Topic: Trivia Night, happy hour

*Had happy hour today ... I love when work let's us drink and then picks up the tab. Yum!!

*Tonight was one of the few nights Darth did not have to bowl so him, his brother and I (aka Up and Atom - our VH1 Pop Culture team name) headed to Barney's Beanery for their weekly trivia night. This week was much more difficult then a prior time I went. The questions ranged from general knowledge, motown to gambling. In the end our team took second place losing by only one point. Oh well. :( At least Darth's brother and I got to watch Darth make and eat S'mores in front of us with live fire.


*On another note, this douchebag guy and his ass friends were sitting near us at the end and I disliked them greatly. Plus they had their litte Asian girl with them ... freaking sell out.

Happy Birthday Markéta Irglová!

You were right New Wave, she is (or rather was) 19. Now she's 20

David Archuleta(American Idol)

I'm blaming all of this on New Wave. I wasn't even going to WATCH this year, but check this kid out! Holy Crap. I'm so jealous. I wish I could 1. sing that well and 2. play the piano that well. He's only 16!!!

Which one's which??

So my cousin and I were watching the Oscars last night. I kept looking at Javier Bardem thinking, he looks really familiar! And then my cousin say's "It's Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) from Grey's Anatomy," the patient Dr. Izzie Stevens fell for a couple of seasons back. And I totally bought it and was like, "Oh Yeah!" Then I started thinking, wow he's come a long way. When he won, I thought, "Wow he can do a really good American accent!" Then my cousin says, "I'm just kidding it's not him. But he does look alot like him right?!" We proceded to argue about who this guy was, until I couldn't take it anymore and had to look it up myself. And indeed, they are two different people. But honestly, it's freakin' hard to tell!

Answer: Morgan(top), Bardem(bottom)

Topic: 80th Annual Academy Awards

*So unfortunately I did not get to watch the awards this year because I had Candy's great birthday dinner :) BUT the winners were all pretty much by the book. I think the only win I'm very happy about was Original Song, which went to Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Below is their acceptance speeches, which were both so sincere. You know Markéta is only 19; so impressive. Oh and her and Glen Hansard are dating in real life which is so cute even though he is 38 and she is only 19. I'm just saying. (Videos gone now).

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Glen Hansard:
Thanks! This is amazing. What are we doing here? This is mad. We made this film two years ago. We shot on two Handycams. It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we would come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It's been an amazing thing. Thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us. Thanks to the Academy, thanks to all the people who've helped us, they know who they are, we don't need to say them. This is amazing. Make art. Make art. Thanks.

Marketa Irglova:
Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along way. Thank you.

Just in time for the Oscars tonight are some of my reviews of Oscar films:

(M) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. (Andrew Dominik, 2007) Grade: B

Thoughts: Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), who idolizes Jesse James (Brad Pitt) since he was young, tries to join his gang and gradually begins to resent the bandit leader. The movie is not for everyone, it is slow paced and takes it time but I enjoyed it still especially the last 40 mins. Casey Affleck’s performance was great and Sam Rockwell did a really nice job as well.

(M) There Will Be Blood. (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) Grade: B+

Thoughts: A story about an oilman name Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his family, greed and religion. The story was good however some parts did drag but I guess that is expected of P.T. Anderson films. Dillon Freasier’s performance of H.W. Plainview, Daniel’s son, was so good; that young man has some talent in him. Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance excellent, although I have been reading some people debating if Daniel is truly a great actor or just a giant ham due to the roles and characters he plays. I would go with great actor but that is just my opinion.

(M) Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. (Tim Burton, 2007) Grade: B-

Thoughts: Benjamin Barker aka Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) sets up a barbershop in London to get revenge on Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who separated him from his wife and child for 15 years. It was a bloody mess of a film and though I enjoyed it because I love my musicals, I just could not love it. I think it suffered from the Chicago, Rent and Hairspray syndrome, which is these Broadway productions are better as productions.

(M) Ratatouille. (Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava, 2007) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Remy (Patton Oswalt) is a young rat who wants to be a cook like his cooking idol Auguste Gusteau (Brad Garrett). He gets a chance when Remy aids a young chef name Linguini (Lou Ramano). I thought the movie dragged a bit and I did not care for any of the characters. It was a bit of a bored; maybe it was meant more for children. Oh well.

Movie Count: 9

(TV) Dexter Season 1. (Showtime, 2006) Grade: B+

Thoughts: By day Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a forensics expert for the Miami Metro Police but by night he kills other serial killers who he feels deserves punishment. It is odd to be rooting for a psychopath but that is what ends up happening. The ending of Season 1 was a bit of a stretch but I still enjoyed it.

(TV) Damages Season 1. (FX, 2007) Grade: B-

Thoughts: Patricia Hewes (Glenn Close) is a successful, high powered litigator trying to take down Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), a corrupt CEO (think Enron type). Ellen Parsons (Rose Bryne) is a young and bright lawyer who just started working for her company. The first few eps were very interesting but than it started dragging. In the end, you could have watched the last few eps and that would have been the same as watching the whole season.

(TV) Persuasion. (PBS, 2007) Grade: B+

Thoughts: This was the first of the new adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels they were doing for Materpiece Theatre. Anne Elliot (Sally Hawkins) turned down a man’s proposal due to family persuasions because he was too poor. Now 8 years later he is rich Captain Wentworth (Rupert Penry-Jones) and her family is struggling to make ends meet. The biggest flaw with this version how short on time they were so they could not develop the characters enough. It is still a good movie but the 1995 version is a bit better.

(TV) The Moth. (Roy Battersby, 1997) Grade: B

Thoughts: Based on the novel by Catherine Cookson, Robert Bradley (Jack Davenport) is a strong-willed young worker who ends up working at the Thorman’s estate after a family misunderstanding. There he befriends Millie (Justine Waddell), their mentally disabled daughter and falls for her older sister Sarah (Juliet Aubrey). I enjoyed it and Jack Davenport is hot but some points were a bit over the top.

This is a little odd: Security Screening Stopped at Obama Rally

VEGAS 2008

if you want to read about my trip, you can check out my blog.

(M) Step Up 2: The STREETS

Grade: Better than Step Up 1

I don't think I'm going to grade dance movies anymore because they're just a different apple. It's a formula movie so I guess I just base it on the dancing. Since this is a sequel I will compare it to the first one. The storyline I think is a little different from other storylines; not by much but it was a pleasant surprise. Andy is a recently orphaned teen who has gotten caught up with the wrong dance crew. She knows Tyler(Channing Tatum) from back in the day and he offers to get her an audition to MSA(Maryland School of the Arts?? too lazy to look up the name) so that she doesn't have to move away to Texas. The story revolves around her finding herself and friends at the school; underdogs banding together to compete in a street competition called "The Streets." Time and location are unknown until the day of, when you receive a text about the competition. The dancing is great in this movie, acting bleh, cheese is always a must! My favorite character is Moose. I was going to post a video, but the quality is crap and doesn't do the dancing justice. I'd say rent it on DVD or just borrow mine when I get it! :)

It's 12:04 am and it looks like it's going to be 10 in a row for this guy. What happened to the Clintons?

I'm looking forward to watching the democratic winner take on McCain!

I have been really digging the new R.E.M. single, “Supernatural Superserious.” You can check out the video below, which has the trio roaming around New York and was directed by Vincent Moon (The National, among others). Hopefully Accelerate will be better than Around the Sun.

Topic: HK Scandal

*A week ago my mom asked me if I heard about the Edison Chen scandal. Those of you who know me know I LOVE my Hong Kong films and Mr. Chen is a popular actor most known for his role in the Infernal Affairs movies. Apparently the whole mess started when he took his laptop in to get repaired but failed to remove all 1,300 naughty photos he took with MANY famous and not so famous Asian starlets.


The funny part was my mom asked my dad if he could find the pictures for her to look at and my dad said the secretary at his work asked him the same thing. I read in some articles that during the Lunar New Year family gatherings the scandal was the main topic of discussion and old grandmothers are asking to see the pictures. There was even a story about it on CNN.


Of course I wanted to get a peek at these photos. Some of them were with actress Cecilia Cheung, whom I quite like. So for your curiosity, you can view the pictures here. It will be interesting to see how this whole thing plays out. According to this article - "Hong Kong tabloids are now running reports that there are plans by gangsters to "teach a lesson" to Chen, the Times reported, noting organised crime was a key element in the Hong Kong entertainment industry."

Topic: A good laugh

*Pigern's buddy found this EXCELLENT site called Stuff White People Like that had me laughing so hard. I love it so much, maybe because of how true it is. Some of my favorites are no. 58 Japan, no. 63 expensive sandwiches, no. 25 David Sedaris, no. 45 Asian Fusion food and of course no. 11 Asian girls. Oh Darth ... look you have this one. I need to keep my hate strong.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Here are some fun facts for you:
- In order of popularity, Valentine's Day cards are given to teachers, children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
- The Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine's Day.
- 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
- About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged in US each year. That's the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.

YEAH BABY!!: A Guitar Hero 3 moment

This accomplishment deserves to be posted on all 3 blogs I'm involved with. I beat "Cliffs of Dover" on Guitar Hero 3 on HARD level, not once but TWICE last night. Granted I didn't do very well but I beat it!! To help you understand how difficult a feat it is, I have attached a YouTube video to help demonstrate.

Topic: Torrance, $2 dollar movies, Firecracker Run, Yum Cha

*Funny you should mention that Hedwig. I was just thinking of 1. how tired I am doing movie reviews and 2. how I am not even watching that many movies anymore. I would love for everyone to blog about random boring crap in their lives but no one will so eh. I am over doing anything about it.

*Last Friday, Hedwig, Darth and I drove to our friend's new apt in Torrance. Being the awesome guy he was he had no furniture besides a dining room table, even though he has been there for a month. At least we got to make carpet prints of our hands!

*Apparently the Regency Theatre in Pasadena is offering matinee movies for $2 dollars AND $1 hotdogs!!! To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. I love cheap things.


*On Sunday I got up early and headed to Chinatown for the 30th LA Firecracker Run. This is my third time doing it but only second time actually going. Last year it was raining and I choose to sleep instead of run. It was a fun walk/jog I did with my friend. I think the best part was all the free stuff we got after the run.


*I am always down to check out new (yum cha) dim sum places and this one called Elite is getting all the rave (according to the LA Times) so I went to check it out with my family. We got there at 9:30 am, which is way EARLY for dim sum and the place was already packed. Disturbingly enough, people were waiting BEFORE 9 am to get a seat. WTF. At this point I was a bit intrigued, I thought the food must be laced with crack. After waiting 35 mins we finally got seated and yes the food was quite tasty. I liked the skin of their dumplings, the noodles were good and the egg tarts were done in Portuguese-style popular in Macau. To be honest, I don't think I would do the wait all the time. I can get some yummy dim sum at NBC and Capital Seafood nearby for half the time. Although the real test of a great dim sum place is how many old people are in there. They are the true food critics.

So I was bored and went into our archives from 2002. It was funny to read all our ramblings, even though it did probably get old. It's just interesting to look back on what we were doing in our lives at that point. I KNOW this blog has changed to a review blog and we all have our own personal blogs, but it would be nice to hear what you guys are up to from time to time; even if it is to bitch about our boring lives. :) Of course this is pending approval from New Wave herself. Please don't kick me off the blog....just an idea???

Does anyone else think that "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann" is the lamest "dance" show ever? First of all, it's called "Dance War" not "Sing and Dance War." I was excited about this show initially, but then after watching the live shows, I now think it's lame. It's less dancing, more performing; almost like training them to perform in musicals, lame stage shows, or cruise ships. Just my 2 cents.



On the flip side of that is, Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew on MTV. I thought THIS is what Dance War was going to be about. Yeah, Mario Lopez tries to act like he's hard and Lil Mama(where did she even come from?) talks a lot of nothing, but it's what I love about dancing. Here's Kaba Modern from UCI, ASIANS REPRESENT!

(M) 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007) Grade: A-
Intense is the best way to describe this film, winner of the 2007 Cannes Golden Palm. Set in 1980s Romania, 4 Months... follows two roommmates: one is seeking an illegal, back-alley abortion and the other is helping her. Director Mungiu doesn’t take sides on the controversy, instead focusing on the dilemma and the emotion and desperation involved in the women’s choices. If anyone sees this film, let me know, because I have a few unanswered questions I want to discuss...

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!! GUNG HAY FAT CHOY!!

Year of the Rat

If anyone watches either The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report or Late Night With Conan O’Brien, then you probably have seen the running gag among all three shows. Seriously hilarious stuff. Love it. Below is a video of them “fighting,” but to see more, just type “conan” and “colbert” in a YouTube search.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

A friend sent this to me recently, and I thought, what better photo to remind everyone that tomorrow is Super Tuesday! So go vote everyone, unless you’re a Republican in California, cos really, what’s the point? Kidding. Going to read up on the state measures now...