Tag Archives: Jack Poessiger
NEW JACK CITY: Smoke And Mirror Airfare Pricing – Don’t Get Bagged by Majors
Used to be a given that when searching for an airfare out of MCI you’d get the best ticket pricing…
Rates on discounters like Southwest Airlines and AirTran. But legacy carriers like American, Delta, United-Continental and USAirways have become much more competitive of late.
I keep finding very competitive, even lower fares to popular destinations on airlines other than say Southwest. That’s especially true to a popular destinations served by Southwest with multiple daily non-stop flights. Whereras other carriers serving that particular city pair only with connecting flights.
But not so fast, there are other considerations.
Jack Goes Confidential: Get Ready to Cut ‘FOOTLOOSE,’ Y’all
Back in 1984 an unknown big city kid named Kevin Bacon moved to a small southern town where he confronted a dancing ban and a hellfire preacher…
It was in a pre-GLEE era that included dance flicks like FAME, DIRTY DANCING, FLASHDANCE and, of course, FOOTLOOSE.
Now 27 years later there’s a new FOOTLOOSE, and yes another dance restriction.
But this time not so much based on morals and religion but strictly in response to a deadly car crash that killed 4 high schoolers after a party.
Welcome to readin’, ridin’ and red-neckin’ in Bomont, Georgia!
New Jack City: ‘Jack Goes To The Movies’ – My Way Or The Highway
When one reviews movies, as I have for more years than I’d like to admit, you get lots of questions—and often pointed comments…
It almost never fails when I get introduced, I get the usual, "Aren’t you that guy that does movies on radio?"
Yes I am, and the German accident is a dead giveaway.
Just to clear the air, the accent is not fake. I AM a former refugee from the East Germany who immigrated to the United States LEGALLY. My home town is Leipzig.
So what is the most frequently asked question?
Jack Goes Confidential: Clooney, Gosling, Hoffman Shine in ‘IDES OF MARCH’
George Clooney‘s THE IDES OF MARCH isn’t so much a political thriller as a morality tale…
What we’ve got is some terrific insight into the backroom politics of Pennsylvania Governor George Clooney’s race to win the Ohio primary for his party’s presidential nomination.
And tensions are building.
Press secretary Ryan Gosling is being lured by rival campaign manager Paul Giamatti, while New York Times reporter Marisa Tomei is ready to blow-up anything that leaks out of the campaign. And she’s close to blowing the lid off a boat load of indiscretions.
All while senior campaign manager Philip Seymour Hoffman tries desperately to keep it all from falling apart.
Loyalty being the only currency you can count on—or so they say.
Written, produced, directed and co-starring George Clooney, THE IDES OF MARCH is chock-full of performances that the Academy is sure to take note of!
So does the movie favor Democrats? Or does it stay fair and balanced?
New Jack City: IMAX & AMC Get Jump On ‘M:I-4’
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IMAX and Paramount have proclaimed that the 4th installment of the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE franchise will get a 5 day jump on IMAX screens over the rest of the nation’s movie theatres!
‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-GHOST PROTOCOL‘ starring Tom Cruise and slated for worldwide release Wednesday, Dec. 21st will now actually begin Pre-Opening Previews on Friday, December 16th—but only on IMAX screens.
Every other theatre has to wait.
New Jack City: The Case of the Missing Clock Hands or Time Flies in Downtown Overland Park
Been a while since we’ve given downtown Overland Park’s hallowed-if-unpredictable timepiece a second glance.
You may recall an earlier column this year in which I noted that the various times displayed on the towering clock tower’s four faces were out of whack.
Well, a check today found the following; the clock’s north and south faces are (finally) giving the correct time. And the east face of the venerable timepiece overlooking the city’s charming downtown is running approximately 13 minutes behind.
Confusing, but liveable.
New Jack City: Chaos Reigns First Weekend @ New Nordstrom’s Rack
First Trader Joe’s, next Jack in the Box, now Nordstrom’s Rack…
Kansas City is on fire with trendy new businesses hitting town. So after writing about Nordstrom’s new Rack at 95th and Quivira a couple of weeks back I decided to take on the masses and check it out this past weekend…
Unfortunately, I went by Saturday afternoon—two days after its grand opening – not a good idea. The parking lot was jammed forcing me to park clear down by Gordman’s to the south and walk and walk and walk to the Rack.
Jack Goes Confidential: ’50/50′ Delivers Heartfelt Hilarity
Who would’ve thought it?
A cancer movie that works on many levels. Or as Seth Rogen tells best bud Joseph Gordon Levitt in ’50/50′: "If you were a casino game, you’d have the best odds."
’50/50′ is a bittersweet comedic approach to a pretty taboo subject.
Bottom line: A massive malignant tumor on his spine is what Rogen’s best friend and NPR producer Levitt is diagnosed with and doctors give him a 50/50 chance of survival. Something his girlfriend Bryce Dallas Howard has trouble dealing with in more than one way.
New Jack City: Why High School Reunions Totally Suck (Like Mine Just Did)
They say you can’t go back home…
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I did this past weekend. I went to my millionth high school reunion in Grand Island, Nebraska. And let me just tell you up front, this three-day affair was two days too long.
The nightmare unfolded with a Friday, ‘Let’s Get Reacquainted ‘ cocktail bash and finger food fandango. Followed by a Saturday morning walkthrough of the old high school and either an optional golf game or sipping-of-the-grapes luncheon at a nearby Nebraska winery.
See what I mean?
Then came the big event, a Saturday night sitdown dinner and dance with an obligatory oldies band. And finally – blessedly – a Sunday morning see-you-next-lifetime breakfast.
Overkill? You bet! Like I said, one night would’ve been plenty.
Now allow me to count the many ways these sort of reunion rituals suck so badly.
Jack Goes Confidential: Yale Economics (and the Royals) Fuels ‘MONEYBALL’
Let me say right upfront MONEYBALL is a terrific movie…
And like me, you don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy it. Why?
Because it explores ones true worth, being an underdog and one of the most unorthodox comebacks in Major League Baseball. Let’s be real, back in 2001 there were rich teams, poor teams and crap teams like the OAKLAND A’S.
And there was no money to ‘buy-up’
Enter legendary general manager Billy Bean (Brad Pitt) who hires nerdy Yale grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) whose analysis techniques revolutionized the way teams evaluated players and took the A’s all the way to the playoffs despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the majors!
New Jack City: Nice Rack (at 97th and Quivira, that is)
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It’s been quite a year for national brand favorites expanding into Kansas City…
The most anticipated was the long awaited opening of not one, but two TRADER JOE’S. And let’s not overlook popular Nebraska export RUNZA which opened its first fast food outlet recently in Mission. JACK IN THE BOX made a splash last year in KCK and its second opens this coming Monday at 103rd and Metcalf in OP.
They say Jack’s’ tacos are to die for.
But hold on, there’s another really big one right around the corner.
New Jack City: Channel 41’s JiaoJiao Shen Honored With Ron Burgundy Mention
Every so often I like to tip my hat to a local TV anchor with an honorable ‘Ron Burgundy: Anchorman‘ mention for uttering a completely senseless statement…
Happened today during KSHB-TV, Channel 41’s midday newscast.
JiaoJiao Shen was delivering a story of the pending AMC Theatres corporate offices move from downtown K.C. to Leawood.
The big story, of course, is that AMC is staying in the metroplex–not moving to L.A. or New York — as some had predicted. Channel 41’s story did a nice job reporting the basics, complete with a B-roll of AMC shots, weighted remarks by K.C. Mayor Sly James and a less inspiring soundbite from Leawood Mayor Peggy Dunn.
All in all a good package.
Jack Goes Confidential: Brooding Ryan Gosling Shifts Gears In ‘DRIVE!’
When Carey Mulligan asks Ryan Gosling: "What do you do?" he answers "I drive."
What we’ve got here is a side of Gosling we haven’t seen before. He’s brooding, aloof, calculating and low on dialogue. He’s the anti-hero.
In DRIVE Gosling plays a movie stunt driver who, during his nights off, hires out as a heist getaway driver. And he’s good at it. Damn good.
Enter next door neighbor Mulligan and her young son whose lives seem to intersect with Gosling’s on an almost daily basis. Problem is her ‘Ex’ is being released from prison and now squarely drags Gosling into his underworld.
But be aware this isn’t your typical run of the mill heist thriller.
New Jack City: Round & Round They Go, Hollywood’s Numbers Game
In case you may be swayed to rent some of this year’s earlier filmfare, let’s review what America’s movie fans wisely stayed away from in droves when Hollywood unleashed these stinkers.
That’s not to say that these films are totally unwatchable, but you should have fair warning that not everything here that shines actually glitters.
According to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER these are the biggest flops of 2011—SO FAR!
* MARS NEEDS MOMS—Estimated production cost $150 million / Domestic ticket sales $21.4 million.
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘WARRIOR’ Wallops Punch-To-Gut During September Drought
For movie critics like me who deal primarily in so-called commercial releases (as opposed to art and speciality
films), September is usually not something I look forward to.
It never fails!
From about the last week of August through the later part of September, the studios seem to dust off their shelves and pretty well throw their leftovers into the marketplace.
You can’t really blame Hollywood.
The public’s attention span during early fall turns to back-to-school, sports and the new TV season – and not to movies.
That all changes though on or around late September and October when the Oscar hopefuls and more serious films begin to invade local cineplexes. Until then the old, saying seems to come into play: ‘If they don’t want to see it—there’s no stopping them!’
But hold it right there!
New Jack City: ‘GREASERAMA’ Rocks Boulevard Drive-In Tonight & Sunday
Looking for a last minute blast from the past this weekend?
Then check out this Labor Day Weekend’s annual ‘GREASERAMA‘ going down today and Sunday from 12 noon ‘to Midnight at–where else—the BOULEVARD DRIVE-IN THEATRE on Merriam Drive in KCK.
What is it?
It’s nostolgic pre ’65 rod and kustom cars, old school low riders, cycles, scooters and muscle cars. All that plus four live bands playing each each day. And if that’s not enough to float your boat, both evenings wind down with a hard rockin’ double feature movie progrtam consisting of Ralph Bakshi’s WIZARDS and HEAVY METAL.
Ooops, almost forgot…
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘THE DEBT’ Has Unexpected Payoff
There’s been any number of memorable Nazi hunter thrillers over the years…
MARATHON MAN and THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL are the standouts.
Now add THE DEBT to that genre’s lineup, which builds its action and intrigue across two different periods of time.
The storyline here begins in a 1997 Tel Aviv setting focusing on three Mossad agents. Agents who back in the 60’s flushed out a Dr. Mengele-like Nazi butcher who practiced his horrific trade in Hitler’s old concentration camps.
Yeap, the secret agents nailed him, alright.
Trouble is, they pulled it off in 1966 during the Cold War in of all places, East Berlin. Smuggling him (as well as themselves) into West Berlin back then entailed major complications. Not to mention an uncomfortable sexual triangle.
New Jack City: KC’s Celluloid Movie Summer—The Good. The Bad. The Easily Forgettable
As Kansas City’s movie summer flickers to a screeching halt let’s reflect on what approximately $4.4 billion in North American ticket sales bought moviegers at the nation’s boxoffices.
Here then my take on the endless summer of 2011
First there were the this summer’s three major sleeper hits
Translation: Pictures that far exceeded expectations and where great word-of-mouth built their ongoing performance
* Judd Apatow’s BRIDESMAIDS written by and starring Kristen Wiig. This one started out totally as a chick flick. But once the guys discovered it they loved it just as much!
Jack Goes Confidential: With ‘OUR IDIOT BROTHER’ What You See Ain’t What You Get
Hail to the primo trailer-makers for creating the smoke and mirror previews for OUR IDIOT BROTHER…
That’s not to say that the movie is necessarily bad. It’s just not a rip-roaring comedy. OUR IDIOT BROTHER could almost qualify as an art house entry, which means that the masses that’ll be attracted to it (thanks to its sly marketing) may end up disappointed.
OUR IDIOT BROTHER stars Overland Park export Paul Rudd as Ned, a simple minded kinda dude. An irresponsible man-child of sorts selling organic veggies from the little farm that he toils with girlfriend Kathryn Hahn and his beloved dog Willie Nelson.
He’s a goodhearted soul. And when a friendly cop tricks Ned into selling him a little weed, it’s promptly off to the slammer for him.
Fast forward eight months as Ned is released from jail only to find his girlfriend with a new stoner. Furthermore, she’s not giving up Willie Nelson.
New Jack City: Sin City Sex, Part Deux—Leaving Las Vegas
Last week I passed along the do’s, dont’s and misconceptions of just how open Las Vegas actually is these days—and nights…
"Babes To Your Room," billboards proclaim – but not for sex! They’re entertainers. And that’s basically what they’ll do for you: ‘Entertain.’
And be careful – ever since the recent mayoral campaign Vegas vice squads have become more vigilant and increased sting operations have turned many a bachelor party into nights in the slammer!
So what are your legal options?
