June 29th, 2007 John
I went and saw the National and Broken West last night with Peter. I hadn’t heard either of them before, but it was a good show and the National was fantastic. I highly suggest checking them out. They had a multi instrumentalist who really rocked out. I would have payed the $15 just to see him play violin for 2 hours, he was awesome. Plus, he had to put his reading glasses on every time he sat down at the piano, you’ve got to love rock stars that aren’t that cool. Seriously.
The National’s website: http://www.americanmary.com/news
The National’s MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/thenational
-John
john@addictedtowords.com
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June 29th, 2007 John
Spoiler Alert! If you plan on watching Shooter, don’t read this. I don’t anticipate this to be a problem because I don’t think anybody plans on watching Shooter. It’s one of those movies you will watch on cable in 2 years, and then you’ll probably watch it like 5 times in a month because that’s all they are showing on TNT for the month for some reason. I hate when this happens, I end up watching mediocre movies way too much. Are we sure we couldn’t just get old Slamball replays? I bet they are much cheaper, they play to the same demographic, and I’m sure more people would watch them.
I watched Shooter the other night. You may not remember what movie this is, because I’m pretty sure like 5 other people saw it. And I bet they all liked it alright too, it certainly wasn’t as bad as it seemed like it should be. This is kind of the cowboy movie I want Live Free or Die Hard to be. Yes, Markie Mark plays the burnt out war vet and the movie is a chock full o’ patriotic post-9/11 revenge undertones. But the way it turns out actually has Markie Mark not blindly following the government and ends up with a weird revenge ending that made me think the violence and deaths were totally called for.
Danny Glover plays one of the super bad guys and he is deliciously evil. Watching him smoke cigars with the evil congressmen while they chortle about their exploits of the world made me angry, and then Mark Wahlburg comes in and just wreaks havoc on them. I couldn’t have been happier.
Mark Wahlburg’s character in this is pretty awesome. I always wish I could have all the skills that special forces troops get. I’m pretty sure special forces was not his title, but it was some really intense soldier that everybody respected. I put Wahlburg’s level of training in this movie on about the same level as Jason Bourne or maybe even Jack Bauer, but that’s pushing it. Anyway, he was not only the most intense sniper ever, he had all kinds of impressive moves and random knowledge. I know I could use that move he used on the young FBI guy where he disarmed him and simultaneously flipped him over his back. I can’t think of an instance right now where I could use it, but I know I could. Also, Wahlburg does some serious shooting. He shoots a can of stew from a mile away. I think that stew must have been packed with explosives or something too, because when he shoots it its like a huge stew explosion. Not quite realistic, but when I see stew get shot I want something like what happened, I don’t want the can to just fall down. I don’t particularly feel the need for any shooting know how, but I wouldn’t mind being able to talk about all the logistics of setting up the mile-plus sniper shots in this movie. Wahlburg drops magnetic fields, the earth’s rotation, trigonometry, and some weather patterns, and time lapse all in one sentence about firing a shot from that distance. Now that is info I could use.
Wahlburg’s name in this movie was Bob Lee Swagger. For a cowboy hero, thats a pretty predictable name. I was able to not be too annoyed by it though, because for the 20 minutes Henry watched this movie with me, I think he made the joke “He’s still got his swagger” every single time something bad happened to Wahlburg, which came out to about one joke per minute. For some reason I found this to be more hilarious each time.
Michael Peña, the guy from Crash, was Wahlburg’s sidekick. He perpetually seemed like he was in over his head, not acting wise, because it almost seemed deliberate in his acting, but in the movie. He just continuously came off as Wahlburg’s little brother or something. Weird, but I kind of liked the somewhat awkward dynamic.
Tate Donovan (better known as Jimmy Cooper, or some random boyfriend of Rachel’s in Friends) was kind of hilarious as a supposedly hard-ass FBI agent. I couldn’t help but laugh at him yelling at people and trying to seem tough, when he spent the last 3+ years apologize to Marissa Cooper for every little thing he did on the OC. Did anybody else notice how completely unreasonable Marissa acted towards Jimmy most of the time? I felt like Jimmy had to apologize for every little thing, when it’s obvious that, while he certainly did make some mistakes, anybody can see that Julie Cooper was the most evil and probably the cause to all of Marissa’s problems. The moral is: you can’t spend years apologizing for everything you do, and then try and be tough. Nobody will take you seriously, even if it’s just acting.
The main girl, Kate Mara, was also pretty awkward. I know she has done some real acting over the years (24, We Are Marshall), this is the story I made up for her in my head, and that I like much better. I like to think that she was a double for Jessica Simpson in the Dukes of Hazzard, but they realized she not only was cuter than Jessica Simpson, but also could act better, so they gave her a real role in Shooter. I would like to stress though, that while her acting was a little better than Jessica Simpson’s, its not by much. I got the feeling throughout the movie that she was maybe a little bit retarded. I don’t say this to be mean or make fun of mentally challenged people, it’s just how she came off. She fell for Wahlburg, even though she was the widow of Wahlburg’s dead military partner. I think she felt like she needed to have so much inner turmoil in her acting that she overdid it and she just comes off as slow. Either way though, its sort of unintentionally funny. Strangely enough, the only time she seemed natural, was when she had the blonde wig and booty shorts on and was pretending to be a prostitute or something. Go figure…
Ok, so this movie was pretty bad. But it was entertaining, and I do enjoy revenge stories when the revenge seems justified. Plus, it had the line “your moral compass is so fucked up, I’ll be surprised if you find your way back to the parking lot!” I’ll be remembering that one.
-John
john@addictedtowords.com
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June 27th, 2007 John
I can’t decide which I am more excited about this week, the iPhone coming out, or the NBA draft. I should seriously buy some Apple stock, even if the phone doesn’t do that well it’s going to go way up in the next couple of years. Anyway, one of the deepest NBA drafts in recent memory is on Thursday and I’ve been following it religiously. I figure I should share some of my massive wealth of information I’ve collected. Here is how I see the lottery playing out…
Note: There have been lots of talks about picks being traded, I definitely think some of these will happen, if not many of them, but this is how I see the lottery playing out WITHOUT any trades.
1. Portland - Greg Oden
We can’t pass up Oden. It’s been said time and time again, but for good reason, big men win championships. People also keep saying how Durant could be the next Michael Jordan, he won’t be. You absolutely cannot draft a player based on thinking they will be the next Michael Jordan, it simply doesn’t happen and never will. Anybody remember Harold Miner? Yes, Durant will be a phenomonal player, but we can find a good slasher/wing player that will give us 85% of Durant’s production. We aren’t going to get a center anywhere near Oden’s class. Passing on Oden I think would be a bad idea.
2. Seattle - Kevin Durant
Seattle scoops up whoever we don’t take. Easiest NBA Draft pick ever. They would love to have Oden here though, as Durant makes Rashard Lewis seriously expendable unless they play Durant out of position at the 4. If Seattle takes Durant, look for Rashard Lewis to sign elsewhere, hopefully Portland, although seeing as we are over the cap, barring a sign and trade (for Zach Randolph?) we could only offer him the Mid Level Exception and he will most likely command more than that. It makes you wonder though how badly players would like to play with Oden. Would Lewis take less money to play with Oden?
3. Atlanta - Al Horford
The Hawks desperately need a point guard, but taking Mike Conley Jr. here is too high of a pick. Taking Horford is pretty much deciding Shelden Williams is a bust, as they are very similair players. Look for the Hawks to shop Williams if they pick Horford. Knowing the Hawks though they will probably somehow end up with another small forward and have a starting lineup of 5 small forwards. Josh Childress, Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, and whatever small forward they pick up here. I would laugh, and would that lineup maybe be strangely competitive?
4. Memphis - Mike Conley Jr.
The Grizz want Horford to complement Gasol in the post, but will have to settle with Mike Conley Jr., which isn’t really settling as he will be quite good. I have no idea how this team was so bad last year, but if Conley Jr. has a good year and Rudy Gay keeps improving and Gasol stays healthy, look for them to compete for a lower playoff spot.
5. Boston - Yi
Please note, I didn’t say Yi’s last name partly because I can’t spell it, but mostly because somehow he has already earned the one name status, and I like it. Boston will take the versatile Yi here and Danny Ainge will decide (for the time being) that they are building around youth. Kevin Garnett killing the trade that would have brought him there bummed Ainge out, so this week it’s youth. Look for them to shop Paul Pierce for a couple weeks before deciding to keep him while Ainge does another about face and tries to bring in veteran help. The thing is, if Boston drafts a solid rookie, they have a decent team coming together. Al Jefferson is a stud obviously, Gerald Green will continue to develop, Rajon Rando turned it on in the end of last season and Yi would fit in nicely with this group at power forward. It’s a small ball thing!
6. Milwaukee - Jeff Green
Milwaukee should have been a playoff team in the east this year, they were way better than Orlando, but they did some serious tanking. They will take Jeff Green, who seems to be the most NBA ready rookie, some people are calling him this year’s Brandon Roy. With Bogut, Villanueva, Redd, and Green, Milwaukee is a lock for a playoff spot in the east.
With Early Boykins opting out, absolutely look for them to take Conley Jr. here if he slips.
7. Minnesota - Joakim Noah
If Garnett is still around, Noah will be the perfect frontcourt teammate for him. He won’t score much, but he won’t need to. I see Noah being a Anderson Varajao type player, but hopefully better and won’t fall down as soon as the guy he is guarding takes one dribble towards the basket. Basically an energy guy. Noah makes so much more sense than Juwuan Howard for Minnesota. I guess Howard is a wily veteran, but he’s just not that good anymore and his contract is ridiculous. They must have wanted Mike James out of there badly.
8. Charlotte - Corey Brewer
Charlotte will be quite delighted to get Corey Brewer at 8. He plays with the most edge of the incoming Florida players and hopefully he can make up for some of Adam Morrison’s sudden lack of edge upon entering the NBA. I love Morrison though, so I’m hoping Brewer, who is a wild slasher (seriously, wild, half the time it looks like he is out of control…he takes the most ridiculous angles to the basket, watch him on YouTube), opens up the perimeter a little for Morrison, and Adam finds his shot again.
9. Chicago - Spencer Hawes
Chicago takes Spencer Hawes because they need a low post scorer, but they aren’t too happy about it. The Bulls are ready to compete now, and Hawes is definitely going to take some time to develop (if he does, I have a bad feeling about awkward 7 footers). Brendan Wright will be tempting here, but he is basically a Tyrus Thomas clone as far as skill set goes.
Look for Chicago to trade this pick, or at least try to. (Possibly in a Zach Randolph deal?) (And hopefully not a Jarett Jack deal, JJ is going to be solid. He already was this year and for all purposes this was basically his rookie year as it was the first time he was getting significant minutes. Point guards take a minute to develop, let’s give him some time Pritchard).
10. Sacramento - Brendan Wright
Wright is possibly the third best player in the draft, although he will take some years to become a solid NBA player. Had he stayed in school he could definitely have been number one next year. I can’t figure out why he would have joined this draft, with it being so overly deep. Sacramento will be happy though, to get a talent of his caliber at number ten. This is where you start to reap the rewards of the draft being so deep, Wright will be an excellent NBA player most likely, at worst he is an athletic bench player.
11. Atlanta - Acie Law IV
The Hawks badly need a PG, and Law is a huge upgrade from Speedy Claxton. It comes to to Law or Javaris Crittenton and I definitely think Law is the right choice. People seem to be questioning whether Law will be a good NBA player, but just go back and watch some of the end of games in his college career. He would spend the first 3.5 quarters setting people up and getting his teammates involved and then during the last half of the fourth quarter he became an assassin. This guy was fearless and (much) more often than not he was knocking down the big shots at the end of the game. You have to take the guy with the proven killer instinct like that. I see Law as a Sam Cassell type player in the NBA.
12. Philadelphia - Al Thornton/Julian Wright
I honestly can’t decide which of these two they pick. Either is a good pickup here, both can score and will play well next to the other A.I., Andre Iguodala. The Sixers probably could use a power forward more, but there are too many quality small forwards left on the board here. Thaddeus Young is another option.
13. New Orleans - Nick Young
While I personally don’t see Young becoming much of an NBA player, look for New Orleans to take him here. If he pans out, he’ll be an excellent back court running mate for Chris Paul. They would be dangerous.
14. LA Clippers - Julian Wright/Al Thornton/Thaddeus Young
The Clips will take whichever one of these three that they like most and is still available. LA could use a point guard with Cassell getting old and Livingstons uncertain future, but this trio of small forwards are too talented to pass up at FOURTEEN. It boggles my mind how ridiculously deep this draft is. Last year these guys would have been top 5 picks.
If I ever have time, I’ll try and write up a post draft thing and break down how teams fared. Again, I expect lots of trades come draft day and I see the Blazers being pretty active. I think I am way too excited about this…
-John
john@addictedtowords.com
Posted in All, NBA, Sports | 1 Comment »
June 12th, 2007 John
Live Free or Die Hard comes out this weekend and let me tell you, I am torn on whether I should go see it or not, so I am going to break it down scientifically and figure out beyond any reasonable doubt whether I should go see it or not.
Pros:
1. Bruce Willis looks like my dad, I want to see my dad foil some “cyber-terrorist” plans. Note: I am not saying that Bruce Willis’ skills as a hero are any more than my dad’s, but the difference is my dad is a college administrator and does not run into opportunities to foil plots every day.
2. Bruce blows up a helicopter by driving a car into a shed which sends the car flying into the air to demolish that helicopter, apparently he does this because he is out of bullets. If you can think of something more extreme, please let me know.
3. His catch phrase in the die hard series is “yippi-ki-a motherfucker”. That rules.
4. The I’m a Mac guy (Justin Long) is his sidekick. I can only hope one of the “cyber-terrorists” is the I’m a PC guy and I’m a Mac guy ruthlessly makes fun of PC guy’s shortcomings, this foiling some plots.
Note: Justin Long sure has played some weird roles. Remember Jeepers Creepers? How about how he was the silly gay secretary who always wanted it to be Christmas in the Break Up? Now he is in a Die Hard movie? Weird. Not to mention after all those he is most known for his role in Apple commercials.
5. I saw a fighter jet FLYING THROUGH FREEWAY TRAFFIC in the preview. That rules. Also, don’t you hate it when you take your jet to work to get there faster since it is so fast since it is a jet, but then you plan a bad route (like going on the freeway) and you get stuck in traffic and are late anyway? I know I hate that.
6. Also in the preview I saw a guy who has some cool stuff in his basement and calls it his command center. From now on I will refer to my room as my command center.
7. I know Bruce Willis’ nephew. He is a really good guy.
8. The big bad guy boss is the bad guy porn producer in The Girl Next Door. He defined sleaze in that movie, which was just what he needed to do. I’ve always felt he was a good actor, I’m glad to see him in a big budget high profile role.
Cons:
1. I’m so sick of these post-9/11-pro-america hero movies. Come on, is Live Free necessary in the title? How about just Die Hard 4? You may as well make it all in capital letters…LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, NEVER BACK DOWN. LET’S ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!! That seems like an appropriate title. The trailer has waving American flags and super patriotic music played with heavy guitar distortion. Come on… Even 24, which I mostly love, is venturing dangerously into this territory. Please be careful Jack Bauer!
2. Bruce Willis’ catch phrase in the Die Hard movies is “yippi-ki-a motherfucker”. That is pretty stupid.
3. Bruce Willis is getting old. While I wouldn’t want to see anybody else in his role in a die hard movie, you are a long way from Moonlighting Bruce, I think it’s time to give up the ghost.
4. This movie would make a lot more sense if it were released on the Fourth of July weekend. If that were the case I might be in enough of a pro America mood to stomach the big swinging dick American attitude in this movie. Then it would come off as more of a fun cowboy thing, but in June it comes off as a desperate NASCAR/George Bush thing.
5. I am spending way too much money on seeing movies in theatres. I was going to see one with Henry tonight, but I realized I had seen them all. Yes, all of them. I realize this has nothing to do with Live Free or Die hard, but I deduct points anyway.
So that comes out to 8 Pros and 5 Cons, which gives this film a net score of +3. I guess I have to go see it. You’ve got to love science.
-John
john@addictedtowords.com
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