A little less Live Free and a little more Die Hard

Budget theater movie this week is the fourth installment in the Die Hard franchise, Live Free or Die Hard. I can't believe it's taken me this long to see this one. And given the dreck I've seen the past few weeks, it looks like I should haven't waited so long.

This movie is just pure action and makes for a great popcorn flick. Sure most of the action sequences are utterly preposterous, but they are done in such a great, "hold your breath and brace yourself" style that you can help but enjoy yourself. And kudos to them for coming up with some new and inventive ways for creating massive carnage. You can't help yourself but sit there and marvel at all the destruction that is taking place on screen.

Of course, if this were any action film, this would be enough and we could move on. However, given that this is a sequel in a storied franchise (the first in twelve years, no less), the question is, does this film do the Die Hard name justice? Unfortunately, it's not a resounding yes. The film doesn't ruin the franchise's legacy, but it also doesn't feel like it completely fits within the franchise either.

I think there are two key aspects that were needed here: more swearing and some authority figure for McClain to butt heads with. The film is rated PG-13, which means McClain barely utters a curse word. Even his signature phrase is altered to remain clean. Given all that happens to him in this film, you would figure he would be cursing up a storm. Yet, he remains relatively civilized throughout it all. And another appealing aspect of the McClain character was that he didn't care about anyone and was going to do whatever he wanted. In the past, that typically meant disobeying his superiors in the police dept. or the gov't. In this film, nobody stands in his way to take down the villain.

Speaking of the villain(s), they aren't necessarily memorable, but they do an adequate job of causing mayhem. Maggie Q gets a chance to kick some ass and Timothy Oliphant does a nice job of expressing building frustration in his failing efforts to kill McClain. It's a shame though that our current world standing forces us to make Americans the villains in films instead of the typical foreign terrorist.

This is another frustrating aspect of the film; its desire to be so modern. At one point, someone tells McClain that he's a Timex watch living in a digital world. Well, you know what, as far as I can tell, a Timex watch can still tell time and John McClain can still defeat any terrorist. People are going to come to a Die Hard film to see kick-ass action, not hear a message about how our government has become our own worst enemy.

One last negative I'll mention is the editing, particularly the audio editing. There were a number of times where it looked like the words didn't match up with what the actor was saying. Or else, it sounded like they didn't enunciate what they were saying. I'm wondering if maybe this film had originally intended to have more coarse language, but then for whatever reason decided to cut it out so that they could get a lower rating and have more people see the film.

I feel like I'm overanalyzing this film, given that it's just mindless entertainment. And as mindless entertainment, it's great. When you just want to shut your brain off for a couple of hours and enjoy stuff blowing up, this is a good movie to watch. I know Bruce is getting up there in age, but I still would love to see another installment. There will always be terrorists out there that need to be stopped, and frankly, there's no better guy (save for maybe Jack Bauer) who I would want to take them down. Yippe-ki-yay motherfucker indeed! Grade: B+

Fall pilots to watch

Now that the new TV season is underway, I feel it's my duty to help all of you out there decide on which new shows to add onto your DVR/TiVo. Luckily, the networks, in an effort to create buzz about their shows, have put a lot of the pilots online for people to get a sneek peek at them. Here now are my thoughts on the ones I've been able to see. You'll note that none of the pilots are from ABC as I continue to boycott that network until they start putting on some shows that appeal to men (aka when Lost returns in February)

Must-See TV
Chuck (NBC, Mondays at 8): This is the only fall show, as of now, that I can say I will be watching on a regular basis. After watching the first episode, I can safely say that this show is crazy, but in a good way. It's almost like a virtual cartoon. The action is so over the top, but because the show doesn't take it seriously, you can have fun watching it, instead of rolling your eyes at it. The show does a nice job of delivering on both action and comedy. One of the producers described the show as a mix of The Bourne Ultimatum and The 40-Year Old Virgin. If that doesn't sound like the ideal show for me, I don't know what does. Check this out, you won't be disappointed. This is a great lead-in the Heroes on Monday nights.

Give Them a Try
Journeyman (NBC, Mondays at 10): This show probably has the strongest premise (Man mysteriously travels through time and ends up helping people in the process), but I need to see more of it before I render a verdict. For me, the show was a little too serious. Plus, given that pilots are typically all about exposition, this show was a little too vague on how he's time travelling and the reasons he's going to the places he lands in. Hopefully these minor problems will be rectified and this show can solidify NBC's Monday as the most awesome night in TV.

Reaper (CW, Tuesdays at 9): I can't believe I'm recommeding a show on the CW, but this one looks really appealing. I'm not going to give it a full recommendation because I actually haven't seen the complete pilot. However, based on the extended clips I have seen, this seems like it'll be a lot of fun. The premise is that a young man must recover lost souls for the devil after his parents sold his soul to Satan when he was born. The cast looks strong and the first episode was directed by Kevin Smith. This show has a lot of promise, so I hope it delivers.

Aliens in America (CW, Mondays at 8:30): Yet, another CW show? I must be going crazy. This one is about a dorky teenager who is an outcast at his high school. To help him, his parents sign up to have a foreign exchange student live with them and it turns out to be a Pakistani boy. Hilarity ensues. This could be really corny, but the humor is actually twisted and funny. They do a lot of cutaways ala Family Guy, which give the show some of its biggest laughs. Same basic rationale for why this doesn't get a recommendation from me as of yet as Reaper. Hopefully though, this will be another winner.

Back to You: (FOX, Wednesdays at 8:00): This one actually already began airing this past Wednesday. Watching the first episode, I wasn't completely impressed, but I think a lot has to do with the fact that so much of the episode was revealed in FOX's endless promos, so a lot of the laughs fell flat. The shows earns a reprieve based on the strength of the lead actors. Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton play to their strengths with these two characters. The rest of the cast, save for the fantastic Fred Willard, leave a lot to be desired. If the show focuses on the bickering between the two newscasters, it has a chance to be as good as shows like Murphy Brown or Newsradio.

Probably can skip
Bionic Woman (NBC, Wednesdays at 9:00): Easily the biggest disappointment of the new fall crop. The show was just plain boring. All of the primary characters were too vanilla for me to care about any of them. I understand the reason this concept was resurrected after the success of Heroes, but this one just did not execute properly. Now I have heard that a lot of changes were made to the pilot, so I'm not sure if I saw the original or the re-tooled one. Because of this, and since there isn't much else on Wednesdays for me, I may give it one more shot. However, I'm not giving this one much hope.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Mondays at 8:30): This one could have been decent. The basic idea here is that two friends who are geniuses have their world turned upside down when an attractive young woman moves in across the hall from them. While I like the premise, the show fails as a result of the two geniuses not being very likeable. The writers bludgeon you over the head with the fact that these guys are smart by having them mention some quantum physics theory everytime they speak. It got so annoying after a while. The cute girl character is also confusing as it's not clear why she bothers to give these guys the time of day. The show did have a handful of good laughs, but it's weak characters and the fact that it's on a crowded TV night for me makes me likely to skip future episodes.

So there you have it, some fearless picks for the new fall shows. Feel free to voice your own opinions on these or any of the other new shows you happen to see in the next week.

Thursday Night TV

Boy does it feel good to be blogging about new television again. As much fun as I had this summer, there was still a part of me missing without my favorite shows. Tonight marked the official kickoff to the new season for me as Survivor returned with a new crop of castaways.

Based on tonight's episode, I have a feeling that the locale will be more appealing than the contestants this season. Everything about the environment and how the show connected with its culture was very cool. The opening ceremonial stuff was kept low-key and reverent, although some didn't appreciate it as much as others.

As for the castaways, there's no one I immediately gravitated toward. Even worse, there were quite a few that really annoyed me. Interestingly, most of the people who gave me bad vibes in the introductory online videos before the season began ended up being the ones who I didn't care for in this episode either: Ashley (didn't care for her as a WWE diva, still don't like her), Dave (the "former model" who thinks way too highly of himself and pulled an asshole move by lying to Ashley that her being ill wouldn't cause people to vote for her), Denise (aka She-mullet), and Courtney (who was copping a 'tude the entire episode because people weren't acting like they do in her beloved New York City).

Sadly, I put points on these four and it turned out to be Chicken who got voted off, in a move that threw me for a loop. It's not that Chicken didn't have his flaws; his complete 180 from leader to being a non-commital wussbag was annoying. But not voicing an opinion seems like a lesser offense than pathetically lying around all day (Ashley) or barking out orders like a commandant (Feih-gee). In general, I think this tribe is going to be losing quite a bit, which is a shame since I much prefer when the Tribes are evenly matched.

I think the biggest surprise of the night though was James, the grave digger. The token black guy has historically been lazy, yet charismatic. James is the complete opposite of that as he is a quiet beast. If he can work on his social game, he has a chance to dominate this game in the likes of Tom or Yul.

In general, it's just good to have Survivor back. It may not be watercooler TV any more, but it's equivalent to comfort food. No matter how many times you've had, you always welcome another serving.

See ya later Detroit!

Comings and goings

First some sad news, as I learned today that Brett Somers passed away over the weekend. As you may know, Brett was one of the signature panelists on one of my favorite game shows, Match Game. It's sad to realize that both her and Charles Nelson Reilly died within a few months of each other. Their banter was one of the primary reasons that the show was so popular for so long. Here's just one of the many instances of their fantastic banter:



Onto more exciting news, it was announced today that actor Jim Broadbent has been cast to play Professor Slughorn in the next Harry Potter film. You may not recognize him by name, but it is likely that you've seen him before in a film or on TV. In thinking who would make a good Slughorn, I had not considered him, but after hearing this announcement, I think he'll make for an excellent choice. Here are a couple of picture of Broadbent from other films looking Slughorn-esque:

As Trump would say, that win was yooog!

After a flat loss to the Royals yesterday (which was easily ignored in favor of that crazy Browns/Bengals shootout), the Tribe came up big today against 2nd place Detroit. We're down 5-2 in the 8th and somehow come out with a 6-5 in 11 innings. Unbelieveable. The magic is definitely back at the Jake! That win now puts up back up to a 5 1/2 game lead on the Tigers and our magic number sits at 7. If all goes well that number could be down to 3 by the time the Tigers leave town on Wednesday. I haven't gotten a prescription yet, but I do believe I have pennant fever!

The Emmys

You'll forgive me if I don't have a clever or funny name for this post, but last night's show was so uninspiring that I can't even muster up the creative juices to write anything better.

Once again, the awards show that is meant to celebrate television's excellence was a mixed bag of confusing and frustrating results. There were the nauseating results for overhyped shows (Sopranos wins Best Drama, insert random whore from Grey's Anatomy here for Best Supporting Actress is a drama, Jeremy Piven for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy). Then you had the completely random winners (James Spader as Best Actor in a Drama? Ricky Gervais for Best Actor in a comedy??) Even the pleasant surprises were frustrating as they still seemed underserving. I mean, I'm glad 30 Rock was recognized as Best Comedy, but was it really better than The Office? And if so, why didn't Alec Baldwin or Tina Fey win for Best Actor/Actress in a comedy?

Then as for the show itself, it was a typical bloated affair. Seacrest was his usual smug, pandering self. The Sopranos tribute seemed unnecessary and ill-conceived. There were too many awards, particularly anything in the miniseries categories.

There were a few bright spots, not surprisingly involving members from The Office. Rainn Wilson competing against Kanye West in a kareoke contest was cute. Office cast members giving their "real thoughts" on Steve Carell was short and effective. And best of all we got a Daily Show reunion when Steve joined Jon Steward and Stephen Colbert on stage to accept Ricky Gervais' Emmy since he wasn't there.

All in all, I think it's becoming apparent that awards shows, even ones steeped in history like the Emmys, are becoming outdated and inconsequential.

Fun House!!!

So in my late night boredom, I started surfing around YouTube and stumbled on a blast from the past; the 80s game show, Fun House. I remember loving this show and watching it along with the Super Mario Brothers Show every afternoon after school. While many may argue that Double Dare was better, I didn't have cable so this was the only one I got to see. I've included two videos below which show the essence of the show. The first one shows the regular game play which is a mix of messy stunts and trivia questions. The second shows the bonus round where the kids got to go into the fun house.





After watching these videos, you can see the show is equal parts awesome and totally game. I mean, as a kid, who wanted to be a contestant on this show and go through the fun house? Now as a cynical adult there's plenty for me to mock as well: the creepy announcer "Tiny", JD Roth's mullet, special guest star Danny Pintauro!, etc. Still, I thank God every day for YouTube so that I can wax nostalgia with clips like these.

Anything but Wedded bliss

So with the Indians having a (much needed) night off tonight, I decided to head over to the budget theater. In hindsight, I was probably better off staying at home and staring into space, because I just saw the atrocious License to Wed. Now normally a movie like this would have been one I would have skipped altogher, but I'm such an Office mark, that I wanted to see John Krasinski in a movie, plus having to look at Mandy Moore for 90 minutes aint so bad either. What I underestimated, unfortunately, was the obnoxiousness of Robin Williams.

Williams, who plays a priest helping Krasinski and Moore determine whether they're ready to get married or not, is just one aspect of the "ick" factor that is found throughout the film. There's also the young boy who plays Williams' assistant. Not to mention Moore's family members who are all so oftputting that they seem to be from a different film altogether.

But most troubling of all is all the tests that Williams puts the engaged couple go through. It's apparent that these tasks are designed to break the couple down before building them up again and help them realize that they are made for each other. But instead of being helpful to the couple or funny to the audience, they end up being uncomfortable, obtrusive and sometimes just downright bizarre. Worst of all, the film doesn't give you any indication upfront that this couple needs counseling. They seem pretty normal and would be able to handle any of the problems that come with marriage already. At worst, they just haven't learned how to properly communicate with each other yet.

And maybe it's the communication scholar in me that has such a problem with this film. I'm sitting there thinking to myself, "Just talk to one another and all this will be over". To a degree, that's the point of the film, but it gets its message across in such a terrible way. The fact that by the end of the film they get married (oops, spoiler alert) and actually thank Rev. Frank for what he's done is just repulsive. It should not have taken his tactless actions to get them to realize they need to open up more with one another.

The only saving grace is the fleeting cameos by some of the other cast members from The Office. Unfortunately, their time is cut short so that we had plenty of time for Robin to do some of his unfunny voices and ad-libs. I was sitting there shaking my head half the time asking myself "Who finds this funny?". Sadly, I didn't have to look far as there were a handful of chucklehead girls sitting behind me who apparently didn't see any of the bits in the trailer, nor Robin's act over the past twenty years.

But I digress. The bottom line here is that even if the film was funnier, it still would be just a cheap knockoff of better films that have come before it. This film takes elements of Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, and Anger Management and does each of them worse. I'd like to provide you with something positive about this film, but I'm at a loss here. To paraphrase John Krasinski's better character, Jim from The Office, "Who has two thumbs and hates this movie? This guy!" Grade: D+

Cleveland sports highs and lows

As the title indicates, there were some positives and negatives seen by my beloved Cleveland sports franchises yesterday. Let's get the negative out of the way...the Browns are terrible. I mean, really bad. I don't know how you can spin any positives out of that embarassing loss to the (yuck) Steelers. Of course now you've got a bunch of boneheads who are clamoring for Brady Quinn to begin starting for us. If we have any hope of this kid being a star then they cannot start him for a while. He is going to get murdered out there with the line that we have right now. And this line is supposed to be better than last year's. Ha!

Onto more positive things, I was very pleased to see the Tribe split a 4 game series with the very formidible Angels. Considering that the pitching matchups didn't favor us in this series, getting 2 wins was huge. And we almost took 3 out of 4, but lost a tough one in extra innings. Also against us was one of the worst umpiring crews I've seen in quite some time. Let's hope that quartet isn't assigned in the playoffs. Overall, this team continues its roll toward the playoffs. And while it isn't a given yet (Magic number 14) it's looking more and more likely now. Tonight, they begin a series with Chicago and if all goes well that should be a sweep. October here we come!!

Almighty is just all righty

Well, if last Friday was a Stephen King kind of day, then yesterday was a Steve Carell kind of day. Early on I bought season 3 of The Office on DVD from Circuit City (which was a big headache. The few bucks I saved getting it there was not worth the hassle I went through in trying to buy it there) Then I checked out Evan Almighty at the budget theater; the only film this summer which truly had the label flopped attached to it.

On one hand, I can understand why it did not do well as it just wasn't very good, but on the other hand, the film seemed to try to have broad appeal which should have made it successful. I mean if Wild Hogs can make $168 million in the U.S., then this should have easily made $200 mil.

I'd relate the plot to you, but let me save myself some effort here and just have you watch the trailer. It gives you everything. There was nothing in the film that I hadn't already figured out based on the trailer.

In addition to the lack of surprises, the film uses the old sledgehammer of plot to dictate the story right from the get-go (Evan puts work in front of family, Evan hates animals, Evan drives a Hummer, etc.) As the film rolls along, the cliches, just like the animals boarding the ark, come 2x2. I could not believe they actually used the tired "I'm taking the kids with me to stay at my mother's" to indicate the height of the marital strife between Evan and his wife. I will say that the film does succeed in getting you to pray...unfortunately it's to pray that the film will produce something creative or different before reaching its obvious climax.

The only thing divine with the film is the casting. Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins, John Goodman, and Jonah Hill each have a couple of lines that are chuckle-worthy. It's too bad that these talented folks aren't given better material to work with. They all deserve better than what they had here. And it's probably the pedigree of the cast that makes this film so disappointing.

With no name actors, this would have made for a decent made-for-TV movie. But when you have such talented comics involved on a film that is linked to a previously popular comedy, the end result here comes off looking real bad. We were looking for something divine and got something mortal instead.

I didn't hate this movie, but I won't recommend it to anyone either. The film is so obvious and formulaic that you've probably already seen it, it just went by a different title. If you're looking for a laugh and enjoy Steve Carell, do yourself a favor and just watch The Office instead. I know that's what I'm going to do. Grade: C

By the numbers

I guess it's a Stephen King kind of day. After posting the trailer for The Mist on here earlier today, I ended up seeing 1408, another film adapted from a King short story, at the budget theater this afternoon. I'm typically not a scary movie type of guy, but the trailer for this one had done an effective job in selling the story. Plus, I'll usually go see anything that Samuel L. Jackson is in.

The premise is sound enough; John Cusack plays an author who writes about famous haunted locations, despite being a skeptic that there is any such thing as paranormal activity. That skepticism is then put to the test when he spends a night in the mysterious room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York. Despite a strong story and decent actors, the film left me a fairly empty afterwards.

They appeared to have done the bare minimum with what they had here. Both the execution of the action and the performance of the actors leaves a lot to be desired. Throughout the film there are a number of moments that leave you intrigued to see how they'll play out, but they never ended up getting fully played out. Likewise, I thought we would learn more about the primary characters but they are kept at a superficial level. Sam Jackson as the hotel manager is a particularly confusing character. The final scene that we see him in leaves you to wonder what role he truly had in all that happened in the film.

There are a few decent scares in it, but the film in general isn't thrilling enough. The whole idea is that Cusack's character is a skeptic who has his beliefs turned upside down while staying in the room. Yet he stays grounded enough, which prevents the viewer from becoming concerned with his well being. Why should we be scared of what's happening when he acts more annoyed than scared about what's happening.

The one thing that I will give them credit for is their fake-out ending. It appears that the film is going to end with a horribly cliched ending that we've seen countless times, but then swerves you and keeps going. Having said that, the way Cusack ultimately frees himself from the room is an idea I came up with about 10 minutes in after he first went into the room.

I won't say that this was a bad film, because really there's nothing actively wrong with it. It just came off as disappointing, given what I had hoped it would be. I haven't read King's short story, so I would be interested to know if a lot was cut from it for the film or if it's a pretty true adapatation.

I would say that your best bet would be to rent this when it comes out on DVD, if you are still interested in seeing it. However, the better plan would probably be to just watch the trailer again and let your imagination fill in the rest of the blanks. Chances are you can create a more imaginative and interesting story than the one that unfolded on the screen. Grade: C+

Play Misty for me

OK, I've had to make a change to my fall preview and put Stephen King's The Mist in my top ten after seeing the first trailer for the film. Just like with previous King films, this one is also directed by Frank Darabont and it looks really good. Check it out for yourself:

Summer's over! Time to get back to work!

I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement over this. Sept. 27 cannot come quick enough.

Fall TV scooplets

Just a little bit of new info that might wet your whistle.

Heroes has created a 5-part faux documentary on Takezo Kensai which you can view over at this site. Only part 1 is up right now, but the rest will be coming out in the days and weeks to come. Fun fact: the documentary's narrator is John Rhys-Davies. Too bad in this he's talking about Takezo's sword and not somebody's AXE.

The title for The Office's season premiere has been revealed: Fun Run

Finally, Jeff Fahey (probably best known for The Lawnmower Man has been added to the cast of Lost. No word yet on who he will play.

Triple play!!!

Fall film preview

Well with no movies of interest coming out into theaters this weekend, I suppose now is as good of time as any to preview the films I'm looking forward to in the next few months. I've finally gotten a chance to read EW's Fall Movie Preview issue and I've found ten films that at least sound intriguing on paper. The crop certainly isn't as good as summertime, but I think there are some decent ones here. Here now, in order of my interest level are my most anticipated films for fall.

1. American Gangster: Based on a true story, Denzel Washington plays a black crime boss and Russell Crowe plays the cop trying to take him down. Thrown in Ridley Scott as the director and you got yourself a recipe for success. (Nov. 2)

2. I Am Legend: Will Smith plays the last man alive on Earth. Or does he?? Looks like it could be a cool post-apocalyptic thriller. (Dec. 14)

3. National Treasure: Book of Secrets: Sure this isn't going to contend for any Oscars, but the first one was a fun ride and it looks like more of the same here. Plus, adding Ed Harris and Helen Mirren to your cast certainly can't hurt. (Dec. 21)

4. Fred Claus: Vince Vaughn plays the slacker brother of Santa Claus (played by Paul Giamatti). If this comedy is in the vein of Wedding Crashers, it could be great. However, the trailer has me a bit worried that it'll be more like Elf rather than Bad Santa. Kevin Spacey as the villain looks like it could be fun too. (Nov. 9)

5. Rendition: This politically-charged thriller (a common theme this fall) boasts an impressive cast including Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, and Peter Saarsgard. This will either be a big Oscar contender or suffer from a "too many cooks spoil the soup" problem. (Oct. 19)

6. Shoot 'Em Up: The title pretty much says it all. Clive Owen plays a mysterious loner trying to protect a baby while Paul Giamatti tries to kill him. Looks like a lot of action with some humor peppered in. Has the chance to be a very fun film. (Sept. 3)

7. The Heartbreak Kid: Ben Stiller teams up with the Farrelly brothers once more, hoping to recapture some of that There's Something About Mary. The trailer looks funny enough, but I wonder if after the "Summer of Apatow" if the Farrellys have become passe? (Oct. 5)

8. 3:10 to Yuma: I typically don't dig Westerns, but this one boasts a cool cast headed by Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. It's September release date makes me think it's not as good as it appears, but the trailer makes it look decent. Who knows, maybe this is the film that reinvents the genre. (Sept. 3)

9. Charlie Wilson's War: As time passes, this may move higher up on my list, but with no trailer, I'm currently reserving judgment on it. This is another politically-based film which examines a U.S. congressman's role in ending the Cold War and helping us start our war with Afghans and the Middle East. Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts star. It also has Mike Nichols directing and Aaron Sorkin as the writer. It's good to see Sorkin go back to his bread and butter (politics) after his embarassing failure with Studio 60. (Dec. 25)

10. Michael Clayton: The trailer for this film doesn't make the plot completely clear. But it has George Clooney playing a lawyer, who suddenly has to grow a conscience when everything in a big case starts to go awry. Another this is another thriller, but tis the season for them. This film also marks the directing debut for Tony Gilroy, who wrote the last two Bourne films. (Oct. 12)

Honorable mentions: The Brothers Solomon (Sept. 3), The Brave One (Sept. 14), The Kingdom (Sept. 28), The Comebacks (Oct. 26), Lions For Lambs (Nov. 9), Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Nov. 16), Stephen King's The Mist (Nov. 21), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Dec. 21)

Somebody get Turbo and Laser on the phone

American Gladiators is coming back!!! Read more here.

First day of school

I don't know what it is, but the first day of school is always an exciting one for me. I guess it's a good thing I'm going into education for a career. Seeing campus buzzing again is always fun. And I always get a kick out of seeing clueless freshmen with their campus map looking completely loss. This year's first day for me was a relatively quiet one as all I had was to teach one class this morning. Time will tell what type of group these students are, but hopefully they'll be a lively bunch. Given that the class is at 9am though, makes that less likely.

The rest of my week is pretty lax. All of the classes I'm taking are on Mon. or Tue. so I won't have to worry about them until next week. I'm sure within a month from now I'll be bitching about the amount of work I have, but for now, it's great to be back at school!

Ocean breaks even with Thirteen

With school starting back up tomorrow, I figured I would sneak one more film in, since I'm not sure how much time I'll have to go to the theaters after this. Luckily, the budget theater was showing Ocean's Thirteen; the last of the three-quels I've seen this summer.

After the Ocean's gang ruined all of the goodwill they established in Eleven with the abysmal follow-up Ocean's Twelve, I had some trepidation about how this one would be. Fortunately, they got their groove back here and returned to their roots. What is interesting though is that while the film was good, I felt nothing leaving the theater. I was thinking to myself what I would write about because there was nothing glaringly bad about the film, yet nothing significantly great about it either. I enjoyed myself watching it, but I'll also probably forget most of it by tomorrow.

As I mentioned above, this one feels more like the original film and I feel a lot of that has to do with the gang returning to Vegas. There's just something about these characters and that setting that makes for a good fit. Cavorting through all of Europe in the second film came off as boring and uninspired. It also helps that they have a fresh new target to spring their trap on in the form of Al Pacino. Playing Wally Bank, Pacino hams it up just enough to make the character a fun villain.

While all of the characters that make up Ocean's gang are great, the one who truly shines in this film is Matt Damon. While many of the guys have been shoehorned into their specific role, Damon's Linus has evolved over the course of the three films. He has some genuinely funny lines throughout the course of the film and also appears to be the only one who's trying. That's not necessarily a knock on the other actors, but guys like Pitt and Clooney just seem to be there to have fun instead of giving their best effort. Damon, on the other hand, never phones it in and is becoming one of my favorite current actors.

Lucky for me, Damon gets a lot of screentime in this film, including a number of scenes with the other newcomer to the franchise, Ellen Barkin, who plays Pacino's assistant. She is fantastic here and brings an energy to the film that Catherine Zeta Jones wishes she could have done in the second film. I haven't seen a lot of other stuff that she's been in, but she was perfect in this role. It also helps that she was also damn sexy in that "cougar" sort of way.

I should also mention that there are a handful of cameos from guys like Eddie Izzard, Super Dave Osborne, and Julian Sands who add some additional flavor to the film. These roles could have been done by anyone, but using some relatively well-known actors provided some additional importance to the roles.

There are only two real negatives I had with the film. The first is Soderbergh's stylistic direction of the film. While I will always respect a director for trying to take an unconventional approach in presenting the film's events, I felt that at times it was unnecessary and annoying. The other problematic area of the film is that Ocean's plan to screw Wally Bank is really complex, and I mean really complex. There are several things that need to be accomplished for the plan to be a success. And they are all dealt with at the same time by going back and forth between each of them. At times it was tough to keep up with where they were at and what still needed to be done. I'm sure on successive viewings it won't seem as complicated, but on this initial viewing, I felt like I needed a checklist in front of my to keep everything straight. While I mention these negatives because I picked up on them while watching the film, they really weren't severe enough to detract from my enjoyment of the film.

I have a feeling this will probably be the last in this series. Not because the film really provides a sense of closure on the characters, but because I think the primary actors are ready to move on to other projects. But if they do decide to do another one, let's hope they just ignore Twelve ever existed and make them more like this one. This one does a nice job of redeeming the franchise and making the audience remember why we liked this ragtag bunch of con artists and thieves in the first place. Now that it is at the budget theaters and soon on DVD, I can say with confidence that it is a safe bet you'll get your money's worth out of seeing this. Grade: B+

Lots of Fall TV news

We'll kick things off with the announcement (finally) of the cast for the new season of Survivor. Notables include a professional poker player, a grave digger, and a WWE diva (seriously). I could type out the dossiers of the 16 new players here, but instead, I'll just direct you to this TV Guide site, which not only gives the players' names, ages and jobs, but also Jeff Probst's take on each of them as well.

*UPDATED* CBS has put the castaways up on the official Survivor homepage. You can learn more about the newest contestants here.

Secondly, a bit of Heroes news. Hooray! They just announced that Kristen Bell will be coming on midseason for a multi-episode arc. For those not familiar with Ms. Bell, she played the title chracter on the critically-loved, ratings-challenged show, Veronica Mars. This is an interesting bit of casting, because it seemed that every show in town had been trying to add her onto their show (including Lost, who tried and failed). So for Heroes to get her seems like quite a coup. For more on who Kristen will be playing on the show, click here, but WARNING, the article includes some spoilers for the upcoming season.

Speaking of Lost, they've been doing some casting of their own. Even though the show won't return until February, they announced the hiring of Ken Leung. I'm not too familiar with the guy (the only thing on IMDB that I recognized him from was he played the mutant with the spikes coming out of him in X:Men - The Last Stand), but it's always good to get any kind of Lost scoop. You can read more about his character here, but again WARNING, there are spoilers found in the article.

Finally, for those interested, I added a countdown clock to indicate the start of the new fall TV season. The clock can be found on the left side of this blog, right before the list of my favorite TV shows. Only 30 days to go!

Would it be uncreative to say Superbad was Supergood?

So my movie-filled vacation came to an end yesterday, appropriately enough, by seeing the last big film of the summer, Superbad. The film proves once again that anything Judd Apatow touches turns to gold. This is an extremely funny film that puts most high school teen sex comedies to shame.

What has always been so refreshing about Apatow comedies is that they present scenes that seem so relatable to you, even if you have never even remotely experienced the events you see up on the screen. The characters and stories created in these comedies never are those Hollywood fabrications of what reality is supposed to be. Instead, they are cut straight from the ordinary world, only way more funny.

Clearly, the best character of the film is Fogel aka McLovin. His adventures with the cops (played by Seth Rogen and SNL's Bill Hader) produce an endless line of laughs. The kid is clearly a nerd, but his antics are so charming that you can see why people would want to hang out with him.

Also great is Michael Cera as Evan. I was apt to like him given my undying love for Arrested Development, but he was great, even if I was unfamiliar with him. He spouts off one-liners that are so innocuous, yet absolutely hilarious. It's like he always verbalizes his stream of consciousness and frames his inner monologue in a way that always is funny.

My only displeasure of the film comes from the Seth (Jonah Hill) character. I'm still not sure if it was his character or him as an actor that I don't care for, because I thought he was one of the weaker characters in Knocked Up as well. His Tourette's style of delivery can be too much at times and makes the character appear more like a jerk than just being funny. The way he treats his best friend Evan, as well as Jules, the girl he's lusting after, is done in a way that makes you wonder why anyone would want to be around him. He has funny moments, but I typically found myself more enjoying the scenes that didn't involve him.

One interesting feature about this film is the way it plays with time. The film is currently set in modern day, yet it also tries to evoke a feeling of previous decades. For instance, most of the film's music is from the 70s. This effect could have been annoying or confusing, but I think it works to produce a sense of timelessness to the idea of high school boys wanting to get laid.

As I mentioned before, I had some problems with the Seth character. I also found the film kind of spun its wheels in the middle and I found myself wondering why it was taking so long for them to get to penultimate party that marked the climax of the film. However, these complaints can be somewhat nullified given that ultimately this is a damn funny film and that should be the most important criteria when evaluating this film.

There are moments of sheer comedic genius found throughout this film. Like when Evan compares Seth's sex life to Orson Welles' film career. It such an intelligent observation (one that sadly will go over the heads of most of the film's target audience) and yet hilariously appropriate. It's moments like that that make this film stand out from other teen sex comedies.

Even though, I moving further and further away from my high school days, this film doesn't make me feel like I'm out of touch with the current high school generation. Anyone watching this film can understand what these characters are going through and think back to an instance in their lives that somewhat resembles what happens here. If you're looking for two hours of consistent laughing, this film will fit the bill nicely. Superbad's comedic excellence makes me Superexcited to see what comes next from Apatow and the gang. Grade: B+

New Dark Knight photos

No need to say much here, I'll let the photos speak for themselves. All I can say is that these make me continue to want to see this film right away.






There are some other photos. If you want to check them out, go here.

Well, he just lost a sale

So I happened upon The Colbert Report last night and my ears perked up when Stephen talked about his guest, Andrew Keen. Apparently, Mr. Keen has written a book about how the Internet is killing our culture. Given the PhD program that I'm in and my interest on technology's impact on culture, I was very interested in what he had to say. Sadly, as soon as he opened his mouth, I lost all interest in what he had to say. This guy came off as the biggest self-involved, elitist prick. Colbert didn't even need to play a character in order to reveal what an ass this guy was. Needless to say, I won't be purchasing this book. To see what I mean, check out the video of the interview below.



If you notice, this is not a YouTube video, but rather one from Comedy Central's website. In case you haven't heard, Comedy Central's parent company, Viacom, is currently suing YouTube. So it's unlikely you'll see any Viacom content on their site for a while. Or if you do, it'll be yanked off there before you know it. Which is a shame, because as you see, the quality of an embedded Comedy Central video pales in comparison to the ones from YouTube.

As an interesting side note, it was just reported the other day that YouTube has requested Jon Stewart and Colbert to give depositions in this case. Here's the article on that. I'll certainly be keeping my eye on the developments of this lawsuit and post any interesting new updates.

A not so fabulous time

The week of movies continues as today's flick was I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. I've typically found Sandler's films funny and I'll always be on the record for saying that The King of Queens was one of the most underrated sitcoms of all time. Unfortunately their talents are put to waste in this very uneven comedy.

The film is not without its laughs, but that was to be expected given the two leads and the usual crew found in Sandler's movies (Rob Schneider, Steve Buscemi, Nick Swardson). However, Chuck and Larry's primary problem is in it's story. The premise is sound enough, but the filmmakers had no idea what to do with it. It appears that they want to get across of message of tolerance, but they can't help but do anti-gay jokes themselves. It's like they want to have their fudge and pack it too (Too crass?).

From the start, you can pretty much see how everything is going to turn out. 1. Chuck and Larry pretend to be gay. 2. Hilarity ensues with said fake relationship. 3. Side characters are introduce who belive fake relationship is real. 4. Fake relationship is exposed and those duped are offended. 5. Liars are quickly forgiven and learn their lesson. I'm sorry if that spoils the film for anyone, but if it did, you obviously have never seen a movie before in your life.

While the film's story doesn't reinvent the wheel, the problems go beyond its predictability. Here are some of the bigger ones: 1) The ancillary characters who gay bash Chuck and Larry in order for the tolerance theme to be developed do it in such overt and eye-rolling ways that you can't sympathize with main characters. What the gay bashers say isn't hurtful, it's laughable. 2)The film takes way too long in getting to climax where Chuck and Larry stand trial for a fraudulent partnership. They do such a lousy job pretending they're in a real relationship, yet it takes forever for anyone to figure it out. 3) The conduct of Chuck and Larry's lawyer, played by Jessica Biel, is completely unprofessional and unrealistic. There is no way that a lawyer would socialize that much with a client.

Now while the character is unrealistic, the addition of Jessica Biel to the film is quiet welcome. Especially when there are scenes requiring her to be in her underwear or a sexy catwoman costume. However, I must say that those scenes are only enough to negate the scenes involving a naked Ving Rhames (who needs to see that?) and not enough to make the film must-see.

The only character that works in the film is Kevin James as Larry. The backstory involving his dead wife and his failure to move on is touching. Seeing him struggle as a single dad, desperate to have his kids receive the appropriate benefits in case he dies as well makes you want to see him pull off this charade, no matter how ridiculous it is. It's just a shame that that heartwarming aspect of the film is buried under the crass and juvenile antics of the other characters.

In better hands, this story might have worked. But there was no chance of that happening by the guys who created Billy Madison. Even hardcore Sandler fans will have tough time really enjoying this one I believe. There's no need to still catch this in the theaters and only if you're desperate should you rent this when it comes out on DVD. Grade: C

Indians punch me in the gut again

In an all-too-disturbing trend, the Indians' offensive futility continues as they lose the first game of a crucial two-game series against the Tigers. Things seemed like they were going to turnaround with Grady's first inning home run, but that would be all the offense we would see tonight. Once again, a wonderful pitching performance gets wasted by our lack of hitting.

There's no doubt that a lot of the blame is placed on the players, who just aren't hitting. But when the team is in a slump like this and needs some kind of spark, I place a lot of fault on Eric Wedge, who's decision making continues to befuddle me. This guy is so robotic and by-the-books that he can't realize the error of his ways. Cabrera should have pinch hit for Peralta to advance Gomez over to third in the 9th and then there should have been no way that Borowski comes in in a non-save situation. These moves seem so obvious, yet Wedge continues to blow it.

I'm so angry right now with this team. I was lucky enough to score tickets for tomorrow night's game, so they better not disappoint me. Watching this on TV is bad enough, I don't know how I'll be able to handle it seeing it in person.

Helpful OOTRR links

This post only applies to those of you who are readers of my OOld Tyme Rasslin Revue column on Online Onslaught. For whatever reason, two of the columns I did were never properly archived on the site. Since so many readers always email me about where to find them, I decided to link them here for all of you to enjoy them.

1999 King of the Ring OOTRR

1999 Fully Loaded OOTRR

Happy reading!

Bourne to kick ass and learn his name

Usually my reviews are rather lengthy because I've got plenty to nitpick or outright complain about the films I see. This is not one of those reviews. In my week of catching up on all the big summer films, I got to see The Bourne Ultimatum last night and it was just terrific.

Unlike many of the three-quels that have come out this summer, this one just seems like a natural progression of the previous film. Most of these sequels struggle to create new stories while still including all of the elements that made the original films great. With Bourne, there has been this ongoing storyline of "Who is Jason Bourne?", and the filmmakers should be commended for giving a few pieces of the puzzle with each film.

This one basically gives us all the remaining answers, but also leaves itself open for more films in this franchise. Matt Damon has said he's done with Bourne, but as they say, never say never. And I'm torn on that thought. On one hand, they have completed a trilogy that is just perfect as is and you would hate to see it ruined with another film; but I just enjoy this character and his interactions with the CIA so much that I would love to see another film. Thankfully, I have confidence after seeing the work put into these past couple of films that the crew will only do another one if they feel it can be of the same level as the ones they've done so far.

Some people will not care for director Paul Greengrass' style, which uses the handheld camera to give it a more realistic look. Some can't stand the shaky camerawork because it's difficult to grasp what's really going on. While I wouldn't enjoy seeing every film done this way, it works perfectly for this series. The action is so frenetic that by filming it this way just adds to that feeling.

Kudos to this franchise also for continuing to add top notch actors to their fine cast. In addition to Damon, Joan Allen and Julia Stiles are back from the previous films. Both understand their roles and play them appropriately. Then, this time they also added David Straithern and Albert Finney who were excellent as people who had various levels of involvement in Bourne's past.

Finally, I'll just add that the action sequence are top notch and some of the best you will see in any action film. The scene where Bourne is trying to help a journalist escape the CIA's clutches is just this wonderfully tense moment that is perfect for this franchise. Then there's the chase and eventually fistfight in Morocco which is another stellar action sequence.

In case you can't tell, I just loved the film. If you've seen the other films, you definitely want to see this one. And if you haven't, go rent those and get caught up on one of the best action franchises in some time. You won't be sorry! Grade: A

Time to whet your appetite

Desperate for any sort of news on the upcoming season of Heroes, I did some searching on YouTube and discovered this leaked clip from NBC's upcoming fall primetime preview show. Here's your first look at Season 2:

Another magical outing

I'm writing this kinda late, so it may be short, but I hate doing my movie reviews too long after I see the movie. I feel my best analysis comes when the film is still fresh in my head. And in case you couldn't tell by the title, tonight I got to finally see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

In summation, I thought it was fantastic. Given that this was my least favorite book in the series, I had some trepidation, but I really enjoyed it. I think it's too early for me to compare it with the other films. Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favorite movie, but this was one was highly enjoyable. I think part of my enjoyment was just seeing all of the characters once again. Seeing each of these films almost feels like a family reunion now in an odd way. The casting for these films has just been fantastic. There has never been an actor who I felt was miscast for a role. Credit goes both to the casting director and to J.K. herself for creating such well-defined characters.

And as great as it was to see such favorites again, I really loved the new additions in this film. The young woman who played Luna Lovegood nailed the flighty, free-spirited nature of the character that makes her so odd to the other students and so likeable to the audience. Then, you have Imelda Staunton who was picture perfect as that bitch Delores Umbridge. She got all of her mannerisms perfectly and did a wonderful job of really making the audience despise her, despite the fact that we only see an abridged version of her heinous actions in comparison to what she does in the book. Finally, while in small roles, I enjoyed the performances of the actresses who played Tonks and Bellatrix Lestrange.

As for complaints of the film, they are minor. The only noticeable thing was that I was not keen at times at the visual liberties the director took with the film. His decision to expidite certain plot points through montage was a bit irritating. He also visually changed things from the previous films. For instance, the depiction of Sirius in the fireplace is different than the way it was done in Goblet of Fire. I know consistency is difficult when each film has a different director, but those small things shouldn't have required alteration.

I could complain about the fact that the film leaves out a lot of stuff from the book, but there are two reasons why I won't: 1) I've come to expect that from the Potter films and 2)Most of the stuff gutted from this book was rather inconsequential to begin with. However, like I said, I would have liked for the director to give more time to the plot points he did include. For instance, I thought Sirius' death in the film lacked the gravity that the scene had not only in the book but on the series as a whole. He does make up for that by doing a nice job on the following scene involving Dumbledore and Voldemort's duel.

At the end of the day, this winds up being another fine addition to the series. This review will probably be pretty useless though as non-Potter fans aren't likely to see it and Potter fans have already checked it out (some more than once). I will definitely be seeing this again when it comes to the budget theater and then of course, buying the DVD. Hopefully by then, I'll be able to better assess where this one fits amongst the films of this fantastic series. Grade: A-

Be Kind Rewind

I just caught this trailer online and found it to be very funny. It's got an interesting premise and I'll be curious to check it out when it's released. Unfortunately, it's unclear when it's coming out. It looks like it will probably be either late this year or next year. Anyways, this is from the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, so if you enjoyed that, you may like this as well. My only concern is that all the funny aspects are being shown in this trailer. But if it is, then at least you can see it now. Please to enjoy...

The Simpsons on the big screen = A D'oh brainer

Being back up in Cleveland, I'm getting a chance to see some movies that are still in the first run theaters with family and friends. Today it was The Simpsons Movie. I've had an interesting relationship with the longest running animated show in history. When it first debuted, my parents forbid us from watching it, believing it was too racy for us. Then when I got older and began to watch it, I absolutely fell in love with it. There was a couple of years where I was all about everything Simpsons. Recently though, I've grown somewhat bored with the show. While it still has it moments, it's been difficult for them to seem fresh for the past few seasons. For this reason, I was cautiously optimistic about their jump to the big screen.

Now having seen it, I'm not sure how to feel. On one hand, the movie was more consistently funny than the show has been lately. By bringing in some of their old writers, they collectively were able to deliver a solid effort. However, there was nothing truly special about the film. Like many have said, it truly does play like a 90 minute version of the show.

The story is a solid one where they tackle timely issues of the environment and immigration. While only 90 minutes, the film does a good job of giving each of the primary four family members a storyline that was able to be developed and become integrated into the overall plot. Albert Brooks' role as the head of the EPA is very funny and a welcome addition. There are also a couple of decent cameos that I won't spoil for you here. On the disappointing side, though, a lot of of the beloved side characters don't get a lot of screen time. Burns and Skinner, in particular are pretty MIA.

I was also surprised by the adult actions seen by some of the characters. We get full frontal nudity from Bart, Homer giving the double bird, Otto smoking from a bong and Marge using God's name in vain. While they don't offend me, I do have two problems with it. Yes, the film is rated PG-13, but you know little kids will watch this film and they really shouldn't see that. Secondly, part of the show's appeal has been its ability to convey adult actions and jokes without actually doing them. It just seems lazy to have those things in there now.

That's also been a problem I've had with the show in general lately. Computer technology has allowed the show to illustrate things that previously weren't feasible. By expanding their universe, the Simpsons seem less intimate. You don't feel the same connection with them as you once did.

I feel like this review has been too negative, which I don't mean it to be. It's just easier to remember the bad things, than the positive ones. Overall, this is an enjoyable movie and anyone who has ever seen the show should do themselves a favor and go see this movie. Hopefully it's success will push the creators to consider ending the show and instead just producing solid efforts like this for the theaters every couple of years. Grade: B

The monster that is "Dear Sister"

This past weekend I caught a SNL rerun that had an absolutely hilarious Digital Short. Of course, everyone is now familiar with "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick in a Box", but this one was absolutely hilarious. Titled "Dear Sister", it's a parody of a death scene from the show The O.C. where a character gets shot and then this ridiculously schmaltzy song starts playing. Here's the SNL short:



But here's the thing...I thought this was something that I found funny, yet no one else would appreciate. Then I go on YouTube to watch it again and find out that there are a TON of parody version of this short. For example, here's a favorite of mine from Heroes:



If you find this as funny as I do, you can watch a bunch of them here or you can just do your own YouTube search.

Once upon a time, they ran out of fairy tale puns

So yesterday, with no computer and my AC broken, I needed to get out of my apartment and do something. I decided to go check out Shrek the Third at the budget theater. Sadly, the most positive thing I can say is that I was cooled off for 90 minutes.

I'm not sure what happened here. While I wasn't the biggest fan of this franchise, I had enjoyed each of the first two films. The first one did a nice job of presenting an alternative take on classic fairy tale characters, while also creating some nice parodies of current pop culture concepts. The second film then took those qualities and amped them up to the next degree.

In this third film, it appeared that everyone involved was just looking to make a quick buck. All of the charm and humor found in the previous films were nonexistent this time around. And I wasn't alone in feeling this way. I sat with an audience of children who barely laughed either, except at some of the egregious physical comedy.

The premise for the film sounds decent on paper, but isn't really executed properly. Shrek looks for a new king for Far, Far Away while Charming tries to take over the throne himself. All of the plot points, however, are underdeveloped leaving the audience emotionally unattached as to the outcome of all this. We never really see what's so horrible about Far, Far Away with Charming in charge. We never learn why Arthur is such an outcast and thus don't care whether he becomes king or not. We don't get a good sense of why Shrek fears being king or a father when it seems that everyone around him has no problem with him taking on these roles.

All of the side characters are back once again, but bring nothing fresh to them. Gingy, in particular, who was such a delight in the first film, comes off especially grating here. The film also introduces a slew of new characters, but none of them get enough time to develop any sort of personality.

The only moments where the film shows any energy is in their use of familiar songs. The funeral scene involving "Live and Let Die" and the battle scene which involved a Zepplin song are the best parts. But then I felt like I only enjoyed them because I recognized the songs, not because it was particularly creative on the director's part.

Clearly this film made oodles of money, but this film is nowhere near the caliber of the previous two. Because of its financial success, I'm sure we'll be seeing more from these characters in some capacity. But if it was up to me, I think it's time that we say "The End" to Shrek and co. Grade: C

Trade deadline depression

So the MLB trading deadline came and went without the Indians making a peep. Well, they did get Lofton; but as nice as it is to have Kenny back, we did not need another outfielder. We had other areas of concern that just got ignored. Once again it appears that frugality and mismanagement will prevent us from having a real chance at a championship.

Clearly, the big winners today were the Red Sox and the Braves; two teams who were already pretty good, yet recognized their weaknesses and got deals done to improve themselves.

Then, as if the Tribe's inactivity wasn't depressing enough, the team's offensive futility continues, as they lose tonight to the lowly Rangers; a team that seemingly traded 3/4ths of their roster today. The only bright spot is that the Tigers are going through similar woes, which has kept us close to first. This team needs to wake up and get their act together so that they can make a move and return to the playoffs.

A killer idea that misfires

Despite it not doing great at the box office, I still had high hopes for Mr. Brooks. Sadly, this was a film that had a great concept, but failed in its execution.

Let me begin though, by singing the praises of Kevin Costner & William Hurt. Their scenes together are just electric. That is high praise from me considering I have never been a big fan of Costner's work. If only the film had given more time to Mr. Brooks and his alter ego. Instead, too much of the film deals with ancillary characters that just take up space. Time that could have been spent on developing who Mr. Brooks is, is instead focused on frustrating subplots like Dane Cook as a blackmailing photographer, Demi Moore as the lead detective, who`s also in the middle of a divorce, and Danielle Panabaker as Brooks` daughter, who may be a chip off the ol' block.

All the stuff involving Moore`s detective is particularly infuriating. While all of the subplots involving her do eventually get tied back into the main story, I would have been fine had they left them out altogether. They also try to create this relationship between Moore`s character and Brooks, similar to that found in Silence of the Lambs between Lecter & Clarice, but it just doesn`t work at all here.

Another annoying thing about the film is the director's decision to have some scenes so stylized; like Moore's shoot-out with another criminal she's hunting down. Those scenes just came off looking cartoonish and out-of-place in what should have been a simple, dark film.

Perhaps my frustration with this film comes from the fact that they treated it as if it were a sequel; that we were already familiar with the primary characters from a previous movie. In a summer filled with sequels, it would have been nice to have a film which properly introduces a new potential franchise character, but this was not it. Grade: C+

Where there's a Wii, there's a way

So I was pretty depressed yesterday about my laptop's monitor crapping out. Then late last night it hit me like a bolt of lightning ... I have Internet access on my Wii! True, it's not an ideal replacement, but it's great as a temporary fix. So, hopefully this means I'll still be able to make regular posts on here; even if takes me a half hour just to type one sentence.

May be MIA for a while

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I may not be making many posts on here for a while. Yesterday, the monitor on my laptop went kaput. Now I have to either find an old monitor to hook up to my laptop or I have to dig into my nonexistent bank account and find money to buy a new computer.

In the meantime, the only opportunity I'll have to use a computer is when I'm up on campus. And since I like to keep that at a minimum, I may not be making many posts.

On the bright side, both Shrek 3 and Mr. Brooks have found their way to the budget theater by me, so I'll be seeing them within the next week. When I get the chance, I'll put my reviews up on here.

Until then, stay classy San Diego.

New Price is Right host named

It's Drew Carey!

I heard this news last night and tried to give it a day to seep in before I commented on it. Oddly enough, my feelings now haven't really changed from when I first heard the news. I don't know if Drew was my top pick for the job, but he's certainly better than a lot of the names that were being thrown out there (Rosie, Mario Lopez, etc.)

Drew is a likeable enough guy and his background in improv will help as well. It's going to be really important for fans and viewers of the show to give him a fair chance. Ultimately, I just want to see show go on and if people come down on him too hard early on, he'll have no opportunity to succeed.

I guess our first chance to see if he'll be any good is when he hosts CBS' new game show The Power of Ten which begins Aug. 7 if I'm not mistaken. But for now, I say congrats to my fellow Clevelander and I wish him the best of luck.

I've even come up with the name of the first new game under his tenure: "Cash and Carey" (*cue rimshot*)

Some quick CBS TV news

As the networks continue to hold press conferences as part of the media press tour, we're learning a little bit more about some of our favorite shows and what to expect from them in their upcoming seasons. CBS recently held theirs and here were some interesting scooplets that got leaked, that some of you may find interesting:

Survivor: The new installment, which takes place in China will NOT have the exile island twist involved. However, the hidden immunity idol will remain apart of the game and according to producers will be placed somewhere "right under their noses".

CSI: Producers are saying that within the first few episodes, there will be a definitive end to the Sara/Grissom relationship. They wouldn't go any further as to whether Sara will be back or not, but it doesn't look like they will remain a couple one way or the other.

Amazing Race: The next season won't air until midseason, but CBS is reporting that it will be a shorter season and as a result there will be no nonelimination legs, which is just fine by me.

Harry Potter 7 thoughts (NO SPOILERS)

So after Jim left early Sunday morning, I was finally able to crack open Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which I received through Amazon on Saturday. In fear of having anything spoiled, I did nothing but plow through the book. It took me about 10 hours, although I'll probably read it again as I probably missed a point or two along the way.

I have to say that I loved the book. Without giving anything away I thought it did a wonderful job of tying up loose ends, providing a ton of drama and action and also paying homage to virtually every character who had ever been introduced in the previous 6 books. For Potter fans, this is a great book. I am very curious though as to how they will make this book into a movie. Even though it's comparable in length to the previous couple of books, there is just so much going on in this one that they'll either have to break it into two films or really gut out a lot of stuff. It's easy to see how Order of the Phoenix could be made into a 2 hour film (since nothing ever happened in that book), but this one can't be handled in the same way.

If you're like me and having already finished it, in fear of spoilers, I'd love to discuss it with you. Although for the sake of everyone, you better email me about it so as not to piss off anyone who hasn't read it yet.

Thank you for waiting...the (soon to be) doctor will see you now

I'm sorry there has been a dry spell of posts from me lately, but I do have a good reason. My friend Jim from Dayton came down to visit me, so I really haven't been around my computer a lot these past few days. But because he's down here, it's given me a reason to see some movies. I saw Spiderman 3 again early this week, but since I've already talked about that, there's no reason to do it here. Tonight, however, I got to see Sicko.

In general, the film was enjoyable. Well, as enjoyable as a film about how we're getting screwed by the HMOs can be. It's also a typical Michael Moore film, which can either be a very good thing or very bad thing, depending on who you are. About the only difference was that I thought this one was a little lighter on the humor than some of his other films had been. Again, though, a film about people dying as a result of greedy doctors...not exactly chock full of hilarity.

The film's biggest detriment is how it presents this problem as so simple, yet complicated. Really, the argument is simple ("Look other countries give their citizens free health care, why can't we?") and the solution is really complicated ("Yeah, like HMOs are really ever going to release their stranglehold on the health care industry"). The other maddening thing about this film is that I was waiting for the other shoe to fall on the systems these other countries like Canada and France have, yet it never came. So either these countries truly do live in these fanatasy worlds where everyone receives medical attention and lives happily or there's more going on than what was being presented in the film.

While the film is well made and never dull, you also leave with the sense that there isn't much you as an individual can do. Unlike say An Inconveinent Truth which gave viewers pause to consider how they can do their part to help the Earth, this problem will come down to whether politicians can grow a sack and make the necessary changes to this system. I recommend you check this out as it can produce some good debate, but be prepared to pull your hair out as you realize the situation we're in. On second thought, don't pull your hair out; it's likely to cause you to lose your benefits. Grade: B+

Summer TV worth watching

I can't believe it's taken me this long to talk about the only summer TV show worth watching; the World Series of Pop Culture. It has returned after its successful premiere season last year. The show has maintained everything that made it cool last year - namely the mega-nerd teams with their geeky names, being a fast-paced quiz show chock full of obscure pop culture references, and most importantly of all, the awesomely dry host, Pat Kiernan. Kudos to the show for bringing back last year's champ, El Chucacabra to compete against this year's contestants.

After a week of play, clearly the biggest surprise was the upset of the aforementioned champs. With 8 new teams left it appears to be anybodys game. Some teams appear to be relying on only one member, while others seem more well-rounded. Then again, with the randomness of the questions asked, it could just be that certain teams dealt with categories that didn't meet their strengths and they could be stronger than they appeared. Of the remaining teams, the strongest ones appear to be 3 Men and a Little Lazy, Wocka Wocka, and Almost Perfect Strangers 2.0.

If you haven't checked this out, please do so next week. New episodes will be on Mon-Thur at 9pm on VH1. And if that time doesn't work for you, don't worry, it's VH1, so you know that it'll replayed ad naseum throughout the day. Also, if you want to test your own pop culture knowledge, you can do so at World of Pop.

Pronk staying put

Hafner signs four year extension.

Knowing that Travis is now signed through 2012 makes me a very happy man. Now lets hope with this out of the way, he can return to his home run hitting self and help guarantee that the Tribe make it to the postseason.

Get Smart teaser trailer

Would you believe....this comes out next summer. Consider me already excited.

Terrible end to the first half

So it appears the Indians decided to limp into the All Star Break, losing 4 of their last six. Their latest loss, today's pathetic 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays really stung as it cost us first place. Now the Tigers get to gloat over the Break about being in sole possession of first place.

I'm not going to turn on the panic button just yet as we're still in a very good position to make it to the postseason. However, this team has got to improve on the road. Luckily we only have four more games on the road for the rest of July. But we're barely home in August and September. If this team wants to play in October, they need to start playing as well on the road as they do at the Jake.

Also, needed is more clutch hitting from guys like Peralta (he really cost us today), Blake, Nixon and sadly, Pronk too. Some better managing in tight games would be helpful, but I'm not holding my breath that that will actually happen.

So for now those crybabies in the Motor City can claim this small victory, but when all is said and done, lets hope it is my Indians who will have something to celebrate.

Still not quite Fantastic

With my movie money almost expired (don't even get me started on that ripoff), I took the evening to finally see the Fantastic Four sequel. Good news: it is a marked improvement over the bloated, tedious, and annoying first film. Bad news: it still has a long way to go before being considered a good series of films based on the popular comic book.

The most notable improvement comes from the fact that the core Four are much more comfortable in their roles and actually seem like they belong (Alba's hotness in the film makes you almost forget that she's supposed to be an astronaut). Another positive of the film is the Silver Surfer, which appears to be a good representation of the character fans have come to know. Galactus does not receive the same treatment, but because I never read the comic books, I'm not as disappointed as some will be.

The film introduces plenty of interesting ideas: the desire to find someone to love, the desire to lead a normal life, dealing with the return of Doom, serving your country vs. serving yourself yet when you make a film that's only 92 mins. long it's kind of hard to properly address any of them. The film just allows you to fill in the holes, if you're so inclined.

The primary fault of this film and the original is that it basically refuses to allow you to be engaged. At no time do you ever get caught up with what's going on on the screen. You always know you're watching a film. Given that the comic book has such a rich tapestry of characters and story, you would think it wouldn't be difficult to create films which would allows viewers to escape reality and enter into their fantastic world. Instead, the film seems content to be light, popcorn fare that is just looking to make a quick buck. In better hands, this franchise had the potential to be discussed in the same breath as the Spiderman, Batman, and X-Men series.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer certainly is enjoyable in a "shut off your mind for 90 minutes" sort of way. I'll recommend it because regardless of what you thought of the first film, you'll definitely enjoy this one more. But be forewarned: this film severely lacks the "Wow" factor. Grade: B-

Won't you be my enabler?

I read a very interesting article today in the Wall Street Journal which basically places blame on Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood for creating the narcissistic attitude seen in a lot of young adults today. For quite some time now, I've expressed concern to others that a big problem with today's youth is that they are never held accountable for any of their actions and expect everything to be given to them. The horrid My Super Sweet 16 is a perfect example of this.

Now I hate to blame Mr. Rodgers for creating this culture, as I grew up on him and found his show to be very beneficial in my formative years. But the author makes some good points about how Rodgers' mantra that everyone is "special" has instilled this mindframe in the youth of America.

You can read the article for yourself here and then share your thoughts on the matter with me.

USA, USA, USA

Our nation can once again hold its head up high as the Hot Dog Eating Championship has come back to America. Check out the exciting finish to this year's 4th of July tradition:

They put the bone in Zamboni

So Blades of Glory finally made its way to the budget theater, which meant it was at a price I was willing to see it at. The end result? A very funny movie that I will place above the vastly overrated (by fans, that is) Talladega Nights. This is a typical Ferrell movie, but that's all right, as he generally knows how to bring the funny.

I think what helps this movie out is the supporting cast. Nights had the unfunny John C. Reilly and the uneven Sacha Baron Cohen. Blades on the other hand was bolstered by the efforts of Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, and Craig T. Nelson. Also, helping things out was Jenna Fischer, who is smoking hot in this movie; both when she's in sexy outfits and when she just playing the "aw shucks", girl-next-door character.

About the only criticism that I have is that the film really doesn't take any risks or explore the rich tapesty of humor that is men's figure skating. It stays in a comfort zone that allows it to be funny, but leaves you a little unfulfilled.

This is a great movie to just watch on a Saturday afternoon for some good laughs; along the lines of something like Dodgeball and it's one that I'll definitely pick up when it comes out on DVD. Grade: B+

New Bourne Ultimatum trailer

Most of the "threequels" (ugh, I can't stand that word) have fallen short of expectations thus far this summer. But after seeing this trailer, I'm thinking the last big movie of the summer, just might be the best. Check it out for yourself:

Finally....Adam has returned to Raleigh

Well after a hectic three week vacation in Cleveland in which I experience emotional highs and lows, I am finally back in NC. After making the 9 hour drive on Sunday, I got no rest, as I began teaching summer school today. Odd as it may sound, teaching will actually be a relief from the schedule I've had lately.

Now that I'm back, here's hoping I'll be updating this blog moreso. I also hope to be catching up on these summer movies that I've been neglecting lately. I'll definitely be seeing at least one film this week, if not more, so be looking for my thoughts on them as I post them.

One thing I will miss though is my Tribe. While I do have the Extra Innings package, it's not the same thing. I won't always get to see the games on STO. I won't get to see All Bets Are Off. And I won't get to watch the games with my family and friends. But as long as they keep winning, I'll be happy. Tonight's win (and sweep) over the D-Rays was awesome and puts us in a good place as we head into a big series with the Tigers here before the All Star Break.

On an emotional rollercoaster

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.

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.

EW, I like the way you think!

We all love our Claire Bear!

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.

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:

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

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

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

Screw Transformers, I'm already buying my tickets for this

Thundercats Hooooooo!

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.