LIVE AT BREWSTER’S: Open Mike Night!

SEBRING, April 30, 2008 – Bring your poem. Bring your guitar and your song. Bring your courage. Oh, heck, bring your fun.

It’s Open Mike Night again Thursday night, May 1, at Brewster’s Coffee House in Sebring.

Youth for Christ sponsors the event, which is held once a month. Lindsey Murphy works for YFC, and she says the poems or songs people read or sing can be about anything, “as long as it’s clean.”

Amen!

Murphy will run the show a little bit differently this time. If you want to participate, you should pre-register at 6:30 at Brewster’s. The show will go on from 7 until 9. Murphy will give you a number, and when it is called, it’s showtime.

Brewster’s Coffee House is at 1905 U.S. Hwy. 27 North, which is the northwest corner of U.S. 27 and Thunderbird Road. It’s right across Thunderbird from Flex Bon Paints.

This Open Mike Night will also feature Mike the DJ and a Poetry Slam. Readers can read to the beat of music behind them, if they want. An acoustic house band will also perform.

Though Open Mike Night seems tailored a bit more to young adults and youth, Murphy stresses that it is not just for kids and that everyone is welcome, whether it is to perform or just to listen and enjoy.

Scads of folks came to the Open Mike Night in April. They enjoyed Brewster’s ambience, the excitement, and the dirnks the coffe house offers, which run the gamut from frozen coffees that are like milk shakes to smoothies, hot coffee, and iced or hot herbal teas.

MOVIE REVIEW: Egotistical Shrink Has 88 Minutes to Live!

This shot says it all: philandering crime shrink Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino) manages to graze the breast of student Kim Cummings (Alicia Witt) with his protective hand during an explosion in the psychological thriller 88 Minutes. PHOTO COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES.

SEBRING, April 29, 2008 – All the bloody crime scenes! All the uppity serial killers! All the young, beautiful women! All the challenges to his gargantuan ego! They keep pullin’ Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino) back into the courtroom, the classroom, the bedroom and, and, whew! those nasty TV “interviews.”

Poor Dr. Gramm has it all, but a disturbing phone call from an altered, electrified voice tells him he has 88 Minutes to live, and Gramm is off on a wild pursuit to find not merely his prospective assailant, but the person committing a new wave of murders that eerily duplicate the Seattle slayer – whom Gramm has sent to prison and a date with old sparky.

Gramm kisses, hugs, fondles and sleeps his way through clues, sorting out suspects, memories, and details, all the while violating every principle of crime scene preservation and acting like a constitution-busting cop when he is not any kind of cop.

It’s almost a hoot, and surely fast and loose, but 88 Minutes does tantalize us with who commits the new murders and who threatens Gramm. The climax is explosive, and it is hard for Pacino to be anything but entertaining, so we are not as down on this film as some critics. 88 Minutes possesses a nervous tension that fuels our speculation as we try to solve the crime with Gramm. We settled on a theory that turned out to be incorrect, but that is the fun of guesswork. The film also reminds us that mental health experts are some of the sickest folks around. It’s worth a matinee or nighttime movie-go on a dead night.

88 Minutes is rated R and plays at the Fairmount Cinema Square.

Our rating (1 to 5 reels):

MOVIE REVIEW: Forbidden Kingdom a Welcome Pleasure

Bounty Hunter Ni Chang (Li Bingbing) and Jason (Michael Angarano) square off in the final battle inside the fortress of the Jade Warrior in The Forbidden Kingdom. PHOTO COURTESY OF LIONSGATE FILMS.

SEBRING, April 29, 2008 – A kid in over his head, the mysterious and fantastical orient, martial arts, Jackie Chan and Jet Li combine to present a pleasant moviegoing experience in The Forbdiden Kingdom.

The story is about the battle between the spirit of good-natured fun and stern discipline. Stern discipline becomes corrupt. The spirit of good natured fun enlivens; stern discipline kills. Even the gods love fun, but the stern disciplinarian, what Saul Bellow calls the “reality instructor,” cannot stand it. So when the gods order the stern Jade Warrior to live at peace with the Monkey King, he sets upon a diametrically opposite course as soon as they leave.

The Forbidden Kingdom is fun and features enough of an American character, Jason (MIchael Angarano) so that Western audiences will not be alienated.

All in all, it’s a pleasant, neatly packaged, and toned down version of the old Hong Kong chop sockies, which far exceed The Forbidden Kingdom in violence and gore.

The Forbidden Kingdom is rated PG-13 and plays at the Carmike Cinema.

Our Rating (1 to 5 reels):

MOVIE REVIEW: Harold and Kumar

SEBRING, April 29, 2008 – Call it a filthfest.

Say it’s egregiously gross.

They should have given Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay a different title. How about, say, Harold and Kumar Go to Hell?

If you like vocal vomit, an unbridled obscene state of mind, concupiscence and sensuality depicted and reveled in, then this movie is for you.

If you don’t, stay away.

I could not believe how visually and verbally filthy this movie was. The few laughs fail to redeem it – to me. But, again, I’m not your mama nor your papa. If you want to see it, go at your own risk. Its appeal is to the college and graduate school set.

Here’s hoping Harold and Kumar makes a quick exit from the Fairmount Cinema Square. Rated W for “Wretched.”

Our Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5 reels:    

BOX OFFICE: Baby Mama Lays Golden Egg

SEBRING, April 29, 2008 – Surrogate motherhood scored top honors at the box office the weekend of April 25-27. Moviegoers gave Baby Mama a shower to remember when they spent $18.3 million to see it. The movie stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live.

To take top honors, Baby Mama had to best Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay, (see review above) which took in $14.6 million in its opening weekend. Jackie Chan and Jet Li still chopped their way to a nice $11.2 million haul in North America for their martial arts fantasy The Forbidden Kingdom (see review above) but will need overseas ticket sales to break into the black.

Rounding out the Top Five were Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Nim’s Island, which had grosses of $11 million and $4.5 million respectively.

For a complete review of the box office, please visit Stephen Wong’s site at: http://weekendgross.blogspot.com/

BOX OFFICE: Forbidden Kingdom Kicks Competition

Jet Li, left, and Jackie Chan, right, paired up for the martial arts fantasy Forbidden Kingdom, which plays at the Carmike Cinema in the Lakeshore Mall.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIONSGATE.

SEBRING, April 23, 2008 – Martial artists Jackie Chan and Jet Li combined to leap to the top of the box office charts for the weekend of April 18-20 with their release of Forbidden Kingdom. FK pulled in $20.9 million in its first week on the big screen. It outpulled Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which took in $17.35 million to finish second, and Prom Night, which finished with $9.1 million.

Prom Night was last weekend’s No. 1. Cheap to make, the scary suspense flick has already netted $12 million over its production costs.

Overall, moviegoers seem to be waiting for the blockbusters, which begin May 2 with the release of Iron Man. The whole month is loaded, with Speed Racer, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones and the Kindgom of the Crystal Skull all opening on subsequent weekends. Only the last weekend in May is bereft of quality, the spotlighted release being the vacuous and shallow Sex and the City, a promising descent into Moronia.

Iron Man is headed to the Fairmount Cinema Square; Speed Racer revs into the Carmike Cinema.

Sebring’s Championship Hunt Ends

URGENT, Lake Wales, April 22, 2008 – The 2008 4A championship run of the Sebring Lady Blue Streaks has come to an end.

The Lady Streaks fell to defending state champion Lake Wales Tuesday night, 9-4.

Fielding errors plagued the Lady Streaks as they did in their district championship game. They committed seven, and against as strong a team as Lake Wales, the errors proved fatal.

But in Head Coach Lee Tolar’s final game, the Lady Streaks refused to go down without a fight. Unofficially – as has become their custom – they outhit Lake Wales 10 to 8. First basewoman Hannah Shoop blasted a towering two-run homer over the center field wall in the first inning to give the Streaks a 2-0 lead.

They had fallen behind 6 to 3 when they loaded the bases in the 6th inning after a brilliant move by Tolar. Tolar subbed senior Rowan Taylor for Melissa Luke at bat. He felt Taylor was better suited to what Lake Wales ace Hannah Rogers was throwing. Not only that, but Rogers had not seen Taylor. Sure enough, Rogers pitched her four balls, which Taylor wisely allowed to sail by her.

The rally occurred with two outs, however, and ended when catcher Wendy Negrin came up next and grounded out.

Second basewoman Sami Lower had blasted a home run, also over the center field wall, before the rally had begun to pull Sebring within three. She added a double and was 2 for 4 for the night.

Priscilla Adams had another stellar game, too, both in the field and with 3 for 4 hitting. Clearly, Sebring was able to hit the Lake Wales starter, and even Highlander supporters said after the game that it was unusual for her to be hit like that.

Despite the fielding errors, Sebring produced a rare triple play in the 5th inning with runners on first and second. Jessica Lopez hit a short popup up the first base line that Hannah Shoop just scooped up. Shoop whipped the ball to Sami Lower, covering first. Lower then threw to Amanda Grimaldo at second to finish nabbing both baserunners.

Bartow Defeats Braden River

URGENT, April 22, 2008 – Bartow has defeated Braden River, 5-3, in a Regional semifinal game.

The defeat ends the Lady Pirates’ season and sends Bartow to the Regional Championship game against the Lady Highlanders at Lake Wales.

The game was tied 0-0 in the 5th inning when both teams began to score.

Coach Tolar Steps Down; Sebring vs. Lake Wales Tonight

SEBRING, April 21 for April 22, 2008 – After 14 seasons at the helm of the Sebring Lady Blue Streaks softball team, Head Coach Lee Tolar steps down to have more personal time and pursue other interests. His last game is tonight against Lake Wales in a challenging regional semifinal on the field at Lake Wales High School.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Sebring meets the Lady Highlanders as the District 10 Runnerup. Lake Wales is Champion of District 9. Its star is Hannah Rogers, a 6-foot plus sophomore with a wicked pitching arm and broad skill set.

But the Lady Blue Streaks have plenty of their own talent.

Pitcher Nikki Helms has gained more control of the game, is thrilling when she is on base, and fires the team up with her spirit.

Second basewoman Sami Lower has hit nearly every time she got to bat in the district playoffs, including 4 for 4 in the championship game against Braden River.

Amanda Grimaldo, Wendy Negrin and others have all made key contributions.

Except for the unusual fielding errors in the championship game, the Lady Streaks have gelled and appear to be peaking. The Lady Highlanders will be a tough challenge for them, but one they can overcome if they are spirited and mentally tough.

Tolar has led the Lady Streaks to several district playoff and regional playoff spots, including last year’s District 10 Championship. They have just barely missed the state tournament some years. His positive influence on his players is tangible and lasting. He will be missed.

No replacement has been named yet.

The Lady Blue Streaks Travelin’ Band

Popular demand has, uh, demanded a second Lady Blue Streaks video, a few fun highlights of the funner and terrificfying things they done while travelin’ and, yeah, while at home. Because of the time limit and thematic elements, not every player appears in this composition. We only had a limited amount of material with which to work, something we were just able to get around on the first video. Our apologies. We hope to have more material – and higher video quality – next year.

Sebring Cinema and Sports says, “Go, Lady Streaks and beat Lake Wales!!!”

This blog entry and the composition are COPYRIGHTED 2008 by Sebring Cinema and Sports, as all the stuff on this weblog is. Other materials considered by themselves are copyrighted or protected by their respective owners. Thank you.