movies of 2013... almost the best

So, there's the worst movies of the year... then there are the movies that were somewhere in the middle... now, in what's becoming a four part 2013 movie reflection (ReFlicktion?!), here are the movies that were good.. maybe really good... but just noooooot quite good enough to break my Top 10 of 2013...

And this is in no particular order...

This is the End (2013)... Raunchy yet hilarious, the ensemble cast of Seth Rogan, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and Jay Barachel--if you don't know all of the names, if you saw the faces, you'd recognize them from "that movie..." Kudos to Michael Cera and Emma Watson for two unbelievably hysterical cameos.

Now You See Me (2013)... Really clever premise with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco (James' little brother) as magicians hired to perform a few heists. Becomes a bit too unbelievable towards the end, but a strong cast includes Mark Ruffalo and Morgan Freeman.

We're the Millers (2013)... Jason Sudeikis is a small time weed dealer who is stuck owing lots of money to corporate suit Ed Helms, and agrees to smuggle a huge amount of weed from Mexico to the US, and hires on a "family" to make it look more legit. Its really funny is a wrong, Hangover sort of way, but one main reason to see this film is to really see how good of an actress Jennifer Aniston has become.

Iron Man 3 (2013)... Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is having an identity crisis, at the same time another global madman (this time portrayed by Ben Kingsley) is set on world destruction. A solid, fun twist in the middle gives this film some real life, as does an excellent turn by Kingsley as The Manderin. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle are also very likable, and Guy Pearce is a good bad guy too.

 

Melanie playing a chick who is just losing at life

Hello, I Must Be Going (2013)...  I do love movies with a little quirk to them... add to the fact I'm a fan of Melanie Lynskey, and you have this movie.  She's a character actress who you would know from "Up in the Air" as George Clooney's sister, or Reese Witherspoon's hometown BFF in "Sweet Home Alabama" (she's the one with the "baby... in a bar..").  Anyway, she's a 30 something woman who is divorced, at her parents house, life going nowhere, and she develops a crush on a much, much younger dude.  Its a sweet story, I promise.

Seven Psychopaths (2012)... An all awesome, all star cast with Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits and Colin Farrell in the lead tells this hilarious, violent tale of mobsters, gangsters, a screenwriter at the wrong place at the wrong time, and a kidnapped Shit Tzu.  I laughed alot, and enjoyed it throughout. 

The Longest Yard (1974)... Lest you think this is the tripe from a few years back with Adam Sandler, I say nay.  Oh, nay nay.  This is the 70s original, with Burt Reynolds, teaming up with some rough prisoners to form a football squad to take on the prison guards with a sadistic warden, played to the hilt by Eddie Albert.  I actually haven't seen the updated version, so I don't know how it compares, but I really liked this one.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)... Based on the Japanese masterpiece "The Seven Samarai", this one takes the story to the old west, where a poor Mexican village hires Yul Brenner to help defend them from a jerkface (Eli Wallach) who comes in to steal, pillage and plunder several times per year.  The cast is strong, with Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Robert Vaughn making up some of the Seven, and many scenes mirror the Japanese original exactly, sometimes word for word.  Great story, though a little long.

Seven Samurai (1960)... Speaking of which, I watched this one right before the Seven above, and I'm glad I did.  Though I don't usually get too enthralled with any movie featuring subtitles, I did like this alot. I can see the influence of this film on modern directors, especially Tarantino.  It is one that I probably won't watch again, but as a moviephile, am very, very glad I watched this time. 

Cabin in the Woods (2012)... From my review: "If you like suspense and scary type of films, but want something different, then check this flick out. There is a needless boobie scene in the middle, and lots of language... plus slasher violence, so get ready for that."  I thought it was creative, and the Bradley Whitford/JK Simmons scenes are funny and out of nowhere.



For me, its Amy Adams.  For all y'all, its Timberlake. Everyone wins.

Premium Rush (2012)... Perhaps the greatest bike messenger movie of all time... from my review... Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fun, Michael Shannon is a perfect creep, and the supporting cast is likable enough to keep the film going. Again, the plot is a bit far fetched, especially when you actually learn the contents of the bag, but still... check it out. PG-13 for language."

Trouble with the Curve (2012)... From my review: "It's pretty good. Slow at times, but the story in engaging, and having a grizzly Clint Eastwood, a really good Timberlake and Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with, on screen doesn't hurt."

Dredd (2012)... Great action flick. A billion times better than that Sly Stallone crap from the 90s. Violent, language, but well shot and lots of fun.  Its cool watching someone as lovely as Lena Headley play the villian, and I love the fact that Dredd never takes off his mask.  (I'm not alone in this either... its got a 7.1 on IMDb, while the Sly version is only at 5.3)

Here Comes the Boom (2012)... From my review... "DO watch this movie. Seriously. This movie is fantastic. Well, I say that being a Kevin James fan... yes, he's kinda dopey, and yes, his movies won't win any awards ("Zookeeper"? Its awful. But awesome. And I love it), but this is a delightfully fun story." (by the way, I still mean what I wrote then)

Blackfish (2012)... So, CNN picked up and showed this documentary essentially excoriating Sea World and their practices of animal captivity.  The main focus is on a killer whale named Tillicum, who was directly involved with the deaths of at least two trainers while in a show... its fascinating, its enthralling, and its almost upsetting, especially when former Sea World workers are on camera blasting the park and how it does business...

This movie would have made my Top Ten, except, like many documentaries, its stylish and well done, but much of it may or may not be exaggerated... or even false.  Many of the trainers that spoke up have come forward to say they were misrepresented (though when someone says something like "The way Sea World treats these animals is just criminal... if I had known it would be like this, I would have never gone to work there", I'm not sure how that's said misrepresented), so the truth lies somewhere in the middle.  I encourage all to watch it--but take it with a grain of salt.

So there we go... that's Part 3 of 2013 movie... coming up, finally... my favorite movies of 2013.  And because I'm awesome and so generous, you won't get a Top Ten... you will get TWO Top Tens... My 10 favorite films of 2013 that I saw in 2013... and my 10 favorite films that came out before 2013 that I saw in 2013... wait, did that make sense? 

(12,436 words written, 7564 words to go in #500Words Challenge / #20KWordsInJanuary)

The 100 to 91st Coolest Things of 2011

Feels like we were just here, doesn't it?  I mean, with the coolest things of the year, right?  About a week or two ago, we learned how Melanie rules, my car is awesome, iLove my iPhone and "Inception" makes my head spin in a good way...but THAT was 2010.

We just passed 2011.  And in that year, cool things happen.  Which means its time to start our new list!  Now, perhaps we can finish it before December 29th of 2012, eh?

Quickly, though, for those of you who have never read this list before, its quite simply what I consider to be the coolest things of the past 12 months.  For the most part, stuff that has made this list before won't make the list again, because otherwise, I'd have a rolling list year after year that includes the same things like "Star Wars" and "Shawshank" and "Toy Story Mania" and My Darling Wife and so on;  rather, this is kind of "new things"--movies and shows I've never seen before this year, books I'd not read, experiences I'd not experienced, that sort of thing... and some of these things may have predated 2011, like a book that came out years ago, but it qualifies here if in fact I'd read it in 2011.

Enough chatter.  Here are The 100 Coolest Things of 2011, starting at the top:

#100... Auburn Wins the National Title
Perhaps that heading should actually say "Cam Newton" wins the national title.  There are two kinds of teams that win championships in college football... those with great teams, like the Alabama team that won it in 2009 (and subsequently, a few days ago for the 2011 season) and those with mediocre teams and one great, great player.  Auburn was the latter.  Cam Newton was electrifying... watching him run, watching him play was genius, probably a more trumped up version of watching a young Steve McNair at Alcorn State do magic in the air.   They were known as the Cardiac Cats, because they had this habit of falling behind early, many times to lesser opponents, then roaring back... and when they fell behind to a perhaps superior opponent, the Crimson Tide, they managed to get a score in at halftime--my bro-in-law Tyler was high fiving his dad, Big Daddy Ron, excited, celebrating and saying, "Yeah!  We are dominating!", while Ron simply smirked at the 20 point lead for the Tide saying, "This isn't enough.  I'm worried."  As well he should have been.

Anyway, it was kinda cool to see a program who hadn't won a title since '57 take it home, especially knowing its not likely to happen again.  See, while Alabama... and yes, The Go Gator Nation... build great teams, teams ready to sustain a few years of hug success separated by a year or two of so-so 9 win seasons, Auburn is awaiting its next great player.  Someday, perhaps.

Found on Twitter:  Its great that Alabama sandwiched its titles around Auburn's title.  Just like a good big brother should do.

#99... Got a "Pocket Full of Kryptonite", Ah...
The band is the Spin Doctors, the album is "Pocket Full of Kryponite", and the title is from a line in my favorite Spin Doctors tune, "Jimmy Olsen's Blues", one of my top 100 favorite songs of all time.  I owned this CD, though I don't exactly remember where I got it--what I do know is, it was completely scratched up, so much so that I'd never heard the entire CD because from Track 4 (a song called "Forty or Fifty") on, it would skip.

So during The Great CD Purge in the Summer of 2011, the scratched CD was one that hit the bricks.  I didn't mourn the loss of the album, yet I wish I had still owned it.  So, imagine my joy one day in late 2011 when I was touring 2nd and Charles, a used book/music/movie/electronic/everything/anything store, and I came across a copy, a like-new copy of "Pocket Full of Krytonite".  For like, $2.95.  Done and done.

Now that I own it, though, I must make an ironic confession... its really not that good of an album.  The two major singles, "Two Princes" (my senior cruise theme song) and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", plus the aforementioned "Jimmy Olsen's Blues", are the best part of the album by far.  Its not bad... but its not a great album.  But I do own it, and its the symbolism that counts, right?  Right.

#98... "Friends With Benefits"
Out of the three "friends who decided to hook up only as friends but somehow decided they liked each other" movies that came out within about 9 months of each other, this was by far and away my favorite.

Here's what I wrote on July 31st:

In my own (un)humble opinion, the far superior of the three films.  The script is funny and light, and more real than the rest (the hilarity of the first hook up is a great example), the jokes are funny, and there is great on-screen chemistry between Mila and JT.  You end up liking both characters a lot, and by the time you find out Dylan's story--father with the beginning stages of Alzheimers--it doesn't feel like a ploy to get you to like him because you already do.  Jenna Elfman shows up as Dylan's sister and plays the part great (and cameos from Emma Stone, Andy Sandburg, Rashida Jones and Jason Segel are great too) and the whole romance is entirely believable this time around.  I liked this film alot, and will probably be the only one of the three to appear on The 100 Coolest Things of 2011...

See... I knew.

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of The Colin Firth Club, The Lovely
Steph Leann's Hollywood Boyfriend himself, Colin Firth.

#97... Colin Firth Wins the Oscar
Not much to say here, except that its always great when an actor who you know deserves to win an Oscar once in his career actually wins one, and its even greater when that Oscar is not considered by the masses to be a "lifetime" award, but a win for an actual singular performance... hence, Colin Firth wins Best Actor for his portrayal of the king in "The King's Speech", a great, great film.

Much like my excitement when my dear Kate Winslet won her award a few years back, The Lovely Steph Leann was beside herself when her man, Colin First, the president and namesake of The Colin Firth Club, took home the ultimate acting prize.  Now, if only Amy Adams would win one for me, and Hugh Jackman for The Lovely Steph Leann.

#96... "My Strange Addiction"
Holy crap, have you seen this show?  What a weird show.

Its one of those shows that the title gives you all you need to know... it documents real people who have real, strange addictions... like the chick who carries the urn with her late husbands ashes in it, everywhere she goes.  Oh, and she likes to eat the ashes by licking her finger, sticking it in the urn, and licking them again.

Eating is a big deal... there's the chick who drinks bleach... and the chick who eats foam cushions... and the chick who is addicted to eating toilet paper.... and the chick who not only pulls her hair out, but eats the follicles... and the chick who eats dryer sheets.  Lest you think that just the chicks have issues, which they do, there is the guy who likes to eat glass.

And of course, there is the dude who lives his private life as a baby, complete with diaper and giant crib... and the girl who wears a bunny suit everywhere she goes.... the chick who sleeps with her hair dryer... the list goes on.

What a weird show... weird, and yet a fascinating look at the human condition.

#95... Edge Bows Out 
When my best mate Wookiee, Big Tom and myself ventured to Atlanta in April, we witnessed something that you will find ranking high, high on this list, that being WrestleMania.  And in that event, we were able to see a legend wrestle in the opening match, successfully defending his World Heavyweight Title against Alberto del Rio.  The match was decent, nothing to spectacular, but was cool to see the Rated R Superstar, the Ultimate Opportunist, that being Edge himself, take the squared circle.

We didn't know it would be his last match.  Ever.

A week later, the following Monday, I'm at home in The Cabana, watching WWE Raw as I'm known each week, and Edge comes out.  Typically, the guys come out and do a trash-talk routine, or discuss who they are feuding with and so on, maybe even call out someone from the back and do a one-on-one confrontation that always ends in them punching each other and knocking over a table.  However, Edge took a different tone.  He started out discussing the realities of wrestling, the dangers and the real-life toll it takes on people.  He told us about the seriousness of a previous neck injury which resulted in the fusing of his cervical vertebrae, and the numbness he'd been feeling in the last few months.  Then, he told us of the MRI he recently had and how he had, in the last week, been diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis.  And finally, he said the real-life doctors would now no longer clear him to compete, as an injury to his spine at this point could result in partial- or full-paralysis... or even death.


You think you know me.  Thank you, Edge.

And right there, Edge retired.  Winner of a record 31 championships in his career, and it was all over... and it wasn't like he could come out of retirement and do a match here or there, like Kevin Nash or Booker T, or even do his patented moves randomly, like Shawn Michaels does with his Sweet Chin Music... no, for Edge, its over.  He has made appearances here and there, but knowing that one missed fall, or one single move that didn't go quite right could kill you?  Done.

I tip my hat to Adam Copeland... you haven't always been my favorite, but its been a joy watching you be a heel all these years.

#94... "Fast Five"
What an absolute piece of crap movie.  A piece of crap movie that I love, one that months after I saw it, I pondered on how ridiculously stupid it was... but if ever there was a movie that lined up with the word "Craptacular", then this piece of glorious poop would be it.

I think we will look back in a few years at the crap that has come out, and rank "Fast Five" along side of "Con Air", "The Expendables" and "Armageddon" as the most beloved, improbable crap of our age.  And its a darn sight better than The Rock's other movie this year, "Faster".  Yeesh.

#93... "50/50"
I'm a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogan, but I was still surprised about how good this movie was--and how great Seth Rogan is as Jo-Go-Lev's best buddy, when Jo-Go-Lev's Adam gets cancer and has to learn to deal with it.  And the appearance of Anna Kendrick doesn't hurt in the least.

Here's what I had to say:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in a fair world, would be sniffing an Oscar nomination, at the least a Golden Globe nod, because his performance is awesome.  I love this guy in "Inception", as his character is one of the coolest cats out there, but he tops himself in "50/50".  I enjoy Seth Rogen being goofy in any number of movies, but his semi-serious turn that he couldn't nail in "Funny People" is nailed here.  Bryce Dallas Howard doesn't have a huge role, but does it right, while Anna Kendrick shines as Katherine, just like she does as Natalie in "Up In the Air", a movie which is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites. (note:  "Up in the Air" currently ranks as my 14th favorite film of all time--d$)

Loved this film, one of the best I've seen this year... however, this movie is not for kids, as the language flows pervasive and free flowing, and there is a few uses of the Mary Jane plant... there is one sex scene, though you really don't see anything, and it ends a little different than you would think, almost in a sympathetic fashion.  Its about an hour forty-five or so, maybe a little less, but it is paced really well and honestly, its one of those rare movies that I didn't want to end.

Read the entire review from September 29th by clicking here.

#92... The Aladdin Stage Show
Its no secret that one of my very favorite attractions at Walt Disney World is the "Finding Nemo: The Musical" show at Disney Animal Kingdom.  Being fans of Broadway style shows, "Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular" was circled on our list of things to do when The Lovely Steph Leann and I went to Disneyland this past May.

Located in California Adventure, it takes place in the 2000 seat Hyperion Theater at the end of Hollywood Boulevard.  The show itself is only similar to "Finding Nemo" in that its a musical stage show, but its great nonetheless.  In the 45 minute show, many of the classic scenes and songs from the movie are recreated onstage, and they even move some of the action into the audience, like Aladdin's arrival in the song "Prince Ali". There are flying carpets, magic lamps, great special effects, a lovely Jasmine, a handsome Aladdin and a convincingly evil Jafar... but the crown jewel of the show, like the movie, is The Genie.  Whether he's like that always, I cannot speak, but in the show we watched, the actor portraying Genie was brilliant.

If you are ever in the area and have a chance to check out Disneyland, or at least California Adventure, make this a must-do.  We loved it.

#91... "Something Borrowed"
Yes, yes, its a total chick flick, and yes, it was blasted by critics, and yes, the heroine of the movie is the chick who actually does the home wrecking and man-stealing in the movie, but you know what?  I liked it.  Sue me.

Coming up:  Getting the Help... Needing a dollar, dollar... and Gods of Thunder... and later, one of the best documentaries of the year is about... a coffee burn?

The 2012 Golden Globe Running Diary

So here we are, with the Golden Globes once again... in keeping with tradition, I'll blog the show bit by bit... sometimes funny, sometimes boring, rarely funny, mostly boring, it will be a trip nonetheless.

Now, its 9p, and we are starting late.  I could go into detail about how we had a great dinner with Melanie and Family, or how when we got home I had to put sheets on the bed and we had to do this and that and the other... however, I'll just use five words that most of you will understand:

We've got a kid now.

That will explain everything.

So, let's get going... Ricky Gervais is hosting again--last year, he got acclaim and criticism for his harsh joking on the celebrities, and though yes, they are people too, its hard to feel too bad when they can dry their tears with their Benjamins and sob into their silk couch cushions.  Give me a cool few million and make fun of me, I'm game.

9:07p... Yes, you say "it was 9p, why are you starting the DVR'd show at 9:07?  We've got a kid now, that's why.

9:09p... Show has started.  Ricky Gervais is out onstage, and I can tell half the stars in the audience are holding their breath, wondering if they are on target.  And he's drinking right off the bat.  "So, where was I...?" he begins.

909p... "The Golden Globes are just like the Oscars except without all that esteem.  I'm Britain's #1 comedian on the 2nd biggest awards show on the America's 3rd biggest network.  Fourth?  Okay, 4th biggest network..."

909p... Ricky makes a man-parts joke, and the camera shows Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who are unamused.  Then makes a dirty little joke about the film "The Beaver" and Jodie Foster.  You see where this is going.

914p... The opening monologue is short, and considerably--and I mean really, really--tamer that last year.  Johnny Depp comes out as the first presenter.   Ricky asks him, "Johnny... have you seen 'The Tourist' yet?"  He's got a point... its a bad, bad movie.

915p... "Hugo" is the first of the nominated Best Drama movies shown.  I'm completely on the fence about seeing it, though I've heard its great.

916p... Gerard Butler and Mila Kunis comes out... besides "300", I don't know that Gerard Butler has done anything worth watching.   Mila Kunis has actually done some great work, though, "The Book of Eli" and "Friends with Benefits" are great examples.

917p... Best Supporting Actor in a Film.  Right before we heard his name, I said aloud "Christopher Plummer gets this".  Plummer is nominated for "Beginners", a movie where an old man (Plummer) comes out of the closet after a long, hetero life.  He's a legendary actor, but I feel like this movie is this years "The Kids are Alright"... that is, this year's Gay Movie.  I expect Plummer to be on the fast track to the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

920p... Chris Plummer is still talking.  No "get off the stage" music.  I have a feeling that he is on the short list of people that the producers say, "Don't you dare play him off stage..."

How awesome would it be for him to work in how much he hates "The Sound of Music"... because in many interviews, he says just that very thing.

921p... Ashton Kutcher and Elle McPherson come out, doing the award for best actress in a Comedy or Musical.  So far, we've got Enlightened, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, The Big C and something else that I don't watch... Laura Dern gets it for Enlightened, an HBO show that I've never seen, but I'm sure is enjoyed by dozens of people every week.  Expect HBO to rack the heck up tonight.  Personally, I'd like to see Laura Linney get it, because I do like me some Laura Linney.

923p... "I like this dress she's got on.  Not the belt".  Thanks to The Lovely Steph Leann for the insight.

Julianne Moore is on my short list of people, along with Amy Adams,
DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise that deserve an Oscar at some point.

924p... Something for each of us.  Rob Lowe, a member in good standing of The Colin Firth Club, while for me, Julianne Moore and her awesome red hair.  The prompter fails, and someone hands the banter script to Julianne Moore.

925p... The nominees for Best TV Movie or Mini-Series.  "Cinema Verte"... "Downton Abbey"... "The Hour"... "Mildred Pierce"... "Too Big to Fail"...  I've only seen the last of those films, and it was pretty good, but not a major masterpiece to me.  I kinda feel like "Too Big to Fail" was that movie "New Years Eve" except with a smarter cast.  The winner?  "Downton Abbey", some show on PBS about old school England, which can pretty much guarantee that I will NEVER watch the show.

927p... The producer from "Downton Abbey" is speaking, and he's saying that ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

928p... Rob and Julianne are back for Best Actress in TV Movie or Mini-Series.  Who will win this?  Kate Winslet for "Mildred Pierce".  That's my guess... and?  Kate Winslet.  Anytime my dear Kate wins an award, I'm all for it.  She deserves 293 Golden Globes and about 102 Oscars.  Perhaps one of the top five most talented actresses alive today.

930... Christopher Plummer gets as long as he wants to talk.  Apparently Kate Winslet hasn't gotten to that status yet... she is played off stage.  Frieda Pinto comes out to introduce "Midnight in Paris".  The only reason I haven't seen this movie is that Woody Allen directed it--and I am not a Woody Allen fan at all.

933p... Jeremy Irons escorts the Hollywood Foreign Press Prez Dr. Something Somethingsomething.  The HFP is the group that does these awards every year, but I couldn't tell you anything else about them.  The camera pans to Madonna, leading The Lovely Steph Leann to say, "Why is Madonna there?  What the heck?"

934p... Jake Gyllenhaal.  He's out to introduce "My Week With Marilyn", another nominated film in the Drama category.  Another one I haven't seen.

This picture doesn't do Paula Patton's dress justice, as here
its muted.  It looked like a highlighter machine threw up
all over her.

936p... Ricky Gervais comes out again, making a joke about his agent and God, sparking an uncomfortable chuckle in the room-here and there.  Melissa McCarthy and Paula Patton come out, and the TV is filled with Paula's bright yellow dress.  Best Actor TV Series Drama.  All five shows I don't watch.  And the winner?  Starz gets one!  Kelsey Grammar wins for "Boss"!  Take that HBO!!

937p... Wait... does the Hollywood Foreign Press know that Kelsey Grammer is not playing "Frasier" anymore?  Is this why he won?

939p... Now the nominees for Best TV Series Drama.  Another set of shows I don't watch, though I think "Homeland" will be something we pick up... And "Homeland" wins!  I'm going to stick that in our Netflix queue.

942p... Adam Levine ("The Voice" plug!!) and Jimmy Fallon come out now.  The award for Best Song and Best Score is up.  Levine and Fallon are doing a schtick, and the camera shows George Clooney, who isn't even cracking a slight smile.  Best Score is first.  All five movies I've never seen.  My guess is "The Artist" and... I'll be right.  The Lovely Steph Leann remarks, "I'm a little disappointed in all of those nominees..."

945p... The winner is a Frenchman, and he says in broken English, "I'm sorry... I'm French..." and then tries to make a joke in broken English.  Doesn't work.  Best Song award is next... Gnomeo and Juliet's song... Machine Gun Preacher's song... Albert Nobbs' song... The Help's song... W.E.'s song... which is from Madonna, which makes both of us go, "Ahh... thats why she's there."

947p... Madonna wins.  Leads to this exchange:

Her:  What is "W.E."?  I haven't heard of half these movies!  When did that happen!
Me: Uh... we have a kid now.
Her:  And her dress?  Its horrible.

950p... Who the heck is this chick?  Upon seeing this foreign chick's dress, The Lovely Steph Leann doesn't say a word... she just slightly gasps.

951p... Debra Messing AND My Girl McPhee?  Holy crap.  Best Actor in TV Movie or Mini-Series.  Winner?  Idris Elba in... "Luther"?  Is that the name of it?  I know this guy as the Gatekeeper guy in "Thor".

953p... Brad Pitt walks out.  Millions of women my age collapse in a tizzy.  He introduces "The Ides of March", which was a great movie.

Beckinsale's face is genuine--she had no idea Seth was going to say it

955p... Seth Rogan and Kate Beckinsale walk out together... and Seth deadpans, "I'm Seth Rogan and I'm currently trying to conceal a..."... well, he says he's turned on.  Kate is cracking up, so I'm not sure that line was planned.  Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, winner is Michelle Williams.  She will now be the second-runner to Meryl Streep in the Best Actress Race.  A chick from Dawson's Creek takes home a Golden Globe.

955p... Seth Rogan's one inappropriate joke > Ricky Gervais' entire monologue thusfar.

958p... Piper Perabo and Sarah Michelle Geller come out for Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini Series or TV Movie.  Winner?  Peter Dinklage for Game of Thrones, for which he also won the Emmy some months back.  That's awesome... Short People Rule!  Dinklage says, "My mom said to me 'Have you seen Mildred Pierce?  Its so good!  Guy Pierce is going to win!'"

1001p... Ricky comes back out, drink in hand, introducing George Clooney, who walks out with a cane.  He introduces "Moneyball", another fantastic movie... like "The Ides of March", I think its a movie that gets better the more I think about it, and I'm looking forward to seeing both of them again.

1003p... Channing Tatum and Jessica Alba come out--I'm not sure putting both of their talents together would equal the right fingers of Kate Winslet or Colin Firth.  But hey, Channing was awesome in "She's the Man", right?  Right.

1003p... Best Animated Film, and honestly, I don't think there was a whole lot of strong animated movies.  "Cars 2" is nominated, but without a strong Pixar movie to win, I don't know who takes it.  "Rango", maybe?  The winner?  "The Adventures of Tintin", a movie that could care less about seeing.

1004p... I would imagine this award means as much to Steven Spielberg as his Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.

1006p... Ewen McGregor comes on the stage, introducing a wonderful movie as a best comedy nominee, "50/50".  I think more people should see this movie.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogan and Anna Kendrick are awesome, and this movie appears on the first post of The Coolest 100 Things of 2011.

1008p... Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman for Screenplay.  "Midnight in Paris"... "The Ides of March"... "The Artist"... "The Descendants"... "Moneyball".  And the Golden Globe goes to... Woody Allen for "Midnight in Paris", who isn't there.  Uncomfortable.

1009p... Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy, a real life couple, does a little song together that gets a huge applause.  Very cute.  Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, Mini-Seires or TV Movie.  The winner is... Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story", a show I've never seen, but I've heard its scary and weird and awesome.

The Lovely Steph Leann:  Her dress is an American Horror Story on its own.

Another American Horror Story?  The fact that Jessica Lange also won a Golden Globe for the 70s version of "King Kong".  Wow, what a crappy film.

1013p... Back with Ricky, who introduces "The queen of pop... no, not you Elton John...  she's 'like a virgin", then coughs loudly.  Madonna comes out, saying "If I'm like a virgin, come over and do something about it--I haven't kissed a girl in a while."  There is laughter, but not much.  Foreign Film nominees.  The winner?  "A Separation" from Iran.  I wonder if they checked the cast and producers for bombs as they came in.   I also wonder if he publicly calls the US "The Great Satan", if Sean Penn would hop on stage and hug him.

1016p... Dustin Hoffman, Hollywood legend!  This is Best Actress TV Series Drama.  The Lovely Steph Leann and I both cheer when Callie Thorn is announced as a nominee for "Necessary Roughness"... what a great show.  Claire Danes wins for "Homeland"!  I like Claire Danes.  What a lovely lady.  

1022p... Emily Blunt comes out to introduce "Bridesmaids", one of my favorite films of 2011.  Absolutely hysterical.

1023p... Jane Lesbian Lynch and Tina Fey come on stage to do Best Actor TV Series Comedy or Musical.  Or as Jane says, "Music-Cal".  The winner is... Matt Le Blanc for "Episodes", as he plays a parody of himself. Four nominations, all for Friends, but no wins... good times.

Dr. Drake Remore gets a Golden Globe.  I love it.

1026p... People's "Sexiest Man Alive", Bradley Cooper is here to introduce the Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.  Octavia Spencer will win this... and the winner is... Octavia Spencer.  She looks humble, but she had to know she was the front runner for this--and the Oscar now.  She gets a partial standing ovation from the crowd, and is stopped by like, 9 people on the way to the stage.

Me: This is going to be a speech about black women everywhere.
The Lovely Steph Leann:  Of course it is.

Yup.  Four seconds in, and we get a Martin Luther King reference.

For anyone who has seen that movie, would you be a little apprehensive if she served chocolate pie at her award party?

1030p... Reese Witherspoon.  Yeah!  Let me tell you, I'm guessing she won't be doing the Bend & Snap in that dress.

She introduces "The Descendants", a movie that I really, really want to see, mostly because I know its one of maybe two leads for Best Picture for the Academy Awards.  And with George Clooney at his table?  Stacy Kiebler, former WCW and WWE Diva.  Rock on!

1031p... Sidney Poitier comes out to award Morgan Freeman with the CC DeMille Award... Sidney is given a huge standing ovation.   I know I'm getting old because no longer are these lifetime awards given to the 50s and 60s stars like Deborah Kerr or Spencer Tracy or Burt Lancaster... no, we are watching actors that we've grown up with get LIFETIME Achievement Awards. Wow.

And Morgan Freeman is so deserving of this very thing.  What a phenomenal actor, and what an incredible narration voice.  Helen Mirren comes out and says, "I have had a few glasses of wine, so excuse me when I complain that Morgan Freeman has been in over 50 films and I've only been in one."

I wonder if they asked Morgan Freeman to narrate the Morgan Freeman
tribute.  I want him to narrate my funeral.  Can anyone help with that?

Among the many awesome movies Morgan Freeman has done, here is My Favorite Morgan Freeman Roles:

10) Lucius Fox in "Batman Begins" & "The Dark Knight"
9) Azeem in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"
8) Hoke Colburn in "Driving Miss Daisy"
7-tie) Jim in "Hard Rain"
7-tie) Joe Matheson in "Red"
6) God in "Bruce Almighty"
4) Ned Logan in "Unforgiven"
3) Det. William Somerset in "Se7en"
2) Rawlins in "Glory"
1) Red in "The Shawshank Redemption"

He truly is one of the Greatest American Actors Ever.  Hats off to you, Mr. Freeman.

The Lovely Steph Leann also points out that he does the voice of The Hall of Presidents--true.  And despite the presence of He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected, that makes it great.

1046p... Robert Downey Jr is here to introduce "The Artist", a movie I think I want to see, but I'm not sure.

1048p... Angelina Jolie comes out, and hardens my resolve that I not find her attractive, ever.  She looks ghastly.  Best Director... Ides of March... Midnight in Paris... The Descendants... Hugo... The Artist... and the winner is... Martin Scorcese for Hugo.  Very interesting...

The Lovely Steph Leann:  Angelina's arms are so teeny.  Like, the size of Campbell's arms.

1051p... Ricky again.  "I can't wait to introduce Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas!  I think they are interesting, I'm not sure because I [NBC bleeps out what he says]".  Salma and Antonio come out, and the entire bit by them is silenced.  Even the nominees for Best TV Series Comedy or Musical is quiet.  The picture goes haywire... and Modern Family wins the award.  What the heck?

1054p... Michelle Pfieffer, a legendary Hollywood beauty, comes out to introduce "War Horse".  With no desire to see this film, I think I've realized I'm not a fan of horse movies.  I've never seen, nor do I care to see, "Secretariat", "Sea Biscuit", "Sand Biscuit Hidalgo", "Black Beauty" or any of those.  "Hot to Trot" was kinda funny, though.

I put Jessica Biel in the Angelina Jolie All Stars for me--that is,
those chicks who the world tells me that I'm supposed to be
all hot for, but I don't see the appeal.  Sorry.

1055p... Mark Wahlberg and Jessica Biel comes out, and The Lovely Steph Leann gives the line of the night... "Ugh!  That dress!  Its like she has a third boob!"  Its true.  Its like Jess Biel is a Sister Wife.

The winner for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical goes to Jean Dejlua?idh for "The Artist".

1058p... Queen Latifah is introduced, and she's introducing "The Help" as a nominee for Best Movie.

1101p... Ricky is out again, introducing Colin Firth.  The Lovely Steph Leann swoons.  Ricky Gervais then makes fun of the fact that Colin Firth is talented, acclaimed and loved by all.  "But what you don't know is that he's very racist.  Here's the evil Colin Firth!"  Best Actress in a Drama Movie... the winner is... Meryl Streep of course.  That's my prediction, anyway... so, the actual winner is:  Meryl Streep.  We knew this.  She says, "I'm so glad that Ricky Gervais' deal fell through and they came to me to play Margaret Thatcher..."  I think she curses again, because the sound cuts out.  This is NBC, though.

1105p... Meryl is still talking.  She gets that "extra long speech time", though the music just kicked in.

1106p... Jane Fonda follows suit onto the stage, now is giving the award for Best Musical or Comedy.  50/50... The Artist... Bridesmaids... Midnight in Paris... My Week with Marilyn... and we know this.  The Artist picks up another win.   I dunno if a dog has anything to do with the movie, but there is a puppy onstage that some of the cast is playing with.

1110p... Ricky Gervais now brings out Natalie Portman, who won last year for Black Swan, a movie I haven't seen and am on the fence about.  Best Actor Movie Drama.  George Clooney... Leo DiCaprio... Michael Fassbender... Brad Pitt... Ryan Gosling... the Golden Globe goes to... George Clooney for "The Descendants".   Another predictable winner tonight.

1114p... This must be the final award of the night, because it brings out cranky Harrison Ford, and they are rushing through this list of Best Drama Movie... and the winner is... "The Descendants".  Right here, right now, I call it--a two film race for Best Picture at the Academy Awards between this and The Artist, with The Descendants getting it.

And that is your 2012 Golden Globes!  I know, I know, its a day late, its hurried, and I'm sure I missed some stuff... but hey...

We've got a kid now.

50/50: 100% Great

This review is written about two hours after the we arrived home from seeing the movie.  Its a little scattered, because I'm sleepy and I'm also distracting by watching ESPN's "Catching Hell", a documentary about the Steve Bartman incident in 2003, which by the way, this doc is cotton picking awesome.  Anyway, hope you get the sense of my thoughts of this movie, even though its all over the place. 

Adam works for Seattle Public Radio, working on a piece about a volcano, living a humdrum life, dating the quite stunning Rachael, best buddies with Kyle and is simply enjoying his life as is.

(cue screeching record needle on record)

Until, of course, he discovers he has cancer.  A serious, excessive, painful cancer that will kill him without chemo and ultimately major surgery that may not even work.

And so is the story of "50/50", a film written somewhat autobiographically by Will Reiser, a guy who had, and beat, cancer.  He is also good friends with Seth Rogen, who stars as Kyle, along side of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's portrayal of Adam.

Adam and Rachael are together, but Kyle hates her.  So things
go bad fast.

Adam tries to keep his life in some semblance of order after he gets his diagnosis, which doesn't help when his girlfriend Rachael, makes some pretty bad choices... I truly don't think I'm ruining anything, because from the very beginning, you get an uneasy sense that this isn't going to go well, and Bryce Dallas Howard's performance as Rachael is just great.

Another surprise in this film is Philip Baker Hall (Alan) and Matt Frewer (Mitch), two That Guys that join Adam in chemo, and add humor, warmth and even more heart as they compare cancer notes and issues.  Their scene in the backyard, perhaps off putting by the weed going around, is still awesome.

The Lovely Steph Leann and I procured free passes to a special sneak of this film, meeting up with my buddy Mikey and my other buddy Shawn, and I gotta tell ya, this film was absolutely fantastic.

Kyle (Rogen) has a hard time adjusting too, but turns it into a positive after learning the cancer helps both of them get digits from chicks, get dates and meet lots and lots of women.  Seth Rogen's last leading role was a disaster ("Observe and Report"), but here in a supporting role in "50/50", he's perfect.

The duo of Rogen and Gordon-Levitt works really well, you believe them as best friends, and though you really don't find out how they became friends or how long, there is a line that tells you they've been friends since high school, giving you the indication that its been a while.  When Adam finally has a realization of what is happening to him, and what might happen to him once that surgery happens, its some of the finest acting on Gordon-Levitt's part that I've seen in a while.  Seth Rogen is also brilliant here, because as the dorky, skirt-chasing but big hearted best friend, he doesn't know what to do, he's just speechless.

Anna Kendrick is awesome.  She's no Amy Adams (whom I'm in love with)
but she is still awesome.

The only two predictable moments in the movie to me really was that Adam's relationship with Rachael would go bad, and that when Adam's therapist, Katherine (played by the wonderful Anna Kendrick), enters the picture, you know there is a spark there.  I won't tell you how, or even if, that spark is played out, but you know there is a connection there, predictably.

Adam's father, suffering from Alzheimer's, is being taken care of by his mother, played well by Anjelica Huston, who goes all emotional when she finds out, and becomes the smothering mother that he has to deal with, amongst other things.

The iconic moment of the movie,
or at least the movie poster.
  As Adam starts to shave his
head, he asks Kyle, "What
do you use this for?"  Kyle shrugs.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in a fair world, would be sniffing an Oscar nomination, at the least a Golden Globe nod, because his performance is awesome.  I love this guy in "Inception", as his character is one of the coolest cats out there, but he tops himself in "50/50".  I enjoy Seth Rogen being goofy in any number of movies, but his semi-serious turn that he couldn't nail in "Funny People" is nailed here.  Bryce Dallas Howard doesn't have a huge role, but does it right, while Anna Kendrick shines as Katherine, just like she does as Natalie in "Up In the Air", a movie which is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites.

Loved this film, one of the best I've seen this year... however, this movie is not for kids, as the language flows pervasive and free flowing, and there is a few uses of the Mary Jane plant... there is one sex scene, though you really don't see anything, and it ends a little different than you would think, almost in a sympathetic fashion.  Its about an hour forty-five or so, maybe a little less, but it is paced really well and honestly, its one of those rare movies that I didn't want to end.

What I Was Going To Say Was

I was totally going to blog tonight about some random stuff... then I just got busy...

...what I was going to tell you was that I saw "Observe and Report" tonight at the $1 theater with Mikey. It was pretty terrible. It was a random (not in a good way) movie, it didn't go anywhere, it veered off into fifteen different directions, it wanted to be a comedy but still wanted to be taken as "smart" comedy, which it wasn't. Out of every character in that movie, including a usually reliable Seth Rogan's Ronnie, Anna Faris and several other "that guys" and B-listers, including Ray Liotta, the ONLY character in the entire movie I actually liked was that of Nell, the Cinnamon Bun stand worker, played by Collette Wolfe... otherwise, the movie was really lame...


Nell works at the Toast The Bun cinnamon place in the mall, and really the only likable person in this film.

...And after that, I was going to tell you this random story...

On the way over to the movie theater, I stopped at the Chevron across the street to get a few snacks to smuggle into the theater. Oh, stop it, you know you've done it before. Anyway, I had my iPod on, and was somehow listening to Puff Daddy (as he was known at the time) and The Notorious B.I.G. The song that had just come on my earbuds was "Hypnotize", so as I'm getting out of the car, I'm not thinking about it, and the words I'm actually saying aloud are "Biggie biggie biggie biggie can't you see, sometimes your words just hypnotize me..." But that wasn't all. As I entered the Chevron, I continued with, "And I just love your flashy ways, I guess that's why they so broke and yo' so paid..." A few funny looks from the brothers buying oversized cans of Budweiser and Molton made me realize that I, d$, am not the right guy to be emulating Biggie Smalls. I got my Peanut Butter M&Ms and my Yoo-Hoo and left right quick.

...I was also going to tell you I had a great conversation with another high school friend, this the sister of K Dub. Kelly! Kelli! Kelle! and I had been talking here and there a few times via Facebook, doing a little catch up, but only in short sentences, and tonight, we were actually able to chat a while.


There's K-Dub on the left, Kelly! Kelli! Kelle! on the right. Perhaps Kel Dub might even, one day, get her own picture in the sidebar...

...I was going to mention that The Lovely Steph Leann and I have been busy little bees the last few nights, as we are preparing for a yard sale with our friends, the Tebershaws. Holy smokes, the crap we've managed to pull out of the closets and such. We've only been in The Cabana a little over a year, but we are finding stuff that five years ago, we couldn't bear to part with, while now? Gone. Let'er go.

...And with that, I was going to say that Tuesday night, we just took a break. Well, actually, we got started late. I don't know why, but the television was on the Biography Channel, and somehow we ended up watching the ABBA biography. It was awesome. By the way, their first song as a group was called "People Need Love", and they called themselves Bjorn & Benny, Agnetha & Ani-Frid. Well, this was cumbersome to say, to write and to work with, so according to Wiki...

In early 1973, their manager Stig Anderson, tired of unwieldy names, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA. At first, this was a play on words, as Abba was also the name of a well-known fish-canning company in Sweden. However, since the fish canners were unknown outside Sweden, Anderson came to believe the name would work in international markets. A competition to find a suitable name for the group was held in a Gothenburg newspaper. The group was impressed with the names "Alibaba," "FABB," and "Baba", but in the end all the entries were ignored and it was announced in the summer that the name "ABBA" was official. Later the group negotiated with the canners for the right to the name.[21] "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's name: Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid (Frida). The first 'B' in the logo version of the name was "mirror-image" reversed on the band's promotional material from 1976 onwards and became the group's registered trademark. The first time the name is found written on paper is on a recording session sheet from the Metronome Studio in Stockholm, dated 16 October 1973. This was first written as "Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida", but was subsequently crossed out with "ABBA" written in large letters on top.

Dude, I love me some ABBA, and am not afraid to admit it. I should do an entire post on this band, and might one day.

...I wanted to talk about "John Adams", the HBO Mini-series that The Lovely Steph Leann and I have been watching. We finished part 2 of 7, and already, its magnificent. Its just a wonderful piece of film thusfar, with Paul Giamatti as the title character doing a great job. It might just stolen out from under him, though, with Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin, who is hilarious and perfect at the same time. The big surprise? How much I love the character of Abigail Adams. I already dig on Laura Linney anyway, one of my favorite actresses, but her take on the strained and sacrificial wife of John Adams is nearly flawless.

...At some point, I was going to give a shout out to Mindy D'A. Got an email from her earlier today, a very thoughtful, considerate and surprising email. And I wanted to publicly say "Hey thanks. You're a sweetheart, to the max." And I'll answer that as soon as I come up with how I want to answer it. Hopefully, that doesn't tell you everything the answer might say, but it possibly does.

...I was also going to acknowledge that yes, its time for new music on the Clouds. And I promise, it will come soon enough.

...I was also going to tell you all that we'll be headed back to The Happiest Place on Earth on Wednesday! The Lovely Steph Leann and myself, along with our friends St'ray and C'ray, will be driving down on Wednesday, visiting the parks on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then headed back to Monday. We are really big fans of St'ray and C'ray, and look forward to hanging out with them at Magical Kingdoms!

So, with that, I don't even know if I'll have time to blog about any of this stuff...

The 100 Coolest Things of 2007... 20 to 11

Hey, we're almost finished with our latest Top 100 Coolest of the Year list! We've counted down 80 things that were cool about 2007, and with 20 left, here's the next ten...

20. Paula Maddox
Its misleading to say that I end up being friends with my Drama Moms, ie, mothers of those students in WalkAbout... while its true, its also important to note that 9 times out of 10, I never even meet the dad, only the mom. Which is why I was always fond of those moms like Jana's mom, Paige & Garretts mom, Hannah's mom and of course, Courtney & TJ's mom. Courtney & TJ's mom, Paula, really went one step further... she got involved totally, to the point where she's earned the "assistant director" title already.


Here's Paula, with a fancy camera and her hair did

Paula is a hip, hip lady who loves Jesus and Journey, her husband of something like 67 years and she loves these middle schoolers, just like I do. What's funny is that I'm actually getting old enough to be able to relate to some of the middle schooler parents, including Paula. What a great friend a fun chick

19. Babies Everywhere!!
If one more person says to me, "Hey, ____ had a baby, when are you and Steph going to start?", I'll probably...

...sorry, this can't wait. On tv, right now, there is a commercial for Amitizia, showing this rather attractive blond lady probably in her 30s or 40s, getting ready in the morning, making coffee, zipping up her skirt and so on. What disturbs me about this commercial is that Amitizia is a constipation medicine. I just threw up my Raisin Bran in my mouth, which is ironic, because Raisin Bran has enough fiber and bran to keep you regular. Just sayin'.

...smack someone. I hear it alot nowadays, and why wouldn't I? Tommy and Amy McLeod had little Sophie... Ryan & Melissa had little Mattie... Leslie Cordell-now-Ailsworth and her hubby had their little one... one of my BFFs, Shelby, has a child now (though I think that her kid was born before 2007, I discovered this in 2007, so thus, it counts)... our friends Jeff & Lauren had their little one...

Its 2008, but I know of two more couples who just announced they are going to have themselves a rugrat. Babies, babies everywhere!

And, to answer your question, we just bought a house, so we're at least a year away from thinking about having children. So, there.

18. "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado
I love this song, first of all. Its fun, its catchy, its peppy, and Nelly has a great voice in this tune. But what really makes this song to me is the video, and in that video you not only see Nelly, you see Timbaland.

Timbaland just looks cool here. Like, all he does is a little scat, and say "hey" about three hundred times, and yes, he looks like he does the hard work. Well, he and that gay dancing trio who does this shoulder arm thing that I tried once and thought I had dislocated my elbow. Bad times, bad bad times.

Anyway, I watched this video about 36 times, according to my count, putting it at number 4 on 2007's list on my iPod.

17. The 40-Year Old Virgin
Yes, yes, I was one of about 4 people who had not seen this movie, when I finally broke down and watched it this past summer.

Here's what I said about it on June 12th:
If you don't like American Pie humor, this is not for you. I say American Pie, but the humor is not as directed at teenagers, as it is directed at the side of us that laughs at things we know we shouldn't laugh at.

Steve Carell, in his star making turn, plays Andy. Andy works at SmartTech, collects valuable toys and though 40, has never had sex. When his buddies Dave (Paul Rudd), Cal (Seth Rogan) and Jay (Romany Malco) discover this, they make it their mission to... well, make him not a virgin. One attempt includes a funny turn by Leslie Mann, but it, like others, fail miserably. Enter Trish (Catherine Keener), who works across the street at the eBay store.

Though very crude, with lots of F-bombs and lots of crude terms for various things, this is, at its heart, a sweet movie. And oh, its funny... I laughed for ten minutes when Dave used the phrase "Man-o-lantern". First, the fact he's a virgin is met with very little ridicule, which is great considering this world wants you to have as much sex as possible. Secondly, though morons they may be, his friends turn out to be pretty loyal in the end. And third, Catherine Keener.

Okay... since I wrote that in June, I've watched it at least four or five times via Charte On Demand, and each time, it gets a little better. In fact, when I finally get to the Dave100 completion, it will be hard not to include this movie. Movies that I saw after 2006 aren't eligible.

16. "DisneyWar" by James B. Stewart
Perhaps my favorite book of the year, or at least, favorite nonfiction, Disney War is a behemoth. At 608 pages, its something you have to want to read, filled with names and figures and stats and all the stuff that make a good business story...

The book takes on Michael Eisner, and his 20 year reign at the top of the Disney empire, starting from his hiring, helped by Walt's nephew Roy, and taking it all the way to the tense shareholder's meeting in 2004 where Eisner got a no-confidence vote, bolstered by Walt's nephew Roy, who Eisner has just forced out.

Along the way, you'll see how powerful Michael Eisner became, and how he was a genius in the 80s bringing Disney from the sludge and dreck that they were putting out. Eisner had a vision for the future, a vision that he worked hard to put in motion. He and Jeffrey Katzenberg, his studio chairman and good friend, gave the Disney Company a renaissance. Katzenberg was almost directly involved and at least partly responsible for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", the string of animated hits from "Little Mermaid" to "The Lion King" and also helped bring Pixar to Disney's door step.

When Frank Wells, Eisner's second-in-command, died in a plane crash in 1994, Eisner refused to promote Katzenberg to the position, to which Katzenberg--forced to resign by Eisner--left and formed DreamWorks Studios.

Eisner's ego began to get bigger and bigger, as Disney went from a string of hits to a string of failures, including the bungled purchase of ABC Family and its subsequent failure to revive, the bungled response to the unsuccessful Comcast Cable hostile takeover, and the terrible movies and sequels that popped out ("Pearl Harbor", anyone?)

Eisner also had issues with power, hiring incredible talents away from other companies where they held lofty positions, only to be stripped of much of their powers and responsibilities because of Michael Eisner's paranoia that his command is challenged... notably is the hiring of Michael Ovitz, who Eisner had begged for years to come to Disney, then said immediately after bringing him on, "I just made the worst decision of my career."

Before you think its totally Anti-Eisner, know that he gives many interviews for the book, and the author even spends time with him during conferences, lunches and vacations, and the author gives tons of credit--deservedly so--for Disney's dramatic rise in the late 80s and early 90s.

The book is an unabashed look at the underside of the company that Steph Leann and I hold so dear, at a company that has risen, fallen, risen and more, and at a CEO who pushed heavy for "Dick Tracy" because he thought that "Pretty Woman" was going to be a colossal failure, and he's not even sure that... who? Julia Roberts?... even has talent.

15. Rush Limbaugh
I won't spend time defending him. Those of you who like him like him, those of you who don't... well, don't. But here's why I do like him... he doesnt tell you what to think. He doesn't say "You should vote this way!" or "You should think that Obama is this!"...

Instead, listening to his show via Rush 24/7 & podcasting, I learn lots about politics. And candidates. And the news. Not just through him talking, but by the audio clips he plays too... I was able to hear for my own ears what Hillary stands for, what Obama has to say, about how crazy Huckabee actually is, about how moderately liberal McCain is, and darn it, its informative.

Three words... Rush is Right

Yes, I've listened to Air America. I tried, anyway. It was... well, it was hateful and spiteful. It was "Bush is a criminal! If you don't believe that, you must be one of those stupid Christians who always want your way!" No, KT, I'm not making this up.

I dunno... its a tough year coming up. There's not a single Republican candidate who is truly a Conservative--cause Thompson dropped out--so I've got to keep myself up to date with who is saying what, who is flip-flopping on what, and to do so, I recommend Rush to you. Don't give it one show, give it a few weeks. It'll change your whole perspective.

14. "Grey's Anatomy"
Many couples have a "thing"... be it traveling together, or camping, or cooking, or whatever. The "thing" that Steph Leann and I have, other than visiting Disney World every few years when we can pay cash for it? Movies and tv. We love it. Nothing makes me feel closer to my lovely wife than sitting close to her on the couch, arm around her, as she wrapped under a blanket watching LOST, or perhaps CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, or the latest movie that came in from Blockbuster Online or, as we did lots and lots this year, "Grey's Anatomy".

I started to watch this show when it first came on the air, on video, but I didn't have a chance to keep up with it. So, we picked it up on DVD and watched the first season... and The Lovely Steph Leann fell in love with Bailey and George and, of course, McDreamy, who is a solid member of The Colin Firth Club, and I fell in love with Izzie and Meredith and then Addison, and we just loved watching it over and over.

The show is just fun... its very worldly, obviously, with the amount of who's sleeping with who, but I will say the best episode was in Season Two, called "Damage Case". It features a husband, pregnant wife and her parents who are involved in a car accident caused by a surgical intern from another hospital, who falls asleep at the wheel. The wife has massive injuries and eventually dies, though Alex performs a C-section to save the baby. The scene when the grieving father comes in to meet the intern, laying in his hospital bed, is beautiful. Amazingly written, acted and directed.

The music is also just great, including wide exposure for Brandi Carlile, Jem, KT Tunstall, Psapp, Ingrid Michelson and more.

Fun trivia... all the episodes were originally song titles. And Kate Walsh? One of The Hottest Chicks Not Named Steph Leann or Ashley Judd.

13. "Snow (Hey-Oh)" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Track 2 on the Jupiter CD of Stadium Arcadium, this song was introduced to me by Tyler Campbell back at the very end of 2006, so technically it qualifies for The Coolest Things of 2006... but I truly didn't start diggin' this song until January. And its just so cool...

John Frusciante, guitarist for the Chili Peppers, starts off with a rapid guitar riff, Flea jumps in with a nice little bass line, and Anthony Keidis joins in with a song about what he says is "a repeated failure to start your life anew, and how difficult it can be to get rid of old ways of thinking, and destructive ideas we become so attached to".

Though "Snow" refers to the cocaine that Keidis and Frusciante struggled with early in their careers, the explanation and song kinda sounds like what we sinners go through daily, doesn't it?
When will I know that I really can't go to the well once more? Time to decide on, when its killing me, what do I really need, all that I need to look inside.

Note... before you think that Keidis and the Chili Peppers are getting too philosophical for your tastes, lest you forget the song three tracks later, a love ballad called "Hump de Bump".

12. Podcasting
My iPod has been a learning process all along, learning new tricks of the trade here and there... so it was in early 2007 that I truly learned the art of picking up the PodCast.

For those out of the know, iPod Broadcasting, or Podcasting, is a method of getting various shows and programs on your iPod. Some are specifically for iTunes, to be on your iPod, like The B.S. Report with The Sports Guy, from ESPN, and others are snippets from shows--like ten minutes from Sean Hannity, or a single hour of the 3 hour Dave Ramsey Show--and still others are complete shows like Rush Limbaugh or CarTalk.

I've had as many as 17 podcasts that updated daily and weekly, but I'm down to 11 currently, because I simply don't have time to listen to them everyday.

My Fave Five Podcasts of the Year:
5... Pardon the Interruption--the complete show from the day before
4... CarTalk on NPR--the complete show from the previous week
3... Strong Bad Emails--From Homestar Runner, its the email portion, where Strong Bad comically answers viewer mail. Its updated infrequently, however, with sometimes a month or more between updates
2... The Dave Ramsey Show--Usually an hour of the show, mostly from the previous day, but because his show never mentions date or time, it could be posted anytime
1... Rush Limbaugh--the complete show, on podcast. We've already been through this.

11. "Fergalicious" by Fergie
There, I said it. Does it really matter that I have a guilty pleasure? I mean, does it really matter that much that this is the number one played video on my iPod in 2007 with... 41 plays. Wait, did I say 41? Um... I meant... uh... 4.1 plays... yeah. There was that one time that I listened to 1/10th of the song, after my fourth time, right... (uncomfortable laugh)... yeah, haha... so, 4.1 plays. Right... um... (reaching for the nearest Creative Memories scrapbook album to smack myself repeatedly in the head for this entire paragraph)

BONUS BLOGGING!!!

Top 20 Most Played Songs of 2007:
1. Over My Head (Cable Car) - The Fray, 48 plays
2. How to Save a Life - The Fray, 40 plays
3. Chains - Tina Arena, 24
4. Callin' Baton Rouge - Garth Brooks, 23
5. Snow (Hey Oh) - The Red Hot Chili Peppers, 22
6. Breath Again - Toni Braxton, 22
7. Linger - The Cranberries, 21
8. Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette, 20

9. The Light In Your Eyes - Blessid Union of Souls, 19
10. Learn to Fly - The Foo Fighters, 17
11. My Favorite Mistake - Sheryl Crow, 17
12. I Have Nothing - Whitney Houston, 17
13. You Mean the World To Me - Toni Braxton, 16
14. Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake, 16
15. Drops of Jupiter - Train, 16
16. Stand Up - Ludacris, 15
17. Loungin' (Who Do You Love?) - LL Cool J, 14
18. 19. Until I Fall Away - Gin Blossoms, 14
19. Bye Bye - Jo Dee Messina, 13
20. The Trolley Song - Judy Garland, 13
21. Dilemma - Nelly, ft Kelly Rowland, 13

Top Ten Videos of 2007
1. Fergalicious - Fergie, 41 plays
2. Say It Right - Nelly Furtado, 20 plays
3. Stand Up - Ludacris, 17 plays
4. White & Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic, 16
5. London Bridge - Fergie, 13 (language!)
6. Hey Ya! - Outkast, 10
7. And Our Feelings - Babyface, 8
8. Possession - Sarah McLachlan, 8
9. You Mean the World to Me - Toni Braxton, 7
10. Over It - Kathrine McPhee, 6
10. Behind These Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson, 6
10. As Good as I Once Was - Toby Keith, 6

Things I'm Looking Forward To in 2008
* The Dark Knight
* Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
* Paying off the student loan
* Moving in to The Cabana (next week!)
* Heading back to Stamford CT & NYC for another mission trip
* Finally getting a Wii. Its going to happen
* Finally getting a store. It has to happen.

Things That Really Disappointed Me in 2007
(In No Particular Order)
* Movin' Out... I was so excited about this Billy Joel musical. And it was terrible. I was sad.
* Spider-Man 3... What a terrible movie. Emo Parker just killed me
* Bug... I love Ashley Judd. But this flick?
* "Drive" gets cancelled... That's right, we don't need "Drive", so we can have "Moment of Truth". Thanks Fox!
* Missing Andrea's Wedding... I hated that I missed it. Seriously.
* Dubya supports amnesty bill... The immigration package that was terrible. Absolutely terrible. It went down in flames.

And finally... the Top 100 Things of 2007! Who's Enchanted? Who's saving money? Who's saving a life? And how? Coming up!

Plus... Sunday, don't forget the 2008 Super Bowl Running Diary!

The 100 Coolest Things of 2007... 100 to 91

Here's the Intro...

#100... Michelle Carr. She's a lifelong missionary, and leads a blessed, faith filled life that most--including myself--could only dream of. My friend Michelle has one of those kind of lives that, when God calls her home, Jesus will say, simply, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done." And that makes her cool in any year.

#99. "The Myth of You and Me" by Leah Stewart. Yeah, its kind of a chick book, or at least, a book about friendship. But its sweet. Its the story of a lifelong friendship, one involving Cameron and Sonia, and its a friendship that has its ups and downs... notably a devastating betrayal by one and a refusal to forgive by the other. I found myself enthralled in the book, a short one that was knocked out in two days, and was happy after I finished it. Then I went and set something on fire just to feel manly.

#98. Tony Dungy. He's the coach of the Indianapolis Colts, who won the Super Bowl. It was his players in Tampa Bay that Chucky won the Super Bowl with back several years ago (2002?) and finally, Dungy took Peyton & the Colts to this years championship. However, its not what he did, it's how he observed it. The hype was all about how Dungy, and Lovie Smith, coach of the Chicago Bears and the Colt's opponent, were the first two black coaches to face off in a Super Bowl... and after the game was over, here's what Dungy had to say about that:

“I’m proud to be representing African-American coaches… to be the first African-American to win this…But again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches, showing that you can win doing it the Lord’s way, we’re more proud of that.”


You can read more, and see videos too, at this website I found.

#97. The Air Supply Infomercial. Flipping channels late at night, I stumbled upon the guys from Air Supply. Yeah, that one, the crooners of what I think is the pinnacle of Soft Rock Cheese, "Making Love Out of Nothing At All". Anyway, there they are, hocking the greatest soft rock in history, 11 CDs, 168 songs, and a low examination fee of only $9.95! (You can order here, if I just sold you... personally, I don't know how they got into Paula Maddox's LP collection, but hey...). But its so bad, its so corny, its so filled with cliche and bad music, you can't turn away. Its like... a wreck on tv. You're glued. Its the only infomercial I think I've ever (conscience) watched twice. Wanna see it? I know you do... here is a sample on You Tube, complete with a Gino Vannelli sighting.

#96. Katharine McPhee. That's right. I've still got McPheever. And after a lame season of American Idol, and the flop that is Taylor Hicks national career & autobiography, Katharine still shines. Her album is actually pretty good, with some catchy pop tunes (I mean, don't expect to hear "Singer-Songwriter" used often, this isn't Carole King) and her videos are fun too. Plus, she's in my Top 10 Hottest Chicks of 2007 Not Named Steph Leann or Ashley Judd.

You give me McPheever... McPheever when you hold me tight... McPheever! McPheever in the morning, McPheever all through the night

#95. "Surf's Up". I didn't expect to like this movie, and to be honest with you, the only reason I even saw it was the fact it was the free movie attached to the double feature at the Argo Drive In, when we went to see "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". And you know what? "Surf's Up" was better than FF:RofSS. It was fun. And funny. And well done. Perhaps its just the Year of the LaBeouf, as the great voices included Shia, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel and a hysterical turn from Jon Heder as Chicken Joe. Some of it is filmed in "documentary style", which is fun since its an animated film about the Penguin Surfing Championships. Check it out. You'll notice that "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer", though fun, didn't make the 100 Coolest Things of 2007 list, while "Surf's Up" did.

#94. NYCJenni. She was #31 last year, and still makes the list, albeit at #94. Why did she slip? We just haven't talked that much in the latter half of the year, but I still had to include her because we did talk. NYCJenni, one of my favorite blog characters, still has a great shot of making it back in the Top 50 in 2008.


#93. Amy Adams. I didn't rank her higher only because, though I noticed her in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby", I didn't really pay attention to her until "Enchanted". Now, I've got "Junebug" and "Cruel Intentions 2" on my Blockbuster queue to check out her other works. I look forward to being fascinated with her for about two more months before I move on.


#92. "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles. Clever pop song by newcomer Bareilles, all about a girl who's trying to write a song about her man, but since she's been wronged, she's not going to write him a love song... and ends up writing him a long song. Isn't it ironic... don't you think? Fun song, good beat, snappy little tune. I dig it.

#91. "Knocked Up". Its raw and raunchy, much like the new Hollywood Gang of Seth Rogan, Judd Apatow, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann and the like are making their movies. And somehow, it works. Starring Rogan and Katherine Heigl (who was in the Top Ten Hottest Chicks of 2007 Not Named Steph Leann or Ashley Judd until I found out she was a smoker, and that ruined it for me), its a family friendly comedy about two people who get way wasted and have a one night stand--for a dork like Ben Stone (Rogan), it would take alcohol to get someone like Alison (Heigl) to sleep with him. And lo and behold, she ends up pregnant.

I'll be honest with you.... this movie was hysterical. Even the Lovely Steph Leann liked it, though she gave her famous "...but I don't want that movie in my house". (see also: Superbad, American Pie 1 thru 3, The Phantom Menace--no one blames her on the last one)

I really like the fact she doesn't consider abortion, and what really makes this movie is the entire ensemble cast, including Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill (who went on to star in "Superbad") and the funny, funny, FUNNY Paul Rudd.

Coming up... The singer of that 1-2-3-4 Apple song... a canceled Fox show... the hottest travel host ever... and K-Dub