Happy New Year!

So, it’s the end of another year. Quite the year for myself, but glad it’s over and am looking forward to hopefully a much less stressful ’06 and new goals to focus in on. I started this blog January 16th this year, and now have almost an entire year of posts to look back at. I started this thing on a whim to just try it out and see how it worked, and it’s been fun and has at least accomplished what I set out to do – keep writing my thoughts down on a regular basis, even if it’s just bits of nothing, pop culture rants, and streams of consciousness. Who knew I’d actually do this thing for a full year? Now I know why blogs are so popular. Wonder what I’ll come up with for ’06… Well, a thank you to all those who have stopped by to read and comment, and I wish you all a Happy New Year and the best in 2006! Keep coming back to the Eagle's Roost – you never know what rants I’ll come up with next… Goodbye ’05, Hello ’06! Party on, and keep it safe out there… -later Eaglewing.

Wasting Time...

http://spstudio.julia.hosting-friends.de/spstudio.html Found this South Park character creation site via another blog. Kind of fun once you get past some of the flash nonsense. You can mix and match things until you get your own South Park character. A fun time waster - here's two of my versions... "Dude, Where's My Bike?" "Go Ahead, Make My Day."

Who's Listening?

ANALYSIS: Half-baked Web sites set bad tone for films - Yahoo! News Was reading this article about how the multitude of websites covering opinions on movies are skewering the box office results and attendance. It was interesting, but one line's grammatical error really made me laugh: "Webmaster Matt Drudge actually tried something similar this season as "Brokeback Mountain" rode onto the scene, trying to scare the horses, if you will, with the alarmist tone of one headline that read "Hollywood Rocked: Gay Cowboy Movie Becomes an Oscar Frontrunner." In the story itself, he ratcheted up rhetoric, describing the film as "arriving with nudity and explicit gay sex scenes" as if it were just one step short of a campfire orgy. To date, though, media attempts to turn "Brokeback" into a raging controversy haven't really taken hold -- the filmmakers, a dignified bunch, never rose to the bait, and the movie has been able to speak to itself." So, the movie is speaking to itself? As opposed to it's audience? Maybe that's the cure for Hollywood's woes - forget about trying to reach people with your movie...just impress the hell out of yourself with the effort. Maybe soon we'll have movies ending with the actors gathered around pontificating on the entertainment value of what was just shown - "Did you think it was a good movie?" "Why yes, I do. It really spoke to me."

Year end roundups...

Well, it’s getting close to the end of the year, and I saw on another blog someone do some year end stuff like Album of the Year, etc. So, blatantly ripping off the idea, I thought it’d be cool to try to come up with some lists of my own. There’ll be lists of stuff I discovered this year (not necessary released this year, but most probably so), and judged the best by me. There very well could have been better that I missed or still have on my list of things to review, but I’ll only be listing things I’ve seen or heard. Here goes, with Music Roundup first. I’ll be back later with a Movies Roundup post… Song of the Year: Nominees: When I First Came Here – Dwight Yoakam One’s a Couple – Lee Ann Womack Lot of Leavin’ Left To Do – Dierks Bentley Better Life – Keith Urban Something’s Broken – Tim McGraw Tumblin’ Down – Allison Moorer Whiskey Lullaby – Brad Paisley / Alison Krauss Monday Morning Church – Alan Jackson Killin’ The Pain – David Lee Murphy I Just Got Back From Hell – Gary Allan Man, what a hard category to narrow down to 5. I could have easily done a list of 20. So I went with 10 instead. “One’s a Couple” is a great country tune with a twist on the words I wished I had thought of. “When I First Came Here” was practically on all my playlists this year as Dwight came back with great new music. “Something’s Broken” was my theme song of the past Spring, and you can’t go wrong with anything from Allison Moorer as I discovered she made a video for “Tumblin’ Down” thanks to Winamp and no thanks to CMT. “Better Life” will make you feel good and feel like moving and “Lot of Leavin’” had a classic Waylon Jennings sound that was nice to hear on the radio again. Anybody who knows me knows I am a huge fan of the song “Whiskey Lullaby,” and it was good to hear a well written song like that make it to heavy radio rotation, even if it was a sad and dark tale. “Monday Morning Church” is classic, sad country from one of the mainstays of country music. “Killin’ The Pain” was welcome new music from David Lee Murphy that had a lot I could identify with written in it. Well, it was a close, close call, but we finally get to -- And the Winner is: I Just Got Back From Hell – Gary Allan This song wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it hit home with me. It hits you like an emotional fist to the soul. I know why he wrote it, and I identify with it on a totally different level, but that’s what great music is. It crosses lines and situations, it makes you feel something, makes you think, and makes you want to hear it again. Album of the Year: Nominees: Tough All Over – Gary Allan Live Like You Were Dying – Tim McGraw Blame The Vain – Dwight Yoakam There’s More Where That Came From – Lee Ann Womack Be Here – Keith Urban All of these contain excellent music and it was another close one, especially between Blame the Vain and Tough All Over, which were probably my two most played albums this year. And the Winner is: Tough All Over – Gary Allan Again, I have to give the nod to Gary Allan. You can tell he poured his heart and soul into the making of this album and the music and words make you feel where he’s coming from. This is what country music is, and the kind of music that should be getting radio rotation if there was any justice. Music Video of the Year: Nominees: I May Hate Myself in the Morning – Lee Ann Womack Whiskey Lullaby – Brad Paisley / Alison Krauss Like We Never Loved At All – Faith Hill / Tim McGraw Monday Morning Church – Alan Jackson Goodbye Time – Blake Shelton Some good songs and videos here. “I May Hate Myself in the Morning” was Womack’s return to country music and the video plays it straightforward showing the story of the song, but that’s usually what works best. “Goodbye Time” was a scenic video that captured the resignation of the song’s voice in the desolation of the landscapes. “Monday Morning Church” really worked showing the heartbreak of permanently losing the one you love and questioning everything in the process. “Live We Never Loved At All” shows how to do a video with quick cuts that can still tell quite the story and not disorient the viewer. The video plays out the story of the song, and the end leaves you wondering where it will go as the window is left open between the two characters. And that brings us to – And The Winner Is: Whiskey Lullaby – Brad Paisley / Alison Krauss. What a song, and what a video. Tells the story straight up, but the end is what makes it. They took a dark song and ended the video on a note of hope with only the little girl seeing the ghosts of the troubled lovers reuniting on the other side and showing he still loved her regardless of what had happened. I liked how all the cynical older folk walked away at the end of the funeral, but it was only the innocent child that looked back and saw the truth. Well, that covers most of the music, but here’s some others that got left out: Honorable Mentions: Songs: Dirty Laundry – Lisa Marie Presley. She Rocks. ‘Nuff said. Keep Your Distance – Patty Loveless. Classic voice and a good toetapper. Georgia Rain – Trisha Yearwood. Another comeback with a great country tune. Kill Myself – Tim McGraw. Takes guts to cut a track about that, but he pulls it off. Devils & Dust – Bruce Springsteen. He knows how to craft a tune. Not So Tough – Ilse Delange. Discovered this artist in a round about way, but she’s good. Albums: The Duel – Allison Moorer. Good writing, good music, good voice. Johnny Cash at San Quentin (Reissue) – the liner notes are worth it alone, but hearing Cash in complete command of the concert behind prison walls and the reaction to the first time singing of San Quentin is amazing. In the words of June, “John held these men in suspense, they were mesmerized, hypnotized and spell bound and so were we. San Quentin was their song and Johnny Cash was theirs, and they decided not to riot that day. He held them by a thread, and we were saved by that thread. He sang San Quentin one more time, and we claimed it, same as he.” Videos: You Do Your Thing – Montgomery Gentry. Makes you think. Isn’t there enough room on this planet for people to believe what they want without killing each other over it? Better Life – Keith Urban. Either version of the video really shows what a talented guitar player he is. Intentional Heartache – Dwight Yoakam. Just a fun, rocking song and video. White Flag – Dido. Cool song and video.

Quote of the Day...

Was surfing through some message boards and this was a tag on someone's post. It's a quote from the show Due South from Fraser, and it's a good one. I'm surprised anyone get's along with anyone at all here in Canada. On second thought, maybe that's why we do - nobody has any clue what anybody else is saying... "In Canada, we have more than a passing familiarity with confusion. We're comprised of 10 provinces and 3 territories communicating across 6 time zones in 2 official languages. The English don't understand the French, the French don't understand the English, and the Inuit quite frankly couldn't give a damn about either of them. Added to the equation is the Assembly of First Nations with a total of 633 seperate Indian bands, speaking 180 sub-dialects among their 50 linguistic groups; and as if that weren't enough there are some fishermen on the East coast with a remarkably whimsical accent." -- Benton Fraser

Reindeer Games...

I took this Blogthings quiz about Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You? Here's the result: You Are Comet A total daredevil, you're the reindeer with an edge! Why You're Naughty: You almost gave Santa a heart attack when you took him sky diving Why You're Nice: You always make sure the sleigh is going warp speed Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You? So, apparently, I'm Comet...cool...Clear the Way! I'm Coming Through!!

Zellweger, Chesney Union Annulled in L.A. - Yahoo! News

Zellweger, Chesney Union Annulled in L.A. - Yahoo! News Well, it's official. According to the eyes of the law, this marriage never existed. So, I guess officially, he didn't even have her at "hello". What will always be wondered about is why she listed "fraud" as the reason for seeking the annullment. How does a reasonably sane, cognizant, adult wind up in a marriage by fraud? Oh well, one more mystery of the Hollywood stars who don't live in the real world...

Exclusives, Schmexclusives...

It hasn’t affected me yet on anything I wanted to buy, but it’s a disturbing trend that DVD sets (movies and television) keep popping up with “special bonus” discs at different retailers. There’s even a website you can find via digitalbits.com that is trying to keep track of all the different bonus discs and locations. Why aren’t these “bonuses” included as standard on the DVD’s? I don’t want to have to run around to only certain stores to get the ‘complete’ material. In fact, I won’t. Screw the ‘bonus.’ I know stores are trying anything these days to get your dollar, but the continued trend of exclusives is disturbing. Once a store gets an exclusive, they can put whatever price they want on it and you can’t do a damn thing about it. There is no competition to drive a fair price. Two cases in point: the 4th season of ER on DVD, and the Garth Brooks collection at Wal-mart. ER’s 4th season kicked off with a live show done twice – once for the east coast time and one for the west coast time. Warner Bros decided to only include the west coast version on the season set. Well, after some pushing, they decided to included the east coast version as well – but only as a bonus available at Target only. Now, it’s great that they smartened up and made both episodes available, but the point is WB screwed up and should have made both shows available on the set that would be sold everywhere. Now, I don’t want the 4th season of ER, but if I did, I’d be upset that I have to go to Target to get the complete season. Not to mention the fact – where the hell am I going to find a Target store in Canada?! Still not sure about the Garth Brooks deal with Wal-Mart. After watching an interview with him describing the process and how the deal wound up wasn’t plan A, I can understand a bit better what he did. When you’re not getting much support from the usual suspects, and a huge company like Wal-Mart steps up, you do what you see fit to get your product out. However, I can understand why other retailers were threatening to pull all Garth product from the shelves. This is sure to sell, and they don’t get a crack at it. Now for me, all I want is the disc of previously unreleased material, and I don’t feel like being forced to go to Wal-Mart and buy the whole box set including material I already own just to get it. Now, having heard that part of plan A was to release that disc separate in time, I’m in a holding pattern to wait and see if that is still part of plan B. Time will tell. Bottom line – I’d rather miss out on a few “bonuses” than be forced to play their game of run around to try to find the right ‘exclusive’ location. Besides, my rate of DVD / CD purchases has recently dropped below the Mendoza line, so it’s not like it matters much…

More Movie Madness...

Well, movie trailers have been hitting the web fast and furious lately. Trailers for Mission Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code, X-Men 3, Poseidon, Inside Man, Three Burials, Ice Age 2, Tristan and Isolde, and today the new one for V for Vendetta. Not to mention the previous Superman Returns trailer as well. I may even be forgetting a couple… The trailers look good too. If only Hollywood people could get as good at making movies as they are at making trailers and hyping the movie to come, maybe they could stop whining about the downturn in box office numbers and attendance. How many times have I seen a trailer that gets me excited to see the movie, only to have it turn into a dud. Not to mention the many trailers that have great bits in them that aren’t even in the movie! (Yes, I'm looking at you, A Man Apart) I hate that… Back to the trailers, though. Maybe I’ll hit on some of the highlights for those still cursing Quicktime 7 and their “we-don’t-want-anyone-to-see-trailers” philosophy… MI:3 – actually looks good. Better than MI:2. Tom Cruise looks more like an action/spy than the long-hair, slow-mo, flappy skin version of MI:2. Plus, this one automatically has a better pedigree with JJ Abrams directing and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in it and actually playing the bad guy. He’s a good actor whatever he plays. The trailer showed some good looking action sequences and explosions, so maybe they’ll finally come up with a good plot / good action combo. Maybe. Either way, Michelle Monaghan looks good, so count me in for this one. The Da Vinci Code – hmmm, interesting. I haven’t read the book, and don’t know what it’s all about except that it was controversial. The trailer looks intriguing – might make me hit the ‘net to find out more about the book. With Tom Hanks and Sir Ian McKlellan in it, the acting should be top notch. Plus, it looks like they’ve worked in a car chase sequence featuring one of those small Smart Cars. Might have to see it just for that. Still, the jury is out till I know more about the book plot. Poseidon – hmmm, another remake. Kurt Russell and Richard Dryfuss are in this one about the luxury liner hit with a tidal wave and capsizing. Should be a wild, survival, CGI laden, action fest. This one could go either way in a long line of disaster flicks. Can’t be any worse than The Day After Tomorrow, though… Inside Man – here’s one that jumped up a few spots on my radar out of nowhere after seeing the trailer. Denzel Washington plays the cop. Clive Owen plays the crook. Jodie Foster plays a shifty Fed. But this one looks like there are a lot more layers to it than that. I usually like Clive Owen (especially after Sin City), and he looks to be playing an intriguing character in a take no bull, very smart, master thief. Plus, this is directed by Spike Lee. That by itself raises this way above the ordinary cops and robbers flick. I loved his movie 25th Hour, so count me in for this one. Tristan and Isolde – um, ok. This looks like an odd mix of Romeo & Juliet meets Gladiator. I guess they couldn’t decide if they were going for the ‘chick flick’ crowd or the ‘blood ‘n guts’ crowd. They get points for using the Evanescence song Going Under in the trailer (don’t know if that puts it in Punisher or Daredevil territory – could go either way), but lose points for trying to hide a romantic chick flick behind a sword and armor epic. Rental if I’m desperate… V for Vendetta – This one looks good, and might even get people talking if they look past the fact it came from a graphic novel (excellent stories CAN come from comic books people – get over it!). The graphic novel is a classic, written some time ago, but in today’s paranoid, take your freedoms away, everyone not with us is a terrorist kind of world, this might encourage some discussion. It also has an excellent tagline – “People should not be afraid of their governments – governments should be afraid of their people.” I just hope people can also look past the fact its being made from the people behind the terrible Matrix sequels. I hope they don’t blow it. Count me in for this one, even with a shaved-head Natalie Portman. Well, that’s about it for now. Oh yeah – while writing this and watching Due South and Miami Vice, I wonder were any shows better than Due South, Firefly, and Miami Vice for having fantastic music that perfectly matched the show and was as important to the mood of the show as any actor or scene? I think not… Oh yeah, that reminds me – one other trailer that hit the ‘net, though curiously not at Quicktime yet. The trailer for next years Miami Vice big screen adaptation looks interesting too. Colin Farell and Jaime Fox play Crokett and Tubbs, and from what I briefly saw, it looks like they’ve kept the mood of it right. Can’t wait to see more…

Mozilla vs. Microsoft

So, I’m surfing around the ‘net using Mozilla Firefox, and wind up at MSN.com and click on a video link. Up comes this message – To use this product, you need to install free software: This product requires Microsoft© Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft© Media Player 10, and Macromedia Flash 7. To download these free software applications, click the links below and follow the on-screen instructions. Um, how about no? So, Microsoft’s flagship webpage won’t run in Firefox. I’m not surprised, and I’m not starting up IE to view the video, and now I’m surfing elsewhere while I figuratively give the finger to Microsoft…

Upcoming Movies...

Well, was just scanning ahead at upcoming movies, and if Hollywood thought this year was a slump - wait till next year. What a remarkable dearth of good flicks at the front end of '06. Now, that's a typical slow time for movies anyway, and there are some big blockbusters coming in spring and summer, but usually there's something to get excited about in the winter months. Not so much, this time. Even though there's nothing that sticks right out as a must see, there are a couple interesting options on the way: Running Scared - Jan. 6? I'd put it on my radar for the plot, but it has Paul Walker in it, so that kind of cancels things out... The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - Feb. 3. Tommy Lee Jones western. The trailer looks interesting and it got great reviews on the indie circuit... Firewall - Feb. 10. The trailer for this Harrison Ford computer / thriller / theft pic looks intriguing... ...huh. I guess that's about it. 2 movies on the radar for the next two and a half months...that's pretty lean. Either I'm getting more picky in what I go to the theatre to see or Hollywood is really lowering the bar on quality flicks. Looks like it'll be a long wait till May for the next X3 movie, unless there's some hope in March and April... ...just looked - March and April are looking a bit better. The Sentinel, A Scanner Darkly, 16 Blocks, V for Vendetta, Don't Come Knockin', and Inside Man all having possibilities before the 'blockbuster' season kicks off with Mission Impossible 3 at the start of May. Well, except for X3 in May, this upcoming movie year looks like a bit of a letdown for me after this past year of several highly anticipated and good movies that came out. Not surprising considering it'd be a hard act to follow of Sin City, Hitchhikers Guide, Batman Begins, and Serenity all in the same year - not to mention three I haven't even seen yet, but the trailers look great in Walk the Line, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and the Ice Harvest. Guess I'll be looking at DVD's instead of the theatre for the next couple of months...

Errata...

So, I've turned the comments open to anyone again...still need to do the word verification thing, but I'll give this a shot and see if more comments happen or just more spam...if I get spam, I'm shutting it down again... Errata is the word of the day...and no, I'm not posting the definition (yet) - just use it as often as you can today in however you happen to think it means...try it, it could be fun...maybe I'll post more challenging words that you can use as you buy your morning paper at the corner shop and get strange looks from the clerk ("You gave me the wrong change. You shouldn't be so errata with money.")

Stream of Consciousness, Part 2

Really looks cool out there...snow falling, just more and more and more of it coming down...a still, cold night...makes me glad for this big picture window I can stare out of...watch the traffic on the highway, the snow going earthbound, and the tall evergreens turning half white in the process. Been thinkin' of how I was thinking back the last time I saw a scene like this out this window...probably back in February or so...and all the things that have changed in my life since then...went through a lot of crap and managed to get really lucky on top of it and somehow came out of it in one piece...now its heading into Christmas time again for another year and I'm probably in the closest to decent shape I've been in a long time, which isn't saying much, but it's certainly good enough...like that line from the old Kris Kristofferson song Me and Bobby McGee - "Feeling good was good enough for me"...life is so much more than the next paycheque and trying to satisfy a situation that can't be pleased and living with that stress...sure, it's going to take a while for me to figure it out and get myself back on track, but at least I'm thinking about the right things again and learning how to let things go and be amused by the people who can't figure me out...it's been a helluva trip through the last ten years and I can appreciate the irony of winding up almost right back at where I started, but now a totally different person than when I first started out...not better, just different...and now winter's back and I'm glad I survived the blasted summer heat yet again so I can enjoy the cleansing cold and I'm thankful to God and the good ones that helped me make it...so here's to snowy nights, lasting memories, and hanging on for the next ride through whatever the next ten years throw at me... Here's to the corners yet to turn Here's to the bridges yet to burn Here's to the whole thing blown apart It's open season on my heart... I've tried to change without much luck I reach a point where I get stuck I hit the streets, the fireworks start It's open season on my heart... I can't be something that I'm not I can't give the things I haven't got I don't know where or what or when I only know the shape I'm in... Here's turning heartaches into art It's open season on my heart... Open Season On My Heart sung by Tim McGraw written by Rodney Crowell / James T. Slater

X3 Teaser Trailer Review...

Well, I’m a big fan of the X-Men movies and couldn’t wait to see what the new director would offer with the first teaser trailer hitting the ‘net on Monday. After having watched the new X3 teaser trailer more than a few times, and reading through some message boards, here’s some of my thoughts on it. I don’t think there is anything really spoilerish here compared to actually watching the trailer, but if you don’t want to know anything about the movie, stop reading now or skip down to Final Thoughts: The Good: Wolverine. Looking cool as always. ‘Course by now, Hugh Jackman could probably do the role in his sleep, but it looks like there’ll be some interesting spots with the character. Rogue. Looking Goooood…plus it looks like she’s got a uniform and gets in on some action this time around along with some of the other X-characters. Of course, there’s some discussion that one of the fight scenarios seen in the trailer is a Danger Room session, which would be a shame. Rumor has it she’s got a small role again, which would also be a shame, but at least the trailer shows some good spots as well. Was that a Fastball Special?! Yes it was! Missed it the first time I viewed it, but it’s there if you slow-mo the trailer. Yes, it’s kind of a cheesy thing to put in a movie, but come on, it’s a comic book classic and this is a comic book movie. Dr. Hank McCoy, aka Beast, finally gets into an X-Men movie. He’s one of the original classic characters, so it’s good to see them get him to the screen. Hard to believe it’s Kelsey Grammer (Fraser) under all that blue makeup, but his scenes looked good and I can’t wait to hear what they have him sound like. I thought getting Grammer to play the role was genius – Hank is a genius and talks in big words and flowery speech, so this should be good. Kitty Pryde makes the movie with what looks like the 3rd actress to play the role. She was always a cool character in the comics… The golden gate bridge being blown apart in broad daylight. Don’t know how that relates to the plot, but it’s a cool CGI spot to look at. The kid ‘flying’ the paper airplanes as he walks behind them is another cool CGI spot. The action scenes look fun, tight, and well directed. Should be a fun ride when things start blowing up… The Bad: Halle Berry. ‘Nuff said…Well, not quite. Looks like she finally got her wish and got her role brought to the forefront of the movie. Too bad she can’t act. I really hope that fan derided rumor of a Storm/Wolverine plot doesn’t make the movie. Plus, that whirly-gig spinning offensive move she does in the trailer looks really, really, lame. Storm is a cool character from the comics, too bad they can’t seem to do her justice in the movies. Kitty Pryde. Good that she’s got a bigger role, bad that they de-aged her to look all of what – 12? The Colossus / Kitty relationship is a comic classic, but there is no way they can do that in the movie with the actors they have without getting a bit of an uncomfortable factor. Plus, from the trailer it looks like Bobby (Iceman) goes after another girl he has no connection to in the comics just like he did with Rogue in X2. Too many characters. Unless this movie is close to three hours long, I can’t see how they’re going to do the storylines they seem to be bringing in justice. Plus, some of the favorite characters from the first 2 movies look like they’ll be pushed aside. If the rumors about Cyclops and Xavier are true, and I think they are, the short shrift those characters are getting is just sad. Especially in Cyclops’ case. After the end of X2, he should be front and center in this one… Too much of a good thing in the trailer. They’re giving too much away again, including major plot points. And remember, this is just the teaser. Imagine what the official trailer will be like with actual dialogue… The Ugly: Juggernaut. Looks cheesy as all get out. Couldn’t the FX department come up with something a bit more real looking than what looks like a leftover He-Man chest plate from the Kmart after-Halloween costume clearance sale? We get one line of dialogue in the teaser, and it is bad. Magneto must have just watched the old Sylvester Stallone movie Cobra before he had his meeting with his minions, cause that ‘cure’ line is a blatant rip off. It worked in Cobra, but it won’t work in X3. More than a few fans have a queasy feeling about plot and dialogue in this movie, and that line did not help. Have the screenwriters of this flick even read a single X-Men comic? Or did they just skim the character bios from Marvel’s website to see who has what power? One really has to wonder… Final Thoughts: All in all, a good trailer. It certainly did get me excited about the movie and wanting to see it. I just hope this isn't going into the 3rd Blade movie territory. I really loved the first movie, thought the second one was good but they tried to do too much and lost some of the heart of the first one, and am cautiously looking forward to this 3rd and what appears to be final installment of this franchise (at least with these actors.) I’m still wondering where exactly they’re going with the plot, or if there is one, and am worried about losing some good character moments in favor of flash and dash action. Not to mention they’ve got too many characters to give them all time and justice. The action does look good though, and from this trailer it looks like the new director might just pull this off. He’s got some big shoes to fill after the first 2 movies and the great job Singer did, but it looks like he’s holding his own. Can’t wait for next May!

Movie Notes...

What’s Francesca doing hawking Air Miles cards in a commercial? Took me a second to recognize the flinty gal from Due South, but there she was… On to some movie news – apparently a lackluster weekend at the box office, as Aeon Flux was the only new one released and came in at number 2 with 13.1 million. Potter was first yet again, and Walk the Line came in at number 3 with another 10 million bringing it’s 3 week total to almost 69 million. I guess Aeon Flux was a mild bomb by some reports. The trailer looked interesting, and being I like sci-fi I was thinking of checking it out, but with money being short I think it’s got rental written all over it. Besides, if it didn’t do great at the box office, they’ll fast track it to DVD anyway. Not to mention the fact that the more I look at the plot, the more I think Serenity did it waaaay better… I read somewhere that the new teaser trailer for X-men 3 will hit the net on Monday. Can’t wait to check it out. Going to be interesting to see a glimpse of what the new directors vision of these movies will be. As long as Halle Berry doesn’t try to hog the screen as is rumored, it should be ok… Best headline of the week for a review of TV mini-series: “Sci-Fi’s ‘Triangle’ a wreck-tangle.” Funny. Kind of ironic that the DVD’s for the movies Sky High and Fantastic Four coming out around the same time. Poor kids nowadays – if they don’t know their comic history, they won’t know who to thank for this “art”. See, Sky High is basically a live action rip off of The Incredibles, which was itself basically a rip off of the Fantastic Four, even though The Incredibles came out to theatres first. Now, I’ve only see the Incredibles, which was pretty good, and have yet to see Fantastic Four which I have heard sucks (what do you expect from the director of Barbershop jumping from that to the big budget FF?). Even though it may be bad, I’d still like to see FF, which is known as the first family of comics in ‘geek’ circles. Genius comic creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby started the Fantastic Four years ago, but thanks to Hollywood rip offs, lack of original plots, and bad directors, kids today may never learn to appreciate the creative history behind the big screen CGI fests…such a shame…

I'd Rather Go To Vegas...

I accidentally flipped into this show the other night called Bridezilla. Now, it’s not the kind of thing I’d normally watch – I mean, a show about Brides planning their wedding? Come on, really now. But this was fascinating in a “I Can’t Look Away From This Train Wreck” kind of way. It shows these women turning into complete psychos planning the “perfect” wedding for their big day. As they obsessively cover every single detail of how it’s going to look, they seem to completely lose sight of what it’s all about. The show was covering three different women’s stories as they went about getting ready for the big day. Viewing what these women turned into, I wouldn’t want to be friends with any of them, let alone marry them. I kept watching, thinking don’t these women have any friends or family in their lives that are close enough to them to come along and slap them upside the head and tell them the point of the whole thing was getting married for a lifelong commitment to someone you love and not what fork goes beside what color centerpiece? Only one had someone say something – the future father-in-law put things in perspective as the girl was wigging out about a detail of her wedding dress. He reminded her how there’s always more important things and that as you go on and have kids and become concerned about them and their education and so on, there are only more and more headaches. He was surprisingly nice about it and she seemed to get the point. In the end, the most revealing comment came from the groom after the wedding was over and the gal was calm and smiling he said “She’s back now,” indicating the girl he fell in love with wasn’t the version everyone got as wedding planner. Still, that’s just kinda sad…

More Randomness...

So, I’m flipping through the channels and stop at this scene of people having a verbal war of…um…words, not knowing what I’m watching. Turns out it’s some afternoon soap, but what made me laugh was these people are all serious yelling at each other about stuff this one gal did when she says with a straight face, “I didn’t mean for him to get hurt when I poisoned the guacamole!” That cracked me up. Who poisons guacamole? Isn’t that redundant? Heard Lonestar’s new song “You’re Like Coming Home.” Not bad. Not great, but not bad. First song of theirs since “Amazed” six years ago that I don't automatically change the station… Tonight there was a big hockey trade. The Boston Bruins desperately trying to right the ship traded their star player Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm, and Wayne Primeau. I’m surprised San Jose didn’t throw in a bag of pucks. This sounds like the kind of trade you’d read about on those hockey rumor message boards pitched by some wannabe general manager hockey pool enthusiast. The old rule is whoever gets the best player in a trade, wins the trade regardless of the amount of players going the other way. By that rule, San Jose made out like bandits. On a different note, imagine you’re Joe Thornton and you just found out your place of employment went from Boston on the East Coast to San Jose on the West Coast overnight…Taxi!! Huh, look at that. The word ‘wannabe’ didn’t even get flagged by Microsoft Word as a spelling or grammatical error. That means it’s in the Word dictionary. So is the word ‘huh’…Huh, how about that… More wailing and hand wringing about bad video games. Just pay attention to the ratings people – they’re there for a reason and “M” means the game is for mature, not 10 year olds. I still think it comes back to the parents to investigate what the kids are buying. On a different note, here’s a quote from the article I thought was kind of funny: [In "Stubbs the Zombie," the lead character eats the brains of humans as blood splatters across the screen. "It's just the worst kind of message to kids," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who joined institute officials at a press conference announcing the group's 10th annual video game report card. "They can be dangerous to your children's health."] What’s dangerous? Eating brains or playing the game? Where’s the editor to screen these articles for proper grammar? Maybe the editor is a zombie! And last butt not least, here’s a new one. Longer needles are needed for fatter buttocks as injections aren’t reaching their mark. Here’s a quote: [Fatter rear ends are causing many drug injections to miss their mark, requiring longer needles to reach buttock muscle, researchers said on Monday. Standard-sized needles failed to reach the buttock muscle in 23 out of 25 women whose rears were examined after what was supposed to be an intramuscular injection of a drug.] Unbelievable…well, not really if you take time to look around as you walk through a mall. Still, you might be a tad overweight when the needle can’t get through your ass fat to get the medication to where you need it. And what’s the solution to this quandary? Get more people to take better care of themselves? Oh no, we’ll just make longer needles. Is a 6 inch needle going to be the new happy meal toy at McDonalds?