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Chicago weatherman David Spritz (Nicolas Cage) is living the life most of us dream of: he's a celebrity, makes a six-figure salary working two hours a day, and is on the short list for the meteorologist job on a national morning show. But his professional successes are overshadowed by his personal failures. He's divorced from his wife, his kids are slipping away from him and even his Pulitzer Prize-winning father (Michael Caine) won't take him seriously. Part American Beauty, part About Schmidt, The Weather Man takes a closer look at living a meaningful life in a fast-food world.

Initially I was afraid that The Weather Man would be just like The Family Man, and not just in title. In the former, Nic Cage plays a man with a successful career and an unsuccessful family life. In the latter, Nic Cage plays a man with a successful career and no family life to speak of. The Family Man is about that successful business man realizing there is more to life than his career. And I was afraid I would get that same plot line here, but I didn't. Frankly, the story in The Weather Man was almost the exact opposite.

Nic Cage's character is a very good weatherman, but he feels that he doesn't make the people around him happy by being a weatherman, so he overcompensates until he alienates everyone in his life. He hardly knows his two children and struggles to find ways to relate to them. He tries to get back into his ex-wife's good graces, but always seems to screw things up. That made the movie frustrating to watch, but the part played to Cage's personality very well.

I read some reviews that praised Cage, but while I thought it was a good part for him, I was not blown away. The movie got progressively better and I think it ended very well and saved what could have been a trainwreck of a movie.

As it started out, the movie seemed to struggle within itself. Was it a light-hearted family story as the simplistic writing and short scenes suggested? Or was it a very perverse coming-of-age story with an older-than-usual protagonist where the only thing more prevalent than inappropriate adult situations were f-bombs? These were the two phases to the movie, essentially early and late. Once it moved away from that early phase, The Weather Man was easier to watch. It got better over time, but suffice to say that it isn't a movie I would recommend anyone take a family to see.

The Weather Man was a bizarre film, but that ended up being part of the attraction for me. I really liked analysis Cage's character did on himself and there were maybe a small handful of scenes where the writing and direction teetered near genius (primarily the whole inclusion of archery). The movie was flawed -- I won't try to deny that -- but all in all I found it a positive viewing experience. However, I have a hard time seeing anyone liking this movie except 20- 30-something males who are looking for a change-of-pace movie.

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Leon Phelps: Ya know, when a man works hard his entire life enduring hundreds of ladies, many of whom he does not even remember you'd like to think that at the end of the day he will be given a lot of money, without having had to earn it.

This is A story (not necessarily THE story) about how Jack Black (JB) and Kyle Gass (KG) came together to form the cult-revered musical tandem Tenacious D. The movie starts with a clash between JB and his oppressive father over the importance of rock music. Their fallout (and a vision from Dio) leads a young JB on a journey to his destiny. He settles in Hollywood after a chance encounter with KG upon arrival. KG teaches JB how to be a rock superstar and they team up, but something is missing. And thus they begin their trek together in search of The Pick of Destiny, a mystical guitar pick used by all great rock bands in history.

I had a hard time telling if this movie was geared for the long-time "D" fans or someone else. There were many recycled bits, which may have been homage to the loyal fans or an attempt to get new fans with the same old lines (they worked before, why not try them again?).

There were a fair share of redeeming factors to this movie. There was certainly a good amount of The D to entertain fanboys and fangirls alike. There were some hilarious scenes and great cameos.

I have been a Tenacious D fan for many years. I have followed their journey from a cameo in Bio Dome to a short-lived HBO series and on to a (relatively) celebrated full-length studio album. That self-titled CD was hilarious, but it was also little more than a reworking of old material.

While, as stated above, I am not sure of the target audience for this movie, I can narrow it down. This movie was made for die-hard Tenacious D fans and/or people males age 15-35 who fit the appropriate politically correct term for "stoner." If you don't fit into this small niche audience, it is probably not in your best interest to watch Tenacious D In: The Pick of Destiny.

While still officially a Tenacious D fan, unofficially I think they are in dire need of some new material. Or maybe their famous days are over (as the band only, since Jack Black seems to have no shortage of movie roles these days).

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All my life I've been slow and senseless Not struck dumb, I'm just dumb that's all

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't by Jim Collins

THE CHALLENGE
Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered in the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.

But what about a company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness?

THE STUDY
For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?

THE STANDARDS
Using tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies generated cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world's greatest companies, including Coca-Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck.

THE COMPARISONS
The research team contrasted the good-to-great companies with a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to make the leap from good to great. What was different? Why did one set of companies become truly great performers while the other set remained only good?

Over five years, the team analyzed the histories of all twenty-eight companies in the study. After sifting through mountains of data and thousands of pages of interviews, Collins and his crew discovered the key determinants of greatness -- why some companies make the leap and others don't.

THE FINDINGS
The findings of the Good to Great study will surprise many readers and shed light on virtually every area of management strategy and practice. The findings include:
- Level 5 Leaders: The research team was shocked to discover the type of leadership required to achieve greatness.
- The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity within the Three Circles): To go from good to great requires transcending the curse of competence.
- The Culture of Discipline: When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great results.
- Technology Accelerators: Good-to-great companies think differently about the role of technology.
- They Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Those who launch radical change programs and wrenching restructurings will almost certainly fail to make the leap.

"Some of the key concepts discerned in the study," comments Jim Collins, "fly in the face of our modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people."

Perhaps, but who can afford to ignore these findings?

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Stripes

Army will never be the same! When John Winger (Murray) loses his job, his car, his apartment and his girlfriend -- all in one day -- he decides he only has one option: volunteer for Uncle Sam. He talks his friend Russell (Harold Ramis) into enlisting with him. Where else, they figure, can they help save the world for democracy...and meet girls! John and Russell find basic training a snap: they are arrested twice, have endless run-ins with their drill sergeant (Warren Oates) and get into a big mess at a female mud-wrestling match. They even steal a top-secret government vehicle to take some gogeous female MPs on a date, and wind up behind the Iron Curtain. STRIPES is outrageous and fun! And that's the fact, Jack!

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1. Rounders

2. Clockers

3. The Big Lebowski

4. Transformers

5. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

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2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 halves)
2/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup all purpose flour for dredging
1/4 cup clarified butter
2 small garlic cloves, mashed
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Florio Sweet Marsala wine
1/8 cup dry white wine
1 Tbls. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbls. whole butter

Step One: Prepare chicken breasts

Remove the tenders from the breasts if they are present, the long finger-like strips. Trim all fat and sinews and remove the thin membrane covering the breasts. Butterfly the breasts starting from the plump lobe side. Press firmly with the palm of your hand to achieve uniform thickness. Do not pound with mallet.

Step Two: Sauté chicken breasts

Place a 10", heavy bottomed sauté pan on high heat and add enough of the clarified butter to coat the bottom. When fat is hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle, immediately dredge the chicken breasts in the flour plate, shake off excess and place in the pan. Add the mushrooms at this point. Shake pan frequently to avoid sticking and continue until bottoms are golden brown. Turn breasts in the pan and reduce heat to medium. Add mashed garlic and immediately deglaze the pan with chicken broth. Chicken broth should be at least 1/2 inch deep in the pan. Add the Marsala wine, dry white wine, and whole butter.

Step Three: The finish

Continue cooking until chicken is done. If all is perfect the pan sauce will form at the same time the chicken and mushrooms are done. If the pan sauce has not yet come together, remove chicken and mushrooms from sauté pan and place on warm plates, turn heat to high and quickly reduce pan sauce to the proper consistency.

- http://www.parshift.com/ovens/Secrets/secrets021.htm

This is the recipe that I modeled my chicken marsala after. It was a great guide which turned out some very tasty results. I varied only slightly.

My local grocer offers chicken breasts that have been pre-sliced to uniform size (offered by a big-name chicken producer), which I like because they save me a little extra work. They worked perfectly for my marsala dish.

I did as directed and dredged the chicken before tossing it into a pan with a light butter coating and lightly cooked it on both sides before adding mushrooms and my sauce (chicken broth, marsala, white cooking wine and garlic). The site from which I grabbed the recipe suggests porcini mushrooms, but I had a limited selection. I opted for shiitake mushrooms which I thought were really great with the dish.

I erred on the side of caution and had my burner over a lower temperature so I wouldn't burn my chicken or the butter which just meant that I had to remove the chicken and reduce my sauce, which was no problem at all. I got a little antsy and didn't reduce as much as I should have, but I know that for next time.

I prefer chicken marsala served over mashed potatoes to pasta, so that was how I served it. If this had been less of a last-minute dinner idea I would have liked to do a red-skin mashed instead of the instant mashed (scoff all you like, I LOVE instant mashed potatoes.) I also roasted some asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper and a sesame seed finish which I think was more for garnish.

The meal went very well and there were no leftovers, which I took to mean my guests enjoyed the meal. Tips for next time: Reduce the sauce longer and make much more chicken; I was looking forward to those leftovers!

1. Rushmore

2. Caddyshack

3. Ghostbusters

4. What About Bob?

5. Groundhog Day

(Honorable Mention: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Lost in Translation)

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Charlie Kaufman: There was this time in high school. I was watching you out the library window. You were talking to Sarah Marsh. Donald Kaufman: Oh, God. I was so in love with her. Charlie Kaufman: I know. And you were flirting with her. And she was really sweet to you. Donald Kaufman: I remember that. Charlie Kaufman: Then, when you walked away, she started making fun of you with Kim Canetti. It was like they were making fun of me. You didn't know at all. You seemed so happy. Donald Kaufman: I knew. I heard them. Charlie Kaufman: How come you looked so happy? Donald Kaufman: I loved Sarah, Charles. It was mine, that love. I owned it. Even Sarah didn't have the right to take it away. I can love whoever I want. Charlie Kaufman: She thought you were pathetic. Donald Kaufman: That was her business, not mine. You are what you love, not what loves you. That's what I decided a long time ago.

"The years of a boy's life pass so fast, Cory." She smiled faintly. "Boys want to hurry up and be men, and then comes a day they wish they could be boys again. But I'll tell you a secret, Cory. Want to hear it?" I nodded. "No one," Mrs. Neville whispered, "ever grows up... They may look grown-up," she continued, "but it's a disguise. It's just the clay of time. Men and women are still children deep in their hearts. They still would like to jump and play, but that heavy clay won't let them. They'd like to shake off every chain the world's put on them, take off their watches and neckties and Sunday shoes and return naked to the swimming hole, if just for one day."