realism, because of the Sept. 11 attacks, makes Clancy's story even more tense, exciting and suspenseful. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
SUNSHINE STATE -- (Grade: C) Angela Basset, playing a grown daughter trying to reestablish a relationship with her elderly mother, and Edie Falco, who plays a frustrated woman trying to manage her father's Florida motel, are the best things in filmmaker John Sayles' hit-and-miss, multi-layered drama. Developers and local politicians want to turn their Florida beach community into another nondescript resort town. The battle between the deep-pocket developers and the locals provides the drama that connects Sunshine State's impressive, ensemble cast. Timothy Hutton, still looking as boyish as ever, enjoys some nice moments as an architect who falls for Falco's motel manager. Alan King plays the oily developer with gusto. Sayles gives King the film's funniest line when he describes golf courses as "nature on a leash." Sayles' uses the Florida real estate boom as the context for Sunshine State's anti-big-business sentiment. Its strong political voice is the film's next best thing, right after Basset and Falco's rich performances -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
SWIMFAN -- (Grade: D) Swimfan is, unapologetically, Fatal Attraction set in high school. So why make the character of Madison Belle (Erika Christiansen) weird and smarmy right from the start? Go back to the source. Glenn Close as Alex Forrest was fairly charismatic from the outset. In Swimfan, we have no idea what Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) sees in Madison. All thrillers will walk the line of believability too. Fatal Attraction certainly did at the end. But Swimfan asks us to suspend disbelief a little too much, a little too early on. Doing so just zaps viewers right out of the moment. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)
TADPOLE -- (Grade: B) Aaron Stanford grabs our attention in director Gary Winick's clever, coming-of-age comedy Tadpole. Sanford plays Oscar Grubman, an uptight prep student who returns home to his New York family of academics for the Thanksgiving holiday. Sanford is infatuated with his stepmom (Sigourney Weaver), but it's a family friend (Bebe Neuwirth) who complicates his life. Co-writers Niels Mueller and Heather McGowan mix a lively Manhattan setting, engaging lead characters and breezy storytelling into a teen-age love story that's smart, sensitive and surprisingly humanistic. Winick has directed and produced other independent films: Out of the Rain, The Tic Code and Sam the Man. Still, Tadpole looks to be the film that introduces him to larger audiences. Weaver and Neuwirth are engaging, but it's Stanford who grabs our attention as the cerebral Oscar. His snobbish personality makes him all the more believable. Later in the film, when Oscar comes to accept people who might not share his own passion for Voltaire, his personality change feels credible and true. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
UNDERCOVER BROTHER -- (Grade: B) The Blacksploitation resurrection continues in sassy fashion as Undercover Brother (Eddie Griffin) battles The Man, aka Whitey, and his secretly funky flunky Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan). The Man has brainwashed a famous general, (Billy Dee Williams) planning to take the funk out of funky. What's a brotha to do when he meets the White She-Devil (Denise Richards)? He'll need help from Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis), Conspiracy Brother (Dave Chappelle), and even his white intern (Neil Patrick Harris). Director Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man) borrows old school attitude, spoofs contemporary action flicks and makes sure everyone's in on the jokes. -- ttc (Rated PG-13.)
UNDISPUTED -- (Grade: C) Wesley Snipes plays the cool-headed boxer who spends his time building towering pagodas out of toothpicks and glue. Ving Rhames is the Mike Tyson-inspired hothead who gets to bluster and bully his way through the movie. When they meet in prison for a boxing match, the result is meant to be explosive. Instead, veteran director Walter Hill manages to make Undisputed one of the more predictable action movies in recent memory. The story is fast-paced and appropriately gritty. Still, without any surprises, Undisputed fails to hold one's attention, despite its potential to be a modern-day exploitation picture. -- SR (Rated R.)
XXX -- (Grade: C) An uncreative plot spoils Vin Diesel's action-hero debut in writer/director Rob Cohen's spy thriller XXX. Diesel, as brash and he is muscular, plays Xander "XXX" Cage (Vin Diesel), an extreme sports athlete recruited by the U.S. government to join their team of covert spies. Diesel puts his gruff voice, multiracial complexion, tattooed arms and neck, wide chest and shaven head to good use. He's the bulkiest spy boy around. But a stale plot involving a Russian crime ring based in Prague offers few surprises. Basically, Rich Wilkes' uncreative screenplay, a reheated Bond adventure, is a punch in Diesel's wisecracking mouth. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)
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