dougblog

Really over a year?

2012-01-09T11:46:00.000-05:00

I think my blog has flat out been given up on!

Grown Ups

2010-12-19T15:17:00.000-05:00

I was a little leery of this movie because of the big cast of 'funny men'. Luckily it worked for them. This movie was pretty funny and felt pretty good. Just like a couple of guys riffing on each other. The premise is simple and basically it is a buddy movie and devolves into these guys just riffing with no real structure in the script. You could tell much of the movie was off the cuff lines. The extra scenes show this as the scenes have many takes with different lines. This leads to funny extra scenes.

The one thing that stood out to me was the inclusion of Kevin James. The rest of the guys are all old SNL guys and it really leads you to wonder if that role was written for Chris Farley. Not that I exactly see Farley sliding into the same role that James played but you can't help and wonder when you see the rotund physical comedian James play this role.

If you saw the previous and thought this movie would be funny than you should see it. It lived up to my expectations, though didn't necessarily exceeded them.

Away We Go

2010-12-12T22:53:00.002-05:00

This movie had a very indie feel to it. I'm pretty sure I don't mean that as a compliment. The movie had some nice chuckles, no real laugh out loud moments. Frankly, I was bored watching it. It wasn't a real challenging movie. They went out looking for the perfect family. No real shock when they decide they can't find the perfect family. I guess they will just have to make their own perfect family just by being themselves and loving each other! Yup, it is really that simple. Oh, and I really don't like the Gyllenhaals. Maggie is just a weirdo and she makes me uncomfortable.

You can probably pass on seeing this movie.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

2010-11-28T22:12:00.000-05:00

This movie was just not as funny as I had thought it might be. Some slap stick laughs and a couple of sight gags but overall it was a lame attempt. Kind of a muddled plot and I'm not exactly sure what the underlying messages were that the movie was trying to put across. I'll assume it is an anti-military message since it is from Hollywood. ZING! But seriously it is like this movie just wanted to point out that the US military/government has invested time and money in research of extreme, and often odd, things such as ESP and acid.

Again, I was disappointed with this movie and its lack of cohesion and humor.

Get Him to the Greek

2010-11-27T14:19:00.003-05:00

When this movie first came out I thought it might be good for a laugh or two but I never got around to seeing it. Then my friends had begun raving about how good it was, so I made it a priority to see.

Turns out my friends were right. I thought this movie was hilarious. The lines they wrote for Puff Daddy were absolutely hilarious. Russell Brand is just the perfect person to play a stereotypical British rock star. Sure it's pretty much the same role as the one he played in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (a movie that is given a shout out in Greek, not surprising since its made by the same people!) and knocked out of the park.

The movie gets a little sappy and cheesy at the end as they all learn valuable life lessons. That is kind of a trait of Apatow movies. 3/4 of the movie is hilarious and then the last quarter turns into cheesy wrap ups.

All in all this movie is definitely a must see just for Puff Daddy's lines. He isn't a great actor by any means but these lines are just GREAT for him.

The Invention of Lying

2010-11-19T10:09:00.003-05:00

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this movie going into it. The beginning of the movie didn't real lead me to believe it was going to be all that good either. By the end of the movie I was laughing pretty good. It's a fun concept and allows writers some wiggle room for silly jokes.

The thing that bothered me about this movie and "Liar Liar", which had a similar plot, was the fact that they show people saying unnecessary truths. Just because you can't lie doesn't mean you would say mean and hurtful things even if you felt them. Kind of the difference between not lying and not saying. Either way this concern was quickly alleviated for me when it becomes clear that saying these truths is more of a characteristic of this "no lying" world. Once I got over that I was able to enjoy the movie more.

The movie itself is pretty simple but it does have some underlying messages even if they do get some what mottled and don't fully evolve in this movie. It's almost as if they wanted to get a bit deeper with the movie but ended up leaving the conclusions on the cutting room floor.

In the end this movie becomes a delightful romp with plenty of laughs even if some are cheap jokes provided by the main no-lies concept.

Toy Story 3

2010-11-13T22:09:00.003-05:00

The gang is back! Honestly we all should know what to expect from Pixar movies by now. They are going to be well written and visually well done. This was no exception.

The great thing that Pixar is able to do with their movies is keep them well animated and silly for the kids but at the same time mix in great humor for the adults that keeps them entertained. Not only did Toy Story 3 work for me as a comedy movie and not just a kids movie I was also touched by the story as it got very sad at parts.

If you liked the previous Toy Story movies then you really need to see the third and final movie. It really ties the story line together neatly.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2010-11-12T22:11:00.003-05:00

An odd movie with an interesting underlying plot device. Mind erasing is a tricky subject but this movie deals with it well by using deja vu nicely.

Another tricky thing with the movie is the plot kind of works backwards as he is recovering memories. It can be confusing at times especially as the past blends into the current. It is manageable and actually might make this movie a bit more rewatchable so you can figure the timeline a bit better.

The secondary plot involving Kirsten Dunst's character is a bit puzzling to me. It doesn't really do anything for the movie aside from assist with the love triangle portion of the main plot. Even that benefit is minimal to me and just adds extra time that could've been cut from the movie. If they could re-release this movie with her scenes cut down I think the movie would flow much better, not to mention knock off some time off the 108 minutes of runtime.

In America

2010-11-03T17:22:00.004-04:00

Typical indie film, someone had a vague idea for a movie and they ran with it without really thinking of how you could make a full movie with it. The best part of this movie was the two little girls. They were delightful. Cute and charming when it was needed but also very poignant at key times.

Bottom line: Typical indie movie. Not really tremendously entertaining but not the worst way to kill an hour and half.

Reign Over Me

2010-10-18T12:34:00.002-04:00

If you have a spare night and just want to feel down or get a good cry than this is the movie for you! It's just an incredibly sad movie. Sure there are a couple of laughs thrown in, with Sandler how can there be not, but the sadness is the majority.

Don't get me wrong, it was a very good movie. Just a bit darker than I had thought. There is a scene with Sandler and Cheadle that is the biggest tear jerker of the movie and one of the biggest I have seen in a while. Then again, I don't seek out sad movies since I can be such a wuss at times.

Pinkett-Smith plays a great character. She is Cheadle's wife and I believe her character is supposed to be unlikeable so she fits in perfect since she is annoying and unlikeable!

Another negative to the movie is Sandler's New York accent. I don't like it. I didn't like it in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" and I don't like it now. Just seems too contrived for me. A minor complaint though as his performance in this dramatic role was pretty good. He showed some depth in this movie and he's moved into an actor and not just a funny man.

Charlie Wilson's War

2010-10-05T19:28:00.003-04:00

This was a fun movie. It almost demonstrates a 'butterfly effect' when Wilson's (Tom Hanks) seemingly well meaning efforts end up with us (America) creating more turmoil in Afghanistan.

Sure this movie shows some of Hollywood's liberal politics but I enjoyed that it shows that we as a country sometimes go in guns blazing and rip out the perceived evil without thinking about the further consequences of a power vacuum. Much like we may be doing back in Afghanistan (again) and in Iraq.

If for nothing else that is why this movie is worth watching. To make you think about how reactionary this country is and how we forget once the cameras and spotlights move away. We need to have a plan from start to finish and not just go with knee jerk reactions. This goes for foreign wars, our economy or our health care system. We need a long term view and most importantly the wherewithal to follow through.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

2010-09-04T21:42:00.004-04:00

I started watching this movie on a whim a few weekends ago. It had been in my queue because I loved the book when I first read it years ago. So when I was looking for a lights hearted movie to pass some time I decided to select this one.
I could not have been more pleasantly surprised! I mean this movie was just plain silly but at the same time I laughed quite a bit. It was by no means just a kids movie. Though I'm sure kids would love the food that falls from the sky!
This is a movie that is made for kids and appears to be just fine for that but it also allows the adults to watch the movie and still be entertained.

Then again maybe I'm just biased because I remember the book and got some good nostalgia laughs from it! I definitely recommend for anyone who read the book. Also I recommend the book if you haven't read it!

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

2010-09-02T19:45:00.002-04:00

A fun little movie. A couple of cheap laughs but not too many chuckle out loud moments. It was kind of sloppily done but it was still entertaining. Sure there was a Will Farrell cameo but even that was pretty lame and not really funny.

Good for a couple quick laughs but easily not a classic comedy or really one that you want to watch more than once.

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures

2010-08-30T15:30:00.002-04:00

A fun collection of stories from Malcolm Gladwell's time at The New Yorker. The problem with this format is that most of the stories are fairly short and this leaves you longing on many of the subjects. However the benefit is that you can move through a subject that you find unentertaining fairly easily. So there is that trade off.

Gladwell has an interesting way of presenting you with a story, allowing the reader to make the assumption on where he is going, but then switching tact and surprising you with direction he takes. Usually this leads to a pleasant surprise and a new angle that you might not have thought of using yourself.

Now, I had read Outliers before this book and wasn't really that impressed with his logic and his writing. That might be part of the reason why I was impressed with this book. It might have also been that his writing style is more conducive to the shorter format that these articles were presented in. What ever the reason I enjoyed the short lighter snippets in this book even if some of them left me wanting more.

Paper Heart

2010-08-24T01:42:00.003-04:00

Worst movie ever? This movie was terrible from beginning to end. This pseudo documentary was not funny, not entertaining and not educational. Did it bring anything to the table?

This was supposed to be a documentry I think but then they decided to throw in a fictional "love story" storyline that just didn't make much sense or really add anything to the movie.

By all means stay away from this movie unless the alternative is watching paint dry. Well, only if the paint is a boring color like white or yellow...

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2010-08-22T00:16:00.002-04:00

I was pleasantly surprised by the first Transformers movie. I was very afraid that they would ruin a childhood memory of mine. Luckily I went away slightly awestruck but VERY happy that they had succeeded in making a movie with a decent plot and was done well visibly.

This movie was more of the same, at least visually and effects wise. However the plot was kind of thrown together and kind of lame. I really didn't care for it much and it was secondary to the battle scenes.

I have some issues that carried over from the first movie though. They make the Autobots a little more human like and the Decepticons are very insect-like and I just don't really understand why. The Decepticons have all these jagged edges and extra tines and things hanging off of them.

It also seems to me that the robots have no scale when they transform into robot form. I mean I believe a mack truck robot (Optimus Prime) would be much larger than a man but it seems like they make him 40+ feet tall. I would think 20 feet or so would probably be right. I dunno, it just bothers me at how big they get versus their transformed selves.

The robot forms are also a bit too complicated. You lose a lot of identity of the robots and they all start seeming like the same grey machines. So that during the battle scenes you could very easily lose track of who was who. I hate this and I think it really takes away from the movie. We need to identify the good guys and even better, our favorites. It's just too hard as it is.

My final two complaints are specific to this movie. The first is for the stupid Jar-Jar Binks characters that were Skids and Mudflap. I found them to be very racist and just plain stupid that actually detracted from the movie. The other character I found odd was JetFire, the old Decepticon turned Autobot. Yes we get it, he's sooo old that he takes form of a Jet that was used from 1964 to 1998. That didn't really add up to me. Then when he transforms into robot form he has a cane. A cane! What is up with that? That left me very confused.

In the end this was only really worth watching if you are a fan of the Transformers genre because it isn't really great for the boring plot or the confusing battle scenes.

Despicable Me

2010-08-22T00:12:00.004-04:00

I went and saw this movie with my five year old nephew today. He found it hilarious! Sure enough the "fart gun" went over quite well with him.
The movies plot was very scrooge-esque. The evil villain encounters three young girls and eventually his heart grows large and he loves them. Not the most original plot but it works just fine. Jason Segel's character (the nemesis) is a pretty funny secondary character.
The real scene stealers are the several hundred minions (those odd yellow creatures with one or two eyes) as they provide several site gags and some physical humor through out the movie.
I knew going into this it was a kids movie and I wasn't really expecting much. It wasn't my favorite kids movie but there was 3 or 4 times I legitimately laughed aloud at and my nephew did not. I'd like to think it was because those were some adult jokes mixed into the movie. I did laugh at some of the same things he did as well though. This isn't a movie an adult can't sit through but I wouldn't be in a rush to see it without kids.

Up

2010-08-18T14:17:00.002-04:00

I thought this movie was going to a be funny kids movie with some adult jokes subtly thrown in. What I got was a pretty dark and sad movie. Definitely not what I was expecting.

The opening 10 minutes of the movie is a heart wrenching story about a couple who bond over hero worship and grow old together. Then the wife dies. Pixar amazingly conveys the pain and sadness of the husband. This 10 minute montage was actually the highlight of the movie.

Well, that and Dug the talking dog. He bordered on the annoying side at times as he became slightly overused but they did a decent job not going to him too much. I had a good chuckle when he first appeared and I enjoyed the talking dog gimmick throughout the movie.

What I did find annoying was the little child. Both in his image and his voice. I just didn't think there was enough of a story between the old man and child to carry the whole movie. I dunno, just not too much to this movie and I was having trouble suspending reality for the balloons anyways.

And that bird was wicked annoying too.

Hot Tub Time Machine

2010-08-08T11:41:00.002-04:00

What a whimsical journey to one of the greatest eras of our fine country. The 1980s was a time of excess, innovation and great style. If you are allergic to fluorescent colors and big hair you better keep your distance!

Granted any movie that takes us back to the 80s has the advantage of cheap comedic laughs with the costuming, other sight gags and references to 80s pop culture.

The movie itself was really just a slapstick buddy comedy. The friends have lost touch both with each other and themselves. Luckily, while on a trip back to an old high school hot spot, they encounter a time machine. A hot tub time machine that is.

While the movie was good for some laughs and nostalgia it wasn't the funniest movie I've ever seen. It might have some rewatchability since there are probably many references to 80s phenomenons that I missed the first time. The movie was lacking any real solid one liners, quotes or jokes to take away so the movie, in the end, is not very memorable.

Manually ejecting a DVD from CyberHome's CH-DVD 500 without power to the Unit

2010-08-04T11:30:00.007-04:00

So it turns out my DVD player recently died. It was a fun firework filled adventure. There was some odd noises, followed by some smells, followed by some smoke and of course some bursts of light.

All in all a typical electronics nightmare. Alas, my nightmare was not over since I had a small issue of a netflix issued DVD sitting in the now powerless DVD player.

What was I to do? I had not power to use the eject button!

Luckily I have no fear of cracking open any electronics let alone a measly DVD player.

When I got inside I noticed that this player just had a simple DVD drive along with some electronic boards. The good news was this meant that there was most likely a manual switch to open the drive tray. Now I just had to get the drive separated from the case front in order to find this button.

If you look at the picture to the right you will see 3 squares and two circles. The squares are tabs that we need to tilt the drive face to unhook. The two circles will slide away from the camera to disconnect the tray from the tray front in order to separate these two pieces so you can pull the DVD unit from the case.

At this point you can easily see the manually eject button what just needs to be pushed in and then the tray can be pulled out by hand. Now if you can come up with a tool to push reach this button without removing the DVD unit then you will be ahead of the game and probably won't end up breaking the tray front like I did!

Taken

2010-07-19T22:21:00.004-04:00

This movie struck me as a watered down Bourne Identity. There was some cool fight scenes but the plot was simple and came across very straight forward. This movie is kept short and doesn't try to develop the plot much.

I suppose it is actually kind of refreshing. I mean why bother setting up characters and plot for 30 minutes when you they would really just be vehicles for the fight scenes?

So, in summation, nice little action movie that doesn't bring much else to the table.

Avatar

2010-07-13T17:38:00.003-04:00

What movie needs to be 162 minutes long? Surely not this one. I had to watch it in two parts and it was still long.

This movie was also supposed to be a technical masterpiece. I will say one thing we are no closer to life like animated beings. They still look creepy and not human like.

The whole Na'vi world is very cartoony and actually came off as very uncreative to me as I felt like the creatures were all retreads from past cartoons/movies.

I was a bit confused between the "Real world" and the Na'vi world. It was a bit hard to picture the Na'vi being part of the real world and not some matrix like world separate from the human, live film world.

In the end the movie just didn't really make a lot of sense to me and I thought the special effects (CGI) work just wasn't good enough to overcome a boring plot and seemingly unimaginative characters. I don't even want to get into the social commentary that this movie appears to send (Forcing out the natives to achieve wealth) because that was the only clear part of this movie.

Maybe I'm just not a scifi kind of guy but this movie was really bland and the fact it was even in the talk for an Oscar is surprising to me. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. It should be marketed as a cartoon movie like Pixar's.

Liar's Poker

2010-07-06T14:01:00.003-04:00

"Liar's Poker" is a look onto Wall Street in the 80's as Michael Lewis, the author, experienced as an employee.

This book is only 310 pages and is actually a fairly fast read. A fast read when the story is interesting that is. I found several parts of the book that just bored me and made it hard to slog through the stories. Some of the details of bonds and options were a bit over my head which didn't help my enjoyment although I'm sure they helped enhanced the story.

It is fun to read the stories of traders on Wall Street by a person who did not consider himself a trader at heart. You do gain insight into the minds that control a huge part of our nation's economy. There is also plenty of success and failure stories that all involve levels of risk and courage (or stupidity) to take those risks.

For me the book stalled at times but I was still able to gain some insight into Wall Street that helps me understand some of the reasons things move the way they do, especially in light of the current economic collapse. I'm sure people who have more exposure to Wall Street can relate to and enjoy this book more than myself.

Overall a decent read.

The Informant!

2010-06-20T22:32:00.002-04:00

I'm still a little puzzled about this movie. It just seems to end without giving you a full answer to why things happened the way they did. I got a few chuckles along the way but it wasn't a knee slapping comedy.

The plot was pretty straight forward although it does reveal itself a bit early and you can guess the ending before the story actually unfolds. That is a bit disappointing but you can deal with it as the plot is still entertaining.

I just don't like the ending. I was left a bit confused by how they left it. Another question I had was how much did the wife know? Might have to watch it another time to see if I can't figure it all out. I'd give this movie a B- but I'm in no rush to recommend it to anyone.

Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas

2010-06-05T11:56:00.002-04:00

Just an odd movie. Apparently Bickford has such deep thoughts that it leads people to braingasm... Ya I know and it doesn't get much better than that. He loses his precious book and is on the search to find it. This is basically a teen romp that leads to a happy ending (and a loss of virginity!)

If you are in the market for a cheesy movie then go ahead and watch this one. I'd probably stay away unless you are that big of an Olivia Wilde fan that you just have to see all of her work. I personally don't think she's good enough for that but go nuts.

The Grand

2010-05-30T11:52:00.001-04:00

This was an amusing little mockumentary about The World Series of poker. Not too much heavy lifting here, no awards going to be handed out but there were some amusing laughs. If you can stream it on netflix it might be worth a viewing if you like the mockumentary style of films such as "Best in Show". It did have some funny people in it such as David Cross, Cheryl Hines, Richard Kind, Ray Romano and Chris Parnell but the film never really came together as funny as it potentially could have been.

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

2010-04-19T11:22:00.002-04:00

Boy oh boy was this book not quite what I expected. It was very heavily tilted towards mathematics and I was not expecting that at all!

The book contains some interest stories and statistics but overall it was just too tedious and might have been over my head. He does try to show you how some common usages of statistics are used incorrectly and he attempts to explain the correct usage. Those parts can be interesting but it is 219 pages and I slogged through them. Attempt to read this book at your own peril. Or at least be ready for some serious mathematical thinking which I clearly was not.

SWAY: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

2010-04-17T11:03:00.002-04:00

What a great and fast read. I flew through this book on a flight from Boston to Chicago. Not exactly the longest flight. Sure the book is only 181 pages so that helps the quickness of the read but the material is at least entertaining.

Why do good people make bad decisions? The book discusses this with various examples and studies. It really paints the picture of people who should know better (and actually DO know better) but still can't make the right decision based on various outside (and inside) influences. If you enjoyed reading the Freakonomics books and studying why people do things this book is surely for you.

The highlight of this book? The chapter labelled "In France, the Sun Revolves Around the Earth" which opens with the discussion of "Who wants to be a millionaire" audiences spitefully picking the wrong "ask the audience" answer. Is this proving my theory that spite is the greatest human emotion? Well if that doesn't do it for you the an additional study on two randomly assigned people splitting a $20 bill will sure prove it. Turns out people will reject a $18/$2 split because its not fair. Of course rejecting the bonus $2 versus $0 seems to not make sense but people will reject the offer if they deem it unfair to themselves. Spite wins again!

I strongly recommended this book. It's fun, quick, entertaining and even will learn you a thing or two!

I'm Reed Fish

2010-04-11T21:26:00.003-04:00

The movie is a little slow and kind of dull. What is really weird is at the end it turns out to be a movie within a movie so you need to sort out the characters again in the last 10 minutes. Kind of odd. Overall there was nothing really special or notable about this movie. C- for being a decent movie with no real appealing one thing.

Zombieland

2010-04-08T22:55:00.002-04:00

This movie was hilarious, light hearted and inane. It was the perfect movie for me tonight. No real lessons to learn (other than we all need people/friends/relationships) or any real heavy lifting on the viewers part. Just know some of the zombies are creepy looking and there are a couple of startling scenes where zombies just pop out. Other than that the movie is mostly a slapstick zombie movie.

I had some great laughs. The Bill Murray cameo is a hilarious touch. Woody Harrelson's character was flat out funny. He was the perfect casting as he is the right combination of crazy, creepy and funny. I didn't think I would ever enjoy his acting (if it was acting) as much as I did today.

This movie is only 88 minutes long and the pace is actually pretty fast so it flies by. No need for this movie to run any longer since there is no heavy plot. Just a couple of survivors avoiding zombies. I actually give this movie an A+ for its humor. This would never be confused with an Oscar movie and that is ok with me.

Big Papi

2010-04-07T09:06:00.000-04:00

This is the autobiography of David Ortiz written with Tony Massarotti. Kind of ironic that I read this before the 2010 season in which Ortiz could be potentially let go or relegated to a full time bench player.

Anyways the book itself is kind of bland and boring. It doesn't really reveal too much about his early life in the Dominican which is where I think most of our knowledge of Ortiz is the thinnest. He does shed some insight into his experiences in the minors and what lead to his release with the twins. Ultimately though you don't gain much new knowledge of him.

The biggest complaint I had though is the book is written as Ortiz speaks English which is to say not great. There are several bro's and you know's thrown in that make this very difficult to read and take serious.

Don't be in a rush to go read this book unless you are (still?) a big Ortiz fan.

The Broken Hearts Club

2010-04-04T20:14:00.003-04:00

Well this is what happens when you search for a movie containing an actor and don't really care what the movie is about. This is how you end up with this movie that is solely about homosexual men and their lives. There are a lot of notable (and presumably straight) actors in this movie: Zach Braff, Dean Cain, John Mahoney, Timothy Olyphant and Andrew Keegan.

The movie itself wasn't all that entertaining. Kind of a story about one of the gay men (Olyphant) deciding his current manizing (that gay for womanizing right?) and whats more from life. He attempts to find himself. In any case it is similar to any straight ensemble cast doing the typical relationships are hard and different for everyone movie.

I just didn't think the quality of this movie was all that great and the story lines are old and stale. It was kind of amusing watching many of these actors play gay. Braff's character was a little too similar to his role on scrubs. Hmmmmm...

Anyways this is movie was kind of blah so it gets a C.

Funny People

2010-04-04T19:07:00.004-04:00

I had heard some bad things about this movie but I found it to be pretty darn funny. Unfortunately most of the funny parts were from the one-liners of comedians doing their stand up and not so much from the script creating the humor. Still I found myself laughing quite a bit.

The plot itself was simple. Man learns he's dying, man has regrets and seeks out the one who got away, conflict with the lost love, discovery that he has made a real friend. Still I did enjoy the ending and the way it was presented but the movie was 2.5 hours long which is just way to long for any movie especially for a fairly simple plot like this movie.
The other thing I didn't like about the movie was how dark Adam Sandler's character was. I want to like Sandler but in this role he plays a guy who can be a jerk. It's tough but he pulls it off.
I give this movie a B+ mostly because of the length.

Bart Got a Room

2010-04-01T20:33:00.003-04:00

This movie was actually much more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be. A pleasant surprise actually. It's kind of a teen romp movie but not done with the usual dumb humor we expect from that genre. The movie stars William H. Macy, Cheryl Hines & Alia Shawkat (from Arrested Development) who all perform quite well.

The movie revolves around a high school senior who is getting ready for the prom. Hilarity ensues including an appearance of a hooker. As I said before this movie has a touch more of a mature vibe than the typical teen romp but in the end it still tries to express that teenagers sometimes get overwhelmed with issues that seem huge at the time but, in the end, are not big important things in the great scheme of life.

Don't be in a rush to go see this movie but for some good chuckles. It's short and it moves quick. A solid B- movie.

Up in the Air

2010-03-21T22:13:00.002-04:00

I wonder if the character in this movie was based on George Clooney or if it just seems that way. The main character is a loaner who spends his days going city to city. He's not looking for lasting relationships or to start a family which seems to be similar to the real life bachelor Clooney.

This movie is actually very depressing. The man built his life around accruing frequent flier miles. He has no real attachment to people and seemingly no desire for relationships. And then he meets a woman. Well he actually meets one woman but doesn't realize what he's been missing until a spunky young professional opens his eyes with her views.

It's a bit confusing to me whether I really enjoyed this movie or not. The story was actually entertaining although it is a mainly a romance movie it is also a coming of age type story where you watch the main character grow as a person. My biggest complaint is that the movie is just really depressing. That doesn't make it a bad movie just hurts it from a strictly entertaining aspect.

Overall a well done movie, Clooney was excellent, but a depressing movie.

Inglourious Basterds

2010-03-15T23:18:00.002-04:00

I don't think I am a Quentin Tarantino fan. I never saw the Kill Bill movies because they looked over the top and, quite frankly, stupid looking. Inglourious Basterds looked funny and amusing. It was 153 minutes which was just flat out too long for this movie as it is for most movies. You really need to be able to wrap up your story in 2 hours or less. There are few reasons to go much longer.

Overall the movie was entertaining and pretty good. The plot isn't too difficult to understand, it is a bit straight forward and is really only 2 stories coming together at the end. Don't get me wrong, I don't fully understand why this movie was made since it is all fantasy because I'm pretty sure Hitler didn't really die in a movie theater in France.

there was a couple of scenes that were cartoony and completely cheap which is one reason I'm not a Tarantino fan.

I'm a little surprised it was an Oscar Nominee. Then again I haven't seen the other movies yet so maybe it deserved to be in the nomination list.

Four Dead Batteries

2010-03-07T00:10:00.003-05:00

Ok, I only watched this movie because Alison Becker was in it and it was up for some award. The movie itself was incredibly amateur and quite boring. There are four characters and each had their own story line and the acting was terrible (save Alison) by the four leads. This movie was really a waste of time. It wasn't even all that funny which surprised me. Oh well.

Good Dick

2010-03-04T14:49:00.003-05:00

Wow. I really hate netflix for recommending this movie to me. Just a god awful movie that wasted my time.
You have to make many assumptions about the characters and the plot as the movie never actually tells you many things. Most movies expect you to discover some things on your own but this movie just throws in some random points.

There is a scene where the main character, "Man" is asked by his boss if he is using drugs again. What the heck? Where did that come from and why is it really relevant?

Oh ya the other lead "Woman" is obsessed with watching soft-core porn because she was molested by her father. Huh? I guess the movie is about the two leads finding peace or something? I'm not real sure. Don't watch this movie.

Beer Wars

2010-03-02T19:28:00.000-05:00

This documentary gives a view on the American beer industry. We get lessons on how the industry works and also insights on how tough it is for companies at different stages. We follow Moonshot which is (was at the time) a caffeinated beer that was slowly trying to break into the market in the New England area. Dogfish Head is a more established brand of beer but is still a minor player behind the big three (now big two after a merger of coors and miller).

The biggest things I learned from this movie is that there is an outdated 3 tier system for beer suppliers, distributors and consumers. The system is controlled by the breweries who own the distributors so the checks and balances are not working and no one is there to regulate the breweries as was intended.

Also, Anheuser-Busch comes off as a douchebag company in this movie. They seem bent only on dominating the market and making money. You really end up rooting for Dogfish Head over these larger breweries.

I guess the point is try micro-brews whenever you get the chance. There are many varieties of beer besides Bud and Bud Light. Get adventurous at bars.

(500) Days of Summer

2010-02-20T23:58:00.002-05:00

I loved this movie. I thought it was a nice little love story. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was pretty close to perfect in his role as the man who finds love then loses love and is forced to make sense of it all along with some self discovery.

Zooey Deschanel confuses me a bit. I'm not sure if I don't really like her or if it was partly her character. I got annoyed with the character because she begins to fall out of love and holds on to the relationship too long. I find that a bit annoying.

The movie story line was fun and the movie bounces around the timeline but not in an invasive or confusing way. They were able to intertwine important parts of the back story with the current time line. It was really well done and tied together.

yes the movie is a bit cheesy and romantic but it's still a good and definitely worth watching.

Gunnin' for That #1 Spot

2010-02-15T23:20:00.002-05:00

This was a fun documentary about high school basketball players. What makes the movie most amusing is the fact that all the players shown are either already in the NBA or likely to be in the NBA after this year of college. No real flameouts so far. That is pretty impressive.

The movie itself isn't to revelatory but it is amusing to watch and learn about the individuals. My favorite part is watching the two white players (Love and Singler) as they interact with the mostly ghetto black players not to mention the very ghetto Rucker Park.

After Sex

2010-02-15T20:03:00.002-05:00

This movie was a waste of my time. Just scene after scene of couples post-coital. Unbearable in almost every scene, tacking and cheesy. I watch these independent type movies hoping to discover some diamonds in the rough. I was hoping a star studded cast (including Jane Seymour, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Mila Kunis, Taryn Manning and Zoe Saldana) would signify that this would be one of those diamonds. Unfortunately I was wrong and this movie was in trouble from the get go with just a boring script and the scenes were weighed down with such boring and predictable story lines.

Please don't waste this 78 minutes of your life!

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

2010-02-15T18:00:00.002-05:00

This was a cute teen romantic comedy romp. Of course, Michael Cera is playing his usual character. Man that kid just keeps getting put back into the same role. Not that it doesn't work in this movie because it does. This movie is a fun little love story about two young kids that have love issues and then they find each other. They fall in love. Ta Da! Through in some puking and sexy dancing and you have a perfectly delightful teen romp!

Apparently this movie is based on a book. I might have to pick the book up, seems it might be a little less teeny bopper than the movie. We shall see.

In the meantime if you are looking for a light movie with some laughs and a fun love story, then go ahead and pick this up.

Mulholland Dr.

2010-02-14T21:33:00.001-05:00

This movie was awful. Maybe I just didn't get what was supposed to be going on. The movie is two and half hours and I did watch the first hour and then last hour and half about a week later.
I just don't get the movie. Was it supposed to be modern day or in the past? 50s? 40s? When?

And then the movie just gets confusing. It seems to move between dimensions sort of. Almost "Lost" like. SO I'm not sure what was going on and, quite frankly, I don't care. the only thing that was really interesting about the movie was the way the director used the camera (and the music) to create tension and drama in almost every shot. Then again maybe it was overused and led to the drama being sucked out since they wanted you to be on the edge of your seat the entire time.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Even enemies...

Gone Baby Gone

2010-02-13T14:33:00.000-05:00

I had heard great things about this movie. Especially with Casey Affleck's performance. The movie does throw in a nice twist ending but ultimately I didn't find it all that entertaining. The movie really does do a nice job tying it up in the end with a final scene. In fact that final scene does a nice job making up for some contrived scenes. The movie just had a weird flow to it. It's a film that I might need to watch again to pick up on it. It's been two weeks since I've seen it so maybe some of the subtly has left my mind. It's probably still worth watching and you can make up your own minds. It's almost a movie with 2 story lines. The surface story line which is fairly simple and straight forward (minus the twist) and then the story line that rumbles underneath that shows us the motivation for the first story line. That is where the final scene comes into play and shows that life and decisions made within that life are not as always simple and what they appear on the surface.

21

2010-01-23T12:03:00.002-05:00

"21" is the movie based on the book "Bringing Down the House". I found the book to be exciting, interesting and engaging. I did not find the same for the movie. Of course Hollywood had to butcher the story, simplify the plan and introduce a love story. Ugh, typical Hollywood.

Having read the book I might have been a bit biased about the movie but I'm not sure there was much here to enjoy anyways. The plot was both slow moving but rushed. There really isn't too much character building as we really focus around three characters: The Main, his mentor/nemesis and his love interest. That's right, this geeky MIT nerd ends up becoming cool and getting the hot girl.

Save yourself 2 hours and read the book and not this D movie. There are better teen romances out there if that is what you really are looking for.

SuperFreakonomics

2010-01-23T11:37:00.003-05:00

The follow up to their well received "Freakonomics". I love their fast paced style of writing. True sometimes they jump around a bit much and you forget the original point of the chapter. They always come back though.

I just love the interesting views they take and the way they use and create statistics to back up their points. They always present intriguing arguments for their points, so much so that at the end of the chapter you are steadfastly agreeing. Whether it be pointing out that car seats are not all that safe or how terrorists can easily avert detection.

As I already mentioned I flew through this book. Of course there is only 216 pages so its not exactly a heavy book to begin with. They also continue to present their information and arguments in a humorous style so the book remains entertaining no matter the subject. I give this book a A+ and I will continue to read anything they want to publish.

Rachel Getting Married

2010-01-19T22:59:00.002-05:00

Boy I tell you Netflix loves telling me to watch these independent type films that are so black. The movie revolves around Anne Hathaway's drug rehabbing character and her sister's wedding. Hathaway killed her baby brother while driving him around stoned. So her life is complicated.

The movie is so confusing and shot very strange. It seems to have been done with nothing but hand held cameras almost to a Blair Witch degree. With that you have some seasickness and sloppy scenes. One of my least favorite is when they come home at night and the scene moves to an unlit room that stays unlit for quite a bit of time.

I still don't get the whole wedding. The dress and decoration was Indian but there is quite the eclectic collection of guests and cultures. I was confused. And the groom had huge glasses. What the heck was going on.

The movie ran just shy of 2 hours and not surprisingly it could have been easily cut down to 90 minutes or so. I'm not actually sure if this was an independent film or not but it sure has that feel of trying to do to much and is too full of itself with its overly complicated camera actions and the shear unnecessary length of scenes. This movie gets a C- from me and that might be a bit generous. It's tough to recommend anyone to use 2 hours of their time on this film.

The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons

2010-01-12T00:06:00.003-05:00

I finally finished the latest Bill Simmons book. Let me tell you, it was quite the task. The book is over 700 pages long and it definitely felt that long.
Simmons attempts to tackle some interesting subjects including differentiating the eras and the Russell/Chamberlain debate. He actually makes some very interesting points about the eras including discussing the high scoring on poor shooting and lack of defense that the NBA played in the early years (50's). Shooting 38% was the norm rather than a poor shooter.

Anyways, what seems like the bulk of the book is the Hall of Fame pyramid which is 5 levels of the greats, rather than all HOFs bulked together. He settled on a list of 96 players. After slogging through the list of players he then attempts to determine the greatest team of all time. I don't want to spoil it for you but I was surprised by his top players and not by his top team.

Simmons seems to have a bit of an obsession with modern players and can't fully appreciate how players of a different era didn't have to play in this game. He talks of the evolution of the game but is always hating on older players by saying they have no place in the game today. Maybe that is part of the problem with today's game? Not enough basketball players and too many athletes? Just a thought.

The book was just ok but it was very long winded and although I am a fan of his columns (when he writes them which is rare now) this book doesn't have the same feel. Sure there are some good pop culture references in the book but I think the length and subject matter blended them all in a bit too much. I can give this book a B but just be warned that even if you're a Simmons fan this book would be a task and a half unless you really care about the NBA and more importantly its history.

Slumdog Millionaire

2010-01-05T22:11:00.006-05:00

Wow. Just wow. This is hands down the best movie I have gotten through netflix so far. I just loved the story I suppose. It's told a little odd because the beginning of the movie is actually contains flashbacks to two separate time frames. They reflect on Jamal's appearance on a popular Indian version of "Who wants to be a millionaire". They go through each question to figure out how a dirt poor kid from the slums could know the answers.

Those questions are the vehicle for a look back in the lives of Jamal and Salim. For each answer there is a dramatic story from his youth. A youth filled with problems and issues and a very complicated relationship between the two brothers.

Of course having the gorgeous Freida Pinto as your love interest will also help the movie! She essentially drives a wedge between the two brothers as they struggle with their relationship.

The movie is, of course, a love story when all is said and done. Most movies are but this one was able to intertwine a brilliant story of two brothers who watch out for each other. Even when it looks like big brother has abandoned little brother he comes through in the end.

The movie does have some subtitled scenes, but they are not overwhelming. I did struggle with some of the accents and I rewound a couple of times. Even with these drawbacks this move is still a solid A+ and it deserved all the recognition it got including the 2008 Best Picture.

Throw in a bonus bollywood dance scene with the credits (with a song that also won an Oscar for best original song) and I am sold on this is one of the best movies of the 2000's and I'm leaving you with the song "Jai Ho".

Sunshine Cleaning

2009-12-23T18:10:00.003-05:00

I was really hoping this movie would be full of more joking than it was. Instead it was a story about two sisters and their struggles. It was a nice movie, not as funny as I had hoped and it was more of a serious movie. It was interesting dynamic between the older sister and her younger never-do-right sister. They lost their mother when both were young and were left for their father to raise them. The eldest sister has a son and is in a relationship with a married man.
They start a crime scene cleanup company and learn quickly that there are strict regulations on disposals. Of course the younger sister causes the company to go under. Can the sisters rebuild their relationship? Of course they can and thats why this movie ends up a B.

Cashback

2009-12-20T16:31:00.000-05:00

British movies are very odd. This one was no exception. This one was confusing, had some humorous parts, lots of gratuitous nudity when he "freezes" time in order to draw the female form. Some where in here there was a love story as well. Not really a good movie. I have to give it a D+.

The Life of David Gale

2009-12-17T22:56:00.004-05:00

This movie came highly recommended to me. I have discussed the problems with high expectations before. This movie fell into that same trap. I think there was a very good movie locked in here but I felt deflated when I figured out the plot less than a 1/3 of the way through the movie. The transparency of the plot was alarming. It felt like too much was spelled out ahead of the revealing final of the movie.

I did enjoy the movie and thought the idea of the movie and plot was very good. What I did not fully understand was the emotional connect that Kate Winslet's character Bitsey Bloom felt with David Gale. She ends the movie sobbing when she is unable to prevent the death of Gale. I still can't figure out why she was so upset when she started the movie fully convinced he was a murderer. Was it solely because she felt she could have prevented the death? Did she not see that he wanted to make a martyr of himself? Maybe it was not as obvious to her character as it was to the movie viewer but still when she figured the truth of the story why did she not see that he may have been a lead character in the plot?

Frustrating to watch her tear herself apart. I do give the movie a B+ because the plot was good underneath some overbearing points that spelled out the plot too much for my liking.

Why does this entertain me so much?

2009-12-14T11:59:00.000-05:00

This Year in Auto-Tune 2009 frombreak.com

SLC Punk

2009-12-08T22:46:00.003-05:00

I wasn't a huge Matthew Lillard fan going into this movie and nothing about it made me change my mind.

The movie was set in 1980's Salt Lake City. Lillard is a punk raised by Yuppies in the repressive state that is Utah. I was really bored during this movie. I kept waiting for something, anything to happen. I'm not real sure what this movie was supposed to be about. It just kept introducing people and circling around.

Lillard had monologue after monologue and I must have just missed the point of the movie. I mean at the end of the movie Lillard eventually decided to abandon the punk way and go to Harvard Business school. He did point out that becoming punk was actually his way to fit in and his rebelliousness was actually an act of conformity. If he wanted to create chaos he could do it within the system.

I think. Like I said I had a hard time paying attention to this movie. C movie at best.

Dan in Real Life

2009-12-03T00:26:00.006-05:00

This movie came very highly recommended to me. This movie was not as laugh out loud funny as I thought it was going to be. I had expected a movie similar to 40 year old virgin, not another Little Miss Sunshine. It really doesn't even have many funny parts but the story it tells is a nice story.

The story revolves around Dan, an advice columnist, and his three daughters. After his wife died four years ago he was left to raise his now 17, 15 and 4 year old daughters. They go to the family's cabin in Rhode Island and spend the time with the entire family, his 2 brothers, 1 sister and their children. In the morning Dan's mother insists that Dan goes out to fetch a newspapers. While Dan is out he meets a woman and falls in love. Of course there is an obstacle. Unfortunately she's on her way to meet up with Dan's brother whom she has been dating.

Sure enough Dan overcomes this, falls in love and regains his daughters love as well. A happy ending for everyone. It's a nice, sappy movie and pretty much what you expect from a PG-13 movie. A B- for this nice family movie.

Amy and Anthony's travel rankings

2009-12-02T13:29:00.002-05:00

I reorganized their rankings but I could not display it in their comments so I put it here in order to link to it.
Here is their Original Post

Location	Amy	Anthony	Average Rank
Morocco, Marrakech	1	1	1
Istanbul, Turkey	2	3	2.5
Venice, Italy	3	5	4
Maldives	4	4	4
Amalfi Coast, Italy	9	2	5.5
Bath, UK	5	7	6
Berlin, Germany	6	6	6
Dubrovnik, Croatia	7	8	7.5
Ireland	8	9	8.5
Paris, France	10	10	10
Monaco	12	14	13
Stockholm, Sweeden	14	12	13
Seychelles	11	17	14
Florence, Italy	17	13	15
Windsor, UK	21	11	16
Rome, Italy	15	18	16.5
St. Petersburg, Russia	13	21	17
Edinburgh, Scotland	19	15	17
Prague	18	16	17
Barcelona, Spain	16	23	19.5
Munich, Germany	20	19	19.5
Lisbon, Portugal	22	20	21
Dubai	23	22	22.5
Amsterdam	24	24	24
Cairo, Egypt	25	25	25

Sex Drive

2009-11-27T16:19:00.008-05:00

Another teen romp very similar to the movie "Road Trip". See this movie is about a group of teens that take a road trip to visit the woman the lead character thinks is the one he loves or will lose his virginity to in this case. Not surprisingly the one he was meant for was the one he knew all along! Just kidding, you could see this coming from 5 minutes into the movie. A typical teen romp but, it was actually pretty decent for a teen romp. A couple of really funny scenes and a sweet cameo with Seth Green.

I'm not exactly what was put in for the unrated version but I think there are some outtakes put right into the movie and of course gratuitous nudity strewn throughout. Literally gratuitous, like superimposed shots of naked ladies (and men).

Also this movie introduced me to the lovely Alice Greczyn. She played a beautiful amish woman. Quite frankly, I would like to see some more of her. Alice alone would have made this movie worth it to me.

A C+ with the plus being Alice and Seth Green's performances.

Diggers

2009-11-27T12:19:00.003-05:00

Another movie with Paul Rudd and Kenny Marino so of course its gotta be good. This one was written by Ken Marino. It's a story of 70's era clam diggers on Long Island and of course, their struggles.
This movie was in the Toronto and SXSW film festivals. Now the problem I have with "comedies" from film festivals is that they often are not as funny as you would assume comedies are. This movie does have some funny moments but it isn't as out right funny as you might expect. However this movie was very good. I really enjoyed the story. It actually comes across as a sad movie. Not really what I was expecting at all.

That said I enjoyed the movie nad it is a solid B. Just don't go into it expecting kneeslapping humor.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan

2009-11-27T12:03:00.004-05:00

When you go into a movie with low expectations you often come out pleasantly surprised. This is the case with Zohan for me. I knew it had to have some laughs but I was laughing pretty much non stop for the first hour of the movie. Just slap stick scene after scene. Sight gags, one liners, everything you need from a good comedy.

Then the love story started...

I don't really have anything against love stories. Especially since EVERY movie involves some sort of love story. It is always the underlining plot in a movie script. This had the added benefit of starring Emmanuelle Chriqui who is extremely hot. That always makes a love story easier to swallow.

Sure the last hour seemed interminable. Does the first hour out weigh the last? Yes but not enough. It turned out to be a decent movie that just ran too long. A B- seems fair enough to me. Maybe if you just watch the first hor and call it a day you would enjoy the movie more.

Role Models

2009-11-27T11:43:00.002-05:00

This movie was hilarious. Paul Rudd starred and wrote (Along with The State's Ken Marino & others) in this movie. It was also directed by David Wain who previously did "Wet Hot American Summer" & "The Ten".

I think it is safe to say I love David Wain's movies. You have the the same cast of actors that he usually uses (The State cast members for example) and they are hilarious. Jane Lynch (Glee, Best in Show) was hilarious as usual playing a slightly creepy and out of touch organizer of a big brother/big sister program.

The one who really steals the screen for me is young Bobb'e J. Thompson's character of Ronnie. This young black kid is, for lack of a better word, sassy. He plays off of Seann William Scott's character perfectly. He is cussing and overly sexual to a degree that is far, far off the expected beaten path. He definitely steals the show.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse is great as the dork LARP playing teenager. He breaks down Paul Rudd's character quite nicely and leads to a final scene with the group. I don't want to end it but the movie's climax scene is worth the price of admission. Admission for me being my free netflix subscription.

This movie is nothing short of an A+. It is non-stop laughs and lived up to all the hype that I had going into it.

The Ten

2009-11-25T16:35:00.002-05:00

This masterpiece of a film is brought to you by the director of "Wet Hot American Summer". Lots of familiar faces in this movie Paul Rudd, Winona Ryder, Jessica Alba, Oliver Platt, Rashida Jones, Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter & many more.

The movie is based around the ten commandments and includes ten stories each one based on a commandment. However we are also treated to a story of the narrator (Paul Rudd) and his wife (Famke Janssen) between each story. The end of the movie is a spectacular musical number. If you enjoyed "Wet Hot American Summer", Reno 911 or The State then you will love this movie as it continues with its inane humor.

Luckily I do love those movies/shows so I give this movie a solid A+ for being frigging hilarious. I'd give it higher if my scale was capable. The last skit was the best of all. Did I mention the musical number at the end?

100 Girls

2009-11-25T13:01:00.004-05:00

This movie is cheesy. Super cheesy. Add in the superfluous nudity and you have yourself a GREAT movie for young boys 12-16. It's not really worth watching for anyone above that age range. It's not particularly funny though it does have some good gags (again mostly for younger guys) but they are few and far between.

The other big plus is that it does have tv's Alex Mack (Larisa Oleynik) and Emmanuelle Chriqui, which is an added bonus to any movie. A couple other notable names in the movie as well with Katherine Heigl and Jaime Pressly as well.

As I mentioned above this is a cheesy movie aimed best for teenager so I would not recommend to anyone older. A c- because of my age.

House writers mention Epps/Tomlin similarities

2009-11-23T23:52:00.004-05:00

So it is not new news that Omar Epps and Mike Tomlin look alike. What is news and humorous is that in tonight's episode the House character alludes to the similar looks. House notes that it is good to have his team back and he "feels like Mike Tomlin, probably not as much as you do" and then the camera cuts to Omar Epps. Brilliant pop culture reference for the writers. A great laugh aloud moment for the show.

Smart People

2009-11-21T23:31:00.003-05:00

A Sundance movie so of course the movie is going to think it is better than it really is. This move reeks of self importance. The reality is this isn't a special movie. It tells a nice story of a messed up adult man and his equally messed up family. Dennis Quaid is a widowed English Professor With a college aged son and High School daughter. His adopted, deadbeat brother comes to town and quickly becomes the catalyst to the families change of life. Sure enough he makes Quaid a better father and person.

My biggest problem with this movie? It being categorized as a comedy when it is clearly a romantic comedy. I don't really remember any strikingly funny scenes. There sure is one awkward adopted brother/uncle & niece kiss. That was strikingly uncomfortable and an odd twist to the movie.

Overall a sub par movie. C

Step Brothers

2009-11-21T19:41:00.002-05:00

This movie was a typical Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly movie. There were some good laughs. A couple of scenes where they just let the two actors throw out lines as they think of them. As usual these scenes had some gems in them and although the scenes are a bit contrived they do still pack laughs.
The plot is fairly simple and of course it does not involve any heavy intellectual lifting which is really what you want and expect from these movies.

All in all there were plenty of laughs but not their best work although I look forward to more from this tandem.

B+

Tropic Thunder

2009-11-13T00:06:00.002-05:00

I finally saw "Tropic Thunder". This movie had some laughs but it had a lot to live up to. There was some funny scenes but the movie did kind of drag along. It was really a lot of downtime just waiting for the next gag scene. There were a couple of funny scenes and Robert Downey Jr. was hilarious as an Australian actor playing the black squadron leader. "What do you mean YOU people?", "What do YOU mean you people?". That was a great line but I saw it in the commercials and trailers so it wasn't that new.

Tom Cruise's cameo wasn't that great. He didn't really add much to the movie as a whole and I wasn't that impressed. Mathew Mcconaughey was as good or maybe even better in his bit part.

The movie wasn't overly hilarious or complicated but there were a couple of laughs. C+ at best.

Movie Review: The Babysitters

2009-11-10T23:09:00.003-05:00

The Babysitters(2007)
Rated: R

When honors high school student Shirley (Katherine Waterston) becomes romantically entangled with Michael (John Leguizamo), the married father of one of her baby-sitting clients, she quickly recognizes the affair's potential for turning a profit. The enterprising Shirley soon sets up a teenage prostitution ring made up of school chums who she matches up with Michael's bored married friends, all under the guise of baby-sitting.

Genre: Indie Comedies, Late Night Comedies, Dark Humor & Black Comedies

So I signed up for netflix and this was the first movie I watched via the internet. I thought it was going to be a comedy as that was the category I was in. Instead I found an adult black comedy. Sure I had some laughs. Some from awkwardness but they were still laughs right?
The star of this movie (besides John Leguizamo) is Katherine Waterston who is the daughter of Sam Waterston (of Law and Order fame). You can definitely tell the relation by looking at her. That becomes a bit awkward since she gets topless in this movie.
In summation, the movie was a bit odd but definitely contained some laughs. If you go into the movie knowing it is a dark comedy and the content of the movie is a bit uneasy than you will enjoy it.
B+

"When the Game Was Ours"

2009-11-04T16:30:00.003-05:00

This book was written by Larry Bird & Magic Johnson with Jackie MacMullan. I was told this book would contain their story as we had not heard it before. Honestly though, I feel as if the book was just another retelling of the same stories. Maybe I need someone to point out the new content for me but I really felt I had heard these stories all before. I suppose we were given some official insight into the minds of these two superstars but mostly they were just confirming what many had speculated for years. Maybe that is why the stories didn't seem fresh, we had already assumed we knew the truths.

In summation I can not endorse you paying $25+ to buy this book. It might be a nice read if you have not read either of their previous autobiographies or any of the previously written books on the players or their teams.

My Dog is an underachiever

2009-09-15T13:34:00.002-04:00

This dog plays pool and my dog just hangs out and naps all day.

Smart Dog Can Shoot Pool - Watch more Funny Videos

Ellen to be new Idol judge?

2009-09-10T13:59:00.002-04:00

We have Paula's replacement and it will be Ellen. What the hell? Is this a blatant grab for the gay/lesbian community? Is it an attempt to add humor into the judges table? I don't get how she fits in. What kind of music background does she have?

This makes no sense...

Abstinence vs Sex

2009-08-26T11:13:00.002-04:00

from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.

What happens to those "Cash for Clunkers" cars?

2009-08-19T15:30:00.001-04:00

The Cash For Clunkers law requires dealers to destroy the engines of the trade-in vehicle or face a $15,000 penalty.

Found on jalopnik.com

Back to the Future 1 and 2 Comparison

2009-07-28T02:56:00.000-04:00

I grabbed this from CollegeHumor.com

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Pete Rose's ban from baseball to be lifted?

2009-07-27T11:35:00.002-04:00

Pete Rose should be in the baseball Hall of Fame. He is the all time hit leader and was a great baseball player. As a human being he would probably not be in anyone's Hall of Fame.

I think the guy is a scumbag. I would never go near him and probably wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. The Hall of Fame shouldn't be about that though. It is about baseball. It is the same Hall that has Ty Cobb in it. The Ty Cobb that was a notorious racist. The HOF wants to be so pure and a beacon of all that is good. It really is only a museum. It is letting politics taint its vision of the history of the game. Rose has a lifetime ban from baseball and this is what is keeping him out of the Hall. I think he bet on baseball and I think he is guilty of the more egregious, betting on his OWN games. Does this mean he should be out of the Hall of Fame? Definitely not. He was great at PLAYING THE GAME. Which is what the Hall should dictate.

Pete Rose is always around Cooperstown during HOF weekend. He is at card shows and other baseball related events, always looking to parlay his name (or autograph) into some quick cash. This is yet another reason that I think he is a dirty, scummy man. It just seems like it is always about selling something and getting paid with him. Why can't the Hall just induct him into the hall but ban him from advertising himself as a HOFer? That would be the simplest solution. I'm not positive it is doable though.

The reality is I only think Rose makes the Hall posthumously where he is finally honored but he can no longer use this label for his own personal gains and taint the legacy of the Hall.

Nirvana vs Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit up

2009-07-23T14:06:00.000-04:00

What is better than Rick Astley? Rick Astley with some teen angst added in...

Ok, eventually you'll just get a headache, but come on, you know you want to send it to (and annoy) your friends.

Star Wars Dance Off 2009

2009-07-22T15:22:00.000-04:00

Brian Cashman vs Vladimir Putin

2009-07-17T12:53:00.002-04:00

Hmmm, there is a bit of a resemblance.

This is why we are fat

2009-07-07T12:06:00.004-04:00

This is why You're fat is a great blog catalogging photos of food creations that are grossly fat and in no way healthy.

One great example is this sandwich, "The Smoker". It contains a half pound ground ribeye, sirloin, prime rib patty topped with Havarti cheese, seven pieces of maple bacon, sauteed onions and smoked pepper mayo.

Or maybe you are interested in "The Royal Flush". That is just a pile of 3 sunny side up eggs, beans, red chile sauce, cheddar cheese, 4 corn tortillas and 3 hash browned potatoes.

Thanks Beautiful

2009-07-06T13:04:00.002-04:00

Nomar returns but does anyone still care?

It was in 2004 that Nomar decided he wanted out of Boston. The sox then dealt him and won the World Series. It seems like everyone got what they wanted. I had ill will for Nomar those last couple of years, thanks to his clutch time pop ups. I enjoyed mockign him the next couple of years but at this point, who cares?

Mother's Day Failure

2009-06-25T14:33:00.002-04:00

See anything wrong with this ad. At least for an English reading audience?

This was shown in an article on cnet.com about Mother's Day being promoted in Vietnam

Obama is called out on his "Nerdiness"

2009-06-25T13:08:00.001-04:00

This is John Hodgman (He's a PC) at the Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner.

Reunited and it feel so good.

2009-06-22T14:51:00.001-04:00

2 young men bought a lion cub. They had to give him up after a year. The lion goes to a conservation in Africa. Several years later they go to visit him. No one is quite sure what would happen if the lion did spot them.

Here is what did happen.

New angle on Tiananmen Square's Tank Man

2009-06-20T14:56:00.001-04:00

The NY Times recently had a very good article on the 4 images of the "tank man" of Tiananmen Square.

After reading that article Terril Jones contacted the Times to show them a picture he had been sitting on for years. That photo gives us a whole new angle on this man's stand against the tanks.

You can read the story behind the photo in the NY Times article

Long Island Wants to Secede

2009-06-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Long Island Wants to Secede

thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Jason Jones in Iran

Zack Morris on Jimmy Fallon

2009-06-09T12:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is hilarious. He hasn't missed a beat.

Facebook Rap

2009-05-29T11:14:00.000-04:00

Not bad actually and definitely funny.

Practice?

2009-05-22T12:28:00.002-04:00

"Glee" - Pilot episode

2009-05-19T21:46:00.006-04:00

Sure, maybe I'm only into this show because I have a weird thing for the 22 year old star of the show, Lea Michele. Star of the show to me of course.

Other than her it does look like this show could offer a few laughs. Jane Lynch is in it. You can recognize her from "Best in Show" and other good comedies.

Anyways don't be afraid to check out Glee on Fox. It was on tonight at 9 but I'm not sure what the time slot will be.

Stray bar

2009-05-18T11:50:00.002-04:00

Mike Tyson's PunchOut for the Wii?!

2009-05-14T12:03:00.002-04:00

I like how they've dropped Tyson from the game but still, how could this NOT be awesome?

American Idol - Season 81 of 3 voted off

2009-05-13T22:49:00.002-04:00

Here we are down to the last three.

Kris Allen is the first saved. I figured that one. The ladies must love him. I was told he nailed "heartless" last night so I went back and rewatched it. That is exactly the performance that shows why I think he could be a great pop star and the ladies will love him.

Dammit, Adam is the other finalist. What a poser tonight with his skull necklace. This kid suuuuucks.

Peace I'm outta here.

American Idol - Season 83 finalists compete

2009-05-12T23:02:00.002-04:00

Sweet 3 dudes are left. I'm totally still in the show.... UGH!
But seriously the show is down to Kris and Adam. Danny is a side note and Adam actually sucks and will not sell many albums, so we will see how this goes.

Danny did ok with a crappy Travis Trent D'arby song.

Kris just slayed "Apologize" but the judges didn't like it so much. Too bad because he killed it and he could sell records with it.

Adam gets to sing "one" by U2. A typical butchering by him. He gets so damn screechy. The judges keep saying he is so good but he just isn't...

I'm not even watching the rest I am appalled by this show now.

Justin Timberlake - Immigrant Tale

2009-05-12T14:20:00.003-04:00

I actually dream of a day when my great-great grand son will bring sexy back.
Bring sexy back, what does that mean?
It will be gone and he'll bring it back!
Where did it go?
Trust me, people will be on board!

And of course the best line:
Then he'll make love with women so beautiful and so often that it won't be enough for him and he'll, I don't know, he'll try some stuff with guys.

Break a car window with a little piece of spark plug

2009-05-12T12:16:00.001-04:00

Extreme - Car Glass Crush W/ Tiny Piece!

The Price Is Right Highlight

2009-05-07T13:42:00.002-04:00

Last Scrubs for Zach Braff

2009-05-06T22:23:00.002-04:00

Tonight's season finale of Scrubs will be the last episode for Dr. John "JD" Dorian (played by Zach Braff). ABC has not yet committed to renewing the show for another season but indications are that Scrubs will be on its schedule when they announce it later this May.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the departure of Braff. They have had several other shows this year revolve around other characters so I believe they are hoping the format will work with other characters. That has yet to be seen and I, for one, do not think the show will retain its charm.

American Idol - Season 81 of 4 voted off

2009-05-06T21:21:00.003-04:00

Well No Doubt proves once again that they (Gwen) are not good live.

The real news is that it is time to say good-bye to 16 year old Allison Iraheta.

That is too bad, I thought she was very, very good. With out a doubt though we have not seen the last of her. Sometimes it is better to not win so you can get your own record deal.

American Idol - Season 8 - 4 Finalists Compete

2009-05-05T20:31:00.003-04:00

This week is Rock week. Guns N' Roses' guitarist Slash will be appearing. We also will be getting duets from the contestants which will be interesting. Whatever you have to do to fill an hour I guess.

Adam Lambert leads off by dressing like David Bowie and singing "Whole Lotta Love". He is supposed to be a rock singer so this should be good for him. He's pretty boring though, sounds like every other song he has done.

Allison is singing "Cry baby" which is a bit disappointing because it comes off too much like Allison is copying Janis Joplin. She should be making her own sound and persona. That's not saying she did a bad job, she did good but it was just predictable.

Kris and Danny then do their duet, "Renegade". Kris struggles with the rock style while Danny seems at home with it. Kris is definitely not a rock singer and needs to stick with his serenading style instead.

Kris is choosing "Come Together" tonight. This is coming off as a disaster to me. I struggle to find even one thing I like about it.

Danny chose "Dream On" by Aerosmith. Not a bad rendition but not great either.

Allison and Adam close the show by taking us on a "Slow Ride". Lucky for us Adam found his spandex striped pants for this show. They actually play off of each other very well with the similar vocal style and voices. Adam gets too screechy for me as usual but other than that it was very good.

Judging by tonight only, Kris should be heading home.

Rashida Jones is hot.

2009-05-01T00:34:00.006-04:00

As a public service: Rashida Jones is HOT. She is on the show Parks and Recreation currently. It's kind of a rip off of The Office and thus isn't that good.