Nostra-Fletch-a-Damus

ITS PREDICTION TIME!!!! Remember Nostradamus? Well, today I have been transformed into Nostra-Fletch-a-Damus. I recently read the Alchemist - so I now know all about how to predict the future, make gold out of lead, and have eternal life from the Sorcerer's Stone. Yes, that picture on the left basically looks like me today as I gaze into the future.

To start off... yes, I amazingly picked the teams that made it to the Final Four. Not many have the sheer audacity to pick all 1 seeds, but I did. However, yesterday I was punished by the future as both N. Carolina and UCLA lost - BADLY. Rendering my bracket, bloody and cold on the hardwood. So how could I bounce back from such a staggering defeat? Make more predictions. After all, I am now Nostra-Fletch-a-damus. So here we go:

1. Memphis will win the Men's NCAA title game. Why? They are hecka talented (that means Mad-Skillz), and Kansas always chokes it away. Plus it looks like Kansas peaked too soon. Just a hunch, but I'm fully prepared for vindication on April 7th.

!Brace yourself for my following BOLD prediction!

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - will be a disappointment. The other day, I was in Albertson's looking at a box of Cocoa Krispies and began staring at the IJ4 promo. Harrison looked old, made-up and fake. Essentially - NO MOJO. And Sheela La Boouf with that pitiful moustache? NO. And let's not even get into Marion, who is back to reprise her role from the Lost Ark. One might say: " But DUDE, the trailer looks awesome!" - So did the trailer for the Phantom Menace and look how that turned out. Which brings me to my next point.

George Lucas, the destroyer of cool stuff and master of awful dialogue is about to wreck yet another classic. HOW?? He's one of the principal writers!! (yes, check IMBD if you don't believe me). One might counter: "He's not doing the screenplay and he's not the only writer" OK. Might hold up if he were not an EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. As we all found out with Star Wars, Lucas does what he wants and things always get done his way when his $$ is on the line. No other screenplay dudes or writers will sway him. "I have a bad feeling about this..." BUT WAIT! Almighty Spielberg is directing! Surely he can save this from George? Unfortunately, no. Some of you may have forgotten that he CRIED after Revenge of the Sith. Yes, Stevie will not have the guts to tell George - "That's the stupidest line I've ever heard!"

So who can save this film from being a colossal big let down? HAN SOLO. Harrison may be able to tell Steve and George - "I won't say that" - but his efforts will probably amount to what Liam Neissen did in the Phantom Menace. I just hope Harrison takes out the ear-ring.

Hedging the bet - OK this may be a great movie. And I don't think it will be bad, it will simply be a letdown. So look for me in line opening day, as I'm a sucker for the great things of the 80s and can't help myself. After all, Steve and George are banking on it.

3. Garth Brooks will make a comeback. - But this time not of his own volition. How will it come about? According to Wikipedia, Garth has an exclusive contract with Wal-Mart. He said he won't record again until 2015, but that won't be soon enough for the corporate Behemoth. They will use their Chinese contacts to secretly kidnap Garth, haul him off to China and torture him with videos of gansta rap until he succumbs and returns to the US to record an album. Because he will be scarred from all that that gangter rap, he will become the first country star to begin rapping his lyrics, use the screeching record sound and take country music to urban pop heights previously thought impossible. And making Wal-Mart $BILLIONS$... at low volume prices. Yep, you heard it here. Remember this day...

4. Justin Timberlake will have an affair with Madonna and dump her, finally breaking her financial will to make music and thus finishing off her career. All I have to say about this - Justin has finally met a situation where he cannot bring "sexy back"

5. LOST [Pounding Sound] - Here is what will happen ultimately in this show. Jack and Kate with the help of Ben and Sayid will break into Faraday's Oxford lab and take 3 super-humans who can see dead people, travel through time and dodge bullets back to the island for VENGEANCE. There they will use all of the ancient Dharma fortresses to defeat the monster and the evil corporate Mr. Widmore. John Locke will die in the process while using all his powers granted by the Island. Ben will be killed by his own greed and fall into a pit of Lava like Gollum.

In the aftermath, scientists will go to the island and discover the cure for cancer, the ability to render all atomic bombs useless, and how to time travel back to previous days in a person's life. But the most stunning result will be the key to picking lottery numbers. Once this happens, people will win the lotto so much that it will be closed. As the real source of public school funding, the educational system will collapse, the rising generation will become cannibals; and consequently, not solve global warming and the earth will be flooded by icebergs. Then Kevin Costner's vision of Water World will become a reality. I don't remember how that movie ended (because I shut it off) so you'll have to tell me how it ends. (I'm amazed you read this far....)

6. 2008 NBA Champions...THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS!!! [collective anguished screaming] Yes, I hate to think of it, but TBF (the Big Fundamental) and Co. are just too tough in the playoffs. Here's why:

Rockets - No Yao. Lakers - not mean enough. Utah - can't win on the road. Dallas - can't beat a winning team. Hornets - too young, not enough post-season experience. Suns - Shaq will be a liability. Nuggets - not making the playoffs. Warriors - not playing Dallas every series. Pistons - lost eye of the Tiger. Cavs -Bron-Bron can't carry EVERYTHING. Celtics - the Universe/Karma it against that town (sorry Big Ticket). Rest of the east? JOKE. So who does that leave? The team hardly anyone wants to see win again. And that's why it will happen. Let us all lament the poor ratings in the finals and apathy that will be shown toward the game. At least some people in France and Argentina will rejoice - that AMERICANS ARE SUFFERING. Sad, but it will be true.

7. John McCain will become our next president - AND DIE. How? B.O. (Barak Obama) will win the Democratic nomination. Hillary will be so incensed that she'll put a hit out on B.O. and have him killed in October 2008. Al Gore will try to swoop in, but too late. Hillary and Bill will go to minimum security prison and proceed to have orders put out to poison McCain by degrees until he dies of what appears to be natural causes. This will leave McCain's VP in power. But who will it be???

8. Arnold Schwarzenegger will become President. I know - Schwarzenegger is blocked by Article 2, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution. It reads, "No person except a natural born citizen ... shall be eligible to the office of president." The 12th Amendment says the vice president cannot be foreign-born.

But would you have believed 10 years ago that Arnold would become the "Govenator"? It seems Arnold manages to achieve his goals regardless of the odds. Perhaps an amendment to the Constitution would be approved for Arnold. But this has a deeper implication.

If Arnold rises to the presidency, he could be: THE ANTICHRIST.

Don't believe me? Check this out:

http://www.scatteredsheep.com/perilous_times/antichrist/schwarzenegger/arnold_schwarzenegger.htm

So basically, my final prediction is that Arnold is the Antichrist. I challenge you to begin opposing him now, even though doing so will likely result in your death. Perhaps you are now wishing you didn't ready my blog, because you are now accountable for the knowledge of the future you have gained from me. Sorry. Its tough to be one of my very, very few readers. Have a nice day and enjoy the future I have painted for you.

Swine & The Harmonic Connection

Crack your knuckles and get out your popcorn, its snooty-review time! In this latest installment of my neo-con perspective on film, I'm about to tell you about two movies that have flown under the radar in the last year. While both films are considered flops and were not well reviewed, I'm going to tell you why I liked them regardless of the economics and raised pinkie-fingered people.

Let me first say that I think both movies could earn my Mother's rarely awarded rating of "W" - for Wholesome. She has not seen these movies, but doubtless would approve of my estimation of her opinion. This in no way means the films are dull or for kids, they just happen to appropriately be for everyone. Both films have odd-ball protagonists, trouble with parents and great soundtracks. So as the Monty Python people would say, "Just get on with it!!!"

AUGUST RUSH

This is a "fanciful" film about a boy who can hear music in everything and was separated from his parents at birth. He dreams of being reunited with them and can feel them in the music that he hears everywhere. Reality is suspended often in this movie during these musical sequences and I found this to be fresh and enjoyable from both visual and auditory perspectives. The plot and screenplay are relatively weak, but the musical sequences are brilliant. The boy who plays August Rush does a phenomenal job displaying the joy of music. I was also pleased that many forms of music such as classical, rock, blues and new-age were in the movie. There isn't much point in talking more about the plot, actors or the story itself. This is a movie to watch and HEAR. I reckon it will show up in music classes across the country on music appreciation day.

SDCMADdog says:

"If you can get past the fact that the protagonist is a bastard love child, created by the opening scene's one-night stand, this is a wholesome Dickensian tale. For musicians this is their top gun, the ultimate tribute to music overcoming all odds. If you are dating an aspiring musician take them to this movie you are guaranteed to get lucky.( although if they were smart you would have to be talented musically as well-- so the spawn created would be another Mozart) It's like Donny and Marie procreated to create the ubermusican, the ultimate child prodigy in classical and pop music, madana and yo-yo ma combined ( mo-do?), world domination is his next goal!"

PENELOPE

This is a movie has nothing to do with the chick that Ulysses fought for. Actually, its almost the opposite. The story revolves around a blue-blood girl cursed by a witch to have a pig nose due to some family indiscretion that occurred generations ago. In order to break the curse she has to get one of her own kind to marry her and she goes through just about every available suitor in the kingdom. The story appears to be set in a quasi London/New York and both accents are present. Often this works, but sometimes it can get somewhat confusing. This movie feels a lot like "Big Fish" from Tim Burton and Christina Ricci fits the melancholy fairytale protagonist role well.

One item in the plot gave me knots in my stomach. The suitor who agrees to marry Penelope will receive an outrageous dowry. That's right - DOWRY. It sounds cool to a young man and his folks, but horrible to a father with multiple daughters. The oppressed father in this movie not only got a pig-faced daughter, but has to shell out half his fortune to marry her off. OUCH. The cast were actually quite good, however the screen play muddles up the storyline a bit. Not a big deal. Perhaps I liked the score the most, which I think carried the movie in several sequences. All of the usual romantic comedy trappings are present in this film, but what's wrong with feel-good cinema? There was enough variety/fairy tale suspension of reality to get past all that. Overall, I was engaged most of the time and there were plenty of good laughs. It has a good moral for people of all ages and genders and should be an enjoyable way to waste some time.

Passport to Cabo

HOLA!!! Julie and I recently had a wonderful vacation in Cabo San Lucas or "Cabo" to the common spring break party hound. The trip was filled with sun, rough sand and good friends. But the true story of this adventure lies in getting there.

It all started back in January when my company announced to my brother with a message in a bottle that I had qualified for the trip. Unfortunately, they didn't contact me quickly and by the time I got my salt filled bottle with a weather worn message and drink umbrella, Julie and I had to apply for "express" service passports. Now the fun gets started - the following is the "short, SHORT version of what happened."

It started off like any other application, we gathered our birth certificates, went to the post office and paid through the nose for our processing fees as I shed bitter victimized tears. I got my passport in about 1 week, however, Julie's was delayed. Finally, she got a letter stating that her birth certificate was an informational copy and didn't have the embossed seal which would really prove she had been born. She was instructed to get the right copy and send it in pronto. She contacted her ever-able mother who promptly went to the county recorder's office in San Diego to get the document, however it was not on file. Nor was it to be found several days later after a search of records in Sacramento. By this time, we only had a couple of weeks remaining before the trip and needless to say, we were quite stressed out. In fact, let's take a breather and look at the coastline of our destination below (yes, I actually took that picture!!!):

The passport people said to have Sacramento fax a copy of a letter stating that the search came up dry, and they would go ahead with the application. WRONG. We got another letter later that week saying that didn't cut it and we'd have to send in more documentation. So we sent baptismal records, marriage certificate, etc. The Friday before we had to leave, we finally got a helpful person on the phone (you can't talk to them directly, they have an answering service that forwards messages to the actual workers ) who said she still wasn't approved, but set up an appointment for us the following Monday, where we could plead our case. This helpful lady offered up some advice, that still baffles me. She suggested that to prove Julie is who she claims to be, all she would have to do is produce a high-school yearbook, point to the picture and say: "That's me!"

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!! I'm sure this lady had her had over the microphone laughing the whole time telling her co-worker that, "I got another one to believe it!!" But why not??? I still look like I did in High school - or at least there is a vague similarity to John Felcher from 12th grade English. This was the most pathetic, bogus-cockamamia-hair brained-worthless suggestion ever handed out by a government employee. I'm going to show up at the airport with my year-book and try to get through security. I'll get them to look past all the "Fletch - stay cool and have a good summer" signatures and verify from the glorious fountain of all truth - my yearbook, that I am who I say I am. Despite wearing a mask, the picture of Darth on the right articulates my emotions at that moment quite well.

Here is my other problem. ITS MEXICO!!! They walk over here all the time! Can't we go put money in their economy directly? But wait - Julie could be a terrorist. Just look at that mug shot. Its enough to make Dick Cheney's blood run cold. I honestly wondered if she was Pakistani when I first met her. I almost dropped the "terrorist" question before getting engaged, but I didn't want her to have to torture me to death for asking. Let me say this here and now: MY WIFE IS THE BIGGEST THREAT ON THE PLANET TO NATIONAL SECURITY. The Patriot act was invented to find her and it still hasn't worked. - And no, I'm not asking for one of you three readers to rescue me from her clutches. Perhaps you think she is a flight risk for a crime or trying to smuggle money? Trust me, she would not bother to skip the country to spend it.

But enough sarcasm. Julie went to the LA office and got a temporary permit after a brief wait of 4 hours in the asylum/application room, likely watching Montell and Maury and going mad. But at last it was done.

Finally we arrived in Cabo. It was fantastic and more expensive than the US. I'm not even sure the vaunted Mexican Vanilla is much of a deal. Go to Khols or Macy's and save your money if you need trinket jewelry. We stayed at the RIU Palace which was an all-inclusive hotel with 5 restaurants, free room service, buffet, drinks on the beach AND ALL THE ALCOHOL YOU CAN DRINK!!! I wanted to make a stop at Cabo Wabo in honor of Van Halen and Sammy Hagar, but it wasn't meant to be. I noticed that there are quite a few clubs run by old 80s metal bands, which endeared me quite a bit to the area. The town is apparently prospering and I'm happy for them. I was also pleased to add another mask to my small collection.

At the end of the trip I was toasted golden brown, fully exfoliated from being slammed on the beach by killer waves, and filled with a gratuitous amount of filthy buffet food. Yes, I had a good time. Hasta la vista and ciao.

P.S. & Dragons of Shame

My brother recently sent me this photo which effectively cut me to the core.
Metallica would say "Sad But True." However, I am undaunted and in the spirit of tremendous intestinal fortitude, I'll shall continue to blog. So I now give you my review of yet another duo/copy-cat movie and a cartoon that should not exist.

P.S. - This movie came out 3 months ago.
None of you recall this, but I bloged about the Prestige and the Illusionist in a prior post and how Hollywood seems to make 2 similar films in a short time frame. Here is my list:

The Illusionist & The Prestige
Armageddon & Deep Impact
Harry Potter & LOTR
Star Wars & Flash Gordon - That's not a stretch!!
Tombstone & Wyatt Earp
Speed & Blown Away
First Knight & Braveheart
Dark City & The Matrix
Mission to Mars & Red Planet
Pirates of the Caribbean & Master and Commander
Conspiracy Theory & Enemy of the State & Arlington Road

I recently blogged on Dan in Real Life, about a widower who falls in love during a family trip. A couple weeks ago, Jules and I saw P.S. I Love You, and it was Julie's turn to watch the wife as a surviving spouse after her husband dies of brain cancer. A great bonus for me in this movie is that it starred Gerrard Butler (Phantom of the Opera / 300), so if I ever got bored with the movie, I could just imagine the guy shouting "THIS... IS... S-P-A-R-T-A!!!" or singing "Past the Point of No Return." His Irish accent in this movie was way over the top, but I still liked it. From what I've read, this movie was panned by critics and scored 20% out of 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes meter. One critic called it, "the cinematic equivalent of a Celine Dion song." Despite it getting destroyed by people paid to watch it, it has grossed nearly $50M in the US, which is no failure and I did enjoy the movie. The movie is about the wife following instructions from random notes that her husband planned to arrive over the year after his death. Good ol morbid humor - many of the notes bring us to flashbacks where Mr. Butler gets into the movie. My favorite person in this was Harry Connick Jr., who had plenty of lines that cracked me up - yes, there is a cure for rudeness. I would definitely say that of the two, Dan in Real Life is the one to see, but this one is still worth a rental.

DRAGONLANCE: Dragons of Autumn Twilight
When Lord of the Rings came out many people asked me what I thought about the movies because they thought I had read the books. Close, but not quite. Dragonlance is a similar Fantasy book series that really got me into reading back in Middle School. After LOTR, I figured Dragonlance could make for some great movies. So when I heard a movie was in the making, I was fairly exited. But then I found out it would be animated, then found out it was only going to be 90 mins, then I heard it was a mix of 2D and 3D animation, then I heard the project was about to be scrapped.

So what I ended up getting was the WORST ADAPTATION EVER. Honestly, I think they ran out of money and just put this out there to try to re-coup some sunk costs without finishing. I don't know how they did it, but this cartoon looks like it was made in the late 1980s. Seriously, overall it looked that old. The 3D animation with 2D animation looked clumsy and out of place. The music was genuinely bad. The characters were wooden, shallow and the dialog was always awkward and rushed. There was waayyy too much totally unnecessary cleavage on women and the violence was quite graphic for a PG-13 rating. So have I lost hope? Pretty much. LOTR survived some really corny but at least memorable cartoons (the Hobbit) and still got made into a live-action film 30 years later. The problem is that LOTR is a classic and this is just some popular Fantasy series from the 80s. Not likely to endure.

The question I have is how does something this bad get made? Its almost as if they set out to destroy any chance of these stories ever making it to the big screen in the future. Perhaps its for the best, this film will die in obscurity and the books can live on without fear of anyone else ruining a perfectly good story.

Enchanted & Sentimental Stuff

Merry Christmas!!!

Its that time of year to lay out my holiday thoughts. First thing to note are some books by Mitch Abloom, "For One More Day" and "Tuesdays with Morrie." I think this guy writes books for people like me that put a lot of time and energy into their work and sometimes miss the sweet, simple things in life. They are at bit much to read in one sitting (though they are short enough), mostly because its heavy emotional content. Plus, I don't want to shed any tears while reading them on the airplane (I'm sure Julie and most women would think thats wonderful and sensitive - but I don't). Reading these books has helped me keep some perspective and cherish my time with Julie and the girls. No financial success is better than memories I have of our tickle wars, bike rides in suburbia, hikes in Red Rock Canyon or just snuggling while watching a movie. Yes, I recommend these two books to anyone.

Last Friday night, Julie and I went to see Enchanted, the Disney movie that spoofs fairy-tales. It starts out briefly as a cartoon, but becomes a live action film after about 15 minutes when the heroine/princess is pushed by the evil queen into a well that sends her to a place with "no happy endings." So of course she winds up in New York City and meets a divorce lawyer. Prince charming chases after her, but in the meantime, the lawyer uses his persuasive words and talks her out of her engagement. It ends in a typical hand-to-hand combat thing at the end and everyone lives happily ever after.

For any of you keeping track, James Marsden (Cyclops in X-men and Richard "the other guy" in Superman Returns) seems to keep up his streak of being the boyfriend who gets hosed for the other guy. Maybe he's like this in real life - or his agent has a cruel sense of humor. However, he was my favorite personality in the movie. Why? This movie was all about the cheese, and he was the cheesiest. Just fun to watch. Amy Adams also did a good job as a sugar-sweet Disney princess, and her song with all the NYC vermin was fabulous. As for the guy from Grey's Anatomy? ... he did his usual McDreamy thing (I guess). This is really a rental, but it was a good wholesome popcorn movie for adults and kids.

On to my last thought and them I'll slip into the madness/holiday bliss of the 2nd half of December. This is my favorite time of the year. Christmas was huge for my father and he always pulled out all the stops to make it special. He decorated like crazy and made sure Christmas morning was something for kids to loose sleep over, even when he was financially hurting. I didn't have many personal moments with him, but Christmas always showed me how much he cared. This will be my first Christmas at home, in my own house, with my family and others coming to visit us. Since I can't decorate for beans, I've put my efforts into the lights on the house. While its not amazing, it helped me connect with that feeling my father must have got when he made the holidays special for us kids. It fills me up inside to see my kids have that look of Christmas wonder in their eyes and all my other cares settle into proper perspective.

My Christmas wish for the three people that read this blog is that you will be able to make those wonderful, lasting memories with your loved ones this year. I've set a goal to read the Four Gospels in the New Testament this month and it has truly helped me to remember the real reason for the season. I hope all of you are able to do things this year that bring you closer to Christ and your family; as that is where I've found my greatest happiness. God bless all of you and Merry Christmas!!!

Writer's Cramp

Some of you may be aware of the recent strike that is on from the writer's union in Hollywood. In a very rough nutshell, the writer's only get 1% of DVD and other sales and they'd like it to increase to 2%. Producers and studio execs say "no way" and the war is on. Who is right? Should writers get more bling for their efforts?

Part of me says yes. These guys are the creative guts and heart behind every movie and TV show. Many people can produce and many can act, however good writing is very difficult to come by (at least in my opinion and I'm no English major/minor). If I'm a producer, and I got results from a talented writing team, I'd pay them well so they would continue to work hard. Word of mouth would spread that top writers work for me and I'd have the best competing to work with me. Pay people what they're worth and it will come back to better business for yourself.

But this herein lies the problem. What are good writers worth? I suppose I could start to quantify it with revenue from ratings or ticket and DVD sales, but that would be boring and not get to the heart of the matter. Writers get treated like dirt because they are seen as idealistic, passionate communists who will suffer for their art (the same could be said about most actors too) at any cost. Shouldn't these guys be living underneath some brothel on the Sunset strip with a scratchy wool blanket and concrete block for a pillow? Just make sure there is a power outlet for their Apple Laptop to plug into. Let them live on Top Ramen, cigarettes and caffinate them with cheap black coffee to keep them producing. If they die, it is a good tragic death that will fuel more good writing. No sense in paying an idealist a ton of money.

These guys collectively got sick of their bohemian lifestyle and decided they wanted more. I recently read an article from Rabbi Bourch Leff where he quotes the following from George Bernard Shaw:

"If at age 20 you are not a Communist then you have no heart. If at age 30 you are not a Capitalist then you have no brains."

It appears that writers collectively gave up communism and decided to become capitalists. IN YOUR FACE MARX!!! ADAM SMITH WINS! Ha ha!

Frankly, I'm ashamed for these writers. All TV and movies are about to go to crap. But my guess is that if one asked a truly socialistic person, they'd say this has already happened. Then again, ask any right-wing nut job like me, and I'll tell you its all gone to crap too. So if everyone hates your work, you may as well get paid more for it right?

This is the part where I say NO!!! I predict that several writers will die under their scratchy blankets after the Ramen runs out and the coffee goes cold. Well connected ones may make more dough, and consumers will get hosed with higher movie ticket, cable and dvd prices. Why? The guys with the money have certain things called "investment goals". Let's say their criteria is that they get a 10% return on their investments. If writers get their 1% increase, the cost will be passed on to us so the producers can continue to get 10%. That's what people with the $$$ do. They don't eat costs, they pass them on or write them off. If they don't, they need to get a new CPA.

So enjoy the hike in prices America. I sure won't.

Dan in Real Life

No Daniel, this is not about you. But I did see a fantastic movie last Friday night with a main character that shares your name. "Dan in Real Life" was one of the best movies I've seen this year. Humor, love, family, death and "drama" all brought together in a wonderful package. It was in several moments very difficult for me to watch and it struck a few chords that probably wouldn't have hit their mark if I had seen this 10 years ago. (Probably because I would have been on my mission and feeling really bad about watching a movie).

The Plot - Dan (Steve Carrel - The Office) is a middle aged man who lost his wife four years ago. He writes a column about parenting teenagers, but in "real life" its much more difficult to practice what you preach. Dan is taking his three daughters to a family reunion and meets a woman (Juliette Binoche - Chocolat) the first day on his trip. Its love at first sight and after an hour of chatting, he gets permission to call her even though she just started seeing someone. Unfortunately, that someone is his brother who brings her to the family reunion later that afternoon. The movie is then filled with fun romance/family chaos over the secret love triangle.

I was very impressed with Steve Carrel that he could maintain being very funny in a serious character. Reminds me of Jim Carey and the Truman Show breakthrough. Most of the movie seemed well cast. I heard they ditched Jessica Alba for Binoche, which was a good move. She has a certain emotional aura that makes it believable that Dan could go head over heels for her in a couple of hours. However I've read several other reviews that put this movie well beneath Binoche and the idea that she could be dating the hated Dane Cook (comedian). But I thought it worked well. She liked Cook's character because he was using Dan's lines from his books and columns to woo her. Once she found the real source of inspiration she would go for the real thing. As a result, I thought the casting worked quite well, despite this not being some sexual French drama of Oscar proportions beneath one of the most "luminous" women of all time.

Another aspect of the film that I really liked was seeing a family have lots of fun together. I read several other supposedly "high-brow" reviews where the family was decried for being too cheesy and reviewers would rather slit their wrists that deal with people like that. (WOW. Good thing most of these "happy" people are not procreating - they just love angst, and frankly I'm not a fan of angst 24/7). But was the family cheesy? Yes, but THAT'S WHEN YOU HAVE THE BEST FUN! They had crossword puzzle competitions, talent shows, football games, kayaking... nothing perfect, but good times. This had to be one of the most positive portrayals of family life I've seen in years (which is why some people hated it so much). Ah, to each his own.

What made this difficult to watch is that it made me consider what would happen if I became a widower with two girls. How hard it would be to relate to them without mom around to interpret their actions. Especially love sick teenagers - YOU ARE THE DESTROYER OF LOVE!!! That title is coming to me in about 9 years. Love isn't a feeling - its an ability. And if that's true, I must be a superhero.

Overall, what I liked the most is that this movie had me flat-out laughing several times. Hard. And it was good humor. This is definitely a daddy-daughter movie that I can re-watch in the years to come with my girls and hope things never get that way.

Sign of the Apocalypse

Sports Illustrated has an interesting section in its weekly publication where unusual sports events are presented as signs of the impending apocalypse or end of the world. In an effort to be a blogger who beats the traditional media to the punch, I'm going to declare that the Rockies winning 17 of their last 18 games, winning a one game tie-breaker, and sweeping the NLDS, 3-0 to be a sign of the apocalypse. If this feat were accopmplished by the Red Sox or Yankees, it might seem stunning, but certainly not a sign of the end of the world. So why it it?

Growing up in Denver, we had the Broncos and the Nuggets. But baseball was always missing. The Denver Zephyrs just didn't cut it. We wanted the big leagues. I remember well in 1993 when the expansion team opened on April 5, 2 days after my birthday. The first batter hit a home run. Destiny was on our side. The whole town was crazy for the new team. Everyone had a Rockies ballcap. We heard that Cryps in the hood had adopted the hat as identifying paraphernalia. Despite our good feelings, we stunk that year, but it was OK, we had MLB at last. We continued to be awful until 1995, when Coors field opened and the Blake Street Bombers (Galaraga, Bichette, Walker and Castilla) combined to hit 139 home runs in the thin mile high air. We went to the post season for the first time and people thought the team had arrived. Then we got swept by Atlanta. I remember thinking that if we couldn't do it with that kind of hitting, we'd never get anywhere. And that's exactly what it was for the next 12 years. I'll admit, I barely kept up on the Rockies, did not watch games and just occasionally noted how pitiful and inept my home team was. But we had a cool ballpark and most figured the team would labor on as a way to watch other MLB teams that came to visit. Following a dismal 67 win season in 2006, another blogger made a photo-shop picture at the beginning of 2007 to show his apathy for the team (kitties on the right).

You can imagine how surprised I was to see the Rockies sustaining a winning record this year and contending for a playoff spot and claiming they had an MVP in Matt Holliday. I still didn't watch, figuring the playoff push would not bear fruit. Finally, when the tie-breaker game came around with San Diego, I decided to watch and feel the Pavlovian call to eat sunflower seeds and scratch. It was a very suspenseful game and the team really did look good. It went to 13 innings and a stunning come-back win after SD scored 2 runs in the top of the inning. Three runs seemed highly improbable. But to show that the world is near destruction, we rallied and a bloody Holliday rose from a controversial slide into home plate to send us to the post season. I was stunned. My shock continued when we won the first two games AT Philadelphia, the best offensive team in the NL, in a ballpark that favors hitters. Then came last night. A pitching duel, that ended in a 2-1 victory. 3-0. Sweep. I remember doing an ESPN sports nation poll before the series started and only 13% of the respondents thought the Rockies could sweep. During game 3, the crowd sounded like it was watching football or basketball game. Following the final out, the jumbo-tron showed the word: ROCKTOBER. Could it be that we already had a post-season slogan? The Rockies? THE ROCKIES? Yes. The world is coming to an end. We could get swept by the D-backs and it wouldn't matter. I'm just glad we got a small taste of winning before all the elements melt with fervent heat and the earth is wrapped as a scroll.

But could the winning be due to the team's recent adoption of so called "Christian Rules" of conduct and faith in a low payroll? Here are some encrypts on it from Wikipedia:

"On June 1, 2006, USA Today reported that Rockies management, including manager Clint Hurdle, had instituted an explicitly Christian code of conduct for the team's players, banning men's magazines (such as Maxim and Playboy) and sexually explicit music from the team's clubhouse. The newspaper reported:

Behind the scenes, [the Rockies] quietly have become an organization guided by Christianity — open to other religious beliefs but embracing a Christian-based code of conduct they believe will bring them focus and success.

From ownership on down, it's an approach the Rockies are proud of — and something they are wary about publicizing. "We're nervous, to be honest with you," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd says. "It's the first time we ever talked about these issues publicly. The last thing we want to do is offend anyone because of our beliefs."

The article sparked controversy, including criticism in a column in The Nation, which stated:

San Francisco Giants first baseman-outfielder Mark Sweeney, who spent 2003 and 2004 with the Rockies, said, "You wonder if some people are going along with it just to keep their jobs. Look, I pray every day. I have faith. It's always been part of my life. But I don't want something forced on me. Do they really have to check to see whether I have a Playboy in my locker?"

Soon after the USA Today article appeared, The Denver Post published an article featuring many Rockies players contesting the claims made in the USA Today article. Jason Jennings, a Rockies' pitcher, said:

"[The article in USA Today] was just bad. I am not happy at all. Some of the best teammates I have ever had are the furthest thing from Christian," pitcher Jason Jennings said. "You don't have to be a Christian to have good character. They can be separate. [The article] was misleading."

While the initial USA Today article caused some controversy, the main claims have been repudiated by the ballclub and its players in the subsequent Denver Post story."

Not all Major League baseball teams have similar revenue streams, which contributes to a disparity of "haves" and "have-nots" amongst franchises. Major League Baseball franchises average spending 48.9% of every revenue dollar on player payroll while the Rockies spent 28.4% of team revenues on player payroll. Only one team in all of MLB spends a lower proportion of team revenues on player payroll than the Rockies."

After learning about these controversies I became more proud of my team. I'm not a fan of people making obscene money for anything, much less playing a sport. I'm also all for organizations that uphold good moral conduct codes. Am I saying that the recent success is due to their claimed moral conduct? NOT AT ALL. Like many of you, I thought the way many of the the Rams players claimed that God supported them in their victory over the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl was ridiculous. However, I do believe that virtue in thought and spirit fosters strength in body and confidence in your ability to do your best. Clearly something changed in a team that was just awful. I don't believe that God helps sports teams win (even BYU). But I do believe that following Him allows you to be your best. Apparently, the Rockies found a way to be their best before the end of the world and I got to witness it.

Saturday Warrior

Nothing much going on today. There are a host of things I could/should be doing right now, but I'm feeling awfully neglectful of my blog. Movies, books, sports and a few social theories. That's what I comment on. Not sure I've got anything good to write about. So if you are crazy enough to read past this point, you are either very bored or a freakish speed reader with a thirst for lame blog commentary. Right now I'm a guy who has almost everything going good for him, but can't seem to enjoy what he's got. Always thinking about what's on the horizon (Yoda wasn't fond of that). I often feel happier thinking about the future or past than my current state. Perhaps it works that way for most people too. So here is a thought for the day. Be happy. RIGHT NOW.

Eat your heart out Zig Ziglar.

- And I'll see you at the top.

The 7th Results

!WARNING! This article is full of spoiler info if you are not caught up on the books or are just watching the movies. Read at your own peril. Mild as it may be.

This is my old Post. I'll put the results and my comments in blue.

What are the odds on who will die in book 7? After some searching on the "net" I found little information. No one in my home town has any odds on it, so as a "Las Veegan" I'm making my own. (Send check or money orders to me to place bets - j/k). I'll go through the major characters and then discuss what I think will happen in book 7.Before that gets rolling, I had to check up on what odds actually meant. (Despite my Stat 221 class). If I say the odds are 4 to 1 (4:1) the odds of the event happening are 4 chances for the event to happen compared to 1 chance that it won't. In this case 4:1 is 80% in favor of the event happening (4/(4+1)). Good Grief. On to the predictions that I made with my crystal ball and tea leaves (Don't call my Bishop). Most are just my hunches; I don't do hours of research in the books for this so don't send me a howler. Part of the reason I'm doing this is to go on the record with my predictions and for posterity's sake.

Hairless Potter: 1:10 - There is a popular theory that J.K. will kill Harry off so no one can use him in the future, but I don't buy it. I know the prophecy says "one can't live without the other" but I just don't see the books ending on such a dark note. Rowling said Harry may die and mentioned that a character got a "reprieve", but I doubt its Harry. I'm banking on "kids books" Happy ending.

BAM!!! 1 for 1. Off to a good start. Clearly Harry was never meant to die and was not the reprive.

Ron & Hermione: 1:10 - Once again, I think there is a very low chance of the "Big 3" being killed off. These books are "triumph over evil" tales, not Greek tragedy or some other high-brow stuff where you feel cool for reading something that was "real". This franchise will sacrifice some secondary characters, but not THE main characters. Besides, these guys are set to propagate the future Order of the Phoenix crew (which will be necessary - read on) and no Dark Lord or pesky blond haired bully is going to get in their way.

BAM BAM!!! 2 for 2. And after reading the last chapter, I was quite prophetic in my predictions about propegating the future.

Ginny Weasley: 50:1 - You heard it here. Ginny is TOAST. Burnt Toast. I see her as the classic girlfriend gets murdered and drives the hero to victory. Harry just gets to survive this book. If you have a vision of Ginny and Harry flying into the sun-set on a broom forget it. Ginny has not been a major character in the majority of the books and is easily expendable. She was already used by Voldermort and will get hosed again. SHE IS NOT THE REPRIEVE.

SPLUT!! I knew this was a risky prediciton, but thought it might work. Even in this book, she didn't have much letter time. Oh well...

Voldermort: 375:1 - This is a no-brainer. I won't even explain. Death & Taxes. By the way - these are the odds R2-D2 gave Luke and Han to survive on Hoth when shut out of the base at night.

[New Year's Whitle Blows] I'm a genius!!!

Snape: 4:1 - If he is good, then he's a worthy sacrifice to get rid of V-Mort. If he is bad then he deserves to die and most likely will. I leave in the 20% chance he could survive, just to cover my big ol white butt.

4 of 5. I'm feelin it!!!

Order of the Phoenix Characters: 1:1 - Hagrid, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, George, Bill, Fleur, Mr. & Mrs. Weasley and any other contenders. I lump them all together because I'm not sure about any of them. 50% on any of them. If its the twins, I say they both die. YOU JUST DON'T SEPARATE TWINS OKAY? As for RAB - I think he is dead. If I had to pick one to get waxed, I'd say Lupin in a steel cage werewolf death-match with Greyback.

R.A.B? - bam. Twins? - Reprive. I think George was the reprieve. Lupin- pop. I was right, but the manner of death was not as I predicted.

Death Eaters: 3:1 I think the casualties for these guys are likely to be heavier. In this sort of story, more bad guys die than good ones if there are to be casualties on both sides. Wormtail, LeStrange, Lucius, Mrs. Malfoy, Draco, Crabe, Goyle, etc. All on the chopping block. Most likely to die: Wormtail. Harry saved his life and he will re-pay Harry with his life (as is the Wizard code or whatever). Least likely to die: Draco. Just feels wrong. Aint gonna happen. Mark my words fool!

I'm getting tired of being "generally" right. Draco lives on to propegate the next great pro-wrester of the modern era - SCORPIO!!!

Dursleys: 1:1,000 - What would be the point? Dud-ums and his family are going to continue their life in suburbia - a fate worse than hell.The reprieve: I think this went to Ron. He and Ginny were going to both die, but that was a bit much. Harry would have hooked-up with H-Money in their grief and loneliness, but that would have been too much drama. After all, this is witchcraft, not a day time soap opera.

Darth Vader says: All too easy... The Dudley thing was a bit of a shock. The reprieve could still have been Ron... I'll have to look this up.

Predictions (Quick & Dirty): Dumbledore is going to give Obi-wan type assistance to Harry through fawkes. RAB is dead and was Regulus Black. Harry is not a Horcrux - You don't try to originally kill something you are putting your soul into. Harry will get hosed throughout the whole book, will not gain much in the ways of skills, abilities or powers, but will win on sheer luck and LOVE. Wormtail will kill Voldermort to settle his mystical bond with Harry for saving his life. (If you read LOTR this is going to be a disappointing rip-off of 'WORM-TONGUE' and Saruman -- GOSH! They can't even change the names up! Good thing Voldermort and Saruman don't sound similar.) Bellatrix will be killed by Neville. Lupin and Tonks will get together (although it will be temporary). Snape is good and will die tying to kill V-Mort. (I know, call me if you want that explanation).

OK. This is where I got lit up. Harry was a horcrux. But - BAM! Harry got hosed, no significant new powers, and won due to LOVE. - DO I HAVE A BEARD AND SOME SEER STONES??? (no). Wormtail? I was close. Bellatrix was killed by her antithesis in the book. Not forseen by me. Ouch. BAM!!! LUPIN AND TONKS TOGETHER temporarily AND THEN DEAD!!! WOO-HOOO!!! And I was right about the HPB.

This was easily my favorite of the books. Probably becuase it was outside of school and loaded with action. The one thing I really wanted when the 6th was over was to see a 7th book about a long quest out of Hogwarts to destroy the Horcuxes and my wish was grated. I was very pleased with that. The reminising feeling was appropriate, but never over-bearing. Just right. The resolution was well thought out and meaningful on different levels. Fantastic way to end such good books. And the door is wide open for more...

Shorter Potter & The Order of the PHX

Happy Friday the 13th! Time to spout my review of the latest of Dan Fletcher - I mean Dan Radcliffe flick. Although I didn't make the 11:59 PM Tuesday night show like a die-hard, I saw this last night at a comfy 7:20 PM showing in Red Rock Staduim. I called the theater before going and grilled some poor teenager about which screen is the largest and whether or not I should see the film digitally. Suprisingly, the kid knew the answers. The digital version was on a much smaller screen, so I opted for the grand scale of the 480+- seat theater. With Cafe Rio in my gut and Hot Tamales in Julie's hands, I was ready.

Just one problem. During the eternity of previews and commercials, Jules mentioned to me that Dan Radcliffe (the actor who plays Harry) is a short guy. I'd never really noticed before. OH HOW IGNORANCE IS BLISS!!! First it was Rocky's painted eyebrows, now this. The first scene with him and Hermione, she makes him look like a WUSS. Then I kept thinking about him wearing platform shoes, standing on boxes in every scene, etc. Kinda ruined things a bit for me.

But, after a while the film took over. The main impression left on me after reading the book was an overwhelming feeling of Harry's anger and frustration. I would say it was the most angry of the six books I've read thus far. And this film lived up to it. For kids, this was probably not such a good thing. But to a jaded 30 year-old, it was great. The happy go lucky days of the first two movies are long-gone. The story really has morphed from ooh, cool magic stuff into a grim look at how people would deal with the rise of Hitler and Bin-Laden rolled into one man in black robes. What really frustrated me about the first four films is that you never really got the feel of how much Harry suffered in the books. It all seemed too happy. I think anyone who has not read the books can get a good feel for Harry's emotional struggles (in all books) by watching this one.

A theme that I found in the film was the idea of how to deal with anger and fears. Do you isolate yourself or share your burdens with others? I think I'm more of an isolation person so I could identify with this. Cutting ourselves off from people who love us because we want to spare them pain dosen't work. It was a good theme that can be applied to everyday life. Toward the middle of the film Harry wonders if he is becoming evil because of the anger he feels all the time. Sirius teaches him that we all have light an dark within us, but its which we choose to follow that defines who we are. Some days we loose, but most we win if our hearts are in the right place and we keep the people we love close.

A word about adaptaion. This was the longest book and the shortest film. Hence, it came off much more like an actual movie than a re-hashed book in pictures. Yes, TONS of things were left out, but the critical items remained and that is enough for me.

The action in the Department of Mysteries was great, and the battle between D and V was highly entertaining. I did wish that D got a little more angry (I just couldent' get enough anger!) but he gave the "You shouldn't have come here Tom" speech well. The best stuff in the movie? Voldermort. Black suite at the train station, the battle with D and inhabiting Harry - FANTASTIC. Ralph Finnes does a great job and while its not Oscar material, he makes the character very believable and sinister. But, I actually found myselft hating that Umbridge lady more than anyone by the end of the movie. And let's not forget the Weasly twins and their exit from Hogwarts. As characters in the book would say, "Brilliant." Overall, great movie. Not sure I like it better than POA, but I'd hold it equal with GOF. The PG-13 is well deserved and my kids will not be seeing this one for a long time.

HEATED Thoughts

I feel the need to put many sweaty thoughts in the blog today. Yes , it is hot here in Las Vegas, but it is a DRY HEAT. I kid you not, I'd take this any day over 95 and 35% to 50% humidity. I can get cool in the shade, I don't sweat for at least five minutes in the car, and cold water makes a difference.

We are half-way through the year and six months removed from Christmas - "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Therefore, the current time is antithesis to Christmas or "The Most Terrible Time of the Year." You may be thinking I don't like the 4th of July, Pioneer Day, the Pool, BBQ and Vacation. Not true, I love those things. They make this time of the year bearable. But nothing can seem to overcome the summer drought of sports action that summer months produce. Baseball? - Tons of inconsequential games within a never-ending season makes watching HGTV more entertaining. Tennis? - Should be interesting, but I always get bored with it. Bring Back McEnroe!! Golf? - How does one even get into watching that? I know many guys love it, but it seems like a sport that should only have highlights during sports center. Competitive Eating? - Kobayashi falling was interesting to see even though he had lock-jaw or some sort of ailment, but still, this sport is disturbing to watch and makes you want to hurl. Arena Football? - Nice try, but still unsatisfying. Its interesting to see a different venue, skinnier goal posts, high scoring games and laugh at cheesy team names, but I can't sink my teeth into it. I can't get over that fact that I'm not watching the ELITE. The best of the best. As the Great Ice Man once said - "the plaque for the alternates is in the AFL" (OK I changed it a bit). NASCAR? - I'm not from the south or a Gasoline family. Poker? - I don't gamble and never intend to; so learning the game and watching a bunch of dudes in sunglasses sit around a table is no good to me.

So what is there to slake my thirst for Sports in the Summer? NOTHING!!! I get Dan Patrick and the Herd guy talking about who will be the next host of the Price is Right? NBA trade rumors? NFL stories about who won't show up for camp or got thrown in jail? KILL ME KILL ME!! COME ON! DO IT NOW!!! (Thanks Arnold). Here are my solutions to the problem. If nothing is to be changed, I suggest that ESPN 2 start carrying nothing but re-runs of American Gladiators and Classic 80s NBA, NFL and MLB. PERIOD. However, if I had the power, I'd make the NBA start in February - When people would give a rip and not miss any football and thus prolong the season through the Summer and have the finals sometime in August before Baseball playoffs get too close. If only it could happen, and I could quench my thirst, but alas, I am tortured year in a year out with no end in sight and hence, this is The Most Terrible Time of the Year.

Rocky Balboa

It may have taken awhile, but I finally saw this movie. The first possible attempt was at Dan's "wild" bachelor party, but the Italian Stallion got denied for a healthy plate of Nacho Libre. Two weeks ago, I came home on a Friday night with the movie from Red Box and Julie laughed me to scorn. Rocky didn't get watched that night and I took him back the next day. However, last weekend while Julie and the girls went to So Cal, Rocky finally got his shot. So what did I think? First I have to give you some history and education.

Growing up as a kid the 80s, you watched the Rocky movies - and then tried to knock your buddies out in the basement. These were inspiration films. You got a crazy notion in your head that you could take 20 clean shots to the face and keep fighting. You wanted to lift weights, go running and become a champion. You thought you could do anything, even end the Cold War.

I used to have a tape of Rocky quotes that Linnie and I would listen to at UNC. "Clubber Lang is in there he's trying to hit you! He's trying to hurt you Rock! - He's hookin, he's hookin, he's hookin! DAMN ROCK COME ON! [tomorrow, let's do it tomorrow] THERE IS NO TOMORROW! THERE IS NO TOMORROW!!

And how about the music? Eye of the Tiger, Gonna fly now, Training Montage, War, the fight music. My blood gets boiling just thinking about it.

Clearly these films embody some the best cinematic moments of my childhood. So back to Rocky Balboa. I heard it was a good movie. Had a good message, but I had no high hopes. First thing off in the movie, I realize it has been a while since I've seen Sly on the screen and he looks OLD. A couple minutes later, they do a close-up on his face. All I can think is Botox and Meg Ryan. Then, I notice the crow's feet by the eyes. Normal right? I don't have anything against crow's feet, but when an eyebrow is painted over them, then I have problems. I think there is a strain of OCD that runs in my family and I could not ignore the painted eyebrows. The fact that they went down to the corner of the eye was flat-out disturbing along with the overall botox feel that his face had. I know this sounds heartless, cold and cruel, but I've never seen an action hero look like this before and it made it very difficult to enjoy the film. I guess I'm cheap, vain and don't value my elders or I'm afraid of aging myself. You have to give Stallone credit, he was in good shape for this movie. And one more thing - his son was as awful in this movie as he as in Rocky V (which doesn't exist). Overall, this movie does the usual Rocky thing, drama, training and the fight. There are some good speeches about following your heart, being accountable to yourself, etc.

What about the boxing and training? The film's catalyst is a simulated ESPN fight between Rocky and the current modern champ Dixon "the line" something. (Ooooohhh) Rocky wins (making Dixon furious), and when the current champ hears that Balboa is interesting in fighting again he asks for an exhibition match - which in Rocky IV land means "death match." Rocky trains with Pauly and Duke, where they focus on strength training, thinking the only chance Rocky has is to KO the champ before going too many rounds. The usual training music is there, but it just made me miss the old sequences from I through IV. Fight was good, but the sound effects on the punching were too real. I wanted to hear those huge "BIFF! SMACK!! WHTHOCK!!" sounds that made you want to growl for joy like Mickey. Still a great fight, but not in the class of I-IV.

Aside from the eyebrows, the other errie thing about this movie is that it parallels the actor's own life so well. Frankly, I felt pity for him. Its almost like the movie should have been titled, "Sylvester Stallone." It felt like the whole film was Sly pleading, "I'm still relevant, my career isn't dead, I'm moving forward and you should too." Perhaps he should have just redone his speech that ended the Cold War, "If I can change, then you can change. EVERYBODY CAN CHANGE!!!" - Well Stallion, "I DON'T WANNA CHANGE! I LIKE WHO I AM!! I'M BORN WITH A KILLER INSTINCT YOU JUST CAN'T TURN OFF AND ON LIKE SOME KINDA RADIO. WE HAVE TO HAVE A REAL ACTION HERO, BECAUSE IF THE WARRIOR CAN'T FIGHT THEN THE WARRIOR MAY AS WELL BE DEAD STALLION! Now I'm asking you, as a fan... please retire into the sunset with dignity. Don't make us go through this again."

Age in "Real People Years"

As some of you are aware, I recently left my young and vigorous 20's to reach the ripe age of 30. Yes, three decades of lame techno music, hair-metal, Broncos, 1,001 weird nick-names, no broken bones (knock on wood), no stitches (KOW again), K-12, little league, weight lifting, mission to Boston, 4 colleges, 1 hot wife, 2 adorable kids, one fat mortgage, valuation dreams, tinted windows, butt-loads of chocolate and tons movie quotes. Despite all of this frivolity that would serve to preserve my youth like salt to a great hunk of meat (which I am), I have aged prematurely and am well beyond my actual age in "Real People Years".

I was married at the maverick age of 22, a cradle robber, who used all of his powers of persuasion, charm and animal magnetism to wed the 19 year old blond-bomb-shell Julie of San Diego. At the robust age of 24, a brazen stork came crashing through my living room window and delivered a 9 lb. 11 Oz. Lizard into my life. At that moment, my place on the space time continuum was altered. My theory is that I instantaneously transfered to the age of 30 when that happened. Now how could I support such a cocka-mamia theory?

Dr. Dating recently revealed on a morning radio show that most people in their 20's forsake romance and love for education and career (and let's not forget almighty travel - which always seems to be a fantastic reason to delay marriage, kids, etc). In their 30's many people of my generation find love and family and spend their 40's trying to reconcile their 20's and 30's. As I was saying, at 24, I was robust. Then I had my first kid and gave up the roaring 20's for family life doubled with career aspirations. I was doing the 40's thing, trying to reconcile family, career and romance all at once. Therefore, I conclude the effective age of my life at the time of the birth of my first child near the middle of the decade range (2o's to 40's) at 30.

So when you ask if I feel older, I say yes, because my effective age in "Real People Years" is now 36. But don't cry for me Argentina. In the words of the great singer Frank Sinatra:

Ive loved, I've laughed and cried.
Ive had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

Review: Music & Lyrics, The Prestige, Stranger than Fiction.

Over the last several weeks I've seen three films that I liked quite a bit and wanted to share my thoughts on them. If you have not seen them and want to avoid spoilers, read no further.

Music & Lyrics
This is the only film I saw in the theater. The occasion was for our purposefully bleated Valentines day, where Jules and I were so sick we just ate bowls of won-ton soup for dinner before the show. (Nothing can stop us from celebrating this holiday - and the Burr should be grateful). After 20-mins of commercials and previews, I'd almost forgotten what we came to see. The lights went down and everything was quiet. In the darkness the studio's logo began materializing and I heard this steady synthesized keyboard rhythm, that only the Roland Juno 106 could produce. Being a huge fan of synthesized 80s music, a grin spread across my face from ear to ear. The opening sequence was an original 80s music video that was everything you loved about the 80s. Cheesy lyrics about gold and silver, Flock of Seagulls hair-dos, lots of awkward male dancing, over-dramatic relationship storyline, you know, the works. I laughed my rear-end off and so did most of the theater.

Some have said that this move is the Wedding Singer, but substitute Hugh Grant for Adam Sander. That is somewhat true. BUT - The main difference is in the title (Wow - I'm a GENIUS!!) Okay. This one is not set in the 80s, is not focused on weddings, has no love triangle, and is about a washed up star, not a wannabe star. It is a great film about has-beens and how they interact with the world. The thing I liked the most about the film is that is had a tight time line, that keeps good tension in the plot. The humor was pretty clean and the overall feel was light-hearted. It was a good escape from the worries of the day and revel in my 80s nostalgia. Perhaps the best part of the movie was the music. Most of it (as far as I know) was original and clever. If you like music, this should at the least, be interesting for you. Apparently, it was the #1 album on itunes after its release. Overall, I highly recommend this for your next romantic comedy. It is one of the top 3 chick-flicks I've seen in a long-time.


The Prestige & Copy Cats
Magicians operate on a three-act basis: The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige. This is a hard movie to write about because I SERIOUSLY don't want to give anything away. Hands down, this is the best movie I've seen in 2007 (it came out in 2006). When I first saw the cover, I thought "Its Batman vs. Wolverine!", but there is much more to it. The film is directed by Chris Nolan (Batman Begins) and the main supporting actor is Micheal Cane (Alfred- Batman Begins). So if you liked the chemistry of Batman Begins (which I did immensely) then I guarantee you'll love this flick. This movie has multiple layers of meaning and I'm looking forward to a second viewing.

The film chronicles the rivalry between two magicians in the 1800s. Both pull some good tricks on each other that are great to watch. The movie has very little swearing, violence or strong action. But it was intellectually and emotionally tense the whole time. If you hate to think during a movie, avoid this one. But for those of you that do, I guarantee you'll be watching it a second time.If you liked the Illusionist (I did), this one is 5x better. The Illusionist is a similar film about a magician set in the 1800s, with a surprise ending. This brings me to a good opportunity to discuss an interesting phenomenon in Hollywood. Ever noticed how two similar movies come out at the same time? Here is a list:

Armageddon & Deep Impact
Harry Potter & LOTR
Star Wars & Flash Gordon - That's not a stretch!!
Tombstone & Wyatt Earp
Speed & Blown Away
First Knight & Braveheart
Dark City & The Matrix
Mission to Mars & Red Planet
Pirates of the Caribbean & Master and Commander
Conspiracy Theory & Enemy of the State & Arlington Road

Please comment and tell me if you come up with more.

Is there a conspiracy? Or Hollywood just stealing each others ideas because they have no originality? I guess other businesses do this all the time too. One of my favorites is Gillette and Schick. How many blades can a person shave with? 2 blades, 3 blades, 4 blades, 5 blades or 6 blades with battery power? Soon I'm going to be shaving with something that won't fit between my nose and upper lip and I'll have to buy a special blade from them just for that. Let's hope they don't read this.

Stranger than Fiction.
Whew! If you are still reading this post from the beginning you must either be really bored, or my mother. (No offense mom). I don't think Julie reads my Blog, but that is another topic for another day. --- On to the movie. Very interesting. Reminds me of a mix between John Candy in Delirious (where he is a soap opera writer that can write his future) and Her Alibi (a Tom Seleck Movie where he narrates the story as it goes) - (I recommend both those to your Netflix list).

The film is about a boring, rain-man esque I.R.S. agent who starts hearing a British Woman narrate his life with stunning accuracy. Will Ferrell can make anything funny and does a great job of going from a mild mannered auditor to a freaked-out guy discovering himself. He finds out through the help of a literature professor that his life is being narrated by a woman who always kills off her heroes in a tragedy. He then tries to find a way to stop this from happening. I think my favorite line from the movie was "This may sound like non-sense to you, but I think I'm in a tragedy" My other favorite moment is when the whole bakery (run by his love interest that he is auditing) boos him as the "TAX MAN! - BOOOO!!!" The movie also has a bunch of special effects that measure and count things on screen showing how his mind works which is very interesting to watch (especially for someone like me who has zero math power). Overall, you'll have a good time with this one and I highly recommend it.