Welcome to Australia

From my all time favorite director, Baz Luhrmann, who brought the world my favorite movie...



Comes another movie... that I'm really excited for... AUSTRALIA.

Now, Country Westerns and War are probably two of my least favorite movie genres of all time... and this one combines both... BUT I am super excited to see it, all because the master genius Baz Luhrmann is directing it.

Unlike other directors who have a huge reputation and always seem to disappoint lately... Baz ONLY comes out with a movie when he is absolutely passionate about it and has had a hand in everything, making sure it will be absolutely amazing. His Red Curtain Trilogy, telling stories of dance, words, and music (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge! respectively) was an absolute epic success in my mind. I found all three to be brilliant.

This is the first movie he's directed outside of the RCT, so he doesn't have the specific points of view and goals as were obvious in the RCT, but I'm confident that he'll bring us something grand yet again!

I LOVE Nicole Kidman, and I got chills from the Wizard of Oz reference in the preview below... to most of you who don't really know, I read all 14 of L. Frank Baum's Oz books when I was little; it was my favorite series growing up. If there is truly any parallel in this movie, I will die.

I can't wait! I'M SO EXCITED!

PREVIEW TIME!

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Walk It Out Fosse!!!

Any and all Fosse fans should love this!

To any of you who don't know who Bob Fosse is... just watch this:



Bob Fosse was one of the greatest, and my favorite, choreographer of the 50's-70's, creating his own, very distinguishable jazz style. If you recall, I was super excited during rehearsals for Pajama Game, to perform Steam Heat - another famous Fosse choreographed number.



I have had the absolute pleasure of working with a woman at Bloomington Civic Theatre by the name of Christine Fournier; who actually has done many original broadway tours with Fosse himself. She taught us the original choreography for How to Succeed in Business, and helped come up with a very Fosse-esque Steam Heat - without mimicing the original.

The whole reason I tell you about Fosse, is because my friend Heather told me of this AMAZING video on Youtube... it's a mash between Fosse's "Mexican Breakfast" choreography, starring Gwen Verdon, and Soldiaboy's Walk it Out... HILARIOUS!

First, just watch some of the original...


And now, watch the remix... AMAZING!

Let's See Yours Now... ... OW! - Teeth Review

Over a few glasses of wine and a pizza, my great friend Heather and I watched a movie we had been anticipating for months; Teeth. Now, if you're ever looking for a new comedy/thriller with a cult classic appeal, then I definitely suggest you see this movie. It will have you clasping your mouth shut with your hand in shock/disgust while causing you to laugh hysterically at the same time.

Dawn O'Keefe (a brilliant play on the artist Georgia O'Keeffe; most famously known for her paintings of flowers inspired by the female genitalia) was born with a case of Vagina Dentata (sharp teeth in her down-there parts); making the movie's catch phrase "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" very befitting. She grew up with a strong belief that one should always wait until their wedding day to have sex, and that masturbation is a horrible sin. She is completely oblivious to her condition until the influence of sex surrounds her, and she starts contemplating on fooling around with a boy she likes at school. The following is an amazingly gruesome, graphic, and extremely uproarious story of sexual discovery and PAIN that will have many a guy a little scared to venture into the unknown depths again. (Much like my temporary fear of the shower after seeing the movie "IT" when I was in junior high.) All I can say, is that this is one of many instances where I am thankful for being gay!

The movie was directed brilliantly, in my opinion. The whole crew, and all of the actors, knew very well that the story they were telling was absurd, and so there are many moments (from certain comical faces, to just plainly absurd characters/scenes) where the actor/director bring you back from the horror and say 'it's all a joke, just relax'.

Jess Weixler with Josh Pais behind her, in Teeth.
HAHAHAHA, one of the best parts! LOVE IT!

Jess Weixler does a great job portraying the innocence, curiosity, and absolute confusion of Dawn. You really feel a little pity for her character, and are only excited for her when she dons her 'red nipples' (a Showgirls reference for all of you fans out there).

Two of my absolute favorite characters in the whole show are Brad (Dawn's brother who introduces a very funny, quasi-incestuous theme to the story), played by the oh so talented John Hensley (Nip/Tuck), and Dr. Godfrey (Dawn's new gynecologist who is only shown briefly, but in one of the best scenes of the entire movie), played by Josh Pais. These two made the movie so much more enjoyable to me. I loved their characters, and found myself laughing the most when they were on camera. Of course, all of the acting was great, but these two really did it for me.

John Hensley in Teeth.
That picture to the right of his head almost made me crap my pants in laughter when I first saw it... You might have to take a close look to see what I mean... SO FUNNY!!

All in all, if you have a strong stomach, and aren't easily offended by the idea of a sex farce, then find Teeth today and watch it! I was very tempted to steal it from my friend Heather, but I guess that just means I'll have to go out and buy myself a copy to have for some cocktail party in the future! Holy buckets, that's genius! I'll serve little cocktail weenies, and maybe red wine or any other red alcohol... it'll be divine! YAY!

PREVIEW TIME!!!

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Shalom Shelob!

This was me last night... and yes, I'm talking about Sam, not Frodo. I didn't have a sword, but I did have a mirror...

Yeah, I met my own Shelob last night, and I nearly wet my pants in fear...

Now, I don't know what phobias you readers might have, if any (you strong brutes you), but I can tell you what turns me into a big ole sissy... and that, if it's not obvious yet, is spiders...

Last night, I went to my friend Chris' to housesit/dogsit. I've talked about his house and his cute little pug Harry in a previous post.

It's kind of funny that the one and only other time I've talked about house sitting here, was the one and only other time I tagged a post as 'scary'. Believe me, last night was SCARY.

I got to Chris' house, used my headlights this time to see the front door as everything was pitch black again, and after I was settled in, I was about to go to bed when I saw a HUGE spider, one of, if not THE biggest spider I have EVER seen inside a house.

It had created a web behind a gigantic mirror that Chris has propped up on the ground just centimeters next to his sliding glass door in the living room. I watched in terror as I watched it crawl out of sight behind the mirror. It must have been living there in secret for a while, because after I had tilted the mirror a little bit away from the wall, I noticed it's web covered a large patch of the hidden surface. It was very thick, like a wad of stretched cotton balls, and when I moved the mirror even further from the wall, the web sounded like velcro as it ripped apart.

Thankfully, the spider didn't move too much as I tore up its home. I was able to position the mirror so the edge was directly over the center of the spider, and I pressed it hard against the wall; killing it instantly.

SHABAM!!!!

Shelob wasn't killed instantly, but this isn't HIS story... he's just my visual comparison... as I couldn't take any pictures of my culprit... I was too petrified.

It sounds a little calculated and calm, but believe me... I tried to get Harry to attack it first... but he's too sweet, he wouldn't hurt a fly - although he did try to maul a squirrel today.

Unfortunately, the one and only PERFECT Youtube video for this entry has Embedded disabled per request, so I cannot have it conveniently displayed for direct viewing on my blog :( To see it, you've gotta click on Shelob's face! Go on! I DARE YOU!

We Desire... Children!: Hocus Pocus Review

I watched one of my all-time favorite childhood movies on Monday... Hocus Pocus...

This is one of those classic children's movies that as an adult had so many more funny moments than I caught/understood as a child. It's a story of three old witches, burned at the stake many years ago, who are allowed one Halloween night to come back to suck the life out of any children they can get their hands on. With every child, the three will grow younger, and with enough children they could gain immortality. The only people who believe in their existance enough to try to stop them are a high school boy, his younger sister, his high school crush, a black cat who used to be a boy until the witches cursed him to live forever as a feline (the reason they got burned at the stake in the first place), and an undead boy who the witches had brought back to life themselves.

Bette Midler plays the leader of the three witches, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the other two. They make a hilarious trio, and on top of it all, they sing!

There really isn't much to say about this movie, other than it's a great family classic with humor for both children and adults, and an extremely funny cast that will make you laugh until the end. Sure, I might just be biased as I have a soft spot for the movie from childhood... and yeah, the special effects are definitely outdated... but oh well, I still say it's the perfect children's movie...

... otherwise its CURTAINS! hehe

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Les Poissons Fandub!

A classic from Disney's The Little Mermaid! I had a lot of fun doing this fandub. Hopefully you will enjoy it :)


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Absolutely Professional Criminals - Bank Job Review

My friend Jon and I decided to go to a movie recently, and when faced with the crossroads between Horton Hears a Who and The Bank Job, we flipped a coin, and I lost. Jon had to practically drag me into the theatre where we sat down and watched the retelling of a real bank robbing conspiracy that happened overseas back in the 70's. ... We should have seen Horton.

Hahaha, just kidding! We collectively decided on what movie to see, and it was a very enjoyable movie indeed.

The story is about a group of friends, one of which is in an insane amount of debt, that are given the proposal to rob a bank. What bank, when, and how are pretty much all planned out for them, and they would just have to execute it. They agree.

A higher power is secretly behind the bank robbery, and they want to incriminate a man named Michael X, who won't be punished by law as long as a few sexual pictures of a member of the royal family are in his safe deposit box, but they don't want the blood to be on their hands. Many people in the city have done horrible/illegal things as well, and their secrets are also hidden in deposit boxes, and with their power, money, and immorality, they would stop at nothing to make sure their secrets are kept safe.

So, while these boys think this could be an easy chance at a clean getaway with a shitload of valuables, they soon find out that they were sorely mistaken.

I thought this movie was great. It had plenty of action and suspense, as well as wit, and it created for a very well executed adventure. Character development is also spectacular, and you soon grow to care about all robbers involved, and their loved ones. I've seen many movies where I don't give a crap about characters, and it leaves their story to be really unsatisfying, but this movie is the complete opposite. Now, it's not a drama where you're going to cry and have a real life lesson to walk out with, but you still get attached to the characters and it helps amplify the suspense and your wanting them to get out of the situation alive.

The only real critique I would have, and it might just be because I get confused every now and then, but there were SO many storylines that sometimes the movie was hard to follow. Things happen so quickly, that I didn't understand what was happening with certain events/characters, or who was associated with who, until towards the end of the movie. But, at the same time, that makes for a great replay value!

All in all, I really enjoyed the movie, and wouldn't be opposed to seeing it in the theatre again - to get a better understanding of the subplots and to see it from the perspective that you get when you know what's going to happen. I would definitely recommend this movie to those who like action/suspense movies that rely more on suspense and characters than car races/fighting.

I still want to see Horton though...


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How Do I Know That I Love It? - Enchanted Review

I never saw it in the theatres, but when the movie Enchanted came out on DVD today I just knew I had to buy it. Many of my friends had said it was a wonderful movie that was very reminiscent of the old-school Disney that we grew up loving. It was true.

Enchanted introduces a new "princess" - Giselle (Amy Adams) - a happy go lucky, animal loving girl who just can't wait for her true love's kiss. It was about time for another red-haired "princess", I say! Now, Giselle isn't a princess yet - but she will be once she marries her husband-to-be Prince Edward (James Marsden). The Prince has an evil stepmother, Narissa (Susan Sarandon) who is Queen of their fairyland kingdom, and if Edward marries, then she will eventually be replaced by a new Queen, so she sabotages her stepson's marriage by pushing Giselle down a bottomless fountain that is actually a portal to the real world.

Not only is it a very cute movie, that's well made and even has wonderful new music, but it has a new comedic twist that's new to the Disney realm. It makes fun of the entire Disney genre - joking about how life would be like if these fantasy stories were actually real. Once the cartoon characters, and even animals, cross over into the real world, they act no different. They're still extremely happy-go-lucky, melodramatic, and very clueless about the human world - very 3rd rock from the sun.

There are cinderella-esque animals who help make things and clean the house, poison apples and ugly-ass hunchback hags a la Snow White, A Sleeping Beauty inspired Queen who even has the power to turn into a fierce black dragon , a boat ride reminiscent of the Kiss The Girl scene in Little Mermaid, a ball such as the one the Beast threw for Belle, and even an Italian Dinner that matches the romance in Lady and the Tramp.

It has a great cast - including Grey's Anatomy's Patrick Dempsey and Wicked/RENT's Idina Menzel added to the list a few paragraphs prior. The plot is very cute and comical, and it has an ending that I personally wasn't expecting when I first started watching the movie, but loved all the same.

Overall, if you want to spend a good hour and a half smiling someday, and feeling the same joy you did from the original Disney musicals when you were a child, then watch Enchanted. I am very glad I own the movie, and will definitely be watching it again soon - it's so cute! It might just become my sad-day movie to raise my spirits, as it certainly would do the trick.

SO GOOD!

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My First Agency!

I had an interview with Susan Wehmann today, founder of Wehmann models and talent. I had been referred to the agency by a good friend of mine when I had expressed to him that I wanted to expand to film.

It was more of an informative meeting for me than it was an interview for them. I walked in, had only the nicest of greetings, and Susan gave me the breakdown. She told me what the industry was like, that when I got called for an audition they would want to see 'the guy next door'; they would want to see 'the normal me just doing an everyday something'. It's a very different style of acting than theatre, but it will help me improve my acting abilities in general, and I'm super excited.

My first task - to get 50 copies of my black and white headshot, and 15 copies of my maroon shirt/hands on hips/smiling headshot.

The company made me feel very welcomed and appreciated, and they seemed just as excited to work with me as I am to work with them.

Hopefully I'll have some gig coming up here soon! Who knows how long it will take.

This is a friend of mine in a commercial that aired a couple years ago... I don't know what agency he uses, but I might be next!

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Ready, Camera, ACTION!

'Hi, my name is Robbie McNamee, I'm an actor in the Twin Cities, and I'm seeking Representation.

Attached you will find a couple of headshots by Sara Jayne Photography and my resume.

I consider myself to be a comedic character actor, but I have also done more realistic/serious roles and have enjoyed them all the same.

After taking a film acting workshop a couple years ago and recently performing in a short film for the 48 hour film festival here in Minneapolis, I have recently become interested in expanding my talent to commercials, short films, feature films, indie films, voice overs, and print modeling.

Thank you for your consideration in representing me.'


I have a meeting with Susan Wehmann, of Wehmann models and talent, this coming up Tuesday, and I will be sending in my information to other agencies in the Twin Cities later this week. I honestly am going to pursue my acting career to its potential now that I no longer work in the corporate world... hack, vomit, spew.

Here's the film I did in last summer's 48 hour film fest... it's called Paternoster. It was my first film gig ever, so hush up about the acting - I'm not very good... but I will learn.

Pardon the test at the beginning... it's only a test.

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The Book!... I mean The Movie! - Spiderwick Chronicles Review

After going to a candle party on Sunday - who knew you should burn three wicks at a minimum of 6 hours a session? - a couple of Robbies and I went to the movie 'Spiderwick Chronicles'.

The story is about a secret fairy/demon world that lives within the very nature that surrounds us, and a guide to that world that took a man's entire life to research and create. When finding the book, a couple of children become the protectors of its pages; their task being to keep it away from an ogre leader of the demon world who wants its knowledge to destroy all other life on Earth.

The movie was very adventurous and fun, but I was left wanting more. I felt that the movie was all about keeping the secrets of the hidden magic world; even from us viewers. I thought that the creatures were very creative and fun, but overall it only skimmed the surface of its overall potential.

In a way it's a compliment to the movie. I liked the ideas, but you could tell that it had been a book prior to its movie debut, and that it's unfinished feel was just due to the editing, I just hope there's some kind of sequel somehow so I can get more, as I don't see myself reading the actual book anytime soon.

Another interesting fact, this movie did actually creep me out a few times, which is always fun in my opinion.

I do recommend the movie to anyone who likes family/fantasy/adventure films.

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It Doesn't Sound Orca!

As of late, my car has been making whale noises.

I'll turn on the car, and it will be so stiff from the cold that it won't move at first, once I get it moving, it then has a hard time turning - THIS is when I start speaking to the ocean.

As I speed up, the sound goes away completely, but comes back just as loud as ever when I slow down and start turning.

Wwwwaaaaahhhhhhh

Whale noises don't really have an onomatopoeia, I guess.

It reminds me a lot of Nemo though - and oh-so-hilarious Ellen Degeneres as Dori, talking to the Whales herself.

"Mmmmmm Weeeee neeed toooo find his sonnnnn!"

Hopefully my car won't come across some krill... uh ohs!


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My Husband Was Pink! - What a Way to Go! Review

Why hadn't I seen this movie A LONG time ago? I probably would have come to terms with my gayness MUCH earlier in life and came out at the young age of 9 or something... This is an amazing movie, and if you are someone who loves old flicks with a fabulous female lead, then I HIGHLY recommend "What a Way to Go!" with Shirley MacLaine and a slieu of wonderful men.

The movie is about a widower, Louisa May Foster (Shirley MacLaine), who is retelling her cursed life of marriage, having wed four very different men, all who died in very odd ways. After trying to give her total earnings from the deaths of 200 million dollars to the government, the bank insists she see a shrink (Robert Cummings), and it is on his insanely exaggerated couch that she rehashes all of her misfortunes in love.

From a french painter with a chimpanzee, to an immensely rich owner of an airline, Louisa's husbands, (Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, and Gene Kelley) all have one thing in common - they loved Louisa until the day they died in horrible freak accidents, leaving her with A LOT of money.

It's all very creative and beautiful and funny, and I for sure want to buy it to watch over and over and over again. The costumes were amazing and very humorous at times, and the story was told very well with that perfect 1960's comedy feel.

Every marriage Shirley gets into reminds her of a type of movie - silent films, foreign films, big lush films, and musical movies... Here's a clip from "What a Way to Go!" showing Louisa's idea of what it's like to be married to Pinky Benson (Gene Kelley *sigh*)...

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Oh Shit! - Transformers 1986 & 2007 Movie Reviews

Last week I got Transformers from Netflix and in my excitement I put it in the DVD right away to find out that it was actually the animated movie version of the Saturday morning cartoon made back in 1986.

I immediately went on to Netflix to verify my error in movie selection, and also to make sure the RIGHT movie was sent to me in my next shipment. Regardless I watched the movie I had received anyway.

The Animated Movie was a lot of fun. The ENTIRE movie was underscored with brilliant 80's music, and had amazing cartoon graphics... The storyline was pretty typical in the beginning, the Autobots facing off against the Decepticons, until a Transformer shaped as a planet, and as big as one, starts traveling through the Universe, eating up planets and moons on its way to get the Autobot Matrix of Leadership concealed in Optimus Prime's chest.

There were a lot of really humorous parts of the movie, including the random dialogue, and even some of the concepts of the robots themselves caused me to laugh. I was surprised by both of those elements every now and then. Some of the main robots, that even appear in the 2007 movie, were killed off in this version, and at one point one of them even said "OH SHIT!" I had to rewind a little to make sure I heard the swear word correctly in this 80's children's animated movie.

I had a favorite character on both of the sides... First, is the purple robot on the Decepticon's side that turns into a large space-flying choo-choo train that all of the Decepticon's fly inside... I thought that was kind of funny. Second, is the 'hero' of the movie, Hot Rod; the pink, flaming Autobot best-friend to the only real human boy character in the entire film.

Go Hot Rod!

I was glad that I made the mistake and got this movie, it was a fun flash back to my early, early childhood.



Then, this week I got the recent Transformers movie made last year, and watched it this morning as I cleaned, and to put it very simply - I loved it! It was just as witty as the 1986 movie, and it had evolved well with modern technology. The computer graphics in the movie were amazing, and incredibly detailed, and the creativity was great. They utilized all the possibilities of the Transformers in every way - action, comedy, car races, and the plot was very detailed and never boring.

They incorporated a lot of human characters, which I enjoyed, and I thought it was great how each and every one of them were kooky in their own way. There were great cameos by Bernie Mac, John Turturro, Julie White, among many others - and even though there were a crazy amount of characters and interwoven plotlines with the Witwicky family, the High-schoolers in the FBI, and lovely Josh Duhamel's squad, it was all seperated out nicely and was easy to follow and understand.

Yes... very lovely indeed...

Sadly, Hot Rod didn't make an appearance - and neither did Astro Train - but it was a great movie all around. I kind of want to buy it now...

Are You Happy? - Pursuit of Happyness Review

I've had 'The Pursuit of Happyness' from netflix for a few days now. I'm usually pretty fast about turning a movie around once I get it, but I wanted to wait for the right time to watch this one. I didn't want it to be in the evening, as I predicted that I would be somewhat depressed while watching the movie and I didn't want to go to bed in a state such as depression.

So, when I woke up today and had about 2 and a half hours before I needed to leave for my Sunday matinee, I thought I'd risk spending the majority of that time watching the movie.

I have to say it was a risk well taken. There are a lot of great lessons in this movie and in the end I wasn't nearly as depressed as I thought I was going to be! There are indeed some tear jerking moments, but in the end I was more filled with unseen motivations and hope than I had thought. Plus there was a good deal of unexpected, yet very slight, bits of humor scattered throughout the movie which were definitely welcomed.

I won't go into much detail about what the story is about - I'll leave the video below to give you a peak - so instead I'll go into what this movie, to me, is trying to say in the telling of that story.

Never give up. No matter what your dream is, no matter how many times you are told 'no', just stick to it. You never know how fate will intervene, whether bringing something you've lost back to you - be it a relationship, a state of mind, a bone density scanner - or bringing you something new - sending you a couple of boats while you're stranded at sea; the trouble being you have to recognize these boats and not let them pass you by.

Don't fret about things that you ultimately can't control. Too many people these days think anger can turn the tide in their favor, but it's not a tool one should try to use often as it doesn't work too well and plus, it's just not healthy. In times where you do have control, pick your battles wisely; do what you must, but keep to your morals.

Ultimately, be appreciative, and happiness will be just around the corner. Make the most of your situation, love those near you, and consciously look for the good in everything even if it sometimes seems impossible. I've had times where I've been down about certain situations before, and I try to make a list of all things good in that area or even another area of my life, just to remind myself that I do have very valuable things that are mine and make my life special. It does work, for me at least.

Anyway, the story is the movie - it's not about special effects, or costumes, or cinematography - it's the story. So while I don't have much to really say in review about the movie itself (since I'm not going to summarize the plot, as I won't really do it justice) I do want to say this - if you find the right time, and you're up for a good story, and are willing to be patient for a couple of slow moments, watch this movie. Sometimes you need to experience things to truly get the message, as simply reading a blog or an official review won't be enough. You might watch this movie and say, "it was shit," but after all, this is my review, and I say it was worth the while!


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I Saw It, It's Alive! - Cloverfield Review

Disclaimer: I will not include any spoilers in any reviews I do on this blog. I myself hate it when I find out something before I experience it, (I even close my eyes and ears when the "coming up after the commercial break" sections occur on tv shows) so I won't do that to others. Alrighty? On with the review!

I saw Cloverfield last night at midnight, and as sleep deprived as I have been, I'm glad I did it. I wouldn't consider myself a very good critic of movies with regards to the popular opinion, but I do know my own likes/dislikes and it is here where I'll display them for this movie and any other random piece of film that inspires a blog post.

Some background information first - Cloverfield was actually named by the director, JJ Abrams, as a temporary title that he took from a road sign near where he lived. It was sent out as a code name so nobody truly knew what the movie was about, and it was intended that the title be changed to Greyshot, but the original "Cloverfield" had already spread and was popular - so they kept it.

What was the movie about? Well, JJ Abrams had been in Japan and had seen all of the Godzilla merchandise and thought it was about time that New York had its own Monster - I mean afterall, King Kong was only a big monkey, right? So, that's what he created; a monster that has come up from the ocean to destroy the city of New York and humankind, and literally deface our country's symbol of freedom. What a politically motivated beast!

The movie is told through a "raw recording" of the attack, and has since become top-secret video, property of the U.S. government. The film was taken by a group of friends who had only intended to tape some goodbye speeches at a going away party, until they were placed right in the middle of the horrifying event. The recording is them trying to get all of their loved ones out of the city and to stay alive all the while documenting the tragedy for whatever purposes.

I had a couple of problems with the movie, the main of which is in regards to the actors' reactions during various parts of the film; whether or not they were actor or director choices - they just weren't believable at points... let's do some hypothetical situations here...

If a gigantic thing just attacked your city and you got a glimpse of it, would you stand around and talk about it? Would you try to decide the best roads to take to get out of the city? Or would you just fucking run away from it? Of course, you can't understand a lot of people when they're running, but would you have to have so much conversation?

Here's another one... Now, let's say that one of your friends just had someone close to them be hurt or die in some massive accident... hypothetical now - regardless of the fact that many people around you are freakishly perishing by the second - would you sit there with a worried look on your face and say "sorry buddy" and then joke around about shit? Now I'm not talking about trying to 'make light of the situation' - I'm talking about the everything-in-the-world-is-fine-and-you're-laying-in-a-field-of-daisies kind of joking around? That would be virtually impossible unless you were Helen Keller and had no clue what was happening.

I just didn't believe that any of these people were panicked or even in shock half of the time. I think these emotions were attempted, but some of the time I just didn't believe them. Granted there's a lot of action in the movie that will mask these poorly executed emotions, but sometimes it just seemed painful. Now I understand that a movie has to have an arch - if there's screaming at the top of your lungs nonstop through the movie you're going to get bored - but at the beginning of the attack I was unimpressed with the unenthusiastic behavior and didn't know if I would like the movie - it did get a lot better towards the middle of the film though and kept a somewhat-realistic vibe throughout the rest of the story.

Other than that I thought it was amazing. The monster is very cool and not cheesy, which I was scared about. Some things about the creature are never really explained, but then again - how would you truly know where it came from or why it does what it does when you're looking through the eyes of some innocent bystander. It was very creepy and its 'sub-creatures' make for some of the best scenes.

Speaking of the monster - the special effects are amazing - especially for the style of video, they really make it all look realistic. Half of the time I was sitting there going, how did they do this!? Did they rent out parts of the city or just create A LOT of duplicate sets or what!? It's part of the wonder of the show, and it all makes for some interesting camera shots.

The plot line is also interesting. The movie isn't simply unknowns running away - you get somewhat attached to the characters, not horribly, and they have goals and obstacles during the movie that fill up the time and make for good action.

I also hear that there's possibility of a sequel - the current idea behind a second movie atm, is having it be the same evening and the same attack, just through someone else's life/eyes. It could be from the military's point of view, or someone that was on a water craft, viewing it from afar - and they could have a couple shots where they unknowingly cross paths with the people from the first movie. I think it would be a very cool idea. Afterall, a sequel showing a second attack or something would be boring and would probably make for a dud of a movie. Been there done that!

Go see Cloverfield movie and let me know what you think! It's very good - in my own opinion.

I can't wait to see this next:

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A Beautiful Set of Hypno-Disk Eyes

I came home from work yesterday to find a present that had been delivered to me earlier in the day by UPS. It was from Barnes & Noble, and it confused me greatly. I didn't remember ordering a book from online, and I would definitely hope to remember something like that especially since I almost never order anything online anyways.

With a little difficulty I tore open the cardboard wrapping paper and found, to my delight, a book of poetry titled "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories" To those who know my artistic style, you'll know that I love tastefully dark, mysterious, and twisted stories - very similar to the style of Tim Burton - which this book just happens to have been written by.

Unlike some of his movies in the past, this book was nowhere near disappointing, but was instead very delightful to read and a welcome addition to my ever-growing book collection. It has many different small poems and a couple of longer ones, some of them have reoccurring characters or themes, and they all have cute little illustrations very reminiscent of the styling of Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. It even has stories of Mummy boy and Stick boy who are close to the mummy and Jack respectively in Nightmare.

Here's an excerpt from the book - illustration above:

VOODOO GIRL

"Her skin is white cloth,
And she's all sewn apart
And she has many colored pins
Sticking out of her heart.

She has a beautiful set
Of hypno-disk eyes,
The ones that she uses
To hypnotize guys.

She has many different zombies
Who are deeply in her trance.
She even has a zombie
Who was originally from France.

But she knows she has a curse on her
A curse she cannot win.
For if someone gets
Too close to her,

The pins stick farther in"

My sister was the one who gave me this gift :) She was in her warm state of Florida when she saw this book and thought of me. She just HAD to get it for her little brother! I love it when little surprises are tailored to my personality, just like this one. It means more than some standard card or flower - which I always kill off anyway. On a short tangent, I have decided when I get flowers I will kill them on purpose by drying them out. I have a bouquet of dried red roses, which I love so much, resting on top of my bookshelf. That deep red color is my favorite.

Speaking of my sister Rosie - she recently moved to Florida with her boyfriend Dan, but she is home for the weekend! I haven't seen her in at least a month, which is a big thing for us as our whole lives before this we lived very close; even in the same apartment building once (with our own apartments). She was on the second floor and I was on the third. I won't go into how she tricked me and stole away my childhood bedroom, but it's all in the past anyway as when she moved to Florida I stole it back.

We talked on the phone yesterday when I called to say thanks for the book. She told me that after experiencing a Florida winter that she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to move back to Minnesota due to it's chilly weather. I don't blame her, but at the same time it's sad. My sister and I are very close, and thanks to her gift, I will have Oyster Boy and his freak friends to keep her near when she's enjoying the sunny south in all it's glory.

To think this movie is turning 15 years old. What the hell?


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Fast Forward to the Gaming!

Now that I'm living at home, and I don't have too many bills, I have the opportunity of making some nice purchases that I otherwise would have to take weeks saving up for. I got paid yesterday, and it was in my plan today to go out and by an Xbox 360. I'm a gaming guy, I grew up in a neighborhood with no other kids, and while playing house with my sister was fun, I pretty much entertained myself - mostly with video games.

Being more mature, I now have many hobbies such as writing and reading and practicing tap dance that I can do by myself, but I still get the gaming itch every now and then. So, I was going to get up this morning, clean my room, and go buy an Xbox 360 along with The Orange Box set and Bioshock; however, my mood changed a little as I cleaned my room.

I like to clean with background noise/music/movies -- today it was the movie Click which had just arrived yesterday by netflix. There I was thinking, this is the perfect movie to watch while cleaning - it's a happy go lucky comedy with the amazing talents of Christopher Walken, Jennifer Coolidge, The Hoff, among others... how can I go wrong!? Well, let me tell you - this movie is depressing. It has a wonderful moral and in the end you just want to hug every living thing and family member you have, but before you get there you're dragged through the mud on an adventure filled with fun feelings such as loneliness and hopelessness.

I haven't cried cleaning my room since I was seven and in protest of obeying my mother's orders to pick up my mess. These Saturday viewings that bring up unexpected emotions/vomit have to end!

Anyway, now that I've watched the film, I am torn. Do I go buy an Xbox 360 to get instant pleasure that will eventually and rather quickly become outdated by some new gaming system? Or do I put that money towards the future down payment that I'm saving up for? It would be a nice chunk in my savings account, but then again, why should I be in such a hurry to leave? It's one of the morals of the movie to appreciate family and not try to rush through things... I mean, I should at least buy my future plasma flat screen before I move out and have no extra money until I retire! It's only logical. I don't want to be stuck with a super old tv and no Xbox 360 forever!

I think this one is settled. I can buy the gaming system, and if I ever feel bad I just won't play it, and instead I'll spend very good quality time appreciating my family. That sounds like a good plan, Stan! Thank you blog and the movie Click for helping me sort out my priorities!

I found this clip of a casting shoot for an Xbox 360 ad, pun intended... (you can see the finished ad in the clip's menu - it ended up being banned from tv) makes sense... don't worry mom, I'm not going to have these tendencies after playing.


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