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I’ll admit that I enjoy bashing George Lucas…a lot. I’ve stated on many occasions that I feel Lucas’ creative decline started with Return of the Jedi. He played it safe and didn’t take the chances that he took with Empire Strikes Back. Empire Strikes Back will always be one of the best Sci-fi films from my generation. However, I’ve bashed Return of the Jedi pretty much since I’ve started this blog. Yes, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel, yet I don’t find shooting fish that much enjoyable to begin with. I decided to write 50 things I found good about Return of the Jedi. I believe a magazine named Sci-fi Universe wrote 100 things that sucked about Return of the Jedi. They ripped the movie to shreds, and I still have that issue around here somewhere. I figured I’d do the opposite and force myself to note all the things I liked about this flawed film instead. I’ll do ten each post from time to time. 1. The Opening Shot : After the opening...

The Main reason to watch The Wire http://youtube.com/watch?v=f81Tfw60tTs Comment: Senator Clay Davis is one of the best characters on this wonderfully written cop drama The Wire . Now, let me give you a little background into this scene. Basically, Clay Davis is really corrupt and a hustler. He takes money directly from some of the biggest drug dealers in Baltimore, while he hustles many up and coming politicians. He’s probably one of the few villains that have survived every season. Many fans of the show quote his trademark ‘SHIIIITTTT’. Even some of the characters in the show make fun of it. Isiah Whitlock is prefect as this character. Check out this clip.

The son of that mean little woman named Dr. Laura Schlessinger has been getting himself into a little bit of trouble lately. It would appear Deryk Schlessinger also has a picture of himself holding a gun in his mouth. I don't know what's more disturbing, the gun in the mouth or the fact he's shirtless. Here's one of the stories behind this guy, whose mother claims to be a moral person. Remember, back when dinosaurs roamed the planet, Dr. Laura got into a little trouble herself with a few Photos from her younger days surfacing on the internet. Looking at the photos, I can tell she already supported Bush. (I know low blow.) I can’t believe I saying this, but I think Dr. Laura should keep her clothes on. It seems like history is repeating itself. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, especially when it’s a crab apple tree. Again, I’ll say nothing good comes from Myspace.

A remix of a remix of Shatner's Woo Dance Mix Comment: What does it mean to remix something that is already remixed? Do we call it the double dip remix version? Anyway, someone decided to give the Shatner Woo a Euro trance dance mix. Hey, this stuff is better than some of The Shatner singing records. After hearing William Shatner's record 30 times, Capt. Clark Terrell turns the phaser on himself.

Mr. Shatner Woos us again: The Remix Someone in their right mind created a remixed the famous Woo scream that William Shatner did while driving a racing car. You know what, I actually like this remix too. I wonder if Picard would do this... Captain Kirk teaches us a new dance. The Enterprise Gangster Walk ___________________________________________________ First you contort your face like your taking a dump and then do very stiff gestures. Make everyone count ________________________________________________________ Move it to the left, move it to the right. _____________________________________________________ Hell, even Mr. Spock shows us how he rolls. Pointing in the direction where Pon Far happens

Speaking of Blade Runner, here’s a very good Documentary on the film. Note: Look for Daryl Hannah ’s fake fingertip in her interview. Note II: William Sanderson plays a human that creates robotic toys and dolls in the movie. Sanderson plays a very similar role in the Batman The Animated Series as Dr. Karl Rossum. His character creates an super computer that constructs androids that take over humans in Gotham City. His character would show up 4 times on that show. I thought this was an interesting homage to Blade Runner by casting him. Sanderson reprises his Blade Runner role in the Videogame sequel Blade Runner in 97. Blade Runner Documentary, On the edge of Blade Runner: 1 / 6 Blade Runner Documentary, On the edge of Blade Runner: 2 / 6 Blade Runner Documentary, On the edge of Blade Runner: 3 / 6 Blade Runner Documentary, On the edge of Blade Runner: 4 / 6 Blade Runner Documentary, On the edge of Blade Runner: 5 / 6 Blade Runner Documentary, On the edge of Bla...

http://www.filmwad.com/featured-theatrical-cuts-vs-director-s-cuts-2495-p.html Alexander: While the movie will always be a piece of crap, seeing more footage of Rosario Dawson naked and jumping around in bed was always welcome in my book. I still don’t think the changes made to this horrible film is justified. Then again more Dawson is just great… With two cuts out there, there is another; Alexander Revisited: The Final Unrated Cut . Even though I still hate the other cuts, I’ll have to pick this one up too. Superman II: I’ve mentioned a lot about this one, so what the writer says in the link is sound. Blade Runner: Even if Scott’s first director’s cut was the official cut, I believe the movie would have still bombed in the theaters. The article states that the ‘director’s cut’ wasn’t really a director’s cut to begin with. It was pieced together from unused footage without Scott’s permission. I like both version of this movie. I like the voiceover of th...

Elfman Happy 54th birthday to Danny Elfman I have to say that I like his work more and more, despite hating Burton’s work more and more. I think his work has gotten better over the years, without ripping his own stuff off like James Horner does. I find it amusing that he comes from a Rock/Blues Band background because his Batman score is very classical in nature, even more so than Williams’ music for Star Wars. While the studio may have screwed him on Spiderman II, I believe it’s some of his best work since Batman (89). Here are a few thoughts on some of his scores Pee-wee's Big Adventure : While Forbidden Zone was his first official composing credit, Pee-Wee was the first score he composed with a orchestra. The score is playful and simple. This was also the beginning of a long and trusted relationship between Tim Burton and Elfman. Beetle Juice : Not bad, I’m not a huge fan of this one. His themes are pretty good. Hot to Trot : Isn’t this that stu...

Battlestar Galactica Documentary I found this Documentary pretty interesting, despite its poor audio. Glen A. Larson , the creator, sort of admits he barrowed the concept from Star Wars. I like the former name Adam’s Ark. Some of this stuff I wasn’t aware of. ~I didn’t Lucas, at an early point, reviewed the work. His ILM and John Dykstra team was supposed to work on it. Lucas didn’t want laser beams coming out of the guns. WTF? ~ Lorne Greene was added to give the show critical creed. ~Larson wanted Dirk Benedict , the Network didn’t. Larson forced his hand and got Benedict, but there was a lot of bad blood between the Network and Larson. ~Lucas let them use his teams, but then turned his back on the production and sued the Studio. I guess he felt threatened by the show. ~ Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict didn’t get along. ~This Doc was made before the new show was made. The whole Bryan Singer/Ron Moore thing wasn’t even considered yet. Bu...

Off Da Hook I'm speechless, I really am. This horrible video is an Instructional Hip-Hop dance video. So this video teaches otherwise lame kids how to dance 'hip'. This whole concept sounds like a really bad sequel to that Jessica Alba movie Honey . The music is bad and the entire video is just lame. However, this is better than some of that Pop-n-Lock routine stuff. Some day all the kids watching this video will become K-Feds. R Kelly move? The acting by this girl is bad ... Someday, one of these kids will become famous and will regret doing this video ... If you really want to learn how to break dance, Mr. T can teach you .

Five Useless Things About Me When I Was a Boy Karate Boy : I once took Karate as a child, one class. I hated it and stop going. You know your parents shouldn’t force you to do those things. Pet King : I used to have all kinds off pets when I was growing up. Birds, turtles, rats, hamsters, crabs, dogs, newts, frogs and nearly hundreds of topical fish. Not a Sports Guy : I played softball and football. I hated them both. The non Boy Scout: I nearly became a boy scout, thank goodness I didn’t. Come on, I’m evil. Fight No More: I’ve only been in one fight the whole time I was in school. Note: It was broken up, so no one won.

Poop Who knew that poop was a fashionable thing? As I check my stats, I’m starting to notice that I’m getting around a hundred hits from people searching for pictures of poop. Yep, poop. I like poop humor as much as the next guy, but is poop bigger than Porn and Blogs, (Read MC's Blog to find out more about that)? I’m finally getting more hits on Poop than on that damn Cheerleader post I did a few months back. Poop

Random Thoughts ~After my writing teacher's death, the people in my workshop decided they we should keep the writing workshop going, so we are. I'm currently working on a short story that I'm planing on sending into a few magazines. ~I sold a book back to the bookstore near U of L and I got a dollar back. Paying 26 bucks for a used book, and I got a 1-buck back. I got hosed. ~After siding with Rosie O'Donnell a few posts below, I feel sort of sad that Rosie had decided to leave The View so early. I believe everyone enjoys watching a train wreck... ~Speaking of Train Wrecks, Check out this Norfolk Southern train smashing into a tractor-tailor. A train going a fairly decent speed and hitting a truck isn't pretty. I've seen this happen a few times on a CSX line where I live. ~ Michael Emerson is great just great. ~Okay, we all know about the whole Lonelygirl15 crap. But, what the hell is this ? So, has Lonelygirl15 joined The Oth...

Director’s Cuts vs. Theatrical Cuts Part 1 of 2 http://www.filmwad.com/featured-theatrical-cuts-vs-director-s-cuts-2495-p.html Filmwad always has some good articles, and this one is no different. There have been many times when Directors have gone back and re-cut their own films to their liking. (Note: People have bashed Lucas for changing things in his Special Edition Star Wars films, but he was re-editing A New Hope while it hit the theaters back in the 70s.) I’d like to give you my two cents on some of their picks. Payback: I never watched the director’s cut that was released recently, but the theatrical version was fairly good. I thought the ending was clever. I’m looking forward to picking this one up. Kingdom of Heaven: This movie did feel a little disjointed and random in some places. Was it the studio that actually cut the film or Ridley Scott? I’m a huge fan of his work, so I was a little disappointed with the outcome. I’ll have to pick up the D...

Here are a few Simpsons, Southpark, Family Guy crossover moments http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmUoxOAgCQw I know the Southpark guys really hate Family Guy, and The Simpsons' creator thinks that Family Guy stole his concept. It's funny seeing all of them take swipe at each other.

Okay, Alicia Silverstone's stock just went up. http://www.bobbysketch.com/wp/2007/05/24/alicia-silverstone-snubs-elisabeth-hasselbeck/ As she emerges from backstage, she greets everyone but Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Alicia was annoying and just plain bad in Batman and Robin, but she gets major props from me now. Here's a shocker, I actually agree with Rosie for once. In the clip that started the whole thing (check the link I provided you with), I actually enjoyed watching Rosie stomp on Hasselbeck. Liberals need to be strong like this. I can't believe I'm siding with Rosie. I hate Rosie, what am I doing?

Buck When Buck Rogers ended its first season, it was decided that the show needed some retooling. In the first season, Buck Rogers was based on Earth and many of the storylines began on the planet. The show also had a lighter tone. Buck was a cheap Han Solo knockoff. Yet, Gil Gerrard grew more and more pissed about the way his character behaved. He didn’t care for some of the goofy remarks and jokes, and he wanted the show to be darker. Well, the show did change tone…just not the way he wanted it. Buck Rogers left Earth and went aboard an explorer ship. This mission of this ship was to find other Human colonies that were out there in space. Does this sound like some other Sci-fi show? Battle Galactica. Yep, not only did they recycle ships and props from the show, but even the damn concept. Looking back on the show, there is still a part of me that enjoys the poor special effects and the bad writing. We’ve certainly come a long way in Sci-fi. Erin Gr...

John Rambo Returns http://fjetsam.com/index.php/movies/john-rambo-bloodbath.index.html Man, I sort of like this new teaser for the new Rambo movie. I’m not sure where you can go after the production and Box Office mess that was Rambo III. I have to wonder if Rambo was caught using performance-enhancing drugs. Talk about a complete switch around of the plot. I’ve read at least three different storylines during the development of this movie, and the teaser is another one. I wonder if this movie is going to be PG13.

The Return of Starbuck (part 1) The Return of Starbuck (part 2) The Return of Starbuck (part 3) The Return of Starbuck (part 4) The Return of Starbuck (part 5) When Battlestar Galactica was saved in the form of Galactica 1980, fans realized it wasn’t the same show they loved in the 1 st season, so to speak. Most people hated the show and abandoned it. The show was poorly written and conceived. However, there was one episode that stood out as one of the best episodes of the show. It was also the last episode produced for Galactica 1980 . When the spin off was created, it was decided to have the show jump ahead nearly thirty years or so. Many of the main characters disappeared. Apollo and Starbuck were written out of the show. By the end of the show’s run, it was decided to bring back Dirk Benedict for one last episode. This episode was a gem because it felt like G1980 was finally a part of the Battlestar continuity. Starbuck gets into a dogfight with ...

Random Thoughts ~Guys, stop looking at women’s breasts, because this might happen to the Ladies . ~I will be working with some other bloggers on a blog about pop culture. I’ll let you know when the page is ready to go and give you a link. I think it will be very interesting. ~Who knew I'm one of the few pages on Google that has a 'How to dance like a slut' post? It frightens and amazes me at the same time. Checking my stats, some did a search for it. I hop they found the video entertaining. ~The Return of Vanilla Coke! I went to a store and discovered that they restocked the shelf with Vanilla Coke. This is one of my favorite drinks, though I will miss Black Cherry Vanilla. ~Check out this truck crashing into an office . It gives a whole new meaning to Drive-thru.

Cab Calloway’s Minnie the Moocher One of the best songs in the Blues Brothers was Cab Calloway’s Moocher song. After watching Danny Elfman singing the song on B ecca's blog , (third clip down) I decided to compile some of the various versions of the song. One of the key things this song reveals is the Call and Response that is so important in Black music. Call and Response actually has its origins deeply rooted in African culture, but has pretty much found its way into all forms of modern music. Blues and Black Church music uses this method in their types of music. I find this funny, because Blues and Church music generally have had long history of not getting along, despite coming from the same basic musical roots. Cab would call out to the crowd with scat words and they would repeat them back to him. For fun, he would mess with the crowd by making the scat difficult to repeat, so that the crowd stumbles at responding to him. blues brothers- minnie the moocher : O...

Shatner realizing that he pressed more than Ctrl/Alt/Delete. William Shatner drives a race car and he yells out , “Whooo.” What the hell is Shatner on? Perhaps if he used a little bit more Wooo energy in directing, he would have made a better Star Trek V. William Shatner is officially a redneck. The Shatner is one crazy man. I really think he should have walked around the rest of the third season dressed in Native American gear. It would have certainly improved the mess that was the third season. ______________________________________________ The Vulcan Death Grip: I think pretty much all his co-stars wanted to preform this move on him more than on a few occasions.

Given its cheap budget, a lot of the actors that came on to the show were forgettable, but there were a few big names, and before they were famous folks as well. Here’s a list of some of the people that showed up on this show. Frank Gorshin : The guy that played the Riddler. Jamie Lee Curtis : Yep, the same one. This was early in her career; she gets rescued by Buck Rogers Gary Coleman : Different Strokes couldn’t keep this little guy away from the show. You have to remember Coleman was a big draw at the time, so having him on the show brought younger viewer. Dennis Haysbert : When he wasn’t playing baseball in Major League or being the President, he played a recurring role on Buck Rogers. He showed up on the second season mostly in different positions. Jerry Orbach : From L&O Mark Lenard : Spock’s father had a guest shot on the show too. And now a few more clips. Buck Rogers does a Kirk fight scene : This one is really bad. Buck Roge...

Batman is a kidnapping jerk. Free Robin! Check out this great rundown of the Batman All-Star comic books. I like a lot of Frank Miller’s work. The Dark Knight Returns is probably one of the best comic book epics out there. Sin City is an amazing story, and I enjoyed 300 . He brings a type of political and social realism to his stories that many other writers don’t have. However, when he’s bad, he’s really bad. Due to the huge success that Marvel had with the Ultimate Continuity line, DC decided to create its own line called All-Star. Each character that is presented in the line is a revamped character from the original DC universe. The biggest difference between the All-Star line and Marvel’s Ultimate line is that each DC All-Star book is set in its own universe and has no relation to the other All-Star books. The Ultimate line is all in one shared universe. Frank Miller was given All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder . Many people hoped the comic ...

If you see this in your local food store, don't stay around. Because someone will probably kick you in the chest, as you fall into a pit. You may go in for a 12-pack of beer, but end up dinning in HELL.

Here are some viral marketing clips for the new Transformers movie. The kicker is most of these clips show designs to the Generation One Transformers cartoon. Grimlock is by far the coolest of the bunch. Sadly, most of these designs won't be in the movie, because Bay is taking a completely different route with the design. I do have to say the newest trailer is very good. I still think Bay will screw it up.

"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" : A Look Back Part 1 of 3 Man, this goes way back to my childhood. I used to watch the reruns of this show back in the mid-80s on channel 41 in Louisville. They would show this show right before a rerun of Battlestar Galactica each Saturday. I loved watching these two shows back to back. Looking back on the show now, I can see that it was really bad, but in a strange 70’s camp kind of way. The main reason to even watch this show today is to see Erin Gray in tight outfits, and trust me she sure couldn’t act. When the damn robot is a better actor than you, you know something is wrong. The show reused many ships and props from Battlestar Glalactica to save money. And, you can tell they didn’t spend too much money on the show. Here are some clips to check out from the show. Highlights or lowlights, depending on your point of view. Buck Rogers Original Intro : Here's the original TV movie with William Conra...

Cotton Comes to Harlem Click over to http://fjetsam.com/ and check out a very strange Grindhouse like trailer from an early blaxploitation film Cotton Comes to Harlem . I found out this movie was based on a book by the same name. With one of the main characters named Gravedigger Jones, you can’t go wrong with this movie. The trailer had me laughing the whole time. What I found very interesting was that there was at least one real sequel, Come Back, Charleston Blue , and perhaps another movie that might be set in the same continuity, A Rage in Harlem . The sequel to Cotton was about a ghost that nearly starts a gang war in Harlem. Yes, you heard that right it was a ghetto ghost. Now, A Rage in Harlem was released in the 90’s and directed by Bill Duke . Remember, Duke was the guy that got his head blown off in Predator toward the end.

You know, people say you should never talk ill of the dead, but I could never stand Jerry Falwell. The hate this man spread was bigger than his expanding waistline. Hell, I found him to be more of a lowlife than the pill=popping Rush. He was supposed to be a Christian, yet he was more about hatred. He spent so much time blaming the gay community for everything that was wrong with the world; you have to wonder if he had any other issues. So long, Jerry and thanks for all the fish. John McCain looks down as he realizes Jerry just cut another big fart during services. McCain: Please tell me he didn’t ‘shart’ his robe . ___________________________________________ He was giving Rosie O'Donnell a run for her money in the BIG Head department.

The Good Shepherd One thing this movie isn’t is uplifting. Matt Damon stars as one of the founding members of the CIA after the destruction of Nazi Germany. The movie shows us an inside look at the secretive Skull and Bones Society and its connection to all forms of government. I enjoyed the various flashbacks between the two time periods in this movie. And director handles them fairly well Speaking of the director, Robert De Niro does a wonderful job directing this very serious and thoughtful movie, while Matt Damon proves again that he’s one of the best actors out there in Hollywood. Damon’s character is the type of guy that never speaks up, but is always observing things around him so he can use it later. Note: Look for the retired Joe Pesci to make an appearance as a mob boss. His appearance makes me wish Pesci had stayed into acting. (Rumors are he will return to acting for the Departed 2.) There are times when the movie feels a little long in some pla...

Once again, Happy Birthday to Jamie-Lynn DiScala I've had a huge crush on this girl for the longest time. Her tan skin-tone and her dark hair, she's so hot. Happy B-day again, Jamie. No comment... Dating the daughter of the most dangerous man in New Jersey? It might be worth it.

He's dead, Jim So Long, Christopher Moltisanti We all knew that somehow Christopher was going to die. Tony Soprano and Chris get into a car crash, because Chris was high. So, what does Tony do when he sees Chris’ broken body in the driver’s seat? He kills his cousin by forcing him to choke on his own blood. Tony nearly killed Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri on a boat a few weeks ago. Man, this ‘family’ is falling apart. After a rather weak season before the current one, I’ve been very impressed and surprised with these episodes. ((Also, did anyone else notice that The Sopranos and Entourage both had almost identical (and arguably retarded) closing shots last night ( Drama and Tony both victoriously screaming into a desert canyon)? What was up with that?)) I noticed that too. They both scream in the desert at the end of the episode. Very strange. Here's his dead girlfriend, the one he snitched on to Tony. He's going to have a shock when ...