Smarter or Dumber?

Would you rather be:

Smarter than you look

or

Not as dumb as you look

??

Smarter or Dumber?

Would you rather be:

Smarter than you look

or

Not as dumb as you look

??

Brown

I'm walking up Fitzroy Street, just outside the ATC, with my headphones on, listening to my iPod. A guy (I'll say a haggard looking guy) is walking down towards me with his little dog on a leash.

As he meets me, his mouth moves because he's speaking. I can't hear him until I remove the phones, at which point I hear the end of his question:

Him: ... named Brown?

Me: Pardon?

Him: Some guy named Brown.

At this point, I notice the mucus dripping from his nose. From that moment on, I cannot stop looking at it drip. Ugh.

After a confusing pause:

Me: Are you looking for someone?

Him: Brown. For a job.

Me: Richard Brown? Are you looking for City Hall?

Him: Yeah. I was told if you want a job in this town, you gotta go talk to this Brown fellow.

Me: I don't know about that, but City Hall is (I tell him the directions)

Off he walks.

Brown

I'm walking up Fitzroy Street, just outside the ATC, with my headphones on, listening to my iPod. A guy (I'll say a haggard looking guy) is walking down towards me with his little dog on a leash.

As he meets me, his mouth moves because he's speaking. I can't hear him until I remove the phones, at which point I hear the end of his question:

Him: ... named Brown?

Me: Pardon?

Him: Some guy named Brown.

At this point, I notice the mucus dripping from his nose. From that moment on, I cannot stop looking at it drip. Ugh.

After a confusing pause:

Me: Are you looking for someone?

Him: Brown. For a job.

Me: Richard Brown? Are you looking for City Hall?

Him: Yeah. I was told if you want a job in this town, you gotta go talk to this Brown fellow.

Me: I don't know about that, but City Hall is (I tell him the directions)

Off he walks.

American Idol - Top Ten Boys

I missed doing a review of the top 12 girls.  Mostly because the performances I saw (I saw them all) weren't really inspiring enough to devote time to typing about them.

I could say the same about the guys performances last night.  Almost.

My gimmick for this review is that, since it's the Top Ten, I'll stick to only ten word reviews of each performer.  Not counting names and names of songs.

Theme for the night:  Songs from the '70s

Here I go:

Michael Johns - Go Your Own Way: His worst performance yet. Strained on high notes. Lackadaisical performance.

Jason Castro - I Just Want To Be Your Everything: Non-memorable. Playing guitar got in the way of vocal consistency.

Luke Menard - Killer Queen: Did not like the falsetto. Simon gets it right again.

Robbie Carrico - Hot Blooded: Rocker?  Not rocker. Rocker? Not rocker.  Who cares.  Just sing.

Danny Noriega - Until You Come Back To Me: Didn't like you last week. Like you this week. Passable.

David Hernandez - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone: Well sung, but fakey, emotionally. Didn't believe what he sang.

Jason Yeager - Long Train Running: Your plot of boring us all is working. Good bye.

Chikezie - I Believe To My Soul: Better than last week, but I didn't care for song.

David Cook - All Right Now: I was making toast during his performance. Sounded okay, though.

David Archuleta - Imagine: A really great re-arrangement, performed with skill and honest emotion.

Really, only one performance worth talking about, and that was David Archuleta's.  Really good stuff.  He seems to be head and shoulders above any of the other performers this year.  The only question is:  will we tire of his goofy aw-shucks?

In danger of leaving this week:  Jason Yeager & Robbie Carrico.  Jason needs to go, and I think we're all tired of Robbie's insistence of being a rocker despite having the vocal chops for it.

Will remain despite weak performances this week: Michael Johns & John Castro






Technorati Tags: American Idol, Top Ten

American Idol - Top Ten Boys

I missed doing a review of the top 12 girls.  Mostly because the performances I saw (I saw them all) weren't really inspiring enough to devote time to typing about them.

I could say the same about the guys performances last night.  Almost.

My gimmick for this review is that, since it's the Top Ten, I'll stick to only ten word reviews of each performer.  Not counting names and names of songs.

Theme for the night:  Songs from the '70s

Here I go:

Michael Johns - Go Your Own Way: His worst performance yet. Strained on high notes. Lackadaisical performance.

Jason Castro - I Just Want To Be Your Everything: Non-memorable. Playing guitar got in the way of vocal consistency.

Luke Menard - Killer Queen: Did not like the falsetto. Simon gets it right again.

Robbie Carrico - Hot Blooded: Rocker?  Not rocker. Rocker? Not rocker.  Who cares.  Just sing.

Danny Noriega - Until You Come Back To Me: Didn't like you last week. Like you this week. Passable.

David Hernandez - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone: Well sung, but fakey, emotionally. Didn't believe what he sang.

Jason Yeager - Long Train Running: Your plot of boring us all is working. Good bye.

Chikezie - I Believe To My Soul: Better than last week, but I didn't care for song.

David Cook - All Right Now: I was making toast during his performance. Sounded okay, though.

David Archuleta - Imagine: A really great re-arrangement, performed with skill and honest emotion.

Really, only one performance worth talking about, and that was David Archuleta's.  Really good stuff.  He seems to be head and shoulders above any of the other performers this year.  The only question is:  will we tire of his goofy aw-shucks?

In danger of leaving this week:  Jason Yeager & Robbie Carrico.  Jason needs to go, and I think we're all tired of Robbie's insistence of being a rocker despite having the vocal chops for it.

Will remain despite weak performances this week: Michael Johns & John Castro






Technorati Tags: American Idol, Top Ten

Garfield Minus Garfield

I never got into Garfield.  Never found it that amusing, on those rare times when I'd bother to read it at all.
You might say I'm anti-Garfield.
So, when I came across a post on MetaFilter about Garfield Minus Garfield, I didn't think it would be that interesting to me.  Somebody took a bunch of Garfield strips and removed Garfield from them completely.  What you're left with is the human character (is his name "John"?) basically talking to himself.
It makes him seem schizophrenic.  I wasn't expecting to laugh at it at all, but I found myself laughing out loud a number of times.  Without Garfield, the guy is totally bonkers.

Take a look.

Garfield Minus Garfield

I never got into Garfield.  Never found it that amusing, on those rare times when I'd bother to read it at all.
You might say I'm anti-Garfield.
So, when I came across a post on MetaFilter about Garfield Minus Garfield, I didn't think it would be that interesting to me.  Somebody took a bunch of Garfield strips and removed Garfield from them completely.  What you're left with is the human character (is his name "John"?) basically talking to himself.
It makes him seem schizophrenic.  I wasn't expecting to laugh at it at all, but I found myself laughing out loud a number of times.  Without Garfield, the guy is totally bonkers.

Take a look.

And The Awards Went To...

How did I do?  Let's have a look.  I must say the 80th Annual Academy Awards must have surely been one of the more boring of them all.  Yawns all around.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Correct. 1 for 1.  Totally deserving.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Correct. 2 for 2.  Totally deserving.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Wrong. 2 for 3.  Not upset that Marion Cotillard won.  I haven't seen La Vie en Rose, but from all accounts it (she) was great.  Always nice when a non-English movie wins.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Wrong. 2 for 4.  I liked Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton, but really didn't think it was Oscar worthy.  And man o man did Tilda look hard.

Best animated feature film of the year
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
Correct 3 for 5.  Haven't seen it, but would like to some time.  I'm a Brad Bird fan.

Achievement in art direction
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
Wrong. 3 for 6.  Very happy that Sweeney Todd won, even though it hurts my Oscar picks score.

Achievement in cinematography
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
Wrong. 3 for 7.  (I'm sucking this year).  Again, not upset with this pick.

Achievement in costume design
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
Correct. 4 for 8.  Always go with English period costume dramas.

Achievement in directing
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Correct. 5 for 9.  An easy pick.  Totally deserving.

Best documentary feature
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
Correct. 6 for 10.  Not surprised by this.

Best documentary short subject
"Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
Wrong. 6 for 11.  A total guess.  A total wrong guess.

Achievement in film editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse
Correct.  7 for 12.  Surprised (pleasantly) that Bourne picked up the technical awards.

Best foreign language film of the year
"Mongol" Kazakhstan
Wrong. 7 for 13.  If I had done even a bit of research, I would have picked The Counterfeiters.  Didn't recognize the name.  But when I saw the trailer for it, I figured it to be an Oscar contender.  Seeing the clip of it during the telecast, I realized my error.

Achievement in makeup
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel
Wrong. 7 for 14.  This was something of a surprise for me.  Didn't think La Vie en Rose had a chance.  Still not sure why it won?

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami
Wrong. 7 for 15.  I just guessed at this one.  Probably didn't pick Atonement because I wasn't crazy about the movie.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
Correct. 8 for 16.  The feel-good win of the night.  Hooray, I said.

Best motion picture of the year
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott
Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen,
Producers
Correct. 9 for 17.  No surprise, really.

Best animated short film
"Madame Tutli-Putli" (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film
Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
Wrong. 9 for 18.  Another guess.  Went Canadian, but should have gone "title everyone knows" with Peter & the Wolf.  What was with the film-maker bringing his little doll up with him?  Weird.

Best live action short film
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)" (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
Wrong. 9 for 19.  Again, another guess, and again, if I had done even a bit of research, I probably would have voted for the Le Mozart des Pickpockets.  Yeah, right.  Easy to say.

Achievement in sound editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
Correct. 10 for 20.  I figured Bourne would win at least 1 of these technical awards, so I put the name down for all 3 they were nominated for.  Didn't think it'd take them all.  Not angry at all that they did.  I liked that movie. 

Achievement in sound mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
Correct. 11 for 21.  See my "sound editing" blurb.

Achievement in visual effects
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
Wrong.  11 for 22.  I guess the Academy was tired of the third installment of Pirates visual wizardry.  Golden Compass takes the gold.

Adapted screenplay
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
Wrong.  11 for 23.  Just in case it wasn't a "No Country" night, I hedged my bet and went with something other than Coen Brothers here.  Tough category, I thought.

Original screenplay
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Written by Diablo Cody
Correct. 12 for 24.  No surprise with this.  Every day I'm liking the movie Juno less and less.  Still, a writer's award usually goes to a new-comer darling of the industry, and Diablo Cody is certainly that.  I'll be interested to see if she has anything else to write.

So, 12 for 24.  50%.  That sucks.  Usually, I'm anywhere from 14 to 18 correct, so this was a disappointing campaign for me.


Technorati Tags: Academy Awards, Oscars, Predictions

And The Awards Went To...

How did I do?  Let's have a look.  I must say the 80th Annual Academy Awards must have surely been one of the more boring of them all.  Yawns all around.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Correct. 1 for 1.  Totally deserving.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Correct. 2 for 2.  Totally deserving.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Wrong. 2 for 3.  Not upset that Marion Cotillard won.  I haven't seen La Vie en Rose, but from all accounts it (she) was great.  Always nice when a non-English movie wins.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Wrong. 2 for 4.  I liked Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton, but really didn't think it was Oscar worthy.  And man o man did Tilda look hard.

Best animated feature film of the year
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
Correct 3 for 5.  Haven't seen it, but would like to some time.  I'm a Brad Bird fan.

Achievement in art direction
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
Wrong. 3 for 6.  Very happy that Sweeney Todd won, even though it hurts my Oscar picks score.

Achievement in cinematography
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
Wrong. 3 for 7.  (I'm sucking this year).  Again, not upset with this pick.

Achievement in costume design
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
Correct. 4 for 8.  Always go with English period costume dramas.

Achievement in directing
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Correct. 5 for 9.  An easy pick.  Totally deserving.

Best documentary feature
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
Correct. 6 for 10.  Not surprised by this.

Best documentary short subject
"Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
Wrong. 6 for 11.  A total guess.  A total wrong guess.

Achievement in film editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse
Correct.  7 for 12.  Surprised (pleasantly) that Bourne picked up the technical awards.

Best foreign language film of the year
"Mongol" Kazakhstan
Wrong. 7 for 13.  If I had done even a bit of research, I would have picked The Counterfeiters.  Didn't recognize the name.  But when I saw the trailer for it, I figured it to be an Oscar contender.  Seeing the clip of it during the telecast, I realized my error.

Achievement in makeup
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel
Wrong. 7 for 14.  This was something of a surprise for me.  Didn't think La Vie en Rose had a chance.  Still not sure why it won?

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami
Wrong. 7 for 15.  I just guessed at this one.  Probably didn't pick Atonement because I wasn't crazy about the movie.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
Correct. 8 for 16.  The feel-good win of the night.  Hooray, I said.

Best motion picture of the year
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott
Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen,
Producers
Correct. 9 for 17.  No surprise, really.

Best animated short film
"Madame Tutli-Putli" (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film
Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
Wrong. 9 for 18.  Another guess.  Went Canadian, but should have gone "title everyone knows" with Peter & the Wolf.  What was with the film-maker bringing his little doll up with him?  Weird.

Best live action short film
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)" (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
Wrong. 9 for 19.  Again, another guess, and again, if I had done even a bit of research, I probably would have voted for the Le Mozart des Pickpockets.  Yeah, right.  Easy to say.

Achievement in sound editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
Correct. 10 for 20.  I figured Bourne would win at least 1 of these technical awards, so I put the name down for all 3 they were nominated for.  Didn't think it'd take them all.  Not angry at all that they did.  I liked that movie. 

Achievement in sound mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
Correct. 11 for 21.  See my "sound editing" blurb.

Achievement in visual effects
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
Wrong.  11 for 22.  I guess the Academy was tired of the third installment of Pirates visual wizardry.  Golden Compass takes the gold.

Adapted screenplay
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
Wrong.  11 for 23.  Just in case it wasn't a "No Country" night, I hedged my bet and went with something other than Coen Brothers here.  Tough category, I thought.

Original screenplay
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Written by Diablo Cody
Correct. 12 for 24.  No surprise with this.  Every day I'm liking the movie Juno less and less.  Still, a writer's award usually goes to a new-comer darling of the industry, and Diablo Cody is certainly that.  I'll be interested to see if she has anything else to write.

So, 12 for 24.  50%.  That sucks.  Usually, I'm anywhere from 14 to 18 correct, so this was a disappointing campaign for me.


Technorati Tags: Academy Awards, Oscars, Predictions

Meet You On The Monkeybars

There's a website out there called Walken the Walk which is having a Christopher Walken impersonation contest.  People are to send in their video of them impersonating Walken.

I haven't looked through them all.  Some are really atrocious.  This one stands out as my favourite.



Technorati Tags: Walken the Walk, Christopher Walken, impersonation, contest

Meet You On The Monkeybars

There's a website out there called Walken the Walk which is having a Christopher Walken impersonation contest.  People are to send in their video of them impersonating Walken.

I haven't looked through them all.  Some are really atrocious.  This one stands out as my favourite.



Technorati Tags: Walken the Walk, Christopher Walken, impersonation, contest

Moe Gorman - "I'm Glad She's Dead"

My good friend, Moe Gorman, has one of his videos up on YouTube.

Check it out below.



Technorati Tags: Moe Gorman, Sketch22

Moe Gorman - "I'm Glad She's Dead"

My good friend, Moe Gorman, has one of his videos up on YouTube.

Check it out below.



Technorati Tags: Moe Gorman, Sketch22

But I'm In My Lounge Pants.

The night that the Grammys were on television, we on PEI had a bit of a snowstorm.  Nothing really major, but enough to cancel school the next day.
And enough to get cars stuck in the snowplow drift at the end of their driveways.  Well, at least one car stuck in the snowplow drift at the end of one driveway.
No, not our car, and not our driveway.  But the driveway across and just down the street from us.
Madonna's house.  Seriously.  Madonna.  That's her name.
I first noticed the car at about 11:30 at night.  Everyone else in our house had given up on the Grammys much earlier, but I was determined to stay up and watch it to the bitter end.  And it was a bitter end, I thought.  The last 45 minutes of the show stunk up the joint.  But I digress.

I happened to look out our front window and I see this young dude and his white car, half way up the drive in Madonna's driveway.  I notice because he's shoveling.  "He's stuck", I think to myself.  Sure enough, he was. Because the Grammys were getting boring, I though watching him shove would be more exciting.  The snow was blowing, it was late, he was trying to get out of the driveway; I half expected him to lose his temper and show anger.  I wanted to visually eavesdrop that moment.
So, he does some super fast shoveling, gets in the car.  The red of the brake lights, and the white of the reverse lights shine beautifully in the white snow, reflecting in the dark.  He starts rocking his car.
My personal philosophy when dealing with a stuck-in-the-snow car is that if it can rock, even a bit, you should be able to get it out.  Sure enough, after rocking it back and forth a few times, the car starts backing down the driveway.  But he gets stuck again at the end of the driveway, where the snowplow left a big pile of snow (as it always does).
My first thought was "you're a lazy idiot for not shoveling out the end of the driveway.  You get what you deserve."
He is stuck firm.  No rocking of the car at all.  He gets out, shovels a bit around the car, gets back in.  Red lights, white lights, red lights etc.  No rocking at all.
He gets out, moves to the back of the car and tries to push it.  Of course, that manouever is useless.  "All he needs," I think to myself, "is someone to push while he guns the motor."
I seriously think of being the hero and rushing out to help him.  But it's almost midnight on a Sunday, I'm in my comfy, cozy lounge pants, and it's storming outside.  I decide, instead, to stay warm and watch.  I'm now sure that the tantrum will come any moment.

After about 20 minutes of varying strategies of shoveling, pushing, thinking, standing, shoveling, sitting in car, giving up, resuming to shovel, push, etc., I start wishing really hard that he'd get himself unstuck, as it was now past midnight, the Grammys were really sucking, and I wanted to go to bed.  I could not, however, do that until his situation rectified itself.
He went through a couple of variations of shoveling and pushing with his jacket off (no doubt sweaty from his energetic getting nowhereness), and then jacket on again (no doubt getting pneumonia from sweating and being outside in a snowstorm without a jacket on).

His solo manual efforts were getting him nowhere, and, I knew, wouldn't get him anywhere.  He needed help.  I couldn't bring myself to be that help, though.  And then, luck of luck, a car comes down the street.  Surely he'll stop the car and ask for help.  It would only take a small effort from someone else.  Here comes the car.  It's a police car! He's saved!  He'll stop the police car, they'll either help or call for help, he'll get out and I'll go to bed.

But he does nothing.  He watches as the police car drives slowly past the driveway.  "Why didn't you stop them?" I yell to him in my brain.  Now I am of the firm conviction that this lazy guy does deserve what he gets.  All he had to do was stop the police and get help.  Then I started formulating the theory that the guy was actually drunk or something, and couldn't bear having the police catch him in such a state, trying to drive his car.  That was the only explanation.

So, the police car drives into oblivion and he resumes shoveling, pushing, etc. to no affect.  Minutes pass.

That's it, I have to go to bed.  But I cannot.  I have to see it to its end.  Then, another car trundles its way down from where the police car disappeared.  This time he'll seek help. I'm sure of it.  But wait!  The car doesn't drive past.  It pulls into its own driveway, just a couple of houses up the street.  Salvation, I think.  This car's driver will get out, help him get out, and I'll go to bed.
Instead, the car's driver spends maybe ten minutes driving up his own driveway, back down his own driveway.  This seems to be his own weird attempt to clear his driveway of snow, by driving over it.  About ten minutes of driving up and down the driveway.  Then he finally gets out (and I know.. I just know that he sees the original stuck guy there, shoveling to little effect) and... goes into his house.

I am amazed, at this point, that the guy hasn't had any physical display of a breakdown.  Instead, he remains calm looking as he refuses to give up on his not-working efforts of shoveling and pushing.  The car hasn't budged an inch.

Finally, about 12:25, he throws down the shovel, goes to Madonna's door and enters the house.  I didn't wait around to see if he had given up or not, and skedaddled myself upstairs to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, the white car was gone.

I feel a little bad about not helping.  It wouldn't have taken a great deal of effort on my part.  But i was in my toasty warm lounge pants and t-shirt.

But I'm In My Lounge Pants.

The night that the Grammys were on television, we on PEI had a bit of a snowstorm.  Nothing really major, but enough to cancel school the next day.
And enough to get cars stuck in the snowplow drift at the end of their driveways.  Well, at least one car stuck in the snowplow drift at the end of one driveway.
No, not our car, and not our driveway.  But the driveway across and just down the street from us.
Madonna's house.  Seriously.  Madonna.  That's her name.
I first noticed the car at about 11:30 at night.  Everyone else in our house had given up on the Grammys much earlier, but I was determined to stay up and watch it to the bitter end.  And it was a bitter end, I thought.  The last 45 minutes of the show stunk up the joint.  But I digress.

I happened to look out our front window and I see this young dude and his white car, half way up the drive in Madonna's driveway.  I notice because he's shoveling.  "He's stuck", I think to myself.  Sure enough, he was. Because the Grammys were getting boring, I though watching him shove would be more exciting.  The snow was blowing, it was late, he was trying to get out of the driveway; I half expected him to lose his temper and show anger.  I wanted to visually eavesdrop that moment.
So, he does some super fast shoveling, gets in the car.  The red of the brake lights, and the white of the reverse lights shine beautifully in the white snow, reflecting in the dark.  He starts rocking his car.
My personal philosophy when dealing with a stuck-in-the-snow car is that if it can rock, even a bit, you should be able to get it out.  Sure enough, after rocking it back and forth a few times, the car starts backing down the driveway.  But he gets stuck again at the end of the driveway, where the snowplow left a big pile of snow (as it always does).
My first thought was "you're a lazy idiot for not shoveling out the end of the driveway.  You get what you deserve."
He is stuck firm.  No rocking of the car at all.  He gets out, shovels a bit around the car, gets back in.  Red lights, white lights, red lights etc.  No rocking at all.
He gets out, moves to the back of the car and tries to push it.  Of course, that manouever is useless.  "All he needs," I think to myself, "is someone to push while he guns the motor."
I seriously think of being the hero and rushing out to help him.  But it's almost midnight on a Sunday, I'm in my comfy, cozy lounge pants, and it's storming outside.  I decide, instead, to stay warm and watch.  I'm now sure that the tantrum will come any moment.

After about 20 minutes of varying strategies of shoveling, pushing, thinking, standing, shoveling, sitting in car, giving up, resuming to shovel, push, etc., I start wishing really hard that he'd get himself unstuck, as it was now past midnight, the Grammys were really sucking, and I wanted to go to bed.  I could not, however, do that until his situation rectified itself.
He went through a couple of variations of shoveling and pushing with his jacket off (no doubt sweaty from his energetic getting nowhereness), and then jacket on again (no doubt getting pneumonia from sweating and being outside in a snowstorm without a jacket on).

His solo manual efforts were getting him nowhere, and, I knew, wouldn't get him anywhere.  He needed help.  I couldn't bring myself to be that help, though.  And then, luck of luck, a car comes down the street.  Surely he'll stop the car and ask for help.  It would only take a small effort from someone else.  Here comes the car.  It's a police car! He's saved!  He'll stop the police car, they'll either help or call for help, he'll get out and I'll go to bed.

But he does nothing.  He watches as the police car drives slowly past the driveway.  "Why didn't you stop them?" I yell to him in my brain.  Now I am of the firm conviction that this lazy guy does deserve what he gets.  All he had to do was stop the police and get help.  Then I started formulating the theory that the guy was actually drunk or something, and couldn't bear having the police catch him in such a state, trying to drive his car.  That was the only explanation.

So, the police car drives into oblivion and he resumes shoveling, pushing, etc. to no affect.  Minutes pass.

That's it, I have to go to bed.  But I cannot.  I have to see it to its end.  Then, another car trundles its way down from where the police car disappeared.  This time he'll seek help. I'm sure of it.  But wait!  The car doesn't drive past.  It pulls into its own driveway, just a couple of houses up the street.  Salvation, I think.  This car's driver will get out, help him get out, and I'll go to bed.
Instead, the car's driver spends maybe ten minutes driving up his own driveway, back down his own driveway.  This seems to be his own weird attempt to clear his driveway of snow, by driving over it.  About ten minutes of driving up and down the driveway.  Then he finally gets out (and I know.. I just know that he sees the original stuck guy there, shoveling to little effect) and... goes into his house.

I am amazed, at this point, that the guy hasn't had any physical display of a breakdown.  Instead, he remains calm looking as he refuses to give up on his not-working efforts of shoveling and pushing.  The car hasn't budged an inch.

Finally, about 12:25, he throws down the shovel, goes to Madonna's door and enters the house.  I didn't wait around to see if he had given up or not, and skedaddled myself upstairs to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, the white car was gone.

I feel a little bad about not helping.  It wouldn't have taken a great deal of effort on my part.  But i was in my toasty warm lounge pants and t-shirt.

And The Awards Go To...

The last couple of years, I offered an Oscar Picks contest here.  I found that, with approx. 20+ entries to try and check during the telecast, I missed the nuances of the Academy Awards.  Yes.  Nuances.

So, this year, no contest for you to enter.  Just this list of my predictions for you to disagree with.

Here, then, is what will transpire at the 80th Annual Academy Awards:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role


Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)

Best animated feature film of the year
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird

Achievement in art direction
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne

Achievement in directing
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Best documentary feature


"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner

Best documentary short subject
"Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello

Achievement in film editing


"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse

Best foreign language film of the year
"Mongol" Kazakhstan

Achievement in makeup
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)


"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova

Best motion picture of the year
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott

Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen,

Producers

Best animated short film
"Madame Tutli-Putli" (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film

Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Best live action short film
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)" (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin

Achievement in sound editing


"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg

Achievement in sound mixing


"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis

Achievement in visual effects
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood

Original screenplay


"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Written by Diablo Cody


Technorati Tags: Academy Awards, Oscars, Predictions

And The Awards Go To...

The last couple of years, I offered an Oscar Picks contest here.  I found that, with approx. 20+ entries to try and check during the telecast, I missed the nuances of the Academy Awards.  Yes.  Nuances.

So, this year, no contest for you to enter.  Just this list of my predictions for you to disagree with.

Here, then, is what will transpire at the 80th Annual Academy Awards:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role


Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)

Best animated feature film of the year
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird

Achievement in art direction
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne

Achievement in directing
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Best documentary feature


"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner

Best documentary short subject
"Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello

Achievement in film editing


"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse

Best foreign language film of the year
"Mongol" Kazakhstan

Achievement in makeup
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)


"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova

Best motion picture of the year
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott

Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen,

Producers

Best animated short film
"Madame Tutli-Putli" (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film

Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Best live action short film
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)" (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin

Achievement in sound editing


"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg

Achievement in sound mixing


"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis

Achievement in visual effects
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood

Original screenplay


"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Written by Diablo Cody


Technorati Tags: Academy Awards, Oscars, Predictions

American Idol - Top 12 Men

Let's see how long this re-capping thing goes.
This year, I'll give my critique, as if I'm sitting on the left of Simon.

David Hernandez - "In the Midnight Hour".  Sorry, David, I was watching Stargate: Atlantis and missed your performance.  Your recap video at the end of the show looked okay, though.

Chikezie - "More Today Than Yesterday".  Sorry, still watching Stargate.  It was a good episode, too, with Ronan and Teal'c joining forces to kill a bunch of wraith.  Watching your recap video, I was wondering what kind of train wreck did I miss.  You looked like some sort of old-timey old timer.  Your looked shocked my ears into temporary deafness and I didn't take note of your singing in the five second clip I saw.

David Cook - "Happy Together".  I liked the way you started off kinda slow and sensitive.  I liked it less when you brought it up to the regular tempo and started kind of shouting a bit.  I believe I am the only one of the four judges who liked the way it began more than the way it ended.  You, as a person, are kind of forgettable though.

Jason Yeager - "Moon River".  Nice try, sir.  Tough song to sing, tricky arrangement.  You did an okay job with it, but I don't know if the kids will dig it.  Also, you have to work on not looking like Donnie Osmond.

Robbie Carrico - "One".  I rather enjoyed that.  You seem to know what you're doing and you're capable of pulling it off.  At least for tonight.  One word of advice, though:  don't let yourself get roped into that "I'm The Rocker Dude" thing, because once you get in there, any time you try to come out of it, the other judges will invariably reprimand you for not sticking to your thing, dawg.

David Archuleta - "Shop Around".  Okay, I've fallen in love with you, and have a big man-crush on you.  I can only imagine the affect you're having on little girls and grandmothers all around North America.  You did a great job singing, no doubt.  But a warning:  Don't play "the nervous, goofy, shy, aw shucks" thing too much.  It will work for a bit longer, but then people will sicken of it.  Don't let that happen, because I want to see you win it all.  Because I'm in love with you.

Danny Noriega - "Jailhouse Rock".  When the music started, so fast, I was worried for you.  You immediately eased my fears, though, by sounding competent.  Then, about a third of the way in, I found you really, really boring.  And I'm not a fan of your "I can be a bitch" attitude.  You're perhaps a fun novelty to have around for a while, in a "oh my goodness, will he say something outrageous" kind of way.  But ultimately, I don't think you have what it takes to win.  Your personality will get in your way of advancing to the serious rounds.

Luke Menard - "Everybody's Talkin'".  Man oh man, did I NOT like this performance.  Bad song choice, my friend.  Unfortunately for you, I don't think Everybody's Talkin' about your performance.  Really forgettable. (see what I did there, incorporated the song title into my criticism.  Note to self:  Must do that much more often.)

Colton Berry - "Suspicious Minds".  I didn't like the way he sang this. Not at all.  I hate when people smile during songs they shouldn't be smiling through.  Have a look at the lyrics.  They aren't supposed to be all smiley.  My advice:  go back and re-interpret the song.  How about this:  you and the person you're singing to both have suspicious minds, right.  You both are distrustful of the other.  What if you make the choice that everything you're saying to the other person is a lie because you're actually a lying, cheating son of a bitch.  How would that affect the way you sang the song.  That's just one idea.  But the one thing not to do is smile your way through the frickin' thing.  Ugh.  However, I think I have a suspicious mind that the rest of the world disagrees with me, and you'll be around for a while.

Garrett Haley - "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do".  I don't like this kid much.  I think too many people have told you that you look like Leif Garrett, and it's gone to your head.  You think you're prettier than you are.  It was as bland a performance as this review of it is accurate.

Jason Castro - "What a Day for a Daydream".  I thought you did a great job, and worked the song really well.  Couldn't help but think you look like David Cassidy.  Good strong performance.  Now, next week, lets see what you do without the guitar.  Oh, and glad to hear your grandfather is retiring from his business.

Michael Johns - "Light My Fire".  I'm trying to like this guy, because you have a great voice.  But you ust so much looks the part of "lead singer" that you bug me.  Although, when you speak, I like him again.  You did a super job being Jim Morrison on that song.  I'd like to see you next week take a risk and really re-interpret a song as your own, rather than do a rehash version of the original song.

All in all, a really strong group of guys.  Jason and David are my two favourites so far.  I expect both to go far.



Technorati Tags: American Idol

American Idol - Top 12 Men

Let's see how long this re-capping thing goes.
This year, I'll give my critique, as if I'm sitting on the left of Simon.

David Hernandez - "In the Midnight Hour".  Sorry, David, I was watching Stargate: Atlantis and missed your performance.  Your recap video at the end of the show looked okay, though.

Chikezie - "More Today Than Yesterday".  Sorry, still watching Stargate.  It was a good episode, too, with Ronan and Teal'c joining forces to kill a bunch of wraith.  Watching your recap video, I was wondering what kind of train wreck did I miss.  You looked like some sort of old-timey old timer.  Your looked shocked my ears into temporary deafness and I didn't take note of your singing in the five second clip I saw.

David Cook - "Happy Together".  I liked the way you started off kinda slow and sensitive.  I liked it less when you brought it up to the regular tempo and started kind of shouting a bit.  I believe I am the only one of the four judges who liked the way it began more than the way it ended.  You, as a person, are kind of forgettable though.

Jason Yeager - "Moon River".  Nice try, sir.  Tough song to sing, tricky arrangement.  You did an okay job with it, but I don't know if the kids will dig it.  Also, you have to work on not looking like Donnie Osmond.

Robbie Carrico - "One".  I rather enjoyed that.  You seem to know what you're doing and you're capable of pulling it off.  At least for tonight.  One word of advice, though:  don't let yourself get roped into that "I'm The Rocker Dude" thing, because once you get in there, any time you try to come out of it, the other judges will invariably reprimand you for not sticking to your thing, dawg.

David Archuleta - "Shop Around".  Okay, I've fallen in love with you, and have a big man-crush on you.  I can only imagine the affect you're having on little girls and grandmothers all around North America.  You did a great job singing, no doubt.  But a warning:  Don't play "the nervous, goofy, shy, aw shucks" thing too much.  It will work for a bit longer, but then people will sicken of it.  Don't let that happen, because I want to see you win it all.  Because I'm in love with you.

Danny Noriega - "Jailhouse Rock".  When the music started, so fast, I was worried for you.  You immediately eased my fears, though, by sounding competent.  Then, about a third of the way in, I found you really, really boring.  And I'm not a fan of your "I can be a bitch" attitude.  You're perhaps a fun novelty to have around for a while, in a "oh my goodness, will he say something outrageous" kind of way.  But ultimately, I don't think you have what it takes to win.  Your personality will get in your way of advancing to the serious rounds.

Luke Menard - "Everybody's Talkin'".  Man oh man, did I NOT like this performance.  Bad song choice, my friend.  Unfortunately for you, I don't think Everybody's Talkin' about your performance.  Really forgettable. (see what I did there, incorporated the song title into my criticism.  Note to self:  Must do that much more often.)

Colton Berry - "Suspicious Minds".  I didn't like the way he sang this. Not at all.  I hate when people smile during songs they shouldn't be smiling through.  Have a look at the lyrics.  They aren't supposed to be all smiley.  My advice:  go back and re-interpret the song.  How about this:  you and the person you're singing to both have suspicious minds, right.  You both are distrustful of the other.  What if you make the choice that everything you're saying to the other person is a lie because you're actually a lying, cheating son of a bitch.  How would that affect the way you sang the song.  That's just one idea.  But the one thing not to do is smile your way through the frickin' thing.  Ugh.  However, I think I have a suspicious mind that the rest of the world disagrees with me, and you'll be around for a while.

Garrett Haley - "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do".  I don't like this kid much.  I think too many people have told you that you look like Leif Garrett, and it's gone to your head.  You think you're prettier than you are.  It was as bland a performance as this review of it is accurate.

Jason Castro - "What a Day for a Daydream".  I thought you did a great job, and worked the song really well.  Couldn't help but think you look like David Cassidy.  Good strong performance.  Now, next week, lets see what you do without the guitar.  Oh, and glad to hear your grandfather is retiring from his business.

Michael Johns - "Light My Fire".  I'm trying to like this guy, because you have a great voice.  But you ust so much looks the part of "lead singer" that you bug me.  Although, when you speak, I like him again.  You did a super job being Jim Morrison on that song.  I'd like to see you next week take a risk and really re-interpret a song as your own, rather than do a rehash version of the original song.

All in all, a really strong group of guys.  Jason and David are my two favourites so far.  I expect both to go far.



Technorati Tags: American Idol

Rob Talks 2007 Movies

Movies
released in 2007 that I’ve seen:

 

"28
Weeks Later"  -  I was somewhat disappointed with this
movie.  Was hoping it would be more like
28 Days Later (investing more in the characters, and all that), but ended up being a
not-too-interesting actioner.

"300"
– Beautiful to look at.  Not much
more.  But, oh so beautiful to look
at.  Recommend it on that alone.  Did I mention it was beautiful to look at?

"3:10
To Yuma" – I quite enjoyed this western.  I’m a sucker for westerns, if they have any
meat to them.  This one was like the ribs
at Swiss Chalet.

"American
Gangster" – I watched it. 
And then I stopped watching it when it was over.  That’s about it. Well-made, but ultimately
disappointing.  I found it to be a very
flat movie, in that there were no peaks and valleys for the action to move
into.

"The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" – I
thought this a was a good movie.  One of
my favourites of the year, actually. 
Maybe top ten?  Sure, this is my 1^st
Top Ten.

"Atonement"
– This one left me wanting.  Started out
okay, but by the time the story split into two separate locations, I thought it
lost its steam.  And by steam I mean both
sexual intensity (which was there early on) and dramatic interest.

"Balls
Of Fury" – I caught myself watching this with my son, who this
year is very into table tennis.  I told myself
I’d only watch a bit of it to see if it was as bad as I expected it to be.  I ended up watching the whole thing.  It’s the only comedy I can think of where I
didn’t laugh out loud once, yet still didn’t absolutely hate.  Weird effect on me, this one.

"Before
The Devil Knows You're Dead"  - Not what I’d call a happy movie.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman is great, and Ethan
Hawke is surprisingly not irritating. 
Pretty bleak, but an enjoyable romp into that bleakness.

"Black
Snake Moan" – Really enjoyed this.  Maybe another of my top ten.  And it’s not a favourite just because Ricci
spends much of the time locked in a house in nothing but a tank top and
panties.  Great performances all
around.  Even JT was good.

"Blades
Of Glory" – When will I tire of Will Farrell?  Well, I tired of him around the time of
Talledega Nights.  Disliked that movie a
whole lot.  But this one has plenty of
funny moments.  And that’s all you’re
looking for, right?

"The
Bourne Ultimatum" – I’m a fan of the Bourne movies and this
one was maybe my favourite?  I honestly
don’t know.  I’ll say it’s a top ten
movie.  That’s 3 top tens so far.  Let’s keep track of that.

"Breach"
– Another good movie. Like the western genre, I’m also a sucker for a good
espionage movie and this has enough going for it to easily keep my
interest.  Does that sound like a good
endorsement?  Not really, maybe.  But I quite liked this movie.

"Bug"
– Didn’t really know much about this going into it, other than Ashley Judd is
in it and it’s directed by William Friedken. This movie about obsession and OCD
grabbed me and didn’t let go.  There’s a
tag you can put on the poster! 

"Control"
– I wasn’t much of a Joy Division fan back when they were actually a band.  I became more of a fan when I watched 24 Hour
Party People (a movie I’d recommend to anyone). 
This is a very good bio-pic, lovely to look at, with strong performances
and conveys a very strong sense of time and place.  Recommended.

"Die
Hard 4" – You know. 
It’s Die Hard.  You try to look
beyond the implausibility and just enjoy the ride.  Well, those implausibles were pretty hard to
look beyond, but I managed. Lots of fun.

"Eastern
Promises" – So, you’ve learned I’m a sucker for good westerns
and good espionage.  Add Russian mafia to
that list.  I’m going to say this is in
my top ten, but it might fall out of that list if many more below make it.  4^th Top Ten.

"Epic
Movie" – Ugh.

"Gone
Baby Gone" – What a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting this to
be as good as it was.  I was disappointed
in the ending, but thought it was great otherwise.  I’ll give it Top Ten.  5^th top ten.

"Grindhouse"
– Okay, obviously I’m going to have to re-calculate my top ten because this is
definitely on there too.  And very close
to the top.  Was this a 2007
release?  Guess so, because the list says
so.  I loved this movie going
experience.  Every moment rocked!!  Wow, thinking back on it, I’m tingly. 6^th
Top Ten

"Hairspray
The Movie" – Tried to watch all of this, but couldn’t get
through it.  Tried to like John
Travolta’s character, but couldn’t get through it.  Tried to like this movie, but couldn’t get
through it.

"Hannibal
Rising"  - An okay
telling of the formative years of Dr. Hannibal Lecter.  Pretty standard as far as explaining how a
genius cannibal comes into being.

"Hot
Fuzz" – another fun movie from the Shaun of the Dead boys.  I did find it a bit too long, but otherwise is
lots of fun.

"I
Am Legend" – I didn’t like the
super-human-strength-and-super-fast zombies or whatever they were.  I wished they weren’t so dangerous
individually, but that their danger came from their numbers.  I liked pretty much everything about this
movie though.

"I'm
Not There" – Really wanted to like this, but ended up turning
it off before it finished.  Which is
weird because I was ‘kind of’ enjoying it as I watched it, but at one point I
finally just gave up on it.  Maybe it was
that I was watching it late night one Friday night and I was over-tired?  Great performances, but just too non-linear
for my liking, at that time that I watched it. 
Maybe if I’d seen it in other circumstances, I’d be raving about it?

"The
Invasion" – An slightly-better-than-ordinary re-telling of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  I found
myself caught up in the tension a few times, but overall, nothing really
fantastic.  I’d give it thumbs up.

"Joe
Strummer" – The Future Is Unwritten.  A great bio of Joe Strummer of The
Clash.  Seeing that Joe Strummer is a
musical idol of mine, I was really glad to see this film.  Well done and made me crush on Strummer even
more.  Sigh.

"Juno"
– Let me voice my dissident opinion on this movie:  I did not cream my jeans for this movie.  I found the world they lived in to be far too
cartoony.  I was expecting something that
resembled realism, and I found something that resembled glibness.

"The
Kingdom" – I really liked this movie.  Great performances all around.  Doesn’t give a very hopeful outlook for holy
war ever ending.  I’m gonna give it a Top
Ten. 7^th Top Ten

"Knocked
Up" – I really enjoyed this movie when I saw it, but every
time I think of it since, I seem to recall liking it less and less.  Weird sensation, that.   C’mon, Rob! 
Remember how much you liked it.  I
did!  I did like it!

"Michael
Clayton" – I really liked the performances in this movie, but
the action of the movie was pretty pedestrian. 
Tom Wilkinson was, I thought, wonderful. 
The flick doesn’t paint lawyers in a very happy light.

"Music
& Lyrics" – Didn’t care much for this.

"No
Country For Old Men" – Definitely Top Ten, and either One or
Two, depending on my mood.  Fantastic on
all counts.  Loved the ending.  Loved how the ending puzzled and bothered so
many. 8^th Top Ten

"Ocean's
13" – I liked it, but I hope this is the last in the
franchise.

"Pirates
Of The Caribbean 3" – I liked it, but I hope this is the last
in the franchise.

"Shoot
Em Up" – Watching this in the cinema, I didn’t know what to
make of it, but I was pretty sure I didn’t care for it.  Way too over the top.  Watching it again on the television, I
enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. 
What’s that mean?  That means go
home and watch it.  Don’t expect much and
you might just enjoy it.

"Sicko"
– Makes me glad to be in Canada,
paying huge taxes for a health care system that’s barely working.  Compared to the US system, it’s heavenly.  Another pointed doc from Michael Moore.

"The
Simpsons Movie" – Funnier than I expected it to be.  Didn’t really offer much to warrant the big
screen treatment though.

"Spiderman
3" – I liked it, but I find it’s getting boring re-hashing the
“with great power comes great sequels” formula. 
Let’s let Peter Parker put his troubled soul aside and let’s just see a
great kick-ass super-hero action movie.

"Superbad"
– Funny.  Silly.  The only thing keeping it from being the
ultimate teen sex flick was the lack of nudity. 
If there was some nudity in this film, it would be forever classic.  You know, like Porkys.

"Sweeney
Todd Movie" – I don’t like musicals.  I loved, loved, loved this musical.  Depending on my mood, this ranks either one
or two in my Top Ten. 9^th Top Ten.

"The
Ten" - Here’s a weird little film that may have escaped a lot of people’s
notice.  I saw a trailer for this last
year, and the trailer was weird and funny enough for me to take notice.  Found the movie and watched it.  Lots of fun. 
Basically it’s ten short films, each one dealing with a different one of
the Ten Commandments.  Wynona Ryder has
sex with a ventriloquist doll.

"This
Is England" -  A great little
movie from England.  About a 12 year old loner kid in the late 70’s
burgeoning ska punk England
who finds companionship with a group of older skinheads.  Highly recommend you seek this out.

"Transformers
The Movie " – I was never into the Transformers. 
Don’t think I’ve watched even a minute of the cartoons (they were
cartoons, right?).  So, coming into this
movie blind, I have to say I rather enjoyed it for what it was.  That’s enough on that.

"Zodiac"
- The 10^th of my Top Ten
movies.  Hey, what’d’ya know.  I didn’t even have to go back and reconfigure
the top ten.  This is a great movie,
wonderful atmosphere, great intrigue, lots of troubled characters and takes its
time to let it all unfold.  Watch it.

 

My Top Ten movies I’ve seen that were released in 2007:

in order from Ten to One

 

10 Bourne Ultimatum

9  Before
The Devil Knows You’re Dead

8  Eastern
Promises

7  Assassination
of Jesse James

6  The
Kingdom

5  Gone
Baby Gone

4  Grindhouse

3  Zodiac

2  Sweeney Todd

1  No
Country For Old Men

Rob Talks 2007 Movies

Movies
released in 2007 that I’ve seen:

 

"28
Weeks Later"  -  I was somewhat disappointed with this
movie.  Was hoping it would be more like
28 Days Later (investing more in the characters, and all that), but ended up being a
not-too-interesting actioner.

"300"
– Beautiful to look at.  Not much
more.  But, oh so beautiful to look
at.  Recommend it on that alone.  Did I mention it was beautiful to look at?

"3:10
To Yuma" – I quite enjoyed this western.  I’m a sucker for westerns, if they have any
meat to them.  This one was like the ribs
at Swiss Chalet.

"American
Gangster" – I watched it. 
And then I stopped watching it when it was over.  That’s about it. Well-made, but ultimately
disappointing.  I found it to be a very
flat movie, in that there were no peaks and valleys for the action to move
into.

"The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" – I
thought this a was a good movie.  One of
my favourites of the year, actually. 
Maybe top ten?  Sure, this is my 1^st
Top Ten.

"Atonement"
– This one left me wanting.  Started out
okay, but by the time the story split into two separate locations, I thought it
lost its steam.  And by steam I mean both
sexual intensity (which was there early on) and dramatic interest.

"Balls
Of Fury" – I caught myself watching this with my son, who this
year is very into table tennis.  I told myself
I’d only watch a bit of it to see if it was as bad as I expected it to be.  I ended up watching the whole thing.  It’s the only comedy I can think of where I
didn’t laugh out loud once, yet still didn’t absolutely hate.  Weird effect on me, this one.

"Before
The Devil Knows You're Dead"  - Not what I’d call a happy movie.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman is great, and Ethan
Hawke is surprisingly not irritating. 
Pretty bleak, but an enjoyable romp into that bleakness.

"Black
Snake Moan" – Really enjoyed this.  Maybe another of my top ten.  And it’s not a favourite just because Ricci
spends much of the time locked in a house in nothing but a tank top and
panties.  Great performances all
around.  Even JT was good.

"Blades
Of Glory" – When will I tire of Will Farrell?  Well, I tired of him around the time of
Talledega Nights.  Disliked that movie a
whole lot.  But this one has plenty of
funny moments.  And that’s all you’re
looking for, right?

"The
Bourne Ultimatum" – I’m a fan of the Bourne movies and this
one was maybe my favourite?  I honestly
don’t know.  I’ll say it’s a top ten
movie.  That’s 3 top tens so far.  Let’s keep track of that.

"Breach"
– Another good movie. Like the western genre, I’m also a sucker for a good
espionage movie and this has enough going for it to easily keep my
interest.  Does that sound like a good
endorsement?  Not really, maybe.  But I quite liked this movie.

"Bug"
– Didn’t really know much about this going into it, other than Ashley Judd is
in it and it’s directed by William Friedken. This movie about obsession and OCD
grabbed me and didn’t let go.  There’s a
tag you can put on the poster! 

"Control"
– I wasn’t much of a Joy Division fan back when they were actually a band.  I became more of a fan when I watched 24 Hour
Party People (a movie I’d recommend to anyone). 
This is a very good bio-pic, lovely to look at, with strong performances
and conveys a very strong sense of time and place.  Recommended.

"Die
Hard 4" – You know. 
It’s Die Hard.  You try to look
beyond the implausibility and just enjoy the ride.  Well, those implausibles were pretty hard to
look beyond, but I managed. Lots of fun.

"Eastern
Promises" – So, you’ve learned I’m a sucker for good westerns
and good espionage.  Add Russian mafia to
that list.  I’m going to say this is in
my top ten, but it might fall out of that list if many more below make it.  4^th Top Ten.

"Epic
Movie" – Ugh.

"Gone
Baby Gone" – What a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting this to
be as good as it was.  I was disappointed
in the ending, but thought it was great otherwise.  I’ll give it Top Ten.  5^th top ten.

"Grindhouse"
– Okay, obviously I’m going to have to re-calculate my top ten because this is
definitely on there too.  And very close
to the top.  Was this a 2007
release?  Guess so, because the list says
so.  I loved this movie going
experience.  Every moment rocked!!  Wow, thinking back on it, I’m tingly. 6^th
Top Ten

"Hairspray
The Movie" – Tried to watch all of this, but couldn’t get
through it.  Tried to like John
Travolta’s character, but couldn’t get through it.  Tried to like this movie, but couldn’t get
through it.

"Hannibal
Rising"  - An okay
telling of the formative years of Dr. Hannibal Lecter.  Pretty standard as far as explaining how a
genius cannibal comes into being.

"Hot
Fuzz" – another fun movie from the Shaun of the Dead boys.  I did find it a bit too long, but otherwise is
lots of fun.

"I
Am Legend" – I didn’t like the
super-human-strength-and-super-fast zombies or whatever they were.  I wished they weren’t so dangerous
individually, but that their danger came from their numbers.  I liked pretty much everything about this
movie though.

"I'm
Not There" – Really wanted to like this, but ended up turning
it off before it finished.  Which is
weird because I was ‘kind of’ enjoying it as I watched it, but at one point I
finally just gave up on it.  Maybe it was
that I was watching it late night one Friday night and I was over-tired?  Great performances, but just too non-linear
for my liking, at that time that I watched it. 
Maybe if I’d seen it in other circumstances, I’d be raving about it?

"The
Invasion" – An slightly-better-than-ordinary re-telling of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  I found
myself caught up in the tension a few times, but overall, nothing really
fantastic.  I’d give it thumbs up.

"Joe
Strummer" – The Future Is Unwritten.  A great bio of Joe Strummer of The
Clash.  Seeing that Joe Strummer is a
musical idol of mine, I was really glad to see this film.  Well done and made me crush on Strummer even
more.  Sigh.

"Juno"
– Let me voice my dissident opinion on this movie:  I did not cream my jeans for this movie.  I found the world they lived in to be far too
cartoony.  I was expecting something that
resembled realism, and I found something that resembled glibness.

"The
Kingdom" – I really liked this movie.  Great performances all around.  Doesn’t give a very hopeful outlook for holy
war ever ending.  I’m gonna give it a Top
Ten. 7^th Top Ten

"Knocked
Up" – I really enjoyed this movie when I saw it, but every
time I think of it since, I seem to recall liking it less and less.  Weird sensation, that.   C’mon, Rob! 
Remember how much you liked it.  I
did!  I did like it!

"Michael
Clayton" – I really liked the performances in this movie, but
the action of the movie was pretty pedestrian. 
Tom Wilkinson was, I thought, wonderful. 
The flick doesn’t paint lawyers in a very happy light.

"Music
& Lyrics" – Didn’t care much for this.

"No
Country For Old Men" – Definitely Top Ten, and either One or
Two, depending on my mood.  Fantastic on
all counts.  Loved the ending.  Loved how the ending puzzled and bothered so
many. 8^th Top Ten

"Ocean's
13" – I liked it, but I hope this is the last in the
franchise.

"Pirates
Of The Caribbean 3" – I liked it, but I hope this is the last
in the franchise.

"Shoot
Em Up" – Watching this in the cinema, I didn’t know what to
make of it, but I was pretty sure I didn’t care for it.  Way too over the top.  Watching it again on the television, I
enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. 
What’s that mean?  That means go
home and watch it.  Don’t expect much and
you might just enjoy it.

"Sicko"
– Makes me glad to be in Canada,
paying huge taxes for a health care system that’s barely working.  Compared to the US system, it’s heavenly.  Another pointed doc from Michael Moore.

"The
Simpsons Movie" – Funnier than I expected it to be.  Didn’t really offer much to warrant the big
screen treatment though.

"Spiderman
3" – I liked it, but I find it’s getting boring re-hashing the
“with great power comes great sequels” formula. 
Let’s let Peter Parker put his troubled soul aside and let’s just see a
great kick-ass super-hero action movie.

"Superbad"
– Funny.  Silly.  The only thing keeping it from being the
ultimate teen sex flick was the lack of nudity. 
If there was some nudity in this film, it would be forever classic.  You know, like Porkys.

"Sweeney
Todd Movie" – I don’t like musicals.  I loved, loved, loved this musical.  Depending on my mood, this ranks either one
or two in my Top Ten. 9^th Top Ten.

"The
Ten" - Here’s a weird little film that may have escaped a lot of people’s
notice.  I saw a trailer for this last
year, and the trailer was weird and funny enough for me to take notice.  Found the movie and watched it.  Lots of fun. 
Basically it’s ten short films, each one dealing with a different one of
the Ten Commandments.  Wynona Ryder has
sex with a ventriloquist doll.

"This
Is England" -  A great little
movie from England.  About a 12 year old loner kid in the late 70’s
burgeoning ska punk England
who finds companionship with a group of older skinheads.  Highly recommend you seek this out.

"Transformers
The Movie " – I was never into the Transformers. 
Don’t think I’ve watched even a minute of the cartoons (they were
cartoons, right?).  So, coming into this
movie blind, I have to say I rather enjoyed it for what it was.  That’s enough on that.

"Zodiac"
- The 10^th of my Top Ten
movies.  Hey, what’d’ya know.  I didn’t even have to go back and reconfigure
the top ten.  This is a great movie,
wonderful atmosphere, great intrigue, lots of troubled characters and takes its
time to let it all unfold.  Watch it.

 

My Top Ten movies I’ve seen that were released in 2007:

in order from Ten to One

 

10 Bourne Ultimatum

9  Before
The Devil Knows You’re Dead

8  Eastern
Promises

7  Assassination
of Jesse James

6  The
Kingdom

5  Gone
Baby Gone

4  Grindhouse

3  Zodiac

2  Sweeney Todd

1  No
Country For Old Men