Will someone let me know if Sofia Vergara keeps her promise?
Movie of the Week: The Expendables
August 26, 2010
I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece but wow. After I left the theater, I wondered if I had ever paid to see a more poorly directed (Stallone) , written (co-written by Stallone), edited (someone Stallone punched in the eye) and acted film. I’m still thinking.
I will say this. The last 20-25 minutes were batshit crazy. There may have been 100 people killed in that stretch. It was kinda what I was expecting when news of this movie first came out. It felt like Stallone conceived this last action set piece first – deciding how many people everyone would get to kill, variety of death, types of weapons used – and then said to himself, “Now how do I get there?”
Don’t Call Me During…: Fall 2010 Edition
August 23, 2010This is going to be a strange TV season for me. No Lost for me to analyze. No 24 or Jack Bauer for me to cheer. Not even a Heroes for me to mock from afar. There are few shows I truly love now so feel free to call me during these shows. I may actually pick up.
Usually, I break this down in terms of what I’ll be watching live and DVRing then making a separate list for what I’ll be watching via other means (OnDemand, Hulu, other unsavory means). For your benefit, I’ll list everything I plan to watch by their airdate and time. Just know that, somehow, I’ll be watching all these shows at least once. Read the rest of this entry »
Movie of the Week: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
August 16, 2010
I thought Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was really fun and would recommend it to anyone looking for something different or anyone in my generation whose lives revolved around 8-bit and 16-bit videogames when they were growing up. However, as a huge fan of the Scott Pilgrim series, I did have some problems with the movie (spoilers abound): Read the rest of this entry »
Movie of the Week: The Kids Are All Right
August 3, 2010
The best comedy of summer so far.
The script was sharp (co-written by director Lisa Cholodenko). The acting was top-notch. Mark Ruffalo continues to assuage my fears about being the third Bruce Banner/Hulk. I was already a huge Mia Wasikowska fan from the first season of HBO’s In Treatment and can now forgive her for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. The relationship between Annette Benning and Julianne Moore was the best part of the movie but I did have a problem with [SPOILER BEGINS] the affair between Moore and Ruffalo. You can see that there are cracks in the relationship between Benning and Moore but I felt the affair just started out of nowhere. Until the affair begins, you don’t really see any real physical connection between them [SPOILER ENDS]. But it’s a small quibble and I got over it pretty quickly.
Also, I’m pissed about what happened to Luis the gardener (Joaquín Garrido).
I guess the best thing I can say about this movie is, after the movie ended, I wanted to know what the future held for all the characters.
Movie of the Week: Inception: The IMAX Experience
July 26, 2010
Is this the best movie I’ve ever seen about dreaming? No. That’s still Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Is this the best heist movie I’ve ever seen? No. That’s still Heat. Is this even the best movie I’ve seen this year? Nope. Toy Story 3 is still number one in my book. But this is easily the most ambitious movie I’ve seen in the last few years and for that, I loved it.
Actually, as I sat down to write this, I found myself in two places: how I felt as the credits rolled and how I feel now that I’ve slept on it and have thought about it.
The Best Boss Ever
July 13, 2010
“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”
— George Steinbrenner (1930-2010)
First Bob Sheppard, the voice of the Yankees, passed away on Sunday. Now, “The Boss dies this morning. Why is God a Red Sox fan this week?
Seriously, this is a shitty week for Yankees fans.
I know that fans of other baseball teams will complain that Steinbrenner ruined baseball, that he bought championships.
True story.
But you know what? Isn’t that what you want your owner(s) to do? Don’t you want your owner to do whatever it takes (within the rules) to make sure that your team is competitive every year? The Yankees didn’t win the World Series every year. When I became a Yankees fan as a kid, they were one of the worst teams in baseball. This was during Steinbrenner’s ban from baseball. When he was reinstated in 1993, he did everything in his power to make sure the Yankees fielded the best team his money could buy. It took a few years but the Yankees finally made it back to the top of the baseball world in 1996 and have been in the playoffs almost every year since then.*
Steinbrenner demanded a winner and that’s why every Yankees fan loves him and is sad today.
You may hate everything he’s done for the Yankees and to Major League Baseball as a result but why should I care? We’ve won 11 pennants and 7 World Series titles. Suck it!
Now I’m even happier the Yankees were able to give George one more World Series ring before he passed.
—
Cindy asked me a few days ago what I thought of Steinbrenner for a birthday card she was making me (Steinbrenner and I share the same birthday) and I told her, “He’s an asshole but he’s MY asshole!”
In retrospect, I could have phrased that a little better.
* Way to screw up the streak, Girardi
Movie of the Week: Predators
July 12, 2010
As a regular movie, the acting was okay (why was Adrian Brody channeling Christian Bale in The Dark Knight?) and the plotting was silly. But as a Predator movie, it was pretty damn entertaining.
Immediately it’s the second best Predator-related movie (which isn’t saying much but still). I liked that the predators weren’t prevelant in the film. They spent considerable with the characters before the predators even make their first appearance. Despite his choice of voice, Brody acquited himself well as an action-star.
Without being too spoilery, I had two quibbles with the film. First, Laurence Fishburne decided to take crazy pills before he got on the set and I needed more explanation for his character. Secondly, there’s a twist with one of the characters at the end of the movie that is so stupid but luckily, it only takes up about six minutes of screen time before it’s irrelevant.
If you are a fan of the Predator franchise, it’s definitely worth checking out. Otherwise, wiat until F/X plays it four times a week, three years from now.
