So yesterday was a pretty sad day for me as I had to bury my Grandmother. Then I wake up this morning to the terrible news of the Chris Benoit murder-suicide tragedy. I really don't know what to say about that. Benoit was one of my all-time favorite performers and now knowing what has happened it's difficult for me to still appreciate what he did as a wrestler. I'm hoping that everyone can try to move on from this terrible incident, but now that the mainstream media has picked up on the story, I have a feeling it will only get worse.
Thankfully, I finally got some happiness back into my life tonight as I got to go to the Indians game and see a thrilling come-from-behind win in the 9th. For the first time in a long time (ever?) Wedge finally made some good managerial moves and they paid off for him. After the Tribe's disasterous run against the National League, it's been great to see the bats come alive and take the first two against the A's.
Here's hoping that the good times continue. With Justin's wedding on Friday, I'm hoping that will be the case.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Please keep my family in your prayers
Sad news...my grandmother passed away late last night. In what was already a hectic visit, just become even more crazy. I'll now have a wedding and a funeral to attend in this upcoming week. Because of all that's going on, I probably won't be making another post until I get back to North Carolina.
But like I said, in the meantime, if you would keep my family in your thoughts and prayers, it would be greatly appreciated. My grandma was a wonderful woman and will be tremendously missed. It is great comfort for me to know that she is now in a better place. Rest in peace Lottie.
But like I said, in the meantime, if you would keep my family in your thoughts and prayers, it would be greatly appreciated. My grandma was a wonderful woman and will be tremendously missed. It is great comfort for me to know that she is now in a better place. Rest in peace Lottie.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Finally! Some Office news
Sorry my updates have been sparse lately. I'm up in Cleveland right now preparing for my brother's wedding at the end of the month, so I'm not in front of the computer a whole lot.
But since I'm here today, I figured I would share some good news I just heard about The Office. Sadly, there's still nothing about the new season (I figure filming won't begin until Carrell and Krasinski are done doing the publicity for their respective films).
What I have heard however, is that TBS will begin airing Office repeats starting this fall. No word yet on the day and time(s) it will air, but having more Office is always a good thing.
And speaking of repeats, you can watch all of the episodes from this past season whenever you want come Sept. 4. The Season 3 DVDs come out that day with all sorts of extras. You can check out the specifics here. And just to whet your appetite, check out the box art.
But since I'm here today, I figured I would share some good news I just heard about The Office. Sadly, there's still nothing about the new season (I figure filming won't begin until Carrell and Krasinski are done doing the publicity for their respective films).
What I have heard however, is that TBS will begin airing Office repeats starting this fall. No word yet on the day and time(s) it will air, but having more Office is always a good thing.
And speaking of repeats, you can watch all of the episodes from this past season whenever you want come Sept. 4. The Season 3 DVDs come out that day with all sorts of extras. You can check out the specifics here. And just to whet your appetite, check out the box art.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
New Dark Knight photos
The film's still over a year away from being released, but tidbits about the film keeping trickling in. Here are a couple of images of interest:
Batman's new suit:
Joker's clown car:
EDIT: Another photo has surfaced; This time of Batman's new Batcycle, which will be called the Batpod in the film. It looks like Lucius Fox has been busy again:
Batman's new suit:
Joker's clown car:
EDIT: Another photo has surfaced; This time of Batman's new Batcycle, which will be called the Batpod in the film. It looks like Lucius Fox has been busy again:
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
WTF?!?!?
So I watched all of RAW except for the final 15 minutes because I got a phone call and evidently I missed this:
It would figure I would miss the one mildly interesting thing that's happened in the WWE in the past two years. I have no idea where they're going with this one.
RIP Vince
It would figure I would miss the one mildly interesting thing that's happened in the WWE in the past two years. I have no idea where they're going with this one.
RIP Vince
Monday, June 11, 2007
Knocked it out of the ballpark
Finally got to see Knocked Up tonight and Judd Apatow once again delivers a gem. I'll put this a notch below 40 Year Old Virgin, but really, nothing could ever top that film. Then again, my appreciation for that film grew with each successive viewing and I have a feeling that this one will as well.
Apatow once again is able to masterfully blend crude, vulgar humor with a really sweet story. Nothing ever seems Hollywood or fake about his films. Despite the oddball pairing of the schlubby Seth Rogan and the beautiful Katherine Heigl, the film makes you believe that they can work as a couple.
Part of the fun of these films is playing Where's Waldo with all of the great cameos. Some are well known people like Ryan Seacrest, James Franco, and a certain Virgin, himself (that was awesome). Some are Apatow's Freeks and Geeks alums. There's also a couple of Office workers (Ryan and Darryl). But there's also a wonderful assortment of minor comic actors that I recognize (Mo Collins, Loudon Wainwright, Kristin Wiig, Alan Tudyk, Harold Ramis, Bill Hader...the list is endless) that may not be well known, but just add so much more to the film.
I also need to say how awesome Paul Rudd is again. I was worried initially because he didn't have much screen time early on. But as his and Seth's characters become friends, we get to see the Rudd hilarity that I've come to expect. Their scenes in Vegas are just stellar. I won't say what happens, just trust me, it's great.
My only small complaint about the film is that it isn't quite as relatable to me as Virgin was, just because I'm not at that time in my life yet where I'm having kids. I'm sure when I do get there, this film will become even more real to me.
Actually I have one other complaint - the theater audience. Now I know this isn't a knock against the film, but it needs to be said anyways. I was seated with a bunch of morons. The biggest laughs generally were the scenes that had been shown ad nauseum in the previews (and trust me, those scenes aren't the funniest of the film). Are these people a bunch of sheep that only know when to laugh when they recognize something that they've already seen? I also couldn't stand the women in the audience who felt the need to make their own commentary on that actions in the film. You going "awwwww" at the sight of the baby isn't necessary. We all know it's cute, so shut your traps.
OK, now that I got that off my chest, I can go back to saying that this is a fantastic movie. If you loved Virgin, you'll enjoy this one as well. This is a great movie that all demographics should enjoy.
Grade: A
Apatow once again is able to masterfully blend crude, vulgar humor with a really sweet story. Nothing ever seems Hollywood or fake about his films. Despite the oddball pairing of the schlubby Seth Rogan and the beautiful Katherine Heigl, the film makes you believe that they can work as a couple.
Part of the fun of these films is playing Where's Waldo with all of the great cameos. Some are well known people like Ryan Seacrest, James Franco, and a certain Virgin, himself (that was awesome). Some are Apatow's Freeks and Geeks alums. There's also a couple of Office workers (Ryan and Darryl). But there's also a wonderful assortment of minor comic actors that I recognize (Mo Collins, Loudon Wainwright, Kristin Wiig, Alan Tudyk, Harold Ramis, Bill Hader...the list is endless) that may not be well known, but just add so much more to the film.
I also need to say how awesome Paul Rudd is again. I was worried initially because he didn't have much screen time early on. But as his and Seth's characters become friends, we get to see the Rudd hilarity that I've come to expect. Their scenes in Vegas are just stellar. I won't say what happens, just trust me, it's great.
My only small complaint about the film is that it isn't quite as relatable to me as Virgin was, just because I'm not at that time in my life yet where I'm having kids. I'm sure when I do get there, this film will become even more real to me.
Actually I have one other complaint - the theater audience. Now I know this isn't a knock against the film, but it needs to be said anyways. I was seated with a bunch of morons. The biggest laughs generally were the scenes that had been shown ad nauseum in the previews (and trust me, those scenes aren't the funniest of the film). Are these people a bunch of sheep that only know when to laugh when they recognize something that they've already seen? I also couldn't stand the women in the audience who felt the need to make their own commentary on that actions in the film. You going "awwwww" at the sight of the baby isn't necessary. We all know it's cute, so shut your traps.
OK, now that I got that off my chest, I can go back to saying that this is a fantastic movie. If you loved Virgin, you'll enjoy this one as well. This is a great movie that all demographics should enjoy.
Grade: A
Friday, June 8, 2007
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho!
Finally got to see Pirates 3 tonight and I'm left feeling very similar to how I felt coming out of Spider-Man 3. I think the producers shot for the moon and flew right over it. Some things worked, but overall too much of it felt unnecessary.
Now having seen how 2 and 3 played out, I'm convinced more than ever that doing them together was a mistake. You had two decent plot stories and that got drawn out too long and then rushed to have them conclude. #2 should have focused on Davy Jones, his chest and trying to defeat him. You could have Barbosa come back in that one and help Jack defeat Jones. In the end, you have Barbosa stab Jones' heart and have him taking over the Dutchman. Then #3 should have been the pirate lords banding together to take on the East India Company. Beckett demise in this one, although visually cool, was rather anticlimatic.
As it was, the beginning of this film, while it didn't drag seemed to be a lot of unnecessary events. Too many changing alliances without enough payoff for them. I also wasn't crazy about the multiple Jacks. That concept might sound ok, but didn't play out well. The film is almost redeemed by the heart-pounding battle between the Pearl and the Dutchman. Initially I thought it was going to be lousy what with Elizabeth's Braveheart speech and just a flurry of bodies and gunfire that is a cliche of any war film. But then they did a nice job of focusing on the individual fights which is what I wanted to see. And yes, as ridiculous as it was, I enjoyed the mid-battle marriage.
Ulimately, At World's End and Dead Man's Chest abandoned a lot of what was so charming about the original. The action was simple swordfighting between combatants and done with a sly wink so as not to take it too serious. That balance between action and humor presented in a genre that audiences hadn't seen in a while made it a winning combination. I think the reason why the second one was so successful (besides there not being a lot of competition) was that it had a lot of cartoonish action that the kids could appreciate (I still don't like the scenes with Jack and the savages). This third one won't earn as much because the kids will be bored by all the backstabbing.
I could go on, but I'll leave it at that. If you've seen the first two, you owe it to yourself to see Captain Jack one more time. There's enough humor and action to keep you pleased (I loved Jack's "telescope envy"), but probably doesn't have the repeat viewing appeal that the first did, which allowed this to be such a successful franchise in the first place.
Grade: B
Now having seen how 2 and 3 played out, I'm convinced more than ever that doing them together was a mistake. You had two decent plot stories and that got drawn out too long and then rushed to have them conclude. #2 should have focused on Davy Jones, his chest and trying to defeat him. You could have Barbosa come back in that one and help Jack defeat Jones. In the end, you have Barbosa stab Jones' heart and have him taking over the Dutchman. Then #3 should have been the pirate lords banding together to take on the East India Company. Beckett demise in this one, although visually cool, was rather anticlimatic.
As it was, the beginning of this film, while it didn't drag seemed to be a lot of unnecessary events. Too many changing alliances without enough payoff for them. I also wasn't crazy about the multiple Jacks. That concept might sound ok, but didn't play out well. The film is almost redeemed by the heart-pounding battle between the Pearl and the Dutchman. Initially I thought it was going to be lousy what with Elizabeth's Braveheart speech and just a flurry of bodies and gunfire that is a cliche of any war film. But then they did a nice job of focusing on the individual fights which is what I wanted to see. And yes, as ridiculous as it was, I enjoyed the mid-battle marriage.
Ulimately, At World's End and Dead Man's Chest abandoned a lot of what was so charming about the original. The action was simple swordfighting between combatants and done with a sly wink so as not to take it too serious. That balance between action and humor presented in a genre that audiences hadn't seen in a while made it a winning combination. I think the reason why the second one was so successful (besides there not being a lot of competition) was that it had a lot of cartoonish action that the kids could appreciate (I still don't like the scenes with Jack and the savages). This third one won't earn as much because the kids will be bored by all the backstabbing.
I could go on, but I'll leave it at that. If you've seen the first two, you owe it to yourself to see Captain Jack one more time. There's enough humor and action to keep you pleased (I loved Jack's "telescope envy"), but probably doesn't have the repeat viewing appeal that the first did, which allowed this to be such a successful franchise in the first place.
Grade: B
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
At least we let the Tigers win
I'm still in disbelief over the Cavs victory tonight and the fact that they are headed to the NBA finals for the first time ever. And we did it tonight without Lebron having a monster game. That's a scary thought. Now it's a dream matchup (for me) as the Cavs will be taking on the San Antonio Spurs, my favorite basketball team when I was a kid. Before this Pistons series, I thought that if they somehow got past Detroit, they would have no chance against the Spurs. But after seeing their performance, they are making me a believer. This should be a very interesting series. And best of all, I'll be back up in Cleveland for Games 3, 4, and 5 at the Q. Could this finally be the year a major sports title comes to Cleveland? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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