It's Complicated: Finally A Funny Rom/Com

While I may not be the demographic for romcoms, I do like them when they are done right. Unfortunately, today's films are usually pretty dreadful, with the year not seeing a single one so far. JLo's latest Opus made me want to vomit and Sex and The City has gotten some of the worst reviews for any movie this year. Carrie Bradshaw comes across like a spoiled brat in the picture, bored of being rich and married. Oh the horror. When Big buys her a large TV for the bedroom so they can watch old movies together, she pitches a fit that its not jewelery. Big should leave her. And then there is Meryl Strep, one of the finest actors ever. She was spectacular in Julie and Julia and she is no less fabulous here as Jane, the divorced bakery owner fuming over two new loves; her ex husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) and architect Adam (Steve Martin). With Jake she has a past and shares three kids (all played by no name but talented young adults), with Adam she has common ground and the sense of a new beginning. Who she will choose is never clear as are your sympathies for who she should pick. Some will side one, some the other. This is what makes this a truly great movie and a very funny one as well. Unbelievably the best performance is given by John Krazinski as Fiance to one of Jane's kids Harley. Better known as Jim from the Office, Krazinski is absolutely perfect in the role and shows he has a real chance to be a huge star in films. When you upstart three greats from the industry, you know you are going on to greater things. Nancy Meyers does a credible job as director, he real skills stem more from her sharp script and ability to get great performances from her cast. Having only seen the okay What Women Want she had done ten years ago, I am curious to go back and maybe watch The Holiday which sounds amusing. If it anything like this, it could be a worth a go.

4 out of 5 stars

PontyPool: Terrible Name Great Zombie Flick

I love zombie movies. Sure, there's a lot of terrible ones out there but recently I have found quite a few that rock such as the Swedish flick Dead Snow, Romero's Diary of the Dead, and Breck Eisner's better than expected The Crazies. But now comes this small, smart Canadian import PontyPool. Stephen McHattie, a great character actor plays Massey, the new DJ at some small radio station in Ontario. His Producer Syndney Briar (Lisa Houle) and assistant Laurel Ann (Georgina Reilly) are the main three characters who occupy the radio station where almost the entire movie takes place. As the movie progresses, locals call in to report an uprising at a local Doctor office. We never see anything more than what the three main characters do, which sets the stage for a deep sense of unease. As the zombie hoard becomes more and more menacing, the small station becomes very claustrophobic. The flock mentality found in the zombies is reminiscent of Stephen King's zombie thriller Cell, which makes me wonder what would have happened had that movie movie gotten made with Eli Roth directing. Rats. How the virus is spread I won't ruin here but it is truly an original idea, full of philosophical and real world implications. How would you protect yourself from a spreading virus that cannot be contained? It's a scary thought. The acting is top notch, the script witty and the tension real. I highly recommend this one

4 out of 5 stars

Whoops Apocolypse

If it's this late and I'm posting something serious must be going on. As reported earlier, all the world needed right now was the right spark and new world war could start. That may just have happened tonight. Israeli warships have boarded and taken over a Turkish ship bent on running the blockade of Gaza for Humanitarian reasons. The ship was attacked in international waters making it technically an act of piracy and war. What will happen to the remaining five ships is unknown but it would seem likely that none of them will ever reach Gaza should they continue. Relations between the two countries has been tense over the Gaza situation which unfortunately Israel is in the right. Rocket attacks cannot be tolerated coming from Gaza and any means to stop it is within their rights no matter how cruel it may be to the people. If they don't like it, make the terrorists stop. They have the power to do it. Humanitarian aid can never be given to people who hate you. Feeding your enemy is a path to ruin. However, Israel attack in international waters is a problem. Considering the Turkish PM walked angrily off stage leaving Simon Peres bewildered just three days ago does not bode well for the situation. I find myself in a similar bind with siding with my Jewish friends over my Turkish ones (I have both). Turk protesters attempted to storm the Israeli embassy and all bets are off for what might happen next. Maybe, hopefully, nothing. But I really doubt it. A terrorist attack right now, somewhere with a large Jewish body count, could inflame the situation out of control everywhere. Be warned.

Want To Know Why This Country Is Failing? Look In The Mirror America

Situations arising over the last few weeks are of considerable importance. I have been media watching since I was old enough to read some decades ago, and never, I repeat NEVER, have I seen such stupidity on a regular basis. The crisis in The Gulf of Mexico is shocking in it's ineptitude. And while George Bush gets a heap of blame for causing EVERYTHING that is no going on by deregulating all areas of business under his reign, Obama must get some of it as well for not fixing it the minute he got into office. The government industry in charge of regulating the oil industry is woefully corrupt and ineffective. Just about everyone in the organization needs to be fired, along with most of the FBI, DEA, ATF, FCC, FDA and a host of other tax wastes that don't seem to be doing us any good. Why waste money on government jobs that don't work? As of this writing, the oil still flows and might do so until August. If it does, the Gulf will become a giant dead zone and millions are going to be unemployed or out of business due to this catastrophe. And the people there STILL BELIEVE IN DRILL BABY DRILL. Overwhelmingly. WTF? If you can't see with your own eyes how destructive something is, how it destroys your lifestyle, then there is no hope for mankind. NONE. And this is just the tip of how stupid we have become.
In California right now the Republican challenger to incumbent Barbara Boxer is quite possibly the worst candidate ever in the history of politics, Carly Fiorina. Worse than Bush you ask? YES I say emphatically. How is that possible? Bush made have had his flaws but he makes this bitch look retarded. She was the former head of Hewitt Packard who was once investigated for illegal wiretapping of her board room to find out leaked info. Under her tenure, the profit of HP dropped 70%, stock plummeted by half, and was listed as one of the top twenty worst CEO's in America history, something Bush never got and he was a horrible businessman. What assholes are supporting this moron? Repubs, and the increasingly scary tea party movement (fringe Republicans) who can be officially labeled as Nazi retards now. In Nevada, Sue Lowden is running a strong campaign against incumbent, and somewhat shmucky, Harry Reid. Her idea for health care reform? Barter with your doctor for chicken dinners for care. Right. Take an idea that may have worked a hundred years ago and flout it as new. That is the Republican way after all.
And now the tea party has King Moron Rand Paul, son of the much more stable Ron Paul. Rand Paul has suggested that government shouldn't allow business to discriminate against blacks, gays, whatever they want because that limits their freedoms. He also called the attacks on BP as uncalled for as it was an accident and this hurts business. Hurts. Really. I hope it puts them out of business you dick. He's also anti-gay, anti-abortion, pro drug war. In other words, an idiot.
If you should happen to overhear anybody saying anything good about any of these morons, get a two by four and hot them over the head repeatedly. These fools are killing us. I feel like James Carville when he screamed to the president recently, "We're dying down here." We are dying here and there seems like less and less hope each and every day. Bad things are a foot and I for one will not forget what some of these fools have done when the Great Collapse comes. They're the first to go.
Tensions are running sky high on the Korean Peninsula as well as Iran, Israel and even Pakistan. One wrong move and WW3 is entirely possible. One fought with nuclear weapons. We on the east coast may be alright depending on the severity of a possible confrontation. The west coast on the other hand is definitely at ground zero. The chances of war are rising each and every day. And with morons running free everywhere, our time might be up.
Fight the power. End the Republican/Democratic party stranglehold. Vote for independent parties not connected to big business. And stay away from the tea party. They could be the most dangerous of all.

Prince of Persia: Who Wants To Have Fun At The Beach

This is not a movie for everyone. But if you are like me and love Hollywood extravaganzas then you might find this one as exciting as I did. Sure it's typical of a summer release in that it's big, loud and stupid, but that's half the fun. It's meant to be that. It's a cheeseburger and fries not fillet minion, but cheeseburgers rock as well. And this movie is definitely cheesy.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Dastan (Persian for champion or hero) a Parkor orphan, picked from the streets by a kind king after he witnesses an act of bravery in saving his young friend from a oncoming horse. He is raised a member of the ruling family and excels at warfare. After an assault on a neighboring city, Dastan becomes entangled with the surly Princess Tamina played with red hot chemistry by Gemma Arterton. The king gets murdered, Dastan is blamed and he and the princess escape to protect the weapon holding the Sands of Time. When used, time reverses itself. It is also what the bad guys have wanted all along. Sir Ben Kingsley is his usual awesome self as the king's brother and Alfred Molina steals every scene he is in as the weaselly Sheik Amar. The story is actually much better than I expected with things not playing out as I had thought, a rarity for me. The effects are also better than some of the reviewers have made them out to be. I saw much worse in Clash Of The Titans, especially the piss poor Medusa. That was shitty effects.
Also much has been made as to why they didn't use Persian actors for the main role rather than the white Jake G. First, no studio is stupid enough to open a multi million dollar movie with no star attached. One actress was supposed to play the part of the Princess but wasn't allowed due to pressure from Iran who wouldn't let her leave. Hard get the right actors when you live in one of the most repressive places on Earth. Second, Persians of that era were sometimes white. As a matter of fact, ten percent of the population had blue eyes, so casting a white guy isn't that much of stretch. The casting of four unknown white kids in the Last Airbender is another matter. You couldn't throw in one Asian. The guy directing is Indian for God's sake.
Anyway, this is a fun movie if you're looking for a good action film to pass away a hot summer day. Sure, it won't last any longer in your memory than a good ice cream cone will in your belly. But it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of eating it now does it?

3 and 1/2 stars out of 5

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

In my article yesterday, I talked somewhat erroneously about President Obama's problems with a job offering to a candidate named Joe Sestak. I reported that he dropped out of the race which was wrong. He actually won beating Arlen Specter. In a news interview he let slip that Obama offered him a job in return for getting out of the race. Since then, he has wisely clammed up and will not cooperate with authorities if charges are leveled. I stated also erroneously that I didn't think this would go anywhere. Boy, was I wrong. Incredibly, Republicans are crying Watergate and scandal not realizing I guess that almost all of them are guilty, more so than the President in a lot of ways. They are literally throwing their own death rattles. The old adage those who live in glass houses comes to mind. Bush nominated Harriet Myers to the Supreme Court as a quid pro quo. Cheney gave promises to Katherine Harris (which he didn't keep) but it's the same tit for tat going on now. If Obama goes down, everyone's going with him. Oddly though, there is zero chance of any charges being leveled against Obama, not only due to the reluctance of Sestak to cooperate, but the fact that technically he didn't do anything wrong. The job was never taken. The offer the word of one guy who will say nothing else. Not going anywhere. However, if the Justice Department looks in to it, they are also going to look into everybody else and then the Repubs be caught with their pants down then. Idiots. I am so tired of how they're screaming like babies about the smallest infraction while they continue to do the same things right out in the open.
Tensions still run high on the Korean Peninsula, with China now more open to some sort of punishment being handed down on the North. Time will tell.
All economic signs point to a disaster soon. Be warned.

Stuff So Stupid Your Head Might Explode

Proving once again mankind is too stupid to live come these plethora of stories designed to make you want to take a gun and start shooting indiscriminately about your house. In what can only be described as the true meaning of asking for it, the NYC city council has approved a new mosque. What's so bad about that you ask? Am I a racist? A fool? No the new mosque is going to built at Ground Zero. That's right, the scene of the worst attack in modern history (albeit I am one who questions the actual story, it still doesn't excuse the sheer insensitivity of this action) is getting a reminder from the people who caused it. I don't about you but if my grandfather was killed in WW2 (he wasn't), I wouldn't want a Nazi memorabilia store right next door to his grave. The level of anger was understandably volatile. Not only is that mosque going to have shelf life measured in days, the lives of the council members may well be in danger as well. These people are dealing with open, raw emotions that there is no line that some may cross. If they wanted to start a race war, this is great way to begin it. This is only get to worse until I hope smarter heads prevail. Yes, unity and peace are ultimate goals to achieve but to try to do say with a slap to the face of one side of the other is never going to work. This will get ugly. Morons.
Meanwhile the Neroistic Republicans met with Obama and were shocked, SHOCKED, that he was angry with them for being nothing more than doorstop on government. The Republicans are destroying the country by convincing people of things that aren't and doing nothing to fix anything no matter how good the idea. One dick Senator Pat Roberts of Kentucky actual said the Pres should calm down and not take things so seriously. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? The world is burning and this asshole is just fiddling around (thus the Nero reference). The tea party is voluntarily putting these kind of douchebags into office. Way to go stupid. Another schmuck from the corn belt Mike Johanns of Neb (R) said Obama is trying too much too fast and that he should slow down a bit. Yeah, idiot, we've got all the time in the world. Both of the pro-life, anti evolution mouth breathers need to take a jump from a high roof. The world would be better off. And a shout out for any idiot who voted for them, you can go next.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any dumber the League of Anti Obama Conspiracies have a new one claiming a federal law had been broken when Obama promised a person running for the senate a spot in his administration if he dropped out of the race against Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. He did drop out of the race but never took the job, pretty much ending any real story right them. But the increasingly unstable website World Net Daily is calling for an investigation which will never happen because countless sitting politicians have done exactly what is illegal many many times in the past. Just ask Michelle Bachman or Katherine Harris especially. This happens all the time, illegal or not and there is zero chance of any investigation that will net half of Congress. Not Going To Happen. EVER.
War is looming in many places including a possible mid east war (unlikely at the moment) or North Korea, a crisis becoming more severe by the minute. South Korea lost track of the Northern Subs today, making everyone on the peninsula very uneasy. Hillary Clinton is presenting evidence to China today. Once false move here and we could be in trouble. North Korea has missiles that can reach Hawaii and Alaska. That may be a blessing if Sarah Palin is at Ground Zero though.