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The Daily Dose/April 22, 2008
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
   
More notes from around your Human Experience, includng Capsule Movie and Restaurant reviews, which we believe is an Internet first, plus the latest from the 1908 Cubs and feast your eyes on today's Column Four Foto: actress Alicia Witt.
Capsule Movie Review: 88 Minutes: We're good for an Al Pacino flick every couple of decades here at the Writer's Shack. Our last one was 1985's Revolution which we liked though we seemed to be the only ones because it was four years before Pacino was allowed to act on camera again. Before that, our last Pacino flick was Serpico, which was pretty good but not as good as the book.
Standard Internet Disclaimer: We are not movie buffs here at the Writer's Shack, much less professional movie critics. In fact, we aren't even really big fans of the medium, seldom going to movies. As proof we offer the fact his is the first Capsule Movie Review since November and judging by the interminable previews we were obliged to sit through it will be the last for awhile. For reference, some of our all-time faves include Fletch, The Wizard of Oz and Same Time Next Year.
Can We Get On With This: Pacino plays a forensic shrink named Jack Gramm who in the past had testified against a serial killer and whose testimony was key in getting him convicted and condemned to death.
Great Timing: The killer's execution is approaching, but murders that are exactly like the ones the dude about to be executed committed are happening all over Seattle, leading people to wonder if the real killer is behind bars but Gramm is convinced it's a copycat though - and I know you are going to find this hard to believe, but this is a Hollywood movie - the pesky FBI agent suspects Gramm might be the killer because some of the recent victims have Gramm's semen inside them.
Uh-Oh: To complicate matters, someone has threatened Gramm by telling him he has 88 minutes to live, so he has less than an hour and half to get his car blown up, get in a gun fight and drive erratically through the streets of Seattle.
Also, we don't find out why 88 minutes is significant until late in the movie, way later than we should have. Overall the story is overdone and leaves too many questions unanswered and doesn't ring true in too many places to be taken all that seriously. The script is average but the acting is very good and, as usual, it's comforting to see Pacino running around carrying a gun looking to kick ass and take names because is about as good an actor as the medium can produce an he would electrify a script written by the yahoos over at The Bottom Ten.
We Interrupt This Program For A Word From The Ratings Department: Following Is The Official Writer's Shack Rating scale:
EX - Excellent; as good as the medium can produce in every respect.
VG - Very Good.
AR - All Right. Not completely without merit.
SP - Nothing of substance; a steaming pile, utterly without merit.
Official Writer's Shack Rating: AR. This isn't going to make any Pacino retrospectives, but if you don't spend your time nitpicking things like death row inmates can only make collect calls, then it's pretty good entertainment, and Alicia Witt, whoa Nelly, hubba-hubba.
Write This Down: As usual, we checked in with the professional critics after seeing 88 Minutes and writing this column. Most weren't any more thrilled with it than we were.
CAPSULE RESTAURANT REVIEW: The new Dunkin Donuts on Rainbow just north of the I-215, Las Vegas, Nevada: Though we are western folks here at the Writer's Shack, we are not completely immune to the fast food charms of the East, having enjoyed institutions such as White Castle, Waffle House, and, Dunkin Donuts.
History Lesson: Founded in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1950, almost 8,000 Dunkin Donuts can now be found in 30 countries.
Brass Tacks: We've always loved Dunkin Donuts, so we were biased going in, frankly. Great coffee and the corn muffins were created by Providence on the seventh day, and we are glad to see they survived the invasion by those annoying folks over at Krispy Kreme in good health.
A Team Of Dedicated Professionals: Us, not them. To show how thoroughly we research each restaurant for a Capsule review, we not only had a corn muffin and coffee, but we also had a #4 combo, the main feature of which was a sausage and egg croissant. We knew our reader(s) would expect nothing less.
A Good Cup Of Joe: Dunkin Donuts coffee is really good, though they are issued a demerit for putting the cream and sugar in your coffee for you, which seems a bit presumptuous but we don't really care because, like most real men, we take our coffee black, goddammit. Also, it does not appear to be a legal high like Starbucks, but it certainly has enough kick to get the blood flowing, although why the hell everyone serves their coffee at 211 degree is still not clear! I was done with breakfast and halfway home before the coffee was at a drinkable temperature.
Standard Internet Disclaimer: There are no disclaimers issued here. We've had our share of coffee and donuts over the years; we know what's good.
Overall Rating: VG. You can find better donuts and coffee around, mostly at really high end bakeries found in world class hotels, but that's it. For franchised, quick stop donuts, coffee and the like, good luck topping Dunkin Donuts. The coffee is excellent, the donuts rule, the corn muffins are a gift from on high and even the sausage croissant was first rate. The store was busy but the hired help was enthusiastic and efficient, and, it was well protected by the two cops who had set up what appeared to be a sub-station in the corner.
WELL, THIS SHOULD SOLVE ALL OUR PROBLEMS: On this date in 1864 Congress authorized the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on US coins.
Play Ball: The National League makes it's debut on this date in 1876, when the Boston Red Stockings defeat the Philadelphia Athletics 6-5.
Editors Note: In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Cubs latest World Series title, the On This Date segment is pleased to chronicle the 1908 Chicago Cubs season!
Welcome To Beautiful West Side Grounds: On 4/22/1908 the Cubs began their 16th season at West Side Grounds, defeating Cincinnati 7-3, their third win in a row, and fourth straight over the Reds. The Cubs, 6-1, end the day in a tie for first with the New York Giants, who got two in the ninth to defeat Brooklyn 3-2.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Antonin Scalia has been a US Supreme Court justice the longest, next to John Paul Stevens, having served since Sept. 26, 1986.
Today's Stumper: In 1992 Al Pacino won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roll in Scent Of A Woman. How many times previously, if any, had Pacino been nominated for the Best Actor award? - Answer next time!
Threats? Recipes? Trivia question answers? Email The Writer's Shack Here!
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