Just received the link to the new Transformers trailer:
http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/transformers/
Much better than the first, however, it’s looking like Megatron isn’t a gun. Looks like…a helicopter? You knew that was coming; society messing with our childhood memories because they’re not PC enough. That gun is too violent. The explosions and shootings are alright though.
Side note: Optimus Prime is shown for a brief second, from the back.
Categories: Pop Culture
Happiness. (R; 1998; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Flynn Boyle). Well, I don’t remember much from 1998, but I’m sure this wasn’t the feel-good movie of the year. Don’t be deceived by the title. No one in this movie is happy. Why? Well, because you have a group of miserable, self-loathing people: a prank-calling pervert, a pedophile, a flakey loser still living in her parents house, the parents, who are splitting up, an overweight, insecure murderer and several other fun-loving individuals.
This movie featured very painful dialogue and accurate depictions of people in society masking dirty secrets. The one thing that is lacking here is why these people are the way they are. I know, I know; I ask that a lot. And yes, I know; that’s the beauty of independent films – something totally appreciated by me. Perhaps in this instance it’s not important to know how they got to be this way; only that they are this way. But regardless you find yourself feeling somewhat sorry for them, wishing you could see that one painful thing that kept them from experiencing what they search for, non-stop: Happiness.
See this if you liked: Secretary, May
Categories: I Just Saw
Here’s another oldie but goodie someone needs to start re-airing:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PnpRS0bjiCg
Why are there no cartoons like this anymore? Seriously, I dare any nine-year-old out there to compare a present day cartoon/show to the classics (Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K, Thundercats, He-Man, Voltron); heck, even some of second tier cartoons were better than anything on today (Ghostbusters, Dungeons and Dragons, TMNT, Go-Bots).
Categories: Pop Culture
For all of my fellow Star Wars fans: the greatest public service announcement ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFKaLfs68Sk
My friends and I used to shoot videos all the time; I wish we would have thought of this! Here’s hoping this YouTube user comes out with more soon.
Categories: Pop Culture
Hard Candy (R; 2005; Ellen Page, Paul Wilson) This movie came highly recommended from a very trusted movie source. And after reading the review in Entertainment Weekly (which revealed that the extras show the original title was ‘Snip Snip’) I had to see it.
I wasn’t disappointed. Driven by calm dialogue during tense, uneasy moments, this movie about the penalties of being an Internet predator is one that constantly has you refiguring what the ending will be. The only problem is that once you reach the ending, you’re left with a feeling of disappointment, mainly because chat room victim, fiesty 14-year-old Hayley Stark (played by X-Men 3’s Ellen Page) has built such an intriguing character that you want to know exactly why she is the way she is. That may be the only weak link in this film, the lack of character development (there’s only two in a cast of five). Fortunately, for our sake as the viewers, it’s not necessary to enjoy the movie.
There’s not much I can tell you about this film without revealing any details that would give-away why this movie is so good. In fact, I’m not sure I can even compare it to other films to give you a good feel for if you would like it. Let me know if you can think of any.
Categories: I Just Saw
As I sit here and watch the Allen Iverson situation unfold, I can’t help but think how awesome he would look in a Cavaliers uniform. Three years ago when there were rumors he might come here via trade, I didn’t want him. Mainly because I thought it would hamper LeBron’s development. Now, I think LeBron can handle it. And I think the Cavaliers would look fantastic with a much faster, trimmed-down starting five that could roll Eastern teams and hang with Western teams. Consider;
-It would probably take a combination of Hughes, Z, Marshall, Shannon Brown, Sasha to get Hughes. In fact, I think any trade would have to include at least Hughes, if not Z too. Now, before you start crying about how much of a difference Hughes makes in the starting line-up, consider that you would basically be swapping Hughes for Iverson as AI would most certainly have to play the two-guard – and is much more durable than Hughes.
-Given that trade (Z/Marshall and Hughes for Iverson) your starting five would look like this: Gibson/Snow at the point (preferably Gibson, although Snow has a nice familiarity with Iverson having played with him in the late 90s and on that Eastern Champion team), Iverson at the two, LeBron at the three (further establishing him as a point forward), Gooden at the four and either Marshall or Andy at “center”. That is a line-up that could run up and down the floor all night. And with Iverson’s mentality and LeBron’s ability to get his teamates the ball, defenses wouldn’t be able to come down and set-up and wait for the Cavs, much like they are now with Z, especially the much faster, much more agile teams in the West.
-Would this team win the finals? Maybe. Let’s not forget that Iverson is a fierce competitor that is much more saavy than people think. He wants to win. Badly. And playing with a contender, a locked-up superstar, good supporting players, a solid coach and an owner that believes in the team and has the dollars to prove it? Well, I like the Cavs chances a lot better now.
For more on why any team should want Iverson, check out the Sports Guy’s column on A.I.
Anyway, I’m just not sure why there hasn’t been heavier discussion about this among the Cleveland media and fans.
Categories: Sports
Kicking and Screaming. (R, 1995, Olivia D’ Abo, Josh Hamilton) No, this isn’t the Will Ferrell soccer comedy with the same name, produced ten years later. Instead, this is the first writing and directing effort from Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale).
The Generation X version of St. Elmo’s Fire (sans an awesome Man in Motion type theme song), this movie starts with a group of friends after college graduation, then follows them for roughly a year as they try to deal with the ‘real world.’ While I really enjoyed this film, it’s amazing to me to see how only a few years can make a huge generational difference. This was geared toward the gen xers, realizing the time to ditch the flannel, shave and wash the hair was near. Their strife and anxiety is captured perfectly, I’m told, with accurate and poignant humor.
I liked the movie for different reasons. As is always the case with Baumbach’s films, it’s dialogue driven and doesn’t make you work hard to identify the story lines and/or the plot. Instead, you can sit back and enjoy the conversations as if you were an observer, laughing to yourself when appropriate as well as looking away during an ‘I can’t believe they just said that’ moment.
My main complaint, as with The Squid and the Whale (which is a better film with better acting) is the endings. Not a stranger to ambiguous endings, I do find Baumbach’s a tad annoying in the fact that they end so abruptly that they leave no loose ends for you to even draw your own conclusions. At least that was the case with the Squid and the Whale. As far as I know that was the case with Kicking and Screaming too. Who knows? I might feel differently if I was a bit older. Fortunately, I missed Gen X.
See it if you liked: Reality Bites, The Squid and the Whale, St. Elmo’s Fire
Categories: I Just Saw
Not sure if you caught it, but Voltron has been returned to the airwaves thanks to Cartoon Network. And I’m not talking about that hack Voltron job with the 15 robot cars. We’re talking the original; the real deal – the lions. Of course I’m loving this, having been a big fan as a kid. (And many others as well; check out the official site.) However, I don’t remember Voltron and the Voltron force being so stupid. Some observations I’ve made:
-First, before I get into specifics, I always remembered the Princess taking over the blue lion, however, I didn’t realize it was because Sven did his best Chuck Cunningham impersonation. He got roughed up in an early episode by the witch, Haggar. The episode ended with him ‘needing to recover’. And he hasn’t been heard from since. What happened to him?
-Now, onto how stupid the Voltron force is. Every episode Haggar disguises herself, sends a spy pretending to be someone or sends messages to people through dreams. 
And every episode, the team falls for it. The instantly accept the fact that the imposter is who they say they are, not once stopping to think, ‘hmmmm, maybe we ought to think about this for a minute because of all those spies Haggar has been sending’.
-The biggest issue I have with the Voltron force is they try to fight the Robeast with the lions every time. They of course fail miserably, even with the magical weapons they produce. The sequence usually includes all of the lions being thrown to the ground before one of the genuises (usually Hunk or Keith) says ‘we need Voltron.’ No kidding you need Voltron. You should’ve just formed him to begin with.
-Once Voltron is formed, we run into the same issue as above; they know they’re not going to beat the Robeast without the Blazing Sword, yet, they try to jimmy punch him a few times before receiving a shock attack or explosion to the face. Then they form the sword.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m so excited the show is on again. I just can’t believe I was so gullable as a kid to not question this sooner. I’m almost scared to watch Tranformers, G.I. Joe, He-Man, Mask, Thundercats et al.
Those were the days….and they wonder why kids today have no imagination.
Categories: Pop Culture
The Boondock Saints (R, Willem DaFoe, Sean Patrick Flanery). So, am I behind a little? Yes. I admit it. I of the what’s hot must see this independent film mindset is way behind. Many of my movie buddies have been busting me for a while to see this, proclaiming that it was ‘right up my alley’. I usually shy away from movies that are ‘right up my alley’ mainly because that means enough people have viewed it to mean it’s mainstream mush. However, occassionally I miss a very good movie. This was one of those times.
Boondock Saints is about what happens when you take the law into your own hands, i.e. a good old case of vigilante law. If you asked me to pick something about this movie that made it awesome, I couldn’t tell you. It’s not the best script (creates shortcuts); it’s not the best directing (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery); it’s not the best acted (outside of DaFoe you have a Young Indiana Jones and Billy Connolly).
However, it is just a cool movie. It has the raw feel of ‘this was made by a guy who simply loves movies.’ In this case, Troy Duffy is the guy; he wrote and directed it. And you can just sense that he feels all he needs is a shot. He knows he can get better; he wants to get better. You can sense that this is a movie made by someone who loves movies….by someone who just wants to make movies.
So, I guess I do have one thing to point to that makes this movie awesome: it’s made by someone with a true love of film. And allows it to show through instead of sacrificing it for a ‘hollywood’ ending; an audience-freindly climax or a tired, but box-office guarantee actor. Something rarely seen today.
See it if you liked: History of Violence, Sleepers, Mystic River
Categories: I Just Saw
I rarely disagree with Buster Olney; right behind Gammons I consider him to be the best baseball writer out there. However, I’m not sure I’m on the same page with him here. Don’t get me wrong; I desparately want him to be right….but, I’m just not sure….decide for yourself:
The Indians haven’t spent the most dollars or landed the biggest names, but they have quietly had a very nice offseason so far, augmenting a team that could be very dangerous next season.
Some scouts believed that at season’s end, Cleveland was playing the best baseball of any American League club. The Indians ranked third in the AL in ERA in August, fourth in September, and they finished the year ranked second in the majors in runs scored, behind the Yankees. Cleveland went into the winter as one of the very few teams with its starting rotation — C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Jake Westbrook, Jeremy Sowers and Paul Byrd — basically set, and in good shape.
Cleveland needed bullpen help and a second baseman, and right away the Indians landed second baseman Josh Barfield from San Diego without giving up any of their frontline guys.
In the last five days, the Indians have signed three veteran relievers who aren’t necessarily dynamic but will provide Cleveland with a bullpen framework and give the young Indians relievers, like Tony Sipp, some time to develop. Cleveland grabbed Joe Borowski, Aaron Fultz and Roberto Hernandez on short-term deals, and those guys will be at least OK in handling the end of games — perhaps good enough for a team with a good rotation and a powerful offense.
And the Indians were able to do this without committing to big-money, long-term deals, in keeping with their modest financial constraints.
“We have added some depth and experience to the bullpen,” Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro wrote in an e-mail late Wednesday. “Hernandez with over 300 career saves and Borowski with back-end experience and 36 saves last season give us some back-end stability. I feel better about our bullpen now, but still would like to add one more guy who has had some closing experience if possible.
“Knowing this bullpen market was thin and had some risk to it, we felt it important to add as much depth as possible in order to give us the best chance to build a quality bullpen for the ‘07 team.”
If the bullpen can be at least stable, and if Lee can take the next step and become a consistent force, the Indians could be poised for a breakthrough season in ‘07. We’ll see.
The Indians are looking for one more veteran reliever, writes Paul Hoynes; I bet they wind up signing Octavio Dotel, too.
Categories: Sports
Tweet Tweet
Create Your Own!
