While ‘truing’ my bicycle wheel, I went to hulu and watched 21 Jump Street. I watched about five episodes of this series. Minus the music, the actual show has aged well. And, surprisingly the acting is pretty good.
Here are a few thoughts
-Johnny Depp is the lead character. I think it is funny because he seems clean cut, but now he hangs out with Tim Burton seems dirty.
-I always thought Steven Williamswas the captain from the beginning, but it turns out he showed up in the middle of the first season. The first captain was killed off. Steven Williams was on X-Files and the cop on the Blues Brothers movie.
-Richard Grieco showed up in the season three, and then had a spinoff named Booker. I remember when Grieco was supposed to be the new Depp. He's now just that guy that was on 21 Jump Street. What happened to this guy?
Remember when the FOX Network actually had good shows?
Fanboy-ism at its worst (the Rob Liefeld incident)
While listening to an Earth-2 podcast, they two hosts discussed an incident.They’re discussion caught my attention and I did a bit of research into the story.(Earth-2 the show 333)
First off, I am usually the one that really hates writers or artists and make it be known through my blog postings.I’ve ripped into quite a few writers, reality stars, and actors.I’ve written some mean things, but I’ve done it on the Internet and not to the person face to face.
This encounter between a comic book fan and an artist goes beyond that.
Basically, the infamous comic book artist Rob Liefeld was signing and sketching for fans at the Chicago Comic-Con.A certain comic book fanboy walked up to Liefeld’s table said this,
From Squiggly Lines Comics (Because I refuse to link to the actual Fanboy's web, the one behind the stunt.)
((“…I am a huge Captain America fan…” I tell him with jazz hands and a huge fanboy gleam. “…and as such, I demand an apology for Heroes Reborn.” ))
Now, keep in mind that many people generally hate Rob Liefeld's work over the years. You can count me in too. I was never a fan of his work, but he deserves some respect.His work speaks for itself.I’m not going to get into his work too much, but Linkara does a better job expressing the flaws in Liefeld's work than I could ever express.
Heroes Reborn happened around 1996. Why would you bring that up?Really, you’ve been holding this grudge this long?It just shows the mentality some of these geeks have about these franchises.
((Following the apparent deaths of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and Dr. Doom battling Onslaught in Onslaught: Marvel Universe, they were "reborn" and certain aspects of their earlier stories were expanded with the intent of telling their adventures anew for modern generations. This was explained, in-story, as their having been transported into a pocket universe by Franklin Richards, the near-omnipotent, psychic son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, to save them, where they lived in the so-called "Franklin-verse", oblivious to what had happened to them. The characters' origins and histories were revised and updated circa mid-nineties for modern audiences.))
You don’t go up to an artist, unless it is a reality star, and piss all over his career and body of work.He’s there signing and drawing all day, at least give him one day not to be confronted by a fanboy that brings up some comic book series from the 90s.
But it gets worst.The fanboy wasn’t through.
To add injury to insult, the Fanboy and his friend purchased How to Draw Comics the Marvel Comics Way.I guess it was a snarky way to show that Liefeld can’t draw. The fanboy signed it with an insulting note.
((Rob,
I know you aren’t willing to apologize right now. This manual will help you in you future endeavors. Please study it carefully, and consult it before rebooting another comic title. If you still wish to apologize for “Heroes Reborn,” you can do so by emailing me at “email removed”
Let’s make things right. ))
The fanboy then tossed the book on Liefeld’s signing table.
Liefeld’s reaction to the book
First of all, why humiliate him and then post the video online?Was the book thing really necessary?It was a foolish move on the fanboy’s part.Even for me, a guy who attacks people all the time, this was in poor taste.I’m sure he thought he would get epic Lulz for his actions, but instead he’s received numerous negative comments and attention.
When you attack someone online, the people you’re making fun of have a choice not to look at it.However, standing up in front of the person and insulting them is something completely differently.You don’t walk up to someone and say, “Your mommy’s fat.”
I’ll probably have more to say about this later.
Side note:(Here's a discussion about the story with talkshoe) The show has even more details. The Fanboy and Rob Liefeld actually call into the show. The Fanboy seems totally sheepish and out of it. Here is the book that he threw to Liefeld.
I remember watching Temple of Doom when I was younger and loving the opening musical with Kate Capshaw.In this sequel/prequel, I loved the total departure the opening was compared to Raiders of the Lost Ark.They decided to do a big musical, which I thought was a big gamble.
Looking at this clip, it reminds me of the times when Lucas and Steven Spielberg were still good at their jobs.
Things to notice
-Watch as the Paramount Logo morphs into the gong.That was brilliant.
-Just as Kate Capshaw raises her hands the “Harrison Ford” appears above her hands.It makes it look like she is holding the title cards.
-The Indiana Jones title card is shown behind Capshaw and she even blocks some of the letters.
-I love how Capshaw sings in both Mandarin and English.Capshaw is good in the opening scene, but is annoying in the rest of the movie.
While the acting is amazing in this alt-historical film, I found the direction to be even better.The editing and the sense of style is pretty top notch.It is Quentin Tarantino‘s skills in bringing tension and great script writing that elevates this war movie to another level altogether.
There are three scenes that support the statement above.Each scene is long but very compelling.These three scenes are the linchpins of the movie.
The opening scene with the French farmer and Col. Hans Landa is just incredible.The scene builds and builds until there is a major payoff.QT has some interesting close up shots in this scene where we see a man light up a pipe.He smokes this pipe and we know QT is making a statement with every movement and every action in this scene.It is a real shame he didn’t do it with the Mike Myers scene.
The other scene I want to talk about is the famous French Tavern scene.In this scene, a few of the Basterds are undercover and attempting to meet their spy contact.They enter and realize the bar is filled with Nazis, so the tension builds from there.Things go from being bad to worst.There is nothing wrong with this scene, and it is probably my favorite scene in the movie.
The last scene with tension involves Eli Roth.I won’t give it away, but it involves some knives and a baseball bat.It is not only a bloody scene but also somewhat humorous too.By the way, I didn’t mind Roth in his role because it is so limited.
Actually, the Basterds aren’t portrayed that much in the film.The marketing wanted you to believe it was about Brad Pitt and his band of brothers killing Nazis.But, it is really about a French Jewish girl seeking revenge more so than about Americans killing Nazis.Truth be told, there are about two main stories and one subplot involving a British agent.
IB isn’t really the rip-roaring horror movie that normal moviegoers were expecting, but they’ll come away surprised or really pissed off by this.
The other major part of the movie is “This is not historically correct”.There are things that happen in this movie that will not add up to what really happened in our own history and I’ll leave it at that.I was first a little disturbed by the alt-timeline and history.After a few days to mull over it, I’ve grown to like the change.(Heck, if videogames can do it, why not QT?)
Inglourious Basterds might not be for everyone.It doesn’t try to be, but it will please fans of old school cinema, WWII movies, and hardcore Quentin Tarantino fans.It does show that QT knows how to take his style and morph it into whatever he wants to make.IB has some flaws, but I still enjoyed the overall experience.
Looking at the list over at the Huffington Post, they have a list of 11 Porn sitcom parodies and came across this little gem. This one really shocked me. I had no idea someone wanted to see a Bill Cosby porn parody, but here it is.
I can't look at the Cosby Show the same again. Actually, there are a lot of attractive stars in this film, even though I haven't seen the movie for uh...research.
I don't know how anyone can be turned on by a show with Bill Cosby and his strange sweaters. If anything, The Cosby Show's spin off A Different World would be a more suitable porn parody to me.
I remember watching this little commercial when it first came on.I never understood why all the Sega commercial felt like Mountain Dew ads.All the Sega ads usually scream at the potential buyer.Does that sound like a good business plan?
The video above is notoriously famous because it really doesn’t make any sense at all.Here are a few reasons why…
~The Angry Black Man ™ in the army coat:Why did this guy hack into this cable system?Why is he yelling at the white dude?Then again Billy Mays also yelled at people too.
~Showing what appears to be Night Trap will not make people want to buy the CD add on.
~Why show him something that can potentially kill him?It even appears to have changed him into a damn Joker type at the end.
Side Note:I really want to know who the angry black guy is in the commercial.He really looks familiar.
Loosely based on the videogame series of the same name, this movie is so bad that it makes the other videogame movie Hitman look like a masterpiece.The movie wants to be taken seriously but has so many lame moments that the whole movie comes across as dry and stale.
Dry and stale is also the way to describe Mark Wahlberg’s (and his funky bunch) performance.He walks around the movie with this scowl on his face like he tasted a bad can of beer and hasn’t figured out how to get rid of said taste.It is like he hasn’t even bothered to change from his character in the Planet of the Apes remake.Wahlberg can act, because he proves it in Four Brothers and The Departed.He’s not trying.
Mila Kunis plays some assassin chick that has very little to do with the plot of the movie. While I like Ludacris as a rapper, I found him to be unconvincing as a cop here, especially one that is supposed to be in charge of an investigation.Don’t get me started on Beau Bridges.
Olga Kurylenko sort of gets naked in the movie just like she gets completely naked in the other videogame movie Hitman.She literally takes off her clothes in both movies and tries to seduce both lead characters in Hitman and Max Payne.Both characters turn down her sexual advances.She is almost the same character too. She plays Natasha here and Nika in the other movie.
The movie goes from being an aimless and style-less movie to a strange CGI movie with demons and angels floating around on screen.The reason for this is because there is a drug out there that makes you see flying demons when you take it.I’m not making this up at all.
The CGI elements are really bad and look out of place.Why the hell would you make the movie worst than it already is?
Max Payne is a forgettable movie.It should have never been created and further proves that movies based on videogames suck.
Marky-Mark:“Come on, are you still mad at me for my performance in The Happening?”
Pissed off Lady:“You were in a scene where you talked to a plotted plant.”
Marky-Mark:“It wasn’t that bad.”
Pissed off Lady:“It was a plastic potted plant.”
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After saving Gotham City, Batman ditched Robin.This is where Robin ended up.Yes, this is Chris O'Donnell.Remember when he was Hollywood’s next biggest thing?
_________________________________________________
Lt. Ludacris:“All right listen up.When I move, you move.Just like that.”
__________________________________________
From Marky-Mark and the Funky Bunch to this movie…I guess this is a step up (?)
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Olga Kurylenko:“Which movie am I in Hitman or Max Payne?I seem to get the script pages mixed up.Then again, no one would be able to tell the difference anyway.”
Slash Film is reporting that the creators of the worst viewed movies of all time Delgo is thinking about taking legal action against James Cameron’s new flick Avatar.
((S.T. Vanairsdale of Movieline said, "James Cameron seems to have been influenced by some similar visuals and themes," going on to declare the two films share "uncanny parallels." WorstPreviews.com cited that the "characters and the universes of both films are almost identical." Online movie critic, JoBlo, said Avatar and Delgo were "undeniably similar," also noting that a side-by-side comparison of the two films was "pretty damn conclusive and practically warrant a likeness lawsuit from the lowest grossing movie ever to be filed against the director of the highest grossing movie ever."))
I really don’t see it. The main races are a little different. Delgo has strange frog people and Avatar has some elf-like creatures that are huge. I don’t think they have a case.
I can tell you this; James Cameron has probably never seen Delgo, like most of the world.
It does sound like the Delgo people are trying to tie their ignored movie with the buzz that Avatar is receiving right now. In turn, this will boost their DVD sells. Delgo made just around $695 from a 40 million dollar budget.
Inglourious Basterds (IB) displays director Quentin Tarantino’s strengths and weaknesses.The positives certainly outweigh the negatives.Tarantino takes all the things he learned over the years from Kill Bill and Grindhouse and improves upon them in IB.Inglourious Basterds isn’t a perfect film, but it certainly is one of the best-crafted films you’ll see this summer.
And, it should be a given because the movie has been floating around in various stages of development for ten years.The movie is finely tuned to the point that it almost hurts it in certain scenes.There are a few scenes that truly harm the tension and storyline and bring the film to a grinding halt.I can tell Tarantino loves these scenes and won’t delete them.
It’s not out of arrogance that he doesn’t trim them.It is love for his own work that is part of his problem.
One scene that almost harms the movie is the damn Mike Myers scene.Myers plays a British General in an introduction scene for a new character that the movie adds to storyline.My problem is Myers is a bit distracting in the film, and the overall tone of the scene is rather boring.It conveys the information that is needed to know for the last haft of the film, but it just isn’t a compelling scene.There are a few scenes like that are rather boring.
Now, the two biggest draws in this film are Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz.Brad Pitt’s performance is so over the top that every scene he’s in is funny.He has this strange expression where it looks like he’s taking a dump.Pitt is in on the joke and you’ll like his performance.
Christoph Waltz plays German security officer Col. Hans Landa.Landa is a chilling as the main villain.He goes by the nickname the Jewish Hunter.Waltz is an evil version of Sherlock Holmes.I just love to hate this character.Waltz is awesome.
Will: "Xenu dropped me off."
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Random Things
~A girl breaks a damn Trampoline!: The description says she was too fat, but she's isn't fat at all. The trampoline just gave out nothing more. It was a cheap product. I love their reactions too.
~The most angry Fat Guy ever: Holy crap, this guy is pissed. It almost seems like he's wearing a damn fat suit. I tried to find out who this guy was. Through a deleted video search a name Josh Beller came up. Of course someone has already made a music video. It looks like the owner of the original video is having second thoughts about his internet fame and is deleting it everywhere.
~Hancock 2 being fast tracked: Why is this movie even being produced? I know it made a lot of money, but I can think of no one that really wanted to see another movie after watching the first one. It wasn't a good movie. Peter Berg couldn't keep the camera straight.
~So let me get this right, Microsoft responds to the Red Ring of Death (54.2) with just reminding people they have a warranty? They don't try to knock that data down a bit. I know of a few people that had three Red Rings after taking it back to the company. That doesn't sound like a good business model to me.
The trailer above is completely different than the one I saw this weekend at the theaters.
This one really gives away too much story, but this one is edited better.
I at first thought this movie seems familiar, and I realized it was because it reminded me of I Know What You Did Last Summer. I mean a hooded person goes around killing young attractive people. Plus, they also try to cover up the murder and someone is picking them off one by one.
I did some research, well Wiki, and it would appear that Sorority Row is a remake of a 80s slash flick The House on Sorority Row. I guess it is the other way around, but I know is based on a book. Now if the killer turns out to be the Fisherman from the I Know series, that is a bit much.
Regardless, this probably won't be a good flick, but it is an R-rated movie. You can check out a (Not for safe work) shower scene clip here. Besides the boobs and gore shots, I have a question. Why does the Asian woman have makeup on while she's showering? Do hot women put on makeup before they take showers? I'm confused.
Neill Blomkamp, pat yourself on the back for a job well done.Peter Jackson should also receive some praise too for giving this guy a chance and sticking his own neck out there for Blomkamp.
District 9 fully immerses you into a dark and gritty science fiction film that also passes itself off as an action film as well.D9 handles balance between the social commentary and the violent action scenes extremely well.The movie isn’t easy to watch because of the harshness of some of the abuse scenes, but I enjoyed the movie a lot.
For a mere 30 million dollars, D9 has some amazing special effects.I was fully convinced that there were actual “shrimp-like” creatures walking around and interacting with humans.Every part on the creatures’ faces seemed real.Even though their faces are animated through CGI, you can fully understand their expressions.
There are two aliens that really stand out and are very convincing.They are a father and son team, and I liked them a lot.They’re the characters that you’ll be cheering for.
And, that brings us to the main character Wikus Van De Merwe.Wikus is probably one of the most unlikable main characters I’ve ever come across.He’s not that smart, and he willingly takes part in the harmful acts against the aliens.At the beginning, he is a middle management idiot that is truly a douche bag and asshole.You will hate him, but a certain thing happens to him and it changes everything about his life inside and out.He sort of becomes a hero.
Sharlto Copley does a wonderful acting job as Wikus, and keep in mind this is his second movie.I hope to see more from this guy.
The first 15 minutes will give you an interesting insight into the 20 years of history leading up to the current events in the movie.The news footage looks authentic and I half expected to see some familiar newscasters in the opening.
There are a few pacing problems in the middle of the story.I found myself bored with certain scenes right in the middle and felt they could have been edited down a bit.However, the last act makes up for it.I also didn’t like the musical score.It felt too New Age for my taste.I would have preferred a John Williams type of score, but it wasn’t a bad score.
Overall, I enjoyed watching this movie.It felt like something completely new and fresh.It was hard to watch certain scenes, but it still was an intriguing look into an alt-Earth.Neill Blomkamp did an outstanding job in this gritty film.
Hilary Swank:“Mr. Miyagi, will you teach me the ways of Karate?”
Mr. Miyagi:“Kick! Punch! It's all in the mind. If you wanna test me, I'm sure you'll find that all the things, I'll teach ya is sure to beat ya, nevertheless you'll get a lesson from teacher now”
Hilary Swank:“Uh, you’re quoting from PaRappa the Rapper.”
Mr. Miyagi: “Kick.Punch.Chop. Block. Once more now, Kick.Punch.Chop, And Block.”
Hilary Swank:“You’re not even trying.”
Mr. Miyagi:“Hmm, so says the woman that starred in The Reaping.”
I agree with their findings, and I’d like to add my two cents to it.
There comes a point when there are too many sequels, and the franchise simply becomes a joke.(Like the Batman movies)
The Karate Kid 3 & 4:I’ve come to really hate the third film because of the sheer stupidity of Daniel Larusso.Despite all the things he’s learned in the first two movies, he falls into the stupid trap by Ponytail Guy and Martin Kove.Even though the movie takes place right after Karate Kid II (they’re leaving the airport), Daniel looks older and slightly heavier.After the events of 1 and 2, the character has to grow, but part 3 never bothers to care about that.
Now, the fourth one is just as shitty as it gets.Hilary Swank is the ‘next’ Karate Kid.When you can’t even get Ralph Macchio to make a cameo, you know the movie is in trouble.
Don’t forget Space Church guy Will Smith is remaking the first movie…this isn’t going to be good.
Jaws 2: It is a weaker film, but it is still not a bad flick.Plus, there are some mean and shocking moments (Such as the ‘Good’ girl getting eaten by the shark).I also like John Williams’s score too. The franchise went off the deep end (pun intended) with Jaws 3D.
Batman and Robin:I’ve already ripped into this movie enough.I still get mad when someone thinks this film is okay.Damn you, Bat Nipples ™ and neon lights.
Alien 3: On-set fighting between David Fincher and the FOX Studio plagued the third film.From pre-production to post-production, the film went through some many changes that I think it harmed the final product.Remember the early trailer hinting at Earth being the next location for the movie?
Jurassic Park III:The movie has no ending, and it a rehash of parts 1 and 2.I have to say that The Lost World (JPII) is a better film despite the strange too far left-leaning “message”.There was talk of a part IV…
Terminator III:I enjoyed this movie even with its gapping flaws.But it is too much like T2 with the fact they send the same model back to protect John Connor again.How about a chick next time…wait they already did that with the TV series.Like I stated before, I enjoyed the movie, but it contradicts the second film’s hopeful ending.Was the third film really needed?
There was a big blow up between Adam Carolla and Engineer Anderson.Anderson and Adam are constantly at each other throats.David Alan Grier actually leaves the show because the argument.DAG starts to really get mad.
Anderson’s argument about Bryan kissing Adam’s ass is completely wrong.There was one huge argument Adam and Bryan had about the I-phone that went on for 20 minutes.It should also be noted that Anderson and Adam have never gotten along.
~Man, this year has sucked for me. A lot of things have mounted up and made this a shitty year for me. I won't go into details, but it hasn't been a fun year. I'm looking forward to next year.
~Lady Gaga: This lady is starting to get on my nerves. While I think she might not be a hermaphrodite, she’s really playing it up. Perhaps, this was all a set up to get us to continue to talk about her. Now, she keeps talking about the fact that she is gay and wants Kanye West to know that. Not that he really cares and neither do I. And, what's up with the stupid outfits?
~Some reviews about Octomom are coming in about that 2hr special. The general agreement is that she is a terrible person and seems to like the fame part but not the motherhood part.
~Microsoft Word is banned?: Pretty much so. Probably the only thing that seems to be worth a damn in MS is Word (and Powerpoint). It seems strange to know that an injunction on could affect MS pretty harshly. Maybe they can try to fix their Red Rings of Death while they're waiting. I use both Word 2003 and Open Office. I should have picked up the latest version of Word before the Injunction.
~What to do when you recongize a pornstar: Let's just say there are a few 'former' pornstars that have made appearances in the Louisville area. One of them is rather famous and grew up here. You can check out her Myspace here. She's going by her real name and not her stage name. She probably lives in a different part of Louisville that I don't go in much, The South End. I'm not going to say much about her, but I'll follow these steps if I ever come across her. (There have been sighting of her too. I'm guessing the photographer didn't know who she was.)
Wow, this woman is an asshole.Despite whatever way you feel about an issue, why would you insult the man by making a racial remark like that?How does yelling Heil Hitler help your case?
Well, the news is reporting that the woman’s name is Pamela Pilger.She has to be one of the worst people I’ve seen in a long time.Are you that crazy to say that in front of him?
People are really taking this health care protest too far. At some point, some will open fire at one of these things.Plus, you have TV folks encouraging this stuff through fear mongering.
Let’s not forget that the new catch phrase is calling Obama Hitler now.Then you have this crazy woman compares Hitler to Obama’s policy.I do like how Barney Frank rips into her.
Enough is enough, people need to sit down and discuss this instead of making prearranged statements and threats.
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TweetI’m shutting down this site. In the immediate future, you can find my
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Remember when the FOX Network actually had good shows?
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