By Sally M. Hill / movie reviews The commercials make “Magic Mike” out be a fun, light-hearted night out with the girls, without the two-drink minimum or the need for a bunch of ones to stick in g-strings. Actually though, “Mike” tries to be more than that, darker and deeper, but alas, it’s as superficial as a spray on tan. Too bad. Director Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic,” “Ocean’s Eleven,” “The Informant!,” “Contagion”) has made some interesting movies. He was the reason I thought “Mike” could be more than just a bunch of guys shaking their booties. He and screenwriter Reid Carolin (his first feature film) have attempted to make a character study disguised as a comedic stripper film, but the characters aren’t interesting beyond their stripping. Even if one character pleads unconvincingly, “I’m not what I do.” Character studies only work when a person is interesting and you care about what happens to them. The filmmakers do acknowledge our hard economic times and the troubled … [Read more...] about ‘Magic Mike’ deeper, darker than ads let on
Primary joe manchin
Verizon, Penske announce multi-year extension of partnership
Listen to this article The #12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet was driven to championship glory by Power last year, the second time that he, Penske and Verizon have won the title together. The Verizon colors first adorned Power’s car in 2009 as he competed in select IndyCar races during his first season with Team Penske. The technology, communications, information and entertainment company then came onboard fulltime as Penske took on Power for the full 2010 season, and has remained the primary sponsor of Power throughout his 15-year career with the squad. “Verizon has been a great partner of Team Penske since our first season together in 2009,” said team owner Roger Penske. “With their commitment to cutting-edge technology and performance, Verizon has been an integral part of our success in IndyCar competition and the company continues to deliver for our team and for the IndyCar Series. We are excited to build on our success together for the future.” 37 of Power’s 41 IndyCar wins … [Read more...] about Verizon, Penske announce multi-year extension of partnership