Donna Freitas: June 2007 Archives

"Evan Almighty" is good, clean family fun. And I know this because the 4-to-7 year olds sitting around me kept up a giddy, running commentary about everything on screen: "Look Mommy, sheep!" "Look Mommy, his beard won't stop growing," they'd say, squealing with glee. "Look Mommy, the lamas spit!" Funny! Yeah.

Do you get the picture? Because this movie is not quite what I expected. After seeing Steve Carell in "Anchorman," "The 40 Year-Old Virgin," and of course, his two-minute cameo appearance in "Bruce Almighty," where Carell steals the show as Evan and proves that he has the physical comedy chops the likes of Jim Carrey, I would pretty much pay to watch this man just make faces on the screen.

At least, I thought I would. Until I saw "Evan Almighty" that is.

Summer Solstice--one of the most important pagan holidays that celebrates the longest day of the year--is today, June 21st.

Maureen Sullivan of MSN "set out to find the more popular--and more unusual--solstice-centered events around the country. ... Some are spiritual in nature; others just use the solstice as an excuse to have a good time."

Sullivan came up with quite the array of options, which include, among other possibilities, biking-in-the-buff! (I will not be participating in that event, that's for sure.) Check them out here and make your plans.

I love all things superhero. But I have to be honest and say that while I enjoyed the first installment of the "The Fantastic Four" on the big screen, there's simply no comparison between this film franchise and the likes of X-Men or Spider-Man. The second installment, "The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," in theaters this past weekend, didn't do anything to elevate the fabulous foursome to a new, higher level of action-packed drama. In fact, if anything, this 90-minute film marks a sharp decline in the plot and chemistry between Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny.

The movie's two fatal flaws: long lulls between action scenes (isn't that why we go to superhero movies?) and terrible onscreen chemistry between Reed (Ioan Gruffud) and Sue (Jessica Alba), around whose wedding the entire plot revolves. Alba seems better cast against the actor who plays her brother Johnny--Chris Evans--since Gruffud looks a bit closer to a father figure than a sexy spouse.

That said, the movie is a veritable treasure chest of religious allusions.

Sunday night marked the premiere of season four for "The 4400" on USA--a show about 4,400 indivuduals who disappeared during different points of the 20th century and then mysteriously reappeared--all together, all at once--one day on a beach with no memory and without having aged a day. And they have special abilities! (My favorite thing in a television show.)

If last night's episode was any indication, this season "The 4400" will focus even more heavily on religion, the next messiah, the end of the world, saving the world, and all that good stuff we love.

At the end of season three, Jordan Collier--a rich businessman, one of the 4400, and originally their leader until he was assassinated at the end of season two--mysteriously came back from the dead. And that's not all. He returned looking like your stereotypical Jesus (long flowing hair, beard, sandals) and a Jesus attitude to match: People believed he was the messiah and Collier preached to anyone who'd listen that it was his destiny to literally save the entire world.

Sajani Shakya, a beautiful 10-year-old girl from Nepal, is currently enjoying her first trip to Washington, D.C. According to New York Times reporter Neela Banerjee, Sajani hopes to, among other things, go to the zoo and ride a roller coaster while she's here--activities just about any 10-year-old would enjoy.

But Sajani is anything but a typical little girl.

Not only does Sajani not get into any trouble (which in itself is unusual), but "her family worships her," and if she is in a bad mood, it “becomes a major drama because it’s considered bad luck,” said Ishbel Whitaker, director of the documentary, “Living Goddess,” which revolves mostly around Sajani. That's right: "In Nepal, Sajani is a living goddess, one of about a dozen such goddesses in her homeland who are considered earthly manifestations of the Hindu goddess Kali."

Not bad for a ten-year-old. And apparently, Whitaker explains, there is one day in Nepal every year when all girls "are worshipped as goddesses." Sounds like a holiday we should enact here.

To learn more about Sajani and her visit to the United States (which includes a trip to the White House), check out Banerjee's full article, "

The only reason why I recently tuned in to ABC Family's summer series "Kyle XY" is because of the heavy promos they've given the show recently (apparently they worked). While I am not seduced by the fact that Kyle "has...

Last night "Traveler"--in its third episode--maintained the breakneck pace of its two-hour premier. Between the nonstop action and music to set the we're-not-going-to-let-you-even-breath mood, "Traveler" is proving itself as the new "24". Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog are desperate, on...

When the credits rolled for "Gracie" I couldn't leave. I wanted to see every last second of this extraordinary film, which opened last week, about a fifteen-year-old girl, Gracie, who works through the loss of a favorite older brother by...

I'm sick and tired of committing to shows, watching faithfully every week, and then seeing them cancelled without any resolution of the story lines. Last year it was the abrupt cancellation of "Invasion" after what I thought was a pretty...