Dean's Thoughts on Entertainment

Supporting Actor of the Week

It’s been a little while since my last supporting actor blog, my apologies to those who would have been selected, you will know have to wait until I remember you again. If you want to speed up your selection send me free copies of your movies and I will be sure to include you.

Sean Bean



I have seen a good bit of him lately, and often that is what leads to my selection. Sean Bean will now probably be remembered for his role of Boramir in Lord of the Rings, but before that he would probably be noted for his role as 006 in the Bond movie Goldeneye. I have loved him in many movies and he recently was admitted to my exclusive All-Star list. My favorites from his catalog would be the two mentioned above as well as Ronin, Patriot Games, Equilibrium, and Don’t Say a Word. He plays the hell out of villain roles but after seeing him in Equilibrium and Lord of the Rings I really hope we can get more hero roles for him. For my recommended movie of the week, umm…watch Equilibrium I guess I have been pushing that one a bit lately, but it’s good, and that’s important.




Van Helsing



If you haven’t seen the trailer for Van Helsing yet, than you are truly missing out on something. I would be willing to pay eight bucks to see the trailer on the big screen, let alone the movie which looks like it is going to be wall-to-wall awesome. I do yearn for the approach of May which is when it will be released.

Fargo



Fargo was one of my wonderful Christmas presents and I was able to view it on Sunday while working. I had even more love for this movie after watching it again, and I would recommend it with a few reservations. It is gruesome at points; let’s just say that someone travels through a wood chipper. I think that Fargo is my favorite movie that the Coen Brothers have produced with Raising Arizona as a close second, and I plan on investigating a few other Coen movies that I missed because of this one’s quality. It is a dark tale involving many of the worst people that have ever been portrayed on screen, and the portrayals are all excellent by the likes of Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy, and Frances McDormand. The movie is very unique, I am having a hard time reviewing it, but if you don’t mind some wood chipper than I would insist that you view it.

Mythbusters



My favorite new show would definitely be Mythbusters which is the Discovery Channels first show to be garnered for me. I do enjoy the American Chopper series and the different shows starring Jesse James, but I am not into Motorcycles and don’t fully appreciate anything they do. Ah but Mythbusters is another story. It stars two special effects guys who take popular myths and put them to the test with their great knowledge of machines and science. For example, they took the popular myth that Cell Phones can ignite a gas station in flames. To test it, they build a see-through building fill it with gas fumes and call the cell phone that they placed inside it. The myth is false, but while they have the building already built they show the real culprit and we are rewarded with a giant flaming explosion. That rules. I have yet to see a disappointing episode, and for an added bonus…it’s educational.

Black Hawk Down



I remember being disappointed with this movie when I first saw it, but several things from it stuck with me so I decided to watch it again to re-evaluate. Luckily, I was able to score the 3-Disc special edition of this movie from a Pawn Shop for 7 bucks to make the whole venture possible. The reason I was disappointed was that the movie is mostly a portrayal of the event, there is much less drama and plot and the dialogue was often forced and overwritten. Plus, Josh Hartnett is one of the lead characters and it’s his misshapen face on the front of my DVD case. But, the movie is intense, and the turmoil and insanity of the situation was captured in such a way that you feel much like one of the soldiers. The thing that I find continually strange is that I kind of want to be there, even though many of them are dying and being shot to bits. I think the military could have been a vocation of mine, and it is enjoyable for me to get a glimpse of the life I could have had…or maybe the life I could have lost. In addition to the ground level view of the horrific nature of the battle, you get a great cast minus the nearly incompetent Hartnett with Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana (this is before The Hulk, so forgive him), Jason Isaacs, and Jeremy Piven.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force



I bought this DVD set just for the episodes featuring the Mooninites, which are the funniest animated characters that I have seen in a long time. I didn’t think this show was funny until like the fifth time I watched it, mainly because I couldn’t get past the main characters being living pieces of meat, fries, and a shake. But once I trained my brain to allow such a thing I have been very amused with the show. And after listening to some Commentary I discovered that the Mooninites will be getting a show of their own, which will be very good.