Topic: Battlestar Galactica, The Forbidden Kingdom, NCAA

*Battlestar Galactica S4 finally comes back next Friday. I am pretty pumped. Although S3 was a bit rocky, I hope this final season wraps everything up nicely.



*I joined two NCAA basketball brackets (one for work and one for donuts) and shockingly I'm doing decent in both considering I know NOTHING about college basketball. I will say playing has made me care about the games. I actually want UCLA to win since I have them in my Final Four.

*The trailer for The Forbidden Kingdom looks awful. Yes you get the great Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the same movie but what is with Jackie's bad wig job and a random white kid played by Michael Angarano (who was Jack's son from Will and Grace). Oh well. I'm still going on April 18th. HA HA. I have to support my AZNs :)

Hannah Takes the Stairs (Joe Swanberg, 2007) Grade: D
The basic story line of this romantic comedy is recent college graduate Hannah wants to dump her current boyfriend. Even though he is sweet and nice to her, she ends the relationship. (Of course, he also is unemployed, since he just didn’t want to keep doing things that made him unhappy, and work wasn’t making him happy, so he decides to do nothing.) Hannah then starts to date a co-worker, who is a self-absorbed writer who has recently signed a deal to turn his blog into a book. (They all work at a production company thinking of political comedy sketches.) When the self-absorbed careerist devotes less time to Hannah than she expects, she falls for another co-worker, a sensitive writer who is on several anti-depressants to get over this one really bad break-up. If this plot doesn’t already turn you off, you can watch it for yourself. I have two copies... Or read the reviews on Netflix. They were pretty entertaining. More so than this movie.

Topic: X-Files - Greatest TV show ever!!!

*I went to the PaleyFest today to see the X-Files. Sadly David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson were not present but I did get to see Mitch Pileggi, Dean Haglund and Nicholas Lea. In addition, many of the directors and writers were present as well as the creator Chris Carter. I was thrilled to be there and it was fun :) We got to watch the trailer for the new untitled film which comes out July 25th TWICE so that was a treat. I got goosebumps.

I won't go into too much detail since I'm sure no one here cares that much. After they talked everyone mobbed the stage to get autographs. I usually don't care for that sort of stuff but got caught up in the moment... hee hee. Below is a picture of the program with Chris Carter, Mitch Pileggi and Dean Haglund's signature. I wanted to get Frank Spotnitz, the head writer, as well but oh well. After the whole ordeal it made me really realized how much I love the X-Files, how I wish I brought more stuff for them to sign and how much I need to rewatch all nine seasons :)

HE is risen.

(M) Veuve de Saint-Pierre, La (The Widow of Saint-Pierre). (Patrice Leconte, 2000) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil were great; however I can not say the same for the rest of the movie. It was slow-paced and a bit uninteresting.

(M) Sunshine. (Danny Boyle, 2007) Grade: B-

Thoughts: The sun is dying and a team of astronauts are sent to restart it by setting off a bomb. The movie started off pretty good but then becomes a bit of a mess towards the end. The cast was mixed with good (Cliff Curtis and Michelle Yeoh) and not-so-good (Chris Evans and Troy Garity) actors.

(M) Darkon. (Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel, 2006) Grade: C
Thoughts: A documentary about LARP-ers (live action role playing) in the universe called Darkon. I wish they had spent more time on the personal lives of the people and less on the Darkon storyline but oh well.

(M) Kate & Leopold. (James Mangold, 2001) Grade: C

Thoughts: Leopold (Hugh Jackman) travels to present time by a freak accident and meets Kate McKay (Meg Ryan) and they fall in love. I would have enjoyed it more but there were too many time travel scientific issues with it especially at the end. Hugh Jackman was great in the movie and Meg Ryan was cute but she has aged a bit. Oh and there was a random Breckin Meyer appearance.

(M) Return to Me. (Bonnie Hunt, 2000) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) loses his wife in a car accident. On that same night, Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver) lives due to a heart transplant, the heart of Bob’s wife. The story plot was pretty unbelievable but I did like Bonnie Hunt’s script and the entire cast was good. Unfortunately, there was zero chemistry between David and Minnie.

(M) Valley Girl. (Martha Coolidge, 1983) Grade: A-

Thoughts: Julie (Deborah Foreman), a girl from the Valley, meets Randy (Nicolas Cage), a punk from Hollywood and they fall in love. It was cheesy and lame and totally dated and yet I loved it and ate it up. Nicolas Cage was cute in an odd way back in the day.

Movie Count: 21

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Topic: Vegas, Raveonettes, Netflix, tooth

*I went to Vegas recently with Darth and some friends. It was fun except when I lost money and got a bad tummyache. We walked around, drank, had the Wynn buffet and Delmonicao Steakhouse. I realized I like steak but I can't eat that much meat in one sitting. This was the first time I flew to Vegas and unfortunately it had to be one of the worst experiences I ever had. We booked using Orbitz and last minute they changed our flight coming home. Instead of a direct flight from Vegas to LAX, we had to fly to Salt Lake City, Utah then back to LAX. To matters worse that flight was delayed for two hours. Ugh. We were all not pleased to say the least, so in conclusion NEVER use Orbitz to book your flights.


*Saw the Raveonettes at the El Rey last week for at least the 10th time. They are such a kick arse band! I love them and the new album Lust Lust Lust is great great great. It is a much stronger album going back to their Chain Gang of Love / Whip It On sound compared to Pretty In Black. Pictures below taken at El Rey thanks to Scenestar people :)



*I got my left wisdom tooth pulled this past Friday. It was much more painful compared to when I got my right one done two weeks ago. I could hear the cracking of the tooth as it was being extracted. The sound will haunt me to the end of my days.


*After many years of Netflix devotion, I recently put my account on hold. I've been using their services since 2003 but felt it was time for a much needed break. Although it will be odd not to receive a red envelope in the mail each week, it will give me time to catch up on the dvds Pigern got me as well as TV and I can save a few bucks.

(M) Vertigo. (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) Grade: A-

Thoughts: Det. John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) who is suffering from acrophobia begins to investigate the strange activities of a friend’s wife (Kim Novak) all the while getting dangerously obsessed with her. The images of San Francisco throughout the movie were wonderful; this film is very classic Hitchcock.

(M) The Bourne Ultimatum. (Paul Greengrass, 2007) Grade: B+

Thoughts: Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) comes closer to figuring out his past and who he is while running from new, superior assassins. This was an enjoyable action movie that wraps up the Bourne trilogy nicely. However, I would not mind seeing more movies about Bourne because he is such an interesting character.

(M) The Last King of Scotland. (Kevin Macdonald, 2006) Grade: B-

Thoughts: The Last King of Scotland is loosely based upon the life of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) told from the eyes of his personal physician Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) in the 1970’s. The film would have been better if they focused less on Dr. Nicholas Garrigan and more on Idi Amin. Forest Whitaker did such an amazing job and absolutely deserved that Oscar win. Also, it was nice to see Gillian Anderson even if her role was small.

(M) Xizao (Shower). (Yang Zhang, 1999) Grade: B-

Thoughts: A city businessman returns to his rural hometown because he thinks his father is dying. In reality, his father is fine and running the local bathhouse business with the help of his mentally challenged younger brother. It was a nice movie about family and father/son relationships.

(M) Sheng Xia Guang Nian (Eternal Summer). (Leste Chen, 2006) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Jonathan (Bryant Chang) and Shane (Hsiao-Chuan Chang) are best friends. Jonathan meets Carrie (Kate Yeung) and they begin to hang out. Carrie wants more than just friends; however Jonathan is in love with Shane. It reminded me a bit of Brokeback Mountain in that Jonathan could not come to terms his sexuality and he felt so ashamed for how he felt. Although the movie was under 90 minutes some parts did drag and the ending was a bit over dramatic.

(M) Um Fa (The Longest Nite). (Johnnie To, Yau Dat-Zi, 1997) Grade: C+

Thoughts: A decent cop thriller that takes place in Macau starring Tony Leung, Lau Ching Wan and Maggie Siu. The storyline was all over the place but the action was pretty good.

Movie Count: 15

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.