Hut One...

I'm headed to my first Super Bowl. And what an epic one it's shaping up to be. My fellow Wolverine, Tom Brady, will be quarterbacking The New America's Team, the Patriots, toward a historic undefeated season. Back in college, Tom and I would often sit around dreaming of where we would be in five years. Now, here we are, a little off schedule but still on time, headed for a happy reunion after achieving worldly fame and fortune. Admittedly, most...

Persepolis (2007)

For some reason, the movie wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. It might be my lack of historical background, it might be my super high expectations, or maybe I just need to read the book first.I mean, the art style and animation is quite catchy but the movie itself seemed to drag. And I can't pinpoint why because the pacing of the scenes were (mostly) excellent and the movie covered the major plot points well. But something big was missing. ...

Double Dip

Hey kids, interested in gratuitious nudity and violence? Have I got the double feature for you! Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) and Rambo (2008) both have problems galore and neither are going to be worth your time -- unless you like gratuitiousness I guess.Before the Devil's synopsis sounded like it would be good and with Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman around, how could it be horrible? I forgot to account for the fact that 83-year...

Battle Hymn

When they released World of Warcraft (WoW), I knew right away that it was something I should avoid. Swords, sorcery, monsters, and cooperative gameplay in an immersive environment that encourages staying in on Saturday nights? It was practically my dream come true.My willpower being what it was, I ran out and bought the game immediately. Luckily, I was playing video games for twelve hours a day (and getting paid for it) at the time so I didn't...

Monsters, Inc.

Is your computer screen looking pretty boring and staid? Sure it is. I like to switch my backgrounds almost daily, since variety is good for the eyes. Plus, there are just so many great images out there that just one isn't nearly enough is it? If you have two (or more) screens, there's this great piece of software out there, Ultramon, that lets you put different wallpapers on each screen -- or one giant wallpaper across. Look it up, it's sick.The...

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Is Daniel Day-Lewis capable of delivering a bad performance? With a win this time around, it'll be an Oscar hat trick for Day-Lewis. And that doesn't include awesome performances in Last of the Mohicans, In the Name of the Father, etc. Any film Day-Lewis chooses to do is usually a quality flick. There Will Be Blood is engrossing but also nothing like what I expected.The trailer definitely hypes up the action aspects of the film and draws a picture...

Stuff I've Been Reading 2

BOOKS BOUGHT:A whole bunch of stuff on Amazon; too many to list hereBOOKS READ:Kitchen Confidential - Anthony BourdainThis Is Not Chick Lit: Original Stories by America's Best Women Writers - Elizabeth MerrickLiar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street - Michael LewisKing Dork - Frank PortmanHow Sassy Changed My Life - Kara Jesella & Marisa MeltzerSkin Deep - Karol GriffinThe Princess Bride - William GoldmanIt's really hard to talk about books. I mean, with something like movies, it's easy to go over major themes, which scenes...

Army of One

"She is pretty, blonde, she has all the characteristics of women... She seduces, she uses trickery rather than force to get results. She is incapable of telling a joke without blowing the punch line. She is a blabbermouth but only makes superficial comments. She is constantly creating enormous problems for the Smurfs but always manages to blame it on someone else."One of the participants at the meeting asked: "Would she at least be able, when the...

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

It must suck to be Philip Seymour Hoffman and resigned to taking supporting actor roles (until recently) knowing that but for a twist of genetics, you could be a huge movie star. Hoffman's acting chops were finally revealed to the world in Capote but since then he's been a little quiet eh? He steals every scene he's in during this movie and I'm psyched to see him paired with Laura Linney in "The Savages" -- one of the few films left on my must-see...

Marvel Re-Inventions

Gallery 1988 in LA is showing works inspired by Stan Lee's creations titled "Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee." I love the Wolverine as squirrel one. If you're a big comic geek like me, this is the art show of the year. If you're really uninformed like me, you totally missed it. But thanks to Brian (still embittered against comics due to a childhood incident) I'm now totally on top of it and will plan to check out the show asap.Last...

Single-Serving Friends: Apply Here

I'm 29, currently unemployed, living at my mom's house, and interested in nothing longer than one drink of your choice -- be it alchoholic, smoothie related, bubble tea, or coffee. Nothing's more exciting than ten minute friendships don't you think?We won't be swapping last names, phone numbers, emails, AIMs, social networking profiles, or anything beyond general cordialities. We could swap mix CDs however, if you're so inclined.Things we won't be talking about:The futureHow boring our jobs are (remember, I'm jobless)How our weekends wentThe truth...

Atonement (2007)

This was a book club selection from some years back. Neither Lilly or I could get through it. We thought it would be appropriate to view the film version in case we missed something. Even with people in our row getting out of their seats two or three times to fetch popcorn, etc. I don't think we missed much. Talk about a sad story that just keeps getting sadder.It's a shame such a beautiful movie has to make you wonder what you just spent two...