Archive for December, 2008
December 31, 2008
I’ll do my movies list last because there are still a couple of 2008 releases I want to see before I make my final decisions.
- Equinox Gym – After my nightmare with Bally’s, Equinox is like heaven.
- Flickr - I always had a Flickr account but I finally upgraded to a Pro account. I don’t know what took me so long.
- Apple MacBook – A last second entry but a goodie
- Mark Ecko Boba Fett hoodie – I got this 50% off and it was worth every geeky penny
- Panasonic DMC-TZ5 – I bought this camera specifically to take pictures of Lollapalooza. I love it. It’s not very pocket-sized but the photo quality is great.
- Playstation 3 – Only for the Blu Ray player. I haven’t even cracked open the only game I own for it.
- Rock Band/Rock Band 2 – I wish I was good at it but I love playing it.
- Tattoo #5: Batman R.I.P. - The latest addition to the family
- Twitter – Nothing makes a work day fly by like Twitter
- WordPress.com – I moved my blog over from Blogger and I love the interface. Maybe when I have time, I’ll move to WordPress.org
Posted in Lists, Me... | Tagged Me... | 2 Comments »
December 31, 2008
This list keeps changing so I’m just going to post it and never look back…
- Brain Thrust Mastery by We Are Scientists
- Hold On Now, Youngster… by Los Campesinos!
- Leave It All Behind by Foreign Exchange
- Narrow Stairs by Death Cab For Cutie
- Only By The Night by Kings of Leon
- Rearrange Beds by An Horse
- The Renaissance by Q-Tip
- Some People Have Real Problems by Sia
- Third by Portishead
- Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
Posted in Lists, Music | Tagged 2008, An Horse, Death Cab For Cutie, Foreign Exchange, Kings of Leon, Los Campesinos!, Music, Portishead, Q-Tip, Sia, Vampire Weekend, We Are Scientists | 2 Comments »
December 30, 2008
It was okay.
It was well-acted especially Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis but in the end, I really didn’t feel invested in the story or the characters.
It might have suffered from seeing it right after The Wrestler.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Doubt, Meryl Streep, Movie Reviews, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis | Leave a Comment »
December 30, 2008
My rating might be biased due to my love of wrestling but this was a damn good movie.
I think it’s unfair to say that this was a role Mickey Rourke was born to play. That doesn’t give him enough credit for what Rourke, writer Robert Siegel and director Darren Aronofsky (I can’t believe this is from the same guy who made Requiem For A Dream) have created. Mickey Rourke IS Randy “The Ram” Robinson. He completely disappears into the role and he’s amazing. His performance is both touchingly sad and incredibly funny. I was just amazed by the whole thing. It could not have been easy to learn those wrestling moves.
I did have one qualm with the movie. I don’t care how old she is. No way Marisa Tomei looking like she did hs a rough go of it as a stripper.
WWE/TNA wrestler Mick Foley wrote a great review from a wrestler’s perspective. You should check it out after you see the movie as there are some spoilers.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Darren Aronofsky, Marisa Tomei, Mickey Rourke, Movie Reviews, The Wrestler | 2 Comments »
December 30, 2008
The date movie of the year! Just kidding.
Based on the trailer, I thought it was just going to be an extended screaming match between the lovers in Titanic and to some extent it was. It was still enjoyable. I don’t know if this would have affected me if I was married but it would spark some interesting conversations.
Kate Winslet who has perfected the tortured housewife during Little Children was great. Leonardo DiCaprio was good. My friends and I were discussing how, like Tom Cruise, it’s hard to get past who the actor is. You always can feel the person acting. It’s no fault of theirs. If I had never seen DiCaprio in a movie, I would have thought he was amazing.
Despite the prowess of DiCaprio and Winslet, Michael Shannon as John Givings stole the movie in his two scenes. I hope he gets nominated (only to lose to Heath Ledger).
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Shannon, Movie Reviews, Revolutionary Road | 1 Comment »
December 29, 2008
I tried to do a top 10 but there are just too many shows to choose from.
Sadly, a few of these shows won’t be back on the list again.
In alphabetical order
- 30 Rock (NBC)
- Battlestar Galactica (SCI-FI)
- Burn Notice (USA)
- Chuck (NBC)
- Generation Kill (HBO)
- Gossip Girl (CW)
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
- In Treatment (HBO)
- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
- Lost (ABC)
- Mad Men (AMC)
- The Office (NBC)
- Pushing Daisies (ABC)
- The Shield (FX)
- The Wire (HBO)
Posted in Lists, Television | Tagged 2008, 30 Rock, Battlestar Galactica, Burn Notice, Chuck, Generation Kill, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, In Treatment, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Lost, Mad Men, Pushing Daisies, Television, The Office, The Shield, The Wire | Leave a Comment »
December 28, 2008
The first thing I was going to write was that this movie reminded me of Forrest Gump until I found out the guy who wrote the scrip for this movie, Eric Roth, also wrote that one. Go figure.
Anyway, it also kind of reminded me of Big Fish in a strange way even though there weren’t
that many magical things that happened.
It was a good movie but with a few exceptions nothing really happened. It was just watching someone’s life except for the fact that his started backwards. I could see someone saying that the movie was boring but Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett kept me interested though especially Cate (my weakness is well-documented).
I still can’t believe David Fincher of all people directed this.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, David Fincher, Movie Reviews, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | 1 Comment »
December 28, 2008
These were my favorite comic book series for 2008…that I can remember.
I read at least 10-15 comic books a week so it’s hard to remember everything.
- All-Star Superman
- Amazing Spider-Man
- Batman
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
- Criminal
- Fables
- The Incredible Herc
- Invincible Iron Man
- Northlanders
- Scalped
Best Single Issue of 2008: All-Star Superman #10
While I can’t remember every single comic I read in 2008, this one I’ll never forget. In this issue, Superman essentially writes his last will and testament before he dies. He sets out to take care of Earth as best as he can before the end and solve as many of the world’s problems.
While the entire series is amazing, this issue sums up everything that is great about Superman in 22 pages. It also partially inspired this post.
Posted in Comic Books, Lists | Tagged 2008, All-Star Superman, Amazing Spider-Man, Batman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Comic Books, Criminal, Fables, Invincible Iron Man, Northlanders, Scalped, The Incredible Herc | 2 Comments »
December 24, 2008
I feel I should admit this upfront.
I hate Sean Penn.
I used to love him. Casualties of War. Carlito’s Way. The Game.
But then he started Oscar baiting and I find him increasingly annoying. It took me years to finally watch Mystic River despite winning Best Picture.
But he was great here. Amazing even. Probably the second best lead performance I’ve seen all year (The first is Wall-E and I’ll argue with anyone who wants to about that).
This movie shows that no matter how far we think we have come regarding our intolerance we still have a long, long way to go. I wish this had come out a month before the Prop 8 vote. The parallels are eerie.
This was also one of the best supporting casts I’ve seen in a biopic. Usually movies like this are showcases for the leads but Emile Hirsch as Cleve Jones (you are officially forgiven for Speed Racer), Josh Brolin as Dan White (I still can’t believe you played Brand Walsh in The Goonies), Diego Luna and James Franco were all amazing.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Harvey Milk, Milk, Movie Reviews, Sean Penn | 3 Comments »
December 24, 2008
I’ve been using stars since I started blogging in 2001.
I introduce the Me!
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | 1 Comment »
