tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78466229478514972102024-03-13T10:46:27.765-04:00Kevin's BlogKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.comBlogger245125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-62198765930876704982010-03-11T20:14:00.003-05:002010-03-11T21:06:47.985-05:00HSX<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5mUwhwdPOI/AAAAAAAAAmA/iKGHEKgt2Zg/s1600-h/hsx.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 120px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5mUwhwdPOI/AAAAAAAAAmA/iKGHEKgt2Zg/s320/hsx.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447548785697570018" border="0" /></a>So the Oscars are over...I was definitely way off on my predictions, some that I'm glad about and some that I'm not. I like that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span> upset <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span> all night, but I really didn't think either film deserved the hype that they got. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span> is perhaps more deserving of the awards that it received, but I definitely wasn't blown away by it. The award that ticked me off the most was Best Original Screenplay. There's no way that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span> should have won over <span style="font-style: italic;">Inglourious Basterds</span>. The dialogue in Tarantino's movie was brilliant, creative, intense and definitely should have won that award.<br /><br />But anyway, what's done is done. Another year, another new selection of films to see. If you're like me and you enjoy reading/watching upcoming releases and deciding what you think, you may want to invest in those predictions. Now you can with <a href="http://www.hsx.com/" target="_blank">HSX.com</a>, the Hollywood Stock Exchange. It's exactly what you would guess it is: you can buy shares of not only films, but also TV shows and actors themselves. For example, you can already buy shares of Avatar 2 (symbol AVAT2) for $242.04. Iron Man 2 (symbol IRNM2) is currently going for $367.69. You may want to jump onto Tron Legacy, which is currently at $168.65, but I'd guess that'll at least double in the coming months. Unfortunately, however, this site doesn't run on real money but on "Hollywood Dollars," which are basically worthless. I'm hoping this changes eventually. Regardless, it could be fun.<br /><br />You can sign up for free and get $2,000,000 to invest with...as they say, the rest is up to you. I like the concept and might jump on eventually. As for you, don't blame me if you lose all your fake money on buying shares of Gary Busey.<br /><br /><object height="340" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Na8lUFb5aSI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Na8lUFb5aSI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="400"></embed></object>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-31070740394354851292010-03-04T21:14:00.000-05:002010-03-04T21:14:49.490-05:00Oscar Predictions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5Bnqs2EK9I/AAAAAAAAAlY/ZfFPPsTD39o/s1600-h/oscar-statue.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 219px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5Bnqs2EK9I/AAAAAAAAAlY/ZfFPPsTD39o/s320/oscar-statue.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444965932781022162" border="0" /></a>This Sunday is the broadcast of the 82nd Oscars, the premiere award event for film, presented this year by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. It will be the first year in a long time that there are 10 nominations for best film and I've seen all of them except <span style="font-style: italic;">Up in the Air</span>. Based on the 9 I've seen, I think this has been a great year in film to bring back 10 nominations. It's safe to say that, like it or not, <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span>, with its 9 nominations, will probably clean up. I just hope it doesn't cast a shadow over the other deserving nominations.<br /><br />Here are my predictions for who/what will win in this year's categories:<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Picture</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span>. Most people are thinking it's between this and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span> but I think <span style="font-style: italic;">District 9</span> should get more credit here. Because it was freakin' awesome. What they should do is make an exception and enter director Kathryn Bigelow's <span style="font-style: italic;">Point Break</span> instead of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span> and just let it win everything.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Actor in a Leading Role</span>: Tough call here...especially since I haven't seen any of these films yet. I'm between Jeff Bridges, Colin Firth and Morgan Freeman. Interestingly, both Bridges and Freeman have been nominated 5 times between leading and supporting role...Freeman has won once for supporting...and this is Colin Firth's <span style="font-style: italic;">first</span> nomination. Based on that, I'm narrowing it down to between Jeff Bridges and Colin Firth and saying that Colin Firth wins it.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Actor in a Supporting Role</span>: Another tough call since I've only seen one of these films (<span style="font-style: italic;">Inglorious Basterds</span>). Christoph Waltz was fantastic in that role and I'd love to see him win but I'm thinking this goes to either Matt Damon or Woody Harrelson. Damon has one win under his belt for writing <span style="font-style: italic;">Good Will Hunting</span> and I'm thinking he's picking up his second here.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5BoPRYB3-I/AAAAAAAAAlg/H4MEFDRXuyw/s1600-h/avatar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 167px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5BoPRYB3-I/AAAAAAAAAlg/H4MEFDRXuyw/s320/avatar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444966561062445026" border="0" /></a>- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Actress in a Leading Role</span>: I've seen all of these roles except Helen Mirren's. Sandra Bullock was surprisingly good in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Blind Side</span> but it's easy to be surprised considering her past acting gigs. Meryl Streep did an amazing job as Julia Child but I'm going out on a limb and saying that Carey Mulligan steals this one.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Actress in a Supporting Role</span>: I've only seen one of these roles: Mo'Nique in <span style="font-style: italic;">Precious</span>. And she deserves this win. I think she'll take it.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Animated Feature Film</span>: Don't yell at me, but I think <span style="font-style: italic;">Up </span>is a little bit overrated. That said, it's the only nomination I've seen and considering all the buzz about it, it's safe to say that it will win.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Art Direction</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5Born-Hj6I/AAAAAAAAAlo/PONN3e4f5v0/s1600-h/the-hurt-locker.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 131px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5Born-Hj6I/AAAAAAAAAlo/PONN3e4f5v0/s320/the-hurt-locker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444967048164118434" border="0" /></a>- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cinematography</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span><br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Costume Design</span>: Straight up guess on this one, but it seems whenever there's a Victorian-era British nominee, it wins...so I'll say <span style="font-style: italic;">The Young Victoria</span>.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Directing</span>: Here's the tough call of the night...James Cameron or Kathryn Bigelow? I'm hoping Kathryn Bigelow but thinking it will be James Cameron.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Documentary Feature</span>: I've seen 2 of these, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Cove</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Food Inc.</span> I'd be happy seeing either of them win but think that considering the lengths that the crew went to in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Cove</span>, that it should win.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5Bo3yUSsiI/AAAAAAAAAlw/nhFZgKgpYmU/s1600-h/district-9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 251px; height: 141px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S5Bo3yUSsiI/AAAAAAAAAlw/nhFZgKgpYmU/s320/district-9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444967257099907618" border="0" /></a>- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Film Editing</span>: District 9 deserves to win something and I think this is probably the one it could take.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Music (Original Score)</span>: Avatar<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sound Editing</span>: The Hurt Locker<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sound Mixing</span>: Avatar<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Visual Effects: </span>Avatar<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Writing (Adapted Screenplay)</span>: I'm torn here. I like Nick Hornby's writing style (<span style="font-style: italic;">An Education</span>) but I don't think it will win here. <span style="font-style: italic;">District 9</span> is one hell of a screenplay but I'm thinking <span style="font-style: italic;">Up in the Air</span> might steal it.<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Writing (Original Screenplay)</span>: Give it to Tarantino!! Personal favorite aside, Tarantino knows how to write dialogue and I think he'll take this one unless the Academy gets all snooty about his violence. We'll see.<br /><br />Enjoy the show...let me know if you agree/disagree.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-42924437334183068802010-03-03T19:34:00.000-05:002010-03-03T19:34:39.744-05:00March 2010 MoviesWell it's Oscar season. Nominees are preparing speeches, picking our their outfits and if you're James Cameron, probably clearing off some shelf space. But I'll get to my Oscar picks tomorrow. For now, I'd like to dive into the new films coming out this month. There's a rather eclectic collection of films coming out this month and here are my impressions...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What to see:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_PWy3VEI/AAAAAAAAAkY/kvh_oJkqZh4/s1600-h/alice-in-wonderland-2010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 143px; height: 229px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_PWy3VEI/AAAAAAAAAkY/kvh_oJkqZh4/s320/alice-in-wonderland-2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444569638819550274" border="0" /></a><a href="http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/aliceinwonderland/" target="_blank">Alice in Wonderland</a> (Mar. 5) - The release of the month. People have been excited about this for a long time and rightly so because Tim Burton and a hallucinogenic-like fairytale go together like (cue the Forrest Gump voice) peas and carrots. Stoners across the country are preparing for their minds to be blown as this movie is being released in 3D. I have to admit that Johnny Depp as a kooky character (like in Willy Wonka) is a little weird to me but I trust the judgment of the long-associated pair of Depp and Burton.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.greenzonemovie.com/" target="_blank">Green Zone</a> (Mar. 12) - At first, I thought this might be part of the Bourne series since it's Matt Damon playing a Jason Bourne-like character and it's directed by Paul Greengrass who directed those movies. But it's not. Nonetheless, the two have obviously worked well together in the rogue agent action setting. I won't rush to the theater for this one but I'm sure it'll be entertaining.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_YX-QhTI/AAAAAAAAAkg/I1DSFZ7lMxk/s1600-h/greenberg_poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 255px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_YX-QhTI/AAAAAAAAAkg/I1DSFZ7lMxk/s320/greenberg_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444569793754596658" border="0" /></a><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/greenberg/" target="_blank">Greenberg</a> (Mar. 19) - [Insert corny "green" subliminal St. Pat's Day joke] Yes, another similar sounding film but certainly much different. The first thing that attracted me to this comedy starring Ben Stiller was that it's written and directed by a brilliantly talented man named Noah Baumbach, who wrote such films as <span style="font-style: italic;">The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Squid & The Whale</span> and the recent <span style="font-style: italic;">Fantastic Mr. Fox</span> (obviously a friend/partner of Wes Anderson). In the same style, this looks like another dry, intelligent comedy about Ben Stiller figuring out what to do with his life. Plus the music is done by James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</span> (Mar. 19) - Can't say much about this because I haven't read the book yet but it's been a hugely popular bestseller from the late author Stieg Larsson, who left this as the first in a trilogy of books.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_jaOImtI/AAAAAAAAAko/QH2Vx867XOs/s1600-h/runaways.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 229px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_jaOImtI/AAAAAAAAAko/QH2Vx867XOs/s320/runaways.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444569983336618706" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.runawaysmovie.com/" target="_blank"><br />The Runaways</a> (Mar. 19) - I'd be a little more hesitant about this film, based on the all-female rock group that formed in the 70's and grew in popularity despite their lack of a y chromosome, however, this film received good reviews at Sundance and personally, I'd hate to see a film based on a rock group fail. Apparently Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning have great performances and best of all, it's directed by artist Floria Sigismondi who has created such dark works as the video for Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">On the fence:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.getyourrating.com/" target="_blank">She's Out of My League</a> (Mar. 12) - It's just really hard to tell how a comedy will do based on trailers these days. Based on seeing this trailer, I'd say it'll bomb. However, it's written by the 2 guys who wrote <span style="font-style: italic;">Sex Drive</span>, which I also thought looked dumb when I saw the trailer but turned out to be pretty funny. I'll wait for DVD on this one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_vm3CjkI/AAAAAAAAAkw/nm1GmkCvKaY/s1600-h/craigrobinson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 135px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_vm3CjkI/AAAAAAAAAkw/nm1GmkCvKaY/s320/craigrobinson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444570192887844418" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.kicksomepast.com/" target="_blank">Hot Tub Time Machine</a> (Mar. 26) - See above...written by the same guys. Between the two, I guess I'd vote for this one. It'd be difficult to top this as the dumbest movie title of the year but I'm really pulling for Craig Robinson because he's funny as hell but hasn't had a breakthrough lead role yet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_4S86AwI/AAAAAAAAAk4/wODjHEiH5f0/s1600-h/repo_men.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 167px; height: 248px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S47_4S86AwI/AAAAAAAAAk4/wODjHEiH5f0/s320/repo_men.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444570342162563842" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.repomenarecoming.com/" target="_blank">Repo Men</a> (Mar. 19) - Not sure if this has any relation to Repo Man starring Emilio Estevez. Haven't read much about this release in general actually. What I do know is that the director and writers don't have a lot under their belt so it's hard to judge how Jude Law and Forest Whitaker will team up. However, RZA is in the cast so that's automatic points right there. Plus, they've put out some pretty sweet posters for this film (click right).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">No Thanks:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.brooklynsfinestthemovie.com/" target="_blank">Brooklyn's Finest</a> - Believe me, I'd love for Wesley Snipes to get back on the scene with a bang, but I don't think it'll happen despite the fact that he's accompanied by Don Cheadle, Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke. It's directed by Antoine Fuqua, of <span style="font-style: italic;">Training Day</span> fame. <span style="font-style: italic;">Training Day</span> was decent, but definitely overrated and it's been the highlight of his directing career (his other films include <span style="font-style: italic;">Tears of the Sun</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">King Arthur</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Shooter</span>).Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-13064635508274680352010-03-02T19:38:00.002-05:002010-03-02T19:40:18.662-05:00C O D E O R G A N<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S42vJYMIqGI/AAAAAAAAAkI/YmkaK3Ygm6Y/s1600-h/codeorgan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 196px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S42vJYMIqGI/AAAAAAAAAkI/YmkaK3Ygm6Y/s320/codeorgan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444200100207831138" border="0" /></a>I came across this website via <a href="http://www.npr.org/" target="_blank">NPR</a>. <a href="http://www.codeorgan.com/" target="_blank">Codeorgan</a> was developed by a creative British marketing company called <a href="http://www.dlkw.co.uk/" target="_blank">DLKW</a>. The site allows you to enter any URL and through an algorithm, processes the body code of the site into music. Pretty slick idea.<br /><br />The music is composed of three parts: key, synth and drums. The keys are in a pentatonic scale, depending on the most common letter of the source code that is part of the A-G musical scale: major scale if that number is even, minor if it's odd (so for example, if you have 164 E's on the body source of your site, it will process that into a major pentatonic scale). 10 synthesizer effects are available and this program chooses one based on the amount of content on the particular site. Thirdly, there are also 10 different drum loops and those are chosen based on the ratio of all letters to the number of letters in the musical scale.<br /><br />This is one of those sites that you can find yourself playing around with for an hour. Some sites sound horrid; some are interesting. This blog <a href="http://www.codeorgan.com/?url=ktw17.blogspot.com" target="_blank">sounds kind of like</a> a broken grandfather clock with a drum beat (though that will inevitably change once I post this). It'd be interesting to intentionally create a page based on the algorithm in order to produce good music. If anyone plays with this and finds a cool site to use, please leave the site in the comments.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-88493589707686315162010-02-16T21:06:00.001-05:002010-02-16T21:08:18.185-05:00MLB 2K10 Challenge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3tO5oMpLpI/AAAAAAAAAjw/9eQRUApOxks/s1600-h/mlb-2k10-box.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 245px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3tO5oMpLpI/AAAAAAAAAjw/9eQRUApOxks/s320/mlb-2k10-box.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439027726929964690" border="0" /></a>Pitchers and catchers are reporting to training in less than 18 hours; football fans are strung out across the country in serious withdrawal, waiting for the baseball season to start.<br /><br />Meanwhile, gamers across the country are training for the inevitable pulled muscles, carpal tunnel development and getting ready to stay glued to their TVs come March 2nd...but for good reason. On March 2nd, MLB 2K10 is released for Xbox 360 and PS3. Many gamers have either reserved a copy or will certainly try to get their hands on a copy and start playing right away, striving to pitch a perfect game.<br /><br />So what's the good reason you ask? 2K Sports, the creator of the game, is offering 1 million bones to the first person to pitch a perfect game in the game before May 2nd. Yes...$1,000,000. Gamers posted videos on YouTube last year of their perfect game performances with MLB 2K9, but this year's edition has upped the ante on pitching control and feel.<br /><br />So you've gotta think...considering how many hours serious gamers dedicate to playing video games even without extreme incentives such as this, the perfect game must be virtually impossible to achieve if this company is offering such a bold contest. Well apparently that's not the case...2K Sports has essentially put aside a million dollars in <span style="font-style: italic;">anticipation</span> of the winner. Chris Snyder, director of marketing even said "I would be shocked if someone doesn't get it."<br /><br />Game on people. <a href="http://www.2ksports.com/perfectgame" target="_blank">More info here.<br /></a>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-59842856625302841592010-02-15T22:01:00.002-05:002010-02-15T22:02:19.115-05:00Daft Punk is Back...I Think<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3oJ8NQzgvI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/84iZYKnOua0/s1600-h/Daft_Punk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 260px; height: 183px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3oJ8NQzgvI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/84iZYKnOua0/s320/Daft_Punk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438670429960241906" border="0" /></a>Daft Punk is mysterious. The French duo is one of the most unique, eclectic groups and a huge contributor to the worldwide popularity of electronic/house music. Two of their albums, <span style="font-style: italic;">Homework</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Discovery</span>, are easily on my top albums of all time list. Without them, Kanye West would not be as popular (or hated, depending on how you look at it) as he is today. Not counting the live album they released in 2007, it's been almost 5 years since they've released an album. So they're due for a new album, right?<br /><br />Based on a few things, I'm thinking (and hoping) yes. The first thing is their recent contribution to the "spin"-off of Guitar Hero, DJ Hero (yep...I just punned). I haven't gotten my hands on this game yet, but they apparently contributed about 11 new mixes for the game and appear as playable characters. They appeared in promotions for the game, such as this one:<br /><br /><object height="340" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QuzMYypMHcw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QuzMYypMHcw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3oKT2eV16I/AAAAAAAAAjY/bnETAHo1McA/s1600-h/daft-punk-tron-album.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 151px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3oKT2eV16I/AAAAAAAAAjY/bnETAHo1McA/s320/daft-punk-tron-album.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438670836159862690" border="0" /></a>The second item to support my belief that Daft Punk is coming back is their work on the score for the new Tron: Legacy film. If you're the least bit geeky, you heard about this movie in the works. If not, this sequel to the 1982 <span style="font-style: italic;">Tron</span> will be released at the end of this year. Daft Punk has apparently composed 24 tracks for the film and rumors speculate that they make a cameo in the film also. Some tracks were leaked out which is a testament to Daft Punk's popularity; when else have tracks to a film been sought after over a year before the film even comes out?<br /><br />The third Daft Punk sighting I experienced was for a recent Adidas campaign. This awesome campaign is for Adidas' Star Wars line. Just recently, Snoop Dogg and a storm trooper marched through the streets of New York to the Adidas shop, where a guy had been waiting since 1 am to get the first pair of Luke Skywalker sneaks. Anyway, this promotion came out online last month, showing a glimpse of the helmeted French duo:<br /><br /><object height="340" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6w0BBBVCQTk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6w0BBBVCQTk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />So what's the deal Daft Punk? Rumors have been spreading about a 2010 tour but there were false rumors about a tour last year; apparently, they stick to Myspace (yuck!) for official tour news, so I suppose we'll all have to eagerly await.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-44665683283777457642010-02-11T19:25:00.002-05:002010-02-11T19:29:15.758-05:002010 Winter Olympics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3SewcsHDKI/AAAAAAAAAiw/Ar3r37JjjFc/s1600-h/2010_winter_olympics.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 239px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3SewcsHDKI/AAAAAAAAAiw/Ar3r37JjjFc/s320/2010_winter_olympics.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437145205315144866" border="0" /></a>The opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is tomorrow night. Personally, I'm more of a fan of the Summer Olympics but I should also mention that if there were such a thing as "ESPN Ocho," I'd definitely watch it. What I mean to say is I'd even watch rock-paper-scissors competitions if they were on TV, so I'm pretty lenient on the types of competitive sports that I'll watch. I've caught myself watching juggling, cheerleading, table tennis and even darts.<br /><br />The last time the Winter Olympics were on, in 2006, I was studying abroad in Ireland. The TV stations seemed to show nothing BUT curling, easily the most boring of all events (did that stop me from watching hours of it? of course not)<br /><br />Now that I'll have exposure to more than curling, here are the events that I'll look forward to:<br /><br />-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biathalon</span> [Day 7 (Thur, 2/18)]: The Women's 15 km and Men's 20 km individual medal competitions are on this day. I don't think I've ever actually watched the biathalon - it's the one where you ski with a gun on your back, stopping at intervals to shoot targets.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3SfnIVyLDI/AAAAAAAAAi4/mkywK59piyw/s1600-h/coolrunnings.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 144px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3SfnIVyLDI/AAAAAAAAAi4/mkywK59piyw/s320/coolrunnings.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437146144745598002" border="0" /></a>-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bobsled</span> [Women's Team (Day 12-13); Men's Team (Day 15-16)]: Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's bobsled time! Unfortunately, Jamaica is not competing this year, but I suppose I'll watch it anyway.<br /><br />-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Freestyle Skiing</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Aerials</span> [Medal Rounds: Women's - Day 13 (Wed., 2/24); Men's - Day 14 (Thur., 2/25)]: I've more or less competed in a similar event to this. It takes a lot of guts to fly off a huge ramp about 5 stories into the air. I've only sustained minor injuries competing in the Wii Fit version (more of a Ski Jump actually), but I suppose this is a little more realistic.<br /><br />-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Freestyle Skiing</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Ski Cross</span> [Men's - Day 10 (Sun., 2/21); Women's - Day 12 (Tues., 2/23)]: This is the first year of this event, which is similar to the snowboard cross - four riders at once racing down turns and jumps to the finish. I watched some of the Snowboard and Ski Cross from the recent X-Games; should be the most intense event.<br /><br />-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hockey</span> - USA plays Switzerland on Day 5 (Tues., 2/16), Norway on Day 7 (Thurs., 2/18) and Canada on Day 10 (Sun., 2/21). I'm kind of scared to see any of the Women's Hockey.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3SgTaCCXgI/AAAAAAAAAjA/NAEe49LqS68/s1600-h/snowboard.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 209px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3SgTaCCXgI/AAAAAAAAAjA/NAEe49LqS68/s320/snowboard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437146905408855554" border="0" /></a>-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Snowboarding</span> - Half Pipe/Snow Cross (Days 4-7) - Check out all the stoners catch some wicked air and hopefully Shaun White won't land on his face like he did at the X-Games.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Other events to check out:</span><br /><br />-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Luge</span> (Days 2-6)<br />-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Skeleton</span> (Days 7-8)<br />-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Speed Skating</span> (Pretty much every day)<br /><br />Enjoy the Olympic Games...GO USA!Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-37593837894395665802010-02-10T20:30:00.000-05:002010-02-10T20:30:41.662-05:00"Tough Guy" Contest<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3NcXNZv65I/AAAAAAAAAig/Yl8lEYwHY24/s1600-h/toughguy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 174px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3NcXNZv65I/AAAAAAAAAig/Yl8lEYwHY24/s320/toughguy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436790728970726290" border="0" /></a>Forget marathons. Forget triathalons. Forget Iron Man competitions. Dare I say it...even forget Ninja Warrior competitions. They should all bow and pay homage to...Tough Guy.<br /><br />This year's main event was held a couple weeks ago, in South Staffordshire, UK. Though it's only about 8 miles, this event is far from a level race...it's far from a race full of hills...Tough Guy has underwater tunnels, barbed wire fences and fire walks. There is even an electric fence called "The Tiger," which comes after a long, steep-hill filled run including a slalom portion which forces competitors to run up and down an extremely steep hill. But after the Tiger comes the worst.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3NcfWy8STI/AAAAAAAAAio/bbmoplweHUg/s1600-h/toughguy_firerun.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 147px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3NcfWy8STI/AAAAAAAAAio/bbmoplweHUg/s320/toughguy_firerun.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436790868931266866" border="0" /></a>There are a series of walls to climb over, after which is "The Behomoth," a series of 4 towers which you have to climb up and walk a rope across, under which is a patch of nettles, a plant that would cause discomfort to say the least if you were to fall. After this comes the fire...then a tire crawl...then a swamp...then the "Vietcong tunnels"...then a rope climb...(are you getting the picture yet?)...then a rubber slide with firemen spraying hoses at you...then underwater tunnels...and so on and so on...until you climb another hill to run to the finish.<br /><br />But my description doesn't come close to doing it justice. Check out their <a href="http://www.toughguy.co.uk/" target="_blank">website</a> (you can sign up for the next one if you want!) and take a look at this video:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Get3RERJrbM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Get3RERJrbM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-1132616903630101622010-02-09T20:46:00.000-05:002010-02-09T20:46:40.594-05:00February 2010 MoviesOk, so who else saw <a href="http://www.dearjohn-movie.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Dear John</span></a> last weekend? Anyone? Just me? Don't judge me.<br /><br />No, I didn't see the most recent release from Nicholas Sparks' arsenal of testosterone-reducing book to film adaptations (excuse me one second, I need to do 100 pushups, chug a beer and smash the glass over my head), but part of me is happy that it finally stole the box office from the domination that is <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span>. Sidenote: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Seyfried" target="_blank">Amanda Seyfried</a>, the woman in this movie, is from Allentown, PA, which I just learned this week. I preferred her role in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131734/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Jennifer's Body</span></a> though.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3IPX_HalOI/AAAAAAAAAho/DO4dc6aL3ys/s1600-h/bob-marley.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 148px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3IPX_HalOI/AAAAAAAAAho/DO4dc6aL3ys/s320/bob-marley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436424604943553762" border="0" /></a>I'm a little confused about what was supposed to be released this past Saturday, February 6th. On what would be Bob Marley's 65th birthday, a documentary was supposed to be released which was <a href="http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/02/08/martin-scorsese-directing-a-bob-marley-documentary-next/" target="_blank">rumored almost 2 years ago to be directed by Martin Scorsese</a>. The only information I can get <span style="font-style: italic;">now</span> is that it was instead directed by Jonathan Demme, whose last directorial work was <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084950/" target="_blank">Rachel Getting Married</a>.</span> However, I can't really tell if it was released or not; based on the utter lack of information available, I'd guess not.<br /><br />Anyway, moving on to the rest of this month's releases...a short month but I have a good pick for each of the three remaining weekends of February...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3IPgt2OJVI/AAAAAAAAAhw/YGM4wby1TFU/s1600-h/the-wolfman-2010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 192px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3IPgt2OJVI/AAAAAAAAAhw/YGM4wby1TFU/s320/the-wolfman-2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436424754926855506" border="0" /></a>Starting with this weekend, I gotta go with <a href="http://www.thewolfmanmovie.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Wolfman</span></a>. Benicio Del Toro really hasn't been in anything bad and has mostly been awesome in his acting gigs, going all the way back to his role as "Duke the Dog-faced Boy" in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094744/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Big Top Pee-Wee</span></a> (though if he truly does take the role in the rumored film of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Three Stooges</span>, that streak may end). Anyway, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wolfman</span> looks like it'll be a good flick. It looks like Benicio as a wolf could kick all the asses of those shirtless whimps from Twilight.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3IPrCEC0XI/AAAAAAAAAh4/MJ7CH50Yj3I/s1600-h/shutter-island.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 192px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3IPrCEC0XI/AAAAAAAAAh4/MJ7CH50Yj3I/s320/shutter-island.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436424932152234354" border="0" /></a>The following weekend will bring us what I think will be the best movie of the month: <a href="http://www.shutterisland.com/#/home" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Shutter Island</span></a>. I've read a few of Dennis Lehane's novels, this one included, and was merely satisfied with the two that were made into movies: <span style="font-style: italic;">Mystic River</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Gone Baby Gone</span>. This one, however, I think will blow those two out of the water, especially with the Marty/Leo team-up. I'm usually not that impressed with a film after having read the book and think that may come into play with this one as well, but I also think it has potential to be an exception.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3IPzxfnmpI/AAAAAAAAAiA/rpHuR51uVr0/s1600-h/CopOutPoster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 189px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3IPzxfnmpI/AAAAAAAAAiA/rpHuR51uVr0/s320/CopOutPoster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436425082323311250" border="0" /></a>Bringing us to the last weekend of the month, I'm going to split it between two releases that have potential but probably could wait until DVD. I saw the trailers for <a href="http://copoutmovie.warnerbros.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cop Out</span></a> (Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan) and immediately thought it was going to crash and burn. Pretty much the only thing that's keeping me from continuing that mindset is that, believe it or not, it's directed by Kevin Smith (I know, I was surprised too). The other release that I'm on the cusp about is the horror/thriller flick <a href="http://www.thecrazies-movie.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Crazies</span></a>. It's a remake of George Romero's film from 1973 and I'm basing my opinion on seeing the trailer only once or twice, but it looked like it had some creepy potential.<br /><br />As for DVD releases, I'll be checking out <a href="http://www.blackdynamitemovie.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Black Dynamite</span></a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130080/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Informant!</span></a>, <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172570/" target="_blank">Bronson</a>, </span>and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Serious Man</span></a>. Happy movie watching until next month.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-10146381370457504152010-02-08T19:36:00.005-05:002010-02-08T19:48:04.601-05:00Superbowl XLIV Commercials<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3CudW8w_3I/AAAAAAAAAhI/t3SMYTVLAQ4/s1600-h/SuperBowlXLIV.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 116px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S3CudW8w_3I/AAAAAAAAAhI/t3SMYTVLAQ4/s320/SuperBowlXLIV.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436036569636077426" border="0" /></a>New Orleans won the Superbowl last night, upsetting the Colts but making most of the country happy for a city that could use an ego boost like a football championship. I'm glad it was a good game, but I certainly was not dazzled by the millions of dollars spent on advertising. First of all, it's tough to think about <span style="font-style: italic;">any</span> company spending millions on a 15, 30 or 60 second spot when our economy is in the toilet. You would think that if one <span style="font-style: italic;">did</span> though, they'd come out with some big guns.<br /><br />Bud Light is known for being one of the more humorous collections of advertisements and they more or less continued that reputation, though most of them fell flat: the voice box one, the house made of bud light, and the asteroid coming at Earth. However, one of my favorites all night was this one:<br /><br /><object width="400" height="296"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/edp/http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ehulu%2Ecom%2F/embed/LQ4L5SQLnZXfAcljEFFsgg"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/edp/http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ehulu%2Ecom%2F/embed/LQ4L5SQLnZXfAcljEFFsgg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="296" allowFullScreen="true"></embed></object><br /><br />Monster.com had a very bizarre spot (the one with the beaver playing violin) which wasn't very memorable. Alternatively, their competition, Careerbuilder, had the other favorite of mine:<br /><br /><object height="296" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/edp/http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ehulu%2Ecom%2F/embed/G5jcxU9LbgGIg429c7mK-w"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/edp/http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ehulu%2Ecom%2F/embed/G5jcxU9LbgGIg429c7mK-w" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="296" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />Most of the other spots were either very bizarre, subpar or just not good. One or two of the Doritos ads were pretty good, but overall I thought the collection was just OK and found myself questioning why Doritos is pushing advertising so much. The Snickers ad was good but personally I liked their "play on celebrity names" campaign better (Kick your hunger with Adam Nougateri, Get dunked on by Patrick Chewing, etc.) The Google ad was heart-warming of course. The E-Trade ads were good, but not as good as in the past.<br /><br />So overall, I'm glad the game was good, I'm happy that the Saints won but I definitely was not as impressed with the commercials as I've been in the past.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-62791238434078557422010-01-16T15:37:00.003-05:002010-01-16T15:40:29.575-05:00John Travolta is Officially HorribleVincent Vega is dead to me. It's hard to believe that a single role among over 40 has managed to demand me to respect John Travolta over the years as he's progressively taken on worse roles. Those days are long gone though. I was able to turn my cheek as John dressed as a large woman for <span style="font-style: italic;">Hairspray</span>, but this latest addition to his repertoire is the final straw. Here's a line graph to demonstrate my point...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S1IfcGHk_pI/AAAAAAAAAhA/q3i4nFdhK_8/s1600-h/travolta_linegraph.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 419px; height: 316px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S1IfcGHk_pI/AAAAAAAAAhA/q3i4nFdhK_8/s400/travolta_linegraph.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427435068474064530" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Now, for "this music video"...I should warn you; what you are about to see is disturbing.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IZ3j0XjTjs8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IZ3j0XjTjs8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />If you're finished vomiting yet, I'll proceed. I don't mean to knock a sentimental production between a father and daughter but...well, actually, yes, that's exactly what I mean to do. I didn't think anything produced today would send people begging for Bobby Brown, but congratulations John...you did it. The least you could have done was made it humorous, busted out a jacket with big shoulder pads, a sweet spandex/suspender get-up, a couple back-up dancers, a new hair-cut and some of the original dance moves. In an attempt to erase that video from your mind, I bring you Bobby Brown in his prime:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/P0FKzPfsxA4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/P0FKzPfsxA4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-63778552630233892882010-01-09T16:43:00.004-05:002010-01-09T17:01:37.970-05:00NBC Tonight Show Debacle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S0j5ZDklrBI/AAAAAAAAAgg/zn-FdAKaSBw/s1600-h/leno_obrien.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 210px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S0j5ZDklrBI/AAAAAAAAAgg/zn-FdAKaSBw/s400/leno_obrien.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424859960018578450" border="0" /></a>By now, you've probably heard about the situation with Jay Leno's time slot. If not, you probably know that last year, there were speculations of Jay Leno retiring since his contract with NBC was up and Conan O'Brien would take over his spot. As it turned out, Jay Leno did <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> retire and NBC took a bold step to create a 10:00 time slot for him, saving money from what used to air at the time, drama shows such as Law & Order. Conan took over the 11:35 slot and Jimmy Fallon started a show in Conan's old spot, at 12:35. Before all of these moves, Leno was the #1 late night talk show host in ratings.<br /><br />Since the move, however, Conan's ratings are almost half as high as Leno's used to be. And Leno's ratings in his new time slot are about the same, not nearly as high as previous 10:00 shows. This caused complaints from NBC-affiliated programs, particularly 11:00 news programs who saw a drop in viewers apparently due to a weak lead-in by Leno.<br /><br />So news dropped this past week that Leno may move back to his old 11:35 slot and speculations are that it would be cut to a half-hour, moving Conan to 12:05 and Jimmy Fallon to 1:05. Naturally, and rightly so, stories are empathizing for Conan. He has a contract with NBC but rumors are circulating that he could change networks, possibly to Fox. Amidst all of this, I haven't heard anything about the effect this has on Jimmy Fallon.<br /><br />Which brings me to my opinion on this matter...<br /><br />Jay Leno is not funny. I can't understand America's obsession with him. Sure, I've watched him occasionally, more times than not for the guests on his show. Ironically, I've probably watched more of him at the 10:00 slot because I hardly ever watched him at 11:35. However, his writing is weak, most of his segments are lame and Kevin Eubanks is probably the worst of all tonight show/late night accompanying musicians (and Craig Ferguson doesn't even have one). I've heard his group play the same stuff over and over, including a horrible rendition of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody."<br /><br />Conan, on the other hand, <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> funny. However, he was much funnier in his previous time and place. I'm glad that Andy Richter returned, but Conan's writers are also often weak and some of his new segments are just annoying. That said, he doesn't deserve to be jerked around like this because ultimately, he's funnier than Leno and ratings don't disprove that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S0j8BmfQyiI/AAAAAAAAAgo/NAt6kB-I-b4/s1600-h/late-night-jimmy-fallon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 211px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/S0j8BmfQyiI/AAAAAAAAAgo/NAt6kB-I-b4/s400/late-night-jimmy-fallon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424862855609502242" border="0" /></a>Which brings me to Jimmy Fallon. I was a little skeptical when he was announced as Conan's replacement and watching his nerves get the best of him his first week on air worried me a little bit. However, he's quickly become my favorite of all of the talk shows. His writing is actually good and even when it's subpar, he finds a way to deliver it well. He interacts really well with all of his guests and you can tell that he's just a genuinely nice guy. He's developed some great segments such as "Lick it for 10," "The Real Housewives of Late Night," and "Wheel of Carpet Samples." He plays beer pong and board games with his guests such as charades and taboo. He interacts with the crowd, getting them involved in games and other segments. Plus, he books quality musical acts, a lot of whom are indie groups and celebrities that you don't see on the other shows. And oh yea...his band is the freakin' Roots!<br /><br />Point being...Jimmy Fallon needs to get a little more respect amidst all of this time shift controversy. He's already topped Conan's average viewers at that time slot multiple times and I'd watch him over Leno every day of the week. Our country needs to improve its average taste for entertainment.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-38771377874529058692010-01-04T14:28:00.001-05:002010-01-04T14:37:31.955-05:00Esquire Augmented RealityPrint publications are dying. Most of us know it. A lot of us have already rid it from our lives. More of us are taking that process a bit more slowly.<br /><br />I can't see printed books ever going away, even with the recent technology of Amazon's Kindle and the subsequent competitors.<br /><br />Newspapers are probably the low man on the totem pole. Many of us get our news online now.<br /><br />Magazines probably lie somewhere between. Personally, I may be in the minority these days but I enjoy the feel of reading magazines occasionally so I still have a handful of magazine subscriptions, one of which is Esquire.<br /><br />I'm fascinated and in admiration of an idea that was launched in Esquire's December 2009 issue which links their print publication to people's computers. This idea is what is called "Augmented Reality." With a quick (free) download of software from their website, this "Augmented Reality" uses your web cam to detect markers throughout the print publication to show you additional content. David Granger, editor-in-chief of Esquire explains this concept further in the following video:<br /><br /><object id="flashObj" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="412" width="486"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/4250084001?isVid=1&publisherID=4249779001"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=49407280001&playerID=4250084001&domain=embed&"><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com"><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/4250084001?isVid=1&publisherID=4249779001" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=49407280001&playerID=4250084001&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" swliveconnect="true" allowscriptaccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="412" width="486"></embed></object><br /><br />There are 5 content icons in the December 2009 issue: the cover with Robert Downey Jr., the Funny joke from a Beautiful Woman segment and the Style segment with Jeremy Renner as David Granger exemplified. There is also an icon for a blurb on jazz musician Robert Glasper, which gives you a listen to one of his new tracks, and there is an icon for a rather creative photographer which gives you a slideshow of some of his work. Also, there is a 6th icon for Lexus, which demonstrates some of the capabilities of one of their new models. This demonstrates that Esquire can make money off of using this technology while advertisers can present a very unique concept to potential customers.<br /><br />Altogether, it only took me about 20 minutes to go through all of this in my issue but I found it very interesting and think this is just about the best idea that a print magazine could come up with to compete with online content. Augmented reality is not a new concept; it exists in such things as the yellow first down marker in football games. However, Esquire took it to a different level making it fun, engaging, interactive and obviously (or hopefully, for their sakes) encouraging for people to pick up the magazine to see it for themselves.<br /><br />Not surprisingly, there was no AR in the January issue of Esquire. I wouldn't expect them to use something involving complex algorithms that inevitably take a lot of time to create for every single monthly issue. Yet, I definitely think (and hope) that Esquire will be using this again in the future.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-90894508114526789192009-11-05T19:14:00.000-05:002009-11-05T19:14:34.163-05:00November MoviesAnother month brings more movie releases. We're into November now if you can believe it and get ready because the Twilight sequel comes out this month!!!! Sorry, I just transformed into a 12 year old girl for a second, what was I saying? Oh yea...November movies. There are a few releases that I'm looking forward to and a few that I'm not...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What to see:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNo4uCxIRI/AAAAAAAAAec/bbsZ3P_facA/s1600-h/christmascarol"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 199px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNo4uCxIRI/AAAAAAAAAec/bbsZ3P_facA/s320/christmascarol" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400775701788958994" border="0" /></a>-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/achristmascarol/" target="_blank">Disney's A Christmas Carol</a> (11/6) - The feel-good holiday movie of the year. I enjoyed The Polar Express so I think this one will be just as entertaining, especially with the inner child of Jim Carrey doing voices. However, I don't start getting into the Christmas spirit until Thanksgiving is over...<br /><br />-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/pirate_radio/" target="_blank">Pirate Radio</a> (11/6) - Philip Seymour Hoffman, or as I like to call him, "PSH," is in the cast of DJs who fight the man and take to the seas to broadcast a little rock and roll for Britain in the 60's. Also in the cast are Nick Frost and Bill Nighy (from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). This will be the second film for director Richard Curtis, the first being Love Actually, which I will confess is a guilty pleasure of mine - definitely the best "chick flick" I've ever seen.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNpEdLpvsI/AAAAAAAAAek/2SMq5q6JiU0/s1600-h/the_fourth_kind_poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 193px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNpEdLpvsI/AAAAAAAAAek/2SMq5q6JiU0/s320/the_fourth_kind_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400775903421251266" border="0" /></a>-<a href="http://www.thefourthkind.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Fourth Kind</span></a> (11/6) - A movie about aliens based on truth...call me a geek but that's all I need to know. I like how they appear to use real archived footage and how Milla Jovovich warns you in the trailer that "some of what you are about to see is extremely disturbing." This really looks like it could be one of the best alien movies to come out. My only concern is that it can't be THAT disturbing if it's rated PG-13, but sometimes you don't need violence to get creeped out.<br /><br />-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.fantasticmrfoxmovie.com/" target="_blank">Fantastic Mr. Fox</a> (11/25) - One of my favorite stories growing up by Roald Dahl and I'm really excited to see how Wes Anderson puts it together. Most people either love or hate the work of Wes Anderson, but I think he could blur that line with an animated film like this. The animation looks unique and creative and the voices come from what seems to be the click of Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, along with some pretty recognizable additions in George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Willem Dafoe.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNpS8jBGVI/AAAAAAAAAes/QwC-zeMYdFM/s1600-h/the-road.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 117px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNpS8jBGVI/AAAAAAAAAes/QwC-zeMYdFM/s320/the-road.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400776152358918482" border="0" /></a>-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.theroad-movie.com/" target="_blank">The Road</a> (11/25) - A great read from Cormac McCarthy if you get the chance. Set in a mysteriously apocalyptic world, the story creates some extremely dark and barren imagery as it follows a father and his son in their struggle to survive and avoid the few dangerous cannibalistic humans that they encounter. Viggo Mortensen plays the father, an excellent actor. Often when I read a book prior to seeing the film, I'm disappointed with the film; I have a feeling that this one may be an exception.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">On the cusp:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNpvLfjbWI/AAAAAAAAAe0/vZBRErVJLpY/s1600-h/ninja-assassin"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 209px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNpvLfjbWI/AAAAAAAAAe0/vZBRErVJLpY/s320/ninja-assassin" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400776637407260002" border="0" /></a>-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://ninja-assassin-movie.warnerbros.com/" target="_blank">Ninja Assassin</a> (11/25) - I love ninjas. The thought of a ninja movie gets me excited. However, I found the trailer to be a little disappointing. It looks like it might be a little too over-the-top and considering it's produced by the Wachowski brothers, that's pretty much inevitable anyway. I did read that the lead actor/ninja trained something like 8 hours a day for 10 months for this film, so that's pretty impressive. For the sake of ninjas, I hope my hesitation is proved wrong.<br /><br />-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.themenwhostareatgoatsmovie.com/" target="_blank">The Men Who Stare At Goats</a> (11/6) - Superstar casts don't always make for great movies. I think this film will be entertaining and receive good reviews but it just looks too bizarre for me. Grant Heslov is directing, a guy you might recognize from acting; this is definitely the biggest directorial work he's done. The screenplay was adapted from a British author, which explains why it has a bizarre feel.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">No thanks:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNqP_C7zxI/AAAAAAAAAe8/yvzED1YwPcs/s1600-h/thumbsdown"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 112px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SvNqP_C7zxI/AAAAAAAAAe8/yvzED1YwPcs/s320/thumbsdown" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400777201001680658" border="0" /></a>-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://thebox-movie.warnerbros.com/" target="_blank">The Box</a> - Let's take a basic philosophical question and make an entire film about it: would you push a button to kill someone you don't know for a million dollars? I loved Donnie Darko, I like Frank Langella and Cameron Diaz, but this plot just looks a little too cheesy for me. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this married couple's decision is tough and doesn't end well.<br /><br />-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.whowillsurvive2012.com/" target="_blank">2012</a> - Yeah, yeah, the world's gonna end...we get it already. I'm just a little burnt out on the apocalyptic imagery and cheesy conspiracy themes that constantly get recycled in Hollywood.<br /><br />-<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1095217/" target="_blank">Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans</a> - Aside from a horribly long name, Nic Cage is this so-called "bad lieutenant." A review states that it's his best performance in years, but that sure as hell doesn't say anything to me. Bad Lieutenant was a 1992 film starring Harvey Keitel, a cop that spirals downward with drug addiction. Apparently this isn't supposed to be a remake though. The original director, Abel Ferrara was quoted as saying that directors who make remakes should burn in hell; the director of <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> film didn't even know who Ferrara was. So it begs the question, why the hell did they name it Bad Lieutenant? I should also add that Xzibit has a substantial role in this film...rappers, can you stick to rapping?Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-74852777311420244772009-10-08T22:29:00.001-04:002009-10-08T22:29:48.167-04:00October MoviesAs we dive further into fall, the Halloween season is one that I truly love to celebrate, especially with horror movies. One comedy-horror came out this past weekend: <span style="font-style: italic;">Zombieland</span>. I wish the whole phenomenon with vampires would carry over more to zombies, because let's face it: zombies are way cooler than vampires (especially those whimpy ones from <span style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</span>). Sure, they're much dumber generally, but that's why they're great: killing zombies is now an artform. This artform has been communicated through <span style="font-style: italic;">Zombieland</span>, a comedic film set in an apocalyptic world run over by zombies stemming from mad cow disease. With some laughs, some romance, plenty of epic zombie kills and an amazing cameo (you'll have to see it to know), <span style="font-style: italic;">Zombieland</span> is very entertaining.<br /><br />Appropriately, there are some horror movies coming out in the next few weeks, however, there are also a handful of other releases to look forward to as well...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What to see:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Ss6fCC_QGgI/AAAAAAAAAc0/g1pJFYnD058/s1600-h/wherethewildthingsare"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 207px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Ss6fCC_QGgI/AAAAAAAAAc0/g1pJFYnD058/s320/wherethewildthingsare" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390420661519784450" border="0" /></a>-<em><a href="http://wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com/" target="_blank">Where the Wild Things Are</a></em> (Release: Oct. 16) - Two words: wild rumpus. Interestingly, Spike Jonze, who is best known for his work in music videos, is directing. The cinematography looks pretty amazing as it should be for paying tribute to such a wonderful children's book that many of us grew up with. Plus, the kid who plays Max...his actual name is Max...how great is that?<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.ongbaktwo.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ong Bak 2</span></a> (Release: Oct. 23) - Hell to the yeah. Tony Jaa makes most martial arts stars look like choir girls. I've seen Ong Bak about 10 times and I'm still amazed at the fight choreography and stunts. This release is somewhat of a prequel to <span style="font-style: italic;">Ong Bak</span> but rather than being set in modern Thailand, it's set in ancient Thailand...it could be set in Hoboken for all I care as long as I can see Tony Jaa wreck house.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Ss6fOSdrrII/AAAAAAAAAc8/Ap2wqMjwxAQ/s1600-h/antichrist"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 236px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Ss6fOSdrrII/AAAAAAAAAc8/Ap2wqMjwxAQ/s320/antichrist" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390420871832382594" border="0" /></a>-<a href="http://www.antichristthemovie.com/?language=en" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Antichrist</span></a> (Release: Oct. 23) - This looks like it can scare the bejesus out of you...artistically. The writer/director has gained international acclaim for his work. The story is basically about a couple looking to solve their problems by staying in a cabin in the middle of the woods, but the woods turn evil on them. And if there's anything you don't want to turn evil on you, it's the woods.<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.myspace.com/nightmare3d" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D</span></a> (Release: Oct. 23) - Sure, this movie came out about 16 years ago, but I still love it: I love the animation, I love the story, I love the music and I love Tim Burton. And we all know that 3D makes everything better, so if you're with me, you'll have to go catch this one while it's out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Ss6fdbAysvI/AAAAAAAAAdE/VYC3tG-y1FU/s1600-h/gentleman_broncos"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 171px; height: 254px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Ss6fdbAysvI/AAAAAAAAAdE/VYC3tG-y1FU/s320/gentleman_broncos" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390421131825165042" border="0" /></a>-<a href="http://www.foxsearchlight.com/gentlemenbroncos/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Gentleman Broncos</span></a> (Release: Oct. 30) - There are some films that I need to see strictly based on the director. This is one of them; Jared Hess, director of <span style="font-style: italic;">Napoleon Dynamite</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Nacho Libre</span>, brings his directing and writing back with this film starring Jermaine Clement of <span style="font-style: italic;">Flight of the Conchords</span> fame. This one looks way more drug-induced but it looks hilariously creative.<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/boondocksaints2/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Boondock Saints 2: All Saint's Day</span></a> (Release: Oct. 30) - Finally, the rumors and discussions of a sequel to the cult favorite <span style="font-style: italic;">The Boondock Saints</span> can be laid to rest this month. Normally, with a release like this that's been so built up in anticipation and expectations, I'd feel pretty pessimistic but other than my hope that it will do so, I do feel that this one will not disappoint. In fact, I think this will be A FIREFIGHHTTT!!!!<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172994/" target="_blank">The House of the Devil</a> (Release: Oct. 30) - Another limited release (booooo!) which makes me even more eager to see it. As you can guess from the title, this is another Disney release that'll be great for the whole family. With an old school feel, this movie looks like it's begging you to beware of the lunar eclipse. Just check out the trailer:<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NHvSkTDWFfk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NHvSkTDWFfk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The likely disappointment of the month:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Ss6f26l7s6I/AAAAAAAAAdM/lPjrm_VXslA/s1600-h/ThumbsDown.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 152px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Ss6f26l7s6I/AAAAAAAAAdM/lPjrm_VXslA/s320/ThumbsDown.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390421569799173026" border="0" /></a>-<span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.couplesretreatmovie.com/" target="_blank">Couples Retreat</a></span> (Release: Oct.9) - Believe me when I say I'm a huge fan of Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> Jason Bateman. However, that doesn't mean I'll automatically love this movie. Vince Vaughn's last two movies were Christmas movies (<span style="font-style: italic;">Four Christmases</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Fred Claus</span>) and they both disproved what I thought to be a fact, which was that there's no such thing as a bad Christmas movie (and that's based on the fact that I've merely heard HORRIBLE things about <span style="font-style: italic;">Four Christmases</span> without seeing it). The thing that gets me about this one is that it's PG-13; I envision most of the good lines are ones that we've already seen in the multiple trailers.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-18621869220855964352009-09-08T16:57:00.000-04:002009-09-08T16:58:03.122-04:00September MoviesI'm obviously a bit late with this post, but better late than never, right? I only saw 3 of my top picks from August so far, two of which I'm glad I had as top picks (Inglourious Basterds & Final Destination 3D), the other not so much (The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard).<br /><br />This past Friday brought us a few releases, none of which I've read reviews of yet. I intend to see <a href="http://www.extract-the-movie.com/" target="_blank">Extract</a> because Mike Judge is awesome, but realize that it can't possibly top Office Space. <a href="http://gamerthemovie.com/" target="_blank">Gamer</a> came out with Gerard Butler, who plays a human controlled by others in battles...a somewhat interesting premise but I'm far from sold on it. <a href="http://www.allaboutstevemovie.com/" target="_blank">All About Steve</a> also came out...is anyone remotely "all about" this one? Bradley Cooper, dude, what are you thinking?<br /><br />Here's what I'm looking forward to for the rest of the month...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Top Picks</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SqbD1_vcYWI/AAAAAAAAAcE/9gZk1aUR9xU/s1600-h/jennifers_body.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 118px; height: 176px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SqbD1_vcYWI/AAAAAAAAAcE/9gZk1aUR9xU/s320/jennifers_body.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379202137351545186" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://www.jennifersbody.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer's Body</a> (Sept. 18) - No, I'm not advocating this just because Megan Fox is in it; she's just an extra bonus for what I think will be an amusing horror flick. Diablo Cody wrote the script so it should be full of wit and sarcasm.<br /><br />- <a href="http://noimpactman.typepad.com/" target="_blank">No Impact Man</a> (Sept. 11) - No rush for this one but most documentaries are worth watching over Hollywood releases. I'm no hippie but I could certainly make a better effort with my "carbon footprint." No Impact Man is about a man, his wife and daughter and their year in living extremely green: no electricity, no buying products with disposable paper, plastic, etc., no using elevators, taxis and so on and so on (in NYC no less). The "Man" seems like an average Joe-type and the trailer exposes how the New York Times writes about it being "part change the world, part gimmick for his next book" so collectively, those two things dispelled most of my skepticism about how genuine the documentary will be.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SqbEPjGjpsI/AAAAAAAAAcM/W-eFge-i9hU/s1600-h/the_informant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 191px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SqbEPjGjpsI/AAAAAAAAAcM/W-eFge-i9hU/s320/the_informant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379202576340461250" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://theinformantmovie.warnerbros.com/" target="_blank">The Informant!</a> (Sept. 18) - I don't see how this can't be good. It looks like a good role for Matt Damon, giving him a chance at being humorous without being in a goofball comedy. It's directed by Steven Soderbergh who has a pretty impressive resume in directing and producing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I'd like it to be good but it won't be...</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SqbFEaTxBbI/AAAAAAAAAcU/G_FkPwaGBhk/s1600-h/beerinhell.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 121px; height: 189px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SqbFEaTxBbI/AAAAAAAAAcU/G_FkPwaGBhk/s320/beerinhell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379203484513011122" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://www.ihopetheyservebeerinhell.com/" target="_blank">I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell</a> - If and only if you're a male, do yourself a favor and read this book by Tucker Max. The guy's real life stories make Charlie Sheen's character on Two and a Half Men look like a 40-year old virgin. Congrats to Tucker for getting a movie deal out of his lewd, alcohol-induced sex addiction and aptitude to recount it in words, but there's no way in hell that it can translate well into film, especially after seeing the trailer. But hey, I'd like to be proven wrong in this case.<br /><br />Honestly, that's about all that I got for the rest of the month...I'm curious about "Splice" but can't seem to find any trailers for it. I'm not really blown away by anything else, but let me know if you feel otherwise...Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-56319531084048760292009-07-31T18:03:00.007-04:002009-07-31T18:16:54.441-04:00Summer Movies - August 09Slow down summer!! It feels like I just posted about June movies, but today is the last day of July and so one last month of summer blockbusters are coming our way. I previously mentioned that I'd be posting only for this summer's movies, but I think I'll be extending this posting trend every month from now on. So what do we have to look forward to in August? I think it's overall the best month this summer in terms of releases. Let's see...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My top picks (yes, there are a lot)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNrofuyM5I/AAAAAAAAAa8/8RPcGXzznSg/s1600-h/paper_heart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 215px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNrofuyM5I/AAAAAAAAAa8/8RPcGXzznSg/s320/paper_heart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364749924585059218" border="0" /></a>-<a href="http://www.paperheart-movie.com/" target="_blank">Paper Heart</a> (Aug. 7) - Michael Cera has a pretty good filmography so far and it'll be interesting to see the other lead of this movie, Charlyne Yi. She had a couple of the best lines in <span style="font-style: italic;">Knocked Up</span>, but she's not playing a whacked-out stoner in this movie...she's playing a love-skeptic. And I think there'll be a lot of fun cameos in this one too.<br />-<a href="http://www.julieandjulia.com/" target="_blank">Julie & Julia</a> (Aug. 7) - I probably won't rush out to see this one but you can definitely tell that it's going to be good. Meryl Streep is obviously very talented and Amy Adams is definitely making a name for herself.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNoW7T9u1I/AAAAAAAAAac/qvRYuFCChlI/s1600-h/live_hard_sell_hard.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 217px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNoW7T9u1I/AAAAAAAAAac/qvRYuFCChlI/s320/live_hard_sell_hard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364746324216232786" border="0" /></a>-<a href="http://www.livehardsellhard.com/" target="_blank">The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard</a> (Aug. 14) - People will go see this solely because Jeremy Piven has created one of the best personas in TV history. Jeremy Piven plays a blue-collar Ari Gold in this one with a backup of other comedic actors. I hope and truly think that this will be better than <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hangover</span>.<br />-<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1144884/" target="_blank">The Final Destination</a> (Aug. 14) - This is in my top picks solely because it'll be in 3D. I've yet to see a 3-D movie outside of Disney world. Grotesque death scenes in 3 dimensions is worth paying 9 bucks for.<br />-<a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/itmightgetloud/" target="_blank">It Might Get Loud</a> (Aug. 21) - This one probably won't be showing near me unfortunately, but it looks interesting. It's a documentary (by the director of <span style="font-style: italic;">An Inconvenient Truth</span>) about Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page, their guitar styles and a get together that they have.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNpB-Hy0HI/AAAAAAAAAak/CUgLsThN3I0/s1600-h/inglorious-basterdsjpg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 138px; height: 203px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNpB-Hy0HI/AAAAAAAAAak/CUgLsThN3I0/s320/inglorious-basterdsjpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364747063704866930" border="0" /></a>-<a href="http://www.inglouriousbasterds-movie.com/" target="_blank">Inglourious Basterds</a> (Aug. 21) - You either love or hate Tarantino. I love him. I'll go see his movie even if I don't see a trailer for it (which is unfortunately almost unavoidable). Love him or hate him, you gotta love the premise: a troop of Jewish men killing Nazis in WWII.<br />-<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1238291/" target="_blank">Five Minutes of Heaven</a> (Aug. 21) - Liam Neeson is a badass. This story is badass. Enough said.<br />-<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913413/" target="_blank">The Marc Pease Experience</a> (Aug. 21) - I have not heard nor seen anything about this movie yet, but it stars Ben Stiller and Jason Schwartzman and Schwartzman plays a guy 8 years out of school who is living in the past when he was a high school musical star. It's a bit reminiscent of the characteristics of Max Fischer, Schwartzman's character in Rushmore.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNqmiptGgI/AAAAAAAAAas/TVFTkub6-Ok/s1600-h/h2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 109px; height: 165px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNqmiptGgI/AAAAAAAAAas/TVFTkub6-Ok/s320/h2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364748791497693698" border="0" /></a>-<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1127896/" target="_blank">Taking Woodstock</a> (Aug. 28) - It's about time they made a movie about Woodstock (aside from the documentary). Woodstock is a magical piece of history, for people who lived through it, went to it and even people like me who weren't even born yet. And Demetri Martin is cool.<br />-<a href="http://www.halloween2-movie.com/" target="_blank">H2</a> (Aug. 28) - Kind of like Tarantino, people probably either love or hate Rob Zombie. I love him. I was generally pretty pleased by the first Halloween remake he did so I'm looking forward to this one.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">On the cusp:</span><br /><br />-<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0971209/">A Perfect Getaway</a> (Aug. 7) - Weird casting. Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich? As a couple? It's a thriller about a honeymoon couple (Steve and Milla) who get dropped off on a tropical island to go backpacking and run into some trouble via 4 other people. It looks like Steve and Milla might throw down in this movie, so it could be entertaining.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNrIF1dZmI/AAAAAAAAAa0/a4HMNG64Aig/s1600-h/gijoe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 105px; height: 146px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SnNrIF1dZmI/AAAAAAAAAa0/a4HMNG64Aig/s320/gijoe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364749367877920354" border="0" /></a>-<a href="http://www.gijoemovie.com/">GI Joe</a> (Aug. 7) - I just get the feeling that this one is going to be a CGI-headache with dumb jokes surrounded by explosions and rock music...but I guess that's the point. I'm probably in the minority in my hesitation toward this one, but there's a lot of hype surrounding it, and I just don't think it'll meet that hype. I think GI Joe would have been better made as a movie in the 80s or early 90s.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-74593536040580585902009-07-24T10:10:00.002-04:002009-07-24T10:17:56.212-04:00Wu-Tang LegoThis is the best Lego interpretation I've seen...a replica video of Wu-Tang's "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'"<br /><br />First of all, if you've never seen the actual video, here it is:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kl6jwab3HWk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kl6jwab3HWk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And now here's the Lego video version:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xBPTZ9O_ENk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xBPTZ9O_ENk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Awesome job to whoever made this.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-71125528500285250132009-07-06T11:21:00.001-04:002009-07-06T11:22:18.454-04:00Three Sheets Coming Back This Month!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SlIWECrvHHI/AAAAAAAAAWg/Htclf9U2G2I/s1600-h/zanelamprey.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 143px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SlIWECrvHHI/AAAAAAAAAWg/Htclf9U2G2I/s320/zanelamprey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355367165592542322" border="0" /></a>The one topic that I've followed up on <a href="http://ktw17.blogspot.com/search?q=three+sheets">over a few times</a> on this blog is a TV show called <span style="font-style: italic;">Three Sheets</span>, a travel show about drinking customs and hangover rituals. Based on that fact alone, it's obvious that I'm contributing to the formation of geniuses.<br /><br />In short, the show was solely on an HD-network called MOJO which ceased operations, thus ceasing the operations of the show itself. However, it was easily the most popular program on that network and through rallies to save the show and get it signed to a different network, it found a new home. Back in April, <a href="http://ktw17.blogspot.com/2009/04/three-sheets-was-saved.html">I posted</a> about that good news.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SlIV4Zr_7-I/AAAAAAAAAWY/uiV2pu9E9kc/s1600-h/zane_and_martha.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 178px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SlIV4Zr_7-I/AAAAAAAAAWY/uiV2pu9E9kc/s320/zane_and_martha.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355366965609230306" border="0" /></a>This month, starting July 20th the fourth season of the series with the amusing, fun-loving host by the name of Zane Lamprey will begin airing on its new home, <a href="http://www.fineliving.com/fine/pac_ctnt_988/text/0,,FINE_26036_87923,00.html" target="_blank">the Fine Living Network</a>. Lamprey has gone from sharing a network with gambling addicts, technology fiends, and demolition enthusiasts to one with a Martha Stewart show. So <span style="font-weight: bold;">obviously </span>he's more at home on FLN. Joking aside, I'm definitely happy that Zane Lamprey found a new home to continue his career of getting tipsy on TV and hope that it continues for seasons to come.<br /><br />Tune in July 20th if you have FLN! <a href="http://www.zanelamprey.com/news/?jid=30" target="_blank">This season</a> includes trips to New Zealand, Tanzania, Lithuania, St. Martin, Cape Town, Hawaii, Iceland, Poland, Barbados, Panama, Namibia, Tuscany, Barbados, Tahiti, New Castle, Hamburg, Lesvos, and Amsterdam.<br /><br />Cheers Zane!Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-23797734194224317362009-06-28T13:43:00.001-04:002009-06-28T13:44:46.612-04:00RIP Billy Mays<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkeqzOYJlPI/AAAAAAAAAVA/NoDDUG0Ut1Y/s1600-h/billy-mays.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 228px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkeqzOYJlPI/AAAAAAAAAVA/NoDDUG0Ut1Y/s320/billy-mays.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352434479162561778" border="0" /></a>Billy Mays, famous for yelling at us to buy things that we don't really need, has unfortunately passed away according to reports that his wife found him dead in their Florida home this morning. The police found no break-ins and suspect no foul play. If there <span style="font-style: italic;">were</span> foul play though, I'd know who to blame...let me elaborate...<br /><br />Billy Mays and fellow pitchman Anthony "Sully" Sullivan appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien just 5 days ago, largely to promote their new show on the Discovery Channel called <span style="font-style: italic;">Pitchmen</span>.<br /><br />Conan humorously brought out some of the products that the two guys had pitched and had them demonstrate their use. Conan also fueled some fire by bringing up the ShamWow, knowing that Billy Mays had a bone to pick with the annoyingly hypnotic pitch of fame done by an odd-looking fellow named Vince Shlomi.<br /><br />Why "a bone to pick" you ask? Well because Billy Mays pitched the <a href="https://www.buyzorbeez.com/spark/index.php" target="_blank">"Zorbeez"</a> before the "ShamWow" came onto the scene and they're both pretty much the same product. Watch below and see the Zorbeez vs. the ShamWow:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iWRGRZCvLmg&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iWRGRZCvLmg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Obviously this Vince character is a sham (*cue the rim shot*) Basically the only difference between the two pitches is that Vince is wearing a headset...but why?? Looking into the end-all be-all truth that is Wikipedia, it turns out Vince has had his fair share of legal battles...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkerhcZ8VjI/AAAAAAAAAVI/tv_IXCSRJHE/s1600-h/vince_shlomi_mug_shot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 181px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkerhcZ8VjI/AAAAAAAAAVI/tv_IXCSRJHE/s320/vince_shlomi_mug_shot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352435273202161202" border="0" /></a>Shlomi made a comedy of sorts called <span style="font-style: italic;">The Underground Comedy Movie</span> which was met with horrendous reviews. Vince accused the Farrelly brothers of stealing scenes from his movie for <span style="font-style: italic;">There's Something About Mary</span>, to which the brothers basically said "We don't even know who you are." Vince also sued Anna Nicole Smith for not committing to the movie.<br /><br />More recently, Vince was arrested in Florida for felony battery against a prostitute (see frightening mug shot at above-left).<br /><br />My point is that this ShamWow guy doesn't have his morals in check and looks pretty damn sketchy. It turns out that the Zorbeez and ShamWow are distributed by the same company, which led to Billy Mays and Vince Shlomi sharing a box at the most recent SuperBowl. Mays was on Adam Corolla's radio show soon after the game and challenged Vince to a threatening pitch-off:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GPLrm3Omkjg&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GPLrm3Omkjg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="25"></embed></object><br /><br />A long audio clip, but of most importance is the end, around the 4:00 mark or so, when Billy gets real heated and makes the challenge.<br /><br />Did Vince Shlomi accept the challenge and take it too far? Did jealousy and greed escalate in this battle of absorbent towels?<br /><br />Obviously, I'm exaggerating and don't seriously believe that there was any foul play. Ultimately, however, I'm sure this whole incident added some unneeded stress to Mays' life. My sympathies go out to his family and may he rest in peace. The world will never have a television pitchman of his caliber ever again.<br /><br />Also, don't buy anything that's pitched by Shlomi.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-23325548711316560652009-06-23T17:21:00.005-04:002009-06-23T17:29:05.070-04:00Summer Movies - July 09June is winding down already. Have you seen any of the new releases this month? I like to think that <a href="http://ktw17.blogspot.com/2009/05/summer-movies-june-09.html">my opinions on the June 2009 movies</a> have been fairly accurate thus far, so I figured it was about time to preview what's in store for next month<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">*</span>...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What to see:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFFKG7xwOI/AAAAAAAAAUI/bhi6yR2tkCM/s1600-h/johnnydepp_publicenemies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 143px; height: 143px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFFKG7xwOI/AAAAAAAAAUI/bhi6yR2tkCM/s320/johnnydepp_publicenemies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350633872255205602" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://www.publicenemies.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Public Enemies</span></a> (Release: July 1) - Johnny Depp is in it...he plays the legendary bank robber John Dillinger from the 1930's...and it's directed by Michael Mann, who wrote, produced and directed <span style="font-style: italic;">The Last of the Mohicans</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Heat</span>. That's all that you need to know. I didn't even need to see a trailer to get excited about this one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFFdz5PDRI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/XYsvdQFgRfg/s1600-h/bruno.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 137px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFFdz5PDRI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/XYsvdQFgRfg/s320/bruno.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350634210741652754" border="0" /></a>- <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.thebrunomovie.com/" target="_blank">Bruno</a> </span>(Release: July 10) - Vatsup? or Isch don't think so? You'd probably pick up on that reference if you've seen this "Bruno" character in Da Ali G Show, which showcased Ali G, Borat and Bruno played by Sacha Baron Cohen. Most of the world knows and most of the country of Kazakhstan hates the character Borat, which is definitely a testament to how well Cohen can shock people. Bruno was always my least favorite character of the three on the show, but he was definitely still funny at times. I'll definitely go to see this one purely for the shock value; it was originally rated NC-17 by the MPAA, but Cohen re-edited it to receive an "R" rating.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFF3k95VrI/AAAAAAAAAUY/p9PN9gnUv-M/s1600-h/500daysofsummer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 164px; height: 182px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFF3k95VrI/AAAAAAAAAUY/p9PN9gnUv-M/s320/500daysofsummer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350634653411268274" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://www.foxsearchlight.com/500daysofsummer/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">500 Days of Summer</span></a> (Release: July 17) - I'll admit right off the bat that about 30...ok, maybe 45% of my interest in this film is due to my celebrity crush on Zooey Deschanel. And yes, it's a pseudo-indie-romantic-drama-comedy with a no-name director, but I can honestly say that it looks good based off of the trailer. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who I believe will become a big(ger) name in the coming years) is the male role and the story structure looks creative.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFGPn0rYDI/AAAAAAAAAUg/6VqngNbUDGM/s1600-h/funny_people.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 185px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFGPn0rYDI/AAAAAAAAAUg/6VqngNbUDGM/s320/funny_people.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350635066494771250" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201167/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Funny People</span></a> (Release: July 31) - Judd Apatow established his name <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> everyone could identify by name the large group of actors that he's basically made famous or atleast brought onto the scene. Two of the guys that are included in that group are in this movie: Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. Apatow's real-life wife stars in this film as well, Leslie Mann, as do their two daughters (who also appeared in <span style="font-style: italic;">Knocked Up</span>). A few other superstars are included though: Adam Sandler, Eric Bana and Jason Schwartzman. And this is only the main cast, because I've heard that a large number of cameos are made in this movie.<br /><br />In Apatow's two other big directorial hits, <span style="font-style: italic;">Knocked Up</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">40 Year Old Virgin</span>, there were some serious tones thrown in among the comedy. <span style="font-style: italic;">Funny People</span> keeps that same formula, with death being the serious undertone. And Adam Sandler is the perfect actor to do that with because although he's considered largely to be a comedic actor, he's done a pretty good deal of serious acting too. Also, Apatow must know Sandler pretty well, considering the two shared an apartment back in the late 80s.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"On the Bubble":</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFGiNXrjCI/AAAAAAAAAUo/HdH5zcTCZDY/s1600-h/shrink.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 137px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFGiNXrjCI/AAAAAAAAAUo/HdH5zcTCZDY/s320/shrink.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350635385811340322" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1247692/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Shrink</span></a> (Release: July 24) - If Kevin Spacey wasn't the lead role, I'd probably toss this one aside. Even so, however, I can't form a solid opinion on the quality of this film. The director, Jonas Pate, has mostly worked on TV and the writer is pretty new to the scene it seems. Spacey plays a Hollywood shrink who develops some problems of his own, which obviously start to affect his work. If it's good, it's because of Kevin Spacey, but he hasn't had an impeccable track record, especially in recent years, so we'll see...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFGv7f5mrI/AAAAAAAAAUw/usf3jpVUHN8/s1600-h/uglytruthposter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 103px; height: 153px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFGv7f5mrI/AAAAAAAAAUw/usf3jpVUHN8/s320/uglytruthposter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350635621532146354" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://www.theuglytruth-movie.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Ugly Truth</span></a> (Release: July 24) - Gerard Butler playing anything other than a jacked-up warrior with a yell that rumbles the Earth is something worth seeing, even if it's just for a scene or two. A romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl though? Wow...didn't see that coming. It could be worth taking a date to see, though it's a predictable story mold that will probably fall short on laughs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Probably a disappointment:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFHFFTghOI/AAAAAAAAAU4/fz15s_WscEg/s1600-h/i_love_you_beth_cooper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 218px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SkFHFFTghOI/AAAAAAAAAU4/fz15s_WscEg/s320/i_love_you_beth_cooper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350635984941778146" border="0" /></a>- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032815/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">I Love You Beth Cooper</span></a> (Release: July 10) - I'm confused about this one. It's based on a novel by Larry Doyle, who has written for <span style="font-style: italic;">The Simpsons</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Beavis and Butthead</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Daria</span>. And the director, Chris Columbus, wrote movies such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Gremlins</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Goonies</span>, and directed movies such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Home Alone (1 & 2)</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Mrs. Doubtfire</span>. Based on that, it should be awesome. Based on the trailer, however, it's not even really worthy of a giggle. I also don't feel right "wooing" over Hayden Panettiere (who plays the "hot girl" in this film) considering she was the little girl in <span style="font-style: italic;">Remember the Titans</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">*I didn't include the new Harry Potter film in this selection because I haven't kept up with those movies...anyone who has can feel free to express their views for the new one coming out this month (or any other release that I missed)...</span>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-23594953599382699772009-06-20T12:16:00.001-04:002009-06-20T12:20:33.894-04:00Eddie Van Halen is LamePablo Picasso once said, "Bad artists copy...good artists steal." In a recent case involving Eddie Van Halen's company and Nike, that quote has absolutely no relevance.<br /><br />Occasionally, we hear about lawsuits between artists claiming musical or design theft, some of which are valid, but most of which are pretty vague or even ridiculous.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sj0F4mDV22I/AAAAAAAAATo/iSTj5BC5Jyo/s1600-h/satriani_vs_coldplay.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sj0F4mDV22I/AAAAAAAAATo/iSTj5BC5Jyo/s320/satriani_vs_coldplay.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349438402231393122" border="0" /></a>Coldplay's last album had the hit single, "Viva la Vida." You may have heard about the case that Joe Satriani brought up, claiming that the melody of that song was strikingly similar to his own song called "If I Could Fly" (released years before). Click the following button and you'll hear Coldplay's song first, then Satriani's...then just for fun, the two mashed together. It's easy to hear a very similar tune.<br /><br /><object width="20" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eb49QuPLuHg&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eb49QuPLuHg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="25"></embed></object><br /><br />Joe Satriani is a guitar god and I don't blame him for filing a suit, especially considering he tried to contact Coldplay for months before doing so and his fans were hounding him for doing so before that. However, I think this was coincidental; I doubt Coldplay even listens to Joe Satriani's work.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sj0LL-UUdUI/AAAAAAAAAUA/AwKT2XitREQ/s1600-h/frankenstrat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 153px; height: 217px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sj0LL-UUdUI/AAAAAAAAAUA/AwKT2XitREQ/s320/frankenstrat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349444232720708930" border="0" /></a>Moving on, however, to a more recent case involving Eddie Van Halen and Nike. This one isn't about music, but design. Eddie apparently designed a guitar called the "Frankenstrat," pictured at right.<br /><br />Obviously, a masterpiece. He combined the colors red, black and white??? In a "design" that my 3 year old nephew could replicate with a blindfold??? Man, that's insane...obviously an original idea. Ready to see what Eddie Van Halen's company, ELVH inc., is suing Nike for? Here it is:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sj0I4K5-vTI/AAAAAAAAAT4/hxmtop2vXfs/s1600-h/nikedunks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 124px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sj0I4K5-vTI/AAAAAAAAAT4/hxmtop2vXfs/s320/nikedunks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349441693479255346" border="0" /></a><br /><br />You can lift your jaw now. ELVH inc. put out their own line of shoes with the "Frankenstrat" design. I'm going to go out on a limb and not look up the numbers, with a wild guess that Nike has sold more shoes than ELVH inc.<br /><br />The point being: Eddie Van Halen deserves no compensation whatsoever for this lawsuit. I think he's just bitter that former bandmates Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony formed a "supergroup" called Chickenfoot with (coincidentally) Joe Satriani and RHCP drummer Chad Smith.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-30167562796553651212009-06-15T11:42:00.001-04:002009-06-15T11:47:06.573-04:00My Life is Complete<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SjZslvk_isI/AAAAAAAAATg/UwcntqD_ZrI/s400/britneyspears_twitter.JPG">Click here to find out why.</a>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-61539060533210407702009-06-02T14:56:00.000-04:002009-06-02T14:56:09.225-04:00Marketing to the Inner Child of Adults<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SiVxvTqDIwI/AAAAAAAAATQ/NYGCUhyzTiI/s1600-h/vitacraves.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/SiVxvTqDIwI/AAAAAAAAATQ/NYGCUhyzTiI/s320/vitacraves.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342801590489391874" border="0" /></a>If you're an adult, do you take a daily vitamin?<br /><br />If not, why not?<br /><br />If instead of a rather large pill, it was a gummy, would you be more inclined to take one?<br /><br />I know I would, which is why I love the new product launch from "One-A-Day" multivitamins. I've gone on spurts on and off taking pill-form multivitamins from this brand (I'm currently on the "off" phase, evidenced by the collected dust on my current bottle) but I have a feeling I'll be kept more on track if I get some of their new <a href="http://www.oneaday.com/vitacraves_gummies.html" target="_blank">"One A Day VitaCraves<sup>TM"</sup></a>. Now everyone who feels too embarrassed to get the Flintstones gummies at the supermarket can get their playful kick while still "acting as an adult consumer."<br /><br />Interested? There's even a coupon on their site to try them out: <a href="http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=qfbldvc91142595&bt=wg&o=56658&c=BA&p=6BtUWIj9" target="_blank">click here</a>.<br /><br />There should be more products like this - adults shouldn't have to live so seriously all the time. I'm not asking for an "Ages 21+" product line of Nerf Guns (although that'd be amazing), but I'm pretty confident that something fun like some vitamin gummies for adults won't hurt anyone.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846622947851497210.post-33832688314967906872009-05-16T10:11:00.000-04:002009-05-16T10:11:51.960-04:00Metacritic's All-Time Worst-Reviewed FilmsI've expressed before how the process we go through to form an impression of a movie can sometimes be quite delicate. Seeing a comedy in a full theater and hearing roars of laughter may make a movie funnier than if you were to watch it alone. If the theater malfunctions at some point and alters the sound or picture, or if the same thing happens when watching from the comfort of your home, it can ruin the viewing experience. Watching trailers can sometimes give away too much of a film. And reading reviews or hearing buzz about movies can sometimes give you either high or low expectations before seeing a movie. So many factors can contribute.<br /><br />As far as movie reviews go, however, I never resort to a single source. The power of averages that Metacritic provides is hard to deny...at least most of the time. Let's take a look at some of the movies that Metacritic has included in it's <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/film/lowscores.shtml" target="_blank">"Worst-Review Movies,"</a> keeping in mind that they use a 100-point scale...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7HbxLazMI/AAAAAAAAASo/UVW0a0OMF-w/s1600-h/savingsilverman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 177px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7HbxLazMI/AAAAAAAAASo/UVW0a0OMF-w/s320/savingsilverman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336421888352242882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">#196: Saving Silverman (Rating: 22)</span> - No Jack Black movie should be included in this list, and that even includes <span style="font-style: italic;">The Neverending Story III</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">I Still Know What You Did Last Summer</span>. I admit that this movie is one of those comedies that gets funnier the more times that you see it, but some of the reviews are definitely unwarranted, like the ZERO received from The San Francisco Chronicle: <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">"The movie can barely muster the bravery to be even 'Dude, Where's my Car?' stoopid."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#164: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (Rating: 21)</span> - (See above)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7H7pc0PrI/AAAAAAAAASw/ZUFaILLZwj0/s1600-h/halfbaked.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 152px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7H7pc0PrI/AAAAAAAAASw/ZUFaILLZwj0/s320/halfbaked.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336422436033543858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">#83: Half Baked (Rating: 16)</span> - My question is did movie critics actually expect to be moved by this movie? It's a stoner comedy, lighten up! A ZERO from the Washington Post: <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">"Someone definitely inhaled too much before making this one."</span> Umm...yeah, that's the point broseph.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7IUW58gyI/AAAAAAAAAS4/Yy2_WFO0fA0/s1600-h/shampooisbetter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7IUW58gyI/AAAAAAAAAS4/Yy2_WFO0fA0/s320/shampooisbetter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336422860552176418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">#80: Billy Madison (Rating: 16)</span> - For this one, let's look at the deserved low-rated movies that are rated ABOVE <span style="font-style: italic;">Billy Madison</span>: #182: Christmas with the Kranks, #172: Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, #163: Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, #141: Corky Romano, #139: Digimon: The Movie, #125: Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, and to top it off, #113: Gigli.<br /><br />I literally just watched this last night because I feel obligated to put it on whenever it's on TV...and 500 viewings later, I was <span style="font-style: italic;">still</span> laughing out loud!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#51: Kung Pow!: Enter the Fist (Rating: 14)</span> - If you haven't seen this one, it's a spoof of martial arts films. It definitely had some dumb parts (like a Matrix-style fight scene with a Cow), but I found it entertaining.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7Iuav1tAI/AAAAAAAAATA/tBjvJHmstNY/s1600-h/cocktail.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 109px; height: 162px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7Iuav1tAI/AAAAAAAAATA/tBjvJHmstNY/s320/cocktail.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336423308260127746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">#34: Cocktail (Rating: 12)</span> - No way! Tom Cruise 80's movie starring Elisabeth Shue? How'd this get on here? My own opinions aside, however, I do like the review that the WSJ gave though: <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">"This one could bring back Prohibition."</span><br /><br />So what is the ALL-TIME LOWEST REVIEWED MOVIE OF ALL TIME??<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7JOA8qCGI/AAAAAAAAATI/yEMhLf779jU/s1600-h/biodome.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 173px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UERtBCEkU2w/Sg7JOA8qCGI/AAAAAAAAATI/yEMhLf779jU/s320/biodome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336423851090380898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">#1: Biodome (Rating: 1)</span> - I don't know how this is at #1 because it's the best Pauly Shore movie ever made...oh wait, that's why. Still though...I went to see this movie in the theater for my friend's 10th or 11th birthday party and loved it. Also, Tenacious D made a cameo appearance, so the rating should be boosted atleast 50 points just for that. Honestly though, I couldn't really see a more fitting film to fill in the honor of this title.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236311783765789930noreply@blogger.com1