Dunder-Mifflin dealings

So it appears that The Office has its new hire. News broke this week that James Spader, who appeared in the season finale this past May, has agreed to join the show. But don't expect him to move into Michael Scott office, at least not for long. For more on the plans for Spader this season, here's the story from EW.com

It’s official: The employees of Dunder Mifflin are getting a new CEO and his name is Robert California.

James Spader’s ultra-confident and sexually charged character featured briefly in the NBC hit’s May finale is set to join the cast of the show’s upcoming eighth season, NBC confirmed.

“James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior,” said Paul Lieberstein, one of the series’ executive producers and a series regular. “He’ll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company. James has an energy that is completely his own, and The Office has no tools for dealing with this guy. We’re thrilled he’s joining our cast.”

NBC is set to announce the hire, adding a new well-known actor to the ensemble series that saw the departure of its biggest star, Steve Carell, this season, and will also say goodbye to recurring performer Kathy Bates as well. Bates played the company’s CEO last season, though Spader’s character is expected to have a greater presence on the show.

And if you missed Spader's performance on the finale, here are some clips of him in action:

Tribe Watch (Week 14)

Record: 45-38

Standing: First in AL Central

I'm a day late because of the holiday, but I'm glad I held off considering our nice win today. But before we get to that, let's talk about the prior week, which saw us salvaging that rough 9 game interleague road trip by taking 2 out of 3 from both Arizona and Cincinnati. That allowed us to finish the trip 4-5 overall. Considering we lost Choo and could only get Hafner 1 at bat a game, I'd say that's pretty good. The end of interleague play also marked the actual halfway point of the season. While no season is one midway through, the fact that we are in first place at this time is still very impressive. We certainly cannot rest on our laurels, however. If we're to win this division and make a run in the playoffs, we're going to have to continue playing strong and get production out of all of our key players. With interleague play over with, we can turn our attention back to the American league. That began tonight with a win over the Yankees. We have two more games with them followed by a four game set against the Blue Jays. Getting that first win tonight against New York is huge and hopefully sets up for us winning the series. As for Toronto, their offense is decent but their pitching isn't. The fact that we're playing them at home bodes well for us. After the Blue Jays comes the All Star break. If we do well this week, it sets things up nicely for us as the rest of the July schedule isn't too difficult. If we can again create some distance between us and the rest of the division, it will help us tremendously as we towards the end of the season. Just like the temperature, the division race is heating up and I'm looking forward to seeing every minute of it, as I'm sure the rest of you are as well. And as we do, we'll all be cheering - Go Tribe!

Mission is a go

This was released a few days ago, but it's still earlier than I expected to see it come out. If you haven't watched it yet, here's the first trailer for Mission:Impossible Ghost Protocol set to come out this December.

Let's all go out to the movies (a lot)

So there's this new company who's trying to offer a service similar to Netflix, only it's where you could see unlimited movies at the theater. The cost is fairly steep ($50 a month), but I suppose if you really love going to the movies, you could make this work in your favor. I found it interesting and if you want to know more about it, here's the story on it from EW.com

If you’re anything like us, you’re going to spend the dog days of summer planted indoors, namely at an air conditioned movie theater, seeing everything under the unforgiving sun (Transformers: Dark of the Moon may blow your eardrums out, but at least you’ll be cooled off). While it’s certainly cheaper than buying a pool or sitting in front of your open refrigerator all day (turns out that really hikes up the electric bill), going to the movies a few times a week definitely adds up.

With the average price of a movie ticket in San Francisco hovering around $10, an avid moviegoer could very well spend roughly $100 a month at their local multiplex (that’s not including assorted goods at the concession stand, which, let’s be honest, would be about $100, too.) In other words, Californians, you may have to start subletting your living room in order to keep going. Or just start charging your out-of-towner friends for your Full House tour.

Alas, there’s MoviePass, a new $50-per-month service — launching this weekend in, you guessed it, the San Francisco Bay Area — which will allow subscribers go to unlimited movies in theaters. As reported by Wired.com, people who get the “unlimited pass” with the service — which is more or less piggybacking off of the insanely successful Netflix formula — can see as many movies currently playing in theaters as their hearts desire for the month. However, if you want to see a movie in 3-D or in IMAX, you’ll be charged an extra $3. By using the app, you’ll simply find your movie’s showtime, check in to your local theater, and go straight to the ticket-taker.

But is it worth it for the ticket line-free experience? While you’re more or less breaking even if you see four movies a month, there’s bound to be a lull, even for the most avid moviegoer. However, Wired also reported that a more reasonable “limited pass” option, with four movies for $30 per month, is on the horizon.

That’s not all. As MoviePass co-founder Hamet Watt explained in a press release, the company will “enable our members to extend their connection to the movie they just saw by pre-ordering the DVD, digital download or other merchandise as soon as they walk out of the theater.” Studios and producers will also be able to “engage with avid movie buffs based on their film-attendance history” — so perhaps you’ll get an email from Jerry Bruckheimer after your 35th viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides? (Or perhaps not.)

Still, will everyone be willing to make the transition? For better or worse, we’ve all gotten pretty used to the movie theater line dilemma — automated ticket machines and the ability to print out your ticket at home have all but cut out that problem for many. And perhaps just as many of us aren’t “spur-of-the-moment” moviegoers, as MoviePass seems to be targeting. Better yet, it’s a safe bet a lot of people who do check out multiple flicks a month do the mythical movie-hopping, in which they simply sneak into another theater after paying for one movie. (We, of course, have only heard of this illicit ritual.)

Then again, we haven’t heard much from the Netflix naysayers as of late (just ask Blockbuster), so will MoviePass change the dynamic of movie-going for good, not only for theaters themselves, but online ticket outlets like Fandango and Moviefone? Is $50 too steep, or will it appeal directly to folks who want to get their monthly entertainment budget in order

Brave new world

Well after their first 'rotten' film ever with Cars 2, Pixar looks to rebound by offering a film that appears to be a bit more grown up and scary than what they typically do. As usual the animation looks amazing, but it remains to be seen whether this will get them back on the right track.

NMR: Bill of goods

This weekend I got into a Bill Murray mood and decided to check out three of his films that I had never seen before.

Stripes: In one of his first starring roles, Murray proves he's a star with his performance as cynical slacker John Winger. Overall, I didn't love the movie primarily because I just don't appreciate the 'me vs. the establishment' movies that came out during this time (Animal House is another example of it). However, the movie does have it's winning qualities. Murray and Harold Ramis work well off of each other (a winning combination that would be reprised in Ghostbusters) and I also like the scenes involving the two of them and their romantic interests (one of which was Sean Young). I also absolutely loved Elmer Bernstein's score and could listen to the Stripes march all day long. On the other hand, a lot of the supporting cast members like John Candy, John Larroquette, and Judge Reinhold are underutilized. Also, Warren Oates' Sgt. Hulka disappears halfway through the movie which causes the story to drag. Frankly, the whole third act that involves the platoon going to Europe is weak and disjointed. I would have rather had the climax be their graudation from basic training. Still, the movie has enough laughs that makes it worth seeing if you've never watched it before. Rating: ***

Kingpin: Bill Murray's presence in this Farrelly brothers film about a gifted bowler (Woody Harrelson) who's career goes down the toilet after he loses his hand, is really a saving grace. Sadly, he's only in the film for about 20-30 minutes. His greasy, jealous, con man character provides the bulk of the laughs. The film really sags in the middle with the scenes involving Harrelson, Randy Quaid (playing an Amish bowler) and Vanessa Angel. This is pretty much standard fare from the Farrelly brothers, so if you enjoy their humor, it's likely you'll appreciate this film. If only they would have found a way to get Murray in the film more, this could have been something special. Rating: ***

Quick Change: I saved the best one for last. This underrated film from the early 90s involves Murray working with Randy Quaid and Geena Davis as a trio of bank robbers. The robbery itself is easy - it's the getaway that proves difficult as they run into a number of different situations throughout New York City that are seemingly conspiring against them as they try to make their flight to Fiji. Murray is once again terrific bouncing back and forth between being cool, calm, and collected and getting frenzied over the idiots that surround him. One of the things that I liked the best about the film is that they didn't just resort to cheap cliches about the people of New York. There are some odd, but hilarious scenes like the Mexican jousting scene that have to be seen to be appreciated. Mixing Murray's humor with the heist genre is a winning combination for me. Definitely check this one out if you've never seen it before. Rating: ****

Tribe Watch (Week 13)

Record: 40 - 36

Standing: Second in AL Central

Well it's been another terrible week for the Tribe. They only managed 1 win against the Rockies and got swept this past weekend by the Giants. If there's a saving grace it's that most of the games we lost were one-run affairs, which means our pitching was solid (with the exception of Fausto Carmona) but our hitting continues to suffer. If the hitting doesn't turn around soon, we could be heading into a downward spiral that we won't be able to recover from. It certainly didn't help when Shin Soo-Choo went down this week with a broken thumb after getting hit by a pitch. He's likely going to be out at least 6 weeks. It also hurts playing these interleague games in National League parks because we're without a DH then. The Indians will look to try and climb back up into first place this week (they're only one game behind Detroit currently) as they continue their west coast swing in Arizona starting tonight. After that, we'll head back to Ohio, but it's to play the Reds in Cincinnati this weekend. We were able to sweep the Reds when they played in Cleveland, but I have a feeling they'll be a much tougher opponent this weekend. Even though things look bleak at the moment, we gotta stay firm in our belief that this team can win and compete with the best in baseball. Go Tribe!

Meat Ron Swanson

The awesome Parks and Recreation art keeps coming. This one comes from NBC itself - a photomosaic of Ron Swanson consisting of tiny pictures of meat.

NMR: Just Go With It

I'm usually always up for an Adam Sandler movie, but this one misses the mark. Of course, one of its major flaws is its premise. Here Sandler has co-worker Jennifer Aniston pretend she's his soon to be ex-wife in order to win over a hot girl (Brooklyn Decker) he recently met. Why he wouldn't just want to date someone as hot as Aniston is beyond me. As the film tries to make the flimsy premise work, they pad the story with a lot of subplots that really go nowhere. The film isn't completely humorless, however. There are a handful of gags that worked, but most of them come near the beginning of the film and revolve around Sandler being a plastic surgeon. Once the film moves to Hawaii (in yet another situation where it appears Sandler chose a film in order to have a glorified vacation) it loses a lot of steam and limps to its inevitable conclusion. Despite a bunch of funny guys and hot women making up the majority of the cast, they simply couldn't do anything with this material. This is one Sandler film you can skip. Rating: **1/2

Tip of the Cap

Hopefully you haven't reached superhero fatigue yet, because we've still got one big one yet to come out. Here's the latest trailer for next month's Captain America movie.

NMR: The King's Speech

I debated for a long time whether or not to actually rent this. I was rather miffed that it won best picture given that I felt there were a number of far more deserving films of that honor. But I decided I would be the bigger man and see why this was supposed so much better than them. Ultimately, it may have been a self fulfilling prophecy, but this was exactly what I expected. This is a well made film that I found mostly forgettable. The acting is solid here as both Colin Firth as King George and Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue, the man who helped the king with his speech impediment do exceptional work and play off each other well. The subject matter is also fairly interesting as you could see the larger historical ramifications that overcoming this problem had on the king and his country. However, everything about this film reeks of desperation in trying to garner awards and nominations. This is Oscar baiting at its worst. And sadly it worked as the Oscars chose to shun films that were fresh, innovative, or current, in favor of another period piece that appeals only to an out-of-touch older generation. That is more of an indictment on the system than the film, however. This film is certainly not without blame though as it pushed every button and worked every angle in order to make sure the same old outcome would be produced. If the subject matter does interest you, I definitely would recommend you see this as it is very well done. However, it's likely that if you haven't seen it yet, you likely won't be persuaded by this review. Rating: ****

And with that, I don't believe I have any major films left from 2010 that I plan on seeing. So with that, I will officially take down my 2010 Top Ten movies list. I'm pretty pleased with the 10 that are on there and I feel it's one of the strongest lists I've had since beginning this blog. If 2011 hopes to have as strong of a list, the slate of quality films better be heavily backloaded.

I dream of this ice cream

If only this were real...I discovered this Photoshopped thing of beauty from a website called www.meatbeerbabes.com

Tribe Watch (Week 12)

Record: 39 - 31

Standing: First in AL Central

A much better week for the Indians, but they are certainly not in the clear yet. After salvaging one win against the Yankees, things continued to look pretty bleak against Detroit, although we did manage to earn one victory against them. It wasn't until this weekend series against the Pirates that the team finally started to perk up. We saw more clutch hitting in Friday and Saturday's games. Then today we saw the return of home field magic with a walk off win in the 11th. What should be interesting to watch for in the next few weeks is how, if at all, the offense changes. Earlier today the Indians fired their hitting coach and promoted the guy that was working on hitting in our minor league system. Perhaps with a different approach, the Tribe can find their swing again. They'll certainly need it as interleague play rolls on this week. We have another home series against Colorado, who helped us out this weekend by taking two of three from Detroit. Then we travel out west to play the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have been playing better as of late. Interleague play can often be a make or break moment of the season for some teams. We're currently 6-0 against the National League, so let's hope we keep that up. As usual, I'll be rooting for them the entire way. Go Tribe!

Playing homage

Last week, J.J. Abrams secretive new film, Super 8, finally was released. As the trailers for the film were released many speculated on the brief images they saw. How did the train crash? What was being kept in the train? Why are the military now involved in the clean up of this accident? All of these questions get answers as the film unfolds, however, the journey is much more exciting than the actual answers.

As many of you have read and/or surmised this film is, at the core, about childhood friendships. The story revolves around a group of 12 year olds who have a penchant for making their own films and decide to create a zombie movie that they can submit to a film festival. It is while they're shooting said film that they witness the signature train crash.

Let me take a brief moment from summarizing the film to commend J.J. and his crew on the train crash scene. The visuals and sound effects are truly fantastic and really make you feel like you too are in the center of all this mayhem. And an extra special compliment to them for being able to accomplish that without feeling the need to gussy it up with the increasingly unnecessary 3-D gimmick. The film is shot in 2D and looks just fine.

Anyways, in telling this story of these kids, Abrams borrows heavily on the themes and emotions that Steven Spielberg used so effectively in some of his earlier films like E.T. Spielberg, not surprisingly, was an executive producer on the film and his presence is clearly felt. Since he doesn't seem as interested in making these films himself these days, it's nice to see he's passing the torch onto a new generation of filmmakers. The bond between the kids (most of which are unknowns, with the exception of Elle Fanning, Dakota's little sister) is well developed and definitely one of the film's strengths. I liked both the passion and innocence they display as they work together on their movie and then later on as they investigate the weird events surrounding the train crash.

But as we move more into uncovering what really happened and what is lurking out in their town (a fictional suburb of Dayton, which was a nice bonus for me), the film, just like its train begins to derail a bit. It's not the reveal is disappointing, it's that it takes away from what was turning out to be a decent coming-of-age story. As the film becomes more action-oriented, it also loses sight of what it's supposed to be. At the point when the film is meant to reach its emotional climax, it falls flat and almost feels like an afterthought.

The more I reflect on the direction the film takes as it reaches its conclusion, the more it feels like Abrams was possibly making a different film altogether. In a sense, this movie feels as if this was Abrams' version of the film he would have made when he was 12. In that sense, he's attempting to further show his respect for the art of filmmaking and the way an artist can get wrapped up in his own story. If true, I can respect his decisions more. But it's also likely that I may be reading into things more than I should.

Regardless, those who love filmmaking will truly enjoy this film. For those who are more interested in mindless entertainment, this certainly has enough to keep you engaged, but it also may not head in the direction you expect. Almost everyone though will likely have a wave of nostalgia ride over them as you see elements of amazing films of the past incorporated here in an attempt to create a new classic. I'm not convinced it completely achieved that, but Super 8 is still pretty great nonetheless. Grade: B+

Show me the money

Here's the first trailer for the film that I think could be this year's The Social Network. It's about the life and career of baseball wunderkind GM Billy Beane and his method of obtaining a winning ball club without spending much.

NMR: No Strings Attached

This was better than I expected it to be thanks primarily to the breezy chemistry between Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. Kutcher, by no means a master thespian, knows his limits and plays to his strengths here, while Portman seems to be having a lot of fun being in lighter fare after spending most of her time in more serious films recently. Their chemistry makes the predictable storyline palatable. What was disappointing here and what hurts the movie is the weak group of friends that they cast around the two leads. The majority of the them come off as weak leftovers from a Judd Apatow film. Their purpose in the film is to provide some laughs as they remark on the silly predicament that the leads are in, but they were unable to muster more than a smile out of me. The one exception is Kevin Kline who plays Kutcher's randy dad. He naturally gives it all and I wish there had been more scenes involving him. There have certainly been far worse romantic comedies that have been released recently, so if you're doing the whole date night thing this will probably suffice and have enough to make both parties happy. What will be interesting is how this compares to the other 'f*** buddies' movie coming out next month, Friends With Benefits starring Kutcher's friend Justin Timberlake and Portman's Black Swan co-star Mila Kunis. Rating: *** 1/2

Feeling froggy

I gotta say, I'm loving these Muppet parody trailers. Check out the latest one tackling Green Lantern.

Pawnee - First in friendship, fourth in obesity

Love Parks and Recreation? Well get ready for more goodness from our favorite town in Indiana. On October 4th, a 'guide' to Pawnee will be released written by Leslie Knope. If it's half as good as the Pawnee, Indiana website, then this will be amazing.

Here's more on the book from Variety:

“Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America,” a 240-page book from the point of view of Amy Poehler’s “Parks and Recreation” lead character Leslie Knope, will be published Oct. 4 by NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group and Hyperion Publishing.

The book will focus on the fictional town’s history, expanding on and adding to events alluded to on the show, such as its long list of ridiculous town slogans and ongoing racoon infestation.

“The ever-expanding town of Pawnee has become its own character in our show, and we're thrilled that we got to accelerate that expansion in one giant, goofy 240-page comedy book,” said exec producer Mike Schur, who might have had a hand or three in writing the tome.

Added Poehler: "Mike Schur asked me to contribute to this book. I missed the deadline. I am regretting that now."

Tribe Watch (Week 11)

Record: 34 - 29

Standing: First in AL Central (by percentage points)

I'm not really in the mood to talk baseball right now after the Indians disasterous week. They only managed one win and that was a pathetic 1-0 victory against the Twins. Right now our offense is so anemic, it's not even funny. I wish I had answers, but if I did, then so would this team and they'd be able to fix things. We can only hope that this is a bad slump and that the team will be able to get out of it eventually. Otherwise, the hot start will merely be an aberration and we'll be looking at the bottom of the division once again. Our performance this week will be critical. After finishing up the series against the Yankees tonight, we head to Detroit for a three game series against the Tigers who are now tied with us for first place. The outcome of that series could dramatically shift the outlook of the division. After we finish with the Tigers, we'll return home to play against the Pirates, a team that while better, is still a beatable team. If we right the ship, this week could get us right back to where we were before this slump. I'll be rooting hard for that to happen and I hope the rest of you will as well. Go Tribe!

NMR: Jackass 3D and 3.5

This shouldn't even be labeled as a Netflix movie review since I saw neither of these through Netflix. Jackass 3D was available at the beginning of March and three months later, despite being at the top of my queue that entire time, it still hadn't arrived. So I just gave up and got it immediately through Redbox. Then Jackass 3.5 was already on television this past weekend, even though it's not even available yet through Netflix. Needless to say, Netflix isn't winning me over these days.

As for the movies, this is about what you would expect. Jackass 3D is one of the few films that I probably should have seen in 3D. These guys do a nice job of crafting a lot of their stunts around the technology and maximizing its usefulness. It's not to say that they can't be enjoyed on the small screen, but I think you definitely lose something - especially for stunts like recreating the Rocky punch, which involves dosing an unsuspecting with a cup of watch and then punching them in the face. Even if you can't watch it in 3D, there are still plenty of horrifying, hilarious, and somehow creative dares that the gangs has on display here. Stunts like beehive tetherball and taser obstacle course make you laugh, wince, and look on in awe all at the same time. It's impressive the way these guys can continue to find fresh ways of torturing their bodies.

In Jackass 3.5, you basically get the leftovers that they couldn't fit in the regular movie. There are still a handful of gems here. But this is also nice because it allows us to also gain a bit more insight into each of these guys and their collective friendship. I think what makes this franchise still so appealing, even after 10 years, is that oddly enough they still seem to enjoy inflicting pain on both themselves and each other. It proves the old adage that getting hit in the nuts is always hilarious. I don't know how much more abuse these guys can take, but as long as they are willing, I'll be there to watch. Rating: Jackass 3D - **** Jackass 3.5 *** 1/2