I Miss You So Much It Hurts Somtimes

Holy Sweet Mother Mary Moses Mcgee, the Mustard is back!

Yeah, yeah, I know, haven’t updated in a while. Been a busy few weeks.

So the countdown begins as we are only one day away from the finale of Lost which, in my book, closes down this year’s television season. In good news, Arrested Development is coming back! In bad news, those a-holes at NBC have push Scrubs back to mid-season replacement. I’m not gonna go off on a rant. I’m just going to FREAKIN HATE NBC!!!! JOEY?!! YOU’RE BRINGING BACK THAT INANE, MINDLESS WRECK OF A SHOW BUT YOU CAN’T PUT SCRUBS ON YOUR NORMAL SCHEDULE?!!!! DAMN YOU NBC!!!!!

I’m better now.

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for:

REVIEW OF STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH

The fact that this movie blows away the previous two installments is somewhat diminished by the mediocrity of those movies. Don’t get me wrong, I liked both of them in their own ways. The Darth Maul/Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan fight was badass. And everyone loved finally seeing Yoda kick ass. But the first one suffered from being way too “kiddy” and the second suffered from some of the most stilted love dialogue ever conceived by the human brain. Oh yeah, and Jar Jar Eff-ing Binks (by the way, hilarious cameo by George Lucas on the O.C. when he says that instead of going to his senior prom, he sat at home thinking up Jar Jar and the Ewoks). After seeing the third one, I actually appreciate the first two a little more because they make a little more sense. You can actually see things were in fact building towards events in Episode III. And as for Episode III itself: Frickin’ great. Seriously, this is the first of the new Star Wars to actually make me feel as I was watching it that this is how people must’ve felt watching the originals when the first came out. The opening space battle was excellent though I felt a little short as far as the actually space battling went. The rescue of the chancellor is a good introduction to Anakin’s beginning decline to the dark side as well as a good intro of General Grievous (who by the way, is nothing like he’s portrayed in the Clone Wars mini-series). The dialogue at the beginning of the movie, let’s face it, isn’t fantastic, especially between Natalie Portman and Hayden Christiansen. It’s initially very reminiscent of the Episode II dialogue. Luckily, this improves as the movie goes on. The person who absolutely makes this movie is Ian McDiarmind as Palpatine. He’s just fantastic as little by little he lures Anakin to the dark side. And it’s done brilliantly I feel. Anakin’s problem is that he’s a super powerful Jedi, yet all the other Jedi, with the exception of Obi-Wan, treat him like he’s just a normal kid. He’s arrogant and impatient but you feel like he’d get over it if the Jedi council members would just treat him like an equal. Instead the only who treats him as an equal is the friggin’ bad guy! And after all that he still knows that what he’s doing is wrong but he does it anyways. Why? Cause he fears losing his wife. It’s such a normal thing to fear but the Jedi spend all there time telling him not to form these attachments that can (and will) be exploited and none of them actually think for a second, well what happens if he does it anyways? So who does he turn to? The only person who actually says, yes, I can help you. He makes a deal with the devil. And it’s painful to watch this guy who is just trying to do the right thing, fall completely. There’s a scene where Obi-Wan goes off on a mission and he is saying goodbye to Anakin and they’re joking around and talking like the best of friends and it’s just so sad when you realize, this is it, this is the last time they’ll ever be friends. There’s also a great scene when Anakin is debating what to do that’s just really well shot as it’s completely silent but it displaces shots of Anakin and Padme in two separate places staring out the windows as time is running out for Anakin to make a decision and it gets to the point that it looks like they’re looking across this city at each other. There are more character moments in this movie than in the previous two combined. And seeing as I how I just spent more time on those than any of the action sequences should tell you something. And by the way, the effects are excellent. When a completely CGI character is substituted for a real one, it’s still not perfect but it’s getting there. The final duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan is just brutal (this movie earns its PG-13 rating) and the ending of it is fantastic but it sure doesn’t leave you feeling good inside. In fact this whole movie is one helluva downer. Luckily, it’s also one helluva good movie. And it’s very cool seeing Darth Vader finally rise. It’s also really weird to think, that’s it. No more Star Wars. I felt the same thing after Return of the King but this is a little different. The LOTOR series came out in 3 years. This new trilogy has been coming out since high school. If you include the whole series, it’s been coming out my entire life. Strange to think that there won’t be anymore. But I’m damn happy with the note it’s gone out on. And if nothing else, we’ll have multiple editions of the DVDs to buy over the years.

Ok, so by my count that makes 3 out of my 5 most anticipated summer movies over with. Batman Begins is up next on June 15^th. If anything the look of the movie is better than anything Joel Schumacher did with the last two. Nipples on the Batsuit? What the hell was he smoking?

Quick news and notes:

Booter updated the blog. Go Booter!

Crowley updated the blog. Go Crowley!

The strip has been slowed with updates recently due to my lack of sleep. But I’m getting them out. Eventually.

Scrubs on DVD!

Until next time:

At what point did I become a crazy person?

Oh, come on. Yes, exposing yourself to a dead guy might have been a tad unorthodox; and yes, it might be a little hard to live down....

I'm waiting for the "but."

So is everyone else around here.

Jesus loves me. He loves me a bunch. That's why he puts Skippy in my lunch.

Greetings all. Not a huge update today as I’m completely wiped from work.

So another season over for Scrubs. Sad am I. Interesting setup for next season though. With Elliot leaving the hospital is she being written off or possibly downgraded to guest star? I know a certain person of short stature would be most distraught if that was the case. Also is Jordan being set up to be more of a main character push rather than the occasional guest star? We’ll just have to wait and see I suppose.

So Scrubs is the first show of mine to end along with Veronica Mars. Gilmore Girls and the OC end next week. Luckily there’s still another 3 weeks of Lost. And judging by the previews, it’s gonna be strong all the way til the 2 hour finale.

The summer is fast approaching folks. Now if my damn apartment complex pool would just open. I’m in the mood for margaritas and grilling by the pool.

Music to listen to:

The White Stripes – Elephant

Love the opening guitar riff on Seven Nation Army. In fact the bluesy guitar work in general on this album is just great and shouts to be cranked out as loud as your speaker goes. The softer, balladesque songs like You’ve Got Her in Your Pocket are also quite fine here.

Nick Drake – Pink Moon

Continuing in the talented artists who died way too young (yeah, I also recommend Jeff Buckley), you may have caught him on the Garden State soundtrack. Very calm, almost hauntingly so, this album is just beautiful and brilliant.

News and Notes:

Again I must ask: where didst all the other blogs go?

If there’s one thing TV has taught me, it’s that a good Joseph Stalin gag will redeem any slow episode.

Seriously, I’ve got nothing.

Until next time:

“Hey, settle down!”

“I don’t have to listen to you. You’re a dog. You don’t have a soul!”

“Ouch!”

Let he who is without sin kick the first ass!

Ah, the Family Guy is back and as offensive and irreverent as ever. The Passion of the Christ 2 spoof was hilarious. And Ollie the weatherman is back: He gonna get it!

To say things have been busy lately is an understatement akin to saying I wasn’t all the surprised when Britney Spears announced she was pregnant.

Well, new Family Guy episodes are something to look forward to as we head into finale season. Lost is back after a great cliffhanger and no one has any idea where the hell they’re going with any of this. And I couldn’t be happier.

Now onto my review of the second on my top 5 anticipated summer movies list:

THE HITCHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY:
From what I read people are pretty split on this movie. Non-fans either loved the zaniness of it all or just didn’t get it. Fans either loved the reverence given to Douglas’ works or hated the changes made. Personally, I loved it. I won’t say much that hasn’t already been said in other favorable reviews. The casting is great. Sam Rockwell is just insane and is one of my favorite actors today. Martin Freeman is the perfect Arthur Dent. Mos Def brings the subtleness to Ford found in the books. Zooey Deschanel is good as Trillian though I always thought she was a little less happy-go-lucky in the books than she’s portrayed in the movie. Marvin is great and Alan Rickman could not have been a more perfect choice to voice him. Supporting cast members also do a superb job. The opening musical number (yes, musical number) was the perfect way to kick off the movie and show just how crazy this movie is gonna be. I was worried at how they were going to supply all the narrative background which provides some of the funniest moments in the books but those fears were put to rest as the Guide itself is used to supply this information in a voiceover. And let me tell you, the Guide might be the funniest part of the whole movie. The fact that they kept the whale and petunias scene from the book made me so happy especially with the Guide narrating the petunia’s thoughts. And the Vogon bureaucracy was hilarious. The spoof on attempting a gun blazin’ jailbreak only to be reduced to filling out forms was just great. There were two issues I had with the movie. One was the romantic subplot added between Arthur and Trillian. That reeked too much of Disney interference and just didn’t not need to be in there. Not every movie needs bloody romance in it! Second was that there were too many open ends which probably were left in for the sequels that I do sincerely hope they make. But I’m not a fan of doing things like that unless they specifically say that this is part of one of a larger movie ala Lord of the Rings. And I’m not talking about small characters saying something cryptic that will be answered in another film. I’m talking whole big scenes in the movie that just don’t get resolved (as in the entire reason John Malkovich is even in the movie). But those quibbles aside, I laughed my ass off at this movie and while I may be a fan of the books, I think anyone who enjoys quirky, off the wall yet still halfway intelligent humor will enjoy this movie.

Next up: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
(please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please done suck.)

News and notes:

Snuck in a few random updates to the strip to make up for the week I took off.

Finally finished KOTOR so I can have my life back again. I even beat Crowley to it though me sabotaging his hard drive might have had something to do with it. Mwa ha ha!

Now there’s the second one to attend to… damn!

Alright all, until next time:

"Mr. Simpson, how do you respond to the charges that petty vandalism such as graffiti is down eighty percent, while heavy sack-beatings are up a shocking nine hundred percent?"

"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forty percent of all people know that."

"I see. Well, what do you say to the accusation that your group has been causing more crimes than it's been preventing?"

"Oh, Kent, I'd be lying if I said my men weren't committing crimes."

"...Touche'."