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An avid movie collector reviews movies, games, and TV shows for the common man, among other things. Spoiler Free

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Your Thoughts Needed

I have added the ability to add comments to the Blog, and so if you wanted to speak up about anything I say feel free to do so. This also applies to my old Blogs, so If I pissed you off a few months ago head back and let me have it. I haven't added it to my profile or movie list though, because I think it would only lead to bad things. Enjoy.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Propaghanda

I'm your average Joe voter, I swing back and forth with no ties to either party. But lately I have been bombarded with Anti-Bush messages from many sources namely Rolling Stone. See, I like my propaghanda delivered like a wise hitman slowly poisoning me for days on end. But this year it has been flaming barrages launched with sirens and strobe lights. Rolling Stone has been anything but subtle, with at least 1 if not 3 anti-Bush articles in each magazine each week since a few weeks after 9.11. I'm not a big Bush fan, but I don't like anyone being abused that much, especially the Commander-In-Chief. While I may disagree on many points, I do not condone personal insults against the current President. I didn't like it when everyone was Clinton bashing after the scandal, and I don't like it now. I wish I could say that personal attacks had no place in politics, but it seems to hold a bigger place than policies and ideas. Rolling Stone and many other sources have taken it too far, and they don't even attempt to be even-handed. For Instance, I read an 5-6 page article about the bands that are uniting against Bush, and then there was a little caption showing the Pro-Bush singers. And the Straw Men selected were Jessica Simpson (Dumbest Girl in America), Gene Simmons (The Longest Tongued Man in America), and the Motor City Madman Ted Nugent (Craziest Man in America). This trend has continued for a long time in RS, dating back to right after the invasion of Iraq when a few bands got together to bash Bush. They all got big write ups and pictures, and Three Doors Down got mentioned in one of the captions (Oh and Three Doors Down supports the Troops). Its ridiculous. And now I am hearing a whole lot about Fox News being overly Republican, isn't Fox News the only Right Wing news show? Are all the other stations not enough? And how can a magazine which has not even begun to be neutral attack another station of the same thing? The whole thing is repellent, and you wonder why the Youth don't vote.

Bah.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Fox, you make me sad

Fox renewed Tru Calling for another season. This is the kind of show to cancel, the ones that actually suck. I want better for Eliza Dushku namely a Buffy spinoff focused around Faith, But back to Fox. How can you cancel Firefly, Family Guy, Freaks and Geeks, Heat Vision and Jack, etc and then keep Tru Calling? Two of those 3 won Emmy's and you canceled them, and Tru Calling has got nothing going on award wise. Rolling Stone even blasted you for your Hot Show canceling ways, when will you wake up? Now you still have 24, and you are bringing back Family Guy so we are still friends, but you are testing my limits.

Friday, August 13, 2004

Michael Keaton

I saw Live from Bahgdad on HBO two nights ago, which is about the CNN news team that remained in Baghdad during the Gulf War. Of course, having a new war in Iraq made the movie much more viable and interesting. Anyway, Michael Keaton was the star of this movie and watching it made me realize how much I miss him. Like all of you, I loved the first 2 Batman movies and loathed or at least groaned at the two follow-up movies, mostly because of the loss of Michael Keaton and additionally Tim Burton. In retrospect I have liked just about every Keaton movie and some of which I love very much like Beetlejuice. Even the goofy comedies like Multiplicity were good. Ever since Keaton was dropped from the Batman series his career has declined into occasional movies, many of which are Family fare which I tend to skip like Jack Frost (Although I hear that was good). I have since revised my list of the Top Ten movie stars that I want back. And they are.

Top Ten Movie Stars I WANT BACK...NOW!!

1. Michael Keaton

Yeah we went through this...next.

2. Michael Biehn

After seeing him rip it up in Deadwood, I'm ready for him again. He ruled the late 80's early 90's (Aliens, The Abyss, The Terminator, Navy Seals, The Rock) and after all that overexposure has died off I am ready for a new bunch of movies with Michael Biehn. Although realistically I will have to settle for him in Deadwood and maybe a few movie roles, mostly of the B variety.

3. Sylvester Stallone

He sinks deeper and deeper every day, and we need to resurrect him to movie stardom. I think the first step would be to release special editions of his movies that are actually special (Rocky and Rambo both had little by way of features, although Copland is apparently awesome). I want a 2 disk special edition of Tango and Cash featuring audio commentary from Stallone and Kurt Russell and a fold out poster of them punching that guy in the nose at the same time.

4. Michael J. Fox

Yes, Parkinsons makes things tough, but I was thinking of making him a super hero with gloves. This should eliminate his hand problem and let us revel in that wonderful double-taking astonished face that he mastered.

5. Dan Aykroyd

He's been demoted to Cameos and bit parts, maybe due to his gaining of weight. Although in the not too old Gross Point Blank he showed all the comedic chops of when he was in his prime. I would love a Ghostbusters 3, but that may be one of those things that we will never get.

6. Chris Farley and John Candy

This would require some resurrection powers, so I am directing this one to God whom has apparently done that before. These two should not only be brought back to life, but be put in a movie together immediately after resuming breathing. I can't imagine how funny that would be, I mean just think of the Father-Son dialogue those two could have in a zany caper movie. These things will happen in heaven.

7. Tim Curry

This man is epic, and he found his way into most Family/Adventure movies in the 90's but since the turn of the century he has been scarce. I would love a return of Pennywise the clown from IT, but we would have to get Stephen King to sign on and he is apparently retiring. Although, they did make all those crappy Children of the Corn sequels. Maybe IT 2 is possible.

8. Rick Moranis

He got stuck in Disney mode for awhile, maybe his kids pressured him into it. But either way its time for a comeback. Maybe him and Michael J. Fox together...why do I feel like they should have done that before, or maybe they did???

9. Val Kilmer

Even though he is partially responsible for the decline of Michael Keaton, I miss his mainstream big-budget roles. Even if The Salton Sea, and Wonderland, and his other Indie movies are good I want some Big Screen action.

10. Hulk Hogan

Now that wrestling is over, maybe its time for him to take on serious roles. Ones where he ponders the universe and his place in it, and then breaks a chair over someone's face. I was thinking maybe he could tag up with Jackie Chan and rock some aging house on a world of goons. With Hogan deliving the Great Boot and then a mind melting Leg Drop, while Jackie owns on someone with a rake and an American Flag.

You could slate all of next years Summer movies with this list. Someone should be making calls already. Can't you picture Hogan standing over a man that Jackie Chan impaled with an American FLAG???? This is MONEY!! Why do I never get what I want?!?!?!

As you can see I am truly a child of the 80's and should be mocked and scorned. I know this full well. And as such I think this list is Gnarly and Rad simultaneously, so Eat My Shorts.

Saturday, August 07, 2004

Rick James

I was shocked to hear that Rick James died today, and I ran right over to blog about it. I had always liked "Superfreak" but before Dave Chappelle played him on his show I cared as much about Rick James as I did Bananarama, A-Ha, and Men Without Hats. After seeing the sketch I was suddenly intrigued, I want to hear the song "Unity" that inspired Rick James to craft a ring of it and bust Charlie Murphy in the head with it. I want to hear it all, even if its not any good. And now that he has passed I have even more desire to pick up a CD, and gladly place it next to my Parliament collection filed under FUNK.

I hope Rick James is in heaven, because "Superfreak" should be the music I enter heaven to.

Thursday, August 05, 2004

Oh man...

This is the third day in a row i've updated. Yeah, I know I spoil you. And this one is a three-for-one package. I updated my Profile (Minor Adjustments) and updated my movie list. So all of you who were hankering for that Movie list update it is here now for you. Enjoy it have a ball. Be very very jealous.

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Dreamcatcher

HBO has been very good at catching me up on those movies I wanted to see, just not enough to pay for them. The latest was Dreamcatcher, one of the latest film adaptations of a Stephen King novel. It has that Stephen King TV movie flavor, but with bigger actors, namely Morgan Freeman, Tom Sizemore, Jason Lee, Donnie Wahlberg, and The Punisher himself Thomas Jane. I liked it, but I wasn't enthralled or amazed. The story was a little too weird even for me, and although I tried my best to love it, I failed. It was entertaining though, and for a free show on HBO I was well pleased. I wouldn't fault you for renting it, but I wouldn't recommend you run out and grab it either. Although Morgan Freeman as a villian was fun to watch, he wasn't particularly scary but just envisioning him as evil was probably the highlight of the film.

CJ got me hooked on Ebay again...and I hate him. And although I haven't won anything yet since I was rehooked I am afraid that I might. But anyway here's the top 5 things I am looking for on Ebay.

1. Buffy Season 1 - I have to get Julie into this show so she'll stop making faces at me, and the only way is to start from the beginning.

2. Other Joss Whedon DVD Shows - Buffy Seasons 2-4, Firefly, and Angel Season 3 - She'll get around to these eventually

3. Mos Def Cd's - The problem with liking more underground artists is that you have to buy them full price. Ebay hasn't cured that problem yet, and Mos Def has still eluded me.

4. Shelf Monkeys - This term which I have coined refers to action figures that are not played with, and therefore are socially acceptable to purchase by adults. They no longer sit in boxes waiting to be played with, they are posed and placed upon one of my many shelves. Primarily I have been looking at (You guessed it) Angel and Buffy figure lines, but I haven't been able to stomach the costs. But someday the bargain may pop up.

5. Illuminated Bingo Board - This one isn't for me, my folks are interested in going 3-D with their Bingo hall at the campground. I have been having very poor luck so far, but once again...someday.

Oh and I have heard that 24 is a go for a 4th season, all of you who were holding your breath can relax. The best suspence/action show on TV (And only hour-long show any good on FOX, like Jason Priestly could really save Tru Calling) will be back, although I think the cast may have shuffled a bit. I missed the end of season 3 though, still waiting for that one to come to DVD.


Tuesday, August 03, 2004

The Village

After a horrendous weekend of driving up to Maine and back me and Julie treated ourselves to M. Night Shyamalan's newest film The Village. It was excellent as his other films have been, and if you liked The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Unbreakable than this will thrill you. Its a suspenseful movie so be ready for some intensity however it is PG-13 and family friendly in its content. The acting was on par with his other movies, once again demonstrating his casting prowess with the selections of Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, and Adrien Brody. You'll recognize most of the cast beyond those names, but these are the noteworthy stars. There is a certain feeling I get when I watch one of his movies, I can't quite explain it but I become very self-aware or maybe self-analytical afterwards. I think it is because I see a portion of myself in each of his films, like I really share the same dreams as the characters in the movie. I don't know if that is part of the brilliance of M. Night, or if these films happen to speak to me more so than they do to others. But I do really enjoy them, and think a lot on them. As usual this is to be owned, and should be at least seen.

ESPN NFL 2K5

In a bid to take the helm of power away from EA's giant Madden franchise, ESPN sped up their release date and dropped the price to 20 dollars hoping to get the sneak attack on Madden which clearly has the corner on the market. I bought 2k5 at Target for 16 bucks and it is worth every penny and then some. I wasn't always a big Madden fan, I have 2004 on my computer but its running game was always frustrating to me. They call it realistic, but it isn't that hard to run for more than 4 yards in Football. Somebody busts open for huge yardage at least twice in every game on TV so Madden should do likewise. ESPN however is a bit more friendly, although they drop passes when wide open a little more than I would consider realistic. Both games are very good, however the drop to 20 bucks eliminated every concern I could possibly have. There is no way on Earth that Madden is 30 dollars better than 2k5 if it is even better at all. And with the addition of the VIP profile memory, which records your friends tendencies and strategies so that the computer will simulate them when they are not around, I think ESPN took the forefront and is looking to lay the smackdown on Madden. Now Madden might go a little deeper for you HARDCORE football gamers out there but for any casual gamers, you have no reason to drop the coin for Madden. I hope 2k5 pisses in Madden's arrogant eye.

Final Fantasy X-2

I bought this at a resale shop cheap and although I haven't beaten the final boss of the original I think I might just move on to the sequel anyway. I'll let you know how it is, however my gaming time is short and 2k5 is real tempting.

Buffy

I really want Buffy Season 1 on DVD for less than 21 dollars. If any of you were thinking of offloading it, I will purchase it. While we are on the subject I would buy Seasons 2-4, and 6 for 30. Actually if you have any TV show DVD box sets contact me, it would be my PLEASURE to buy them.

The Reason for the Season...is Pleasin'

The reason I went up to Maine was to participate in the Wedding of my two friends Joe Ramsay and Randi Clark. It was a wonderful wedding and I would like to wish them a good Honeymoon. Although they won't read this before they go or even while they are on their honeymoon and why would they. So I might as well say, Hope you had a good time. Greatly assuming that they will even read this when they get back. Anyway God Bless.

George your next...Prepare Yourself.

Uno Mas

Its pretty funny, but Joe gave me an engraved knife with the words "Uno Mas" on them which was from the movie Shanghai Noon. In the movie Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson are playing a goofy drinking game and continually say "Uno Mas" which translates "One More" so they keep playing the game. When Joe was a freshman and I was his RA we used to stay up real late playing Harry Potter Uno, and we kept saying "Uno Mas" to keep each other from leaving and going to bed. Definately the best way to play Uno, plus the Harry Potter Deck made the game more fun by allowing for stupid smack talk like, "Oh well how about a little Hermoine Joe?", or "Eat some Scabes, Punk", "AH HA Snape". It was lots of fun. Anyway, after receiving the gift I eventually just realized how much movies infiltrate my life, for instance I bet almost 40% of the things that I say in dialogue are quotes from a movie or show. Currently, I am borrowing heavily from Chappelle Show and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. And beyond that 40% about half of the remainder is said in the flavor or style of some movie character. You might say this is pathetic, and I might agree. But I like it. Its a CELEBRATION.....Send Dean McCarthy some Emails AH HA HAHAHA.

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