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Pigs at the Post
Sure...keep me posted! But, I just turned my friend Diana down. She had an art party she wanted me to cover, and I think she was bummed that I didn't. I told her I've just done too many art parties, and I like to mix it up a bit.— January 23, 2009 1:04 a.m.
Blood and Chlorine
I would love to have more women abuse me ; - )— January 22, 2009 3:28 p.m.
And the Oscar Goes To....
Alice...did you hear the "wrestler" in the movie (brother of filmmaker) died a few weeks back? Yeah, I've complained about that before. A perfect example is a couple years back. The best documentary of the year was called King of Kong -- A Fistful of Quarters. It was about these video game nerds that vie for the top score, even making it into Guiness Book of World Records. The stuff that happened you wouldn't even imagine (breaking into a house to check someones machine to see if it's rigged, etc). And, Michael Moore does movies that aren't even true "documentaries" because he puts so much spin and bogus editing in them, they should be in a completely different category. Oh man...I forgot to check if Bill Mahers "Religious" got a nod. The rumor a few months back was, that it wouldn't, even though it broke some records for the amount of money it made. But yeah...BSF was so entertaining. The scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger made me laugh harder than I have in any movie all year. It was pure joy.— January 22, 2009 3:27 p.m.
The Dog Blog
My friend got a basset hound from the shelter a few months ago. He tells me the thing starts howling the early AM, and it drives him nuts.— January 21, 2009 8:44 p.m.
The Dog Blog
My girlfriend gave me that Cesar Milan book. It has stuff in there I couldn't believe. I never realized a dog was so much work! The guy seems so annoying on his show, but much of what he writes makes sense. She told me that the dachshund also has back problems, too (those are the weiner dogs, right?)— January 21, 2009 5:05 p.m.
Sinking on an Airplane
Well, yes, technically you are correct, anti. But, for an arty film to score like that = bad reviews. The movie with Emma Thompson...can't think of the name, oh Brideshead Revisited, was absolute garbage. It was a pathetic film, horrible in so many ways. And it got something like the high 70s. Critics just feel they have to like period piece/important films, and it blinds them to good cinema sometimes. But, on to another topic...my friend after racquetball said something interesting. He heard on the news that someone for the FAA was talking about birds and planes (the rap from Step Brothers just popped into my head. My friend asked me to guess how many planes last year damaged aircraft. I guessed 400, picking a higher number, assuming he wouldn't have brought it up if the answer was 18. He said it was close to 14,000 (that are reported). That blew me away.— January 19, 2009 10:47 a.m.
Overrated Movies -- Gran Torino, Wrestler, Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire
First, I'm not sure what you're implying about a "longer movie" and whether or not I'd like that. I have NO PROBLEM with long films. Just not movies that are long, and don't need to be (like Into the Wild, which could've EASILY had 20 minutes shaved off it...we didn't need to see him taking a shower in the wilderness, in slow motion; that's just amateur filmmaking from Mr. Penn). You bring up very great points, regarding the twists. And also, making her character more sympathetic. The fact that she wasn't very likable, made it hard to have sympathy for her (not that you'd have all that much sympathy for a nazi camp guard, but still, you could...the way they built her character, and how she acquired that job, etc.)— January 19, 2009 10:43 a.m.
When black smoke hits your eye from a big pizza pie, that's amore
MsGrant for President!— January 19, 2009 10:05 a.m.
Sinking on an Airplane
I'm sure you're on point. Every critic praised it. And, the clips I saw of it looked wonderful (but after seeing how much you liked The Reader, which is crap...I mean, even critics mostly agree it's crap, and they like crap like that usually!)— January 19, 2009 1:03 a.m.
Overrated Movies -- Gran Torino, Wrestler, Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire
Oh yeah, Winslets makeup was flat out awful when she was supposed to have aged. I had no problem with the boy being Ralph Fiennes. Some people change a lot, and that wasn't a stretch I couldn't buy. The scene you mention is wonderful, him making those tapes. As was the seen with Lena Olin, where he tries to give her the money. Everything else was ridiculous, though. She wouldn't have taken the fall (SPOILER ALERT)...just because she didn't want to admit she couldn't read/write. So, she'll do 25 years in prison for these nazi war crimes that other women won't have to do. I had no problem with the boy being confused as to whether or not to tell anyone. That was great, considering his age, the circumstance, etc. Also, the movie tries so hard to be this important picture, and at the end of the day, it just doesn't work and falls flat. I mean, are we to have sympathy for Ralph because of his first love being a Nazi, and being jailed? And so he is never close to the woman he marries, or his daughter, and then he takes her to a graveyard, and...oh give me a damn break! That's all Hollywood crap!— January 19, 2009 1:01 a.m.