By Brian Lafferty

August 8, 2010 (San Diego)--Felix Booth (Robert DuVall) is an older, grouchier Boo Radley. It’s fitting, given that DuVall’s first movie role was the enigmatic recluse in the 1962 classic To Kill a Mockingbird. He is always the subject of gossip, which may or may not be true. Kids often trespass on his isolated property deep in the woods to see if the old man is there, only to be chased away with a shotgun.

By Buck Shott

August 4, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – This week, our Political Wrangler brings you the lastest from those smoke-filled rooms in Washington and San Diego.  Amid pressing world issues, which of your U.S. legislators has a bill to ban marijuana brownies?   Who is drawing fire for cozy ties to tobacco lobbyists after backing a cigar club for legislators? Which Congressman is fighting to make it easier to send cigarettes to our troops?  Did a certain Supervisor break the law in doling out $80,000 in taxpayer money to a special interest group?

By Brian Lafferty

July 30, 2010 (San Diego)--Intelligently dumb may sound like an oxymoron but it is the best phrase I could use to accurately describe Dinner for Schmucks. It is at times goofy and stupid but there is always a certain astuteness that permeates throughout the material without coming off as pretentious. The “dinner” doesn’t arrive until the second to last reel and it is a little bit of a letdown but that doesn’t mean the lead-up isn’t hilarious at times.

By Brian Lafferty

July 30, 2010 (San Diego)--Charlie St. Cloud is one of those movies that made me wonder if it should have even been made. The two major themes in this picture are death and letting go. These by no means rank the highest on the controversy meter when it comes to sensitive subjects. Charlie St. Cloud doesn’t handle these themes in a competent manner but that’s only one symptom of an even larger problem: the plot, the characters, and their actions are built on such a shaky foundation that the movie is doomed to begin with.

GARDEN FRESH GRILL & SMOOTHIE

6165 El Cajon Blvd., Suite F, San Diego 92115
(corner of College Ave. and El Cajon Blvd.)
(619)287-2373
www.gardenfreshsd.com  

Review by the East County Eater
 

By Brian Lafferty

"This is one of the best movies of the year." -- Brian Lafferty

July 22, 2010 (San Diego's East County)--Dreams have always been part of  cinema. A common film use is the “it was only a dream” stunt applied to generate cheap thrills and groans (Jaws: The Revenge) or to foment laughter (A Serious Man, An American Werewolf in London).  Dreams have also acted as visually expressive tools to reveal character or relay exposition (Salvador Dali’s dream sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound). Sometimes, dreams have been used to shock the audience (the movies of Luis Bunuel, particularly Un Chien Andalou, which opens with an eyeball being slashed).

Dreams may be old subjects in motion pictures, but with Inception Christopher Nolan has delivered one of--if not the most--original movie of the year, taking the concept in many new directions I never thought possible.

By Dawn Celapino
 

Share creative ideas to assist people of all ages with tips to save money and improve their lifestyle!

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.” - James Dent.

By Nancy and Dawn Clement

By Sylvia Hampton

July 9, 2010 (San Diego) -- One of our most prized regional achievements and treasures in San Diego County is the San Dieguito River Park, located in our back yard. When Mayor Sander’s budget was approved by the San Diego City Council recently it included cutting $254,000 annual contribution to the river park, which is 36% of the park’s budget.

July 7, 2010 (San Diego) -- I think if it were possible to outsource firefighting to China some would say “go for it.”

San Diego District 5 City Councilman Carl DeMaio, the councilman for Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Sabre Springs, Scripps Ranch and Mira Mesa, thought he delivered the necessary thousands of signatures to the city clerk in support of a ballot initiative called "Competition and Transparency in City Contracting." He and the supporters said the ballot measure would promote outsourcing of city services and save the city money. The supporters of the DeMaio initiative are mostly building contractors.

By Brian Lafferty

July 2, 2010 (San Diego's East County)--There is a scene at the beginning of Cyrus in which John (John C. Reilly) tries to pick up a woman at a party. The problem is he can’t get the words out and gives up. Later, he meets another woman, Molly, (Marisa Tomei) who describes the conversation he had as raw and honest. Those two words are not just true about the failed pick-up: they accurately describe this movie.

By Brian Lafferty

July 1, 2010 (San Diego's East County)--The Last Airbender is a movie that begs to be remade by a different director. It had the potential for an entertaining cinematic experience but it ends up as a vigorously underwhelming film. I didn’t hate this picture as much as I felt really disappointed.

By Sharon Courmousis, Sacred Rocks Reserve

Increase your enjoyment of living

June 27, 2010 (San Diego's East County) 

“Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.” ~ Ada Louise Huxtable

Nothing but the Truth!
 

June 25, 2010 (San Diego's East County) -- In a body blow to prosecutors trying to stop bankers and broker from fleecing their customers, the conservative US Supreme Court today invalidated the "Honest Services" clause.

The case sent Enron's Jeffrey Skilling's case back to the trial court. It did not, however, overturn his conviction. It did make it very much more diffcult to prosecute financial crooks.