BC Football 2014 - Opening Day Hype

BC Football: Opening Day Hype from Derek Robinson on Vimeo.

Behind the Sounds with Overnight Oatmeal

Derek and Doug were recently featured on a country music television show, "Behind the Sounds," to talk about their new band, Overnight Oatmeal.  Check it out.

 

Go Behind the Scenes of "Who's Drivin' Doug?"

You asked, we delivered.  Here are the bloopers, outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage from the Woodstock Rock hit production, "Who's Drivin' Doug?"

Who's Drivin' Doug?

Doug needs a ride to the airport.  Which of his buddies will bite the bullet and drive him?
 

Rob is So Forgetful!

If you think your roommate is bad, try spending a day in our shoes.  What's the point of even giving Rob a bedroom and a closet if literally everything he owns is in the living room?
 

I Bet You Never Noticed TJ Oshie in "Miracle"

I've probably seen "Miracle" a hundred times.  I watch it before every Olympics.  I watch it before every huge hockey game.  I've always loved the "again!" scene.  And I never noticed TJ Oshie's cameo in that scene.  Remarkable.  I recommend you watch it again if you never noticed either.

Woodstock Watch: Jack Reacher

Well that was quite the Reacher-ound.

For the average movie-watcher, Jack Reacher is likely going to be a hit-or-miss film.  From start to finish, the action is consistent and the unpacking of clues holds your attention.  The action scenes are stellar, given that you can suspend your disbelief.  The biggest problem — most of the plot is advanced via dialogue, and most of the dialogue is exceedingly corny.

The reason this review becomes so difficult, though, is that there is a major divide in the audience.  For a select group of viewers, they have already read at least a few of the eighteen — yes, I said eighteen — existing Jack Reacher novels written by Lee Child (who has a cameo in this movie).  The viewing experience is drastically different for those who have read the books as compared with those who have not.

In the novels, Jack Reacher's character is thoroughly developed as a conniving ex-military man who has natural instincts to kill, but only uses those instincts in the proper situations.  He has a photographic memory, is ultra-observant and thinks of every solution that you didn't think was thinkable.

This type of thing is developed over hundreds and hundreds of pages in a series of novels.  In a 130-minute film, the only way to display these character traits is by having Reacher memorize a rifle serial number or the year inscribed on a quarter made in 1863.  Sorry, but in a movie setting, that's the heart of a corny script.

Tom Cruise and the rest of the cast do a fantastic acting job, and this largely pacifies the issue with the dialogue.  In fact, some of the dialogue is so out there that it's actually hilarious.  When the villain asks Reacher if he has a pen to write down an address, the ever-remembering Reacher replies, "Don't need one."

The last element that may agitate the average viewer is Reacher's reluctance to ever act on the obvious love interest in the story, the DA's daughter (played by Rosamund Pike).  It's meant to happen throughout, and Reacher constantly walks away from the temptations.  For those who read the novels, though, this is not unlike the character of Jack Reacher.

All in all, it's most definitely a film that I would recommend watching.  Sure, some of the script comes off as typical action-film-corny, but don't confuse this movie with The Expendables or some other all-action-and-nothing-else type of movie.  There's more to it than that.  If you're inspired to read the books after seeing it, you'll love Jack Reacher even more.

Final Score if you HAVE NOT read the books: 6.9
Final Score if you HAVE read the books:  7.4