Look, I dont know if you were just looking for pimp in the phonebook and stopped at "PI."

It's really sad that I just picked up both the new Matt Nathanson and New Pornographers and yet looking ahead at the next few weeks I'm seeing the Shout Out Louds, Rogue Wave, Iron & Wine, Matt Pond PA and Broken Social Scene and thinking to myself, do I really have enough music for now? As for the two new albums, I'm digging both. Matt Nathanson has the "unfortunate" position of growing in popularity and therefore growing in album production which tends to get in the way of the 12 string guitar and vocals that made his previous albums so good. That's not to say it's a bad album, far from it. But whenever I heard songs like Bulletproof Weeks it makes me realize how good a singer/songwriter Nathanson is and how I wish that the accompaniment would pull back a little on the rest of his songs and let Nathanson do his thing.

New Pornographers' Challengers... it kinda of makes me sick how much talent this group has. You could put these 4 albums on permanent loop in the player and I'd be a happy man.

I'm intrigued by Eastern Promises. David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen made an outstanding movie in "A History of Violence" and I'm liking the thoughts of them teaming back up. Add to that Naomi Watts who has yet to reach the point where I can't stand here anymore or what I call "Nicole Kidman" status. Here's hoping that Vincent Cassel avoids chewing every piece of scenery in the room (note: I like Vincent Cassel but the man seems to be aspiring to Nicholson level mastication).

Notre Dame season kicks off this Saturday as the Irish taken on the worst fans in the league in Georgia Tech (sorry Crowley but you know it to be true). I think this could be a decent season for a rebuilding year but Lou Holtz is out of his freaking mind if he thinks the Irish are going 10-2.

News and Notes:

Just finished off Veronica Mars Season 1 on DVD again. Keith Mars is without a doubt my hero. But good god that was one of the greatest seasons of TV ever..... DAMN YOU WB!!!!

Per Michael Ausiello the Halloween episode of Bones will be "wonderful". Tim Minear directing? Just throwing out blatant vicious rumors.

Speaking of my favorite show creator who just cannot catch a break, Minear has a new show at ABC called Miracle Man. Per Hercules at Aintitcool: "It’s about a disgraced ex-televangelist with no faith who starts performing real miracles." I'm going to rise above the easy pun here and just say, Tim, I'm rooting for you.

Until next time:

"Jake, when did we become Republicans?"

"We haven't. We're just going with the flow."

Emmys gain perfect hair, lost all credibility

Ryan Seacrest? Are you kidding me? Look, I get annoyed at the Emmys just about every year but at least they've tried to remain semi-respectable with their hosts. Ellen DeGeneres, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brian. There's a reason you go for comedians. They keep the awards from turning completely into one giant ass kissing ceremony by keeping the celebrities on their toes. But holy mother of Guadalupe, with Seacrest on stage? He's going to wet himself by the end of it. Why not just put Star Jones up there and get it over with?

I look like Manila Whore Barbie

Mustard: Read it or else!

Stardust – Gotta say, really surprised how much I enjoyed this movie. This is the best “fairy tale” movie I’ve seen since Princess Bride. And it’s in that same vein, a fantasy flick (we don’t count the LOTR in the same group as that’s a whole ‘nother ball game) that is actually made for an adult audience. Intelligent, funny yet dark enough at times to really be truly good movie. Great cast with Michelle Pfieffer apparently deciding that she needed to make up for lost time (seriously, how many movie has she been in this summer?). Lead Charlie Cox plays his role well in the iconic hero’s journey from wide-eyed naivety to confident champion. Claire Danes is great in the part of the “damsel in distress” but not idiotically helpless or, thank God, post-modernly ironic (see Shrek). And Robert DeNiro…that man is just having the time of his life at this point. Plus throw in fun little cameos by Ricky Gervais, Peter O’Toole and Rupert Everett with the narration by Ian McKellan and you’ve got yourself a great cast. The score itself while not entirely original, is a real stand out and one of the best I’ve heard this year. It really makes me sad that this little gem of a movie is struggling at the box office while Rush Hour 3 is making untold riches and shortening the IQs of moviegoers everywhere. Hopefully it’ll find its deserved appreciation, like so many similar movies, on the DVD shelves.

So can I just say how funny I find it that Guitar Hero III made a huge deal out of getting Slash to be a character in the game. Fine, it’s Slash, I understand. But the next huge addition: Bret Michaels. Really? Of Poison fame? Er, they do realize that it’s called Guitar Hero, not Lead Vocalist of a Crappy 80s Hair Band Hero, right?

New and Notes:

Mets @ the Nats this weekend. And it’s Abraham Lincoln bobblehead night on Saturday to boot (you gotta love/shake your head at DC)!

James Marsters will be on Without a Trace this season. Still not gonna watch it, but good for him.

We almost had Kristen Bell on Lost. She’d rather do Legally Blonde on Broadway? So sad…

Until next time:

“Any idea what our parents do Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 10 that requires an overnight bag?”

“As far as I’m concerned they play bingo at the VFW.”

Stop, in the name of American prudishness!

Mustard: With great power comes great responsibility… and a Spider-Pig.

The Simpsons Movie – Can’t help but feel a little let down after seeing it. Don’t get me wrong, it still had some hysterical bits in it. The opening church scene had some classic Simpsons in there and of course Ralph Wiggum (“I like men now.”). But maybe it’s just that after having become disillusioned with the show over it’s past few years to the point where I doubt I saw even half of last season, I had some hopes that they were gonna give us a reminder of the greatest of the show from way back when. And while there are a few of those moments, they sadly only push forward the fact that those days are really gone, probably for good. In one of the movie’s best moments Marge has a monologue directed towards Homer which eerily echoes the Simpsons fans feelings toward their one time favorite show. It’s a sentimental moment which once upon a time were a vital part of the best episodes of the show, getting the viewer to not only laugh with the zany antics of the cast, but also get emotionally attached and care about the Simpsons family. Unfortunately the past few years has been hard pressed to find a genuine moment when you could actually understand why in the hell Marge hadn’t dumped Homer years ago. In the end this movie was definitely better than any episode over the past few years, but at the same time cannot live up to the hype of nearly 20 years of buildup.

So Rob Thomas is now a consulting producer to Big Shots? If you haven’t seen the previews for the new ABC show, imagine a desperate attempt to create a “Sex in the City” for men. Did no one else really want Michael Vartan? Rob Thomas is going to have his hands full turn this thing around.

Brady Quinn finally signs with the Browns. As much as I like the guy, he doesn’t come out of this one looking so great. And before people jump on me about “well, he was just looking for incentives for playing time” it doesn’t matter. He’s missed 2 weeks of training camp with the team and with the Browns needing a legit quarterback, he was in great position to pull an Eli Manning and get in there to be immediately groomed for the starting position. Now he’s got all kinds of goodwill to make up.

News and Notes:

I still can’t really say whether or not the show itself is all that great, but I damn sure want the soundtrack to the Flight of the Conchords whenever it comes out. The songs are nothing short of brilliant.

Bonds hit 756! They hype can now slowly start to die! Can I get an Amen?

Does Mark Texiera joining the surging Braves make me a little nervous? Maybe…

Until next time:

“You've gone mad with power!”

“Of course I've gone mad with power! Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring and no one listens to you!”

Mario Paint + Mega Man II = Childhood Nostalgia

Ah Mario Paint... how many hours did I lose to toying around with the music maker?




-nintendowiifanboy.com

I'm gonna go get some vegetarian chili before they get desperate and add meat.

Mustard: Who could ask for anything more?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Started Saturday morning. Finished up by Saturday night. I’m mighty impressed that Rowling managed to tie up as many loose ends as possible and yet the book did not come off in the least disjointed or feel forced. That is a major testament to her skills as a writer not to mention her planning of the series as a whole. She also proved the she could do just fine outside the normal HP school year format (though she does keep the time frame in tact). The story comes full circle. Characters finish their arcs in a satisfying manner. Some characters don’t make it. Some characters get surprising redemption. I was particularly satisfied by the conclusions of Snape and Neville’s arcs not to mention Kreacher's unexpectedly entertaining roles. The only knocks I can put in were that some of the deaths (and there are plenty) had a little less impact than others. I also thought she spent a little too much time with the Tolkein-esque journey through the wilderness. But in the end I have to commend Rowling for crafting a truly classic series of books which will entertain for generations to come. Oh and the absolutely hysterical and brilliant line by Mrs. Weasley in the next to final chapter. I’d also like to point out that (highlight to read): I was completely right in my July 21 review of HBP that RAB did in fact stand for Regulus Black (though Rowling even had the story behind that be unexpected and interesting).Sure after I posted that many people came to the same conclusion but I still have satisfaction of figuring it out when I first read it.Ha!

Now good look turning that whole thing in the seventh movie. Yikes, that’s a lot to squeeze in.

Watchmen casting news: complete non-A list actors. I have no problem with that. I enjoy Billy Crudup’s work and we’ll see how he works under all the makeup/CGI of Dr. Manhattan. Jeffrey Dean Morgan aka Denny will get to expand his range as he goes from Mr. Likeable to playing a complete a-hole in the form of the cigar chomping Comedian. Be interesting to see if the novel is actually adaptable.

News and Notes:

Simpsons! Simpsons! Simpsons! (“Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig, does whatever a Spider-Pig does.”)

I won’t lie, the new Reaper trailer had me laughing mighty hard. Damn you CW!

Ok, I get that Zemeckis is trying to push the whole CGI as actors thing and no doubt this all looks much better than Polar Express, but I do not understand why they decided to make some of the characters look identical to the voice actors with the lone exception of Beowulf himself. Honestly right now I feel like they did it just so they didn’t have to pay Russell Crowe a ton of money cause the character sure looks like him and not so much like Ray Winstone (who is actually voicing Beowulf).

Until next time:

“You can't kill me for being Krusty the Klown! I'm not him! I'm Homer Simpson!”

“The same Homer Simpson who crashed his car through the wall of our club?”

“Uh, actually, my name is Barney. Yeah, Barney Gumbel.”

“The same Barney Gubmel who keeps taking pictures of my sister?”

“Uh, actually, my real name is...uh, think, Krusty, think...Joe Valanchi!”

“The same Joe Valanchi who squeled to the Senate Committee about Organized Crime?”

“Benedict Arnold!”

“The same Benedict Arnold who plotted to surrender the West Point to the hated British?”

D'oh!”

I don't need your sycophantic laughter. I have some on tape.

Mustard: Like a flash in the pan, er…dark.

Emmy time! Look I’m not gonna go crazy in depth about Veronica Mars once again getting screwed. Or the lack of anything Scrubs. Or Rome. Or Studio 60. I’m just going to make a couple of quick points:

1. So Two and a Half Men has become the new comedy that will always be nominated for everything. Seriously, it’s so good it deserved 7 noms? Fine. At least it’s not effing Yes Dear. Strange though how apparently the female cast members have suddenly stepped up their game to take 2 of the supporting actress nods? Guess it was a slow year.
2. Ricky Gervais nominated for Best Actor? Outstanding. Extras NOT nominated for best Comedy? A travesty.
3. Grey’s Anatomy and Heroes nominated for Best Drama ahead of Lost? A f$%#ing joke.
4. 3 Grey’s Anatomy supporting actresses? Be serious.
5. Kiefer Sutherland was apparently nominated for his work in the first 4 hours of 24. Because everything after that was pure crap.
6. They seriously have not one but two awards for hairstyling? Further reducing all respect I have for the Emmys.

And that’s it for the Emmys. Thank you. Come again.

E3 a little underwhelming, no? Nintendo spent their entire conference showing clips of different news shows talking about the Wii. Then they spent a while on Wii Fit which I’m sure will sell a ton of units. But what about everything else? The announced Mario Kari Wii (with online play!) but only showed a short trailer. They almost completely ignored Smash Bros. The only really big info were the dates of Smash (Dec 3) and Mario Galaxy (Nov. 13). Metroid still supposedly coming out the end of Aug. Let’s see.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Really good. I’m getting used to the trimmings of the books that are increasing with each successive movie (as each successive book gained about 200 pages). The cast continue their strong performances. Alan Rickman gets just a smidge more to do than Goblet of Fire. Imelda Staunton and Evanna Lynch were note perfect as Dolores Umbridge and Luna Lovegood. Gary Oldman is excellent in his last role (depending on book 7) as Sirius. Some roles got trimmed to the point where it was almost distracting having as big a name in there. Helena Bonham Carter made an great Belletrix Lestrange but only has 2 real scenes. Not to mention Emma Thompson and David Thewlis came back for about 2 lines a piece. Ah well, it was a really enjoyable movie over all.

News and Notes:

Yes, I have in fact finished reading all 6 Harry Potters. Not too shabby for starting in June.

Bonds is now 2 away. Let’s just get this over with already, shall we?

It’s a little scary that we’re only a little over a month away from ND football starting up again.

Until next time:

“Bart, come with me. I'll take you to someone who will make you feel better.”

“Is it my rabbit, Cottontail? The one who went to live upstate?”

“He died, Bart. Dad buried him in the backyard. … But not in that order.”

You try finding a job with nothing on your resume but “Fake Ghost Pirate.”

Mustard…knew I left it around here somewhere.

So yeah, been a while since a real update. Ah the joys of summer. But anyways, let’s dive in…

Transformers – “One will stand. One will fall.” Yes, they actually included that line in the movie. Look, I’m coming right out and saying this is a very dumb movie. For the most part it makes little sense. But it’s a fun friggin’ movie all the same. Come on, you have a movie based off a toy line of giant transforming robots. The fact that I enjoyed the hell out of it is a testament to just how much this movie delivers what it promised: explosions and giant machines beating the crap out of each other. The human actors don’t matter for the most part. Sure Shia LaBeof is a likeable enough dork who manages to get a few funny lines in. I still don’t understand why John Tuturro is in the movie but he’s chewing the scenery like Jack Nicholson’s worst nightmare. Jon Voight is just there being Jon Voight. Bay made a brilliant move in bringing back Peter Cullen to voice Optimus Prime because those lines in any other voice just would’ve sound idiotic. In Peter Cullen’s voice it’s just the way Prime talks. And look for a minor cameo by Mr. Tom Lenk (Andrew from Buffy) as Analyst #2. Oh and the voice of Jazz is none other than Eddie, the brother from Family Matters. Who knew? Michael Bay is smart enough to not take this one seriously (see a part in the movie where a character actually says “This is like a 100 times better than Armageddon!”). My only grip is that they really don’t spend a lot of time with the “characters” of the Transformers. A few of the Decepticons literally just show up for the finale (and the uber-product placement Transformers at the end are asinine. Even in a movie like this where everything is product placement.) So go ahead, don’t worry about seeing anything other than sh%# getting blown up, and enjoy yourselves.

With Studio 60 ending I have to admit I’m a little sad to see it go. The last episodes just seemed to be Aaron Sorkin letting loose and not giving a damn since the show wasn’t coming back and I think it made for a much better, more natural flow to the show. Intelligent comedy is a hard thing to come by these days and this show pulled it off well even if it was on it’s soapbox the entire time it was doing so.

Flight of the Conchords – Not sure if it’s brilliant or just stupid. The manager character, Murray, seems little too much of a rip-off of Ricky Gervais’ agent Darren from Extras. But the music has been friggin’ hilarious.

News and Notes:

E3 fast approaches. Though this year it’s a mini-E3 look for some big news to still emerge. Check out the Smash Bros site which is updated daily. Some really cool stuff coming down the line on that game.

Now the Zelda is over I’ve moved on to Super Paper Mario. The first boss was named Fracktail. How could this game not be brilliant? Also on deck: Order of the Phoenix.

Speaking of which, I’m blasting through the first 6 books. I’m 3 chapters into book 5. I’m going to do it by the 21^st. Only 1400 pages left to go!

Rangers picked up Gomez and Drury?!?! Holy $%@&!!! That’s it. If they can’t pull it off with these guys, they’re just not gonna.

Thanks to Erin I have joined the XM revolution. Ok, so maybe not quite a revolution, but being able to listen to the Mets game on the way home from NY made for a much easier trip.

Until next time:

“Matthew, don't take this the wrong way, but I love you.”

“Okay.”

“Did you take it the wrong way?”

“I took it to mean you're gay and you want me.”

Directed by Tony Scott

- penny arcade

Look at that, you can see the four states that border Springfield: Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky!

So Twilight Princess has finally been completed. Great (though a tad easy) final battle though I must say, I was a little disappointed with the ending. You’d think a little more would happen. Maybe I’m just spoiled by the Ocarina of Time ending. Overall I feel like the game was a gorgeous game and helluva lot of fun to play but not nearly as hard as OoT. But then maybe I’ve just gotten a lot better at games. I played Link to the Past a few months back and just flew through that game (though it helps that I played it so much I still knew the answers to a lot of the harder puzzles). Anyways, if you still haven’t picked up Zelda yet and you own a Wii, get out there and buy it. It may not upset Ocarina of Time as the best Zelda ever but it’s a phenomenal game nonetheless.

And can someone please tell me why the hell you must be a member of ESPN Insider in order to read any of the articles on their website these days? For God’s sake, you need to be an insider to read a transcript of a Bill Simmons’ chat? This is why I head on over to FoxSports of CBSsportsline for coverage of anything major. At least on those sites I’m not paying for witty commentary on the Sopranos season finale. [Update: they did take the Insider access needed off the Bill Simmons’ chat, but it’s still a ridiculous number of articles closed off for non-Insiders].

Tech advice for you (sorta): If you have an auxiliary jack in your car for an MP3 player, please, for the love of God, don’t drop $18 on a Monster iPod car cable that just plugs into your MP3 player’s headphone jack. Just buy a simple 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm (or 1/8 inch if you don’t like that pesky metric system) cable for a couple bucks at any radio shack, target or electronic store. You will save yourself $15 bucks and get the exact same result. Otherwise you are getting ripped off.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Look, I know you have to make kid friendly movies and whatnot but good gravy. This was like a bad Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Honestly, Dr. Doom might as well be the Shredder. At one point I kid you not the line “Let’s go for a spin.” is taunted as he creates a huge whirlwind. Sure it had a couple of relatively funny lines and despite all my complaints, it was miles better than the first (which still ranks somewhere around Blade Trinity as the worst comic movie ever made… though I’ve yet to see Ghost Rider or Elektra). It’s so sad that the best FF movie is still The Incredibles. Maybe I’m just pissed off that I came for Galactus and all I got was a stupid cloud. It wasn’t even purple.

News and Notes:

If you haven’t read the first arc of Joss Whedon’s Buffy Season 8, you’re missing out. I’m just so sad that at this rate, the man is never coming back to TV or movies.

How great was Entourage’s Season 4 premiere? The last scene with Drama yelling out his one line in the movie had me rolling.

Well at least the Mets can beat the Twins. Seriously, the hell is going on guys? I know we’re completely reliant on our bats, but the past 2 weeks have been ridiculous.

Until next time:

“I'm not moving in with her, Drama, I'm just staying there 'til we leave to shoot the movie.”

“Yeah, and that girl from Silence of The Lambs is just "staying'" in that well.”

The Coen's are going old school

Bout damn time. Great trailer for their upcoming "No Country For Old Men" Very much them getting back to their "Blood Simple" roots. Definitely excited for this one.

I'd Come Up With A Funny Title But I'm Too Busy Laughing My Ass Off

-eonline

This is, I wanna say anomalous, but I'm going to go with weird.

Mustard – now I want the burger to go with it.

So Sarah Silverman’s Paris Hilton jokes while hosting the MTV Movie Awards? Slightly awkward, no? Still at least she had the balls not to pander to the crowd. The pre-show was almost enough to make me not want to see the upcoming Transformers movie. And Pirates 2 winning best movie? Further proof American youth is made up of worthless peons.

Shrek the Third – What happened? Really disappointing. Couldn’t the writers have come up with something a little better than that? Sure it had a couple of funny moments (Gingerbread Man’s life flashing before his eyes was brilliant and Snow White happy animal song suddenly turning into The Immigrant Song was phenomenal) but I feel like it was one gag set piece into another. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of characters squeezed in just for the sake of having them (why bring Seth Rogan and Ian McShane in if you’re only going to give them 3 lines?). Maybe Shrek has just worn out its welcome and its humorous take on pop culture has reached its saturation point. Not looking forward to the impending train wreck of Shrek 4.

Have you seen list of composers for the new Smash Bros game? It’s a freaking Who’s Who of the video game industry. Sure it doesn’t necessarily mean characters from all these games will be in it but it sure gets the mind a-wondering. A Chrono Trigger character? A guy can dream.

News and Notes:

The overused buzz word for this month: Green Technology.

Entourage Season 3 is over…boooo! Entourage Season 4 starts in two weeks…yay!

How bout those Ducks?

You know if Roger Clemens doesn’t hurry things up he’s going to miss the Yankee ship before it completely burns to the ground.

Until next time:

“You ever hear of the theory that if you kill a butterfly in the past, it can drastically alter the present? Well who knows what else we changed.”

“Tonight on the Tonight Show, movie star George Clooney.”

“Oh, he's good.”

“Comedian Dave Chappelle.”

“He's funny, like him.”

“And musician Harry Connick Jr.”

“Wow, what a show.”

“And now, ladies and gentleman, heeeeeeeeeere's Chevy!”

“Oh god Brian, we messed up bad! We messed up real bad!”

Cary Brothers

Ok, this has got to be rectified: people, the man's name is Cary Brothers. It's not like the Super Mario Brothers (though if you believe the movie they're names were actually Mario Mario and Luigi Mario. And Koopa was an evolved T-Rex. The f$%^ was Nintendo thinking?) Cary is his first name. Brothers is his last name. There's only one of him. And no, I don't know why he's singing about going to Canada. But apparently it's a simple place.

I think this time I'm actually gonna kill him... Yup, this is the one.

Mustard: Giddy Up.

Wow, in one week we had polar opposites in season finales.

On the completely amazing end: Lost. I’m not just talking about the flash forward switch up (which was pretty damn ballsy on the writers’ part) but the entire episode just fit together to put next season on the must watch list: the other Others coming to the island, the fallout from the battle on the beach, Locke’s confrontation with Jack (and his vision of Walt), Penny having confirmation that Desmond is now on the island. Not to mention the other great moments: Hurley’s van to the rescue, Sawyer “not believing” Tom, and Charlie’s sacrifice. Rest in peace little hobbit. The flash forward only served to give a little confirmation that maybe these crazy writers do have a end game plan.

On the confirmation-that-this-season-was-a-complete-waste: 24. What the frack happened with this show? Everything gets wrapped up in a nice neat happy little package with the lone exception that Jack has decided to let Audrey go? Like we really gave a crap about this all season? Chloe’s pregnant? Originality just flows out of the pores of this show. I honestly think it would’ve been better if I just stopped watching after the bomb went off in Episode 4. Everything since then has just been worthless.

Veronica Mars: The last few episodes put that familiar edge back (Veronica’s revenge on the college dickhead who sent around the video of her and Piz). Another soft cliffhanger finale which would’ve been fine for a season finale but sure not a series. Go eff yourself CW.

So I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2 this weekend and saw 3 in theaters. I gotta say, it’s lucky I had someone who was pushing me to go see 3 because Dead Man’s Chest was really really disappointing. From the 20 minutes of unnecessary cannibal shenanigans to the complete dumping on the character of Jack Sparrow (he was the lovable faux-cowardly scoundrel in the first movie. In the second he was just a cowardly douche bag) to the ambiguous romantic troubles of Kiera Knightley’s character (why exactly do we keep hinting at her wanting Sparrow over Will?). Sure the Davey Jones character was an excellent addition, the zombie monkey was hilarious and the last minute reveal of Barbossa was a great twist. But overall I felt almost every minute of the 2 ½ hour running time and didn’t enjoy myself nearly enough to compensate.

So I reluctantly was pushed into going to At World’s End a few days later. What a difference. Did the writers just get hit in the head a few times after the first movie and recovered in time for the third? Honestly, At World’s End fixes all the problem Dead Man’s Chest had and once again feels like the crazy, fun filled adventure the first movie gave us. Jack Sparrow is back to being completely insane and lovable again. The running time is still ridiculously long but you enjoy yourself this time. Sure the plot gets so complex at one point that you stop really trying to figure it out (which helps, because eventually it comes together somewhat coherently by the end) but the fun is back and that’s what matters. Jeffrey Rush’s performance is probably as enjoyable as Johnny Depp’s. The finale is the action packed special effects extravaganza that Spider-man 3 only wishes in it’s dreams it could achieve. The ending is not as perfectly happy as a normal Disney movie (though once again, stay through the credits). And the undead monkey pulls a gun on the parrot. What more do you want? If you loved the first movie and were extremely let down by the second, go see this one. You won’t be disappointed.

News and Notes:

Anaheim vs Ottawa? Not exactly a ratings juggernaut for the NHL. But I’m pulling for Anaheim.

Yankees are currently 14 ½ games out of first. Hahahahahahahaha. Welcome, Roger Clemens, to the pit of despair.

Why didn’t Peter just fly himself away on Heroes? I still don’t get it.

Until next time:

“And Ted, you'll be playing Blonde Doctor, get in character.”

“Ok, falling in love with you, long blond hair. Talking very fast. Talking very fast. Frick! Frick! Ok, I'm ready.”

Andy Bernard. Pros: He's classy, he gets me, he went to Cornell, I trust him... Cons: I don't really trust him.

Mustard… me likey.

So NPD just released game console sales data for April and Nintendo has moved to the number 1 and 2 slots with the DS and Wii. What makes this important is that unlike the other consoles, the Wii is not a loss leader for Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft technically lose money on every PS3 and 360 sold and make up for it with software sales. But if no one is buying their consoles, they’re definitely not going to do that. Microsoft isn’t in as bad a position due to their year head start. But Sony is hurting right now (as their last financials revealed). Nintendo in the meanwhile is doing a little jib and singing “Money Money Money”. The key going forward for Nintendo is their software has to be as engaging as Wii Sports was. I may be looking forward to Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros. but the Gamecube sure wasn’t helped out by similar games. People are buying the Wii because it’s innovative as hell and Wii Sports is the best example of that. So Nintendo, I’m begging you, keep coming out with games like this that’ll have more than just the regular Nintendo Fanboy coming back for more.

Oh and for all you idiot “analysts” out there saying that Sony is already done, maybe you should try waiting a little. They don’t have a single killer app game out yet to drive sales. Once they get a couple of those out combined with an absolutely critical price cut (they’d be idiots not to at this point), Sony may just mount a comeback yet. Not saying they absolutely will but it’s definitely too early to call them DOA.

Caught a sneak preview of Knocked Up last night (gotta love living in DC. The drafthouse is just wonderful). As Erin put it, plotwise it’s pretty much Nine Months…only funny. That really sums it up nicely. That and the cast is a hundred time better. In the world of comedy: Paul Rudd > Tom Arnold. Judd Apatow is just a funny funny man and Seth Rogan is going to get a big a bump from this as Steve Carrell did from the 40 Year Old Virgin. He’s just a great lovable loser. Katherine Heigl gets to show a little more acting range than she’s allowed on Grey’s Anatomy. The cast of Undeclared is great as Rogan’s idiot stoner buddies. Alan Tudyk and Kristen Wiig steal the brief amount of screen time their allowed. Rogan and Rudd’s Mushroom-fueled trip through Vegas is going to be a classic in college dorms everywhere.

News and Notes:

GG and Mars are gone and with Lost and 24 (though I’m still on the fence on whether or not I want to give it another chance after this waste of a season) not coming back til mid-season next year, it’s amazing how free my schedule is gonna be next fall.

Shrek the Third not getting a ton of positive reviews so far. Between that and Spider-man 3’s the studios seem to be running out of luck on trilogies. Then again they’re making a ridiculous amount of money so odds are the studios just don’t give a damn.

Who dies on Lost next week? My bet is on Jack. I just think the writers want to do something no one will believe.

Until next time:

“How are you doing?”

“Not too bad, considering I just had a bomb dropped on me.”

“Oh no, that was bigger than a bomb, more like an asteroid about to hit the planet, you know? People running in the streets screaming "Oh my god, it's coming right at us!", and then dudes turning to hot chicks and being all like "Look, we're about to die so can I hit that?", and then the girls like "Hell to the no!", but then she realises, "Oh my god, I'm about to die, so you know what? Yeah you can hit this, but no kissing."”

“That's exactly what it's like!”

Veronica Mars Cancelled...

F#@% the WB. F#@% them up their stupid a$$h0l3s.

When the Dark Comes Rising...

So Harry over at Aintitcool posted a little teaser article for the upcoming Dark Is Rising adaptation. I just found out about this a few weeks ago and I'm pretty darn excited for it. I loved the Susan Cooper novels way back when and the cast of this has me a little giddy. I always pictured the Merrimen character as a little older and more looking like a Gandalf in the 20th century. But with Ian McShane I just don't care. He's perfect for it. Provided the profanity doesn't start spilling from his mouth. Christopher Eccleston as the Dark Rider? Brilliant. The man freaks the hell out of me and that's exactly what the Rider should do. The stills only add to the happiness:





- via Aintitcool

Must...Buy...Old Spice

Just put the motherfrickin' ring on my motherfrickin' finger! Frick! Frick, frick!

My Musssssssstard…

Spider-man 3: Ok, here’s the deal. I liked the first one. I loved the second one. This one was just sloppy. So much potential that just ends up going nowhere. Honestly, it’s like Sam Raimi, realizing that this was his last Spider-man, couldn’t make up his mind as to what story to tell and therefore put as much in as he could. The end result is that none of them integrated satisfactorily.

The black suit storyline – fine with it amplifying Peter’s already growing ego but when it eventually jumps to Eddie Brock to become Venom (a name never actually mentioned in the movie fyi) it’s suddenly super powerful. Well why didn’t we see this when Peter was wearing it? We’re only told verbally by Peter’s monologue that it’s powerful. The Sandman arc is done fine in that Spider-man needs someone to fight while in the black suit. But they overstep by giving Sandman a sympathetic villain arc which is just adds another plot and never gets resolved. It just ends. The Harry Osborn arc – I get that Raimi has been building this across all 3 movies but it doesn’t really fit in with any of the other storylines. It’s just there so he can finish it. Oh and the Emo Pete thing is ridiculous. Just because he’s “darker” doesn’t mean his haircut has to look like the creepy brother from the Wedding Crashers.

The ending also feels like a tacked on set piece that could’ve come out of a crappy Saturday morning cartoon written by a 5^th grader. Venom and Sandman team up, kidnap Mary Jane and actually taunt Spider-man to “stop us if you can”. No, seriously, this is actually written out on a web. Added to this is a horribly acted newscast just in case you didn’t get it the “gravitas” of the situation. Look, I get that a lot of comic book movies feel the need to put in “wink wink” moments but there are about 25 of them in this movie and they get old quick.

Before I completely turn everyone off seeing this movie (and judging by the opening weekend numbers there are only about 4 of you left), there are some good things. Visually speaking Sam Raimi is still on top of his game. The man just knows how to shoot a pretty looking move with originality and ingenuity in his angles and shots. He’s proven this with the last two movies and it continues here. The next man to step up to the camera for future editions has some big shoes to fill in that department. The actors themselves are good for what little character development the script gives them. JK Simmons should just be given his own movie. However again, there are some returns to the cringe inducing lines that were so prevalent during the first movie. The action pieces are fun and the usual Spider-man fare. The Bruce Campbell cameo is fantastic. I mean easily the funniest cameo he’s had.

In the end you’re gonna see this movie. I personally have no regrets about going to see it. It’s just not the big conclusion to Raimi’s trilogy that I was hoping for (and not just because the final shot is much less fun and heroic than the past 2 movies where Spider-man swings through NY). Now I’ve heard rumors that Raimi was essentially forced to put Venom in this movie (he’s stated multiple times earlier that he didn’t like the character). So maybe his initial movie was going to be tighter and more focused. Sadly we’ll never know. So go see the movie but just be prepared to be ultimately under whelmed and let down.

News and notes:

Damnit, the Rangers are out. Stupid Buffalo.

Elliot and JD again on Scrubs? Really?

Gilmore Girls is headed off into the sunset. Please don’t let the same things happen to Veronica Mars.

Until next time:

“Carla, you're in charge of the guest list. Just make sure that all of my friends are there! Ooh, and Naomi, that bitch from radiology. She's teased me for six years about how she's going to beat me down the aisle. Well she can suck it, her and her fat neck.”

“Invite Fat Neck, got it.”

“If you point out Fat Neck to me I'll keep asking her why she's still single until she cries.”

“Done.”