Movies: Rambo

I LOVED THIS MOVIE. No really, I really really really liked it. It was so much like "First Blood" and not much like the second and third installments (thank goodness), that I have some serious re-kindled respect for Mr. Stallone. The CGI was tasteful and had almost no flaws (I only caught one abnormal looking piece), and the ending made sense and made me happy.

The Good: The directing was spot-on. Stallone knows how to get the perfect shots and has some true talent as a filmmaker. He's not pretentious or overbearing... he's just a solid director. Also, this was a REAL war movie. It's not glamorous or beautified- it shows the real carnage and horror of warfare. Additionally, there is minimal dialogue, which is what Rambo movies are all about. John Rambo isn't a "chatty cathy," he is a total bad ass who doesn't need words to communicate. This film shows the deep and introspective John Rambo that was missing from the previous two Rambo movies. And Lastly, Stallone not only proved himself as a writer and director, but he's still got it as an actor. He might be a little less likely to take of his shirt, and have more wrinkles, but he's still knows how to take care of business.

The Bad: I wish it would have been longer. I know there's no need for a longer film, but I enjoyed it so much, I didn't want it to end. Also, have to include the warfare on the bad list as well as the good list. Even though the warfare was needed, it's still sad to see it right in front of your eyes. Don't get me wrong... its perfected executed and necessary, but war is still a sad thing.

So if you're a fan of Rambo, or even if you've never seen one of the films, go see this movie. Just be aware that it's gory and tackles the sensitive subject of war. But its 100% worth your time and money.

My rating: B+

Random: Luigi Colani Rotor House

http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/colani.html

Music: The Spice Girls Live in Vegas

First up: "Say You'll Be There"



Second: Geri and Mel C's solos



Last: "If You Can't Dance" leading into "Wannabe"

These videos were taken December 8, 2007 in Las Vegas!

Music: Placebo "I Know" live

I took this video April 14, 2007 in Kansas City.

Cars: All Time Favorites

Bugatti Veyron

1951 Henry J

1930 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Kellner Coupe

1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe

2006 Porsche Carrera GT

Lamborghini LP640

Koenigsegg CCX

1931 Bugatti Royale Berline de Voyager

Pagani Zonda F

Random: How smart/dumb is your dog?

Brightest Dogs

Understanding of New Commands:
Less than 5 repetitions and obey first command 95 percent of the time or better:

1	Border Collie
2	Poodle
3	German Shepherd
4	Golden Retriever
5	Doberman Pinscher
6	Shetland Sheepdog
7	Labrador Retriever
8	Papillon
9	Rottweiler
10	Australian Cattle Dog

Understanding of New Commands: 5 to 15 repetitions and obey first command 85 percent of the time or better:

11	Pembroke Welsh Corgi
12	Miniature Schnauzer
13	English Springer Spaniel
14	Belgian Tervuren
15	Schipperke Belgian Sheepdog
16	Collie Keeshond
17	German Shorthaired Pointer
18	Flat-Coated Retriever English Cocker Spaniel Standard Schnauzer
19	Brittany
20	Cocker Spaniel
21	Weimaraner
22	Belgian Malinois Bernese Mountain Dog
23	Pomeranian
24	Irish Water Spaniel
25	Vizsla
26	Cardigan Welsh Corgi

Understanding of New Commands: 15 to 25 repetitions and obey first command 70 percent of the time or better:

27	Chesapeake Bay Retriever Puli Yorkshire Terrier
28	Giant Schnauzer
29	Airedale Terrier Bouvier Des Flandres
30	Border Terrier Briard
31	Welsh Springer Spaniel
32	Manchester Terrier
33	Samoyed
34	Field Spaniel Newfoundland Australian Terrier American Staffordshire Terrier Gordon Setter Bearded Collie
35	Cairn Terrier Kerry Blue Terrier Irish Setter
36	Norwegian Elkhound
37	Affenpincher Silky Terrier Miniature Pinscher English Setter Pharaoh Hound Clumber Spaniel
38	Norwich Terrier
39	Dalmatian

Understanding of New Commands: 25 to 40 repetitions and obey first command 50 percent of the time or better:

40	Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier Bedlington Terrier Smooth Fox Terrier
41	Curly-Coated Retriever Irish Wolfhound
42	Kuvasz Australian Shepherd
43	Saluki Finnish Spitz Pointer
44	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel German Wirehaired Pointer Black & Tan Coonhound American Water Spaniel
45	Siberian Husky Bichon Frise English Toy Spaniel
46	Tibetan Spaniel English Foxhound Otterhound American Foxhound Greyhound Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
47	West Highland White Terrier Scottish Deerhound
48	Boxer Great Dane
49	Dachshund Stafforshire Bull Terrier
50	Alaskan Malamute
51	Whippet Chinese Shar-pei Wire Fox Terrier
52	Rhodesian Ridgeback
53	Ibizan Hound Welsh Terrier Irish Terrier
54	Boston Terrier Akita

Understanding of New Commands: 40 to 80 repetitions and obey first command 30 percent of the time or better:

55	Skye Terrier
56	Norfolk Terrier Sealyham Terrier
57	Pug
58	French Bulldog
59	Brussels Griffon Maltese
60	Italian Greyhound
61	Chinese Crested
62	Dandie Dinmont Terrier Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen Tibetan Terrier Japanese Chin Lakeland Terrier
63	Old English Sheepdog
64	Great Pyrenees
65	Scottish Terrier Saint Bernard
66	Bull Terrier
67	Chihuahua
68	Lhasa Apso
69	Bullmastiff

Understanding of New Commands: 80 to 100 repetitions and obey first command 25 percent of the time or worse:

70	Shih Tzu
71	Basset Hound
72	Mastiff Beagle
73	Pekingese
74	Bloodhound
75	Borzoi
76	Chow Chow
77	Bulldog
78	Basenji
79	Afghan Hound

Movies: The best and worst of 2007

The Best of 2007:
10. Superbad/Knocked Up: Both of these movies were ballsy and a little bit insane, which is what made them so funny. Both of them also left my stomach hurting from laughing so hard.... especially Superbad. It's nice to see movies with people I could actually know in them, and it's nice to hear dialogue that makes you feel like you could be hanging out with the characters.
9. Breach: Wow, Ryan Phillipe is still hot and can still act. And this is a totally cool true story/spy movie. Plus, this movie proves you don't have to rely on scare tactics to make a thrilling film.
8. Waitress: Touching and meaningful, this under-the-radar movie is worth your time. Plus, you get to watch some pretty tasty pies get made. And you get to see Andy Griffith in fantastic role. It's sweet on several different levels.
7. American Gangster/The Lives of Others: Gangster may be Washington's best performance ever and the film is one of the most stylish of the year. And Lives is a seductive and disturbing German movie worth watching (even if you hate subtitles).
6. Charlie Wilson's War: This is a super fun story (and true!) featuring an all-star cast that gives some great performances. Bonus: This film proves not all war movies have to be totally depressing and proves that history isn't always boring.
5. Zodiac: With a very talented and established director, and with a cast that really shines... this film was a great "true life" story. I know it's long, but it's worth it... I promise.
4. Sicko: I'm glad someone else is paying attention to what I've been complaining about for what seems like forever. Whatever your political prejudices or views on Mr. Moore.... just watch this movie. It's funny and clever, and makes you actually think (gasp!).
3. Eastern Promises: Viggo + tattoos + a dead-on Russian accent = fantastic. This second pairing of Cronenberg and Viggo proves itself as a sexy and dark look at self identity.
2. Juno: Even crappy hipster music can't spoil this one. It's fantastic. And Michael Cera is super dreamy. Read my review to know just how much I love this film.
1. Sweeney Todd: practically perfect. I'm just going to quote Peter Travers for this one: "Just for the record, Tim Burton's translation of Stephen Sondheim's blood opera about the demon barber of Fleet Street is a striking achievement in every way, particularly for the tour de force of Johnny Depp, who acts and sings his way into the black heart of the title character." Read my review for more.

I try not to see movies I know are horrible, so the worst list is going to be much shorter...

The Worst Movies of 2007:
5. Premonition: I'm not sure what the lovely Sandra or Julian were thinking when they did this movie... but I really just want to forget it.
4. Walk Hard: Really? Is this what Hollywood is resorting to? Old jokes and absurd material made me roll my eyes and sigh more than laugh. No thanks.
3. 300: The only redeeming quality of this CGI mess was how pretty it was. The acting was ridiculously horrible. When is Hollywood going to learn how to make REAL movies with REAL people and things in them again? CGI today looks worse than "special effects" did in the '60s.
2. Transformers: Michael Bay + CGI = pile of crap. I forgive you Shia LeBeouf... I know you probably thought it would be cool to be in a transformers movie. But Mr. Bay might be the worst filmmaker in Hollywood. There's a reason that Peter Travers has an award called "The Michael Bay Award for Worst Soul-Sucking, Dumb-Ass Bottom Feeder." It's because he sucks... a lot.
1. ANYTHING WITH JESSICA ALBA IN IT: Seriously, this girl ruins a lot of movies annually. She's cute... I get it... but that doesn't mean she should get paid A LOT of money to mess up movies. In this year alone: Good Luck Chuck, The Ten, Awake, Fantastic Four 2 (the first one was on my list a few years ago), and I'm sure there's more. My problem with this little lady is that not only can she not act at all, but she's also a racist fame-whore in real life. Oh, and she's never made a movie where she didn't take her clothes off. I've said it before, and I'll say this again... the only reason people liked her in Sin City was because she was nearly naked and said almost nothing. So until she makes a movie where she's a mute stripper who does nothing other than exploit her body the entire time... she's going to top my worst list. And even if she was in said stripper movie, she would probably top my list... I doubt she could even do that right.


Lastly, this movie is one I originally had on the "worst" list, but I felt bad because the acting should be close to the top of the "best" list. So I'm giving it it's own category... the "I can't figure out if it was one of the worst or one of the best movies I saw last year" list:
1. No Country for Old Men: I was so pissed off the first time I saw this movie. I was mad I wasted $10 and I was mad I didn't spend my time watching something else. My first issue with this movie is that I don't spend my time in fields looking around for half an hour being bored out of my mind... so why would I want to pay to do that? If I want to see land, I'll watch "Planet Earth" because they know how to do scenery right. I'm going to rent the movie to give it another chance though and see if my dislike of the film will improve when I fast forward through those parts. My second issue with this movie is the lack of music. The lack of a soundtrack or score made it feel cheap. It made it feel like they didn't complete the movie. My last issue with the movie is that it was so hyped that when I tell people I don't like it, I feel like I'm going to get beat by the fans. Look, this movie is NOT LIFE CHANGING. If anything, it will just depress you and beat all the remaining optimism out of you.

However, this movie wasn't all bad. In fact, the acting in the film was some of the best I've ever seen. Bardem was a perfect villain... and it was nice to see a real villain in a movie, not a CGI monster thing. Brolin and Jones were absolutely wonderful, and even Harrelson impressed the hell out of me. I would love to see the individual actors win some awards and gain some respect for their roles... but as a whole, this movie just irritated me.

Like I said, I'll give this movie another chance... until then... I'm just undecided.

For the record: I have not seen Atonement, There Will be Blood, Talk to Me, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, I'm Not There, or Before the Devil Knows You're Dead yet, and I'm sure these movies would all have a place or tie for a place on my list. I'll let you know what I think about them when I see them. And I REALLY want to see "Grace is Gone" because of the talk about it being John Cusack's best performance ever. We shall see.

Movies: Juno

Juno deserves its 93 percent rating on rotten tomatoes. It might even deserve a little better grade. This movie was everything a good classic movie should be. It made me laugh so hard I cried, and it even just made me cry. The characters were so good that I actually found myself having animosity towards a certain creepy immature wannabe rockstar. That's how you know a cast is effective- when real emotions are brought out. The dialogue throughout the movie was absolutely amazing, and J.K. Simmons gives his best performance in my opinion.

The Good: Ellen Page is funny, adorable, and entirely lovable. The dynamics between characters couldn't be better and the cast was beautifully picked. Diablo Cody proved herself with a refreshing and wonderful script. The film leaves you thinking about what you just watched, which is a welcome change from the mindless movies Hollywood pumps out continuously. And lastly, this movie is deep and thoughtful and provides one of the best quotes I've ever heard: "In my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person will still think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with."

The Bad: The soundtrack. The music is annoying and almost ruins some touching moments, with the exception of "Sea of Love" by Catpower. That song is one of the most perfectly placed songs in a movie I've seen/heard in a long time. Honestly, the only complaint I have about this film is the soundtrack.

This movie is worth seeing multiple times. I've already watched it five or six times and still react to it the same way each time. Do yourself a favor and watch this film. If you don't, you're probably missing out on the best movie of 2007.

My rating: A+

Movies: Cloverfield

So here's the thing: This movie won't blow your mind, it's not a groundbreaking film, and it's certainly not worth all the hype. But it's not bad either.

The Good: The idea of the entire movie filmed with a consumer grade video camera is creative and fun to watch, the special effects are fantastic, and most of the loose ends are tied up by the end. Also, the 90 minute run-time is a nice touch. Anything longer would have made the option of this being all on one tape null and void. It's still a little unbelievable the battery would last the entire 90 minutes... but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

The Bad: CGI is stupid. Seriously, this would have been SO much better had they not shown the monster at the end. It's way more scary to only catch glimpses of what's going on than to be bombarded with just another CGI mess. And the same thing applies to the parasites from the monster. There was no need to show them or make them sound like rabid cats in heat... shadows and hints of them would be much more effective. The characters are annoying too. Lastly, there's a lack of consistency that distracts from the movie. Supposedly, we are watching this as a tape someone has found after the event. However, at no point during watching this is there simulated fast forwarding. So how can we skip from looking at a bridge a few miles away to being on the bridge without the camera turning off or without someone fast forwarding through the walk? All I'm saying is, if the filmmakers want people to go with the idea of recording on "shaky cam," you need to make it consistent. Having the other recording playing while the camera is off is realistic, so why not keep it that way?

So is Cloverfield worth seeing? Yes. Just don't expect it to be mind-blowing. And don't pay $10 to see it. Go see a matinee.

My rating: B-

Movies: Sweeney Todd

After what seemed like years of anticipation for this film to be made, I can assure you that it was worth the wait. From the intro to the ending, the legendary Stephen Sondheim musical loses none of the original appeal- and ends up being everything you could want and more. Depp IS the "demon barber of fleet street" and his voice captures the human condition perfectly; and HBC is a believable and heartbreakingly romantic Mrs. Lovett.

The Good: Johnny Depp rocks your panties off with a thoughtful and powerful performance, Tim Burton's signature gloom and doom approach is perfect for this musical, over-the-top theatrics give humor to a dark subject, the cast as a whole couldn't have been better picked, and did I mention that Johnny Depp will give you goosebumps?

The Bad: It wasn't long enough? Seriously, this movie is just about perfect.

My rating: A+