tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83204456626822213602024-03-05T06:33:48.501-08:00The Good IndoorsmanLife in the Living Room - J.L.G.JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-1498555011005119532011-05-16T18:12:00.000-07:002011-08-11T17:33:02.773-07:00Marwencol<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJZizLySyDJEhtafJnZzeICqbzPL6DSkMFNO0wA9d4fiVdwrE1hyphenhyphenG9z3DkEkb6c9lQyTSGtSNZoIfLu5ycx1faEJgogtIoHvrpI11q_5amrj1l6Uhm7IU0RDtMFtVs7tWxzmOd9JGqc8/s1600/Marwencol.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 216px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607496809570668194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJZizLySyDJEhtafJnZzeICqbzPL6DSkMFNO0wA9d4fiVdwrE1hyphenhyphenG9z3DkEkb6c9lQyTSGtSNZoIfLu5ycx1faEJgogtIoHvrpI11q_5amrj1l6Uhm7IU0RDtMFtVs7tWxzmOd9JGqc8/s320/Marwencol.png" /></a>The most inspiring, touching, and relevant art in the world isn't created by artists. Mark Hogancamp has created an entire world in his backyard and because he took pictures, he's considered an artist. He didn't set out to create art in the way someone sits down at a canvas and asks, what should I paint today? Mark simply wanted to escape the pains of the real world. <em>Marwencol</em> is his story.<br /><br />A decade ago, Mark was savagely beaten by five men outside a bar. He was left brain damaged and lost most of his memories. Unable to afford any kind of therapy, Mark begins constructing a model of a fictional World War II era town; Marwencol. He populates the town with G.I. Joes and Barbies. At first, the construction of this town and its inhabitants enable Mark to practice his fine motor skills. Eventually, Mark gives personalities to each doll, based on people he knows in his personal life. There is even a Mark doll, the alpha male of Marwencol. Through this doll, Mark is able to live his life.<br /><br />Mark, in real life is divorced, but he doesn't remember why. He only knows that he loves women. In Marwencol the women, an assortment of different Barbie dolls, love him back. There are several times when the Mark doll runs into serious trouble. He is often tortured at the hands of Nazi toys. These conflicts represent the barrage of demons Mark has locked inside his subconscious. It is often the women toys, including a witch with magical powers, that come to his rescue. This means more than I'm willing to give away.<br /><br />As the line between Mark's Marwencol and his real life starts to disappear, the pictures he has taken are discovered. He is asked to show them in a gallery. Mark must choose whether or not to venture out of his world. It is amazing to see how this climax in Mark's life translates to the storyline taking place in Mark's backyard.<br /><br /><em>Marwencol</em> is a fascinating look at a real man living in an artificial world. The story is sad at times, but Mark has small victories every day; a true testament to art therapy. The interviews with Mark and his neighbors paint a picture just as detailed as the buildings and characters Mark has built. Jeff Malmberg, the filmaker, presents Mark in such a matter of fact way you can't help but love him. He treats the town of Marwencol as if it were just another one of the shooting locations. Thanks to Malmberg we enter Marwencol just as Mark does on a daily basis.<br /><br />Everything is brought together at the end in a beautiful metaphysical kind of way. Charlie Kaufman would have a run for his money had this been a fictional story. The fact that it's all real makes <em>Marwencol</em> even more special.<br /><br />This film gets 4 stickers from me. Really big stickers... (All images are property of Mark Hogancamp.)<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdX29szFtN4pMh855iLSIQKPBYTW4Zi7D4E9TIm1hn8Uo4lTXvZ_6nwl4aZBO6r2CDoXvWpy9yGFN13A7d_9whDjKIS8-RxFzkM-FgsdSArCzQpyw_r-_RkUAb4L635CksAdm_XANPJdE/s1600/4.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 177px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607495066267005122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdX29szFtN4pMh855iLSIQKPBYTW4Zi7D4E9TIm1hn8Uo4lTXvZ_6nwl4aZBO6r2CDoXvWpy9yGFN13A7d_9whDjKIS8-RxFzkM-FgsdSArCzQpyw_r-_RkUAb4L635CksAdm_XANPJdE/s320/4.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXY_Xu5aZ9T9-0Sm_WTZeSJrMH-om_d4zVSgDCfz3O3zPXPCS-khhGU2y-C7RPo6xnObZsLi6vMJZLuRS9h_qAHkdcDNQjWCJSSQ0rWENORg4hZBWylz2PZ5-v27-ZuuJQgw8RJuv8DqE/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607494300558066658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXY_Xu5aZ9T9-0Sm_WTZeSJrMH-om_d4zVSgDCfz3O3zPXPCS-khhGU2y-C7RPo6xnObZsLi6vMJZLuRS9h_qAHkdcDNQjWCJSSQ0rWENORg4hZBWylz2PZ5-v27-ZuuJQgw8RJuv8DqE/s320/1.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiq0bfYieXIJOkD00HcnZzHyCfUsxn6UmIFIdl7ldbw3LvzLnozrtRwX_QrENBbzI6akRLyOnAEtDRAtgTUF2hRKnNmKsAgI74jDxyEYXkSSJqeTAWmmRfDK1KLtb4xJBCPqjBZGOoplM/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 197px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607494876672387890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiq0bfYieXIJOkD00HcnZzHyCfUsxn6UmIFIdl7ldbw3LvzLnozrtRwX_QrENBbzI6akRLyOnAEtDRAtgTUF2hRKnNmKsAgI74jDxyEYXkSSJqeTAWmmRfDK1KLtb4xJBCPqjBZGOoplM/s320/2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RBlDYdfYh6iJFsr-WUA4BrC39xBggIExiqPq0leb_1Ekx0XPvoUImPqqkBZnZa8BA12ZcTApV253WuADSZLhDUz6ENxM6C6n-MDHTazVL4UCHSeMCQEXaxubE-hJo3ThrFvk2rpSYoE/s1600/3.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 217px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607494962554688690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RBlDYdfYh6iJFsr-WUA4BrC39xBggIExiqPq0leb_1Ekx0XPvoUImPqqkBZnZa8BA12ZcTApV253WuADSZLhDUz6ENxM6C6n-MDHTazVL4UCHSeMCQEXaxubE-hJo3ThrFvk2rpSYoE/s320/3.jpg" /></a></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-39084250087677665092011-04-20T19:42:00.001-07:002011-04-20T20:02:42.309-07:00Hoppy Easter!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bRCYYwhe_tSaXB-sVDVR-zALpbqw4Bsjzj1We7gPflMPlNIhL6iJtagKycqH3Pqm6gSp9vtN9ZoF7QE84oothBWciMcgAkfhKiR2pSXE_mVAJQ5RGe2XkHnAQU3dk1JrDRHTilXENpw/s1600/Hop.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597866137478536994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bRCYYwhe_tSaXB-sVDVR-zALpbqw4Bsjzj1We7gPflMPlNIhL6iJtagKycqH3Pqm6gSp9vtN9ZoF7QE84oothBWciMcgAkfhKiR2pSXE_mVAJQ5RGe2XkHnAQU3dk1JrDRHTilXENpw/s400/Hop.jpg" /></a>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-74486793583538608572011-03-17T09:13:00.000-07:002011-03-17T10:05:23.104-07:00Terrifying Family Films - Darby O'Gill and the Little People<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIZVt2qdkbr8-z6O4tm4l3ck1E2c5ChG-eDKnQ_4EoExkQW2F3arjO9DYM2ARt43D9NBoVZTGSaVTqusg_uoO9JH2v7AEI96vj3X3N1Q69X97znfwh948LUFP6O8vf4kxMVUEf9CTsz4/s1600/darby.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585094559381912674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIZVt2qdkbr8-z6O4tm4l3ck1E2c5ChG-eDKnQ_4EoExkQW2F3arjO9DYM2ARt43D9NBoVZTGSaVTqusg_uoO9JH2v7AEI96vj3X3N1Q69X97znfwh948LUFP6O8vf4kxMVUEf9CTsz4/s400/darby.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Happy St. Patrick’s Day! What a perfect day to share one of my favorite childhood movies; a film that also scared the shamrocks out of me. <em>Darby O’Gill and the Little People</em> is a classic Disney film, known for its innovative special effects. I don’t quite remember what the movie is all about; just that an old man catches the king of leprechauns. I also vaguely remember Sean Connery singing. I think my mom rewound the tape to watch this scene a few times.<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eTwmjOySDjA?fs=" width="560" height="349" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" hl="en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed><br /><br />Nice right? That song will be in your head all day. What I remember most, though, is the wailing banshee and the Grim Reaper’s death wagon. What kind of F-ed up Disney movie has a Grim Reaper? Just looking for media gave me the creeps.<br /><br />I couldn’t find an actual clip of the death wagon flying in, or its headless driver, but here’s some of the freakiest Darby O’Gill scenes set to some pleasant celtic music. The banshee looks like a dementor on acid.<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2G2dEPwRVXw?fs=" width="480" height="390" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" hl="en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed><br /><br />Way to give me nightmares Disney. No wonder I feel the need to drink beer on St. Patrick's Day.</div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-42945688188712282252011-03-10T16:46:00.000-08:002011-03-10T17:11:47.965-08:00I'm Still Here<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikT1359lcs1WoQrqcaU9ksWGY0Hw_MlUNfScVfU2uYDOKE2hAVD-5rRQGjEfUHcA4SbxtCFq8jAuT_8aG22i9rZc3fflF0eMBHUxYHOlMBWvlgRMs6mLiRV5dKVFSIAywRvjb7Jnxp1Uk/s1600/Imstillhere.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582619631636142962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 351px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikT1359lcs1WoQrqcaU9ksWGY0Hw_MlUNfScVfU2uYDOKE2hAVD-5rRQGjEfUHcA4SbxtCFq8jAuT_8aG22i9rZc3fflF0eMBHUxYHOlMBWvlgRMs6mLiRV5dKVFSIAywRvjb7Jnxp1Uk/s400/Imstillhere.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div>Wascally wascals Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck have played a joke on America. Only the joke isn’t funny and short of some publicity on Letterman and Access Hollywood, did anyone really care?<br /><br />I’m Still Here is a mockumentary filmed by Affleck and Phoenix. According to the film, Phoenix decides to retire from acting and break into the rap game. On the road to rap stardom he completely falls apart; his breakdown accompanied by drugs and prostitutes. Surprise! It’s fake. Hilarious, right? Not really. The concept is clever; I’ll give them that. The resulting film is just hard to watch. It’s slow-moving, hard to follow, and at times, really gross. This movie reminded me a lot of Pauly Shore is Dead. Interesting concept, but in the end, nobody wants to watch.<br /><br />Some critics believed the hype; this was the real Phoenix having a breakdown. Even one critic, whom I hold in high regard, seemed to believe it. In his review he says the film is pointless; watching Phoenix spiral out of control is pathetic. I agree that it is pointless, but that’s how you know it’s fake. Who would make a movie showing their buddy falling apart and doing drugs? It would be pointless and cruel. Also, wouldn’t there be legal ramifications if Phoenix really took that many drugs on screen? Phoenix does an insane amount of drugs on screen. What celebrity would really do that unless they were on Dr. Drew? Affleck is married to Joaquin’s sister, Summer. What decent human being would film their brother-in-law in such conditions, knowing that the family would see? What would be the point? This film only makes sense as a hoax; it only works as a celebrity spoof. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me.<br /><br />There are moments where it seemed as though 12 year old boys got hold of the camera. It bounces around the room, in and out of focus, while the little boys giggle. You can’t even tell what the actors are saying half the time. And let me tell you, there are just way too many poop, vomit, and full frontal shots for my taste.<br /><br />The one outstanding scene, which required some terrific acting on Phoenix’s part, is when he appears on Letterman to promote his new rap gig. Unfortunately, everyone already saw this part. I would have really liked to see the green room footage, or maybe something backstage with Letterman. They could have staged a fight or something; just something additional to what everyone saw already.<br /><br />It takes a lot of talent to play yourself, and it takes a lot of guts to portray yourself in a negative way. So I admire Phoenix for that. I admire both Phoenix and Affleck for trying something different. The concept is a pretty good one, but I think it takes a dark turn. I would have enjoyed a movie about Phoenix becoming a rapper. That has comedy written all over it. Film the crowd reacting to the outfits and hilariously bad raps; leave the nudity and drugs out of it. The secret to a good lie is to not overdo it.</div><div></div><br /><div>2 weird beards</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoHR2Lq6YchZ4lmvIgrLYZgDOOfmFHhQhtFld7dk4xto_qn92mrTE5BqRZSvHBSmhLovFw8dL6s1t7FtKtg86HKHf6A66PFPngab3Yngpoo07qCSQBuMdH_8Citil7G9htBm9gfzvGYo/s1600/beards.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582617429309684850" style="WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 103px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoHR2Lq6YchZ4lmvIgrLYZgDOOfmFHhQhtFld7dk4xto_qn92mrTE5BqRZSvHBSmhLovFw8dL6s1t7FtKtg86HKHf6A66PFPngab3Yngpoo07qCSQBuMdH_8Citil7G9htBm9gfzvGYo/s400/beards.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-8883822024791227292011-03-07T18:25:00.000-08:002011-03-10T17:11:47.965-08:00Rango<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UDUJ4sWYlgiZAx9Hwpyh1e0MhtVLbQFAQblmq_-kyashpnL58urJvQG04eN5is8qTUkzb-V6IVjO3GYoma89VchPWLXvupxFvK46o4EUx8SHmy5kzYqTwxd856YZ8ybhhH38R7EGpN0/s1600/Rango.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581529844276424978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 259px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UDUJ4sWYlgiZAx9Hwpyh1e0MhtVLbQFAQblmq_-kyashpnL58urJvQG04eN5is8qTUkzb-V6IVjO3GYoma89VchPWLXvupxFvK46o4EUx8SHmy5kzYqTwxd856YZ8ybhhH38R7EGpN0/s400/Rango.bmp" border="0" /></a>Don’t let the big orange Nickelodeon logo fool you. Rango is a cartoon about little animals but it's not a cartoon for kids; at least not little ones. Cartoons seem to be getting very serious lately. Toy Story 3 definitely had its share of adult themes. Rango does too, but even more so. It’s also violent, dark, scary, and really noisy. I saw more than a few kids covering their ears. Not to mention, some of the cuddly little animals drink and smoke and curse. I loved it, but I’m not little. That reminds me, I need to get back to the gym.<br /><br />Rango is somebody’s pet chameleon. He’s a privileged, self-proclaimed thespian, but he longs for something more. After a fateful accident, Rango finds himself in an old west town with some rather disgusting, but intricately rendered animals. Rango must prove himself to the town and answer life’s biggest question, “Who am I?”<br /><br />The story is a pretty good one. It’s well-written and funny, but it’s also full of pretty standard old west archetypes. This movie is a clear descendent of Blazing Saddles and The Andy Griffith show. Rango, and more than a few of his quirks, is homage to Barney Fife. Another interesting comparison I couldn’t help but draw was to the movie Chinatown. Rango’s new home, aptly named Dirt, is suffering through a drought. Rango must figure out who or what is to blame.<br /><br />What’s most amazing about this movie is the character design. The creatures of Dirt look like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They are so ugly, but you know, in a cute way. They are pretty gross sometimes but so detailed they’re almost beautiful. Although, the guy with the arrow in his eye was pretty gnarly. These are exactly the kind of rodents you’d assume you may find in a town called Dirt.<br /><br />As much as I loved this movie I just can’t recommend it for families. The reactions from some of the little kids I saw were pretty telling. There are plenty of hilarious sight gags and slapstick jokes that got the little ones laughing. But there are lots of adult jokes and some inappropriate behavior. One has to take into account though that Dirt is an authentic old west town. Characters drink and smoke cigars. Characters point guns and characters get shot. There are a couple scenes that I believe would be absolutely traumatic for a kid. One of the main villains is a giant rattlesnake. I thought the snake from The Jungle Book was freaky, but this guy puts him to shame. He’s a pretty scary dude, and his “rattle” is actually a revolver-like cannon. Another scary scene, one I absolutely loved for its creativity, was when a posse of bat-riding rodents chase Rango and his gang. I mean… what’s more terrifying than bats? Well, rodents riding bats and shooting guns.<br /><br />The great references and metaphors would also be lost on kids. There are so many cool themes and nods to spaghetti westerns to appreciate. And because Johnny Depp is the star, there’s even a hidden Hunter S. Thompson caricature. Look for it. Unless your kids know who Hunter S. Thompson is, this movie isn’t really for them.<br /><br />4.5 filthy animals</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzNrZ9wJCpUUdGQ-7lrSU4uwt3moDKYATjPwRVG3J6cG2zSSyzxrNJg-XiGMuNmFIWxLhhevg0-OUXQiGO-FAQnZfMUxw8ZVCKGyLT-xcWQ0uMAgfieoGvvqthJb_dyJnkNdUuMffgbE/s1600/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581538195014633010" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 110px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzNrZ9wJCpUUdGQ-7lrSU4uwt3moDKYATjPwRVG3J6cG2zSSyzxrNJg-XiGMuNmFIWxLhhevg0-OUXQiGO-FAQnZfMUxw8ZVCKGyLT-xcWQ0uMAgfieoGvvqthJb_dyJnkNdUuMffgbE/s400/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-53142080071833216982011-02-22T09:20:00.000-08:002011-03-10T17:10:30.221-08:00Terrible Movie Night!I had to pass this on. This brilliant website was created just about a week ago and I can't believe I didn't think of it first. Here's how it works: Terrible Movie Night schedules a showing of a classically bad movie. You go on to Netflix instant stream and start the movie when scheduled. Then you log on to the website and basically tear it apart with other viewers. What a perfect way to showcase your genius wit with people you don't know!<br /><br />I'm going to try it out tonight with the film, Transatlantic Tunnel. However, I'm most excited about the double feature this Saturday - two Troma flicks: The Toxic Avenger and Redneck Zombies. I'm not a huge fan of Toxie, but I used to watch Redneck Zombies constantly. Only problem was, no one would watch with me. Now, thanks to Terrible Movie Night, I will have virtual friends to bash it with!!<br /><br />Check out the website for more details and showings:<br /><a href="http://www.terriblemovienight.com/">Terrible Movie Night</a><br /><br />Thanks to Thrillist Chicago for spreading the word, and to my sister for reading Thrillist Chicago.JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-84565265639780641722011-01-05T19:31:00.000-08:002011-03-10T17:11:34.081-08:00Something's happening!The news has been filled with accounts of strange nature phenomenons lately. Birds dying, fish dying, bees disappearing. Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! But don't worry, I know what it is. <div><br /><div>Relax, it's just some viral marketing for The Happening 2.<br /><br></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 294px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558912386915466706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0q9X_hdKlaGCu3W-heMZXCPu6XDluVyD4wVKChegWbXLyMMuln3pZv3vsvpVVJFyYTNfSbbraZDF5U9iOqIuTO48VP4AUaP-ZEyuAcV47gaZ2TwJbI_xaKMFZfVTzyZ0B1F479to3MA/s400/dvd.bmp" /></div></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-87128547976812404972010-12-23T15:11:00.000-08:002010-12-23T16:52:26.462-08:00Terrifying Family Films - A Christmas StoryIn the spirit of the holidays, I thought I’d discuss my favorite Christmas movie ever: <em>A Christmas Story</em>. When I started outlining this piece, I realized something. This movie, while it’s amazing and hilarious, is kind of scary. I’ve unintentionally dug up some repressed feelings and am therefore dusting off a series I call <a href="http://thegoodindoorsman.blogspot.com/search/label/Terrifying%20Family%20Films">Terrifying Family Films</a>. Here are the top five <em>real</em> reasons your kids will be up all night Christmas Eve.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554022771423341746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOrQVLJJbFlwiyse0BHvKsDBoZ5pFTqtejAVGm9uJHWtnHdRFoiipQ2coNpaonEGPi6T17R6VkAT4L4NqZJXuWOZ-lxP4gqbgCBhMW1cXt_uVIUvIO2gybm7nYLC-ZCu30zerepK4bQT8/s320/a-christmas-story.jpg" border="0" /><br />1.) I think we can all agree that the pivotal moment when Ralphie tells Santa his wish, and is subsequently pushed down the slide, is pretty freaky. The elves are mean and Santa looks like the devil. The thing that really gave me nightmares was that slide. I don’t know why; maybe because it was bright red or because it was monstrously huge and out of place. I had night terrors as a kid and the majority of them were about plummeting to my death on a long slide like that. Usually there was no end to the slide, but every so often I fell into the Sarlac pit from Return of the Jedi.<br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554023319660134530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbazdQz8PO-gnUnsIBuMANnJFsGH-l0vsb-fws0u4JrFdWgthzPnhaaWtoGiyTd4hQeouCmCtF3mYKYP98yWMiEREKqUsJoEHlVYiXU4E-stNa8MQFBuhyFpzTMWQpdtdnGFA1WBhjNc/s320/witch.jpg" border="0" /><br />2.) At one point in the film, Ralphie’s teacher Miss Shields and his mom are dressed as a witch and a harlequin and proceed to make fun of him. I hated this scene. If you can’t trust your mom or your teacher, who can you trust?</p><p><br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554023451962207426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19mDX-UlNAalTn8vGeYzT5bIuWqA7pHqlPFvYkMmF2x8n1Ey8Bwmc_dS6_rGujD_dSgqUrTVIFnWb6SqiSYXwpNfokL5JHEtODcxrD3hvy598gIzfhnUwXhLnZkGRH_eX46PPmgo8H0I/s320/scut.jpg" border="0" /><br />3.) If you can watch <em>A Christmas Story</em> without feeling a little anxiety when Scut Farkus comes around, you probably are Scut Farkus. If so, stay far away from me because you are absolutely grotesque. The braces, freckles, and yellow eyes - yikes! And you’re so mean. Making kids cry, shame on you. As horrible as you are, Ralphie’s final battle with you is glorious.<br /><br />4.) Some of you may not recall this absolutely terrifying scene, however, I can quote every line. After Ralphie say’s “Fudge” (And by the way, did any kid understand this joke? I did not. For many years I thought Fudge was a swear word.) Anyway, his mother puts soap in his mouth and then asks where he heard the particular word. Ralphie totally narks on his buddy Schwartz. Mrs. Parker calls Schwartz’s mom. Mrs. Schwartz freaks the fudge out, and we listen as she beats him. "Ahhh what'd I do mom!? What'd I do!?"<br /><br />5.) Finally, and the most horrible of all, the tongue on the frosty pole scene. The lead up to this scene is tense, but it’s not scary. The triple-dog-dare is mean, but not scary. The fact that all Flick’s friends leave him stuck to the pole and not inform anyone of his predicament is sick, but not scary. The scary part, the scariest part of the whole movie, is when they bring Flick back inside and he’s got gauze on his tongue. However, as a kid, I was convinced that the firemen had ripped off half his tongue, and the white stuff was the inside of his tongue. What a great Christmas movie mom and dad! </p><p>All kidding aside, I love this movie. <em>A Christmas Story</em> is one of America’s most cherished films and I watch it all day on Christmas just like the rest of you. The bunny pajamas, Randy in his huge coat, the crummy commercial for Ovaltine, and of course the leg lamp are all iconic film moments all surprisingly found in the same movie. How can one movie have so many great scenes? I think we've all seen this movie so many times we forget how truly great it is. I wish I could go back and watch it for the first time all over again.</p>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-48107508778843810872010-12-20T16:18:00.000-08:002010-12-21T06:40:58.791-08:00Tron: Legacy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Z4dkgCIb2PfF2C96qW76ElCuvDe-qBeIzYzhcRpMwRP-bufTDFj435SjDs6fulxmOob3b8RFZmS0-SJoqhmGlZiS-fAxQ42vEb3wEG0MP5S6_HWmjwdhW6LcSPnMeqKkTWDyh1-_fEk/s1600/tron.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552927125850679378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 217px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Z4dkgCIb2PfF2C96qW76ElCuvDe-qBeIzYzhcRpMwRP-bufTDFj435SjDs6fulxmOob3b8RFZmS0-SJoqhmGlZiS-fAxQ42vEb3wEG0MP5S6_HWmjwdhW6LcSPnMeqKkTWDyh1-_fEk/s320/tron.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>What was the most common thing heard at the movie theater this weekend? “One ticket for Tron, please.” <em>Tron: Legacy</em> is a movie with a very specific audience and though it’s very good, I’m not sure it will achieve the box office numbers Disney was hoping for. It opened at number one, but I don’t think it will last. I could be wrong here, but <em>Tron: Legacy</em> might only appeal to men my age. We remember the original <em>Tron</em> from when we were kids and want to relive it the same way we lined up for <em>The Phantom Menace</em>. I’m pretty sure the dinner-and-movie date demographic skipped this one. That's unfortunate.<br /><br /><em>Tron: Legacy</em> is definitely worth seeing in theaters, even if you <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">aren</span>’t familiar with the original. I passed on the 3D as I usually do for review purposes. (I’m always afraid I’m going to miss something important when I’m trying to grab the 3D effects.) The visuals were still impressive and nice to look at. However, it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">didn</span>’t really look all that much like <em>Tron</em>. That’s due in part to the plot which is set up something like this:<br /><br />Kevin Flynn, the man behind the Tron game has been living inside the grid for 20 something years. His son Sam receives a message from the grid so Sam goes to find him. The grid has changed a lot because Kevin, along with his “program” <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Clu</span>, have been making nice alterations. So the flat geometric shapes and monotone color scheme have been updated, which is a clever tie in to modern day computer graphic capabilities. And speaking of modern day capabilities, the animators actually make Jeff Bridges look 20 years younger as he did in the first movie. Pretty snazzy. Everything looks amazing, but it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">doesn</span>’t really feel like a video game anymore. I suppose video games really don’t look like video games anymore either.<br /><br /><em>Tron: Legacy</em> is also an interesting story, and it held my attention. There’s a new twist to the grid which I found intriguing. The whole idea behind this new character <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Quorra</span>, played by Olivia Wilde, is clever and thought-provoking. Plus she’s really hot. There are some pretty decent action sequences as well, all using the classic Tron games. Light Cycles, which have been updated, are totally awesome.<br /><br />The film is very entertaining but you walk away with some questions that can’t really be answered because in no way is this story possible. So you have to suspend your disbelief a great deal and ignore any holes. However, I still have questions. For example, how does one manage to find food and eat it in the grid? Is the roasted pig on the dinner table just a program? If so, does that make it vegetarian?<br /><br /><em>Tron: Legacy</em> is a great tribute to the original. It’s fun if you don’t think too much about the science behind everything. You also have to appreciate that everything has been upgraded. The suits, the vehicles, and the city itself have all been improved and rendered intricately. The futuristic theme music from the original has also been upgraded… by Daft Punk. So if you’re expecting the <em>Tron</em> you remember, go watch that. This <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">isn</span>’t it. This is better! So see it, and bring a friend!<br /><br />4 arcade classics</div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OYOBcGDRPGMDShGPXPN9H70HNrF-rBham4S12dKmEPGrVtMchxmkGN61NDfakPhS0bkVUwjhOQaq-v84XlPk4a6OtGIow1IS0P62XZeictRBZ5t3excRUL_UPLZaqXLaFNoCRhyHodo/s1600/arcade.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552926564873635922" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 123px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OYOBcGDRPGMDShGPXPN9H70HNrF-rBham4S12dKmEPGrVtMchxmkGN61NDfakPhS0bkVUwjhOQaq-v84XlPk4a6OtGIow1IS0P62XZeictRBZ5t3excRUL_UPLZaqXLaFNoCRhyHodo/s320/arcade.bmp" border="0" /></a></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-75102307202967743242010-11-30T18:17:00.000-08:002010-11-30T19:51:46.476-08:00Let the Right One In<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-1jiMd8XG6ZYkLPBe4BXxqJyw2YiCaoThz2rk1cg_wt4E2rGbaaKEBSN0l3UDt5xBr41E99q6Yd0tzfBMCMsfJx3luf29RRLAA9Uw3zULITnVnBtdUBnfta_jcAFl5KjShsNPZGA-rQ/s1600/right.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545541395783659170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 312px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-1jiMd8XG6ZYkLPBe4BXxqJyw2YiCaoThz2rk1cg_wt4E2rGbaaKEBSN0l3UDt5xBr41E99q6Yd0tzfBMCMsfJx3luf29RRLAA9Uw3zULITnVnBtdUBnfta_jcAFl5KjShsNPZGA-rQ/s400/right.bmp" border="0" /></a>So I’m pretty tired of the vampire thing and although I enjoy <em>The Walking Dead</em> on AMC, I’m pretty tired of zombies as well. Isn’t there some other monster we can exploit? There has to be something. Bigfoots maybe? I’d love to see a tween romance with glittery bigfoots.<br /><br /><em>Let the Right One In</em> is another vampire movie. But, this one is different. It’s not really a vampire movie at all. In fact, it’s quite lovely. I have no doubts that <em>Let Me In</em>, the Hollywood remake released last month, will be scary and totally miss what makes the original so great. I need to see the new one before I make rash judgments of course, but I have a pretty good hunch. <em>Let the Right One In</em> isn’t meant to scare. There are a few spooky scenes and a little blood, but this story is really about friendship. It’s like <em>My Girl</em> meets <em>Nosferatu</em>.<br /><br />This film was made in Stockholm and it’s entirely in Swedish. Oskar is a boy with an unfortunate haircut and no friends except his mom. He keeps to himself and is frequently picked on by a kid named Conny. He meets a girl named Eli and they form a nice little friendship over a Rubik’s Cube. And so you know, Rubik’s Cube is the same in Swedish.<br /><br />Eli is a fascinating and complex character. You know from the beginning that she’s different. Although she is 12, she admits to having been 12 for a long time and you can actually see it in her face. I’m not sure if it’s done with makeup or if it’s the actress, but she looks very mature. Interestingly, when she meets Eli she begins to act childish and not sure of herself. Oskar tells her that she smells. Hilarious. But then she worries about smelling nice for him. Oskar tells her that she’s ice cold and Eli wonders if that makes her gross. The complexity of her character is amazing. Young Oskar is interesting as well, but Eli steals the show.<br /><br />Considering this is a vampire movie, there is some violence. The film doesn’t shy away from the notion that vampires eat people; it’s a fact. There are no vegetarian vampires. To me, the scenes are more beautiful than gory. You might think the part where Eli bleeds profusely is disgusting, but in the context of the scene, it’s a beautiful moment. The attack scenes, which in other films might be brutal in order to scare the audience, are more subtle in <em>Let the Right One In</em>.<br /><br />Furthermore, the story remains true to classic vampire mythology. I definitely appreciate this. There’s nothing wrong with keeping it old school. If you’re a vampire, sunlight will kill you. It’s that simple.<br /><br /><em>Let the Right One In</em> is a wonderful little film. It's a refreshing story; heartwarming when Oskar and Eli are together and thought provoking as their relationship develops. You definitely question the lengths you go to for the ones you love. It's also nice to look at. The winter in Sweden is just beautiful, even if there's a little blood in the snow.<br /><br />3.5 nice vampires<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmtl7ihLuCODFiB_zfhHA8LOPr9_FgqOygbINaxttHuwDg-P0rVMQIK9xa6XnthS1mc9-YjFz1ujKnXYSRJzIPAArUIsGkFqPc4PgGsQfLixgfVV2caGdJ2QQwGjgDNDX5eXczq2h_Gs/s1600/vamp.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545551238355973010" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 102px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmtl7ihLuCODFiB_zfhHA8LOPr9_FgqOygbINaxttHuwDg-P0rVMQIK9xa6XnthS1mc9-YjFz1ujKnXYSRJzIPAArUIsGkFqPc4PgGsQfLixgfVV2caGdJ2QQwGjgDNDX5eXczq2h_Gs/s320/vamp.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545542210995185586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 230px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl57uWnTLG6Cuq5195BfQuVrFYa9Wsmjbp794GZ_Rj_aWje3dtquIRkW7RNl2uh88EaDOTB1lRP07Pctyi6THqFtY-wtVEtWKoCHhBOQKYT4YQbL-fYgfo3VOn2bPOrJ8rl7Fdlbi78i8/s320/girl.bmp" border="0" />JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-24866210099004310332010-11-10T09:29:00.000-08:002010-11-10T09:57:03.458-08:00Nightmares in Red, White and Blue<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReovWuKOl_5VnqI3IqW0vATsV-bwfre76757tz48s1rWHpqG8BCuZVSdAnsJUJbMEYfNDnO47y8ILyIaPBDxq0vJpFj0ZfaAbNIaIdk6sIwhtb0VZjvHoL7YCeu-EyuPZ6E4uJddGW5c/s1600/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537977184123216418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 313px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReovWuKOl_5VnqI3IqW0vATsV-bwfre76757tz48s1rWHpqG8BCuZVSdAnsJUJbMEYfNDnO47y8ILyIaPBDxq0vJpFj0ZfaAbNIaIdk6sIwhtb0VZjvHoL7YCeu-EyuPZ6E4uJddGW5c/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This really isn’t a review - more like a recommendation to horror movie fans. I'm not saying I’m not a horror movie buff, myself. I just don’t like the gooey kind they make these days. I watch scary movies, especially around Halloween, but they’re usually cheesy and dumb. <em>Evil Dead</em> and Freddy Krueger are my favorites. Also, I believe that if a director is talented, he can scare an audience without too much violence. <em>The Shining </em>is a perfect example of that. Movies today have become torture porn and I generally avoid them. I like being scared, not being ill. </div><br /><div><em>Nightmares in Red, White and Blue</em> is a documentary that covers the whole spectrum of the genre, from early monster movies to the ultra-gore we have today. It's a pretty simple film in its composition, but it's quite interesting. It's packed with great interviews and facts I didn't know, which surprised me, since I know everything!</div><div></div><br /><div>The narration is done by some of horror’s greatest directors, including George Romero and John Carpenter. Wes Craven is missing, but I saw enough of him on my Freddy box set. The directors provide great insight to the themes present in these movies and go way beyond the virginal final girl cliché.</div><div><br />This documentary is also entirely focused on American culture. They compare the themes of each film to what was going on in America at that time. So it’s a great film for history buffs as well. It’s fascinating to see how much war, depression, and the economy play a role in these films. If Americans were scared of something, you can bet Hollywood capitalized. They discuss the effects of international horror on Hollywood, as well, but briefly. This movie is really about America.</div><div><br />So, it’s kind of hard to review a movie about movies but I definitely recommend it. Whether you’re a fan of those old Universal monsters, or if you crave blood and eyeball poking, you’ll enjoy it. And if you watch scary movies just for the gratuitous nudity like I know most of you do, watch for a great unedited montage taken from easily fifty movies. </div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-56479706683490915022010-10-21T09:50:00.000-07:002010-10-21T12:36:49.802-07:00City Island<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUl5j3mEtJrNUJLBd3NSQXviW5KnvUzn8XROOqhxllG7MUvx3dXG78ZtrZzxsa8APirvm-r65vRMlDz4nDL8ys73Q0OEraX_dePkQJk_3KIagDs-JBNujLxSir-uApQF2qck-RSDfiuQc/s1600/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530578214103712306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUl5j3mEtJrNUJLBd3NSQXviW5KnvUzn8XROOqhxllG7MUvx3dXG78ZtrZzxsa8APirvm-r65vRMlDz4nDL8ys73Q0OEraX_dePkQJk_3KIagDs-JBNujLxSir-uApQF2qck-RSDfiuQc/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a>In the movie <em>A Bronx Tale</em>, Robert DeNiro’s character drives a bus to a place called City Island, a small fishing village in the Bronx (of all places). For some reason that scene always stuck with me – the image of a peaceful island, surrounded by an overcrowded city. So I rented this movie called <em>City Island</em>, not knowing anything about it, only because I liked the concept. And really, I think that’s the best way to go into the movie; not knowing too much. So I won't talk too much summary.<br /><br /><em>City Island</em> is about a family living on, you guessed it, City Island. Andy Garcia, who is just so awesome in this, plays Vince, a father with a secret. Julianna Margulies, plays the mother who also has a secret. The son and daughter also keep secrets from the rest of the family. The son’s secret is just so crazy, I can’t imagine how the writer, Raymond De Felitta, came up with it. They all live under one roof, yet they all live their own private lives, on their own private islands. Neat connection huh? Vince works as a correctional officer at a prison, and when he brings a convict home with him, the secrets start to come out.<br /><br />Andy Garcia is great. Most of the time I think he’s okay. I think his performances are pretty standard; a debonair Italian dude. In <em>City Island</em>, he plays an older, unsure of himself, kind of guy, who longs to be a debonair Italian dude. He even references Pacino, DeNiro and his idol, Marlon Brando. Garcia plays Vince in a humbling yet charming and likeable way. There’s one scene where Vince stares at his own daughter’s chest. It’s a pretty awkward scene, but what makes it even funnier, is that the actress playing his daughter, is actually Garcia’s daughter, Dominik.<br /><br />Emily Mortimer plays Vince’s friend Molly. She doesn’t have a very large part, but she invokes the beauty and quirkiness of Audrey Hepburn in <em>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</em>. She’s graceful and silly and supports Vince during his transition into the man he wants to be. I couldn’t help but like her as well.<br /><br /><em>City Island</em> is a funny movie, but it’s mostly that interesting kind of funny where you say, “Oh that’s funny,” instead of actually laughing. Some of the scenes definitely had me LOL-ing though. It’s a great story, set in a unique locale. The characters are interesting and have some pretty wild secrets. I could definitely see this working on an off-Broadway stage. The ending alone is reminiscent of a Shakespeare.<br /><br />3.5 Italian dudes<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiD5NWqapVn8iW816p0xzFVCWuMdr_CaIxhrQ8f87GKP5sBphF8Z_x8FVNb8lVNpZHLsCZJZ2fNtECfxKiaKHXHovkPFqXi3iPH039tf6Hw8W5_r4ALXXK2b8yRQKnEKET_-b5y9U2hBU/s1600/italians.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530565984619847314" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 102px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiD5NWqapVn8iW816p0xzFVCWuMdr_CaIxhrQ8f87GKP5sBphF8Z_x8FVNb8lVNpZHLsCZJZ2fNtECfxKiaKHXHovkPFqXi3iPH039tf6Hw8W5_r4ALXXK2b8yRQKnEKET_-b5y9U2hBU/s320/italians.bmp" border="0" /></a>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-82035802492922346652010-10-03T10:02:00.000-07:002010-10-21T12:36:45.330-07:00Devil<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwaCgeuGkoX_DPH01YRq0YjxBnGILxV_0seK-4yL4EsfozJDQN3yUo90yGlD1dEW6xYisaPF8vmvb1W7KnV9Cd4msLVtxJi3QqOqC971OzrY-hVRqghxdJ_cqaIJn6lTXlj_cDAEN5l4/s1600/dev.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523874348362076882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwaCgeuGkoX_DPH01YRq0YjxBnGILxV_0seK-4yL4EsfozJDQN3yUo90yGlD1dEW6xYisaPF8vmvb1W7KnV9Cd4msLVtxJi3QqOqC971OzrY-hVRqghxdJ_cqaIJn6lTXlj_cDAEN5l4/s320/dev.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hey.<br /><br />Been a while.<br /><br />You look good.<br /><br />So my friends and I went to see <em>Legend of the Guardians</em>. You know, the owl movie. When we got there, the ticket lady said they weren’t playing it. The Regal website said they were, but they weren’t, and she didn’t know why. She just pointed to the electronic signboard behind her, where the owl movie showimes ended at 3 pm. Can’t argue with that.<br /><br />So we saw <em>Devil</em>.<br /><br />We thought it would be good for a laugh. But actually, <em>Devil</em> is a pretty decent flick. It’s scary as hell. You’ve probably seen enough advertisements to know that this is the movie about the people on the elevator. So I don’t think I need to explain much more than that. It’s about people on an elevator and they may or may not have encountered the devil himself. According to the film’s narrator, a security guard who watches the events unfold, the devil arrives whenever there is a suicide and torments the damned on Earth.<br /><br />When the movie starts, the first thing you see is “The Night Chronicles” followed by a giant number 1. This is the first in a Twilight Zone-like series of supernatural movies under the night chronicles moniker. M. Night Shyamalan has invented each story, the final one apparently based on an Unbreakable sequel, but he isn’t directing. I think he is tired of getting laughed at. <em>Devil</em> is directed by John Erick Dowdle.<br /><br />In my opinion, M. Night should be happy with <em>Devil</em>. Like I said, it’s really scary. <em>Devil</em> is legitimately the scariest movie I’ve seen since <em>The Ring</em>. In a decade of torture porn, this is a refreshing change. There is actually little to no blood or guts. No one has their eyes poked out and no one is surgically attached to someone else’s butt, centipede-style. For the most part, the really gruesome stuff happens when the lights go out. The lights flicker and you know something bad is about to go down. Only hearing the nasty stuff, and not knowing what you’ll see when the lights go back on, is the scariest part. I think that’s more effective than the disgusting garbage all these amateur studios have been filling Blockbuster with.<br /><br />The tension increases with the concept that humans become the villains when we are at our worst. I quote Rodney Dangerfield, “What good is being the best, when it brings out the worst in you?” Okay, that’s a stretch, but I watched <em>Ladybugs</em> this morning. In <em>Devil</em>, the five characters are so stressed they turn on each other, which adds a whole new freaky element. Dowdle’s other movie, <em>Quarantine</em>, was also successful as an experiment in claustrophobia.<br /><br />In classic M. Night style, the actors aren’t the best. I only recognized one of them - he was on The O.C. They do pretty well for the most part, and they are convincing, but there aren’t any stand-out performances. The most annoying thing is when they look into the camera when addressing another character, as if the audience were that character. I get that elevators are small and probably hard to film in. It's just irritating and I might be the only one that noticed it. But now you will, so enjoy.<br /><br />I’m not sure how scary this movie will be on video, unless you have a really big TV with great surround sound. For me, <em>Devil</em> worked as an experience. When the lights go out, the theater is pitch black and you become an elevator rider yourself. You can’t really escape. In your living room, you can keep the lights on. Plus, you can take the stairs. So, if you’re looking for a good Halloween flick and are tired of the <em>Saw</em> movies, go see <em>Devil</em>. And bring a second pair of underpants.<br /><br />3 safer methods of transportation because you will not want to ride an elevator again.</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgryuM4tge2TZg2GnSHSy2o8Bnv2UM1kt-3sIu1Xs0_j0xosW-aDOyZ5d_i5hyguKaBzZXGdrWgWzEfcUsWk2QzbH0GplYa8wJ-GS1HThZzUgAdG2w7-WCGt9vNZw7VMSP30rZnj2gJk/s1600/stairs.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523874568075929058" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgryuM4tge2TZg2GnSHSy2o8Bnv2UM1kt-3sIu1Xs0_j0xosW-aDOyZ5d_i5hyguKaBzZXGdrWgWzEfcUsWk2QzbH0GplYa8wJ-GS1HThZzUgAdG2w7-WCGt9vNZw7VMSP30rZnj2gJk/s320/stairs.bmp" border="0" /></a></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-25383209477764285332010-07-30T09:58:00.000-07:002010-08-02T09:46:27.109-07:00Dinner for Schmucks<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoIlQdOqgFxpqSjeCNO0DbQSL7sR64zkMxnEk5OkOBMJX6O-VHj1vaR_EMztj1O-0yzKomaFovEXloVcGQOGk30N7ZXzvWko74uf-J0U2u0TvaSNe7NWu9Ww7Tz7qR8VoihM3QJi7jDM/s1600/dinner.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499750325780528994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoIlQdOqgFxpqSjeCNO0DbQSL7sR64zkMxnEk5OkOBMJX6O-VHj1vaR_EMztj1O-0yzKomaFovEXloVcGQOGk30N7ZXzvWko74uf-J0U2u0TvaSNe7NWu9Ww7Tz7qR8VoihM3QJi7jDM/s320/dinner.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I didn’t expect a whole lot from Dinner for Schmucks; I assumed it would be kind of dumb actually. But I’m happy to report, the movie is hilarious. I’d say it’s this summer’s Hangover.<br /><br />Paul Rudd plays Tim, an analyst for some kind of financial firm. He’s trying to make his way up the corporate ladder and needs to impress his boss. The boss and his cronies invite him to a special dinner, where each employee must bring an idiot so they can all have a laugh. Tim feels a little weird about that, but he eventually meets Steve Carell’s character, Barry, and decides he’s the perfect idiot.<br /><br />The movie isn’t just about this dinner; that only happens at the end. This is really the story of how Tim meets Barry, and how Barry keeps screwing up Tim’s life. Tim wants to marry his girlfriend, but now that Barry is in the picture, things get pretty messed up.<br /><br />Steve Carell is better than ever in Dinner for Schmucks. He could have easily taken this role too far. I think Carell must have some kind of alarm that goes off when he borders on over-the-top, something that Jim Carrey lacks. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jim Carrey, but he would have ruined this movie. Carell brings a certain amount of pitiful to Barry, and you feel sorry for him. Everything about him is endearing, and that’s all due to Carell’s performance, which is on par with John Candy in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.<br /><br />You can tell when Tim first objects to the dinner for winners, that the movie has a sensitive spot. It definitely does. At first you say, yeah, these guys are total idiots. But then we get to know them and we see that their talents are pretty impressive. The moral of the story is obviously don’t invite people over just to make fun of them. It’s not an extraordinary message, but what I’m saying is, Dinner for Schmucks isn’t all schmuck jokes.<br /><br />Barry’s talent is totally absurd, but only at first. After a while we realize that he’s amazing at what he does. The talent the writer’s created for him is truly an art form in itself, and it works on several levels. I’d really like to meet the prop designer. The other idiots at the dinner are similar. They seem ridiculous, but, in their own right, they’re very talented. The biggest idiot of them all is Kieran, played by Jemaine Clement, and he’s not even invited to the dinner. He’s an artist who’s very involved in his rather perverted craft, and works very closely with Tim’s curator girlfriend. I’ve never really followed the guy, but he’s brilliant here.<br /><br />Dinner for Schmucks is just a really funny movie. The jokes just keep coming and they really aren’t too dirty or juvenile. For me, every joke is cleverly written, and just when you think they’re going too far, you’re hit with a totally different joke. It’s hilarious and I definitely see this as a dvd on regular viewing rotation, just like The Hangover.<br /><br /><br />4 mice<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx_bKhKACd-r6an_2heqWSLtX2kwtzWFDXBxSfGnyeYKeVnKkdgwpxS0sSrFBG4UUz5bLy2UV3VReOMtz2WJquQHMVupsYID4EgrrZrQQZugQN3TcT-sVUT82JMnyeLILFHupW3NYHi0/s1600/mice.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499745428972210818" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 78px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx_bKhKACd-r6an_2heqWSLtX2kwtzWFDXBxSfGnyeYKeVnKkdgwpxS0sSrFBG4UUz5bLy2UV3VReOMtz2WJquQHMVupsYID4EgrrZrQQZugQN3TcT-sVUT82JMnyeLILFHupW3NYHi0/s320/mice.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtORUmfnP_RGw5th47twPZLHnZwhZ-XPFiGqQZyLAktMx014lG1VrPwaFKhJ2ywXoV3ltMXMZnbC0DRvUPL-mk-j9yPo670J_ELK-RMDFlcOIP24D1K11OoCPiIgbEBSyHqGt4SrXTJ8Q/s1600/mice.bmp"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-61496588027411498322010-07-08T13:20:00.000-07:002010-07-09T07:45:08.394-07:00Toy Story 3<div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491647995328681474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 201px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDJ1cqBvANITGqqEUh23yCrL_EmgSDhsA0w2AgMOyuUtZFCjcqlxSUIb_2TK-tIXLVNyti5H57zCZlxN5WS1p0H374KdzH1YRmcSR4K_jDCkk8ynbSc5UG5qVXb7vuYwIeh8YVYTJf0M/s320/3.bmp" border="0" /><div>When I was 15, I went to a computer convention in New Orleans. Aside from a crazy stripper trying to pull me into a Bourbon Street burlesque, the highlight of my trip was a convention booth run by Pixar. Little was known of Pixar at the time, but computer animation was the new thing on the horizon. The Pixar people demonstrated a new animation tool called Renderman, with a little movie they were making. That movie was <i>Toy Story</i> and I'd never seen anything like it. I was instantly hooked. I knew what I wanted to do with my life. They let me fill out an application and said they’d keep it on file. I wanted to be a Pixar animator so bad I majored in art (which quickly changed to English, but that’s another story).</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Toy Story</i> was eventually released and I loved it. When <i>Toy Story 2</i> came out, I was a little disappointed. It felt more like a straight-to-video release. So I wasn’t overly excited for <i>Toy Story 3</i>. It looked funny of course, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I was pleasantly surprised. <i>Toy Story 3</i> is the best movie Pixar has ever made.</div><div><br /></div><div>Andy is off to college and the toys we remember have been sitting in the toy chest. What’s interesting is that all the voice actors return. Even Andy is played by the same kid all grown up. The toys are dealing with some pretty serious emotions now. They’ve lost some toys over the years, just as people do, and they’re worried about their own fates as well. Through a comedic mix-up, the toys end up in a daycare facility run by Lots O' Huggin' Bear, a disgruntled purple bear that smells like strawberries.</div><div><br /></div><div>The toys deal with so many emotions over the course of this movie, you easily forget that they are toys. They are actually more convincing than real actors. The toys experience grief, fear, anger, joy, and resentment. You’d assume that in a kid’s movie, the toys would be forever happy and devoted to Andy, but they’re not always. The climax in which the toys come to terms with their fate is so powerful and emotional that the scene stayed with me the rest of the day. I could barely drive home.</div><div><br /></div><div>The movie is not all sad like most people are saying. There are some pretty destitute moments, but the message is completely positive. The film is so clever and funny, it will just make you happy. The actions sequences are also cleverly devised and would please any action fan. So much so that I would even go as far to say that while this movie is perfect, it’s probably not perfect for kids. Lots O' Huggin' and his chronie, Big Baby, are kind of scary and the climax is pretty intense. A child would not understand the final scene's significance. So it's up to you if you bring them or not, but they won't appreciate it as much as you will, and they'll probably cry but not for the same reasons you're going to.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Toy Story 3</i> is a wonderful tribute to the characters we all know and love. Pixar could have very easily just come up with a simple story using the same old toys and done just as well at the box office. Instead, they created a masterpiece that exceeds the first and second film. The favorites return along with tons more, and they are all given screen time and funny jokes. You can really tell how much the writers love their characters. The new toys they've created are brilliant too. Ken, voiced by Michael Keaton, is hilarious. Some will say Ken's love of fashion and glitter is homophobic, but I really don't think so - he's just a girl toy, and girl toys get dressed up and play house.</div><div><br /></div><div>The artistry and animation of <i>Toy Story 3</i> is amazing. I didn't think I’d ever see computer animation as beautiful as <i>Wall-E</i>, but this one tops them all. There are so many toys at the daycare and all of them are detailed and colorful. Each toy has movements specific to what kind of toy they are. Even the walls of the daycare, you know that painted brick all schools have, are natural. You can see the little bumps and everything. It just fascinates me that it was probably one animator’s job to get the bricks looking just right.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Toy Story 3</i> is beautiful to look at and a beautiful experience overall. I predict that it will win best animated feature, as well as best picture, if that's allowed. This movie has inspired the artist in me again and I can only hope that one day I'll be involved in something as great. Of course, it receives the highest rating any movie has received on this blog: </div><div><br /></div><div>5 stickers.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491648107474253682" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 94px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNV8iLr6JnScJ-Bu-tn0WqHs17nIBHdpcf0NSDAqOFFHqqJaF7NnGhqWejrjI1g6-S-VfBrWeLmoNa5OubqkIvuHJskv0EkXnl4UiEd9uv8iJmn5b5Qo8O1H7k4LCiZJlQQElPQdPeRc/s320/toys.bmp" border="0" /></div></div></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-64537259861640310562010-06-22T14:11:00.000-07:002010-06-22T16:55:50.489-07:00Jonah Hex<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZK85AcAC7GIFOUSLiEZVUnl0zoVY9Vfryx5FO3rgkjd7q4oaxcU8o9oal81jCw3qkRAJR3IS26j2BDinljN3epY45mrRs9WGMNtf2PsUE4E_c59_4ueWKgx2m7fymL6bEmS7sWmq0ZA/s1600/jonah.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485710351157436834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZK85AcAC7GIFOUSLiEZVUnl0zoVY9Vfryx5FO3rgkjd7q4oaxcU8o9oal81jCw3qkRAJR3IS26j2BDinljN3epY45mrRs9WGMNtf2PsUE4E_c59_4ueWKgx2m7fymL6bEmS7sWmq0ZA/s320/jonah.jpg" border="0" /></a><i>Jonah Hex</i> is not the worst movie of the year. It’s far from that and I think it succeeds at what it is – a summer movie. We tend to expect huge jaw-dropping blockbusters in the summer because we’ve been spoiled. Generally speaking, the greatest movies we see during the year come out during the summer months. Because of this we lose sight of what a summer movie really is… just something to do. It’s entertainment and it’s nice to get out of the heat for a while. I’m not saying a movie is allowed to suck just because we were bored and needed an escape for 90 minutes. I’m only saying we shouldn’t criticize movies too harsh when it doesn’t live up to summer standards.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Jonah Hex</i> has plenty of faults, but it’s not terrible. Like I said, it is what it is and I quite liked it. The action, the brief moments of comedy, and the special effects are all decent. I’ve always liked Josh Brolin and he’s pretty good as the vengeful titular cowboy. I’ve always liked Megan Fox as well and she’s not as bad as I would have thought. She’s cute and pulls off a relatively convincing southern twang. Both actors do well in their action sequences and have some nice chemistry.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, if you’ve got nothing else to do this weekend and don’t feel like standing in line for <i>Knight and Day</i> or <i>Toy Story</i>, see this movie. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. However, this movie can easily wait for video and I’m guessing that since it’s getting such bad reviews, <i>Jonah Hex</i> will be on DVD soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>I’ll only highlight a couple things I disliked about <i>Jonah Hex</i>, because I really don’t want to dissuade anyone from seeing it. First of all, Josh Brolin’s make up is cheap. We’re supposed to believe that from a branding “accident” he is badly burned and has a hole in his cheek. To me it just looks like they put a piece of string cheese over his lip. It’s rather distracting… and disgusting.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Jonah Hex</i> also severely lacked development. The writer spent very little time on his characters. Maybe they thought followers of the original comic already had enough information, but I’d never actually heard of the this book. The villain Quinton Turnbull, played by John Malkovich, is the most one-dimensional. There is little to no back story, so we don’t really know why he wants to destroy the country. Other than a shocking intro scene where Turnbull murders Jonah's family, we don't see much of their history together so any meeting between the two if them isn't very interesting. Plus, and I don’t think I’ve ever said this, Malkovich really phones this one in. He’s played some crazy guys before, so I really expected something more menacing. In <i>Jonah Hex</i> he’s just kind of “Grrr! I’m a bad guy! Okay, where’s my paycheck?” </div><div><br /></div><div>The last thing I’ll mention is that the supernatural theme is a bit off here. We see that Jonah almost dies at the villain’s hands and because of this, he can speak to the dead. It’s a pretty cool concept and most of the time it works. However, there is another power that I don’t understand at all. It has something to do with dreams or the subconscious mind or something. Jonah is told in a dream sequence that his “unfinished business” is fighting and defeating the Turnbull. Ok so that’s cool I guess. But then we have to see the dream sequence again edited in with their actual fight at the end. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me and was a little annoying.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Despite a few problems, <i>Jonah Hex</i> is an okay movie. I enjoyed it. If you go into it not expecting too much, you may enjoy it too. As I said, don’t rush out to see it. If you’ve got nothing better to do, check it out. What else are you gonna do with your summer? Hang out at the Gas n Sip?</div><div><br /></div><div>3 comic covers</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKnVlqaphIFfEB4O_NOZ_gLOWEcOX5lhewkUkb_OtlVlKnDAxr620D4B3Z9ffemqoGjR9ot1Wge5ve05d0jcHYQITqJ0CMXi4SON_v0WU7fQZHiRIr6s6ZUpR8r-AzounEhMTqMgbgf8/s1600/hex2.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485708983351999506" style="WIDTH: 278px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKnVlqaphIFfEB4O_NOZ_gLOWEcOX5lhewkUkb_OtlVlKnDAxr620D4B3Z9ffemqoGjR9ot1Wge5ve05d0jcHYQITqJ0CMXi4SON_v0WU7fQZHiRIr6s6ZUpR8r-AzounEhMTqMgbgf8/s400/hex2.bmp" border="0" /></a> </div></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-36430240584208684662010-06-13T14:39:00.000-07:002010-06-15T11:54:36.637-07:00The A-Team<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGQ0LLUWeI9_jp2I5JRz2tQBHWNeXpEoDRQ88_6sxiY1LApuSHJwzoH2_ocLZzvJ1KjAM-I0Z7cINHN7acXp98fIsmL6RnVPktFjpW_rKbepLOx7fdlcg4lbLtRJ4S9PAKOEeIsvQxw8/s1600/Ateam.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482760802203946306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 247px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGQ0LLUWeI9_jp2I5JRz2tQBHWNeXpEoDRQ88_6sxiY1LApuSHJwzoH2_ocLZzvJ1KjAM-I0Z7cINHN7acXp98fIsmL6RnVPktFjpW_rKbepLOx7fdlcg4lbLtRJ4S9PAKOEeIsvQxw8/s400/Ateam.bmp" border="0" /></a>This is not the A-Team you remember. In fact, it has very little to do with the original series at all. The names are the same, the mohawk is relatively the same, and the catchphrase, "I love it when a plan comes together," is the same. That's pretty much it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing; just don't expect yo mama's A-Team.<br><br />This A-Team is violent and more explosive. That's to be expected. It's been about 30 years since the show aired, and the audience has changed. Mr. T didn't like this movie for that reason. But I enjoyed it. It is an action movie above all else and it is a succesful one. However, these action stars seem like new characters we've never seen before. Face and Murdock are good, if not a little over the top, but the other two didn't really convince me. BA is a little soft, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson even admits that fact in some interviews. In my opinion, this could have easily been a brand new, totally original movie without anything to do with the A-Team. But, Hollywood loves the remake.<br><br />I guess you could call this movie a re-imagining although I hate that term; a re-imagining just means one thing. Hollywood has officially run out of ideas. You should fully expect to see Silver Spoons or Small Wonder hitting the big screen soon. Due to the gimmicky popularity of Betty White, I wouldn't be surprised if Golden Girls made a comeback. Actually wait, they already made that - Sex and the City 2.<br><br />On its own, A-Team is a good movie. There's plenty of action, plenty of jokes, and plenty of twists and turns. My favorite parts are when the boys have to escape from somewhere, and they have to escape a lot. The team comes up with some pretty clever (crazy) plans. The storyline is decent, though it's pretty simple. With the amount of violence and explosions I kind of expected a save-the-world scenario but it's nowhere close. Despite all my observations, I didn't think this was a bad movie. I really liked it and I definitely recommend it. See it in theaters while you can. The A-Team is probably one of the better movies you'll see this summer. The final scene is so explosivy; the ending alone is worth the admission.<br><br />4 awesome explosions!<br><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipA5xI7r3rMh_9sp1o6xhjs8xEK8AEqnGWJKUCmtEGVNRaJxjQZ2c6XHl1CrPVDmTX8vO9xhQNMVSnj7oh0yJ18iofPoeUtDAxWxJ8lrbIu6W9OtcufCkkF8lQr04qg40J_wWg0HfqhfU/s1600/explosions.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482761081558980306" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 92px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipA5xI7r3rMh_9sp1o6xhjs8xEK8AEqnGWJKUCmtEGVNRaJxjQZ2c6XHl1CrPVDmTX8vO9xhQNMVSnj7oh0yJ18iofPoeUtDAxWxJ8lrbIu6W9OtcufCkkF8lQr04qg40J_wWg0HfqhfU/s400/explosions.bmp" border="0" /></a>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-66752603848969159212010-05-30T19:45:00.000-07:002010-05-30T20:51:50.300-07:00Grown Ups... something's missing.Today I caught Beverly Hills Ninja on Starz. I realized that even though Beverly Hills Ninja is a freaking terrible movie, I just can't help but laugh whenever I see Chris Farley. He just seems like such a fun guy.<br /><div></div><br /><div>So that got me thinking about this movie Growns Ups with Adam Sandler and his buddies, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Chris Rock. Seems to be kind of a nineties SNL reunion. But of course, Farley is missing. The fifth guy in Grown Ups is played by Kevin James, the only comedian not from SNL. Could this role have been written for someone else? Of course, this is just theorizing.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477272476355682946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLOP5iXikNVg4fzzmfQ_IXnYSA_wcALeGDsPNxYoN7G5vK7K4-4PLVY6Pbn9nJxAS2m7fvxDcd9XU7jItDwb8WjaDBTE7JS560gtlm9DNholAYndy2i66c0QPNpvLLO_9M9dE9tt2AIU/s400/grownups.bmp" border="0" /></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-18444757437418451622010-05-29T10:29:00.000-07:002010-05-30T20:52:56.087-07:00The Road... the scariest movie ever.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaA0vEcBztCn9x027M3guFTVFKX84BGMe3OefOZV51LV93fM2SBJVJPxynIejHK5phLG9TrC13FtjQN10hFhgJ37QHsm-XYgz-pGPasfqHOFUWCyYuOKlFTM9J4E5Gz-3KOh4uublHDE/s1600/The+Road.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477225372340772130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaA0vEcBztCn9x027M3guFTVFKX84BGMe3OefOZV51LV93fM2SBJVJPxynIejHK5phLG9TrC13FtjQN10hFhgJ37QHsm-XYgz-pGPasfqHOFUWCyYuOKlFTM9J4E5Gz-3KOh4uublHDE/s320/The+Road.bmp" border="0" /></a>Have you heard of this book, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy? I've heard of it, and I've heard people say they love it. If the movie I watched last night is anything like the book it's based on, I don't think I'll read it. Not that it's a bad movie; it's decent actually. It's just so scary I can't imagine getting immersed in it all over again.<br /><br />The Road stars Viggo Mortensen. His character, known as the father, has survived some kind of judgement day style nuclear war. He wanders the country with his little son during this post-apocalyptic winter. The sky is cloudy and dusty, so plants won't grow. Without plants, the animals die off. Basically there isn't food for humans to live on... except other humans. Gross.<br /><br /><div>The movie touches on some pretty heavy themes of suicide, justice, and of course cannibalism. The son constantly asks his father if they're the good guys and the answer is always yes, because they don't eat other people. The notion is terribly disturbing, but more than likely realistic. What would humans resort to in that situation? That's what's so scary. Thankfully there's hope with the father and son; they continue to "carry the fire" as they say.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film is very bleak and gray. Everything looks cold and wet. The future pretty much sucks and it's depressing to watch. I think the director is very successful in his portrayal of the future. He definitely makes his point. Positive moments are so rare in the movie, that when good things happen, they're miraculous. The screen lights up, color returns to the characters faces, and there's laughter. Those few scenes are what make the movie watchable. Otherwise, I don't think I could stomach it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now I mentioned before that the idea of humans losing all humanity is really scary, but the movie doesn't stop there. Humans become monsters in the future. They aren't like mutated zombies or anything; it's not technically that kind of movie. The Road is probably the scariest non-horror movie I've ever seen. Not having read the book I did not expect to see the things I did. It's not really grisley or gory or anything, but it is pretty icky. Let's just say if you're not a cannibal, you're cattle.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Road is effective and thought-provoking. As gloomy as the visuals are, it's shot beautifully. There are some really cool background shots as the two make their way across the country. Viggo's portrayal of a scared and protective father is believable, especially when he starts to question his humanity as well. But unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this movie. It's not that every movie has to be entertaining and all nice and Hollywood, I'm not saying that at all. For me though, there just needed to be a few more postive moments for me to enjoy it. I appreciated The Road, but I just didn't enjoy it.</div><div><br /></div><div>3 much needed cleaning products...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKMvpMPh4qiQP6o6OVFGnKgXWo2wzJti9tKv-hG44a0aHhHglke3YrUQY-hLebQSD490y_YvJsMrFI9R4qpJiNH6LWzcMUQEGmAkOkGYbyVSx0M9KzoUigLYiyZOrtX0Zk0L9EuuRaNU/s1600/soap.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477225869127682002" style="WIDTH: 309px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKMvpMPh4qiQP6o6OVFGnKgXWo2wzJti9tKv-hG44a0aHhHglke3YrUQY-hLebQSD490y_YvJsMrFI9R4qpJiNH6LWzcMUQEGmAkOkGYbyVSx0M9KzoUigLYiyZOrtX0Zk0L9EuuRaNU/s320/soap.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-19772498627538480632010-05-23T17:08:00.000-07:002010-05-30T20:53:10.182-07:00Well, this is kind of movie related...I could write a review today... but I'd rather make fun of this defenseless little tree frog. No wonder he's been hiding out all these years.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuhGgaRO8gUsDN0C9hOEhZCI-sdaB0UPvzaU-DvgcvkSw9Y0ym-zXlLuoyDV4CffjowEbzSPP9XODIl1IOBKPZMyObqpW5ijIvbw8-lqC-U7j9XGWKnDWOpMCFc1B3sDCWwtTNHL8JtQ/s1600/frog.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 173px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474622339657873458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuhGgaRO8gUsDN0C9hOEhZCI-sdaB0UPvzaU-DvgcvkSw9Y0ym-zXlLuoyDV4CffjowEbzSPP9XODIl1IOBKPZMyObqpW5ijIvbw8-lqC-U7j9XGWKnDWOpMCFc1B3sDCWwtTNHL8JtQ/s400/frog.jpg" /></a><br />Why do so many things remind me of Teen Wolf?JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-56014830222725446692010-05-18T14:11:00.000-07:002010-05-18T14:18:48.375-07:00Shrek: Forever AfterI know. Donkey isn't brown. I couldn't find a gray dry-erase marker.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4F4KNyay2XhEnUJDkikGt_-TZNFg0kZQgG6N1NbOSvu5H6M_eYfRwTSQwQWQ9oY02DPWI2d2y6279vNmXH-aufVRYS_oOSoiudRwT0lA4iT_UNWa5JhwTvjZ3RQ6Fq4GewEtI0m8NmY/s1600/Shrek.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472721704634695730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4F4KNyay2XhEnUJDkikGt_-TZNFg0kZQgG6N1NbOSvu5H6M_eYfRwTSQwQWQ9oY02DPWI2d2y6279vNmXH-aufVRYS_oOSoiudRwT0lA4iT_UNWa5JhwTvjZ3RQ6Fq4GewEtI0m8NmY/s400/Shrek.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-73727149004802828582010-05-05T09:23:00.000-07:002010-05-12T17:04:10.321-07:00Ebertfest 2010 - Part 2I slept in Saturday morning because my sister and I were out all night partying with the college kids. We did shots at Kam's, had some Jager bombs at Joe's, and then did some keg stands at an after party. Just kidding. I slept in because I just turned 30 and my body is slowly disintegrating.<br /><br />We lined up at the Virginia Theater for <em>Vincent: A Life in Color</em>. I had a pretty good idea about what <em>Vincent</em> was, because I knew who Vincent was. If you're from Chicago, and have ever watched NBC news in the morning, you've probably seen Vincent. Or perhaps you've visited the windy city recently and taken a boat ride down the Chicago River - did you see a man dressed in a brightly colored suit dancing on the Clark St. bridge? Well that's Vincent.<br /><br /><em>Vincent: A Life in Color</em> is a fun and interesting documentary about Vincent Falk. Vincent walks around Chicago all day in these crazy colored suits. He twirls in them and waves at passersby, including tour boats. I first saw Vincent on the morning news, standing outside the studio, twirling around. I thought he was nuts. But as I learned from this fantastic documentary, Vincent is just a nice man, wanting to share his passion with the world.<br /><br />The director of the film, Jennifer Burns, was a hostess at McCormick and Schmicks downtown, and she would see Vincent strolling by every day. She was confused, like most people, but wanted to know more about him. Jennifer maxed out her credit cards and made a movie, following him around Chicago. And for a first-time director, she's pretty good. I laughed a lot, and there's some pretty emotional stuff that made my sister cry. Not me though.<br /><br />This film works, mostly because Vincent is such a likeable guy. He's happy all the time. He tells jokes, all the time, and you eventually realize why he does. Vincent had a challenging life. He's almost completely blind and was raised in foster care. You can tell when he interacts with people as an adult, things are a little awkward for him. My guess is that to avoid conversation, he tells jokes and puns. This is just one of many endearing qualities about him. The fact that he's blind, and still manages to get around the city every single day is also remarkable.<br /><br />Jennifer really brings Vincent to life on screen. We see his every move and every little quirk, and we're even treated to his personal evolution of dance. Jennifer introduces us to Vincent and throughout her film, we become his friend. She also introduces the audience to Chicago. This film, in my opinion, is one of the best Chicago films and will easily become a true classic. Being a Chicagoan myself, I enjoyed seeing my favorite spots. There are also places I've never seen and probably never would, like the store Vincent buys his suits at. I've always loved the city, but Jennifer really brings out its true colors. I actually couldn't wait to drive back home.<br /><br />The pacing of the film is perfect too. It's never boring and there's just the right amount of history, interviews, and Vincent in the present. When things get a little sad, the next scene is usually something sweet. The editor of the film, Christine Gilliland, should be recognized for her contribution as well.<br /><br />Jennifer has made a heartwarming documentary that totally engages the audience. She introduces us to a wonderful person that most people, in all honesty, would avoid. In doing that, she's also created a very nice homage to Chicago. So, to all my out of state readers, I recommend you see the film, get to know Chicago and Vincent Falk, and then come for a visit! And if you see Vincent on the street, say hi and shake his hand. Thanks to Jennifer, you are already friends.<br /><br />4 Awesome Suits<br /><div align="left"> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHiWwLaSrgEzO84C7hnRsBh1cId1eulKbVC3uLnr9A8td4xZki4HenrZQr6xOSK8tSV3-1weuoMEZzZFbyGOK_wWISB2kgv10ZrDaOOkZlPtleYsuhoXvYZNKVLnr8gJ0kfQ8zSnynelA/s1600/vincent.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470529630481360050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 81px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHiWwLaSrgEzO84C7hnRsBh1cId1eulKbVC3uLnr9A8td4xZki4HenrZQr6xOSK8tSV3-1weuoMEZzZFbyGOK_wWISB2kgv10ZrDaOOkZlPtleYsuhoXvYZNKVLnr8gJ0kfQ8zSnynelA/s320/vincent.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"><br /><br /> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><br /><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467896233102448658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 189px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpX6pF4anNlbtchnfi_2GNSXUDBuRpqcif2iCOv3v10sgXCgp1s4j5eyyLIdDRUUTujl5NSe3tcKUhmjjBGyA9J8YkCQKd6pcFyvbir6Ji_XlqvWabT6YZPe9rWl7nTHT4H4UYJFIqv78/s320/vincent.jpg" border="0" /></div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">Richard Roeper, a producer, Vincent, Jennifer, and Christine</span></p><p><br /> </p><p align="left">To make my Ebertfest trip extra special, my sister found this at a vintage record store for 20 cents. Superman practically flies of the sleeve when you open it! Booyah!<br /></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYw_wj4iaeJoHCSz7-Bv4DJ_85BW1JGfaJjrW_bVZjyCmAzARL7tidcrqCD5QSKXA9zFxe7iYCmXky_PTYIPruwyTvddHc455Uzxqfe4U1EEmQ5eexcrkkgKA0OF5lrc-0anXSYLXH1dU/s1600/Sup1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467895980648593314" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYw_wj4iaeJoHCSz7-Bv4DJ_85BW1JGfaJjrW_bVZjyCmAzARL7tidcrqCD5QSKXA9zFxe7iYCmXky_PTYIPruwyTvddHc455Uzxqfe4U1EEmQ5eexcrkkgKA0OF5lrc-0anXSYLXH1dU/s320/Sup1.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84HxwMk15iEx0wU8dnWciXkrTueBdDDhzIFdeBbPqgbZBqkgy6m057CdTZKoYN5uVVf2yUYyCl2LGcq3KmaNiVIegdOnYra8G1j52RmqyiNgbTxkHiKzLVAyG4tllhm3AveKgj0mB9Nw/s1600/Sup2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467896068241296930" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84HxwMk15iEx0wU8dnWciXkrTueBdDDhzIFdeBbPqgbZBqkgy6m057CdTZKoYN5uVVf2yUYyCl2LGcq3KmaNiVIegdOnYra8G1j52RmqyiNgbTxkHiKzLVAyG4tllhm3AveKgj0mB9Nw/s320/Sup2.jpg" border="0" /></a></span></p>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-39268039215852569082010-05-02T17:07:00.000-07:002010-05-12T17:04:40.251-07:00Ebertfest 2010 - Part 1Every year Roger Ebert selects a dozen movies that he believes are "overlooked". The movies are then played on the big screen at the Virginia Theater in beautiful Champaign, home of the University of Illinois. Ebert went to U of I and so did my sister. It's been sort of a tradition of ours to attend the fest. It used to be that I would drive down and visit her, but this year we drove together which was interesting. We sang along to every song from Queen's greatest hits. Yeah, we're those people.<br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><div>Since we both work during the week, we went down Friday evening. We had enough time to check into our hotel, have dinner, and line up for our first movie <i>Synecdoche, N.Y.</i></div><div><em><br /></em></div><div></div><div><i></i></div><div><i>Synecdoche<span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: normal"> was written and directed by one of my all time favorite writers, Charlie Kaufman. Charlie is responsible for crazy and thought-provoking stuff like </span>Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich<span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: normal"> and the film I consider to be a true work of genius, </span>Adaptation<span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: normal">. Now if you thought those movies were out there, wait until you see </span>Synecdoche<span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: normal">. Let me just say, it's not for everyone. But if you give it a shot, I think you'll definitely be affected. By what, I don't know - but you will be affected in some way I assure you.</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><i></i></div><div><i>Synecdoche, N.Y.</i> is a really intense story about a theater director named Caden Cortard. I only read a little bit about this film beforehand, and it seemed like the main plot was that Caden, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, builds a life-size replica of New York City in a warehouse. And that happens, but nothing can really prepare you for what this movie really is.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>Caden obviously has issues from the start. He believes he has every disease in the book, but also projects them onto other people. He thinks his daughter Olive and wife Adele, played by Catherine Keener, are also sick. He even imagines characters on the television are sick. He doesn't have a very good grasp on time either and scenes kind of jump around frantically as if we were sick too.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>After Adele leaves him, taking Olive with her, Caden must deal with his issues alone. He starts to slip into what I can only describe as a permanent nightmare. In the beginning, everything that happens to Caden is funny, and Hoffman's brilliant performance lets us know that it's okay to laugh. But after a while things get confusing, for Caden and for us. The audience gets twisted up into Caden's psyche. We don't know what time it is, and we don't know what's real and what isn't. And the movie never explains. It's kind of like watching Lost... if they had canceled the last season. One memorable scene is when Hazel, Caden's new love interest, buys a house that's on fire. It's a really funny scene, but doesn't make a lick of sense. She lives in the house and everything as it continues to burn but never burns down. Obviously this a metaphor for something. Or maybe it isn't. Who knows.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>This was the one movie Ebert introduced himself this year. And just a little side note - his speech, broadcast from his MacBook as he pantomimed, was truly touching and I'm thankful I got to see it. Ebert warned the audience that to truly appreciate this movie we needn't not try to figure out what Kaufman meant by it. I'm really glad he said this because otherwise I would have tried to place meaning to things like a burning house. But when you just watch and see it for its beauty and humor, its much more enjoyable.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>Caden eventually decides he's going to put on a play that everyone will remember after he's gone. He rents out a giant warehouse to stage his play and goes about building a lifesize New York City. He wants the play to tell a story about real life, about everyone's lives. He says everyone has a story to tell and emotion to convey. So he keeps casting actors to play real people until he fills his city. Then he decides he needs to tell the story of how he creates this play, so he needs more actors to play himself and everyone involved. This continues on into absurdity until there are warehouses built inside warehouses. We know this isn't humanly possible, but it seems so real. And to me that's why this film works. We are trapped right next to Caden in our own personal director's chair. We apply our own ideas to what this movie is. It's like poetry. Kaufman lays the groundwork and we build our own stories. It's just brilliant.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>To make the experience extra cool - Charlie Kaufman was in attendance. I watched a Charlie Kaufman movie... with Charlie Kaufman. I didn't talk to him or anything, or even sit by him - we were kind of in the nosebleed section. It was still probably one of the cooler moments of my life.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>After the movie, Charlie and four other panelists (producers, journalists, etc.) discussed the film on stage. Charlie is a pretty interesting guy. He seems to be kind of uninterested in Hollywood and budgets and genres and things like that. In fact he made some pretty funny jokes about how this movie didn't produce box office numbers anywhere near their budget. He also went on about how he won't explain anything no matter how many times he's asked. And the audience offered some pretty outlandish ideas about the meaning of it all. But he just laughed and said, "Okay. Whatever you think."</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">4.5 Stickers. (Might be a 5 after a second viewing.)</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZqm64N2cv0_BOv9gK1PcdjG1Yn-DVK5Lzai5EwLY0hcNVwqvG9xOtM4KmK-61i7_Yhkjd1kDxi1Nu5xGsBOBkUvqFF7cd3hs0DdPsq8opNA8ur6hEMBC6_K_Q0F6OfU3uv_CXOE3t8o/s1600/new+york.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470524191155053762" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 273px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 57px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZqm64N2cv0_BOv9gK1PcdjG1Yn-DVK5Lzai5EwLY0hcNVwqvG9xOtM4KmK-61i7_Yhkjd1kDxi1Nu5xGsBOBkUvqFF7cd3hs0DdPsq8opNA8ur6hEMBC6_K_Q0F6OfU3uv_CXOE3t8o/s320/new+york.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br /></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466861755583724674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 261px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OHbecewABwVdRI1UD_oPAdgzjR-tZ3VnjM6Pv1g9Mz1d4fcoMIRuKnY5o6JvXbgB_MqberyZJkqkFhIvQAbHW2uQBwiilDlMJf1kW21nbhmGHMvr238zsHiIIrTUpqmMTY6IdaInnds/s400/2010+447.JPG" border="0" /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Chaz, Charlie and Roger</span></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="left"></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-84153037371675104022010-04-17T09:06:00.000-07:002010-05-12T17:03:56.122-07:00It's Like That... Only Different<br><br />Right?<br /><br><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-xzdCd15gqE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-xzdCd15gqE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lOBO1gIIFrM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lOBO1gIIFrM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320445662682221360.post-41795471642674141242010-04-09T14:13:00.000-07:002010-05-12T17:03:56.122-07:00Not the same guy.I was so sure... but IMDB proved me wrong. <div><div><br /><div>Dr. Walter Bishop on Fringe...</div><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGrDkVuhNpG8yqYvNjqTkHBPioE7rxQ1tQNomKXksGZzDmIF7K1TIH6lEMMdlaMpM7lo2cpdwesktbO17o16iBOKYzanaQCUwwQQstM5hJQO70Ki_nOQ06BzM3si0J-KANKiDx_VlOdY/s1600/Walter.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458249590592870194" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGrDkVuhNpG8yqYvNjqTkHBPioE7rxQ1tQNomKXksGZzDmIF7K1TIH6lEMMdlaMpM7lo2cpdwesktbO17o16iBOKYzanaQCUwwQQstM5hJQO70Ki_nOQ06BzM3si0J-KANKiDx_VlOdY/s320/Walter.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>...is not Centauri from The Last Starfighter.</div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAneWSZNddhyphenhyphenz_RgZdZElFNpzzKrxIaQ-vmPFj_pcbBbjRlr7pNRKvbdEO1M2duVFQ9zQMk1Vh48cbkhLObreZ0f1zWFDZqW8h4CFa2-egdCvkUTmIH2Tf9tYV9hKIj1yVJQ1XEaRKfc/s1600/Centauri.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458249670697505058" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 215px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAneWSZNddhyphenhyphenz_RgZdZElFNpzzKrxIaQ-vmPFj_pcbBbjRlr7pNRKvbdEO1M2duVFQ9zQMk1Vh48cbkhLObreZ0f1zWFDZqW8h4CFa2-egdCvkUTmIH2Tf9tYV9hKIj1yVJQ1XEaRKfc/s320/Centauri.bmp" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br>Dr. Bishop is played by John Noble. Centauri was played by Robert Preston who died in 1987.<br>However, Peter Bishop is definitely Pacey Witter.</div></div></div>JLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959744548487866023noreply@blogger.com2