- Great Condition
Stills from Strike (Click for larger image)
Stills from Strike (Click for larger image)
Dirt could use sharper writing, but it's savvy enough when it comes to parsing Hollywood-speak. A celebrity's so-called "exhaustion" is translated by Lucy to mean "rehab or a psychotic break." Dirt drops A-list names (Clooney, Britney),! but for a series set in Hollywood, it's light on actual celebrities (director David Fincher and a self-deprecating Christopher Knight and Adrienne Curry appear as themselves). Instead, we get unconvincing fictional celebrities such as wash-out actor Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart), who gets his shot at superstardom by making the same kind of pact with Lucy that John Cassavetes made with the coven in Rosemary's Baby. Just one scoop begins a downward spiral for his sitcom-actress girlfriend (Laura Allen) and her best friend, an actress with an ill-timed pregnancy (Shannyn Sossamon). Also getting down and dirty are Rick Fox as a compromised basketball superstar, Wayne Brady as a cultured thug, and, in the season finale, Jennifer Aniston as Lucy's rival (and then some, although their much-hyped onscreen kiss is really much ado about nothing). An FX series, Dirt shovels on the network's envelope-pushing profane language and graphic sex scenes. It should clean up on DV! D. --Donald Liebenson
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No one is born with these qualities, but they are the key ingredients for reaching goals, building careers, or turning a blueprint into a breathtaking skyscraper. In The Trump Card, Ivanka Trump, a vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization and a boardroom adviser on The Apprentice, shares the life lessons and hard-won insights that have made her a rising star in the business world.
Whether itâs landing that first job, navigating the workplace, or making a lasting impact, Ivankaâs valuable, practical advice for young women shows how to:
⢠Use uncertainty to your advantageâ"thrive in any environment
⢠Step up and get noticed at workâ"focus and efficiency will open doors
⢠Create a strong and consistent identityâ"your name and reputation are your best a! ssets
⢠Know what you wantâ"get the most out of any nego! tiation.
Ivanka also taps into the wisdom of todayâs leaders, including Arianna Huffington, Russell Simmons, and Cathie Black, with "Bulletins" from her BlackBerry. "Weâve all been dealt a winning hand," she writes, "and it is up to each of us to play it right and smart."If there was a universal collective, albeit repressed, dream, it would probably be to become a successful singer. People would take that singing in the car, singing in the shower, and even singing in the rain, and have it be their life's love and work. The Thing Called Love uses this popular aspiration as its setting and examines the lives of four young people hoping to make it in the country music universe. At the center is earnest Miranda Presley--no relation--(Samantha Mathis), the pretty but untalented Linda Lue (Sandra Bullock), the intense and talented James (River Phoenix), and the sweet and prolific Kyle (Dermont Mulroney). Popular country stars make appearances: K.T. Oslin (as Lucy, t! he owner of the Bluebell, where open-mike auditions are held), Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Katy Moffatt, Jo-El Sonnier, Pam Tillis, Kevin Welch, and even Trisha Yearwood. The film's not merely focused on the rich musical milieu and its talented cast. It also carefully examines the dynamic between friends who are also competitors, as well as a realistic love triangle between the leads. The Thing Called Love is primarily known as one of River Phoenix's last performances, but even if curiosity alone brings audiences to the movie, they'll soon be drawn into the fresh tale of four young people pursuing their dreams. --N.F. MendozaA shy teen turns on the high school crowd when he broadcasts outrageous nightly monologues on a pirate radio station. Starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.In the suburban hinterlands of Arizona, pirate-radio DJ Hard Harry wages a one-man war against boredom from his bedroom transmitter by night. In between great Lenny Bruce-style stream! -of-consciousness rants, Harry attacks the airwaves with the l! ikes of the Descendents, Bad Brains, and Concrete Blonde, as well as occasionally kickin' it old school with some early hip-hop. By day, though, Hard Harry is Mark Hunter, a painfully shy new kid who's anonymous to the point of being invisible at Hubert Humphrey High School. Completely misunderstood by his '60s-era parents, Mark is desperate to keep his radio alter ego separate from his day-to-day persona, especially as his radio shows draw more attention from the authorities. Fellow misfit Nora (Samantha Mathis, in her first feature role) eventually discovers Hard Harry's true identity, much to Mark's chagrin, and the two of them become torchbearers against the stifling status quo of the town as they dodge the police, the school administration, and the FCC. There are familiar high school authority archetypes (the assistant principal with clip-on tie, lemon-yellow K-Mart short-sleeved dress shirt, military flattop, and bulky key ring) and a rather strained subplot of a corrupt sch! ool administration. Mainly, though, this is a rousing teen call-to-arms that showcases Slater's talents as he developed the cynical, sarcastic neo-Jack Nicholson delivery that would become his trademark. He's at his best during his radio monologues (making them truly seem ad-libbed), and his influences become clear as he checks out a copy of How to Talk Dirty and Influence People from the library. --Jerry RenshawThe true story of a young man whose dream of coaching boys' high school basketball are derailed when the school board assigns him to the girls' basketball team instead. The girls and the coach need to earn each other's trust, and despite the opposition fo the small conservative town, they learn how to play to win.
