I insist you do something about this before I go out and find a stick and make it pointy and come and find your cubicle and poke you very hard.

As most will attest to, I’m a pretty big proponent of home theater. I was the guy who people pointed at and laughed (or questioned my sanity) when they saw how big my DVD collection was long before DVDs became a weekly purchase for most of America. I’ve got the big 42-inch HD TV with the 5.1 surround and the upconverting component video DVD player (unfortunately my TV does not have a HDMI port, only DVI while my DVD player is exactly the opposite. And yes, I’ve tried adapters and have not been pleased with the results). So keep this all in mind when I say I just do not get the HD/Blu-Ray push going on right now. The ongoing format war is just asinine and automatically makes me not want one. The players themselves are ridiculously overpriced. And I’ll be totally honest, I just don’t think it’s that much better quality to warrant such an expensive upgrade.

Maybe it’s the retailers’ fault. Right after the Blu-Ray players first were released I went into a Sony store to see their display and instead of blowing me away with a movie that would properly demonstrate the potential of medium, they played a preview of Ultraviolet on repeat. Oh yeah, I’m all ready to plunk down $1000 now. But it’s been that way ever since. I’ve not once seen a retailer with a nice setup, plugging away Batman Begins in High Def. And honestly, the studios don’t seem to care. It’s not like I’ve seen a marketing campaign telling me why I should be spending $10 extra per movie to see them in “glorious” High Def. Hence another reason why I will never be shelling out for the PS3.

Caught Zach Braff’s latest The Last Kiss last weekend. It was good but not as good as Garden State which, unfortunately, is what it will inevitably be compared to. The cast is excellent with Jacinda “I Was On The Real World” Barrett of all people turning in an outstanding performance. Braff as usual turns in great work and the supporting cast of Casey Affleck, Rachel Bilson, Tom Wilkenson and Bryce Danner really shines. Random as hell Harold Ramis cameo in there to boot. The problem I had with the movie is it seems like there are just scenes missing that would give the audience a little more insight into the actions and emotions of the characters. Braff’s character is supposedly having a huge 30 something crisis about his girlfriend’s pregnancy yet I honestly never felt like he was conflicted or trapped enough push him towards his actions in the movie’s second act (keeping it spoiler-lite). It was just as if there were scenes that got axed that would’ve dug a little deeper into his characters mindset and allowed us to understand how he could do the things he does. Another problem was that you could really tell what parts of the dialogue were in there originally by Paul Haggis and which ones were tweaked by Braff and Braff’s dialogue come off smoother and much more natural.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Never been a HUGE fan of Aaron Sorkin. He’s kinda like Citizen Kane, I know it’s genius filmmaking but I just cannot get into it. But after catching the pilot I was pleasantly surprised by how easily I ended up enjoying it. Maybe it’s that I can easily relate to the fact that SNL used to be amazing comedy and has since fallen to tired sketches that, to quote the pilot, they're just gonna shove down our throats until we laugh. I like the characters, the premise, the dialogue. Will it sustain my interest? Who knows. But for now, it’s got my Monday night at 10 slot.

New and notes:

We’ve joined the Mac revolution: Erin is now the proud owner of a new 13 inch Macbook. Now I want to use it. (She also got a new video iPod with it…jealousy rising).

Mets clinch! It’s only been 18 years. Bout damn time.

Virgin Music Festival this weekend! Gnarls! Killers! Flaming Lips! The frakkin’ Who!

Until next time:

“Hey, I just asked Lars if he was seeing anyone special. He misunderstood and he might be filing one of those sexual harassment charges against me.”

“What?”

“And you, because I said you made me.”