Well, I saw the Kanye West show last night in Hawaii and boy was I entertained. I am not his biggest fan but I decided to go as part of my "try new things" campaign. I was really pleasantly surprised and I really enjoyed everything even though I can't hear very well out of my right ear. This is all told from a R&B concert newbie POV.
I have no idea how to dress for something like this so I was apprehensive at first. I don't know if Kanye is a shorts and T-shirt act. I also figured he wasn't an aloha shirt act either. Well, I was thinking about buying a new button down shirt of the concert but ended up going with a regular collar shirt and cargo shorts thing. It seemed like a good choice since almost everyone was wearing pretty much the same thing as me. Just an A&F shirt and jeans or cargo pants.
There was a massive line the stretched out past the parking garage but lucky thing we got in about the middle of the line since it was General Admission. The people waiting in the line seemed to be a mix of Army guys with short hair, college kids with preppy clothes, and groups of teenagers, and 20 something girls in pretty conservative clothes. For some reason I thought it would be more girls in club clothes (ie low cut and tight) but I was wrong.
Well the concert was set up with risers along the sides and a big open space in the middle. You couldn't bring food into the general admission floor but I smuggled in some macadamia nuts and pecans that I bought at this Fresh Roasted Nut stand. I ate the pecans and immediately felt thirsty. Luckily my friend had some gum so it wasn't so bad. We sat on the risers on the right side so we were stage was to our right. It got packed quick and I felt lucky that we got there early to get decent seats on these risers.
The opening act sucked monkey nuts though. They were some local Hawaii rap band called Extreme or Immersed or something. They could have been called Submerged for all I care. They pretty much ran at top speed around the stage and shouted rap lyrics at the top of their lungs in a barely intelligible manner. I don't mind rap if it has a good beat and the lyrics are easy to understand but this was just a joke. I really hope I never have to hear this loud, obnoxious band again.
Well after that audial assault I was really looking forward to Kanye. I pretty much only heard his Golddigger song but I really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to it. He started off fairly quickly with hard rapping songs that got the people in the right mood. Everyone was flashing the Diamond Dallas Page sign for some reason. I guess that is somehow connected with Kanye but I'm not sure how.
He goes into quite a few songs that I never heard before but were very up tempo and cool. He also ran around the stage and mostly delivered his lyrics with his left hand back and his body facing sideways to the audience while kneeling with his head down. He looked like he was bowing low to the audience or he just needed that stance to get out his pretty rapid fire songs. I was also struck at how big his body and head were. He had a giant melon and had monster hands even though he looked about 5'8" or so. At one point he jumped on top of a speaker and the crowd went wild.
He was backed up by an all-woman classical instrument band with one woman wearing white and playing a violin like a crazy person. He also had a very talented DJ that played his turntables in a very good solo to a Lil Jon song. Kanye played various songs from his albums one after another mostly playing older stuff at first. During the show he ran off the stage 4 times and changed clothes. I guess he sweats like Patrick Ewing and needed a fresh shirt every now and then. He also towled off several times with a black towel that he threw into the audience.
He also had a part where he rested and played some songs that inspired him. He even played "Take on Me" from Ah-Ha and even did the dance from the song. That got the crowd laughing pretty well. He also played some songs where that he wrote the beats for and performed parts of them. That really got the crowd cheering as well.
Finally his 3rd to the last song was Golddigger and the entire crowd went ape when he started singing it. They also sang along to every part of it and the sound was quite deafening. He then sang a newer song Touch the Sky. Then he sang Jesus Walks for the encore. Everyone had a great time and were leaving with big smiles on their faces. As we were leaving we saw several groups of people passing out flyers fro Junior Marley, for a Ultimate Fighting thing, and for some Lounge or something. I think that was a pretty good idea since you have all these similar people all together at one time so you can promote your events fairly easily.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Footballers Wive$
I have recently borrowed this series from Netflix and I am really having a good time watching it. I was supposed to go to bed early last night after I finished my Federal Taxes but I just wanted to watch one episode before I went to sleep but ended up watching 3 of them. This show is really addictive and I am glad they are still making it in the UK. Also Zoe Luckner the main character is one hot Brit:
Inside Man Movie Review
Well I went to see this Spike Lee film and I have to say that this one is his best. I liked Malcom X too but this one is better. It follows Dog Day Afternoon fairly well with a group of bank robbers dressed as painters go into a very upscale bank and take everyone hostage. The opening scene kind of made me think of that scene in Heat where they knock over the bank. I have to rewatch it to find out why it made me think that way.
We are then introduced to Denzel Washingtons character and I was blown away by him. He was dressed like a Fancy Dan with a fedora and a starched suit. Kind of a quirky detective that I guess New York seems to create. He has a great interplay with his partner the same guy that was the interpreter in Amistad. The scenes with them together are outstanding. Denzel's character is fighting some kind of bribery rap so he may or may not be crooked. He seems like an okay guy and this hostage thing is his big chance.
So we go through the plot and you are thinking who the bad guys actually are and how they are going to get away with it. In the course of events we get introduced to a bunch of Spike Lee style characters. There is a Sikh guy with a turban who is released from the bank who is humliated that he is though of as an Arab and his turban is taken. We also have a Brooklyn style guy who is grabbed off the street that knows Armenian which is what the cops are picking up from the bank on a bugging system. We then see his wife who trades her bag of parking tickets in to help the cops. There is also an obnoxious Italian girl (who I thought was pretty hot), a Jewish woman who would rather be shot then disrobe, and another Jewish guy who is a diamond merchant of some kind. Just a melting pot, slice of life, New York style.
We also get introduced to Willem Defoe and Jodie Foster. Defoe is kind of underused and is pretty much just a cameo role. But Jodie Foster does a great job as an ice-queen bitch corporate fixer who is working for the bank president. She exudes a menace and polished confidence in everything she does. It is a great roll that I wanted to see more of in the movie.
There are a bunch of twists and you can see that the plot is very well developed with the acting performances holding everything together. There is a nice twist at the end that I really liked and has the "fight the system" vibe that most Spike Lee movies give off. All and all it was a very well done movie that I will probably end up buying the DVD of.
We are then introduced to Denzel Washingtons character and I was blown away by him. He was dressed like a Fancy Dan with a fedora and a starched suit. Kind of a quirky detective that I guess New York seems to create. He has a great interplay with his partner the same guy that was the interpreter in Amistad. The scenes with them together are outstanding. Denzel's character is fighting some kind of bribery rap so he may or may not be crooked. He seems like an okay guy and this hostage thing is his big chance.
So we go through the plot and you are thinking who the bad guys actually are and how they are going to get away with it. In the course of events we get introduced to a bunch of Spike Lee style characters. There is a Sikh guy with a turban who is released from the bank who is humliated that he is though of as an Arab and his turban is taken. We also have a Brooklyn style guy who is grabbed off the street that knows Armenian which is what the cops are picking up from the bank on a bugging system. We then see his wife who trades her bag of parking tickets in to help the cops. There is also an obnoxious Italian girl (who I thought was pretty hot), a Jewish woman who would rather be shot then disrobe, and another Jewish guy who is a diamond merchant of some kind. Just a melting pot, slice of life, New York style.
We also get introduced to Willem Defoe and Jodie Foster. Defoe is kind of underused and is pretty much just a cameo role. But Jodie Foster does a great job as an ice-queen bitch corporate fixer who is working for the bank president. She exudes a menace and polished confidence in everything she does. It is a great roll that I wanted to see more of in the movie.
There are a bunch of twists and you can see that the plot is very well developed with the acting performances holding everything together. There is a nice twist at the end that I really liked and has the "fight the system" vibe that most Spike Lee movies give off. All and all it was a very well done movie that I will probably end up buying the DVD of.
Larry the Cable Guy Movie Review
I went to see this movie with my Dad and I found it alot better then I thought I would. It is basically one long fart joke with Larry acting like a big slob throught the movie. The humor was my kind of thing with lots of sight gags and Larry acting like the same Redneck character from his comedy act. If you like his act (which I do) then you will probably like this movie.
The plot is basically some stuff about someone is poisoning the contestants at some kind of Food Festival, Iron Chefs type of thing. You think it might be the Mayor played by Joe Pantoliano with wierd-assed eyebrows. Larry is matched up with an uptight partner that looks like of like a man and who Larry thinks is one throught the movie. You get introduced to various goofy characters but Larry is pretty funny throughout. There is an extremely funny blooper reel at the end similar to There's Something About Mary . All and all the movie is funny if you like Larry the Cable guys comedy act. If you don't then it will probably suck ass.
The plot is basically some stuff about someone is poisoning the contestants at some kind of Food Festival, Iron Chefs type of thing. You think it might be the Mayor played by Joe Pantoliano with wierd-assed eyebrows. Larry is matched up with an uptight partner that looks like of like a man and who Larry thinks is one throught the movie. You get introduced to various goofy characters but Larry is pretty funny throughout. There is an extremely funny blooper reel at the end similar to There's Something About Mary . All and all the movie is funny if you like Larry the Cable guys comedy act. If you don't then it will probably suck ass.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Mariah Carey at the Grammys
She is really filling out nowadays. I was watching the Grammys last night and she looked quite a bit bigger then she normally does. She looks great to me but I have a feeling that Leno may replace Kirstie Alley with Mariah in his fat jokes.
Great Eating Site for Hawaii
This is a great site for finding restaurants in Hawaii. I really like how many of the restaurants have menus and contact information. Good stuff.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Glory Road: Movie Review
This was a very good movie in the Coach Carter/Remember the Titans mold. It had all the tropes of its genre and did a good job of presenting them. The movie is about the 1966 Texas Western vs. Kentucky game and the season that led up to it. It is the story of how 7 black players overcame prejudice and end up playing a game that stood up for their entire race. There were many things that made this movie work in its genre.
The coach was tough but fair and he was hard on the players when he needed to be. Josh Lucas did an outstanding job as far as I am concerned and has entered the pantheon of great sports movie coaches. There were several great scenes of him reacting to how Seattle beat Texas Western and spoiled their perfect season. I also liked a scene with him seeming over matched when he met Adolph Rupp for the first time.
John Voight does an outstanding job as Adolph Rupp. He had the voice and mannerisms down pretty well and really kind of looked like the Kentucky Coach. The part where he is giving a pep talk to the team when they were down was outstanding IMO. They could have portrayed him as the mean old racist guy but Voight gave him a likeable quality. In the movie Rupp surrounds him self with racists and they uttered most of the slurs and not Rupp. I think they did this with an eye toward protecting Rupps sizable legacy in Kentucky.
Haskins wife who was played by Emily Deschanel the woman from the Bones TV show was kind of a low point in the movie. She played the generic supportive wife and didn't say or do very much at all. The movie would have really been solid if she was played by an actress that had a little more to give to the role. I think the scene where they get the death threats could have been outstanding if it was done by an actress with a lot of dramatic range. Deshanel just looked kind of wide-eyed and freaky most of the time.
The Kansas game was well handled and it made it seem like Western Texas got in because Jo Jo White stepped over the line out of bounds line before he launched the game winner. It was kind of like if not for the after the buzzer referee call then Kansas would have played Kentucky in the final. What was interesting is upon checking CBS sportsline it looks like Utah was totally omitted from the movie. I guess they were running short of funds or something.
The final payoff game wasn't a fake nailbiter like they usually do in this genre. They pretty much stuck to what happened in real life but I read in Sports Illustrated that Kentucky did not lead at all in the first half. It also implied that Pat Riley was the center and not a guard/forward like he actually played. Riley and Dampier were the star players on Kentucky though.
Well, all and all this movie was great and I will probably watch it again if it pops up on HBO some time in the future. It deserves a place with Hoosiers, Coach Carter, Remember the Titans and other great sports movies. It was a credit to the genre.
The coach was tough but fair and he was hard on the players when he needed to be. Josh Lucas did an outstanding job as far as I am concerned and has entered the pantheon of great sports movie coaches. There were several great scenes of him reacting to how Seattle beat Texas Western and spoiled their perfect season. I also liked a scene with him seeming over matched when he met Adolph Rupp for the first time.
John Voight does an outstanding job as Adolph Rupp. He had the voice and mannerisms down pretty well and really kind of looked like the Kentucky Coach. The part where he is giving a pep talk to the team when they were down was outstanding IMO. They could have portrayed him as the mean old racist guy but Voight gave him a likeable quality. In the movie Rupp surrounds him self with racists and they uttered most of the slurs and not Rupp. I think they did this with an eye toward protecting Rupps sizable legacy in Kentucky.
Haskins wife who was played by Emily Deschanel the woman from the Bones TV show was kind of a low point in the movie. She played the generic supportive wife and didn't say or do very much at all. The movie would have really been solid if she was played by an actress that had a little more to give to the role. I think the scene where they get the death threats could have been outstanding if it was done by an actress with a lot of dramatic range. Deshanel just looked kind of wide-eyed and freaky most of the time.
The Kansas game was well handled and it made it seem like Western Texas got in because Jo Jo White stepped over the line out of bounds line before he launched the game winner. It was kind of like if not for the after the buzzer referee call then Kansas would have played Kentucky in the final. What was interesting is upon checking CBS sportsline it looks like Utah was totally omitted from the movie. I guess they were running short of funds or something.
The final payoff game wasn't a fake nailbiter like they usually do in this genre. They pretty much stuck to what happened in real life but I read in Sports Illustrated that Kentucky did not lead at all in the first half. It also implied that Pat Riley was the center and not a guard/forward like he actually played. Riley and Dampier were the star players on Kentucky though.
Well, all and all this movie was great and I will probably watch it again if it pops up on HBO some time in the future. It deserves a place with Hoosiers, Coach Carter, Remember the Titans and other great sports movies. It was a credit to the genre.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Popozao Lyrics Dissected
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Okay this is obviously a product plug to Toys-R-Us or possibly the Toyman the Superman villain. K-Fed is rumored to be a big Superman comics fan or possibly believes he is Superman.
Gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo,
gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo.
What the hell does this mean!
In Portugese it means “bring your ass”,
Oh okay now I get it.
on the floor, and move it real fast.
I want to see your kitty and a little bit of titty.
Wait I thought you wanted to see her ass? Does Britney know you are scoping Brazilian women's butts/breasts/feline pets. Do not cash your meal ticket K-Fed.
want to know where I go when I'm your city?
No absolutely not. I don't even want to know if you are in my city at all. And if you did tell us you are in Honolulu. Please, please, don't tell us it is someplace weird like a certain public toilet on a certain night and freak us out.
Girl, don't you worry about all the dough,
Is this the dough you got from Britney? I think you need to be the one worrying K-Fed.
because a cat is coming straight out of the know,
Where is this cat coming from? I have a feeling that this is a misprint and the song says the cat is coming strait out of the nose. Then it makes perfect sense.
ready to rock those shows all the way to Rio.
Bring that Brazil booty on the floor.
So the cat is coming out of the nose, rocks the shows all the way to Rio, then has this Brazilian man/woman bring his/her booty and sit on the floor. A very talented cat indeed. I wonder if this was the "kitty" that he wanted to see earlier in the song.
Up, down, all around:work that shit to the funky sound.
I wonder if he is talking about the cat or the Brazilian man/woman that he wanted to sit down.
Going to see where I'm going, oh?
Ah this is an obvious reference to Sandra Oh the star of Grey's Anatomy. Hmm, I wonder if K-Fed wants to cheat on Britney with Mrs. Oh. Is this a ubiquitous shout out to Mrs. Oh. Or perhaps Sandra was just curious on where K-Fed would go and he will be telling her soon enough in the song.
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo,
gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo.
This Portugese phrase is obviously where Mrs. Oh is supposed to go. Perhaps this is some kind of special meeting place. Gatinha sai do chao may be Brazilian Restaurant in LA or possibly Las Vegas. Who knew that Sandra Oh knew Portugese.
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
More references to Toyman. I really hope he doesn't have some sort of fascination with the Toyman. Or perhaps just with a certain part of that characters anatomy. Just the mere thought of Toyman's thing should make one scream in fright. And the thought of *all* of said thing being "put onto" K-Fed in some awful way would turn even the stoutest individual into a gibbering sanity-robbed bag of protoplasm.
[repeats]
I really hope not.
Toy all your thing on me.
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Okay this is obviously a product plug to Toys-R-Us or possibly the Toyman the Superman villain. K-Fed is rumored to be a big Superman comics fan or possibly believes he is Superman.
Gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo,
gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo.
What the hell does this mean!
In Portugese it means “bring your ass”,
Oh okay now I get it.
on the floor, and move it real fast.
I want to see your kitty and a little bit of titty.
Wait I thought you wanted to see her ass? Does Britney know you are scoping Brazilian women's butts/breasts/feline pets. Do not cash your meal ticket K-Fed.
want to know where I go when I'm your city?
No absolutely not. I don't even want to know if you are in my city at all. And if you did tell us you are in Honolulu. Please, please, don't tell us it is someplace weird like a certain public toilet on a certain night and freak us out.
Girl, don't you worry about all the dough,
Is this the dough you got from Britney? I think you need to be the one worrying K-Fed.
because a cat is coming straight out of the know,
Where is this cat coming from? I have a feeling that this is a misprint and the song says the cat is coming strait out of the nose. Then it makes perfect sense.
ready to rock those shows all the way to Rio.
Bring that Brazil booty on the floor.
So the cat is coming out of the nose, rocks the shows all the way to Rio, then has this Brazilian man/woman bring his/her booty and sit on the floor. A very talented cat indeed. I wonder if this was the "kitty" that he wanted to see earlier in the song.
Up, down, all around:work that shit to the funky sound.
I wonder if he is talking about the cat or the Brazilian man/woman that he wanted to sit down.
Going to see where I'm going, oh?
Ah this is an obvious reference to Sandra Oh the star of Grey's Anatomy. Hmm, I wonder if K-Fed wants to cheat on Britney with Mrs. Oh. Is this a ubiquitous shout out to Mrs. Oh. Or perhaps Sandra was just curious on where K-Fed would go and he will be telling her soon enough in the song.
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo,
gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo.
This Portugese phrase is obviously where Mrs. Oh is supposed to go. Perhaps this is some kind of special meeting place. Gatinha sai do chao may be Brazilian Restaurant in LA or possibly Las Vegas. Who knew that Sandra Oh knew Portugese.
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
More references to Toyman. I really hope he doesn't have some sort of fascination with the Toyman. Or perhaps just with a certain part of that characters anatomy. Just the mere thought of Toyman's thing should make one scream in fright. And the thought of *all* of said thing being "put onto" K-Fed in some awful way would turn even the stoutest individual into a gibbering sanity-robbed bag of protoplasm.
[repeats]
I really hope not.
Worst Song Ever Made K-Fed's Popozao
I was watching the Conan O'Brien show the other night and they were making fun of the new Kevin Federline song PoPoZao. I did not realize how bad this song was until I heard it all of its stomach churning glory. Check it out from this site. This blog has the awful, awful lyrics of the song.
[random screaming, laughing and grunting]
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo,
gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo.
In Portugese it means "bring your ass",
on the floor, and move it real fast.
I want to see your kitty and a little bit of titty
want to know where I go when I'm your city?
Girl, dont you worry about all the dough,
because a cat is coming straight out of the know,
ready to rock those shows all the way to Rio.
Bring that Brazil booty on the floor.
Up, down, all around:work that shit to the funky sound.
Going to see where IÂ’m going, oh?
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao,
PopozaoPo, Po, Po, Po,
Popozao, Popozao
Gatinha sai do chão,
vai descender popozão,
gatinha sai do chão,
vai descender popozão.
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
[repeats]
[random screaming, laughing and grunting]
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo,
gatinha sai do chÃo, vai descender popozÃo.
In Portugese it means "bring your ass",
on the floor, and move it real fast.
I want to see your kitty and a little bit of titty
want to know where I go when I'm your city?
Girl, dont you worry about all the dough,
because a cat is coming straight out of the know,
ready to rock those shows all the way to Rio.
Bring that Brazil booty on the floor.
Up, down, all around:work that shit to the funky sound.
Going to see where IÂ’m going, oh?
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao,
PopozaoPo, Po, Po, Po,
Popozao, Popozao
Gatinha sai do chão,
vai descender popozão,
gatinha sai do chão,
vai descender popozão.
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Po, Po, Po, Po, Popozao, Popozao
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
Toy all your thing on me, baby.
Toy all your thing on me.
[repeats]
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Mariah Carey pose
It seems she really likes this pose for some reason. I guess it is better suited to showing off her butt. Or maybe she spilled food down the front of that dress and doesn't want to camera to see a chicken leg sticking out from between her boobs.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Casanova: Movie Review
Well I saw this movie the night before last and I was somewhat disappointed. I really wanted to see the Producers but they were having some sort of party for the Sony Open in Hawaii. They had a red carpet that was blocked off and half the theatre was shut down with a massive black tarp blocking it off from the rest of the place. I peeked behind the tarp and saw they had all kinds of good food and even some sort of Ketel One vodka display. So we ended up seeing the Casanova instead.
The movie was a fairly straitforward romantic comedy with lots of mistaken identity and people masquerading as one another. I just really disagree with the reviewer who said it was similar to Shakespeare in Love. That movie was head and shoulders better then this one.
The story is about how Heath Leger playing Casanova falls in love with Sienna Millers character Franchesca Bruni. They have several bits of mistaken identity and people concealing themselves but it all just came off as a bunch of crappy sight gags and people acting like fools.
One of the bad things was that the two actors did not have any chemistry at all and you didn't understand why they fell for each other. Bruni didn't like Casanova at first but she falls in love with him even though he is a womanizer and such. He also lies to her and pretends he is different people over and over but she doesn't seem to care about that. I guess she falls in love with him because he decided to put himself on the hook for heresy. Whatever the case it all felt ham-handed and false for some reason.
Another thing I didn't like was both Oliver Platt and Jeremy Irons characters. They both were terrible even though you know they are both great actors. Oliver Platt played a baffoonish Genoan lard merchant that was supposed to marry Bruni. He is big and fat complete with a giant, fake belly. A fat lard merchant see funny funny stuff. He was basically a poorly written clown character.
While Irons really gets a raw deal. He plays a Papal Inquisitor who is supposed to be menacing but came out stupid. I know Irons could have really done a great job if was in a role that was put together decently. I guess that is more a fault of the script then anything else. They should have written him as a very deadly no-nonsense sort of character to play off of the light hearted baffoonery that surrounded him. Then you would have feared for the life of Casanova if you had any emotional investment in the character. Instead Irons was just embarrassing in the role.
As a whole the movie could have done with some script editing to make the story flow a bit better. I think in the right hands this movie could have been a real gem. I liked the basic outline of the plot and some of the twists were pretty interesting. But all in all the movie was very disappointing and I was expecting better.
The movie was a fairly straitforward romantic comedy with lots of mistaken identity and people masquerading as one another. I just really disagree with the reviewer who said it was similar to Shakespeare in Love. That movie was head and shoulders better then this one.
The story is about how Heath Leger playing Casanova falls in love with Sienna Millers character Franchesca Bruni. They have several bits of mistaken identity and people concealing themselves but it all just came off as a bunch of crappy sight gags and people acting like fools.
One of the bad things was that the two actors did not have any chemistry at all and you didn't understand why they fell for each other. Bruni didn't like Casanova at first but she falls in love with him even though he is a womanizer and such. He also lies to her and pretends he is different people over and over but she doesn't seem to care about that. I guess she falls in love with him because he decided to put himself on the hook for heresy. Whatever the case it all felt ham-handed and false for some reason.
Another thing I didn't like was both Oliver Platt and Jeremy Irons characters. They both were terrible even though you know they are both great actors. Oliver Platt played a baffoonish Genoan lard merchant that was supposed to marry Bruni. He is big and fat complete with a giant, fake belly. A fat lard merchant see funny funny stuff. He was basically a poorly written clown character.
While Irons really gets a raw deal. He plays a Papal Inquisitor who is supposed to be menacing but came out stupid. I know Irons could have really done a great job if was in a role that was put together decently. I guess that is more a fault of the script then anything else. They should have written him as a very deadly no-nonsense sort of character to play off of the light hearted baffoonery that surrounded him. Then you would have feared for the life of Casanova if you had any emotional investment in the character. Instead Irons was just embarrassing in the role.
As a whole the movie could have done with some script editing to make the story flow a bit better. I think in the right hands this movie could have been a real gem. I liked the basic outline of the plot and some of the twists were pretty interesting. But all in all the movie was very disappointing and I was expecting better.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
5 More Reasons to go to Florida State
If I knew that the FSU experience was this good I would have passed up University of Hawaii. Wow! Oh and I'll go with reason number one with the green bag why I would choose FSU for my education dollars.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
New Year's Resolutions 2006
Well here are the things I am going to try to do this New Years:
1. Get down to 175 lbs.
2. See my abs.
3. Get more sleep either through naps or going to bed earlier or a combination of both.
4. Get more exercise each week through joining a gym and actually going this time
5. Be more assertive
6. Be less lazy when it comes to everyday things
7. Read at least 5 books before the year is out
8. Be nicer and more caring to people in general
9. Don't talk trash about people (stamp out the gossip!)
10. Gain at least 7% in the Stock Market.
1. Get down to 175 lbs.
2. See my abs.
3. Get more sleep either through naps or going to bed earlier or a combination of both.
4. Get more exercise each week through joining a gym and actually going this time
5. Be more assertive
6. Be less lazy when it comes to everyday things
7. Read at least 5 books before the year is out
8. Be nicer and more caring to people in general
9. Don't talk trash about people (stamp out the gossip!)
10. Gain at least 7% in the Stock Market.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
King King: Movie Review
I went to see King Kong last night and I really enjoyed the movie for the most part. Peter Jackson has really done a good job in the movie as a whole. However there were some things about the movie that I liked and other stuff that I didn't like.
The first thing was putting Jack Black in a non comedy roll. I like Jack Black and I think he is fairly funny but it just didn't do it for me to see him as a weasly businessman. He does too much emoting and funny face stuff to be taken seriously for this kind of roll. I kind of wished they used someone like Paul Giamatti in this roll. I think Giamatti would have really done a great job as an oily salesman type of guy. I know this movie needed some comic relief but Giamatti has pretty good comic timing and would have nailed the role IMO. The rest of the characters were pretty decent and I liked Naomi Watts quite a bit. She had a very real damsel in distress quality that shown through in the movie.
The love story did not work for me though. Watts and Brody have almost no chemistry together and I couldn't tell why she fell in love with him. It really seemed like one of those things where it says "characters fall in love" on King Kong Script page 21 and the audience needs to take it for granted. It would have been cool to make it more old school and have the two in-love characters not even share a kiss until the very end of the movie. Just keep building up the tension and finally we get the payoff at the very end.
I also had a little trouble suspending my disbelief in the parts where she is running around in bare feet on the jungle floor. She would have been cut and bleeding in no time flat. I guess they figured that if you can believe an island full of giant beasts and dinosaurs you can believe that a barefooted woman can run around in a jungle with no problems.
King Kong really looked phenominal and again Andy Serkis does a great job of making a CGI only character come to life. The audience feels bad for King Kong and I forgot that he was all done on a computer very early on in the movie. Too bad Lucas didn't let Serkis play Jar Jar Binks when Phantom came out. Maybe we would have felt something other then abject hatred when we saw him on the screen.
The CGI was again shows that ILM can not even touch WETA when it comes to effects. Almost every CGI thing looked as real as they could have gotten it. It really felt like you were in 1930s New York and on Skull Island. Jackson is very good at these kinds of immersive films and this one is no exception.
All in all the movie was a good one and is one of the better remakes of a classic film out there. However this film was not a classic in my eyes. It is a great piece of work but I think Jack Black ruined it for me. I know that comedians have made the jump from comedy to drama but Black does not seem ready yet. With Giamatti in that roll however, this movie would have been outstanding and would have bordered on classic in my eyes. Well I'm glad Jackson could get this one out of his system so he can start working on the Hobbit. That is probably the film that I am the *most* looking forward to in the coming years.
The first thing was putting Jack Black in a non comedy roll. I like Jack Black and I think he is fairly funny but it just didn't do it for me to see him as a weasly businessman. He does too much emoting and funny face stuff to be taken seriously for this kind of roll. I kind of wished they used someone like Paul Giamatti in this roll. I think Giamatti would have really done a great job as an oily salesman type of guy. I know this movie needed some comic relief but Giamatti has pretty good comic timing and would have nailed the role IMO. The rest of the characters were pretty decent and I liked Naomi Watts quite a bit. She had a very real damsel in distress quality that shown through in the movie.
The love story did not work for me though. Watts and Brody have almost no chemistry together and I couldn't tell why she fell in love with him. It really seemed like one of those things where it says "characters fall in love" on King Kong Script page 21 and the audience needs to take it for granted. It would have been cool to make it more old school and have the two in-love characters not even share a kiss until the very end of the movie. Just keep building up the tension and finally we get the payoff at the very end.
I also had a little trouble suspending my disbelief in the parts where she is running around in bare feet on the jungle floor. She would have been cut and bleeding in no time flat. I guess they figured that if you can believe an island full of giant beasts and dinosaurs you can believe that a barefooted woman can run around in a jungle with no problems.
King Kong really looked phenominal and again Andy Serkis does a great job of making a CGI only character come to life. The audience feels bad for King Kong and I forgot that he was all done on a computer very early on in the movie. Too bad Lucas didn't let Serkis play Jar Jar Binks when Phantom came out. Maybe we would have felt something other then abject hatred when we saw him on the screen.
The CGI was again shows that ILM can not even touch WETA when it comes to effects. Almost every CGI thing looked as real as they could have gotten it. It really felt like you were in 1930s New York and on Skull Island. Jackson is very good at these kinds of immersive films and this one is no exception.
All in all the movie was a good one and is one of the better remakes of a classic film out there. However this film was not a classic in my eyes. It is a great piece of work but I think Jack Black ruined it for me. I know that comedians have made the jump from comedy to drama but Black does not seem ready yet. With Giamatti in that roll however, this movie would have been outstanding and would have bordered on classic in my eyes. Well I'm glad Jackson could get this one out of his system so he can start working on the Hobbit. That is probably the film that I am the *most* looking forward to in the coming years.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Harry Potter update
I am really getting into this book. So far there are whole swaths of the book that are different than the movie. The part where Ron and Harry have a disagreement went on for weeks in the book but seemed to be only a few days in the movie.
The whole Yule ball scene was different in the book as well. It wasn't as creepy as in the movie. And it had a real the kids are growing up, but not too fast, quality to it. It was a whimsical coming of age thing and not a every man for him self makeout session. They didn't explain why that one girl was crying though which was a letdown.
The Moaning Myrtle scene was similar to the one in the movie though. With her peeping at him under the water and all. She also covered her eyes when Harry put his pajamas back on after the bath. Whatever the case it would have been good to have the movie follow the book closely because the book is very good. More when I get closer to finishing it.
The whole Yule ball scene was different in the book as well. It wasn't as creepy as in the movie. And it had a real the kids are growing up, but not too fast, quality to it. It was a whimsical coming of age thing and not a every man for him self makeout session. They didn't explain why that one girl was crying though which was a letdown.
The Moaning Myrtle scene was similar to the one in the movie though. With her peeping at him under the water and all. She also covered her eyes when Harry put his pajamas back on after the bath. Whatever the case it would have been good to have the movie follow the book closely because the book is very good. More when I get closer to finishing it.
Christmas Holiday
I had a great time this Christmas even though I never even left my house for two whole days. For dinner we had a tasty ham. We had a shrimp cocktail with nice fresh shrimp as well. We also had this very tasty green bean casserole type thing as well. My diet is still going decently even though I ate some Christmas cookies and a pumpkin pie.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
I'm Reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
So far so good. I really like Rowling's prose style. Very easy to read and very imaginative discriptions of various things. So far is is blasting the movies ass. I will have a full review when I finish the book.
Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Well here is my review of the new Harry Potter movie. I have never read the book but I have watched the other movies and enjoyed them quite a bit. I have mixed feelings about this particular movie though. Some stuff was really good but other things left me feeling kind of weird.
The movie was very action packed and they finally got rid of that insipid family that Harry lives with in the summer. I can't stand those people and I wish Harry could just move in with the Weasleys or something. In this movie it kind of implies that he does. At the beginning he goes on vacation with them to the Quidditch World Cup. This was for me one of the best parts of the movie. The whole idea of a World Cup with thousands of these wizards camped out around the grounds in magical Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion type tents was awesome.
I am going to rent the DVD and watch the scenes over again to see if there is an American Quiddich team. I would love to see how strong Brazil and Germany are in Quidditch. I also wonder if there is a list of World Cup winners and if they wear stars on their uniforms to denote how many World Cups they won. It seems Bulgaria is tough but they do have a high school kid playing at Seeker. Also who were the other two countries seeded with Ireland and Bulgaria?
It would be cool if there was the equivalent of a Arsenal, Manchester United, or a Premier League of Quiddich. Maybe J.K. Rowlings will write this kind of info into the next book. I mean Harry plays the sport so he should probably be interested in the Quiddich version of David Beckam. He would also have some Quidditch memorabilia hung up somewhere in his room. But the freaking Death Dealers with their stupid pointy hats broke everything up before I could find out any more. That made me hate them more then anything else they did in the movie.
One of the things I felt weird about is that the kids are growing up. So it was really strange to hear Ron Weasley comment about a how big a girls boobs were getting and have gratuitous shots of him checking out girls asses. You see the testosterone flowing when Harry and Ron start to dislike one another because Harry entered the Triwizard Tourney. You can also see a Ron/Hermoine relationship starting up in its early stages. Ron gets jealous of the Russian guy that asks her to the dance and Hermoine gets mad because she was relegated to last resort by Ron. We may see an embarrasing first make-out session between the two before too long. Also Harry is starting to like this one Korean girl that had an Irish accent. Could be some sparks about to fly in the near future. Even Hagrid gets hooked up with a really tall, ugly Gaintess to get his groove on with. When the thatched hut is rocking then don't come a knocking.
It also threw me off that Harrys friend that they froze in the first movie, took Ron's sister to the dance, and then came back to the their room much later with his clothes all rumpled. It was kind of implied that he got lucky with her. There was also a scene after the dance too where these girls were consoling another girl that was crying. I have no idea why she was crying or why Ron and Harry didn't seem to care that she was crying. I guess you have to fill in that part in with your imagination. Perhaps one of the Russian School boys got too handsy or maybe he tried to date rape her or something. Also the whole part where the kids were moshing to that aweful wizard band was pretty messed up.
Later in the movie there was this one scene where Harry is bathing in this bathroom and Myrtle the Ghost pops up and helps him out. The ghost I think is the same age as Harry and his friends but she still tries to check out the naked Harry through the bubbles in the pool. I remember that she even submerged to take a peek at Harry's bits and pieces. I just wasn't ready for this kind of stuff in a Harry Potter movie. This may be why this movie carries a PG-13.
I guess I am just not prepared to see the kids I have watched for 3 movies start to get older like this. It is inevitable but it was still pretty jarring.The plot was fairly good in this one even though it had some parts that were hard to understand. The entire flashback where the Russian schoolmaster is in the spiked cage was very hard to follow and it didn't seem to have a bearing on the plot. I guess you are supposed to suspect him when that one guy turns up dead. They also implied that Snape the Alchemy teacher was some kind of double agent or something. I would think Harry would confront Snape or talk to Dumbledore about it. I guess this scene was to reveal the stuff that happens in upcoming books.
Also the Protection from the Dark Arts teacher turns out to be weird-assed again. Can't they find a decent person for that job? I didn't like Mad-Eye Moody's dorky blue fake eye as well. He was a pretty menacing character but that goofy eye made me want to laugh every time I saw it. It would have been cool to just have an eye-patch with a jewel on it or even a CGI created phantom eye that would blink or something.
Voldemort was also a big letdown too with his dorky slits for a nose. He didn't seem all that menacing and didn't look a guy who is known as he-who-should-not-be-named. I guess Ralph Fiennes did a pretty good job of playing him for the most part. I may have wanted his appearance to be more like the Witch King of Angmar.In any case this movie seemed to be a pretty good entry into the Harry Potter genre of movies.
It made me want to read the book just to get more info on some of the questions I had. For instance I want to know why that one girl I mentioned earlier was crying? Also what was in the note that the Russian guy gave Hermoine? Why did their friends agree to be put in suspended animation at the bottom of the lake for that second task? And who eventually won the Quidditch World Cup?
The movie was very action packed and they finally got rid of that insipid family that Harry lives with in the summer. I can't stand those people and I wish Harry could just move in with the Weasleys or something. In this movie it kind of implies that he does. At the beginning he goes on vacation with them to the Quidditch World Cup. This was for me one of the best parts of the movie. The whole idea of a World Cup with thousands of these wizards camped out around the grounds in magical Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion type tents was awesome.
I am going to rent the DVD and watch the scenes over again to see if there is an American Quiddich team. I would love to see how strong Brazil and Germany are in Quidditch. I also wonder if there is a list of World Cup winners and if they wear stars on their uniforms to denote how many World Cups they won. It seems Bulgaria is tough but they do have a high school kid playing at Seeker. Also who were the other two countries seeded with Ireland and Bulgaria?
It would be cool if there was the equivalent of a Arsenal, Manchester United, or a Premier League of Quiddich. Maybe J.K. Rowlings will write this kind of info into the next book. I mean Harry plays the sport so he should probably be interested in the Quiddich version of David Beckam. He would also have some Quidditch memorabilia hung up somewhere in his room. But the freaking Death Dealers with their stupid pointy hats broke everything up before I could find out any more. That made me hate them more then anything else they did in the movie.
One of the things I felt weird about is that the kids are growing up. So it was really strange to hear Ron Weasley comment about a how big a girls boobs were getting and have gratuitous shots of him checking out girls asses. You see the testosterone flowing when Harry and Ron start to dislike one another because Harry entered the Triwizard Tourney. You can also see a Ron/Hermoine relationship starting up in its early stages. Ron gets jealous of the Russian guy that asks her to the dance and Hermoine gets mad because she was relegated to last resort by Ron. We may see an embarrasing first make-out session between the two before too long. Also Harry is starting to like this one Korean girl that had an Irish accent. Could be some sparks about to fly in the near future. Even Hagrid gets hooked up with a really tall, ugly Gaintess to get his groove on with. When the thatched hut is rocking then don't come a knocking.
It also threw me off that Harrys friend that they froze in the first movie, took Ron's sister to the dance, and then came back to the their room much later with his clothes all rumpled. It was kind of implied that he got lucky with her. There was also a scene after the dance too where these girls were consoling another girl that was crying. I have no idea why she was crying or why Ron and Harry didn't seem to care that she was crying. I guess you have to fill in that part in with your imagination. Perhaps one of the Russian School boys got too handsy or maybe he tried to date rape her or something. Also the whole part where the kids were moshing to that aweful wizard band was pretty messed up.
Later in the movie there was this one scene where Harry is bathing in this bathroom and Myrtle the Ghost pops up and helps him out. The ghost I think is the same age as Harry and his friends but she still tries to check out the naked Harry through the bubbles in the pool. I remember that she even submerged to take a peek at Harry's bits and pieces. I just wasn't ready for this kind of stuff in a Harry Potter movie. This may be why this movie carries a PG-13.
I guess I am just not prepared to see the kids I have watched for 3 movies start to get older like this. It is inevitable but it was still pretty jarring.The plot was fairly good in this one even though it had some parts that were hard to understand. The entire flashback where the Russian schoolmaster is in the spiked cage was very hard to follow and it didn't seem to have a bearing on the plot. I guess you are supposed to suspect him when that one guy turns up dead. They also implied that Snape the Alchemy teacher was some kind of double agent or something. I would think Harry would confront Snape or talk to Dumbledore about it. I guess this scene was to reveal the stuff that happens in upcoming books.
Also the Protection from the Dark Arts teacher turns out to be weird-assed again. Can't they find a decent person for that job? I didn't like Mad-Eye Moody's dorky blue fake eye as well. He was a pretty menacing character but that goofy eye made me want to laugh every time I saw it. It would have been cool to just have an eye-patch with a jewel on it or even a CGI created phantom eye that would blink or something.
Voldemort was also a big letdown too with his dorky slits for a nose. He didn't seem all that menacing and didn't look a guy who is known as he-who-should-not-be-named. I guess Ralph Fiennes did a pretty good job of playing him for the most part. I may have wanted his appearance to be more like the Witch King of Angmar.In any case this movie seemed to be a pretty good entry into the Harry Potter genre of movies.
It made me want to read the book just to get more info on some of the questions I had. For instance I want to know why that one girl I mentioned earlier was crying? Also what was in the note that the Russian guy gave Hermoine? Why did their friends agree to be put in suspended animation at the bottom of the lake for that second task? And who eventually won the Quidditch World Cup?
Movie Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
I went to see this movie last night and it was very entertaining. There were some things that made me feel that I wasn't the target audience of the movie. The plot of the movie is that four children are sent to Northern England to escape the Blitz during WWII. Not much is told about the children other then they love their mother and each one represents some sort of archetype.
There is a little girl that is inquisitive and loving, an older girl that is smart and cautious, a younger boy that needs his ass kicked, and an older boy that is somewhat courageous. They also don't look anything alike and makes you think that the mother may have had a series of husbands along the way. So the children go to this place in Northern England owned by Jim Broadbent who is playing some sort of white haired professor. The children play hide and seek and the little girl finds a weird land beyond a magical wardrobe.
Various things happen and the other kids eventually enter the world. They meet up with a fawn, some beavers, a fox, and eventually a lion. There is some betrayal as the younger boy, who needs to get his ass kicked, keeps tipping off the evil queen played by Tilda Swinton to where various people are trying to hide.
Eventually there is a very nicely shot set-piece battle between the good forces and the bad forces. The younger boy does get his, when he is stabbed in what looked like the nuts but turns out to be the lower stomach. The movie seemed to be a morality play about betrayal and people standing up for others even at great risk.
It had a very whimsical quality that would appeal to younger viewers. I don't think it worked as well as I would have liked for older viewers though and here is why. As Skunkratt from ateoate.com pointed out to me, there was a very deliberate cleaning up of the blood of the various warfare scenes. It made things seem unreal.
For instance the older kid would be running Minotaur through with his sword while it is immaculately polished the whole time. I mean there is one scene where he kills this wolf and the shot pans down so we deliberately don't see the sword stick the beast. Then he pulls it out and the sword is shining bright as day. This lack of actual blood took away some the anxious moments at the end when the characters are in danger. They have a few cuts on themselves but the suspension of disbelief was harder when everyone is battling furiously only to be seen moments later wearing bright and shining armor.
The only sense that people were dying was when the evil queen would turn people to stone and they would shatter on the ground. You know the Lion won't be bringing that guy back. I wasn't looking for a gorefest but at least dirty up the older kids uniform with some cuts and bloodstains and have some blood squirt out when things are stabbed. Not a big fountain but a few drips to push the PG rating.
The other criticism I had was for the younger girl. She did a fairly good job overall but there are some scenes where she is called on to cry over the death of some creature or another. She continues to smile while crying at the same time. It looks a little like she is laughing over the demise of the creature. It was kind of weird and was s distraction from the various sad scenes.
Overall the movie is perfect for the younger kid to early teenager. The land is very interesting and many adventures can take place there using the imagination of a younger kid. Lots of fawns, dwarves, and talking animals to keep to keep a young kids mind occupied. I would have really ate this movie up if I saw it when I was 8-10 or so. But it didn't have the appeal that the Harry Potter films have for me. Those films are made for kids but still have lots of stuff that an adult can relate to and can enjoy. Narnia not so much for me.
There is a little girl that is inquisitive and loving, an older girl that is smart and cautious, a younger boy that needs his ass kicked, and an older boy that is somewhat courageous. They also don't look anything alike and makes you think that the mother may have had a series of husbands along the way. So the children go to this place in Northern England owned by Jim Broadbent who is playing some sort of white haired professor. The children play hide and seek and the little girl finds a weird land beyond a magical wardrobe.
Various things happen and the other kids eventually enter the world. They meet up with a fawn, some beavers, a fox, and eventually a lion. There is some betrayal as the younger boy, who needs to get his ass kicked, keeps tipping off the evil queen played by Tilda Swinton to where various people are trying to hide.
Eventually there is a very nicely shot set-piece battle between the good forces and the bad forces. The younger boy does get his, when he is stabbed in what looked like the nuts but turns out to be the lower stomach. The movie seemed to be a morality play about betrayal and people standing up for others even at great risk.
It had a very whimsical quality that would appeal to younger viewers. I don't think it worked as well as I would have liked for older viewers though and here is why. As Skunkratt from ateoate.com pointed out to me, there was a very deliberate cleaning up of the blood of the various warfare scenes. It made things seem unreal.
For instance the older kid would be running Minotaur through with his sword while it is immaculately polished the whole time. I mean there is one scene where he kills this wolf and the shot pans down so we deliberately don't see the sword stick the beast. Then he pulls it out and the sword is shining bright as day. This lack of actual blood took away some the anxious moments at the end when the characters are in danger. They have a few cuts on themselves but the suspension of disbelief was harder when everyone is battling furiously only to be seen moments later wearing bright and shining armor.
The only sense that people were dying was when the evil queen would turn people to stone and they would shatter on the ground. You know the Lion won't be bringing that guy back. I wasn't looking for a gorefest but at least dirty up the older kids uniform with some cuts and bloodstains and have some blood squirt out when things are stabbed. Not a big fountain but a few drips to push the PG rating.
The other criticism I had was for the younger girl. She did a fairly good job overall but there are some scenes where she is called on to cry over the death of some creature or another. She continues to smile while crying at the same time. It looks a little like she is laughing over the demise of the creature. It was kind of weird and was s distraction from the various sad scenes.
Overall the movie is perfect for the younger kid to early teenager. The land is very interesting and many adventures can take place there using the imagination of a younger kid. Lots of fawns, dwarves, and talking animals to keep to keep a young kids mind occupied. I would have really ate this movie up if I saw it when I was 8-10 or so. But it didn't have the appeal that the Harry Potter films have for me. Those films are made for kids but still have lots of stuff that an adult can relate to and can enjoy. Narnia not so much for me.
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