So, Vera Farmiga (and other thoughts on The Prevue Channel, Gerard Butler's career and roaches)

Sometimes I just have random stuff to say, and Coffee Drinker Mindy D'A is always quick to tell me these posts are her favorites...

As the figure skating comes out, someway, somehow, at least once during the night I will shout (sometimes to The Lovely Steph Leann's annoyance) "Toe Pick!" in a high, shrill voice, just like that "Cutting Edge" movie.

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When I see figure skating pairs, I'm convinced that the two are romantically involved... but I'm equally as convinced the guy is gay.  How does that skating paradox work?...

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 So... men's figure skaters.  Is is a shirt?  Is it a blouse?  Is there a difference in the two?

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In that contest where you can win a trip to the Olympics for the rest of your life, I'm picturing every executive on the edge of their seats when the winner is drawn... "What? He's 88 years old? Whew! That would have totally been crappy if some 27 year old won this thing!"

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After years of announcing the Olympics, Bob Costas must know more random, useless geography facts than anyone in the history of the world.  "And here comes the Dutch team.  Of course, we know that the Dutch town of Leeuwarden can be spelled 225 different ways..."

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We were having dinner at The Campbell Home a few nights ago, and The Lovely Steph Leann noticed in a Wal-Mart flier that "The Biggest Loser" for the Wii game was on sale for $29.99.  I just happened to have a $30 Wal-Mart gift card burning a hole in my pocket, so a few days later, I purchased it.  The next night, I pointed it out to her, told her that I thought she might like it, we could do it together and so forth.   And what did we do later that night?  You guessed it. 

Sat on the couch, ate Girl Scout cookies and watched television, Wii game still in the wrapper on the end table.

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My latest "Crappy Movie With Mikey" movie was "Law Abiding Citizen".  This film stars Gerard Butler as Clyde Shelton, a man who watches his family get senselessly murdered in a robbery, then watches the leader of the crime roll over on the not-as-violent partner and essentially get off on a technicality.  Years later, he sets out to get revenge on everyone who allowed this to happen.  Jamie Foxx portrays Nick Rice, the fledgling district attorney who is trying to stop him from killing more people.

The first part of the movie is intriguing... a man set on vengeance for the slaughter of his family, he's in prison, yet how is he still getting these assassinations completed?  The game is afoot.  The second half of the film, when Clyde's resources and back story is revealed, sort of... well, completely falls apart.  It goes from a "What would I do in this situation?  Would I want revenge too" kind of thinking movie to a "Wow.  That's kind of a stretch.  Wow, now that is really a stretch.  Wow, that's kind of ridiculous" kind of thinking movie. 

Its full of violence and F-Bombs, and really, its 2 hours that you could spent elsewhere, unless you are just jonesing to see this movie or Gerard Butler.  It does have a really cool death, though, involving a cell phone and a judge.

And what happened to Gerard Butler, anyway?  Remember him in "300"?  He was this awesome dude that was in "Phantom of the Opera", and he was this guy that we all just knew was going to have a rockin' big career full of action flicks and great starring roles... and then he did "P.S. I Love You"... and then he did "The Ugly Truth"... and then he did "Nim's Island"... really, Gerard?  Really? 

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Ever seen the movie "Creepshow"?  Its not a terrible film, its meant to be a little schlocky and campy--its a series of vignettes from a horror comic book, with the screenplay written by Stephen King.   My favorite of the stories is entitled "Something to Tide You Over", and it features Leslie Nielsen (!) as a bad guy who, at least in the beginning, gets the best of Ted Danson and his woman. 

The most disturbing of all of the shorts, however, is the last one, called "They're Creeping Up On You".  Essentially, a mean, bad man who suffers from Mysophobia and lives in a sealed off, germ-free apartment has a problem with roaches.  A very, very big problem.

Though in now-over 2 years at The Cabana, I have yet to see a roach, we'd routinely see them at The Deuce.  Its not that our apartment was dirty (stop laughing), but in the neighborhood, plus with the roommates and the rest of the world visiting, it happens.  Even then, though, when I saw a cockroach in The Deuce, I could get it sometimes... other times, it would escape behind behind something and disappears.  So I'd go to bed, knowing that cockroach was alive and well, sometimes in my room.  And, thinking back to "Creepshow", I just knew that that stupid roach was talking with talking with 4,000 of his children and friends, making plans for a revolution.  Viva la 'cacaroacha! 

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When I go onto the iTunes store, I look at the section that says "Recommendations For You".  I'm assuming iTunes bases this on music I've listened to recently, and maybe listen to on a regular basis.  This time around?  They recommend the soundtrack to "Kung Fu Panda", albums by Madonna, The Police,  and They Might Be Giants and singles by Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Julie Andrews, The Kinks and some guy named Marco Marnengeli.  So not only am I actually 14 years old, I'm apparently living in 1986.

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If you actually punched some random guy after seeing one of those new Volkswagens, chances are you'd get punched back, regardless of the color.

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Anyone remember Gatorade Fruit Punch, or Grape, or Lemon Lime?  Life was easy then.  Now its all kind of weird flavors and concoctions like G2 and Elite and Mountain Blast and Shock & Awe.  I miss Fruit Punch.

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Along that same lines, anyone remember when The Prevue Channel existed?   Covering most of the screen, it did nothing but scroll what was on every other channel... and when nothing was on TV, you left it on The Prevue Channel--for hours at a time.  It would show commercials and trailers for movies coming on HBO and network television, but it was great background noise.

Says EW.com.... It's TV more hypnotizing than Peter Jennings' baritone. More riveting than bouncing Baywatch body parts. It's the Prevue Channel -- that excruciatingly slow scroll that lists what's on the tube's every channel. All My Children... Tennis...Pictionary...and on and on. Some folks tune in for actual information -- and tear their hair out with impatience. Me, I like the Prevue Channel as a mesmerizing end in itself -- my own electronic lava lamp. I savor the endless, repetitive looping. The fun bubbles of red that denote premium channels. The cryptic, haiku-like movie descriptions. (''Deconstructing Harry: A prominent author is plagued with writer's block and numerous personal problems.'') But my favorite moment has to be when the Prevue Channel scrolls by the listing for the Prevue Channel itself, and I learn that I am watching... previews. What a gorgeously self-referential moment! What a brilliant metaphor for our onanistic media culture! -- from 1998

Now?  We have The TV Guide channel, and I can't watch it.  The scrolling part--which is why you'd turn it on the TV Guide channel in the first place--takes about 1/4 of the screen, showing maybe 3 or 4 shows at a time.  Then, they've got their own programming, plus they show other channel's shows, so you end up getting caught up in this girl who's makeover is going to have her end up looking like Reese Witherspoon, even though she looks, and will look, nothing like Reese Witherspoon, you watch anyway, and then you realize you were waiting to see what was on TNT, and you realize you just missed it, and you have to wait for it to scroll again...

Or you can just pick up your remote and use the guide function and look to see what time "Law & Order" comes on.  I can answer that, though... probably 10am, 2pm, 3pm, 7pm and 9pm.  That's just a guess.

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When you are trying to merge in front of me, you have about 2 or 3 seconds to do so.  Then, I'm moving up, cause I got stuff to do.  Hey!  Don't merge in front of me now, you had your chance, so back off.

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Dear seatbelt... please note the difference between "about to hit a brick wall head-on" and "trying to adjust in my seat".

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For that matter, Dear Automatic Flushing Toilet... please note the difference between "I'm done here" and "trying to adjust in my seat".  That water is cold. 

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So, Vera Farmiga.  She's one of the two lead actresses in "Up in the Air"... I say "lead", even though she and Anna Kendrick are both nominated for an Academy Award for Supporting Actress.  I loved this film, every single minute of it, and though its rare for me to feel this way, I would have been happy with a few more minutes. 

It tells the story of Ryan Bingham, played by also-nominated George Clooney, who's job is to travel all over the country and be the mediator when a company wants to lay people off.   Natalie (Kendrick) is a new recruit who's developed a system of eliminating the travel--firing via satellite.  Bingham convinces their boss (a great Jason Bateman) that Natalie needs to learn how its really done, so she's sent with him across the country to teach her how to do it face-to-face.

Along the way, Ryan keeps running into Alex (Vermiga), who is another frequent flier, and they develop a relationship in hotel rooms and where ever they can find a place... but of course, there might be real feelings there after a while.   Jason Reitman, director of "Juno", wrote and directed this flick.

On December 29th, 2009, I realized I had not seen this film, and wanted to get it in before 2010 began, mostly so I could include it The 100 Coolest Things of 2009 (and its on the list, high up).  The only night available that week?  New Year's Eve.   So, sometime later in the evening, with no particular New Year's Eve plans (remember when what you were doing for New Year's Eve was a big deal?  Like, you had plans for weeks of who's house to be at during the stroke of midnight, or when you were single, who you'd be with or hope to be with, or maybe you'd have the big bash at your house, hoping all your friends would come over, and maybe, just maybe The Official Clouds in My Coffee Troy State Crush Tiffany Abbott would show up and... where was I?  Yeah...) we figured, why not go see the film. 

It was a 2+ hour movie, with a start time of 10pm, and much to our delight, the theater was empty.  Completely empty.  We kicked back, threw our feet up and enjoyed being able to talk louder... until someone walked in, a woman who came in and sat about four rows ahead of us, all by herself.  Don't know how it happened, who knows how stuff like this happens, but The Lovely Steph Leann and I ended up chatting with her, and finally, I said, "...you're Andrea Lindenberg... NBC, right?"  She said, "Yeah, that's me!" and I shared with her that I worked there for a while, and we chatted about that and so on.

It seems that Andrea's kids were seeing something else, but she didn't want to see it so she came in here.   The movie began, and about 2 hours later, I looked at my watch and said aloud, "Happy New Year" to chuckles from the woman four rows ahead of me and the woman to my left. 

Back to the movie... it does have language, and one seen where you see a nude woman's back, but that's it... and yeah, I loved it.  I am eager to see it again when it hopefully comes to the Ghetto Theater here in town.  Not only did it have airplanes and airports, which I strangely am fascinated with, it had George Clooney, who like Brad Pitt, I contend if given the right material is a phenomenal actor, it had the cutie-patootie Anna Kendrick, who was the only thing that kept me alive during the movie "Twilight", it had great writing, it had likable, if not sympathetic characters, it featured appearances from the cool voiced Sam Elliott, the comedic Danny McBride, the always awesome JK Simmons, "The Hangover"'s Zach Galifianakis and the I-am-strangely-enthralled-with Melanie Lynskey, and... it had Vera Farmiga.

So, Vera Farmiga.   I think I'm categorizing her with Jennifer Garner and applying the McGriddle Effect.  I cannot decide if Vera is drop dead gorgeous or just pretty at all.  There really is no in-between. 

Alright.  Gotta go to The Happiest Place in the Mall.

The 100 Coolest Things of 2009... 90 to 81

There are several videos on this post--if you reading this in Facebook, then click over to Clouds in My Coffee, so you can see everything properly. Then come back to Facebook, search Clouds in My Coffee and become a fan! We're 111 strong! Let's be 115! Yeah!

90... Dairy Queen Real Deals
Imagine my surprise when I walked into a Dairy Queen and saw a big square on the menu.  Three cubes on top, three on bottom, one on each side, and in the middle, the words, "2 for $3 or 3 for $4 or 4 for $5!".  So, for $5.40 (after tax), I can get a hot dog, a cheeseburger, a medium drink and a small sundae with anything from caramel to butterscotch (have to ask for that one) on it.  The marshmallow sundae is much better than it sounds, by the way.  I've eaten at DQ more in the last six months that I think I have in my whole life, including the year or so I worked there in 1995 at Troy's DQ. 

89... Stuff You Missed In History Class
I dig on podcasts and audiobooks.  I like listening to comedy, fiction, sports, nonfiction and... history.  There's this great little podcast from the website "How Stuff Works", which itself is a fascination podcast.  Well, "Stuff You Missed in History Class" has two hosts who essentially discuss... well, history.  In a fun way.  Usually its about stuff you dont know much about, or topics you've heard of, but don't know the whole story... some I've listened to recently include, "Why was Davy Crockett king of the wild frontier?" and "How the Berlin Wall worked" and "How the Emancipation Proclamation Worked"... now, don't ask me to remember any this stuff--I have the absorbing power of a concrete block (unless its about useless information, like what actually happened with the Montreal Screwjob), but nonetheless, its quite entertaining.

88... "Toy Story in 3-D" Double Feature
I'd been hearing about this for a long time, and thought The Lovely Steph Leann and I own both Toy Story movies, there is just something about seeing a movie on the big screen, especially a great film like both of these are. 



As far as the 3-D goes, ya know... it doesn't impress me as much.  I mean, it was good, but not unbelievable.  I sort of think that if you don't really notice the 3-D, then it might not be worth it (hence my review on "Avatar").  We saw it with family, which was fun, and its was just such a good time.  The problem came in, though, when The Lovely Steph Leann wanted popcorn and candy for the second film.  No biggie, right?  Go during the intermission... only, during the intermission, they decided they would show trivia, outtakes and other fun stuff.  So I missed a bunch of it. 

And Toy Story 3?  I'm excited.

87... Alissa & Joey's Wedding

I've known Alissa Kelly, the younger of two daughters of Pastor Calvin (Valleydale Church, an sbc fellowship), for at least 10 years, maybe more.  And I knew her before she was dating Joey, and then met Joey when they finally got together.  And then watched as they got engaged, and finally as they got married.  Perhaps I've not been really tight with either for years and years, but I felt like I've watched them both, especially Alissa, for a long time.  So, naturally, it was great watching their wedding, and it was great at their reception.  Beautiful bride, great groom, hilarious minister (Andy Murry, student pastor at Valleydale Church, an sbc fellowship) who said "Awesome" about fifty four times during the ceremony.  Congrats...

86... "The Smiley Face Commercial"
This ad just started coming on television not too long ago, and it hooked me immediately.  Its clever, its inventive, and it makes me think of driving... there is a semi-circle crack in the windshield of Toni Rocki Honda, just below my direct sight line of my driver's seat.  When I pull up behind someone, if I close one eye and cock my head just so, it makes a mouth to the brake light eyes, and it makes me happy.  Its the little things, really.



And I love the music.  Too bad its a great commercial concept for a credit card.  That's sort of like... well, I'll save the He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected potshot for later... Speaking of...

85... Joe Wilson Speaks What We Think
September 9th, 2009.  As He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected is spouting off, declaring how his amazing health care reform plan will save this nation, I watched this clip several times, and really, even though Joe Wilson (R-SC) yells "You lie!" at the 1:22 mark, he really could have yelled it at any point.  He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected is lying about "death panels" being a fabrication, about tax dollars not being used to fund abortions, about illegal immigrants not being covered under this plan and about tax dollars not being used. 



And what happens?  Wilson gets censured on the floor for "being disrespectful".  Heck, I'm glad that at least for one few shining moment, a Republican actually got passionate and stood up to He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected.  Cause in most speeches I've heard from He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected, "You Lie!" would fit.   And now you know.  And knowing is half the battle... Go Joe!

84... Paepcke Gets Told
Speaking of politics... let us turn to NBC Investigative Reporter Jon Paepcke, who is a former co-worker and a friend.  On October 28th, 2009, Birmingham's fine mayor, Larry Langford, was convicted on everything from bribery and embezzlement to tearing the "do not remove" tags off of his mattresses.  So, he does what he does best... mug for the camera.

Langford is doing a press conference about his innocense, when somewhere in there (its not in the video), Jon Paepcke actually asks Langford what he thinks this will do to Birmingham's Olympic chances in 2020.  When I saw that, I thought I was going to absolutely pass out.  Langford has been saying for years that the Olympic Games should come here--and he speaks as if this city not only has a shot, but a real shot.


(FYI... whoever loaded this video put their own commentary on screen--its the only copy of the video I could find to post, so please 'scuse)
 
So then, Langford them proceeds to go off on Paepcke, calling him a snake, the worst reporter of them all, and so on.  It was great.  I couldn't see the face of the blond reporter standing in front of Paepcke, but I can't imagine how priceless her awkward expression much be.  When he came into The Happiest Place in the Mall a few weeks ago, I ribbed him about it, and told him that video would be on this list.  He seemed proud.
 
83... "Men of a Certain Age"
I really dig this show.   And I would say the diggedness of this show is in no small part to the main three stars, Ray Romano (that "Ray" show), Scott Bakula (that "Leap" show) and Andre Braugher (that "Homicide" show), three guys I have always enjoyed in just about everything they've done.
 
Essentially, the plot is the friendship between three college friends – Joe, Owen and Terry – who are now in their late 40s/early 50s. Joe (Romano) is a slightly neurotic divorced father of two (Brittany Curran as Lucy, and Braeden Lemasters as Albert) who hoped to become a pro golfer but now owns a party store. Owen (Braugher) is an overstressed, diabetic husband and father, who is a car salesman at his dad's dealership. Terry (Bakula) is a struggling actor dating a much younger woman.



 
Ten years ago, I wouldn't have really enjoyed this show as much, mostly because I just wouldn't have understood it.  But the very first scene we see Owen in, when he's sitting up in bed, slightly overweight, looking frumpy and tired, sighing because its just another day... well, that I can identify with.   Its rated MA for language. 
 
Is it bad that I feel like in ten years, this show will be about me, my best mate Wookiee and Mikey?  With the Good Rev'rn Ty "Sharpton" Coffey tossed in?
 
82... "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"
I'll be honest, I wanted to see this film from the moment it came out.  I knew it would be bad.  I figured it would be bad.  I mean, its got Kevin James portraying... A Mall Cop.  The previews made both The Lovely Steph Leann and I laugh out loud, but they looked a little formulaic, a little cliched, and I thought, "Wow, that's going to be terrible."  And then a few weeks ago, I watched it via Netflix's Watch It Now Option.
 
...aaaaannnnndddddd........
 
I thought this movie was great, it made me laugh and was a good, shallow movie to sit back and enjoy.  I liked it because it didn't try to be anything that its not.  I liked it because Kevin James has a knack for being the guy who represents all of us kinda dorky guys who learns he only has to be his dorky self to be awesome.  I liked it because Jayma Mays, the ingenue/love interest, wasn't this unbelievable knock-out supermodel that would unrealistic to approach, she was this cute, down to earth girl that any of thinks we could at least talk to, and I liked it because the movie wasn't dirty, it didn't wallow in crude humor, it just told its story, made me laugh, then rolled the credits.  Yeah, yeah, its a little unbelievable that a group of robbers could take the mall on skateboards, but go with it...
 
...and this is unlike the other mall cop movie, "Observe & Report", with Seth Rogan, which might be one of the worst movies I've ever seen.  Here's what I said on June 5:
 
...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...

81... The Amazing Race
This was the 15th edition of The Amazing Race, and the 11th that I'd watched.  Unlike Survivor, The Amazing Races all seem to kind of run together (ie, I couldn't name or even describe more then say, two winning teams in all 11 I've seen, excluding the last one), so it's always the contestants that make it for me.  And you're telling me that this one has two members of the Harlem Globetrotters named Flight Time & Big Easy?  Sold.
 
I would love to be on Survivor, but The Amazing Race would be awesome too, because its not so much a social game, as its a "get there as fast as you possibly can" game, which is awesome... sometimes, The Lovely Steph Leann and I will sit and watch together, usually picking out the challenges that she or I would do... though I told her that if we came to a 80 foot waterslide, one that was located in a resort, not in a tropical rain forest, and whooshed into a big pool, not a pirahna infested lake, and she refused to go down it--much like Mika did, while Canaan begged and pleaded for her to just let go of the bar--I think we'd get counseling.  It didn't help that Flight Time & Big Easy showed up, told her how scary it was and talked her out of it.  Mika & Canaan were in fact eliminated.
 
The big feud was Flight Time & Big Easy against Sam & Dan, brothers were both gay, and really, were just annoying and seriously a couple of jerks.  Naturally, though, the couple that fights and whines the most ends up winning, and thats exactly what Meghan and Cheyne (pronouced "shane", though not spelled the same for some unknown reason... perhaps they have a propencity for extra letters in their names.  Kinda like if I spelled my name "Dahyvedd".  I like it.)

Coming up...  A new "Bohemian Rhapsody"... Kate Wins... and more Pickles!  And later, could one of my friends be the next American Idol?

The 100 Coolest Things of 2009... 100 to 91

Here we go...  by the way, there are several videos on this post--if you reading this in Facebook, then click over to Clouds in My Coffee, so you can see everything properly.  Then come back to Facebook, search Clouds in My Coffee and become a fan!  We're 110 strong!  Let's be 113!  Yeah!

#100... Pixar Fulfills a Wish
Simply put, a little girl's dying wish was to see "Up".  Pixar heard the story, and they sent a representative to the little girl's house with a copy, before the movie was even released.  With her eyes unable to even open, her mom described for her what was happening--her mom, who had no idea the movie itself dealt with a death.  The rep left lots of Disney and Pixar swag, and after the movie, left with the copy.  The little girl died later that day.  And I love this story because Pixar didn't announce it, they didn't publicize it, they only did it because it was the right thing to do.  The mom told the story.  You can read the full story here... its sad... but its great that a company in today's day and age would be so kind.

#99... "Fireflies" by Owl City
I've heard its about a dream... I've heard that maybe its some sort of trippy drug reference... me?  I remember an area of Troy's golf course, an area that, when visited after dark at a certain time of the year, its just full of buzzy fireflies, too many to count.  My friends and I called it Firefly Junction.  Never slept out, there, though--the dew was too much.  Anyway, this song makes me smile, whatever its about.  MZ told me its her favorite song of the year... its not mine, but it does make the list.  Here's the sample (it will ask to open iTunes if you have it, otherwise you can hear it on the Apple page)

98... A Real Life High School Musical
Just like in the south, there are high school rivalries everywhere.  This one pitted Shorewood High against nearby Shorecrest High in a video contest up in Seattle--Mindy D'A!  Why didn't you tell me about this?!?!

The rules were simple... film a music video (lip sync, now termed a "Lip Dub"), one single take, one single shot, and involve everyone.  Shorecrest struck first, with a rendition of "Hey Ya".   You know, its pretty good... its kinda funny, with some guy in a Power Ranger costume, among other random things.  They seemed like they practiced quite a bit for it, and a bunch of high school chicks (Paging Wooderson, paging Mr. David Wooderson) shaking it like a Polaroid Picture.

Then Shorewood did theirs.  And in my mind, there is no contest.  After seeing "(500) Days of Summer", they elected to go with a video of "You Make My Dreams Come True" by Hall & Oates.   I don't know how long they practiced it, but according to the story on Obama-TV, "Shorewood responded by popping open a can of "Hall & Oates" whoop-a**".  (That's just a fun line, ain't it?)

They filmed it, then played and synced it BACKWARDS.  So the paper airplanes are flying backwards, everyone is jumping up onto their chairs backwards, people are walking forward, which means they are walking backwards in real life, the swimming team in speedos (!) is running backwards, people are singing BACKWARDS.  This is brilliant!  The lead guy spent tons of time learning the lines backwards and getting them lined up with the music.   The link to the first one is above, you can watch it, then watch the one below, and judge for yourself. 

Oh, and challenge yourself... try NOT to smile and sing along.  Its quite difficult.



Come on Samson!  Can't you challenge Geneva, or Kinston or Zion Chapel in a Lib Dub Throwdown?  Let's do it, Tigers!

And, just as I'd like to find ways to use the phrase "Read the rules, shankapotamus", I also would like to find a way to somehow "Pop open a can of 'Hall & Oates' whoop-a**" in real life.  Ah, dreams.

97... "The Hammer"
As I watched about 50 movies this year, they are abundant on this list.  And this is the first of 25 on the list, not counting actors or performances.

This was written and produced by Adam Carolla--you might remember him from "The Man Show", a show that I never really watched (any show that featured women called "Juggies" probably wasn't a show that I really should have made appointment TV), but that doesn't take away from the fact Adam is hilarious.  His podcast ranks high on this list, and I had heard about his movie, so I got it on Netflix.

Its really a simple story of a Jerry, a carpenter who was a former boxer, and was brought back into the ring to train and try and make the upcoming Olympic boxing team.  He's going up against several much younger prospects, including Robert, a rising boxing star.  He's also up against the manager, who sees Jerry as nothing more than a sparring and training partner for Robert, who he really wants in the Olympics.  There's also a small love story plot, featuring Heather Juergensen as Lindsay, though that side story is small, remains cute and doesn't distract from the overall Olympic boxing theme.

I really liked this movie... as Carolla has ranted about on his own podcast, the movie is Rated R, but for no good reason.  It's listed as "violence", but its a BOXING movie.  I think there might be one single F-bomb, maybe two, but I don't remember... other than that, its probably a movie that I'd watch with Campbell Isaiah if it came out, without much worry about bad things happening onscreen. 



Just in a sidenote, Carolla is opposite Juergensen, and in one scene, they kiss, just like many movies feature.  Well, Carolla is good friends with fellow writer Kevin Hench, who is married to Juergensen.  This would like me writing a movie with my buddy Mikey, then starring and (stage)kissing his wife Ashley.  That would be weird.  I mean, good for her and all, but weird, nonetheless.

96... Steak Tartare at the Stadium
Love this commercial, mostly because of the last three seconds, which always make me laugh



95... "Gran Torino"
This was classic Eastwood, in his grizzly, old, gnarly best.   Here's what I said on a post from May 25th...

This is a movie that really, only Clint Eastwood could star in. Clint plays Walt, a gruff, tough widower who has been living in his house forever, and isn't too happy to see the Hmong Asian family move in next door. He warms up slowly, mostly due to the persistence of Sue, the teenage girl, and her brother Thao.


The family sees trouble when a local Hmong gang pressures Thao to join them, going to the point of assault and threats. Walt gets involved, against his better judgement, and a whole lot of bad things happen before the final scene of the movie, including one that made me sigh, and thank heavens that The Lovely Steph Leann didn't see what I just saw.

Excellent film, but full of language and violence.


94... "Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z, featuring Alicia Keys
I've never been a huge Jay-Z fan, and I've never been at peace just because "a Jay-Z song was on!  a Jay-Z song was on!" in a taxi cab.  This song, however, is great and its in a large part to Alicia Keys soaring vocals... chick's got some pipes. 

Anyone who knows me knows I have a deep affection for New York City, so I really enjoyed this tune--its fairly clean, except for the language that Jay-Z usually puts in his music, and it gives nods to everything from the Knicks to the McDonalds to Tribeca to "long live the World Trade". 

You can click here to sample it (if you have iTunes, it will ask to open it, if you don't, you can hear it on the page)

93... Tracy Jones

Going to a new place to work is never easy, and having traveled the Starbucks roads for almost seven years, I've had to do it many times.  When you go to a store that is... well, not reallyclickish, but kinda that way when you get there, its even harder to break through. 

And then I got to know Tracy, who is a shift at night.  We're about the same age, with much of the same life, and work, experience.  In Starbucks, you don't find a ton of baristas over 30, so when you do, you connect with them in a way that its hard to connect with a 19 year old.  When you say "A-Team" and they say "What is that?", you know that a connection hasn't been made.

Anyway, without writing a memorium, Tracy has been great to work with this year, and I take my hat off to her for making my transition earlier this year much easier than it could have been.

92... "Blue Harvest"
Yes, yes, it took me this long to see Blue Harvest.  But it was awesome when I did.  You have to be a Family Guy fan to appreciate it, and really, it helps to be a Star Wars fan as well, but I finally downloaded it, and its absolutely hysterical...



91... The Slapchop Rap
Who doesn't want them a slapchop after watching this video?  I'll be honest with ya... you do a Broadway song to sell a Snuggie, and The Lovely Steph Leann is at Target in five minutes trying to find one.



Vince Offer, the guy in the video, is a pitchman, just like the LATE GREAT BILLY MAYS (written in all caps as a yelling honor to Mr. Mays), and has done the Slap Chop infomercial.  There's some controversy surrounding hm, as BILLY MAYS claims that the Slap Chop came after the Quick Chop, which BILLY MAYS advertised, but Vince Offer stole the marketing and the infomercial demo ideas.  Who knew there were Info-Wars?

Born as Offer Shlomi in Israel, he's got a track record of bad lawsuits and terrible police run-ins, including one where he slap chopped a prostitute and was charged with assault. 

DJ Steve Porter made a music video remix of the original Slap Chop infomercial, dubbing it "Rap Chop".  After posting it to YouTube on April 25, 2009, it quickly spread over the internet. As of September 4, 2009, it has been viewed over 5 million times through its original upload, and millions more as it was posted across other sites. It reached #13 as the all time Top Rated and #3 all time Top Rated in Comedy on YouTube.

In July 2009, in an apparent deal between Porter and Shlomi, the "Rap Chop" was made into a real infomercial that began airing nationwide. Porter's original remix included footage from the movie "House Party" and TV show "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air"... however, for the national infomercial, this footage was replaced with that of a woman break dancing and another dancer dressed in a pink bunny rabbit costume.


So there you are... you know now the story of the beauty behind the Rap Chop, making it the 91st coolest thing of 2009.

Coming up... American Express is all smiles... The battle of the mall cop movies has a clear winner... and Miley Cyrus actually have two--TWO--appearances on this list?  What?  What!?

"It's Complicated"

Our Christmas ritual is pretty set by now... because of the nature of The Happiest Place in the Mall, I work on Christmas Eve, and typically work the day after Christmas as well.  This makes it nearly impossible to travel the three hours home to Samson, so The Lovely Steph Leann and I have breakfast at The Waffle House with Big Daddy Ron, Mama Ruthless and Tyler "The Sexy Beast" Campbell. 

After breakfast, we take in a movie or two, and then we have dinner at The Purple Onion, open 24-7-365.  The first movie this go around was "It's Complicated". 

This little film tells the story of Jane (Meryl Streep, whom in my later years I am beginning to enjoy and appreciate more and more), who is divorced from Jake (Alec Baldwin, who you can take or leave politically--I choose the latter--but is just about perfect in his comedic timing), because Jake had an affair with, then married, Agness (Lake Bell, who is... uh... don't know), a young 20-something chick.

Somehow Jane ends up... sleeping with Jake.  Jane becomes "the other woman", which is bizarre for her, because, as her group of friends put it, "You had him first!".  She comically declares, "Turns out, I'm a bit of a slut..."

Thing get even more... complicated, if you will... when you toss in Adam (Steve Martin, who I so miss seeing in these types of roles), Jane's architect.  After a meeting about a new addition to Jane's home, they end up hitting it off.  Of course, Jake is mortified and jealous, even though he's married to someone else...

You see where this is going...

I had a really good time with this flick.  I didn't expect anything really heavy to chew on, and wasn't given anything of the like, only great performances with three fantastic veterans who honestly look like they are having a great time making this movie and being together.

Once again, Meryl Streep tosses her hat in the ring for consideration as "Greatest Living Actress" in a role that didn't require lots of stretching, but at the same time had to require a lot to just be real.  She wasn't playing a cold hearted executive like Miranda or having to sing like Donna, but just a real woman caught in an unusual situation.

You only need to watch "30 Rock" a few times to marvel at Alec Baldwin's presence onscreen, and Steve Martin proves how much fun he is to watch when given the right film.  Those Pink Panther movies or anything where he and Queen Latifah try to bring the house down... crap.  Total crap.  Movies like this, that put forth his age, his charm and his talent.  Perhaps he's not good enough to make any and every role his, but he's good enough to make the right ones really shine--and this was just the right one.

SIDEBAR:  Three Steve Martin films that you may not know much about, but should see immediately... "Bowfinger", one of the funniest films ever... "Roxanne", a sweet take on Cyrano de Bergerac and one of The Dave100 films... "Grand Canyon", a serious role that he takes on fully.

As much as I gush about the three obvious stars in this film, there's another who really shines and steals just about every scene he's in--John Krasinski.  You would know him as Jim from "The Office", and he plays the fiancee of Jane & Jake's daughter Lauren.  He.  Is.  Hilarious  Absolutely hysterical.  Don't know if they intended to give him all the good lines or he just took what he had and ran with it... either way, it works in a huge way.



The film is Rated R for language, though I don't remember it being bad... the director is Nancy Meyer, who did "Something's Gotta Give", "What Women Want" and one of The Lovely Steph Leann's favorite films, "The Holiday", one that I'm growing more and more fond of everytime I see it.  (Meyer also did "The Parent Trap" remake, starring Lindsay Lohan before she went off and joined Team Bats***, but that's another story)  Anyway, all that is to say, if you enjoy any or all of those first three films, you'll enjoy "Its Complicated". 

It's worth a matinee, or if you want to wait until it is available on DVD probably in the summer, check it out then. 

The Princess & the Frog

Transmogrification central!  Can you feel it?  You're changin', you're changin', ou're changin', all right!  I hope you're satisfied, but if you ain't, don't blame me.  You can blame my friends on the other side! -- Dr. Facilier (Keith David)


In late June of 1994, the summer between my freshman and sophomore years at Troy State U, I met up with Tonya Windham in Enterprise, Alabama.  Our purpose was to take in a viewing of Disney's latest movie, "The Lion King", the fifth (out of the ten) movie in the fabled Disney Renaissance.  For the most part, there is no better person to see a highly anticipated movie with than a good friend, which Tonya was, and we laughed at the antics of Timon and Pumbaa's fart jokes, we marveled at the brilliant animation of the wildebeest stampede and were both shocked at the death of Mufasa.  And we loved the film.  I still do, all these years later.



"The Lion King" was truly the first Disney film I could remember watching in the theater... this isn't to say that I didn't see "Aladdin" or "Beauty and the Beast" at the movies, cause I might have, but I don't remember it.  I know when I was about 7, I was taken to see "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" when it was re-released to theaters, but I don't remember anything about it... except for the fact that I wanted to see "Jaws 3-D".  But I do remember "The Lion King".  What I didn't realize at the time, though, was that I was watching a classic.  I was bearing witness to one of the most successful, critically acclaimed film of all time (currently 19th on the Biggest Movies Ever list), and was watching characters--Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, Scar, Mufasa--being presented that will live on forever... my kids will watch Simba grow from a cub to a king, my grandchildren will do the same. 

And this is what I thought about as The Lovely Steph Leann and I sat down to watch "The Princess & the Frog" this past weekend.  I'd heard nothing but stellar reviews over the weekend from people, including Bo Peep, a fellow CM at The Happiest Place in the Mall who had seen it at midnight the day before.  Before the movies wide release, it had been garnering raves in its limited runs in NYC and LA, and I had high, high hopes for this film... and it didn't let me down.

Plot in a nutshell, its a Disney twist on the story of The Frog Prince, the story that has a girl kissing a frog who turns into a handsome prince.  In this tale, however, Naveen, the handsome prince, has been turned into a frog by the voo-doo man, Dr. Facilier, and when he convinced our heroine Tiana to kiss him, she turns into a frog herself.  Hijinx, hilarity and romance ensue as they, along with Ray the Cajun Firefly and Louis the jazz playing crocodile, try to find Mama Odie to help them turn back into humans again.

The question isn't "What did I love about this film?", the question is really "What didn't I love about this film?".  The answer is only two-fold... first, the songs might have been a little longer.  I was totally digging both Dr. Facilier's villian song, "Friends On the Other Side" and Mama Odie's huge gospel choir-infused "Dig a Little Deeper", and both ended too soon.  Secondly, Dr. Facilier, the bad guy, is a great bad guy... and they give him the Darth Maul treatment, that is, they show him off, he gets a few winks and nods here and there, and then he'd dealt with and done.  Not enough of the mean doctor... voiced by Keith David, he comes across not really as evil, but as a big, selfish jerk.  (for those of you who don't know who Keith David is, he was in Sandy Bullock's "All About Steve", he narrates "City Confidential" on A&E and he was the stepdad in "There's Something About Mary"--he was the one who sees Ben Stiller's predicament and says, "Well, which is it, son, the frank or the beans?")

The animation is stunning.  The film is beautifully drawn, and to its credit, its done so much so that there's no way this film could have been a computer animated feature--it would have lost most, if not all, of its charm.  Tiana is a heroine who is working hard for her dreams to happen, not waiting around for someday, her prince will come, and that is to be admired.  Much has been made about Tiana being the "first black princess", and yes, that's true, but this film definately takes liberties with history--she's best friends with a rich debutante named Charlotte, which alone is an impractical thought in the time period this film is set in.  I didn't get caught up in that, though, and you shouldn't either.

The supporting characters, including Charlotte, are wonderful, and never get annoying.  Ray the Cajun Firefly turned out to be my favorite of the bunch, with his cay-joan accent and missing teeth, though watching Louis, the gator who just wants to play jazz on his trumpet, also makes for great laughs.  There are a few scary scenes, though, when Dr. Facilier sends The Shadow creatures out to re-capture the escaped Naveen, and I even told The Lovely Steph Leann that if I were 5, I would have been terrified... today's kids are a little more desensitized to such frights, though, so you can decide for yourself if your crumb cruncher can handle it.

One thing to be aware of when watching this film... you are witnessing the birth of a classic.  This is a movie that, no matter how successful it will end up--and it will end up successful--that Campbell Isaiah and Lorelei Addison will watch, and their children will watch as well in 2040 on whatever home video format we're up to then.  This is a movie that will be released in Blu-Ray and DVD in April of 2010, and will disappear into The Vault in June of 2011 or so, not to be available for 7 to 10 years. 

This is the birth of a true Disney Princess, one that we'll be seeing with the likes of Cinderella, Belle, Ariel and Aurora for a long, long time.  The last time we saw a true Disney Princess emerge?  Mulan.  The last time we saw a true Disney classic not-named-Pixar unfold before our eyes?  Yep.  "The Lion King".  That was the last movie heralded and beloved enough to go into The Vault (well, "Fantasia 2000" also is in The Vault, coupled with "Fantasia", but that's kinda another story)...  For me, and perhaps I'm the odd case, this is exciting.  I'm thrilled that Disney has finally broken through the ceiling they put on themselves with "Dinosaur" and "Brother Bear". 

I was discussing this film briefly with Hurricane Rhett, who simply said, "2-D animation is dead."  After bearing witness to atrocities like "Home on the Range" and the poor storytelling of "Treasure Planet", I could see where the argument could have been made.  Its the same argument I'd heard for ten years now, and with Disney shutting down its hand-drawn animation studios in Orlando, and even going as far as to say that they were done with 2-D animated films, it looked like 2-D animation was truly dead. 

I, however, had always contended that if the story was good, people would go see it, be it 2-D or computer animated. "Lilo & Stitch", one of my favorite Disney films, was completely 2-D, and was one of Disney's biggest hits sans Pixar this decade.  It had a great story.  "Valiant" or "The Wild", both computer animated films, were bombs, and rightly so.  I've seen part of both, and both were pretty terrible... its important to note, though that neither are techinically Disney films, because Disney only distrubuted them and had no hand in making them. 

I make no illusions that this film is the next "The Lion King", or even "Aladdin"... and after second and third viewings, I cannot tell you that I'd rank "The Princess & the Frog" above "Hercules", an only moderately successful Disney film (on the tail end of the Renaissance) that I absolutely adore... but for now, "The Princess & the Frog", is fantastic... great jazz music, incredible color thats perfectly timed to the scene in progress (watch how the colors around Mama Odie are somewhat muted until you find out she's one of the good guys, then the color explodes brightly), two very likable main characters and at its heart, a moral of not just wishing and dreaming, but working hard to make those wishes and dreams come true. 

So which Disney flick did I like better this year, "Up" or "The Princess & the Frog"?  That is a great question... almost like asking me who I rank higher, The Goddess or Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with.  Both films will be ranked in The 100 Coolest Things of 2009, coming in January, so perhaps you'll get your answer then.  To both questions. 

The Blind Side

Clear to the left, clear to the right, without a sound it came around, hit me on the blind side.  Look to the front, look to the back, down for the count, I'll tell you how, hit me on the blind side.  And though I could see the truth staring right at me.  Well, I did not ready myself for the blind side.  -- "Blind Side" by Susan Ashton

Sandra Bullock is having quite a year.  First, "The Proposal" does monster business, everyone I know that has seen it just loves it, and I gave it quite a glowing review on this here website (you can also see my own list of favorite Sandy B movies).

Secondly, the movie "All About Steve" was released, a movie actually set for release in April, but was pushed back to September, so it would be after people had fallen for Bradley Cooper in "The Hangover" and fallen again for Sandy Bullock in "The Proposal".  Well, "All About Steve" got terrible reviews, it was painted as an incredibly awful movie... but several people I know that went to see it said they thought it wasn't that bad.  The Lovely Steph Leann and I never got around to seeing it but... (just took a second and added it to our Netflix Queue, discovering it will be released on 12/22). 

And now, "The Blind Side" has come to theaters.  We've been seeing the trailer for this flick for a few months, and The Lovely Steph Leann would always lean over and whisper, "I want to see that movie."  So, when it was released, we had to go see it. 



I knew the basic story--Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Ann Touhy, a well-to-do wife in Memphis, TN, with a husband, Sean (a surprisingly good Mr. Faith Hill), and two children Sean Jr (SJ) and Collins, living a simple, successful life.  They come upon Michael Oher (played by Quinton Aaron with the perfect amount of charm and subduedness), a large black boy, who has no home, no place to go, no way to better himself.  They take him in for the night, and "for the night" turns into "for a few nights" and "for a few nights" becomes "for a while". 

The movie then follows along with how not only Michael's life is changed, but how the Touhys--specifically Leigh Ann's--life is also changed.   What's so dazzling about this story is that its all true.  The real life Touhys have seen it, and commented that its pretty accurate, at least for a Hollywood film.

Its full of laughs and heartwarming moments, but its never preachy or manipulative.  The movie's intent it never to make you feel like you have to cry, and it doesn't seem like its showing you the "Hallmark" moments just for the awwwww factor... its part of the story.  In movies with this "helping each other out" theme, there's always an uncomfortable moment when the kids hate the new person, only to have this togetherness scene that brings them together--"The Blind Side" never has that.  SJ and Collins are nothing but loving and supportive of Michael, and it even enhances Michael's rebuilding of his life.

There is conflict, of course, first when Michael faces his past, and then we he faces the question of "Why did the Touhy's do this for me?", but being the movie that it is, the conflicts don't end badly. 

Probably the most impressive part of this entire movie is the evolution of Sandra Bullock... this is unlike a role that she's ever done, and she takes it full-on and does a tremendous job channeling the real Leigh Anne's will, spitfire and spunk.  Her accent is slight, but not bothersome, and in my favorite scene, she faces off against the other well-to-do women over lunch.  Its remarkable because you know that she was one of those women before Michael Oher showed up in her life.  One of the ladies, in a pleasant tone, asks if Leigh Anne was worried that a large black boy was sleeping in the same house, downstairs from Collins, the Touhy's pretty daughter.  Leigh Anne simply says, "Shame on you."

In a side note, I read a column in Entertainment Weekly where Sandra Bullock said she met Leigh Ann Touhy in real life, in research for the role--and was completely intimidated.  Apparently, in real life, as in the movie, Leigh Ann Touhy does in fact carry a gun in her purse and her vehicle, and is one of those "when I'm for you, I'm for you a thousand percent, but if you hurt me or someone I care about, you'd better watch it, cause I'm taking you out." 

When a movie's credits are rolling, sometimes The Lovely Steph Leann says, "I really liked it!" and I'll say, "Yeah, it was pretty good."  Sometimes I'll say, "I thought that was great", and she'll shrug and say, "Yeah, I liked it okay."  When the credits rolled for "The Blind Side", we both said, "That was fantastic."  And it was.  Everyone that I know that has seen this film has loved it.  The critics haven't been as kind, calling it a little sappy, a little schlocky, one even lamenting the fact that there was no conflict between Michael and the Touhy children, a fact that I really liked because that's done in every other film like this.  I'm guessing there was some conflict in real life, but Michael's relationship with SJ and Collins was not the center of the movie, it was all about Leigh Anne and Michael.

Tim McGraw is actually really good as Sean Touhy, the loving and supportive husband who gives way to his wife when needed, without ever giving the appearance that he's a doormat. 

Of course, Michael Oher, in real life, is playing in the NFL, selected in the as the 23rd pick overall this past April by the Baltimore Ravens after a very successful career at Ole Miss.  And that brings up a hilarious part of the film, when he's being recruited by colleges.. several college football coaches played themselves but at former schools: Phillip Fulmer (was Tennessee head coach, now out of football), Lou Holtz (was South Carolina head coach, now does TV and routinely embarrasses himself by picking Notre Dame to win), Houston Nutt (was Arkansas head coach, now Ole Miss head coach), Ed Orgeron (was Ole Miss head coach, now assistant at Tennessee and might possibly be crazy), Nick Saban (was LSU head coach, now Alabama head coach, practicing the phrase "We Got 13"), Tommy Tuberville (was Auburn head coach, now out of football... remember him?). 

The story itself was the center of a bestselling book in 2006, entitled "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" by Michael Lewis, and as of this blog post, it was sold out on Amazon.com.

The movie is excellent... its feel good, its warm, its funny, its everything a family movie should be, one that pokes at you to say "awwww" without demanding you tear up or feel sympathy and guilt.  After the movie was over, I leaned over to The Lovely Steph Leann, and in my most politically incorrect tone said, "We should go to Ensley and adopt a black child."  She frowned at me, then rolled her eyes and got up to leave.  She's good at that.

The Hurt Locker

"I hurt myself today to see if I still feel, I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real..." Johnny Cash

When they announced several weeks ago that the Academy in increasing the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten, I, as a movie lover and sometimes critic, had the same question about 2009... "Is there enough quality films to fill all ten spots?  Or will spots 8,9 and 10 just be something popular that they had to add in to take up the extra space?"

Well, my guess is that one film that will be there, and would have been there regardless of the five or ten movie limit, even if this film had been released in the vaunted 1993 Great Year At the Movies...

SIDEBAR... I've heard that the year 1939 is considered the best year in film, all time.  Its not surprising, because the list of movie classics--movies that to this day, people are still relishing--is long and heavy... in 1939, there was "Gone With the Wind"... "The Wizard of Oz"... "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs"... "Stagecoach"... "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"... "Gunga Din"... "Goodbye Mr. Chips"... and the original "Of Mice and Men".  That is a Murder's Row of timeless cinema.

I've also heard that 1993 is a considerable heavyweight when it comes to film.  Perhaps because I was 17/18 at the time, aware of the impact of movies in my own life that 1993 probably resonates more... consider this list of movies that came out in 1993... "Schindler's List"... "The Fugitive"... "Groundhog Day"... "In the Name of the Father"... "The Piano"... "Philadelphia"... "In the Line of Fire"... "Dave"... "Sleepless in Seattle"... "Dazed and Confused"... "Tombstone"... "The Nightmare Before Christmas"... "Short Cuts"... "Jurassic Park"... this year alone constitutes 7 films in The Dave100.  

Don't know if this is the best year in film or not... but it has to come darn close.  Just sayin'.

Where was I?

Yeah... "The Hurt Locker". 

Been hearing about this film since late summer, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, probably most famous for Keanu "I AM AN EFF BEE EYE AGENT!" Reeves in "Point Break", and wanted to see it.  I'm really wary about recent war films, as a few of them have come off very anti-Our Guys and anti-Our Country, so I usually stay away.  And, I think everyone else stays away too, as "In the Valley of Elah", "Stop-Loss", "Redition" (which is a waste of my beloved Reese Witherspoon) and "Lions for Lambs" were all disasters at the box office, commonly known as "bombs".  I've only seen one of the previous movies mentioned, and it was pretty terrible. 

I kept looking for "The Hurt Locker" here in Birmingham, but never saw it.  There's a few big theaters around, and perhaps it made it in and out before I knew it, but one day I saw it advertised at the Ghetto Theater for a buck.  Called up my Ghetto Theater Buddy Mikey and said, "Hey, let's go see it!" and he said, "Yeah, dog" and so we did.  We met up with our friends Jimmy B and The Good Doctor Earl, and settled back in chairs that were probably filled with H1N1, the Avian Flu, lice, gingivitis and clamidia, all at the same time. 

"The Hurt Locker" is about a group of solders in Iraq that disarm Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, which are really just like they sound--simply made bombs that are triggered by tripwires, or remotes or whatever, made to kill people, namely American soliders. 



After the Spc. Eldridge and Sgt. Sanborn's team leader, Sgt. Thompson, is killed by an IED, SSgt James is brought in to replace him.  James and Thompson are miles apart, with Thompson exact, careful, precise and always putting safety first, while James is borderline reckless, approaching the IEDs with a devil-may-care attitude, alienating Eldridge and Sanborn with his style and his lack of discipline.  Still, James is very, very good at what he does.

One of the most chilling scenes is when they run upon a sniper attack, and after they return fire and hunker down, the waning minutes turns into hours, as they sit, hiding, afraid to move, trying to take out the snipers before they get hit themselves. 

I've never been at war.  I've never been shot at.  I've never worn the gear of the military, so I cannot tell you that this movie does or does not correctly identify what these soldiers go through, every day, with IEDs just stuck everywhere from random rubble on the roadside to being surgically implanted in the stomachs of small children.  Not kidding.

There are three main reasons why I thought this film was brilliant... first, the lack of superstars helps this movie quite a bit.  No Tommy Lee Jones, no Jake Gyllenhaal, no Jamie Foxx... only a cameo appearance by Kate from Lost, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes and That Guy Hall of Famer David Morse, but beyond that, its starring no one you'd recognize.  Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty have been in other stuff, but you likely won't remember much of it.  Taking away this stardom almost makes this feel like its a documentary more than anything else, like what you are seeing on screen is actually happening 5,000 miles and a half-dozen time zones away--maybe because it is. 

Secondly, its not preachy.  Anyone who has read this site enough will know I'm not into being preached at by films that are supposed to entertain.  It doesn't dive into politics, into why we are there, why we are or are not winning or losing the war, or anything else.  It just tells its story.

Finally... its just a really good movie.  Its a movie about war, so none of the language is Emmy Turnbow Safe, and it does have its bloody moments, but its paced well, it doesn't veer into subplots (much... there is one small one, but it resolves itself quickly) and after its over, you just nod your head and say, "That's a good movie."

Its hard to imagine that this movie might win the Best Picture, as its not flashy and the marketing machine of Hollywood hasn't taken this film to new heights, but as far as quality, its one of the best films I've seen all year... certainly better than "Slumdog Millionaire".