Movie Review: Knight & Day

I don’t know if Tom Cruise is already “too ripe” at the young age of 46. I saw K&D with my wife,it was just “meh” at best. Not terrible,not great,not as entertaining as “The A Team”,either.
I can’t beleive Cruise wanted to market this dribble as “MI:4″. The whole problem with action/comedy is people already know nobody gets seriously hurt. There is no sense of danger. That would be OK,if the comedy was there BUT at no point during this movie did I laugh out loud. Like others have said,this film looked like something from the ’90’s. Actually,it was done a lot better in the ’60’s. It was called “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

I give this movie 2 bowls of pasta out of 5.

American Idol-Shooting itself in the foot.

As a resident of beautiful Mt. Prospect,Illinois, I was very pleased Lee Dewyze won the whole thing. Crystal Bowersox lacks charisma and that "Q" factor Hollywood types talk about. The problem with all this is Lee must now wait 6 whole months before he can release a CD. The producers of IDOL obviously want to sale out the National Tour and figure having the winner release a "quickie" CD waters down the stage show. It's called "exclusivity" and they want those who buy tickets to these things to have it. It will be very hard for Lee to stay in the spotlight,6 months from now. Just ask last years winner,whatshisname.

Another Blog Post,5 months later

Took some time off to attend a Sex clinic,but all they did was talk about slowing down my need for sex. Hell, I could have stayed home and talked to my wife for that.

Human Target on FOX ROCKS!

Television has few shows made any more that have this action formula. I loved this show. The fight scene on a speeding train was 100x better then any "quick edit,what the hell was that" Bourne movie. FOX had some excellent Spy show on about 12 years ago. It was very "Bond-like",called "Fortune Hunter". This show is just as good. Pure escapism! It is sad how many "procedural" crime shows have invaded TV. CSI is as boring as hell! Hey,let me cotton swab this dead corpse's ass to see where he ate breakfast! Screw That! I'll take "The Human Target"!

BigFan-The movie (starring Patton Oswalt)

Finally saw this movie last night. (rented off Comcast :5 bucks) It was a little less then what I expected. The movie falls apart right in the middle after the "incident". A lot of close-ups of Oswalt making weird faces that is supposed to signify that he was "thinking". There must be about a good 5-10 minutes of wasted film with "spence" Oswalt looking bemused. Simple story that looks like it was filmed by simple minds. I was disappointed,but the ending was pretty good despite a weak movie. For that,I give it 2 stars out of 5.

IF YOU NEED HELP,IF YOU CAN FIND THEM

MAYBE YOU CAN HIRE "THE A-TEAM"

NEW MOVIE FILM TRAILER!

AVATAR: Movie Review

It was nice to see a movie again. I have not been to the show in about 4 months. I love the big budget stuff. Not much of that from August to December. James Cameron took a bold step forward with Avatar. A lot of the complaints from "fanboys" is that it looks like a video game. I'm afraid I have to agree. There is nothing here you can't see on a 360. Things exploding,weird creatures,etc. It is all here. The story line is nothing original & some of the dialogue must have been taken from a bad comic book. Despite all that it still held my interest and I give the movie 2 & 1/2 stars out of 5. I'm glad I saw it,but not something I sit through 2 times. (Movie length=2hrs. 40 min.)

What I have been doing since October!

Not much! It's very hard coming up with a blog everyday. I will try harder in 2010!

The Tonight Show Troubles

Jay Leno IS making money for NBC BUT his weak lead-in to local news is costing the stations (in the NBC network) money in advertising dollars. It looks like NBC is willing to anger Conan O'Brien and move Jay back into his original slot at 10:30-CST.
Of course anyone can see what the solution is. Have Jay & Conan together host/co-host a show. This would kill Letterman in the ratings. They can have both guys come out and do a monologue,trying to talk over each other fighting for laughs. They can sit next to each other behind a desk and bombard the guests with 2 x the normally inane and "softball" questions. This would make for bizarre TV and "Must-SEE TV!

Just my 2 cents!

27 years of marriage

Well,well,well! Looked at the calendar to discover that on this day 27 years ago on a beautiful sunny day,I married a lovely,Italian girl. We bought a house in the suburbs,got 2 lovable dogs and had a son & a daughter. Nobody is more "average,middle-class American then me! It's a nice life as we surround ourselves with all the modern luxuries: Cable TV,giant HD tv,3 middle class sedans,the internet,cellphones,etc.and going out every so often to a comedy club or seeing a movie. It's a quiet existence,but I am very content!

David Letterman:Silly Intern Tricks

WOW! This guy keeps making the news and it usually involves some kind of sex!
A few years back,Drew Barrymore flashed Dave her chest. A few months back,Dave made a sex joke in poor taste involving Sarah Palins' family. Now this story about blackmail,the police and staffer sex! Dave has been a single man for a long time until recently. The problem of course is the poor judgement of having sex with young interns,staffers or whomever is employed on your own show. Kind of has a Bob Barker ring to it. Bob had sex with a few of the young models who appeared on the "Price is Right" gameshow. As soon as I heard this story,the girl's face that popped into my head was the one rumored to be one of Dave's ladies. Dave has a habit of putting back stage crew onscreen and doing "bits" with them. There is a reason they are "back stage" and that becomes evident in their bland,unfunny appearances on his show (though sometimes it works)! The young girl in question fell into this category. I used to wonder what the hell she was doing onscreen. She was very awkward and seemed kind of "Bitchy".Now all America knows WHY she was onscreen! Dave's taste in women seem to go towards plain and ordinary. His new wife (from the few pictures on the internet)borders on homely! This case will get more interesting as the accused blackmailer also lived with the intern mentioned. I am sure she filled his head with all kinds of creepy Dave stories! You know Hollywood will be all over this one!

Chicago:Don't worry,World ends in 2012 anyway!

Hey Chicago,what do you say,the Olympics ain't coming here today! I am on the side of those who did not want them here in the first place. Things like terrorists threats,traffic and congestion,increased taxes because of overruns in construction costs and increased disease (all the foriegners) and crime so some guy from Biafra can run a marathon in 127 minutes! Who needs it??? One thing I will not do is call Mayor Daley a loser. It was his vision that got Chicago this far. I give him credit for a noble attempt. I think what he should do now is see how much it costs for a dome on Soldier Field. He can then go get us a Super Bowl!

Once Again October is a dead end!

No,this is not me revisiting October 3rd,1982 (I got married). Instead we must huddle over another Cubs grave. My favorite sports team (Yes,way ahead of the Bears,Bulls & Blackhawks) once again was eliminated from playoff contention. The Cubs are finishing this season with a flourish. Two shutouts tossed by Zambrano & Dempster has led the Cubs to winning their last 7 out of 9. They impressed in San Francisco when they took 3 out of 4 from a team with WildCard hopes. Overall,this season despite many injuries and terrible seasons by two high priced free agent failures (Soriano & Bradley)was not terrible. The main reason being the starting pitching. Lilly,Dempster,Zambrano,Harden,Wells,Gorzelanny all were above average most of the year and sometimes dazzling. It did not show in the W-L column for the group,but that was due to a lot of "no-decisions" because the offense was broken.
It is something to build on for (yes,here we go again) NEXT YEAR. It will be intersting to see what the new ownership will do. The right thing is to start fresh with a new GM & manager. Larussa will be available. The Cubs can go there or take a
chance on Ryne Sandburg.Also,the chance of Ozzie Guillen getting whacked & moving to the Cubs is not impossible! Whatever the deal,I will be watching & rooting for this nightmare streak to end! Go,CUBS,GO...Hey Chic....Ahh,screw it!

45 years ago in the month of September

My all-time favorite show premiered on NBC. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was (and is) one of the coolest shows ever put on television. It followed the exploits of two suave & witty secret agents. The series centered on a two-man troubleshooting team working for U.N.C.L.E.: American Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn), and Russian Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum). Leo G. Carroll played Alexander Waverly, the British head of the organization (Number One of Section One). The 1st season & 4th season were very well done. The middle two seasons varied from high camp (influence of the BATMAN TV show)to silly nonsense but it was always entertaining. As a young man,I owned a great deal of UNCLE toys. I think it was one of the most merchandised shows in TV history. Of course,both actors are still around and very relevant. David McCallum stars in the popular NCIS as "Ducky" while Robert Vaughn has found more recent success in the clever British series,HUSTLE as a wise con man,Albert Stroller.Both men look great for their age. UNCLE has kept me & thousands of other fans young by reliving the exploits which was finally released on DVD a few years ago by TIMELIFE. The packaging of all 4 seasons + a great deal of "extras" in a secret agent "attache case" was a great thrill to receive! UNCLE fans waited for years for the release on DVD & finally were rewarded. The show still "plays" after all these years.
"OPEN CHANNEL D,INDEED!"

Chet Coppock

Chet Coppock has been covering the Chicago Sports scene since the days of guys showing up at football games with a mink coat and 3 hidden flasks. Well,I take that back,Chet still has the mink,but maybe nowadays he is down to 2 flasks! He is a "one-of-a-kind" sports personality & stands above the rest in this town and many others. I loved Chet from years ago & was a frequent caller (he took a few) to his old radio show. He was an excellent interviewer & always "dressed up" his questions to a parade of sports personalities. What set Chet apart from the rest was his ability to laugh at himself and others. The combination of his "Hollywood personality" & his great interviews made Mr. Coppock a great listen,night after night. He has written a book,which I plan to buy. Of course,if it lacks pictures,I probably won't read most of it because I have the attention span of a 3 year old,but that's another story. I wish Chet the best & hope he get's a major gig soon in our fine town! Chicago has 2 major players in SportsRadio,WSCR & WMVP. Both have confused working "cheap" with younger hosts as the same thing as working "good"!
Guys like Chet,Mike North,Steve Dahl,Bruce Wolfe should all get together and do a daily podcast (like the WEBIO deal),but instead of just giving it away,ask for subscribers to the tune of maybe 25 bucks a year. If they could get 10,000 subscribers,that's 250,000 bucks. They also could charge a daily fee of say a dollar a show. This would also bring in advertisers because now they would be talking REAL numbers. Just a thought,but what the hell do I know?

The Book can be bought on AMAZON

Lamar Odom & the Beastlike Khardasian girl

My God! One of the main problems with cable TV is that the extra 200 stations in search of original programming give us drek like the Khardasian whore brigade. Wrapping the three sisters and their dingbat mom up in a pretty bow and presenting them to the public is truly bizarre. Blame it on metrosexual multi-millionare Ryan Seacrest who is the producer. How Bruce Jenner is disrespected on this show is another story. I am a man with a family. My daughter is also beautiful with a smart mouth. The one thing I did not raise her to be is a slut. That message comes through loud & clear with these 3 bimbo's (the lack of a STRONG father figure is evident). Now we get a marriage of the chubby one to Lamar Odum??? The entertainment gossip shows treat it like it's Bogey & Bacall! They dated,got engaged & married in a month?
Hollyweird just gets more bizarre by the minute.

Dick Stockton & Charles Davis-Bears Game

I have listened to so many games over the years,I usually don't even pay attention to the announcers. After listening to Brian Balldinger the last few years,I thought Charles Davis doing the color on Sunday's Bear game did a fine job. He even noticed that the Bears were NOT in the prevent in the games final minute. As for Dick Stockton,he is "wheeled out" nowadays for his "name".He is not terrible but this is FOX's regional crew. Overall,I give them a B (Because of Davis)

Roman Polanski

Awhile back,I think it was Sean Penn mention this guy at an awards show asking he be given forgiveness. Of course the crowd applauds. It made me sick. HBO shows a documentary about his trial. Evidently,the judge bordered on being senile. A deal was made,then pulled off the table if I remember correctly. That is when this prick fled the country. I don't care how old he is now,his horrors in jewish camps,what a great director he is,it's all dust in the wind. He commited an insane act (underage rape) & should be punished. Nothing to argue about.

Time to Blog

Hello,
I have taken quite a bit of time off from blogging. The main reason might have to do with this question: "Who the hell is reading this dribble?!?" I decided,just in case anyone is,to kick it back into high gear,starting today!

MOVIE REVIEW: Terminator:Salvation

Very solid movie.When I saw the director was McG,I was expecting "Charlie's Angels" silliness. I was wrong. A solid adventure worthy of the Terminator franchise. I would rate it right behind the first one in regards to suspense. As far as action,it without a doubt has all the others beat!! Big Budget summer movie and it shows! The only issue was a major surprise was given away in some of the coming attractions I saw. The acting was solid and the story was simple and kept moving forward. No big "Let's stop here and explain ourselves type scenes". A definite must-see this summer!

I give it 3.5 bowls of pasta out of 5

QUICK ONE LINE MOVIE REVIEWS

HERE ARE A LIST OF MOVIES I HAVE SEEN RECENTLY ALONG
WITH MY RATINGS:
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WOLVERINE-THE MOVIE SETS HAVE THE LOOK OF SMALL-TIME BUDGET THOUGH SUPPOSEDLY 140 MILLION WAS SPENT ON THIS. TOO MANY CHARECTARS CONDENSED IN THE PLOT WHICH SPINS OUT OF CONTROL RIGHT AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE MOVIE-2.5 BOWLS OUT OF 5
====================================================
THE FAST & THE FURIOUS- WHEN YOU WALK IN ON THIS YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR GETTING! CARS,GIRLS,ONE TOUGH GUY(VIN DIESEL)& ONE TOUGH GUY WANNABE (PAUL WALKER),STILL VERY ENTERTAINING! WHAT YOU SEARCH FOR IN A SUMMER FLICK. 3.5 OUT OF 5 BOWLS OF PASTA!

MOVIE REVIEW: STAR TREK

First off,not a fan of the TV series. I have enjoyed most of the movies though.
Saw the rebirth this afternoon and was disappointed. The new actors are great but a poorly written plot with not much outer space action lead to a dull movie. The one thing that annoys me with Star Trek is the homage paid to each charactar when they arrive on screen.A false sense of nobility for a lot of the scenes with Kirk & Spock. After 40 years,I think it has sunk in that Kirk & Spock are buddies. McCoy is cantankerous,Scotty can't find the auxillary power until the last second,etc. Get on with the story and special effects,already! I liked some aspects of the movie. The girl playing Uhura was hot & Bruce Davidson was excellent as Captain Pike. Hopefully,we will have a better Star Trek next time around.
==================================================
I GIVE IT 2.5 BOWLS OUT OF 5

Nicolette Sheridan-replaced with who??

I read today that Disney told their television people that they are
hurting so budgets need to be cut. The Mouse Company hurtin? Aww,c'mon!
What a load of crap that is. Anyway,this gave the producers of Desperate
Housewives a chance to get rid of Nicolette's character. That sucks.
She is 40-something but her body is smokin' hot & she is not shy about
showing it! My wife likes this show and so do I. I think this season the
writing has improved and they have some good storylines.
Anyway,I hear they are replacing Nicolette with the lovely Fraulein from the Austin Powers movies.
No joke!

Hey Man...I'm innocent!!!

Finally,a California jury got one right. The case took 6 years to come to court but it looks like this freak of nature is finally going to the big house. I have heard the horror stories from his former wife,Ronnie Spector.

I guess even in Hollywood,there is such a thing as too weird!!